decoded_text stringlengths 4.18k 47.6k |
|---|
weeks. That's not a knock on Jeremy Sharpe and his staff... they're doing the best they can. But they're also stretched so thin they can't possibly begin to worry about these things. It's the same reason why we spent $15,000 on Roscoe Dash for Hoop-La, and this was the crowd that showed. You can't ask interns to run events like that at the last second and have them succeed. And it's because hard working and well-intentioned folks don't have the staff positions and budget to do their jobs correctly.
We also have direct confirmation that Athletics is already preparing to ask for another tuition fee increase. I was once a USF student that sat on an athletics fee committee (and I believe Jamie was with me there as well). Lee Roy Selmon came to us and said Athletics needed the money to grow the program, and we happily obliged. This was over 10 years ago, and that money was needed to grow us to the BCS. But asking students to spend even more presently would be utter malfeasance. When we see how money is being spent presently, why should they be asked to shoulder the burden of a coaching buyout of a contract that was extended following a 5-7 season, and then followed up by a 3-7 campaign that looks likely to end 3-9? Asking students to pay even more money on the backs of how the current money is being spent would be unconscionable. There are systemic changes that are needed before we continue to throw good money after bad.
I have a follow up public records request I placed just over three weeks ago, and when we get that information I'll pass it along as well. But here's the reason I asked for it in the first place: because many of my former colleagues asked me to do so. Because so many staffers are sick and tired of being abused, betrayed, beaten up, and watching all the money flow to the top of the food chain. Many have families that preclude them from leaving Tampa Bay, so they stay and stick it out. But those who can leave are doing so at an incredible rate. And they couldn't be happier when they finally escape.
* * * * * * * * * *
This is the status of USF Athletic Department. It is a status quo that is no longer acceptable between the lines or outside of them. Wholesale changes are needed from the top down. Team performance and internal morale is at an all-time low for all of the reasons listed above. There is no time to waste, and with the impending conference moves, action needs to be taken immediately. USF Athletics is in crisis. The time for action is now.Summary
Efforts to simulate matches between candidate compounds and one key Ebola virus protein are largely complete. Simulations of matches against another, newly discovered target protein are beginning now. Even as simulation work continues, the team is beginning to analyze these results and home in on compounds that could form the basis for effective new drugs against Ebola and other related diseases. Thanks to your help, and a new grant, the work is proceeding well.
Thanks to the efforts of thousands of World Community Grid members, my team has continued to make progress on Outsmart Ebola Together, a project whose goal is to find new drugs for curing Ebola and related life-threatening viral hemorrhagic fevers.Outsmart Ebola Together began with a study of potential drug attacks against the receptor-binding site of the Ebola surface glycoprotein (GP). We then announced the start of work on a second drug target: the nucleoprotein (NP) of Lassa Fever virus. Specifically, we are looking for drugs that attack the newly discovered "exonuclease site" of Lassa NP. This exonuclease site helps conceal the virus's presence from the infected human cell by destroying the virus's own excess production of double-stranded RNA.We have since prepared research tasks for testing the Lassa NP exonuclease site against millions of potential drugs. These tasks are now ready for use, and will be sent out to World Community Grid volunteers over the coming months.Our lab has also been investigating the Ebola NP and VP35 proteins. NP and VP35 must engage in a series of specific interactions with each other as Ebola virus replicates. These newly discovered interactions could potentially be disrupted by new drugs, making NP and VP35 possible future targets for investigation by Outsmart Ebola Together.At this stage in the project, we’ve gathered enough data that we need to begin focusing on analysis procedures for the data already returned by World Community Grid volunteers. We must analyze the data for both the Ebola GP receptor-binding site and the Lassa NP exonuclease site; and our analysis procedures must be sufficient to filter out false positives from the large quantity of results returned.For each viral protein site that we test against potential drugs, we assure the validity of our analysis as follows: We select a substantially analogous site (generally from a different virus) for which there exists experimental data about potential drugs that bind or do not bind to the site. We then tune our analysis protocols so that, when applied to this site, our analysis results closely match the known experimental results. Only when this is done do we feel that we can confidently apply the same analysis protocols to the site of current interest.In particular, this summer we looked closely at analysis optimization for the Lassa NP exonuclease site. As the analogous well-studied site, we chose the "ribonuclease H domain" of HIV reverse transcriptase, which has strong similarities to the Lassa NP exonuclease site in its protein structure and use of catalytic metal ions. The optimization of our analysis protocols against experimental data for the HIV ribonuclease H domain is now complete, and we are looking forward to the arrival of the Lassa NP exonuclease data as it is processed by World Community Grid volunteers. Candidate drugs that pass the analysis stage will go on to a next round of experiments, conducted in the lab rather than by computer simulation.We are also happy to announce that a $50,000 grant to support this work has been provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President’s Grant Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation. With this grant and the vast computing resources of World Community Grid, our way to the successful completion of the project is clear.As always, we close with a thank-you to the volunteers who have run this work for us. As you can see, we’ve already made significant progress but there is much work still to do. Make sure you’re signed up to contribute to this project, and spread the word about our lifesaving work!Serial killers are commonly portrayed in the media as being highly intelligent (e.g., column by Dr. Joyce Brothers in Seattlpi.com on 8-14-2007). This portrayal is perhaps due to the media focusing on serial killers such as Ted Bundy and mythical serial killers such as Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs).
► We were able to obtain IQ information on 202 serial killers
► When taken as a whole, serial killers appear to be of normal IQ
● Median = 89.0, Mean = 95.1
● Low was 57 (Simon Pirela)
● High was 165 (Theodore Kaczynski)
- A second IQ testing put him at 155
► As expected, IQ varied by the type of serial killer
● Raped victim
Yes: Mean IQ = 94.2
No: Mean IQ = 96.3
● Method of killing
Stab : Mean IQ = 96.0
Multiple methods: Mean IQ = 98.0
Strangle: Mean IQ = 97.9
Shoot : Mean IQ = 93.0
Bludgeon: Mean IQ = 86.3
Bomb: Mean IQ = 140.3
● Motive
Financial Gain: Mean IQ = 90.9
Enjoyment : Mean IQ = 100.4
Anger : Mean IQ = 101.1
● Type
Organized : Mean IQ = 99.6
Disorganized : Mean IQ = 93.2
► IQ data are complex as extreme scores are more likely to be publicized
and there is certainly motivation to score low (especially below 70)Jared Kohler/CNET
Distributed denial of service attacks have been used to divert security personnel attention while millions of dollars were stolen from banks, according to a security researcher.
At least three US banks in recent months have been plundered by fraudulent wire transfers while hackers deployed "low powered" DDoS attacks to mask their theft, Avivah Litan, an analyst at research firm Gartner, told SCMagazine.com. She declined to name the institutions affected but said the attacks appeared unrelated to the wave of DDoS attacks last winter and spring that took down Web sites belonging to JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, HSBC, and others.
"It wasn't the politically motivated groups," she said. "It was a stealth, low-powered DDoS attack, meaning it wasn't something that knocked their website down for hours."
Litan described the attack method in a blog post last week that warned banks' losses could have been much greater.
"Once the DDoS is underway, this attack involves takeover of the payment switch (eg, wire application) itself via a privileged user account that has access to it," she wrote. "Now, instead of having to get into one customer account at a time, the criminals can simply control the master payment switch and move as much money from as many accounts as they can get away with until their actions are noticed."
Litan, an expert in financial fraud and banking security, did not describe how attackers gained access to the wire payment switch at banks, but she offered banks advice on how they might better protect themselves.
"One rule that banks should institute is to slow down the money transfer system while under a DDoS attack," she wrote. "More generally, a layered fraud prevention and security approach is warranted."
Security researchers have previously highlighted the growing trend of using DDoS attacks to hide fraudulent activity at banks. The Dell SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit issued a report (PDF) in April to warn that a popular DDoS toolkit called Dirt Jumper was being used to divert bank employees' attention from attempted fraudulent wire transfers of up to $2.1 million.
In a joint statement (PDF) issued last September with the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the FBI warned that the $200 Dirt Jumper toolkit was being used as a smokescreen to cover fraudulent wire transfers conducted with pilfered employee credentials.
"In some of the incidents, before and after unauthorized transactions occurred, the bank or credit union suffered a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against their public Website(s) and/or Internet Banking URL," the report said. "The DDoS attacks were likely used as a distraction for bank personnel to prevent them from immediately identifying a fraudulent transaction, which in most cases is necessary to stop the wire transfer."Gov. Pat McCrory’s approval rating is holding steady at the not-so-great 40 percent mark, a new poll finds, and the Republican faces the prospect of a real challenge in 2016.
Public Policy Polling’s survey for April shows McCrory remains unpopular at 45 percent disapproval, essentially unchanged from the Democratic firm’s poll of registered voters a month ago.
Other polls have put his numbers at worse marks, with approval averaging in the upper 30s. From PPP pollster Tom Jensen: “This marks the 10th month in a row McCrory’s approval numbers have been under water.”
McCrory’s unpopularity also raises questions about whether he is an asset or a liability for Republicans in the 2014 election in terms of endorsements and fundraising. McCrory recently gave a nod toward House Speaker Thom Tillis in the U.S. Senate race.
Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer
In a hypothetical 2016 matchup against Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, the two tie at 43 percent with 15 percent undecided. It’s too early for the poll to hold real ramifications, but it’s an indication that Cooper, who is already making a bid for the job, may present a real challenge to the Republican incumbent. Cooper is unknown by half the voters, but among those who know him he is in positive territory at 33 percent favorable and 17 percent unfavorable.
The only other recent poll to ask the McCrory-Cooper question gave the Republican a 6 point advantage. The American Insights survey from February also was one of the only to give McCrory a slightly positive image. ( See more here.)
PPP also tested former Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker against McCrory. Meeker is unknown to three-quarters of voters but polled 7 points behind McCrory, at 45-38 with 17 percent undecided.
In other results:
• About half of North Carolina’s voters don’t know the Koch brothers well enough to form an opinion, raising doubts on whether Democrat Kay Hagan’s strategy of attacking the conservative financiers as part of her Senate campaign is really helping her cause. Those who do know them, however, have a negative view with 36 percent unfavorable and 19 percent favorable.
• North Carolina voters oppose gay marriage 53 percent to 40 percent. It’s a shift from the firm’s
finding that 57 percent thought it should be illegal and 34 percent thought it should be legal. In May 2012, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage in North Carolina.
The automated poll’s margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.6 percent. Click here for more results.While India has not officially adopted a position for or against virtual currencies the government and the Reserve Bank of India have periodically warned of the associated risks. with them. The RBI has now reiterated its warning against virtual currencies
Reiteration of the Risks Involved
In a press release, the Reserve Bank of India stated:
As a result of the significant surge in valuing a lot of venture capital and the rapid growth of initial coin offerings (RCO), RBI reiterates the concerns conveyed in press releases Previous
2013 and early 2017 have highlighted the risks associated with cryptocurrencies. He clarified that he gave no license / authorization to any entity to operate in the Bitcoin space and that the users were doing so at their own peril. He highlighted the economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security risks associated with managing these virtual currencies.
India – A ripe ground for cryptocurrencies
India is considered ripe ground for cryptocurrencies in part because of its huge tech-savvy population. The subcontinent is also ripe for the adoption of digital currency due to the failure of the country's demonetization system and an inflation rate that has exceeded 10% twice in the last 10 years. India currently accounts for a very small portion of Bitcoin's trading volume, having been South Korea and Japan. Indians are the biggest consumers of gold in the world and the demand for Bitcoin, the digital gold, is currently increasing.
The Unclear Status of Bitcoin
The lack of regulation surrounding cryptocurrencies resulted in Court being asked to rule on the status of Bitcoin. While the government has taken the usual course of appointing a committee and waiting for it to submit its findings, business continues as usual for exchanges like Zebpay, Coinsecure and Unocoin
despite the warnings of RBI, unless the government clarifies ambiguous position, there will be a regulatory vacuum. Earlier this month, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that virtual currencies do not have legal tender and said the government was evaluating the committee's recommendations put in place to consider the issue. The Indian government may be slow to respond, but Indians seem to like virtual currencies, as evidenced by the huge demand for Bitcoin for Indian trade and the substantial premium Bitcoin trades in India.Get the biggest rugby 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
Wales will reveal their much-anticipated Rugby World Cup kit when they play Ireland at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Fans will get to see the new jersey ahead of the opening World Cup warm-up match, with Sam Warburton and the Wales team wearing it for the first time against the Six Nations champions.
A teaser image released today appears to suggest the shirt will feature some form of Welsh language writing on it.
The WRU could also unveil a second strip, which is likely to be black as it was at the last World Cup in 2011.
Read more: Wales winger OUT of Rugby World Cup
Read more: The best and worst of the Rugby World Cup kits unveiled so far
The kit will be revealed live to supporters at the Millennium Stadium and to the millions watching the BBC Wales broadcast in a unique launch designed to give first sight of the new national jersey directly to fans.
BARRY JOHN: Wales' fringe players MUST step up against Ireland
“The first people to catch sight of the new kit and its associated range will be the fans and the players selected by Warren Gatland to face Ireland at the Millennium on Saturday 8th will be the first to wear it,” said WRU chairman Gareth Davies.
“It is always a special moment when the Wales captain leads his team out onto the pitch for the first time in a new campaign and World Cup preparations begin in earnest against the Irish at 2.30pm that afternoon.
Read more: The full Warren Gatland transcript: Why there's a secret weapon in our ranks which could give us a World Cup edge over England
More: George North's unique insight into 'horrendous and savage' life with Wales
“That moment is much anticipated and we will be tapping into some of the drama and theatre of that match-day experience by ensuring that this is also the first moment when our new 2015-2017 range is seen by our fantastic fans worldwide.”
The Under Armour kit will include updated cutting-edge innovations to ensure peak performance during the tournament.
Read more: The 20 best Rugby World Cup referees in history... but just where does Welsh number one Nigel Owens rank?
More: England Rugby World Cup stars issued with remarkable 24-point social media guide in bid to avoid bad publicity
The WRU says the kit will draw inspiration from elements of Wales’ national history, embodying heritage, strength and protection with its designs.
Details about how much the new kit will cost are expected to be revealed on Saturday.
The vast majority of other World cup nations have already unveiled their kits for the tournament, including England and the All Blacks.
Read more: The latest Welsh rugby newsThe loan will be the first of Seager’s career so far, as the 19 year-old looks to gain valuable Football League experience.
After impressing for Saints’ development side during the 2014/15 campaign, Seager made his professional debut as a substitute in last season’s FA Cup clash with Crystal Palace, before making his Premier League debut against Swansea City.
The striker has scored seven goals for Martin Hunter’s Under-21s this season, while also being named on the bench for Ronald Koeman’s first team on a number of occasions.
Crewe, who currently sit 23rd in League 1, have gained a reputation for playing entertaining football over the last few seasons.
Seager could make his debut for Steve Davis’s side when the Railwaymen take on Millwall at the Den on Saturday.Sidney Morgenbesser (September 22, 1921 – August 1, 2004) was a philosopher and professor at Columbia University.[1][2][3]
Biography [ edit ]
Born in New York City, Morgenbesser undertook philosophical study at the City College of New York and rabbinical study at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, then pursued graduate study in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote his Ph.D. thesis under the direction of Nelson Goodman. Morgenbesser began teaching at Swarthmore College, took a position at Columbia in 1953 and, in 1975, was named the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy there, a position he held until his retirement in 1993. Morgenbesser was known particularly for his sharp witticisms and humor, which often penetrated to the heart of the philosophical issue at hand and earned him the nickname from The New York Times as "the Sidewalk Socrates."[4]
He published little, and established no school, but was revered for his extraordinary intelligence and moral seriousness. He was a famously influential teacher; his former students include Jerry Fodor, Raymond Geuss, Alvin Goldman, Daniel Hausman, Robert Nozick, Derek Parfit, and Gideon Rosen. In 1967, Morgenbesser signed a letter declaring his intention to refuse to pay taxes in protest against the U.S. war in Vietnam, and urging other people to also take this stand.[5] Morgenbesser's areas of expertise included the philosophy of social science, political philosophy, epistemology, and the history of American Pragmatism. He founded the Society for Philosophy and Public Affairs along with G.A. Cohen, Thomas Nagel and others.[6] He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1963.
He died in New York City.
Quotations [ edit ]
Why is God making me suffer so much? Just because I don't believe in him?[7]
"Yeah, yeah." In reference to a mention by linguist J. L. Austin that, while there are several languages that employ a double negative to denote a positive, "there exists no language in which the equivalent is true. There is no language that employs a double positive to make a negative."[8][9]
Books [ edit ]
Morgenbesser, Sidney (1967). Philosophy of science today. US: Basic Books Inc. ISBN 9780465056835.
Morgenbesser, Sidney; Held, Virginia; Nagel, Thomas (1974). Philosophy, morality, and international affairs: essays edited for the Society for Philosophy and Public Affairs. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195017595.
Stories and quotations [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]The Nova Scotia government is forecasting a deficit of $97.6 million for 2015-2016, which would cut the budget
shortfall by more than half.
The government last projected a deficit for the 2014-2015 fiscal year at almost $221 million.
A look at some of the people who won and lost in this year's budget:
Winners
Public schools: $20 million additional investment for math strategy, literacy strategy, class size cap
Universities: $3.2 million for one per cent increase in university operating grants
Students: $24.8 million to maintain Nova Scotia Student Bursary
Seniors: $1.5 million in increased funding for Senior Citizens Assistance Program
Addiction and mental health programs: $1 million in additional funding
Home-care services: $3.8 million in additional funding
Caregivers: $1.8 million additional funding to expand Caregiver Benefit program
Those waiting for surgery: $2 million to try to reduce wait times for orthopedic surgeries
Children: Vaccinations for meningococcal meningitis expanded
Artists: $6 million Creative Economy Fund promised for 2016 for members of film, animation, music/sound recording and publishing industries
Services for people with disabilities: $4.5 million funding increase
Sexual assault services: $700,000 to expand the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program to two more areas in the province
LosersGet the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
A £750,000 revamp at Belfast bar Apartment has been fully completed this weekend.
The Donegall Square food and drink spot has been at the heart of the city centre since the year 2000, but this revamp offers a big departure for the venue.
Broken into two parts - upstairs and downstairs - work has seen a total reconfiguration of the upstairs bar and restaurant, while on the ground level the new 'Zak's Bar' opened last night.
Upstairs, the bar and restaurant have switched places, and there's now a chic roof terrace, that opened back in July.
Zak's Bar has gone from a coffee shop, which opened as a bar previously on a Friday and Saturday only, to a live music bar that will open six nights a week.
It opened with a soft launch on Saturday night.
Staffing is to go from 45 to around 60. In November 2013, Apartment was bought by The Downey Group and soon ambitious plans were drawn up to revamp the premises.
Speaking to Belfast Live while overlooking Belfast City Hall from a seat within Zak's Bar, general manager David Neely, said he was excited about finally completing the project - and opening the full complex to the public.
He said: "For a long time it was the bar in Belfast but I suppose over the years a lot of other bars came along and the standard in Belfast has definitely risen. Apartment fell behind through lack of investment."
But, not long after the Downey Group took over at the end of 2013, plans soon emerged for a huge facelift.
The first part of this was completed in July.
David continued: "Originally when you walked in you went upstairs and walked through the restaurant to go to the bar. So now we have a layout where you walk into the public bar area and the restaurant's at the back.
"We were able to put on a roof terrace at the back of the building by lifting the ladies toilets and moving that to another area."
The second part was to revamp the ground floor level - essentially a coffee shop that opened as a bar just on a Friday and Saturday night.
He said: "It was run as a coffee shop, so it opened from 7.30am. It did a very good coffee trade, but the bar side was only ever used at weekends: Friday and Saturday night.
"We saw it as a great space. It's ground level, passing trade - so we said that once we get upstairs down we'd definitely work on it downstairs.
"We wanted to have a bar down here that is both male and female friendly. So there'll be cocktails upstairs, but no cocktails down here.
"There'll be a good range of beers, wines and spirits. The menu is modern tapas. And we'll be doing something that Apartment has never done which is live music six nights a week."
He said that the response to the upstairs work had been positive - with food sales doubling on the same six week period last year.
"We're building the business: It's a very unique concept in that it's got breakfast to coffee to cocktails to drinks to late night entertainment," he said.
"I'm excited. It's finished very well - we have the classic albums up on the wall to reinforce the music aspect. It's a new departure and we're looking forward to showing people what we've done."Gallup asked this question eight times, typically when a Mormon was running for president Poll: 18% oppose Mormon candidate
The percentage of Americans who would not vote for a Mormon presidential candidate because of his religion is the same today as it was in 1967 when George Romney ran for the White House, according to a new Gallup Poll on Thursday.
Today, 18 percent of respondents said they would not vote for a Mormon hopeful, compared with 17 percent who responded similarly in 1967. George Romney ran for president in the 1968 election cycle.
Story Continued Below
“Now, some 45 years later, George Romney’s son Mitt will be the Republican nominee — and the pattern of resistance to his Mormon religion has essentially not changed,” notes the polling firm.
However, the current figure of 18 percent is down from 22 percent a year ago.
Gallup has asked this question eight times since 1967, typically when a Mormon was running for president, for example during Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (R-Utah) 2000 presidential campaign. The percentage of respondents who indicated they would not vote for a Mormon has averaged 19 percent.
In the most recent survey, Democrats and those who are least educated are the most likely to discount a presidential candidate based on Mormonism.
The percentage of those who would oppose a Mormon candidate rises from 6 percent among those who have a postgraduate education to 23 percent among those who have a high school diploma or less.
Meanwhile, 24 percent of Democrats would oppose a candidate based on Mormonism, compared with only 10 percent of Republicans.
The Gallup Poll was conducted June 7-10 with a sample of 1,004 adults and a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.BY: Follow @susancrabtree
One of former Attorney General Loretta Lynch's top lawyers at the Justice Department helped edit Obama administration press statements about the infamous meeting between Lynch and Bill Clinton on a tarmac last summer.
The same attorney, Paige Herwig, is now the deputy general counsel for Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. That panel is now investigating whether Lynch played any role in trying to influence the scope or intensity of the FBI's investigation into the Hillary Clinton email scandal.
Prior to her legal work with Lynch at Justice, Herwig was a special assistant and associate counsel to President Obama.
Newly released Justice Department emails show that Herwig, whose title was counselor to the attorney general at the time, helped edit the first media statement responding to inquiries about the tarmac meeting. Those emails were included in 413 pages of Justice Department documents the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The emails show that on June 29, 2016, two days after the Clinton-Lynch meeting when the national news media was first learning of the tarmac one-on-one, Melanie Newman, the then-director of public affairs at the Justice Department, emailed her FBI counterpart to "flag" the media stories about the tarmac meeting that she noted were "gaining traction tonight."
Newman included a transcript of a question Lynch answered about the meeting the following day, as well as Justice Department talking points on the topic, which are redacted in the emails.
"Our talkers on this are below, along with the transcript of the Phoenix presser, where she was asked about this," Newman said in the email. "Happy to discuss further by phone. Please let me know if you get any questions about this. Thanks."
Just 19 minutes earlier, Newman had emailed the same Lynch transcript to an assistant press secretary at the White House.
Additionally, Lynch’s deputy chief of staff contacted Comey's chief of staff and counselor, Jim Rybicki, July 1 but the email string noting that contact is heavily redacted.
The tarmac meeting occurred at the end of an FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email servers while secretary of state and just as the presidential campaign was intensifying last summer.
Before the tarmac meeting, Lynch would have been the official to determine whether to pursue criminal action against Clinton. But after it, she said she would accept the recommendation from the FBI and career prosecutors at the conclusion of their investigation.
Just four days later, then-FBI Director James Comey held a press conference to announce the findings that essentially cleared Clinton from a criminal indictment. Comey has said the tarmac meeting was a "deciding factor" that led to his decision to take on the role of announcing his conclusion that Clinton was "extremely careless" but not criminal in her actions.
Since then, the New York Times reported that the FBI had obtained an email or memo written by a Democratic operative "who expressed confidence that Ms. Lynch would keep the Clinton investigation from going too far."
The authenticity of the document was and remains in doubt, but sources have said it influenced how the Justice Department and FBI interacted in the investigation. Comey also has referred to the document in saying he decided to take on the role of announcing a decision on the Clinton email scandal instead of Lynch because he worried if the memo went public it would raise doubts about the independence of the probe.
The same batch of emails, released to ACLJ last week, earlier showed that Lynch used the alias "Elizabeth Carlisle" for official emails as attorney general, including those related to the tarmac meeting. The batch also shows the Washington Post and New York Times reporters demonstrating some reluctance to cover the Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting.
The Justice Department talking points and press statements about the tarmac meetings and the edits to them are redacted in the email string the ACLJ obtained through its FOIA lawsuit.
In addition to Herwig and Newman, the string includes Kevin Lewis, another press officer; Carolyn Pokorny, the then-deputy chief of staff and counselor to Lynch; Peter Kadzik, the then-assistant attorney general for legislative affairs; Umu Amuluru, another counselor to Lynch; Shirlethia Franklin, deputy chief of staff under Lynch; and Matthew Axelrod, the principal associate deputy attorney general.
The email string originates with a query about the tarmac meeting from Fox News's Mike Levine asking for Newman and Lewis in the Justice Department’s press office to address his questions "ASAP" because a Fox News affiliate in Phoenix "is hearing that the AG met with Bill Clinton on a plane last night for close to an hour."
Within one minute of receipt of the Levine email with the subject line "Bill Clinton meeting?" Newman looped in Pokorny and Lewis, with a terse directive, "We need to talk. I’m on cell [redacted]."
A minute later, Axelrod was added to the chain, saying he was free and would set up a conference call line.In the past, I have always tried to upload a new video and a new build on the 1st and 15th day of every month, right when the clock strikes midnight (in the PST timezone). The video I’m currently working on is quite an elaborate one, so I won’t be able to hit the midnight deadline tonight.
This video is is going to be around 10 minutes long, and it usually takes me 1 hour of work to produce 1 minute of video footage, so it’ll take me around 10 hours total to finish this video. It probably won’t be ready tonight…however, I feel very hopeful that the video will probably be finished less than 27 hours from now!
Here’s an imgur album of some screenshots from the next video! I wonder how much people can guess about my next video, just from these screenshots?
Also, did you know that I added a new character to the Characters page today? He’s alllll the way down at the very bottom…take a look, if you’re interested!2016 just got a whole lot worse with the desperately sad news that legendary Pogues manager and pal of Philip Lynott, Frank Murray, has died in Dublin
Hot Press is deeply saddened to hear the terrible news that Frank Murray (pictured on the left with Mike Adamson, CEO of Live Nation Ireland) has died. While the cause of his death will not be fully confirmed till later, Hot Press understands that it was a result of a heart attack. His death, which occurred earlier today, was sudden.
Frank was a seminal figure in Irish rock music, who first came to prominence as a key member of the Thin Lizzy camp. For many years, he was the band’s tour manager and worked closely alongside Philip Lynott. When his involvement with Lizzy ended, Frank took on a similar role with Elton John and The Specials and, later on, he managed The Frames, overseeing their signing to ZTT Records; Kirsty McColl; and most famously, The Pogues.
He was centrally involved in the conception of what is the greatest Christmas song of them all, bringing Kirsty McColl (since deceased) on board to work with The Pogues on the magnificent ‘Fairytale of New York’.
A highly intelligent and cultured individual, along the way he also managed Rí Rá and the late Bap Kennedy. He spent over half a decade in the US, where he worked in theatre and movies, acting as Executive Producer on the highly rated Come On Eileen, which starred Noel Fielding, Mercedes Grower, Julia Davis and Keith Allen. More recently, he managed The Mighty Stef and The Lost Brothers and he was also involved in the career of Temper Mental Misselayneous.
Advertisement
“Frank was widely loved in rock ’n’ roll circles,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. “He was a great talker and story-teller and had lived through so much, and worked with so many great people, that he was a fountain of hugely entertaining yarns and stories. He was an ideas man, who had a unique way of looking at the world – but he was also someone to whom you could turn for a fresh and interesting perspective on whatever was going on in the entertainment business.
“He was driven by a great love of music. But he was also immensely knowledgeable. He knew the history of rock ’n’ roll inside out. And he was always alive to what was happening now, and remained open to new artists and new genres. It is a desperately sad moment for Irish rock music. He will be hugely missed by everyone who knew him."AutoGuide.com
Jaguar has added a new entry-level four-cylinder engine to its F-Type lineup, and the first thing that many people asked was, “What will it sound like?”
Besides the Jaguar F-Type being one of the prettiest coupes on the market right now, it’s also one of the best sounding with its deep and burbling V8 giving enthusiasts the giggles all around and the V6 not that far behind. Turbo four-cylinders typically don’t sound as good as V6s or V8s, so naturally, people were concerned.
Thankfully, Jaguar has released a promotional video for the new four-cylinder F-Type where we can hear it. Ian Hoban, the director of the F-Type line, assures us in the video that, “It drives and sounds like a true Jaguar sports car.”
ALSO SEE: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Gets New Base 4-Cylinder Engine, Cheaper Entry Price
Don’t get your hopes up: the 4-cylinder Jaguar F-Type sounds nothing like the V6 or V8 and definitely isn’t as spine-tingling, but it also doesn’t sound lifeless either. The sound clip is short, but check it out in the video posted above. We can’t wait to compare this to the four-cylinder Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster.Both in the beginning and towards the end of Koe no Katachi there’s a fundamental scene where Ishida walks in the school hallway in anxiety while avoiding eye contact with his fellow students. The key difference between the two scenes is that the first one was done in a subjective point-of-view while the last one in an objective point-of-view. The difference in POV was to visually accentuate the contrast in narrative between the beginning and the end.
Subjective POVs are usually shot in first person perspective and this is exactly how a large portion of the first “hallway scene” was shot. In this POV the audience sees the world from the character’s eyes, a far more visually and emotionally engaging experience. The viewer is in Ishida’s shoes as he walks through hallway, nervously looking down at the ground and avoiding the faces of other students. The camera shakes and moves unevenly. This motion of the camera not only emulates |
apps on your device, directly from within the Edge Start UI. This is Microsoft's attempt at keeping users within Windows and Edge, instead of switching to Chrome.
What sets Microsoft's approach apart?The latest move in the Philippines’ increasingly violent war on drugs under President Rodrigo Duterte, police are now going door-to-door in the poorest neighborhoods of the capital city of Manila, seeking urine samples and performing on-site drug tests.
This would be a major privacy concern anywhere in the world, but in the Philippines it’s another human rights disaster waiting to happen, as Duterte has been very public in his support of police summarily executing drug users, and publicly calling on the unemployed to “kill all the drug attacks.”
One of the districts, Payatas, is said to already have over 300 residents on a government “drug watch list.” These people are likely to be targeted particularly in these spot tests, and in the past, there’ve been claims that being on the list amounts to being marked for death at any rate.
Officials are playing up the idea that this is a “voluntary” test, though they are also implying those who refuse have something to hide, and presenting it as a necessary step toward a ‘drug-free” district.
Legal groups say they doubt that in practice the tests are really voluntary, and are warning they are flagrantly unconstitutional. Though there have been no specific reports of killings related to the testing yet, it has just started, and in the Philippines recently, one hasn’t had to wait long for any anti-drug program to turn into a slaughter.
Last 5 posts by Jason DitzMTN-Qhubeka climber Louis Meintjes believes that despite tackling back-to-back Grand Tours - in his case, the 2015 Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana - for the first time in his career, he is in better shape than when he rode the Vuelta last August. Related Articles Louis Meintjes signs for Lampre-Merida
MTN-Qhubeka caught by surprise Meintjes contract U-turn
Meintjes targeting return to Tour de France with Lampre-Merida
Currently 20th at 1:31, last year the South African finished 55th in the Vuelta, his first-ever Grand Tour. He secured a worthy top five placing at La Camperona and showed he was finishing strongly with an 18th place on the notoriously difficult Ancares climb just one day from the finale.
After a Tour de France where Meintjes had his best ride on the Plateau de Beille stage, taking fifth, but then had to abandon with a severe stomach upset in the final week, the 23-year-old is upbeat about racing in the 2015 Vuelta.
"I’m definitely a step higher than last year at the Vuelta," Meintjes tells Cyclingnews at the start of stage six.
The Vuelta’s second start in as many years in Andalusia is definitely to his liking as well. "Southern Spain is Europe that’s most like Africa," Meintjes argues. "The hot weather and the terrain is very similar, the route’s very good for me. This is the closest to home it gets."
Meintjes is also eyeing the overall classification, but is playing it fairly cautiously, given riding two Grand Tours in one year represents uncharted waters for the South African. "I was fairly unsure of my form after racing the Tour this summer, but we’re keeping the GC door open for now.
"Today [stage six] and tomorrow [stage seven] should make that clearer and maybe GC will be a possibility. Otherwise I’ll look at stage wins instead.
"I’m taking it on the day by day, and we’ll have to see what’s happening in the race. It’s a lot about the race dynamics what the other favourites do. There’s nothing specific I’m targeting, but with so many climbs and summit finishes I’m definitely going to try and pick one stage.
"It’s a very top field here, and always hard to make your own mark when that’s the case. But hopefully," Meintjes said with a grin, "they’ll be a little less motivated than at the Tour de France and have a little bit of fatigue and hopefully I can have some good luck."
Luck was certainly not on his side in the Tour de France, given his stomach upset came at a point when he was returning to top form. "I was definitely starting to feel really good. After being in the breakaway [in the Pyrenees] and then crashing I took things a little easier before I recovered fully, and then when I was feeling really good on the [second] rest day I was looking forward to the Alps.
"But just a few hours before the race started, it all went wrong." He completed the stage to Pra Loup but had been ill all day, finishing 163rd, and could not start the next day.
Whilst finishing the Vuelta is a definite goal after the disappointment of the Tour, Meintjes says he will not be present at the 2015 World Championships. "The course doesn’t suit me and the selection of three riders has already been made, and if the course is not suitable for me it’s better to send another rider."
He will also be looking forward to some time off. "After the Vuelta I’ll be on 87 race days, and last year I did 70-something. We’ll have to see what happens and maybe I’ll do one or two more [races], but most likely it’ll be the end of the season."
Either way, he says he is getting used to racing in Grand Tours, "which calms you down a bit, knowing what to expect. You feel more comfortable." The next step - taking a stage win or a strong GC ride - could be just around the corner.Veteran outfielder Andruw Jones says he will soon announce his retirement, Cory McCartney of FOX Sports South tweets. In November, Jones had reportedly been hoping to sign with an MLB team, but it appears likely he’ll hang up his cleats instead.
It’s been awhile since Jones has played in the Majors, of course — he last appeared in the big leagues with the Yankees in 2012. After that, he played two seasons with Rakuten in Japan. He did not play last season.
The MLB team with which Jones will be most strongly associated, of course, is the Braves, for whom he played from 1996 through 2007, joining Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in a group of elite players on a long string of highly successful Braves teams. (As Sports Illustrated’s Jay Jaffe tweets, Andruw and Chipper will both be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.)
After emerging as a consensus top prospect in the Braves’ farm system, Andruw debuted with Atlanta at the tender age of 19 and soon became one of baseball’s top outfielders, creating tremendous value with both his outstanding defense and his power. Beginning in 1998, Jones won ten straight Gold Gloves for his work in center field. He also quickly became a serious home run threat, hitting 26 or more homers in nine straight seasons and peaking with a remarkable 51-homer performance in 2005, when he finished second in NL MVP balloting.
After the 2007 season, when he was still just 30, he left Atlanta and began an itinerant phase of his career, playing for the Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox before heading to the Bronx for two seasons. He declined steeply in his early thirties as his ability to hit for average rapidly diminished, although he did hit well in his two seasons in Japan.
Jones finishes his 17-season big-league career with a.254/.337/.486 line, 434 career homers and five All-Star appearances. Via Baseball Reference, his career Defensive WAR of 24.1 ranks 20th all-time. He made upwards of $130MM in his baseball career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.Parliament's General Director for International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with a representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in Iran, Nasser Abu Sharif, on Monday.
During the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian condemned the brutal attacks carried out by Israeli military forces on -Aqsa Mosque which led to the martyrdom and injury of dozens of Palestinian people, and highlighted the need for further unity among the Islamic Ummah in confronting the terror-nurturing and crisis-creating regime of Israel.
“These brutal and aggressive measures by the Zionist regime will not remain unanswered,” the Iranian official stressed.
He went on to add that Israel’s objective is to attain full control over Jerusalem and that the regime has imposed many restrictions on this region in order to achieve its goal.
Abu Sharif, for his part, said Palestine expects all Muslim and independent-thinking people around the world to voice their solidarity with Palestinians against the Israeli occupiers.
“Now that the Muslim’s public opinion has once again turned toward the Palestinian issue, we should use this opportunity to unite all Muslims under a common goal [against Israel],” he stressed.
MS/4039462Saturday
4) 10 A.M. Rolling on the River
Cincinnati’s shared bicycle system, Red Bike, with 56 stations in the metro area (including Newport, Covington and Bellevue in northern Kentucky) gives cyclists the singular thrill of cycling in two states. A one-day pass ($8) allows unlimited rides of up to one hour at a time, easily allowing renters to pedal along the banks of the Ohio River on the Cincinnati side, which is largely park land, then crossing over to Kentucky via the Purple People Bridge. Opened in 1872 as the area’s first train bridge, the half-mile span now serves only pedestrians and cyclists. On the Kentucky side, bike paths top the grassy levee, offering views to flood gates. Return to Cincinnati via the 1866 vintage John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, a fraternal twin to the namesake engineer’s Brooklyn Bridge.
5) 11 A.M. Freedom Quest
On the banks of the Ohio River, which once separated a free state, Ohio, from a slave state, Kentucky, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (admission $15) examines slavery in America, from the nameless scores who died at sea during the Middle Passage from Africa, to the enslaved heroes who went on to be authors, lawyers and leaders. Powerful exhibits include a slave pen from the early 1800s, which once held individuals in rural Kentucky before they were sold. Other exhibits explore past and present human rights issues. A new virtual reality experience puts users in Rosa Parks’s seat on the Montgomery bus ($5).
6) 2 P.M. Progressive Feast
Use the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar ($1) to travel from downtown to the nearby Over-the-Rhine district (abbreviated as OTR), a former German enclave. Stylish boutiques, trendy restaurants and handsome Italianate buildings fill the gentrifying district, especially along Vine Street. Follow your nose to the bustling Findlay Market. In operation since the mid-19th century, the market today mixes produce stalls with cheesemongers, butchers and prepared-food specialists serving everything from barbecue to gelato. Sample its offerings with Barb Cooper, the owner of Cincinnati Food Tours, during a 90-minute walk ($20) that introduces visitors to the market. Samples en route often include goetta, the traditional pork-oat sausage patty synonymous with Cincinnati.
The gallery and museum area in the 21c Museum hotel. Credit Andrew Spear for The New York Times
7) 4:30 P.M. Houses of Mirth
Cincinnati was home to 36 breweries by 1860, a density that earned it the nickname “Beer Capital of the World.” Prohibition doomed most of them, but new microbreweries are reclaiming the city’s place in the beer galaxy. Try the Truth IPA ($6) at Rhinegeist, which occupies the former bottling building of historic Christian Moerlein brewery, a warehouse so vast patrons can play whiffle ball indoors. In 2015, Taft’s Ale House moved into an abandoned 1850-vintage Protestant church, replacing pews with picnic tables and the altar with a bar tapping styles from the quaffable Nellie’s Keylime Caribbean Ale to the rich Maverick Chocolate Porter ($8 for a five-sample flight).
8) 6 P.M. Farm-Fresh Fare
The chef José Salazar, a James Beard nominee for best chef in the Great Lakes region, mixes a respect for ingredients, often locally sourced, with a sense of play at his eponymous Over-the-Rhine restaurant Salazar. It seats only 40, so make a reservation in advance for a spot in the bright, storefront bistro where seasonal dishes may include heirloom polenta with a duck egg ($12), and “everything salmon,” a play on a loaded bagel, complete with a sesame-poppy seed crust on the fish ($29).
9) 8 P.M. Curtain Time
Catch a show at one of three major performing arts theaters in Over-the-Rhine, each either reopening after major renovations or debuting in the fall. The grand red brick Music Hall, home to the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Opera, will reopen in October after a $143 million investment in the 1878 landmark. Down the block, Ensemble Theater Cincinnati will unveil its approximately $7 million renovation and expansion in October with “This Random World,” by the playwright Steven Dietz. Nearby, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will open its new theater where no seat will be farther than 20 feet from the thrust stage when its fall season opens with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” running Sept. 8 to 30.
10) 11 P.M. Doctor’s Orders
Review the show over an adult elixir at Sundry and Vice, a neighborhood corner bar modeled on an old apothecary (antique pharmacists’ prescriptions paper the bathrooms). Try the thematically appropriate Night Cure ($10) with bourbon, lemon, honey and grapefruit oil, or an old-fashioned on draft ($9). Wine lovers can catch last call at the laid-back urban winery Revel OTR.The test Mustang was spotted last month. Picture: Facebook
Ford’s new Mustang might have an 18-month waiting list for customers, but the NSW police aren’t one of them.
News Corp is reporting that the iconic US car has failed a crucial highway patrol test that all cars must pass before being put into the force.
While the Mustang passed a brake test at the police driving academy in Goulburn, the car’s automatic transmission, which is a requirement for police vehicles, overheated after just three minutes of intense driving.
The car was then forced into a “limp home mode” and taken to a local Ford dealership for repairs.
Failing this test means the NSW police won’t be buying any more of Ford’s performance car, leaving the future of its highway patrol force likely to be in the hands of Volvo or other European brands.
With Ford and Holden closing their Australian production plants and axing the Falcon and Commodore models, most police forces across the country are scrambling to try and find replacements.
General duty cars are much easier to replace, with the likes of the Toyota Camry and Hyundai SanteFe joining the force.
However the highway patrol faces dilemmas due to the required performance needed, with the Commodore and Falcon providing bang for your buck performance dollars. The strict brake tests are the biggest obstacles to overcome, leaving few cars under $100,000 left, with the Volvo S60 Polestar and Volkswagen Golf R Wagon the leading runners.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts Site highlights each day to your inbox. Email Address Join
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.MOSCOW — Russians have cut back on purchases of non-essential goods and now spend more than 50 percent of their income on food, amid growing poverty and an economic recession driven by low oil prices and Western sanctions on Moscow.
Spending on food rose to 50.1 percent of all retail spending in February 2016, its highest level in 8 years, according to a monthly analysis published Tuesday by a top Moscow university.
“We are now observing a trend of rising spending on food that logically reflects a fall in real incomes and a rise in poverty,” said the authors of the report by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
A sharp rise in the number of Russians living below the poverty line has been one of the most dramatic consequences of Russia’s economic crisis, the country's longest for fifteen years, and has challenged the narrative of rising prosperity that has been a hallmark of most of Vladimir Putin’s period at the top of Russian politics.
Headline inflation in Russia has slowed in recent months, but it remains more than twice the Central Bank’s medium-term target of 4 percent, and prices of some foods are still rising.
In the first three months of 2016, the price of sunflower oil in Russian stores climbed 23.3 percent, the price of fish spiked 11 percent and the price of dairy products jumped 8 percent, according to the report. The price of lemons shot up 11.6 percent in February alone.
Poorer households traditionally spend a higher percentage of their budgets on food. At the end of 2015, people in poverty were classified as those receiving less than 9,452 rubles ($139) a month.
Complaints over the economy, and particularly rising prices, featured prominently in an annual televised phone-in that President Vladimir Putin held last week, and the Russian leader appeared keen to stress that he recognized and understood the difficulties faced by ordinary people.
More than 3 million Russians crossed the poverty line in 2015, bringing the total to the highest level in nine years. The World Bank predicts another 1.1 million will enter poverty in 2016, pushing the total number above 20 million — one out of every seven people.
The report highlighted how Russians are developing strategies to cope with the crisis. Over 12 percent of people now do odd jobs, and around a quarter are dependent on harvests of fruit and vegetables from their own gardens, the report said.
Russia’s economy contracted by 3.7 percent last year and the country’s Central Bank expects it will contract up to 1.5 percent this year. Others are more pessimistic and the World Bank predicted earlier this month that the economy will shrink 1.9 percent in 2016.
An increasing number of ordinary Russians expect economic problems to persist. According to the report, 42 percent of people now think the crisis will continue getting worse for between one and two years, up from 20 percent in October last year.In the wee hours of Sunday morning, a clerk at a Kangaroo convenience store in St. Augustine noticed a woman enter the business and stuff a $6.99 bottle of wine in her shirt before leaving, according to an arrest affidavit from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.
She reportedly returned to the store a short time later and took a $2.09 bottle of Sutter Home wine, then walked into the restroom..and drank it.
And the woman did this at least three more times, taking a $8.29 four-pack of Sutter Home wine, a $6.99 bottle of Barefoot and a four-pack of Barefoot wine valued at $8.29, according to the affidavit.
When deputies made contact with the woman, later identified as 20-year-old Crystal Leann Gray, they noted she had a very strong odor of booze on her person.
Gray was also currently on probation and had left her residence without legal authorization and was wearing a tracking ankle band, deputies said.
Gray was charged with retail theft and violation of probation, according to records.
This is Gray's 7th booking into the St. Johns County Jail since 2010, according to inmate records.
More FloriDUHBREMERTON, WA— South Sound FC got goals in each half on Friday night May 15 to work their way past a game Olympic Force side 2-0 at Gordon Field. The match featured a winner from newcomer Tyler John and a golazo from veteran Daniel Gray. It was also only the second shut out so far this season.
MATCH GALLERY: by Jeff Halstead / goalWA.net
The Force (0-3-0) had a couple of early half-chances and overall this was their most solid performance of their debut EPLWA season. It was a quick counter that became their undoing. The Shock (3-0-1) were having success pressing the Force, and a turn over ended up at the feet of Max Harvey. He crossed into the middle of the penalty area to an on-rushing Tyler John who tucked it behind the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.
The match was back and forth after that, with the Force cleaning up their posessions and trying to challenge the Shock’s Chris Kintz in goal. Olympic never really mounted a sustained attack. The match stayed close though as South Sound was also not connecting on the final pass.
Finally in the 81st minute the Shock got breathing room when the Force laid back off of midfielder Daniel Gray and he made them pay the price with a longe-range golazo that dipped over the goalkeeper and into the Olympic goal.
The win kept South Sound unbeaten in 2015 and lifted their standing points to 10, good enough to return them to the top of the EPLWA table.
Counting last season’s 2-0 and 3-0 sweep over WestSound FC, the Shock are now 3-0-0 all-time versus EPLWA clubs from Kitsap County.
On Sunday South Sound will play the Sounders U23 of the PDL at Sumner. Saturday night May 23 at 7 PM the Shock will host their league home opener at Harry Lang Stadium against Wenatchee FC. The Force will play their first-ever road match next Saturday at Quil Ceda Stadium in Marysville against Seattle Stars FC.
AdvertisementsEVER since its founding in 1955, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has wanted to write a constitution to replace the ultraliberal one which America drafted for the devastated country in a matter of days in 1946. Throwing off the framework imposed by the former occupiers is the life’s work of Shinzo Abe, the prime minister. Along with a hoped-for rebound in the economy, rewriting the constitution lies at the heart of his notions for a revived Japan.
Many Japanese who do not support Mr Abe’s right-wing views also favour revision, at least of article nine. This is what makes the constitution a pacifist one, for in it Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and even vows not to keep a standing army, air force or navy. Japan’s sense of itself as a pacifist nation remains extremely popular. But according to the constitution’s current interpretation, Japan may not even come to the aid of allies if they are attacked. Re-interpreting, rather than amending, the constitution would legitimise collective self-defence. Still, for many Japanese it rankles that Japan’s “self-defence forces”, formed in 1954 and among the world’s most sophisticated armed forces, cannot call themselves a standing army. There is broad support for changing the constitution, which has never been amended, so that they can. It is a matter of national pride as much as anything else.
Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks.
Even this slight shift away from Japan’s pacifist creed would be controversial. Yet Mr Abe and his party aim to go much further than that. Last year the LDP published a draft constitution that seemed to turn the clock back to a more traditional, even controlled society. Gen Nakatani, head of the LDP’s task force for amending the constitution, complains that in contemporary Japan it “is all about praising freedom and rights”. In society, he says, “there need to be obligations as well.”
The LDP’s draft is heavily influenced by Mr Abe’s revisionist wing of the party. The revisionists gloss over militarist Japan’s atrocities in the region and want Japanese children to be taught a beautified picture of a past in which a harmonious society thrived under the fond gaze of the emperor. The draft elevates the concept of “public order” as a limit on individual freedom. It restores the emperor as the head of the state, and even seems to remove his obligation to uphold the constitution. It deletes entirely an article in the current document guaranteeing human rights. To a clause on equal rights written by the late Beate Sirota, a 22-year-old American interpreter at the time who is a heroine among Japanese feminists for her advocacy of women’s rights, the LDP adds a homily on the family, whose members, it says, must help each other.
Until recently, the draft came in for little outside scrutiny. That is changing, as the LDP’s full intent becomes clear. During Mr Abe’s first term as prime minister, in 2006-07, he prepared the ground by passing a law on how to hold a national referendum when amending the constitution. Article 96 of the constitution stipulates that any change requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Diet, plus the consent of a majority of those voting in a referendum. In the lower house, Mr Abe’s party already has enough seats if it joins forces with other pro-revision parties. In an election for the upper house on July 21st, the LDP hopes to win enough seats alongside its allies to be able to muster a two-thirds majority there, too. Mr Abe’s referendum law requires no minimum turnout.
Tensions with North Korea and China could boost public support for a change to article nine, says Mr Nakatani. Yet the party has decided not to target this article first. Even the LDP’s coalition partner, New Komeito, is against the LDP’s revision. Instead, Mr Abe wants first to lower the hurdle for change. By amending article 96, he wants to scale down the requirement for revising the constitution, from two-thirds of both houses down to a simple majority. If this amendment is passed, it would make other articles of Japan’s constitution much easier to revise.
Even inside the LDP, dismay is growing at Mr Abe’s push. Last week Setsu Kobayashi, a prominent scholar and advocate of changing article nine, joined a newly formed group of constitutional experts to defend article 96. On May 23rd the LDP quietly dropped changing article 96 from its upper-house election manifesto.
A blow to Mr Abe’s plans may have come when a fellow historical revisionist, Toru Hashimoto, mayor of Osaka and a leader of the Japan Restoration Party (JRP), attracted censure at home and abroad for claiming that the system of “comfort women”, or sex slaves organised for the Japanese army during the second world war, had been necessary. The LDP had been counting on the party, which supports constitutional revision, for its two-thirds majority after the election. But now forming that alliance could tarnish the LDP, and the JRP may anyway perform badly in July.
Other parties will in any case contest the LDP draft. Their agendas for amendment are so various as to ensure years of debate. New Komeito, for instance, wants to increase the power of the lower house of the Diet relative to the upper house. The JRP wants decentralisation of government. Meanwhile, the public might well balk at approving a new article 96. The real risk is that, even if constitutional revision gets nowhere in the end, it will in the meantime distract attention from the vital task of reviving Japan’s economy.The Daily Meal has asked an intriguing question: Name the ten most important people in the history of food.
I’ve been struggling with my answers for the past couple of days, and keep changing my mind. The first person I thought of was Christopher Columbus, who completely changed the way the world eats. Before his voyage there were no horses, pigs or cows on the American continet. He also took a whole slew of plants to Europe from whence they traveled to Africa and Asia. Without Columbus there’d be no tomatoes in Italy, chiles in Thailand, peanuts in Africa or potatoes in Ireland. And that’s just for starters.
But before Columbus there was Alexander the Great, whose tutor Aristotle encouraged him to take botanists on his journeys of conquest. In the third century, BCE, he changed Greek society by bringing them citrus, peaches, pistachios and peacocks.
In between, of course, there was Marco Polo. He may not have brought noodles back from Asia, but he returned with many other foodstuffs.
Then there are the cookbook writers. Careme, Escoffier. The English Robert Mays, who wrote a much-read English cookbook in 1588. The author of the extremely influential Le Cuisiner Francois, which disseminated the principles of French cooking in 1651 and was widely translated into other languages. (It was in print, in English, for more than 200 years.) And of course the great Chinese scholar of the Ch’ing Dynasty, Yuan Mei.
What if we concentrate only on America? Even so, it’s hard to narrow down the list, which would probably have to start with Thomas Jefferson, who was responsible for bringing us so much of what we eat today. He even tried planting olive trees in Virginia. “The olive," he wrote, "is a tree least known in America, and yet the most worthy of being known. Of all the gifts of heaven to man, it is next to the most precious, if it be not the most precious. Perhaps it may claim a preference even to bread; because there is such an infinitude of vegetables which it renders a proper and comfortable nourishment.” (Jefferson may have been the Michael Pollan of his time; he was a great believer in eating vegetables.)
I’m imagining that the Daily Meal list will concentrate most heavily on contemporary influencers. Even so, I worry that the great Angelo Pelligrini, who pretty much invented Slow Food 60 years before its time, will be overlooked. And what about Fanny Farmer, who made cooking “scientific”? Or Chuck Williams, who brought us most of the tools we now consider necessary, thus reinventing the way we cook?
Thinking about this has been a lot of fun. Who’s on your list?
Categorised in: UncategorizedWhile lounging around his West End dressing room waiting to go on-stage to perform in Much Ado About Nothing, former timelord Tennant, talked Total Film through how he's been keeping busy since stepping away from the Tardis.
First up he's starring as a tight-trousered Las Vegas illusionist in the 3D update of Fright Night, then he'll lend his voice to Aardman's latest The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists (released 28 March 2012).
“What a joy to be part of that. You feel a little bit of a cheat to take any credit for it, but really the stars of this film are the animators. What they can make a piece of plasticine is quite remarkable."
"The other day I did my last session on the film and they brought the little model of [my character] Darwin down so I have shaken hands the plasticine me - which was strangely thrilling.”
Also strangely thrilling is Tennant's next film project which he hopes to start work on by the end of the year. But he's sworn to secrecy on details:
"It will be something entirely new to me – the process will be something I’ve never done before. That’s exciting and a little bit scary – and I’ve already said too much!"
And don't rule out a return to the Doctor:
"Not impossible forever, but no plans at the moment. People keep telling me that they’ve read online that I’m coming back – but believe me, if that happens I’ll be the first to tell everyone, I’ll be shouting about it very loudly."
"I’m very proud of the show and I’m fully aware it casts a long shadow professionally, but I’m quite happy about that. It’s a shadow wearing a very cool, long coat!"
Fright Night opens on 2 September 2011, and The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists! is arriving 30 March 2012.Since the time the CIA financed and trained more than one hundred thousand Mujahideen Islamic Jihadists, including a fanatical Saudi named Osama bin Laden, to wage a decade-long proxy war against forces of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan, Washington has been obsessed with the idea of penetrating deep into Central Asia in order to drive a wedge between China and Russia.
Early attempts in the wake of the post-2001 US forces’ presence in Afghanistan met with mixed success. Now it appears that Washington is frantically trying a repeat, even calling the ageing US Ambassador Richard M. Miles out of retirement to head a new try at a Color Revolution.
There seems to be a sense of urgency to Washington’s new focus on Central Asia. Russia is hardly buckling under from US and EU financial sanctions; rather she is looking more vibrant than ever, making strategic economic and military deals seemingly everywhere. And Russia’s Eurasian neighbor, The Peoples’ Republic of China, is laying plans to build energy pipelines and high speed rail links with Russia across Eurasia.
Washington appears now to be responding.
The problem with the Washington neoconservatives is that they aren’t very creative, in fact, in terms of understanding the larger consequences of their specific actions, they are rather stupid. And their shenanigens have become very well-known, not only in Moscow, but also in Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan and other Central Asian republics formerly part of the Soviet Union.
The Coming Eurasia Economic Boom
Central Asian republics, most especially Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, are strategically located between China, Kazakhstan and Russia. They are also in the midst of the developing economic boom region that will follow China’s New Silk Road high-speed railway networks. Those rail networks will create a highly efficient land route, independent of possible US sea lane interference, to facilitate the rapidly-growing trade across Eurasia and potentially, if the hapless EU ever gets the courage to buck Washington, to Europe as well.
China recently made headlines with the establishment of its Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a clear rival to the IMF and the US-controlled Asian Development Bank, when the UK, Germany, France and most every major nation—with exception of the USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan—rushed to be founding members and to get in on what promises to be the global economic locomotive for at least the next half century or more, if done right. The AIIB was founded by Beijing with its initial contribution of $50 billion, to partly finance the New Silk Road.
Recently Beijing also revived an earlier plan to build a rail link from China’s Xinjiang Province in far western to Uzbekistan across the territory of northern Kyrgyzstan. Their initial plans were derailed in 2005 when an earlier US-instigated Color Revolution made Kyrgyzstan too unstable.
On January 21, 2015 Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev announced that his government was sending a delegation to Beijing to finalize details of the project launch.It will be a $2 billion 270 km-long rail link from Kashgar in the Xinjiang region of western China to Andijan in eastern Uzbekistan via Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn and Osh oblasts.
In a recent memo on the development, the UK Foreign Office notes that the rail project would have significant benefits for especially Uzbekistan and for China as well as advancing the overall Eurasian New Silk Road rail projects. They note that for China, it would create an additional land-based route through Central Asia for its exports to European markets, assuming it would connect into the existing Uzbek and Turkmen rail network running to the Caspian Sea. It would also improve Chinese access to gold, coal and other mineral deposits within Kyrgyzstan, a largely economically forgotten state since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and Kyrgyzstan’s declaration of an independent republic.
For Uzbekistan, the Foreign Office memo notes that it would offer a new rail route for trade with Asia-Pacific markets. This would be especially important for the GM-UzDaewoo car assembly plant located in the Andijan region, which relies on regular imports of parts and components from South Korea. For Kyrgyzstan, it would offer the potential to earn transit fees of up to $200 million per year, by some estimates, in addition to creating up to 20,000 construction jobs during the implementation phase. As well there are the potential gains for opening Kyrgyzstan to significant Chinese mining investment, something the Kyrgyz economy sorely needs.
And in another geopolitical Eurasian economic advance, on April 9, Pakistan announced that, once US Iran sanctions are lifted, it will proceed with long-stalled construction of a $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline that would pass through Pakistan’s port of Gwadar to the city of Nawabshah in southeastern Pakistan providing a desperately needed equivalent of 4500 Megawatts of electricity.
In 2014 Washington sabotaged the project by essentially bribing the financially-strapped Pakistan government with $1.5 billion in Saudi money if she were to abandon the project. Washington threatened Pakistan with penalties were they to violate US economic sanctions on Iran. Washington, like Wall Street, prefers to use other peoples’ money to advance their agenda. A year later, the Saudi money spent, Pakistan has announced the pipeline project will now go ahead. Pakistan has quietly secured a $2 billion loan from… China. The Pakistan segment of the pipeline will be 485 miles, funded by a Chinese loan and construction would be undertaken by China’s CNPC state energy company. Iran has already completed its 560-mile segment of the pipeline.
Washington Scrambles to Sabotage
With the explosion of trans-national Eurasian economic linkages, rail and pipeline, Washington has realized it must react if they are not to be outflanked by the states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization—Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan.
Not only that, also in January 2015 Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia launched their Eurasian Economic Union with Kyrgyzstan planning to join. That’s the same economic union which Ukraine’s democratically-elected President Viktor Yanukovich opted to join rather than accept the paltry proposal of an EU Associate Membership status. Washington’s Assistant Secretary of State Viktoria Nuland and the usual gaggle of neoconservative warhawks launched the Maidan Square Twitter protests and the February 2014 coup d’etat partly to block that Ukraine move.
So it’s worth noting that in late March 2015, the Kyrgyz newspaper Delo No, reported that a mysterious Ukrainian aircraft delivered 150 tons of cargo with the status of “diplomatic mail” to the US Embassy in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek late last month. The status diplomatic mail meant it could not be inspected by Kyrgyz customs police. Apparently the US Embassy staff in Bishkek are furious letter writers.
The paper reported that the cargo was delivered during two separate flights by an AN-124 transport jet of the Ukrainian air carrier Antonov Avialinii between March |
baseball story. In fact, it's a baseball story that has never been told before because it's never happened before. A kid grows up in Lithuania, signs a pro contract with the Pirates, comes over to the U.S. at age 17 speaking almost no English, works his way through the minors and reaches the major leagues. Right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas -- "Never" to his teammates in the minors -- appeared in his first major-league game in a 14-3 loss to the Cubs, giving up one run in two innings.
It's a remarkable story primarily because nobody really plays baseball in Lithuania. As Luke Winn once wrote, "Basketball is the only sport the 3.2 million Lithuanians truly care about." Neverauskas has even said that he's a "nobody" in Lithuania. He picked up the sport from his dad, who played on one of the first Lithuanian baseball teams in the 1980s.
I talked to him at last year's Futures Game, and he said his dad still coaches baseball over there, although finding fields to play on is difficult, at least fields without rocks. The Pirates discovered him at a European camp when he was 16. He had several fastballs against the Cubs that hit 98, which means he has a chance to stick around. And maybe get 3.2 million Lithuanians to check out Pirates' box scores.The 3.7 cm Flak auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen IV (sf) (Sd.Kfz. 161/3), nicknamed Möbelwagen ("Moving Van") because of its boxy shape, was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun built from the chassis of the Panzer IV tank. It was used by the Wehrmacht in the European Theatre of World War II.
Möbelwagen in northern France, June 21, 1944 in northern France, June 21, 1944
In 1943, due to the waning ability of the Luftwaffe to combat enemy ground-attack aircraft, ground-based anti-aircraft weaponry was becoming increasingly important to the Wehrmacht. In early 1943, the idea of creating a gun platform on the chassis of the Panzer IV was first proposed. The prototype displayed to Hitler on December 7, 1943, used the 2 cm Flakvierling 38, which was deemed too weak for the latest aircraft, which were constantly being improved to fly higher and faster. Only a single prototype with this gun was produced before the design was rejected. A second design with an upgraded single 3.7 cm Flak 43 L/89 was approved as a temporary stopgap until better Flakpanzers could be created. 240 Möbelwagens were built, and the first production models were put into service on the Western Front in April 1944.
The Möbelwagen was built on Panzer IV chassis that had been damaged on the Eastern Front and returned to the factory for repair. These were fitted with an open-top superstructure that provided the gun mount. Around this, four hinged 20 mm armored plates were placed. These plates had two operating positions: they could be lowered for full 360 degree traverse, allowing flat or low-level firing, or they could be half-closed, being pinned together to hang slightly open. In this position, they had notches that allowed the gun full rotation, but only for firing at airborne targets. Still, both of these positions left the crew extremely vulnerable. The fully closed position was only used for transport, when the plates would give the crew some protection from small arms fire and shrapnel.
Though the Möbelwagen was intended to be a stopgap, it served the anti-aircraft platoons of the Panzer Divisions on the Western Front. Only 240 were produced, and it was eventually succeeded by the first true Flakpanzers: Wirbelwind and Ostwind, both of which provided the crew with improved armored protection and full rotation when firing at either ground or air targets.
Comparable vehicles [ edit ]
References [ edit ]WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court entered the latest battleground in the culture wars on Tuesday, hearing arguments in a hard-fought clash between gay rights and claims of religious freedom that was a sort of sequel to the court’s 2015 decision establishing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
The new case involves the refusal of a Colorado baker, Jack Phillips, to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, and it had some justices worried that a ruling in his favor would undermine the 2015 decision’s promise of equality. But other justices said that a tolerant society must leave room for good-faith dissent based on religious principles.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who almost certainly holds the crucial vote in the case, said both things.
He asked whether a baker could put a sign in his window saying, “We do not bake cakes for gay weddings.” A lawyer for the Trump administration, which supports Mr. Phillips, said yes, so long as the cakes were custom made.Mitt Romney reintroduced himself to the country Thursday night in Tampa, delivering a deeply personal nomination acceptance address that balanced pledges to fix the economy and critiques of President Obama with stories about his own life and where he comes from.
The Republican presidential nominee made a clear effort on the closing night of the GOP national convention to let voters know a little more about Romney the man -- not just Romney the businessman or former governor. He flashed his humorous side, at one moment an emotional side, as he told the story of his parents, his children, his wife and his early days in business.
And before the balloons and confetti rained down, he drew the address back to the message that has driven his campaign: Obama has not lived up to the lofty promise of his 2008 run, he said, and does not have what it takes to fix the economy.
“What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs,” Romney said. “What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs.”
Romney called on voters to put the “disappointment” and the “divisiveness” of the last four years behind them, and “turn the page” with him.
“This president can ask us to be patient. This president can tell us it was someone else’s fault. … But this president cannot tell us that you’re better off today than when he took office,” Romney said. “Now is the time to restore the promise of America.”
Romney tried to cast himself as the more level-headed, and less lofty, choice.
“President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet,” Romney said. “My promise is to help you and your family.”
Before he dove into the critiques against the current Oval Office occupant, Romney appeared to answer calls from some in the GOP that he tell America more about his personal story. He said he understands people “need to know more about me” to make a choice in November.
The nominee appeared to get emotional when he told a story about how his dad used to give his mother a rose every day – and that she knew something was wrong on the day he died because there was no rose.
Going off script, Romney said: “Don’t you wish she could have been here at this convention?”
The nominee showed a light-hearted side, at one point ribbing running mate Paul Ryan for teasing him over his musical preferences a night earlier.
“Paul,” he said, “I still like the playlist on my iPod better than yours.”
Romney touched on his Mormon faith, as other speakers have this week. And he spoke directly to women in the audience, and watching on TV, highlighting the female officials who were speaking at the convention and who had served in his administration in Massachusetts. It was not lost on the crowd. Kansas delegate Chad Bettes said the importance of women, particularly in the workforce, “was a huge theme.” Bettes said Romney’s record “has proven that he values women.”
Romney, though, returned to the dominant message that the “excitement” of Obama’s election has subsided, replaced by doubt and uncertainty about the economy and the federal budget.
“If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, you should feel that way now that he’s President Obama,” Romney said. “You know, there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you’ve had was the day you voted for him.”
Romney pointed to the president’s resume as the problem. “He had almost no experience working in a business,” he said. “Jobs to him are about government.”
Romney said he wished Obama had succeeded, “because I want America to succeed.”
“But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we can do something. And with your help we will do something,” Romney said.
The delegates pouring out into the halls after the speech reacted with satisfaction. Mary Ann Riley, an alternate delegate from South Carolina, used a term not often applied to the reserved candidate: “He had fire in the belly,” she said.
The address was to serve as Republicans’ closing argument before Democrats fire back with their rebuttal at the convention next week in Charlotte, N.C.
One senior Obama campaign official told Fox News, in response to the Romney speech: "There was no big idea here," adding that Romney "recycled widely debunked attacks.”
The Romney campaign’s attention will immediately pivot to countering the message out of North Carolina, as the Obama campaign has tried to draw attention away from Republicans’ gala this week in Tampa.
The lead-up to Romney’s speech Thursday was made up of speeches, videos and tributes aimed at filling out the Mitt Romney story, and personalizing the candidate. One couple, in a touching story, told of how Romney helped draft a will for their terminally ill son so he could pass down his treasured belongings to his friends and brother. Olympians from the 2002 Salt Lake City games which Romney led later took the stage to vouch for the nominee.
Other segments of the program highlighted his record at Bain Capital, stressing the jobs created via the private equity firm in a bid to counter Democratic ads that highlight Bain-tied businesses that failed.
The one deviation from the theme came toward the end, when Clint Eastwood strolled on stage – proving true the rumors he was the convention’s “surprise” speaker – and engaged in a wicked debate with an empty chair that was supposed to represent Obama.
He concluded: “When somebody does not do the job, we gotta let ‘em go.”
Romney, like many speakers at the convention, was interrupted by cheers of “USA.” The biggest breakout came when he criticized Obama’s foreign policy.
“I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began his presidency with an apology tour. America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No, Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators,” he said, before having to pause for the chant. Romney went on to give Obama credit for the raid that killed Usama bin Laden, but he said the country is “less secure” because the administration has “failed to slow Iran’s nuclear threat.”
The speech capped with confidence an unusual convention that got off to a rocky and uncertain start, as Tropical Storm Isaac barreled toward the Gulf coast and not only delayed the start by a day but kept several high-profile southern speakers in their home states dealing with the storm.
But after the bad weather largely skirted Tampa, Republicans kicked off the convention with a taut succession of hard-hitting speeches. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivered a fiery keynote Tuesday, with other speakers ranging from Ann Romney to Paul Ryan to Marco Rubio trumpeting Romney’s leadership and challenging Obama’s – all the while warming up the stage for Romney’s nomination acceptance.
The Democratic National Convention will get under way next week, with a Labor Day event set for Monday and the formal program starting Tuesday.
FoxNews.com’s Cristina Corbin and Fox News’ James Rosen contributed to this report.Uber arch-rival Careem, which operates in Pakistan and across the Middle East and North Africa, has inked a deal to use self-driving electric pods, reports Gulf Business.
The pods, made by Italy-based Next Future Transportation, are modular, allowing them to drive individually or by clamping to other units to form a bus. One pod, 8.8 feet (2.7 m) in length, can hold up to 10 people.
The deal, described as a strategic partnership between the two firms, is a long way from bringing the actual autonomous pods into service since the Italian company has not yet started testing on a working prototype.
The firm last month rolled out its first full-scale prototype – pictured here:
Self-driving pod Image: next/Tech in asia
“We are ready to power it and start the testings [sic], however we are still looking for a lead investor,” said Next in a post on LinkedIn.
Melding cars with mass transit
The Italian company first debuted its idea towards the end of last year. The pods are the brainchild of Tommaso Gecchelin, an engineer and industrial designer who envisions a network of the electric vehicles owned by businesses which people can summon via an app. Tommaso has said that the buzzy little cubes will be up and running by 2020.
“Next offers a unique and compelling vision for mass transit. We look forward to working closely with Next to pioneer their solutions in the region,” said Careem co-founder and managing director Mudassir Sheikha to Gulf Business.
Careem, based in the United Arab Emirates, last year raised $60 million in series C financing to help it grow. The startup recently vowed to spend $100 million on R&D in the next five years.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.There is no career choice I am asked about more than that of being an NFL player agent. I hear from dozens each week -- students, young professionals and those with established careers looking for a change -- interested in becoming an agent.
I try to be as realistic as possible about the opportunities and actual responsibilities of an agent. There is no clear path (save for being college roommates with a first-round pick) other than the tried-and-true method: preparation, timing and separating oneself from the pack by developing a marketable skill set.
Andrew Brandt saw ups and downs as an agent. He signed Ricky Williams, then lost him to Master P. Courtesy of Andrew Brandt
Many are attracted by the glamour of working with famous athletes (and the movie "Jerry Maguire"). And yes, it can be exhilarating. However, the life of an agent is an all-consuming emotional and physical roller coaster catering to the whims of clients in their 20s. There are highs in signing a new client or securing a major contract, and lows in losing out on a potential client after months of recruiting or even losing an existing client to another agent for reasons that are hard to understand. (I know. I lost Ricky Williams to Master P.)
When I moved from the agent to the team side, I found the work is very different. As a team executive, one spends a great deal of time negotiating and managing present and future roster expenses. As an agent, a large percentage of time is spent recruiting new clients rather than negotiating for existing ones. I always thought that fact alone gave teams an advantage in negotiations. It is a team executive's job to know how to navigate through the CBA rules; agents usually are too busy recruiting and troubleshooting problems for existing clients to become experts at interpreting labor agreements.
Being an agent is akin to having a real-life fantasy football team -- rooting for clients on different teams -- with a real-life component to it. If that fantasy team does not produce, the result is not just razzing from friends. An agent's livelihood depends on it.
The numbers
There are 714 agents certified by the NFL Players Association for approximately 1,800 NFL players. To become certified, an agent must have a graduate degree and pass an exam, administered annually in July, testing knowledge of the CBA and contract rules. Last year, 140 new agents passed the test, set free to recruit, sign and represent NFL players.
The annual fee to maintain certification is $1,200 for agents who represent fewer than 10 active players and $1,700 for agents who represent 10 or more.
Here are some other interesting notes about NFL agents, according to the NFLPA:
• 42 percent of agents -- 300 of them -- have no clients currently in the NFL.
• 25 percent of agents have between one and four clients.
• 13 percent of the agents represent half of the players in the NFL.
• 25 percent of the agents represent 78 percent of the players in the NFL.
The fees
Exchanging pregame greetings with players -- as Drew Rosenhaus did with Torrey Smith before a game in September -- is just a day at the office for an NFL agent. Evan Habeeb/US Presswire
The NFLPA's annual meeting of player representatives --not the most sympathetic group toward agent fees -- periodically addresses the fee structure for agents. The maximum fee has been reduced a couple of times over the years and is now at 3 percent of the player's contract.
The 3 percent fee applies to money actually received: Agents must wait to collect on things such as bonus deferrals, salary and negotiated incentives until the player actually has received the money. And once a player's contract is terminated, the agent fees on the remaining balance of that contract also are extinguished.
Agents cannot charge 3 percent for restricted free agent or franchise tag one-year contracts. The maximum for those is 2 percent.
Fee undercutting is rampant. Agents will charge less than 1 percent to entice a player to sign. Lowering fees has become a staple for agents seeking to gain business.
The training
When I was an agent more than a decade ago, pre-combine personalized training arranged by the agent was a new wrinkle in the business. The player repaid those expenses, initially borne by the agent, when he signed his contract. Now, agents must bear this nonrefundable expense for incoming rookie players.
Agents pay training centers up to $25,000 just to hold a spot for a potential client. And beyond training and lodging expenses, there are rental cars and restaurant deals that have become further enticements from agents. The competition never stops.
For a first-round pick with millions ahead in guaranteed money, these costs might be justified. For most rookie players, however, these expenses set an agent back on a player, an investment into what the agent hopes will be a significant second contract.
Go time
This time of year -- between Thanksgiving and New Year's -- is "go time" for agents. Most experienced agents have learned that "I'm going to wait until after the season to decide on agents" is player code for "I've already committed to another agent." Since the NFLPA's "junior rule" restricting contact to underclassmen has been rescinded -- NFL player representatives voted to eliminate it -- agents are positioning to be ready if those players forgo remaining eligibility.
Agents are crisscrossing the country meeting with players, coaches, advisers and parents as the decision-making process reaches its apex. Recruiting -- similar to college recruiting -- consists of agents' making their pitch: selling their best clients, best contracts and best connections to NFL management. And, of course, few agents are above letting the player know about weaknesses of the competition. In such a competitive environment, especially for top players, some agents use "whatever means necessary," leading to unscrupulous behavior and payments.
A powerful recruiting tool that has surfaced in recent years is the "marketing guarantee." That's money from the agent to the player -- I have heard of guarantees of up to $2 million -- to be set off against future marketing revenue delivered by the agent. And, of course, if the agent is unable to secure the initial amount given to the player in marketing income, the player still keeps that money.
There is always the push-pull with bigger agencies and smaller agents: Bigger groups sell influence and contacts; smaller agents sell personal attention. Ultimately, a player's choice comes down to comfort level, gut feel, or the fact that the agent represented a friend or teammate.
These agent decisions will all be made in the coming weeks, with the potential futures of the players -- and the agents -- at stake. Choose wisely.CLOSE Two men sentenced in stomping death at elementary school
Robert Kelly (Photo: Kent Co. Jail)
"We are sorry."
"We wish we could bring him back."
"We never meant to kill him."
Those were the statements in Kent County Circuit Court on Tuesday from Robert Kelly, 18, and Domnard White, 17, after watching cell phone video that showed them beating and kicking Scott Simerson into a coma.
Kelly and White were in court for sentencing after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Last May, Simerson was watching over some children on a playground at Sibley School in Grand Rapids. When he noticed some older boys he thought were harassing the children, he moved the children away. That's when he was attacked by White, Kelly and 2 juveniles.
"Mr. Simerson was surrounded by 4 young men looking for all the world like they were wolves closing in on their prey," Judge Donald Johnston said after the prosecution played the cell phone video of the assault. "They ganged up on him striking blows, kicking him and causing his death."
Before sentencing, Simerson's father, Edward Simerson, asked the judge to impose stiff punishment.
"They were so nonchalant about it," he said, sobbing. "I would like you to use the maximum sentence. We can't bring Scott back but I would like justice for my son."
White and Kelly also addressed the court.
"I just want to say I am sorry to the victim and the family," White said. "It was never our intent to do what happened."
"I take full responsibility for my actions," Kelly said. "I just apologize to the family. I can't bring him back. I wish I could."
Simerson was in a coma from May until August, when he died from his injuries.
After pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter 18-year-old Robert Kelly, who has prior convictions for assault, was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison.
Donmard White (Photo: Kent Co. Jail)
Domnard White, 17, who came forward and cooperated with investigators, was given a 3.5- to 15-year sentence.
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1EnVONfBidoof walks on the brige
Bidoof walks on the brige. "hi bidoof" sed a other bidoof. "not much what is up with you bidoof" sed bidoof. "nothing really, I just felt like talking walks" sed bidoof. "that's cool can I walk with you" sed bidoof. "sure you can but u have 2 keep up, lol" sed bidoof. Bidoof and bidoof walked together. They goed to the pond and swims together. "ah I like 2 swim alot" sed bidoof. "me 2" sed bidoof. "bidoof why are you talking to urself" sed bidoof. "oh sorry nvm" sed bidoof. "well actually I do like 2 swim alot 2" sed bidoof. "that's cool" sed bidoof. "do you think it is ok 2 leik pokemon with the same sign by their name? You know like we both have that blue 1, but is it ok if we like really like eachother" sed bidoof. "ew no I don't like u that way bidoof" sed bidoof. "well, uh, I was just asking if its ok" sed bidoof. "I has been think, bidoof. I wants 2 evolve cuz there is 1ly so much I cando as bidoof…" sed bidoof. "but, but…"sed bidoof. "I thinks we are friend! Wat will I do when you aren't bidoof!" sed bidoof. "time make you older, even pokemon get older. I am getting older, 2" sed bidoof. "I don't wanna grow up!" sed bidoof. "look, I cant halp it if I am matures and you isnt" sed bidoof. "urnt the sam!!" sed bidoof. "look, I am sorry. But things change, bidoof. Wearent the same people we were wen wewere kids and swims in pond" sed bidoof. "wat" sed bidoof. "oh sorry. But uh, I guess this is gud buy"sed bidoof. Bidoof started cry as bidoof left
The next day bidoof was on a brige. "bidoof, is that you?" sed bidoof. "no, Ir biberil noa, sorry, kid" sed biberil. "but, no!! ur still teh same pokemonn on the insiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddddddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!1" shot bidoof. "bidoof, I am at level 22 noa. Wernt children anymoar. Let urself evolve" sed biberil. "no, I like being bidoof" sed bidoof. "oh I am better tan you noa. I DONT NED YOU ANYMOAR" sed biberal. "wat, u havnt got any old! We still same age!" shot bidoof. "yeah, well we are both level 22. xcept I act my level nd u act leik a level 9!!" sed biberal. "YEAH WELL IN SUPER SMASH BROS LEVEL 9 IS STRONGEST"sed bidoof. "YEAH WELL IF THERE WAS A LEVEL 22 IN SUPER SMASH BROS WOULDN'T IT BE STRONGER TAN A LEVEL9" SEd biberil. "I DIDN'T THINK THAT AT THE TIME I TALKS" sed bidoof. "WELL I WIN HAHA" sed biberil. "I not ur frnd no more" crys bidoof. "GOD CUZ I DONT WANT FRINEDS WITH IDIOT" SED BIBERIL. ANdthey stop beings friend 4ever.Owney (ca. 1887 – June 11, 1897), was a Border terrier adopted as the first unofficial postal mascot by the Albany, New York, post office about 1888. The Albany mail professionals recommended the dog to their Railway Mail Service colleagues, and he became a nationwide mascot for nine years (1888–97).[1] He traveled throughout the 48 contiguous United States and voyaged around the world traveling over 140,000 miles in his lifetime as a mascot of the Railway Post Office and the United States Postal Service. He is best known for being the subject of commemorative activities, including a 2011 U.S. postage stamp.[2]
Story [ edit ]
Unofficial mascot [ edit ]
Owney belonged to a clerk at the Albany post office who would often come with him to work. Owney seemed to love the smell of the mail bags and would sleep on the bags. The clerk quit the Albany post office but knew that Owney was happier at the post office with the mail bags.[3]
Owney usually slept on the mail bags and when they were moved, Owney went with them. He was considered to be good luck by postal railway clerks, since no train he ever rode on was in a wreck.[4] He was a welcome addition in any railway post office; he was a faithful guardian of railway mail and the bags it was carried in, and would not allow anyone other than mail clerks to touch the bags.[4][5]
This was an important duty and Owney was well-situated for it, as the Albany train station was a key division point on the New York Central railroad system, one of the two largest railroads in the U.S. at that time. Mail trains from Albany rolled eastward to Boston, south to New York City, and westward to Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, and points further west. As a contemporary book recounted: "The terrier 'Owney' travels from one end of the country to the other in the postal cars, tagged through, petted, talked to, looked out for, as a brother, almost. But sometimes, no matter what the attention, he suddenly departs for the south, the east, or the west, and is not seen again for months."[5] In 1893 he was feared dead after having disappeared, but it turned out he was involved in an accident in Canada.[5]
Owney with some of his dog tags
Owney on mail pouch
As Owney's trips grew longer, the postal clerks at Albany became concerned that the dog be identified, and, if necessary returned to them. They bought a dog collar with a metal tag that read: "Owney, Post Office, Albany, New York". To this collar, the various railway post offices that saw Owney added individual dog tags. The collar and tags made the mixed-breed terrier the unofficial mascot of the U.S. Railway Mail Service, and as shown by the 2011 postage stamp issued in his honor, his identifications became an essential element of his identity.[4]
Owney received tags everywhere he went, and as he moved they jingled like sleigh bells.[6] He received from Winnona Kilbridge of the Los Angeles Kennel Club a medal for "Best Traveled Dog" of 1893.[7] Owney received in 1894 from a Mr. William Winter Wagner of Chicago a "Globe Trotter" medal.[8] His collection of tags grew so large that United States Postmaster General John Wanamaker gave him a coat to display them all.[9][10] Wanamaker also announced that Owney was then the Official Mascot of the Rail Mail Service.[11] It is said to be impossible to know how many dog tags and medals Owney received. Despite the jacket, the mass became impossible for the small dog to carry. Clerks would remove tags and forward them to Albany or Washington D.C. for safekeeping. One source suggests that 1,017 medals and tokens were bestowed upon the mascot.[12] Some of these tags did not survive; the National Postal Museum currently has 372 Owney tags in its collections.[4] Other Owney tokens, trinkets, and medals are also in the NPM collection and are displayed there.[4]
One of Owney's services "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty" reported is when he stayed behind to protect a mail pouch that had accidentally fallen out of a wagon during a delivery route he was on. When the clerks returned to the main Post Office after the deliveries, not only was a bag of mail missing but so was Owney. They backtracked their steps and eventually found Owney lying on top of the mailbag. Owney guarded the mail pouch until someone from the Post Office showed up.[13]
International mail [ edit ]
One of his more famous trips was to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There the postmaster kept him in a kennel. A demand was sent to Albany, New York for payment for the $2.50 that was incurred in feeding him. The sum was collected, and Owney was sent back home.[14]
The Universal Postal Union was created by treaty in 1874 to standardize the shipping and handling of international mail; adherence to this pact by an increasing number of countries around what was then called the "civilized world" made it possible to extend Owney's horizons a bit. In 1895, the terrier enjoyed an around-the-world trip, riding with mail bags aboard trains and steamships. Starting from Tacoma, Washington, on August 19, he traveled for four months throughout Asia and across Europe, before returning to New York City on December 23 and from thence to Albany.[4][15] Upon his return during Christmas week, the Los Angeles Times reported that he visited Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East.[16] Another report claimed the Emperor of Japan awarded the dog two passports and several medals bearing the Japanese coat of arms. Owney's triumphant return to American shores was covered by newspapers nationwide.[17][18] Owney became world famous after the trip, even though he broke no speed records in doing it.[4][18]
Death and honors [ edit ]
As Owney aged, Post Office management came to believe that his traveling days were over. Mail clerk J. M. Elben, of St. Louis, agreed to take him in,[4] and the influential Chicago manager of the Railway Mail Service, using insulting language to refer to the "mongrel cur", asked his employees not to allow him to ride on future mail trains.[4] Owney had by this time traveled more than 143,000 miles (230,000 km) in his lifetime.[4][15] Unnamed St. Louis letter carriers appear to have passively-aggressively resisted this executive guidance, and in summer 1897 Owney boarded a mail train one final time. The exact details of the incident which led to his death are unclear, but according to the National Postal Museum website, "Owney rode the train one last time before he died." Newspapers around the country carried the story of Owney's death. They reported that Owney had been ill and had become aggressive in his old age. In June 1897, after allegedly attacking a postal clerk and a U.S. Marshal in Toledo, Ohio, Owney was shot and killed on the orders of the local postmaster.[4][19][20] The Chicago Tribune termed it "an execution".[21] The contemporary accounts suggest that a postal clerk in Toledo chained Owney to a post in the corner of a basement at a post office in Toledo, which was not his normal treatment. That clerk then called in a reporter for the local paper to get a story. Owney may not have been used to that treatment and that may have contributed to his aggression. Whatever the reason, it is not disputed that Owney was put down in Toledo on 11 June 1897.
Owney's death made public that a gap existed between the workplace attitudes of U.S. postal clerks and their management, with the deceased dog serving as a focus of this gap. The 1890s were a foundational decade for the new discipline of scientific management, with consultants like Frederick Winslow Taylor seeking to help managers reduce what they saw as industrial inefficiencies by examining workers' "wasted time" and "slacking". Postal clerks used Owney's death, and the expressions of sadness contained in press obituaries in honor of the dog, to make a statement: "Postal clerks refused to bury their beloved mascot. Clerks across the country asked that the dog receive the honor they considered he was due by being preserved and presented to the Post Office Department's headquarters."[22] Owney's remains were preserved and sent for taxidermy.[4] In 1904, Owney's effigy was displayed by the Postal Service at the St. Louis World's Fair. A commemorative silver spoon was commissioned by Cleveland, Ohio postal workers and fashioned by "Webb C. Ball Co. Cleveland.O."[23]
Owney is the subject of an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum.[20][24] He was sent there in 1911, and has been called one of the museum's "most interesting" artifacts.[A][22] His remains deteriorated over the intervening century, and were (along with associated artifacts) given an extensive makeover in 2011.[25][B] One of the Smithsonian's employees opined the makeover a success, and called its culmination "the big reveal".[26]
On July 27, 2011, the United States Postal Service issued a forever stamp honoring Owney.[27][28][29] Artist Bill Bond said he wanted to render the dog "in a spirited and lively" presentation, and that he wound up working from the mounted remains, as numerous trips to dog parks left him uninspired.[9] Owney was also honored locally at the Albany, New York post office.[30] The stamp was also central to an augmented reality app for Windows, Apple iPhone, iPad 2 and iPod Touch.[31]
Like his contemporary Australian counterpart— Bob the Railway Dog active from 1881–1894[32]— he was the subject of poetry. One was from a clerk in Detroit:
Owney is a tramp, as you can plainly see. Only treat him kindly, and take him 'long wid ye."[4]
Another was penned by a clerk in Minnesota:
"On'y one Owney, and this is he; the dog is aloney, so let him be."[4]
Owney has been the main character in five hard cover books, and one e-book published by the National Postal Museum (of the Smithsonian Institution) in 2012 titled, Owney: Tales from the Rails, written by Jerry Rees with songs by Stephen Michael Schwartz and illustrations by Fred Cline. The book is narrated and songs are performed by Trace Adkins.[14] http://www.npm.si.edu/owneyebook/
See also [ edit ]
Bibliography [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]The Monitor's "Senate elections 101" series looks at the specific issues that will be driving voters in each of the 10 tossup races.
It’s just a fact: In what has been a solidly red state, ex-CEO David Perdue, who is squaring off against Michelle Nunn for a Senate seat being vacated by Republican Saxby Chambliss, failed to put the Democrat away early, thus making Tuesday one of the most interesting, and nationally important, Georgia contests in decades.
An ideological struggle on the campaign trail has been augmented by a sense of dynasty. Ms. Nunn, after all, is the daughter of former US Sen. Sam Nunn and Mr. Perdue is the first cousin of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Despite that kind of name recognition, Nunn, who paints herself as an independent and who for years ran George H.W. Bush’s Points of Light charity, should have struggled more for purchase in a state that solidly voted for Mitt Romney two years ago. (The GOP has won all statewide elections in Georgia since 2002, the year Georgians finally forgave the Republicans for Reconstruction.)
Perdue has worked hard to paint Nunn as a puppet of the Obama administration, while pointing to his own experience as a job creator. But Perdue provided the quip of the campaign when it emerged he said in a 2005 deposition that "I spent most of my career" outsourcing, including while running Pillowtex, a North Carolina |
is not clear whether this happens in practice.North American P-82 Twin Mustang
The P-82 came about as a result of a USAAF requirement for a very long range escort fighter for operations in the Pacific, especially to escort the B-29s all the way to Japan and back. The purpose of having two pilots was as a relief against fatigue on the long overwater missions. Only 20 of the 500 ordered had been built before the war's end brought a cancellation to the contracts, but 250 more were built in 1946. Part of this order was for a night fighter version (with a radar operator instead of a second pilot) which was made to replace the Northrop P-61 Black Widow. The P-82 was renamed the F-82 in 1948, and a U.S. F-82 shot down the first enemy aircraft of the Korean War.
For more data on this aircraft, click here for Joe Baugher's webpage.
USAF archives on the F-82 (same aircraft), click here.
Additional information on this aircraft can be found at Wikipedia here.
(updated February 2009)
North American P-82 Twin Mustang
Type: Fighter Crew: 2, Pilot, co-pilot/radar operator Armament: six.50 cal machine guns Specifications: Length: 42' 5" (12.93 m) Height: 13' 10" (4.22 m) Wing span: 51' 3" (15.62 m) Wing area: 408 sq. ft (37.90 sq. m) Empty Weight: 15,997 lbs (7256 kg) Takeoff Weight: 25,591 lbs (11,608 kg) maximum Propulsion: No. of Engines: 2 Powerplant: Allison V-1710-143/145 inline Horsepower: 1600 hp each Performance: Range: 2240 miles (3605 km) Cruise Speed: 286 mph (460 km/hr) Max Speed: 461 mph (762 km/hr) at 21,000 ft. Ceiling: 38,900 ft (11,855 m)
(go to North American page)Introduction
This page provides a small user interface to the StarGen program. It's purpose is three-fold:
to allow users with no other access the ability to generate systems,
to demonstrate how StarGen command line options are constructed,
to share experimental features with users who are helping me develop them.
pink
This interface does not include all the options and features that StarGen supports, but it does provide what I believe to be the most common, or with which I am seeing assistance. The experimental sections are highlighted inin the Control Panel. If you are here to just learn about StarGen, you'll want to use those sections only after you fully understand the rest.
StarGen Control Panel Catalog: None Dole SolStation All The Solar System Alpha Centauri A Alpha Centauri B Epsilon Eridani 61 Cygni A Tau Ceti 40 Eridani A 70 Ophiuchi A Sigma Draconis HR 5568 Eta Cassiopeiae A HR 7703 (HJ 5173) A 82 Eridani Delta Pavonis HR 8832 Xi Bootis A HR 753 A BD+04 123 (HR 222) Beta Hydri 107 Piscium Pi3 Orionis A p Eridani A p Eridani B Chara Xi Ursae Majoris Ba 61 Virginis Zeta Tucanae Chi1 Orionis A 41 Arae A BD-05 1123 (HR 1614) A CD-27 14659 (HR 7722) Gamma Leporis A Beta Comae Berenices Kappa Ceti Gamma Pavonis HR 4523 61 Ursae Majoris CD-32 8179 (HR 4458) 12 Ophiuchi BD+63 238 (HR 511) Alpha Mensae Zeta 1 Reticuli Zeta 2 Reticuli 44 Bootis A 47 Ursae Majoris Iota Horologii Epsilon Indi 70 Ophiuchi B 36 Ophiuchi A 36 Ophiuchi B MLO 4 (HR 6426) A BD-05 1844 A All The Solar System Alpha Centauri A Alpha Centauri B Epsilon Eridani Tau Ceti 70 Ophiuchi A Eta Cassiopeiae A Sigma Draconis 36 Ophiuchi A 36 Ophiuchi B HR7703 A Delta Pavonis 82 Eridani Beta Hydri HR8832 HR753 A Filter: Output all systems Only systems with habitable worlds Only systems with 2 habitable worlds Only systems with earth-like worlds Options: Set random number seed: Specific stellar mass (.2-1.5): Repeat count: Increment each seed by: Use atmosphere model Use highly experimental moon code Use experimental CSV file output Use experimental SVG graphics
The table to the left contains a number of controls that will allow you to specify the number and types of systems that you want to create. As you do so, it will build a StarGen command line at the bottom of the table.
If you press the "stargen" button to the right of the command line options, a CGI script will run and the resultant systems will be displayed in this window. You should be able to use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page.
Catalog
Your first choice of options is whether you want to use a real star (or set of stars) to build your system(s) around. In the top row there is a menu offering three Catalog options: None, Dole and SolStation. If you select None, then you can either specify the stellar mass to use, or leave it to StarGen to generate a random mass. On the other hand, if you choose either Dole or SolStation, then a second menu will appear, allowing you to choose stars from the corresponding catalog. This will also disable the ability to specify a stellar mass.
The Dole catalog consists of 15 stars listed by Stephen Dole in his book Habitable Planets for Man, upon which many elements of StarGen are based. These are the nearby stars that he suggested were most likely to have planets that could support human life. You can either choose an individual star from this catalog or generate a system for every star in the catalog.
So, suppose you want to create a setting for a game or science fiction story, or just want to explore the possibilities of life in the nearby universe. You might select Dole and All in the two menus in the top row. This will make -d appear in the text box at the bottom. Pressing the stargen button in the lower left is the same as issuing the command “ stargen -d ” in a command line environment. Try that now, remembering that you can get back to this page by using the Back button on your browser.
When you do so, this page should be replaced by one similar to the one shown in the picture to the right. The number and type of planets in each system will be different from the picture, but each system in the Dole catalog should be represented. Not only will the planets be different from the ones I generated for the picture, but if you come back to this page and issue the very same command, the results should be different from the results you got the first time. This is fine if you are exploring the possibilities of StarGen and the Dole catalog, but if you are doing this to generate a game world or fictional setting, you will probably want to be able to come back to the same system. This is what the Set random number seed field is for.
Set random number seed
In order to create the systems, StarGen uses a pseudo-random number generator, which is a function that produces a series of numbers that are not obviously related to each other. Since a mathematical formula is used, the sequence is the same each time it is calculated. The function actually takes one number and produces the next one in the sequence. You can specify the first number used for a system. If you don't, the program picks one based on the time of day in seconds.
So, say you want a reproducible set of systems. Select Dole and All again, this time put a number like 42 in the Set random number seed box. Press the stargen button. This should produce a set of systems that you can come back to again and again. It is the equivalent of using the “ stargen -d -s42 ”.
Stellar Mass
If you have not chosen a Catalog, you can instead enter a Specific Stellar Mass to be used for all the stars you generate. Please note that stellar mass in StarGen is limited to the range from 0.2 to 1.5 solar masses. This is because of the assumptions made years ago by the folks at the Rand Corporation who constructed the original model. They were interested in understanding the possible distribution of habitable planets among the stars. Because of this, they ruled out stars that are two large, which will not have a stable temperature long enough for life to evolve and stars that are two small and so will have a habitable zone so close to the star that the planet's rotation will be slowed to a stop.
There is a second limitation regarding mass inherent in the basic StarGen model. The way StarGen creates a solar system is by simulating the formation of planets in an "accretion disc", a ring of gas and dust thought to surround newly formed stars. The model that the Accrete program upon which StarGen is based generates the initial disk based uses to initially distribute the mass around a star results in a disk that seldom generates large enough planets close enough in to very small stars to be within the habitable zone. As a result, I have never seen a habitable planet generated around a star with a mass of less than about.63 solar masses.
I have considered raising the 0.2 solar mass limitation, but I am considering changes to StarGen that might allow suitable planets to show up around these smaller stars. The observations of actual extra-solar planets resulted in the surprising discovery that gas giants are often see far closer to their stars than previous theory or StarGen's model would allow. One possibility that has been suggested is that these planets formed further out but had their orbits disrupted, resulting in them falling to a lower orbit. It I put logic in to simulate that, suitable earth-sized planets may migrate close enough to these smaller stars. Until then masses in the 0.2 to 0.625 range are probably not useful.
Atmosphere Model
If you want a little more detail to flesh the planets in your setting out, you could try adding in the atmosphere model. (Technically, the model is still "experimental", but it has been a feature for years and should not go away, though it may be changed. No need to hesitate to use it.) This changes both the thumbnail display and the full planet descriptions. The thumbnails will include descriptions of whether the atmosphere is breathable or poisonous and so on.
In the main descriptions, it turns this:
Molecular weight retained 5.2 and above N, O, CH 4, NH 3, H 2 O, Ne, N 2, CO...
into this:
Molecular weight retained 5.2 and above N, O, CH 4, NH 3, H 2 O, Ne, N 2, CO... Nitrogen 87.8% 1602 mb (ipp: 1547) Oxygen 11.1% 202 mb (ipp: 195) Argon 1.0% 19 mb (ipp: 18)
The presence of the Inspired Partial Pressure figure allows StarGen to make some judgments about the breathability of the atmosphere.
Repeat Count
Now suppose the game or story you want to create a setting for takes place in particular star system and you have some particular requirement, like a high-gravity world, or a cold one. This is what the Repeat count field is for. You can generate several versions of the same system and then choose the one you need. To see this, choose Dole and instead of All, pick a specific star from the second menu, say Tau Ceti. This will change the options listed in the text box at the bottom to -D4 (4 is Tau Ceti. If you pick another star the number will be different.)
Hitting the stargen button at this point will generate just a single system. Adding a specific seed will make this reproducible, but if the result isn't what you're looking for you need to keep trying different seeds until you find what you're looking for. Try this now: set the seed to 42, and the Repeat count to 10. This time you'll get 10 versions of Tau Ceti.
Filter
The problem with just doing this is that if you're looking for a particular type of planet, you'll have to wade through a lot of systems, most without habitable planets. To make this easier you can select Only systems with habitable worlds from the menu in the second line. This will change the command line options to “ stargen -D4 -s42 -n10 -H ”, and greatly reduce the number of systems generated. Try it. This should produce only 1 or 2 thumbnails. At the bottom of the page will be a table summarizing the results. It will look something like this:
Summary Earthlike planets 0 Breathable atmospheres 2 Breathable g range 0.78 - 0.81 Terrestrial g range 0.81 - 0.81 Breathable pressure range 303.55 - 365.29 Breathable temp range -26.7 C - -7.9 C
Now that only habitable planets will be listed, you can afford to generate more systems without filling up the disk and the Thumbnails page with tons of useless systems. So, let's pump the count up to something like 200. This will give us options of “ stargen -D4 -s42 -n200 -H ”. Consulting the summary we can see that a small cool star like Tau Ceti tends to create smaller colder worlds. So, if we want larger or warmer planets we may want to use a different star, say Delta Pavonis:
Tau Ceti Systems
-D4 -s42 -n200 -H Summary Earthlike planets 2 Breathable atmospheres 43 Breathable g range 0.74 - 1.19 Terrestrial g range 0.74 - 1.09 Breathable pressure range 220.13 - 3375.09 Breathable temp range -26.7 C - -1.0 C Delta Pavonis Systems
-D11 -s42 -n200 -H Summary Earthlike planets 6 Breathable atmospheres 63 Breathable g range 0.75 - 1.29 Terrestrial g range 0.75 - 1.29 Breathable pressure range 201.39 - 4388.83 Breathable temp range -27.6 C - +5.2 C
Systems with two planets with breathable atmospheres are even more rare, but are dramatically quite interesting. We therefore have an option that is useful in searching for them. The Filter can also be set to Only systems with 2 habitable worlds. If you do so with the Catalog set to Dole and All the random number seed to 5, the Repeat count to 100 and check Only systems with 2 habitable worlds and optionally Use experimental atmosphere model (this last isn't required as both habitability filters imply the gas model) the options become " -d -s5 -n100 -g -2 ", and the results should look like this:
System 42 - Thumbnails Eta Cassiopeiae A 8 Planets ( size proportional to Sqrt(Radius) ) See
Key #3 Terrestrial: Low-G, Cold, Few clouds, Thin atmosphere (O 2, N 2 - breathable) #4 Terrestrial: Cold, Few clouds, Thick atmosphere (N 2, He, O 2 - breathable)
Summary Earthlike planets 42 Breathable atmospheres 259 Breathable g range 0.73 - 1.27 Terrestrial g range 0.73 - 1.27 Breathable pressure range 193.16 - 4275.93 Breathable temp range -28.1 C - +8.1 C Breathable illumination range 0.50 - 1.24 Terrestrial illumination range 0.50 - 1.24
As you can see, this has reduced more than 250 habitable systems to just the one that has at least 2 planets with breathable atmospheres according to the gas model. Notice that the system is part of a binary star system. I'm not entirely certain why, but this tends to be the case. Most systems with 2 habitable planets are in binary pairs. I think this is because the accretion disc is narrower and more even in thickness.
Moons This piece of code is the most experimental feature available from this page. It is incomplete, under active development and produces impossible results. It is accessible here at this point solely so that a couple of people who have collaborated with me on StarGen can view the output of my latest attempt at moons. This option is under development and may change radically without notice. Regard it as an undocumented alpha test feature.(ANSA) - Rome, July 13 - A group of mysterious benefactors from the Far East have restored to its previous splendor a part of the 16th-century Villa Giulia that formerly attracted the likes of Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo and other intellectuals of the period. The "small miracle" was carried out at the Renaissance villa ordered built by Pope Julius III that now houses the Museo Nazionale Etrusco. The most important artists of the time took part in its design and construction between 1550 and 1555. For the past few weeks, visitors have been surprised by the restored nymphaeum, the heart of the splendid gardens with a fountain designed and sculpted by Vasari and Bartolomeo Ammannati, caryatids holding up the Travertine marble balcony and a mosaic dedicated to Triton. "Everything began in 2014," ANSA was told by Alfonsina Russo, superintendent for archaeology, architecture and landscape of the metropolitan area of Rome, Viterbo and southern Etruria, which until a ministry reform a few months ago was headquartered in Villa Giulia. "I had long been seeking help for the nymphaeum," she said.
"Not only had it turned grey and was plagued by moss and mold, but initial structural problems had also arisen, especially with the mosaic." Then, following an evening, a concert with a Japanese delegation and a visit to Villa Giulia, a surprise offer arose to fund the restoration. Some 25,000 euros were given on the condition that the group of Japanese entrepreneurs remain anonymous. Work commenced in September 2015 under the Kavalik consortium. "The most difficult battle," said restorer Antonio Giglio, who worked alongside Alessandro Ferradini and Kristian Schneider, "was against the vegetation. On one hand, we had to eliminate the algae with powerful biocides so that they would not grow back, while on the other hand, we wanted to save the plants in the niches." The Triton mosaic was later focused on, a small masterpiece from the Roman era that had " probably been part of a larger floor of - possibly a thermal building", which due to the yielding of its structural support had begun to lose its millennia-old black and white tiles. "We had been used to seeing the nymphaeum entirely of one color, since the floor had become black," Russo said. "But one elderly employee spoke about it having had colors and some of the ancient drawings rose doubts." After several cleanings, a wide range of colors emerged that brought out the white of the eight caryatids, which Giglio noted "are not all the same. We used to see them as very serious but the four in the second row are clearly laughing". Russo said that art historians may know the reason, but perhaps "they symbolize the dualism between tragedy and comedy in classical art." The nymphaeum was originally created as a sort of "theater of water" for actors and musicians. Russo added that the funders had not even wanted to be thanked in an official inauguration.by Cobin Szymanski | Acapulco, Mexico
The turquoise waves crash on the beautiful sandy beach of a quintessential Acapulco resort. However, unbeknownst to the tourists soaking up the sun, there is a war raging, a war that will change that fate of the city. On an adjacent beach in the less prosperous area, there is a mangled body of an innocent human, a human with a family. The blood runs back into the waves on each oscillation creating an appalling scene. He was a beachwear seller trying to make a living in the ever failing Mexican economy. His murderer arrived on a jet ski and released three rounds in a quick succession creating an incredibly offensive scene. The body is cleared and the beachgoers return to the commonplace exploit of swimming. They swim amongst the blood of another soul taken by the cartels.
The kids splash in the waves enjoying the pleasure of swimming. The parents watch enveloped in angst, fearful of telling their children what just happened on that beach. The resorts next to the beach remain impeccable despite them ailing from dwindling profits. This, due to the ever prevalent gang violence in Acapulco, has dissuaded many from traveling there. The family leaves the beach back to their home on the other side of the fence separating the affluent and paupers. This is only one story of the many innocent people killed and affected daily by gangs in Acapulco, Mexico.
Perhaps the saddest thing is that it wasn’t always like this — the cartels in Acapulco used to be discreet about their illicit activities, but now, it is as blatant as ever. Fifteen years ago the economy was thriving and Acapulco was a party town accommodating famous celebrities such as the Kennedys. It was the town that Frank Sinatra sang about. The beaches were strewn with beachgoers with families from around the world enjoying the world class beaches. However, while the tourists were enjoying the ocean, crime was taking place. The drug cartel in the area, the Beltran Leyvas, operated in a nuclear fashion with close knit groups and a strict hierarchy; there was little to no internal skirmishing. This was true until around fifteen years ago when the gang broke up and formed groups with less propinquity. That is when the violence and degradation began.
While nobody knows what sparked the descent of Acapulco into lawlessness, one thing is for certain; it started at La Garita. The gunfight left the street dilapidated and with bodies strewn on the streets. It was a fight between rival international gangs and it made one thing certain — things were getting worse. With gang activity in the area becoming much more active and less conspicuous, the economy started to suffer. The once famous resorts started to leave and the businesses failed. Then, Mexican president Felipe Calderon declared war on all organized crime and gangs. This splintered the long standing criminal organizations and anarchy arose. Small level gangs arose from the ashes and started with crime more dangerous to the innocent citizens. With extortion on the rise and crime becoming much more prevalent people began to wonder if they would ever be safe.
While the consternation has continued, the homicide has as well, with a record high twelve murders a day on average. Murder is not the only crime occurring, though; in fact, extortion has risen to the top with businesses and individuals being threatened to pay up or be killed. This has lead to the closing of some 2000 businesses according to local trade associations. The families and businesses are concerned they will no longer be able to pay extortions due to the ever present issue of poverty. Further, parents are perturbed about their children unknowingly walking into rival gang territory and being shot. The once organized hierarchal gangs have now given way to strictly independent freelancers belonging to disjointed and loosely coordinated street gangs. This has lead to mistaken identities and gang battles fought on streets once home to children. The future is looking grim for Acapulco, but there are solutions on the horizon.
The gang violence and drug trafficking issues that have been pervading the nation of Mexico for decades have many proposed solutions. The most feasible and viable options range from curbing corruption to addressing ever present inequality. The country of Mexico has long been known for its surreptitious government and judicial practices; the Christian Science Monitor reported that curbing government corruption could help dissipate the gangs and eventually rid the country of them. They stated, “It is imperative to give individuals and companies confidence in our legal system, which is now slow, unorganized, and unable to deliver justice impartially.” Giving businesses and families confidence in an impartial hearing could make it auspicious for them to refrain from resorting to violence.
The ever present issue of spatial inequality and poverty has also afflicted Mexico and given rise to many forms of gang violence. When kids feel like they have no place to go or future, they turn to the cartels. With the Mexican recession in 2009 causing poverty to become more prevalent than usual, kids and adults turned to gangs. The Mexican post secondary education system is in dire need of renovation with the programs and building becoming dilapidated the kids are suffering. When people fail to acquire an education, the prospects of finding a job are despondent at best. While many have suggested an enlargement in welfare and education funding the Mexican economy continues to grow leaving the poor in the dust. If Mexico seeks to curb gang violence and forge a better relationship with the U.S. it will be necessary for it to undergo extensive government reform and increase the welfare and education budget.
In conclusion, the prospects for many in Acapulco are grim and as a result, it is quite ubiquitous for people to turn to gangs for a source of income. However, this has lead to an ailing population of children and families seeking refuge from gun battles and extortion. However, one thing is for certain — if Mexico seeks to free itself from the grip of violence, the paupers will need to take the spotlight.
Works Cited
Alasdair Baverstock In Acapulco For Mailonline. “EXCLUSIVE Bloodbath on the Beaches: The Mexican Drug Gangs Riding on JET SKIS to Blast Victims in ‘James Bond-style’ Executions in Acapulco Where 12 Murders Take Place Every Day.” Daily Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 01 Mar. 2016. Web. 02 Sept. 2017.
Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexican Presidential Candidate. “5 Solutions for Mexico’s Drug Violence and Security Challenges.” The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 04 June 2012. Web. 02 Sept. 2017.
“How Acapulco Became Mexico’s Murder Capital.” The Washington Post. WP Company. Web. 02 Sept. 2017.
“III.3a OECD: General Services Support Estimate by Country.” Print.
“Mexico’s Economic Collapse.” NACLA. Web. 02 Sept. 2017.
Semple, Kirk. “28 Dead and 3 Wounded After Brawl at Mexican Prison.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 July 2017. Web. 02 Sept. 2017.
Advertisements
Like this: Like Loading...The Scientology Handbook
Scientology fundamentals for daily use in every part of life. Encompassing 19 separate bodies of technology, here is the most comprehensive manual ever published on the basics of life.
Drugs and Their Effects on the Mind
Drugs essentially are poisons. The degree they are taken determines the effect. A small amount gives a stimulant (increases activity). A greater amount acts as a sedative (suppresses activity). A larger amount acts as a poison and can kill one.
This is true of any drug. Each requires a different amount.
Caffeine is a drug, so coffee is an example. One hundred cups of coffee would probably kill a person. Ten cups would probably put him to sleep. Two or three cups stimulates. This is a very common drug. It is not very harmful as it takes so much of it to have an effect. So it is known as a stimulant.
Arsenic is known as a poison. Yet a tiny amount of arsenic is a stimulant, a good-sized dose puts one to sleep and a few grains kills one.
But there are many drugs which have another liability: they directly affect the mind.
In order to have a good understanding of the mental effects of drugs, it is necessary to know something about what the mind is. The mind is not a brain. It is the accumulated recordings of thoughts, conclusions, decisions, observations and perceptions of a person throughout his entire existence. In Scientology it has been discovered that the mind is a communication and control system between a thetan and his environment. By thetan is meant the person himself, the spiritual being – not his body or his name, the physical universe, his mind, or anything else.
The most obvious portion of the mind is recognizable by anyone not in serious condition. This is the mental image picture.
Various phenomena connect themselves with this entity called the mind. Some people closing their eyes see only blackness, some people see pictures.
The mind is a communication and control system between a thetan and his environment. The mind is not a brain.
The thetan receives, by the communication system called the mind, various impressions, including direct views of the physical universe. In addition to this he receives impressions from past activities and, most important, he himself conceives things about the past and future which are independent of immediately present stimuli.
A person who has taken drugs, in addition to the physical factors involved, retains mental image pictures of those drugs and their effects. Mental image pictures are three-dimensional color pictures with sound and smell and all other perceptions, plus the conclusions or speculations of the individual. They are mental copies of one’s perceptions sometime in the past, although in cases of unconsciousness or lessened consciousness they exist below the individual’s awareness. For example, a person who had taken LSD would retain “pictures” of that experience in his mind, complete with recordings of the sights, physical sensations, smells, sounds, etc., that occurred while he was under the influence of LSD.
Let us say an individual took LSD one day while at a fairground with some friends, and the day’s experiences included feeling nauseated and dizzy, getting into an argument with a friend, feeling an emotion of sadness, and later feeling very tired. He would have mental image pictures of that entire incident.
At a later time, if this person’s environment were to contain enough similarities to the elements in that past incident, he may experience a reactivation of that incident. As a result he could feel nauseated, dizzy, sad and very tired – all for no apparent reason. This is known as restimulation: the reactivation of a past memory due to similar circumstances in the present approximating circumstances of the past.
Such mental image pictures can also be reactivated by drug residuals, as the presence of these drugs in the tissues of the body can simulate the earlier drug experiences.
Using the above example of the person who took LSD, sometime later – perhaps years afterward – the residuals of the drug that are still in his body tissues can cause a restimulation of that LSD incident. The mental image pictures are reactivated, and he experiences the same sensations of nausea, dizziness and tiredness, and he feels sad. He does not know why. He might also perceive mental images of the persons he was with and the accompanying sights and sounds and smells.
These are the effects on the mind of past drug usage. However, the current use of drugs creates a similar and more immediate effect on the mind.
When a person uses a drug such as marijuana, peyote, opium, morphine or heroin, mental image pictures of past times can “turn on” or restimulate below the individual’s conscious awareness, causing him to perceive something different than what is actually going on.
Thus, right there before your eyes, apparently in the same room as you are, doing the same things, the drug-taker is really only partially there and partially in some past events.
He seems to be there. Really he isn’t “tracking” fully with present time.
What is going on to a rational observation is not what is going on to him.
Thus, he does not understand statements made by another but tries to fit them into his composite reality, meaning a reality made up of different components. In order to fit them in, he has to alter them.
Drugs affect the mind by reactivating incidents from a person’s past, below his conscious awareness.
This can distort the drug user’s perception of what is happening around him.
As a result, the person’s actions may appear very odd or irrational.
For example, a drug user may be sure he is helping one repair a floor that needs fixing, but in fact he is hindering the actual operation in progress which consists of cleaning the floor. So when he “helps one” mop the floor, he introduces chaos into the activity. Since he is repairing the floor, a request to “give me the mop” has to be reinterpreted as “hand me the hammer.” But the mop handle is longer than a hammer handle so the bucket gets upset.
This can be slight, wherein the person is seen to make occasional mistakes. It can be as serious as total insanity where the events apparent to him are completely different than those apparent to anyone else. And it can be all grades in between.
It is not that he doesn’t know what is going on. It is that he perceives something else going on instead of the present sequence of events.
Thus, others appear to him to be stupid or unreasonable or insane. As they don’t agree in their actions and orders with what he plainly sees is in progress, “they” aren’t sensible. Example: A group is moving furniture. To all but one they are simply moving furniture. This one perceives himself to be “moving geometric shapes into a cloud.” Thus, this one “makes mistakes.” As the group doesn’t see inside him and only sees another like themselves, they can’t figure out why he “balls things up so.”
Such persons as drug-takers and the insane are thus slightly or wholly on an apparently different time track of “present time” events.
A drug may be taken to drive a person out of an unbearable present time or out of consciousness altogether.
In some persons they do not afterwards return wholly to present time.
A thetan can also escape an unbearable present time by dropping into the past, even without drugs.
The drug-taker and the insane alike have not recovered present time, to a greater or lesser degree. Thus they think they are running on a different time track than they are.
These are the underlying facts in odd human behavior.
As what is going on according to the perception and subjective reality of such a person is varied in greater or lesser degree from the objective reality of others, such a person disturbs the environment and disrupts the smooth running of any group – from family to business to nation.
We have all known such a person, so it is not uncommon in the current civilization. The sudden remark which makes no sense, totally out of context with what is being spoken about; the blank stare when given an order or remark – behind these lies a whole imaginary world which is jarred by our attempts to get something done in present time.
The repercussions of drugs then, go far beyond their immediate effects and often influence many others besides the user. The consequences can be very harmful. This is true not only of illegal street drugs but also of medical drugs that are supposed to help people.The Daily Caller has a brief item today about Germany abandoning some deportations when the prospective deportees make too big a fuss. [ Germany Abandons Hundreds Of Deportations Because Migrants Scream Before Flight, by Jacob Bojesson].
Of course, I hope these amount to mere delays, not actual abandonment.
In addition, "A recent eviction of three refugees back to Guinea cost $138,000, because they were considered violent and had to go on a chartered plane." Those three were "convicted criminals," so even that tab might turn out to be a bargain, long-term, for Deutschland.
This isn't a startling, new phenomenon. I wrote about domestic cases here and here.
If we citizens of the West ever again get governments that work on our behalf, the solution for obstreperous deportees will be obvious: Sedate 'em, and ship 'em out. Deportations, ho!NEW YORK (Reuters) - Decisions, decisions.
A high school senior on Long Island has been accepted at all eight of the elite Ivy League schools - Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, he told Reuters between classes on Tuesday.
“I got into my second-to-last school - Yale - and I was just astounded,” said Kwasi Enin. “And then Harvard sent me an email and I was just so grateful.”
Now it’s time for 17-year-old to decide where to enroll. He said he has all of April to choose a school.
“I think my primary interest now is Yale,” Enin said Tuesday morning, explaining that the financial aid package the New Haven, Connecticut school offered is “close” to a full, four-year scholarship.
He is awaiting financial aid packages from some of the other schools before making the big decision.
Enin, of Shirley, New York, attends William Floyd High School in nearby Mastic, New York. The son of two nurses, he wants to study medicine, he said.
Enin said all the attention he has received for his accomplishment is as unexpected as his perfect acceptance rate.
“I thought that getting into all the Ivy Leagues schools was, like, good for me - but now it’s a national thing. It’s kind of crazy.”
This year’s Ivy League admission rate among the eight prestigious private schools was 8.925 percent, according to the Washington Post.
Of 253,472 Class of 2018 applicants, 22,624 were accepted to Ivy League schools.
That’s 22,616 if you don’t count Enin.Overbooking became infamous overnight after United Airlines made a huge reputational error in dragging a customer off a flight to make way for what turned out to be a crew member. For anyone who missed this sorry spectacle, overbooking is the practice of selling more seats for a flight than exist on the plane. The ethics of overbooking were discussed at length in the days that followed the incident, but what about the maths? In this article we describe a simple, but effective model of overbooking that makes use of the binomial distribution.
Welcome on board?
The vast majority of people who buy a ticket for a flight intend to use it but sometimes circumstances get in the way. Easyjet states that 2.6 million of its passengers didn't show up for their flight in 2016 (around 3.5%), so if |
outcomes. Nevertheless, some previous studies have shown benefits of omega-3 fatty acid treatment alone on various types of memory [14, 19], attention and processing speed [21], as well as global cognition [17], while trials with B vitamins have shown benefits on episodic memory, verbal fluency, and global cognition in people with high baseline tHcy [9, 12]. We find here that this beneficial effect of B vitamin treatment on cognition only clearly occurs in those with a good omega-3 fatty acid status. A similar interaction between omega-3 fatty acid status and B vitamin treatment was found in VITACOG for the slowing of brain atrophy rate [27]. Our previous findings revealed that cognitive scores including the HVLT-DR and TICS-M decline more rapidly in those with the most brain atrophy [36]. We discuss below the likely causal links between cognitive scores and regional brainatrophy.
On the whole, trials on the efficacy of B vitamin supplementation for cognitive impairment have produced variable and sometimes negative results (see Introduction). Our results lead us to suggest that the variable outcomes might in part be related to different omega-3 fatty acid status in the trial participants, either due to diet or supplement intake. If intake is not monitored at baseline and controlled for in the randomization of participants to treatment, omega-3 status may confound the results. Future trials of B vitamin treatment should accordingly control for omega-3 fatty acid status. The different cognitive outcomes used may also account for variable outcomes in clinical trials. Manders et al. [24] found that general cognitive tests such as the MMSE often did not show effects for nutrients. But positive results were obtained when domain-specific tests were used, especially for fluid rather than crystallized ability, such as information processing. We found significant results for the episodic memory domain (HVLT-DR) and for general cognition with the TICS-M. However, the TICS-M contains more memory items than the MMSE and is a more sensitive test for cognitive decline [30].
There has been one randomized trial with a combination of B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids in which cognition was assessed [37]. This was a secondary prevention trial in patients with cardiovascular disease, but only one cognitive assessment was done, at the end of the trial, and so it was not possible to study the effect of the treatment upon cognitive decline. Overall, no significant treatment effects were found on the final cognitive test scores, apart from a higher score in temporal orientation in those with a history of ischemic stroke and a lower score in semantic memory in those with a history of heart disease. This trial was not designed to study cognitive decline, and used doses of nutrients at dietary levels rather than pharmacological levels; it is thus not suitable for answering the question of whether omega-3 fatty acids enhance the slowing effect of B vitamins on cognitive decline. A randomized trial should now be performed with high dose combinations of these supplements in people who will experience cognitive decline during the trial period, such as those with MCI.
The findings from VITACOG, here on cognition and earlier on brain atrophy [27], are evidence of an interaction between two different classes of nutrients, B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, in people with MCI. Possible mechanisms for this interaction have been discussed in our earlier report [27] and include the hypothesis that B vitamins facilitate the formation of phosphatidylcholine (PC) enriched in omega-3 fatty acids from phosphatidylethanolamine (Fig. 5) and hence the transport of omega-3 fatty acids into the brain [26, 38]. PC synthesized by this B vitamin-dependent pathway has been shown to contain higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3, compared with the alternative CDP-choline pathway [39, 40]. Selley [26] found that the raised plasma S-adenosylhomocysteine in patients with Alzheimer’s disease was associated with decreased erythrocyte concentrations of PC and with increased concentrations of phosphatidylethanolamine; he therefore suggested that raised homocysteine inhibits phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase. Selley [26] also found that the PC in Alzheimer’s disease erythrocytes was relatively depleted in DHA. It is noteworthy that decreased levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in PC occur in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease [38]. Also, low levels of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) in plasma PC are a risk factor for dementia [41] and have been found in plasma PC in patients with Alzheimer’s disease [42]. Animal experiments are consistent with the above hypothesis: rats made deficient in folate had impaired spatial memory performance and showed a halving in brain PC concentration and an increase in brain phosphatidylethanolamine [43]. Notably, the memory deficit and the decline in brain PC were both reversed by treatment of the rats with methionine. It remains to be shown whether the depletion of brain PC in folate deficiency is associated with a loss of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The striking agreement between the results on the rate of brain atrophy and on cognitive decline in VITACOG raises the question of whether the two outcomes are causally linked. We have previously addressed this question by mediation analysis [11]. We found associations between cognitive decline and loss of gray matter in specific brain regions. Worsening of CDRsob and MMSE scores was associated with gray matter loss, most pronounced bilaterally in the amygdalo-hippocampal complex and entorhinal cortex. Decreases in HVLT-delayed recall and category fluency scores were associated with increased gray matter loss in the left hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. These gray matter regions involved in cognitive decline also showed a marked reduction of atrophy with B-vitamin treatment in subjects with high tHcy levels. We found that the optimal Bayesian network model explaining our data indicated the following causal chain of events: B vitamin treatment (mainly vitamin B12) caused a fall in tHcy levels, which reduced the rate of gray matter atrophy, which, in turn, delayed cognitive decline (HVLT-DR, category fluency, CDRsob) [11]. It would be of interest to see what the effect would be of the inclusion of omega-3 fatty acid status in these analyses.
A limitation of our study is that omega-3 fatty acids were not supplemented during the trial, so the findings only relate to baseline levels. Another limitation, which may account for the variability between subgroups, was the small number of participants in some of the subgroups. The small numbers also prevented us from looking for modifying factors, such as the possible interaction between the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and APOE4 status [44].
In conclusion, when plasma omega-3 fatty acid concentrations are low, B vitamin treatment does not slow cognitive decline in people with MCI. In contrast, when omega-3 fatty acid levels are in the upper range of normal, the slowing effects of B vitamins on both brain atrophy [27] and cognitive decline are enhanced. We suggest that the effects of this interaction between the two nutrients on brain atrophy and cognition is consistent with the view that they slow down the disease process in MCI. These results may have public health implications. It will be important to test in a clinical trial whether the administration of these two nutrients will delay the conversion from MCI to dementia.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Sunday's game in Buffalo was the 16th of Odell Beckham Jr.'s NFL career. That means the second-year wide receiver, who missed the first four games of his rookie year with a hamstring injury, has now played the equivalent of a full season. And by one statistical measure, he has done it better than any other receiver ever has.
Beckham boosted his career receiving total to 1,612 yards -- the most by a player in his first 16 games. He finished the Giants' 24-10 win over the Bills with five catches for 38 yards.
An 8-yard catch in the first quarter sent Beckham past the previous record of 1,593 by Houston's Bill Groman in 1960-61.
Beckham was the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, catching 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games following his injury. Through the first three games of this season, he ranked 11th in the league with 269 receiving yards and 18th in the league with 19 catches. He also had two touchdowns through the Giants' first three games.Health care for Vermonters
Posted Friday, February 3, 2017 2:57 pm
At the present time, the health care exchange in Vermont is called Vermont Health Connect. It is a version of the federal Affordable Care Act commonly known as Obamacare.
Many say it is not working very well. Many say that the entire national program called Obamacare is not working very well.
So how did we get here and why is it not working very well? Let's take a look at how this has evolved and talk about some of what Obamacare in Vermont is or is not all about.
It all started about eight years ago when there was a whole team of people in the U.S. Congress, including Bernie Sanders, who wanted to introduce a new health care system that would replace the for-profit health insurance system that was in effect at the time. We need a more effective (read: more health access and better outcomes) and less expensive (affordable) health care system. It was to be similar to the systems that most other civilized countries in the world are using. When first suggested it was to be modeled on our present United States Medicare system. It was referred to as Medicare For All. Did we ever get Medicare For All? No we did not.
The legislative process that ensued was to turn the original Medicare For All idea on its head. In the end the congressional back-and-forth debate ended up right back where it started — the original for-profit insurance system that we started with. It did make a few important improvements in the original for-profit system, imposed some limited restrictions on insurance companies and their denial of claims, and provided health insurance for about 20 million people. Essentially, however, it stayed the same, using our health as a commodity for corporate profit.
The insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals were so strongly opposed to a Medicare For All system that they spent millions and millions of dollars to defeat it and they succeeded. The result was to put the whole system back into the hands of the insurance companies and that's where it stands right now today; Obamacare.
Let's take a look at how health care in the hands of insurance companies works. Those of us who can afford it pay insurance premiums to a private company that has thousands of customers the more the better. In terms of business strategy the basic premise is to try to enroll as many payers as possible and then endeavor to pay as few claims as possible. That is the requirement built into the profit-making system.
People are saying, look, it's like any other business. The more business competitors there are, the cheaper it's going to be. And it's true that for consumable products like baked goods. For example, if I'm across the street from another baker and their bread is selling for a dollar a loaf, I might try to sell mine at 95 cents a loaf because I'll have more people come in and I'll sell more loaves and make more money even when charging less for the bread. So that's the normal competitive system.
The argument is that if we have more insurance companies in our health care system and we bring more across state lines for instance, it will be cheaper. NO! That is not the way it works for health care. Competition does not cause costs to go down in the for-profit health care business world. The more competitors there are, the lower the risk pool per each gets fewer and that causes less profit for each business.
Health insurance companies are a very unusual hybrid kind of capitalist business in our economy. Their business model is not selling bread or automobiles, tangible products that are sold in exchange for money. Let's say an insurance company has 50,000 customers. Many of those customers require medical care from doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, while other payers require little or no care at all. So out of that 50,000 people, there are going to be some people who need a lot of care and the company must pay out a lot of money for their care, but others will require no care at all. That is where the profit comes from and that is why the insurance companies need to have many, many customers. That is why the normal competitive principle does not work in our health care business. Only the very large companies without competition can survive because they need a large risk pool to harvest payers who do not need their services.
We do not see Medicare prices going up every year like we see insurance premiums going up every year. That's because the Medicare system does not have to make a profit but the insurance system does need to make a profit.
Let's not make the mistake of thinking that our premium payments will go down any time soon under the present for-profit system. As long as there are insurance companies calling the shots, where profits are the priority, that will inevitably lead to higher costs for users.
If Obamacare does not seem to be working it is because it treats our health as a product to be bought and sold for profit. This is why the discussion in Washington is so hard to understand. The legislators seldom acknowledge the dichotomy between the human right of health care for all vs. a commodity to be sold for profit.
The Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) and the Vermont version, Vermont Health Connect, is now and always has been a profit-making enterprise. People are now demanding to do away with it. But the question is what do we replace it with?
The answer is already at our fingertips here in Vermont. In fact it is a law that is presently on the books. That is the universal health care law titled "Act 48, Green Mountain Care" (GMC). This law states that in must be in place in 2017 and that it will be a single payer system that covers all Vermonters.
"The law required Vermont's Executive Branch to develop a plan for financing and operating Green Mountain Care a publicly financed coverage program for all Vermonters." The governor did submit a report but said it was not the right time for Act 48 to be implemented and it would not work.
There is reason to believe, that now under the present conditions the governor was wrong.
So we are urging that now in the state of Vermont it's time to take another look at Act 48 a law that is still a law on the books and is designated to be in place in 2017.
Let's instruct our legislators to take another look at the present Act 48 law and see if they can use it to get us out of this mess known as Obamacare and replace it with the health care law that is cheaper, more inclusive and is already the law in Vermont.
This commentary is by Mary Gerisch and Bob Howe, whose radio program, "Health Law Trends," airs on WBTN AM. This is an edited transcript of one of their weekly shows titled " Health Care for Vermonters." broadcast in December. It first appeared on VTDigger.
TALK TO US
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.Bevo, a Texas Longhorn, has been a fixture at UT games since 1966. The Longhorn mascot epitomizes the pride and tradition of Texas Football.
Bevo XV
Read: The Truth about Bevo
He’s credited with a football triumph against Texas A&M. What else is needed to become the most revered live mascot in all of college sports?
For a century, Bevo has embodied Longhorn pride and Texas spirit to represent The University of Texas as its famed mascot. He’s been a noble fixture at Texas football games since Nov. 30, 1916 – a Thanksgiving Day 21-7 victory against the Aggies in Austin.
During the final two days of November 1916, the Forty Acres hosted thousands of current students and alumni for a festive homecoming celebration, which culminated with the first football game featuring the rival Aggies in Austin in seven years and launched a proud, new Longhorn tradition.
A record 15,000 fans packed the wooden bleachers of Clark Field, The University’s first athletic field near 24th Street and Speedway, and the Longhorns’ defense held tough against the favored Aggies for a 7-7 tie at halftime.
During an extended halftime, Bevo made his first public appearance. From the football field, 1892 alumnus Tom Buffington addressed the student section: "I have been requested to present to the University of Texas a mascot or protecting spirit that now and in future years will bring good luck to the institution and its teaching. Behold him! The Longhorn of Texas, emblematic as he stands of the fighting spirit of progress … As the great longhorn was free to roam the wilderness of Texas, so must the University be free to roam the world of thought, unhampered and unafraid."
The Longhorns returned two punts for touchdowns in the second half and won 21-7, launching the legacy of Bevo.
Bevo XIV
Fifteen longhorns have honorably assumed Bevo status, and Bevo XV is set to make his public debut in September 2016 when the Longhorns host Notre Dame at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Bevo XV is noted for his color, gentle disposition and championship pedigree. Bevo XV succeeds Bevo XIV, who passed away in October 2015. Bevo XIV began his tenure at the age of two in 2004.
The Silver Spurs, an honorary UT student service organization founded in 1937, is responsible for the management, care and transportation of Bevo. Through the Spurs’ leadership, Bevo has become the most charitable mascot in the country.
Through public appearances and strategic marketing partnerships, Bevo provides funds for the Neighborhood Longhorns Program and UT scholarships, covers expenses associated with care and management of Bevo and other UT philanthropic endeavors.
"Over his last two years, Bevo XIV provided more than $300,000 to Neighborhood Longhorns," said Ricky Brennes, executive director of the Silver Spurs Alumni Association. "We look forward to Bevo XV continuing that legacy of giving back."The Nashville Predators had the best record in the NHL for a time last season, and their president said Wednesday they are set up to contend for many years as well as any NHL team.
"Where we're sitting right now from a hockey franchise standpoint, we're better poised as a franchise because of the talent we have and how long they're locked up, than we ever have been in the history of the team," Sean Henry said, according to the Predators website. "When you look throughout the League, there's probably not another team that's set up for the next five to eight years to be as consistent as we're going to be.
"Hopefully we catch the magic in that run and win the Stanley Cup, but at least compete for it year in and year out."
The Predators topped the NHL standings from Feb. 9-March 4 before finishing sixth at 47-25-10. They lost a six-game series to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference First Round, with two losses in overtime.
"It used to be, we made the first round and we'd celebrate; we'd pop the champagne corks making the playoffs and that was good enough," Henry said. "This is the first year I remember where all of our fans were so disappointed in how it ended. To me, that's the best thing to happen. For people to expect us to go further and for all of us to say the same thing -- 'We should've gone further, what are we going to do to get there?' -- and that's exciting."
As Henry said, almost all of the Predators' key players are signed to long-term contracts. Captain Shea Weber is signed through 2026, with fellow defensemen Roman Josi through 2020 and Ryan Ellis through 2019. Forwards Craig Smith (2020), Colin Wilson (2019) and James Neal (2018), and goaltender Pekka Rinne (2019) also have lengthy deals.
Forward Filip Forsberg and defenseman Seth Jones can become restricted free agents after this season.
Henry, who praised general manager David Poile, was speaking at the Jim Wood Golden Bison Luncheon at Lipscomb University.The coffee tree The coffee tree is a shrub with a straight trunk, which can survive for about 50 to 70 years. The first flowers appear during the third year, but production is only profitable from the fifth year onwards. 18th century botanists classified Coffee as a member of the Rubiaceous family. Of around sixty different species of coffee tree, two alone dominate world trade - the Coffea arabica, or, more simply, Arabica, which represents 75% of production; and the Coffea canephora, which is commonly known by the name of the most widespread variety: Robusta.
Here is a list of the three most wellknown coffee plants, all related:
Arabica (from Ethiopia, known from prehistoric times) beans do best at altitudes of 3,000 to 6,500 feet where the slower growing process concentrates their flavors. They have a much more refined flavor and contain about 1 percent caffeine by weight. Because of its delicate nature, it yields only 1 to 1.5 pounds of green coffee per year. This is the coffee that specialty roasters search for. It accounts for about 75% of the world production. Because the arabica tree is susceptible to disease, frost, and drought, it requires very careful cultivation with just the right climatic conditions.
(from Ethiopia, known from prehistoric times) beans do best at altitudes of 3,000 to 6,500 feet where the slower growing process concentrates their flavors. They have a much more refined flavor and contain about 1 percent caffeine by weight. Because of its delicate nature, it yields only 1 to 1.5 pounds of green coffee per year. This is the coffee that specialty roasters search for. It accounts for about 75% of the world production. Because the arabica tree is susceptible to disease, frost, and drought, it requires very careful cultivation with just the right climatic conditions.
Robusta (from Congo, discovered in 1898) beans come from a high yield plant that is resistant to disease. It does best at lower elevations and has harsh flavors. It contains about 2 percent caffeine. It bears more coffee cherries than the arabica plant. It yields 2 to 3 pounds of green coffee a year. This plant is used for the lower grades of coffee that are sold in the market. Although generally not found in gourmet shops, robusta beans are often used in the processing of soluble (instant) coffees and popular commercial blends.
(from Congo, discovered in 1898) beans come from a high yield plant that is resistant to disease. It does best at lower elevations and has harsh flavors. It contains about 2 percent caffeine. It bears more coffee cherries than the arabica plant. It yields 2 to 3 pounds of green coffee a year. This plant is used for the lower grades of coffee that are sold in the market. Although generally not found in gourmet shops, robusta beans are often used in the processing of soluble (instant) coffees and popular commercial blends.
Liberica (from Western Africa, of no great importance in coffee trade) is the third recognized commercial variety, it is also hardy and low-altitude. It is a minor crop of coffee from Africa and is similar to robusta. A detailled list about the differences between the Arabica en Robusta bean can be found on this page.
The flowers of the coffee tree
The flowers are white with 5 or 6 petals. The pistil that emerges from the cupule is tipped with delicate stigmas. The shape and scent resemble those of jasmine, and it is for this reason that the coffee tree was called "Arabian Jasmine" in the 17th century.
The flowers form glomerules, or little tufts made up of 8 to 15 elements, at the base of the leaves. They produce the same number of berries, commonly known as cherries because of their colour. The flowers last only a few hours and wilt as soon as fertilisation has taken place: however, others quickly replace them. As a result, it is not uncommon to find leaves, flowers and berries on the tree at the same time! One tree can produce over 30,000 flowers in a year.
The leaves of the coffee tree
The coffee tree is an evergreen with spear-shaped leaves, which are green and shiny on the upper side. As with all Rubiaceous plants, the leaves grow in pairs on either side of the stem and they are stipulated - that is to say, the two foliaceous organs are to be found at the base of the leaf stalk. The leaves of the Robusta trees are much larger than those of the Arabica.
The cherry
The cherry is the name usually given to the fruit of the coffee tree. Botanists prefer to call it the "drupe". Green to begin with, the berries ripen over several months, becoming successively yellow, then red, garnet red, and finally almost black.
The ideal time for harvesting is when the berries are red. Inside the drupe, protected by the "mesocarp" or pulp, lie two small beans separated by a groove. These must be extracted and roasted before they can be used for consumption. Coffee is a member of the Rubiaceous family (Gardenias, Quinquina, Garence), it has a lot in common with Jasmine. The plant was first classified in 1753 and there are now about 60 different species, each having different varieties. However, there are two main types: Arabica and Robusta.
Coffee grows on varied soils - volcanic, siliceous clay, alluvial and peat and sand. Like the vine, soil gives a particular character to the same botanical species and different "Vintages" arise. Soil must be deep (roots are 1 to 2 metres) and acid (pH 4.5 to 6).
Important growing factors are: Avoiding excessive cold and heat.
1200-1500mm of rain per annum.
A few hours of light per day.
No strong winds.
Altitude - The higher the better. Coffee grows between 28 degrees North and 30 degrees South; so growing areas include Central America, Caribbean, Brazil, West Africa, East Africa and Yemen, Madagascar, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.The NPB released a list of pitchers and hitters ranked by the shortest time between pitches as part of their ongoing efforts to shorten the length of games. The top ranked pitchers and hitters will be eligible for the Speed Up Award. Below are the rankings for pitchers.
Time between pitches with bases empty (through July 13)
Central League
Rank Name JPN Name ENG Team Time IP 1 高木 勇人 Takagi, Hayato Yomiuri 10.9 84.2 2 井納 翔一 Ino, Shoichi Yokohama 11.0 101.1 3 田口 麗斗 Taguchi, Kazuto Yomiuri 11.1 90.1 4 マテオ Mateo, Marcos Hanshin 11.1 34.2 5 山中 浩史 Yamanaka, Hirofumi Yakult 11.3 74.2 6 三上 朋也 Mikami, Tomoya Yokohama 11.5 32.2 7 ジョンソン Johnson, Kris Hiroshima 11.8 114.1 8 野村 祐輔 Nomura, Yusuke Hiroshima 11.9 93.2 9 ジョーダン Norberto, Jordan Chunichi 11.9 80.0 10 若松 駿太 Wakamatsu, Shunta Chunichi 11.9 95.1
Pacific League
Rank Name JPN Name ENG Team Time IP 1 牧田 和久 Makita, Kazuhisa Seibu 8.0 48.0 2 小石 博孝 Koishi, Hirotaka Seibu 9.4 46.1 3 メンドーサ Mendoza, Luis Nippon Ham 10.4 95.2 4 吉川 光夫 Nippon Ham Nippon Ham 10.5 74.1 5 髙橋 光成 Takahashi, Kona Seibu 10.8 76.0 6 ディクソン Dickson, Brandon Orix 10.8 98.0 7 和田 毅 Wada, Tsuyoshi Softbank 11.6 97.2 8 東明 大貴 Tomei, Daiki Orix 11.6 73.2 9 南 昌輝 Minami, Masaki Lotte 11.6 37.2 10 二木 康太 Futaki, Kota Lotte 11.9 79.2
Source: NPB announcementIf you'd been hoping for AMD to stick the new Steamroller cores into a new line of dedicated gaming CPUs you might well be sorely disappointed to find the new FX silicon is actually just another APU. When I say "just another APU," I am talking about the brand new mobile version of the Kaveri architecture.
AMD released the desktop version of its most advanced APU back in January at CES, but delayed the laptop version to look after its line of existing Trinity and Richland laptops, which were still selling pretty well.
That's changed, and in the coming months you should see AMD laptops with the new APU going on sale. I've spent a day in the company of an unbranded AMD notebook with the top-end FX-7600P APU in it. Because the focus of Kaveri's original design was with the mobile chip at the forefront, there isn't a lot of difference between the desktop and notebook variations of this latest APU, aside from clockspeed.
They both contain quad-core CPU configurations and the full complement of 512 Graphics Core Next GPU cores. In modern AMD parlance that gives their mobile Kaveri APU a grand total of twelve Compute Cores; that's eight GPU cores (with 64 shaders in each 'core') plus the four CPU cores.
Kaveri is the first of AMD's Heterogeneous System Architecture chips. That means both CPU and GPU share the same system memory in an equal fashion, which in turn means any software programmed with that in mind will be able to execute code on the part of the APU which will be able to run it faster. Parallel processing tasks will be run on the GPU component and serial processing on the CPU, with none of the lag associated with having to throw data into different types of graphics or system memory.
Performance
The good news: in terms of integrated graphics performance it's the most powerful mobile processor out there. I put it up against the Intel i7 4750HQ—a fully eight-threaded Haswell CPU with the top-end Iris Pro graphics - and the AMD machine beat it across my gaming benchmark suite.
The FX-7600P is only ahead by a few FPS on average, but considering the Iris Pro is only really found in £1,000 / $1500 laptops, and AMD estimates the machine I was testing would retail for around the £500 - $750 mark, the difference is pretty stark.
You wont really be happily playing on high settings at 1080p with either chip at the heart of your laptop, but make a few sacrifices in the graphics options and you'll be able to get some decent gaming performance from a thin and light machine that doesn't cost the earth.
There's also the fact that now Kaveri is using GCN cores for its graphical processing, instead of the VLIW4 architecture in the last generation of APUs. With only a little added premium to the laptop price and to the power envelope you could almost double the graphics performance by adding a little discrete GPU to your setup.
The expensive Intel chip has it all its own way when it comes to straight CPU performance; my Cinebench and X264 tests favoured the i7 by quite a margin. But because of HSA that's not the whole story anymore. There are more and more GPU accelerated applications, from web browsers, to movie makers, to image manipulation programs, which take both parts of the processor into the equation.
The latest PCMark test is a pretty decent benchmark of this, and while the i7 is some 143% quicker than the FX-7600P in the straight Cinebench CPU tests, that gap drops down to just 26% in the PCMark 8 v2 benchmark.
We should see Kaveri getting into some low-priced, thin and light laptops in the Autumn, and decent little gaming laptops could become a lot more affordable than they are right now.There’s a predictable narrative to a lot of discoveries in molecular biology. The story begins when a scientist discovers that Molecule X causes Phenomenon Y. Perhaps we’re talking about CREB and long-term memory, or serotonin and depression, or cholesterol and heart disease. At first, the data looks really solid -- when the gene for Molecule X is knocked out of a mouse, Phenomenon Y disappears! And when patients take a drug that increases/reduces Molecule X, you get a change in Phenomenon Y! The causal relationship seems so simple.
And that’s when things start to get complicated. Time and time again, the neat relationship between Molecule X and Phenomenon Y disintegrates into a knot of feedback loops, enzymatic pathways, environmental interactions and regulatory genes. It’s not that Molecule X doesn’t matter -- it’s that it doesn’t exist by itself. Instead, the Molecule exerts its effects by interacting with a byzantine list of other molecules, all of which can also influence the biological outcome.
This leads me to stress. Last month, I had an article in Wired on the dangerous chemistry of chronic stress. Scientists have known for years that glucocorticoids -- the molecules released by the body during the stress response -- trigger a wide range of negative health outcomes. The list of ailments connected to stress is staggeringly diverse and includes everything from the common cold and lower-back pain to Alzheimer’s disease, major depressive disorder, and heart attack. Stress hollows out our bones and atrophies our muscles. It triggers adult-onset diabetes and is a leading cause of male impotence. In fact, numerous studies of human longevity in developed countries have found that psychosocial factors such as stress are the single most important variable in determining the length of a life.
Advertisement
So far, so obvious: Glucocorticoids are Molecule X, and your health is Phenomenon Y. We should all be on beta-blockers, or at least practice Zen meditation. And yet, the situation isn’t quite so straightforward. As I note in the article, there are plenty of things that increase glucocorticoids levels but don’t seem to cause any negative outcomes:
Not every bout of stress is so devastating. As the Whitehall data demonstrates, executives in the corner office report high levels of stress and yet seem to survive just fine. Other experiments show that intense exercise -- like running for hours on a treadmill -- can lead to the release of glucocorticoids. And yet physical exercise is reliably associated with all sorts of positive health effects.
Read next Screw it! How sex toys are evolving beyond the penis Screw it! How sex toys are evolving beyond the penis
These anomalies have led some scientists, including Gould, to search for the additional molecules in the brain that might serve as buffers for the stress response. Gould’s short list of candidates focuses on neuromodulators like dopamine and oxytocin that are released when we experience pleasure. She argues that these feelings of enjoyment -- the ability to find meaning in our work, even if it’s stressful work -- may counteract the toxic effects of glucocorticoids. These molecules might also explain why not every janitor dies of heart disease at a young age and why enjoyable forms of exercise are good for us. “There are important individual differences in how people respond to stress,” Gould says. “Soldiers experience lots of stress in war, but most of them won’t get posttraumatic stress disorder. What accounts for those differences? And how can we help the people who are most vulnerable?”
Just look at sex. It turns out that sex often triggers a large stress response, leading to a spike in glucocorticoid levels. The good news, though, is that this stress is good for us. While chronic stress normally leads to a dramatic reduction in neurogenesis, or the birth of new brain cells, the stress produced by sex has the exact opposite effect. That, at least, is the conclusion of a brand new paper by Gould and colleagues in PLoS ONE:
Adult male rats were exposed to a sexually-receptive female once (acute) or once daily for 14 consecutive days (chronic) and levels of circulating glucocorticoids were measured. [SNIP] To evaluate whether sexual experience alters hippocampal function, rats were tested on two tests of anxiety-like behaviour: novelty suppressed feeding and the elevated plus maze. We found that acute sexual experience increased circulating corticosterone levels and the number of new neurons in the hippocampus. Chronic sexual experience no longer produced an increase in corticosterone levels but continued to promote adult neurogenesis and stimulate the growth of dendritic spines and dendritic architecture. Chronic sexual experience also reduced anxiety-like behaviour. These findings suggest that a rewarding experience not only buffers against the deleterious actions of early elevated glucocorticoids but actually promotes neuronal growth and reduces anxiety.
The takeaway lesson is that sex is both stressful and good for the brain. The “hedonic value” of the experience more than outweighs the temporary surge in corticosterone levels, at least in rats. Although sex appears to get less stressful the more we do it -- we pump out fewer stress hormones during the act -- such “chronic sex” still promotes all sorts of helpful neural habits, such as increased plasticity and new dendritic spines. (Of course, these findings probably only apply to pleasurable coitus. If you’re not enjoying the act, then don’t expect lots of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus.) As I note in the article, these findings have led Gould to search for the additional molecules (let’s called them Molecules Y and Z) that modulate and mitigate the usually destructive chemistry of glucocorticoids, at least when we’re engaged in “naturally rewarding” activities. This data wouldn’t surprise Marvin Gaye, who sang so passionately about the benefits of “Sexual Healing”:
Advertisement
Sexual Healing is good for me
Makes me |
doubt offer something similar. But as the dentist is well aware, there’s a notorious difficulty with it.
A problem with the argument from analogy
Dentist: Open wider. Now of course I understand this argument. I’m not a fool. But I am afraid the logic is faulty. For you see, these other dentists are guilty of making an unwarranted generalization.
Finnucane is struggling to hear what the dentist is saying over the noise of the drill.
Dentist: Let me explain why. Suppose I cut open one thousand cherries and find every single one has a stone in the middle. Surely I’m now justified in generalizing. Surely I’m now justified in believing that all cherries have stones in the middle. Admittedly, I might be wrong. But the one thousand cherries that I have observed surely give me pretty good reason to believe that all cherries have stones, reason sufficient to justify my belief. Correct?
Finnucane nods.
Dentist: But now suppose that, instead of basing my inference on an observation of a thousand cherries, I base it on an observation of just one. Then my inference would be very shaky, wouldn’t it? My one cherry may provide some slight evidence in support of the claim that all cherries have stones, but it’s surely not enough to justify my making that generalization. For all I know, some cherries may have stones and some not, just as, for example, some animals have male sex organs and some not. This may be a very unusual cherry, just as an oyster with a pearl inside is very unusual. In order to justify my generalization, I surely need to look inside very many cherries. Correct?
Finnucane: Uh huh.
Dentist: But now think about the argument of the other dentists. It, too, is a generalization based on just a single observation. I notice that, in my own case, when I am pricked sharply and I flinch and yell, this behaviour is accompanied by pain. I am then supposed to conclude that when others are pricked sharply and they flinch and yell, they must be in pain too. Yes?
Finnucane: Uh huh.
Dentist: But one can’t justify the belief that others have minds on the basis of such flimsy evidence. This inference is surely no less suspect than the inference based on a single cherry. To infer that others have minds on such grounds is wholly unwarranted. It’s irrational. Being The Rational Dentist, I refuse to accept an irrational conclusion.
Scepticism about other minds
The dentist appears to be right. I can’t directly observe what goes on in the mind of another, or even that others have minds. So how might my belief in their existence be justified? Only, it seems, by the argument from analogy. But the argument from analogy is, in effect, a generalization based on a single observed case. So it’s just as shaky as the inference based on the single cherry.
The conclusion to which I seem forced, then, is that I am not justified in believing that there are any minds other than my own. And if I am not justified in believing there are minds other than my own, then presumably I can’t be said to know that there are minds other than my own, for presumably it is a condition of knowing that there are other minds that I be justified in supposing my belief is true.
This is a sceptical conclusion: it says that I don’t know what I might think I know. This particular form of scepticism – scepticism about knowledge of other minds – has a long history. And of course, like most sceptical conclusions, it’s highly perplexing, for it runs entirely contrary to common sense. (You will find other forms of scepticism discussed in other chapters: chapter XX “Brainsnatched” discusses scepticism about the external world and chapter XX “Why Expect the Sun to Rise Tomorrow?” focuses on scepticism about the unobserved.)
So the sceptic leaves me in a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, it seems I have little if any reason to suppose there are other minds. On the other hand, this conclusion is so counter-intuitive that I suspect the sceptic must have gone wrong somewhere along the way. The challenge I face, then, is to identify what, if anything, is wrong with the sceptic’s argument.
[[TEXT BOX: THINKING TOOLS: How not to respond to scepticism. People commonly make one of two mistakes when presented with such seemingly compelling sceptical arguments.
First, they just dig in and dogmatically assert that of course they know that their’s is not the only mind – it’s “just obvious” that other minds exist. This is hardly an intelligent response, however. Sure, we feel certain that there are other minds. But simply to appeal to such feelings when presented with a sceptical argument is a mistake. What has previously struck us as “just obvious” has in many cases turned out to be wrong. That the Sun revolves about a stationary Earth, for example, was at one time considered by almost everyone to be “just obvious”. Consider how irritatingly irrational were those who continued brutely to insist that it is “just obvious” the Earth is stationary even after they had been presented with powerful evidence to the contrary. To similarly dismiss the sceptic’s argument would be no less irritatingly irrational.
The second mistake is blithely to accept the sceptic’s conclusion because one has underestimated its strength. It can be tempting to say, “Yes, yes, I agree with you that I can’t be certain that there are other minds. I admit I don’t know they exist. But still, it is pretty likely that they exist, isn’t it?”
This is simply to misunderstand the argument. The sceptic is not arguing that, because there is room for doubt about the existence of other minds, therefore one can’t know that they exist. That would be a rather feeble argument, an argument based on the dubious assumption that one can’t be said to know something unless it has been established beyond all doubt. The dentist’s argument is much stronger. The dentist argues that not only is there room for doubt about the existence of other minds, there is actually little if any reason to suppose they exist. This is a much more dramatic conclusion, a conclusion that few if any of us really accept. END OF TEXT BOX]
Is the dentist rational, or insane?
The dentist leans over Finnucane again, his antiseptic-smelling breath fogging Finnucane’s glasses. He starts to work the new amalgum filling into the hole he has drilled in Finnucane’s molar.
Dentist: Perhaps you would say, “But why, if you don’t believe I have a mind, do you go to all the trouble of speaking to me, of administering anaesthetic, and so on?” The answer is: because I find that if I administer anaesthetic my patients don’t moan and thrash about. I use it to control behaviour. And I speak to them because I find it enables me to have some control over their behaviour. And also because it amuses me.
Finnucane raises his eyebrows.
Dentist: And of course, it is possible that you have a mind. I don’t deny that. So I give you the benefit of the doubt. I administer anaesthetic just in case.
Finally, after a few minutes, the filling is complete. Finnucane leans forward groggily, cotton wool balls tumbling from his mouth. He spits a bloody gobbet into the stainless steel tray. No longer at the dentist’s mercy, Finnucane finally feels free to speak his mind.
Finnucane: Good grief. You’re not the rational dentist. You’re the mad dentist. Anyone who, like you, refuses to believe that others have minds, is, frankly, ill!
Dentist: It’s true that I’m often accused of suffering from some sort of mental illness. But my accusers are fools. For the truth is that I am merely being rational. I believe what it is reasonable to believe. And what is wrong with that?
Finnucane: You’re insane!
Dentist: It’s ironic, don’t you think, that you accuse me of being insane, when I’m the rational one?
The dentist is a bizarre character, frightening even [i]. We would find profoundly disturbing anyone who genuinely refused to believe that others have minds. In fact, scepticism about other minds is, for anyone not in the grip of some sort of mental illness, surely impossible to believe. The kind of disengagement from others required permanently to maintain the view that, for all you know, they are merely mindless automata is surely the hallmark of a kind of insanity.
And yet, for all that, the dentists’s seemingly “insane” sceptical position may be the rational position to adopt. Perhaps he is right that we’re the “irrational” ones. The onus is clearly on us to explain why belief in the existence of other minds is justified.
Let’s now take a look at two well-known attempts to solve this puzzle. The first involves defending the argument from analogy.
1: Defending the argument from analogy
In response to the sceptical argument, you might point out that sometimes we are justified in generalizing on the basis of a single observed instance.
Suppose I decide to take my Kawazuki K1000 stereo apart to find out how it works.
[ILLUSTRATE: ME DISMANTLING STEREO.]
I investigate its inner mechanism and establish how everything functions. Wouldn’t I then be justified in concluding that all stereos of that make and model have the same sort of internal mechanism? Surely I would. Yet this would be a generalization based on a single observed instance: my own stereo. And if we are sometimes justified in generalizing on the basis of a single observed case, then perhaps we are also justified in doing so when it comes to other minds. In which case the argument from analogy is sound after all.
This is an interesting suggestion. But there are problems with it. True, it seems I am justified in believing that all Kawazuki K1000 stereos have such-and-such an internal mechanism on the basis of having opened up just one. But I am only justified because I am in possession of considerable background information about such devices and their inner workings. For example, I know that my Kawazuki K1000 stereo is a piece of machinery mass-produced for profit. I know that it takes a considerable investment in time and money to develop an inner mechanism of this sort. So I know that the Kawazuki Corporation is hardly likely to have bothered developing lots of different internal mechanisms to do the very same job. It’s because I possess this sort of background information that I am justified in believing that all the other Kawazuki K1000 stereos have the same sort of inner mechanism.
However, I am not warranted in generalizing on the basis of a single observed case where such background information is missing. For example, if, for all I knew, each Kawazuki K1000 stereo might just as easily have been made, not by a single manufacturer, but by one of thousands of entrants in a competition to come up with internal machinery that would make these boxes marked “Kawazuki K1000” behave in just the way they do – raising the volume when this knob is turned, changing the radio station when that button is pressed, and so on – then of course I am no longer warranted in supposing that the other boxes will contain the same internal machinery.
S o the question is: do I possess the kind of background information necessary to justify my inference about the existence of other minds?
It seems not. In the stereo example, my inference depends on my background knowledge about mass-produced machines and their internal mechanisms. But in the case of other minds, I don’t appear to possess this sort of background knowledge. For my mind is radically unlike anything else I have ever experienced. For me to conclude that, as I have a mind, so too must other humans is akin to me entering a strange land, discovering that the first flower I examine contains a fairy, and then concluding that so too must all the other flowers. What I discover inside the first flower is so strange and unusual that no such inference is warranted.
It seems, then, that I’m still not justified in believing that there are minds other than my own.
2: The logical behaviourist approach
Here is a different kind of solution to the puzzle of other minds, the solution offered by the logical behaviourist.
Consider the solubility of a sugar cube. Solubility is what is known as a dispositional property – its possession by a sugar cube just consists in the fact that if the cube were placed in water under the right circumstances, then it would dissolve. Indeed, it’s true by definition that something is soluble just in case it is disposed to dissolve in water, in just the same way that it is true by definition that all stallions are male or that all triangles have three sides.
Now some philosophers have suggested that mental properties are also dispositional properties. Indeed, some suggest that all talk about minds and what goes on in them can be translated, without residue, into talk about behavioural dispositions. This is the position of the logical behaviourist.
Take pain, for example. To say that someone is in pain just is, according to the logical behaviourist, to say that they are physically disposed to behave in certain ways – to flinch, yell out, and so on. It’s true by definition that those in pain are disposed to behave like that. This is not something we need to discover.
Logical behaviourism, if true, would neatly solve two classical philosophical problems concerning the mind. First of all, it would explain how material objects, such as our bodies, can possess minds. For an object to have a mind is just for it to possess the right sort of behavioural dispositions. That’s all there is to it. So we no longer have to make room for mysterious and ghostly extra “somethings” – minds – in the world, in addition to physical objects and their various physical dispositions. The “ghost in the machine”, to borrow the behaviourist Gilbert Ryle’s (1900-1976) memorable phrase, disappears.
The other classical conundrum that would be solved is, of course, the one we have been discussing here: the problem of explaining how we come by knowledge of the existence of other minds. According to logical behaviourism, what makes the problem of other minds seem so intractable is a certain mistaken conception of what minds are like. If we think of the mind as the elusive “ghost in the machine”, then we are immediately struck by the problem of explaining how we establish the existence of this “ghost” in others. For all we can observe of other human beings is their outward behaviour. But if Ryle is right, the mind is not a peculiar ghostly “something” hidden behind the outward behaviour. Rather, the mind just is a highly complex set of behavioural dispositions.
Just as there is nothing particularly difficult about establishing what dispositional properties – such as solubility – a sugar cube has, so, if Ryle is right, there is nothing particularly difficult about establishing that human beings have minds. You need only establish how they are disposed to behave, and that can be done quite easily. Just as you can have good grounds for supposing that sugar cubes are soluble, so you can have good grounds for supposing that others feel pain.
Attack of the zombies
Has the logical behaviourist solved the problem of other minds? No. Unfortunately, logical behaviourism is not a particularly plausible theory of the mind. Perhaps the most serious difficulty with it is raised by the conceptual possibility of zombies.
In the movies, zombies drool and stumble about. The kind of zombies I have in mind are rather different: their behaviour is exactly the same as that of a minded person. Philosophical zombies, as I shall call them, behave perfectly normally. However, like movie zombies, philosophical zombies have no minds: they are, to borrow the dentist’s ugly phrase, “mere meat machines”.
[ILLUSTRATE: “PROUST” AND “ZOMBIE PROUST”: BOTH SAY: “YOU KNOW: THESE LITTLE CAKES REMIND ME OF SOMETHING”]
Imagine a world physically exactly like this one but populated by zombies. This imaginary world even contains even a zombie version of you: just like you physically, but all is dark within. Of course, it’s not remotely likely that this zombie world actually exists. But (and this is the key point) we can at least make sense of the possibility of such a world.
Contrast the suggestion that there might be a world that contain non-male stallions or a world that contains triangles with four sides. These worlds don’t even make sense. For of course it is a definitional truth that stallions are male and that triangles have only three sides. Zombie world makes sense in the way that four-sided triangle world and non-male stallion world don’t.
But here’s the problem for logical behaviourism. If logical behaviourism is true, then it should no more make sense to suggest that zombie world might exist than it does to suggest that four-sided triangle world might exist. Just as it’s true by definition that a triangle has three sides, so it is supposed by the logical behaviourist to be true by definition that any creature that such-and-such behavioural dispositions has a mind. Zombies, being creatures that lack minds but have the same behavioural dispositions as ourselves, should be ruled out by definition.
But we have just seen that zombies are not ruled out be definition. But then it follows that logical behaviourism is false. And if logical behaviourism is false, then it can’t be used to solve the puzzle of other minds. The puzzle remains.
Conclusion
Most of us wo uld say that Finnucane’s dentist is irrational, insane even. But perhaps it is we who are irrational, not the dentist. Can you rationally defend your belief that there are mind’s other than your own?
I don’t yet see how.
What to read next?
Chapter XX “Brain-snatched” and chapter XX “Why Expect the Sun to Rise Tomorrow?” discuss other varieties of scepticism: scepticism about the external world and scepticism about the unobserved.
Further reading:
· Anita Avramides, Other Minds (London: Routledge, 2001).
· K. T. Maslin, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (Cambridge: Polity, 2001), chpt. 8.By Staff
An appeals court in Abu Dhabi upheld a previous court verdict and sentenced a European and an Asian man to six months in prison and ordered their deportation after they were convicted of kissing each other on the mouth in a public place, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The court supported the previous sentence after a witness confirmed again that he saw them hugging and kissing each other on the mouth in a street in Abu Dhabi, the Arabic language daily Alittihad said.
The two unnamed defendants again told court they were hugging each other while the European said he kissed his friend on the head as he was leaving the UAE.
Their defence lawyer asked court to acquit them on the grounds the witness gave contradicting statements.
The paper said a man who happened to be driving in the area saw the two hugging and kissing each other on the mouth.
He told court that he was not first sure of what he had seen so he turned back and saw them kissing again.
“The court sentenced them to six months in jail and ordered their deportation after serving their prison terms….they two were charged with committing an indecent act in a public place,” it said.This cell phone image was captured of a riot inside Murry Bergtraum High School in Brooklyn after students took to the halls in protest over a bathroom ban was enacted. (Photo: CBS 2)
NEW YORK (CBS 2/1010 WINS) — Hundreds of students at Murry Bergtraum High School took a stand this week after being told they couldn’t use the bathrooms at school.
Fed up with what some say are strict policies, crowds of angry teens rushed the Manhattan school’s halls, creating chaos, reports CBS 2’s Derrick Dennis.
It was literally a riot — students crowded the hallways, screaming at the top of their lungs and protesting what they said was the principal’s decision to close all the bathrooms to students.
“What happened was two students started fighting, and the principal got mad, and closed all the bathrooms, and then all the kids went crazy and just started a riot,” one student said.
The unrest happened Thursday in the middle of the school day.
Students said Principal Andrea Lewis, who started at the school just this fall, got on the loudspeaker and announced bathroom access would be restricted, after what students said were two fights that broke out during class.
https://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/dec10-copy-of-1010-schuck-bathroom.mp3 1010 WINS Reporter Glenn Schuck finds out what happened at the Manhattan school
The principal is also accused of threatening that anyone caught fighting again would be arrested.
When asked if Lewis did indeed close all the bathrooms, one student said, “You can say that, but she did say if it’s an emergency you can use the bathroom at the nurse’s office. Everybody got mad and it started a riot.”
The bathroom ban was apparently the last straw at the 2,400-student school next to the Brooklyn Bridge. The building is equipped with its own surveillance video, which school officials said was used to identify those involved in the riot, leading to some being disciplined.
But students said it’s the principal who needs discipline over her strict no-bathroom policy.
One student said the principal’s actions were unprecedented.
“No, this was the first time, because she’s really upset,” the student said.“Those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it…there was a head and shoulders pattern that developed before the Depression in 1929, then with the recovery in 1930 we had another head and shoulders pattern that preceded a fall in the market, and in the current Dow situation we see an exact repeat of that environment,” Guppy said.
The Dow retreated 457.33 points, or 4.5 percent last week, to close at 9,686 Friday. Guppy said a Dow fall below 9,800 confirmed the head and shoulders pattern.
The Shanghai Composite is seeing a very rapid collapse, falling below 2,500, which suggests the major fall in the Dow, he added.
In the European markets, Guppy says Frankfurt's Dax is witnessing a different pattern to London's FTSE.
Guppy uses the broad trading band as measurement- giving the Dax a downsize target of 1,500. The same head and shoulders pattern seen in the Dow can also being seen in the FTSE, he added.We set out to answer whether and how semantic category knowledge influences the real‐time recognition and learning of novel words by training 24‐month‐old toddlers on items from six early‐acquired semantic domains. Each infant's overall vocabulary was individually measured using the MBCDI. Next, each child's category proficiency in each domain was measured according to the proportion of words they were reported to say. For each child, we individually assigned three categories into a ‘High’ and ‘Low’ knowledge condition, based on their individual category proportions. This procedure therefore yielded a unique combination of categories in High and Low knowledge conditions for each child, while controlling for overall vocabulary across conditions. Next, each infant learned the same words across six category domains, and we assessed their learning and recognition of these items via an adaptation of the ‘looking while listening’ or ‘visual‐word paradigm’ (Huettig, Rommers & Meyer, 2011 ; Swingley, 2011 ). Word recognition performance in these paradigms is indexed by the magnitude and timing of looks towards an object in response to a label. This task was therefore designed to shed insight into the reasons why the early vocabularies of young children are learned in semantic ‘clusters’ rather than in an evenly distributed fashion. If children leverage their existing categorical knowledge to facilitate subsequent word learning and comprehension, then we would expect to find differences in the speed and accuracy of comprehension of the recently acquired novel items across High and Low category domains. Otherwise, if learning is simply a by‐product of the child's experience, which may itself be clustered or unevenly distributed, then we should not expect to see a difference according to domain knowledge, as words in both conditions will be taught under matched learning conditions.
We measure category knowledge in several early‐acquired semantic domains by using the MacArthur‐Bates Communicative Development Inventory (MBCDI; Fenson, Marchman, Thal, Dale, Reznick et al., 2007 ), a parental checklist of infant vocabulary. The Words and Sentences (WS) form of this instrument is designed to capture a highly detailed and standardized snapshot of the child's productive vocabulary knowledge across several early‐acquired semantic domains from 16 to 30 months. The nouns in this inventory have been selected to reflect a comprehensive catalog of words that are common in early infant vocabularies and are organized according to categories that typically appear in infant vocabularies. Therefore, in addition to capturing a broad measure of toddlers' productive vocabulary size, this inventory is potentially useful for characterizing knowledge within early‐acquired semantic domains. We take this approach in the current study by calculating a proportion of the total items that infants produce in each of the following domains that are measured by the MBCDI: ANIMALS, BODY‐PARTS, CLOTHES, DRINKS, FRUITS and VEHICLES.
Eye‐tracking methods that measure gaze towards depicted objects in response to spoken labels have been widely used to measure real‐time word recognition of known and novel words in infants (Bergelson & Swingley, 2012 ; Fernald, Pinto, Swingley, Weinberg & McRoberts, 1998 ; Halberda, 2006 ; Vouloumanos & Werker, 2009 ; Yu & Smith, 2011 ). This method capitalizes on infants' natural viewing behaviors in response to language, and does not require a manual response. Prior studies using this type of ‘looking while listening’ method (Fernald, Zangl, Portillo & Marchman, 2008 ) have identified important connections between known word processing and a number of factors, including concurrent vocabulary size (Fernald, Perfors & Marchman, 2006 ), future vocabulary growth (Fernald & Marchman, 2012 ), language experience (Fernald, Marchman & Weisleder, 2013 ) and category knowledge (Borovsky et al., under review ). This paradigm has also provided useful indices of learning in novel word training studies (Bion, Borovsky & Fernald, 2013 ; Ellis, Borovsky, Elman & Evans, in press ; Yu & Smith, 2011 ). Therefore, in this study we use an adaptation of the looking while listening method to measure real‐time comprehension of recently trained novel words from categories that vary according to the child's semantic category knowledge.
Why might network density influence word learning? One proposal, put forth by Storkel and colleagues (Storkel et al., 2006 ), posits that denser phonological neighborhoods may help learners draw connections between known words and new ones. This account is also consistent with others that suggest that pre‐existing knowledge may attune learners to similarities among between novel and known items, and boost learning in domains which share those relevant features (Borovsky & Elman, 2006 ; Smith, Jones, Landau, Gershkoff‐Stowe & Samuelson, 2002 ). These accounts would predict improved learning and recognition of novel items in semantic domains that have many known neighbors relative to those with fewer known neighbors. We test this hypothesis in the current study by building upon our prior findings that indicate that category structure can influence real‐time recognition of known words, such that children show more efficient and accurate online recognition of known words in categorical domains that they know relatively more about (Borovsky et al., under review). We test whether this association between category knowledge and lexical processing extends to novel words as well.
There is little work that directly examines whether or how categorical structure, or ‘semantic density’, affects word learning in infancy. Storkel and Adlof ( 2009b ) have investigated how semantic ‘set size’ influences word learning in preschoolers. They found that novel‐word referent‐identification was less accurate for items with larger semantic set sizes. The authors suggest that this finding may indicate that semantic neighborhood density (as indexed by semantic set size) may exert an opposite effect from that of phonological neighborhood density on word learning. However, it should be noted that the definition of semantic set size in this research does not necessarily reflect categorical structure. Semantic set size was defined as the number of items that adults and children name as related or associated to the novel object images (which are black and white drawings of non‐existent objects with no associated label; Storkel & Adlof, 2009a ). This measure therefore calculates average similarly of novel item to other objects (across all individuals), although it does not take into account how this may interact with any single individual's semantic representations (which may differ significantly). Yurovsky and colleagues ( 2012 ) do calculate individual semantic representational structure and find that it does positively influence the use of a mutual exclusivity strategy to select an unknown referent from an array of objects. However, they did not test whether semantic vocabulary structure led to differences in subsequent retention (i.e. learning) of the selected objects.
Despite these promising findings from the phonological density literature in older children and adults, less empirical work explores how phonological structure may influence word learning in infancy. Swingley and Aslin ( 2007 ) find that 18‐month‐olds fail to learn novel words when they share a similar sounding neighbor that is well known, but succeed in a word learning task when the novel word has no similar sounding neighbors. Newman, Samuelson and Gupta ( 2008 ) present a somewhat different result, that novel word learning is facilitated for novel words that share many phonological neighbors. Together, these findings indicate that phonological density may help to facilitate word learning in some cases, but highly familiar or frequent neighbors may over‐ride these effects early in lexical development.
However, no prior work has directly tested a simple prediction that arises out of the leverage account of semantic structure in word learning: words should be learned more effectively in semantic categories that are more densely structured than those in more sparsely structured domains. There is computational and empirical evidence that indirectly supports this possibility and highlights how and why the structure of lexical knowledge may influence word learning. Simulations of early word learning have revealed that neural networks that have tightly organized semantic structure in their lexical representations are better able to learn novel words (Borovsky & Elman, 2006 ). One reason for this effect appears to be that cohesive semantic structure encourages networks to recognize and map similarities from existing items onto new words. This explanation seems consistent with explanations for empirical effects of phonological neighborhood density on word learning in adults (Storkel, Armbruster & Hogan, 2006 ; Storkel, Bontempo & Pak, 2014 ) and in 3‐ to 6‐year‐old children (Storkel, 2001 ; but cf. Gray, Pittman & Weinhold, 2014 ; Storkel & Hoover, 2011 ). Similarly, measurement of early word learning through standardized lexical databases indicates that, broadly, children learn words in dense neighborhoods earlier than those in sparser phonological neighborhoods (Storkel, 2004 ).
While it is uncontroversial that a child's everyday experiences to some extent determine which words and how many words enter their early vocabulary (e.g. Clark, 1979 ; Hart & Risley, 1995 ), there is also empirical evidence to support the former ‘leverage’ account. A number of studies have indicated that the pace of children's vocabulary growth may be tied to an understanding of category structure. For example, the onset of the vocabulary explosion has been linked to the age at which infants begin to spontaneously sort related objects into categories (Gopnik & Choi, 1990 ; Gopnik, Choi & Baumberger, 1996 ; Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1992 ; Mervis & Bertrand, 1995 ; Poulin‐Dubois, Graham & Sippola, 1995 ; but cf. Gershkoff‐Stowe, Thal, Smith & Namy, 1997, and Schafer & Plunkett, 1998, for alternative viewpoints). This association suggests that children who understand that items can be grouped into categories use this knowledge to boost their vocabulary growth by learning words in already known categories. Semantic structure of 24‐month‐old vocabularies has also been tied to the child's success in using a mutual exclusivity strategy to select a novel object (Yurovsky, Bion, Smith & Fernald, 2012 ). The semantic microstructure of vocabulary knowledge also appears to facilitate the real‐time interpretation of known words, suggesting that lexical items in ‘denser’ semantic networks are easier to understand than more sparsely connected words (Borovsky, Ellis, Evans & Elman, under review ). Together, this prior work suggests that there are important associations between word comprehension and the child's conceptual structure.
There are at least two possibilities that explain why children show facility for learning semantically related (vs. unrelated) words. First, children may ‘leverage’ their existing semantic knowledge when acquiring novel words. That is, learning may be facilitated when it is possible to recognize similarities between a novel lexical item and pre‐existing concepts. For example, we are likely to expect that a novel vehicle should have some properties ( has wheels, made of metal ), but not others ( not furry, is not edible ). Pre‐existing knowledge may enable a learner to infer many aspects of a novel word's meaning immediately. It is also possible that preferential attachment phenomena are a by‐product of semantic structure within the child's individual environment, leading children to learn words in ‘clusters’ that reflect their particular life experiences. It is possible to imagine that if a child is learning about one vehicle (e.g. a car) that they will experience other vehicles (e.g. truck, ambulance, train, motorcycle) in the same context(s).
The advent of sophisticated graph analytic techniques that probe the structure of semantic networks has led to a number of exciting insights into the nature of early vocabulary growth in infancy. These methods have revealed that typically developing infant vocabularies can be characterized by semantically structured networks (Beckage, Smith & Hills, 2011 ; Steyvers & Tenenbaum, 2005 ), and that this semantic structure can predict which words will next enter a child's vocabulary (Hills, Maouene, Maouene, Sheya & Smith, 2009 ). Hills and colleagues ( 2009 ) have demonstrated that words that share some semantic relation to other known words are more likely to enter a child's vocabulary than those that are not related. This phenomenon, termed ‘preferential attachment’ by network scientists (Barabási & Albert, 1999 ), provides an explanation as to why semantic networks become more cohesively structured as the child's lexicon grows, although this pattern in itself does not explain the learning mechanisms that give rise to this growth pattern initially.
Finally, we sought to identify trials where children did not respond to the auditory stimuli or were inattentive to the visual stimuli on the screen. Therefore, we removed trials where infants viewed the Target and Distractor collectively for less than 20% of the 300–4000 ms analytic window. This criterion is within the bounds of that used in other studies with young children such as Nordmeyer and Frank ( 2014 ), who exclude trials from analysis with more than 30% of samples missing over the entire trial period, or Quam and Swingley ( 2014 ), who exclude trials where young children fail to view the pictures for 300 ms out of a 1650 ms analysis window (i.e. 17%). Using this 20% missing sample criterion, we removed 11.7% of trials (45 of 384). Subsequent analyses were performed on the remaining dataset.
Our second time‐based analysis sought to directly test our primary hypothesis, that the magnitude of the fixations to the Target (vs. Distractor) should vary across High and Low domain knowledge conditions, and specifically, this Target preference should be larger for High relative to Low domain knowledge items. For this comparison, we applied the same cluster‐based permutation technique described above, and directly compared High vs. Low knowledge log‐gaze proportion ratios across time.
In this finer‐grained analysis we sought to address two questions: (1) Precisely when in the time course do infants display a preference for the Target (relative to the Distractor) in High and Low knowledge conditions separately, and (2) Does this relative Target preference vary between High and Low knowledge conditions across time? With respect to the first question, we sought to detect reliable differences while controlling family wise error rate (i.e. correcting for multiple comparisons). We therefore adopted a non‐parametric cluster‐based permutation test approach that has been applied to FMRI and ERP waveform analyses (Groppe, Urbach & Kutas, 2011a ; Maris & Oostenveld, 2007 ) and has more recently been applied to adult and infant eye‐tracking analyses as well (Barr, Jackson & Phillips, 2014 ; Von Holzen & Mani, 2012 ). We used this test to identify a ‘cluster t ‐statistic’ by summing across temporally adjacent point‐wise t ‐values that exceed a pre‐specified threshold. In this case, the threshold is defined as time points where log‐gaze proportions significantly exceed zero, indicating a significant preference for the Target relative to the Distractor. These comparisons are then compared to a t ‐statistic distribution that is generated using a permutation procedure (we follow the permutation approach outlined in Barr et al., 2014, Appendix) to generate a (non‐parametric) Monte Carlo p ‐value. We used 2000 random permutations to estimate the distribution of the null hypothesis, as recommended by Groppe, Urbach and Kutas ( 2011b ) with sufficient precision to control family wise error rate to <.05.
We next carried out two finer‐grained analyses of novel word recognition across 50 ms time bins. The first of these finer‐grained analyses sought to determine when proportion of fixations to the Target exceeded those of the Distractor in High and Low Knowledge domains separately, while the second analysis compared these fine‐grained timing differences across domain. We therefore used a dependent measure of interest that yielded an index of the relative advantage of fixations towards the Target vs. Distractor in High and Low knowledge domains as a log‐gaze proportion ratio at each 50 ms time bin (see Arai |
1) # define REPEAT_BIT_1 (OP,... ) REPEAT_2_TO_THE_1(OP, __VA_ARGS__ ) #else # define REPEAT_BIT_1 (OP,... ) __VA_ARGS__ #endif
I couldn’t come up with a better answer for this than to have two copies of the REPEAT_BIT_N logic, because of rule (2). That’s not exactly satisfying, but it doesn’t violate any of our goals.
…But It All Works
Here’s the final solution, separated into five “paragraphs”. I’ve left out the helpers FIRST, REST, INCREMENT, APPLY, and FIRST_IS_EMPTY_PARENS, and also factored the powers-of-two REPEAT_N logic into a separate file. The result is actually fairly straightforward, at least if you take the existence and correctness of the other macros on faith.
// Start INDEX at 0. #if! defined (INDEX) # define INDEX 0 #endif // Set up REPEAT_N based on INDEX. // The extra macro REPEAT_COUNT just keeps the logic // in "repeat.h" separate from this file. #define REPEAT_COUNT (INDEX) #include "repeat.h" // Use REPEAT_N to drop the first N elements from HEADERS. // The trailing () makes sure this is never empty. #define HEADERS_REMAINING REPEAT_N(REST, HEADERS, ()) // Update INDEX for next time, using repeated INCREMENT. #undef INDEX #define INDEX REPEAT_N(INCREMENT, 1) // Are we done? If not, get the next header and continue. #if!FIRST_IS_EMPTY_PARENS(HEADERS_REMAINING) # include APPLY(FIRST, HEADERS_REMAINING) # undef HEADERS_REMAINING # include __FILE__ #endif
You can check out the whole thing, including some test files.
Unbounded Lists?
While I did reach a solution that scales pretty well, it still only handles a finite number of headers (limited by repeat.h ). Is there a way to truly handle an unbounded list?
Even ignoring sensible limits where the preprocessor might just give up (for example, more headers than fits in a platform-word-sized integer), my intuition says no, this is not possible. I feel like this conclusion should be derivable from rules (1)-(4), or possibly from something else in the standard, but I haven’t been able to prove it.
Part of this intuition comes from the way real preprocessor libraries handle incrementing logic: Boost really does just hardcode up to a certain limit. I even found a powers-of-ten table like my powers-of-two one; in retrospect a powers-of-ten table seems more useful because you can use token-pasting to get a single decimal integer token back out. But if there was a way to do this that wasn’t bounded, I’d expect a Boost contributor to have found it.
P.S. Don’t Use This In Production
Okay, so this was all very cute, but I do want to point out some specific reasons why you shouldn’t adopt this:
It’s not reentrant, meaning that if one of the headers you include is itself trying to use this trick, everything falls down. (It’s easy to check for this, at least, and I put that in the download, but still.)
It’s brittle: a typo or bad input leads to a bunch of bizarre error messages.
It messes up your diagnostics (because of the include stack).
I’m not 100% sure it’s standards-compliant, which means it’s not portable. It passes Clang -Weverything without any issues, but that’s not a guarantee. I also didn’t try it in C++ mode.
without any issues, but that’s not a guarantee. I also didn’t try it in C++ mode. Preprocessing may be pretty fast but it still takes time. Why would you slow down your build?
It’s “clever”. Clever code is unmaintainable code. I worked on a C++ compiler for two years and I find this confusing.
Remember “global variables are bad”? Macros are global variables in a shared namespace.
But all in all I got nerd-sniped and it was fun. Thanks for reading!
This entry was posted on August 21, 2016. Tags: C++Wolverines Guard Glenn Robinson III takes a jump shot in Saturdays game
MADISON, WISCONSIN
With under a minute to play in Saturdays Big 10 match up, Michigan Wolverines (13-4, 5-0) guard Nik Stauskas nailed a three to make it a two possession game over the #3 ranked Wisconsin Badgers (16-2, 3-2). Stauskas would score 23 to lead Michigan, including 9 in the final minute of play. Caris LeVert added 20 for the Wolverines.
Michigan would take a 15 point lead mid way through the second half, but the Badgers would go on a 15-2 run to make it a one point game with two minutes to play. But when Stauskas hit the three that would end the run, Michigan knew they had control of the game.
The third ranked Badgers will fall steeply when this weeks rankings come out as this was their second loss this week after a 16-0 start, This was also the Wolverines first win in Madison since 1999.
AdvertisementsCONCERNED scientists have revealed how we can prevent the human race from being wiped out — and it involves either changing our planet’s orbit or uploading ourselves into machines.
In around 500 million years, scientists believe that the Sun’s expansion will leave our planet completely uninhabitable, with conditions so unforgiving that the Earth will return to being the scorched, lifeless lump of rock it once was.
However, there is still hope for Earth’s future inhabitants, as researchers claim there are extreme measures we may be able to go to in humanity’s hour of need.
Columbia University astrophysicists Michael Hahn and Daniel Wolf Savin explain how life on Earth will slowly begin to decline in an essay entitled ‘How to Survive Doomsday’.
Assuming that humanity can avoid a self-inflicted nuclear apocalypse or a deadly asteroid strike, our species has less than 500 million years left on the planet.
However, before we’re wiped out for good, our distant descendants may be able to save the species by physically moving Earth’s orbit.
“If we fired a 100km wide asteroid on an elliptical orbit that passed close to the Earth every 5,000 years, we could slowly gravitationally nudge the planet’s orbit farther away from the sun, provided that we don’t accidentally hit the Earth,” the scientists responsible for the prediction wrote.
An alternative way to keep the earth within the Sun’s habitable zone is to attach a giant solar sail to the planet, which would need to be at least 20 times the diameter of Earth.
This would theoretically drag our planet away from the expanding Sun in the same way a regular sail uses the wind to move a boat.
“Strategies like these could, in principle, keep the Earth in the habitable zone until the sun expands into a red giant,” the astrophysicists explain.
Perhaps the strangest survival option involves humans uploading themselves into machines.
While this is far beyond our current abilities, researchers claim that the idea may be feasible in the future.
The reason for this distant doomsday scenario is all due to the expansion of the Sun, which will probably completely melt the Earth in 6 billion years’ time.
However, the Earth will be rendered uninhabitable long before that, with our planet decreasing its natural levels carbon dioxide as the Sun grows brighter.
With our star becoming brighter at a rate of roughly 10 per cent every billion years, there’s still a long way to go before the Earth runs out of carbon dioxide — something which will result in the death of all plant life on the planet.
With most other species relying on plants to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, this would spell trouble for the rest of us, unless we can employ the drastic measures recommended by scientists.More progress on my blanket! Currently doing the blue stars and then finally purple at the end. I make about 2 stars/day at this rate due to work but at least there’s some progress happening. At this rate it’ll be done in 5 million years…
Blue Crochet Star Details Star Blanket Progress II
I’ve been thinking I should start joining them together so I get a feel for actual progress other then just having a bunch of random stars all over my apartment. So maybe I will start that as I start on the purple ones. Overall though, here are the counts I have at this point:
24/24 – grey stars
22/22 – red stars
00/30 – purple stars
14/38 – blue stars
Here is the Ravelry page for it for those who are interested!Positions at which the Steelers declined in 2012, according to Pro Football Focus:
The Steelers must be wondering if it was merely a one-year decline by numerous players or a sign of big trouble ahead as they evaluate an accomplished-but- aging team.
Their slump to an 8-8 record in 2012 after being 12-4 each of the previous two seasons is evidenced in the final position grading by Pro Football Focus, a website that analyzes every NFL player on every play.
Of the 24 positions analyzed — each starting position minus fullback, which the Steelers didn’t utilize in 2011, plus the two kickers and kick returner — the Steelers declined at 15. Some of the falloff was steep and alarming.
There was improvement at nine positions, though some of it was negligible. Ben Roethlisberger, for example, graded out as the NFL’s seventh-best quarterback each season, but his QB rating was higher in 2012 than in 2011.
And there were some surprise grades. Maurkice Pouncey was the All-Pro center in 2011 but slipped to second team in 2012. Yet he graded out a much-higher 12th at his position, compared to 19th during the season he was chosen as the NFL’s best.
Eight positions on offense declined, with the must precipitous drop at wide receiver. Antonio Brown (No. 6) and Mike Wallace (No. 12) graded out in the NFL’s top dozen in 2011, but neither was in the top 40 in 2012. Brown also dropped from No. 2 to No. 19 among kick returners.
Defensive end Brett Keisel fell from No. 4 to No. 21. And nose tackle Casey Hampton, whose Steelers career might be done, dropped from No. 34 to No. 77 among all defensive tackles.
At running back, Rashard Mendenhall graded out at No. 11 in 2011, but he was on the field only sporadically in 2012. Team rushing leader Jonathan Dwyer graded out at No. 58 at a position where there are only 32 starters.
“We are going to need a better performance out of the running back position if we’re going to be successful,” team president Art Rooney II said last month. “Whether it’s Rashard or Jonathan or Isaac (Redman) or somebody else.
“Again, in this offseason, that’s something we’ve got to look and decide how we get better and who we get better with.”
The grades didn’t always truly represent the slippage in play.
Safety Troy Polamalu was No. 1 ranked in 2011, and was one of the league’s highest-grading players overall. He was 13th in 2012 yet was on the field for only 402 snaps — compared to 930 in 2011 — because of a torn calf.
Outside linebacker James Harrison’s overall grade didn’t change that much, from No. 6 to No. 11, but his overall impact did because a knee injury sidelined him for the first month of the 2012 and limited him for weeks after he returned.
The biggest improvement was made by inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who jumped from 28th to fifth. Shaun Suisham missed only three times all season and improved from 21st to 11th among kickers.
Several players graded out at nearly the same. Guard Ramon Foster was No. 31 in 2011 and No. 34 in 2012. Defensive end Ziggy Hood went from No. 32 in 2011, the lowest-ranked among all starters at the position, to No. 31.
In cases where a starter changed, the replacement’s grades were matched against those of the previous starter.Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
Activists assemble near a giant life ring in Cancún. (Reuters/Henry Romero)
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com and will appear in “The Sea,” the Summer 2013 issue of Lapham’s Quarterly. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com.
In heavy fog on the night of October 7, 1936, the SS Ohioan ran aground three miles south and west of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, and by noon on October 8, I was among a crowd of spectators come to pay its respects to the no small terror of the sea. I was 2 years old, hoisted on the shoulders of my father, for whom the view to windward was neither openly nor latently sublime. The stranded vessel, an 8,046-ton freighter laden with a cargo valued at $450,000, was owned by the family steamship company of which my father one day was to become the president, and he would have been counting costs instead of looking to the consolations of philosophy. No lives had been lost—Coast Guard boats had rescued the captain and the crew—but the first assessments of the damaged hull pegged the hopes of salvage in the vicinity of few and none.
Happily aloft in the vicinity of my father’s hat, and the weather having cleared since the Ohioan missed its compass heading, I was free to form my earliest impression of the sea at a safe and sunny distance, lulled by the sound of waves breaking on the beach, delighting in the drift of gulls in a bright blue sky. Ad Policy
The injured ship never regained consciousness. All attempts at righting it were to no avail, and in the summer of 1937, the removable planking and machinery having been sold for scrap, the Ohioan was declared a total loss, the hull abandoned to the drumming of the surf and the shifting of the sand. The prolonged and unhappy ending of the story my father regarded as a useful lesson, and over the course of the next three years as I was moving up in age from 2 to 5, he often walked me by the hand along the cliff above the wreck to behold the work of its destruction.
To foster my acquaintance with the family’s history and changing fortunes, he spoke of distant ancestors sailing from the port of Boston and the Gulf of Maine in the early-nineteenth-century China trade, of my great-grandfather’s organizing the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company in 1899 not because of the money in the business but because of the romance. My father’s turn of mind was literary, and he was fond of strengthening his narratives with lengthy quotations from William Shakespeare’s plays and extensive recitations from Joseph Conrad’s An Outcast of the Islands and Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.
Setting Sail
Floor-to-ceiling windows in my parents’ house on Fillmore Street faced the broad expanse of San Francisco Bay, as instructive a sight in sun or fog as any that exists in nature, but it was in the room without a view, in my father’s library among the stories told in books, that I learned to look upon the enchantment of the sea. By the time the Ohioan had been reduced to a fragment of the bow in the summer of 1938, it had become a fading memory, and I was on the lookout for pirates on the Spanish Main, for typhoons in the Sunda Strait.
Almost as soon as I could read I began with Ishmael’s setting foot aboard thePequod and with the searching in an atlas for the track of the great white whale. My father patiently untied the knots of metaphor in Melville’s prose, discussed the virtues of Queequeg and Tashtego, appended footnotes about ill-fated ancestors lost in their attempts to round Cape Horn, steered my further reading toward Richard Henry Dana Jr.’s Two Years Before the Mast and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” to the voyages of Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake. Meanwhile, at grammar school in grades five, six and seven, I was moving up from the Greek gods and heroes, among them Odysseus and his wide-wandering on the wine-dark sea, to the various discoveries of America by Viking seafarers, Christopher Columbus, and theMayflower, in eighth grade to the battles of Actium and Trafalgar.
Conrad says the love of the sea is in fact the love of ships, the thought coming to him in 1905 as an affectionate memory of the New South Dock as it was to be seen in the 1880s, “fifty hulls, at least, molded on lines of beauty and speed,” square-rigged and metal-plated, “moored all in a row, stem to quay, as if assembled there for an exhibition not of a great industry but of a great art,” such a sight as “no man’s eye shall behold again.” So, too, the sight of the United States Navy in San Francisco Bay between 1942 and 1945, its fleets assembled for war in the sublime and treacherous Pacific.
Seventy years have come and gone, but I still can see ships of every then-known tonnage, armament, and design—aircraft carriers, destroyers, oil tankers, submarines, light and heavy cruisers, trawlers, minesweepers, PT boats—lying at anchor or getting underway on the turn of a morning’s tide. I didn’t know how to step a mast, or tell the difference between a sandbar and a reef, but I knew that the Battle of Midway was fought somewhere in the same degree of longitude that had seen the end of Captain Ahab, and I contrived to picture myself as somehow engaged in mankind’s age-old struggle with the mystery and power of the sea.
The conceit was not that far-fetched. At the beginning of the war in 1939, the US government requisitioned the American-Hawaiian’s fleet of 38 cargo vessels, most of them eventually pressed into service with the North Atlantic convoys bringing food and munitions to Britain and to Russia; 11 of them were torpedoed by German U-boats, another three scuttled to make the Mulberry harbors supplying the invasion of France; my father (an executive of a shipping line no longer possessed of ships) had been put in charge of the military port of embarkation forwarding the freight of men and weapons to every theater of operations south and west of the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1944, my grandfather was elected mayor of San Francisco, and when he was called upon to convey the city’s compliments to a victorious admiral returning from the Coral or the Philippine sea, he sometimes took me with him in the captain’s barge to be piped aboard the deck of a flagship dressed with men in uniform.
My teenage hopes of joining the Navy fell afoul of the physical examination administered by the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program to applicants in the freshman class at Yale College in the autumn of 1952. I proved to be blind to the distinction between the colors red and green, willing to steer for the Guerrière and glory but unable to read the signal flags. To correct the course of my disappointment my father called in a favor from the National Maritime Union in New York that allowed my temporary rating as an ordinary seaman aboard one of the family’s last surviving freighters during the summer between my sophomore and junior years at college.
The SS Mount Whitney sailed from Mobile, Alabama, to load iron ore from a mine on the Orinoco River in Venezuela, and when it slipped loose of tugboats and dropped the harbor pilot at the entrance to the bay, I was astonished by a sense of complete and boundless freedom, a casting off of all the troubles lurking in the hearts and onshore schemes of men. The poet Langston Hughes evidently felt similarly. At the age of 21, he quit the island of Manhattan to “find a vessel that was moving” and to escape “the feeling of always being controlled by others—by parents, by employers, by some outer necessity not your own.”
Among the miseries to be left behind, Hughes mentions “the stupidities of color prejudice”; my own miseries were self-inflicted and of a lesser magnitude. I joined the ship on the night before it sailed, and several members of the crew, amused by the arrival in their midst of an Ivy League college kid from somewhere in an uptight, fancy neighborhood, undertook to acquaint me with the conduct becoming in a sailor. On learning that I’d never yet kept carnal company with a woman, they insisted on arranging the rite of passage in a waterfront brothel where they bet shots of bourbon and rounds of beer against the chances of my making the change from boy to man with each of the five girls on offer. To everybody’s surprise, not least my own, I did so.
Having been imprisoned for four years within the walls of a puritanical boarding school, another two years in a New England college not yet molested by the 1960s sexual revolution, I rejoiced in the discovery of a new and far, far better world. The next morning I was burdened with a heaviness of spirit and the fear of divine retribution in the form of a venereal disease, but as soon as the ship was moving, I knew that I would be making good my escape from the stain of sin, outward-bound to the state of grace that is the freedom of the open sea.
The Restless Sea
Which is the age-old promise that the sea is by no means bound to keep. Life at sea is of necessity the being controlled by others, by the captain of the ship or the regulation of the watch, by the motion of the waves and the direction of the wind. The point had not been lost on Conrad, who in his youth had served twenty years fore and aft the mast before going ashore to London in 1894 to become an author. He knew the sea to be “impenetrable and heartless,” giving “nothing of itself to the suitors for its precarious favors.… its fickleness is to be held true to men’s purposes only by an undaunted resolution, and by a sleepless, armed, jealous vigilance, in which, perhaps, there has always been more hate than love.” The philosopher Immanuel Kant had reached much the same conclusion in 1790 without having gone to sea: “To call the ocean sublime we must regard it as poets do, merely by what strikes the eye; if it is at rest, as a clear mirror of water only bounded by the heaven; if it is restless, as an abyss threatening to overwhelm everything.”
As seen from the deck of the Mount Whitney in the summer of 1954, the sea was poetically at rest, as it was for Lafcadio Hearn in 1856, “sometimes smooth and gray yet flickering with the morning gold,” the horizon tinted with “opaline colors of milk and fire,” flying fish glimmering in “the liquid eternity” of infinite blue; the romance of that first voyage into the Caribbean didn’t stow aboard the second, nine years later under contract to The Saturday Evening Post, as a wide-wandering journalist.
The sea was in a restless mood, the control by others incompetent and violent. The editorial direction of the Post in 1963 had fallen into the hands of a publisher fond of staging publicity stunts, and in the summer of that year, the magazine was intent upon salvaging the wreck of a Spanish treasure fleet believed to have been lost somewhere off the coast of Honduras in 1605. Seven galleons in transit from Cartagena, Colombia, to Havana, all of them burdened with shipments of silver coin and gold plate.
Three hours out of Key West, on a heading for the Yucatán Channel, the Sea Hunter, a chartered shrimp boat sixty-five feet long with a round bottom and a shallow draft, rolled uncomfortably in a moderate sea while I listened to Robert F. Marx explain that upon our arrival at the Serranilla Bank we would be bringing up “the heavy stuff” in potato sacks. Listed on the Post’s masthead as its “Adventure Editor,” Marx was a handsome man in his late 20s, tall and deeply tanned, his gestures brave and bold, his eyes shaded by a wary, far-off squint. He cleaned his fingernails with a fish knife while discussing the venture that he had conceived, organized and funded as a picture striking to the eye of a poetic magazine publisher. “I’ve been on lots of treasure hunts,” he said, “and this is the most scientific treasure hunt ever seen… the best equipment, and guys who really know what they’re doing.”
The on-board accumulation of diving gear together with state-of-the-art electronic devices and aerial photographs of the Serranilla Bank prompted a temporary willing suspension of disbelief; so did the credits of the other gentlemen on the manifest, among them a soon-to-be-retired commander in the US Navy; from Bermuda, the “foremost treasure diver in the world”; from Annapolis, a champion waterskier and proud owner of a pet shark named Horace.
West of Grand Cayman, the Sea Hunter encountered heavy seas and winds gusting up to fifty miles an hour in a storm not unlike the one in which Columbus found himself “dreadfully buffeted” in 1502. For three days the boat was near foundering, monstrous seas breaking over the stern, the hull rolling through angles of between thirty and forty degrees. All the navigational systems failed; the Navy commander, not knowing what else to do, turned to drink, and for three days I held fast to the cabin table, unable to think or speak. Columbus in his letter to Ferdinand and Isabella describes his crew as “weak and humbled in spirit” by the tempest, “many of them promising to lead a religious life.” I gladly would have done the same, had I known the prayers.
The storm passed on the afternoon of the fourth day, and according to our course setting from Grand Cayman we should have been at the southwest end of the Serranilla Bank by dawn. We arrived at noon, well off to the northeast. There was no evidence or sign of any wreck, Jamaican turtle schooner, or Spanish galleon—nothing but a few seabirds in a forlorn and empty sky. We remained in the anchorage for the better part of a week; sporadic plunges into the perils and the secrets of the deep resulted in the recovery of three iron spikes, six nails, eighteen ballast stones, 235 seashells of assorted sizes and colors, two empty gin bottles both of British manufacture, one shapeless metal object identified by Marx as pewter, by the Bermudan as pig iron.
The Ocean as Desert
The voyage of discovery aboard the Sea Hunter brought with it recognition of the sea as a murderous abyss, also a reminder of the last days of the Ohioan, but it didn’t lead me to abandon the idea of the sea as apostrophized by Lord Byron as the “deep and dark blue ocean” unmarked by the ruin that mortal men visit upon the green but shallow earth. By the mid-1970s, married and with children, I was an editor in New York City who vacationed in the summer at Newport, Rhode Island, where metaphors for the sublime were not hard to come by. As the days of sail gave way to the age of steam, Newport had become one of the first points on the American map at which oceanfront property was seen to be desirable, the value added by the nineteenth century’s fishing out from the mighty ocean the existence of seaside resorts like the one described by Charles Dickens in 1851 as a quiet beach that “becomes indeed a blessed spot” with fancy shops, bric-a-brac, picturesque fishermen. “We have a fine sea, wholesome for all people; profitable for the body, profitable for the mind.”
Certainly so it seemed during the years when I was content to watch children build sandcastles on the shore of Narragansett Bay, to make the hard choices between the smoked salmon and the broiled lobster, to wonder whether the pretty sailboats in the offing were setting course for Martha’s Vineyard or Kennebunkport. During those same years, in my capacity as a magazine editor in search of intrepid investigations, I sent writers on voyages that I was no longer at liberty to undertake—to the Galapagos Islands and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, to the Gulf of Alaska, the northwest Mediterranean. In place of storybook romance, they returned with reports of missing whales and seabirds soaked in oil, of corals dead as stone, and shorelines blanketed in algal slime, but I was reluctant to draw apocalyptic conclusions.
Surely the sea was eternal, going on forever, its vast prodigious bulk 71 percent of the earth’s surface, not to be contained within the frame of history or chained to the oars of death and time. So it had been in the creation myths constructed in the languages of both art and science—the Sumerian goddess Nammu giving birth to heaven and earth, Homer’s “Ocean, who is the source of all,” Christendom emerging with Noah from the Flood, evolutionary theory evolving from the primordial, undifferentiated flux. So I thought it still was, T. S. Eliot’s “groundswell, that is and was from the beginning,” right there where it was supposed to be every summer, in sun or fog, twenty yards over the horizon of the beach club’s beach umbrellas.
Except it wasn’t, and it isn’t. The poetics stand corrected by the science. Contrary to the belief that man cannot mark the sea with ruin, it turns out that he has been doing so for the last 2,000 years. If I had been slow to acknowledge the unwelcome fact, I was in distinguished company. Henry David Thoreau in the 1850s did not “associate the idea of antiquity with the ocean, nor wonder how it looked a thousand years ago, as we do of the land, for it was equally wild and unfathomable always.”
Rachel Carson, the perceptive and far-seeing naturalist, in 1951 assured the readers of The Sea Around Us that mankind “cannot control or change the ocean as, in his brief tenancy on earth, he has subdued and plundered the continents.” She subsequently revised the opinion, remarking in one of her later notebooks, “Even in the vast and mysterious reaches of the sea we are brought back to the fundamental truth that nothing lives to itself.”
By the turn of the millennium, I understood that the melting of the Arctic ice was warming the temperatures in the sea, that fish stocks were declining, that large sectors of the ocean were awash in nonbiodegradable refuse—cathode-ray tubes, traffic cones and polypropylene fishing nets—but I didn’t fully grasp the connection between marine ecosystem and human settlement until January 2013, when I came across W. Jeffrey Bolster’s book The Mortal Sea.
Bolster derives the title and its assertion from an extended history of the fisheries in the North American Atlantic between Cape Cod and Newfoundland. To the by-now-familiar story of the various depletions of species over the last 500 years (the haddock by 1930, the cod by 1992), Bolster, a professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, adds the dimension of events taking place on land—political and economic, cultural and demographic. Drawing together in the same net the two sets of datapoints (from the human maritime community and the marine-biological community), Bolster shows the ocean to be subject not only to the changes occurring over the course of evolutionary and geological time but also, and ever more rapidly, to those imposed on it by the hand and mind of man.
We needn’t call upon an angry god to make the sea an object of no small terror. Every year we withdraw from it 160 million tons of fish, deposit in it 7 million tons of garbage. Poisonous chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico have formed a pool of dead water equivalent in size to the state of New Jersey; among the several hundred dead zones elsewhere in the world, one encircles the Chinese coastline.
If the sea levels continue to rise at their current rate, the day is not far off when Miami and Atlantic City become beds for oysters. The fishing in the sea that was once near the surface now is done by trawls the length of locomotives dropped to the depth of a mile and dragged across the bottom, reducing many thousands of square miles of the ocean floor to barren deserts no longer giving birth to the tiny organisms from which emerge the great chains of being that sustain the life of the planet.
Nothing in the sea lives by itself, nothing either on the earth or in the air or in the minds of men. To know the sea is mortal is to know that we are not apart from it. Man is nature creatively refashioning itself. The abyss is human, not divine, a work in progress, whether made with a poet’s metaphor or with a vast prodigious bulk of Styrofoam.
Are we witnessing a new golden age for bicycles? Read Katrina vanden Heuvel’s take.Scientists almost never get to be household names just for doing science. Most who impact the public consciousness, like Brian Cox, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking, tend to at least combine the science with being best-selling authors. You might just encounter (Francis) Crick and (James) Watson in a pub quiz for their discovery of the structure of DNA, but what about (Alan) Hodgkin and (Andrew) Huxley, responsible for working out the basis of nerve transmission, one of the 20th century’s greatest discoveries in biology?
Given that other pre-eminent discoverers, even Nobel Laureates, remain relatively unknown, it’s probably not a great surprise that you haven’t heard of Griff Pugh.
Pugh — full name Lewis Griffith Cresswell Evans Pugh — was a pioneer of what we now call exercise physiology. Through the 1950s, 60s and early 70s he studied human physiology at extreme altitudes, such as in the Himalayas, looking into survival in cold water and extreme weather, and researching human performance in extreme heat.
Pugh was also a proponent of “physiological expeditions” — the idea that some insights into human performance in extreme environments were best made in those conditions in the field, rather than just re-creating them in the lab. His name is revered in sports physiology circles.
Dusting off the archives: Griff Pugh at work at altitude. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)
But why should you have heard of him? Because his work made possible, among other things, the first ascent of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in May 1953. While Hillary and Norgay became household names, along with others like expedition leader John Hunt, memory of Pugh’s work and its critical role in the ascent has been largely consigned to dusty archives and academic literature.
Oxygen, fluids and calories
So what was Pugh’s contribution to the 1953 ascent? It was to recognise clearly, and to work out how to tackle, the multiple physiological challenges of the climb: lack of oxygen at altitude; rapid loss of body fluids; the need for lots of calories; the importance of recovery after strenuous climbing effort through comfortable sleep.
Pugh systematically assessed all of these, first on an exploratory expedition to the Himalayas in 1952, and then in his laboratory at the National Institute of Medical Research in Hampstead, London. He tested how fast climbers carrying loads could climb with and without oxygen, and worked out exactly how much bottled oxygen they would need. He calculated the fluid intake the climbers would require, and even re-designed the stoves that would be used to melt the snow to supply it.
He helped re-design the climbers’ boots and tents. He set out how much calorie intake would be needed and how they should be delivered (quite a lot in sugary drinks, plus more in special high-calorie rations). He also realised that restful sleep and recovery would require oxygen while sleeping, though far less than when climbing.
Pugh was also a member of that 1953 expedition, performing physiological tests on the climbers, but his key job had begun long before.
The importance of his work for the Everest ascent cannot be underestimated.
Many previous expeditions had failed. An elite squad of Swiss mountaineers — seasoned professional Alpinists, rather than the British and Commonwealth team’s “gifted amateurs” — narrowly failed to reach the summit in 1952, possibly because the Swiss climbers were weakened by serious dehydration. Swiss mountaineer and doctor Oswald Oelz would later opine that if the Swiss had had a scientist like Pugh helping them, they would probably have made the summit.
Through his career Pugh repeatedly applied his research to solve real-world problems. How and why did some people survive long periods in cold water, and others not? Why was cold and wet so much more deadly to walkers caught on the fells than either on its own? He contributed important insights |
in that same game, his incredible punt return set the Bengals up in Pittsburgh territory for what should have been the final drive of the game. At the age of 32, well past his physical prime, Jones is still able to make exceptionally athletic plays like that. And on top of that, there is not anyone in the Cincinnati locker room who will watch more film than Jones, or find more room for self-improvement. Jones had three interceptions this season as well as one forced fumble and 62 total tackles. He has re-vitalized his career in Cincinnati, and the Bengals would be wise to take the good with the bad and hold onto him for the foreseeable future.
The third player that the Bengals absolutely need to keep is their second-best wide receiver, Marvin Jones. Sure, having A.J. Green as a wide receiver is outstanding, but he cannot be your only reliable target if the Bengals intend to have a successful passing game. Jones provides a great backup option down the field if Green isn't open, and he showed that by having the second-most yards and catches among Bengals receivers this year, coming in behind Green in both categories, with 65 catches for 816 yards. When Andy Dalton comes back healthy next year, there is no doubt that fielding as many good receivers as possible only helps the Bengals' chances for success. Jones provides an in-between option for Dalton; if he can't find Green down the field, he can look to #82 before setting his sights on the big man Tyler Eifert. Keeping Marvin Jones will help maintain the explosiveness that the offense showed in 2015.
There is no doubt that some Bengals players will find themselves in free agency this year, which is unfortunate, but there are some names that the Bengals should consider not even trying to sign in order to have money for bigger and better names. It's unfortunate to just let some players walk, but in the end it could be for the best.
The first player who the Bengals would likely be better off not signing is offensive tackle Andre Smith. Cincinnati essentially drafted Smith's replacement last season, and holding too much money up in offensive tackles would not be the best idea when there are so many skill position players in need of a contract extension this season.
The other player that the Bengals would be smart to not re-sign is wide receiver Brandon Tate. Tate had just nine snaps at wide receiver all season, as he'sbplayed more of a return man role for Cincinnati than receiver. Even on special teams, he put on a rather underwhelming performance over the course of the season. Tate had 27 punt returns for a total of 171 yards, placing him 23rd in the league in the yardage category. His teammate, the aging Adam Jones, had eight more yards than Tate on eleven fewer attempts. Tate's yard-per-return average was 6.3 yards, which ranked 22nd in the league this season. He was better in the kickoff department, as he racked up 413 yards on kickoff returns, placing him at 17th in the NFL. However, keeping a wide receiver on the roster to play just nine snaps from scrimmage and have average at best returns is not worth the investment. Cincinnati would benefit from putting Tate's contract money elsewhere.
When it comes to free agency in any sport, it hurts to know that familiar faces will end up in opposing uniforms. It also hurts to think that some guys could go without a job next season. However, when facing issues like crafting a roster and the salary cap, tough decisions have to be made. Cincinnati can benefit greatly from holding onto players like Nelson, Jones, and Jones and letting go of players like Smith and Tate; it will allow the Bengals to invest in players who were key to last season's success, or it might even give them enough money to snatch up a game-changer on the open market. Whatever happens, hopefully it is for the better of the 2016 Cincinnati Bengals team.I had a tough time figuring out which way to go this week. Do I go with the long pass to Geronimo Allison in overtime, or do I go with the touchdown to Jordy Nelson that tied up the game with 0:17 to play?
Ultimately, I decided to go with the throw to Allison, for two reasons:
1. It was the throw that led to the winning field goal in overtime, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
2. It’s a more interesting play to write about.
The throw to Nelson will show up in Eye in the Sky this week, but for now, let’s all kick back and take a look at Rodgers-to-Allison in overtime.
In Cover 2 Zone, the quarterback has a small window to hit the receivers down the sideline. They have to hit their receiver after the cornerback passes off coverage but before the safety is able to cover. It takes timing and precision to dot that hole in the zone. Aaron Rodgers [12] is very good at hitting that hole, but he’s even better when that hole is expanded. That’s exactly what happens. here.
Geronimo Allison [81] is lined up wide to the left, with Jordy Nelson [87] lining up right next to him. We also have Martellus Bennett [80] off the end of the line. Allison is running a go route, Nelson is running a skinny post and Bennett is running a crossing route. Let’s unpack this from the inside out and talk about what it all means for this play.
Bennett running a crossing route forces the inside linebackers to stick close to the line. Without Bennett running that route, the linebacker could potentially drop straight back and under Nelson’s route. That would give the cornerback some help underneath.
Nelson running a skinny post holds the safety to the middle of the field for a beat longer than normal. The safety can’t drop wide to the sideline to pick up Allison because he needs to make sure Nelson is covered over the top. With Davante Adams [17] running a go route from the right, the safety to that side is tied up and Nelson can’t be allowed to run free.
Finally, we have Allison. With the safety held to the middle, that Cover 2 hole is expanded a bit. Rodgers seems to know he has Allison, but he doesn’t stare down to the left. He keeps scanning the field – we’ll see that clearer in a minute – which helps to hold the safety to the middle.
Rodgers still has to clear the cornerback with this throw, but it’s an easier throw than normal since the hole is expanded. Rodgers hits Allison in stride.
The safety being held to the middle creates a couple other nice things on this play from Allison’s perspective:
1. Allison gets the ball in his hands with enough time to turn, read the path of the safety and make a move to gain yardage after the catch.
2. The safety is running from the middle and trying to close out on Allison. This creates a less-than-ideal path, and Allison is able to exploit that with a nice step inside. If the safety is closer to the sideline, the angle is a little clearer and he could play this juke a little better.
Watch Rodgers head. He looks left, sees Allison, then scans towards the middle. All that movement prevents anyone on the defense from keying in on where he’s going. When he finally looks back, it doesn’t take him long to load up and hit Allison in stride. Look at that look and step inside from Allison. One move inside gets him a ton of additional yardage.
And then, of course, he crosses up Adam Jones [24] so bad that Allison will likely have to send him a written apology by the time the week is over.
Nice, subtle route combination to expand the Cover 2 hole, nice read by Rodgers and nice moves after the catch by Allison to make this a chip-shot field goal.
This was absolutely me during the course of this play.
Album listened to: Phoebe Bridgers – Stranger in the AlpsINTERVIEWER Can you outline marijuana's history in the U.S.? DR. DAVID MUSTO Marijuana started to come into the United States in the 1920s along with Mexican immigrants, who worked in the beet fields, in the gardens, and so on. Some of the first anti-marijuana laws, occurred in, somewhat unusual places, such as Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan. And this is because the Mexican immigrants did grow marijuana and did use marijuana and it caused some concern among the people in the vicinity.
Then in the 1930s, when the Great Depression hit, these people became a feared surplus in our country. People tried to get them to go back to Mexico. They were thought to be undercutting Americans for jobs, and they were thought to take marijuana, go into town on the weekends, for example, and create mayhem. Now that's very close to the general attitude toward marijuana in the 1930s... that marijuana released inhibitions, and caused people to act, and, to perhaps, be violent. Even researchers, who were most calm, so to speak, about marijuana saw it as a very serious problem with regard to releasing inhibitions. INTERVIEWER Was this based on real evidence, or was it coming out of a personal attitude toward the people? DR. DAVID MUSTO It's hard to say. It is what researchers saw when they looked at marijuana. And I know one researcher, who lived in the 1930s, and has lived until today, and he, himself, [says] what a strange thing it was. Because he now sees marijuana so differently, something that leads certainly not to a release of inhibitions, and a sort of violent way. And he puzzles himself, as to why was it looked at one way at one time, and now it's looked at a different way. So I can't quite explain it, except it was thought to be a cause of crime and a cause of senseless violence in the 1930s. Now, how to control something that was in fact a weed, something that had been grown in the United States for hemp since the 18th century was a real problem. And the head of the narcotics bureau, Harry J. Anslinger, really did not want, in his heart, a federal anti- marijuana law. Because he saw it as putting a tremendous burden on the Federal Bureau of Narcotics [FBN]. They got no more money, they got no more agents, and they're supposed to stamp out a weed. He was telling me that once he was driving across a bridge in the upper Potomac, he stopped his car, and he got out, and he says, there it was-- marijuana, as far as you could see it on this river. And he said, "This, they want me to stamp out." What Anslinger wanted was a uniform state narcotics law, so that each state would enact a law, presumably against marijuana. Now Anslinger was not for marijuana, but each state would decide, for itself, how much resources it wanted to spend in fighting marijuana. He worked with this, but it didn't happen. And then there's quite a bit of pressure on the Treasury Department and the administration to come up with something about marijuana because there was a growing pressure for anti-marijuana legislation from the west and from the southwest. Then a curious thing happened. The National Firearms Act, was upheld by the Supreme Court, I think, it was February, 1937. The National Firearms Act was very strange because it attacked machine guns by saying you could not give somebody a machine gun, or loan them a machine gun, until you had first purchased a machine gun transfer stamp. And the government did not make any machine gun transfer stamps. So this was their way of trying to control machine guns. Well, it was upheld by the Supreme Court, and within a month later, the treasury was in to Congress saying they wanted a marijuana tax stamp act, in which you could not give, barter, sell, or whatever it is marijuana unless first, you got a marijuana tax stamp. And an ordinary person could not get a marijuana tax stamp. So, that is how we got the initial marijuana law in 1937, and it was actually over the best judgment of the head of the bureau of narcotics, who really wanted to just deal with heroin, and cocaine, and opium, things that came from abroad. He did not want to deal with things that were indigenous to the United States. INTERVIEWER Why did he do that? DR. DAVID MUSTO He had experience as assistant commissioner of Prohibition up until about 1930, that when you dealt with a domestic problem, you might arrest a local druggist, or the local doctor, [and] you got into a lot of difficulty. Also, you had problems with the federal courts. The federal courts would say, "Why are you in here with the minor case of someone dealing with alcohol?" It would be embarrassing and the judges would be difficult with them. And he thought the success of his bureau would depend upon being careful about what you were controlling. He did not want to control things that involved him with domestic issues in this way. He preferred to deal with something that came from abroad, and when you caught somebody with it you had done something that everyone was proud of. Now, of course, they still went after doctors and pharmacists, with regard to cocaine, heroin, or opium,... but the American people were so fearful of these substances that there was really very little complaint when someone was put out of business for a giving out cocaine, something like that. And, in fact, Anslinger worked very hard to prevent the FBN from ever having [to deal with] amphetamines, or barbiturates, or these other kinds of substances which are now controlled. He wanted a very lean, simple, administration. There's one other point I might make, and that is, he had a very small budget, the budget was only $2 million a year or so, and he would be cross-examined by Congress when he spoke before them as to how much he had spent on long distance telephone calls, for example. It was a very difficult time--the Depression. And so he was more than impressed with the difficulties he would have trying to control marijuana without any more money, without any more agents. So what Anslinger decided he had to do is fight marijuana in the media. And so he tried to describe marijuana in so repulsive and terrible terms that people wouldn't even be tempted to try it. He did something else that was quite interesting. There were people going around the country alarming parents about the use of marijuana among their children. These people he tried to shut down. It's quite interesting because once the law was passed, if there were any great agitation about marijuana, in the country, there was only one person to come to and complain to, and that would be Anslinger, and there was not much he could do about it. So actually, what he wanted, was silence on marijuana, but if you had to know something about it, what you would learn is that it was a most terrible, violent, repulsive thing, and you wouldn't want to try it once. So he fought his battle against marijuana in the media, you might say, because it was the cheapest thing he could possibly do, and he had no money to do anything else with. INTERVIEWER Give me some examples. How did he portray it and in what way? DR. DAVID MUSTO Marijuana was portrayed as a substance that if you used marijuana, you might suddenly run amok, you might stab and kill people. They really described, what you might call the paranoia of cocaine psychosis, but they attributed it to smoking marijuana. And that if you did smoke marijuana, there was an extremely dangerous situation and you might, on the street, just simply see somebody and think they were after you and kill them. There was a time in the hearings in which they had a color photograph of somebody who was beaten to death by someone who was said to be on marijuana. And they showed this to the committee. The committee misunderstood it, they thought, "This is what you look like if you took marijuana." And it had to be explained to them, "No, this is what someone on marijuana did to someone else under the haze of this drug." So, violence and release of inhibitions was the theme of marijuana in the 1930s. And, I've always thought that it reveals how much the general attitude we have toward a substance affects [and] the research that is done on it. Because in the 1930s, almost no research could be found which in any way would reassure you about marijuana. But in the 1960s, when I was at the National Institute of Mental Health, there was almost no research that was done that could find anything wrong with marijuana. So you have these enormous shifts and research, [that] takes place against these larger attitudes and it's also interpreted in these larger attitudes. So marijuana is an excellent example of how we have shifted our views on a substance. [The] image of marijuana [created by the government in the 1930s eventually] did [the] government great damage in the 1960s. Because when people started using marijuana and they did not become insane to any great degree, that completely undercut the government's image of drugs. And there were people in the 60s, early 70s, who if the government warned them about something, like say, methamphetamine or speed, they would think, "This must be a good thing to try." The government had really lost its credibility... what Anslinger did and what other people did in the 30s was all, they thought, for the sake of the people and of the public and so on, but it really, in the long run, backfired against the government. INTERVIEWER What specific means did Anslinger use in the media? DR. DAVID MUSTO The newspapers and magazines were his primary outlet for information on marijuana... [there] was a very interesting story on the movies. Anslinger was delighted, in 1934, when the Motion Pictures Association of America, made it forbidden to show any narcotics in films. That had been a very great criticism of films in the 1920s, that narcotics use was shown and even how to use narcotics. So, in 1934 the Major Motion Pictures Studios established a production code, and you couldn't get a seal of approval if there were any narcotics in the motion picture. So actually you couldn't use films. And eventually this upset him very much, because the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was his model of how he wanted the FBN to be, was getting all kinds of good publicity, and people like, Jimmy Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, were becoming FBI agents in the movies. And there couldn't be any narcotics agents in the movies because he had succeeded in getting narcotics taken out of the movies. Finally, in 1948, he got slight modification that you could show the narcotics agents and a motion picture was made, called "To The Ends of The Earth" with Dick Powell. And that does show the narcotics bureau. But no films were really out for him. And that was because they wanted the public to know nothing about narcotics, you see? Silence, was a very important element of the drug strategy, in the 1930s and 40s and 50s. The drug problem had been greater, it had gone way down, and they didn't want to wake sleeping dogs, so to speak. And, when it did start to come up again, when heroin started to be used again in the 50s, in New York and in Chicago and among younger people, and in Hispanic and in black neighborhoods, the thing they reached for was increased penalties. Anslinger had tremendous faith in penalties as a way of controlling things. In the 1950s, when there was a concern about heroin, the laws were strengthened and they introduced mandatory sentences, and they included marijuana in these mandatory minimum sentences. It was thought that if you had very severe laws on the books, it would discourage the pubic from trying these drugs, or using them to any great extent. Now there's a curious story about that, because in the first drug epidemic which peaked around, World War I, say 1900-1915, we had no laws against drugs until the public demanded laws against drugs. And when the public demanded laws against drugs, it meant we had a consensus in the country against drugs. People were very frightened by them. They [drugs] had been very easily available, we were the only country really to have a free economy in drugs in the 19th century. But that caused quite a bit of concern about drugs, and the effects of all this drug use. So when the laws came into effect during the first epidemic, they seemed to be very powerful, because they came right along with the decline in drug use. But in the second epidemic, the one we're in now, we had the most severe drug laws on the books that you could have! Including the death penalty after 1956. And we still have a drug epidemic. So, our current view of laws and drugs is a little bit different than it was for people of Anslinger's time, who really thought that the whole story was the laws. Because, actually, I think it's much more reasonable to say that the laws could help to some extent, and they had some value. But the real change of attitude was the attitude among the public which became very anti-drug and very fearful of drugs. INTERVIEWER What was creating the public attitude, though? DR. DAVID MUSTO We have in this country a pattern of looking at drugs and other substances, such as food, almost as an instrument to improve ourselves. To give an example of this--during each of the great anti-drug or temperance movements in this country, there's also been a very strong health movement at the same time. So these big movements that we talk about actually relate to what we think of the environment, and what we take into our bodies. And we became very concerned about what we take into our bodies during what you might call a temperance period or an anti-drug period. And that goes back each time we've had one of these in our history. So what we call an anti-drug movement, you could, at the same time, call it a pro-health movement in which people become very concerned. One example--Jerry Rubin, somebody I got to know in the 60s. He was familiar with, I think, all drugs known to mankind. And in the 60s, people looked upon drugs as instruments that would help them achieve something that they couldn't achieve by themselves. They were an aid in some way. Then after about 1980, the attitude started to shift. And people started to think that if you take drugs, you're reduced by that much. Jerry Rubin moved from trying any drug that was around, to having a dietitian come to his house, twice a week, to plan out the most healthy possible food there could be. In other words, he made the perfect transition from the 60s, which was tolerant of anything, to the 1980s and 90s in which there's a great concern about what we take into our body and are we healthy and are we exercising properly and so on. So, in a way, these large movements have to do with our attitude toward risk. And we move from risk-taking, to risk-reduction. And many things follow in that, including drugs, health, foods we eat, and so on. INTERVIEWER Do you think of marijuana as particularly symbolic regarding American ambivalence about drugs? DR. DAVID MUSTO Well, marijuana in the 30s was symbolic of Mexican immigrants, let's say, who were feared and were seen as a uneconomic surplus. And in the 1960s, when people took marijuana, it was seen as a symbol of belonging to something which was very moral, and was fighting the establishment. So you see that marijuana in both instances, as drugs often do, symbolized something larger. You can either take a drug, because it symbolizes something, or you can refuse to take a drug that symbolizes something. When I first started work on this many years ago, the first big surprise I got was the way in which cocaine became symbolic of southern blacks and the period before World War I. And the tremendous fear of blacks and cocaine. I had never heard of this before. Then in the 30s we have marijuana and Mexican immigrants. We also had smoking opium and Chinese immigrants. So you often have a drug that is symbolically linked to some feared group. It could go the other way, too. I remember that when Ghandi, in his experiments on truth, wrote about [how] he was trying to figure out why the British were so tall and so strong. And he decided [it was] because they eat meat. And although he very later became a very strict vegetarian, he did try to eat meat. And so substances can symbolize, positively or negatively. And marijuana has symbolized both. To some people, it has symbolized the best in the opportunities we have in the future--to change people and to make them more cooperative and empathetic. And to other people, marijuana has come to symbolize the decay of society and, perhaps, violence and danger. INTERVIEWER Almost like two sides of America... DR. DAVID MUSTO That's right. American has both of these images. America has both the image of being very strict, [for example], national prohibition. Very few countries ever had national prohibition. We had it for almost 14 years. And on the other hand, we're a country that's famous for heavy drinking at various times around the time of the 18th, 19th century, and about 1830, we drank, per capita, three to four times what we drink per capita now in alcohol. So the United States has both of these images--has the image of prohibition and abstinence, and it has the image of tolerance of drugs and whatever you want to take and as much as you want to take. INTERVIEWER Where are we right now? DR. DAVID MUSTO When you go to graduate school for history, you have to take an oath against predicting the future. I don't want to be thrown out of the American Historical Association, but I would say that the peak of our toleration of drugs was reached about 1979 or 1980. And since then, in general, we have been becoming more and more anti-drug. We've become more anti-alcohol. Alcohol consumption hit a peak in 1980 also, as well as marijuana hit a peak, about 1980. So, in many ways, we're becoming more strict. If you look at the laws on the books that have been passed, in 1986 and 1988, the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts, the fact that we now have warning labels on alcohol beverage containers and the drinking age raised to 21. Various things happening. The great acceptance of drug testing, for example. All of these things are increasingly accepted, because we are more in agreement against drugs such as marijuana. Now that is a particular complexity for marijuana because marijuana is used by a great many people. And I think that, actually, the American people are, in a way, deciding now about marijuana in a way that they could have never had the opportunity before. We are, in a sense, in the process of mulling over what we are going to do about marijuana, but when we looked at our attitude toward tobacco, and how that has accelerated, and how we're really moving toward the prohibition of tobacco. It may not happen, but we're pretty close to it now. And then you compare that attitude with what we should do about marijuana. You can see that this is in a period of much greater concern, and the desire to control, then let's say the 1960s. INTERVIEWER What about the medical marijuana debate? DR. DAVID MUSTO The medical marijuana debate is extremely interesting. There's no question that people who want to legalize marijuana are using the medical marijuana issue as a wedge, and something like that had been tried earlier with heroin, for the terminally ill. That is the idea being, if you can get one of these feared drugs to be seen as a medicine, then it's not that far to saying well, perhaps we should regulate its use rather than prohibit its use. On the other hand, there are many statements from people who have used marijuana in situation in which they've been greatly helped by marijuana and that's in their testimony. So it's quite difficult. You have, on the one hand, the actual medical benefits of marijuana, which are debated and then you have it being used as a wedge. I think that it would be quite possible to do studies that would confirm, so to speak, once and for all, what is the value of marijuana as an anti-nausea medication or as an anti-glaucoma medication. I've been told by an opthamologist that if you wanted to take marijuana for glaucoma, you have to smoke five or six joints a day every day of your life. Well, if that's true, and I don't know if that's true, that's a very different way of saying it's useful in glaucoma, then people usually take one drop, in their eye of another medication. So I think that medical marijuana is quite an interesting issue, and it brings up one other point I would like to make. And that is, before basic narcotics law in this country, which was the Harrision Act in 1915, all the states had different drug policies. For example, Massachusetts did not allow heroin maintenance; New York state set up clinics to provide morphine maintenance. That's how enormously different the states were. Well, we may be unraveling the national consensus on drugs, and bringing back to the states the decision as to what to do with drugs. Because the votes in Arizona and in California, suggest that their could be part of the country in which there's a different point of view. And I don't know exactly how that would take place, but for someone from a historical point of view, it's extremely interesting because the Harrision Act was considered a great achievement because it harmonized all of these state laws. But now, we may be going back to the situation where each state will decide for itself what it wants to do about some substances like marijuana, which is what Anslinger wanted to have happen in the first place! INTERVIEWER Returning to some history again--marijuana was associated with jazz, black jazz music. DR. DAVID MUSTO That's true. There's some evidence that jazz bands actually spread the use of marijuana and were a source of marijuana in the town that they went to. Now this is an allegation that's been made. I've never checked this out, but Anslinger said to me once "We had more jazz bands in jail in the 1930s than I can count." Now I didn't know whether this was just hyperbole and there's no way really to check these things, but there were well-known band leaders who wrote music for marijuana, including Benny Goodman and others, songs were recorded, were available, and this was another bane of Anslinger, the idea that marijuana made you play jazz better. And there was even a study done, in which they recorded people playing jazz under marijuana, playing jazz without marijuana, and the jazz played without marijuana was much better than the jazz played with marijuana. This is the kind of scientific studies that were being done. And jazz bands-- we'll take, Louie Armstrong, who is said to have never stopped using marijuana in his lifetime. In general, the whole attitude toward the substance became more negative. So, for example, in '46 or '47, Robert Mitchum was arrested for marijuana use and had to spend 30 days in the Los Angeles prison farm doing something. There was no talk about it at that time, about [how] he shouldn't have to do this or this was excessive, or anything like this. It was actually shocking news. That this had happened to most of the public. So whereas marijuana might have been seen as bohmeian kind of use of the drug in the 20s and the 30s, it gradually became something that was practically equated with heroin or cocaine. INTERVIEWER World War II--was there a big shift in the government's attitude towards marijuana? DR. DAVID MUSTO Well, what happened during World War II was that we were cut off from our supply of rope and the Navy needed ropes. And we had grown hemp in this country in the 18th century; John Adams promoted it very strongly from Massachusetts and said this would be a great new American economic crop. So the Federal Bureau of Narcotics gave licenses to a number of farmers to grow hemp to make rope. It turned out the rope was not very good, it isn't easy to make good rope and it failed. Anslinger told me that he gave out these licenses to farmers in the northern areas, like Minnesota, because he felt they wouldn't know what they were planting, and he wanted to avoid giving it to people like in Kentucky who knew exactly what they would be planting. I'm not sure this is exactly correct because I think there was some marijuana or hemp being grown for the fiber in Kentucky at that time, but the government didn't reverse it's attitude toward marijuana. But what it needed was the hemp fibers for the Navy. INTERVIEWER Speaking of hemp, I've heard what partly motivated the original laws against marijuana was William Randolph Hearst, who wanted to have a monopoly on paper manufacturing. Hemp was in competition for paper. DR. DAVID MUSTO There have been some unusual explanations of why we had the Marijuana Tax Act. The first one I remember having heard in the 60s was the alcohol industry just got through prohibition, and they realized that if you could grow marijuana in your backyard,[it] would cost you simply nothing to get high, you wouldn't buy alcohol. So the alcohol industry was behind the Marijuana Tax Act. Then I've heard, it was actually the DuPont Company, because the DuPont Company was coming out with nylon, and they were very fearful of competition from hemp, which was also very strong fiber. Therefore, the DuPont Company was behind the Marijuana Tax Act. And then there's the argument that William Randolph Hearst was really behind the Act because he had paper plantations and trees to make paper and you could also make paper out of hemp and therefore he wanted to get rid of hemp. And I've looked into these; there's no evidence that they were correct. I think they come from people who can't believe that you could actually just be against marijuana just because it's marijuana. And the Marijuana Tax Act, which I've looked into at great length, is fully explained by this agitation, which really was linked to the fear of Mexican immigrants and the pressures on the government, and then they're using the National Firearms Act model to form the Marijuana Tax Act. And I see no evidence that either William Randolph Hearst, the DuPont Company, or the liquor industry was behind it. But I would say about every five or six years a new explanation comes up. INTERVIEWER In a way, this whole debate over marijuana continually seems to bring in all these other themes in American politics. It seems pretty much like a trigger point. DR. DAVID MUSTO Yes, it had become that. When marijuana was outlawed, the congressmen who were in these committees and so on, really didn't know anything about it. They were very unfamiliar with it and they were taking the government's word for it. And I think, subsequently, it has become a different kind of a problem because now you have a sizable number of people who say marijuana is OK and then you have an often other sizable number of people who say it isn't OK. You really do get into all sorts of areas as to how we should lead our lives. Much of the debate over drugs comes from the philosophy of life. How should you live your life? Should you lead it in a rather controlled, disciplined way? Productive? Thinking about the future? So on and so forth? Or should you think about just today and the important thing is relationships with people rather than thinking ahead. Should the government intrude on your private right to do something? Or does the government have an obligation to take steps to protect you in ways that you couldn't protect yourself? This goes back to the federalist papers, or to the Constitution... and marijuana has become the symbol of how we should think about something, whether it's a medicine or not a medicine, a private right or a public right. And it is very rich--the whole discussion on marijuana is fascinating because people bring to it their deepest feelings and their image of how they would like the world to be run. Both world views are American. If you want to look back into American history, you can find both sides well represented at various times in our history, and how this is going to work out it's hard to predict. But I would say that the fight over tobacco... [there] must be a lot there to learn with regard to marijuana. How people have come to see tobacco and secondary smoke and so on the great alarm over this you wonder how much would be transferred to the issue of marijuana. At the moment, they really seem to be considered separate, but it's hard to imagine they can stay separate indefinitely. INTERVIEWER What was happening in terms of research into marijuana at the end of the 60s? DR. DAVID MUSTO Well, there was a lot of interest in doing research on marijuana in the late 60s as the Nixon administration was very interested in doing something about drugs and trying to get the NIMH to do more research in this. And out of the 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Act, came a request that there be established a commission to look into marijuana and drug abuse in general. That was called the Shafer Commission because Governor Shafer of Pennsylvania chaired it. Well, they came out with the conclusion that marijuana should be decriminalized, that small amounts for personal use might be fined like you might get a ticket. People who were involved in big transportation of it would still be arrested and go to jail. And this was very upsetting to President Nixon. Now, President Nixon, I think of all of our presidents, was the one most viscerally opposed to drugs. And he was very upset at the result of the Shafer Commission and I remember he refused to allow any pictures to be taken or be seen receiving this first report of the Shafer Commission, which was bound in a green covered document entitled "Marijuana: Symbol Of Misunderstanding," if I recall correctly. And the Shafer Commission was quite interesting because it started off with people who seemed quite conservative on the marijuana issue and wound up with this position, which is still considered a rather liberal position. So, Nixon did not accept this and what he did was set up large amounts of treatment and research and other things for drugs. And the decriminalization idea in the Shafer Commission didn't arise again until the Carter administration. And [during] the Carter administration, I think it was in 1978, all the heads of the agencies came before Congress and asked for the decriminalization of marijuana of up to one ounce and it was quite interesting. There was quite a backlash to this. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws had been formed in |
Park Geun Hye in 2013, noted that the United States would defend its ally with the “full range of capabilities available, including the deterrence provided by [its] conventional and nuclear forces.” Similarly, senior U.S. officials regularly promise an “effective and overwhelming” response to any use of nuclear weapons against the United States or its allies by North Korea.
That phrase was emphasized last year by Ash Carter and John Kerry, the then-secretaries of defense and state, respectively, and repeated recently by their successors, Jim Mattis and Rex Tillerson, in a recent Wall Street Journal op-edoutlining Trump’s North Korea policy. Clarifying that there are conditions under which North Korea would elicit its own destruction at the hands of the United States, then, has been a part of how Washington talks to and about North Korea. North Korea knows that a nuclear attack against the United States or its allies would lead to massive U.S. nuclear retaliation—total destruction, in other words. These threats, while undoubtedly gruesome, serve two important strategic ends: They reinforce deterrence against North Korea and reassure America’s allies that, if attacked, they would be backed by Washington’s full military might—including the nuclear weapons at its disposal.
The use of the conditional “if” in the above statements, and even in Trump’s General Assembly speech, is critical, as was what came before it. That’s why his promise of “fire and fury,” implying that the United States would use nuclear weapons first against North Korea in response to mere threats rather than specific actions, were of such concern.
But Trump’s remarks at the General Assembly are cause for concern, too. “Fire and fury” aside, official U.S. language has, of late, grown both more apocalyptic in style and less clear in substance—with implications for deterrence stability. On August 9, for example, on the 72nd anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki by the United States, Mattis released a statement noting that North Korea “should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.” Ultimately, these cavalier threats—some euphemistic and some less so—to “destroy” a country of 25 million people are a reminder of the dirty business that underpins nuclear deterrence and brinkmanship.
Both McMaster and Trump are wrong about the Rocket Man. He tests his missiles for entirely rational reasons.
As Thomas Schelling observed decades ago, the possession of nuclear weapons meant that “Military strategy could no longer be the science of military victory.” Instead, strategy “would be the art of coercion, intimidation and deterrence.” The implication: Telling your adversaries exactly how you’ll harm them and for what behaviors can be the clearest incentive for them to steer clear of those behaviors.
But let’s be real. Trump’s statement wasn’t a considered attempt at establishing what Schelling called the “balance of terror” between the United States and North Korea. Arguably, the threats of “effective and overwhelming” responses have communicated the consequences of any attack to North Korea now for years; if Pyongyang is familiar with America’s credible threat of massive nuclear retaliation, why rock the boat at the UN with needless braggadocio? Trump’s remarks must be considered along with his administration’s bumbling signaling to Kim, which has given him the impression that everything—ranging from direct diplomacy with fewer preconditions than the Obama administration imposed, to a preemptive strike—remains “on the table.”
Most importantly, however, it’s impossible to make sense of Trump’s threat without considering that second sentence, which implied that Kim—the “Rocket Man”—is on “a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.” The concept of suicide, when applied to nation-states and regimes, comes with a strong implication: That they do not seek survival above all else. Extending that reasoning, a nation-state that does not seek survival but instead seeks suicide cannot be deterred with threats of total destruction. If Kim Jong Un is indeed “suicidal” in his pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles, he is presumably irrational and, as a result, cannot be deterred.
Trump’s advisors have also intimated that Kim may be similarly irrational. H.R. McMaster, his national security advisor, recently argued that his brutality meant that “classical deterrence theory” didn’t apply to him—never mind that Mao Zedong’s China and the Soviet Union were similarly repressive and characterized as rogue, unstable regimes. Nevertheless, they were deterred.
Both McMaster and Trump are wrong about the Rocket Man. He tests his missiles for entirely rational reasons. Not only does he seek survival above all—that’s his entire reason for building a nuclear arsenal in the first place. As an editorial in North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun observed in August, the regime’s core takeaway from the submission of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi to disarmament efforts—and their ultimate fates—is that “nuclear possessors did not suffer military aggression.” Kim calculates that as soon as he’s able to place that nuclear device he tested on September 3 on the intercontinental-range missile he first tested on July 4 and fly it to the contiguous United States, his survival is guaranteed. That’s how he wins: by forcing Trump into a corner where initiating a regime-change war seeking North Korea’s “total destruction” would instead put Washington on a “suicidal” course. It’s unclear if Trump and his advisors understand this just yet. The repeated threats suggest they either don’t or are content to erode U.S. credibility for little reward.
If sanctions don’t change North Korea’s behavior, and if diplomacy is unpalatable to Trump, and war is an unacceptably costly option, the most likely path is for deterrence to continue to hold between Washington and Pyongyang. Allowing that to happen will not only require the Trump administration to take North Korea’s capabilities seriously, but to communicate its own deterrent threats as clearly as possible.
If Trump wanted to reinforce deterrence with North Korea at the General Assembly podium, all he need to do was succinctly communicate that any use of nuclear weapons would elicit the standard “effective and overwhelming” U.S. response. We know what that means; North Korea does, too. And so do U.S. allies. Instead, Trump delivered another round of inelegant and potentially destabilizing messaging that will only harden Kim’s resolve to continue apace with his ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development, and heighten the prospects for catastrophic miscalculation.Share this
Article Facebook
Twitter
Email You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license. University McGill University
MCGILL (CAN) — By examining eye movements, researchers have found that people with schizophrenia read differently and with more difficulty.
The findings could lead to earlier detection and intervention for people with the illness.
While schizophrenia patients are known to have abnormalities in language and in eye movements, until recently reading ability was believed to be unaffected. That is because most previous studies examined reading in schizophrenia using single-word reading tests, the researchers conclude.
[sources]
Such tests aren’t sensitive to problems in reading fluency, which is affected by the context in which words appear and by eye movements that shift attention from one word to the next.
The study, led by graduate student Veronica Whitford and psychology professors Debra Titone and Gillian A. O’Driscoll at McGill University, monitored how people move their eyes as they read simple sentences. The results, which were first published online last year, appear in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Eye movement measures provide clear and objective indicators of how hard people are working as they read. For example, when struggling with a difficult sentence, people generally make smaller eye movements, spend more time looking at each word, and spend more time re-reading words. They also have more difficulty attending to upcoming words, so they plan their eye movements less efficiently.
The study, which involved 20 schizophrenia outpatients and 16 non-psychiatric participants, showed that reading patterns in people with schizophrenia differed in several important ways from healthy participants matched for gender, age, and family social status.
People with schizophrenia read more slowly, generated smaller eye movements, spent more time processing individual words, and spent more time re-reading. In addition, people with schizophrenia were less efficient at processing upcoming words to facilitate reading.
The researchers evaluated factors that could contribute to the problems in reading fluency among the schizophrenia outpatients—specifically, their ability to parse words into sound components and their ability to skillfully control eye movements in non-reading contexts. Both factors were found to contribute to the reading deficits.
“Our findings suggest that measures of reading difficulty, combined with other information such as family history, may help detect people in the early stages of schizophrenia—and thereby enable earlier intervention,” Whitford says.
Moreover, fluent reading is a crucial life skill, and in people with schizophrenia, there is a strong relationship between reading skill and the extent to which they can function independently, the researchers note.
“Improving reading through intervention in people with schizophrenia may be important to improving their ability to function in society,” Titone adds.
Other co-authors of the study are affiliated with the Montreal Neurological Institute and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.
Source: McGill UniversityPhotos: Orlando nightclub shooting Police investigate the back of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on Sunday, June 12. At least 49 people were killed there by Omar Mateen, who was shot and killed by Orlando police. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. Hide Caption 1 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Bodies arrive at the medical examiner's office on June 12. Hide Caption 2 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Friends and family react after a list of hospitalized victims is released June 12 outside a hotel near the Orlando Regional Medical Center. Hide Caption 3 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Pastor Kelvin Cobaris embraces Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, right, and Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the LGBT Center of Central Florida, on June 12. Hide Caption 4 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Jeremy Glatstein donates blood in Orlando on June 12. He drove an hour to the donation center to show his support for the shooting victims. Hide Caption 5 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting A bomb disposal unit checks for explosives around the apartment building where Mateen is believed to have lived in Fort Pierce, Florida. Hide Caption 6 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Ray Rivera, a DJ at the nightclub, is consoled by a friend outside of the Orlando Police Department. Hide Caption 7 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Florida Gov. Rick Scott arrives at the scene. Hide Caption 8 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Police gather outside the home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where Mateen's father lives. Hide Caption 9 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Police officers gather outside of the nightclub, which describes itself as "the hottest gay bar" in the heart of Orlando. Hide Caption 10 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Ron Hopper of the FBI answers questions from members of the media on June 12. Listening are Orlando Police Chief John Mina, left, and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. Hide Caption 11 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting A police officer stands guard outside the Orlando Regional Medical Center. Hide Caption 12 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting A SWAT team member arrives at the scene of the shooting. Hide Caption 13 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Medical personnel wait with stretchers at the Orlando Regional Medical Center. Hide Caption 14 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting People wait for news outside the emergency entrance of the hospital. Hide Caption 15 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Police in Orlando direct family members away from the scene of the shooting. Hide Caption 16 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Shooting victims are attended to by emergency responders outside the club. Hide Caption 17 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Emergency personnel gather outside the nightclub. Hide Caption 18 of 20
Photos: Orlando nightclub shooting Bystanders wait at the scene. Hide Caption 19 of 20Manufacturing growth was much bigger than economists had predicted Phil Noble/Reuters
Britain’s factories are experiencing their strongest performance in nearly three decades as the fall in the pound gives exporters an advantage abroad.
The CBI said order books in June had climbed to their highest level since August 1988, while export demand hit a 22-year high. Economists said the findings raised hopes that a manufacturing boom might offset the slowdown in consumer spending and steady the economy.
The pound has fallen about 12 per cent against the trade-weighted basket of currencies since last June’s Brexit vote, making import prices more expensive in sterling but exports cheaper in foreign currencies.
As a result Britain’s factories are enjoying unusually favourable conditions. Not only are their goods more affordable overseas but the higher cost of imports makes products manufactured…The smartwatch market is one that's still maturing and getting off the ground, but for pioneers like Samsung, there's a lot of progress to be made. Entering the market some time ago with the original Galaxy Gear, Samsung knows what they're doing when it comes to wearables and their new Gear S2 has been the device worth waiting for. Or at least, that's what early figures are suggesting, that is.
According to a recent report, 180,000 or so units of the Gear S2 have been sold in just eight hours in China. That might not seem like a huge figure, and indeed it's not, but for a market where expensive technology items are often overlooked for more affordable alternative, this is a great start, indeed. The sales were made through JD.com, a very popular online retailer in China, which is perhaps down to the early success. Selling through the right outlet in China is part of the battle. The Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic cost around $350 and $390, respectively in China and while these prices aren't through-the-roof, there are cheaper alternatives out there. Of course, the fact that people are already complaining about supply shortages is another good sign for Samsung's first smartwatch in some time.
Whether or not Samsung can convert this instant success in China to a global one remains to be seen, but so far customers and critics have been positive about the new device. Will a look and feel that is much more like a watch first, gadget second than say, the Apple Watch, it looks as though Samsung have a winner on their hands. Here in the US, the Gear S2 goes on sale at T-Mobile Stores in just a few days, and while it's not all that cheap, it's nowhere near as expensive as the original Gear S was, and will be more appealing to more users. With a fresh new UI and more features, the Gear S2 could be one of the better smartwatch options for those with Samsung devices.Japan edged out Cameroon in a dour encounter at Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium which produced little in the way of goalmouth action.
A far from capacity crowd witnessed two out-of-form teams struggle to find any inspiration in another tepid World Cup encounter.
After a dire opening half-hour Japan took the lead against the run of play when Dalsuke Matsui's cross looped over Stephane Mbia and was met by Keisuke Honda, who fired in coolly at the back post.
Japan almost doubled the lead when Makoto Hasebe crashed an effort towards goal but it was well saved by Souleymanou Hamidou before the offside Shinji Okazaki clattered the post as he followed up.
Cameroon finally found some urgency in the closing stages as Mbia rattled the crossbar from 25 yards but the well-drilled Japan side were able to hold on and go level with the Netherlands at the top of Group E.
The Blue Samurai, who had lost four straight games in their World Cup build-up before drawing 0-0 with Zimbabwe, set out so defensively it seemed they would be happy with a point from the opening whistle.
And although Cameroon showed more endeavour, the fact that star striker Samuel Eto'o was played wide on the right and was often found lurking very deep meant they lacked any sort of cutting edge.
A 37th-minute shot from Eyong Enoh was the first goalmouth action of the game and, although it was comfortably collected by Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, it did finally suggest Cameroon may start to find gaps in the Japanese defence.
But the opposite was true as, despite their lack of attacking intent, Japan took a surprise lead one minute later.
Matsui's deep left-footed cross was completely missed by the Cameroon defenders and Honda had time to control the ball before passing into the net.
The Indomitable Lions are the most successful African side in World Cup history having qualified for the World Cup six times, but the pride and passion shown by previous incarnations was sadly lacking in this first tournament on their own continent.
Only one brief moment of class immediately after half time suggested Cameroon might rouse themselves from their slumber.
Three-time African Footballer of the Year Eto'o finally showed a glimpse of his ability when he picked the ball up on the right and beat two men on his way into the area before squaring to Maxim Choupo-Moting but the striker could not control his finish and blasted over the bar.
But that impetus was not to last and it was not until the 85th minute that Cameroon found two efforts which could have stolen them a point.
In a moment of inspiration totally out keeping with the rest of the game, Mbia hammered a stunning effort towards goal from 25 yards which crashed off the crossbar and following that Kawashima saved from Pierre Webo in injury time.
In fairness to Japan the Asian side's tactics worked almost perfectly as they defended solidly but on this evidence the Netherlands and Denmark will have little to worry about going into the tournament's second week.Sept 12, 2007 -A Metro train and car collided on the South Side has now resulted in the death of the car's driver.And it was all caught on surveillance video.It happened on the South Side at 75th and Exchange, just blocks from Lake Michigan.The video tape shows that both gates did go down ahead of the train crossing. Seconds later, a car is traveling southbound and hen makes a left turn, trying to head east but driving right into the path of the northbound Metra train.After the devastating collision the car is show in the video finally stopping in the northeast corner of the intersection. Both the driver and his passenger were badly hurt.The train's engineer could do nothing to avoid the collision.From the time that car entered that crossing, the engineer would have had no time to stop that train.Inspection on the site shows even when the gates are down, there is a gap between them, leaving plenty of room for a driver in the southbound lane of Exchange, to easily make a left turn across the tracks.Even John Henry, had he been a factory picker instead of a steel driver, couldn’t keep up with this robot. The Switzerland-based TP80 Fast Picker robot by Stäubli Robotics can sort your prescription bottles, Tic-Tac boxes – anything under 1 kilogram – at a blazing speed of 200 picks per minute. Line sorters and quality inspectors beware.
The TP80 has a work area of 1.6 meters. And working this fast, precision is key unless you want a stockpile of shattered merchandise. That’s why its movements don’t veer more than 0.05 mm off course. The 200 picks per minute rate is reached when its handling very light loads limited to 0.1 kilograms. It slows down to a still superhuman 170 picks per minute when handling its max of 1 kilogram.
It’s built for packaging applications in the various industries such as food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics or photovoltaics. Perfect if you need to pack lunches for a small army or switch out some cells on your stock of solar panels.
While TP80 represents yet another robot soon to run humans off manufacturing and packaging sorting lines, it still has some catching up to do if it’s wants to be the world’s fastest. ABB’s Flexpicker can handle a blurring 450 items per minute and has the strength to move items weighing up to 3 kilograms. And Adept’s four armed Quattro can move 300 items per minute. One advantage of having a TP80, however, is that it can be mounted on a much lighter base than parallel robots, making it easier and less costly to install.
Here’s a few high speed handling videos. Watching the TP80 handle the photovoltaic cells, I can’t help but think it would probably be an impressive blackjack dealer too.
[Videos: StaubliGroup via YouTube]Isaac Heeney held his own against the Blues in a losing cause
YOUNG Sydney star Isaac Heeney quickly noticed a worrying lack of voice among his teammates when he returned to the senior side.
It reflects the unlikely crisis that has engulfed the Swans, who are a game clear at the bottom of the ladder in a season in which they were tipped widely to be premiership contenders again.
Heeney was Sydney's best in their upset 19-point loss to Carlton on Saturday in his second game back after recovering from glandular fever.
"The first game I came back, it (was) really weird - compared to last year, it's dead quiet," Heeney told the Game Day program.
"We had a good start last week and then, just dead quiet.
"It's surprising and a bit of a weird vibe at the moment, but we just need that confidence back, play our normal brand of footy."
Teammate Dan Hannebery said voice and effort were basic areas where the Swans were now lacking.
"They're two things that don't require any talent - pressure and voice," Hannebery said.
"(They've) been a trademark of our game and two things you can control and do quite easily, no matter if you've played one game or 200.
"They're two areas I think we can fix really quickly.
"As a leadership group, we have to drive (that)."
Coach John Longmire was fuming after the Carlton loss and said the Swans were playing an unacceptable brand of football.
"I basically echo Horse's words - we're not working hard enough as a group at the moment, both with the ball and without it," Hannebery said.
"We're certainly getting beaten around that scrambled, contested situation.
"The numbers might have been even, but certainly a lot more of their (forward) thrusts were a lot more effective than ours.
"It's an area of the game that we pride ourselves on and we have to keep working hard."Witnesses Contradict Police after Car Runs Over Eight People in Amsterdam
Dutch Police have ruled out terrorism after eight people were injured when a car outside Amsterdam train station ran into them. But witnesses have given a different account to the official police statement of what happened and have described the incident as "terrifying".
Eight people have been injured after a black Peugeot smashed into pedestrians outside the central train station in Amsterdam. Six people were taken to hospital, two are in a serious condition. Two others victims were treated at the scene.
According to the Dutch newspaper, Het Parool, police spoke to the driver and asked to see his licence which he showed them. The man then drove off, hitting several people, and ploughed into a low wall next to an entrance to the metro.
Amsterdam police said officers have arrested the driver, saying there was “no indication whatsoever” that the car incident was an extremist attack. The car crashed at the entrance to the metro station.
“The suspect has been interviewed, and it appears not to have been intentional. But we are investigating further,” Amsterdam police said on their Twitter account.
According to their official statement, the driver, a 45-year old Amsterdam man, was approached by police on Saturday for an infringement after which he drove into a wall. Police sources told The Telegraph the driver became “unwell” and “did not intend” to crash the car. The vehicle reportedly has a cracked windscreen.
The driver had been parked somewhere on the tramway track, and asked by law enforcement agents to move his vehicle. He then drove away and became “unwell due to low blood sugar levels”, after which he injured eight people.
Eyewitnesses tell a completely different story. Several witnesses told Dutch news channel AT5 that the car had been driving at high speed from a different direction, questioning the police statement.
A witness, who at the moment of the incident switched to tram 26, was surprised at the police’s version that the man became unwell.
“I saw the car standing on the tram rails and thought well, if there is going to be an attack, then this is it. The driver was approached by two agents. I looked at them and walked on. I was about a hundred yards further when the car speeded away. It looked to me as if the man was intentionally fleeing from the police, but you will not be told the truth.”
The car followed the tram rails towards Damrak and finally hit a wall at the entrance of the metro. “He followed the curve [of the road].”
Read the rest at Free West MediaLast Friday, two tweets were posted to my feed within minutes of each other. David Duke tweeted: “Bannon, Flynn, Sessions – Great! Senate must demand that Sessions as AG stop the massive institutional racism against whites!” (Yes, I follow David Duke on Twitter — I now follow many right wing sites, I learn more from them than I do from the echo chamber of Facebook), and the New York Times tweeted out Mark Lilla’s opinion piece, “The End of Identity Liberalism.” In the new political climate we now inhabit, Duke and Lilla were contributing to the same ideological project, the former cloaked in a KKK hood, the latter in an academic gown. Both men are underwriting the whitening of American nationalism, and the re-centering of white lives as lives that matter most in the U.S. Duke is happy to own the white supremacy of his statements, while Lilla’s op-ed does the more nefarious background work of making white supremacy respectable. Again.
Mark Lilla and I both teach at Columbia University, and I acknowledge that this is a harsh indictment of my colleague. But these are harsh times. Lilla’s op-ed makes an argument for the commonalities between Americans, arguing that we have to move on to a “post-identity liberalism,” refocusing our attention away from identities to broader, more abstract ideas of “citizenship.” “Narrower issues,” like the right to choose a bathroom, should be worked on “quietly” and “sensitively” so as to not scare away potential allies. This argument, put simply, trivializes several generations of civil rights organizing in the service of breathing life into the dying corpse of political (neo)liberalism. What a curious time to take up that project on the pages of the New York Times, just ten days after an election that delivered the White House to Donald Trump, an avowed racist, sexist, Islamophobic nationalist, and vulture capitalist who defeated a person who made the best, and losing, case for (neo)liberalism. It turns out, Lilla argues, that Clinton’s loss can be blamed on the moral failure of identity politics, which “never wins elections.”
Lilla blames people of color, women, and gay and trans people for Trump’s election — a “repugnant outcome” he concedes. By his telling, left movements have indulged a narcissistic “moral panic” of identity that has devolved into whining about trivial complaints of invisibility, exclusion, and an obsession with petty individual feelings. This attachment to a counterproductive politics of identity and personal grievance, he argues, diverts our attention from the more important project of defending a collective commitment to a pre-civil rights-era notion of a national personality. This grander, transhistorical idea of nation is unmarked by difference and is strengthened by an attachment to shared liberal values. He argues that students, brought up on discussions of identity and diversity, have “shockingly little to say about such perennial questions as class, war, the economy and the common good” as if these forms of political discourse have nothing to do with one another. Talking about identity, or better yet status-based power, does not preclude discussions of class, war, the economy or the common good. And while Lilla grants that the women’s rights movement was “real and important” (an acknowledgement that resonates more as mansplaining than munificence), any benefits that may have been achieved by the women’s or other social justice movements, are premised upon “the founding fathers’ achievement in establishing a system of government based on the guarantee of rights.” Last I checked, the founding fathers denied women the right to vote, the right to equal protection of the laws, indeed, even full rights of citizenship at the founding of this great nation. It was the women’s rights movement that forced a correction in the liberal structure created by the founding fathers. Even worse, the founding fathers both countenanced and participated in the enslavement of black people, counting them as 3/5ths of a person in the Constitution, and building a modern liberal economy on the barbaric commodification of human life. But as Lilla tells it, this history, indeed the present facts of inequality, distort and degrade the noble purpose of American liberalism.
A liberal commitment to what we all have in common, rather than the divisiveness of “difference” or “diversity,” will set us on the right track, argues Lilla. He lauds Presidents Reagan and Clinton’s skillful mastery of a politics of shared destiny. If it’s liberal values that matter in this telling, then facts become less important: facts such as Reagan’s dismantling of the social welfare system or Clinton’s crime policy that resulted in the unprecedented mass incarceration of people of color. As you read this you feel like people of color, women, and gay people are just ruining it for everyone by focusing so much on themselves and on the negative. Come on guys: the founding fathers created a really great country! Get with the program.
Let me be blunt: this kind of liberalism is a liberalism of white supremacy. It is a liberalism that regards the efforts of people of color and women to call out forms of power that sustain white supremacy and patriarchy as a distraction. It is a liberalism that figures the lives and interests of white men as the neutral, unmarked terrain around which a politics of “common interest” can and should be built. And it is a liberalism that regards the protests of people of color and women as a complaint or a feeling, ignoring the facts upon which those protests are based — facts about real dead, tortured, raped, and starved bodies. The liberalism Lilla espouses reduces these facts of human suffering and the systems of power that produce that suffering as beside the point. What matters are liberal values and the idea of America as a “shining city on a hill” that deserves our allegiance, not our protest. The ways that racial inequality has been baked into liberalism through the structural disadvantage of black people found in the GI Bill, discriminatory lending policies, redlining, inferior education for people of color, and — oh right — the refusal to provide reparations to formerly enslaved people, are just glitches and not actual features of the splendors of liberal governance for the likes of Lilla.
Lilla’s evidence takes the form of a thought experiment launched while on sabbatical in France. While he spent a year reading Le Monde and sipping espresso in cafes in Paris — all paid for by Columbia — an “identity drama,” as he describes it, was taking place in the streets back at home — in Ferguson and Staten Island where Michael Brown and Eric Garner were murdered, in Hemstead, Texas where Sandra Bland was found dead in her cell, and on streets across the country where an epidemic of murder of trans women of color was taking place.
While Lilla grants that reading about the “fate of transgender people in Egypt” may be “interesting” it contributes nothing, he argues, to our understanding of the more important issues of Egypt’s political future. Aside from blithely reducing the fate of actual people to a matter of casual “interest,” Lilla’s premise displays shockingly little interest or familiarity with the ways in which dictators use their most vulnerable populations — LGBT people, women, ethnic/religious minorities — to advance larger state projects. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have both used the spectacular persecution of gay men and trans women as a ploy to legitimize and strengthen the expansion of authoritarian state power to excise from Egyptian society a convenient symbol of British colonial contamination. In fact, President Sisi’s mass arrests of LGBT people and infiltration of gay chat rooms are quite clearly the leading edge of a government effort to shut down freedom of expression and sites of resistance to authoritarian rule in Egypt — fueled by the proliferation of internet chat rooms and web sites that lie beyond the regime’s easy control. The persecution of LGBT rights has played a key role in crushing efforts to bring about liberal, democratic reform in Egypt. The Egyptian case quite clearly illustrates the essential connection between identity politics and authoritarian governance. Thus, I read in shocked disbelief Lilla’s coy condemnation of media coverage of human rights violations suffered by transgender people in Egypt as a mere “identity drama” that “contributes nothing to educating Americans about the powerful political and religious currents that will determine Egypt’s future, and indirectly, our own.” This statement is not only blatantly inaccurate, it displays an incapacity or worse, an unwillingness, to conceptualize power in complex ways.
To be fair, Lilla’s celebration of what he calls post-identity liberalism recognizes some merit in the work of Black Lives Matter and the gay rights movement, but a careful reader will note that any benefit they have achieved is measured by its value to people like Lilla — white heterosexual men. “Black Lives Matter has delivered a wake-up call to every American with a conscience.” Translation: White people, aka “Americans with a conscience,” have been given a window into the reality of the daily violent racism with which Black people live. “Hollywood’s efforts to normalize homosexuality in our popular culture helped to normalize it in American families and public life.” Translation: The LGBTQ rights movement is reduced to a plot line, (think Will and Grace), that rendered us worthy of (straight) American families’ tolerance.
Lilla closes with an homage to “the real foundations of modern American liberalism,” Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. He recounts the sheer delight (academics would call it jouissance) at the celebration of Roosevelt’s America in a way designed to induce the reader to surrender to a familiar sentiment: “Yes, let’s make America great, like that, again!” Roosevelt’s speech in 1941 was a call to arms, providing the ideological basis for U.S. involvement in World War II. A month after Roosevelt’s Four Freedom’s speech Bruce Tisdale, a 27 year-old African American man, was lynched in Georgetown, South Carolina by five white men who were outraged that Tisdale had taken “their” jobs at the local lumber mill. One of the unemployed white men accused of the crime asked, “Why the white man couldn’t work and the n—- could?” American liberalism in 1941 took little mind of the lynchings of black men or of Jim Crow segregation, just as the American liberalism celebrated by Lilla today takes little mind of the forms of structural racism that permeate the lives of his students, whom he ridicules as “narcissistically unaware of conditions outside their self-defined groups.” Lilla would be well advised to consider the same critique of his own celebration of white liberalism.
With Jeff Sessions, we will have an avowed white supremacist assuming the post of attorney general, and we should be hyper alert to the consequences of having his ideology driving policy from that office. At the same time, scholars such as Mark Lilla are doing the more nuanced ideological work that enables the ascent to power of a man like Sessions, rendering Session’s white supremacy not only acceptable but respectable.A 19-year-old man is facing charges after a bizarre accident in Surrey on Sunday at 96th Avenue and 128th Street.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SurreyRCMP">@SurreyRCMP</a> say 19 y/o driver apprehended by bystanders after trying to flee from multivehicle collision <a href="https://twitter.com/cbcnewsbc">@cbcnewsbc</a> <a href="https://t.co/lwlawghFDn">pic.twitter.com/lwlawghFDn</a> —@KamilKaramali
Police say the teen was driving against traffic when the car he was in collided with several other vehicles. When the car came to a stop on a median he tried to flee, but was detained by bystanders.
"And several of the passersby and people involved in the crash were able to hold that individual down until police arrived," said Staff Sgt. Dale Carr.
Police say the teen driver of this car fled after the vehicle came to a stop on the median. (Shane MacKichan)
The teen was arrested by police and is now facing charges including failing to remain at the scene of an accident and impaired driving.
"We're not certain if it's impaired by drugs or another substance but [he's] definitely being investigated for that," said Carr.
Witnesses to the crash say two people were injured and taken to hospital for treatment. (Shane MacKichan)
Carr says the suspect is also being charged for an incident from April 13 when a police officer tried to pull him over, but he didn't stop.
The teen is expected to appear at Surrey Provincial Court on Monday.
Meanwhile witnesses say two people were transported to hospital with injuries sustained from the crash.Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn
The following comment left by Matt Yglesias is a gold mine, which will generate a number of posts:
The state of the art thinking in DC, as I understand it, is that with interest rates and capacity utilization low monetary policy may not be able to boost NGDP by arbitrary amounts. Under the circumstances, to push it up non-trivially might require “crazy” steps that cause inflation expectations to become dangerously unanchored. So you need fiscal policy + monetary accommodation (i.e., bigger short-term deficit + Fed holds interest rates low) to produce the kind of moderate AD stimulus that’s wanted. Unclear to me where this model comes from, or what evidence people think they have for it. But it’s a popular view among professional staff at Treasury & Fed and is bouncing around in the heads of some important principals and “name” economists. See Peter Diamond’s remarks to Ryan Avent and what Donald Kohn and Joel Prakken told Dylan Matthews. To me this seems like what happens when a bunch of really bright people fuck up. Rather than admit that they fucked up, they’re devising clever theories to explain why they haven’t fucked up.
Matt’s very well connected, so I don’t doubt his facts. And his interpretation is also spot on. But I think it’s worth discussing all the reasons why the conventional wisdom is all wrong |
that more reports is a sign of comfort with reporting, while a drop could indicate fewer incidents.
The service saw a rise in reports over its first two years of tracking — 12 and 14 percent, respectively — followed by a 45 percent drop-off in fiscal year 2015.
"We believe that sailors are taking the issues seriously, they’re feeling comfortable coming forward and reporting," Burkhardt said. "And I think that our training has always helped them understand what behaviors would constitute hazing, and what sailors should do to take action."
Her office fields two or three dozen hazing reports a year, and until this year, gave them that label regardless of the perpetrator's rank or the victim's "new guy" status.
Since Navy Times last requested data in May 2015, there have been 33 new cases of hazing or bullying, 15 of which have been substantiated while five are still pending.
Year over year, the Navy saw a 45 percent drop in cases in fiscal year 2015, followed this year by about an 8 percent drop to date.
Leadership sees that as an indication that hazing training is working and sailors have a better handle on the line between activities with a "proper military purpose" and those that are just abusive.
But, Burkhardt said, "When I look at overall reports, if I have one, that’s one too many."
The Navy’s ability to track hazing is only as good as its ability to convince sailors to report what has historically been accepted or ignored.
To get a better handle on its prevalence, Burkhardt said, the Navy will be taking data from the same survey DoD uses to estimate actual instances of sexual assault, for example, versus reports.
"In the Workplace and Gender Relations Survey in 2016, there will be a question relative to hazing and bullying and the service member’s perceptions, if they’ve experienced or seen that behavior taking place," she said.
The Navy also asks for hazing information in command climate surveys, she added, but doesn’t yet make an estimate of how many sailors are being hazed. The goal, eventually, is to be able to calculate a prevalence rate from that information.
"Let me just applaud the military for starting to look at hazing for trying to create ways to report it," Lipkins said, adding that many colleges, for example, don't give choices for reporting or allow anonymous reports.
But, she added, tracking and training are not enough -- and according to her research, systematic training can be ineffective.
"When they just simply repeat things and drum it into people, they become numb and they don’t listen and they don’t take it in at all," she said.
The key, she said, is to first identify and even weed out people inclined to haze others by asking them about their past experiences in group settings, like the notorious hazing breeding ground of high school sports.
"You basically learn how to haze in high school, put that in your backpack and take that to the military, college, workplace," she said. "You need to assume that it’s there, that hazing is part of the culture. Families have been raised in this culture. Most of the people who are in the military now, even in leadership, have themselves been hazed or hazed others, or both."
The other piece, she said, is to lift up as examples leaders who counter and prevent hazing, so that a sailor never witnesses or experiences hazing and therefore doesn't pass it on as they advance.
"They have to actually recognize that some of the traditions, or most of the traditions, that are occurring are in fact hazing," she said. "And even though they are saying, 'It didn’t hurt me, or didn’t hurt anyone else,' the mere fact that it is acceptable is giving a wink or a nod to the abuse."I believe that humans are aspirational creatures. Deep down, we hope that in some way, we will be extraordinary. We want to believe that we will make our own positive little (or big!) dent in the world. It helps to give life meaning and purpose.
The thing is, the path to being extraordinary involves being different.
You need to do something, believe something, or simply be something that is not ordinary.
This isn’t always easy. In fact, most of the time, it is fucking difficult.
It requires that we step away from what most people do, and walk our own path. And when we do so, others may look at us as if we are strange. At the worst, they will laugh, snicker at, or bully us because hey, who are we to be different?
On my transition from academia to entrepreneurship.
Recently, I have been reflecting a lot on my transition from academia to entrepreneurship. It was definitely a large transition; especially because most of my friends don’t understand and/or appreciate the startup world.
The weird thing is that although some people laughed at me and discouraged me, I realized that internally, the change was actually pretty easy.
I’ve thought about it a lot, and I think I know why.
I have always just been different.
I don’t mean being different in a good way. For example, I’ve always been more athletic than most. Luckily for me, being athletic is a big advantage as a kid.
I mean being different in a bad (or potentially bad) way.
Here are three examples:
I used to stutter badly as a kid. Stuttering is not a cool thing. It gives people a really quick way to make fun of you. And what are you going to do in response? Begin speaking and stutter more? These days, I’ve learned to handle it pretty well, but as a child, it was an uncontrollable disadvantage in life. I can’t function in the morning. I’ve always been this way. Waking up early in high school sucked. In college, I rarely made morning classes. At work, I would occasionally sleep through morning meetings. And when I made them, my brain was slow. In the early mornings, I am always groggy and cold. Come midnight, my body is warm and I have energy. I am convinced I have delayed phase sleep syndrome, a case where your circadian rhythm is shifted from normal. I am more positive and laid back than most. My theory is that I just have a different world outlook than most. In my mind, we are here to live as well as we can in our time on this pale blue dot. I just don’t care about as many details as many others seem to. I’m here to have a good life. That shit you consider a problem? Yeah, its not such a big problem. Many friends who know me well just write it off that I am “well, just being Alex”. This isn’t necessarily bad, but somehow it occasionally gets twisted around to be bad in social situations. My usual reaction? I don’t really care. Why? It just doesn’t matter that much.
These are three cases (and I’m sure there are more) where I am naturally different than most people. Each of them can be a mild or huge disadvantage. It means that I will be occasionally picked out of the crowd because I am weird. It means that I can’t function on the same schedule as many in the corporate world.
I never could fully fit in with everyone, because I’m different than them. At first, it used to bug me. But over time, I’ve learned to accept and embrace the differences.
I am just different, and there is really no other way to handle it but be me.
A gift in disguise.
Being different, accepting it, and living with it has turned out to be a great gift.
Why? Once I’ve learned to live with it, being different isn’t scary any more. It doesn’t require any courage. It doesn’t bother me.*
Being different is my normal.
It lets me do things that others don’t. When I want to try something new, or be something new, I can just do it. I may be different, and others may notice it; they may even comment on it, or laugh at it, but who cares? Being different is fine by me.
In reality, we are all different, whether it be race, class, social status, sexual orientation, personality, looks, personal hobbies/interests, whatever.
The big difference is how we choose to deal with these things. And I say “choose”, because it is a choice. We can either deny ourselves, try to conform, and make ourselves miserable. Or, we can accept it, learn to live with it, and as a consequence, learn how to be different.
Choose the latter. Learn to be different, and learn to embrace it.
Make different the new normal. Therein lies an incredible source of power.
—
* Unless I’m cranky because I woke up early that day. Then all bets are off.
P.S. This is post number #22 in a 100 day blogging challenge. See you tomorrow!
Follow me on Twitter @alexshye.
Check out my current project Soulmix, your daily mix of food for the soul. Request an invite now for free access to the public beta!From a press release:
“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the written testimony she will submit for the record of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution’s hearing on a bill (H.R. 3803) that would ban abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy, having been denied the congressional courtesy of testifying at today’s hearing at 4:00 p.m. in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building. Norton will also speak at a press conference at 2:30 p.m. in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building on the bill, where she will be joined by Professor Christy Zink, a District of Columbia resident who had an abortion at 21 weeks, after doctors found severe brain abnormalities in the fetus, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, and National Abortion Federation President Vicki Saporta.
Norton’s office has received an unprecedented outpouring of support, especially on Twitter and Facebook from senators, Members of the House, and women across the country, who have spoken out not only against the bill itself, but also on the failure of House Republicans to observe congressional courtesy to allow the Congresswoman to testify at a hearing on a bill that targets only her district.”
Full statement after the jump.
What matters in the submission of this testimony is what H.R. 3803 and this subcommittee are attempting to do to the citizens I represent, and, therefore, I submit this testimony as part of my responsibility to them, and ask that it be included in the record of today’s hearing. However, my constituents would also count on me to note for the record the subcommittee’s callous disregard of long-standing congressional courtesy in denying my request to testify, in addition to the invited witnesses, particularly considering that the subject matter under consideration affects only my district. Unlike every member of this subcommittee, I am elected by, and am accountable to, the residents of the District of Columbia.
This is the second time in the 112th Congress that the majority has focused exclusively on my district while denying my request to testify. How very easy it is for the majority to gang up on the District of Columbia after supporting the continuing denial of its tax-paying citizens to representation in the House and Senate. How irresistible it has been to pick on the District of Columbia and its citizens with not one but two bills that the majority dares not try to apply to all citizens of the United States. The lack of courage of the majority’s convictions is breathtaking. Common courtesy and the congressional tradition of comity and respect demand that the Member elected to speak for the only Americans affected by a bill be allowed to speak for them, regardless of other witnesses who may speak to the underlying issue. Last year, I was denied to speak on H.R. 3, a bill that would permanently prohibit only one jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, from spending its local funds on abortions for low-income women. Today it is H.R. 3803, which would bar the women of only one district, the District of Columbia, from having abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Fortunately, the majority has not yet found a way to completely silence our residents. I thank the minority for inviting Professor Christy Zink, who has agreed to speak for us, as few others could, as a mother whose tragic experience compelled an abortion after 20 weeks into her pregnancy.
Some are debating whether Republicans have been engaging in a “war on women” in our country. What is not debatable is the Republican fixation on the women of the District of Columbia. The Republican majority, which was elected on a promise of jobs and devolving power to state and local governments, brought the federal government (and with it, the District of Columbia government) to within an hour of shutting down in April 2011, and relented only after it succeeded in re-imposing an undemocratic rider on a spending bill that prohibits the District of Columbia from spending its own local funds on abortions for low-income women. Although the abortion rider remains in place today, it has not satisfied the apparently insatiable hunger of Republicans to expand the reach of the federal government into local affairs. Today, they are moving from interfering with the decisions of low-income women in the District of Columbia, to attacking every woman in the District of Columbia.
H.R. 3803 is unprincipled twice over. It is the first bill ever introduced in Congress that would deny constitutional rights to the citizens of only one jurisdiction in the United States, and it is the first bill ever introduced in Congress that would ban abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy. Republicans claim that the bill does not usurp local authority because Congress has jurisdiction over the District of Columbia. However, that argument has been unavailing for 39 years, since Congress gave up that power over the District of Columbia, except for a small number of enumerated exceptions, with passage of the Home Rule Act of 1973. The right to reproductive choice was not among those exceptions.
The supporters of H.R. 3803 surely know that it is unconstitutional on two counts. The bill violates the reproductive rights spelled out in Roe v. Wade, as well as the 14th Amendment right to equal treatment under the law by intentionally discriminating against women who live in the nation’s capital. D.C. residents are used to Members piling on, but we will never hesitate to fight back, especially when Members have the audacity to try to place our citizens outside the protections of the U.S. Constitution, as H.R. 3803 does. As the Supreme Court said in Callan v. Wilson, “There is nothing in the history of the Constitution or of the original amendments to justify the assertion that the people of th[e] District [of Columbia] may be lawfully deprived of the benefit of any of the constitutional guarantees of life, liberty, and property.”
Why, then, a hearing today on a bill that violates the right to reproductive freedom, equal protection, and federalism all at once? The answers are inescapable. Republicans do not dare take on the women of this country who have voting Members of the House and Senate with a post-20-week ban on abortions. Instead, the majority has chosen a cheap and cynical way to make its ideological point during an election year. With last year’s civil disobedience, D.C. residents and officials showed that we will never accept second-class treatment of our city. Today we want this subcommittee to know that we will never accept second-class treatment of our citizens, either.Photo
The American-born choreographer John Neumeier, who has been the artistic director of the Hamburg Ballet since 1973, is one of the recipients of the 2015 Kyoto Prize, established in 1985 by the Inamori Foundation in Japan to honor “those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind.”
Mr. Neumeier, 73, is this year’s laureate in the arts and philosophy category. The Japanese chemist Toyoki Kunitake, 79, is the laureate for advanced technology, and the Swiss astrophysicist Michel Mayor, 73, has won the prize for basic sciences.
The winners will accept their awards, which come with a diploma, a gold medal and 50 million yen (around $400,000) at a ceremony in November in Kyoto, Japan.
The Inamori Foundation described Mr. Neumeier as leading the global dance scene today, and praised him for “raising the art to a new level.”About
We're not going to give up on Stardale just because of a Kickstarter. People are supporting us directly through our website where you can still take advantage of our backer rewards up until we release Alpha! Come join us at the official Stardale community!
We've received several people requesting PayPal since Kickstarter only accepts credit card payment. For those who are unable to user Kickstarter we ask you please check out our Stardale.net purchase page by clicking the banner above. You will receive the same rewards as on Kickstarter but with the option of paying with PayPal to make sure everyone can participate.
Click for higher quality gyfcat clip.
Welcome to the Stardale Universe:
Stardale is a large scale two dimensional open space universe combining adventure, action, role playing, and strategy into one exciting living, breathing large scale single or multiplayer game for PC, Mac, Linux, and PS4. Whether players wish to fly through the stars or build on planets, both planetside and in space are large open procedural generated sandboxes awaiting for you to explore them.
Using space vessels to explore the cosmos, players will be able to build classes of ships ranging from battleship juggernauts commanding fear and respect to research vessels in pursuit of discovery and advancement. Challenges and rewards await as players venture out into the stars and discover new and exciting worlds. Whether you want to battle in space or land on and explore new planets and worlds - there's lots to do in Stardale! Players can dig and carve up planets for crafting, research, development, building, and creating items, equipment, space vessels, space ports, player owned stations, and much more. Stardale sets itself by allowing players to fly and play in a fully controllable open space environment while also being able to build, tech, forge, and battle mobs, bosses, and other players on creative planets.
Fusion Boots available for Beta Access Reward or higher.
Stardale Key Features at a Glance:
Fly in space with with player controlled spacecraft!
with with player controlled spacecraft! Fully playable open universe allowing players to battle, discover, and explore new star systems and galaxies all created with procedural generation. Remember, you can fly in space with your ships and vessels!
allowing players to battle, discover, and explore new star systems and galaxies all created with procedural generation. Remember, you can fly in space with your ships and vessels! Open procedural generated sandbox planets to build, craft, mine, and explore on.
planets to build, craft, mine, and explore on. Customizable space vessels that allow players to mount weapons, gear, research equipment, warfare components, and science modules.
that allow players to mount weapons, gear, research equipment, warfare components, and science modules. Claim planets and protect them from invaders.
and protect them from invaders. Claim Space regions by protecting them with defence grids.
regions by protecting them with defence grids. Player owned stations for research, industry, mining, manufacturing, warfare, or defence.
for research, industry, mining, manufacturing, warfare, or defence. Manufacturing plants to manufacture items, ships, and gear.
to manufacture items, ships, and gear. Research labs to discover new technology.
to discover new technology. Industrializers to process ores and convert raw resources to complex resources for manufacturing.
to process ores and convert raw resources to complex resources for manufacturing. Intergalactic trade hubs for players to buy/trade/sell items, ships, and gear with in-game currency. Also to serve as meeting places for players.
for players to buy/trade/sell items, ships, and gear with in-game currency. Also to serve as meeting places for players. Large and small scale mobs and bosses both in-space and deep underworld.
both in-space and deep underworld. Tech tree’s and research progression to advance from early technology to space age technology and beyond.
and research progression to advance from early technology to space age technology and beyond. Player activated events including bosses, plagues, and disasters.
including bosses, plagues, and disasters. Creative and survival mode.
. Single or multiplayer.
Amazing pixel artwork by an artist with tons of experience working on other games including “Batman” and “Thor” for Nintendo DS.
by an artist with tons of experience working on other games including “Batman” and “Thor” for Nintendo DS. Client addons and API fully supported.
Player hosted servers:
Players can run their own private or public servers.
Customize servers to your own flavor.
Support up to 1000 players on a server (no hard limit set).
Tools to help you customize and host your server.
Option for addons.
Client and Server API
Achievements and Steam Features:
Achievements and stat tracking for PC, Mac, Linux, and PS4.
Social media achievement and stat sharing.
Exciting Steam achievements for PC
In-Depth look at some of the features:
Space Flight: Stardale has nearly countless planets, systems, and galaxies. Even better, you can fly and control customizable ships as you fly through space. Ships have mounts and slots for weapons and tech modules allowing players to create an array of different customizations from destroyers and dreadnaughts to research vessels and transport ships. Your ship is fully controllable and customizable by you. Furthermore you can build your very own player owned station in space (or as many stations as you want!) to use as a hub for research labs, industrial processing, defence post protecting a region of space, and more!
Forge: In addition to sculpting your planet you can also craft and forge your own tools, weapons, gear, vehicles, ships, and more by discovering different recipes and blueprints. By combining different resources, materials, and research together you will be able to create new items with unique stats, modifiers, and bonuses. Even better, you can buy/trade/sell all items to other players within the Galactic Stardale Economy at Space Ports and Trading Posts. You will be able to utilize industrializers, research stations, and manufacturing plants to create fun and unique gear with stats, modifiers, and bonuses.
Mobs and Bosses: The planets of Stardale will be filled with epic mobs and bosses. Conquering them could give you amazing loot. What is more, some may also give you prestigious achievements and even more rare gear. Bosses will vary from strong to epic, some so big and strong that it will take a very well made plan of attack to conquer them. Even more, you cannot always rely on yourself to kill them and if you're alone, sometimes using other tools such as auto turrets and drones may benefit you.
Tech Tree's: Players begin as early settlers and through research and development advance from a medieval period to the space age and beyond. Items will have unique stats and modifier bonuses with many item classes following their own progression tree. Tech trees are organized to allow players to decide on what they would like to focus on first.
Achievements: Stardale’s built in achievement and stat system will allow players to see and share their most proud accomplishments. Stats and achievements can be shared through a community web interface so that no kill goes unrecognized. In addition, Steam achievements will be fully integrated into the client through the Steam API. You can expect to track dozens of different stats from number of blocks mined or total energy produced in your power plants, to the number of bosses and mobs killed or light years travelled in space.
Backer Forum Reward Badges for Stardale.net and in-game!
About the Devs:
Chris is our software developer with years of experience programming in C#, Java, PHP, MySQL, among other programming and web scripting languages. He has built apps for Android, Windows, Windows Mobile, and now puts his effort into working on Stardale full time. Prior to Stardale Chris has served in the Canadian military at age 16, completed college and university with two degrees, worked for various private software contracts and is a dedicated and hard working developer with a high standard of success and achievement.
Kane is our online community manager. He has a decade of experience in the gaming industry running servers, building online communities, and working with developers. Kane was the founder of TerrariaOnline.com and a community manager working for the Curse gaming network.
Jose is our artist for the project. He has worked on numerous titles and has years of experience under his belt. Familiar titles that he's worked on creatively include Thor and Batman both for Nintendo DS. Jose has also worked on Skullgirls for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC among dozens of other games for both PC, console, and mobile platforms.
Promise: Our promise to you is that we will continue to make Stardale the best possible game we can; beyond launch we promise to produce and create as many updates, content, and releases as possible. The Stardale universe is large, complex, and offers a lot to explore and we would like to keep it that way. With that in mind we will do our best to ensure there is always an abundance of new content, mobs, npcs, quests, and stories to keep the game fresh. Stardale is a passion for us to build and create and we hope you will be just as passionate about playing Stardale. We invite you to join us, give feedback, and support us to help shape the future of Stardale.0
The 1991 action-crime thriller Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, is currently in the midst of getting the remake treatment. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the original film followed FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Reeves), as he went undercover and formed a friendship with Bodhi (Swayze), the leader of a group of surfers that were suspected of robbing banks.
At the recent press day for Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister’s directorial debut Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp, Alcon Entertainment producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew A. Kosove gave on update on the status of the Point Break remake being directed by Ericson Core. The two men talked about how they’re already well underway with second unit photography, that they’re shooting a variety of extreme sports (of which surfing is only one subset) in 10 countries across the globe, that it’s the greatest footage they’ve ever gotten at Alcon, how the narrative of the remake is completely different from the original, that the only thing they’re carrying over is the bromance between Utah (now played by Luke Bracey) and Bodhi (now played by Gerard Butler), that they are considering using the former President’s masks as a throwback to the original, and that the film will be in 3D and IMAX, but converted later. Check out what they had to say after the jump.
Question: Have you already started to shoot the Point Break remake that Alcon Entertainment is producing?
BRODERICK JOHNSON: We’ve shot some extraordinary footage with our surfers. And we were in the Italian Alps with the greatest extreme snow boarders in the world, shooting footage. We’ve actually been in photography on the film, beginning our stunt work with our real athletes. This is a movie with a lot of stunts and no stunt people in it because the stunts are way too dangerous for people who are stunt people. We have real athletes who do this, like Jeb Corliss, who’s the greatest wing-suiter in the world. His team will be doing work for us, over the summer, in Switzerland with motocross. So in any event, principal photography starts in June. But the greatest footage we’ve ever gotten at Alcon is the second unit footage that we have gotten with these athletes and what they’ve done.
Does the script follow the original film?
JOHNSON: Not at all. The script only shares in common with the original the characters and the nature of the character dynamic between Utah and Bodhi and their relationship. Everything else about the movie is different. The narrative of the movie is different. While we do have surfing in the film, it is only a subset of the extreme sports that we deal with, including free-climbing, motocross, wing-suiting and so forth. The movie is being shot in 10 countries across the globe. Kathryn Bigelow’s original movie was really ahead of its time for 1991, when it came out. That was really at the infancy of what extreme sports would become with the X-Games. This movie is on a much broader scale around the world, and the narrative of the movie is completely different. What we found fascinating about the original film, and is preserved in this, is the character work and the relationship between Bodhi and Utah, who are these two gentleman on opposite of the law, but yet, at the same time, share a common bond. That’s the one element that the two movies share.
So, it’s a bromance?
JOHNSON: Yes, it is.
No former President’s masks?
JOHNSON: Maybe. It’s tricky. We’ve thought about this a lot because the world of remaking movies, in truth, is a pretty risky proposition. A lot of them don’t work, as we have been regularly reminded. So, the question then becomes, “What’s the raison d’être for remaking a movie that wasn’t a giant hit, but is an iconic film that many people have seen?” I would argue that the difference is that the world in which a Point Break can exist today, as compared to almost 25 years ago, is profoundly different. Then, it was a few guys surfing in the Santa Monica bay and robbing a couple of banks, as compared to what Jeb Corliss does or what these big wave surfers do today. And the camera technology to be able to capture that, and not with green screen, of which we have virtually none in the movie, but in camera is not technology that existed 25 years ago. So, we felt that we truly could remake the movie in a completely unique and different way than the original film, and that’s why we’ve decided to do it. But the character work in the original film, which ultimately sustains any movie, no matter how glorious the bells and whistles are, and the bromance is fascinating. That is a central part of our story, even though everything else about it is different.
You’ve gotta keep the Nixon mask.
JOHNSON: Well, I think you’ve also got to throw in Merkel and maybe Putin, and a couple new people in there. Maybe we’ll put Nixon in there as a little throwback.
Who are the professional surfers you’re working with?
JOHNSON: Garrett McNamara has done a bunch of work for us. I think he’s one of the best today. And Laird Hamilton as out there for us. And then, we have a group of other guys, most of whom are 18, 19 and 20 years old. It’s amazing how young these guys are, and how extraordinarily talented they are. We got a couple of 70-foot waves. It’s the most incredible footage that we’ve ever gotten on a film. The force of the water is unbelievable. I’m a competitive tri-athlete and I’ve got a lot of experience in the water, but I can’t imagine dealing with 70-foot waves. And what Jeb Corliss and these wing-suited guys do is fly at 140 mph, and you keep your fingers crossed that everybody gets through safely.
Are you shooting it in 3D?
JOHNSON: It will be in 3D and IMAX. We’re careful about that. I’m mixed on 3D. I think a movie has to have a real value proposition to consider it, otherwise you’re just trying to take more money from [your audience]. I think this movie really does have a value proposition.
ANDREW A. KOSOVE: We won’t shoot it in 3D. We’ll convert it. One of the benefits of the smaller cameras is that you can really put the audience in with the action. When you start shooting in 3D, the camera rigs are very large.Photo
Donald J. Trump Jr. said on Wednesday that he inadvertently gave an interview to a white nationalist radio host who has been promoting it on his website as a major exclusive that will air this weekend.
The younger Mr. Trump, who goes by Don and who has been a top surrogate for his father, told Bloomberg Politics that the interview took place when the radio host in question, James Edwards, slipped onto a phone line along with someone else with whom he was speaking.
The comments from Mr. Trump came after a day of uncertainty, as aides to his father’s presidential campaign said they were unaware of such an interview, particularly since Mr. Edwards said he had been at a rally for Donald J. Trump in Memphis recently, giving the impression the interview had taken place there.
Mr. Edwards, host of the Political Cesspool show, said on his website that he received press credentials for a Trump rally in Memphis and had a 20-minute interview with the younger Mr. Trump, which he will air on Saturday. The show has been cited by groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center for fomenting hate and promoting white ascension, as well as anti-Semitic views.
On his website, Mr. Edwards showed himself in the press area at the Trump rally and also speaking with some reporters.
In the Bloomberg interview, Mr. Trump said that he had been on a phone line with a different radio interviewer and that Mr. Edwards suddenly joined the conversation. “He was brought into the interview without my knowledge,” Mr. Trump said. “Had I known, I would have obviously never done an interview with him.”
He added, “The way the media is spinning it is as though I voluntarily spoke with this guy and I knew his background, rather than I was essentially duped by him being in the room and asking an inane question where I clearly could not have ever known what or whom I was talking to. It’s very unfair, and typical of the way much of the media has handled us.”
The episode is the latest flap involving white nationalists for the elder Mr. Trump, who has retweeted accounts connected to white supremacists and who has been under fire for initially declining over the weekend to disavow the support of David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader.
Earlier Wednesday, before the younger Mr. Trump’s comments, a spokeswoman for the campaign said that it did not personally vet each person applying for rally credentials and that nearly 200 people attended the Memphis rally. The spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, added: “The campaign had no knowledge of his personal views and strongly condemns them. Donald Trump Jr. was not in attendance, and although he served as a surrogate for his father on several radio programs over the past week, to his knowledge and that of the campaign, did not participate in an interview with this individual.”
But Mr. Edwards insisted on his website that the interview took place and that he is being mistreated by the media.
“My show, The Political Cesspool, promotes a proud, paleoconservative Christian worldview, and we reject media descriptions of our work as ‘white supremacist,’ ‘pro-slavery’ and other such scare words,” he wrote. “As I clearly wrote in yesterday’s article, in no way should anyone interpret our press credentialing and subsequent interview with Donald Trump, Jr. as any kind of endorsement by the Trump campaign.”
Donald Trump’s Message Resonates With White Supremacists Intentionally or not, Mr. Trump’s campaign is mobilizing white supremacists, so much so that he has their support despite awkward attempts to publicly disavow it.jwordsmith / Flickr, CC The saying "30 is the new 20" doesn't always hold true — in fact, it seems to be the opposite for those in the software development industry. While some professionals are just beginning to hit their stride at age 30, the future for an average programmer can appear pretty bleak after 29.
The problem sparked a lengthy conversation in a recent Hacker News thread, where developers voiced their concerns about what happens once they hit age 30.
One even suggested that the solution to being "too old" at 30 was simple: developers should retire at 40.
Developers often skew young because older staff can grow tired of relearning their skills each time a new platform comes out. Second, and more importantly, companies frequently hire younger, inexperienced programmers to perform the same work for a cheaper salary.
This leaves veteran engineers with the option of moving up to a managerial role, which may involve overseeing other developers rather than actually programming firsthand. That work can be less creatively fulfilling than building an app with your bare hands.
"If all you do is 'write code' then you have to be prepared to 'write the same code' in a new paradigm several times," one commenter, ChuckMcM, wrote.
"Relearning most of your job skills every few years starts to get annoying the [twentieth] time you've had to do it," another commenter known as "bane" wrote.
The issue isn't necessarily new to the software development community. Vivek Wadwha, an entrepreneur that has given lectures at both Stanford and Duke University on entrepreneurialism and public practices, wrote back in 2010 that tech companies prefer to hire younger programmers with less experience. Citing statistics from the Bureau of Labor, professors Greg Linden and Clair Brown wrote in their 2009 book titled "Chips and Change" that salary increases for those working in the semiconductor industry slowed at age 40.
But the problem extends beyond the hiring preferences of today's tech companies. Some developers feel stifled by the time they hit age 30, as game designer Michael O. Church wrote in a blog post from 2012.
"By 30, most of us have decided that we want to do something else: management, quantitative finance, or startup entrepreneurship," he wrote.
It's unclear if this trend is expected to change, but aspiring developers are advised to prepare for the future.
One ancient — ie 35 year old — developer advised that the best thing to do is plan to retire by the time you're 40:
I'm probably going to become stale and outdated in another 5-10 years,... but I'm fine with that and don't have any drive to advance more. This can work because I'm also on track saving aggressively enough to just retire from full-time work by then.That was just his fastball. His slider angered the gods by defining its own gravity. He was notorious for getting a batter to swing and still somehow get hit by the ball. And he could do this to a rookie or to a Hall of Famer. Between his unorthodox arm angle and the sweeping spin on the ball, it was a tsunami of unhittable chaos.
To hit him at all took extrasensory wisdom. Just as you can’t climb Mount Everest blindly without expert advice or a Sherpa at your side, you rarely could neutralize Johnson’s work by guessing. You had to have a plan, find a pattern, |
The use of the E-meter, a simple galvanometer that Hubbard said should be held in the subject's hands, is alleged to allow the auditor to determine whether the subject has truly gotten over each engram. You are then what he called "clear" — free of engrams, and (supposedly) psychologically healthy.
What Hubbard did was to simply take something that's fairly basic — the fact that talking openly about your problems and bad experiences is nearly always helpful — and pretended to have invented it, gilding it with his own terminology and accoutrements. I've no doubt that many people who undergo auditing find it a positive and empowering experience. But they could have gotten the same result from talking with a friend, counselor, or even a bartender. The formalized structure surrounding the auditing process is like a series of appointments with a therapist, ensuring that you'll complete the process; and the use of the E-meter makes it seem all the more dramatic and impressive. There's no evidence that auditing is useful by any recognized psychiatric standard, but that's a different question than whether the experience is personally fulfilling.
Hubbard and his followers went to great lengths to try and get Dianetics established as a professionally recognized mental health regimen, but this was met instead with prosecutions for practicing medicine without a license, and bankruptcy. Unfazed, Hubbard then "saw the light", so to speak, and in 1952 he reframed Dianetics as a religion that he called Scientology. In order to present a quack psychological therapy as a religion, he needed a spiritual element; and so he drew upon his science fiction and created the idea of thetans. Thetans are immortal, incorporeal beings, who are reincarnated infinitely. We're each a thetan, you see, and before our thetans came to Earth we lived lives as alien beings on other planets, billions of years ago, accumulating engrams all the way.
The history of the Church of Scientology since then has been an unending series of lawsuits surrounding its tax exempt status as a religious organization in various countries, the use of its E-meters as unapproved medical devices, trademark disputes, and just about anything else someone might sue someone else for. In the United States, Scientology's tax exempt status was the longest running and most expensive litigation in the Internal Revenue Service's history, and it was eventually decided in Scientology's favor.
How do they pay for all these lawsuits? Well, they have a lot of money. Auditing is absurdly expensive, costing up to thousands of dollars; and each time a new member completes one series there is another even more expensive series to which they can graduate. Despite Scientology's claims of much higher membership, worldwide census estimates show there are probably around 50,000 people who identify as Scientologists. The vast majority of them are ordinary people like you and I, living normal lifestyles, who believe in the system and who pay for the sessions as they can. This aggregates into an enormous income stream for Scientology.
The most dedicated individuals may choose to go full time, and this means joining the Sea Org. Originally founded aboard three ships by Hubbard, the Sea Org members mainly live on dry land now, living and working at centers in major cities and at Scientology's various "bases", where they do things like produce videos, learn to become auditors, manufacture E-meters, and preserve Hubbard's archives. Sea Org members are paid under the same tax laws as nuns and monks, which permits working hours for religious devotees far in excess of what labor laws normally allow, with minimal compensation. Their lifestyle is extremely structured. They wear uniforms, outside contact is prohibited or discouraged, daily routines are strictly regimented, and they are subject to all manner of surveillance and internal penal systems administered by higher ranking Sea Org members.
Perhaps one of the best descriptions of the Scientologist lifestyle and its effect on members was revealed in Rolling Stone magazine in an article called Inside Scientology by Janet Reitman, later expanded into a book. Reitman investigated by three paths: She walked in the front door to their Hollywood campus and had the experience of an everyday new recruit; she phoned them professionally as a reporter and received a tour of their Gold Base in Hemet, CA; and she spoke with many current and former Scientologists. What she found were a number of disillusioned former members, and plenty of perfectly satisfied current members.
Scientology is notorious for its litigious nature. Their lawsuits are usually directed at former members who speak out against the church. Members are required to sign contracts in which they agree never to do such a thing, so these lawsuits are rarely trivial. The reality of the threat of a lawsuit is very much part of the pressure that Sea Org members are faced with when they consider leaving. Ordinary members rarely have to worry about such things, but being in the Sea Org is an all-or-nothing proposition. It's often compared to being in the military. You sink or swim. The structured environment better work for you, because if it doesn't, you'll find yourself on thin ice.
But such lawsuits are not the only reason that criticism of Scientology is justified. Their principal vehicle for attracting new income-generating members is a "free stress test" or "free personality test" offered out in the public, with no mention of Scientology, designed to be a quick, positive first experience with auditing. Then they draw you in with more such offers. As auditing purports to be a replacement for the sciences of psychology and psychiatry, Scientology often promotes a strong anti-psychiatry message, which is right up there with anti-vaccine quackery.
While I certainly don't hold to any of the Scientology philosophy, and I think their science fiction thetan story with Lord Xenu is as ludicrous as anyone, I'm puzzled by the strong anti-Scientology passion expressed by its opponents such as the loosely organized group called Anonymous. I'm not Amish but I harbor no resentment to those who choose the Amish lifestyle, and I have no problem with people electing to dress in naval uniforms and live in regimented barracks. Whether Anonymous likes it or not, there are people who thrive in such a rigidly structured environment. It works for them, and it's as valid a lifestyle as any other. It's available for those who want it, and if you don't, nobody's trying to force it down your throat.
There is no group of people in the world that's either completely perfect or completely evil. There are things about Scientology worthy of abhorrence, most notably their anti-science stance on psychology and psychiatry, and there are things about it that work great for those who choose that lifestyle. And so, although it may pain many of my regular listeners to hear it, Scientology is not on my list of the worst things in the world. Keep your skepticism healthy.
[A followup to this episode is at https://skepticblog.org/ addressing much of the criticism. - BD]
By Brian Dunning
Follow @BrianDunningFrom Britain’s National Health Service comes the latest example of what happens when you run health care like the post office: “Bullying, cowardly doctors left my baby to die like an abandoned animal, says grieving mother.”
A mother has described how her baby was left to die “like an abandoned animal” after hospital doctors repeatedly ignored her desperate pleas for help. Paula Stevenson begged doctors to act as her one-year-old daughter Hayley struggled to breathe in the days after a major heart operation.
She was so desperate she even tried “bribing” a nurse with a £100 shopping voucher to give Hayley the attention she needed. Instead, hospital staff “humiliated and belittled” her – treating her like a “nuisance” for speaking up, she said.
This is one of the hallmarks of government medicine–“‘Shut up,’ he explained,” migrates from the world of politics to the world of health care.
Yesterday, as an inquest into her death concluded, a coroner said there had been “serious failings” in Hayley’s care. Birmingham Children’s Hospital admitted full liability for her “avoidable” death. …
Of course, to the extent there actually is liability, it will be borne by the taxpayers.
Recording a narrative verdict, Birmingham coroner Aidan Cotter said doctors should have seen the warning signs when Hayley was still dependant on oxygen almost a month after her operation. Doctors failed to update her medical charts, were slow to look at X-rays and failed to refer Hayley to intensive care when her condition worsened.
But, hey: it’s all in a day’s work in the world of government medicine.BANGOR, Maine — Occupy demonstrators in Maine encampments toughed out the weekend snowstorm.
Many were muddy and wet Sunday afternoon but there were no clashes over the weekend with police at parks in Portland, Augusta or Bangor as there were in Denver, where 15 protesters were arrested by police in riot gear.
A handful of people gathered round an electronic keyboard singing hymns and folk songs in front of the Bangor Public Library early Sunday afternoon. A few more sat around a portable fire pit.
About a dozen protesters spent Saturday night in tents during the storm that dumped about 6 inches of wet, heavy snow on the city, according to Sunny Hughes, a member of the media team for Occupy Bangor.
“Most of the people who spent the night have gone home to recharge and warm up,” she said. “They’ll be back.”
David Chapman, 22, of Bangor said he was warm enough and dry enough overnight. The manager of American Retro, a resale shop downtown, said he was planning to spend as much time protesting as he could while working and “managing by phone,” if he needs to.
The quiet in Peirce Memorial Park next to the library seemed anticlimactic to concerns Friday over whether protesters would be arrested if they were in the park after 10 p.m. City ordinance forbids people to be in Bangor parks between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. There is no similar prohibition on people being outside the library when it is closed.
Officers in Bangor police cruisers drove by shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday but did not stop since protesters did not stray off library property into the adjacent park.
The library closed at 5 p.m. Saturday and is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Monday. Protesters have been getting power from an outside plug on the library patio, used to provide power for summer events.
In Capitol Park near the State House in Augusta, a contingent of campers was astir Sunday morning making breakfast and tying down a tarp that came loose in the wind, according to the Associated Press. But other than that, the group seemed undaunted by the wet, heavy snow and temperatures just above freezing.
One of the Occupy Augusta members, Sarah Therrien of Pittsfield, said the roughly 4 inches of snow that fell was not a big deal, in fact some of the campers were excited to see it because now they know they can get through it.
In Portland, police said the Occupy Maine encampment in Lincoln Park still was there Sunday morning.
The Portland group has been encamped since Sept. 30, and Occupy Augusta has been encamped in Capitol Park there since Oct. 15. Occupy Bangor kicked off its protest Saturday with a rally and parade that drew about 150 people.
All three Occupy encampments in Maine are part of a national grass-roots movement designed to call attention to the continuing economic problems faced by 99 percent of the population who are poor and middle class, according to organizers.
That 99 percent figure refers to all those who are not among the wealthiest 1 percent. People and corporations whose leaders are in that 1 percent have too much influence on the political process, Lawrence Reichard of Occupy Bangor said at Saturday’s rally.
Hancock resident Irene Bergman carried a laminated sign that read, “I’m 65. My house has been for sale for two years. I owe more than it’s worth.”
Bergman said she came to the rally to show the movement is supported by “regular people.” She said that despite her age, she can’t afford to retire and must continue to work.
“This is not what I was taught to believe life was supposed to be like,” she said at Saturday’s rally. “This is not the American Dream, this is the American nightmare.”
Paul T. McCarrier of Belfast, who was one of the original people who populated Capitol Park more than two weeks ago, said the Augusta encampment was well stocked with food and supplies. On Saturday afternoon, about two dozen people were erecting tarps over clusters of tents in preparation for Saturday night’s snow. McCarrier said there was a core group of about 40 people staying at the camp around the clock and a few dozen more attending when their schedules allow.
“We’re not leaving until our demands are met,” said McCarrier. “We’ll stay for as long as it takes.”
During a meeting Saturday night, the group added to its “Points of Unity” and for the first time officially adopted some demands. According to McCarrier, the group opposes any sort of waste from outside Maine being shipped to the state’s landfills and the government granting green energy subsidies to the any group or company that uses solid waste to generate electricity. Several members of Occupy Augusta have been involved in the o pposition to expanding the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town.
McCarrier said there were some among the Occupy Augusta group who were uncomfortable developing a list of demands at all, but in the end everyone was able to reach a consensus. He said plans are under development for who the demands would be sent to, but that he expected them to be presented to the Legislature.
Occupy Portland, which just passed the three-week mark set up in Lincoln Park in front of the U.S. district courthouse, has about 30 full-time occupiers, said John Schreiber of Portland on Saturday. As in Augusta, they were preparing for Saturday night’s snow. Some of the protesters were busy picketing in Monument Square, which might explain why there appeared to be only about 15 people at the encampment Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve got a lot of problems with the way the country is run,” he said. “Every time something bad happens we all feel it.”
Macy Lamson of Augusta said she has never participated in a protest or considered herself an activist, but that the Occupy movement has captivated her. As a college student with no place to stay when she’s not in classes, Lamson said she has been essentially homeless for the past two years, depending on the kindness of friends.
“This is my home for now,” she said, referring to the small tent city behind her. She said life there is difficult at times — many of the occupiers were struggling with a nasty bout of the cold virus — but the camaraderie and knowledge that the movement may make a difference is comfort enough.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Now Saudi foreign and security policy has gone into overdrive. Rather than carefully pushing back Iran and enrolling broad support for this effort, the approach has been haphazard, unsettling and counterproductive — and Iran remains one step ahead.
Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen, on behalf of the government forces fighting against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels has been costly and inconclusive, even after more than two and a half years. In fact, it could lead to the very outcome that Riyadh most wanted to prevent: the transformation of the Houthi movement into something akin to Lebanon’s Hezbollah — except much closer to Saudi borders. Indeed, unless the war in Yemen comes to an end soon, those well-armed, Iran-backed militants will soon sit atop a shattered state and a starved society.
The Saudi-led blockade of Qatar has been more successful. The effort to tame that country’s assertive regional policies has worked and the crisis has now been put on the back burner of international diplomacy. That said, the reputational cost has been high for all: A dispute framed by the Saudis as a struggle for the future of the Middle East is seen in many capitals as an unnecessary and disruptive clash of wealthy royals.
The latest Saudi venture — the forced resignation as prime minister of Lebanon and probable house arrest of Saad Hariri, once a favorite ally of Riyadh — has bewildered many in Lebanon and elsewhere. It is also likely to backfire. This move plays into the hands of Iran and Hezbollah, who duplicitously pose as rule abiding, despite having undermined the Lebanese state for decades, assassinating rivals, plunging the country into foreign wars and exporting fighters across the region. In contrast, Saudi Arabia was backing state institutions and working through established politicians like Mr. Hariri. What Riyadh has now in mind — and in store — for Lebanon is unclear.
In fact, if its goal is to counter Iran, Riyadh is picking the wrong battlefields.
Lebanon and Yemen are peripheral countries, where wars are costly and complex, outcomes ambiguous and returns low. In the Middle East, the balance of power is determined in Syria and Iraq. But in those countries, the costs are high and the risks even higher. And in both places, Iran is well ahead.To the conservative Heritage Foundation, comprehensive immigration reform is an epic boondoggle. To wit, in a report released earlier this week, Heritage puts the cost of immigration reform at a whopping $6.3 trillion. That’s nearly half the size of the United States economy.
But there’s a problem. To come to this number, Heritage assumes that unauthorized immigrants will claim the full array of federal benefits as soon as they become citizens. As Heritage president Jim DeMint explained on ABC News’ This Week, “We just want Congress, for once, to count the cost of a bill. They’re notorious for underestimating the cost and not understanding the consequences.”
Not only does Heritage assume a world where every unauthorized immigrant becomes a citizen, but it assumes one where upward mobility has disappeared—every immigrant is taking more in benefits than paying in taxes—and one where there are no economic gains from legalizing and integrating immigrants.
In the push to understand why Heritage would make such assumptions, Dylan Matthews of The Washington Post discovered an important fact about one of the coauthors, Jason Richwine, a “senior policy analyst” at Heritage. Richwine earned his Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University in 2009, with a dissertation titled “IQ and Immigration Policy.”
His thesis is straightforward and clearly stated in the abstract: “The statistical construct known as IQ can reliably estimate general mental ability, or intelligence. The average IQ of immigrants in the United States is substantially lower than that of the white native population, and the difference is likely to persist over several generations.”
He then goes on to prove each point. On the question of IQ, he relies on a broad variety of research, from the American Psychological Association—to underscore the extent to which established measurements have found racial differences in intelligence—to the work of the late J. Philippe Rushton who argued that these differences were genetic in origin. He cites one article that deals with the differences of the “negroid brain.”
In trying to explain the IQ differential between races, Richwine borrows from Rushton, arguing that “the totality of the evidence suggests a genetic component to group differences in IQ.” He tries to hedge against accusations of racism by noting that you can’t blame “obvious biases in test construction and administration” for the differential. And he gives an example of what he means when he says one racial group is less intelligent than another. These differentials, he writes “places the average black at roughly the 16th percentile of the white IQ distribution.”
There are a host of problems with “IQ” as a measurement, including the degree to which it corresponds with what we understand as “intelligence” and the extent to which IQ measurements reflect long-term systemic bias. Let’s set those aside. The more obvious problem is with trying to measure “racial” differentials in the first place.
Remember, racial groups are imagined communities; there’s nothing biological or genetic that makes someone “black” or “white.” These are social distinctions. What does it mean to measure “Hispanic” intelligence, when Hispanics come from a huge variety of socio-cultural backgrounds and environments? Hispanic isn’t a “population” as much as it is an umbrella term for populations, namely, people with heritage in the Spanish-dominant countries of the Americas.
The same is true of African-Americans or black people; there is no such thing as a “black IQ” that you can compare to other “blacks” around the world. Rather, there are the IQs of different peoples of African descent, which you can try to cross-compare, accounting for vastly different social, cultural, and economic circumstances.
It’s for this reason and many others that people are skeptical when anyone attributes persistent racial difference to genetics. It doesn’t help that proponents of the view tend to overlap with the fringes of Western life. Rushton, for example, headed the Pioneer Fund, listed as a white supremacist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its funding of openly racist groups and support for “research” into ideas of racial inferiority for blacks and other groups.
In his dissertation, Richwine writes that “No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.” More broadly, Richwine argues that the relative IQs of immigrant groups should be weighed when determining who receives permanent entry into the United States.
Not only is it easy to see the similarities between Richwine’s ideas and the “scientific racism” of groups like the Pioneer Fund, but those ideas also mesh with the policy conclusions of the Heritage report, which calls for a greater emphasis on high-skill immigration, as opposed to bringing low-skill migrants.
Heritage has distanced itself from Richwine and his dissertation. “This is not a work product of The Heritage Foundation. Its findings in no way reflect the positions of The Heritage Foundation,” says Mike Gonzalez, vice president for communications at the organization. But the entire situation raises questions.
Last year, National Review fired two writers, John Derbyshire and Robert Weissberg, over racist rhetoric, and in the case of Weissberg, ties to a white supremacist organization. But that rhetoric wasn’t as unusual as you might image. It’s not at all hard to find examples of conservative figures—politicians, activists, writers—who have had to apologize for racist remarks. Last year, for example, the president of the North Carolina-based Locke Foundation had to apologize for posting a graphic of President Obama eating fried chicken.
The Republican Party isn’t a racist organization, and conservatism isn’t a racist ideology. Nonetheless, over the last four years, the figures and organizations that have hit hot water over racially charged rhetoric have been overwhelmingly right wing. And survey after survey shows a conservative community that’s more likely than other Americans to hold negative opinions about blacks.
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly is going on, but there’s more than enough information to conclude that if the right wing is attracting racists and white supremacists, it might want to reevaluate its approach to politics.Maria Ruiz is going to successfully take charge of Piper Chapman’s prison panty empire.
Piper Chapman, Alex Vause, and a third mystery actress will have one intense scene in a cornfield together. Vanity Fair pinpoints this scene as “some of the best acting of the show’s whole run.”
Lolly Whitehill, Maritza Ramos, and Aleida Diaz are going to endure quite a bit of heartbreak this season. My best guesses are the fact that Lolly is going to come to terms with what created her paranoia–likely through flashback storytelling. Maritza is walking directly into the malignant grasp of C.O. Charlie Coates. Aleida will likely be shut out of Daya‘s life entirely.
Vanity Fair additionally reports that a lot of events will occur up through episode six, when things really start to set into motion and explode.
Other topics have been identified for this season’s discussions: the disenfranchisement of the United States prison population, the amorality of corporate greed, and the longevity of rape culture.
And there’s one HELL of an ending we get to look forward to this season! The writer feels that Orange has always been a pioneer in exposing the injustices of America; however, season four allows the show to “finally fin[d] its message.”
Digital Spy also reported that the very first episode “features on of the show’s very darkest scenes to date.”
Judy King has been singled out as Litchfield’s newest villain who has been sent to Litchfield to make each of the inmates’ lives a a living Hell.
Our favorite inmates sent to Maximum Security and the SHU will be reappearing in the first half of the season (that means Nicky Nichols, Sophia Burset, and possibly even Stella Carlin and Miss Claudette Pelage!).
The very first episode will not feature a single flashback, making this the very first episode in the show’s history to not do so.The Spirit Shaman character class was inspired by the shaman class published in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition Forgotten Realms campaign expansion boxed set, The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier (slade et al., 1996, Wilderness book, pp. 25-28).
The Spirit Shaman is a wisdom based spellcasting class with moderate melee capabilities. If you enjoy playing outlanders, barbarians, druids, rangers, or other nature based character types, then the spirit shaman class may be for you.
The spirit shaman class should be a great addition to any dungeon master's tool kit; the class is suitable for villains and other non-player characters. For example, the class is excellent for improving the flavor and increasing the difficulty of orc, giant, goblin, and many other tribal monster type encounters.
Please check out these other titles from Dragon Rock GamesDubbed AIRBN’P, this tiny 30 square meter (approx. 323 square feet) apartment in Budapest was designed by Position Collective to be a fun place to stay for style-loving people traveling to the area. To maximize the compact space, an elevated plywood platform was built to incorporate storage in a cool, modern way.
The platform holds a double bed which contains storage underneath. Behind the bed, an entire wall features a configurable system with removable pegs that hold shelves.
The storage wall continues into the kitchen acting in place of upper cabinets.
The owner of this flat decided to turn it into a short term Airbnb since the city has become a popular tourist destination in recent times.
Despite its modest size, the apartment still feels spacious thanks to the clever furniture solutions they came up with. Instead of building a bulky closet, a metal pipe was installed to hold hanging clothes.
A sandblasted glass window was installed between the bathroom and the main living area to bring natural light into the bathroom.
Photos by Balazs Glodi.B.C. Liberals made almost $5 million in donations from the people they appointed to the boards that oversee many government functions in this province – some 21 times more than the appointees gave to the NDP, according to a CTV News review.
More than half of the board members in dozens of government institutions, including Fraser Health, the University of British Columbia, the B.C. Lottery Corporation, and the Vancouver Police Board, are liberal donors, the review found.
It’s a sign that the incumbent party could be “stacking the deck” in favour of its friends rather than picking the best people based on merit, said Dermod Travis of government accountability watchdog Integrity BC.
“That raises some eyebrows,” Travis said. “You don’t want to conclude that the government has stacked the boards with supporters, but it’s hard to avoid it.”
But the B.C. Liberal Party said the connection is a coincidence.
“There is no correlation between appointments and donations,” spokesperson Alexis Pavlich told CTV News. “The appointments are through a transparent government process.”
The New York Times has called B.C. the “wild west of Canadian political cash,” reporting that lax rules mean no limits to donations and possible conflicts of interest when the politicians in government make decisions that relate to the people paying their bills.
Political donations have been an issue raised in the election, with the NDP and Greens promising to end corporate and union donations, while Christy Clark has promised to convene a panel to discuss changes.
CTV News built a computer program to check the list of 1,600 current provincial appointments across the province, and compare it to Elections BC’s database of party donors.
The results: a minimum of $4.78 million was donated in the past 12 years by the 343 liberal donors who B.C. ministers or cabinet appointed to the boards.
Of those, the top donor was developer Bruno Wall, whose name is associated with $604,000 in donations either personally or through companies such as Wall Financial Corp since 2005, when digital records started at Elections B.C.
Wall was appointed to the B.C. Ministers Council on Tourism through a ministerial letter in September 2015. He didn’t return messages to CTV News left through an assistant.
Philip Hochstein made about $40,950 in personal donations, and $246,934.50 in donations as his capacity as president of the Independent Contractors and Business Association (ICBA), a lobby group for tradespeople. He was appointed to the Fraser Port Authority by ministerial letter on May 18, 2016.
He’s also been named the Chair of the B.C. Turkey Marketing Board by Order In Council in January 2016.
Hochstein told CTV News he doesn’t have any experience with turkeys at all. But he said he’s been appointed because of his experience building an organization.
“I’m the chair of the turkey marketing board because they’re interested in trying to grow the industry. I’m pretty knowledgeable and I think that’s why they appointed me,” he said.
He said he gets paid $325 a meeting with the Turkey Marketing Board, and an annual retainer of $15,000 for his position on the board of the port authority.
“It’s not making my retirement, put it that way,” he said.
There were 90 NDP donors appointed as well, for a total of $222,000. That’s less than half of what the Liberals received from their top donor.
But eight of the top ten NDP donors actually gave more money to the Liberal party.
For example, the NDP’s fifth highest donor, developer Peeter Wesik, who sits on the board of the Royal B.C. Museum, donated $7,580 to the NDP.
But over the same period, he also gave $268,885 to the B.C. Liberals – about 35 times more -- making him the third highest donor to the Liberals.
Wesik also didn’t return calls to CTV News.
Wesik is an example of someone giving his time to make B.C. institutions better, said Pavlich.
“Many of these people are volunteers, like Mr. Wesik, so the idea they are somehow being rewarded makes little sense,” she said.
But Travis said there is a benefit.
“There is prestige, and incredible networking opportunities,” he said, adding that could further benefit a business that such a board member is in.
The top NDP donor is Lynn Bueckert, appointed to the board of Worksafe BC, whose name is associated with $47,471 in donations in 12 years – about $32,000 in her capacity with the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, and the rest personally, in monthly donations of $30 to $300.
In B.C., there is no cap on donations and unions and corporations can give what they please. By contrast, in the federal government, there is a maximum $1,500 yearly donation from individuals, and no donations from corporations allowed.HONG KONG — It was a humid summer day in Jingzhou, a city in central China, and Xiang Liujuan, a 31-year-old mother, had gone to the mall to relax.
Ms. Xiang never cared much for fancy clothes or high-end makeup, her relatives said, and on Sunday, as on most days, her attention was focused elsewhere: on her 2-year-old son, who was running around a mall playground in a T-shirt and blue shorts.
But after Ms. Xiang and her son had left the playground and stepped onto an escalator, frantic shouts broke out. A floor panel at the top of the escalator was loose. Ms. Xiang tried to avoid the resulting trap door, but she fell in. As the machinery swallowed her, she spent her final moments pushing her son to safety.
Ms. Xiang’s death, caught on mall security cameras, has provoked a furious response in China. Social media users have accused the mall of murder, and The People’s Daily, the main newspaper of the Communist Party, called on Tuesday for a thorough investigation.This is likely the quietest Tiny Desk Concert ever.
Something happened to Peter Silberman — singer and guitarist for The Antlers, a band known for its loud, soaring crescendoes — that hushed his life. In a conversation we had, he described a medical condition related to tinnitus. He'd experienced the ringing before, but this was even more intense. "I don't even know if ringing is really the right way to describe it, because it really sounded more like rushing water. This was at a level I'd never experienced before and it was really all-consuming, it took over. Playing music at all was out of the question. The sound of my own voice reverberating in my head was very painful — I had to just be more or less silent while this was happening."
After a time, he tried to make music again. "I started trying to play again and trying to sing again, testing where the boundary was of the sensitivity and of the pain. What I found was that if I sang very quietly and if I played guitar very quietly, that this would be a path for me." The result is his first solo album under his own name, a record called Impermanence. These are songs in slow motion; the builds are less about crescendo and more about subtle change. Peter is joined by Timothy Mislock, a former guitarist for The Antlers. It's a set of songs meant to slow the pace of life. Have patience.
Impermanence is available now. (iTunes) (Amazon)
Set List
"Karuna"
"Ahimsa"
"Maya"
Musicians
Peter Silberman (vocals, guitar); Tim Mislock (vocals, guitar)
Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri, Niki Walker; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Director: Colin Marshall; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Colin Marshall; Production Assistant: A Noah Harrison; Photo: Emily Bogle/NPR.
For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.A ruling by the IRS will allow Citi to dodge a direct hit to tangible common equity while saving money on taxes.
A WaPo story today notes that the government’s promise to sell its stake in Citigroup’s common shares would have qualified as an “ownership change,” forcing the bank to reduce the value of its deferred tax assets.* But the IRS said not to worry about it…
I wrote about the issue last month, mentioning the potential problem of an “ownership change.”
This news is a good opportunity to update deferred tax asset figures, which Reuters’ Stephen Culp has arranged into the following nifty chart:
The chart is updated to include all the common equity that banks have estimated will be raised to repay TARP. It does NOT include ADDITIONAL DTAs that will be created as part of that TARP repayment.**
The problem with including deferred tax assets in capital is that DTAs are only useful when you make money, but the point of capital is to be there when you don’t.
Imagine declaring bankruptcy and asking the judge to let you pay off your credit card bills with tax loss carryforwards.
Luckily, bank regulators take account of this, sort of. The measures of capital that they look at (anything with “tier 1″ in the name) exclude most DTAs. So that’s good news.
————
*For the really adventurous, here’s a slideshow explaining section 382 limitations for deferred tax assets that result from ownership changes.
**My understanding is that some banks are buying back TARP preferred at a premium to book value. This creates a loss for tax purposes, boosting DTAs. Citi also generates a DTA, I believe, by ending its loss-sharing agreement with the government.Calling all geniuses!
General Mills is having an open casting call for top-rank positions, and they’re looking for the best and brightest minds they can get. On the back of select cereal boxes is a brain-busting puzzle that, if solved, could net you a high-ranking job at the prestigious Fortune 500 company.
Advertisement
Think you’ve got what it takes? Take a look below at the puzzle currently in circulation and see if you can demonstrate the cryptographic savvy to put you on General Mills’ radar.
What initially appears to be a wall of random letters is actually a fiendishly complex cipher designed to weed out everyone except the most highly intelligent individuals. According to General Mills, somewhere in that mess of characters are words written in plain English.
Advertisement
Successful code breakers are encouraged to post their results on social media and tag General Mills so that recruiters can contact them with additional instructions. What happens after that is unknown, with internet anecdotes suggesting everything from applicants being hired on the spot to another battery of tests that narrow down the field of elite candidates even further.
If you figure it out, let us know!Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsWhite House pleads with Senate GOP on emergency declaration Cohen grilled by Senate Intelligence panel Pence meets with Senate GOP for 'robust' discussion on Trump declaration MORE (R-Maine) is calling on Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore to step aside, saying his denials of inappropriate sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl were unconvincing.
"I have now read Mr. Moore’s statement and listened to his radio interview in which he denies the charges. I did not find his denials to be convincing and believe that he should withdraw from the Senate race in Alabama," Collins said in a statement on Monday.
Collins's remarks are the latest sign of growing pressure from establishment Republicans for Moore to withdraw from the Alabama special election following a bombshell report claiming he pursued relationships with teenagers when he was in his 30s. The youngest woman quoted says she was 14 at the time and that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her.
ADVERTISEMENT
Senate Majority Leader(R-Ky.) stepped up his rhetoric on Monday, saying he believes the women in The Washington Post story and that Moore should withdraw."I think he should step aside," McConnell said during a tax reform press conference in Louisville, Ky., when asked about the calls from his Senate colleagues for Moore to leave the race.But the demands for Moore to step down appear to be having little public impact on the conservative candidate, who fired back at McConnell on Monday."The person who should step aside is Mitch McConnell. He has failed conservatives and must be replaced," Moore said in a tweet.The Washington Post's story last week detailed an account from Leigh Corfman, now 53, who said she had a sexual encounter with Moore in 1979, when she was 14 years old and he was 32.The report also included accounts from three other women who said Moore attempted to court them around that time, |
Republicans need to tell the country: Come hell or high water, we're not voting to fund Obamacare. We will pass a CR on everything else in the budget, but Obamacare is not coming out of this House alive.With four electoral victories under his belt in 2017, including a byelection win that left challengers trailing in the dust, United Conservative Party (UCP) Leader Jason Kenney is looking forward to assuming his role as leader of the Official Opposition.
During a year-end interview with CBC News, Kenney said when he brings together his caucus in the legislature, he wants to "raise the bar" when it comes to the cross-floor banter.
At times during the combative fall sitting of the legislature, emotional and hyper-partisan exchanges deteriorated into insults and outbursts.
No name calling
"One thing I want to do is get beyond some of the high school-level name calling that's come to characterize our politics recently," said Kenney.
While Kenney said he wants to strike a more stately tone in the legislature, he's not about to give the Notley government a pass.
He intends to focus on NDP economic issues, such as the carbon tax, which he says "have been bad for the Alberta economy," and don't represent good economic or environmental policy.
And as the NDP government signals it will dial back its infrastructure stimulus spending, Kenney is reluctant to offer praise.
"Even the premier seems to be signalling their intention for some greater restraint in public spending, but unfortunately I think it's too little too late to be taken seriously," said Kenney.
Calling for a period of "sustained fiscal restraint," Kenney has often pointed out that British Columbia spends 20 per cent less per capita than Alberta, "often with better outcomes."
"If we can get the economy restarted and growing at three or four per cent a year, and then restrain spending at zero or perhaps one or two percent reduction, we would get to a balanced budget by 2022."
That would be one year sooner than the balanced budget promised by the NDP government.
Building the party
Next year will be a year of "building" for Kenney's emerging political party, he said.
That will include establishing constituency associations, recruiting candidates and creating the all-important policy framework.
Kenney said UCP members will gather in May for a founding convention, after which an appointed committee will turn resolutions into a blueprint to guide the party toward the spring 2019 provincial election.
Until then, Kenney isn't willing to delve into the fine detail of what "returning to the Alberta Advantage," actually means.
"We got this far in the unity project in the past 18 months because we did it patiently, deliberately and democratically. That's how I intend to develop our specific policies over the next year," said Kenney.
For the aspiring premier, there are many challenges ahead.
UCP leader Jason Kenney says after the leadership race his caucus is now 'in the same direction as a team.' (Terry Reith/CBC)
Untested leader
Though Kenney, 49, is a lifelong political veteran, he is wading into uncharted territory personally as a new leader of a blended caucus.
Kenney said he's confident MLAs have now moved on from divisions incurred from the leadership race, and believes his MLAs are working together "in the same direction as a team."
Kenney said he has had the advantage of working in a large federal caucus, and observing other successful political leaders.
"My approach is to delegate. I like critics to be strong, proactive [and to] take the initiative in their own areas, not wait for micromanagement — that's not my style."
But it will be far from a free-for-all in the Kenney caucus.
Taking a page from the well-reported leadership style of his former boss, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Kenney vowed to keep a tight grip on who says what and to whom.
"We need to be prudent and disciplined, focused on the key messages and not go off in unproductive directions."
Kenney expects the NDP will continue to attack him on social issues, which he said they have done without success for the past year.
Kenney said that approach backfired on the NDP in the recent Calgary-Lougheed byelection, which resulted in NDP voter support being cut in half compared to the 2015 provincial election.US Supreme Court: No Cameras in Gay Marriage Ban Trial
The United States Supreme Court has banned the use of camera during the highly anticipated federal court trial on the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, Wednesday, January 13.
The court ruled 5-4, in the hopes of not turning the trial into a “media circus” and also, so that witnesses who testify will not be intimidated. The 17-page resolution said that the ban stays indefinitely pending any appeal.
The trial started Monday, January 11, in US District Court in San Francisco. It is being presided by Chief Judge Vaughn Walker. Walker have previously agreed to allow video coverage and the US Supreme Court said that they will delay the broadcasting of those videos until they can make a decision.
The justices who were in favor of letting the cameras stay are: John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. They believed that the nation’s highest court should have stayed out of the issue and that access to public trials should be a public benefit.
The five who imposed the ban are Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
The outcome of the trial is highly monitored as it may also overturn similar bans in other states.Just as has been done previously with huge stories broken by Newsweek’s Kurt Eichenwald, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow got a hold of some excerpts of tomorrow’s article and shared them with her viewers.
In this instance, Eichenwald’s report appears to show the real reason why Russia and Vladimir Putin are backing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The story also has the subtitle that claims Putin wants to weaken NATO.
One of the parts of the story that will come out in tomorrow’s issue is that Russia was apparently freaked out when the GOP candidate attacked the Khan family, believing that these actions would end up with Trump being forced out as the nominee.
According to the article, Russian officials who were hacking to influence the election felt that if Trump were replaced by the Republicans, the next candidate wouldn’t be as good for Russia. Thus, they stopped hacking documents for a while.
Maddow also noted that the article shows U.S. allies in Western Europe are concerned that they will not be able to trust Trump.
Watch the clip above, via MSNBC.
[image via screengrab]
–
Follow Justin Baragona on Twitter: @justinbaragona
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comJACK Trengove says it was surreal experience to have Mark Neeld replaced as coach on Monday.
Although Neil Craig will now be the co-captain’s fourth coach in as many seasons, Trengove said it was still a difficult situation to explain.
“It’s one of those weird things that you never wish any player to go through, having your coach sacked,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been through it before and it’s one of those things that, once the decision’s made and final, the only thing you can do as a player is move on and look forward to this week.
“We’re solely focused on this week’s game, even though we feel bad for Neeldy, because as players you’ve got to take responsibility for it all. But now that the decision has been made and is final, we can move on with things.”
Trengove indicated his frustration at not having had stability in a senior coach.
“Some players go through their whole 10-year career with the one coach, but this is my fourth in my fourth year and it’s the only thing I know at the moment, so it’s a matter of continually trying to improve myself and the team,” he said.
“Whatever Craigy has to say and wants to implement, I’ll do as best as I can moving forward with that, and when next year comes around and the club hires a new coach, we’ll go forward with that.
“It comes back to controlling what you can control, and that’s doing everything possible with the current coaching group – that’s Craigy and the remaining assistant coaches. We’re making sure that we’re taking steps forward for the rest of the season.”
Trengove said he gave Neeld a call on Tuesday to see how he was faring.
“I gave him a call and had a chat to him before he was going away for a couple of weeks, just to get away from everything,” he said.
“He did a lot of things for me as an individual and I’ve got a good relationship with him - that’s footy at the end of the day.
“Decisions have to be made - that’s what the club went and did and I’ll support them fully. I’ll just look forward to what the next chapter has in store.”
With Craig now in charge, Trengove said he wouldn’t have to change under the former Adelaide coach, who guided the Crows to 166 matches from 2004-11.
“I’m lucky enough to have a really good relationship with Craigy, which I’ve built up over the last 18 months,” he said.
“There will be certain slants that he has as a senior coach that’ll be different to Neeldy, but as a whole, I’ll just continue doing what I’ve been doing. That is, working closely with the other leaders and making sure that we’re still making improvements each week.
“We’re trying to develop individual players into a team, because at the end of the day, no matter what coaches and other senior people go through the club, the majority of the players are going to remain the same going forward, so we’ve got to prove ourselves to be a top four side of the future.”
Trengove said he and fellow co-captain Jack Grimes had spoken to the players since Neeld’s departure to ensure they remained “tight and close”.
“It’s an important role that we play, getting around each individual and making sure they’re dealing with this OK. Everyone deals with it differently,” he said.
“If people start breaking apart, then everything falls apart, so now the decision has been made and it’s been final, we have to move on and continue trying to improve.”
Trengove said this Saturday’s twilight clash against St Kilda was set to be a fascinating encounter, given that both clubs have both endured much publicised scrutiny.
“The Saints have been up and down this year and it is a winnable game to an extent, but we go into each game thinking it’s going to be a winnable game,” he said.
“We’re going in with a really positive attitude and Craigy will bring in a few different things and change it up slightly, so we’ll go in and attack every ball as we can. Hopefully we can come away with a good result.
“But it adds another element with the Saints having some off-field issues as well, so you can’t read into that too much. All I can promise is that we’re going to have a fair dinkum crack at them.”Delhi-NCR houses the highest number of online retail start-ups at 1,288.
Bengaluru may be called India’s technology hub, but Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region) is currently home to the highest number of start-ups at 8,772, reveal data released by Tracxn Technologies.
Hot on its heels is Bengaluru, with 6,818 start-ups, followed by Mumbai with 4,825. Hyderabad has 2,193 start-ups and 1,843 start-ups operate from Pune.
Further, the number of fintech start-ups running operations from Delhi-NCR stands at 449. Mumbai has 467 fintech start-ups, followed by Bengaluru at 405, Hyderabad at 128 and finally Pune at 103.
Delhi-NCR also houses the highest number of online retail start-ups at 1,288. Companies including Snapdeal, Limeroad, Paytm Mall and Shopclues are based in the region. As for Mumbai, it is has 645 online retail start-ups running their operations, followed by Bengaluru at 541. Hyderabad is home to 127 online retail start-ups.
Analysts say more and more next-generation entrepreneurs are breaking away from traditional businesses to start their own entities in cities like Delhi-NCR. “Majority of the start-ups in Bengaluru have been technology-oriented ideas, most of these were technology professionals. Many more professionals as well as children of business families are beginning the start-up journey in the NCR region. This shows that start-ups that are set up today are not limited to technology ideas but are spreading fast to financial services, consumer services as well as companies in the ecosystem play,” said Sreedhar Prasad, lead, e-commerce and start-ups, at KPMG.
As a majority of start-ups operate in Delhi-NCR, this has also ensured that the region receives most of the funds invested by venture capitalist firms.
According to a recent report by equity research firm Jefferies, close to $4 billion has been invested in the six months to June, compared with $1.6 billion in the corresponding period of 2016.
However, while earlier in the year the investments were spread across several players, Paytm and Oyo hogged about 70% of the total funding in the April-June quarter of 2017. Investors appear to be especially keen to support fintech players — the sector soaked up a chunk of the funds that flowed in.
Almost a third of the money that moved in went into fin-tech while another third found its way into e-tailing. In 2016, fintech attracted less than 10% of the funds.
This also reflects the fact that compared to the rest of the cities, Delhi-based fintech start-ups pocketed the majority of the funds. For instance, payments wallet Paytm picked up over $1 billion from SoftBank in May at a valuation of nearly $7 billion. Following the fundraising, SoftBank joined Alibaba Group as a major shareholder and secured a seat on the Paytm board.
Other players in the fintech space that found supporters include Freecharge, CreditMantri, CCavenues, Mswipe, Coverfox, True Balance, MoneyTap, Perfios and Paysense; the companies operate in segments such as lending, insurance and finance management solutions.
While the industry had started seeing some consolidation in early 2016, the subsequent shortage of cash that followed demonetisation and the anxieties ahead of the roll-out of the goods and services tax have both hurt business badly.“Australia” Review
Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia” could’ve been a good movie. Thats the biggest flaw in a film full of them. Luhrmann knows how to work a camera, thats damn sure. “Australia” features some beautiful shots of cinematography. What Luhrmann obviously doesn’t comprehend is everything else about filmmaking, including but not limited to: Pacing, Character Development, Dialogue, Suspension of Disbelief and most egregious of all how to make an audience care about whats happening on screen.
“Australia” is a passion project, clearly designed to be an outback “Gone With the Wind”. It is also a film with few redeeming qualities. It is hard for me as a reviewer to decide where I should begin to list the things wrong with this cinematic disaster. Here is a film that is so bad its initially funny, but eventually it spirals the viewer into irritation and apathy.
I shall start with one good thing about the film, so as not to seem to negative. There is one truly funny moment in the beginning when Nicole Kidman’s Lady Ashley and Hugh Jackman’s Drover are driving in the outback and come across a pack of Kangaroos (Is pack correct? Flock, Gaggle, Pride? Who knows). Kidman immediately fawns over the beautiful creatures and the result is laugh out loud hilarious.
It is telling that the only positive I can find in this film is a 45 second moment. It is now time to proceed to list the many things wrong with “Australia”.
1. Relatable and Interesting Characters. One key to making an effective film is to invest the viewer in the onscreen action. This is done through character development, giving them a background that is identifiable and thus makes their growth as human beings gratifying. Baz Luhrmann has given us characters that instead of piquing interest, serve to annoy and anger. There were multiple occasions in this film where if I could, I literally would have reached into the TV screen and punched a character in the head. This sounds like hyperbole, but its not. Nicole Kidman is insufferably irritating, and all attempts to make her a plucky hero or love interest fail miserably under the weight of her awful performance. Hugh Jackman plays a drover named… Drover. That’s enough information right there to tell how bad that character is.
There are two major death scenes in the film, both of which receive elongated attention and melodramatic reactions. These come off as comical and stupid since neither character is remotely appreciated by the viewer, in fact one is hardly developed at all. The other character is a two dimensional stereotype that is apparently supposed to be a fully formed mentor figure. Continuing the two dimensional motif, we get: Irritating Aboriginal stereotypes who naturally can do no wrong, as atonement for the evil white man’s sins against them, Simple villains who only exist to explain their motives and drive the plot, an old man who exclaims observations that are straight out of a parody of a similar film (“Why, who is that? Its… Lady Ashley! Looks like we’ve got a little competition now!” Gag.), a chinese stereotype, the supportive army captain who serves only to believe in others and more.
The worst of the character sins is the character Nullah, a young Aboriginal boy who is one of the most obnoxiously precocious and annoying characters ever set to celluloid. The child actor playing him is a poster child for why children who aren’t named Haley Joel Osmet or Jodie Foster should never ever act before the age of 13. This kid will truly enrage you, especially when he’s supposed to be charming and special. It doesn’t help that he’s the films narrator. By the end of the film I was seriously hoping that this little boy would die.
2. Dialogue. Not one line feels natural. Every single word seems as if its been pulled from a parody of a Michael Bay adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Pretentious and stilted, the heavy Australian accents mixed with some truly laughable acting, especially from the Aborigines (who apparently not one of has ever taken a drama class) make the dialogue somehow worse.
3. Pillaging a Classic. “The Wizard of Oz” is referenced time and time again in this film. What is Luhrmann trying to do here? Convince me that this film is good by reminding me what quality cinema actually is? What he actually does is make me wish I was watching that film instead. He also refuses to stop playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. He rapes “The Wizard of Oz” until I actually despised seeing his repeated references to it.
4. Believability and Reality. Do I believe that there is really this much evil scheming and violence all over 1500 head of cattle to be sold to the Australian army for soldier’s beef rations? Is that a serious question? It’s ludicrous. First of all, if the evil cattle company had a real monopoly then the small underdog Faraway Downs wouldn’t be a threat, and even if they couldn’t match prices the army would need more than 1500 hamburgers to supply the entirety of their forces for all of WWII. Secondly, the fact that all of Australia seems to be so invested in the cattle trade that they would whoop and holler when the cattle arrive simply tells you how sad life in Australia must be.
Another huge hole in logic aside from, well, the entire plot, is that apparently magic exists. Yes the little boy Nullah manages to stop a cattle stampede with his mind. If only they could have trampled the brat into a bloody pulp and forced him off the cliff… but no instead we learn about Aboriginal magic. I frankly think that this film is an insult to Aborigines. Instead of making them seem like real people it turns them into ignorant witch doctors and mami’s. It does to them what “Gone With the Wind” did to blacks, except this is worse since Luhrmann is actually TRYING to portray them positively.
5. Pacing. This film is too long. Period. The scenes that seem interesting, the ones we’d like to see more of are brushed by too quickly. The ones that are painful and that should end abruptly instead drag out way beyond their necessary end point.
6. Nicole Kidman’s Forehead. It keeps growing bigger every day.
7. Australian Accents. I don’t really mind Australian Accents usually. We have family friends from the continent. Films like “Crocodile Dundee” feature a heavy accent, yet its offset by other accents as well. The accents in “Australia” are so heavy and strong that it will literally drive you, the viewer insane. Hugh Jackman’s bearable, I suppose, but David Wenham, an actor I actually like, has an accent that grates one’s ears like sandpaper. Every time he said the word “power” (I count at least 5 instances) it made me cringe. The only accents to offset these Aussies, are Kidman’s terrible British inflections and aboriginal accents which are somehow more irritating than any other accent on earth. Imagine a film starring Jim Varney, Larry the Cable Guy and Sam Elliot. Now multiply that pain by tenfold.
8. Use of Blackface. Seriously, I kid you not, there is blackface in this film. The one aborigine woman who is supposed to be attractive is a white woman in black face. If that’s not insulting to a people that you’re supposedly championing I don’t know what is.
9. Bad CGI. Do those look like real cows? No. Do those background look like they are there? No. Do those planes look real? No. Should a film that cost more than three times as much as “District 9” look three times worse? No.
10. Pointless Subtitles. Please explain why random sentences that are spoken in plain fucking English are subtitled in this film. Was that easier than doing another take where Luhrmann asked the actors to actually enunciate?
I’m going to stop here because I’m tired and don’t feel like nitpicking. This is a film with an endless amount of things wrong with it, and frankly it may be one of the most laughably misdirected efforts ever. Every single idea it has backfires completely. It’s fitting that the last shot of the film is of a man’s ass. One walks out of the film loathing the characters, feeling aggravated and infuriated. This is a movie on par with the Robert Redford starring “Great Gatsby”, a film that devalues its medium, and tarnishes an art form, a country, a race, and an entire continent.
0.5 out of 5 starsThe teenage girl who killed seven-year-old Katie Rough had been taken out of school over mental health issues and had warned she was "mentally not okay" just two days earlier.
The 15-year-old asphyxiated Katie on a playing field with a gloved hand before using a Stanley knife to make a 6cm slash to her neck and 20cm cut to her torso while suffering from nightmarish "macabre" delusions.
She had wanted to test whether or not her victim was a robot, Leeds Crown Court heard. She left drawings of stick men "inflicting killing and death" beside Katie with a note saying: "They are not human, they are not real".
The court was told the teenage girl's behaviour had been "flagged up" over a suspicion she was suffering from psychosis.
But although she was prescribed the drug fluoxetine for anxiety and depression in December 2016 and was put into the care of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), she had not been given a full psychiatric assessment.This year has not been a peaceful one for Harvard’s unrecognized final clubs. After months of intense administrative pressure to reform membership policies, a University-wide task force report in March took the clubs to task for “a culture often inimical to Harvard’s mission.” Citing data from a University-wide sexual misconduct survey conducted last year in tandem with the Association of American Universities, the report argued that single-gender final clubs significantly contribute to campus sexual assault.
“The qualitative and quantitative information before us is deeply troubling and requires a strong response from Harvard,” the task force wrote.
On Wednesday, though, a professional statistical analyst, commissioned by the 225-year old Porcellian Club, sharply criticized the Harvard sexual assault prevention task force’s interpretation of survey data and recommendations for action on final clubs.
The analysis, conducted by statistical firm Welch Consulting employee Jora B. Stixrud and sent to Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana Wednesday, focused on two figures central to the task force’s recommendations: 47 and “at least 15.”
Forty-seven represents the percent of female College seniors surveyed by the College “participating in the Final Clubs” who reported experiencing “nonconsensual sexual contact” during their undergraduate years, while more than 15 represents the percent of women reporting “nonconsensual penetration involving physical force” who said the incident occurred at a space used by a single-gender social organization that was not a fraternity or a sorority.
Advertisement
In a letter to Khurana accompanying Stixrud’s 14-page analysis, newly-instated graduate president of the Porcellian, David T. Lawrence ’67 wrote that the club commissioned the report because of what he called Harvard’s unwillingness to respond to “expressed concern about the statistical analyses” of the sexual assault prevention task force.
Lawrence wrote that he took issue with “repeated public statements by Harvard officials incorrectly implying that the 2015 AAU survey established statistically a direct connection between sexual assault and final clubs.”
“Harvard’s persistent use of misleading talking points has distracted the public and the student body from the undisputed fact established by the Final Report that the vast majority of sexual assaults occur on Harvard property under Harvard control,” Lawrence argued.
According to the AAU survey, 87 percent of on-campus “nonconsensual penetration involving physical force” among female students occurred in Harvard dormitories, which task force chair and former University Provost Steven E. Hyman wrote was “[c]onsistent with a residential campus such as Harvard College” in a letter published alongside the survey results in September.
In a recent letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, University Spokesperson Jeff Neal emphasized the importance of the 47 percent statistic, adding that “While the data shows there is no single cause of sexual assault, it is clear that the social dynamics fostered by single-gender social organizations warrant our sustained attention.”
Lawrence wrote that the Porcellian believes in the “central message” of the Task Force report “that sexual assault at Harvard is a very serious problem requiring immediate attention and effective action.” The Porcellian “has an important part to play in reducing sexual assault,” he added.
Concluding, Lawrence wrote that he would share the analysis and letter—both of which were obtained by The Crimson—with graduate leaders of all other final clubs. Another graduate member of the Porcellian said that neither Welch nor Stixrud had any previous affiliation with the club, and that Welch was paid a regular hourly rate.
Khurana, through College Spokesperson Rachael Dane, declined to comment for this story. Hyman also declined to comment.
Neal welcomed any scrutiny to the University’s sexual misconduct survey and the task force’s prevention recommendations.
“The final report of Harvard’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Assault and the sexual conduct survey results speak for themselves,” Neal wrote in an email. “ Both are posted online and we welcome any interested party to review them in detail.”
‘CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION’
Welch’s analysis, titled “The AAU Sexual Assault Survey Data Cannot Substantiate Claims Regarding Harvard Final Clubs,” had three main criticisms of the 47 percent statistic.
First, Stixrud, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago, argued that the task force report conflates correlation and causation, calling the distinction between the two “one of the first lessons taught in most introductory statistics courses.”
Stixrud called any claims of causality between the final clubs and sexual assault prevalence “particularly weak” in relation to the 47 percent statistic, because the survey “does not ask about the timing of the sexual contact vis-a-vis the timing of involvement in the Clubs.”
“A woman who received an unwanted kiss in her dorm room while a freshman would be counted as part of this figure if she later joined an all-female Final Club in her sophomore year,” Stixrud wrote.
Second, the analysis posited that even the wide disparity between the average rate of nonconsensual sexual contact among senior College women in different student groups and the 47 percent rate reported by women who “participated in clubs,” could be the result of imprecision in weighting the raw data to account for non-respondents.
Stixrud argued that women participating in various activities could further skew activity-specific statistics, as any one of a woman’s affiliated activities could hypothetically contribute to the risk of sexual assault.
“[T]he exact statistical tests cannot be performed without the underlying data, which Harvard has not disclosed… All of the correlations between membership or participation in these groups and nonconsensual sexual contact are most likely statistically indistinguishable,” she argued.
“In short,” Stixrud added, “There is no statistical evidence to support the singling out of Final Clubs as opposed to other student organizations.”
Third, Stixrud argued that the term “participation,” used by the survey to determine whether a woman was involved with final clubs, was “too nebulous to be meaningful.” A woman who participated in recruitment or joined an all-female club, a woman who attended parties at an all-female club, or a woman who attended events at an all-male club could all considered participants in final clubs, according to Stixrud.
In a footnote, the task force’s report specified that “we interpret ‘participate’ as meaning primarily non-member interaction with the all-male Final Clubs through social and other related events, as well as any assaults experienced by women who have joined one of the all-women Final Clubs.”
As a comparison, Stixrud added that the number of women self-reporting “participation” in “Campus Varsity Sports” was 165 and that, by Stixrud’s count, there were “about 80 or 90” female senior varsity athletes when the survey was administered, meaning some women who were not members of a varsity team could have been counted participants.
Allison L. Miller, assistant director of Athletic Communications, said that she thinks the number of female varsity athletes in the class of 2015 was likely much higher than Stixrud’s count, though she said she could not provide an exact number by press time.
“Regardless of whether the true number of female senior varsity athletes is actually 80, 100, or 150—‘participation’ in varsity athletics is open to interpretation by the students who responded to the survey,” Stixrud wrote in an email to The Crimson.
Stixrud’s other main criticism of the survey’s finding involved the percentage of sexual assault incidents reported at single-sex organizations that are not fraternities or sororities.
In the fall, Economics professor David I. Laibson ’88, a member of the University’s sexual assault task force who helped design the AAU survey, said he “would assume that most students who identify that space are thinking about final clubs.”
Stixrud disagreed, writing that “this assumption is problematic for multiple reasons.”
More than 15 percent of women reporting “nonconsensual penetration involving physical force” on University property indicated that the incident occurred in space used by a single-sex organization that was not a fraternity or a sorority. The corresponding statistic for nonconsensual penetration by force on off-campus university property used by a single-sex organization was too small and therefore “suppressed” for confidentiality reasons.
Slightly more than 29 percent of surveyed Harvard senior women—a category which includes some students in the Division of Continuing Education—reported that they had experienced nonconsensual penetration and sexual touching since coming to college. The rate was 27.2 across all 27 schools that participated in the Association of American Universities survey. When Harvard DCE students were removed, the prevalence rate of nonconsensual penetration and sexual touching rose from 29.2 percent to 31.2 percent of Harvard respondents, according to a report from former Harvard Provost Steven E. Hyman.
Given that final clubs operate on private property, Stixrud wrote, “either many of the respondents are confused, or they must mean something other than Final Clubs when they select a single-sex student social organization on University property as the location of the incident.”
Stixrud also wrote that the statistic “cannot possibly tell us anything about what is going on in any of the individual clubs, nor does it begin to account for differences in access to non-members provided by the various Final Clubs.” The Porcellian Club, for instance, has a strict no-guest policy.
“In sum,” Stixrud concluded. “This survey does not contain any data that would allow an analyst to support the recommendations of the Task Force that pertain to Final Clubs.”
While Hyman declined comment for this story, in a statement earlier this week, responding to another critique, he wrote that task force recommendations “were based not only on the AAU sexual conduct survey, but also on the extensive qualitative data gathered at scores of meetings with Harvard undergraduates.”
Stixrud’s analysis focused solely on the publicly-available survey data.
“I have not reviewed the qualitative reports because they have not been made publicly available, but they would not change my conclusions about the survey evidence,” Stixrud wrote in an email.
Schuyler H. Daum ’12, a recent alumna of the all-female IC club, said the task force’s report seemed accurate to her based on her undergraduate years.
“The results of the campus climate survey are not surprising—based on my experience and based on the research,” Daum, who worked at the Office for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response as an undergraduate, said. “Studies show that women who are in sororities are more likely to be sexually assaulted in college—presumably because they are more likely to end up in alcohol-rich, single-sex environments. This same dynamic is playing out at Harvard for women who participate in final clubs.”
Daum said that “the conversation should be about the final clubs creating safer spaces and aligning themselves with 21st-century values by admitting women,” rather than an argument over statistics, which Daum called “frustrating.”
Stixrud’s report comes at a time of unprecedented scrutiny for Harvard’s single-gender final clubs. In September, University President Drew G. Faust publicly criticized the clubs, and even the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, has been involved in discussions with Khurana on how best to oversee the centuries-old organizations.
In the fall, the traditionally all-male Spee and Fox clubs accepted women into their membership. In a letter explaining their decisions to graduate members, Fox undergraduates wrote that administrators had “forced [their] hand.”
The Porcellian’s analysis also comes at a time when concern over possible administrative sanctions for undergraduates in final clubs, particularly against all-male clubs, has driven club leaders to more pointedly criticize administrators. Then-graduate president of the Porcellian and the current graduate president of the Fly Club both made statements criticizing administrative pressure of final clubs, with both accusing top administrators of some ulterior motives in scrutinizing the clubs.
Khurana is expected to submit a plan to address task force recommendations, including those on final clubs, by the end of this academic year.
—Staff writer C. Ramsey Fahs can be reached at ramsey.fahs@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @ramseyfahs.So, I have been gone almost for more than a year. I moved to Germany a year ago to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Business; however, that hasn’t stopped me surfing couches, meeting people from different cultures. There is a lot to share, therefore I’m going to start off with my experience of living in Germany and tackling the super organized “GERMANS”.
I landed in Frankfurt last September, and my goodness, one thing I couldn’t find that has always been a very essential part of my life. CHAOS. As the saying goes here “Alles in Ordnung”, meaning everything has to be in order. Born and raised in India, the statement “Alles in Ordnung” just sounds too alien; nonetheless, there I was trying to embark a new beginning. One thing you should know about Germany, it probably might be the country with the most complex regulations, and bureaucracy at its best. However; most of the people here like it that way. The establishment and execution of rules is almost pitch perfect. Now my journey began, a process of trying to Germanize myself. So, I had to get some basics right first. Some of the basics are always being punctual, this is like the 11th commandment. Always always always follow the traffic signals, and the most important of them all “You have to plan everything”. It was not that hard to adapt to this new culture, as I was prepared for it, after all the Germans I had hosted back in India. I knew what I had in store for me.
Now, let me shed some light on Germans. They are not the ones who indulge in small talks, and definitely won’t be your best friend in the first month. They have these walls built around them, which need to be cracked. Getting to know a German is almost like trying to climb Mount Everest. It’s a slow process with daunting challenges, but once you reach the summit. You have conquered yourself a true friend. They love their cars, a scratch on it and maybe they would face an hour of depression. There are some things you should and shouldn’t discuss with the Germans. It’s okay to go ahead and criticize their political system, it will end up on a good debate, strengthening your ties. However; bitte bitte bitte (bitte = please) never ever criticize their bread and beer. That’s like provoking a Lion, actually no. It’s like provoking a Dinosaur. They will die but never accept that their bread is bad. Brewing beer too is regulated in Germany, Natürlich! (of course). They have a law called the ‘The Reinheitsgebot’, sometimes called the “German Beer Purity Law” which states that beer may only contain water, barley, and hops. I gotta say I really like German beer, however, I still got a soft corner for Irish |
.
Every time anyone writes a piece for this or any other newspaper that may be read online, readers can express their opinion of both the argument and its writer.
If you are very vain or very masochistic, you can trawl through them at your leisure. I am neither, so I don’t.
Miss Criado-Perez, however, declared the correspondence ‘horrific’ and called for help, reporting the worst 50 to the police.
Author Philippa Gregory called it 'an absolute insult' when a man wants to help park your car
Now some 21-year-old has been arrested, and it is to be hoped that someone, somewhere, might be duly punished.
But I still can’t understand why she bothered, why she didn’t just ignore the abuse as I ignore mine.
Was she really, truly scared — a sophisticated Londoner, who knows you run more risk of attack by someone you know than you ever do by some chump hiding behind Twitter?
Or is she just another example of the poor-little-me, latterday feminists who want only to be looked after?
A dirty joke in the office? Head for the shrink, call it post-traumatic stress and claim damages.
A boss who fails to promote you? Head for the tribunal, call it discrimination and hope they tan his hide.
A partner who belittles you? Head for... oh, of course. He’s robbed you of your self-esteem, so you can’t go anywhere.
The one thing you cannot possibly do, whatever these dreadful men throw at you, is the one thing that our lot learned to do to great effect — which is to stand up for yourself.
We may or may not have called ourselves ‘feminists’, and for what it’s worth I never did, but we were no one’s pushover.
When I listened yesterday to Laura Bates on Today, forced into launching a whole new website because she was groped on a bus (wow, that’ll show ’em, Laura), I remembered the last time it happened to me.
It was a packed Tube train in my case, and I felt — but could not see — the fiddling hand.
So I addressed the entire carriage in a loud voice: ‘Will whoever owns the paw on my bum please move it now.’ One face went scarlet. (Note to Laura: that did show ’em.)
By the same token, author Philippa Gregory this week called it ‘an absolute insult’ when a man wants to help park your car.
And she’s right. But there’s no point in seething about it when you can say it instead.
Only last week a male friend was a passenger in my car. After an hour of ‘You can move lanes now’, and ‘Sure you can manage?’ (when faced with the rigour of a three-point turn), I parked at home and he said, ‘You forgot the handbrake’, then reached over and pulled it up.
‘This car is an automatic,’ I said coolly. ‘It is in “park.” It is my car. And I am driving.’
Then I released the handbrake.
No website, no petition, no police, no shrink, no tribunal, no wailing wall. And, most of all, no victim.
The whole point of what my generation achieved was to remove from our heads — and from the heads of those who stood in our way — the notion that women were born to be victims. We proved we both could and deserved to stand on our own two feet, equal to one, equal to all.
To see a younger generation of self-styled ‘feminists’ come along, turn back the clock and declare themselves victims all over again is, for us, a disappointment.I finally bought a proper iPod, the kind that has a screen and comes with a jar of faux-hawk cream.
I already had an iPod shuffle, but I never felt I truly belonged to the International Order of Dancing Silhouettes. It's one of the first-generation shuffles, the white ones that look like pill cases for hipster septuagenarians, and being a White Shuffler among iPod fans is like showing up at a biker bar with a Harley Hog Cookie Jar under your arm. It doesn't have the intended effect.
Alt Text Podcast
Download audio files and subscribe to the Alt Text podcast.
But I'm videoblogging now, so I can say in all truthfulness that I bought my new iPod classic for business reasons. I can see what my videos look like in the wild, I use it as a portable hard drive, and I find "One Night in Bangkok" to be creatively inspiring.
I feel a little odd about buying anything labeled classic, though. In marketing, classic is a way of making timidity and obstinacy sound cutting-edge. You're on the avant-garde forefront of resisting change! You hated anything new before hating anything new was trendy!
Nonetheless, classic is what I paid for and classic is what I got. And once the final shiny plastic brick had been mortared into place, immuring me into Steve Jobs' media prison (cf. Poe, "The Cask of Cupertino"), I decided it was time to get serious about iTunes.
I, like many people, have employed iTunes' Party Shuffle feature to mixed results. It lulls you into complacency, and just when you're getting into the groove, it screws with you. Let's have a quiet string quartet followed by one of Trent Reznor's crankier works! And then whale song! Hey, did you know you have the Free to Be... You and Me soundtrack? Let's treat you to a few minutes of Alan Alda singing about estrogen, and then it's time for the Star Trek sound effects!
Party Shuffle is dangerous, unless you like throwing parties where the attendees get to listen to the sex-chat MP3 you downloaded eight months ago and forgot about.
I also looked into Smart Playlists. Some people get really intense about these things, creating multiple nested playlists that can automatically select songs based on criteria like "Punk songs from the 1940s," "Children's songs by Kraftwerk" and "Music I've already listened to today." I wanted this power for myself.
Most guides to Smart Playlists suggest you start by rating your own music. This makes me uncomfortable. Telling myself how much I like the music I chose and bought seems a little narcissistic. Normally I'm so self-absorbed that if you hug me hard you're likely to get ego all over your sweater, but this is a bit much even for me. I feel as self-obsessed as a teenage ouroboros on Twitter.
Rating my music does not make me feel good about myself. Beethoven? Eh, three stars. I mean, his music is OK when you're trying to read or sleep or die, but he doesn't really do it for me. On the other hand, there's "I Do the Rock." Tim Curry singing about Linda Ronstadt and Jimmy Carter? A song for the ages! Five stars!
Worse yet, people connected to my iTunes library can see my ratings, so my girlfriend, household visitors and random people at WiFi-enabled cafes all know of my shameful love of Frente.
The reward for my hard work and mental anguish is somewhat better playlists. I can filter out music I hate along with spoken-word and sound-effects material, but I'm a bit disappointed.
I want useful playlists. I want "Tori Amos songs that make a damn lick of sense." I want "Beck songs where the rhythm track doesn't sound like he's throwing Ben Wa balls at an armadillo." I want "Nick Cave songs that aren't explicitly about bleeding to death."
Clearly, amassing this sort of data will require some sort of global network of like-minded individuals, all working for the greater good. Steve Jobs is already halfway to creating a hive mind, and I say it's time he finished the job.
- - -
Born helpless, nude and unable to provide for himself, Lore Sjöberg eventually overcame these handicaps to get his kicks above the waistline, Sunshine.
Science vs. Religion: The Ultimate Smackdown
Alt Text Video: Scrutinizing Superheroines
What Real-Life Dungeon Exploration Might Look Like, Graduate Students in Tow
Powerbocks Steal Dork Prize From Segways
Beware the Curse of YouTube's Hideous ArchiveBetween therapy sessions, mental health patients can feel alone. Group chat can help, but people are shy if they have to use their real name, or exposed to trolling if allowed to remain anonymous. And if there’s a need for urgent, professional care, therapists might not find out soon enough.
Sunrise Health is a new startup aiming to improve mental healthcare by combining the constant support of group chat, the openness afforded by anonymity, the guidance of professional therapists and the safeguard of artificial intelligence watching for abuse and emergencies.
Today, Sunrise Health came out of stealth to present at TechCrunch Disrupt NY’s Startup Battlefield competition. It unveiled the beta version of its group chat therapy app that’s free for patients, and licensed as software-as-a-service to healthcare providers.
However, Sunrise Health may need to change its name as investor and former Path CEO Dave Morin announced last year that he’s building a mental healthcare startup called Sunrise to fight depression.
Peer-to-peer healthcare
“There is a huge gap right now between what clinicians in psychiatry are doing and what novel treatments are available through technology,” says co-founder Shrenik Jain. As a first responder, he saw mental health victims die from suicide and overdoses, but also found his fellow rescue workers struggle with PTSD yet refuse help out of fear of being stigmatized or judged.
Jain says his co-founder Ravi Shah had built a messaging app for a depressed friend in therapy because they “found the loneliness between weekly sessions absolutely crippling.” They turned that app into Beacon Health, which today is rebranding as Sunrise Health.
When users sign up, they select the mental health affliction they’re dealing with from a range including depression, grief, PTSD and substance abuse. Before being placed into a support group of around a dozen people with a similar condition, they’re more deeply assessed by the group’s professional therapist moderator in a one-on-one chat and given diagnostic forms to complete.
Sunrise Health users can join moderator-led VoIP group phone calls so they get an experience closer to an in-person meetup. What’s special is that in-between these sessions, patients can anonymously chat with their support group 24/7, providing them with empathy so they never feel alone.
This anonymity makes people more forthcoming, and willing to share stories of vulnerability. To ensure the trust of the group isn’t violated, an artificial intelligence-based natural language processing system that can recognize and delete abusive messages is employed, while referring edge cases and emergencies to the human moderator. That way the chat stays productive, and any threats of self-harm are escalated for urgent response.
Providers can improve their efficiency through Sunrise’s always-on app, and the ability to refer patients between psychiatrists, case managers and therapists. Meanwhile, institutions can use the high-level analytics to assess the impact of their care, spot trends and pre-emptively improve care.
[gallery columns="4" size="medium" ids="1490739,1490741,1490744,1490740"]
The kindness of strangers
The need for more convenient and comfortable care is clear. Sunrise says 1 in 5 Americans have a mental health condition, but a third of those victims receive no treatment. For example, a Department of Veterans Affairs study found 20 veterans die by suicide each day, and the majority of them don’t utilize the $8 billion in mental healthcare resources and therapy offered by the VA.
To serve these at-risk populations, Sunrise has raised $200,000 in cash and in-kind cloud computing credits. It’s received seed investments from TEDCO and the Abell Foundation, plus a grant from Johns Hopkins and the NIH. The startup has completed one pilot program of its app, has another running now with 30 users and has plans for five more pilots soon.
Sunrise has several Letters of Intent from metropolitan governments and healthcare systems like hospitals, plus collaborations with Johns Hopkins, Yale and Brown. But the startup will need plenty of careful testing to ensure it can deliver results without negative side effects before it starts charging organizations and healthcare providers a monthly fee for the software.
There are other text-based patient support apps, but Talkspace and Ginger.io only offer connections to professionals, or have limited response windows and volumes for $125 a month. Sunrise thinks it can stay free for users by charging the organizations that can reduce costs by paying for preventative care instead of expensive reactionary hospitalizations and medical attention.
Sunrise is putting a lot of faith in the kindness of strangers. Even with the AI safeguards, there’s still a risk of abuse, or even just apathy. It will have to prove that constant peer support can significantly augment traditional care. It may need to provide educational materials to teach users how to listen and encourage each other.
But if people are already spending their lives on their phones while simultaneously feeling lonely, there should be an opportunity to make everyone feel part of a loving community.A Pennsylvania couple is suing three Collingdale police officers for entering their home without permission in an effort to confiscate a cell phone legally used to record the officers during a February confrontation in front of their home.
In the lawsuit, Kia and Michael Gaymon say that Officer Carl White entered the home without a warrant and arrested Kia after threatening to use a Taser on her. The officers are accused of unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, retaliatory arrest, and unlawful search, according to NBC10.
The Gaymons say the incident on Feb. 22 began when police were notified to address a car allegedly parked illegally on the curb of the Gaymons’ next-door neighbor. The car belonged to Michael’s visiting mother.
The Gaymons said they had done nothing wrong, and that the neighbor was falsely accusing them. Kia Gaymon said that one officer began to yell at them in an “aggressive and accusatory manner,” leading her to retrieve her cell phone and record the interaction.
“His behavior was so aggressive that the first thing I thought was to pull out my phone and video,” Kia Gaymon told NBC10.
Filming on-duty police officers is legal in all 50 states as long as the filming does not physically interfere with officers’ ability to work. A federal appeals court recently affirmed this First Amendment right, as RT reported.
Officer White took issue with being recorded, stating it was illegal to do so without permission. He advanced on Kia Gaymon, 38, to demand she turn off her phone. Michael Gaymon, 35, and the couple’s daughter Sanshuray Purnell, 21, insisted she had the right to film police. The lawsuit alleges that White then told Kia that if she didn’t stop recording he would enter her home, take the phone, and then arrest her. Purnell was handcuffed by a second officer for blocking White’s progress.
White then entered the home without permission. Demanding the phone, White placed a Taser on Kia’s chest and threatened to use it if she didn’t comply.
Two officers then arrested Kia and her daughter, according to the suit, charging them with disorderly conduct.
The Gaymons’ attorney said the police had no cause to illegally enter the home to make arrests.
"The actions that are described in the citation are for videoing the officer,” Jonathan Fienberg told NBC10. “It’s not a crime.”
All charges against Kia Gaymon and Purnell were dropped by a judge shortly after their May 22 hearing.
The officers, “had no legal cause to believe that any plaintiff committed any crime,” according to the lawsuit, and that they “maliciously initiated a criminal prosecution.”
The suit also accuses them of illegally entering the home without obtaining a search warrant. The Collingdale police chief has yet to respond to the lawsuit.In February 1989, the city of Pasadena adopted the City of Gardens Ordinance, a set of zoning regulations introducing courtyard housing as the sole multi-family type in transitional single-family neighborhoods. The ordinance was an antidote to nihilistic residential development attitudes in parts of the city (beyond the Central District and major commercial corridors), where units were packed into lots without any significant open space and were obstructed by opaque street walls or parking-dominated frontages. The intent of the ordinance was to allow denser development within such transitional areas, but in a form sensitive and compatible to their largely single-family neighbors.
Map of Pasadena showing areas that fall under City of Gardens Ordinance (Source: Moule & Polyzoides Architects & Urbanists)
Today, the City of Gardens Ordinance is part of Pasadena’s RM District General Development Standards (17.22.060), and for more than two decades, this early form-based code has guided the production of dozens of courtyard housing projects in the city.
The City of Gardens standards are framed around a number of fundamental ideas: A multi-family project is required to have a clearly defined garden rectangle, enclosed by a building for at least 50 percent of its perimeter. The size of this rectangle is calculated as a percentage of the lot area in a specified per density zone. The garden has to be visible from the street (for lots greater than 60 feet in width.) Each project is also required to have additional open space beyond the garden in the form of setbacks and common areas, also as a specified percentage of the lot size. Building heights vary depending on their location within the city. The code thus centers on the design of a common courtyard toward a larger theme of Pasadena as a "city of gardens."
Diagrams from the original City of Gardens Ordinance showing formal variations of the required garden rectangle. (Source: City of Pasadena)
Multi-family, market-rate housing built under the City of Gardens standards has generally exemplified a context-sensitive attitude. Units organized around the central courtyard have higher massing in the lot interior, with one and two story house-scale masses facing the street, ensuring formal compatibility with their largely single-family-house neighbors.
Meridian Court (built in 2001) is a ten-unit residential development designed under the City of Gardens Ordinance. (Source: Moule & Polyzoides Architects & Urbanists)
This is in vivid contrast to the variety of floor area ratio-based conventional apartment buildings that disrupted several Pasadena neighborhoods prior to 1989, with units extruded relentlessly in the form of a monolithic box. The City of Gardens standards have thus successfully mediated the residential densities of the single-family house and the stacked flat apartment building through a humane urban form.
Simultaneously, the code has revived a traditional regional dwelling type that remained marginalized for over half a century. Courtyard housing emerged in the Southern California region at the turn of the 20th century, in response to its benign climate among other factors. The traditional East Coast row-house type, arranged along streets in a linear form, was re-arranged to orient individual dwellings around common courtyards. Access to units occurred directly through this courtyard, giving each dwelling a garden in front and private patios in the rear. As density increased, the type took on numerous permutations through various attached and stacking patterns, always around single or multiple courtyards, and the design of the space between the dwellings was as important as that of the building envelope.
Casa Torre, Pasadena (built in 1927) has 8 residential units built around a verdant common courtyard. (Source: Vinayak Bharne)
The City of Gardens standards have thus provoked a significant rethinking of housing design—from the normative trend of extruding units, to a careful synergy of open space and architectural form. And through this revival of a traditional architectural and urban pattern, it has also come to serve as an important heritage conservation catalyst throughout the city.
The code’s gaps have also become evident over the two decades of its implementation. As it currently stands, the code is silent about transitional sites like a corner lot at the intersection of an arterial (or corridor) and a neighborhood street. For example, the code limits building facades to 60 feet in length, requiring a minimum building separation of 15 feet between adjacent buildings. While this idea ensures smaller building increments in single-family neighborhoods, they are not desirable on corridors where a more robust and continuous building façade is a better fit.
This gap also extends to the manner in which zones are currently designated in the city. In a recent transitional site I worked on at the corner of Cordova Street, a major east-west arterial, and Oakland Avenue, a north-south neighborhood street, the zoning designation was different on either side of the arterial. Lots to the south side of Cordova Street fell under the standards of the City of Gardens Ordinance. Lots to the north side fell under the standards of the Central District zone, with entirely different building heights and setback requirements. The idea of separating zones at the center of a street is a fundamental problem—a recipe for formal incompatibility on either side of a street.
Map of Pasadena showing zoning boundaries of Central District Transit Oriented Development Area. Note how the boundaries are drawn in the center of streets, creating different zoning regulations for either side of the street. (Source: city of Pasadena)
Corner lots and the first layer of lots facing a major avenue or corridor should be exceptions to a neighborhood-friendly code such as the City of Gardens Ordinance; the formal development of such lots should be guided differently and on their own terms.
The code works beautifully on mid-block lots greater than 60 feet in width. To the code’s credit, lots less than 60 feet wide do not require the garden to be visible from the sidewalk, thereby allowing a larger building face and street frontage. As lots widths decrease further, the design review process allows flexibility for alternative shapes in the main garden or the creation of separate, ancillary gardens that, in aggregate, meet the main garden requirement. In other words, the code recognizes the challenges of designing courtyard housing on narrow lots as compared to large lots.
That said, lots with widths of 45 feet or less make the design of a building with the minimum required garden area very difficult. Typically a modest residential project on a 45-feet-wide lot is economically viable with on-grade parking. With the garden rectangle taking up the required 19 percent of the lot area, on-grade parking within the lot is often impossible. In exceptional cases, when lots are around 200 feet deep, surface parking can in fact be accommodated at the rear of the lot, but since most blocks in Pasadena do not have alleys, access to this parking comes from the street. The building, now sandwiched between a minimum 10-foot driveway on one side and a minimum 20 feet wide courtyard on the other, is squeezed into linear residential arms as narrow as 15 feet or less, forcing an air-tight design, with no space for landscape buffers between the building and driveway or the adjacent lots. The results are far less than desirable. The only other option is to park underground, a very expensive proposition for a small project. The problem here is that the code, however well intentioned, has not been tested rigorously enough for conventional market feasibility. The need for a single courtyard with a minimum required width, irrespective of lot size or location, is a highly limiting proposition.
The code further mandates that a courtyard can be only up to two feet, eight inches above existing grade over a subterranean parking structure. This has serious economic implications for residential projects on large lots. It eliminates the possibility of designing housing on top of an on-grade garage – which is far more economical than a subterranean one. An on-grade garage on a sizeable lot could easily be layered with residential units at street level, concealing it from the sidewalk, and creating the same positive street face the code currently aspires to. The code’s unequivocal bias of courtyard housing, with the courtyard being close to street level and visible from the sidewalk for lots greater than 60 feet, shrinks the residential typological menu to expensive development products.
Courtyard housing is only one of many traditional residential typologies that can introduce responsible density into single-family neighborhoods.
Transect of residential typologies from low (left) to high (right) density. The red rectangle encloses single-family neighborhood compatible types (Source: Moule & Polyzoides Architects & Urbanists)
Each residential typology has its own minimum lot dimension limits—below which its design becomes difficult. In turn, each typology has its own criteria for building form, open space and parking. For example, duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes, and townhouses are far more suitable for narrow lots and can offer open space in the form of front yards or rear patios. Rosewalks and Lanes can work on lots too narrow to accommodate a single central courtyard. All such traditional typologies exist in Pasadena as precedents for study and application.
Arboleda Lane, located on California Boulevard near El Molino. This assemblage of single family houses is organized along a single winding dead-end lane, creating a picturesque setting between the buildings (Source: Moule & Polyzoides Architects & Urbanists)
Over two decades since it was originally adopted, the City of Gardens Ordinance has been amended by many administrations and has gradually morphed into a tedious zoning document. Like any zoning code—and particularly a progressive one—it needs continuous clarification and simplification. Such revisions can only come through the lessons learned from years of implementation, and now the city of Pasadena urgently needs to revisit and re-evaluate this ordinance. On a more ambitious note, Pasadena needs to expand and complete this partial typology-based code into a full-blown, citywide form-based code. Pasadena needs a holistic planning instrument that can synchronize its numerous specific plans and disparate zoning codes into a single coherent formal vision.
Such a citywide form-based code should include a number of dimensions currently absent from the its land use regulations. It should expand the menu of residential dwelling types within multi-family zones, each with its own open space and form requirements, just like the City of Gardens standards currently does for courtyard housing. It should specify minimum and maximum lot ranges for each of these types to ensure that they are realistic within the mainstream market. It should allow various forms of parking, so long as it is concealed from the public realm. It should elaborate on frontage conditions through location-specific interfaces between the private and public realm, such as porches, stoops, and arcades. It should revisit the current zoning designations of the city to ensure formal compatibility on both sides of streets. And it should require building form and character distinct from a corridor to a neighborhood street as well as from a neighborhood to a district.
Pasadena’s City of Gardens Ordinance, as written in the late 1980s, was far ahead of its times. It is an important precedent for other North American cities to study and build on. It has affirmed that, even partially implemented, form- or typology-based coding (as an alternative to floor area ratio- and coverage-based zoning) can yield compelling, sustainable results and offer a clear planning methodology for dignifying mainstream development. It has shown that the least common denominator of conventional multi-family housing can be guided for formal compatibility and to incentivize new products within the market. But that said, in the two decades and change since its inception, the practice of form-based-coding has come a long way. There are now numerous, varied examples all over the United States of citywide form-based zoning bringing efficient and practical formal, social, and economic reform. The city of Pasadena, one of the most respected and progressive cities in the country, needs to catch up to these best practices.
Vinayak Bharne is adjunct associate professor of urbanism at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, director of design at Moule & Polyzoides Architects and Urbanists, and a member of the Pasadena Heritage Board of Directors.
The author wishes to thank Kevin Johnson, senior planner at the city of Pasadena, for his comments and advice on this essay.Richard Haass calls for Irish to be an official language in Northern Ireland BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Richard Haass has risked the anger of unionists after he said the Irish language should be considered for official use in Northern Ireland. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/richard-haass-calls-for-irish-to-be-an-official-language-in-northern-ireland-30377767.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/article30377765.ece/33684/AUTOCROP/h342/NWS_2014-06-24_NEW_014_32095731_I1.JPG
Email
Richard Haass has risked the anger of unionists after he said the Irish language should be considered for official use in Northern Ireland.
He also called for a Troubles museum to be built in an acceptance speech as he was awarded the Tipperary Peace Award.
Those previously honoured with the prestigious award include Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Clinton.
He got the award for chairing talks here on flags, parading and the past last year. But his speech included two items absent from the draft report he drew up.
One was increased use of the Irish language. Referring to the aspiration of many people for Irish unity, he said: "Irish identity could and should be respected in many ways within existing constitutional arrangements, possibly including a larger, official role for the Irish language."
While Irish already has some legal protections, such a move would likely mean more use of Irish on roads signs, State documents and court proceedings – something unionists consistently and vocally oppose.
Dr Haass also said the Troubles museum was not included in his blueprint because it had "proved too controversial – but I am persuaded it is essential".
He added: "The goal would not be to force or even seek agreement on a common narrative on what occurred, but rather to put under one roof competing narratives of what happened and why. There would, I hope, be agreement on many of the facts if not the legitimacy of what was done."
The Tipperary Peace Convention said although Dr Haass' plan had not been accepted, it "could yet form the basis for a deal".
The former diplomat agreed.
"It was the result of compromise. But while there may be other ways to approach these challenges, there is likely to be a limit to what can change and still command broad public support," he said.
BACKGROUND
After the 2006 St Andrews Agreement, the Government promised to introduce an Irish Language Act, although it never happened.
Then when devolution was restored in 2007, the DUP took the Culture ministry and plans for the act were ditched amid claims it would be too expensive to implement laws that would see Irish enshrined in all facets of public life.
Growth of Irish language in east Belfast under spotlight
Respect Union flag and Irish language in Northern Ireland: Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore
Visit our Irish class in loyal east Belfast... challenge to Orange chief who hit out at language
Irish language class takes off in Protestant community in east Belfast
Irish-speaking PSNI officers on all-Ireland fleadh patrol
Belfast TelegraphWikidSik Profile Blog Joined November 2011 Canada 382 Posts #2 special tactiks FIGHTING :D Iv been here for 5.5 years. My other accounts are named "Sonu" and "Dalroti" || I had some more but I cant find them XD || known in sc2 as "Sonu"
Zoia Profile Blog Joined November 2010 United States 418 Posts #3 I am so fucking excited to cast this! www.twitch.tv/starcraftsquad - Caster for Playhem.tv
ScottagePie Profile Joined September 2011 United Kingdom 25 Posts #4 gogo bikini boy Dragon! Axiom Fighting! I <3 Dragon!
JonIrenicus Profile Blog Joined July 2012 Italy 602 Posts #5 --- Nuked ---
WhalesFromSpace Profile Joined March 2012 390 Posts #6 Damn I was just setting up a showmatch with the same players. Oh well, at least I will be able to enjoy this Nihility
Zoia Profile Blog Joined November 2010 United States 418 Posts #7 On February 23 2013 02:50 WhalesFromSpace wrote:
Damn I was just setting up a showmatch with the same players. Oh well, at least I will be able to enjoy this Damn I was just setting up a showmatch with the same players. Oh well, at least I will be able to enjoy this
Hey you can never have to many whitera vs dragon showmatches Hey you can never have to many whitera vs dragon showmatches www.twitch.tv/starcraftsquad - Caster for Playhem.tv
Zoia Profile Blog Joined November 2010 United States 418 Posts #8 TODAY! WOOT! www.twitch.tv/starcraftsquad - Caster for Playhem.tv
godulous Profile Blog Joined February 2011 United States 337 Posts #9 Starting map chosen at random for this show match will be Howling Peaks, PlayhemTV will be live in about 40 minutes to start casting! Playhem.com | Ben.477 US | Ben.1125 EU
dani` Profile Joined January 2011 Netherlands 2382 Posts #10 Stream is live, but not listed on the sidebar. http://www.twitch.tv/PlayhemTV
BronzeKnee Profile Joined March 2011 United States 5017 Posts Last Edited: 2013-02-24 22:05:48 #11 What the hell is Whitera doing? Well over 1000 minerals, no army vs Dragon's push (3 Zealots and a Sentry versus ~20 Marines and Tanks...), 3 Gateways on 3 bases (?), losing Templars to Marine, opening Oracles vs Bio, 30 supply behind...
He should probably just "disconnect" and I'll swap in when the game resume from the replay. I'm not actually sure if he is playing this
dani` Profile Joined January 2011 Netherlands 2382 Posts #12 On February 25 2013 06:38 BronzeKnee wrote:
What the hell is Whitera doing? Well over 1000 minerals, no army vs Dragon's push, 3 Gateways on 3 bases (?), losing Templars to Marine, opening Oracles vs Bio, 30 supply behind...
He should probably just "disconnect" and I'll swap in when the game resume from the replay
His macro might lack at points but let's not pretend like you are better than WhiteRa, no offense ^_^ His macro might lack at points but let's not pretend like you are better than WhiteRa, no offense ^_^
Lukeeze[zR] Profile Joined February 2006 Switzerland 6765 Posts #13 Damn, whitera's play is underwhelming tonight :[ Terran & Potato Salad.
BronzeKnee Profile Joined March 2011 United States 5017 Posts Last Edited: 2013-02-24 21:50:24 #14 On February 25 2013 06:40 dani` wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 25 2013 06:38 BronzeKnee wrote:
What the hell is Whitera doing? Well over 1000 minerals, no army vs Dragon's push, 3 Gateways on 3 bases (?), losing Templars to Marine, opening Oracles vs Bio, 30 supply behind...
He should probably just "disconnect" and I'll swap in when the game resume from the replay
His macro might lack at points but let's not pretend like you are better than WhiteRa, no offense ^_^ His macro might lack at points but let's not pretend like you are better than WhiteRa, no offense ^_^
I would have done better in that game, that I know (http://www.twitch.tv/dragon/b/338827084 - Fast forward to 1:28:50). He didn't play well at all, let's not understate it actually, he was playing at roughly a Platinum level...
Hopefully he can pull this back from an 0-2 lead. I would have done better in that game, that I know (http://www.twitch.tv/dragon/b/338827084 - Fast forward to 1:28:50). He didn't play well at all, let's not understate it actually, he was playing at roughly a Platinum level...Hopefully he can pull this back from an 0-2 lead.
TheDwf Profile Joined November 2011 France 19632 Posts #15 2 Colossi for a Tank, nice trade here.
WoodLeagueAllStar Profile Joined August 2012 United States 774 Posts #16 I feel like PvT is going to be the next TvZ until a big nerf happens just like in 2011. Such a rivalry.
Thank goodness WhiteRa won at least once, nothing sucks worse than a 0-4 showmatch. In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection. --Random Rules
BrassMonkey27 Profile Joined May 2011 Canada 616 Posts #17 On February 25 2013 06:45 BronzeKnee wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 25 2013 06:40 dani` wrote:
On February 25 2013 06:38 BronzeKnee wrote:
What the hell is Whitera doing? Well over 1000 minerals, no army vs Dragon's push, 3 Gateways on 3 bases (?), losing Templars to Marine, opening Oracles vs Bio, 30 supply behind...
He should probably just "disconnect" and I'll swap in when the game resume from the replay
His macro might lack at points but let's not pretend like you are better than WhiteRa, no offense ^_^ His macro might lack at points but let's not pretend like you are better than WhiteRa, no offense ^_^
I would have done better in that game, that I know (http://www.twitch.tv/dragon/b/338827084 - Fast forward to 1:28:50). He didn't play well at all, let's not understate it actually, he was playing at roughly a Platinum level...
Hopefully he can pull this back from an 0-2 lead. I would have done better in that game, that I know (http://www.twitch.tv/dragon/b/338827084 - Fast forward to 1:28:50). He didn't play well at all, let's not understate it actually, he was playing at roughly a Platinum level...Hopefully he can pull this back from an 0-2 lead.
If you are any less than a consistent GM-level player then you should not be saying that. If you are any less than a consistent GM-level player then you should not be saying that. HoneyBadger.784 Diamond KR "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
BronzeKnee Profile Joined March 2011 United States 5017 Posts #18 On February 25 2013 06:57 BrassMonkey27 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 25 2013 06:45 BronzeKnee wrote:
On February 25 2013 06:40 dani` wrote:
On February 25 2013 06:38 BronzeKnee wrote:
What the hell is Whitera doing? Well over 1000 minerals, |
magazine, claimed that Trump had pushed her against a wall and was “forcing his tongue down my throat” when she was sent to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a story on his marriage to his third wife.
The real estate mogul pointed to these women as proof that the media was “corrupt” and “dishonest.”
“They lie and fabricate stories to make a candidate that is not their preferred choice look as bad and even dangerous as possible,” he said.
Trump, along with his wife Melania, has already threatened to sue the New York Times and People magazine for publishing stories about the assault accusations. But while two strongly worded attorney’s letters were sent to the two news outlets, the Republican nominee has not filed an official lawsuit against either publication.
On Saturday, Trump vowed to find out in court whether his general election opponent Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) were responsible for the women’s “fabricated” allegations.
“It was probably the DNC and the Clinton campaign that put forwards these liars with their fabricated stories,” he said. “But we’ll find out about their involvement at a later date through litigation. And I look so forward to doing that.”
Clinton campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon issued a rapid-fire response on Twitter to Trump’s accusation Saturday afternoon, implying the businessman’s threats to sue will never actually materialize:Browse > Home Politics / Thousands Sign Petition Calling For Immediate Canonization Of Harambe
Thousands Sign Petition Calling For Immediate Canonization Of Harambe
Animal rights activists have created an online petition asking the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to waive the sainthood waiting period for Harambe, the endangered 450-pound gorilla who was fatally shot after a boy fell into its “hermitage” at the Cincinnati Zoo.
The petition, which has already gathered over 300,000 signatures, asks Pope Francis to immediately proclaim Harambe a saint, elevating the great ape to the universal veneration of the Church.
“By canonizing Harambe, the Pope will not be making him a saint,” said Toby Porter who is spearheading the canonization effort. “We already know he’s a saint because he’s an animal, and all animals are worthy of eternal veneration regardless of whether they are dead or alive. Rather, Pope Francis will simply be declaring that our silverback gorilla is already with God and is an authentic example of following Christ, and worthy of imitation by the faithful, both human and ape.”
Porter later went on to add that he hoped Harambe would be added to the general calendar of the Church.
In response, Pope Francis announced this morning that he would be issuing a new encyclical titled, Banana Vitae, reaffirming the orthodox teaching of the Catholic Church regarding responsible conservation of animals and their habitats.
At press time, animal rights activists have also announced plans to ask Pope Francis to excommunicate the parents of the boy who fell into the gorilla “hermitage” for negligence, as well as the zookeeper who shot Harambe for violating the spirit of Laudato Si.As fans of the medium, and of Star Wars – which seems to give birth to a disproportionate amount – sometimes we have a bit of fun with some fan films that fans have cobbled together in their bedrooms, enjoying them exactly for the short-term thrills they are. But then, there are some productions that don’t really seem to fit in with that categorisation of a “fan film”, because their production quality and general execution make an absolute mockery of most that has come before.
Italian film Dark Resurrection was one such production: released back in 2007 (and featured on this very site two years later), it ran circles around most other fan-made films that had captured our attentions up until that point.
And now, excitingly, we can bring you the follow-up, which is not, as expected Volume 2, but a prequel, entitled Volume 0. Originally conceived as a prologue to Vol 2, 0 was given the full treatment when the film-making team behind Dark Resurrection were struck by how well it worked in its own right:The first thing I want to say is that there is no Al Qaeda; not in the way we understand it to be. The only Al Qaeda ever found is this one here and given the fact that there are now more Al Qaeda outlets than there are McDonald’s makes it all the more absurd. On Friday, unknown gunman attacked the Israeli Embassy in Mauritania and once again it was Al Qaeda. A bystander said the colors were melting from the flag flying from the getaway car.
Al Qaeda means The Toilet...think a little people and add this in to what we know about 9/11.
Over the last several days four underground cables have been cut in the Middle East. You can read about it here. One was also cut that linked UAE and Oman so this gives us four cables. Guess what? Ships dragging anchors caused this in every case. At no time in the past did four major cables get cut at the same relative time by dragging ship’s anchors and now four have been cut just like that. Can you say “three high rise buildings tumbling into their own footprints in one day?” I thought you could.
Iran has virtually (pun intended) no internet at the moment and there are many countries whose internet and telephone are seriously disrupted. See anything about this in the whore press? Nada...
It may or may not matter who wins the White House- out of the likely suspects- this November but you can be sure that many an ugly will bump in the night of this endless year because it’s just easier with the present set of blood-stained clowns. That’s right, the United States and the world are a legion of frightened Boy Scouts running from a fifty foot John Wayne Gacy. He’s got a set of handcuffs in one hand and a massive rotating sexual device in the other and he sounds like Mick Jagger saying “Peace brother’s and sisters.” during the mob pandemonium at Altamont while he beats the stage with his studded leather belt and launches back into Midnight Rambler on top of the pentagram painted on the stage.
Does anyone want to tell me how an organization being controlled from some non-existent Pakistani mountain fastness can be in contact with it’s satellite outlets in every country of the world and recruit faster than the Mormon’s and Scientologists put together?
Sometimes it seems to me that if there were just more common sense going around most of this bullshit would be the fodder of comics and no one would take it seriously. The fact is that common sense isn’t very common. You throw in a little fear; you season it with suspicion and the threat of want and loss and you’ve got a dish that can turn a pretty green planet into a dark blue nightmare at a moment’s notice.
There’s no Al Qaeda except maybe for people who support the idea of an Al Qaeda which got cooked up in the CIA media labs and then given more international airplay than Bob Marley. Bin Laden is dead and gone and you have to be bone deep stupid not to know by now. Why the hell would they need to fabricate all of those video tapes if the real thing was still running around loose? Then you have to ask why the first thing the administration did after 9/11 was to spirit all of his relatives out of town.
Now we’ve got the Sibel Edmonds report and the news about Philip Zelikow and it’s as clear as clear can be that everything we see and hear is being manipulated to bring into being a world that no one wants to live in except neo-cons and Al Qaeda; who doesn’t exist.
We know that boat anchors didn’t cut those cables. We know that one boat anchor might have cut one cable someday, somewhere and that it might have cut two cables right next to each other but it damn sure didn’t cut four cables in all those different locations. So why did ‘they’ do it? You might as well ask why Israel won’t tell the people cleaning up the cluster bombs in Lebanon where they dropped those bombs at no matter how many times they are asked. You might as well ask why torture people who couldn’t know the answers to your questions since you are the ones who did the things you are torturing them for the information about. You might as well as ask yourself why you go along with all of this. You won’t get any answers and if you do you won’t like them.
I don’t know what it’s going to take to wake people up but if it’s even possible to happen you are going to see it this year. Mikhael Aivanhov was a great disciple of Peter Dunov from Bulgaria. He lived most of his life in the south of France and some of that during the Nazi regime. He once said, “When God comes to wake you up, he first gently shakes you on the shoulder. If you do not awaken he shakes you harder. If you still do not awaken, he picks up a two-by-four.” These times are just about your two-by-four.
It should be crystal clear to anyone with even a borderline intellect that those chosen to serve us and those who usurped the process by which we pick those who serve us, are the biggest enemies we have. I get all kinds of bullshit letters from people who tell me there’s nothing we can do; who tell me that my distaste at what is happening is part of the problem, that really wise minds like theirs have the proper dispassion to see that this is all just a mental projection and everything’s okay. I’m glad that your pristine sense of detachment allows you this unique perspective.
One of the things I like about Ron Paul supporters is that they know lies when they see them. They are from every political persuasion and every walk of life and they all have some idea that things are not what they should be.
Let me say it again; there is no Al Qaeda, Bin Laden is dead and besides he was a CIA asset, 9/11 was an Inside Job and no boat anchors cut those cables. The same swine coalition of bankers and politicians and military and corporate interests are behind every bit of this with the drag queens of the established church throwing flowers in their wake.
Did you really imagine that they were through yet? Did you think those swaggering bullies at the airport check in with the rubber gloves dangling from their belts were Buddha’s in disguise? Did you not wonder why you couldn’t wear your t-shirts anymore and why every single thing you say is now suspect if someone wants to suspect you? Did you not wonder at Blackwater and all of the incremental international and local injustices taking place every day? Do you not wonder why every member of congress is a concubine with their face pressed into a pillow and their ass raised into the air? Did you not wonder at the marks on Bush’s face? What’s it going to take people for you to realize that they are not done at all yet?
I know a lot of you have watched action movies and thrillers and you always imagined that you were the bronzed model doing all the tumbling and rolling and firing from the hip. I hope you’re in shape because they’re about to call you on to the set. It’s a little different being a hero when they drag you out of line and it’s not a movie anymore.
Visible sings: ♫ Imaginary Queen ♫
'Imaginary Queen' is track no. 10 of 11 on Visible's 2001 album 'God in Country'
Lyrics (pops up)nd lawsuit was filed against the Department of Army in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Both lawsuits were filed on behalf of Elaine Donnelly and the Center for Military Readiness (“CMR”) to obtain records related to the effectiveness of women in direct combat roles which should have been provided as a result of previous Freedom of Information Act requests. Yesterday afternoon, the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed two different Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits in different federal district courts to obtain results from testing women for direct combat roles. One lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and the 2lawsuit was filed against the Department of Army in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Both lawsuits were filed on behalf of Elaine Donnelly and the Center for Military Readiness (“CMR”) to obtain records related to the effectiveness of women in direct combat roles which should have been provided as a result of previous Freedom of Information Act requests.
Since the founding of CMR in 1993, Elaine Donnelly, as its president, has been researching and reporting on various aspects of social policy in all branches of military service. TMLC’s Senior Trial Counsel, Erin Mersino, has been assisting Donnelly’s efforts by filing numerous FOIA requests on all branches of military service. Commenting on the two lawsuits filed yesterday, Mersino stated, “Adherence to the FOIA is crucial because it allows the public access to our government. The documents we requested under FOIA are time sensitive. Permanent decisions regarding women in the infantry are projected to be made as soon as January 2016. The public should be informed of such important matters that directly affect our national security.”
CMR has already prepared an analysis of the study conducted by the British Ministry of Defense, which tears to shreds the case for women in ground close combat. One of the findings of the study was that under conditions of high intensity close quarter battle, “team cohesion is of such significance that the employment of women in this environment would represent a risk to combat effectiveness and no gain in terms of combat effectiveness to offset it.” The entire analysis can be found at:
In January of 2013, the Obama administration announced its decision to make female military personnel eligible for assignment to direct ground combat units, including the infantry, by January of 2016. Since then the various departments of the military have been collecting data concerning the safety and effectiveness of women on the front lines. TMLC has submitted numerous FOIA requests on behalf of Elaine Donnelly and the CMR in an effort to obtain information prior to the conclusion of the military’s studies in January 2016. The recent FOIA requests to the Army and to SOCOM were part of that concerted effort.
Although a small group of service women initially volunteered for tests, that number has dwindled. Obtaining the documents asked for in the lawsuits will allow Elaine Donnelly to analyze the safety and effectiveness of allowing women in the infantry and provide its findings and analysis to the public and to the military at a crucial point in time.
Of particular interest to the Law Center is the attempt by the Pentagon to insert women into the one of the most grueling training regimens in the entire military establishment, the U.S. Army Rangers. The deep concern now is that the Pentagon will reduce the physical requirements so that women will pass.A United States federal judge said Friday that the National Security Agency’s controversial bulk phone data collection program doesn’t violate the law.
That ruling came courtesy of US District Judge William Pauley, who decided in favor of the NSA early Friday in a case filed this past June by the American Civil Liberties Union against Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Judge Pauley admitted in a decision penned in the Southern District of New York court that the NSA "vacuums up information about virtually every telephone call to, from, or within the United States," but that no evidence exists that the spy agency abuses this program to spy on people without ties to terrorist organizations.
“There is no evidence that the government has used any of the bulk telephony metadata it collected for any purpose other than investigating and disrupting terrorist attacks,” Pauley wrote towards the end of his 54-page ruling.
The ACLU filed their lawsuit in June of this year just hours after reports revealed that the US government has been regularly compelling telecommunication companies for the basic call records pertaining to millions of Americans.
“Because the NSA’s aggregation of metadata constitutes an invasion of privacy and an unreasonable search, it is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment,” the ACLU alleged when they filed suit. “The call-tracking program also violates the First Amendment, because it vacuums up sensitive information about associational and expressive activity.”
Following Judge Pauley's ruling the ACLU issued a response, saying that it was "extremely disappointed" with the decision, which the organization feels "misinterprets the relevant statutes, understates the privacy implications of the government’s surveillance and misapplies a narrow and outdated precedent to read away core constitutional protections," according to Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU's deputy legal director.
“We intend to appeal and look forward to making our case in the Second Circuit,” said Jaffer.
Judge Pauley acknowledged in his ruling that the program does indeed slurp up massive amounts of sensitive data, but insisted that abuse has been infrequent and excusable given the advantages of the alleged counterterrorism tool.
Less than two weeks ago, District Judge Richard Leon issued a grossly different decision while weighing in on a similar case filed by plaintiffs in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
“Because the government can use daily metadata collection to engage in ‘repetitive, surreptitious surveillance of a citizen’s private goings on,’ the NSA database ‘implicated the Fourth Amendment each time a government official monitors it,” Judge Leon ruled.
In the ACLU v Clapper case, however, Pauley said, “Whether the Fourth Amendment protects bulk telephony metadata is ultimately a question of reasonableness.”
Both suits were filed in the immediate aftermath of reports published this past June after former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden leaked classified national security documents to reporters at the Washington Post and Britain’s the Guardian newspaper.
“For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission’s already accomplished,” Snowden told the Post’s Barton Gellman for an article published in the paper earlier this week. “I already won. As soon as the journalists were able to work, everything that I had been trying to do was validated. Because, remember, I didn’t want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself.”
Indeed, Judge Leon’s ruling and the recommendations of a task force assembled by US President Barack Obama amid public outrage about the revelations asked the government to make significant changes to the intelligence gathering operations waged by the NSA. But after a handful of victories for privacy advocates in recent days, Judge Pauley’s decision on Friday is perhaps the most significant win yet for the Obama administration in its fight to keep the NSA’s programs intact.
The bulk collection of telephony metadata, Pauley said, “represents the government’s counterpunch to al-Qaeda” and helps the intelligence community keep the communications of terrorist groups well within its radar.
‘‘The government learned from its mistake and adapted to confront a new enemy: a terror network capable of orchestrating attacks across the world. It launched a number of counter-measures, including a bulk telephony metadata collection program — a wide net that could find and isolate gossamer contacts among suspected terrorists in an ocean of seemingly disconnected data,’’ he said.(CNN) A former model and DJ from Melbourne, described by his former agency as having a promising future, is the latest Australian believed to have been killed while fighting alongside ISIS militants in Syria.
The parents of Sharky Jama, 25, were informed of their son's death via a text message and phone call Monday, said Hussein Harakow, president of the Somali Australian Council of Victoria.
"They're very shocked and very disappointed," said Harakow, who knows the Jama family.
He said Jama had disappeared along with another Somali-Australian, named in Australian media reports as former business student Yusuf Yusuf, in August of last year.
'He never explained what's happening over there'
Harakow said Jama's parents had subsequently been in contact with their son in the Iraqi city of Falluja, held by ISIS militants, where he was understood to be living.
But they had been told he had been killed by gunfire in Syria
Sharky Jama was a former male model in Australia.
He said the family did not know Jama had joined ISIS, despite his pro-ISIS social media postings and media reports on his activities.
"He never explained what's happening over there or what he's doing," Harakow told CNN.
"The family lived a simple life. They never discussed these sorts of things."
A spokeswoman for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was not able to confirm Jama's death, as its capacity in Syria and Iraq was limited.
"Due to the extremely dangerous security situation, consular assistance is no longer available within Syria," she said in a statement.
'Serious national security threat'
Reports of Jama's death came as a report by the Lowy Institute, an Australian foreign policy think tank, was published saying the number of Australians fighting for ISIS represented a "serious national security threat" and posed a risk of an attack on home soil.
It pointed at the government's difficult relationship with the Muslim community as potentially complicating efforts to reduce Islamic extremism.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last month that 90 Australians were in Iraq and Syria fighting on the side of ISIS, and that at least 20 Australians have been killed in the conflict.
'Death cult'
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott addressed the reports of Jama's death in a statement Thursday.
"I have a very simple message for those who might be thinking of going overseas to join these terrorist groups: Don't," he said.
"They are death cults.... They are not about religion, they are just about death, and it's just as likely to be your death as anyone else's death."
'A very likeable guy'
Stephen Bucknall, director of Melbourne's FRM Model Management, said his agency had represented Jama for two and a half years.
It had severed its relationship with the aspiring model when media reports surfaced in December that he had joined ISIS.
"We were quite shocked to find out he had joined ISIS, and we immediately cut ties with him," said Bucknall.
"He was a very likeable guy, very courteous, always came around with a smile. He had a great modeling career ahead of him. He always showed up at the agency ready to work on the runway, print and TV."
A bright light to some
Melbourne-based social activist Berhan Ahmed, chairman of the African Think Tank, said he had met Jama at community events.
He described Jama as outgoing and "flamboyant," saying he had led an active social life, focused on music and nightlife, and had worked as a DJ.
"To be honest, I would have seen him as a sign of hope for the community," he told CNN. "He was integrated, he got himself into the mainstream."
However, he had gradually toned down his social life and started spending more time at home -- a development that wouldn't necessarily have rung alarm bells for people around him, he said.
"You would think, as a parent, maybe he's starting to settle down, he's starting to mature, starting his life in a different way," he said.
Ahmed said he had never heard Jama make pro-ISIS statements. "But I wouldn't be surprised. You hear these sorts of arguments every now and then," he said. "People start to think -- 'Where do I belong, who am I?' "
Reports of Jama's death prompted tributes from his associates on social media, with some labeling him a shaheed (martyr) or wishing him a place in paradise.
"Rest in peace my handsome lil cousin!" wrote one woman in Melbourne. "All them beautiful memories and time we shared I shall keep dear to my heart. May Allah bless your soul."Product Description
Fleet Foxes are from Seattle and the members of the band are Robin Pecknold, Skye Skjelset, Josh Tillman, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo, and Morgan Henderson. The first Fleet Foxes album (Fleet Foxes) was released on Sub Pop in 2008, and though the band s intention was to record a new album in the 6-8 months following its release, the reception of the record was such that Fleet Foxes found themselves very busy, touring consistently through the end of 2009.
Engineered and mixed by Phil Ek and co-produced by Phil and the band, the new Fleet Foxes record is called Helplessness Blues. Recording for Helplessness Blues began in April 2010 at Dreamland Recording in Woodstock, NY and continued off and on through November of that same year back in Seattle at numerous studios, including Bear Creek, Reciprocal Recording and Avast. Like very nearly every worthwhile thing, making this album was not easy; it was a difficult second album to make. Drawing inspiration from folk/rock from about 1965 to 1973, and Van Morrison s Astral Weeks in particular, Helplessness Blues sees Fleet Foxes heighten and extend themselves, adding instrumentation (clarinet, the music box, pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar, Tibetan singing bowls, vibraphone, etc., along with more traditional band instrumentation), with a focus on clear, direct lyrics, and an emphasis on group vocal harmonies. We have it on good authority that the album is called Helplessness Blues for at least a couple of reasons. One, it's kind of a funny title. Secondly, one of the prevailing themes of the album is the struggle between who you are and who you want to be or who you want to end up, and how sometimes you are the only thing getting in the way of that.
Having heard Helplessness Blues, we mean to get out of its way.
Review
"...a triumphant follow-up to a blockbuster debut." - Best New Music, 8.8 out of 10 --Pitchfork
"The year's most beautiful album." - 9 out of 10 (May, 2011) --Spin
"dazzling" - 4 Stars --Rolling Stone
"The year's most beautiful album." - 9 out of 10 (May, 2011) --Spin
"dazzling" - 4 Stars --Rolling StoneLisa Haydon, popular for her role in Queen and featuring in Houseful 3, recently attracted the infantile wrath of the urban feminists after she declared in an interview to Times of India that she wasn’t too fond of the word ‘Feminism.’ I quote, “I don’t like the word feminist. I don’t think women trying to be men is feminism. I also don’t believe in being outspoken for the sake of it, or just to prove a point. Feminism is just an overused term and people make too much noise about it for no reason. Women have been given these bodies to produce children, and the spirit and tenderness to take care of people around us. It’s fine to be an outspoken and working woman. I don’t want to be a man. One day I look forward to making dinner for my husband and children. I don’t want to be a career feminist.” Lisa Haydon ‘s remarks seem pretty harmless on the face of it and a normal level headed person wonders to himself what exactly is so offensive about her views? Lisa Haydon is neither attacking personal life choices nor is she humiliating other women for making any. One tends to wonder if Feminists have succeeded in solving every single issue in the world with their Feminist principles, which they never could even if they wanted to, that they are picking on a woman for simply sharing her views?
Very recently, Feminists attacked Tiger Shroff for asserting that he would prefer a housewife as his soul mate who would cook for him. Quite a few feminists, their numbers not as large as those attacking Lisa Haydon, latched on to the comment and began the ritualistic character assassination that ensues whenever a person does not conform to their world view. It seems, feminists are of the opinion, every superstar’s views must conform to their worldview, otherwise, the celebrities are idiots and ignorant in dire needs of divine intervention in the form of Feminist Education. Liberals have once again proved that they cannot handle remarks by a celebrity which goes a little against their treasured values without hyperventilating and losing their marbles.
“Women have been given these bodies to produce children, and the spirit and tenderness to take care of people around us.” Are Feminists of the opinion women’s bodies are not biologically designed to give birth to children? Since men can obviously not have children without becoming a woman, we can agree that bit about Lisa Haydon’s comments are factually correct. Then, Lisa Haydon makes a noble comment about what she feels are the duties and responsibilities of women in the society. The ‘spirit of tenderness’ and taking care of people around us is a noble virtue. Why would Feminists rant over a comment as innocuous as that? Are feminists of the opinion that they are free to be whiny, irresponsible, immature, selfish, arrogant and rude brats and we are obligated to respect their lifestyle choices and not judge them for it? Unfortunately, dear feminists, this is reality, not a virtual simulation of your fantasy world.
Lisa Haydon ‘s remarks which caused the most offense perhaps were, “Feminism is just an overused term,” and “I don’t want to be a career feminist.” Well, when young students walk around university campuses sticking sanitary napkins to trees and a young woman who refused to accept sanitary napkins from women who offer to help and wrote a lengthy rant on the internet about people staring at her, all in the name of Feminism, one tends to wonder if Lisa is really wrong when she says Feminism is an overused word. As for career feminists, perhaps she was referring to Feminists like Trupti Desai who managed to force herself into a Hindu Temple but meekly bowed out when it came to Haji Ali because she knew perfectly well there would be repercussions?
Some of the articles ridiculing Lisa Haydon for her remarks were cancerous to say the least. They are very much capable of killing healthy brain cells on their own. The Firspost article on the issue remarked, “Firstly, we wonder if Haydon realises that if women actually have been given bodies only to reproduce…” Well, a classic case of conflation to twist the issue into supporting one’s narrative. Lisa Haydon nowhere says that women are only meant to reproduce. The author should really have her eyes checked by a specialist.
Then, the author once again displaying the obvious fact that Lisa Haydon doesn’t have the capabilities of making her points amply clear on her own takes help from Tanmay Bhat’s video to communicate her thoughts. “If you believe that men and women should have equal rights, that’s it. That’s what makes you a feminist. That’s it. There’s nothing else.” Well, Tanmay, if you had bothered to actually read the Indian Constitution while you were too busy stuffing food into your belly, you would have noticed that Indian women (except Muslims) have the same legal rights as that of a man, they already have equal rights guaranteed to them and to top it off, they have a certain laws skewed in their favor, the Rape laws for example.
Tanmay proceeds to say, “It pisses me off when people paint feminists as constantly whining.” Well, why should we care if you are pissed? And what makes you think being offended makes your claims legitimate? “Equality is a fight that is being fought around the world for centuries now. It’s the most basic thing.” Yes, Tanmay, and we can see what it has led to in the West. ‘Equality’ in its most basic aspect is a legal issue and women in India already have legal equality. As for Social Equality, it is distant dream which can never be realized as it is based on a false premise which does not recognize the basic biological differences between men and women which predispose them to act and talk in a particular fashion. The author then asserts that she would *pay to watch* Tanmay Bhat in conversation with Lisa Haydon. Well, debating with feminists is like playing chess with a pigeon. The pigeon will shit all over the board and strut around like a champion while you are too busy figuring out what on earth just happened.
On another website, Vagabomb, the article on the Lisa Haydon episode seems to have been written by a person who is under the impression you cannot communicate with your audience without “WHAT. WHAT. WHAT.” and assuming a patronising tone that gives off the impression she is a beacon of intellect and knowledge while everyone who disagrees with her is obnoxious and stupid who needs to be rescued from his or her ignorance. In fact it is the other way around.
The author asks, “Lisa Haydon, Why wouldn’t you want to be someone who fights for women’s rights, and stops people from hurting women?” Have you ever considered the possibility that it’s indeed possible to fight for women rights without adopting the tag of ‘feminist’? Or is a person’s contribution to women rights any less if he or she doesn’t endorse feminism? The author rambles on, “Women are a lot more than their looks and bodies. But because you don’t like feminism, you might just have to put up with this bullshit for a while.” Considering how it was Feminism which brought about the sexual liberation project, I find it a bit hypocritical that feminists are complaining about sexual objectification. Sexual Liberation without sexual objectification is a lot like asking for mangoes without seeds. It might be possible artificially but in a real working society, it is simply not possible. The author also argues, “People make too much noise about it because women still earn less than men, because women are still killed for wanting to work, saying no to men, wanting control of their bodies, and wanting to be born.” Well, for the umpteenth time, women earn less not necessarily because of Patriarchy but because they make different lifestyle choices than men. And just so you know, it is illegal in India to discriminate between men and women on the basis of sex and it is illegal for a woman to be paid less for the same amount of work. So, there you have it Feminists, ‘Equal Pay.’ Also, I do agree with the other bits but I don’t see how shaming a celebrity for her remarks is going to help with any of those issues, can anyone else?
With the Lisa Haydon episode, Feminists have once again displayed that they are highly intolerant of any critique of Feminism and instead of introspecting and working to improve Feminism as an ideology, they seek to silence all criticisms while furthering irrational arguments while hyperventilating.
They do not realize that ‘Feminism is for Equality’ is a claim and you cannot base your arguments on claims to prove your assertions. Also, Feminists have once again proved that it’s not enough for women to be smart, talented, beautiful, hardworking and a celebrity who would like to cook dinner for her husband and children to be worthy of respect, they must call themselves Feminists to be guaranteed of it. Feminism has developed into a cult which consists of people who think they shouldn’t be judged or criticized for the choices they make. They should be absolved of their responsibilities as they merrily enjoy the benefits Society provides them with.
Feminists like to claim credit for every good thing that has happened to women so far but they refuse to acknowledge the harm they have done to women. Feminists refuse to acknowledge that their biases and gullibility allowed tobacco companies to manipulate women into smoking, thereby expanding their consumer base and earning them huge profits.
Even at a recent ‘Smoke for Equality’ protest in Kolkata, Feminists encouraged women to smoke to break Gender prejudices and not a remote whimper was to be heard from Feminists when the unhealthy habit of Smoking was associated with the noble pursuit of Equality. Feminists also do not acknowledge that their biases shaped policies in the United States of America which encouraged single motherhood among the Black Community which has resulted in over 70% of Black children being raised without a father and in often broken families and thus perpetuated the vicious Ghetto culture which so troubles the prospects of the Black Community and denies children of the opportunity of a bright future.
Feminists also do not want to take responsibility for the thousands of lives which have been destroyed by false allegations of rape which are the natural consequences of Feminism gone wild which shaped Rape laws. Feminists never want to take responsibility and refuse to address the fact that their misguided activism has resulted in higher than ever rates of depression among urban women and alcohol and cigarette consumption. Feminism love to blame Patriarchy when their grand plans come to yield results. If more cocaine is not the solution to Cocaine addiction, how can more Feminism be the solution to the inherent flaws within Feminism?
Milo Yiannopoulos likes to say Feminism is cancer but I say modern Feminism is AIDS which destroys the immunity of women and urges them to make choices which are inherently bad for their well-being and then convince them to blame Patriarchy instead of their own lifestyle choices for their predicament. To Feminists who love to use ‘Feminism is for Gender Equality’ to silence all critique of Feminism, I shall only say, it’s what you do that defines you, not what you claim to be.
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/lisa-hayon-should-take-tips-from-aibs-tanmay-bhat-on-how-not-to-misinterpret-feminism-2794092.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/05/23/lisa-hadon-feminism_n_10102682.html
http://www.thequint.com/women/2016/05/23/sorry-lisa-hydon-but-you-know-nothing-about-feminismBizarre moment CNN anchors unsuccessfully try to pretend they are not in the same parking lot
How do you know when two television correspondents are in the same parking lot pretending that they are in separate locations?
When you can see the same cars going by in both screens.
Producers at CNN apparently thought viewers wouldn’t notice that anchors Nancy Grace of HLN/Headline News and Ashleigh Banfield of Newsroom were standing no more than 30 feet way from one another as they manipulated the footage and placed Grace on Banfield’s right instead of her left.
Scroll down for video
Whoops: Nancy Grace and Ashleigh Banfield were standing no more than 30 feet away from one another while CNN producers manipulated the footage to give the appearance of a satellite interview
VIDEO Reporting live from... The same location. CNN's live link fail
The blatant visual gimmick aired Tuesday morning as the two correspondents reported on the latest details behind the horrific Cleveland kidnapping story and pretended they were conducting a remote interview, as the Atlantic Wire pointed out soon after.
At a glance the morning segment on CNN might have seemed like a real satellite Q&A as Banfield feigned to interview Grace, a leading commentator on deviant crime, from a separate location.
But the segment’s background, including the same building and passing cars, quickly showed that both of the anchors were at the same location in Phoenix, Arizona.
Banfield later conducted an interview about murder suspect Jodi Arias with another HLN anchor who was in a different location than Grace, but still in the same parking lot, the Atlantic Wire reported.
Grace and Banfield typically appear on two different networks. However, both are employed by CNN’s parent company Time Warner.
CNN did not return requests for comments from MailOnline on their reason for manipulating the Banfield interviews.
One can |
taxes (SALT) drove California, New Jersey and New York Republicans to buck their party on Tuesday
The end-of-year sprint represents a remarkable recovery of Republican fortunes since the middle of this year, when the party's drive to dismantle former Democratic President Barack Obama's Obamacare healthcare law crumbled in the Senate and prospects for a tax overhaul seemed doomed by party infighting.
Republicans control the 100-seat Senate by only a 52-48 margin and can afford to lose support from no more than two party lawmakers. Republican Senator Jeff Flake was still undecided on Tuesday. Senator John McCain, who has brain cancer, was spending time with family in Arizona.
Vice President Mike Pence took the precaution of rescheduling a trip to Egypt and Israel for January so he would be on hand this week in case his tie-breaking voting power is needed to ensure Senate passage of the bill.I am deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans have once again refused to do their job and give well-qualified nominees to the federal bench the yes-or-no votes they deserve. The D.C. Circuit, considered the Nation’s second-highest court, has three vacancies. These are judgeships created by Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts and the Judicial Conference of the United States believe that these vacancies should be filled, not removed. And my constitutional duty as President is to nominate highly qualified individuals to fill these vacancies.
Patricia Millett, Nina Pillard, and Judge Robert Wilkins have all received the highest possible rating from the non-partisan American Bar Association. They have broad bipartisan support, and no one has questioned their merit. Yet Senate Republicans have blocked all three from receiving a yes-or-no vote. This obstruction is completely unprecedented. Four of my predecessor’s six nominees to the D.C. Circuit were confirmed. Four of my five nominees to this court have been obstructed. When it comes to judicial nominations, I am fulfilling my constitutional responsibility, but Congress is not. Instead, Senate Republicans are standing in the way of a fully-functioning judiciary that serves the American people.
The American people and our judicial system deserve better. A majority of the United States Senate supports these three extraordinary nominees, and it is time for simple yes-or-no votes without further obstruction or delay.BALTIMORE – The U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution June 20 calling for a quick end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and transfer of the $129 billion spent on those wars each year to job-creating domestic programs in the nation’s cities.
The vote came at the end of the mayors’ 79th annual meeting here, dominated by deep concern at the steep downward economic spiral of the nation’s cities with lower revenues forcing disastrous budget cutbacks and mass layoffs. The mayors warned of a “lost decade” for the cities with recovery from double-digit unemployment not expected “until 2020 at the earliest.”
As they met, close to a hundred Maryland activists rallied, sang, and marched in the Baltimore heat June 18 to bring home the message to the mayors: “Bring the war dollars home to our cities and communities.”
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, newly elected Conference of Mayors president, endorsed the antiwar resolution during an appearance June 19 on “Meet the Press.”
“There are some cities that are not going to recover … for another 20 years,” Villaraigosa said. “The impact of this recession is real.” Villaraigosa said something is out of kilter when “we build bridges in Baghdad and Kandahar and not in Baltimore and Kansas City.”
Charlottesville, Va, Mayor Dave Norris praised the resolution after it was overwhelmingly approved. “It is our constituents who are sent off to fight and die in these wars, who are asked to fund these wars with their tax dollars,” he said. “And it is our communities that struggle when huge sums are being diverted from local priorities to military adventures and ‘nation building’ abroad… It is time to do some nation-building here at home.”
Kittie Piercy, mayor of Eugene, Ore., said the resolution calls on the mayors to “begin the journey of turning war dollars back into peace dollars, of bringing our loved ones home and focusing our national resources on building security and prosperity at home.”
Muhammad Younis Nawandish, mayor of Kabul, Afghanistan, expressed reservations about a quick U.S. troop withdrawal, telling a luncheon of the mayors, June 18, that it may open the way for the Taliban.
Jacquiline Cabasso, U.S. coordinator of Mayors for Peace, spoke to Nawandish after his speech, showing him material from her organization. He promptly signed up to be a member, charging that decades of war have destroyed “90 percent” of Kabul just as atomic bombing destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The grassroots events outside the conference were organized by the Fund Our Communities, Bring The War Dollars Home Coalition. It includes Veterans For Peace, Peace Action, the Algebra Project, AFSC, Full Employment Baltimore, the Communist Party of Maryland, the Green Party, Generations for Peace and Democracy, Code Pink, Baltimore ANSWER and others.
The opening rally, held at the St. Vincent de Paul church parking lot across from Baltimore’s fabled Shot Tower, and next to a small park populated by homeless people, heard from various speakers as well as the Charm City Labor Chorus before the marchers took off for the hotel where the conference was being held.
Chanting and carrying colorful flags, banners and signs, the marchers went through downtown Baltimore and Baltimore traffic. Along the march route, Maria Allwine, one of the coalition organizers, told the People’s World, “I’ve talked to six mayors in the past few days. The mayors get it. They’re in the trenches. They’re on the front lines. They’re the ones trying to provide more services with ever-dwindling resources. We expect them to pass the Mayors for Peace resolution, and hope they will use their bully pulpit to take it to the U.S. Congress and make an issue of it.”
Tim Wheeler contributed to this article.
Photo: Maryland peace activists’ march June 18 urges the nation’s mayors to call for “bringing the war dollars home to our cities and communities.” PW/Jim BaldridgeA group of fifteen young unaccompanied migrants from North Africa are terrorising the German city of Mannheim. Most of them are from Morocco.
According to the city’s mayor, Peter Kurz, they damage property, commit street crimes and attack people. He says that people see it as a “failure of the state” when the young migrants can’t be held accountable for their criminal behavior.
Some perpetrators can’t be arrested because of their young age or an unknown identity. It is also very hard to deport them even if they can arrest them, according to German data not a single unaccompanied young refugee was deported last year.
Unbegleitete Flüchtlinge in Mannheim – Wie kriminelle Jugendliche Stadt tyrannisieren und Feindseligkeit schüren https://t.co/Y4TVY39B5E — FOCUS Online (@focusonline) December 4, 2017
A lawyer says there are a lot of problems concerning deportation of the group of young culprits: “It is often very difficult for public authorities to obtain the necessary identity documents without them deportation is impossible. Sometimes, despite bi- or multilateral agreements, also problems with the countries of origin, which the refugees would have to take back.”
Around 33,000 unaccompanied minor refugees are currently being cared for in Germany, according to figures from the Federal Association of Unaccompanied Minor Refugees from mid-October. They live in homes, residential groups, in foster homes or live alone. Many do not have a fixed residence status.And: “Did anyone get his lunch money stolen today and then run to tell the recess monitor?”
Outrageous. Assault is not a game. It’s not a joke. It’s criminal. Any moral person would know better than to treat it so cavalierly. A moral person wouldn’t make a joke; that person would take a stand.
But Republicans in the age of Trump have sadly moved away from morality as a viable concept.
Yes, Gianforte’s assault is a glaring display of toxic masculinity in an environment made particularly toxic by the man in the White House and his media bullying. But more telling and more ominous is the degree to which Republicans no longer seem to care, and their increasing ability to compartmentalize and justify.
This is all an outgrowth of Trump’s degradation of common decency. Trump was the gateway candidate. When Republicans allowed themselves to accept and support him in spite of his glaring flaws and his life lived in opposition to the values they once professed and insisted upon, they moved themselves into another moral realm in which literally nothing was beyond the pale.
It is a sort of by-any-means-necessary, no-sin-is-too-grave, all-facts-are-fungible space in the moral universe where the rules of basic human decency warp.
The moment that they allowed themselves to vote for a man who bragged on tape about assaulting women, appeared in at least two pornos, and once joked about dating his own daughter, they surrendered the mantle of morality.
When they allowed themselves to vote for a man who insulted Mexicans and Muslims, who mocked a disabled reporter, who called for executing the Central Park Five and who had “a long history of racial bias at his family’s properties, in New York and beyond,” according to an extensive report by The Times, Republicans surrendered the mantle of morality.
Republicans sold their souls to this devil and now are forced to defend as right what they know full well is wrong. They must defend his incessant lying, clear incompetence and dubious dealings. What was once sacrilege among Republicans is now sacrosanct.World of Tanks on PS4 Will Run at 1080p, 30 FPS; it’ll Be Graphically “More Sophisticated” than PC Version (UPDATED)
Giuseppe Nelva September 19, 2015 2:57:37 PM EST
Update: During our interview with Max Chuvalov, we were told that the game would run at 60 FPS on PS4. Wargaming since contacted DualShockers to clarify that the information we were given was incorrect, and the game will run at 30 FPS on Sony’s consoles.
World of Tanks was announced for PS4 just a few days ago, and looks like users on Sony’s console are in for a visual treat, as Marketing Product Manager Max Chuvalov told DualShockers today at Tokyo Game Show.
Chuvalov confirmed that the PS4 version of the game will run at 1080p, 60 30 frames per second, but that’s not all.
He also mentioned that it’l be graphically “more sophisticated” than the PC version, because the PC version has a huge scale of different machines to support, and 60 to 70% of the community plays on low or mid-spec PCs.
When you have a community counting multiple millions of users each update to graphics, physics and dynamic effects, it affects lots of people in different ways making it more difficult to implement. For consoles, everyone has the same hardware, so it’s easier to implement weather conditions, high definition maps and tanks.
The PS4 version will have all the HD maps, tanks and environments from the start, with weather conditions, night battles, and dynamic effects.
Chuvalov also added that the PS4 version and the Xbox One version are “almost the same” visually.FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Denard Span would turn 29 in spring training of 2013. He had played three seasons of a five-year, $16.5 million contract that he had signed in March 2010. Span was due to make $4.75 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014, with a $9 million club option (and $500,000 buyout) for 2015.
The numbers for 2013-14 were modest for a center fielder and excellent leadoff hitter. Yet, it wasn’t a shock when the Twins traded Span to Washington on Nov. 29, 2012 for 6-foot-9 pitching prospect Alex Meyer, the Nationals’ first-round selection in 2011.
The reason for the lack of surprise was that the Twins also had Ben Revere, who was 24 and had shown he could hit and cover center field, even if he never was going to be able to throw.
One week after the Span trade was announced, Ryan called manager Ron Gardenhire with this information: “I’m going to trade Revere to Philadelphia for two pitchers, Vance Worley and Trevor May.’’
Gardenhire response was, “Who is my center fielder?’’
Paul Molitor is in his first season as Gardenhire’s replacement. Molitor said that he and Ryan would have a meeting this weekend to get a better idea on what the final roster might look like.
Molitor would have been permitted to start that meeting by saying, “Who is my center fielder?’’
This would be more Molitor asking the general manager for his thoughts and not a decision. The fact is, since that week in the winter of 2012, Ryan has not provided his manager – first Gardenhire, now Molitor – with a favorable option as a regular center fielder.
All you’ve heard down here is that if a vote was taken among the coaches working in big-league spring training, the Opening Day center fielder would be Byron Buxton, 21, and coming off an injury-plagued season in which he had 124 at-bats.
There was never a possibility that this was going to happen, and Buxton was sent across the parking lot to the minor league complex with the first group of cuts.
The only hint of stability for Gardenhire in center field over the previous two seasons was when he started Danny Santana there for 62 games last season. His routes to the ball improved and he provided some hitting, but the Twins look at him as a shortstop – and that’s where Molitor put him from Day One in big-league camp.
The so-far horrendous result from the Span and Revere trades was emphasized on Friday when Meyer, now 25, was optioned to Class AAA Rochester. He started 27 games there last year, trying to develop a changeup to go with his fastball and slider, and now he’s been sent back to try to develop a changeup to go with his fastball and slider.
There was some thought this winter that the Twins would put Meyer in the bullpen, for some late-inning octane in front of closer Glen Perkins, and maybe get some changeup hints from new coaches Neil Allen and Eddie Guardado.
Nope. Ryan wants Meyer to continue with a starter’s workload, and that’s what happened.
One issue could be that unless the Twins can move Mike Pelfrey, he’s likely to wind up in the bullpen, and the idea of having two pitchers not used to warming up quickly in a seven-man bullpen was not considered feasible.
May is in camp, allegedly competing with Tommy Milone and Pelfrey for the fifth spot in the rotation, but unless he goes up in flames it appears Milone will open in that role, giving the Twins one left-handed starter.
It’s almost a certainty that the first two starters in Rochester’s rotation will be May and Meyer. Again.
The third pitcher acquired in the Span/Revere deals was Worley. He was the Opening Day starter in 2013, not because of anything he had done in spring training but in an effort to give some credibility to the Revere trade.
Worley lasted only 10 disastrous starts with the Twins: 1-5 with a 7.21 ERA. He showed little interest once optioned to Rochester and wound up getting sent home from there in the middle of August.
The Twins sold Worley to Pittsburgh last spring. They might have gotten enough money to buy the popcorn machine that's new to the Hammond Stadium press box this spring.
The Pirates fixed him, as they did Francisco Liriano after coming apart for the Twins and then doing nothing for the White Sox.
Throw in May’s 10 games for the Twins late last summer, when he was 3-6 with a 7.88 ERA, and this is the combined big-league bounty to this point for the trades of both of Gardy’s center fielders in the offseason of 2012-13:
Twenty games (19 starts) and a 4-11 record with a 7.54 ERA.
Span and Revere? As a brief note, they did tie as the National League hits leaders with 184 apiece in 2014.
Meantime, the Twins still don’t have anyone resembling an every-day center fielder, not until the arrival of Buxton. Presumably, he will be a bit younger for his first big-league at-bat than Alex Meyer will be if he ever gets a chance to throw a big-league pitch.My organization Zen Men LLC tried to organize a GamerGate meetup at Battle & Brew (B&B), a video game themed bar. Politically-motivated bullies then attacked B&B, and the general manager Nate Sanders pulled the plug and said this was all my fault.
I did not want any B&B staff to deal with any unwarranted stress, but it was only right to warn them about a PR risk. When Nate and I first spoke, I told him about the bomb threat made against Local 16 in DC and warned him that there might be an unprovoked social media backlash just because GamerGate meetups happen. He was well aware of the circumstances, and I assured him that Zen Men LLC was not coming to the event for political reasons. The whole point of the event was to play video games and network.
This article shares correspondence with the general manager, including two phone calls and an email exchange. I did not include correspondence that only involved event business such as catering or space reservation. Normally I would consider this kind of information private, but I need authentic sources to back up what I say about people involved.
Please listen to the preliminary phone conversation before reading on, particularly from 6:28 on. I cannot stress this enough: Please listen to this recording.
I announced on both Reddit and ZenMen.org that the B&B general manager assured me that threats against patrons would not be tolerated, which is a realistic assumption given the content of the recording above. Given the ambiguity of text, one could interpret my announcement in a way to think that B&B was endorsing or supporting the politics of Zen Men or GamerGate. Nate therefore accused me of “misquoting” him, and for associating his business with politics that he did not want to deal with. My intention was not to suggest that B&B supported me or what I believe, but to suggest that I thought highly of Battle & Brew for Nate’s claim to keep things non-political.
Even so, I did apologize several times to Nate simply because I felt badly about a business facing unwarranted heat. I assured Nate—again, several times—that there was no effort on my part to put words in his mouth—even if people choose to see it that way. Although my speaking highly of his business did not necessarily constitute affiliation, Nate insisted I make this explicit what became this follow-up announcement.
When I was interacting with the public, I claimed that Nate would not tolerate threats to patrons made for political reasons, namely by “SJWs” (Social Justice Warriors), a term which only ever referred to politically-motivated agents. This does not necessarily mean that Nate is anti-SJW, it means that B&B is advertised as a non-political bar, and the behavior carried out by social justice activists is not compatible with their service. It is safe for me to assume that a business owner would not welcome needless political conflict, and me staying in line with that thinking does not mean that I tried to act as a representative.
As always with conflicts of this nature, I could have worded things differently to try and avoid some misunderstandings. But in my defense, those who understand the context surrounding GamerGate meetups know that the outrage Nate faced would have been the same no matter what, and I cannot be held responsible for the questionable tactics of others. I warned Nate that political nuts might target his bar, even though we weren’t going to be there for political reasons. He acknowledged both points, so if he wishes to say that my calling him a responsible, neutral business owner was misquoting him, then he’s free to explain an alternative position.
You can listen to the dramatic phone conversation here.
I will no longer apologize for decisions made by other people regarding my speaking highly of a venue. I did that before, but I really should not have.
The impression that Battle and Brew was not a political venue made it attractive for a GamerGate meetup in the first place. GamerGate meetups are popping up all over the nation specifically because gamers who put freedom and fun first want to meet and play, putting them directly in B&B’s target market.
Nate threatened to ban Zen Men LLC and all associated parties if I posted just one more thing about Battle and Brew. He also told me that the only way to make things right with him was to take down everything I posted about B&B, but nothing would change his mind about denying us service. I took down a Reddit thread with 300+ upvotes (which was automatically archived somewhere, I think), the Zen Men announcement, and the Eventbrite page ready to start earning B&B some money. But with this post, Zen Men LLC is now banned instead, and B&B’s reactionary decision ironically threw them into the realm of politics.
I had to walk an awkward line between repairing a relationship with a fascinating business and asserting myself against ill-informed accusations and decisions pushed by a man who saw himself and his business as the only victims. I quickly made concessions—including ones I probably should not have—in good faith, but started pushing back when Nate started retaliating with claims about my personal intentions. Although he apologized for some personal remarks, he did not change his mind about the event or about his opinion of my intentions, which brings professionalism into the discussion.
In many ways, Nate really does come off as a talented, compassionate human being with thoughts and feelings, especially in our final email conversation, which I suggest you read. He and I both apologized to each other for any misunderstandings, and tried to close the conversation as respectfully and professionally as possible despite detectable frustration.
For that reason, I do not feel comfortable outright bashing B&B or Nate, but I do have to assert myself where reasonable. /u/oldmanbees from Reddit actually articulated the issue better than I could in a reply to me on this Reddit discussion about the aftermath:
I regret that Nate and his crew had to deal with so much drama, but they seriously cannot expect me to walk off without a word. I do not endorse any retaliation of any kind against B&B or its staff, but as a customer I can comment on an establishment for the purposes of helping others make an informed decision about the quality of their service. This is the nature of accountability, and part of being a business owner is allowing the community to voice their own opinions about businesses. Please observe the timestamps for the reviews in the thread linked in the previous sentence to learn which opinions voiced at the time of this writing have nothing to due with this controversy.
Nate, you have to own up to the fact that you made a decision that affects the way you do business, and the way people view you as a member of their community. You did what you thought was best for you, your trade, your clients, and your passions. I respect that and wish you success, and I suspect that the controversy will get you more customers. But will you please stop kidding yourself about being non-political? Pay attention to the vibes in your bar as it responds to this article, and ask yourself if they appear to have a slant. I’ll bet you are now on a path towards exclusivity, not neutrality.
I wish Nate would admit that it was unprofessional to blame those trying to give him business of being among those threatening his business.
I can say more about the finer details of the drama, so those of you reading this article are free to ask me anything in this Reddit thread. I encourage B&B staff to join that conversation as well because they should speak for themselves to correct any misunderstandings. A good place to start would be in response to this reply by /u/StrixTechnica.
I will no longer apologize for decisions made by other people regarding my speaking highly of a venue. I did that before, but I really should not have. Still, I’ve tried to do the right thing and admit my mistakes whenever I’ve made them, but I wish Nate would admit that it was unprofessional to blame those trying to give him business of being among those threatening his business.
Zen Men is still hosting a GamerGate meetup. I’m disappointed that it can’t be at Battle and Brew, but we’ll still have our chance to enjoy each other’s company away from all of this nonsense.
For those of you floating around the Internet who abused Nate into acting as proxy for your reckless rage, I hope you one day realize just how twisted and dysfunctional it is to take none of the blame for this.
Nate, did I really ever come off as anyone other than a customer concerned about your venue? Are you absolutely sure there is no difference between me and the people who harassed you into pulling the plug? Are you prepared to argue that businesses cutting off service to market demographics in response to political pressure that you were warned about is an apolitical act?
There is nothing neutral, courteous or decent about denying service to a group of people just because some strangers called you names on the Internet.Giant Tiger is known for its low prices, but its latest deal is probably more than the discount retailer had bargained for.
An outlet in Ingersoll, Ont., is promising customers “vagina pie” for the low, low price of $2.97.
Clearly some prankster rearranged the lettering on the store’s outdoor sign, even adding a little comment — “wow” — after the price.
According to Canada.com, Ingersoll resident Dana Brooks first picked up on the little prank, posting a picture of it to her Facebook page.
“Well, that's one way to bring in business!” she quipped.
The pic soon started being shared on Twitter.
So hard to find a good price on vagina pie these days! #limit3percustomer pic.twitter.com/tUDqi21erh — Rob Shaw (@Shizznizzler) October 10, 2013
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misquoted the price as $2.79. This version has been updated.
Also on HuffPost(Newser) – Alex Jones is maybe the nation's most well-known conspiracy theorist thanks to his controversial Infowars program. But the radio host is now locked in a custody dispute forcing his lawyers into an argument that surely won't please Jones' many followers: The attorneys say his on-air persona is largely an act, reports the Austin American-Statesman. “He’s playing a character,” attorney Randall Wilhite told the judge in a pretrial hearing. “He is a performance artist.” Jones and his ex-wife are fighting over custody of their three kids, who have lived with him since 2015, and jury selection begins on Monday. Her legal team got permission from the judge to play certain clips from the show during the trial as part of their argument that he's not fit to be a parent.
“He’s not a stable person,” Kelly Jones said in court. “He says he wants to break Alec Baldwin’s neck. He wants J-Lo to get raped." She says that because her ex-husband broadcasts from home, their three kids, ages 14, 12, and 9, are exposed to his rants. The story notes that Jones himself recently acknowledged on the air, after a particularly nasty attack on Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, that his outbursts were a "form of art." Jones has famously called the Sandy Hook shooting a hoax, and he recently apologized for pushing the Pizzagate conspiracy, notes the Houston Chronicle. President Trump has appeared on the show and publicly supported Jones, prompting the daughter of a Sandy Hook victim to ask Trump to cut ties with him. (Read more Alex Jones stories.)Freeciv is a single- and multiplayer, turn-based strategy game for workstations and personal computers inspired by the proprietary Sid Meier's Civilization series. It is available for most desktop computer operating systems and available in an online browser based version.[3] Released under the GPLv2[2], Freeciv is free and open source software. The game's default settings are closest to Civilization II, in both gameplay and graphics, including the units and the isometric grid.
Players take the role of tribal leaders in 4000 B.C. who must guide their peoples through the centuries. Over time, new technologies are discovered, which allow the construction of new city buildings and the deployment of new units. Players can wage war on one another or form diplomatic relationships.
The game ends when one civilization has eradicated all others or accomplished the goal of space colonization, or at a given deadline. If more than one civilization remains at the deadline, the player with the highest score wins. Points are awarded for the size of a civilization, its wealth, and cultural and scientific advances.
History [ edit ]
At the computer science department at Aarhus University, three students, avid players of XPilot and of Sid Meier's Civilization, which was a stand-alone PC game for MS-DOS, decided to find out whether the two could be fused into an X-based multiplayer Civilization-like strategy game.[4] The students—Peter Unold, Claus Leth Gregersen and Allan Ove Kjeldbjerg—started development in November 1995;[5] the first playable version was released in January 1996, with bugfixing and small enhancements until April.[6][7] The rules of the game were close to Civilization, while the client/server architecture was basically that of XPilot.
A Freeciv game with full world map revealed (Freeciv version 1.11.5, GTK+ client, tinydent tileset, islands map generator).
For the developers, Freeciv 1.0 was a successful proof of concept, but a rather boring game, so they went back to XPilot.[8][9] Other players and developers took over; they made the game available on many other operating systems, including Linux, Solaris, Ultrix, Amiga OS, and Microsoft Windows. Linux distributions started to include Freeciv.[10]
The main development goal remained to make a Civilization-like game playable over the Internet, with participants on different continents, even when connected with 14400 bit/s modems. Freeciv achieved this by using an asynchronous client-server protocol: during each turn, human users play concurrently, and their actions are sent to the server for processing without awaiting the results. This kept the game playable with network latency up to a few hundreds of milliseconds.
In 1998, computer players were added;[11] they could soon beat newcomers to the game with ease, using only minor forms of cheating. Computer players are implemented directly in the server; they do not play concurrently with human players, but separately, in between turns.
The game grew in popularity. A public server was installed on which games could be played around the clock; it retained the games and published a post-game analysis webpage with per-player statistics and an animated map replay.[12][13][14]
Subsequent 1.x releases improved the GUI, improved the gameplay, and added many small features. Over time, the winning strategy proved to be city smallpox, sprawling the map with many small cities as fast as possible; whoever could develop fastest would win the game, and growing and developing individual cities wasn't worthwhile.
In practice, from around 2002, experienced players would form teams at the start of the game; a fork of Freeciv included specific features for team play.[citation needed]
Version 2.0, released in 2005, introduced several important changes: it became beneficial to develop only a few large cities, full trade routes, and advanced technologies by re-balancing various costs and benefits; and the introduction of team playing features and advanced diplomacy made coop gaming more attractive.
Developing one's empire now necessitated a careful plan for city development, including phases of rapture, in which city populations grow quickly, under relatively peaceful conditions; hence, games were almost always played in teams and typically took longer to finish when compared to 1.x games.[citation needed]
In 2006, TCP and UDP port number 5556 was assigned to Freeciv by IANA.[15]
In 2017, after being hosted on Gna! for 15 years, Freeciv moved its source repository to GitHub.[16]
Design [ edit ]
Freeciv is very configurable, down to the specific rules, so it can be played in Freeciv (default) mode, Civilization mode, Civilization II mode, or a custom mode. One or several players act as game administrators and can configure the game rules. Typically modified rules are:
Number of players required before the game can be started. The maximum number of players is 126 in the latest version of Freeciv.
Speed of technological development
Whether there should be computer controlled players
Whether (computer controlled) barbarians should invade player settlements
How close cities can be built to one another
How continents and islands are generated and distributed over the map
The map size, where the maximum map size is 2,048,000 map tiles (128,000 before 2.4.0)
Map topology (rectangular or hexagonal tiling; whether it wraps horizontally and/or vertically)
In order to play a game of Freeciv, a user must start up a Freeciv client and connect it to a Freeciv server. Initially, the server is in pre-game phase; in this phase, clients can connect and game configuration parameters can be changed. At some point, the server may be ordered to start a game; in response, it creates game players (nations) and the game map, and assigns every player to either a Freeciv client or a computer player, as specified by the configuration. From that point on, the game will run until it ends or is terminated; the server can never get back into pre-game state.
The user can also start a game directly from the client: this automatically starts a Freeciv server, connects to it and starts the game.
Features [ edit ]
Freeciv's graphics system is configurable: originally, map display was always in overhead mode (like in Civ I).[17] Isometric mode (like in Civ II) and optionally hexagonal tiling (like in Civ V) were added later. In both modes, look can be further customized by switching to an alternative set of graphics (called a tileset). The sounds can be replaced as well.
Freeciv supports human-to-human multiplayer gameplay and artificial intelligence (AI) computer players. While the game is turn based, human players move simultaneously. The AI players move separately, partly at the start of a turn, partly at the end.
In releases before 2.0, AI players could not engage in diplomatic relationships with human players. Under the current releases, AI players will engage in a very predictable, rules-based diplomacy.
Version 2.2.0 included a map editor, termed Civworld. It can create new scenarios, as well as edit the map currently being played. Basic scripting is available with Freeciv, but is not available in Civworld.[18] Version 2.3 increased the limit of players from 30 to 126.
Dawning fanfare
There are different clients available SDL, GTK+ (version3) and Xaw3D[19] A Qt client was added in version 2.5. The Freeciv interface is available in over 30 different languages.[20] The addition of Gaelic was covered on BBC TV.[21]
Ports and variants [ edit ]
Originally developed on IRIX, Freeciv has been ported to many different operating systems: it is distributed with many Linux distributions, offers installers for Microsoft Windows, and has been known to run on Mac OS X, MorphOS, Solaris, Ultrix, QNX, OS/2, Cygwin, AmigaOS, AROS, RISC OS, Maemo, ZETA, SkyOS, various BSDs, and smartphones and tablets running Android.[22]
As of version 2.4, Mac OS X, and as of version 2.3, Windows versions older than Windows XP SP3 are no longer supported. Freeciv is available in the PortableApps format.[23]
Freeciv WebGL 3D and Freeciv-web [ edit ]
Screenshot of Freeciv WebGL 3D running on play.freeciv.org
Freeciv-web is a version of Freeciv playable online in any modern web browser. It supports 2D isometric graphics or 3D graphics using WebGL. The 3D version is referred to as Freeciv WebGL 3D. The game is a fork of the Freeciv project, with the goal of redesigning the desktop game into a version which can be played online. Freeciv-web introduced several new features, such as play-by-email support[24] freely available to anyone online, and support for playing the game on any real-world map location by choosing a map using Mapbox, which is not available in commercial games in the genre.[25] The game's default settings are closest to Civilization II, both in gameplay and graphics (including the units and the isometric grid). The proposal to create a web-version of Freeciv was made 6 April 2007 on the Freeciv mailing lists, and documented on the Freeciv.org wiki.[26] Freeciv-web was originally created by Andreas Røsdal, but is now maintained by several Freeciv developers on Github.[27]
Freeciv-web is free and open source software. The Freeciv C server is released under the GNU General Public License, while the Freeciv-web client is released under the GNU Affero General Public License. Freeciv-web supports human-to-human multiplayer gameplay and artificial intelligence (AI) computer players. Its features are similar to the Freeciv C client, although not all of the user-interface has been ported from the C client yet.
Freeciv-web can be played online at http://www.freecivweb.org/.[28] All the features required to play a full game of Freeciv are in place, including rendering of an isometric map, technology research, and many dialogs for managing cities, units and other players. The game also supports scenario-games, and includes maps of the world, North America, France, Italy, Japan and the Iberian peninsula. While the game is turn based, human players move simultaneously. The AI players move separately, partly at the start of a turn, partly at the end.
Freeciv-web was formerly playable on play.freeciv.org. On March 3, 2018, play.freeciv.org was shut down due to a lack of people on the Freeciv team with the skills and willingness to maintain the service, but the project was revived on April 8 by a |
One of the original three members of the New World Order (nWo). The other two are Scott Hall and Kevin Nash
April 21, 2002: Won the WWF (Undisputed) Championship for the 6th time from HHH at WWF Backlash (2002).
Was brought to the federation by Freddie Blassie
His first WWF title reign lasted from January 1984 to February 1988, when he lost to André the Giant
All of his WWF title reigns put together are about 6 years (more than 2,000 days)!.
Won his first WWF World Heavyweight title more than 18 years ago on January 23, 1984, when he defeated the Iron Sheik ( Khosrow Vaziri ) in one of the shortest heavyweight title matches in history. It took Hogan 5 minutes and 40 seconds to pin the Sheik with a leg drop.
He was originally called "Hulk" because it was noted at a match that he was taller than the actor who played the "The Incredible Hulk", Lou Ferrigno
Ranked #1 in the "PWI 500" of the PWI Years (1979-1999) (Pro Wrestling Illustrated 20th Anniversary Special)
Has three movies in the IMDb bottom 100.
Held the IWGP World Title, giving him the distinction of being one of three Americans--along with Scott Norton and Leon White (aka Big Van Vader)--to hold that title.
Early in his career wrestled as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder.
Wrestled as Mr. America in 2003 in WWE.
Filmed the show Thunder in Paradise (1994) at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida.
In probably the most historic wrestling match ever, he body-slammed and defeated André the Giant at WrestleMania III (1987). Despite reports to the contrary, he was not the first man to body-slam André. Eight-time National Wrestling Alliance Champion Harley Race did so several years before, and Hogan himself body-slammed André in a match in 1980 (which appears on the Hulk Hogan anthology DVD).
He is the third person to be a six-time WWF World Champion. The other two are Dwayne Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin
He appeared in some of the live-action segments of the cartoon series Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling (1985) (1985-1986).
Adopted the song "Ravishing," written by Jim Steinman and performed by Bonnie Tyler, as his theme song. Subtitled "The Hulk Hogan Theme," it was sung during his wrestling entrances in his early days with WCW.
Lost his fifth WWF Title to Yokozuna (aka Yokozuna) in his first defense since winning the title over a month earlier. It was his last WWF title match for nine years.
Only once did he ever win a tag-team championship, that was with Adam Copeland (aka Edge) in July 2002. He was the direct inspiration for Copeland to enter the business 12 years prior.
At a point when his wrestling career was 25 years old, he wrestled Brock Lesnar, who was himself just 25 years old.
His daughter, Brooke Hogan, released her debut solo album in August 2004.
In what was one of the biggest slaps to the face of his career, Hogan was scheduled to face Jeff Jarrett for the WCW Heavyweight title. Hogan was supposed to win the title; however, Vince Russo (who was the head booker at the time) decided to have Jarrett lie down and allow Hogan to win and then send Hogan home. Russo created another title and proceeded to carry on without Hogan. Hogan was never seen in WCW again. He still has the belt.
Notable title wins include: IWGP Heavyweight Title, WWF Title (6), WWW Royal Rumble Winner (2), WCW World Title (6), WWF Undisputed Title, and WWF tag-team titles with Edge ( Adam Copeland ). Hogan also won the WCW World Title for a seventh time by defeating Jeff Jarrett ; however, the title reign was never recognized.
When he first wrestled under the "Hulk" name, he was known as the Incredible Hulk Hogan.
Until recently, neither he nor the WWF/WCW (titan Sports) owned the full rights to his "Hulk" name. "Hulkamania," "Hulk Hogan," and "Hulkster" were all owned by Marvel Comics. The WWF/WWE made a deal with Marvel to use the name "Hulk." This was also done with WCW when Hogan went to WCW. Also, WCW used "Hollywood Hogan" to cancel the Marvel deal, but the deal was still alive. However, before the 2006 release of his multidisk anthology, Hogan acquired the rights to the name Hulk Hogan from Marvel. The trademark citation "Hulk Hogan is a trademark of Terry Bollea" can be found on the DVD-set credits.
Daughter Brooke Hogan sang the national anthems at the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals in Tampa.
WWE Hall of Famer, inducted in 2005.
The character "Hawk" from Crime Fighters 2 (1991) was modeled after him.
His theme song, "Real American," was initially written for the then-WWF tag- team champions Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda
First-ever IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
His original theme song was "Eye of the Tiger," which was the theme song of Rocky III (1982), in which he made an appearance.
During his 1980s heyday in the WWE, he lived next door to WWF owner Vince McMahon for almost 10 years.
Is an avid fan of the Tampa Bay Lighting of the National Hockey League.
Elected to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.
Hulk's paternal grandfather, Peter Bollea, was Italian, born in Cigliano, Vercelli, Piemonte. The rest of Hulk's ancestry is Irish, English, Scottish, and French. Hulk's mother was born in Panama, while some of her family members were working on the Panama Canal there. Hulk's maternal grandfather, Henry Clinton Moody, was from Maryland, and Hulk's maternal grandmother, Vernice Caroline Violette, was from Old Town, Maine.
In 1981, Verne Gagne brought Hogan to the AWA.
In 1978, he made his wrestling debut in Florida using the Super Destroyer gimmick. He later wrestled as Terry Boulder and Sterling Golden before becoming Hulk Hogan.
In late 1982, Hogan and Antonio Inoki won the 3rd Annual MSG Tag League.
Was best man at the wedding of Bubba the Love Sponge
Is godfather to Ed Leslie's only daughter.
Defeated Yokozuna in Wrestlemania IX for the WWF championship after Yokozuna defeated Bret Hitman Hart. It was the shortest wrestling match in history for the WWF title. This record was later broken by Kevin Nash in 1995 when he beat Bob Backlund in 8 seconds for the world title.
On an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992), it was revealed that he was initially offered the chance to endorse the "Lean, Mean, Grilling Machine" that went on to make former boxer George Foreman millions of dollars.
Particapated in WCW Nitro's infamous Fingerpoke of Doom match. In which he was going to wrestle WCW Champion Kevin Nash. When the match began he poked Nash in the chest and he fell down and Hogan pinned him. The match is considered to be the start of the downfall of WCW and its ratings.
Was considered for the role of Little John in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)).
Was at one point close friends with fellow wrestler and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. However, Ventura ended his friendship with Hogan in the 1990s after Ventura learned in his lawsuit against the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment Vince McMahon that Hogan had informed McMahon about Ventura's attempt to form a labor union in 1984, which McMahon prevented.
Host of the new American Gladiators (2008) on NBC. [January 2008]
Release of his book, "Hollywood Hulk Hogan" by Hulk with Michael Jan Friedman. [2002]
Release of the book, "Hollywood Hulk Hogan: The Story of Terry Bollea; a Real-life Reader Biography" by 'Susan Zannos'. [2000]
Release of the book, "Hulk Hogan: Eye of the Tiger" by 'Barry Janoff'. [1986]
Was supposed to compete for NWA-TNA, but injured his knee in Japan, wrestling Masahiro Chono. By the time it heals, it is up in the air whether or not he will compete for NWA-TNA, or go back to the WWE for Wrestlemania XX [November 2003]
Release of the book, "Hulk Hogan" by 'William R. Sanford'. [1986]
Claimed on The Howard Stern Show (1990) in 2012 that he was offered the role of Randy "The Ram" Robinson in The Wrestler (2008). Hogan claimed he turned down the role because he felt he wasn't the right person to portray the character. However, the film's director Darren Aronofsky disputed Hogan's claims, saying he was never considered, much less offered, the role of the main character, and the part was written specifically for Mickey Rourke
Inducted into the International Mustache Hall of Fame in 2015 (inaugural class) in the category Sports.
Hulk is a first cousin, once removed, of actress Elisabeth Röhm. Hulk's paternal grandparents, Peter Bollea and Edith Medora Noonan, were also Elisabeth's maternal great-grandparents.
Awarded $112 million from a lawsuit filed against Gawker Media when they leaked a sex tape featuring Hogan having sex with his best friend's wife.
A jury awarded Hogan another $25 million in punitive damages from Gawker Media when they leaked the sex tape of Hogan and a friend's wife.
Referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs".
Opened a restaurant called "Hogan's Beach", located in the Tampa, Florida.[January 2008].
Personal Quotes (9)
To all my little Hulkamaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong.
(As Hollywood Hogan) "Blood is thicker than New Blood...dude!"
Watcha gonna do when the hulkster runs wild on YOU?
This is where the power lies!
Well, ya know something Mean Gene...
Whatever happens with wrestling, my family comes first. Wrestling's in my blood, but my family's in my heart
(Regarding his height loss) "I used to be 6ft 7in, but after knee, neck and back surgeries, I'm now about 6ft 4in."
Eight years ago, I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize. (Statement to PEOPLE magazine, after WWE terminated their relationship, and removed Hogan from the WWE website.)
[on Randy Savage's death] He had so much life in his eyes and in his spirit. I just pray that he's happy and in a better place and we miss him.
Salary (4)Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
April 21, 2016, 2:54 PM GMT / Updated April 21, 2016, 2:54 PM GMT / Source: Reuters By Reuters
OSLO — Edward Snowden will sue the Norwegian state in a bid to secure free passage to the Scandinavian country, a Norwegian law firm representing the former U.S. spy contractor said on Thursday.
Related: Snowden: I've Offered to Go to Prison in U.S. 'Many Times'
Snowden has been invited to Norway to receive a freedom of speech award from the Norwegian branch of writers' group PEN International, but according to his lawyers he is worried that he would be handed over to the United States.
"The purpose is to get legally established that Norway has no right to extradite Snowden to the U.S.," the law firm, Schjoedt, said in a statement.
"U.S. authorities have already asked that Snowden will be extradited to the U.S. if he was to arrive in Norway," Hallvard Helle, the lawyer representing Snowden, told Reuters.
Related: Information Wants to Be Free: Famous Leaks Through the Ages
"It is a case they (the Norwegian authorities) have not wished to comment on previously, so therefore we want a legal clarification of this," Helle said, when asked whether Norway had said it would extradite Snowden if he entered the country.
The Norwegian justice ministry was not immediately able to comment.
Supporters see Snowden as a whistleblower who boldly exposed government excess. The U.S. government has filed espionage charges against him for leaking intelligence information. Snowden fled the U.S. in May 2013 and has been living in Russia where he was granted asylum.Tulsa police arrested a man who they believe stole cash from the Waffle House off 71st Street and Mingo.
They say surveillance video shows the Andrew Deweese walk into the restaurant around 3:30 a.m.
He sat down at the bar and ordered some eggs and hash browns. After he finished, he wrote a note on a napkin demanding money.
The man showed it to the two female workers, and they complied with the cash.
Police say the suspect was wearing a Broncos hat; he left in a dark-colored Ford Ranger, possibly a 1990s model. They say he was located and taken into custody near the scene.
No one was harmed during the robbery, but the employees were shaken up, according to police.
There were also four other customers inside the restaurant during the incident.
If you see this man or know of his whereabouts, call Tulsa Crime Stoppers at 918-596-2677.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
Follow us on Twitter :
Like us on Facebook :If you're looking for evidence that Georgia's party in power can do no wrong, look no further than the recent $70 million lawsuit federal banking officials slapped against eight former directors of Alpharetta-based Integrity Bank, which in 2008 helped kick off Georgia's long list of failed lending institutions.
Among the defendants named in the suit, which details allegations of "gross negligence" and "breaches of fiduciary duty": State Sen. Jack Murphy, R-Cumming, who, whattaya know, was named chairman of the upper chamber's banking committee earlier this month.
You'd think a state lawmaker in charge of crafting the state's banking laws would step down from his post when faced with claims about his negligent leadership of a failed bank, at least until the allegations played out in the courts. If not, you'd think his colleagues would demand he resign to deter criticism.
You'd be mistaken on both accounts. Murphy says he's done nothing wrong and that the public will learn his side of the story. Senate leaders voiced strong support for their colleague and circled the wagons to protect one of their own. (As CL went to press, Murphy remained chairman. When national journalists come looking for quotes about the inevitable failure of even more Georgia banks, you think they'll omit that the state's banking committee chairman is embroiled in a lawsuit about the exact same thing?)
Murphy's just one of several high-ranking lawmakers earning negative ink. Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock — who, along with Congressman Tom Graves, was sued last year for defaulting on a $2.2 million loan for a North Georgia motel affectionately known by locals as the "Methamphetamine Six" — still faces questions about working as a lobbyist for a national special-interest group. House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, just last week faced criticism for enjoying — with family members in tow — a lobbyist's $17,000 overseas junket to research high-speed trains.
And much to the chagrin of political observers who predicted that he was destined for a courtroom rather than the governor's office, Nathan Deal won his seat despite a congressional investigation into whether he abused his office by trying to preserve a lucrative state contract. (Never mind Deal's poor financial decisions, including a $2.4 million loan he made to help his daughter's now-shuttered sporting goods store.)
Clearly these guys can do no wrong. So why not take the ethics-defying behavior to the limit?
Go ahead, start running gambling boats up and down the Chattahoochee River. Invest your legislative per diems in I-75 massage parlors to help spur economic development. Allow lobbyists, for a nominal fee, to act as "legislative editors" who personally fine-tune bills. (Oh wait, they kind of already do that.)
Considering lawmakers have no intention of instituting real safeguards — last week they swatted away an ethics reform package proposed by a diverse coalition that includes consumer advocates, government watchdogs and even tea party groups — it only makes sense that they wear their Teflon coating with even-more-shameless pride. Have at it.Let’s start with the Go language spec on the zero value.
When memory is allocated to store a value, either through a declaration or a call of make or new, and no explicit initialization is provided, the memory is given a default initialization. Each element of such a value is set to the zero value for its type: false for booleans, 0 for integers, 0.0 for floats, "" for strings, and nil for pointers, functions, interfaces, slices, channels, and maps. This initialization is done recursively, so for instance each element of an array of structs will have its fields zeroed if no value is specified.
This property of always setting a value to a known default is important for safety and correctness of your program, but can also make your Go programs simpler and more compact. This is what Go programmers talk about when they say “give your structs a useful zero value”.
Here is an example using sync.Mutex, which is designed to be usable without explicit initialization. The sync.Mutex contains two unexported integer fields. Thanks to the zero value those fields will be set to will be set to 0 whenever a sync.Mutex is declared.
package main import "sync" type MyInt struct { mu sync.Mutex val int } func main() { var i MyInt // i.mu is usable without explicit initialisation. i.mu.Lock() i.val++ i.mu.Unlock() }
Another example of a type with a useful zero value is bytes.Buffer. You can decare a bytes.Buffer and start Read ing or Write ing without explicit initialisation. Note that io.Copy takes an io.Reader as its second argument so we need to pass a pointer to b.
package main import "bytes" import "io" import "os" func main() { var b bytes.Buffer b.Write([]byte("Hello world")) io.Copy(os.Stdout, &b) }
A useful property of slices is their zero value is nil. This means you don’t need to explicitly make a slice, you can just declare it.
package main import "fmt" import "strings" func main() { // s := make([]string, 0) // s := []string{} var s []string s = append(s, "Hello") s = append(s, "world") fmt.Println(strings.Join(s, " ")) }
Note: var s []string is similar to the two commented lines above it, but not identical. It is possible to detect the difference between a slice value that is nil and a slice value that has zero length. The following code will output false.
package main import "fmt" import "reflect" func main() { var s1 = []string{} var s2 []string fmt.Println(reflect.DeepEqual(s1, s2)) }
A surprising, but useful, property of nil pointers is you can call methods on types that have a nil value. This can be used to provide default values simply.
package main import "fmt" type Config struct { path string } func (c *Config) Path() string { if c == nil { return "/usr/home" } return c.path } func main() { var c1 *Config var c2 = &Config{ path: "/export", } fmt.Println(c1.Path(), c2.Path()) }
With thanks to Jan Mercl, Doug Landauer, Stefan Nilsson, and Roger Peppe from the wonderful Go+ community for their feedback and suggestions.The earliest automobiles converted into snowmobiles pre-dated the Model “T” Ford conversion units by quite a few years and here we have an excellent example of one. It is is a Hupmobile Model 20 Torpedo Roadster that is set on a framework with two sleds and appears to be driven by not one, but two helical screws. If you can tell us anything about this machine or who converted it, please let us know. You can learn all about the Hupp 20 here in an earlier post.
Charles E.S. Burch of Seattle, Washington filed a patent on June 20, 1907, for a similar device that is seen below that was driven by two helical screws. The drive to the two screws is by V-shaped chain drive assemblies that can be seen in the patent drawing; the rest of the patent can be found here. You can also look back on ten other Motor-Sleighs we have covered earlier and an equal number of automobiles converted into snowmobiles.The Mexican National Soccer team today launched a video featuring top players to promote a social tolerance campaign that’s reportedly aimed at eliminating the infamously popular ¡puto! (faggot) chant from games.
Although the campaign makes no mention of the word, several Mexican media outlets report the initative is subtly targeting the chanting fans who are notorious for yelling in unison eeeh puto! against goalies from rival soccer teams. The chant was harshly criticized as homophobic during the last World Cup in Brazil, and recently prompted FIFA officials to fine the Mexican Soccer Federation for the sum of some $20,700.
Advertisement
A Mexican Soccer Federation employee confirmed to Fusion that although the campaign is aimed at combating racism in general, its main goal is to eliminate the puto chant.
And in doing so, Mexican soccer officials are trying to avoid incurring additional fines during games leading up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The puto chant has long been the source of never-ending debates on the real meaning and intent of the word. Defenders of the chant insist it means something similar to “coward,” while critics claim it's clearly meant to be a derogatory and homophobic term.
Advertisement
The word is often used in other stadium chants such as el que no salte es puto ("if you don't jump you're a faggot") and has even been the subject of songs by legendary Mexican rock bands.
Many Mexicans have criticized FIFA for trying to censor an entire soccer nation by telling fans what they can and can't yell at a fútbol match.
Advertisement
The Mexican Soccer Federation, however, appears to be buckling to the FIFA pressure by enlisting Chicharito and company to call on Mexican fans to visit this website and sign a petition pledging to respect diversity and rejecting physical and verbal violence.
As of Tuesday evening, fewer than 300 people have signed on to the anti-discrimination campaign titled Abrazados por el Fútbol, which translates roughly as “Let’s Hug for Soccer.”A Salt Lake City detective who tried to force a nurse to draw blood from an unconscious patient — and then dragged and handcuffed her when she refused — has been released from his department.
According to Fox News, Salt Lake City Police Department Chief Mike Brown announced Tuesday that, following an internal investigation, Officer Jeff Payne has been terminated and would no longer serve with the Salt Lake City police.
Payne captured national attention when a body cam video, taken from another officer on the scene, appeared to show the detective screaming at and then chasing University Hospital nurse Alex Wubbels, who refused the detective's order to draw blood from an unconscious car crash victim who couldn't consent.
Wubbels cited a hospital policy which prohibited her from performing a medical procedure on an unconscious patient absent an exigent circumstance. Payne did not have a warrant for the blood, regardless, but he and his supervisor, Lt. James Tracy, told Wubbels she could be arrested if she refused their orders. Wubbels continued to refuse, so Payne and Tracy dragged her, screaming, out of the hospital, pushed her up against a wall, and handcuffed her.
Both a hospital board and an independent review board said that Wubbels was in the right. Payne also should have known better: according to earlier reports, Payne served as an emergency medical technician in his off hours from the police department.
Salt Lake City police have apologized to Wubbels and her hospital for the incident, and say they've changed both their blood draw policies and how they train officers. After putting Payne on a short administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, the department fired him, saying he'd violated several department policies. Tracy was demoted.Image caption Scottish SPCA staff have named the snake Furtivo - Spanish for sneaky
An animal charity has rescued a snake on a plane at Glasgow Airport.
Scottish SPCA staff were called after staff found the 18in long reptile under seats on a flight that had arrived from Cancun, Mexico, on Tuesday.
They used a box to contain the snake, which is believed to be a juvenile Middle American smooth-scaled racer.
The snake was taken to the charity's animal rescue centre in Cardonald, Glasgow, where staff have named it Furtivo - Spanish for sneaky.
Scottish SPCA senior inspector Billy Linton said: "We have had the snake examined by a vet and, although we can't be 100% certain, we believe he is of the Dryadophis family, which are commonly referred to as American smooth-scaled racers.
"Racers aren't venomous but, like all snakes, they can bite and Furtivo is very feisty.
"Although small at the moment, he is still a juvenile and has a lot of growing to do."
Exotic creatures
Inspector Linton said staff at Glasgow Airport had "remained remarkably calm" after finding the snake.
"I can only imagine that Furtivo managed to sneak his way onto the plane while it was waiting to take off in Cancun, although it is also possible he has hitched a lift in someone's hand luggage," he said.
"We have rescued several exotic creatures from international flights including scorpions, spiders, turtles and even giant land snails, so this isn't as unusual as many people might think.
"Furtivo will remain in our care until we can find him an expert home with someone who has the necessary experience and knowledge to be able to look after such a creature."There's quite a brouhaha over President Trump's critical tweets directed at media talking head Joe Scarborough and his sidekick, Mika Brzezinski. Every other talking head is yelling "unpresidential" and harrumphing away.
Everyone knows that the president likes to yell at the television set. According to Glenn Reynolds, that makes him just like the rest of us. The tweets are just way of sharing that ire with us. Big deal.
Nobody starves. Nobody wins the lottery. Nobody goes to war. Nobody gets cured. Nobody loses union benefits. Nobody's dog gets run over. Nobody's kids get taken away. Nothing of consequence is going to come of this.
It's just words. And it's between President Trump and Scarborough, so let them hash it out.
For me, and probably most of Trump's supporters, we go back to the defining summary of the Trump phenomenon, from Salena Zito: "The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally."
Now, who, again, is Scarborough, and who are his buddies in the media? Yep, you got it: the ones who take him literally.
Trump is facile with words, but he is primarily a man of action.
That's the real point of his movement. The tweets are a nuisance that gets too much media play.
What matters to voters is that he is getting things done.
We're seeing energy markets at last being opened. We're seeing immigration laws finally meaning what they say. We're seeing Obamacare scrapped. We're seeing America winning new respect abroad. We're seeing terrorists crushed. We're seeing regulations pared and taxes ready for cuts. We're seeing the vast bloat of the expanded government finally getting a diet. We might even start getting along with Russia.
Trump has so many accomplishments that it really doesn't matter what he tweets, based on this record. If he wants to slug it out on Twitter with some inconsequential press pinhead, who is anyone to stop him? He's doing just fine as president the way he is.As chess increased in popularity across Europe in the 1800s, the proliferation in the variety of chess sets caused confusion amongst competitors, especially those hailing from different countries. The English typically used Barleycorn sets:
or St. George sets:
The Germans often used Selenus sets:
Regence sets were popular in France:
Chess set collector Ty Kroll explains the confusion:
English saw a different design for every chess club: St. George sets with their appearance of stacked disks, Dublin sets with more rounded middles, and Northern Uprights with columns instead, as well as elaborate, easily tipped Barleycorn sets. Germany had delicate Selenus sets, beautiful beyond belief, but fragile, tippable, and problematic for play. To tell which piece is which on some of these sets one must count the stacked crown. France saw elegant Regence style sets with some of the most confusing signatures in history. As in the English sets, queen’s were represented by orbs. The king’s floral crown closely resembles the modern Staunton signature for the queen. Knights were always taller than bishops the old French sets. Bishops were represented as fools, not clergymen, and therefore lacked the signature miter. What was worse, the knights in these sets were sometimes simple turned designs, not the recognizable horse’s head. This lead to common confusion as to which minor piece was which. The confusion of antique French knights and bishops is still a common problem today.
Then in the 1849, Nathaniel Cook designed and John Jaques began to sell a set that eventually came to be called the Staunton chess set:
Howard Staunton was regarded as the top chess player of his era and organized the first international chess tournament in 1851. Staunton endorsed the set and it soon became the standard in chess competitions and, later, the official standard of the World Chess Federation. The most recent iteration of the official Staunton set is Daniel Weil’s design for World Chess:
If you’re interested in learning more, Jimmy Stamp has a nice piece about the design of the original Staunton set and Weil’s update at Smithsonian magazine.Cast
Lee Kang-jae: Choi Min-shik (Shiri, Old Boy)
Kang Failan: Cecilia Cheung (Shaolin Soccer, King of Comedy)
Review (Contains spoilers!)
Have you ever felt that you might have done something in life differently and that by doing that thing, your life might have been changed for the better? Regret is indeed one of the most painful emotions a person can experience and the pain is magnified since nothing can be done about it, unless one can turn back the clock. Sometimes we take the best precautions and yet do things that we come to regret, but the things that cause the most regret are usually those that we do not do. This is the essence of the South Korean-Chinese joint production, Failan. In this movie, the themes of regret and human dignity combine to give a very poignant and emotionally-heavy tale on life.
Failan is essentially a romantic melodrama, though the movie is unique in that the two leads do not ever meet face-to-face and there is no real romance between them in the true sense of the word. Lee Kang-jae (played by South Korean actor Choi Min-shik) is a small-time gangster who is already past his prime. Despite his attempts to project a tough image, we soon learn that his bark is worse than his bite. As his boss Yong-shik says, he is simply too soft to be a gangster. Disrespected by those around him, his only chance at redemption is to take the fall for his boss, who has committed a murder that Kang-jae has the misfortune of witnessing. Soon after he agrees to this, he learns that his wife, a young lady named Kang Failan (played by Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung) has died from an illness. In the course of his trip to the countryside to complete the necessary paperwork for her, he symbolically embarks on a life journey which will change him forever.
As the main protagonist of the movie, Kang-jaes character is truly unique. There is nothing endearing about him, nor does he possess any redeeming qualities. At his advanced age, he has yet to accomplish anything great or meaningful in life. Even as a gangster, one of the lowest strata of society, he is a failure. The Chinese have a saying that a man prefers death to humiliation and yet, what Kang-jae experiences on a daily basis is pure, unadulterated humiliation from those around him. His character is totally devoid of any shred of human dignity and his pathetic attempts to gain whatever respect he can by acting tough and boasting about his seniority in the gang only serve make him more pitiful. Indeed, pity is the only emotion the viewer can feel for him because he is simply too pathetic to even be the subject of hate. He has reached a stage where he simply no longer cares. The world he lives in is one without hope and this is something the director skilfully conveys in the first half of the movie.
Kang-jaes apartment is small and messy with no windows for light to come in. Even the places he frequents, like the arcade at the beginning of the movie, the video-rental shop he runs for his gang, the shop where he goes to collect money from the old lady, the head office of the gang and the nightclub run by his gang are all dark and gloomy places. In the first half of the movie, Kang-jae is usually surrounded by four walls and this is symbolic of his existence, suffocated by the constraints of his meaningless life. We learn that his only dream is to own a fishing boat and it is to fulfil this dream that he is willing to spend the rest of his adult life in jail taking the fall for his boss.
Salvation comes in the form of Failan, a young lady from Mainland China who comes to South Korea following her mothers death to live with her aunt. However, she soon learns that her aunt has already immigrated to Canada. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, she is forced to enter into a sham marriage with Kang-jae in order to stay and work in South Korea. Kang-jae agrees to this marriage even though he does not know Failan and has not seen her, simply because he gets paid for it. As a character, Failan is the antithesis of Kang-jae. On the surface, she seems to be usual helpless damsel in distress, but deep down, she possesses a strong spirit which allows her to eventually find work against the odds as a helper to an old laundress in the countryside. Young and innocent, she is metaphorically free and uncorrupted by the world, something Kang-jae can only yearn to be. Out of her naivety and innocence, she comes to think of Kang-jae as her benefactor and creates an image of him as a good and kind husband. This is something Kang-jae only learns about in one of the letters she has left him following her death and suddenly his eyes are opened up to a whole new world. By framing up the passport-sized photo taken from her marriage documents, Failan has attached a level of importance to Kang-jae that no one else in the world has ever given him. She comes to develop a practical type of love for the Kang-jae she has created in her mind and all her hope is embodied in that one small photo she has of him. That Kang-jae never even thought twice about the marriage or bothered to find out how Failan looked like is in stark contrast to this and only heightens the sense of tragedy.
Reading one of the letters left to him by Failan, Kang-jae learns the true extent of Failans gratitude towards him. In the letter, she thanks Kang-jae profusely and says that he is the kindest of all, simply because he married her. It is a very simple yet very powerful statement for Kang-jae. Suddenly an act that he never even thought twice about is transformed into the greatest singular deed of kindness he has ever done for someone. His life suddenly takes on a new sense of meaning and again the director skilfully conveys this in the second half of the movie. The train he sits on to reach the countryside symbolises the transitional phase of his life he is going through and it is also on the train that he starts to learn more about his dead wife through seeing her document with its attached passport-sized photo and reading one of her letters.
At the countryside, we are treated to a visual spectacle, with the beautiful landscape laid before our eyes. The places Kang-jae goes to are spacious and filled with sunlight. Kang-jae himself noticeably perks up as he indulges in a moment of childlike fun with his friend on a frozen lake. Away from the city, Kang-jae is temporarily free from all his worries and able to enjoy life as he would like it. However, all this is tempered by the knowledge that no matter what joy Kang-jae feels at the moment, it is short-lived since Failans death is a fact and Kang-jae will himself eventually have to return to the city and go to jail in place of his boss. This fact is symbolically shown when Kang-jae enters the morgue to see the dead body of his wife. Suddenly he is back in a small gloomy room surrounded by four walls and with Failans body lying before him, as if to say that his dream is dead.
The transformation that we see in Kang-jae thus far is truly a touching one and is very well conveyed by excellent acting from Choi Min-Shik. We start to see genuine feelings develop in him for a wife he did not even remember having. In his attempts at her funeral to restore some respect for her by lighting the altar candles and also to redress some of her |
included a revised circuit lay-out and the opening last month of a new £27m pit and paddock complex. BRDC chairman Stuart Rolt praised Hill for the work he has conducted on behalf of both the club and Silverstone over the years. "I cannot speak highly enough of the superb work Damon has carried out since his appointment as BRDC president," said Rolt. "We owe him an immense debt of gratitude for the commitment and energy he has put into being the public face of the Club, and therefore Silverstone, at times of uncertainty and then great optimism. Existing BRDC director Derek Warwick, who competed in 147 grands prix between 1981 and 1993 for Toleman, Renault, Brabham, Arrows, Lotus and Footwork will stand as a candidate to replace Hill.
Bookmark with: Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionThere has been plenty made about a pending transitional phase in the Australian team and indeed by the time they next play, in a year's time, there are a few who likely won't be in green and gold. Slice of heaven: The Kiwis celebrate during their Trans-Tasman Test match against the Australia Kangaroos at Suncorp Stadium. Credit:Getty Images Tim Sheens, too, must be under some pressure to extend his tenure as Kangaroos coach. He achieved his objective of regaining the World Cup but their closest rivals now have the edge on them. Not since 1953 have New Zealand won three in a row against Australia. "There will be scrutiny on everyone," Sheens said of queries about his own job: "Straight after a game like that, that's not a question to ask. We've still got to sit down and analyse the game." While an ageing Australian side looked disjointed, particularly in a first half from which there was no way back, New Zealand were brimming with some of the game's best young players from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to Shaun Johnson and Jesse Bromwich. Asked whether New Zealand now deserved to be regarded as the international game's leading team, a disappointed Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith replied: "We haven't beaten them the last three times we've played them so I guess they are.
"The last three games we've played against them - tonight, the Four Nations final and the game against here last year at the start of the Four Nations were almost identical," Smith said. "We started quite well - we were the first to get across the line in all three games and then for some reason we think that we've won the game after one try." After Thaiday's opening try New Zealand scored three times in 11 minutes - twice via Manu Vatuvei - and then collected a fourth on right as Greg Inglis had a nightmare moment at the back. Attempting what appeared a straightforward clearance over the dead-ball line he took an air swipe, and an opportunistic Shaun Kenny-Dowall pounced. A wicked bounce did him no favours but it was the kind of howler you would be lucky to see Inglis make for the rest of his career and summed up a flat Australia well off the pace and an afternoon in the national No.1 jumper that the South Sydney superstar will want to forget. Sheens did not want to delve into suggestions about whether generational change was needed in the Australian team. "People think that Australia should just automatically get up and win - and we're disappointed in our performance, don't get me wrong - but it's not that easy," he said. Loading
"I think the State of Origin series becomes a very important series for us this year. You've got two Australian sides potentially playing one another. So there will be an element of young player we will need to look at. But at the end of the day there is no Test football for another 12 months." To compound the Australian defeat Greg Bird was placed on report for a lift on winger Jason Nightingale in the closing stages.President Donald Trump found another opportunity to attack the media during a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday.
Trump stayed fairly on-script for the first half of the speech, but was quick to praise his administration and lash out at the media while offering advice to the graduates.
“Never ever, ever give up. Things will work out just fine,” Trump said. “Look at the way I’ve been treated lately, especially by the media.”
Trump argued “no politician in history... has been treated worse or more unfairly” by the media.
Trump then touted his accomplishments, arguing his administration “saved” the Second Amendment and claiming plans for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border are “going along very, very well.” Trump said he was elected to serve “the forgotten men and women of our country.”
“The people understand what I’m doing, and that’s the most important thing,” he said.Talk the Talk
Craft beer. According to the Brewers Association, an American craft brewer is "small, independent, and traditional" and produces at most 6 million barrels of beer a year. The beer is generally made with traditional ingredients such as malted barley, although the brewers may be "innovative," adding "interesting ingredients... for distinctiveness." Craft beers are supposed to be free from substantial ownership by a non-craft brewer. Some beers that call themselves craft don't actually adhere to that description. Of the more than 2,400 breweries in the U.S., the Brewers Association notes, only several dozen aren't defined as craft brewers.
For the purpose of this report, we included craft beers that market themselves as such as opposed to making selections based solely on barrel production or company ownership percentages.
Ale. It's typically fermented warm, using a strain of yeast that rises to the top of the brew. It ferments faster than lager and is more strongly flavored. Esters produced during fermentation lend a slightly fruity and floral taste. Hefeweizen is a wheat beer. IPA stands in for India Pale Ale, which long ago was high in hops and alcohol content, to survive a voyage from Britain to India. It still tends to have an intense hop flavor. Hops impart fruity, floral notes and often add bitterness.
Lager. This is another basic type of beer. It's usually fermented cold, using yeast that sinks to the bottom during fermentation and works slowly. Long, cold fermentation inhibits the production of esters, and lagers have a cleaner, crisper taste than ales.That Redskins running back Alfred Morris appears excessively humble and accommodating for an NFL star is nothing new. Still, Morris keeps finding new ways to impress.
The latest — or one of the latest, anyhow — came last week during training camp, when a fan began conversing with Morris on Instagram, before practice. The exchange:
Fan: Hey @thoroughbred_fred, Milo’s waiting on the sidelines for your autograph. It’s 9000 degrees so please make the next 4 hours of sitting and waiting worth it. K? Thx.
Morris: Have to be more specific than the sidelines. That could be anywhere
Fan: 10 yard like left side. Can’t miss us!! Camped out right on the yellow rope front row!!
Morris: your left or our left?
Fan: the one by the kids zone.
Fan: if I look behind me there’s a remax hot air balloon.
Morris: ok well I’ll do my best to get over there. Put on a bright shirt or make a sign so you can standout lol
Fan: will do!!
Morris: Thanks!
Morris found them. Eventually, that led to the photo seen at the top of this item. Which is not a bad photo, as training camp photos go.
And then, more dialog:
Fan: All worth it!! After 5 hours of standing in the heat, we watched an exciting practice and after it was over hear “has anyone seen milo?!?” It was @thoroughbred_fred!!!!! Day? Made. You’re a class act Mr Morris!!
Morris: thanks just making sure the drive was not in vain
Fan: It was def not in vain. Thanks again!
(Via Reddit via a pal)Are the Green the third most popular party in Britain?
A recent article in The Observer was headlined "Nearly a third of voters are prepared to support Ukip". But out of context, it's hard to say whether that's an interesting or important number. So, exclusively for Red Box, YouGov asked a similar question, but for all the main contenders: "If candidates from the following parties were standing in your constituency and had a chance of winning, how likely would you be to vote for them?"
It turns out that 35 per cent are "likely" for the Conservatives, 35 per cent for Labour too, the Greens come third at 26 per cent, then Ukip at 24 per cent, and the LibDems are fifth with 16 per cent. The Ukip number is still impressive, but one realises the Greens are actually more popular, just not considered capable of winning in any one seat. Once upon a time the Lib Dems would actually have topped such a poll, and the electoral map could be painted in hopeful yellow, so the real surprise is that their number is now so low.
See the full poll resultsHello Ray,
The universe existed several billion years before humans were conscious, and will exist several billion years after we are conscious.
So, it is statistically improbable for the chronological timeline of the universe to be located at this precise moment, when we are conscious, that is, an 80 year lifespan within some 30 billion years.
Are you aware of any theories, besides survivorship bias from statistics, that could address this question?
Why humans happened to be alive during precise moments in the development timeline of the universe?
The universe developed before our birth, and will continue on.
To clarify, by improbable I mean extremely low probability. Empirical probability would say, “I’m alive, therefore the universe coincidentally exists at the moment during which I’m alive. And that is all there is to it.”
However, this coincidence seems so unlikely, in terms of probability, that it makes me to wonder if there are other theories you know of to explain this coincidence, whether from philosophy or physics.
Thanks,
Kent
Kent,
It is perhaps statistically improbable but not impossible.
Lots of existential questions refer to extremely improbable situations.
What is the likelihood that our universe would exist with the several dozen constants of the standard model, being set so precisely such that encoding of information in atomic and molecular structures is possible?
Had that not been the case, evolution would have been impossible.
But by the anthropic principle, it had to be so, for otherwise we would not be here to talk about it.
What is the probability that your mother and father met and had a child?
And that the precise sperm fertilized the precise egg to produce you?
And multiply that extremely small probability by the equally tiny probability that the comparable thing happened with both sets of your grandparents.
And then multiply by four sets of great grandparents. And eight sets of great great grandparents. And so on… not exactly ad infinitum, just to the beginning of life on Earth.
And yet by a similar anthropic principle, had all of these extremely improbable events not happened, you would not be here writing me an e-mail about extremely improbable existential situations.
Best,
Ray
related reading:
Wikipedia | anthropic principle
Wikipedia | fine tuned universe
Wikipedia | survivorship bias
Being Human | “Survivorship bias: the pitfall of studying only success”
The Planetary Society | “The habitable zone of inhabited planets”
About the ideas presented above:
1. How survivorship bias has an impact
Wikipedia | Survivorship bias, or survival bias, is the logical error of concentrating on the people or things that “survived” some process and inadvertently overlooking those that did not because of their lack of visibility. This can lead to false conclusions in several different ways. The survivors may be people, as in a medical study, or could be companies, research subjects, or anything that must make it past some selection process to be considered further.
Survival bias can lead to overly optimistic beliefs because failures are ignored, such as when companies that no longer exist are excluded from analyses of financial performance. It can also lead to the false belief that the successes in a group have some special property, rather than just coincidence.
For example, if three of five students with the best college grades went to the same high school, that can lead one to believe the high school must offer an excellent education. This could be true, but the question cannot be answered without looking at the grades of all the other students from that high school, not just the ones who “survived” the top five selection process. Survivorship bias is a type of selection bias.
2. Definition of the anthropic principle
related reading:
San Francisco State University | Department of Physics and Astronomy: anthropic principle
San Francisco State University | The anthropic principle was proposed in Poland in 1973, at an event commemorating Copernicus’s 500th birthday.
It was proposed by Brandon Carter, PhD, who, on Copernicus’s birthday, had the audacity to proclaim that humanity did indeed hold a special place in the Universe, an assertion that is the exact opposite of Copernicus’s now universally accepted theory.
Carter was not claiming the universe was our own personal playground, made specifically for humanity.
The version of the anthropic principle that he proposed that day, now referred to as the Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP), stated only that by our very existence as carbon-based intelligent creatures, we impose a sort of selection effect on the universe.
For example, in a universe where just one of the fundamental constants that govern nature was changed — say, the strength of gravity — we wouldn’t be here to wonder why gravity is the strength it is. This is the official definition of the WAP:
“Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP) | The observed values of all physical and cosmological quantities are not equally probable but they take on the values restricted by the requirement that there exist sites where carbon-based life can evolve and by the requirement that the Universe be old enough for it to have already done so.”
— The Anthropic Cosmological Principle by John Barrow, PhD and Frank Tipler, PhD
Later, Carter also proposed the Strong Anthropic Principle, that states the universe had to bring humanity into being. This version is much more teleological, if not theological, and is of a highly speculative nature. Nonetheless, Carter had scientific reasons to propose it. The definition of SAP i:
“Strong Anthropic Principle (SAP) | The universe must have those properties which allow life to develop within it at some stage in it’s history.”
— The Anthropic Cosmological Principle by John Barrow, PhD and Frank Tipler, PhD
Wikipedia | Some people reason that the anthropic principle explains why the universe has the age and fundamental physical constants necessary to accommodate conscious life. As a result, they believe it is unremarkable that the universe’s fundamental constants happen to fall within the narrow range thought to be compatible with life.
The strong anthropic principle (SAP) as explained by Barrow and Tipler states that this is all the case because the universe is compelled, in some sense, to eventually have conscious and sapient life emerge within it.
Critics of the SAP argue in favor of a weak anthropic principle (WAP) similar to the one defined by Brandon Carter, PhD, which states that the universe’s ostensible fine tuning is the result of selection bias: only in a universe capable of eventually supporting life will there be living beings capable of observing and reflecting upon any such fine tuning, while a universe less compatible with life will go unwitnessed.
related reading:
Wikipedia | Frank J. Tipler, PhD
Wikipedia | John D. Barrow, PhD
Wikipedia | Brandon Carter, PhD
3. The theoretical concept of the finely tuned universe
Wikipedia | The fine tuned universe is the proposition that the conditions that allow life in the universe can only occur when certain universal fundamental physical constants lie within a very narrow range.
So, if any of several fundamental constants were only slightly different, the universe would be unlikely to be conducive to the establishment and development of matter, astronomical structures, elemental diversity, or life as it is understood.
The proposition is discussed among philosophers, scientists, theologians, and proponents and detractors of creationism.
related viewing:
Physics World | In less than 100 seconds, Roberto Trotta explains this often-misunderstood philosophical idea: why it seems so unlikely that conditions in the universe are so perfectly tuned for life to exist.
related reading:
Institute of Physics | main
Institute of Physics | Physics World: main
Institute of Physics | Physics World: 100 Second Science
“The Simulation Argument leads to yet another variety of multiverse.” — Dirk Bruere
related reading:
Ask Ray | “Experiment to find out if we’re being simulated”No Copyright Lives Forever: How The Apathy Of IP Rights Holders About Their Copyrights Killed A Game Re-Release
from the way-to-go dept
If you were gaming on a PC just after the turn of millennium, you likely fondly remember the classic game No One Lives Forever. A genre turning first-person shooter that featured a strong, reasonably dressed female hero and a setting inspired by 1960's spy films was received incredibly well by both critics and fans. And, because retro PC gaming continues to have a strong following, any of you that know what we're talking about here are probably thinking you'd like to fire up a copy of No One Lives Forever on your updated machine and give it another go. Well, you can't. You should be able to, but you can't. And you have a complicated web of copyright and trademark rights-holders to thank for it.
Even if you're a fan of retro-gaming, you may not be familiar with the company Night Dive Studios. Night Dive is the group that buys up the rights to older games, optimizes them for new machines, and then re-releases them on Steam and other outlets like GOG.com. They've done this with big-name titles in the past and they really wanted to do the same with No One Lives Forever and its sequel. And, because this is a reputable business we're talking about, they decided to secure the rights for the game first. And that's where it all went to hell.
Night Dive's detective work began with tracking down and speaking with the game's original developer and publishers. That meant getting in touch with the three main players: Warner Bros., Activision, and 20th Century Fox.
NOLF and its sequel were developed by Monolith, who are now owned by Warner Bros., under whom they released the acclaimed action game Shadow of Mordor just last year. NOLF was made using a framework called the LithTech engine, which is also now owned by Warner Bros. However, the first game was published by Fox Interactive, and there's a question of whether 20th Century Fox or even Activision might have partial rights to the series, due to Activision's 2008 merger with Vivendi, a separate media company that had acquired Fox Interactive in 2003.
"So we went back to Activision and, [after] numerous correspondence going back and forth, they replied that they thought they might have some rights, but that any records predated digital storage. So we're talking about a contract in a box someplace." Kuperman laughed. "The image I get is the end of Indiana Jones… somewhere in a box, maybe in the bowels of Activision, maybe it was shipped off to Iron Mountain or somewhere. And they confessed, they didn't have [their] hands on it. And they weren't sure that they even had any of those rights."
We wanted Warner involved with this," Kuperman told me, "so we said, there's two ways we could work together. First, and our preference, is that we would do a licensed deal. We would pay them some amount of money up front to show that we're serious, and then we would give them a backend share of revenues. And if that didn't work for them, if they wanted to be the publisher of record, we'll still do the development and the optimization of the game, and instead of our giving them a backend share, [they] give us a backend share. In either case, it seemed to us that they were gonna be making money that they wouldn't have been making otherwise, with a minimum amount of effort. We weren't meeting with a lot of enthusiasm. In fact, most of the phone calls were like, 'That'll probably never happen.'"
Then, in December of 2014, Kuperman and Kick heard from a lawyer representing Warner Bros. Kuperman explained: "Steve [got] what I like to call, the legal term for it is a 'Scary Letter.' It comes from an attorney representing Warner Bros. and basically says they're aware of our filing for trademark, that they had contested that, and that if we went forward, specifically with a new version of No One Lives Forever, without doing a new deal with them, we would be infringing their rights and the hammer would fall."
The people at Night Dive have ceased their attempts to re-release No One Lives Forever. They now control the trademark, but without a game to use it on, they're going to let it lapse. No One Lives Forever will remain unavailable on digital stores, and modern gamers who want to play the games will have to either track down scarce physical copies or resort to illegally torrenting them.
Here's where this gets really depressing. Because the game was released in an age before digital document filing was in widespread use, the rights contracts and paperwork we're talking about here are allpaperwork. And, after communicating with Activision, Fox, and Warner Bros., the response from all three was to essentially state, "We don't really know if we have any rights here, and we aren't going to look for the paperwork to make sure, but if you make the game and it turns out we do have those rights you'll be facing legal action from us." Keep in mind, this was the response from all three publishers who would take legal action concerning rights all three couldn't be bothered to determine if they even had. You can imagine how frustrating that must be when, like Night Dive's Larry Kuperman experienced, you just want to re-release a game and nobody can tell you who owns it. Take Kuperman's interaction with Activision, for instance, to get an idea of how absurd this all is.In a sane world, intellectual property rights that a company can't be bothered to find out if they even have shouldn't be rights that can then be sued over. Either they're important or they aren't, and if they're important they should be maintained.The upshot of this is that Night Dive discovered that, surprisingly, nobody owned the trademark for the game, so they filed a claim to it. Months later, Kuperman found out that Warner Bros. had filed an opposition to get an extension on the time they could use to determine if they had a trademark claim to the name. Again, they didn't know if they had the rights, but they wanted to find out just to see if they could enforce legal action with them. The trademarks and other intellectual property would be used solely for legal action, as it quickly became clear that none of the companies involved had any interest in actually helping Night Dive re-release the game, even if they could have made money off of the arrangement.Activision and Fox responded similarly, saying they weren't sure if they had any rights but not offering any kind of permission to move forward and retaining the option of legal action if Night Dive re-released the game. Keep in mind, please, that this frustrating nonsense is all the result of Night Dive attempting to do the right thing and license the game properly. And, for those efforts, they even got a legal threat from Warner Bros., because apparently nobody over at Warner bothers to talk between departments.And that was after Night Dive had been desperatelyto do such a deal and meeting with nothing but questions over whether any of these rights Warner's lawyer mentioned even. Warner further followed up saying they were no longer interested either in working with Night Dive to publish the game, meaning Warner Bros. has made the conscious decision to letdie off for good. Night Dive says it has given up the attempt and gamers who wanted a legitimate way to get a beloved old game are forced down the roads publishers claim are evil.Intellectual property: important enough to publishers that they'll use it to kill off the attempt to release an old game, but not important enough to know if they actually have the rights to begin with.
Filed Under: copyright, licenses, no one lives forever, old games, re-releases, retro gaming, video games
Companies: 20th century fox, activision, night dive studios, warner bros.iPhone, meet the unPhone.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has released several new photos showing leader Kim Jong-un inspecting a North Korean smartphone factory, as well as taking a look at the country's first smartphone, the Arirang. Though little is known about the Arirang -- we'd only recently been introduced to North Korea's tablet, but did not know the secretive country was working on a smartphone, too -- we do know that it runs Google's Android operating system, that it has a touchscreen and that it features at least a rear camera.
Here is the lone photo of the phone released by the KCNA, via Reuters:
In an English-language story put out by the KCNA, Kim praised the specs of the Arirang (which KCNA has translated as "hand phone"):
with the symbolism of the Arirang:
After learning about the performance of a touch hand phone, [Kim] said that a hand phone is convenient for its user when that part of the phone is sensitive.
He noted that these hand phones will be very convenient for their users as their camera has high pixels.
Looking at the trademark "Arirang" inscribed on the hand phone, he noted that mass-production of goods with DPRK trademark can instill national pride and self-respect into the Korean people.
How nice to see hand phones being successfully produced with indigenous technology, he said, adding it is of educational significance in making people love Korean things.Part of the Truthout Series Planet or Profit
Dr. Waleed Abdalati. (Photo: CU Boulder)Truthout readers like you made this story possible. Show your support for independent news and make a tax-deductible donation today!
“You really have to work to not believe it,” Dr. Waleed Abdalati says of anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD, also known as climate change). He should know: More than 20 years ago, Abdalati began observing ACD firsthand in Greenland, as a scientist working on his doctoral thesis, for which he created an algorithm used to remotely detect changes in the spatial extent of the Greenland ice sheet experiencing melt each year.
Abdalati, previously NASA’s chief scientist, is now an associate professor of geography, director of the Earth Science and Observation Center, and a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado in Boulder. His research interests are in the use of satellite and airborne remote sensing techniques, integrated with in situ observations and modeling, to understand how and why the earth’s ice cover is changing.
In particular, his research focuses on the contributions of ice sheets and high-latitude glaciers to sea level rise, and their relationship to the changing climate. Toward that end, he has been heavily involved in the development of NASA’s Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and its successor, ICESat-II, (the benchmark Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics) and has worked on cryospheric applications of various other satellites and aircraft instruments. Most of his research is supported by NASA, where he worked as a scientist for 12 years before joining the department of geography at the University of Colorado.
“Over time we’ve seen this very steady marked increase in the melting.”
During his tenure at NASA, Abdalati was appointed to the post of chief scientist, where he advised Administrator Charles Bolden on NASA science programs and strategic planning. He also served NASA as head of cryospheric sciences at Goddard Space Flight Center between January 2004 and June 2008, was awarded the NASA Office of Earth Science Award three times, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the NASA Space Systems Award, among other recognitions.
Truthout interviewed Abdalati about what he saw while working on the Greenland ice sheet during the 1990s, his observations about the indisputable evidence of the reality of ACD, and the urgent need for an honest, society-wide conversation about the future that we are facing.
Truthout: You’ve spent a lot of time in the Arctic studying what is happening to the ice and the climate there. Given that the Arctic is known as the canary in the coalmine regarding climate change, talk about what you saw there, and why we should be concerned.
Dr. Waleed Abdalati: More relevant than what I saw when I was physically there is what we’ve been seeing on the satellite data. But I’ll start with when I was physically there. It’s hard to ascertain from one or two spots on an ice sheet what is going on Arctic wide, but one of the things I did when I was in the field was some ground truth to support the development for a method for detecting melts on the Greenland ice sheet. And then once those satellite observations’ data were validated by the ground truth measurements I made, we then applied it to the whole ice sheet. Over time we’ve seen this very steady marked increase in the melting. You probably saw or even wrote some stories about the excessive melt in 2012... this melting was all observed by satellites, not by sitting on the ice itself. That was only part of the method of understanding what is happening.
Things are different now. The place I used to go where I did these measurements was called the equilibrium line, where the balance between accumulation and melts is realized on the ice sheet. There’s a certain altitude where above it the ice gains mass, below it the ice loses mass, where melting exceeds accumulation below it, and above it melting is less than accumulation. This equilibrium line was set up in 1991, and camp was placed there.
“This is one place over one short period of time, but it’s an indication or symptomatic of a retreating ice cover.”
That line has now moved quite a bit further up slope. So now that camp I used to go to that was situated so that it wouldn’t be buried or that it wouldn’t stick way out of the ice after next years melt had to be reinforced. It had to be secured with these long steel poles put into the ice because it’s now above the ice. Rather than sitting on it, you have to take a ladder up to it. So that’s just one change in one area. But in terms of the equilibrium line, its crept up slope progressively year after year so that it’s far higher than it was at the time I was there. I don’t know exactly how far or how high it is, but it’s tens of kilometers inland.
What I saw, and I started going in 1993, the Arctic was beautiful and we were trying to figure out what was happening. There were some hints that ice sheet was melting, the sea ice might be shrinking, but the time series of the satellite record was so short that we couldn’t draw substantive conclusions at the time. And now, all of those things that were hinted at back then have been realized.
When I got to the village that we used to fly into, before we would fly onto the ice in a helicopter we used to take a hike in the evening, because it’s light until midnight, out to the ice edge. We could walk to one part of the town and look across the ice edge right in front of us. Now that ice edge is 10 miles back from where it was. So this is one place over one short period of time, but it’s an indication or symptomatic of a retreating ice cover.
The Arctic Ocean is leading the way in acidification. Just as there is a long lag time between increasing greenhouse gas emissions and increased temperature, changes in ocean acidity lag very far behind alterations in atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to the February 2014 issue of Environmental Research Letters. What does an increasingly acidic Arctic Ocean mean for that part of the globe?
I’m not an expert on this. But the ecosystems have evolved under a certain pH structure. And once you change that pH, once you make it more acidic, these systems are vulnerable. And once you make it more acidic, it starts with coral. Not so much in the Arctic, but it starts with elements low on the food chain that have ripple effects all the way up the food chain. So if the smallest creatures are most vulnerable creatures and find themselves in an environment that they can’t survive in, it’s got ripple effects throughout the food chain and ultimately reaches humans as well.
What concerns you most about what you studied in the Arctic?
The significant loss of ice in Greenland has me concerned about sea level rise. The loss of Arctic sea ice has me very concerned about its implications for ocean circulation. The climate patterns that we’ve come to rely on for our own regional climate characteristics which affect the crops we grow, how we prepare for storms or flooding or drought and what not, and then third, the energy balance. As we lose ice the rate of warming on the earth continues to accelerate.
“There’s no question what an added meter or two of sea level rise coming from the Greenland ice sheet would mean for coastal regions. It’s very straightforward.”
Of those three, I think the sea level rise is the most concerning. Not because it’s the biggest threat, although it is an enormous threat, but because it is the most irrefutable outcome of the ice loss. We can debate about what the loss of sea ice would mean for ocean circulation. We can debate what a warming Arctic means for global and regional climate. But there’s no question what an added meter or two of sea level rise coming from the Greenland ice sheet would mean for coastal regions. It’s very straightforward.
Some scientists are predicting the Arctic will begin to see periods where it is ice-free in the summer as early as next summer. The US Navy has released a study predicting this will begin by 2016. Whenever it begins to happen, and as it becomes ice-free for longer periods during the summer, what will this do to planetary weather systems?
We don’t know for certain. What I will say is this is a major perturbation to the climate system. Humankind has never known an ice-free Arctic as far as we can tell. You remove this cap of ice that helps keep us cool and maintain the Thermohaline circulation, things like the Gulf Stream and other northern latitude ocean circulation features, and we don’t really know what the outcome would be.
We just know that we’re effectively taking a sledgehammer to the climate system and in my view it’s scary and insufficient to simply hope for the best.
This April was the second-warmest April on record globally, and marked the 350th month in a row (29 years and counting) that saw above-average temperatures. With so much evidence about the dramatic impact of ACD, what do you say to people who refuse to believe ACD is real?
Those are two separate questions. More important than April being the warmest is the statistic about the consecutive months of warming. It’s very risky to pick an event or a moment in time and point to it and say, “There’s your proof.” Rather, you want a preponderance of the evidence, which involves and requires looking at the longer-term information you have and putting it in a physical context. What I would say to people is not the April date, but that it’s the 350 months that tells us we are in a warm period. It is warm. We understand the basic physics, the basic principles that have led us to this point. We are at a time in history where everything we know and all that nature is showing us is that we should be getting cooler, yet we’re not. What’s different? And that’s where the greenhouse gases come into play.
“We are putting heat-trapping gas into the atmosphere, and our measure of heat, temperature, has responded pretty dramatically. It’s basic physics that you learn in high school. There’s nothing magic about it.”
In the simplest sense, if you put heat-trapping gas into the atmosphere it will trap heat. We are putting heat-trapping gas into the atmosphere, and our measure of heat, temperature, has responded pretty dramatically. It’s basic physics that you learn in high school. There’s nothing magic about it.
The earth is a complex system that goes through cycles and regional variability over time, but when you put together what we have over the time periods, we have it over the spatial areas we’re monitoring over the globe, and you look at the most fundamental physical principles, it’s pretty obvious. You have to work very hard, and be pretty creative to come up with a different explanation. And frankly, different explanations don’t support what we see now.
Are you familiar with Occam’s razor, which says the most simple and obvious of explanations is usually what it is? [Occam’s razor states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected.] People go out of their way to find other reasons for what we’re seeing, when there is a very obvious reason confronting us.
You really have to work to not believe it [anthropogenic climate disruption].
Talk about the Arctic, melting glaciers and rising sea levels is common when it comes to discussing ACD. But what aren’t we talking about? Is there something else that isn’t on the table yet that we should be discussing?
I think it is all on the table. In terms of the changes we’re seeing on earth, it’s all out there and I don’t think we’re missing anything. There does need to be a more robust discussion on the complexities of the climate system. There’s a lot we don’t know and a lot we don’t understand. We would all do well to delve into these things we don’t understand and try to understand these phenomena.
“Honest conversation about what we do and what we don’t know, what we can’t say and what we can say, is critical. But the indicators of a warming climate, the basic underlying physics of what is causing it, are all very clear.”
Things like why Antarctic sea ice is growing and parts of the Antarctic are getting cooler while the rest of the world is warming. We think we have answers to that, but too often these are just grabbed at as a very simplified explanation or small pieces of evidence. If models don’t support what you’re seeing, and I’m speaking facetiously now, but your models don’t support what you’re seeing so you run them again, and you introduce this voodoo sensitivity factor of aerosols and voila, you can claim something that previously you couldn’t.
I think honest conversation about what we do and what we don’t know, |
likely to lose billions of dollars in revenue because of the spill, the Miami Herald reports this morning.
Federal law currently caps oil companies' liability at $75 million per spill; Congress is debating raising the cap to $10 billion, as NPR noted earlier this week.
BP, for its part, has said it will "pay all necessary response costs and is committed to paying legitimate claims for other loss and/or damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon incident."
One bill introduced in Congress would essentially write this promise into law, requiring BP to pay liability claims over $75 million.
The company is certainly big enough to survive paying billions of dollars in spill-related costs. It made a profit of $17 billion last year, on revenue of $246 billion.
Still, its stock has fallen sharply since the spill. That could make it a possible takeover target for Shell or Exxon/Mobil, which are even bigger than BP, Reuters notes.
Of course, such a deal would have to win the approval of government antitrust regulators. They might be wary of Big Oil Turning into what Reuters calls "Even Bigger Oil."Spring's Simone Biles wins third straight world all-around gymnastics title
Simone Biles of Spring once again is hands down the best women’s gymnast in the world.
Biles, 18, won an unprecedented third consecutive International Gymnastics Federation world all-around championship Thursday in Glasgow, Scotland, proving once more that even on something less than her best night, at 4 feet 9 she stands head and shoulders above the international field, capable of amazing even herself.
“Pretty speechless,” she said. “I keep closing my eyes because, yes, there are goals that I have and I dream of them and then I make them reality.
“I’m just shocked by myself. If I could crawl out of my skin and see it, it would be, like, amazing.”
It is amazing, and, in the four-decade history of the world all-around championships, unprecedented. And now, with three USA Gymnastics titles to go with her third world all-around title, Biles can set her sights on the next, biggest goal: the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.
Biles scored 60.399 points in her four-event victory lap, leading 2012 Olympic gold medalist Gabriele Douglas of Tarzana, Calif., with 59.316 and Larisa Iordache of Romania, the 2014 world runner-up, with 59.107.
Gold medal winner Simone Biles of the U.S., center, silver medal winner Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands, left, and Bronze medal winner Germany's Pauline Schaefer pose on the podium after the balance beam exercise during the women's apparatus final competition at the World Artistic Gymnastics championships at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) less Gold medal winner Simone Biles of the U.S., center, silver medal winner Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands, left, and Bronze medal winner Germany's Pauline Schaefer pose on the podium after the balance beam... more Photo: Matthias Schrader, Associated Press Photo: Matthias Schrader, Associated Press Image 1 of / 190 Caption Close Spring's Simone Biles wins third straight world all-around gymnastics title 1 / 190 Back to Gallery
With a mixture of power and athleticism that makes her arguably the most dominant athlete in any Olympic sport at this point in time, Biles is in a class by herself, said 1984 Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton.
“At this point, it’s just a matter of wondering who the other Olympic medalists are going to be,” Retton said. “She had major mistakes today and still won. So unless she’s not healthy, and I don’t want to jinx anybody, there’s no question in my mind that she will win the Olympic all-around gold.”
Remarkably, Biles doubled her margin of victory over Iordache from a year ago even with two significant mistakes on balance beam and floor exercise.
About 50 seconds into her 90-second beam routine, she failed to make a solid landing with both feet after a forward tuck somersault and had to grab the balance beam with both hands to keep from falling. On floor, she bounced out of bounds during a tumbling pass.
“It was real weird,” she said. “I felt like myself, but when I made the mistakes it was, ‘Oh, my gosh. What am I doing right now?’ It was very weird.”
With the errors, Biles’ four-event score Thursday was about a point less than her qualifying score, and she acknowledged that the pressure of going for an unprecedented third consecutive title weighed on her.
“Sometimes the pressure is increased, but most of the time I try to keep it like on the down low,” she said. “Tonight, I kind of felt the pressure a little bit. I was hearing it, and through the mistake I kept looking at the scoreboard and looking at my scores, and it was like, ‘Oh, my gosh’ and like, ‘Stop. You’re fine.’”
Biles said she normally avoids scoreboard watching, but with history on the line, “I’ve got to see it,” she said. “Everyone wanted the three-peat, and, yes, I wanted it, and if it didn’t happen I would still be proud of myself, but it was like, I don’t know. I had to look to be sure.”
With the win, Biles joins Russian champion Svetlana Khorkina as the only three-time winner of the women’s all-around, although Khorkina’s three titles were not consecutive. Douglas, meanwhile, became the first reigning Olympic all-around champion to win an all-around medal since Elena Davydova of the Soviet Union in 1981.
Their 1-2 finish marks the third time that U.S. women have won gold and silver in the world all-around, following Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin in 2005 and Biles and Kyla Ross in 2013. They celebrated the occasion by posing side by side, each flexing one arm, and exchanged hugs on the medals stand.
Before her win Thursday, Biles was tied with Shannon Miller for the most world all-around titles by a United States woman. Bridget Sloan and Shawn Johnson and Memmel also are winners of the event first won by a U.S. woman in 1991, when Houston gymnast Kim Zmeskal won the gold medal.
Zmeskal, who now coaches in the Dallas area, tweeted of Biles, “THREE! Just WOW to the amazing Simone Biles.”
Biles now has eight world gold medals and 11 total medals at worlds. She has a chance to add additional hardware this weekend with individual event finals in vault, balance beam and floor exercise.
“This code of points (the scoring system governing gymnastics) favors strong, powerful athletes,” Retton said. “It would have been my type of event. Now, the code is made for a Simone Biles.”
david.barron@chron.com
twitter.com/dfbarronRevelations about the suffering of hens at facilities run by Perdue Chicken — the third largest chicken producer in the nation — have shocked consumers. As Nicholas Kristof shows in a recent column in the New York Times, “Abusing the Chickens We Eat,” Perdue Chicken’s claims that their products are “cage-free,” “natural,” or “humanely raised” — couldn’t be further from the truth.
Craig Watts, a farmer for Perdue, couldn’t swallow these fabrications, and so he encouraged the nonprofit organization Compassion in World Farming to document the horrific suffering of hens on Perdue farms. Kristof describes these conditions as “hellish:” most animals had lost their feathers, were full of sores, couldn’t walk, and lived in filth and excrement piles that further burned their flesh.
Advertisement
Why We Need Transparency
Corporations like Perdue illegally use terms such as “humane” and “cage free” to deceive consumers who care about animal welfare. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) standards are poorly defined, and open the doors for meat producers to hoodwink well-intentioned customers into believing they’re purchasing a bird who was raised humanely. Under watchdog pressure from animal advocates, Perdue will remove the disingenuous label “humane.” But the world wouldn’t know about the true suffering of these hens — and of nearly all egg-laying hens nationwide — without documentation of animal cruelty, and journalists like Kristof sharing this information with the public.
That’s why we can’t just rely on Good Samaritan farmers to come forward; we need greater transparency in animal agriculture. Factory farms confine and slaughter tens of billions of animals a year in unimaginably cruel conditions — as a result, this industry thrives on a culture of secrecy, misinformation, and deception. Undercover investigations routinely reveal sickening and chronic cruelty on factory farms. And advocates like the Animal Legal Defense Fund must regularly urge federal agencies like the USDA to enforce animal welfare regulations against this industry.
A Backwards Industry
Meanwhile, instead of going after the animal abusers, the powerful agricultural lobby is twisting laws to go after animal advocates for recording hidden activity on factory farms. The agriculture industry uses insidious new “ag gag” statutes — like the ones the Animal Legal Defense Fund and a coalition of public interest groups are challenging in Utah and Idaho for violating the U.S. Constitution — to criminalize the legal behavior of advocates for animals, civil rights, labor laws, the environment, and food safety. If this industry has its way, this will “gag” and silence whistle-blowers whose video documentation of illegal behavior would prevent corporations from deceiving consumers. Something is seriously backwards when state laws violate the Constitution to protect corporations at the expense of the people.
In our consumer-driven society, people want to make informed choices. If the world could see the hell-on-earth chickens are forced into on factory farms, then, and only then, could they truly make informed choices. Our society must not criminalize whistle-blowers for bringing truth to power, but that’s just what ag gag laws would do — protect factory farms like Perdue Chickens by silencing those who care about animals. And that’s why we need more transparency in this industry, not less.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Image source: Wikimedia CommonsWhy it could be predicted that the large scale school-based intervention would fail.
An important new study was greeted with a resounding silence from the positive psychology community, and notably on the Friends of Positive Psychology listserv, but…
Results of the largest ever evaluation of a school-based positive psychology program, the UK resilience project are now available at Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. The results are, uh, not impressive.
The intervention, the 16-hour UK Resilience Programme (UKRP), was carefully based on the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) for Children and Adolescents. Jane E. Gillham, the corresponding author for the UK study was also one of the developers of the Penn program.
The study is behind a pay wall, but here’s an abstract. I’m sure that you can obtain a full copy from Dr. Gillham, E-mail: <jgillha1@swarthmore.edu>.
The study enrolled almost 3,000 students, with 1,000 students in the intervention group. The UK study is thus larger than the 17 previous studies combined. The largest past study had a total of only 697 students.
The authors reported that students receiving the intervention reported lower levels of depressive symptoms than students assigned to the control group, but the effect was small and did not persist to 1-year or 2-year follow-ups. There was no significant effect of the intervention on symptoms of anxiety or behavior at any point.
The authors concluded that the UKRP produced small, short-term effects on depressive symptoms and that
These findings suggest that interventions may produce reduced impacts when rolled out and taught by regular school staff.
In this blog post, I’m going to be arguing that
What the authors represent as weak findings may be even weaker than they portrayed.
There is nothing particularly new or positive psychology about the intervention package. It is a rehash of conventional (dare we say, bad old negative psychology?) treatment of depression applied to a student population in which the levels of depressive symptoms were low.
Under these circumstances, the intervention could not be expected to have an effect.
If we are truly committed to improving the well-being of students, we need to rethink the nature and focus of such interventions, and whether students should be required or coaxed to attend. As this intervention stands, it wastes staff and student time that could better be used for other ways of improving student well-being.
But first, some more details of the study:
Sample.
The 2,844 students were ages 11–12, 49% were female, 67% were white and they were drawn from 16 schools.
Students were not randomly assigned, but entire classes of students were arbitrarily enrolled in the intervention (UKRP) or control (usual school) conditions based on class timetables.
There were some baseline differences between the intervention and control groups and between schools. Some schools assigned students of above average academic achievement to the intervention groups, whereas other schools assigned students the intervention group because of concern about their emotional well-being or behavior.
Outcome measures.
Three standardized, normed self-report measures were used to evaluate the intervention:
Assessments were administered at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 1-year and 2-year follow-up.
The intervention package.
The article provides a web link to obtain more information about the intervention. When I went to the site, extensive information was requested that would be associated with me actually using the manual in a study. However, the description of the curriculum is available here.
The curriculum teaches cognitive-behavioral and social problem-solving skills and is based in part on cognitive-behavioral theories of depression by Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis, and Martin Seligman (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978; Beck, 1967, 1976; Ellis, 1962). Central to PRP is Ellis’ Adversity-Consequences-Beliefs (ABC) model, the notion that our beliefs about events mediate their impact on our emotions and behavior. Through this model, students learn to detect inaccurate thoughts, to evaluate the accuracy of those thoughts, and to challenge negative beliefs by considering alternative interpretations. PRP also teaches a variety of strategies that can be used for solving problems and coping with difficult situations and emotions. Students learn techniques for assertiveness, negotiation, decision-making, social problem-solving, and relaxation. The skills taught in the program can be applied to many contexts of life, including relationships with peers and family members as well as achievement in academics or other activities.
The control group.
The intervention received by the control group varied across the schools, but was generally Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) classes. In some of the schools, the control group was regular academic lessons.
Were effects of the intervention even weaker than presented?
Confirmation bias is common in presentation of results of test of interventions, especially when one of the developers of the intervention is among the authors or a consultant. To reduce the risk of bias, investigators are commonly required to preregister their design, including their plans for analysis of data. This commits investigators to a particular choice of outcomes and assessment points for evaluating the intervention. The alternative is that investigators can undertake a full range of analyses and report those that make the intervention looked strongest. This trial was apparently not preregistered.
Another check on risk of bias in reporting the results of a study are including all participants who were assigned to the intervention or control group in the primary analyses. The risk of not doing what is called an intent-to-treat analysis is a bias because selective retention on dropout of participants may affect results. In this particular study, results were quite weak and the appearance of significance could be influenced by even a small loss of participants from the analysis. If there is such a loss, a variety of techniques are available for adjusting.
Contrary to what the investigators say in the article analyses were not true intent to treat. Participants were excluded if they did not complete follow up assessments. Analyses indicate that students who came from special education classes or had initial high scores on depressive symptoms were less likely to complete subsequent assessments. The effect was bigger than the difference between intervention and control groups. No effort for compensating for loss of participants from follow up was reported. They were simply dropped.
For practical reasons, the study was not a true randomized trial, and the means of selecting participants resulted in differences in baseline characteristics. The investigators attempted to compensate these differences with statistical control. If there were any differences between the intervention and control groups, this could prove inadequate. Ideally, in such situations, investigators provide results without such corrections and then with them. If the two sets of results agree, it is more reassuring that apparent effects were not simply due to baseline differences between the intervention and control groups.
The article does not present simple differences in depressive symptoms, anxiety, and behavior problems at the end of the intervention. It is possible that already small differences between the intervention and control groups would disappear in a presentation of the simple analysis.
For their primary analysis, the investigators compared the intervention and control group and overall level of depressive symptoms. There were no significant differences. That would usually rule out continuing onto subgroup analyses examining the different time points. However, the investigators went on to look at depressive symptoms at each of the three post-assessment time points, and found a small difference at the first assessment that did not persist. This provided the basis for their bragging rights for having found a small, rather no effect, which is emphasized in their abstract and discussion.
Thus, by conventional standards, it could be concluded that UKRP produced no significant effects, not merely small effects.
How is this intervention a positive psychology intervention?
In a Great Debate article, Howard Tennen and I complained about proponents of positive psychology often drawing a false distinction between what is special about positive psychology versus the rest of conventional, “negative psychology” (Seligman, 2002).
Positive psychology articulates a role for hope, wisdom, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance in human adaptation in sharp contrast, proponents claim, to the negative biases of a conventional psychology that is too focused on distress and psychopathology to the exclusion of positive experiences.
Elsewhere in debates and on listserves and Facebook, I have argued that much is what effective about so-called positive psychology interventions is not new, and what is new about them is not effective.
This intervention is a warmed-over set of “negative psychology” interventions developed decades ago.
The UKRP intervention was carefully modeled after the Penn Resiliency Project and a key developer of the Penn project provided training and consultation and was the corresponding author for this article. Along with the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program, the Penn Resiliency intervention represents a premier positive psychology intervention package. But how does this intervention represent the distinctive ideas of positive psychology?
The article describes the intervention as
promoting resilience broadly and promoting adaptive thinking and coping.
Yet, key elements of the intervention come directly from Aaron T. Beck’s cognitive theory of depression and Albert Ellis’ Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET), or as Ellis later called it, his Adversity-Consequences-Beliefs (ABC) model. Both are conventional models of depression and its treatment that predate positive psychology by decades.
The primary outcome was a reduction in depressive symptoms, not any improvement in a characteristic positive psychology outcome, such as positive well-being or flourishing. As far as I can see, the only thing new about this intervention is that was taken out of its usual context of a treatment for clinical depression and put into the schools where it was provided to all students, who happened, as a group, to be low in depressive symptoms. If any students actually showed high risk of clinical depression, they were evaluated and potential referred to conventional depression treatment.
So, does this important test of positive psychology in the schools merely examine whether conventional treatments for depression will produce lower levels of depressive symptoms subsequent to students receiving the intervention?
Why the intervention could not be expected to have an effect.
There was on average so little elevation in depressive symptoms, so the intervention could not be expected to have much of an effect. The investigators state:
At baseline, 60% of students in our sample scored 8 or below (average or below- average levels of symptoms), and 12% scored 0 or 1.
Only 6% scored above 19, indicating significant symptoms of depression.
Because of this, we encounter a strong floor effect: Students without many symptoms and with low risk of depression do not have much room for improvement.
For the time span covered by the intervention and the follow-up periods, depressive symptoms are relatively stable. Even students assigned to the control group are unlikely to face situations in which whatever is provided by the intervention would be of much use up to them, in terms of avoiding an increase in depressive symptoms.
First do no harm (Primum non nocere)
The study required students to participate in a 16 hour intervention.
Most of the students who were present could not be expected to benefit from the intervention.
There is the possibility that post hoc (unplanned and after the fact) subgroup analyses would suggest that some subgroup had benefited. But given normative data suggesting that the intervention would be ineffectivewhy subject a large group of students to such intervention?
With only weak or probably no effects, the UK Resilience Programme cannot be presumed to be cost-effective. And in calculating the costs, we need to consider lost opportunities for the students enrolled in the program.
Arguably, students at risk for depressive symptoms would include those who had academic deficits which are readily identifiable. Why not devote the week and a half to remedying those deficits?
Is it ethical to require that students submit to a program that is unlikely to demonstrate benefits in the primary outcomes by which the program is evaluated?
The rollout continues…Ink addict mom arrested for giving her 11-year-old daughter a heart-shaped tattoo
One North Carolina girl has her heart on her sleeve and she's got her mother to thank.
Inked-up mother Odessa Clay, 30, was arrested in September for tattooing her 11-year-old daughter last year.
She told police that her daughter had requested a heart above her right shoulder and she didn't know it was illegal to grant her wish.
Parental: Inked-up mother Odessa Clay, 30, was arrested in September for tattooing her 11-year-old daughter last year
Havelock Police charged Clay in late September with tattooing a person under the age of 18, WCTI12 reports.
The mother, who has more than a few of her own tattoos, posed for her mugshot in a white, sleeveless shirt showing off her ink on both arms.
She tattooed the girl sometime last year, police said.
'She asked me to do it,' the mother-of-the-year told the newstation.
Unapologetic, Clay said she used her own tools and numbed her daughter's arm before the permanent decoration.
Guidance: Clay told police that her daughter had requested a heart above her right shoulder and she didn't know it was illegal to grant her wish
'I didn't fill it in,' she said, describing the small outline on her pre-teen's body.
She said that she thought tattoos, like ear-piercing, were legal as long as the parent gave consent.
The heavily tattooed mother said that she believes her ex in-law reported the tattoo to retaliate against her for filing a complaint against her daughter's paternal grandfather, the newstation reports.
Clay is due in court next month for the charge.
Her previous run-ins with the law include charges of larceny, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of stolen goods.Between Barden Tower and Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, England, lies one of nature's most dangerous booby traps. It’s a small innocuous-looking mountain stream, about six feet across, known as Bolton Strid, or simply the Strid. But below the water's surface is a deep chasm with powerful undercurrents that pulls anybody that falls into it to certain death. It is believed that not a single person who has fallen into the Strid has ever come out of it alive. Not even their bodies.
To understand how a small mountain brook can have such a dangerous reputation, take a walk upstream. In less than 100 yards, this “small” stream will have expanded to a substantial river 30 feet across. This is River Wharfe which runs through Yorkshire, but when it comes to the area of Bolton Abbey the river is forced through a narrow gap causing the water to gain tremendous speed and depth. The narrow gap on the Strid is only an illusion as both banks are seriously undercut. Hidden underneath is a network of caverns and tunnels that hold all of the rest of the river's water. Nobody really knows how deep the Strid goes.
The Strid near Bolton Abbey. Photo credit: James Whitesmith/Flickr
On the surface the Strid appears so modest and the banks so close to each other that many foolhardy visitors in the past have assumed they could jump across it, or walk across its stones because it only seems knee-deep. Indeed, it’s believed that the name Strid comes from the word “stride”. There are warnings signs on trees around the area discouraging people to attempt the leap. Still there are plenty of stories of individuals slipping and getting sucked mercilessly into the underwater caves and eroded tunnels.
One supposed victim of the Strid was young William de Romilly, the son of Lady Alice de Romilly, who attempted to leap across the Strid in 1154 and perished. His mother was so grieved by her loss that she donated the surrounding land to establish the Bolton Priory monastery. This tragic legend was later immortalized by William Wordsworth in his poem “The Force of Prayer”.
This striding-place is called THE STRID,
A name which it took of yore:
A thousand years hath it borne that name,
And shall a thousand more. And hither is young Romilly come,
And what may now forbid
That he, perhaps for the hundredth time,
Shall bound across THE STRID? He sprang in glee,- or what cared he’
That the river was strong, and the rocks were steep? –
But the greyhound in the leash hung back,
And checked him in his leap. The Boy is in the arms of Wharf,
And strangled by a merciless force;
For never more was young Romilly seen
Till he rose a lifeless corse.
A police officer stands guard on the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey after an 8-year old drowned in March 2010. Photo credit: www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk
Photo credit: James Whitesmith/Flickr
Photo credit: Richard Brown/Flickr
Bolton Abbey and Wharfe. Photo credit: Andy Hawkins/Flickr
The River Wharfe in Bolton Abbey. Photo credit: Steve Glover/Flickr
Sources: Under a Grey Sky / Spooky Isles / TorqueSpoiler Room is back from summer vacation!!
For details on how I spent my weeks off, watch Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Actually, that has nothing to do with what I did, but I wish it did. (Also, I really love that movie.) The real answer to how I spent my time off is nothing you’d be particularly interested in.
Anyway, I’m back and have returned with a delicious heap of scoop. Enjoy! And don’t forget to send your questions for next week, people! spoilerroom@EW.com
CASTLE: STANA KATIC KNOWS BECKETT’S ANSWER TO THE BIG QUESTION
You read that right. Stana Katic, who plays kick-ass detective Kate Beckett, knows how the lovely crime-fighter is going to answer (what I believe to be) the most important question posed this year in a TV season finale.
As you might guess, though, she’s not telling us a single thing about how Beckett will respond to Castle’s marriage proposal.
“I know the answer, and I’m not telling you,” she teased EW last night at a gala sponsored by Women in Film. But while she couldn’t reveal any secrets, Katic said she was quite happy with the answer Beckett gives. “I think that her answer is the perfect one for the character and for the show,” she says. Moreover, she doesn’t feel like Castle jumped the gun with his question at all because even though they’ve only been officially dating about a year, “I think it has been long enough for a yes or no answer. I figure the intense situations they’ve gone through together has sped up their bond.”
Proposals aside, there are professional questions also lingering as Beckett still has a big D.C. job offer hanging over her head. Katic says she is in favor of Beckett’s possible relocation. “It’s New York City and D.C. It’s not that far,” she says. “It also helps that he is a millionaire and a writer, which he can do anywhere. So how rough is that? He can afford to hire a private plane or two on her days off.” In Katic’s view, Beckett “has worked really hard to get to this point in her career, and there is a part of me that feels like she shouldn’t have to give up success in her professional life to keep her relationship happy, and vice versa. In real life, woman balance family, relationships, and careers all the time. Why should Beckett be any different?” she says.
Fall, why aren’t you here yet???
DEXTER: FIVE TEASES FOR THE FINAL SEASON
Have you picked up EW’s amazing summer TV preview yet? Well, you should have by now — especially if you’re a Dexter fan. My colleague James Hibberd was on set for all sorts of action, and while I’ll leave his story to fill you in on those specifics, here’s what I can tease about the first few episodes of the season:
+ Deb’s gone down a dark path since we saw her last, but how far down the rabbit hole has she gone? Well, she’s doing lines of coke and mixing all sorts of pills, for starters. But most disturbing of all? Dexter’s little sis — who has had his back as long as we can remember — wants absolutely nothing to do with him. In fact, when we pick up the season, it’s been months since they’ve seen each other! + There’s one surprising new hookup that is revealed that I think fans of the show will have mixed feelings about. Make sure to send me your thoughts/follow-up questions after the premiere June 30. + Even though Deb is now working as a PI, you won’t have to wait too long to see her interact with some of our faves from Miami Metro. Specifically, her reunion with Masuka is exactly how you’d expect it to be. + We’ve seen Dexter have friends in the past who know his secret, but Dr. Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling) has a whole new level of knowledge on Dexter — she knew Harry … and helped him invent Dexter’s Code. (More on Dr. Vogel here.) + You will see Harry again — this time in the flesh! All I’ll say is that Dr. Vogel has some very telling videotapes.
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: ARIA MOVING ON?
In case Aria and Ezra’s breakup wasn’t clear enough for you in the finale, the pair re-broke up in this week’s season premiere. While I’m sure you’re disappointed, as you may have heard, the writers are wasting no time getting this PLL a new man — specifically, Step Up Revolution hunk Ryan Guzman, who will play her self-defense instructor starting next week.
But she’s not alone. According to executive producer Oliver Goldstick, all the Liars’ love lives are going to get a little more active this season. “It’s a very interesting season for that. All four girls have a person somewhere on the horizon,” he says. However, he adds, many of these romantic interests “don’t surface maybe till we’re deep in [season] 4A, sometimes earlier than that. For Emily, for Spencer, for Hannah — there is competition for their affection coming up,” he says.
Yes, sorry, Spoby fans, that includes them. Goldstick says the beloved pairing is indeed going to be “somewhat strained by some of the circumstances surrounding his own personal mystery,” he says. “What is he going to reveal? How much? Will it cost him something if he does reveal it? You know, it becomes one of those questions where he has to be very cautious and very circumspect about what he can share or it may backfire and boomerang and really hurt him.”A A
MARYSVILLE, Wash. -- Two men are suspected of sparking at least nine brush fires as they drove along I-5 through Snohomish and Skagit County, according to Washington State Patrol investigators.
The first brush fires broke out just after noon and peppered a 12-mile stretch of freeway between milepost 207 in Arlington and the Snohomish River Bridge in Everett.
"We do believe the fires were set intentionally," said Trooper Heather Axtman.
Axtman said a deputy saw two men in their 50s driving a Hyundai Sonata that had stopped along the freeway at one location and was trying to light a fire with a road flare. A deputy tried to contact them but they fled. It's unclear if that's how the other fires started, Axtman said.
As the smoke billowed from the burning brush and grass, fire officials first blocked two right lanes of southbound I-5 in Marysville, instantly snarling traffic.
Firefighters later closed all southbound lanes for firefighting efforts before reopening two lanes again. Northbound traffic was slowed as well. DOT officials estimated a 9-mile backup in the southbound lanes just after 2 p.m.
Troopers are still looking for the men who started the fires and may have caught a break as they have obtained a fingerprint off one of the flares found alongside the freeway that could be helpful in their investigation.
The fires come as the region is in the midst of a very dry stretch. June is finishing up the fourth-driest on record in Seattle and the first six months of the year have had the fewest days of measurable rain since records have been kept at Sea-Tac Airport in 1945.Looking for a job? Try British Columbia.
The west coast province has Canada's highest rate of unfilled, available jobs, according to a new survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
In all, there were 60,100 unfilled jobs in B.C. in the third quarter of the year, for a job vacancy rate of 3.4 per cent, the highest in the country. In Canada as a whole, the number of unfilled jobs hit a record high of 361,700, the CFIB said in a report issued this week.
The nationwide job vacancy rate rose to 2.8 per cent, up from 2.4 per cent a year earlier and the highest level since before the financial crisis of 2008-09, the CFIB said.
For those seeking work, this may be as good as it gets.
Canada's unemployment rate has fallen to 5.9 per cent, the lowest since 2008. The economy added an impressive 390,000 net new jobs over the past year, a 2.1-per-cent increase — faster than population growth.
"Labour shortages are again becoming a major hindrance to businesses across the country, especially small firms," said CFIB's chief economist, Ted Mallett.
Watch: The top jobs in Canada for 2017
There were 85,000 unfilled jobs Quebec, where the unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest it's ever been on record. Even recession-hit Alberta had 33,900 unfilled jobs, though its vacancy rate "is still recovering from the recent oil price crunch," CFIB's report says.
In all, seven provinces had more unfilled jobs in the third quarter than in the the quarter before. Three provinces — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island — saw no change in their job vacancy rates.
Looking at specific industries, the personal services field seems to have the largest shortage of workers, followed by construction.
Good news and bad news
The good news for job-seekers is that employers are planning to start raising wages, Mallett told HuffPost Canada this week.
"Over the past year, wage plans have increased and pricing plans have increased," he said.
And that's where the bad news comes in — companies are also planning raise prices, to offset the higher cost of labour. In short, inflation may soon be making a comeback.
Mallett wants the government to "take action" to make sure businesses aren't left without the employees they need.
He wants there to be "a continued focus on the trainability of workers in the economy," and he is also calling on the government to loosen some of the restrictions of the Temporary Foreign Worker program — though he does concede that "there has been some abuse" of the program by employers in the past.
"Ensuring that we've got an adequately mobile workforce is important as well," Mallett added. He said government should look to expand the ways it encourages people to relocate, as it does already with the tax deduction for moving expenses.
"We should be encouraging employees to look further afield," he said.
Also on HuffPost:You can now vote in Batch 93!
Currently open batches:
Batch 93
Batch 92
Batch 91
Batch 90
Batch 89
Batch 88
Batch 87
Batch 86 results will be up shortly.
Feature match: Bile Blight can sometimes kill Werebear, and sometimes it can’t. I guess we will find out if we have threshold or not soon!
Full list of matchups:
Grasp of the Hieromancer vs Odric, Master Tactician
Yavimaya Hollow vs Warmonger Hellkite
Prince of Thralls vs Hypergenesis
Clone vs Foriysian Totem
Pursuit of Knowledge vs Gideon, Champion of Justice
Aether Flash vs Sosuke’s Summons
Transcendent Master vs Echoing Decay
Dragonmaster Outcast vs Rakka Mar
Mirri the Cursed vs Showstopper
Bile Blight vs Werebear
Guardian of Tazeem vs Joven’s Ferrets
Splendid Reclamation vs R&D’s Secret Lair
Rite of the Raging Storm vs Thorn-Thrash Viashino
Basalt Monolith vs Brainwash
Blurred Mongoose vs Herald of Torment
Cogwork Grinder vs Citanul Centaurs
Voidwalk vs Comeuppance
Statute of Denial vs Angelic Edict
Cogwork Tracker vs Angelic Field Marshal
Refurbish vs Thought Lash
Zhur-Taa Druid vs Conquering Manticore
Coat of Arms vs Beacon of Destiny
Mirari vs Lightning Storm
Inferno Trap vs Geistblast
Strength from the Fallen vs Soulsc |
State:
The lead organizations in the fight are likely to be Cornerstone Action and New Hampshire Freedom to Marry. Cornerstone is affiliated with a national organization – CitizenLink (formerly Focus on the Family) – which could support state efforts. But both sides are also attracting attention from other groups.
On the side of repealing gay marriage, the National Organization for Marriage spent nearly $1.5 million on campaign ads against Lynch. The day after the November election, National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown said in a press release that the organization is “poised to start taking back territory where (gay marriage) was wrongly enacted in places like New Hampshire and Iowa. That will be the next battleground, and we are confident of victory.”
Brown said last week that the organization will continue to work closely with Cornerstone “to make sure that the wrong of forcing same-sex marriage on New Hampshire is corrected.”
The Family Research Council also has a presence in New Hampshire, which it plans to continue. It contributed the legal maximum donation of $5,000 to Cornerstone’s PAC during the elections. Tom McClusky, senior vice president of the group’s policy wing, said the group has invested in making New Hampshire’s Legislature more friendly to traditional marriage. “We don’t want to see that go to waste,” McClusky said.
…
How much money and effort will be poured into the New Hampshire campaign depends on what type of bill is ultimately proposed. In Maine, which held a statewide referendum that ultimately vetoed the state’s gay marriage bill, local and national activists spent more than $6 million to sway public opinion.
The anti gay marriage group there, Stand for Marriage Maine, was led by a local pastor, Bob Emrich, and representatives from the Catholic Diocese in Maine and the National Organization for Marriage. It spent between $2 million and $3 million. The group hired the same public relations firm that worked on a California referendum and got help from the Family Research Council and Family Watch International. Emrich said the National Organization for Marriage was the largest financial contributor, donating around $1.5 million that helped with TV and radio ads, staff, mailings and public relations. The Family Research Council organized rallies and helped with communications and training activists.
…
For now, there are at least two proposed repeal bills in the Legislature and one constitutional amendment. Only the constitutional amendment has the potential to go on a statewide ballot, but not until 2012. Rep. David Bates, a Windham Republican who proposed two of the bills, said he anticipates moving forward with a repeal bill this session but perhaps not pursuing the constitutional amendment until 2012. A constitutional amendment would require a majority vote of 60 percent in the House and Senate, and a two-thirds’ majority of the state’s voters. The governor would not have a role.
Bates said it may not make sense to go ahead with a constitutional amendment this year, when it would not appear until 2012, and the goal of repealing gay marriage could be accomplished sooner by a law change. “This legislation is intended to restore the marriage law, to put it back where we were four years ago,” Bates said.Carolina is just two wins away from finishing the regular season 16-0 after knocking off the Giants on Sunday.
Their record may be perfect, but like every team in the league, the Panthers have flaws. If Carolina loses a game this season — they play the Falcons and Buccaneers before the playoffs begin — here are some reasons why it will happen:
1. THEY HAVE TO BLITZ TO GET PRESSURE
Sack numbers can be deceiving. Carolina ranks fourth in the NFL with 40 sacks, but the team’s defensive line has not been as dominant as that number suggests. Defensive tackle Kawann Short is the only pass rusher who consistently pushes the pocket.
Defensive ends Jared Allen and Charles Johnson are not the players they once were. Situational pass rushers Mario Addison and Kony Ealy are hit or miss. And tackles Star Loutelei and Dwan Edwards are run stoppers, first and foremost.
When Carolina’s defense was at its peak – during the 2013 season when it led the league in sacks – Johnson and Greg Hardy led a front-four capable of consistently getting to the quarterback, allowing seven defenders to drop in coverage.
Now Hardy is in Dallas being a “leader” or whatever, and Johnson’s days as an impact player are over, putting the onus on defensive coordinator Sean McDermott to produce pressure with scheme.
Carolina is blitzing more than it ever has in the Ron Rivera era. That takes linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis out of coverage, where they are at their best. It also puts more pressure on a secondary that lacks depth.
2. THEIR SECONDARY IS THIN
Outside of Josh Norman, Carolina is trotting out a secondary full of castaways. Safety Kurt Coleman has found himself in the right place at the right time for his six interceptions but remains a liability in coverage. There isn’t a tight end in the league strong safety Roman Harper can run with. Charles Tillman is literally playing on a partially torn ACL. And those are the starters.
Carolina picked up Cortland Finnegan off the couch to play nickel corner. Behind him is converted safety Colin Jones, who is basically an anthropomorphic tackling dummy.
This is what happened when Finnegan attempted to cover Beckham in the slot:
Bene Benwikere had done a fine job as a starting corner, but the secondary was so depleted he was forced to play with the Panthers up 38-0 against Atlanta and suffered a season-ending leg injury in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers do not play a lot of man coverage. They simply do not have the athleticism in the secondary to do so. Top-tier quarterbacks feast on zone coverage. Especially when they have time to sit back in the pocket and diagnose the coverage. And if the defense has to blitz to get to the QB, the voids in those zones only get bigger with fewer men in coverage.
Eli Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers moved the ball easily against the Panthers defense. Guys like Carson Palmer, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson — who is playing as well as he ever has — should be able to do the same.
3. THE OFFENSE RELIES ON BIG PLAYS
Carolina leads the league in scoring, but this is not an elite offense on a per-drive basis. Cam Newton isn’t the most accurate quarterback and Ted Ginn Jr. and Devin Funchess are boom or bust when the ball is thrown their way. That leads to an inefficient passing game.
Unlike most teams in this era of dinking and dunking, the Panthers have built an offense around the run game and downfield passing. You won’t see long drives sustained by short passing plays like you do with other top offenses. More than 20% of the team’s offensive drives end in a three-and-out, per Football Outsiders.
If Carolina’s running game isn’t working, the offense will move in fits and starts. That could be problematic against Seattle and Arizona – both rank in the top four in run defense. And both teams feature top secondaries capable of limiting big plays in the passing game.
4. COACHING DECISIONS ARE STILL A CONCERN
Ron Rivera is one of the league’s top coaches. His staff develops young players. He’s done an excellent job adapting his philosophy around the players he has. And he’s pushing all the right buttons with this year’s team.
Roman Harper: "This is the most disappointed 14-0 team I've ever seen in my life. And that's a great thing." — Max Henson (@PanthersMax) December 20, 2015
That said, he’s not exactly Bill Belichick when it comes to situational football. Clock management is among the biggest concerns and has been throughout Rivera’s tenure in Carolina.
On Sunday, there was a bizarre sequence before the game-winning field goal. The Panthers got into field goal range on a Newton scramble. The clock was running, and instead of using the remaining timeout, Rivera had his team spike the ball with just enough time to kick the field goal. It was a needless risk to snap the ball, which could have resulted in a fumble or even a penalty, when calling a timeout would have yielded the same result.
It may seem like a small issue. But those small mistakes get magnified in the postseason.
There’s also the issue of Carolina not finishing off teams when up big. The Panthers have nearly blown three second-half leads of 17 or more. They survived overtime against the Colts, needed a red-zone interception to hold off the Packers and blew a 28 point lead against the Giants before Graham Gano bailed them out with the game-winning kick.
There’s no obvious reason the Panthers are giving up these leads. It could be the players letting up too early. Or maybe it’s the coaching staff sitting on the lead and playing conservatively. Either way, it’s an issue Rivera needs to solve.
In last year’s NFC Championship, we saw a conservative coach blow a big lead. Don’t be shocked if it happens again.Over one-quarter of Conservative candidates running in the 2015 election are endorsed for their opposition to women's reproductive rights by a controversial anti-abortion activist group.
Here are 86 Conservative candidates who will vote against women’s reproductive rights
Here are 86 Conservative candidates who will vote against women’s reproductive rights
Over one-quarter of Conservative candidates running in the 2015 election have been endorsed for their opposition to women’s reproductive rights by a controversial anti-abortion activist group.
Campaign Life Coalition, a subject of controversy for flooding residential mailboxes with not-so family-friendly images, have released their list of anti-choice candidates in their 2015 “pro-life voters guide.“
Overall, 25.4% of all Conservative candidates are listed by CLC, although it’s not a definitive list – not every Conservative candidate responded to questionnaires and some are still listed as “evaluation pending.”
Broken down by province, the results are more dramatic.
10 of Saskatchewan’s 14 Conservative candidates (71%) and 45 of Ontario’s 121 Conservative candidates (37%) get a green light from the group for opposing full-access to safe and high-quality reproductive healthcare.
The list of Conservative candidates are spread across urban, suburban and rural ridings and also includes a mix of young and old, although the overwhelming majority of endorsed candidates are male (84%).
Who are these candidates?
Of course there’s Stephen Woodworth, who once compared abortion to slavery and introduced Motion 312 to “study” when life begins. And there’s Mark Warawa, who led a backbench mini-rebellion because he felt he was being muzzled for trying to re-open the abortion debate.
New Brunswick’s Tilly O’Neill-Gordon announced last year that “Miramichi is very Christian – we’re fine people, we’re a strong bunch of people who would never agree to abortion.”
And two former Conservative staffers running in Ottawa-area ridings were endorsed by CLC.
On September 22, David Piccini, a former staffer to trade minister Ed Fast, answered “no” when asked if “there any circumstances under which you believe a woman should have access to abortion?”
And Andy Wang, the former assistant to jobs minister Pierre Poilievre, “was deemed to be pro-life after a meeting with a CLC leader.“
A few other first-time candidates made the list too, including ones who’ve made headlines for controversial social media posts.
Winnipeg-South’s Gordon Giesbrecht, who previously compared abortion to the Holocaust and said it was like a “9/11 every day” received an endorsement.
So did Etobicoke North’s Toyin Dada, whose social media postings have been linked to a group with a history of protesting abortion clinics and the Toronto Pride Parade.
All of this comes at the same time as frequent warning flags regarding women’s reproductive rights, as Planned Parenthoods all across the United States and Canada have been targeted.
Here’s the complete list (so far) of 86 Conservative candidates across Canada that Campaign Life Coalition has done us the service of flagging for their anti-choice position on women’s reproductive rights:
Alberta:
British Columbia:
Manitoba:
New Brunswick:
Prince Edward Island:
Ontario:
Saskatchewan:
Photo: March For Life.Human rights groups have censured the Israeli regime’s recent law, which bans supporters of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement from entering the occupied territories.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah) and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) described the law as “blatantly anti-democratic.”
“We are not sure what was the need for the new law, apart from saying Israel does not want BDS supporters here. This law violates the most basic tenets of democracy,” the statement read.
On Monday, the Israeli parliament (Knesset) passed an anti-boycott bill following a 46-28 vote. The legislation, which had passed a first reading in the Israeli parliament in mid-January, denies entry permits and temporary residency permits to anyone who has publicly called for a boycott of Israel or represents an organization that has called for such a boycott.
Read more:
The statement further said, “This law is expected to pose a particularly serious blow to countless Palestinian families living in Israel and in East Jerusalem (al-Quds), whose members hold a temporary residency status or a temporary military-issued permit. These individuals will now be vulnerable to a revocation of their status and permits based upon their political opinions.”
The two groups had sent a letter to the Knesset prior to the adoption of the controversial law, urging the chamber to vote against the bill.
Supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign take part in a rally in Cape Town, South Africa, on 21 September, 2015. (Photo by AFP)
In a similar stance, Israeli rights group B’Tselem also criticized the ban, with its executive director, Hagai el-Ad, saying “border control should not be used as thought control.”
Also reacting to the law was Israeli NGO Peace Now, which denounced the restrictive measure as undemocratic.
The law “will not prevent boycott but rather, deteriorate Israel’s international standing and lead Israel towards international isolation,” the organization said.
The BDS movement was initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organizations that were pushing for “various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law.”
Thousands of volunteers worldwide have joined the BDS to help promote the Palestinian cause, including scores of Palestinian and international trade unions, NGOs, academic and business societies, as well as cultural figures.
It has also gained support in countries such as Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United States.Mika Hakkinen is not sure he would advise Ferrari to keep his countryman Kimi Raikkonen beyond 2015.
Finn Raikkonen, who replaced Hakkinen at McLaren some 13 years ago, is currently pushing to be retained by Ferrari and in Bahrain finished second behind Lewis Hamilton.
But when asked about Ferrari's deliberations, Hakkinen said: "At this stage, it is difficult to analyse whether this would be the right or wrong decision for them."
Today, 46-year-old Hakkinen is a part of Finn Valtteri Bottas' management team, and the Williams driver is often referred to as a logical successor to Raikkonen at Ferrari.
While Raikkonen impressed in Bahrain, so too did Hakkinen's 25-year-old charge Bottas, as he resisted late-race pressure from top Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.
"Valtteri showed how well he can handle the pressure," Hakkinen told his sponsor Hermes in an interview.
"It was exactly the sort of strong nerves that drivers need in the fight for world championships," he insisted.
As for Raikkonen's race to second place after a fallow period for the 2007 world champion, Hakkinen remarked: "Kimi drove the race as he should have.
"We already know what Kimi's speed and talent is. A very experienced driver like him must regularly be showing the performance that could be seen in Bahrain," he added.
(GMM)Story highlights Douglas Rushkoff: Facebook has been very useful to him but now goes too far
He says its Related Posts features misrepresents "likes" of users without their consent
Facebook users have always been its workers, providing info about themselves to data miners
Rushkoff: Related Posts takes too much control, causes him to break trust with followers
I used to be able to justify using Facebook as a cost of doing business. As a writer and sometime activist who needs to promote my books and articles and occasionally rally people to one cause or another, I found Facebook fast and convenient. Though I never really used it to socialize, I figured it was OK to let other people do that, and I benefited from their behavior.
I can no longer justify this arrangement.
Today, I am surrendering my Facebook account, because my participation on the site is simply too inconsistent with the values I espouse in my work. In my upcoming book "Present Shock," I chronicle some of what happens when we can no longer manage our many online presences. I have always argued for engaging with technology as conscious human beings and dispensing with technologies that take that agency away.
Facebook is just such a technology. It does things on our behalf when we're not even there. It actively misrepresents us to our friends, and worse misrepresents those who have befriended us to still others. To enable this dysfunctional situation -- I call it "digiphrenia" -- would be at the very least hypocritical. But to participate on Facebook as an author, in a way specifically intended to draw out the "likes" and resulting vulnerability of others, is untenable.
Facebook has never been merely a social platform. Rather, it exploits our social interactions the way a Tupperware party does.
Douglas Rushkoff
Facebook does not exist to help us make friends, but to turn our network of connections, brand preferences and activities over time -- our "social graphs" -- into money for others.
We Facebook users have been building a treasure lode of big data that government and corporate researchers have been mining to predict and influence what we buy and for whom we vote. We have been handing over to them vast quantities of information about ourselves and our friends, loved ones and acquaintances. With this information, Facebook and the "big data" research firms purchasing their data predict still more things about us -- from our future product purchases or sexual orientation to our likelihood for civil disobedience or even terrorism.
The true end users of Facebook are the marketers who want to reach and influence us. They are Facebook's paying customers; we are the product. And we are its workers. The countless hours that we -- and the young, particularly -- spend on our profiles are the unpaid labor on which Facebook justifies its stock valuation.
The efforts of a few thousand employees at Facebook's Menlo Park campus pale in comparison to those of the hundreds of millions of users meticulously tweaking their pages. Corporations used to have to do research to assemble our consumer profiles; now we do it for them.
The information collected about you by Facebook through my Facebook page isn't even shared with me. Thanks to my page, Facebook knows the demographics of my readership, their e-mails, what else they like, who else they know and, perhaps most significant, who they trust. And Facebook is taking pains not to share any of this, going so far as to limit the ability of third-party applications to utilize any of this data.
Given that this was the foundation for Facebook's business plan from the start, perhaps more recent developments in the company's ever-evolving user agreement shouldn't have been so disheartening.
Still, we bridle at the notion that any of our updates might be converted into "sponsored stories" by whatever business or brand we may have mentioned. That innocent mention of cup of coffee at Starbucks, in the Facebook universe, quickly becomes an attributed endorsement of their brand. Remember, the only way to connect with something or someone is to "like" them. This means if you want to find out what a politician or company you don't like is up to, you still have to endorse them publicly.
More recently, users -- particularly those with larger sets of friends, followers and likes -- learned that their updates were no longer reaching all of the people who had signed up to get them. Now, we are supposed to pay to "promote" our posts to our friends and, if we pay even more, to their friends.
JUST WATCHED Mark Zuckerberg gives away $33 million Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Mark Zuckerberg gives away $33 million 09:32
JUST WATCHED Facebook CEO's new project Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Facebook CEO's new project 03:42
JUST WATCHED Meet Facebook's top woman Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Meet Facebook's top woman 02:41
Yes, Facebook is entitled to be paid for promoting us and our interests -- but this wasn't the deal going in, particularly not for companies who paid Facebook for extra followers in the first place. Neither should users who "friend" my page automatically become the passive conduits for any of my messages to all their friends just because I paid for it.
That brings me to Facebook's most recent shift, and the one that pushed me over the edge.
Through a new variation of the Sponsored Stories feature called Related Posts, users who "like" something can be unwittingly associated with pretty much anything an advertiser pays for. Like e-mail spam with a spoofed identity, the Related Post shows up in a newsfeed right under the user's name and picture. If you like me, you can be shown implicitly recommending me or something I like -- something you've never heard of -- to others without your consent.
For now, as long as I don't like anything myself, I have some measure of control over what those who follow me receive in my name or, worse, are made to appear to be endorsing, themselves. But I feel that control slipping away, and cannot remain part of a system where liking me or my work can be used against you.
The promotional leverage that Facebook affords me is not worth the price. Besides, how can I ask you to like me, when I myself must refuse to like you or anything else?
I have always appreciated that agreeing to become publicly linked to me and my work online involves trust. It is a trust I value, but -- as it is dependent on the good graces of Facebook -- it is a trust I can live up to only by unfriending this particularly anti-social social network.
Maybe in doing so I'll help people remember that Facebook is not the Internet. It's just one website, and it comes with a price.A new release of mGBA, version 0.5.2, is available. This version is a bugfix release, which contains many stability and accuracy fixes. An extensive list of changes follows after the cut.
Bugfixes:
All: Fix fullscreen config option being ignored
ARM7: PSR mode bits should not get sign extended
GB: Fix audio not being deinitialized
GB: Fix crash when masking savedata
GB: Properly initialize sramRealVf variable
GB Audio: Fix serialization of channel 3 and NR52 properties
GB Audio: Reset envelope timer when reseting sound channel
GB MBC: Fix SRAM dangling pointer with RTC games
GB MBC: Fix initializing MBC when no ROM is loaded
GB Memory: Fix patching ROM bank 0
GB Memory: Fix starting HDMAs during mode 0
GB Memory: Fix HDMA5 value after DMA completes
GB Video: Initialize LCDC in renderer
GB Video: Hblank IRQs should mask LYC=LY IRQs
GBA: Fix IRQs firing after already being cleared
GBA: Only unhalt CPU if appropriate bit is set in IE
GBA: Add savegame override for Crash Bandicoot 2
GBA BIOS: Fix MidiKey2Freq BIOS reads
GBA BIOS: Fix invalid CpuSet not setting BIOS prefetch
GBA Cheats: Fix GameShark ROM patches
GBA I/O: Mask off WAITCNT bits that cannot be written
GBA Memory: Fix misaligned BIOS reads
GBA Memory: Fix VCOUNT being writable
GBA Video: Fix out of bounds sprite transforms
Libretro: Fix unterminated SET_INPUT_DESCRIPTORS
Libretro: Fix disabling BIOS
Libretro: Fix Game Boy savestates and audio
Qt: Fix changing resolution of software renderer
Qt: Fix setting overrides
Qt: Fix cut off tiles and alignment issues in tile viewer
Qt: Only reset window dimensions when first shown
Qt: Fix Qt Multimedia audio driver on big endian
Qt: Fix Apply button for key and controller configurations
VFS: Fix resizing memory chunks when not needed
Windows: Fix Unicode directory handling
Misc:
GB, GBA: Prevent loading null ROMs
GB Audio: Initialize wave RAM to GBC values
GB Memory: Reset ROM bank when loading a ROM
PSP2: Improved controller rumble
Get it now in the Downloads section. Binaries are available for Windows, Ubuntu and OS X, and the source code is available for all other platforms.But most of the storm’s victims died while attempting to drive on icy highways or shovel snow in the punishing winds. Three of those who died while shoveling were New Yorkers — men aged 67, 78 and 80 — in Queens and Staten Island, the authorities said. Two more were on Long Island, a 61-year-old man in West Hempstead and a 94-year-old man in Smithtown whose body was found next to a snow blower, the authorities said. A sixth shoveling death occurred in Maryland, where a 60-year-old man died of a heart attack on Saturday morning while removing snow outside his home, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said.
The storm slammed Washington on Friday and continued through the night amid reports of “thunder snow” — snow accompanied by thunder and lightning. As television newscasters predicted a “100 percent chance of snowball fights,” Mayor Muriel Bowser repeated a solemn plea that echoed Mr. de Blasio’s: Stay indoors, she said, warning that the storm was not over yet. With another six to 10 inches expected, streets needed to be clear for emergency vehicles, she said. But the mayor warned it was uncertain how long it would take the city to recover and services, including schools and all public transit, to resume.
The storm prevented the scheduled return of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who had been in Istanbul for meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and other officials. The vice president had planned to fly home to Washington on Saturday, but White House officials said that Air Force Two would be rerouted to Miami instead and that Mr. Biden would go on to Washington once the weather cleared. The storm also caused Gov. Chris Christie to go back to New Jersey, far from Republican voters in New Hampshire, where he had taken his presidential campaign. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, on his way home from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was also diverted, in his case to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., where he checked in to a hotel.
New York awoke to a wall of white, but by arriving on a Saturday, the storm gave the city a break. There was no rush-hour commute to contend with, and officials did not have to wrestle with whether to close schools. For many, it was a day for sledding, snowboarding and snowshoeing — or for binge-viewing whatever was on the DVR or on Netflix. The music of chains clanking on snowplows and buses provided a muffled accompaniment, the snow quieting the noise against the pavement. Most of the buses — when they were still operating — were empty, and pedestrians, realizing they had the streets to themselves, stepped off sidewalks and walked triumphantly down usually busy avenues.This amazing performance was posted on facebook by an audience, then the video went viral. People started commenting that Classical Dance has to be performed in Temples and sacred places and not in railway stations and streets.
The dancer in the video saw those comments and gave a fitting reply to awakening them towards what actually the Indian Classical Dance means and how it will make any places its performed in sacred.
Hi there! That’s me dancing. I didn’t expect at all that this short video will become so popular
I deleted my facebook account long ago so I am writing from my mother’s account. Although mostly people react positively (Thank you so much for your support :)) there were also negative comments. Seeing this whole discussion on wether it is appropriate to perform bharata natyam in the subway, and wether this white guy is demeaning Indian culture or not… probably now it’s my turn to say something. I know it’s long but I really want to say this.
Yesterday I wrote to bharata natyam guru and world famous dancer Rama Vaidyanathan who taught me this choreography. Here is what I wrote:
“…I danced in the subway and someone filmed it and posted it on facebook. Now there is a whole discussion going on on facebook- wether it is appropriate to perform this sacred art in the subway or not. For me the answer is clear.
As the padma purana says:
na aham tishthanti vaikunthe
yoginam hrudaye na cha
mad bhakta yatra gayanti
tatra tishthami naradah
o Narada i dont reside in vaikuntha
nor in the hearts of the yogi
I only reside in that place where my devotees sing and dance my praises earnestly.
and as you explained- if we put Krishna in the center of our lives then the whole world can become Vrindavan for us, and everywhere we will see Krishna… even in the subway (correct me if I am wrong) ”
And here is what she replied:
“Absolutely Alex! In fact i am very proud of you and may you learn more from me to perform and convert more spaces into Brindavana!”
I think that her reply makes all the sense. Also just because one brings something sacred out of the sanctum it doesn’t become less sacred.
I have heard many times one beautiful story of Hanuman and Lord Ramachandra in this regard. Hanuman was friends with one bhakta, who would always chant “Rama, Rama”. Always and everywhere, this bhakta would chant. One time, while passing stool, the bhakta was chanting, and
Hanuman was annoyed. He decided to kick the person. Later that day, he saw his beloved Rama. Rama was groaning in pain, holding his back. Hanuman inquired, “what has happened?” Lord Ramachandra said, “Oh, you have done this to me”. Hanuman inquired, “I???”
Lord Rama explained, “Because I am not different from my Name, when my bhakta was chanting my Name, I was personally present there. You
should not have kicked him….actually, as I was present, you have kicked me”. Always the holy Name, the rememberance of the Lord and chanting His glories is pure, never contaminated by any condition, or any place. In fact it purifies any place. There is no higher or lower method, only we have to know within our own heart if we are giving our love to Him. Yes, I agree it is a temple art. But if you place God on the altar of your heart then which place is not a temple?
And yes, I’ve got donations for this. But everything what I’ve got I will spend for learning more dance. I stayed in New York for 3 months and I danced in the subway as an exception (I also perform in theaters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=izdLdcM-KhM
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=lDdb9RNX2dA
but unfotunately nobody is interested to pay for this ). In my part of the world there is hardly anyone who is even interested in watching this art form, so I can’t earn with dancing (be it teaching or performing). So I am doing labor work which pays 4 dollars per hour ( you can calculate how much I have to work so that besides paying my bills I can save money to go to India and learn there). Now please imagine- I don’t earn anything by dancing, there is no audience who understands and wants to watch it, there are no teachers in my country, I don’t have money to pay for the classes- and still I am eager to spend whatever I have for learning, and to do so I am ready to dance in the subway if needed! How many students of dance would do something like that to take another bharata natyam class? Last time when I saw my teacher she said: “I wish my Indian students were as passionate about dance as you are”. And this comment from one’s guru is worth 1000 negative comments from anyone else.
And what kind of nonsense is this? If someone would post some alcohol or cigarette commercial, or images of sexual character nobody would say anything. Because it’s normal, now it’s part of our lives. But when someone praises God in the subway, suddenly it becomes inappropriate and offensive! Really?
Now… Who goes to see classical dance or music performances? Elderly people and other musicians and dancers! Of course the subway is not the best place where the art can be appreciated. But nevertheless there were so many people who were touched by my performance and expressed their gratitude. But they would never go to see classical dance or music performance in the theater. So maybe it was their only opportunity to encounter this beautiful art.
And if you still think that what I did is unacceptable and crazy… well, love makes us do crazy things. As Kulashekara Alvar says in his Mukunda Mala Stotra: “My mind cannot turn from Sri Krishna’s lotus feet, even for a moment. So let my dear ones and other relatives criticize me, my superiors accept or reject me as they like, the common people spread evil gossip about me, and my family’s reputation be sullied. For a madman like me, it is honor enough to feel this flood of love of Godhead, which brings such sweet emotions of attraction for my Lord.”
Thank you very much,
Your servant
Gaura Nataraj das (Aleksey Furdak)As part of the Digital Currency Council’s Continuing Education partnership with Inside Bitcoins, the DCC’s Director of Curriculum, Dan McArdle, has had the opportunity to interview the thought leaders that spoke at Inside Bitcoins Berlin on March 5-6. Today, we share insights from Flavien Charlon. Flavien is the founder of Pixode, producer of Predictious, the Bitcoin derivatives and prediction market, and Coinprism, the first colored coins web wallet.
Dan: Tell us a little about your background in Bitcoin and Digital Currencies, and how and why you got involved?
Flavien: Like most people, when I heard of Bitcoin for the first time, I dismissed it. I looked into it in more details end of 2012, when I was considering the idea of building a prediction market similar to InTrade. The more I read about it, the more fascinated I became. I built the prediction market, Predictious, and launched it in July 2013.
Dan: Why is Predictious specifically a Bitcoin-only predictions market? What advantage does Bitcoin offer?
Flavien: There are a lot of complications with accepting fiat currencies, in particular dealing with the banks. For instance, fees are quite high. Bitcoin is an open platform which is not controlled by any particular entity, and fees are practically non-existent. These are very compelling reasons to build a service like Predictious on Bitcoin.
Dan: What did you speak about at Inside Bitcoins?
Flavien: In Berlin, I gave a talk about colored coins. I founded Coinprism, which is the first web-based wallet for colored coins. Colored coins let people create their own custom assets, and use the Blockchain as a ledger for it. It is probably the simplest “Bitcoin 2.0” protocol, yet it is very powerful. The design goal is to keep it simple: do one thing, but do it well. There are some very interesting use cases around colored coins, like crowd funding, loyalty points and gold backed crypto-currencies.
Dan: What excites you the most about the long-term prospects for Bitcoin and decentralizing technologies in general?
Flavien: I think the end game is commoditized financial infrastructure. Today’s financial systems are proprietary system stacked on top of more proprietary systems. Whenever you want to accept a payment, you have to pay two or three intermediaries, which often are in a near-monopoly situation. Bitcoin can help change that by providing interoperability for consumers, merchants and financial institutions. Of course, technology is one side of the problem, but the other side is the regulations, and will probably be much harder to solve.
Dan: What worries you the most about getting there? What is the biggest challenge to success?
Flavien: On the technical side, there are a number of challenges to overcome to ensure Bitcoin stays relevant in the long run. The scalability and the transaction fees are two related problems. We want to ensure the transaction throughput of Bitcoin can scale by two or even three orders of magnitude, without causing fees to skyrocket. Also, we don’t want to increase centralization of mining in the process. I am cautiously optimistic about those issues as payment channels and lightning networks could be the solution to those problems, however, it will take at least two years before we start seeing those implemented.
Dan: How do you see the so-called “Bitcoin 2.0” space evolving? There’s been a lot of experimentation, both with bitcoin-layered approaches, as well as new blockchains. Do you see the “2.0” space developing more towards layers on top of Bitcoin, or completely new chains?
Flavien: I personally don’t believe in the long term viability of alt-coins. Liquidity attracts liquidity. That’s why I think in the future, we’ll see more and more innovation being built directly on top of Bitcoin. And sidechains are a great way to have both the Bitcoin currency and alt-coin type features. Also, I believe we’ll sooner or later observe a peak in the “Crypto 2.0” hype. We’re seeing a lot of interesting innovations, but we’re also seeing a number of applications that don’t make a lot of sense.
Dan: How can we in the Digital Currency profession help Bitcoin adoption in general? How do we educate the public and communicate the benefits to potential new users?
Flavien: Education is useful right now, but in the longer term, we want Bitcoin to be at a point where people just get it. I remember my first PC running Windows 95: it came with a 400 pages manual. On the other hand I also remember when Apple released the iPod, which didn’t have any manual |
to a particular technology and cannot be transferred to a PC or Mac, for example.
Then there is the LeapMotion, which measures the movement of an entire hand in three-dimensional space. It was launched to great fanfare and anticipation last year but has so far failed to live up to expectations.
Nguyen and Banic have instead aimed to create a cheap device that works as a universal input for more or less any computing device. And they want to make it as small and unobtrusive as possible so that it can be easily transported.
The result is the 3DTouch, a thimble-like device that sits on the end of a finger, equipped with a 3D accelerometer, a 3D magnetometer and 3D gyroscope. That allows the data from each sensor to be compared and combined to produce a far more precise estimate of orientation than a single measurement alone. In addition, the 3DTouch has an optical flow sensor that measures the movement of the device against a two-dimensional surface, exactly like that inside an ordinary mouse.
For the moment, the device is hooked up by wire to an Arduino controller which combines the data from all the sensors. The fused data is then streamed to a conventional laptop. However, Nguyen and Banic recognised the bulkiness of this set up. “This wired connection later could be replaced by a wireless solution using a pair of XBee modules,” they say.
But the ability to know its orientation in space is only one part of this device’s spec. Nguyen and Banic have also built in a number of mouse-like gestures that allow a user to interact with 3-D objects, by selecting and dragging them, for example. These gestures include a finger tap, a double tap and a press gesture. And having more than one 3DTouch on different fingers allows multitouch interaction.
Nguyen and Banic have tested their new device to measure its pointing accuracy and say that it is reasonably good. They say it’s possible to move a three-dimensional object within and 84 x 84 mm target area with a positioning error of only about 1 mm.
And they say they know what modifications could easily improve it, such as a more reliable optical sensor. Given the components used, the 3DTouch should be relatively cheap but Nguyen and Banic do not say just how much it might cost.
Overall, these folks have an interesting device on their hands that could be coming to fruition at precisely the right time. Nguyen and Banic say it will work with existing devices such as a desktop PC or a Cave Autonomous Virtual Environment.
But in recent months, a number of practical virtual reality devices have begun to emerge such as the Oculus Rift and Google cardboard. A cheap and easy way of interacting with these new virtual reality devices could turn out to be hugely useful.
It’s too early to say whether the 3DTouch will fulfil this role but there’s certainly a gap in the market.
Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1406.5581 : 3dtouch: A Wearable 3D Input Device With An Optical Sensor And A 9-DOF Inertial Measurement UnitBerkeley police investigators are trying to find the woman pictured above after linking her to an ID theft case and fraudulently purchased merchandise worth thousands of dollars, authorities report.
Police said Thursday in a prepared statement that a Berkeley woman identified the person pictured above, on Nov. 30, as someone who had “used her stolen identity to open numerous fraudulent lines of credit at businesses around the Bay Area.”
Police said the woman used the stolen identity to shop at Costco and Target in Vallejo, racking up bills tallying thousands of dollars.
Police say the woman has a “very distinctive cursive tattoo” on the left side of her neck, and brown hair, with reddish highlights, that is nearly waist-length.
During both shopping sprees, the woman was seen with the same man (pictured below). Police have described him as a person of interest.
Police are asking anyone with information to call BPD’s Property Crimes Detail at 510-981-4725.
Have a question about a local public safety incident? Write to crime@berkeleyside.com. Photographs and videos are always appreciated.
Berkeleyside publishes many articles every day. To see all our stories in chronological order, and read ones you may have missed, check out our All the News grid.Oct 10, 2015-
CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist) have signed a 14-point agreement just a day before the PM’s election on Saturday.
The pact agrees to stand against the foreign interference and safeguard the people’s sovereign power. UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Maoist Chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal signed the pact.
The agreement focuses on the blockade imposed by India upon Nepal and explores the long-term programmes and policy to move the country towards self-dependency.
The two parties have also agreed to seek a political solution to the issues raised by Madhesis, indigenous and marginalised communities.
UCPN (Maoist), RPP-N whip party lawmakers to vote Oli
UCPN (Maoist) and Rastriya Prajatantra Party- Nepal have issued whips to all their lawmakers to vote CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli during Sunday’s PM’s election.
A statement issued by UCPN (Maoist) party today asked its lawmakers for compulsory presence during tomorrow’s election. Likewise, RPP-N has also asked its lawmakers to vote Oli.
KP Sharma Oli and Sushil Koirala have filed their candidacy for the prime ministerial post. The election will be held on Sunday.
Published: 10-10-2015 18:34WASHINGTON (AP) — Government officials say Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev traveled to Russia last year and returned to the U.S. six months later.
The 26-year-old Tsarnaev died in a police shootout overnight.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they couldn't publicly talk about an investigation in progress. One says that Tsarnaev traveled out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Advertisement:
Investigators believe that Tsarneaev and his brother Dzhokhar are responsible for the deadly Boston Marathon terrorist attack. Dzhokhar is still being sought. The ethnic Chechen brothers are from Dagestan, which neighbors Chechnya in southern Russia. They lived near Boston and had been in the U.S. for about a decade, an uncle said.
One official said there are no known ties at this point to Chechen extremist groups.Skyxe Saskatoon Airport continues to collect awards.
The facility was named the best airport in North America in 2016 by Airport Council International (ACI) in the under two-million passenger category.
“After receiving the 2015 ACI award for most improved airport in North America, Skyxe has continued to focus on guests,” Stephen Maybury, president and CEO of the Saskatoon Airport Authority (SAA), said in a release.
“Along with our airport partners, we are dedicated to provide our guests with an outstanding level of service quality and are pleased to be acknowledged as the best airport in North America in 2016.”
READ MORE: Saskatoon International Airport named most improved in North America
SAA officials said they will continue to work on improving scores in key areas such as parking and value-added terminal services.
The airport was also ranked first in Canada for on-time performance for a second consecutive year.
Maybury said passengers have a stated departure time and they work hard to ensure flights leave on time.
“We work collaboratively with all our partners to facilitate efficient operations and contribute to a positive experience at our airport,” Maybury said.
On-time performance measures how often flights leave within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time.
The airport handled 1.45 million passengers in 2016, its second busiest year on record.
SAA changed the branding of the airport to Skyxe in September 2016, while the airport building is still named John G. Diefenbaker International Airport.
Officials said the new airport branding covers the operating company that runs the airport grounds and facilities.It is ironic that copyright troll M. Keith Lipscomb cries on every corner that his gang is not like Prenda, yet he consistently continues following the lead of the self-proclaimed “original copyright troll.”
In September 2013 I wrote about sanctions imposed upon Malibu and its counsel in the Eastern District of Wisconsin by Judge Conley. I did not cover a similar event in the Western District: I was busy at that time, and Judge Randa’s order was basically a reference to Conley’s ruling: even the fine was the same — $200 per case, $600 in total. That happened on 12/12/2013, almost half a year ago.
During approximately the same time frame, Prenda’s principals were sanctioned, did not pay and were found in contempt for not paying. Today I learned that Lipscomb is not eager to pay his dues either (apparently his definition of the term “cash flow” assumes only the single direction → to his wallet). And while I can understand poor Prenda stooges — quarter a million dollars is not a pocket change even for them — in Malibu’s case, not paying mere $600 is nothing more than the middle finger to the court.
P.S. Formally the sanctioned person was Lipscomb’s Illinois and Wisconsin counsel Mary K. Schulz. It seems that she fell out of favor recently: Paul Nicoletti appeared on many Illinois cases, and trolls are definitely done in Wisconsin. Lipscomb and Nicoletti continue using her ECF login (I bet they don’t even bother notifying her), but I have a feeling that she is finished as a part of the shakedown conspiracy. Imagine that our trolls decide to throw Mary under the bus (hello, Brett Gibbs!): if you look like Prenda, swim like Prenda…
Update
5/5/2014This issue came to my attention when my friend told me that she had considered online dating, but gave up when the site did not allow her to put that she was interested in both men and women. So I did a little research, looking at the LGBT-inclusivity of the fifteen most popular dating sites. Out of the fifteen sites, fourteen allowed you to express interest in someone of the same gender (only ChristianMingle did not offer same-gender dating). However, only three sites allowed you to express interest in both men and women (OKCupid, Badoo and HowAboutWe). And only OKCupid offered gender options outside of “male or female” and “man or woman”. No sites differentiated between romantic and sexual orientations.
1. Match – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals. Allows bisexual individuals to create a second profile for free after speaking to a customer service representative.
2. PlentyOfFish – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
3. Zoosk – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals. Allows bisexual individuals to create a second profile for free after speaking to a customer service representative.
4. OKCupid – Offers a wide variety of genders and orientations to choose from. By far the most LGBT-inclusive of the fifteen most popular dating sites.
5. eHarmony – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
6. Badoo – Allows you to express interest in both men and women. No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
7. ChristianMingle – No options for any LGBT individuals. The site is apparently under the impression that no Christians are gay, bi or trans.
8. OurTime – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
9. DateHookup – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
10. BlackPeopleMeet – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
11. HowAboutWe – Allows you to express interest in both men and women. No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
12. SeniorPeopleMeet – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
13. SpeedDate – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
14. Chemistry – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.
15. JDate – Forces you to choose whether you are interested in men or women (not both). No gender options for nonbinary individuals.New York City is getting rid of its toll booths, but it will be replacing them with more state troopers, more surveillance, and more government enforcement, and it's probably going to end up hurting the people who can afford it the least.
The state of New York and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are promoting a shift to a cashless toll road system for convenience, but seem to be downplaying some of the potential bad consequences (perhaps because it will serve the state).
While there's nothing inherently bad about an E-Z Pass system reducing the friction of drivers getting from place to place, Cuomo and New York are taking it up a notch. They're going to capture the license plates of everybody passing through crossings. One purpose is to send monthly bills to those who don't participate in the pass system. That still doesn't seem to be a problem, but then there's this: The license scanning isn't just for billing. It will check drivers' records, and New York will assign 150 state troopers to chase down those who have a history of not paying right then and there.
And they're jacking up penalties to get more money. Here's where it gets nasty, via the New York Daily News:
Also next month, new laws to crack down on toll violators will go into effect. One suspends the vehicle registration of drivers who beats tolls three times in five years. Another law hikes toll violation penalties to $100 from $50. There will be an increased State Police presence at the crossings, with the agency adding 150 troopers to the force in January.
So people who don't pay the toll risk losing the ability to drive their cars, a terrible, terrible way of policing this problem. Who is going to be more likely to be repeat offenders for not paying tolls and who is going to be more likely to be hurt by having their registration suspended? C.J. Ciaramella noted earlier in December how suspending driver's licenses in states places a very serious burden on low-income people.
It's very easy to imagine such a side effect here as well. And given that police will be monitoring all cars passing in real time, imagine the consequence of attempting to continue driving on these toll roads with a suspended registration. They'll be caught immediately. More fines! And possibly imprisonment. This may cost people their jobs, and therefore their incomes, and leave them trapped in a bad situation.
And there's no reason to believe that these spot checks are going to remain confined to toll checking, because they're also planning to implement facial recognition software for "tighter security." You'd have to be naïve to think that those 150 troopers are just going to be pulling drivers over for non-payment.
Read more here.BEREA, Ohio -- Third-string quarterback Brian Hoyer will start for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings in place of injured Brandon Weeden, who sprained his right thumb last week and could be sidelined for several games.
First-year coach Rob Chudzinski surprisingly decided to start Hoyer over more experienced backup Jason Campbell. Hoyer had been listed as Cleveland's third-string quarterback since training camp opened and was inactive for the first two regular-season games.
"I feel like based on our current situation -- where we're at offensively as well as getting into the game planning for Minnesota -- that Brian's strengths are the best fit for this week and that he gives us our best chance to win," Chudzinski said. "The things that he does well fit what we need. For me, it's about who gives us the best chance to win."
In a stunning move later Wednesday, the Browns traded running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round pick.
Chudzinski did not commit to giving the starting job to Weeden when he returns from injury.
"I'm going to leave all the options open," Chudzinski said. "Really, it's a matter of where he's at from a health standpoint and all that plays into it and where we're at and how guys are playing, as well."
When he was Cleveland's offensive coordinator in 2007, Chudzinski oversaw the benching of starter Charlie Frye after the opener for Derek Anderson. The change sparked the Browns, who finished 10-6.
Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas called Hoyer leap-frogging Campbell on the depth chart "unusual." Hoyer will be the 19th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999.
Weeden injured his thumb when he banged it on the helmet of teammate John Greco during the fourth quarter of Sunday's 14-6 loss to Baltimore. The second-year player will visit a hand specialist on Thursday and should get a better sense of how long he will be out.[This is part of the expanded answers to my Twitter Q&A I do every Thursday from 330-430. I will have other answers in smaller blog posts. If you like these Twitter Q&A posts, please Facebook Like so I get a sense of how useful (or fun) they are. Thanks. And please provide additional answers for people in the comments. I am sure that will be appreciated.]
IS PERSISTENCE THE KEY TO SUCCESS?
Leon Benson @LeonBenson2: Was persistence the key to you being in the position you are in now?
ANSWER:
In early 1994 I created my first website. In late 1994 I did my first corporate website. In 1995 I did my first website for money. I got $17,500 cash for a diamond wholesaler’s website. I went straight to the Chelsea Hotel and gave them the money and paid for my first room (of many) there for a year.
I couldn’t believe how rich I was with that money. Stanley Bard, the owner of the Chelsea at the time, looked at the cash and said, “what are you, a drug dealer?” And I felt like one. I was selling crack, heroin, whatever. I felt high. I was so happy. I had made more money than I had ever had in my life.
I would wander up and down the stairwells of the Chelsea Hotel hoping I would run into some drug addict who would have sex with me. That persistence never paid off fortunately.
In 1996, we finally incorporated the company doing websites for others. At the beginning of the year we had maybe two or three clients and two or three employees.
But we grew. Everyone needed a website. I was still working my fulltime job at HBO but sneaking away for meetings and then hiding my suit before I got back to my cubicle.
Finally in 1997 I had to leave HBO to do Reset fulltime. And in 1998 we sold the business.
Along the way I probably got rejected more than 200 times on sales pitches. And I messed up hiring, bribing, sales, investing, we got robbed twice, I messed up on follow-up (with J.P. Morgan, who desperately wanted us to do their website, I just dropped the ball), I messed up everything. I couldn’t get it right. But I felt like we were doing well (we kept growing every month) so I kept at it. In 1997 I tried to sell the company but nobody wanted it.
But I kept in touch with everyone and kept sending all potential suitors monthly updates. For about a year, half my job was pitching new clients and half my job was pitching potential people to buy the company.
Finally in August, 1998 the time was right and we sold the company. And, by the way, this was my third attempt at starting a company. The other two had failed.
I’ve read so many cases of authors who sold their books door to door for years until finally word of mouth spread and they became bestsellers.
John Grisham being a great example. Eckhart Tolle being another. And how many actors spent 5, 10, even 20 years as carpenters, waiters, whatevers, before they got their first big role that put them over the top.
Or Thomas Edison trying 9999 times to light a light bulb before he got it right on the 10000th attempt. Eventually a water dripping on a rock will wither away the rock.
He only thing I will add: that water is inside of you, and the rock is all the constipated excrement that has curled up in your mental intestines from years of hypnosis by corporations, the government, your friends, your family. your peers, your bosses.
You have to wither that rock away. The voice inside that constantly whispers “I can’t” needs to be silenced.
Persistence is not something you do with external goals, but it is something you do internally. It’s the fire you keep trying to start inside yourself until it grows and becomes bigger and bigger.
Then everything you touch feels your magic, your presence, your power, your persistence. It is the persistence that comes with preparation.
You do this by every day checking the box: “did I improve physically”, “did I make my life better emotionally”, “did I make my life better mentally”, “did I make my life better spiritually”.
Don’t get sucked into past failures. Don’t fantasize about future success. Just today: did you check the box. Did you ignite the fire.
Accepting that suffering is going to happen, and understanding that accepting that suffering ultimately leads to success, is the key to persistence, is the key to ultimate success.
I describe “The Daily Practice” here, which I view as the only way I was able to persist when times were so hard I felt like all I could was die in shame.
I would turn on the TV and watch the news and wish I was the person who died in the horrible bus accident or the freak lightening accident. I be jealous of the people who had the courage to jump off bridges.
How many golf balls do you have to hit before you hit a hole in one? How many serves in tennis before you score an ace? How many different girlfriend/boyfriends before you meet the one you will marry?
How many books do you have to read before you can say, “this is the best book I’ve ever read”? How many planets will we have to explore before we find another one with intelligent life?
Persistence runs through every aspect of our lives.
We do something over and over again for many reasons:
A) We learn from every attempt.
I’ve had several business successes, but several out of 20, 30, maybe even 40 attempts! Does that make me a loser to have failed so much? No, of course not. One success means you are…a success. At least I hope so.
Then I blew it and had to start from scratch but at some point you know if you can do it once, you know the trick to make it happen again. And a big part of that trick is persistence.
B) Time management.
For every attempt, you will become more and more efficient with your time. You will hire better (bad employees are the worst wastes of time), and you will learn how to pre-qualify customers better.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten on a plane, traveled a thousand miles, made my impassioned pitch, everyone loved it, and then I returned home with nothing nothing NOTHING.
It feels so bad.
Didn’t they like me? Didn’t they like my idea? Didn’t they think it was important that I flew 1000 miles to see them on their home turf! Didn’t they!? I think it takes about 20 failures to really get time management down to a science.
C) Idea execution.
Most of the time we have good ideas but have no idea how to execute it. We waste time thinking we need a lawyer to execute something (they will execute your idea, that’s for sure), or an accountant, or a partner, or a programmer, or a salesperson, or a venture capitalist, or we need to be living in Paris if we want to paint a good painting, or we need to be isolated for six months if we want to write a good novel or book.
Or we need to meditate to be “enlightened”.
Or we need to be educated to get a job.
None of these things are true. They are just excuses. All excuses are myths, are lies we tell ourselves to keep ourselves inside on a sunny day. With persistence you learn how to hunt, how to kill, how to eat.
D) BS Detection.
I was at a dinner once to hear a pitch. It was with a fund I didn’t like so I should’ve known better. They said, “just listen to this guy”.
He had a great pitch. He had a technology which would take steam coming out of factories that he would then recycle back into the factory so they would save energy and costs. He would charge only on what he saved the factory.
Then he had another pitch. Strips that he would place on the highway that would absorb the energy of the cars driving over it and feed it right into the electric grid. “One day on the Long Island Expressway and I could power New York State for a month,” he said. He had more pitches. On and on.
Finally, I was thinking to myself, “he’s going to pitch me a time machine.” The next slide…a time machine. I left the dinner. My business partner was laughing, “Did he just pitch us a time machine?” Eventually you get BS detection so you don’t even take those dinners. Much better to sleep.
E) Persistence gives you luck.
A lot of times I’m playing chess online and I’ll win and someone will say, “you got REALLY LUCKY!” as if I couldn’t within without luck.
And then we’ll play again and I’ll win again and then usually whoever said that will log off quickly without saying goodbye. There’s a saying, “only the good players are lucky”.
How do you get lucky? I’m not the best player in the world. But I’ve put in thousands of hours studying and playing. And losing. Persistence is an intimate dance with loss and through that dance you find that that failure mated with passion produces luck.
F) Calmness.
If every house you live in burns down, you begin to learn how to be calm in a fire. The more calm you are, the more lives are saved, the more possessions restored. Persistence gives you calm. Whispers what you should do in emergencies. Without persistence you won’t know to stay low and let the smoke rise over you so you can breathe.
With persistence, you learn that life is filled with change, and that the more accepting you are of the change, decay, and hardship that life is filled with, the more you will navigate them to find the treasure and wisdom that awaits that acceptance.
G) Giving up.
You also learn when you should give up on an idea. Sometimes you don’t need to persist on one idea. Sometimes an idea is just bad. But through constant trial and error you will learn when to give up and move on to the next one.
You will learn how to keep your expectations low. Low expectations improves your ability to make quick decisions that don’t rely on false myths, shame, and excuses. When you expect nothing, then suddenly you will get everything.
H) Strength.
The world is divided into two people. The ones who blame and the ones who take responsibility. It’s the latter that ignite that inner fire. That seek internal improvement in all four bodies: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual. Every single day grow the fire. Jerry Seinfeld used to say when he would write down a new comedy sketch he’d put an X down on the calendar. Finally, he would have a line of Xs. He liked looking at the Xs. He didn’t want a blank. Don’t make a blank. Every day improve those internal fires.
I) Trust.
If you know you are building that internal fire every day you will be content with what you have. You will trust that life will take care of the rest. You will never be left lacking.
You will never be left wondering, “what if?” You will know the exact moment you need to step out of the way so abundance can force its way in like a tornado. You will trust deep down that it will happen.
That’s the key to persistence: improve the internal fire every day, do The Daily Practice to ignite it, and expect absolutely nothing so you will enjoy when you inevitably get everything.Share
It used to be that the only McLaren anyone could ever dream of driving was the legendary McLaren F1 – unless you were a professional race car driver, of course. From head to tail, this car was light years ahead of its time. With its carbon fiber monocoque chassis and Formula 1-derived hardware, it redefined the way supercars were built.
This naturally aspirated, six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive car would be a benchmark of performance well into an era of technology that would make all of that seem neolithic. In 2013, McLaren changed the game again with the P1, a sports car that took a sledgehammer to the stigma of eco-friendly hybrid technology, proving it had a place in the supercar world.
Today, we’re fortunate enough that McLaren has implemented a new three-tiered product strategy that brings some of that hypercar magic down from Mount Olympus and gives us power we can wield for ourselves. This comes in the form of the 570S: the McLaren for mortals.
Brass ring
Saying a car that costs upwards of $184,900 is the entry level model stretches the term “attainable” to its limits, but this means we’re more likely to see a McLaren on the road once in a while instead of strictly in private collections. The 570S is the basis of the Sports Series in McLaren’s lineup, the other two being the Super series and the Ultimate series, which are homes to the 650S and P1 respectively. As you can imagine, power and performance go up in each category, but so does the price. This doesn’t mean the 570S feels dulled in any way, however.
Based around a carbon fiber chassis, the mid-engine 570S is clearly built for performance first and foremost. Every aspect of the body has a distinct focus on aerodynamics, from the wide grinning maw in front that scoops air to the flying buttresses that channel it over the roof to the flat underbelly and substantial rear diffuser. Every molded curve is beautiful in its functionality, and like the geometry of a flapping bird’s wing, each translates motion into force.
Whether consciously recognizing these aspects or not, from the sleek curves to the batwing-like doors, the 570S undeniably grabs attention. But underneath all this seemingly alien architecture beats the heart of a very terrestrial race car. A 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 sits behind the driver’s head, able to churn up 562 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque.
There’s no “quiet” mode on the 570S, so even in its most docile state, its engine rumble lays waste to any potential hopes at subtlety. If passers by miss the looks, they’ll sure hear the sound. As far as available drive modes, the McLaren has two knobs in the center console that let drivers configure the powertrain and handling independently. Each can be set to Normal, Sport, or Track, depending on how harrowing an experience you desire. You can also leave it up to the car to decide as well, and you can switch to full manual paddle shifting in either case.
If the engine sounds captivatingly ominous in idle, it more than satisfies when put to work. Flicking the drivetrain dial to Track, the digital dashboard switches to a Formula 1-style display, complete with a series of lights indicating proper shift points. What’s seen by the eyes is supported by the ears, especially high in the rev band as the whine of the power plant does its best impression of its Honda-sourced turbo V6 Formula 1 cousin.
Demigod
In fact, the F1 underpinnings of this car can’t go unnoticed, warts and all. For better or for worse, it feels very much like a road car built by a race car company. When driven with some enthusiasm, this mixes up a beautiful cocktail of feel-good endorphins that run up your spine and bathe your brain in happiness, fear, and excitement all at once.
Power fires to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch, which does fine when left alone but truly sells the experience when each gear is manually flicked through. McLaren says the 570S can sprint from 0 to 60 in 3.1 seconds, and I wholeheartedly believe that. Punching it in the 570S is breathtaking, matched only by how well it handles through the bends. If all that power is the perfectly cooked rib eye, it’s complemented with a heaping serving of grip.
Alex Kalogiannis/Digital Trends
Shoed with a set of Pirelli P Zero Corsas by default, the ride is all about performance from the ground up, no matter how “refined” McLaren states it can be. Along with dual wishbones in the front and rear, the system uses adaptive dampers with front and rear anti-rollbars that provide very precise rebounds over bumps. And a twist of a dial determines if the 570S goes from rigid to really, really rigid depending on what conditions you might face.
Further making sure the 570S’s shiny side stays up is a Bosch-developed ESC (Electronic Stability Control) that can be passive or completely turned off by the brave or foolhardy. McLaren wrote the book on torque vectoring, so it goes without saying that the 570S has a brake steer system in play, which applies force to the wheels on the inside of a turn, pulling the car into the bend like the event horizon of a black hole.
2016 McLaren 570S Coupe Compared To
Getting the 570S to go around turns is easy; getting it to stop is another matter. With my heart in my throat through all the back roads I carved during my test runs, I had to remind myself that the carbon ceramic disc brakes really needed me to stand on them during speed adjustments — and on some hard halts, the threat of squirrelliness was ever present.
Down to earth
It certainly drives like a race car, but unfortunately it cruises like one, too. When at a standstill, the high-performance engine gasps for air, kicking on fans that almost drown out its throaty rumble as they desperately try to maintain flow.
Even in its most docile state, its engine rumble lays waste to any screed of potential subtlety.
Furthermore, While the interior looks as clean and elegant as the outside, it doesn’t retain the same level of functionality. Driving position and visibility are excellent, there’s no question about that, but prepare to suffer the indignities that supercardom brings as a tradeoff for performance. Storage space throughout is minimum, and until the 570GT hits lots, you can carry more onto a commercial flight than you can fit in the 570S Coupe.
Everything is very stylish and streamlined, but much of the functionality is hidden away to accomplish this. As such, simple things that other supercar manufacturers have sorted out are hidden in menus or controlled through strange sequences in unintuitive interfaces. Raising or lowering the front end, for example, is a frustrating sparring match with a stalk tied into the TFT LCD instrument cluster.
In contrast to everything fast about this car, the seven-inch IRIS touch screen is the slowest thing about it. If you can figure out how to enter an address, the navigation is slow to update, as well as any touch inputs. This doesn’t help things on the move, especially due to the lack of hard buttons, save for some hard-key shortcuts to certain menus. It’s a very cool looking interface with awesome graphics, but it’s sub-standard to mainstream in-car tech.
Conclusion
The DT Accessory Pack
McLaren’s Sport Series coupe prices itself in line with other sports cars like the Audi R8 V10 Plus and Lamborghini Huracán 580-2, both in the ballpark of $190,000 and $205,000 respectably. Each of these offer stunning performance experiences in their own rights, but manage to equally handle the daily-comfort side of things as well, particularly the Audi.
Still, we’re asking practical questions about a vehicle bred first and foremost for passion. The elegance of the exterior may thinly veil the raw machine underneath, but the visceral experience behind the wheel betrays it completely.
After all, if Prometheus handed you fire from the gods, would you even care if you got burned?Which team is going to win the World Series in 2015?
2015 MLB PREDICTIONS ESPN formed a panel of writers, analysts and contributors to give their team and award predictions for the 2015 MLB season.
We recently polled 88 ESPN experts for their team predictions (division winners, League Championship Series winners and World Series winner) for the upcoming season.
The Washington Nationals led the way as our pick to win the World Series, receiving 42 percent (37 of the 88 votes) of the vote from our panel of experts. The Los Angeles Dodgers came in second, getting 19 percent (17 votes) of the vote.
In the American League East, the Boston Red Sox came out on top by receiving 36 votes followed by the Baltimore Orioles (30), Toronto Blue Jays (17), New York Yankees (4) and Tampa Bay Rays (1).
In the AL Central, the Cleveland Indians topped the list by getting 43 votes followed by the Detroit Tigers (25), Chicago White Sox (17) and Kansas City Royals (3).
In the AL West, the Seattle Mariners received the most votes (54) followed by the Los Angeles Angels (28) and Oakland Athletics (6).
In the National League East, the Nationals were the overwhelming winners (85 votes) followed by the Miami Marlins (2) and New York Mets (1).
In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals topped the list by getting 48 votes followed by the Pittsburgh Pirates (33), Chicago Cubs (6) and Milwaukee Brewers (1).
In the NL West, the Dodgers were the runaway winners by receiving 85 votes followed by the San Diego Padres (3).
Below are 15 of our experts' picks for '15:
Division Winners NAME AL East AL Central AL West NL East NL Central NL West Aaron
Boone Jim
Bowden Jim |
. The structure can always be implemented using one multiplication per independent coefficient and input sample.
The number of multiplications has been reduced from 10 to 6. And if the center tap can be fixed to 1, as is common, it improves from 9 to 5, which is even better.
Conclusion
This article shows a polyphase FIR interpolator for symmetric impulse responses that uses fewer multiplications than the textbook'single-delay-line' implementation, in the example only two per output sample.
Does it make sense? Possibly "yes", justified by the application-dependent cost of multiplications.
In real life, "cost" is rarely as straightforward, but it may be worth having a look at.
For example, [1] (Fig 2.4) shows an application where a "non-canonical" polyphase structure can be beneficial.
Possible savings differ, depending on interpolation factor and filter length.
Matlab demo
The Matlab / Octave example calculates the filter response using the three methods outlined in this article.
The resulting plot (Fig. 4) shows the output, three identical and thus overlapping traces.
Figure 4: Matlab output
References
[1] Improved multirate polyphase-based interpolationWhen the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles lost ace Hisashi Iwakuma to the major leagues in 2011, they had another, Masahiro Tanaka, waiting in the wings.
The No. 1 slot in the Eagles rotation hardly missed a beat, with Tanaka going 34-4 with a 1.54 ERA in the ensuing two seasons.
Tanaka is widely expected to follow Iwakuma to the majors sometime this winter, again leaving the Eagles bereft of their top pitcher, and the next name in the Rakuten pipeline is Takahiro Norimoto.
The Eagles will have some decent arms returning next season, and add draft-day darling Yuki Matsui, the highly coveted left-hander from Toko Gakuen High School, who’ll be making his transition to life on a pro mound. Even so, Norimoto figures to be the headliner when the Eagles break camp next spring and No. 18 isn’t among them.
Norimoto seems to have the right stuff to take on the challenge. He was 15-5 with a 3.34 ERA as a rookie this season, and so far has allowed three runs over 17 innings during the playoffs.
“He reminds me a lot of Tanaka,” said Eagles pitcher Brandon Duckworth. “He’s very mentally strong. He goes out there and he’s aggressive, and it doesn’t matter who you are, he just looks forward to beating you. That’s what’s made him so successful this year. He has tremendous stuff, and he doesn’t give in.
“You see a lot of similarities between the two. Obviously, Tanaka is more seasoned.”
He looked the part on Saturday night in Game 1 of the Japan Series. On the mound at home for the franchise’s first-ever contest in the title series, Norimoto struck out 10 and allowed just a pair of runs in a valiant eight-inning effort against the Yomiuri Giants. He joined former Giants left-hander Hisanori Takahashi as the only rookies to strike out at least 10 in a Japan Series game.
“I wanted to be able to pitch on this stage,” Norimoto said afterward.
The rookie relied heavily on his forkball, and lived in the high 140s with his fastball, dialing it up to 150 to get the whiff on Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe on one occasion, and pulled out a curve ball at a few opportune times to keep the Kyojin guessing. An error helped lead to the first run he allowed and a misplaced fastball resulted in the second.
“He was great,” Eagles manager Senichi Hoshino opined afterward. “He pitched very well.”
That’s the type of pitching the Eagles will need if they hope to keep the ace-train moving the way it did after Iwakuma’s departure.
Make no mistake, if Norimoto is indeed the face of the pitching staff going forward, there will be hurdles to overcome. He’ll have to deal with the distractions that come with stardom, and the pressure of maintaining the level Eagles fans have come to expect out of their top pitcher given how solid Iwakuma was and the sheer level of dominance Tanaka has shown, especially during a 24-0 campaign this year.
The good thing for Rakuten fans is he impressed the team from the first day of spring training, and many see no reason he can’t keep moving forward.
“We said that right from the start of spring training when he came in and pitched,” Duckworth said. “He pitched a little bit different than most of the others.
“I think that’s the big key. He was going right after guys. Didn’t matter if it was Casey (McGehee) or AJ (Andruw Jones). Didn’t matter. It was ‘you know what, here. I’m going to see if you can beat me with this.’ That kind of separated him right out of the chute in spring training.
He’s just continued to improve and stuff like that. I tip my hat to him. He’s had a tremendous year, and he’s going to have a bright future.”Product Security Advisory – PSA0002 – dnaLIMS
Shorebreak Security Product Security Advisory
Software dnaLIMS Vendor dnaTools (http://www.dnatools.com/) Version Tested Version 4-2015s13 Vulnerability Type Multiple vulnerabilities Severity Critical CERT/CC VU# 929263 Date Discovered Nov 6, 2016 Date Disclosed Mar 8, 2017
Summary
Shorebreak Security penetration testers discovered seven serious vulnerabilities in the dnaLIMS web application during the course of a blackbox penetration test for a customer. This was by no means a comprehensive review of the web application, and it should be assumed that many other vulnerabilities exist in the application.
Shorebreak notified the vendor, who appears to have no interest in fixing his flawed software that is in use on the Internet at several other organizations.
Our recommendation is to isolate this web application as much as possible to reduce the exposure – most definitely remove it from the Internet.
Impact
An unauthenticated attacker has the ability to execute system commands in the context of the web server process, hijack active user sessions, retrieve system files (including the plaintext password file), and inject untrusted html or JavaScript into the dnaLIMS application. An attacker could use these vulnerabilities together in order to gain control of the application as well as the operating system hosting the dnaLIMS software. If this software is being hosted publicly or in a DMZ this could act as a pivot point to launch further attacks or move laterally into trusted network(s).
Vulnerabilities
Seven individual vulnerabilities were identified. The following is a technical description of each individual vulnerability.
1) Improperly Protected Web Shell [CVE-2017-6526]
dnaLIMS requires authentication to view cgi-bin/dna/sysAdmin.cgi, which is a web shell included with the software running as the web user. However, sending a POST request to that page bypasses authentication checks, including the UID parameter within the POST request. This finding requires urgent attention as it is possible for any attacker on the internet to remotely control the server with only a trivial amount of web traffic.
A Metasploit module has been developed to exploit this vulnerability.
2) Unauthenticated Directory Traversal [CVE-2017-6527]
The viewAppletFsa.cgi seqID parameter is vulnerable to a null terminated directory traversal attack. This allows an unauthenticated attacker to retrieve files on the operating system accessible by the permissions of the web server. This page also does not require authentication, allowing any person on the Internet to exploit this vulnerability.
A Metasploit module has been developed to exploit this vulnerability.
Additional Information
For more information about this type of issue, please visit the following URLs:
3) Insecure Password Storage [CVE-2017-6528]
An option, which is most likely the default, allows the password file (/home/dna/spool/.pfile) to store clear text passwords. When combined with the unauthenticated directory traversal vulnerability, it is possible to gain the username and password for all users of the software and gain complete control of the software.
A more secure option, which was not tested, allows for the hashing of passwords, which we believe uses an insecure MD5 algorithm. If true, this option should be upgraded to PBKDF2 or stronger (bcrypt or Argon2).
Additional Information
For more information about this type of issue, please visit the following URLs
4) Session Hijacking [CVE-2017-6529]
Each user of the dnaLIMS software is assigned a unique four-digit user identification number(UID) upon account creation. These numbers appear to be assigned sequentially. Multiple pages of the dnaLIMS application require that this UID be passed as a URL parameter in order to view the content of the page. Consider the following example:
The URL ‘http://<SERVER NAME REDACTED>/cgi-bin/dna/seqreq2N.cgi?username=61685578,2410’ is a valid URL to view the page for sequencing requests for the user with the UID of 2410.
The username parameter of the URL is the mechanism for authentication to the system. The first eight-digit number of the username parameter appears to be a session identifier as it changes every time the user logs in from the password.cgi page, however this value is not checked by the seqreq2N.cgi page. This allows an attacker to guess the four-digit UID of valid user accounts that have an active session. The user with the UID of 2419 currently has an active session, so we can simply hijack this user’s session by requesting this page and specifying the UID 2419.
This allows an attacker to guess UID’s and hijack active user sessions.
Additional Information
For more information about this type of issue, please visit the following URLs:
5) Cross-Site Scripting
The seqID parameter of the viewAppletFsa.cgi page is vulnerable to a reflected cross site scripting attack via GET request as seen in the URL, in the example below.
Additional Information
For more information about this type of issue, please visit the following URLs:
6) Cross-Site Scripting
The navUserName parameter of the seqTable*.cgi page is vulnerable to a reflected cross site scripting attack via POST request as seen in the example below. The * reflects a short name for a client, (ie Shorebreak Security may be seqTableSS.cgi or seqTableshorebreak.cgi) and may not be vulnerable for all dnaLIMS installs.
Additional Information
For more information about this type of issue, please visit the following URLs:
7) Improperly Protected Content
Many of the pages within the admin interface are not properly protected from viewing by authenticated users. This can give an attacker additional system information about the system, or change system/software configuration.
Software was conducted on a live production system, therefore the pages themselves were tested, forms within these pages were not.
This is also not an exhaustive list of improperly protected pages:
cgi-bin/dna/configuration.cgi
cgi-bin/dna/createCoInfo.cgi
cgi-bin/dna/configSystem.cgi
cgi-bin/dna/combineAcctsN.cgi
Risk Mitigation
To reduce the exposure, encourage customers to restrict access to the device from authorized hosts only.
Vendor Fix
Properly protect all administrative pages to only those with administrative privileges
Implement a proper authentication mechanism that uses cookies with session IDs per OWASP guidance: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Session_Management_Cheat_Sheet
Cross site scripting and directory traversal attacks are due to insufficient input validation. User content should be properly escaped to prevent abuse of functionality or attacks against clients per the OWASP XSS prevention cheat sheet: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/XSS_(Cross_Site_Scripting)_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet
Cryptographic functionality should utilize strong algorithms per the OWASPguidance: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Cryptographic_Storage_Cheat_Sheet#Secure_Cryptographic_Storage_Design
Disclosure Timeline
Shorebreak Security follows the CERT/CC policy on disclosing to the public the existence of vulnerabilities 45 days after being reported to the CERT/CC or vendor. Similar to the CERT/CC, Shorebreak Security may adjust the publication schedule based on the circumstances of the vulnerabilities being disclosed.
Thu, Nov 10, 2016 at 4:25 PM: Reached out to vendor requesting PGP key to securely exchange details of vulnerabilities identified
Thu, Nov 10, 2016 at 4:55 PM: Vendor requests report be physically mailed to PO box via Postal Service
Wed, Nov 16, 2016, at 11:14 AM: Report mailed to vendor via USPS Certified Mail
Thu, Dec 8, 2016, at 10:43 AM: Request Vendor acknowledge receipt of the report
Thu, Dec 8, 2016, at 12:53 PM: Vendor acknowledges receipt; suggests placing the software behind a firewall as a solution to the vulnerabilities.
Thu, Dec 8, 2016, at 1:54 PM: Reply that the offered solution mitigates some risk, but does not address the vulnerabilities; inquire if there is a plan to address the vulnerabilities
Thu, Dec 8, 2016, at 3:13 PM: Vendor replies “…Yes, we have a plan. Please gather a DNA sequence, PO Number, or Fund Number and go to your local grocery store and see what it will buy you.”
Tue, Feb 28, 2017, at 1:15 PM: Vulnerabilities disclosed to CERT/CC
Tue, Mar 7, 2017, at 8:19 AM: Vulnerabilities submitted to MITRE for CVE assignment
Wed, Mar 8, 2017, at 12:00 PM: Vulnerabilities disclosed publicly
Credit:
Mike Cyr (h00die) and Nicholas von Pechmann of Shorebreak Security discovered these issues.
Questions – [email protected]One of my favorite parts of writing Study Hall was talking to coaches about the art of finishing drives. Everybody agreed that moving the ball near the goal line is different than moving the ball with 80 yards in front of you, but nobody attacked it in the same way.
Okay, so finishing drives matters. How do coaches coach that? The answer varies dramatically. Take Bob Stitt and Sonny Dykes. In terms of general offensive philosophy, the two are generally considered rather similar. Stitt, the head coach at Division II’s Colorado School of Mines, has crafted a funky, unique, underdog-friendly spread offense, mostly out of necessity. Because of rigorous academic standards, the Orediggers are rather overmatched physically; but in 13 seasons, Stitt has gone 90-57, 69-41 in the RMAC, thanks mostly to an explosive offense that combines the West Coast principles he learned as a graduate assistant at Northern Colorado with spread formations he built through experimentation. His teams throw a lot – 57.5 times per game in 2012 – but they also take major pride in being able to punch the ball into the end zone when they get the chance. "We practice red zone situations three times per week," Stitt says. While the conventional wisdom is that a pass-first team is going to struggle near the end zone because the field shrinks and defenders don’t have to worry about getting stretched vertically, Stitt thinks the opposite. "Simply being a run-first team does not mean being a good red zone team," Stitt says. "I was watching Georgia Southern play North Dakota State [in the 2012 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) semifinals], and Georgia Southern’s percentage of touchdowns was really, really low. And they run the heck out of the ball, they’re fantastic running the ball with the option. But once they get close to the goal line, it’s really tough on them. Defenses don’t have to fear play-action. You have to be a good passing team to score touchdowns in the red zone."
Fisher DeBerry loved running his option because he didn't have to change his play-calling near the goal line. Todd Berry takes shots toward the end zone from the 30 because things bog down closer in. Bob Stitt passes a lot but also brings in DTs at fullback. Everybody has a different philosophy, which makes it a really fun topic.
It's also a very useful topic, obviously. It can decide games.
Football basically boils down to creating opportunities and converting them. You create opportunities based on where you start your drives (field position) and how well you move the ball (efficiency and explosiveness); that's a significant part of the equation. FBS teams created between 3.0 (Miami-OH) and 9.7 (Baylor) scoring opportunities (i.e. trips inside the 40) in 2013. They created scoring opportunities on between 23.5 percent (Miami-OH again) and 67.0 percent (Florida State) of their drives. You can overpower a team by simply creating more opportunities than they can either thwart or create themselves.
Nearly half of the teams in FBS, however, hovered between 44 and 54 percent when it comes to creating scoring opportunities. Eighty-nine hovered between 39 and 59 percent. A good portion of the time, you're going to create roughly the same number of opportunities as your opponent; how you convert those opportunities will probably make the difference in whether you win or lose.
FBS teams averaged about 4.24 points per scoring opportunity in 2013. The range skews a lot lower (minimum: FIU's 2.36) than high (maximum: Ohio State's 5.58), and the median is 4.28.
The point of these posts is to determine what components go into each of the five factors I've been working with so we can strip them apart and make them as independent of each other as possible. So let's do that now with the topic of the day, finishing drives.
The components
The go-tos: Success Rate and IsoPPP
IsoPPP is a new discovery -- I latched onto it during my second Five Factors post, and I've basically bought the car after a pretty short test drive. It makes me a bit uneasy to do that, but... well, I really like this measure, and I like the simplicity it adds to the discussion when paired with Success Rate. It basically boils football down to "How often are you successful?" and "When you're successful, how successful are you?"
Regardless, at this time Success Rate is my go-to efficiency measure, and IsoPPP is my go-to explosiveness measure. That could change.
For reasons I've mentioned before, my go-to stat for finishing drives is your average points per trip inside the opponent's 40. The correlation between this average and a team's overall Success Rate is 0.813 on offense and 0.628 on defense. The correlations for Points Per Trip and IsoPPP are 0.451 on offense and 0.529 on defense.
Good red zone offenses tend to also be good offenses. Go figure. But there's a bit more to it than that.
Redzone success rate
If moving the ball near the goal line is indeed a different skill, then teams' success rates in the red zone -- which I've always defined as inside the 25 in my stats, both because it makes more sense (overtime possessions start at the 25, therefore...) and because I apparently like being difficult and anti-social from time to time -- should differ at least a little bit from their overall success rates. Sure enough, quite a few teams see pretty drastic differences.
Better near the goal line : Georgia Tech (59.8% red zone success rate, 46.0% overall), North Texas (55.5% red, 44.5% overall), Army (54.8% red, 45.2% overall), Texas State (49.2% red, 39.6% overall).
That Georgia Tech, Army, Air Force, and Navy, all big-time option teams, were all more efficient in the red zone than overall suggests that Fisher DeBerry's "the option's great for this" theory checks out. Other zone-read teams like Texas State, Rice, Ohio State, and FAU ranked pretty high in this regard as well.
Worse near the goal line : Florida (31.8% red, 38.5% overall), Idaho (31.9% red, 37.6% overall), Clemson (43.9% red, 49.2% overall), Notre Dame (38.9% red, 44.2% overall), BYU (36.7% red, 41.9% overall).
There are no major similarities among the teams at the bottom when it comes to offensive identity, but the bottom line is that Red Zone Success Rate appears to be a distinct enough measure that we will use it alongside Success Rate and IsoPPP. Its correlations to Points Per Trip: 0.799 on offense, 0.689 on defense.
(And yes, that means plays in the red zone will be counted twice -- in both the overall and red zone-only piles. So be it. If that becomes a problem, I can change it, but for now I have no problem with it.)
Field goal efficiency
As I did with the special teams portion in the Field Position discussion, I'm using Brian Fremeau's special teams efficiency ratings for anything related to special teams
I still say field goals are failures -- or at least, field goals are an admission that you've already failed and you have to salvage points -- but three points are still better than zero. Your ability to consistently salvage three points after a stalled scoring opportunity matters. But compared to the other factors, it has an minor correlation to Points Per Trip: 0.133 on offense, 0.079 on defense. Your ability to score or prevent seven points trumps the salvaging of the three points, but this is still another unique factor that will play a role in the equation.
The result
Using these four measures -- Success Rate, IsoPPP, Red Zone Success Rate, and FG Efficiency -- I started tinkering. I'm just knowledgable enough to be dangerous when it comes to polynomials in Excel, and using 2013 data only, I was able to craft pretty strong projections for Points Per Trip by crafting an individual projection for each measure (projecting Points Per Trip by using only Success Rate, only IsoPPP, etc.) and using these weights:
Offense : 28% Red Zone Success Rate, 25% IsoPPP, 20% Success Rate, 27% FG Efficiency. This wasn't the weighting I expected, but it produced a correlation of 0.906 between projected and actual points per trip.
: 28% Red Zone Success Rate, 25% IsoPPP, 20% Success Rate, 27% FG Efficiency. This wasn't the weighting I expected, but it produced a correlation of 0.906 between projected and actual points per trip. Defense: 34% IsoPPP, 26% Red Zone Success Rate, 23% Opponents' FG Efficiency, 17% Success Rate. Correlation between projected and actual: 0.858.
In graph form, here's how the projected and actual averages match up.
You see some leakiness at the bottom there, where a small handful of (really bad) teams were quite a bit worse than projected, but sans an outlier here or there, this matches up quite well.
Again, there's some leakiness on the bad end of the scale, but it goes in the opposite direction this time -- certain teams were projected much worse than they actually were.
If you look at the original correlation coefficients, the weights I applied are a little bit of a surprise. IsoPPP has a weaker correlation to points per trip than Success Rate, but it has a stronger weight; meanwhile, field goals had a tiny correlation but a weight nearly equal to (or higher than) other measures. To me, the biggest reason for this is uniqueness. Using both Success Rate and Red Zone Success Rate is redundant but, in my mind, necessary; in the end, one form or another of success rate makes up 48 percent of the offensive formula and 43 percent of the defensive formula, so it's still the primary factor.
The importance of explosiveness is interesting. Basically, the magnitude of your big plays is a huge factor in your ability to finish drives -- are you breaking a 20-yard run to your opponent's 30, or are you taking that play 50 yards to the house? Defenses play bend-don't-break for a reason: every extra play you have to run on offense is an extra opportunity to fail. The teams with the biggest big plays derive a scoring advantage here.
I found it interesting that, while the approximate weighting for Success Rate, Red Zone Success Rate, and FG Efficiency were pretty similar in terms of offense versus defense, the explosiveness measure, IsoPPP, matters much more on the defensive side of the ball. I'm not exactly sure what to conclude from that -- it could potentially mean that red zone execution differs from offense to offense more than defense to defense, and that the best red zone defense is simply stopping big plays from getting too big. Or it could mean nothing at all.
Limitations
There are still some factors here that my use of four categories doesn't cover.
Turnovers. Notre Dame fans probably still remember the 2011 Irish and their strangely impressive ability to turn the ball over in the end zone. Turnovers play a role elsewhere in the Five Factors discussion, and at some point I could look into red zone turnovers, but I am foregoing that thought for now. Still, a team particularly prone to errors like this near the end zone could end up with their projections at odds with reality.
You don't really control opponents' field goals. Sure, you can block some, but no team blocks so many that it's going to have a major impact. Brian Fremeau doesn't factor Opponents FG Efficiency into his special teams ratings, and for good reason -- it's quite random.
Inconsistent definitions. As you may have noticed above, I use Points Per Trip Inside the 40 for my go-to measure of scoring opportunities, but my Red Zone Success Rate measure counts plays inside the 25. Again, I'm using that because that's what I've always used, and because changing nine years' worth of spreadsheets to account for a new definition is a pain in the ass. If this pursuit turns out worthwhile -- and I kind of assume it will -- I will change my red zone definition accordingly.
The data
It's time for a data dump! Below are the major offensive and defensive components I referenced above: success rates, IsoPPP, FG efficiency, and both projected and actual points per trip.
There are still some outliers here and there, but again, I'm pretty excited about how this came together.
Rk Offense Points per trip Success Rt. IsoPPP Red Zone Success Rt. FG Eff. Proj. Pts/Trip Diff 1 Ohio State 5.58 53.8% 1.20 61.7% 0.399 5.29 0.29 2 Florida State 5.52 54.5% 1.39 56.0% 0.687 5.47 0.05 3 Auburn 5.11 49.8% 1.23 50.2% 0.182 4.97 0.14 4 Marshall 5.09 46.7% 1.16 48.6% -0.330 4.66 0.43 5 Colorado State 5.05 44.9% 1.18 49.5% 0.511 4.78 0.27 6 Wyoming 5.03 43.2% 1.22 49.0% -0.089 4.64 0.39 7 LSU 4.99 46.8% 1.33 46.6% 0.709 4.94 0.05 8 South Carolina 4.99 46.4% 1.22 49.5% 0.288 4.85 0.14 9 Navy 4.99 50.2% 1.00 56.2% -0.074 4.71 0.28 10 Oregon 4.98 51.1% 1.38 46.4% -0.235 4.93 0.05 11 Texas A&M 4.96 55.5% 1.23 60.0% 0.372 5.34 -0.38 12 UL-Lafayette 4.94 46.5% 1.16 49.4% -0.463 4.67 0.27 13 Indiana 4.93 45.0% 1.36 45.1% 0.079 4.69 0.24 14 Baylor 4.91 47.1% 1.39 49.8% -0.176 4.96 -0.04 15 Georgia Tech 4.90 46.0% 1.10 59.8% 0.089 4.85 0.05 16 New Mexico 4.89 44.9% 1.26 49.6% -0.294 4.76 0.13 17 East Carolina 4.88 49.0% 1.10 49.6% -0.389 4.67 0.22 18 Washington 4.84 45.3% 1.15 50.2% 0.671 4.80 0.04 19 Boston College 4.82 38.0% 1.34 39.6% 0.844 4.20 0.62 20 Louisville 4.79 50.6% 1.16 46.6% 0.086 4.74 0.05 21 UCLA 4.79 44.4% 1.19 49.0% -0.056 4.66 0.13 22 Nebraska 4.78 45.1% 1.06 49.7% 0.610 4.60 0.17 23 Fresno State 4.77 48.6% 1.20 52.0% -0.153 4.91 -0.14 24 Georgia 4.76 46.2% 1.26 47.8% 0.671 4.90 -0.14 25 Ball State 4.74 50.5% 1.18 46.8% 0.351 4.83 -0.09 Rk Offense Points per trip Success Rt. IsoPPP Red Zone Success Rt. FG Eff. Proj. Pts/Trip Diff 26 Alabama 4.73 51.1% 1.26 55.4% -0.352 5.12 -0.39 27 Clemson 4.73 49.2% 1.23 43.9% 0.374 4.71 0.02 28 Bowling Green 4.72 49.7% 1.18 47.5% 0.265 4.82 -0.10 29 Arizona State 4.71 45.7% 1.21 45.5% 0.220 4.63 0.09 30 Troy 4.70 44.1% 1.23 47.9% 0.003 4.66 0.04 31 Oklahoma State 4.69 45.5% 1.17 50.8% -0.773 4.68 0.01 32 Army 4.68 45.2% 1.01 54.8% 0.119 4.56 0.12 33 San Jose State 4.67 46.6% 1.23 44.4% 0.315 4.64 0.03 34 Northern Illinois 4.66 49.5% 1.17 52.8% -0.298 4.90 -0.24 35 Arizona 4.65 46.6% 1.04 46.5% -0.172 4.36 0.29 36 Missouri 4.65 45.8% 1.26 48.3% -0.032 4.78 -0.13 37 Central Florida 4.64 49.3% 1.23 47.3% 0.507 4.91 -0.27 38 North Carolina 4.64 44.9% 1.13 46.5% -0.526 4.43 0.21 39 Pittsburgh 4.63 43.7% 1.09 44.9% 0.115 4.30 0.33 40 Vanderbilt 4.62 43.0% 1.01 50.5% 0.352 4.37 0.25 41 Air Force 4.60 46.5% 0.98 54.7% 0.711 4.65 -0.05 42 Michigan 4.59 41.3% 1.21 46.0% 0.099 4.44 0.14 43 Duke 4.58 45.2% 1.12 52.9% 0.137 4.74 -0.16 44 Rice 4.53 41.1% 1.13 49.7% 0.288 4.50 0.04 44 Kansas State 4.53 48.2% 1.23 48.2% 0.156 4.85 -0.31 46 UNLV 4.48 44.9% 1.10 44.3% -0.806 4.28 0.20 47 Utah 4.45 36.9% 1.26 38.3% 0.521 3.91 0.54 48 Toledo 4.43 49.0% 1.08 48.2% 0.786 4.77 -0.34 49 Boise State 4.43 46.4% 1.16 47.4% 0.378 4.69 -0.27 50 Texas Tech 4.43 45.1% 1.16 40.7% 0.183 4.28 0.15 Rk Offense Points per trip Success Rt. IsoPPP Red Zone Success Rt. FG Eff. Proj. Pts/Trip Diff 51 Florida Atlantic 4.42 39.8% 1.10 47.5% -0.193 4.22 0.21 52 Nevada 4.41 43.9% 1.06 45.0% 0.274 4.29 0.12 53 Buffalo 4.40 42.2% 1.06 47.4% 0.131 4.30 0.10 54 UTSA 4.38 45.6% 1.12 47.8% -0.504 4.50 -0.12 55 Temple 4.38 45.8% 1.12 53.3% -1.375 4.72 -0.34 56 Texas State 4.37 39.6% 1.09 49.2% 0.043 4.29 0.08 57 Arkansas State 4.34 43.7% 1.06 45.4% 0.320 4.30 0.04 58 Illinois 4.32 45.9% 1.17 43.3% -0.098 4.43 -0.11 59 Michigan State 4.31 41.6% 1.08 44.3% 0.363 4.21 0.09 60 Iowa State 4.30 38.8% 1.05 45.3% -0.139 3.98 0.33 61 Washington State 4.30 41.5% 1.18 44.4% 0.418 4.39 -0.09 62 Oklahoma 4.29 42.7% 1.15 38.0% 0.537 4.05 0.24 63 Wisconsin 4.28 48.0% 1.25 46.6% -0.127 4.76 -0.47 64 Utah State 4.28 39.4% 1.15 43.3% 0.003 4.11 0.17 65 Miami-FL 4.27 44.5% 1.38 41.2% 0.068 4.48 -0.21 66 Cincinnati 4.26 47.5% 1.09 44.1% -1.286 4.36 -0.11 66 Oregon State 4.26 45.1% 1.22 45.6% 0.041 4.59 -0.34 68 Stanford 4.26 44.7% 1.21 41.2% -0.089 4.32 -0.07 69 New Mexico State 4.23 40.7% 1.10 45.9% 0.331 4.27 -0.04 70 Middle Tennessee 4.23 42.6% 1.11 41.9% -0.028 4.13 0.11 71 Minnesota 4.22 40.9% 1.08 48.5% 0.247 4.33 -0.11 72 USC 4.22 41.1% 1.22 45.6% -0.091 4.40 -0.19 73 South Alabama 4.21 43.7% 1.21 39.8% 0.300 4.25 -0.04 74 Texas 4.20 39.4% 1.11 37.9% 0.624 3.84 0.36 |
more with me. I spent a lot of time with Arnold while he was in jail. He was in jail for almost a year awaiting this trial. I did a lot of the legwork and the investigating work and that kind of thing. It was really interesting and fascinating for me as a young lawyer to have that experience.
Advertisement
Why did the case get thrown out?
There was a four-year period between the time of the attacks and the time of the confession. There wasn’t a lot in the confession that hadn’t been published in the newspaper. Now, the prosecution, and particularly the police officers who took the confession, thought there were some things in the confession that hadn’t been published, and that only somebody who was involved in the murder could have known. They never clearly identified those. I would say the biggest explanation for the decision in the case was the heavy burden of proof that the prosecution had. They had to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and the case ends up with seven of the 12 jurors voting for acquittal, and five of them voting for conviction. It was just almost a dead heat, I would say. They were able to show that Arnold was in Lexington and close to the location of the homicide. On the night of the homicide, they didn’t have much more than the confession, so they never retried it. They rescheduled it for trial two or three times, but just always pushed it back.
Alex Arnold, Jr.
Why did you choose to write the story from the police’s point of view?
There were no transcripts because in those days, they made no tape recordings of cases. You had shorthand—the court reporters took all the occurrence of testimony, and they would never convert that into readable materials unless you had an appeal. Well, you didn’t have an appeal in this case, so there was never any transcript made of the trial. I thought the best way to reconstruct all that was to do it in the way in which it occurred, which involved communications between me and the other lawyer, me and Arnold, and then the prosecution. I reconstructed that from my own memory, the police records, and all of that, so that’s all reconstructed material, which I thought was the best way to tell the story.
I spent about two-and-a-half years writing it. I had lots of papers that I’d kept since the time of the trial. I used them along with lots of personal memories about this, the most interesting experience in my professional life. I obtained all of the police records that had been accumulated over years of investigation of the murder—close to 400 pages—obtained all of the court records generated by the trial, and read hundreds of newspaper articles that had been written about the case. And, of course, I relied heavily on my personal recollection of the events and the trial.
A diagram from the book.
What surprised you most as you wrote the book?
Having been involved in one-half of the historical events covered in the book—the investigation and defense of the only person ever tried for the crime—I obtained most of the story, and all of the important pieces of it, when or shortly after it occurred. My recent research revived some of my memories, but did not add a lot of new information about the murder and trial. My surprise has been the degree of interest shown in the story after the passage of more than 50 years.
Robert G. Lawson
What do you want people to come away with after reading the book?
Hopefully, after reading the book, readers would have a better appreciation for the need to exercise caution in judging the guilt of a person who has given a confession of an important crime.
Advertisement
Do you think this case will ever be solved?
If I had to guess, I would say that it will never be solved. It was as aggressively investigated at the time of its occurrence as any murder that ever occurred in Lexington. The investigation started with at least 25 detectives and police officers working around the clock to find evidence of the killer, lasted for two or three years without any solution, was reopened when the man that I helped represent confessed to the killing, and ended as it began, with no clue as to the motive for the killing or the identity of the killer. We are now 56 years since the killing, and the case is still hidden in darkness. I don’t think that is likely to change in the years ahead.
Order a copy of Who Killed Betty Gail Brown?: Murder, Mistrial, and Mystery.A 4.3 quake hit the east coast of New Zealand tonight, following a 4.5 magnitude quake in central New Zealand this afternoon, and a 5.7 earthquake that rattled people in Wellington and Blenheim this morning.
Geonet reported tonight's quake was 20km east of Te Araroa, a settlement on the east coast of the north island, near the southern edge of the Bay of Plenty. The quake was 62km deep and hit at 11.42pm.
GeoNet reported this afternoon's was of a "strong" intensity, 35km east of Seddon, at a depth of 15km. The quake hit at 3.21pm.
Geonet SHAKEN UP: This Geonet map shows quake felt reports across New Zealand. Yellow is strong, green is moderate and blue is light.
Do you have photos or video? CCTV footage? Email us at newstips@stuff.co.nz
The first quake struck at 9.06am and was centred 30km east of Seddon, south of Blenheim, at a depth of 8km.
Rated as severe, it turned Wellington office workers white-knuckled as it swayed high-rises in the capital, with buildings also being rocked in Blenheim.
The shallow tremor was felt as far away as Christchurch and New Plymouth.
In Wellington it was felt as one jolt, gradually picking up in intensity, while those in Blenheim felt two shakes.
GeoNet said it received more than 6000 reports after the jolt. It said the fact it struck off the South Island spared the region from its full force, though there were a few reports that it had a damaging intensity.
Though it had knocked goods off shelves in Blenheim it was much too small to cause a tsunami, GeoNet said.
An offshore earthquake needed to be at least magnitude 7.5 for a tsunami to be considered possible.
The quake was preceded by a magnitude-2.9 "foreshock" in the same location 6 minutes before the main shock.
An Earthqake Commission spokeswoman said 14 claims had been received following the first quake, but she expected more once people got home from work.
It was too early to itemise the claims, she said.
By 11am there had been 17 aftershocks in the region, the largest a magnitude 3.7, 30km east of Seddon.
Aftershocks were likely to continue for the next 24 hours.
Early analysis had the fault movement as "reverse faulting", meaning each side of the fault was being compressed.
'LIKE A BLOODY ROLLERCOASTER'
In Marlborough, Lake Grassmere farmer Peter Davison said he had never seen his house buck and shake so much.
"It was like being on a bloody rollercoaster," he said.
He was looking out the window of his Marfells Beach Rd home when it hit.
It was worse than the Boxing Day quake in 2010, which he had been in Christchurch for, he said.
"I've never felt anything like it," he said.
His fishing rods had fallen and lay scattered around his library and pictures were askew on the walls.
"It's a wooden house and I've never seen the walls move like this," he said.
Blenheim New World supermarket owner Ashley Shore said about 100 items fell off the shelves, but no-one was too fazed.
"The team cleaned it up pretty quickly and there was actually customers in the aisles who just carried on shopping," he said.
Seddon Supervalue till operator Carrie Rule said staff and the one customer at the supermarket during the earthquake were a bit shaky.
"She was a good one," Rule said.
"We're all still a bit shaky but it wasn't too bad, no stock fell off the shelves or anything, but apparently there was a truck in the car park which was shaking back and forth."
Winemaker Peter Yealands from the Awatere Valley said it was the biggest quake he could recall.
"The tanks moved a bit and the staff were a bit scared, as you'd expect," Yealands said.
It was the first major quake for the Yealands Estate winery, since it was built in 2008. Sitting on a fault line area it had been designed to withstand a magnitude-8 earthquake.
Wellington office workers reported ducking under their desks when the quake arrived at 9.06am, and there was a report of lifts in some buildings being out of action.
It "felt like I was standing on a skate board," Mena Bassily said.
"I was at the gym on one floor and hoped it was only Wellington, not a bigger remote earthquake harming another NZ city somewhere else".
Auckland school teacher Barbara Brewer, visiting Wellington for the national under-19 netball championships was shocked.
"Holy shite, how often do quakes that shake the whole house happen?" she said.
The coach of the Auckland side which last night won the national title, had been in the shower.
RAIL PRECAUTIONS
KiwiRail had put precautionary restrictions on trains going through tunnels or over bridges, a spokeswoman said.
They extended from Otaki, just south of Levin, to just north of Kaikoura, she said.
Restrictions meant trains would travel slowly across bridges and through tunnels.
All the structures and lines would be checked before the restrictions were lifted.
Bridge inspections were being done as a precaution in Marlborough, Marlborough Roads general manager Frank Porter said.
Marlborough Roads was not aware of any issues. No problems been reported.Many Bitcoin startups face the expensive and daunting task of obtaining multiple state money transmitter licenses. But these businesses could drum up enough support to create a more streamlined and affordable licensing process.
The federal government plans to regulate Bitcoin businesses the same as other money services businesses. In March, the Federal Crimes and Enforcement Network issued guidance on virtual currency explaining that many businesses dealing in digital currency are considered MSBs and must register as such.
But registering with Fincen isn't the problem.
The guidance also said states should look at certain Bitcoin businesses as money transmitters. These businesses are now required to obtain licensing in all states they service customers in. (South Carolina and Montana are an exception because they don't require a money transmitter license.) These licenses could cost a Bitcoin business more than $10 million, according to one estimate. Because of the expense associated with acquiring these licenses, Bitcoin businesses will likely have to charge customers higher fees.
But is this really necessary? Going state-by-state seems grossly inefficient in today's fast-paced, technologically-powered world.
Why isn't there a single uniform federal filing to work as a money transmitter in all states? A single filing would cut the time, paperwork and expense of operating legally as a money transmitter.
"There is a long history of lobbying to get a federal [money transmitter] license and it has been fruitless," says Juan Llanos, executive vice president of operations and compliance officer at Unidos Financial Services Inc. "The entire money transmitter industry has been trying to do this for decades, to no avail. It's a huge issue that not even Western Union or PayPal or Amazon have been able to change."
Congress has shown support for the idea in the past. The Money Laundering Suppression Act, established in 1994, recommended that states adopt uniform laws for money services businesses. And the Uniform Money Services Act (1998 through 2001) laid the groundwork for a uniform licensing process. While several states have adopted its recommendations, it hasn't seen widespread use.
There's always pushback from states to limit federal intrusion, and this has kept money transmitter laws a patchwork, Llanos says.
Additionally, the revenue from the application process for licenses gives states an incentive to preserve the status quo. Applications for a money transmitter license can cost as much as $5,000 and these applications must be renewed annually for the same price. Add in periodic fees for reporting and examinations and states have a pretty stable revenue stream from money transmitters.
The European Commission took this single filing approach with the Payment Services Directive, says David Landsman, executive director of the National Money Transmitter Association. Once a payment services provider is regulated in one country in the European Union, it can then expand into another country with the existing regulations and supervision. The second country's authorities are notified and, if they choose, have 30 days to investigate further and object to the company doing business in their territory.
Because all records are stored in one computerized, unified system, every country has the same application and transaction records for a company and the business doesn't have to duplicate application processes, Landsman says.
"What the federal government needs to do is to impose minimum standards for all states, and take over if and when the states fail to live up to their obligations, or where the federal government would be a more appropriate regulator, such as licensing foreign entities that have no physical presence in any state," he says.
Bitcoin could be the catalyst for this type of law to pass, Llanos says. Within Bitcoin, "the stakes are so high and there's so much drive to change the world of money," he says.
BTC Global is working to create a network of locally licensed companies for Bitcoin startups to direct transfers through. BTC Global is currently reaching out to small companies with local licenses to join the exchange.
"We found it would be better to spread the work between a lot of small ventures with local licenses, and thus be able to accept payments from customers in their state or country," says Mauro Betschart, cofounder of BTC Global. These small companies will collect and pay funds in customers' licensed states, plus be a part of a large network that allows customers to have an account at the exchange.
OboPay Inc., a provider of mobile payments, launched a similar service last May. Obopay's Licensed Payment Services for Partners allows clients to leverage the company's state money transfer licenses to quickly fall under compliance and bring products to market.
There is growing sympathy for virtual currency businesses, including the recently scandalized Liberty Reserve. In May, the creators of the cross-border digital currency exchange were arrested and charged with conspiring to launder $6 billion and operating as an unlicensed money transmitter. Liberty Reserve dealt in LRs, a proprietary currency.
In light of the Liberty Reserve case, government officials seemed to demonize privacy, but not all private and irreversible payments are nefarious in nature. Compared to the anonymous nature of cash, Bitcoin is pseudonymous. Most states allow for transactions under a certain amount to take place without extensive reporting, and as long as these obligations are kept, the know-your-customer rules seem reasonable for Bitcoin businesses.
Most states also include an obligation for money transmitters to provide a chargeback period to protect consumers from fraud. And even though Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, there is accountability. Bitcoin's blockchain is an open ledger, so if a merchant commits fraud, that merchant's Bitcoin address could be flagged and avoided by the community.
It'll be a tough fight, though. Not only do states support this barrier to entry, but it protects incumbents, including ones such as PayPal, whose president David Marcus has said he is considering whether Bitcoin could be a funding instrument for PayPal accounts. Established payment companies could complain of unfair treatment if Bitcoin businesses are permitted to file a single application instead of the state-by-state licensing that has been required for years.
Since the early days of Bitcoin, its community has demonstrated a strong passion for the digital currency's cause. If any laws are going to be rewritten, the community must hold on to that passion and use it as a force for change.It appeared out of nowhere in April just off North Carolina's Outer Banks—a new land mass poking through the surf, a brand new Atlantic Ocean island.
Along this dynamic stretch of sea, where the cold, southbound Labrador Current churns and crashes into warmer Gulf Stream waters, it is not unusual for patches of ground to emerge and then quickly subside. These are, after all, some of North America's roughest waters, a shallow region of swirling tides, hidden shoals, and harsh winds known to sailors as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
Yet even for this place, this new formation is of a scale rarely seen. The crescent-shaped spit is close to a mile long. At its widest point, this island reaches a football field or more across.
"It's a hoss," says Danny Couch, 57, a local historian, tour guide and lifelong resident of nearby Hatteras Island. "Every 10 to 15 years we'll get something that's pretty dramatic. But this one is the largest one I've seen in my lifetime." (Learn about the fight to save a nearby iconic lighthouse.)
Not Exactly Paradise
The appearance of this new island is drawing attention from coast to coast, though experts warn that it's surrounded by dangerous currents. Whale bones poke through its sands, along with the ribs of old shipwrecks. Beautiful seashells dot its beaches. The ripping seas separating it from the rest of Cape Hatteras National Seashore have brought in sand tiger sharks and "oceanic manta rays the size of car hoods," Couch says.
What If Your Home Was Slipping Into the Ocean?
"It's unusually large compared to what we've been seeing in recent decades," says Dave Hallac, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Outer Banks Group. "But if you put this in geological perspective, it's nothing really."
In fact, for people who understand the transitory nature of this place, what happens next seems almost preordained. This land mass could be gone with the next storm, or this island could get bigger for awhile longer—but probably only for a short time.
Hallac, Couch, and several other experts agree: the new landmass some have taken to calling Shelly Island will almost certainly be wiped out within the year. (The island was named by a young boy after the many shells visible there.)
"Nothing here becomes a fixture," says Stanley Riggs, a retired geology professor and author who has written books about North Carolina's coast. "Nothing is the same from one hour to the next. There's no such thing as 'normal.' "
Adds Couch, "Everything here can change overnight. That's what makes it so amazing." (Learn more about the perilous nature of the Outer Banks.)
Birth of an Island
When people first started noticing the sandy ground rising through the water across the surf from Cape Point, authorities didn't pay much heed, says Mark Dowdle, deputy superintendent of Cape Hatteras. That's just the way things here work.
View Images The Outer Banks are known for rapidly shifting sands, thanks to high-energy wind and waves. Photograph by Chad Koczera
"It's just part of the natural process," Dowdle says. "I've seen parts of the Outer Banks erode for months, only to then fill back in again."
In some areas, storms and rising seas tend to eat away at beaches. In others, they actually add sand. (Watch a volcano form a new island.)
"You get lots of energy, lots of storms, lots of turmoil, lots of complex and dynamic currents," says Riggs. "The land to the north is skinny, skinny skinny, so skinny you can throw a baseball across it. To the south are some of the few beaches in North Carolina that're actually growing."
All this ferocious change comes to a head near Cape Point, which is just 10 miles or so from the edge of the continental shelf and the place where the Labrador and Gulf Stream meet. As a result, there's never really any telling what sea here will do to land. (See surreal photos of a landscape formed by megafloods.)
In the 1950s, for example, a Cape Point campground was separated from the water by little more than a sand dune. Today those some campsites are a good quarter mile from the sea.
"There are times when we've had hurricanes or tropical storms where certain sections of the beach just start to disappear," says Superintendent Hallac. "In other sections, I'll see something sticking out of the sand and realize it was the top of a sign that had been standing at eye level."
The only thing you can count on here is the beauty and surprise that comes with impermanence.Qualcomm's next LTE modem can reach gigabit speeds, but that might not be the most important thing about it.
The Snapdragon X16 LTE Modem, coming to devices in the second half of this year, is also the company's first chip for both major types of unlicensed LTE, the technology for putting cellular signals on frequencies like those used by Wi-Fi. And it has features to help phones take advantage of more frequency bands, as mobile operators combine them for higher performance over the coming years.
Getting 1Gbps (bits-per-second) downloads would be great, but that's actually an ideal top speed most smartphone users won't see. Still, for comparison's sake, it's a big jump from Qualcomm's current fastest, the X12, which tops out at 600Mbps. The X16 will offer the same maximum upload speed as the X12, 150Mbps.
The new modem could change the way people use phones, Qualcomm says. You could stream a concert to your phone over LTE almost anywhere in the world -- in virtual reality. All your files could reside in the cloud and still pop up like they were local.
The X16 is faster because it can get more performance out of the same amount of spectrum, plus make several radio channels look like one big, fat band. Carriers are already stitching together as many as three standard 20MHz blocks of licensed spectrum into a virtual 60GHz band.
And tying bands together isn't the only trick to getting more speed out of LTE. With the X16, Qualcomm will also give device makers a way to add more antennas and feed bits through them over more streams to a base station.
In their quest for bandwidth, carriers are also starting to look into unlicensed frequencies, the kind Wi-Fi and some other systems use. So-called unlicensed LTE lets a cellular radio use shared bands instead of just the ones belonging exclusively to the mobile operator. The X16 will help here, too. It's Qualcomm's first modem that can be used for both of the major forms of unlicensed LTE.
One kind, called LTE-U (LTE-Unlicensed), is under development in the U.S., China and South Korea and may be deployed by some carriers later this year. Another, LAA (Licensed Assisted Access), is the emerging standard for places including Europe and Japan. Having one chip that works all over the world can help to drive down the cost of developing devices, meaning unlicensed LTE could come sooner, and to less expensive phones, thanks to the Snapdragon X16.
Unlicensed LTE could be a relatively quick and inexpensive way for a service provider to access more channels to boost users' data connections. It might even open the door to new kinds of cellular service providers.
But some fans of Wi-Fi say unlicensed LTE will squeeze out the popular wireless LAN technology. They've clashed with Qualcomm and some other vendors and carriers, who say the two types of networks can get along just fine.
Fortunately, the two sides are slowly coming closer to agreement. The Wi-Fi Alliance has developed a draft test plan to ensure coexistence between LTE and Wi-Fi. At a workshop on Wednesday, dozens of industry players agreed the plan was ready to be validated, the Alliance said.
Qualcomm has its eye on more than just speed with the X16, which was announced along with several other mobile chips on Thursday. The company says it's now using a scalable architecture, modular components and common software so it can quickly roll out modems for a wide range of applications.
High on that list is the Internet of Things, where tiny objects like sensors send small amounts of data but must use far less energy. While a gigabit will be great for smartphones and tablets, wireless is about far more than high speed these days.Hey, Sens fans, don’t worry…it will be okay!
Now, that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about one of the most important days in hockey since the lockout (shivers) was declared to be over. The first day of free agency was a hectic and emotional day. There were tons of signings, a lot of overspending, and many fans saying: “what the puck are you doing!”
So, now that the smoke cleared, let’s take a look at some of the signings that stood out:
The Toronto Maple Leafs are under new management, but that did not stop the newcomer, Dave Nonis, from making his mark right away. The really good thing here is that he went out and got a good goalie, (or soon to be great goalie), for a very cheap price.
The Los Angeles Kings traded goaltender Jonathan Bernier to the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Matt Frattin, goaltender Ben Scrivens and a second-round draft selection, the team announced Sunday.
Now, the whole point of this trade is to secure the goaltending situation in Toronto that has been an issue for a very long time. The team also signed the goalie to a reasonable two year deal worth 2.9 million per.
The big news out of Toronto though, that got the Leaf Nation throwing their hands in the air while yelling profanities, was the signing of David Clarkson and Tyler Bozak. Clarkson signed a 7 year 5.2 million per year deal and Bozak signed 5 year 4.2 million per. Now, Toronto fans…walk away from the ledge it will be just fine.
Toronto overpaid for both players, but this was a necessary move. Bozak gets along with Phil Kessel, and sometimes you do not want to break up the romance. Toronto no doubt wants to keep Phil on this team and continue to enjoy the point production that he brings to the table. Now the Clarkson signing may be even tougher to swallow, but in my eyes it is just a knee jerk reaction. You can’t compare player salaries, like people often do, because they get signed at different times in their careers and different markets. Today, well, yesterday Toronto had no choice to pay what the player demanded, as he was a hot commodity. You know why they signed him to this contract? Because the cap will be at 80 million in 2 years, and his 5.2 cap hit will be a non-factor. Remember the monster deal that Mike Richards got? The 5.7 million cap hit at the time when the salary cap was only 56 million? It did not seem so monster last year or the year before that.
So, did Toronto win or lose? I think they absolutely won day one. You got everyone you wanted and more.
Now, it was a big deal that the Detroit Red Wings got Daniel Alfredsson, no doubt about that, but while Alfie hugged the news, in my eyes, the more important signing was of Stephen Weiss. This guy just never seems to get the news coverage and props he truly deserves. He has been an exceptionally steady leader on aFlorida Panthers club that just could never find the right fit of players to surround him with. He is very good at the face-off circle and is defensively responsible. He can score goals (four 20 goal seasons) and dish the puck out just as nice. But the reason why this move is so good is because it replaced Valtteri Filppula and beats out the contract he demanded as well. Detroit also got a 30 year old player who is better than Filps and for cheaper in Weiss. Another brilliant patience move by Ken Holland – not over-reaching in last years free-agent market and letting Filppula walk away. Walking away from a player like Filppula is not something most GMs would have the guts to do.
Detroit, even if they let Brunner walk, will be a much better team with Stephen Weiss as he provides a true number two center for Detroit. That depth can be essential to getting back into the playoffs and helping Daniel Alfredsson get his chance at the cup.
By no means do we think this is the end of the free agency story, as there are definitely more developments to come. There are still some players out there to be signed, and deals to be made – so, keep watching and we’ll keep the updates coming.
Thanks for reading – as always feel free to leave comments below and follow me on twitter @LastWordOnNHL. Give the rest of the hockey department a follow while you’re at it – @lastwordBKerr, @IswearGaa and @BigMick99, and follow the site @lastwordonsport.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? Visit our Join our Team page and be heard!
photo credit: bridgetds via photopin ccObama not likely to prosecute torture David Edwards and Andrew McLemore
Published: Sunday January 11, 2009
Print This Email This The one-time candidate of "change" and "hope" didn't leave much room for prosecution of the Bush administration in a Sunday interview.
President-elect Barack Obama suggested that prosecuting torture committed by the Bush administration would not be a priority for him once he takes office.
"We have not made final decisions, but my instinct is for us to focus on how to we make sure we're moving forward, we are doing the right thing. That doesn't mean that if somebody has blatantly broken the law that they are above the law, but my orientation is going to be moving forward," Obama said.
Interviewed by ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Obama said that he plans to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay but won't accomplish that goal during the first 100 days of his administration.
"It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize and we are going to get it done," he said.
Human rights and civil liberties groups have called for senior Bush administration officials to be prosecuted for a series of alleged abuses, from mishandling the conflict in Iraq to the illegal detention and torture of terrorist suspects and domestic spying.
Obama criticized Vice President Dick Cheney for his public defense of "extraordinary" interrogation methods used against top terrorism suspects, including waterboarding.
"Vice President Cheney, I think, continues to defend what he calls extraordinary measures or procedures when it comes to interrogations and from my view waterboarding is torture," Obama said.
"I have said that under my administration we will not torture."
Wire services contributed to this report.
This video is from ABC's This Week, broadcast Jan. 11, 2009.
Download video via RawReplay.comAs organized labor faces declining membership, one of the country's most storied unions is looking to a new growth industry: marijuana.
The Teamsters added nearly 40 new members earlier this month by organizing the country's first group of unionized marijuana growers. Such an arrangement is likely only possible in California, which has the nation's loosest medical marijuana laws.
But it's still unclear how the Teamsters will safeguard the rights of members who do work that's considered a federal crime.
"I didn't have this planned out when I became a Teamster 34 years ago, to organize marijuana workers," said Lou Marchetti, who acted as a liaison between the growers and Oakland-based Teamsters Local 70. "This is a whole new ballgame."
Special Report: Marijuana Nation
The new members work as gardeners, trimmers and cloners for Marjyn Investments LLC, an Oakland business that contracts with medical marijuana patients to grow their pot for them.
Their newly negotiated two-year contract provides them with a pension, paid vacation and health insurance. Their current wages of $18 per hour will increase to $25.75 an hour within 15 months, according to the union.
Historically, the Teamsters are no strangers to entanglements with federal law enforcement, from the infiltration of the union by organized crime to the disappearance of union leader Jimmy Hoffa. If the federal government decided to crack down on Marjyn, Marchetti said the union was still figuring out how it might intervene.
Growing marijuana outdoors is not hard - the nickname "weed" is well-earned. Indoor growing operations require more know-how and more work. But the most labor-intensive part of the process comes at harvest time, when growers rely on small armies of trimmers to clip the plant's resin-rich buds.
The work can be difficult and the hours long - and trimmers cannot count on federal labor regulations to protect them while doing work banned under federal law.
Michael Leong, assistant regional director for the Oakland office of the National Labor Relations Board, said he did not know of any case in which the federal government had been asked to mediate a dispute involving a business that was blatantly illegal under federal law.
He also said it wasn't clear if the new Teamsters would count as farmworkers, which would put them outside the NLRB's domain.
Michael Lee, general counsel for the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, said the growers probably would qualify as agricultural workers. Any conflict between workers and the union would likely fall under his board's jurisdiction, but contract disputes between workers and management would have to be decided in state court.
Even within the state, marijuana cultivation has remained in the shadows as retail dispensaries have flourished because California's medical marijuana law provides no clear rules for growing the plant.
The Oakland City Council sought to change that dynamic in July by making the city the nation's first to authorize industrial pot cultivation. More than 260 potential applicants have expressed interest in competing later this year for four permits for large-scale growing operations, said Arturo Sanchez, an assistant to the Oakland city administrator who will ultimately issue the permits.
Union membership will not be a requirement for receiving a permit, but labor standards are one of many factors that will be considered. The union organizing effort and contract negotiations went smoothly at Marjyn, which hopes to win one of the permits.
"There was no strife between employees and management at all," said a Marjyn worker who would only identify himself as Rudy L. because he worried about his personal security if it became known that he grew marijuana for a living. He said he was not worried about getting arrested because he believed Marjyn was operating in compliance with state law, though the threat of a federal crackdown is never far from anyone's mind.
About 100 workers in Oakland's retail medical marijuana dispensaries joined the United Food and Commercial Workers in May. The Teamsters have never tried to organize dispensary workers, because retail has never been an industry in which they have been traditionally involved, Marchetti said.
The Teamsters have long vied with the United Farm Workers and other unions to represent agricultural workers. So far, no other unions have competed with the Teamsters for the membership of medical marijuana growers.
Marchetti said the union would not have gotten involved with the growers if it didn't believe the business was legitimate under state law.
"The Teamsters would never organize an illegal business," Marchetti said.Jolla will announce its smartphone at beginning of May. Pre-order fees will work as funding and in exchange those who pre-order get to choose the looks of their phone. There are several levels of pre-order fees. At beginning of May we will get to know what first phone looks like and how it works.
We’ve been following Jolla rather closely here at the blog, both as they’re ex-Nokians and since they are building on the efforts of the N9. Thanks to a tip and translation by one of our readers Otto, we have exciting news.
Advertisements
Jolla is said to be announcing their first device next month. Antti Saarnio, Jolla Chairman has said their “phone will represent modern Scandinavian design”. What this exactly means, I have no idea, other than assuming its in reference to their partnership with a Scandinavian industrial design team, who worked alongside Nokia on many devices.
Jolla is reportedly going to begin pre-orders from mid-May, in order to start generating hype and provide eager fans with the opportunity to join a specific “club”. Apparently, the devices that get pre-ordered will come with “something unique”; “something special…that will not be available otherwise”.
“We want Jolla to be a movement. We want to involve fans already in early phases. Fans make sure that phone will be available and fans will be first ones to get their phones” said Saarnio.
We know Jolla doesn’t have a huge budget, hence this is most likely to be used as crowd-sourced funding as well as a marketing tactic. Either way, the prospect of having a limited edition device is awesome! It is reportedly going to be like many crowd-funded startups; certain tier “payments” provide certain benefits. Apparently the more you pay, the more unique the device you get. Especially for someone like me who wants a Jolla device anyway.
Source
Cheers Otto for the tip! (& translation)
Advertisements
Related
Category: Jolla, Maemo, MeeGoGod bless Senator Mike Lee. He tried.
Pence, the governor of Indiana, made the rounds in the U.S. Senate with an eye on smoothing over frayed relations between Donald Trump and some conservative lawmakers. He met with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who has refused to endorse Trump and who said the campaign must take a tougher stance against Duke and the alt-right movement that some have described as racist.
Pence had refused to call former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard, David Duke, “deplorable.” He referred to him as a “bad man,” but stopped short of denouncing him and the alt-right movement.
The alt-right movement make up some of Trump’s most vocal supporters on social media and at rallies, which likely led to Hillary Clinton’s comment regarding the “basket of deplorables.”
“Lee emphasized that Republicans must identify David Duke’s racism as deplorable, acknowledging that he ordinarily uses terms like ‘deplorable’ to describe messages, ideas, actions and organizations, but not people,” a GOP aide said. “This, Lee explained, is consistent with his belief as a Christian that even people who do bad things are redeemable. Lee also encouraged the Trump campaign to be explicit in its denunciation of the alt right movement.”
He’s absolutely right.
No one is beyond redemption. Not Duke. Not Trump. Not even the vile and hateful rabble that make up the alt-right movement.
That being said, there comes a time to distance yourself from those elements that may drag you down or create the illusion of compliance.
This was Pence’s moment, and he missed it.Kelley Moore believes she can win.
She thinks a groundswell of grassroots support will propel her to the city’s highest office. If she’s successful, she would make history.
“I’m standing on the shoulders of many people who’ve come before and people will stand on my shoulders,” Moore said on a recent afternoon while driving back to her office from a campaign stop at a seniors’ complex.
Not only would Moore by the first female candidate elected mayor of Saskatoon, she would also be city’s first openly gay mayor.
“Anytime you are the member of minority group, there is a humility that goes with that. You don’t take that for granted ever,” she said, cruising down Circle Drive.
Of course, Moore — a political outsider who’s never sat on city council — has |
, such as Full Fact in the UK and PolitiFact in the US, evaluate prominent claims by politicians and journalists. I should confess a personal bias: I have served as a fact checker myself on the BBC radio programme More or Less, and I often rely on fact-checking websites. They judge what’s true rather than faithfully reporting both sides as a traditional journalist would. Public, transparent fact checking has become such a feature of today’s political reporting that it’s easy to forget it’s barely a decade old.
Mainstream journalists, too, are starting to embrace the idea that lies or errors should be prominently identified. Consider a story on the NPR website about Donald Trump’s speech to the CIA in January: “He falsely denied that he had ever criticised the agency, falsely inflated the crowd size at his inauguration on Friday... —” It’s a bracing departure from the norms of American journalism, but then President Trump has been a bracing departure from the norms of American politics.
Facebook has also drafted in the fact checkers, announcing a crackdown on the “fake news” stories that had become prominent on the network after the election. Facebook now allows users to report hoaxes. The site will send questionable headlines to independent fact checkers, flag discredited stories as “disputed”, and perhaps downgrade them in the algorithm that decides what each user sees when visiting the site.
We need some agreement about facts or the situation is hopeless. And yet: will this sudden focus on facts actually lead to a more informed electorate, better decisions, a renewed respect for the truth? The history of tobacco suggests not. The link between cigarettes and cancer was supported by the world’s leading medical scientists and, in 1964, the US surgeon general himself. The story was covered by well-trained journalists committed to the values of objectivity. Yet the tobacco lobbyists ran rings round them.
In the 1950s and 1960s, journalists had an excuse for their stumbles: the tobacco industry’s tactics were clever, complex and new. First, the industry appeared to engage, promising high-quality research into the issue. The public were assured that the best people were on the case. The second stage was to complicate the question and sow doubt: lung cancer might have any number of causes, after all. And wasn’t lung cancer, not cigarettes, what really mattered? Stage three was to undermine serious research and expertise. Autopsy reports would be dismissed as anecdotal, epidemiological work as merely statistical, and animal studies as irrelevant. Finally came normalisation: the industry would point out that the tobacco-cancer story was stale news. Couldn’t journalists find something new and interesting to say?
Such tactics are now well documented — and researchers have carefully examined the psychological tendencies they exploited. So we should be able to spot their re-emergence on the political battlefield.
“It’s as if the president’s team were using the tobacco industry’s playbook,” says Jon Christensen, a journalist turned professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who wrote a notable study in 2008 of the way the tobacco industry tugged on the strings of journalistic tradition.
One infamous internal memo from the Brown & Williamson tobacco company, typed up in the summer of 1969, sets out the thinking very clearly: “Doubt is our product.” Why? Because doubt “is the best means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the mind of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy.” Big Tobacco’s mantra: keep the controversy alive.
Doubt is usually not hard to produce, and facts alone aren’t enough to dispel it. We should have learnt this lesson already; now we’re going to have to learn it all over again.
3.
Tempting as it is to fight lies with facts, there are three problems with that strategy. The first is that a simple untruth can beat off a complicated set of facts simply by being easier to understand and remember. When doubt prevails, people will often end up believing whatever sticks in the mind. In 1994, psychologists Hollyn Johnson and Colleen Seifert conducted an experiment in which people read an account of an explosive warehouse fire. The account mentioned petrol cans and paint but later explained that petrol and paint hadn’t been present at the scene after all. The experimental subjects, tested on their comprehension, recalled that paint wasn’t actually there. But when asked to explain facts about the fire (“why so much smoke?”), they would mention the paint. Lacking an alternative explanation, they fell back on a claim they had already acknowledged was wrong. Once we’ve heard an untrue claim, we can’t simply unhear it.
This should warn us not to let lie-and-rebuttal take over the news cycle. Several studies have shown that repeating a false claim, even in the context of debunking that claim, can make it stick. The myth-busting seems to work but then our memories fade and we remember only the myth. The myth, after all, was the thing that kept being repeated. In trying to dispel the falsehood, the endless rebuttals simply make the enchantment stronger.
With this in mind, consider the Leave campaign’s infamous bus-mounted claim: “We send the EU £350m a week.” Simple. Memorable. False. But how to rebut it? A typical effort from The Guardian newspaper was headlined, “Why Vote Leave’s £350m weekly EU cost claim is wrong”, repeating the claim before devoting hundreds of words to gnarly details and the dictionary definition of the word “send”. This sort of fact-checking article is invaluable to a fellow journalist who needs the issues set out and hyperlinked. But for an ordinary voter, the likely message would be: “You can’t trust politicians but we do seem to send a lot of money to the EU.” Doubt suited the Leave campaign just fine.
This is an inbuilt vulnerability of the fact-checking trade. Fact checkers are right to be particular, to cover all the details and to show their working out. But that’s why the fact-checking job can only be a part of ensuring that the truth is heard.
Andrew Lilico, a thoughtful proponent of leaving the EU, told me during the campaign that he wished the bus had displayed a more defensible figure, such as £240m. But Lilico now acknowledges that the false claim was the more effective one. “In cynical campaigning terms, the use of the £350m figure was perfect,” he says. “It created a trap that Remain campaigners kept insisting on jumping into again and again and again.”
Quite so. But not just Remain campaigners — fact-checking journalists too, myself included. The false claim was vastly more powerful than a true one would have been, not because it was bigger, but because everybody kept talking about it.
Proctor, the tobacco industry historian turned agnotologist, warns of a similar effect in the US: “Fact checkers can become Trump’s poodle, running around like an errand boy checking someone else’s facts. If all your time is [spent] checking someone else’s facts, then what are you doing?”
4.
There’s a second reason why facts don’t seem to have the traction that one might hope. Facts can be boring. The world is full of things to pay attention to, from reality TV to your argumentative children, from a friend’s Instagram to a tax bill. Why bother with anything so tedious as facts?
Last year, three researchers — Seth Flaxman, Sharad Goel and Justin Rao — published a study of how people read news online. The study was, on the face of it, an inquiry into the polarisation of news sources. The researchers began with data from 1.2 million internet users but ended up examining only 50,000. Why? Because only 4 per cent of the sample read enough serious news to be worth including in such a study. (The hurdle was 10 articles and two opinion pieces over three months.) Many commentators worry that we’re segregating ourselves in ideological bubbles, exposed only to the views of those who think the same way we do. There’s something in that concern. But for 96 per cent of these web surfers the bubble that mattered wasn’t liberal or conservative, it was: “Don’t bother with the news.”
In the war of ideas, boredom and distraction are powerful weapons. A recent study of Chinese propaganda examined the tactics of the paid pro-government hacks (known as the “50 cent army”, after the amount contributors were alleged to be paid per post) who put comments on social media. The researchers, Gary King, Jennifer Pan and Margaret Roberts, conclude: “Almost none of the Chinese government’s 50c party posts engage in debate or argument of any kind... they seem to avoid controversial issues entirely... the strategic objective of the regime is to distract and redirect public attention.”
Trump, a reality TV star, knows the value of an entertaining distraction: simply pick a fight with Megyn Kelly, The New York Times or even Arnold Schwarzenegger. Isn’t that more eye-catching than a discussion of healthcare reform?
The tobacco industry also understood this point, although it took a more highbrow approach to generating distractions. “Do you know about Stanley Prusiner?” asks Proctor.
Prusiner is a neurologist. In 1972, he was a young researcher who’d just encountered a patient suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It was a dreadful degenerative condition then thought to be caused by a slow-acting virus. After many years of study, Prusiner concluded that the disease was caused instead, unprecedentedly, by a kind of rogue protein. The idea seemed absurd to most experts at the time, and Prusiner’s career began to founder. Promotions and research grants dried up. But Prusiner received a source of private-sector funding that enabled him to continue his work. He was eventually vindicated in the most spectacular way possible: with a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1997. In his autobiographical essay on the Nobel Prize website, Prusiner thanked his private-sector benefactors for their “crucial” support: RJ Reynolds, maker of Camel cigarettes.
The tobacco industry was a generous source of research funds, and Prusiner wasn’t the only scientist to receive both tobacco funding and a Nobel Prize. Proctor reckons at least 10 Nobel laureates are in that position. To be clear, this wasn’t an attempt at bribery. In Proctor’s view, it was far more subtle. “The tobacco industry was the leading funder of research into genetics, viruses, immunology, air pollution,” says Proctor. Almost anything, in short, except tobacco. “It was a massive ‘distraction research’ project.” The funding helped position Big Tobacco as a public-spirited industry but Proctor considers its main purpose was to produce interesting new speculative science. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease may be rare, but it was exciting news. Smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease aren’t news at all.
The endgame of these distractions is that matters of vital importance become too boring to bother reporting. Proctor describes it as “the opposite of terrorism: trivialism”. Terrorism provokes a huge media reaction; smoking does not. Yet, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, smoking kills 480,000 Americans a year. This is more than 50 deaths an hour. Terrorists have rarely managed to kill that many Americans in an entire year. But the terrorists succeed in grabbing the headlines; the trivialists succeed in avoiding them.
Tobacco industry lobbyists became well-practised at persuading the media to withhold or downplay stories about the dangers of cigarettes. “That record is scratched,” they’d say. Hadn’t we heard such things before?
Experienced tobacco watchers now worry that Trump may achieve the same effect. In the end, will people simply start to yawn at the spectacle? Jon Christensen, at UCLA, says: “I think it’s the most frightening prospect.”
On the other hand, says Christensen, there is one saving grace. It is almost impossible for the US president not to be news. The tobacco lobby, like the Chinese government, proved highly adept at pointing the spotlight elsewhere. There are reasons to believe that will be difficult for Trump.
5.
There’s a final problem with trying to persuade people by giving them facts: the truth can feel threatening, and threatening people tends to backfire. “People respond in the opposite direction,” says Jason Reifler, a political scientist at Exeter University. This “backfire effect” is now the focus of several researchers, including Reifler and his colleague Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth.
In one study, conducted in 2011, Nyhan, Reifler and others ran a randomised trial in which parents with young children were either shown or not shown scientific information debunking an imaginary but widely feared link between vaccines and autism. At first glance, the facts were persuasive: parents who saw the myth-busting science were less likely to believe that the vaccine could cause autism. But parents who were already wary of vaccines were actually less likely to say they’d vaccinate their children after being exposed to the facts — despite apparently believing those facts.
What’s going on? “People accept the corrective information but then resist in other ways,” says Reifler. A person who feels anxious about vaccination will subconsciously push back by summoning to mind all the other reasons why they feel vaccination is a bad idea. The fear of autism might recede, but all the other fears are stronger than before.
It’s easy to see how this might play out in a political campaign. Say you’re worried that the UK will soon be swamped by Turkish immigrants because a Brexit campaigner has told you (falsely) that Turkey will soon join the EU. A fact checker can explain that no Turkish entry is likely in the foreseeable future. Reifler’s research suggests that you’ll accept the narrow fact that Turkey is not about to join the EU. But you’ll also summon to mind all sorts of other anxieties: immigration, loss of control, the proximity of Turkey to Syria’s war and to Isis, terrorism and so on. The original lie has been disproved, yet its seductive magic lingers.
The problem here is that while we like to think of ourselves as rational beings, our rationality didn’t just evolve to solve practical problems, such as building an elephant trap, but to navigate social situations. We need to keep others on our side. Practical reasoning is often less about figuring out what’s true, and more about staying in the right tribe.
An early indicator of how tribal our logic can be was a study conducted in 1954 by Albert Hastorf, a psychologist at Dartmouth, and Hadley Cantril, his counterpart at Princeton. Hastorf and Cantril screened footage of a game of American football between the two college teams. It had been a rough game. One quarterback had suffered a broken leg. Hastorf and Cantril asked their students to tot up the fouls and assess their severity. The Dartmouth students tended to overlook Dartmouth fouls but were quick to pick up on the sins of the Princeton players. The Princeton students had the opposite inclination. They concluded that, despite being shown the same footage, the Dartmouth and Princeton students didn’t really see the same events. Each student had his own perception, closely shaped by his tribal loyalties. The title of the research paper was “They Saw a Game”.
A more recent study revisited the same idea in the context of political tribes. The researchers showed students footage of a demonstration and spun a yarn about what it was about. Some students were told it was a protest by gay-rights protesters outside an army recruitment office against the military’s (then) policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Others were told that it was an anti-abortion protest in front of an abortion clinic.
Despite looking at exactly the same footage, the experimental subjects had sharply different views of what was happening — views that were shaped by their political loyalties. Liberal students were relaxed about the behaviour of people they thought were gay-rights protesters but worried about what the pro-life protesters were doing; conservative students took the opposite view. As with “They Saw a Game”, this disagreement was not about the general principles but about specifics: did the protesters scream at bystanders? Did they block access to the building? We see what we want to see — and we reject the facts that threaten our sense of who we are.
When we reach the conclusion that we want to reach, we’re engaging in “motivated reasoning”. Motivated reasoning was a powerful ally of the tobacco industry. If you’re addicted to a product, and many scientists tell you it’s deadly, but the tobacco lobby tells you that more research is needed, what would you like to believe? Christensen’s study of the tobacco public relations campaign revealed that the industry often got a sympathetic hearing in the press because many journalists were smokers. These journalists desperately wanted to believe their habit was benign, making them ideal messengers for the industry.
Even in a debate polluted by motivated reasoning, one might expect that facts will help. Not necessarily: when we hear facts that challenge us, we selectively amplify what suits us, ignore what does not, and reinterpret whatever we can. More facts mean more grist to the motivated reasoning mill. The French dramatist Molière once wrote: “A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one.” Modern social science agrees.
On a politically charged issue such as climate change, it feels as though providing accurate information about the science should bring people together. The opposite is true, says Dan Kahan, a law and psychology professor at Yale and one of the researchers on the study into perceptions of a political protest. Kahan writes: “Groups with opposing values often become more polarised, not less, when exposed to scientifically sound information.”
When people are seeking the truth, facts help. But when people are selectively reasoning about their political identity, the facts can backfire.
6.
All this adds up to a depressing picture for those of us who aren’t ready to live in a post-truth world. Facts, it seems, are toothless. Trying to refute a bold, memorable lie with a fiddly set of facts can often serve to reinforce the myth. Important truths are often stale and dull, and it is easy to manufacture new, more engaging claims. And giving people more facts can backfire, as those facts provoke a defensive reaction in someone who badly wants to stick to their existing world view. “This is dark stuff,” says Reifler. “We’re in a pretty scary and dark time.”
Is there an answer? Perhaps there is.
We know that scientific literacy can actually widen the gap between different political tribes on issues such as climate change — that is, well-informed liberals and well-informed conservatives are further apart in their views than liberals and conservatives who know little about the science. But a new research paper from Dan Kahan, Asheley Landrum, Katie Carpenter, Laura Helft and Kathleen Hall Jamieson explores the role not of scientific literacy but of scientific curiosity.
The researchers measured scientific curiosity by asking their experimental subjects a variety of questions about their hobbies and interests. The subjects were offered a choice of websites to read for a comprehension test. Some went for ESPN, some for Yahoo Finance, but those who chose Science were demonstrating scientific curiosity. Scientifically curious people were also happier to watch science documentaries than celebrity gossip TV shows. As one might expect, there’s a correlation between scientific knowledge and scientific curiosity, but the two measures are distinct.
What Kahan and his colleagues found, to their surprise, was that while politically motivated reasoning trumps scientific knowledge, “politically motivated reasoning... appears to be negated by science curiosity”. Scientifically literate people, remember, were more likely to be polarised in their answers to politically charged scientific questions. But scientifically curious people were not. Curiosity brought people together in a way that mere facts did not. The researchers muse that curious people have an extra reason to seek out the facts: “To experience the pleasure of contemplating surprising insights into how the world works.”
So how can we encourage curiosity? It’s hard to make banking reform or the reversibility of Article 50 more engaging than football, Game of Thrones or baking cakes. But it does seem to be what’s called for. “We need to bring people into the story, into the human narratives of science, to show people how science works,” says Christensen.
We journalists and policy wonks can’t force anyone to pay attention to the facts. We have to find a way to make people want to seek them out. Curiosity is the seed from which sensible democratic decisions can grow. It seems to be one of the only cures for politically motivated reasoning but it’s also, into the bargain, the cure for a society where most people just don’t pay attention to the news because they find it boring or confusing.
What we need is a Carl Sagan or David Attenborough of social science — somebody who can create a sense of wonder and fascination not just at the structure of the solar system or struggles of life in a tropical rainforest, but at the workings of our own civilisation: health, migration, finance, education and diplomacy.
One candidate would have been Swedish doctor and statistician Hans Rosling, who died in February. He reached an astonishingly wide audience with what were, at their heart, simply presentations of official data from the likes of the World Bank.
He characterised his task as telling people the facts — “to describe the world”. But the facts need a champion. Facts rarely stand up for themselves — they need someone to make us care about them, to make us curious. That’s what Rosling did. And faced with the apocalyptic possibility of a world where the facts don’t matter, that is the example we must follow.
Written for and first published in the Financial Times.
My book “Messy” is available online in the US and UK or in good bookshops everywhere.Monday, August 8th 2011, 3:57 PM EDT
A puzzling issue in the whole climate change affair is why did climate change scientists on both sides of the fence deliberately ignore the role of variations in received solar energy on the Earth's climate? The oscillating consequences have been observed and studied for more than 100 years, yet the IPCC reports continue to maintain that the Earth's climate is a steady-state phenomenon and that the consequences of variations in solar activity are far less than the influence of greenhouse gas emissions for which there is no believable evidence at all.My recent memos were written in easy to read layman's language. Now the time has come to dig a little deeper.The attached report was produced by my colleague David Bredenkamp. He is an experienced hydro-geologist. You may have difficulty in understanding his contribution if you are not technically minded. In this case I suggest that you read the abstract and then glance through the 15 figures in his report. Each and every one of them demonstrates a very clear oscillating behaviour. How on earth is it possible that scientists in the field of climate change can maintain that the Earth's climate is a steady-state phenomenon when all the evidence is to the contrary?Until now, the difficulty was in establishing the causal linkage between climatic variations and variations in received solar energy. In the attached report David Bredenkamp solves the problem. All that I ask is that you read the abstract of his report and then compare it with the extracts from Chapter 2 of the IPCC’s assessment report that I quoted in an earlier memo then draw your own conclusions.I realise that at this stage the views of five of us acting independently and without any research funding, may have little impact but here's another analogy. The world has come to the edge of a precipice on this climate change issue. One step further and it will tumble down the cliff. It will be forced to revise its position or suffer the consequences. Hopefully our memos will assist it to retreat with dignity.I find it extremely difficult (impossible) to believe that experienced scientists and their institutions can maintain that human activities can have a greater influence on global climate than variations in received solar energy and its storage and redistribution via the atmospheric and oceanic processes.Compare David's report with the following ‘understanding’ in the IPCC reports. In simple terms their understanding is as follows.1.Like the ancient Egyptians they have great difficulty in presenting a three-dimensional view on a two-dimensional surface.2.This forces them to maintain that the earth is flat like a huge pancake. Unlike our globe, their pancake has no equator nor polar regions. Most of its surface is not covered by water.3.Their fundamental error is the assumption that the earth's climate is driven by global temperature. But the sun does not radiate heat. It only becomes heat energy when it strikes your body when you are sunbathing on the beach, or strikes exposed water surfaces. This heat energy is converted to other forms as the evaporated water rises into the atmosphere.4.All those power lines that criss-cross the country do not convey heat energy. Their temperature is the same as that of the surrounding air.5.The temperature of water in a dam used to generate hydropower does not change as it moves through the power generators. The generators convert potential energy related to the dam's elevation to electrical energy. Temperature plays no part in the process.6.The energy that you use when performing a physical task is not related to the temperature of your body.There are many more examples.7.It is energy in its various forms that drives global climatic processes not temperature. Human influences are no more relevant than those of ants in an ant hill.8.9.They then go even further. There is a fourth dimension -- time. The Earth's climate changes continually with time. All that is needed to appreciate this is the daily weather forecasts on TV. No successive forecasts are exactly the same. The climate change believers are lost when considering this key dimension.10.These scientists are completely ignorant of the fact that energy is like water -- it can only flow downhill. There has to be an energy gradient. The fundamentally important energy gradient is from the equator towards the poles. Solar energy received on Earth does not stay where it is but moves towards the poles via the global atmospheric and oceanic processes, radiating energy back into space along the way. There is not much left by the time that it reaches the polar regions. So how will enough surplus energy reach Antarctica to melt all those cubic kilometres of solid ice when there is not enough surplus energy to melt the snow from the top of Mt Kilimanjaro on the equator?11.This means that the further the region is from the equator, the greater the proportion of the available energy will come from the lower latitudes. This means that Europe for example receives more second-hand energy from lower latitudes to the south than directly from the Sun.12.One very important observation that Dave makes in his report is that energy, like water, can be stored and released from storage just like water in a dam. He shows this in turn accounts for much of the climate’s oscillatory behaviour.13.Energy takes several forms during the climatic processes. Heat energy is only one of them. Another fundamental and vitally important error made by climate change scientists as shown in the IPCC documents, is the use of temperature which is a measure of heat energy, instead of energy in all its forms.14.Compare the frequent reference to ‘temperature’ in the IPCC documents with the correct use of ‘energy’ in David’s presentation.The Earth's climate is driven by the receipt, storage and redistribution of solar energy and its eventual radiation back into space. If the interest is in climatic changes from whatever cause, the essential first step is to establish the baseline condition. Even the most cursory examination of hydro-climatic records demonstrates the presence of an oscillating behaviour. This has been known since biblical times.Further examination shows that these observations are mainly but not entirely closely synchronous with sunspot activity which in turn is caused by processes within the Sun itself. In the attached report David examines the causes of the oscillatory behaviour in detail.With all this in mind we must ask a fundamental question. Why were these basic scientific requirements and observations not addressed by all those scientists referenced in the IPCC's assessment reports? Was it through ignorance or for research funding? Or were there other influences at play?Recent events provide some clues. The first is the softening of the previous highly aggressive views of the Royal Society and the BBC in favour of global warming. Probable causes for their change of attitude are that the global climate is not behaving as predicted in the alarmist reports. The other is the growing volume of critical views on the Internet. These are the scientific grounds for their softened approach.The other more worrying event was the failed attempt by the developed nations to involve the UN Security Council. What prompted them to do this despite the certainty that it would upset the developing nations and their scientific advisers? Their action was obviously for political and economic reasons.Everybody should appreciate that this is a vitally important matter. The lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of people are at stake particularly those in the developing nations of Africa.For example, the world is now witnessing the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa. Our published studies showed that this event was predictable. However, the delayed response by the UN agencies shows that my UN commissioned study Risk and Society – an African Perspective published in 1999, and our predictions published in 2008 were ignored. The IPCC prediction methodology is fundamentally incapable of producing this information.Is it not obvious that poverty reduction should be the world’s priority and not the unproven and politically motivated pressures exerted by the affluent nations? Are we not witnessing the resurrection of another form of human slavery? Otherwise how would you explain the UN approved military intervention in Libya in the name of democracy and complete absence of intervention in Somalia where tens of thousands have already died of starvation and disease while no stable form of government exists? Have the affluent western nations no shame?NATO’s intervention in Libya has already resulted in appreciable damage to Libya’s economy. Many hundreds of foreign workers have fled the country. Surely the grounds for intervention in Somalia are far greater than those used to justify military intervention in Libya. Why has this not happened?If you have a deep interest in the climate change issue then I strongly recommend that you compare David's report with Chapter 2 of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report with its many contributors, lead authors and review editors. Then read David’s concluding remarks with which I am in full agreement.The predicted impacts of global warming and other consequences will remain speculative and will be subject to serious criticism unless the global climate models incorporate the cyclical responses and the correlations of any energy imbalances shown to be linked to the planetary interacting forces.Hopefully the Durban conference will see some solutions to this very difficult situation. I am sure that all those closely involved with the conference appreciate that if it fails the UNFCCC and the IPCC will sink with it. Climate change believers and their institutions should seriously consider their probable positions when this happens. The media will not have far to go to find scapegoats.This ends my contribution to this difficult issue that has occupied much of my time during the past 40 years.As always please feel free to distribute this very important email as widely as possible.Regards,Willby D B BredenkampIt is confirmed in this paper that variations in solar activity are a dominant cause of cyclical variations in global climate. Although there are many papers and publications on this subject in the literature, a viable explanation of the physical mechanism and interaction responsible for the sudden change from multiyear drought sequences to multiyear sequences of high rainfall and floods is presented.It is demonstrated using examples of long South African rainfall, river flow and groundwater records that during dry periods surplus incoming solar energy is stored in the oceans. Triggering mechanisms associated with variations in solar activity initiate the sudden release of this energy into the atmosphere via enhanced evaporation processes. These then initiate sub-continental scale atmospheric energy redistribution which affect above average/flooding and severe droughts. This continues until the excess energy stored in the oceans is depleted and conditions return to a state of below average rainfall. This cyclical variability is repeated with a slight delayed hydrological response in synchrony with the sunspot cycles.These processes are predictable and should assist in future water resource development and management. Furthermore, global climate models that do not accommodate these oscillating cyclical impacts could be subject to serious criticism.As a follow-up to the publication on the link between the solar interactions of the planets orbiting the sun (Bailey, 2006) and evidence of a 21 year periodicity of rainfall, river flow and floods, corresponding to the double sunspot cycle (Alexander et al 2007), new results and perspectives are presented. Monthly data of the river flow in the Vaal and Gariep Rivers, the response of the groundwater levels of the Wondergat sinkhole, and rainfall data from the Pretoria and Wondergat areas (see localities - Fig. 1) were analyzed as further verification of the link to the solar impact. All of these data sets are representative of rainfall conditions in the central and north-western part of the RSA.The combined interactions of the planets were calculated according to a simplified model and the hydrological responses were compared with the time-varying sunspot numbers in order to;• Provide further evidence of the linkage to the earth’s climate and to provide a conceptual model to link the sun’s activity with the clouds as reflectors and the ocean as absorber and store of the un-reflected energy, which mediates the redistribution of energy through variable precipitation and ocean currents.• Promote the use of the solar relationship for improved longer-term predictions of cyclical rainfall variations, better planning and management of the water resources of South Africa, and to• Encourage further validation and use of the relationship in other regions of Africa and the world. Around the Pacific Ocean, it seems that changes in the ocean currents and sunspot activity are understood in our present state of ignorance.Fig. 1 - Locality map of sites referenced in the present study.The new model accords with the views and studies of Bailey (2006), Alexander(2005) and Alexander et al (2007) that the solar impact is linked to the variable motion of the planets and the sun. Gravity governs the acceleration and deceleration of the planets in their nearly elliptical orbits. Newton’s law of gravity states that the gravitational forces of the planets vary according to the ratio of their masses divided by the square of the distances to the sun during their orbiting around the SSCM (Solar System Centre of Mass). According to Newton’s third law of motion the gravitational forces of the planets are counteracted by the sun’s gravity. The consequent orbiting motions of the sun and planets are interlinked in a regime of apparent chaotic equilibrium that has been dynamically stable for millions of years. The impact-forces of the planets are counteracted by the sun’s attraction that exerts an opposing gravitational force to balance the motion of the planets according to an interlinked equilibrium that was established over millions of years. In view of the different orbiting times of the planets around the SSCM their relative alignment determined whether the forces they exert are in tandem or opposed to that of Jupiter, which as the most massive planet accounts for 74% of the planetary gravitational forces. (See Table 1).The rationale (Alexander, Bredenkamp) is that the variable sunspot numbers are for the interim reliable indicators of the effects of the gravitational forces on the sun, and thus reflects the cyclical variability of the energy accepted or absorbed by the earth from the sun. Most of the energy is temporarily stored in the ocean. The solar factor (Bailey) is the strength of the solar wind and its magnetic field that effects the impingement of cosmic rays into the atmosphere, and thereby governs the cloud formation and reflection of simple solar thermal electromagnetic radiation from clouds. Therefore the sunspots are probably a reliable proxy for the amount of solar wind. It has been widely accepted since the investigation of Lord Kelvin that direct simple thermal electromagnetic irradiation from the sun varies too little to account for the weather effects on earth resulting from the interacting forces, and provide a measure of the variable energy output of the sun, of which a portion is primarily absorbed by the oceans which plays an integral part in its redistribution by rainfall, the ocean and currents. Depending on the energy status of the oceans a varying redistribution of this energy by rainfall is effected according to the controlling atmospheric processes at any time. Based on the cyclical variation of the sunspots as an indicator of the reactivity of the sun, Alexander (2005) has established that the best correlation with high floods is manifested at intervals corresponding to the double 11 year sunspot cycle. No explanation for non-coincident flooding with the in-between 11-year solar cycle was presented, although a statistical significant correlation between the double sunspot cycle and the recurrence of floods in the Vaal River was established (Alexander 2005). The effect was linked to the transition from low to high sunspot numbers associated with the double sunspot cycle, but no explanation of the cause was given. A major drive to implement the relationship for more effective planning and management of the water resources, was however promoted, even though the complex interrelationship was not yet fully understood.Although the interrelationship appear to be complex, the application with regard to cyclical occurrence of floods and droughts for more effective planning and management of the water resources were strongly advocated by Alexander and associated colleagues. Opposing views that the solar link lacks a supportive scientific basis, prompted the presentation of this conceptual model of the interactions that would hopefully change the views of sceptics. Therefore the premise of the present investigation was that• The variable gravity interaction is the factor governing the number of sunspots, which can be linked to the cyclical variations of the rainfall, runoff and groundwater level fluctuations, which are the natural processes to equalize energy imbalances.• The hydrological responses present the outcome of the redistribution of energy stored in the oceans by rainfall as a major mechanism to restore cyclical energy variations caused by solar interactions, which impact the energy status of the ocean.• It provides a conceptual basis interlinking the energy status of the oceans, as the main receptor and storage tank of energy, with observed climatic responses. Admittedly the processes controlling the climate are complex and involve different components e.g. radiation, reflection, pressure systems, the formation of cyclones and precipitation; all being part of the redistribution of the energy imbalances that are interlinked with that of the oceans.• Verification by means of an analysis of hydrological series of rainfall, runoff and groundwater in South Africa the existence of and reasoning behind, a link with the sunspot cycle.• Providing reasonable explanations to account for discrepancies in the hydrological responses that appear to be contradictory to the expected solar impact. It provides a logical explanation of the combined impact of all the circulating planets around the sun and why the double sunspot cycle affects a higher hydrological response.The new simplified model determines the planetary interactions, which have been simulated according to their orbital positions as configured on August 1977 and August 1989, when the gravity force of Jupiter was opposing that of the other planets. The first date represents the positions of the planets in relation to the sun at the launch of the Satellite Voyager 2 and the second date served as a check that the orbital movement of the planets in the model has remained synchronized in time (Bailey 2006).According to the annual orbiting time of the earth (365.25 days equalling 360 degrees) the varying impact of the planets was derived from their orbital positions for each earthly month over a period of about 100 years. The variation of the relative gravity impacts was calculated according to |
our workers and give all people a chance to succeed. When we get our priorities in order and make the smart investments we need, the markets work well.
“(We) … can’t just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people.”
“We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own in order to create this common ground.”
“I certainly think the free-market has failed.”
The above three statements are all out-of-context passages taken from a 4 June 2007 CNN “Presidential Forum“ conducted with three Democratic presidential hopefuls, senators John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. The second statement was part of a straightforward expression of the need to for people to reach a consensus (through metaphorically giving up some of their political “turf,” not literally giving up their possessions) on how to proceed in order to tackle an issue such as universal health insurance, while the first statement is another pieced-together quote that omits the contextual references to the issues of health care, dependence on foreign oil, and climate change:
We can set the vision. We can even work to articulate the goal. But the pathway is extraordinarily complicated because of how we live today and
how we think of ourselves in relation to our fellow citizens. We can set the vision. We can even work to articulate the goal. But the pathway is extraordinarily complicated because of how we live today andhow we think of ourselves in relation to our fellow citizens. Take health care. I think we could get almost unanimous agreement that having more than 45 million uninsured people, nine million of whom are children, is a moral wrong in America. And I think we could reach that agreement, and then we would have to start doing the hard work of deciding what we were going to do to make sure that they were not uninsured, because an uninsured person who goes to the hospital is more likely to die than an insured person. I mean, that is a fact. So, what do we do? We have to build a political consensus. And that requires people giving up a little bit of their own turf, in order to create this common ground. The same with energy — you know, we can’t keep talking about our dependence on foreign oil, and the need to deal with global warming, and the challenge that it poses to our climate and to God’s creation, and just let business as usual go on. And that means something has to be taken away from some people.
The third statement was part of a passage in which Senator Clinton listed a number of entities (including churches, schools, and the government, as well as the free market) that she felt had failed in helping young people to make responsible decisions (particularly in reference to abortion):
Q: Could you see yourself, with millions of voters in a pro-life camp, creating a common ground, with the goal ultimately in mind of reducing the decisions for abortion to zero? Q: Could you see yourself, with millions of voters in a pro-life camp, creating a common ground, with the goal ultimately in mind of reducing the decisions for abortion to zero? A: Yes. Yes. And that is what I have tried to both talk about and reach out about over the last many years, going back, really, at least 15 years, in talking about abortion being safe, legal, and rare. And, by rare, I mean rare. And it’s been a challenge, because the pro-life and the pro-choice communities have not really been willing to find much common ground. And I think that is a great failing on all of our parts, because, for me there are many opportunities to assist young people to make responsible decisions. There is a tremendous educational and public outreach that could be done through churches, through schools, through so much else. But I think it has to be done with an understanding of reaching people where they are today. We have so many young people who are tremendously influenced by the media culture and by the celebrity culture, and who have a very difficult time trying to sort out the right decisions to make. And I personally believe that the adult society has failed those people. I mean, I think that we have failed them in our churches, our schools, our government. And I certainly think the, you know, free market has failed. We have all failed. We have left too many children to sort of fend for themselves morally.
“I think it’s time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched.”
This passage was taken from a 2 September 2005 appearance by Senator Clinton in front of constituents in Elmira Heights, New York, where (in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina) she expressed her opinion about the need for federal regulatory oversight of the oil industry in order to curb high gasoline prices and U.S. dependence on foreign oil:
The anxiety and anger felt by motorists was evident at nearly every turn in her travels throughout the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. She made clear she shared the concern. The anxiety and anger felt by motorists was evident at nearly every turn in her travels throughout the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. She made clear she shared the concern. “I think it’s time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in our entire economy that they’re being watched,” she said in explaining her call for an inquiry by the Federal Trade Commission. “I think human nature left to itself is going to push the limit as far as possible, and that’s what you need a government regulatory system for: to keep an eye on people to make the rules of the game fair, to make a level playing field and not give anybody some kind of undue advantage.” Clinton criticized the new energy bill, which she opposed, as inadequate to solve the country’s long-term energy problem. She said the United States has regressed over the past three decades, since the first oil shocks of the early 1970s. “We’ve had 30 years to do some things we haven’t done,” she said. “In fact we’ve gotten, we’ve gone backwards in many respects. “I am tired of being at the mercy of people in the Middle East and elsewhere, and I’m tired frankly of being at the mercy of these large oil companies,” Clinton said.
Last updated: 30 March 2015
Sources:LUCKNOW: Ending all speculations, Narendra Modi's close aide and UP in charge Amit Shah announced on Saturday that the BJP's prime ministerial candidate would be filing his nomination papers on April 24.The announcement of Modi's nomination filing date has ended days of speculation with media reports claiming that Modi would file nomination on April 22 as astrologically this is the day that suits Modi the most.However, talking to media persons on Saturday at state BJP headquarters, Shah said that Modi would be filing his nomination papers on April 24.Shah, who was flanked by co in charge of BJP Sunil Bansal, said that once Modi files the nomination from Varanasi, the winds of change that were blowing until now would turn into a Tsunami.Interestingly, Modi would be filing the nomination on the last day of the nomination date for the phase which would also be the last in UP.Shah claimed that in the first two phases of the elections held so far in UP, as per his report, BJP is all set to get 18 out of the total 21 seats that went to the polls.Taking a dig at Congress party, Shah said that the Congress party has dearth of relevant issues and hence it was making personal attacks.You must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters
A rocket launch planned for Wednesday is expected to be visible from much of the Mid-Atlantic including central and eastern North Carolina, weather permitting. The 133-foot Antares rocket will launch on a test flight from the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
The launch window opens at 5 p.m. Eastern and extends for three hours. The event will be carried live on NASA TV and NASA.com. Once you see the rocket lift off on TV or online, head outside and look to the northeast. Observers along the North Carolina coast should look more to the north.
If you’ve not seen a launch before, you may be surprised that the path is more out than up. This puts it on a course which matches the ISS and also takes some advantage of the Earth's rotation to give the rocket a bit more energy. Look for the rocket’s exhaust plume to draw a thin, rising line from left to right.
Central Florida residents know well that Space Shuttle and SpaceX launches follow a gentle arc across the sky as the vehicle gains speed to reach the 17,500 miles per hour needed to orbit Earth. The plume can linger for hours on an especially calm day but often twists as sea breezes push and pull it.
If the launch is postponed, additional launch windows are available through Friday. If clouds obscure our view, there will be more chances to see a launch. Orbital Sciences Corporation is contracted to provide eight Commercial Resupply Missions (CRS) to deliver over 20 tons of cargo each to the ISS.
Three cubesats will also be deployed by the mission. These small satellites are built around smartphones running the Android operating system to demonstrate that inexpensive, off-the-shelf hardware can perform spacecraft functions.
Tony Rice is a volunteer in the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador program and software engineer at Cisco Systems. You can follow him on twitter @rtphokie.One of the seven patents at the heart of Apple's $1.05 billion lawsuit against Samsung Electronics has been tentatively rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), according to documents filed by Samsung with a Californian court late on Monday.
The USPTO made its decision following a request to re-examine the patent, but has yet to make a final ruling on the matter, it said in a letter dated Oct. 15. Samsung told the court the letter was published to the USPTO website Monday.
Apple's "list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touchscreen display" patent describes a way to indicate the end of a scrollable list on a touch-screen device, and is also known as the "overscroll bounce" or "rubber band" patent.
The company has used this patent in various lawsuits against Samsung and other manufacturers of Android devices. In Germany it won a preliminary sales ban on phones and tablets from Motorola Mobility in September when the regional court of Munich ruled the devices infringed on the European equivalent of the same patent.
Earlier this year, Apple convinced a jury in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, that Samsung devices infringed the overscroll bounce patent, among others. The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages.
The USPTO's letter is relevant to Samsung's attempts to block Apple's motion for a permanent injunction and damages enhancement, the company said in a court filing on Monday.
The USPTO found the patent tentatively invalid because there were earlier technologies patented that are similar to Apple's overscroll bounce patent. These earlier patented inventions are known as "prior art."
Apple's overscroll bounce patent was anticipated by a patent invented by Luigi Lira that describes how to control content in a display, the USPTO said in the claim rejections.
The Apple patent was also anticipated by another patented invention describing a "continuous scrolling list with acceleration", the USPTO said.
Samsung has already worked around the overscroll bounce infringement last year. Instead of letting pages scroll past their boundaries and snap back, the company now shows a blue glow at the edge of the screen when a user tries to scroll past the end of a list.
Loek is Amsterdam Correspondent and covers online privacy, intellectual property, open-source and online payment issues for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to loek_essers@idg.comRecommendation Number 13 on the Republican Party’s recently released list of demographic outreach priorities is to “Expand our presence on more pop culture oriented outlets to ensure our message is reaching all voters.” A few years ago, I might have scoffed at this recommendation. The electorate, I thought, became serious enough during high presidential election season to make sure it reached the message of presidential candidate’s in traditional ways e.g., watching debates, viewing ads, and checking mainstream outlets. If anything, it seemed to me, an over-emphasis on pop culture outlets might backfire by undermining the seriousness of a candidate for president.
If that idealized electorate ever existed, it no longer exists today. And Barack Obama masterfully exploited this reality. As Tevi Troy reminds us:
Throughout 2012, President Obama maintained a laser-like focus not on the economy, but on his cultural image. For a sitting commander in chief, Obama continually demonstrated an unprecedented and often disturbing level of pop culture fluency, showing himself to be up to date on music, movies, and especially TV. Obama, at one time or another, mentioned Homeland, Modern Family, Boardwalk Empire, and Mad Men as among his favorite shows. In addition to being on the cutting edge of the small screen, Obama also knew where to go to demonstrate how hip he was, appearing on more than two dozen “soft” entertainment-style interviews during the campaign. He “slow jammed” the news on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and let Fallon call him the “Preezy of the United Steezy.”…He was also a popular guest on Oprah and The View, appearing five times on the latter. At one point, he chose to appear on The View over meeting key world leaders who were visiting the U.S. for the United Nations General Assembly.
The Obama campaign was up-front about what its man was trying to accomplish. In response to the MSM’s grumbling about Obama’s media priorities, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter explained that soft media outlets such as People or Entertainment Tonight are “equally important” compared to the hard news side of things.
In the end, young voters overwhelmingly supported Obama, by a margin of 67-30.
Troy recognizes, as I hope the Party establishment does, that Republicans cannot attain anything like the same reverence from the pop culture world that Obama did. For one thing, the icons and arbiters of the pop culture dislike Republicans, and not because they are insufficiently conversant with hip hop and Mad Men. For another, a conservative party will rarely find itself as comfortable with youth culture as a liberal one.
As Troy concludes, however, this doesn’t mean that Republicans can’t improve their relationship with pop culture. But declarations of affection won’t accomplish that objective:
A move towards hipness must come from the party leaders themselves, like Marco Rubio, a hip hop fan, or Paul Ryan, who is partial to heavy metal. These politicians recognize that Republicans need to shrink the pop-culture gap if they want to communicate effectively with voters, and win.Demetri Burch
Demetri Burch has an in-home visit with Oregon coach Raymond Woodie Jr.
(Courtesy of Demetri Burch)
247Sports three-star athlete Demetri Burch has never been shy about his interest in the Oregon Ducks - even while he was still committed to South Florida.
"(It's a) dream-come-true," he said of the scholarship offer. "Coach T was the reason I committed to South Florida, and he's a good guy and a great coach."
Frankly, it's hard to blame him.
Having committed to Oregon coach Willie Taggart while he was at South Florida, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound prospect, out of Apopka High School (Apopka, Florida), quickly announced that he was down to a final two of Oregon and South Florida.
Since then, Burch has decommitted from the Bulls and Oregon has cranked up the recruiting heat, stopping by Monday for an in-home visit.
"Everything went good," Burch said. "Me and Coach Woodie, we talked about me playing kick return. He told me how everything is up there in Oregon, but he said he didn't want to spoil it and wanted me to see it for myself."
This weekend, the dynamic Florida talent will travel to Eugene for his official visit, which could go a long way in determining his final decision.
"I want to see the facilities," Burch said. "I heard it was crazy, and I want to build a good relationship with the position coach. And academics, of course."
He's also hoping that fellow former South Florida pledge Bruce Judson Jr. ends up going to the same college.
Burch sees that as a realistic possibility.
"There's a good chance we'll end up at the same spot," he said.
Oregon's official visit with Burch will be key, and this weekend should go a long way in sorting out his future plans.
-- Andrew Nemec
anemec@oregonian.com
@AndrewNemecYOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California - Officials at Yosemite National Park say they are temporarily shutting a popular campsite after two squirrels died of plague in the area.
Park officials said Friday that Tuolumne Meadows Campground will close from noon Monday through noon Friday so authorities can treat the area with a flea-killing insecticide.
Plague is carried by rodents and is spread by fleas. Transmission of plague between people is rare, and state health officials say the risk to human health is low.
An unidentified child fell ill with the plague after camping with his family at Yosemite's Crane Flat Campground in mid-July. The park reopened Crane Flat on Friday after treating that campground for four days with an insecticide.
“Human cases of plague are rare, with the last reported human infection in California occurring in 2006,” said Dr. Karen Smith, director and state health officer of the California Department of Public Health. “Although this is a rare disease, people should protect themselves from infection by avoiding any contact with wild rodents. Never feed squirrels, chipmunks, or other rodents in picnic or campground areas, and never touch sick or dead rodents. Protect your pets from fleas and keep them away from wild animals."
The child is recovering in a hospital.
Since 1970, 42 people in California have contracted plague, resulting in nine deaths.
The National Park Service warns visitors never to feed rodents or touch dead ones, and to wear long pants to avoid flea bites.
Additional reporting by MashableSanctuary Brewing Company is a nano brewery and tap room committed to enriching the lives of humans through our excellent craft beer, and benefiting animals through local advocacy. This business is an extension of us, beer enthusiasts and animal lovers with a strong sense of community and environmental responsibility. Sanctuary Brewing Company is dedicated to making small batch, high quality artisanal ales. We feature classic styles like Belgian farmhouse ales, American stouts and West Coast IPAs. We will be located in the heart of Hendersonville, at 147 First Avenue East. Our space is over 4,000 square feet, which allows for a brewery, tap room, and event space. Sanctuary Brewing Company will always be pet friendly, so feel free to bring your leashed and friendly animals! Opening summer, 2015 in beautiful downtown Hendersonville, North Carolina. - See more at: http://www.sanctuarybrewco.com/#sthash.YqYpfM16.dpuf
Risks and challenges
We realize that with any new project there are unanticipated costs, and this kickstarter will help us to survive the impact of those costs. In our case, it's been archtiitects, electrical engineers, lawyer fees, and upgrades to our property to not only meet code, but to abide by the historic preservation of our exterior. These are all items we are more than happy to fund, but as they were not a part of our original business plan, crowdfunding is extremely helpful in allowing us to keep control of our business and not be forced into selling off equity or incurring more bank debt. This means we control our business and our income, and in return help more animals, and the community as a whole.Janelle Monae’s Paris Fashion Week Style Had Jaws Dropping
Noooo! We weren’t ready! (in our Kevin Hart voice.)
Janelle Monae has always had style, but she took it up several notches and was out here slaying and slaughtering for Paris Fashion Week.
Pulling out a unique black and white ensemble by the designer of each show she attended Ms Monae shot to the top of many a best dressed list. Check it out for yourself!
Janelle Monae for Chanel…
For Stella McCartney…
For John Galliano…
For Sonia Rykiel…
For Emmanuel Ungaro…
For Philip Plein…
For Akris…
For Giambattista Valli…
For Virgil Abloh…
At Elle’s after hours party at the US Embassy with stylist Maeve Reilly, who is responsible for these looks!
All we can say is…
Ladies, what do you think of Ms Monae’s looks? Which one is your favorite?
Photo credits: Getty Images, Vogue.com, Janelle Monae Instagram accountThe Rising Wedge is a great chart pattern that I tend to trade more often than not. While bearish in nature, it forms with wide price action at the base and then contracts as price action moves higher and the range of trading narrows.
Contrary to the symmetrical triangle, which shows no obvious slope and therefore no bullish/bearish bias, rising wedges show an obvious slope to the upside and hold a bearish bias. Though the pattern is typically a signal of reversal, continuation of the uptrend is still possible.
When present as a continuation pattern, the rising wedge will slope to the upside, but the up-slope will typically be found within a downtrend.
When present in as a reversal pattern, the rising wedge will slope to the upside within an uptrend. Regardless of continuation or reversal, rising wedges are always bearish patterns.
As with any reversal, there needs to be an established trend to reverse. The rising wedge can form on virtually any time frame, and can mark the reversal of a short, intermediate, or long term trend. The odds of a breakdown are at 69%, leaving only 31% odds of a break to the upside. At times the overall trend may actually be consumed entirely by the rising wedge, while at other times the pattern forms after an extended advance.
Resistance Line: At least two highs are required to draw the upper resistance trend line. For the rising wedge to be a valid pattern, the stock price should be creating higher highs.
Support Line: At least two lows are required to draw the lower support trend line. The stock price should be creating higher lows in order for the pattern to be valid.
Price Action Contraction: The distance between the resistance and support lines will contract as the pattern matures. Each advance (or bounce) from the support line becomes smaller and smaller, making the rally much less convincing. As a result, the upper resistance line fails to keep pace with the slope of the lower support line, therefore indicating a supply overhang as the price increases.
Break in Support Line: Confirmation of a bearish move is when the support line is broken, and the candle for the current time frame has closed passed the break. If you want to play it safe, wait for a break of the previous higher low. Once this support is broken, there may be a reaction rally to retest the new found resistance level (broken support line) as show below on AAPL 5 min chart.
Volume: In the ideal rising wedge pattern, volume declines as the price rises and the wedge forms. A serge in sell volume during the break of the support line can be accepted as confirmation of a bearish breakdown. The loss of momentum to the upside on each new high gives the pattern it's bearish bias. The final break in support signals that the overall forces of supply have won and lower prices are probable. Contrary to the In the ideal rising wedge pattern, volume declines as the price rises and the wedge forms. A serge in sell volume during the break of the support line can be accepted as confirmation of a bearish breakdown. The loss of momentum to the upside on each new high gives the pattern it's bearish bias. The final break in support signals that the overall forces of supply have won and lower prices are probable. Contrary to the Ascending Triangle and Symmetrical Triangle, there are no techniques for measuring to estimate the total decline. Other technical analysis should be conducted to forecast the price target.
Below is an example of a rising wedge pattern from $TREE, that was an epic short sell. Several of my twitter followers also banked some nice gains off of the alert.
Executing the Trade
Entry Signal: A trade entry signal is given when the price breaks the support line of the wedge to the downside. Again, odds are at 69% that the pattern will breakdown, but to reduce risk, it is recommended that you wait for the break before entering a trade.
Work with fibs, and keep an eye on the MACD RSI, and moving averages to help determine potential reversal in downtrend and/or price targets or selling levels.
Check out my finviz screener settings to find rising wedges on the verge of a breakdown.
Remember to stay in your "Trader Mentality."
Labels: Technical AnalysisTree Root That Ate Roger Williams
Providence, Rhode Island
Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, and did so as a refuge of religious freedom. That's important now, but it was apparently so unimportant back then that when Williams died in 1683 he was shoveled into an unmarked grave. Nearly 200 years passed before someone decided to dig him up and give him a proper burial. That was in 1860, and that's when the problems started.
"Roger Williams was supposedly buried in a corner of a yard over on Benefit Street," said Kirsten Hammerstrom, curator of the Rhode Island Historical Society. "They did some digging, and found 'greasy earth'" (a hint that a body had been there) and they also found something else. An apple tree root. "And because of its shape," Kirsten continued, "they assumed that, 'This is Roger.'"
The root had entered the coffin. It curved where Roger's head should have been and entered the chest cavity, growing down the spine. It branched at the two legs, and then upturned into feet!
Kirsten fixes us with skeptical eyes. "Do you really think that an apple tree could eat someone?" Her answer is obviously no, but ours is a rousing "Yes!" And generations of New Englanders have felt the same way. We believe in the tree root that ate Roger Williams.
Such enthusiastic public support presents philosophical and practical problems for the Rhode Island Historical Society. How do you display something that you don't believe in, and where do you put it?
The root stays in one of the Society's historic buildings in Providence, the John Brown House (the Brown University John Brown, not the abolitionist John Brown). But the Society feels that the House should tell John Brown's story, not a tale of some corpse-eating root. This has meant that it has been relegated to the basement in recent decades -- although visitors who asked could usually get it hauled upstairs for a peek.
That changed in 2007, thanks to Kirsten. "Maybe I'm a fool for getting it out," she says. "But people ask! You know? I don't want to say no. And people enjoy it. You meet the need."
A Solomon-like compromise was reached: the root would be displayed in the old carriage house behind the John Brown House, not in the House itself. It's mounted on a wall, secure behind a wire grid, a padlock, and throw bolts. This is one root that won't have any more human snacks. It's also inside a coffin-shaped frame as a visual aid, so that visitors can see which part of the root swallowed Roger's feet, which part ate his head, etc. "That was done by some previous curator," Kirsten tells us. "People who have this kind of job frequently have an odd sense of humor."
It isn't a perfect arrangement, of course. The root is next to the TV that shows the John Brown family video history -- a comparison in style and substance that the Rhode Island Historical Society would probably rather avoid. But we notice that whenever Kirsten mentions Roger Williams, she gestures toward the root. And sometimes she slips and calls it "Roger." Maybe her skepticism is more professional than personal?
Not a chance.
"Some Baptists came from Texas and I scheduled a tour of the House -- but all they wanted to see was the root!" she says, exasperated. "I personally don't understand it. But people seem enthused and thrilled -- so, all right."
(Note: The RoadsideAmerica.com search engine, Roger, was inspired by the post-mortem founder of Rhode Island, as both are wooden and tend to get into things.)Updated with Matt Bevin’s statement below.
Matt Bevin’s Kentucky campaign is officially chicken fried.
Bevin, who is challenging Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for the Republican Senate nomination, has spent weeks struggling to explain his appearance at a pro-cockfighting event on March 29. After a series of vague denials, video emerged on Thursday of Bevin personally defending legalized cockfighting – a sport in which chickens fight to the death – at the rally.
The revelation is another blow to Bevin’s campaign, which has struggled to gain traction despite enthusiastic support from conservative commentators like Glenn Beck and a variety of national tea party groups.
The cockfighting event became a national news story after a Kentucky paper reported earlier this month that Bevin had spoke at the gathering, which organizers told the press was specifically devoted to legalizing cockfighting. Bevin maintained that the rally was not about cockfighting, that he was “the first speaker” at the event and quickly left, and that he was unaware what else was discussed.
A TV report on cockfighting by local station WAVE 3 News, however, includes video of the rally that calls all three of Bevin’s claims into question. For one, Bevin was not the first speaker – he was preceded by American Gamefowl Defense Director Dave Devereaux, who reportedly told the crowd in his remarks that the event was held for “the sole purpose of legalizing gamecock fighting at the state level.”
After Bevin spoke next, Deveraux asked him whether he would “vote to support the effort to legalize gamecock fighting in the state of Kentucky.”
“I support the people of Kentucky exercising their right, because it is our right to decide what it is that we want to do, and not the federal government’s,” Bevin responded. “Criminalizing behavior, if it’s part of the heritage of this state, is in my opinion a bad idea. A bad idea. I will not support it.”
Bevin talked to msnbc about the event earlier this month at an event in Louisville. In the interview, he denied the gathering was organized around cockfighting and strongly implied that he didn’t know the topic was broached at all.
“It wasn’t a cockfighting event, that’s where you all need to start telling the truth about what happened,” Bevin said. “This was a gathering of people talking about states rights. I don’t know what they talked about other then the fact that when I was there, I talked about my campaign.”
He also called attacks related to it “a lie” and blamed his opponent for stoking the fire.
“This is what McConnell does, he makes up lies, he spins the fluff, and all of it is intended to distract people that aren’t thoughtful enough to actually dig under the hood and ask hard questions,” he said.
But asked by a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal on Thursday whether he wanted to change his story in light of the new report, Bevin admitted he was unsure whether he had personally said the phrase “cockfighting” at any time during the event.
“I don’t honestly, I don’t know,” he said. “I mean not as part of my commentary, no.”
Bevin told WAVE 3 that he couldn’t remember what he said in response to Devereaux’s question about cockfighting either.
His campaign offered up no new information or clarification when asked by msnbc for comment.
Close video Matt Bevin supporters stay devoted despite odds in Kentucky Senate primary Supporters of tea party-backed Kentucky Senate candidate Matt Bevin remain passionately committed to ousting Mitch McConnell from office. Meet the activists giving the campaign energy despite its odds. share tweet email save Embed
to be reined in.”
“This is just a rehash of an old story,” campaign spokeswoman Sarah Durand said in an e-mail. “Primary voters will have a choice on May 20th between a veteran, small business owner, father of nine who will fight for our conservative values in Matt Bevin, or more of the same old liberal policies from Mitch McConnell. Since McConnell can’t defend his record, all he can do is try to make his opponent look worse. Instead, we should be addressing the core issue – that the federal government has gotten too big, too intrusive, and needs
The McConnell campaign, which criticized Bevin over the episode earlier this month, is already tearing into Bevin over the latest news.
“Matt Bevin’s cockfighting episode will go down as one of the most disqualifying moments in Kentucky political history,” McConnell campaign spokeswoman Allison Moore said in an e-mail. “Twenty years from now, we will all remember the time when the East Coast con-man thought so little of Kentuckians that he pathologically lied to us about absolutely everything until an undercover camera caught him red-handed at a cockfighting rally.”
Update: In a statement, Matt Bevin apologized for attending the rally. He added that while he opposed “cockfighting or any other forms of animal cruelty,” he also opposed efforts by the federal government to ban the practice on the basis of states rights.
Bevin’s full statement below:
“A month ago, I was invited to Corbin to discuss my candidacy at an event where folks had gathered to address various states’ rights issues. I am genuinely sorry that my attendance at an event which, other than my comments, appears to have primarily involved a discussion of cockfighting, has created concern on the part of many Kentucky voters. I understand that concern. I am not and have never been, a supporter of cockfighting or any other forms of animal cruelty. I am, however, a strong supporter of states’ rights. Regardless of any personal views on this issue, animal rights are not an enumerated power granted to the federal government under the Constitution. Such decisions should be left to each state to decide. I made the decision to speak at the gathering in Corbin because I support our 10th Amendment rights, not because I support or condone every topic discussed at the event.”In this photo taken on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, Alexander Litvinenko points to damage inflicted where a missile hit, two days before, leaving a gaping hole in the wall of his ninth-floor apartment, in Donetsk, Ukraine. The 53-year-old college philosophy teacher had just stepped into his study to check the news online, barely escaping death. Others in the residential neighborhood in northwest Donetsk were less fortunate. Five civilians were killed and 12 injured in fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebels on Monday, according to the mayor’s office. Residents in the rebel-held city are blaming Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who has promised to stamp out the uprising in the eastern part of the country. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) The Associated Press
By LUCIAN KIM, Associated Press
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — War literally came to Alexander Litvinenko's living room, when a missile punched a gaping hole into the wall of his ninth-floor apartment. The 53-year-old college philosophy teacher had just stepped into his study to check the news online, barely escaping death.
Others in the residential neighborhood in northwest Donetsk were less fortunate. Five civilians were killed and 12 injured in fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebels on Monday, according to the mayor's office. Residents in the rebel-held city are blaming Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who has promised to stamp out the uprising in the eastern part of the country.
"They're bombing the civilian population instead of taking their fight to the battlefield," said Natalya Kiselyova, a dental hygienist in the neighborhood.
Kiselyova, 38, said she heard the whistle of rockets that landed in the neighborhood, leaving a crater near a playground and slashing the bark off trees. "In western Ukraine they think we're terrorists. We're ordinary people who want to get up in the morning, go to work and sleep at night."
While the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last week riveted international attention on the Ukraine conflict, locals have been struggling for months with spiraling violence. The Ukrainian military, buoyed after the fall of rebel stronghold Slovyansk this month, is now trying to encircle Donetsk and cut off any supply routes from Russia.
Government forces have a delicate task ahead as they try to chase out rebels from densely populated areas. New York-based Human Rights Watch last week called on Poroshenko to investigate cases in which Ukrainian forces appear to have targeted civilians.
Meanwhile, Ukraine blames the rebels for attacks on civilians, saying "terrorists" are trying to discredit government forces.
"We have evidence that the terrorists are intentionally shelling residential areas," said Security Council spokesman Andrei Lysenko.
"Ukrainian forces never use artillery or aviation against villages and towns," he said.
Even with the threat of Ukrainian strikes, a semblance of normalcy lingers as government forces close in. Buses ply the streets; people walk their dogs in parks; and municipal workers weed flower beds in the manicured city center. At the same time, most businesses are closed and the city's wide avenues are largely devoid of people and cars. About 40 percent of Donetsk's 1 million inhabitants have left the city, rebel leader Alexander Borodai said this week.
Residents in a neighborhood in the western part of Donetsk had a scare Thursday when a shell pierced the top of a nine-story building. Nobody was hurt, and people gathered at the site said they were told by rescue workers that it had most probably been a dummy shell used for aiming artillery.
"We have nowhere to hide. We've been told to hide in the stairwells," said local resident Tatyana Slipenko, 56, who heard the impact while she was doing needlework in her apartment. She said she didn't plan to leave the city.
"Where should we go? This is our land. We're not going anywhere yet, even though we all have relations in Russia."
Litvinenko, the man whose apartment was wrecked, voiced no desire for revenge.
"The solution I see is to stop the shooting. Then Europe and Russia should step in to help start talks," he said. "Nothing will be resolved by force."Despite the ever increasing threat of online piracy, Hollywood is allocating less money to their flagship anti-piracy outfit. Tax records reveal that in a period of three years the major movie studios cut their payments to the MPAA in half. As a direct result the budget of the movie industry group reached a new low of $49.6 million, causing wage and legal fee payouts |
Cross said two people received minor injuries, the National News Agency reported.
Smoke rose from the Verdun area of Beirut after the blast. Local television showed footage of a damaged building and said shattered glass had fallen to the ground from several storeys up.
A security source quoted by Reuters said the bomb had contained 2 kg (4 lb) of explosives.
The blast was caused by a bomb placed in a bag under a car parked near the major bank, the country’s interior minister told Reuters.
"Politically it is clear that target was Blom Bank only," Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk said, adding that the attack had nothing to do with ISIS, which has mounted suicide bombings in Beirut.
Machnouk said initial reports indicated there had been no fatalities.
BLOM BANK director general Saad al-Azhari told reporters that no threats had been received by the bank.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports have suggested that some Western embassies and major institutions in Beirut have circulated warnings to employees since yesterday to stay away from public areas in the Lebanese capital.
The last bomb attack to hit the Lebanese capital killed more than 40 people in the southern suburbs, an area where the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group is dominant. That bombing was claimed by the ISIS group.
Blom Bank has closed a number of bank accounts belonging to people suspected of links to Hezbollah to comply with a US act targeting the Shiite group's finances, Lebanese officials have said.
(with Reuters and AFP)
Last Update: Monday, 13 June 2016 KSA 16:07 - GMT 13:07This past week, the OpenShift Origin repository on Github saw some major code merges from external contributors that added MSFT.Net functionality to the OpenShift Origin platform. Thousands of new lines of code were tested and merged successfully into the OpenShift Origin codebase, which was then instantly made available for anyone to download and deploy.
The merge of the.Net code base showcases how successfully the OpenShift Origin community has taken advantage of GitHub's social coding services to help establish an agile and open development process. An excellent Contributor's Technical guide for getting started is available within Origin's documentation section.
Aside from making OpenShift technically easy to build, develop, and test against, Origin's open community culture also makes it easy to collaborate together efficiently. The culture has evolved from a number of historical Red Hat collaborative practices that give the community a very productive efficiency and make it more agile.
At Red Hat, we believe it is important for future growth and adoption of open source projects to have vendor-neutral meritocratic processes, and proper intellectual property management in order to succeed. This is why we have chosen Apache V2.0 license - And, why we have chosen NOT to require contributor license agreements (CLAs), or to establish a foundation. These choices often raise a few eyebrows, so I thought I would address these issues with the help of Red Hat's legal advisor, Richard Fontana in this week's blog post.
Open Collaboration
When joining an open community, your first point of entry is through the technical infrastructure. In the case of OpenShift Origin, that entry point is GitHub.
With an Open Source project, the choice of infrastructure has a huge effect on the culture of the project itself. Tools like GitHub not only help us build the project by providing us version control, source code management, issue tracking, and social collaboration mechanisms - but GitHub also empowers the community to contribute and collaborate in an open and transparent manner.
Contributions come in many shapes
The recursive and open nature of the OpenShift Origin project is seen at many levels of the project's infrastructure, as contributions come in many forms. Support for dotNet-based environments was added via a contribution to the origin-server core project. However, many contributions come in the form of community quickstarts and cartridges. Filing bug reports via Bugzilla, collaborating on feature tracking via Trello, and joining the discussion on StackOverFlow's Forums, are also great ways to contribute. The public nature of these contributions is what gives life to the project itself.
Chris Kelly, in his book "Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software", talks about a “recursive public” i.e public organized around the ability to build, modify, and maintain the very infrastructure that gives it life in the first place.
As Kelly puts it:
"A recursive public is a public that is vitally concerned with the material and practical maintenance and modification of the technical, legal, practical, and conceptual means of its own existence as a public; it is a collective independent of other forms of constituted power and is capable of speaking to existing forms of power through the production of actually existing alternatives." - "Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software"
The OpenShift Origin community is a merit-based power model. It is very much a "recursive public" that drives the direction of the community efforts, sets the tone of inclusivity and ensures open and transparent processes. Power is in the hands of those members of the public who contribute. Some of those who contribute are paid to do so by their employers, but their power to shape the project is based on merit not on any pay-to-play model.
Open Licensing
Whenever there's a significant chunk of code being merged into a project the question of licenses on the contribution usually gets asked. Historically, Red Hat grew out of the Linux movement and was culturally very tied to the GPL model of open source licensing, though there were always exceptions. Over the past few years, many important Red Hat projects (oVirt, OpenShift Origin, and key pieces of JBoss), have all been released under an Apache License - which is a lot more permissive than the GPL (overall), generating less resistance from our community of contributors.
There are a number of reasons for this but probably the most significant one is the issue of trust. We have more of a chance of building a successful community around a project that starts out as Red Hat code if we are seen as giving up more control. This is related to the CLA issue, because CLAs are a mechanism for control and imposing asymmetry. When open source code is released by a corporation, the Apache License 2.0 is unusually good at signaling "trust us" to communities. It is easy to fork an Apache License project, there are few limits on how code can be commercialized even by competitors. It's safe to get involved.
Lowering the Barriers to Participation
Red Hat initiates more open source projects than any other company, and the vast majority of these have never used any sort of CLA or copyright assignment. Most of the exceptions are projects that came out of acquisitions (for example, Cygwin or various JBoss projects), although even with projects coming out of acquisitions our more recent tendency is to eliminate any existing use of copyright assignment or a CLA -- an example of this is GlusterFS. The reason CLAs are generally not used at Red Hat has to do with tradition and culture -- Red Hat is an authentic product of open source community culture and typically open source projects do not use CLAs, and indeed in the open source community CLAs and copyright assignment have been very controversial political issues for years for all the reasons given above.
There is a special additional reason why CLAs are not needed for Apache License 2.0 projects: the Apache License 2.0 actually contains an explicit license condition that says, in effect, that patches submitted to the upstream project are by default to be licensed under the same terms that the contributor received the project code under -- namely the Apache License 2.0. Even ignoring all the other points made above, if there was ever a license for which CLAs were unnecessary it's the Apache License.
We made the decision not to use a CLA when we launched OpenShift Origin, for reasons related to what has been discussed above. A CLA is not necessary and would just limit our efforts to build a collaborative and trusting community around OpenShift Origin.
Why Foundations, Trade Associations and other Walled Gardens still cling to CLAs
Some open source project organizations are slowly embracing Social Coding, but still holding tight to barriers to participation like asymmetrical CLAs. It is not always clear why such CLAs are used. Some companies use CLAs with terms that are intentionally unfair or burdensome because there is actually a desire to discourage "outside" participation based on merit.
Such companies want their projects to look like community projects while actually being walled gardens. In other cases, there seems to be a belief that CLAs are necessary for some legal reason that is never really well-explained. We've even seen one peculiar case of a project that apparently views its amassing of CLAs (especially if signed by "large cap" companies) as somehow being proof of its ecosystem health.
What most uses of CLAs have in common, however, is asymmetry and imposition of red tape for contributors. CLAs usually privilege one company or organization and create legal obstacles for those who seek to participate and contribute.
Mistaken Beliefs of Contributor Protection
We sometimes encounter the mistaken belief that CLAs are somehow necessary to protect contributors and users from IP issues. The reality is that typical CLAs do nothing to protect contributors at all. Rather, they require contributors to undertake legal obligations that go beyond the level of what open source licenses themselves require, thus if anything increasing the risk of their participation in an open source project. This is one reason why such CLAs (and similar copyright assignment regimes) operate as a barrier to community contribution. CLAs do not protect users either, at least any more so than the outbound open source license of the project. A downstream user cannot invoke a CLA for protection against some sort of IP risk. Users need for the code to be open source, with all the legal rights that implies, but it is the open source license that provides this.
The only true beneficiary of a CLA is the company or foundation that imposes it as a contribution requirement. Even there, the benefit is more illusory than real, and will almost certainly be small relative to the cost borne by the project, because adoption of a CLA will make it harder for others to make contributions or for contributions to be treated based on their technical merit.
This may be easiest to see in the case of a project like OpenShift Origin that is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. The Apache License provides very generous copyright permissions from contributors, and contributors explicitly grant patent licenses as well. These rights are granted to everyone. A number of Apache License 2.0 projects use CLAs as well, but invariably these CLAs are, from the contributor's perspective, more restrictive legal obligations that run to the benefit of one organization rather than to the community. And unlike the Apache License, which is, like all open source licenses, operational without requiring additional legal formalities or paperwork, CLAs are typically structured like conventional contracts, entailing some system of formal assent and bureaucratic procedure.
At Red Hat, we don't feel the need for such tight reins on the projects we sponsor. To paraphrase, Chris Kelly - "The material and practical maintenance and modification of the technical, legal, practical, and conceptual means of the project is hands of the very public submission process"
CLAs, for example, are not needed to give users the rights they expect to get from an Apache License 2.0 project. The rights come from the Apache License itself, granted directly by the various contributors to the project. For OpenShift Origin, those rights are granted when a github pull request is submitted by an authenticated github user. To argue otherwise would imply that the vast majority of open source software, including some of the most widely-used codebases, contains fatal legal flaws, since most of that code originates from projects that do not use CLAs or copyright assignment. Such a view is irresponsible but is also refuted by the fact that those same open source projects form the basis of vibrant community and commercial ecosystems.
Avoid the Pay-to-Play Trade Association Open Source Foundation Route
Some Open Source projects choose to go the foundation route. With major project initiatives coming out of corporations, we have been seeing a number of cases where a trade association foundation is formed in order to bring corporate resources to bear on their project and promote a more pay-to-play powered model. This foundation-based approach moves the first point of entry to a 'join the foundation first' model, before you can actually begin to participate in the project. This often entails a 'pay-to-play' model to get a seat at the table. It may be a coincidence that most such foundations also impose CLA requirements for project contributors, but the pay-to-play model represents a barrier that if anything is much more significant than asking a developer to sign an unnecessary or duplicative license agreement
The reality is that corporate subsidies do not constitute the kind of collective independently-powered project that is truly open source. The pay-to-play trade association open source foundation model are actually modeled on old-school standards consortia, which actually pre-date the rise of open source development which represents a more agile, transparent, and egalitarian way of developing technology. In some ways, open source can be seen as supplanting standards development.
Conclusions
In OpenShift Origin, rather than counting the market caps of CLA signers, we measure participation via actual contributions to the code base. This approach has landed us in the top five community projects on GitHub when ranked by number of merged pull requests. The combination of our open, social collaborative infrastructure model, our adoption of an Apache V2.0 license, and our good sense not to require CLAs (or large donations to a foundation) in order to contribute is what makes us the most successful open source PaaS available.
Participate in the OpenShift Community
Originally posted on OpenShift Blog. Reposted with permission.Bernie Sanders’ campaign to be the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2016 US presidential election presents the far left in the United States with some hard questions.
For those convinced that the electoral process is a vehicle through which the capitalist class enlists the rest of us in consenting to our own subjection, Sanders’ campaign makes us ask why this time might be different. For those focused on internationalism, anti-imperialism, anti-racism and worker control of the means of production, there seems no principled reason to support Sanders. And for those convinced that only a politics that develops outside the system can change the system, it’s unclear how the campaign is anything but another iteration of the society of the spectacle: enthusiasm is mobilized and directed until redirected onto the next new thing.
But these aren’t the hard questions.
The hard questions involve how, exactly, the left conceives of political change and what we are willing to do to bring it about. The hard questions involve the relations between principle and practice. The more we uphold left principles, the less likely we are to have the capacity to implement them. Our principles become barriers to their own realization. Conversely, the more we get our hands dirty by engaging in the processes that might bring about significant political change, the less left and less significant these changes are likely to be. We will have had to compromise, water down, rank and involve ourselves with strange bedfellows. The dilemma of left politics is that we appear stuck between beautiful souls and dirty hands.
Politics involves knots of principle, compromise, tactics and opportunity. Their push and pull against one another accounts for much of what many dislike about politics: banal rhetoric, betrayals, splits. Finding a candidate or party with which one fully agrees is impossible. Something is always missing, always off.
This is not (only) the fault of the political system. It’s (also) a manifestation of the ways people are internally split, with conflicting, irreconcilable political commitments and desires. After the tragic capitulation of Syriza to the coercion of the European institutions last summer, for example, a taxi driver in Athens explained with a shrug of his shoulders, “What could they do? We wanted two things and couldn’t have both: eliminating our debt and staying with the euro.” Politics forces us to confront conflicting goals: guns or butter, security or freedom, now or later. The conflicts are within us, between us, and between us and the settings in which we seek to intervene.
The institutions through and in which we might intervene are also split. They are not uniform or self-identical. There is disagreement between members and flanks, between candidates and platform, between aspirations and actions. No institution is a uniform whole. It’s always divided, the site of myriad conflicts and struggles always threatening to tear it apart.
A question for left politics, indeed any politics, is the terrain on which to fight. We have to be in the fight if we want to affect its outcome. For many of us, the terrain of political struggle is the streets and the squares, the insistent push of protest. Emphasizing the power of political movements, we push to demonstrate the power of the people, to confront those who seek to control, imprison, and coerce us with the force of our number.
In the US, the most recent examples of such movements are Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street. Not only did both refuse the status quo but both have changed the conditions of political possibility. Because of the advances of these movements, inequality and incarceration, and the racist capitalist structures that intertwine them, are driving the mainstream political conversation in ways that we haven’t seen in a generation.
How do we extend the force of the movements? How do we make them endure? One way is to occupy institutions that have the capacity to realize movement aims. Party and state institutions can be tools and terrains that we seize in order to push our ends. The party isn’t opposed to the movement. It’s a terrain that the movement can occupy.
With regard to Occupy, we all knew that no one could speak for the movement. We all knew that the movement could not be reduced to one group of people in one park. The power of the movement was its capacity to replicate and extend itself, to be more than any city or practice.
The Sanders campaign extends the fight to the terrain of the Democratic Party. Since Bill Clinton’s co-creation and occupation of the Democratic Leadership Council in the 1980s, the Democratic Party has shifted ever rightward, jettisoning any commitment to the working class it might once have had, courting the finance sector and other elements of the corporate elite, and adorning itself with just enough cultural politics to placate its base. No wonder most of the left left the party. Like the other institutions of extreme capitalism, the Democratic Party is not for us. But we can treat it as a site of struggle. Black Lives Matter activists have recognized this crucial fact.
The Sanders campaign is forcing a split in the Democratic Party. Sanders is confronting the Democrats’ claim to democracy with the party’s practice as an instrument of oligarchic political control. He is doing this with the language of social democracy, reintroducing socialism into a political setting based on its disavowal.
The political question this poses for the left is whether we want to join the battle tearing apart the Democratic Party. Instead of treating the party as some kind of authority with the power to co-opt our message, we need to treat it like any street or park and occupy it. The more we engage, the more damage we can do, at every turn demonstrating the gap between people and practice.
If we win, that is, if Sanders gets the nomination, we have access to a political apparatus that extends throughout the US, into every state and community. If we lose, we have gained valuable political experience and created an opportunity for building a new political organization for and of the left.
Just as Occupy was never about one group, so the Sanders campaign is not about him. It’s about changing the conditions of political possibility. The Democrats are terrified of this, which is why they dismantled the rules barring PAC donations to the party.
The left has been alienated from the Democrats yet now their elite is terrified that the left will take it over. We should give them reason to be afraid. When we occupy the party, we continue the movement, pushing the power of the people.
Can “socialism” be part of the mainstream political vocabulary in the US? Can it displace the hegemonic sense of “no new taxes”, “there is no alternative”, and “the era of big government is over”? Is it a term we can fight over and through in the context of a national politics, or is it relegated to the sectarian struggle over twentieth-century failures?
The only way we can be adequate to our principles is if we are willing to fight for them. This means taking on the battles that present themselves. Too often left voices invoke self-organization, as if what this means were clear, as if somehow workers all over the country were but one step away from generating of their own autonomous collectives. This, for example, is the position Ben Reynolds takes in his recent essay on the Sanders campaign for ROAR. But when we join, build and co-opt parties are we not self-organizing? Too often left voices invoke social movements as independent of political organization, as if the momentary presence of crowds in the street translated automatically into power that endures. Such an invocation leaves out the institutions through which movement power becomes political change, the sites where the meaning of the movement is fought over and advanced.
If our goal is to change the world, we should try changing a party as a trial run. If it doesn’t work this time, then we create a new one.So one day my daughter finds some of my dice, and wants to play a game with them. Not knowing any non-tRPGs (tabletop roleplaying games) to play with dice, and realising that any tRPGs I have would be way beyond her attention span just to get up and running, I conjured up a simple one-shot where she could play as Elsa.
She wanted to play with dice, so let’s start with that. You will need around half a dozen d6 and 2d20.
Elsa: Elsa rolls a d20 to overcome “Danger”.
Elsa’s central theme is her struggle with fear. Fear seems to release / amplify her powers.
Fear: Elsa has another d20 used as a counter, starting from 1. This is her Fear, and every time her Fear increases or decreases, this die keeps track. Fear can never exceed 19. If Fear would reach 20, Elsa is captured instead and must escape.
Now my daughter initially wanted the game to mirror the events of the movie exactly… but railroading isn’t fun and there’s not much game in that. So there are going to be various dangers she will face. Let’s say, like a pack of wolves chasing her, maybe some men try to kill her with crossbows, she needs to escape a prison, that sort of thing.
Danger: Danger is represented by a bunch of d6. 1d6 = one sentient threat. If a non-sentient threat (like scaling a cliff), pick between 1–6 d6.
So if you’re facing Danger, and it overwhelms you, you’re going to get scared.
Resolution: Elsa overcomes Danger by rolling her d20 against the Danger’s d6s. If Elsa rolls higher, remove all d6 from Danger which rolled lower than the difference, and reduce Fear by 1. If the Danger rolls higher, take the difference and add it to Fear.
Now crucially, Elsa has “ice powers”. In the movie, she casts ice bolts, creates walls of ice, summons ice golems, and crafts an ice castle.
Ice Bolt: Elsa adds her Fear to her roll in Resolution.
Wall of Ice: Subtract Elsa’s Fear from the all Danger dice rolls.
Ice Golem: Roll 1d6 and add Elsa’s Fear; the golem adds this amount to Elsa’s roll in Resolution, but each time it does, reduce the die by 1. If it would hit 0, the golem dies / melts.
Ice Castle: Elsa rolls her d20. If the roll is less than her Fear, she can craft an Ice Castle to live in. Inside the castle, increase all of Elsa’s rolls by 1, and decrease all Danger rolls by 1.
The story of Frozen is actually all about the strongest and most interesting character: Anna. But pfft, why would anyone want to play as her, right? Without Anna, there can be no resolution to the story.
Anna: Anna rolls a d6 to extend empathy and Love to Elsa. Anna can’t be introduced until after Elsa has an Ice Castle.
Only by letting go of fear and accepting her sister’s love can Elsa achieve happiness and become a positive influence on the world (though curiously, while the theme song sings about “letting it go”, it’s clear she isn’t actually letting go of fear, but rather embracing that fear by running away from everyone and seeking a life without consequences… but I digress).
Love: Elsa rolls her d20, and adds Anna’s d6 roll. If this is >= Fear, subtract the difference from Fear. If not, add 1 Fear and Anna must leave for a while. If Fear would be reduced below 1 by Love, the sister’s reunite and the game ends.
So that’s it. There’s no ongoing progression, and I didn’t develop mechanics for the whole “ice in the head vs heart” and “act of true love” stuff because those are all about Anna, and her courage and actions.
To run this, you’ll be the GM, and your daughter will be Elsa. You frame the opening scene as Elsa beginning her climb up the mountain. Throw Danger at her, and ask her what she wants to do. You may have to remind her of what she can do often. Narrate the results of her rolls, and maybe let her dip her toes in the waters of roleplaying by letting her narrate her successes and what she is doing between Dangers. Just go with the flow as she makes her way up the mountain, gaining enough Fear to build her Ice Castle. Once she’s got her castle, introduce Anna with her Love. Depending on how that goes, throw more Danger at her, maybe she gets captured, so now she has to escape that Danger, add more of Anna’s Love, and so on.
I came up with this one-shot in about 15 minutes while I bought myself some time to think by making my daughter lunch. Surprisingly, she actually grasped the mechanics really easily. In fact, as soon as she realised that Fear made her more powerful, she attempted to go outside the system to just declare that she was “super scared”. It took longer to explain to her why we play by the rules in games than it took for her to understand what the rules were and how they interacted.
So I thought I’d throw this out there for any parents who love tRPGs, and would like to introduce their young daughters to the genre. If anyone has any suggestions to make the game more fun for kids, I’d love to hear them!A group of hooded people assaulted and shoved a Stratford College lecturer into a frigid canal for “being white.”
Lee Skinner, a media lecturer at the college in Falls Church, Va., was on a run by the Acocks Green Canal when he was attacked, the Stratford Observer reports.
A group of Asian youths approached Skinner, 38, punched him in the face and shoved him into the canal. They refused to let him out of the water, so he started speaking in Arabic.
When Skinner said “There is no God but Allah,” and “May God forgive you,” the group fled and he was able to escape the canal. He was hospitalized with facial injuries to his teeth, neck and cheekbones.
Stratford released a statement, saying, “Mr Skinner is a very highly valued and popular member of the college team, and we’re saddened to hear he has been victim to an upsetting incident. His professionalism and approach to working with his students is exemplary, and we wish him a speedy recovery,” according to the Stratford Observer.
It was 46 degrees Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Falls Church Jan. 15, according to The Weather Channel.
Police believe they are around 17 years old and have not arrested any suspects, but are asking anyone with information to “call police on 101.”
Follow Katie on Twitter and Facebook
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When David Culley first got to know Jeremy Maclin, the young wide receiver was just another rookie fresh out of Missouri trying to learn his way in the pressure-cooker NFL.
When they reunited this past offseason, everything had changed.
For one thing, Culley is the wide receivers coach in Kansas City these days. And Maclin is a veteran who made such a strong impression on Culley and coach Andy Reid during their days in Philadelphia that they snapped him up as a free agent this past offseason.
"When I got him as a rookie, you know how all rookies come in," Culley said. "He was a first-round pick. But I’m going to tell you something — loved the kid. And getting to know him years later, I’ll tell you what: He’s a consummate professional. He knows our offense. He’s been in this thing before, his leadership. He’s grown tremendously since then."
Maclin had the finest season of his six-year career in 2014, catching 85 passes for 1,318 yards in an offense that never really suited him. So when the Chiefs dangled a $55 million, five-year pact in front of him, Maclin saw the potential in the opportunity.
He could slide seamlessly into a familiar offense, one that could utilize his speed and ability to stretch the field. He could be the top target for a stable quarterback in Alex Smith. And he could be the veteran presence in a revamped wide receiver corps.
"He’s just a more mature player," Culley said. "He knows now what the game is about in the NFL. He knows what it’s all about. He’s been a consummate pro, even when he left Philly to come here. Obviously, he has had tremendous years up there, obviously the last year being his best year, which just goes to show the maturity that he’s had since he’s been in the league."
That maturity will certainly come in handy this season.
After the Chiefs failed to get a single touchdown reception out of their wide receivers last season, they decided to turn over virtually their entire corps. Franchise cornerstone Dwayne Bowe was let go in a cost-saving move, and several unproductive players were allowed to walk.
Maclin was signed to anchor the group, and the Chiefs lavished a third-round pick on Chris Conley, a rangy speedster out of Georgia who could become their No. 2 wide receiver.
The rest of the position group is a crapshoot. Albert Wilson is quick but undersized, Jason Avant is 32 and on the downward side of his career, and Da’Rick Rogers, Armon Binns and Kenny Cook are among those fighting for a roster spot who have yet to accomplish much.
All of which means the pressure will be on Maclin to produce.
For that reason, Maclin has been spending extra time with Smith after practice. The pass-catch combination has hooked up hundreds of times, trying to build chemistry.
"What we’re looking forward to doing, I don’t think you can judge it by completed balls," Maclin said. "I think it’s all about getting to know each other and getting our timing down. I think we’ve gotten off to a pretty good start doing that."
Lookin’ good! Flip through our photo album of Chiefs cheerleaders.
As for the rest of the group? It’s the quintessential work in progress.
"It’s tough early with these rooks and they’re kind of spinning around," Smith said. "It’s just a matter of obviously understanding what you’re doing mentally and fine-tuning and really kind of getting into your craft, and becoming the best at what you can be out here."
Conley certainly has the physical tools. So do a few others on the roster. But perhaps the biggest key to whether the group is able to produce is De’Anthony Thomas, who played a little bit of running back last season but has spent his entire offseason with the wide receivers.
Not surprisingly, the diminutive second-year pro has been looking up to Maclin and Avant.
"Just two professionals that have been in the league," Thomas said. "They know everything about being a pro and just how to be successful and just stay healthy."
The regular season is still months away. But as the Chiefs wrap up their final week of optional workouts, Reid seems impressed with the progress of the wide receivers.
"Well, you’ve got two seasoned veterans there with Mac and J, so both of those two work hard, they’re good route runners, they understand how to practice, there is no wasted time, they’re professional, so that’s important," Reid said. "That speaks volumes to your young guys. They’re going to kind of emulate what the good players do."TORONTO – In a triumphant milestone for Toronto’s newest, shortest, and most-overlooked subway branch, the Sheppard Line today celebrated its 100th rider since opening its doors in 2002.
“It’s a huge moment for us,” gushed Bayview Station TTC attendant Douglas Christensen. “We’re in the big leagues now. Andy Byford’s going to have to stop referring to us as the ‘Suck-Hard Line’ in all his press releases.”
Christensen then excitedly pushed a large red button in his station attendant booth, causing dozens of mostly-deflated balloons to drop from the ceiling like stones. “Whoops – I put those up in February when we hit 95.”
The distinction of being the Sheppard Line’s “Century Rider” went to Noriko Miike, a Japanese tourist who journeyed the 3 stops from Sheppard-Yonge to Leslie to see the spot where the IKEA Monkey was photographed.
With ridership now having entered triple digits, TTC employees along the Sheppard Line are buoyed with hope that – perhaps someday – their leg of the subway will be able to justify its existence financially without having to rent out its empty, cavernous stations for all-night raves and Eyes Wide Shut-style orgies.I vividly remember my first real encounter with anarchist thought; it was at a Young Religious Unitarian Universalist (YRUU) conference. I saw a girl Sonja, wearing a shirt with some sort of anarchist phrase and drawing on it. I found it odd that someone would wear an anarchy shirt, especially since she seemed so intelligent and figured that the appeal of chaos really only lied in the young angst-ridden punks I came across on occasion. Later I overheard Sonja tell of how she bought the shirt at her favorite anarchist bookstore. This told me that 1)there was actually entire books on the ideas of anarchy and that 2) if she bought it from her “favorite” store there must be other anarchist bookstores. I decided to research it. I typed in anarchy and came across the Anarchist FAQ. Soon I realized that anarchists did not in fact believe in chaos, and actually felt that order could be maintained in ways other than the state and hierarchy. Thus my journey into anarchism began.
Today I am a self-declared anarchist and Unitarian Universalist. While I can attribute my introduction into anarchism to YRUU and many of my UU friends are also anarchists, the fact remains that on both sides ignorance about the other is rampant. It’s a shame that this is true, especially because I feel that the anarchist movement and Unitarian Universalist religion could greatly compliment one other in their commitment to a better world.
Anarchism and Organized Religion
While not all anarchists absolutely reject religion, many do and many (anarchists and non-anarchists) equate anarchism with atheism. Even more reject organized religion. There’s great reason for these beliefs. The idea that one must acquiesce to the power of a “divine” or supernatural force flies in the face of the anarchist values of freedom, individuality along with their rejection of hierarchy and authority. Similarly, creed-based religions’ assertion that their way is right, even if that way is non-hierarchical, is incompatible with the anarchist notion that absolute Truth is a farce and to have one set of morals placed upon all to be coercive and destructive to creativity and individuality. Most organized religions are oppressive institutions that anarchists seek to abolish along with the state and capital. However, to throw out organized religion all together would be a grave mistake.
Many anarchists may all-out reject the idea of an organized religion, for the above-said reasons, but since when have anarchists been opposed to organization? The popular IWW cry is “Don’t mourn, organize!” And it was the Italian anarchist, Ericco Malatesta who declared that “Anarchism is organization, organization and more organization.” Just as anarchists wish to create non-hierarchical institutions which satisfy our material needs in place of the existing oppressive ones, we should be establishing institutions which satisfy our spiritual needs. This is not a call to form an anarchist church which all anarchists must subscribe to. This is, however, a call to explore the possibility of anarchistic organized religions. Fewer and fewer people are attending church regularly. The right would attribute it to the ever-increasing moral decay of our society, but perhaps it is because more people have a hard time subscribing to one, narrow interpretation of the Bible or expression of spirituality. More and more marriages are crossing religious lines, leaving parents in a bind when wishing to raise their children in a supportive community, but also one that would be open to more than one belief system. Just as “a human being in isolation cannot even live the life of a beast, for they would be unable to obtain nourishment for themselves” materially, so may they wish for spiritual nourishment from others as well. While people are becoming disillusioned with organized religion, the healthy, self-liberating alternatives are small and virtually unknown to the populace. Again drawing from Malatesta, “When a community has needs and its members do not know how to organize spontaneously to provide them, someone comes forward, an authority who satisfies those needs by utilizing the services of all and directing them to their liking.” In this case, that authority is the religious right. When we as anarchists abandon religion and in particular organized ones, we allow the right to move in and provide for that community instead. If we cannot offer a community to help assist parents in raising a family and serve as a support group, they may simply pick the lesser of evils. It is for this reason that we must support those organized religions which are based upon the same principles that we are striving for in an anarchist society. It is my feeling that Unitarian Universalism, is one of those religions.
Self-Liberation and Religion
A significant part of anarchism is the idea of self-liberation. We must unlearn oppressive axioms instilled in us. We are socially conditioned through myriad avenues: family, school, media, etc; one which has a dramatic impact on people’s conditioning is religion. Many point to the Judaeo-Christian foundation of American society to be the root of oppressive thought such as patriarchy, white-supremacy, colonialism, etc. If we are serious about people liberating themselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually it makes sense that we be offering places for people to go that seek a religion which promotes the individual |
if you're stupid enough to walk into a large town by yourself. It's also boring, a game full of long sequences where you're doing little but walking around an island with nothing but the wind and birds to keep you company. What I felt most though was a sense of fascination. The game wasn't in killing zombies. It was in interacting with the other survivors.
Advertisement
While there's no map, group chat functions are still available, meaning rudimentary directions can be given. Naturally, this usually entails survivors broadcasting their location so others can join them. Sometimes this means they'll do just that, and help each other out, sharing bandages, ammunition and food. Other times, it's a trick, and they're assholes luring you into a trap so they can take you out and steal your stuff.
DayZ: The Basics DayZ is a mod for PC military sim ArmA II. To play it, you'll need a copy of both ArmA II and its expansion, Operation Arrowhead. Both are available in the one package from either Steam or the developers, Bohemia Interactive.
It is currently in alpha, and as such is very rough around the edges. Be patient, and be understanding.
The mod is free to download. Get it at DayZ's official site.
DayZ doesn't currently have its own installer, so to get it up and running, you need to manually drop some files into your Steam directory. Follow the instructions here.
Advertisement
In my first game, I'd managed six kills before dying. I wasn't killed by a zombie, or another human; I'd been helpfully told where a rifle was, but before the veteran could say "DON'T CLIMB THAT LADDER WITH YOUR PISTOL DRAWN OR YOU'LL DIE", I'd climbed that ladder with my pistol drawn and, thanks to a bug (the mod is still in alpha), fell and died. Regrettable, but still, he was just trying to help!
The second time? A survivor told me he was down at a dock. I rushed to join him, met up, exchanged awkward hellos and went off to find others. Two seconds later, we're both dead, another veteran having overheard our conversation, hunted us down and stolen what little equipment we had worth salvaging.
It can be very frustrating the first time it happens, but then, isn't this exactly what would happen in a real zombie apocalypse? Some people would band together, sure, but others would certainly try and tear us apart, a selfish desire to survive overriding their need for safety in numbers.
Advertisement
There aren't really sides in this conflict. You just assume the role through your behaviour in the game. It's so damn simple, yet it's what transforms this from being a bleak and interesting mod into something compelling. So compelling I've been playing it almost non-stop. So compelling it's sitting minimised on my taskbar right now, waiting for me to finish writing this so I can get back to it.
If you've got ArmA II and ArmA II Operation Arrowhead, head below to get the mod, bearing in mind it's still a little rough around the edges (you'll need some help installing it as well). If you don't, you should maybe look into it. This is definitely worth it.
Oh, and at bottom is a short clip I recorded. There's not a single zombie in it. There is, however, an asshole taking potshots at me and my fellow survivors. It also shows how barren, and yet tense, this thing can be.
Advertisement
DayZ [Official Site]Back in June, our NOC mastermind Keith Chow wrote a probing article about how a Korean American character was being whitewashed in the film adaptation of the Andy Weir novel The Martian.
Now that the film has been released for over a week — with considerable box office success, trade publications like Deadline and Variety, among others have released articles about how the Asian American media watchdog group, MANAA, has followed Keith’s lead and declared the film to be guilty of whitewashing:
“So few projects are written specifically with Asian-American characters in them, and he’s now changed them to a white woman and black man,” MANAA founding President Guy Aoki said of Scott’s casting choices. “This was a great opportunity to give meaty roles to talented Asian American actors — and boost their careers… This feel-good movie, which has attracted Oscar buzz, shouldn’t get any awards for casting.”
I was able to watch the film for myself this past weekend, and my thoughts on MANAA’s released statement about the film being whitewashed? Absolutely ridiculous.
Now that I’ve called MANAA’s position on The Martian ridiculous, I should probably clarify a few things. First, I believe very much in the value of groups like these. I am also very well aware of the huge frequency of non-white roles being played by white actors. As much as I like to believe in the whole “the best actor for the job” philosophy, sometimes it can be quite silly (evidence in point: Ridley Scott’s previous film Exodus which for whatever reason cast Joel Edgarton and Sigourney Weaver to bronze themselves up and play Egyptians).
I was very much in the mindset to rip The Martian apart after hearing that presumably Korean and Indian characters in the book had been changed so that non-Asian actors Mackenzie Davis and Chiwetel Ejiofor could play those roles instead.
“How dare they be so flippant about the origins of these characters,” I was fuming loudly in my head.
But then I saw the film, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I immediately noticed that the cast was quite diverse — and yes, while Mindy Park is indeed now played by a white woman, and Vincent Kapoor a black man, there were other things I noticed that made me quite pleased with the film. First off, the character of Bruce Ng (played by British actor Benedict Wong) had a significant presence and role in the film.
On a smaller note, the characters of Zhu Tao and Guo Ming (played by Chen Shu and Eddy Ko, respectively) had significance as well, representing China’s space program and were instrumental in ________ (watch the film to see their role!)
Also, NONE of the Asian characters portrayed in the film had demeaning roles and all contributed in an important way to the story. And while Vincent Kapoor was played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, I actually liked this casting because first off: it’s freaking Chiwetel Ejiofor! And he was fantastic in the film.
Secondly, they made his character mixed race — his father was Hindu and his mother black. Not to mention, with Ejiofor and Donald Glover’s role as the quirky scientist Rich Purnell, we have two black actors in the main science roles (and neither of them died!). I appreciate this a lot because, let’s be honest, white and Asian men ARE over-represented in scientific roles, while black people are definitely underrepresented in those same areas. So to see that representation on the big screen? Amazing.
That being said, I have not read the original material so I cannot comment whether Mindy Park being Korean or Vincent Kapoor being 100% Desi played a TREMENDOUS significance in the story that altering their ethnicity impacted the film in a negative way. I can’t comment on that.
What I can comment on, however, is that the film was a lot more diverse than I anticipated going in. It was also fantastic to see Jessica Chastain and Kristen Wiig play important characters that held positions of authoritative power. In fact, none of the women characters were treated as objective stereotypical weak love interests and that was very much appreciated too. And last but not least, we have the always dependable Michael Peña as one of the main astronaut crew members.
So let’s talk about the statement MANAA made about the film being whitewashed. Sure, they could have given the role of Mindy Park to a Korean/Asian actress. And yes, the minuscule role of Ryoko was played by another (mixed race) white woman (by the way, that actress, Naomi Scott, is now the new Pink Ranger). But both of these roles were small, while the role of Bruce Ng was beefed up from the novel (according to the folks who have actually read the book). Meanwhile, the ethnically ambiguous role of Rich Purnell was played by Donald Glover.
The bigger problem is that with the mainstream entertainment media picking up MANAA’s statement, this is not helping the battle of what is considered awful whitewashing practices in Hollywood films and TV shows. It also shows how extremely limited MANAA’s scope is when it comes to diversity since they only focus on Asian actors and not on black actors and other people of color that aren’t Asian.
Yes, I am down for more Asians representing in meaningful ways, but I’m a much bigger advocate for diversity all around, not just limited to Asian actors. I want to see women playing better roles and not just sex objects or existing solely for the male protagonist to “get” her. I want to see black and Latino actors playing roles that are beyond the stereotypical poverty stricken story lines we often see them placed in. In those two particular regards (I could go on with LGBT characters, people with disabilities being actually played by actors with disabilities), The Martian excels, while also having excellent characters of Asian descent.
That being said, while it’s very possible that there was a “quota” for Asian actors in the movie, we just don’t know. We don’t know what went behind the casting doors. For example, most of us didn’t know that the role of Vincent Kapoor was offered to Irrfan Khan before he turned it down. Maybe they really did audition Asian actresses but went with a white actress instead. I see it ALL the time in my audition front and I’ve seen it in cases where they wanted a white actress but got an Asian or Latino or black actress instead. Now is whitewashing real and does it happen? Most definitely. Would I much rather have preferred if Mindy Park and Vincent Kapoor were played by actual Asian actors that represented those characters faithfully like in the book? Of course. Is it however a dealbreaker? No. Is this all very much subjective? Duh.
Sure, the main character is of course played by a white guy. While I much rather have, let’s say, someone like Michael Peña take the main helm and swap it with Matt Damon, I have to be aware to take progress in strides (although if the guy was indeed played by an Asian and we took our cultural roots in consideration for the story, rice is far more effective to grow than potatoes).
I must reiterate that I appreciate groups like MANAA for fighting the good fight, even when everybody else is telling them to quiet down. But I do not think this film is a battle that is worth fighting for as it shows how limited their scope is in terms of the films that have far worse representation issues.
While The Martian isn’t a godsend by any means, it is one of the better Hollywood films I’ve seen that has used diversity to an effective degree. And also it’s just a darn good film with great performances all around.Abstract Background. We examined the efficacy of a new regimen to treat AGA, with attention to male patients who are atopic. Objective. To assess the efficacy of a four-part regimen for the treatment of AGA in atopic and nonatopic patients. NuH Hair is a novel topical combination of finasteride, dutasteride, and minoxidil, which is blended in a hypoallergenic lotion. The other three components included Rogaine foam, Propecia, and ketoconazole shampoo. Methods. A prospective pilot study was conducted in 15 patients. All patients were assessed for the presence of atopy. Each patient served as their own control. All patients were treated specifically with NuH Hair and were given the option to add any of the other components of the protocol to their regimen. Photographs were taken of each patient's scalp at months 0, 1, 3, 6, and 9. Results. All 15 patients demonstrated significant growth of hair. In those patients who utilized all 4 components, significant growth was achieved in as little as 30 days. In those patients who choose only to utilize NuH Hair, significant growth was demonstrated after 3 months. Conclusion. Aggressively treating AGA achieves significant and rapid growth of new hair. This is effective in atopic and nonatopic male patients.
1. Introduction Male pattern baldness (MPB), also called androgenetic alopecia (AGA), is the most common form of alopecia found in men. It affects approximately 30% of men by the age of 30, 50% of men by age 50, and 57% of men by age 60 [1–4]. MPB is in part genetically determined and is potentially reversible. With MPB, one experiences miniaturization of the hair follicles and shortening of the anagen (growth) phase in the involved hairs. The main androgen responsible for these changes to the hair follicle is dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Testosterone is converted to DHT by an enzyme, 5-alpha reductase (5AR). Men who have a congenital deficiency of 5AR (type II) do not experience MPB [5–9]. Most treatment modalities for MPB are not FDA approved and overall not significantly effective. The high prevalence of MPB, significant early age of onset, and large degree of associated psychosocial morbidity have created a large market for MPB treatment. Despite the paramount demand for MPB treatment, there are only two FDA-approved medications. However, they are costly, require lifelong treatment, and may have side effects. The two FDA-approved medications used to treat MPB include topical minoxidil (Rogaine c; Johnson and Johnson) and finasteride (Propecia c; Merck). Minoxidil is a vasodilator which is directly applied to the scalp to stimulate growth of the hair follicles. Topical minoxidil slows hair loss for many men, while in some men, it grows new hair. The previous degree of hair loss returns when solution application is discontinued. Minoxidil is available in 2% and 5% solutions, and a 5% foam version which became available in 2007. In addition, Propecia 1 mg (oral) was approved by the FDA in 1998 for AGA. Propecia (finasteride) is a prescription pill that inhibits the production of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This is done by primarily blocking 5AR (type 2), the enzyme, which converts testosterone to DHT. Like minoxidil, it is likely to slow hair loss but can also stimulate new hair growth. In general, it is somewhat more effective than minoxidil, and Propecia c is even more effective when combined with minoxidil. As with minoxidil, one's previous degree of hair loss returns when Propecia c is discontinued. There are other medications available on the market, which claim to treat AGA. These medications are, however, not FDA approved for MPB. Ketoconazole, (Nizoral) shampoo, is also known to inhibit 5AR, the enzyme which converts testosterone to DHT. Preliminary research suggests that ketoconazole shampoo may be beneficial in men suffering from androgenic alopecia [10, 11]. Support for this also stems from a study in 1998 which compared ketoconazole shampoo 2% to the proven hair loss drug minoxidil in men with androgenic alopecia [10]. The study concluded that hair density, size, and proportion of anagen follicles were improved almost similarly by both ketoconazole and 2% minoxidil regimens. In addition, since ketoconazole effectively treats the Pityriasis (also called Malassezia) fungus that commonly inhabits the scalp, it was hypothesized that it may prevent hair loss by reducing inflammation from the fungus, in addition to having antiandrogenic properties. The researchers were guarded about the meaning of their results. They suggested that more rigorous studies on larger groups of men should be done to confirm their findings and to evaluate the ideal dosage, formulation, and desirability of routine treatment. Although no further research in humans has been undertaken, a study on ketoconazole in 2005 corroborated the existence of a stimulatory effect on hair growth in mice [12]. In patients who are atopic, there is an increased susceptibility to infection or colonization with various organisms. For example, Staphylococcal aureus is detected in more than 90% of skin lesions of atopic dermatitis (AD). A superimposed dermatophytosis including Trichophyton rubrum and Malassezia furfur (Pityrosporum ovale) can cause flares of atopic dermatitis. The rate of isolation of Malassezia from the skin of AD patients is much higher than from the skin of healthy control patients without atopy. This fungal (yeast) organism is also commonly associated with concomitant seborrheic dermatitis in atopic patients. Malassezia furfur is a lipophilic yeast, and antiyeast IgE antibodies have been found in patients with a predominant head and neck eczematous dermatitis. This common presentation in atopic dermatitis patients provided the interest in studying our patients with clinical fungal infection of the head and neck. Thus, it provides significant anecdotal evidence for the correlation of a superimposed fungal infection of the scalp in patients with seborrheic dermatitis and MPB [13]. Anecdotal reports indicate that both the 1% and 2% dosages of ketoconazole shampoo have hair loss benefits; however, the more potent 2% formulation likely produces better results. Excessive usage of either formulation has not been shown to produce better results. The results produced in this study were based on ketoconazole 2% shampoo, used once every 2–4 days, and leaving the shampoo on the scalp for 3–5 minutes before rinsing (as is recommended with the treatment of dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis). It has been stated that medications capable of maintaining the existing hair population, even in the absence of hair regrowth, should be regarded as effective treatments for androgenic alopecia. Ketoconazole shampoo is only FDA approved for the treatment of dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp. Therefore, it cannot be endorsed or marketed as a hair loss remedy to the general public [11]. Another important medication which inhibits 5AR is dutasteride, (Avodart-GSK). There has been significant attention towards dutasteride as it is the only known medication which blocks both types of 5-alpha reductase (types I and II). Type I 5AR is the principle isoenzyme found in sebaceous and sweat glands and the scalp [5, 14–19], whereas type II 5AR is present in hair follicles and the prostate [14]. In addition to blocking both isoenzymes of 5AR (I and II), dutasteride has been shown to be 3 times more potent then finasteride at inhibiting type II 5AR and more than 100 times potent at inhibiting type I isoenzyme. Oral dutasteride also decreases serum DHT by upto 90%, whereas finasteride only reduces concentrations of serum DHT by 70% [5, 20]. These properties make dutasteride a more ideal candidate for treating MPB. Despite these more desirable properties, limited research using dutasteride for MPB treatment has been undertaken. Initially, phase I and II clinical trials for dutasteride as a hair loss drug were undertaken, but called off in late 2002. The reason these trials were called off is not publicly known. Industry sources speculate that dutasteride would have been seen as too similar to Propecia (1 mg/day finasteride) if have been proven profitable on the market as a hair loss treatment [5]. However, phase II study results indicated that oral dutasteride at both 0.5 mg and 2.5 mg/day generated a superior hair count to finasteride 5 mg at 12 and 24 weeks (Olsen et al.) [5]. In this study, 3 different doses of dutasteride were equal to or more effective than finasteride at increasing hair counts. The most effective dose was found to be 2.5 mg of dutasteride daily, however, more side effects were seen in this group. Quantitative hair counts were measured at 24 weeks into the study in all patients. Hair counts in the placebo group was −32.3 hairs, in the finasteride 5 mg/day group was +75.6 hairs, in the dutasteride 0.1mg/day group was +78.5 hairs, in the dutasteride 0.5 mg/day group was +94.6 hairs, and in the dutasteride 2.5 mg/day group was +109.6 hairs [5].
2. Methods 15 male patients from our Allergy and Immunology practice with AGA were followed over a 9-month period, from April 2010 to December 2010. Patients' ages ranged from 24 years to 72 years old ( ). This study included 10 atopic patients and 5 non-atopic patients, and each patient was assessed for evidence of seborrheic dermatitis. Patients with varying degrees of hair loss were assessed based upon the Hamilton Norwood Scale (Figures and ), and all patients were recommended to implement aggressive treatment for seborrheic dermatitis. Open in a separate window Open in a separate window Table 1 Initials Study group Age Atopic Concomitant disorders Smoker Hamilton Norwood Scale KC D 33 No NONE NO IV JW D 38 No NONE NO IV/V RR A 24 Yes SD NO VII AR A 38 Yes AD, SD NO II SS D 50 No NONE NO III HC C 38 Yes SD, AD** NO V CK A 43 Yes SD NO VII RK D 72 No MS* NO III NC A 42 Yes SD, AD** NO VII JG A 32 Yes SD NO VII AR B 38 No NONE YES III AH D 45 Yes SD NO VII RA A 30 Yes SD YES V WM A 59 Yes SD NO II JH A 36 Yes SD NO IV Open in a separate window Our research product (NuH Hair) formulation is currently a trade secret. The overall contents, composition percentages, and formulation methods are not able to be revealed. All patients were started on NuH Hair applied one time per day. All patients were given the option to add the three other components to our hair regrowth protocol which included the following. Propecia (Merck) 1 mg taken daily. Propecia was included in our protocol because it is currently the only oral 5-alpha reductase inhibitor on the market which is FDA approved. Rogaine (Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products — Division of McNeil) Foam 5% applied at least once per day. Nizoral (ketoconazole) 2% shampoo applied 2-3 times per week. This shampoo came with strict instructions for patients to scrub into the scalp for 100 seconds and then let the foam remain on the scalp for 10 minutes prior to washing out, for each application. All patients had documentation via photographs taken of their scalp prior to starting their medication regimen. Each patient served as their own control. All patients had additional photographs taken of their scalp at months 1, 3, 6, and 9. All patients were assessed to follow medication compliance, and each patient was seen on a monthly basis.
4. Discussion In this pilot study of 15 patients, all patients demonstrated new significant new hair growth after starting NuH Hair. The eight patients who implemented all 4 components of our protocol demonstrated the most significant and most rapid growth. In addition, one patient in group D noted significant regrowth 14 days after initiating therapy, and three of these patients noted hair growth as early as 30 days into treatment. This study, to our knowledge, is the first to demonstrate early significant hair regrowth in men with AGA. Our four-part protocol is also unique in that it addresses several underlying causes of hair loss in men simultaneously. This novel approach in treating hair loss is effective and represents an MPB treatment protocol that recommends use of four components simultaneously. Those patients who utilized only NuH Hair also demonstrated significant regrowth of their hair. This was seen as early as 1 month into treatment in 2 patients, at 2 months in other 2 patients, and at 3 months in one patient. This patient group also contained subjects who admitted to only using the product 2-3 times per week during 3 months of therapy. This altered regimen was done on their own behalf, and not recommended by the investigators. It is important to note that because of dutasteride's 28-day half-life, less frequent application of topical dutasteride should be sufficient once steady-state concentration levels of dutasteride are present within the scalp. Because of the long half-life, this should theoretically be reached after 3–5 months of applying the solution on a daily basis. This is a secondary objective of our study and will be researched further over the following 12 months. Patients who did not have signs or symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis also reported subjective improvement with use of 2% ketoconazole shampoo. Given ketoconazole's antiandrogen effects, it was expected to be effective in patients with and without seborrheic dermatitis. With the use of 5% Rogaine and oral Propecia, a minimum of 4–6 months is required for significant clinical apparent hair growth. Most patients who use Rogaine and Propecia primarily experience a slowing of hair loss. Our patients not only experienced cessation of hair loss, but they also demonstrated significant hair growth beginning in 30 days, and certainly within 90 days. Interestingly, those patients who were smokers demonstrated the least significant hair regrowth. There was one patient in group A, and the other was in group B ( ; Figures - ). It is known that there is an association between men who smoke and premature AGA. The mechanisms of smoking-induced hair loss are multifactorial and include the effects of cigarette smoke on the dermal hair papilla microvasculature [21, 22]. Open in a separate window Open in a separate window All of the patients in group D (NuH Hair alone) were admitted to only use the product an average of 2-3 times per week. Despite this regimen, the patients still demonstrated significant hair regrowth. This was likely due to dutasteride's 28-hour half-life. This presents an interesting finding and may lead to further research with less frequent application of our topical product. There have been no side effects so far with the topical regimens noted in this study. The side effects of oral Propecia were a significant concern in many of our patients. Systemic side effects including erectile dysfunction, fatigue, breast enlargement, and decreased volume of semen were not noted in any of our study patients. All of our patients reported no systemic or local side effects.
5. Side Effects of Dutasteride As with finasteride, similar side effects have been noted with dutasteride only when taken orally. These side effects include gynecomastia, decreased libido, ejaculation disorders, and impotence. These side effects were resolved in men who discontinued dutasteride and in most men who continued therapy. In addition, finasteride and dutasteride are absorbed through the skin. Therefore, women who are pregnant should not handle these capsules, as contact and inadvertent consumption could cause birth defects of the male fetus. Men should not donate blood while taking dutasteride. They should also wait 6 months, after treatment ends, before donating blood. The long period after discontinuing dutasteride is based upon a 28-day half-life. dutasteride can be carried in the blood and can cause birth defects if a pregnant woman receives a transfusion with blood that contains dutasteride. These are similar precautions for those patients taking finasteride. The absorption through the skin is significant, and this is why we chose to formulate a topical product to be applied to the scalp. Another concern in patients taking inhibitors of 5AR is the risk for prostate cancer. Earlier in this decade, the Prostrate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) brought up concern for finasteride as a risk for higher-grade prostate cancer. In this study, despite a 25% reduction of prostate cancers in the treatment arm (those given 5 mg finasteride per day), significantly more high-grade cancers were demonstrated in this group. Further evaluation of this study demonstrated that this increased incidence was attributed to optimized tumor detection in smaller glands. Prostatic intraepithelial dysplasia (PIN) was also reduced in these patients [23, 24]. In another study, the REDUCE trial, a randomized controlled trial of 6,729 men compared dutasteride to placebo for the prevention of prostate cancer. These researchers found an overall reduction of 22% in the incidence of prostate cancer over 4 years. However, the reduction was entirely in Gleason grades 5 and 6 cancers, which are less lifethreatening and often not treated. In Gleason grades 7–10, which are lifethreatening, there was no reduction in cancer [23, 24].
6. Conclusion Our study was a prospective pilot study in 15 patients. It presents a novel technique at treating MPB with an aggressive multifaceted approach. The study is limited in that we did not conduct a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. However, our study was conducted as a classic pilot study. Our goal was to design a preliminary study prior to our main research, in order to check the feasibility and to improve the design of our research. This goal was met, and it should serve as a foundation to further investigate this product in a large sample, double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective study for MPB.The Nashville Predators roster has gone through quite the overhaul since the final years of Barry Trotz’s tenure. A team, that from it’s inception, had been built on strong defense and hard work has now become an offensive-minded, flashy lineup. Looking at moves made by GM David Poile, including trades involving Filip Forsberg, James Neal, Ryan Johnasen, and P.K. Subban. But one of the most important pieces of this team was acquired in March of 2014.
David Legwand, Nashville’s first ever draft pick, and leader in numerous statistical categories, was shipped to the Detroit Red Wings.
In return, the Predators received Calle Jarnkrok along with non-factor Patrick Eaves. Jarnkrok, a 2010 2nd round pick, was immediately assigned to the Preds affiliate, Milwaukee Admirals. Within two weeks, he was called up and notched his first NHL assist in his NHL debut. A week later against the Buffalo Sabres, he scored his first goal.
Jarnkrok, nicknamed Ironhook, instantly became a fan favorite in Smashville for his drive. Countless times in his first full season with the Preds, he would get blasted out of his skates by the opposition. But he never stayed down and never complained to the refs. He’s one of those players who is not shaken nor overwhelmed by any situation. Jarnkrok and fellow Swedes, Mattias Ekholm and Filip Forsberg, formed a strong friendship on the team. That friendship led the Predators to acquire some more young Swedish talent including Viktor Arvidsson, Pontus Aberg, and others.
Ironhook is constantly praised by coach Peter Laviolette as being the only player that can play any position on any line. And it shows. When the Predators suffer through injuries or scoring droughts, Jarnkrok can be found quite literally up and down the lineup. Already this season, he has played winger on the top two lines while also centering the bottom two. He takes important faceoffs, kills penalties, skates on the power-play, all while being one of the hardest skaters night in and out.
Calle has 3 goals and 1 assist on the young season. He looks to build on last year’s campaign in which he notched 16 goals and 14 assists, both career highs, and prove why Nashville signed him to a 6 year, $12 million contract.The Romney/Ryan team has at long last released their energy plan. What is inside is disturbing, not just for their gross negligence in making wildly inaccurate claims about the Wright brothers to even failing to grasp when fiscal years begin (a very bad sign for someone running on their business experience). It is clear from reading the document that whomever put it together is attempting to hoodwink the American people with buzzwords and catch phrases, hoping that people don’t actually read the document to understand it.
The first catch phrase he throws around is “Energy Independence.” This is a common Republican refrain, so it comes as no surprise to see it here. What is surprising, however, is that it is now part of a much larger phrase, “North American Energy Independence.” For his plan to work, the US will need to tap the oil from Canada, Mexico, and Central America, without restriction. This of course means the US takes all the oil from them, willing or not. Is Romney planning on a war with our bordering neighbors?
He then talks about eliminating federal controls on federal lands, handing mineral and resource rights over to the states. Of course, when has air or water stopped at state borders? How many people in Florida would be happy when Georgia starts dumping coal ash into the tributaries which flow into the states agricultural basin? Romney is right in that this would grow something, but that would be federal lawsuits and injunctions, causing an already slow permitting process to effectively grind to a complete halt.
He then goes to length in discussing opening up offshore areas for drilling. Not some areas, all areas. Oil rigs off of Virginia’s scenic beaches, within eyesight of the residents of the nation’s capital when they go to the beach. And Virginia is first on Romney’s list for oil exploitation. Oh and the state control of permits would be only for onshore exploitation, all offshore would stay federally controlled, but be fast-tracked for rapid decisions.
One interesting bit of the plan however is that the federal government would “Ensure accurate assessment of energy resources.” The government’s job now would be to find these oil fields, survey them, detail it all out, for the oil companies to profit from. Socializing the costs while privatizing the wealth. This would further increase oil company profits while leaving the US taxpayer the bill.
Of course, new energy is not left out in the cold. Oh wait, yes it is, with the complete elimination of government subsidies and development for anything other than fossil fuel technologies. Bye bye solar, hello coal gas. And cut those clean air standards while we’re at it, cannot do anything to hurt the drive to make a buck.
To back up his positions he turns to energy experts…. no, wait, he turns to banks and investment brokers. With the lions share of his positions backed up not by energy firms, or by experts in the field, we find Bloomberg, Citigroup, Raymond James… not a single piece of industry inside information. He then compared years he called the George Bush years to Barack Obama years to compare permit rates, but then messes those up, giving Obama the last Bush year. Of course the year being given Obama is the Fiscal Year 2009, running from October 2008-September 2009, the last year of the Bush administration’s budget. It also puts the entire economic downturn, with the reduction in permit applications, solidly into an administration which did not even take office for months after the fiscal year began.
Or did he mess up at all, and it is intentionally done that way, lying about Obama’s record in order to make his case to the American people? Considering his earlier declaration of energy independence only if we become economic slaves to Canada and Mexico, or otherwise invade them or annex them to become part of some grand North American Union, I suspect that it is in fact intentional.
Dates do seem to be a problem for the Romney plan, however. At one part he proclaims that “Utah Has Regulated Fracking For Over 50 Years Without A Single Reported Case Of Water Contamination” while neglecting to notice that the page he is citing is referring to limestone deposits, not the oil shale gas fracking which is what the current issues are about. He also talks about the “past four years of Obama’s energy policy” when Obama has not been in office for that long.
The report goes to great length in discussing the natural gas reserves, ignoring that natural gas expansion has been due in large part to Obama’s embrace of the resource since taking office. If you read the Romney plan, it sounded like natural gas exploration was run by private enterprise without any government oversight, then in fact without the governments investment in R&D into gas extraction technologies in the 1970’s and 1980’s, we would not have a natural gas industry today.
And of course, the real enemy for Romney comes out, when he blames environmentalists for all of the woes of the nation. The plan blames them for blocking anything and everything, but even then the examples he cites fails to meet the grade. He cited the Antelope Valley Solar Ranch for being blocked by environmentalists, but doing even quick research revealed that the permitting issue had to do with construction permits due to earthquake codes. Last time I checked earthquakes were not a high level environmentalist issue.
Once we have expanded our resource exploitation, of course, it means energy independence, right? Wrong. In his plan it talks at length about exporting these resources. We’d not even be using them ourselves, but shipping them to India and China, both mentioned by name in the report. All of make more money for the 1%.
In the end, the entire Romney energy plan looks to be little more than big government handouts to big energy, with the US taxpayer put on the line to pay for it all. His plan is short sighted, foolish and most of all demonstrates no loyalty to the United States, making us ever more enslaved to the world market. This is a plan for third world status, identical to a plan you would find for Nigeria. And we all know how well that worked out.Image copyright Getty Images
Those David Cameron once called loonies, fruitcakes and closet racists will be savouring their revenge today.
UKIP has made a historic breakthrough in Westminster just a few months after winning a national election - for the European Parliament.
It has shown it can win under the first-past-the-post voting system as well as under a proportional system.
When Douglas Carswell takes his seat in the Commons next week he will serve not just as a permanent reminder of the prime minister's miscalculation but as a temptation to his old allies on the Tory benches to follow suit.
That is why the Conservatives are so desperate for victory in the next by-election in Rochester triggered by another Tory MP who defected to UKIP.
Ed Miliband cannot |
trains alongside world record signing Paul Pogba (left) ahead of United's opener
Ibrahimovic believes that playing with United captain will be an 'easy combination'
The 34-year-old celebrates scoring the winner in the Community Shield at Wembley
While Ibrahimovic has high hopes for the youngster, he also imagines a bright future for his partnership with United veteran Wayne Rooney.
'I think it will work very well. The more time we spend on the pitch together, the more we get to know each other. We will understand each other very well,' he told Sky Sports.
'We like to play football, we like to come and get the ball and build up the game. But it's not only about two players, it's a team sport.
'He's an intelligent player and I think I am too. I will not be in his way and I believe he will not be in mine. So it's an easy combination,' he said.The Rock's Mom Car Smashed by Drunk Driver in Head on Collision
The Rock's Mom -- Car Smashed by Drunk Driver in Head on Collision
Exclusive Details
says his mom,and his cousin were struck HEAD ON by a drunk driver this week... and luckily, they survived.Dwayne Johnson's uncle Afa tells us Ata andwere driving home from a fundraiser their family runs every year -- the Usos Foundation Banquet -- when they were crashed into by the alleged drunk driver.Both women were rushed to a local hospital and we're told Ata was hospitalized for 3 nights. Afa wouldn't say what injuries the 65-year-old sustained... but he did tell us it was a very scary scene.The Rock posted a picture of the crash and his mom's white Escalade -- the one he bought her for Christmas in 2012 -- clearly totaled. Same goes for the other car involved.Fanene -- who currently works for's NXT division -- posted a photo of the actor/wrestler visiting her in the hospital.Ata and Lina also posed for a pic in the SUV on August 2nd on their way to the fundraiser.The Rock tweeted, "First reaction is to find the person who did this and do unrelenting harm to them. But then you realize the most important thing is my family lived thru this and we can hug each other that much tighter these days."Amazon “just took the gloves off,” begins an article at C|Net. Only days after Barnes and Noble discounted their color touchscreen tablets — to just $199 — Amazon announced an even cheaper price for their own Kindle Fire tablets. “Save $30 with a Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire,” Amazon now advertises on the device’s web page. “Each Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire is tested, certified, and repackaged like new…
For a shortcut to the special offer, just point your computer’s web browser to tinyurl.com/169KindleFire (“Comes with the same one-year limited warranty as a brand-new Kindle Fire…” Amazon is reminding potential buyers.) “[T]his deal first went live on Saturday,” C|Net‘s reporter notes, “and I’ve been checking all weekend to make sure they’re still in stock.
“As of this morning, they are.”
C}Net’s reporter doesn’t even own a Kindle Fire tablet, but writes that “for $169 I’m extremely tempted — especially considering that Amazon backs it with a full one-year warranty, same as new Fires…For all intents and purposes, this refurbished Fire should be the same as a new one — just $30 less. Who’s in?”
I’ve been intrigued by the extra capabilities in Amazon’s color, touchscreen tablets, and yes, they’re more appealing now that the price is cheaper. But is the discount just a hint at an even more interesting possibility? Just hours after C|Net‘s article, a reporter at PC magazine asked an even more intriguing question. Was the Kindle Fire tablet just a beta release?
“Last summer, I was one of the first to write in detail about Amazon’s Kindle Fire, expected in the fall of 2011,” writes Tim Bajarin. “My sources on this were impeccable and early on I got a good idea of what Amazon had up its sleeves. However, during my discussion with my sources on this, one interesting tidbit came up that I have not written about until now…” He reports that even while Amazon was building their 7-inch Kindle tablet, they were already thinking about a much larger tablet, and writes that he now believes “that the larger tablet will be its marquee product and the hopeful cornerstone of its tablet strategy.”
He estimates a larger tablet would cost Amazon around $300 to build, which suggests its ultimate price could come in around $299. Besides the obvious popularity of the iPad, he considers other clues that Amazon’s first tablet device was basically just a trial run. (For example, there’s the odd placement for the on-off switch, and the way that the volume controls are currently available only on the screen of the device.) “In no way was Amazon being dishonest with its customers — rather, the opposite,” writes the reporter. “For a low price, Amazon delivered a solid tablet experience… To be truly fair, many people may never want a screen larger than seven inches because of the associated weight and bulk.”
But his article still left me very excited about the possibility of a larger Kindle Fire tablet. “[U]sers must realize that the Kindle Fire is an important stepping stone for Amazon. It has allowed the company to garner key consumer feedback so it can create an even better product that can compete with the iPad and, in the end, deliver an even better user experience for its customers.
“After all, as industry insiders joke, all first-generation products, whether hardware or software, are really ‘beta’ programs disguised as initial launches.”
And remember: you can still buy my newly-released word game for the Kindle, “Throw in the Vowel,” for just $1.99!Who are these'responsible' homeowners?
Kathleen Pender, business columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle poses for a portrait on Tuesday Sept. 30, 2008 in San Francisco Calf. Kathleen Pender, business columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle poses for a portrait on Tuesday Sept. 30, 2008 in San Francisco Calf. Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Who are these'responsible' homeowners? 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
President Obama's housing plan is designed to save "responsible" homeowners from foreclosure by having taxpayers subsidize their mortgage payments.
The problem is, how do you define "responsible?"
In his speech, Obama said his plan "will not help speculators who took risky bets on a rising market and bought homes not to live in but to sell. And it will not reward folks who bought homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford."
It should be fairly easy to identify speculators who bought homes to rent or flip. But how do you prove someone bought a home they knew they couldn't afford?
I've spoken with many people who can't pay their mortgages and are desperate for help. All bought homes they thought they could afford and in many cases really could afford.
Most got into trouble by refinancing their homes - often more than once - and extracting every possible dollar of equity. The money went toward granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, credit cards, student loans, vacations, weddings, cars, etc. Then came a job loss or a divorce or the roommate moved out, and suddenly they couldn't make the payment. They tried to sell or refinance but couldn't because the home's value had dropped below the loan balance.
Responsible or reckless? Who's to say?
Obama announced two new plans for "responsible" homeowners who want to reduce their mortgage payments. Neither excludes people who cashed out their equity.
Both are open only to people whose mortgages are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which essentially have become arms of the government.
The first will help homeowners who want to refinance at a lower rate but can't because they owe more than 80 percent of the home's current value. The plan will let them refinance through Fannie or Freddie as long as the loan does not exceed 105 percent of the market value. To qualify, homeowners must be current on their mortgage payments.
Obama said this program's cost to taxpayers "would be roughly zero. While Fannie and Freddie would receive less money in payments, this would be balanced out by a reduction in defaults and foreclosures."
The second plan posses a far greater cost to taxpayers. It will use $75 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (renamed the Financial Stability Plan) to modify loans for "households at risk of imminent default despite being current on their mortgage payments." I'm not sure what that means.
Some of the money will go to loan servicers who get customers in modification plans. Some will go directly to homeowners in the form of mortgage subsidies and rewards for continued payment. Borrowers who stay current can get a bonus of up to $1,000 a year for five years.
Who qualifies for this windfall? The details are still being worked out.
Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at UC Berkeley, says it should exclude people who lied on their loan applications.
And in assessing the borrower's ability to pay, the government should look at assets, not just income - the same way it does when people apply for welfare or college aid.
Past mortgage-modification plans have not had an asset test. A homeowner could have a Lexus in the driveway and a half-million in retirement accounts and still qualify if his income was low enough.
The White House says all homeowners will benefit from the plan because without it, the average home price would fall an additional $6,000.
How does that benefit people who pay taxes but don't own a home? And how about all those renters who refused to buy an overpriced home with an exploding loan?
The percentage of households that could afford an entry-level home in California soared to 59 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with 33 percent the same period a year ago, the California Association of Realtors said Wednesday. In the Bay Area, the index jumped to 47 percent from 23 percent, thanks largely to a drop in home prices.
Although the stimulus plan provides a tax credit for first-time home buyers, some might like to see prices come down even more.An Uber car is seen parked with the driver's lunch left on the dashboard in Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States July 15, 2015. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)
Here’s one way to measure the impact of smartphone-enabled on-demand service platforms: Less than seven years after the founding of the largest company in the space, Uber, Washington is buzzing with talk of how to overhaul labor law to fit the new category of workers it claims to have created.
That might seem like a long time. But the main corpus of regulations governing the work experience hasn’t changed substantially for more than 60 years, so for broad reform proposals to be circulating at this point is basically warp speed.
“It’s going to be very difficult for government to keep up,” says former Domestic Policy Council chairman Bruce Reed, who’s been tapped by the Aspen Institute to run an Initiative on the Future of Work. "This issue will be an interesting clash of the can-do mentality of Silicon Valley with the 'let’s not and say we did' mentality of Washington.”
Within a year, the Aspen outfit expects to have some ideas for how things should change to protect the not-quite-employees-not-quite-contractors in the on-demand or “gig” economy, while not constraining the growth of services that consumers seem to love. They’re kicking off next week with a discussion of the “portable benefits” idea raised last month by a collection of tech executives and worker advocates looking to provide safety net services to people who hop from employer to employer.
Meanwhile, this Thursday the Department of Labor will convene a “Future of Work Symposium” in Washington to discuss how the government ought to adapt to new forms of employment relationships. The day before that, the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution plans to host a morning of panels to discuss a new paper on the subject by President Obama's former Council of Economic Advisors chairman Alan Krueger and Seth Harris, a lawyer who served briefly as U.S. Secretary of Labor in 2013.
All of the activity is motivated by a sense that, although infinitesimal right now — the number of people working through online intermediaries in the United States is estimated at 600,000 — the category could grow exponentially. Courts have been all over the map in deciding whether those Uber drivers and Handy cleaners are really employees or independent contractors, with on-demand companies insisting that their business models would be toast if they had to treat them as the latter.
Already, those who are plugged into this debate have separated into camps. There are those, found mostly among the labor union-oriented left, who believe that most of these workers are being misclassified as independent contractors and ought to receive all the benefits and protections of employeehood — workers compensation, tax withholding, contributions to social security, unemployment insurance, overtime, minimum wage, etc. To even talk about creating a new category for the on-demand economy is at best a distraction from the real problems most workers face.
“I don’t see what it is about the technology that can’t be successfully deployed through an employment relationship,” says Craig Becker, general counsel of the AFL-CIO. “It’s really hard to say that companies of the size that some of these are, with all their savvy, couldn’t provide the value which they’re clearly providing, and still comply with what are the minimal obligations of U.S. employment law.”
And then there are those, like the conservative R Street Institute, that want to to create a “safe harbor” for on-demand companies to experiment with offering employment-like benefits without having to convert their workers over to employee status — essentially freeing them from regulation entirely. “We believe employer-employee relations should be defined by individual contract, rather that relying on statutory, regulatory and common law definitions,” writes the Institute’s director Ian Adams.
Into this ferment steps Harris and Krueger, two former college buddies who’ve been talking about how to update labor law for a while now. (Krueger co-authored a study with Uber’s data a year ago that described how workers typically use the platform.) They approached the Hamilton Project about putting together a policy proposal earlier this year, and this week have produced something that has a little bit for both sides. The paper outlines a new category of “independent workers,” operating through either online or offline “intermediaries,” who would be entitled some of the benefits and protections of employees — but not all.
“Compared to the status quo, they are required to pay most of the benefits that traditional employers provide,” Krueger says of the intermediaries, "except for the ones that don’t make sense.”
So, for example: Anti-discrimination laws would be extended to cover independent workers, who would also be allowed to unionize (independent contractors are currently barred from doing so). Intermediaries would be required to provide tax withholding, pay payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, and contribute to support health insurance subsidies on the exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act.
Intermediaries would not, however, be required to offer workers compensation; instead they would be allowed to do so through insurance pools in exchange for immunity from lawsuits without running the risk of having to reclassify their workers as employees. They also wouldn’t have to deal with the hours-based costs like overtime pay and unemployment insurance, since intermediaries never explicitly set schedules for their workers.
“At its core, being an employee means the worker gives over to the employer control over hours of work, in exchange for a modicum of economic security,” says Harris. "An independent worker fundamentally doesn’t do that."
Still, some worry that existing employers will fashion themselves as intermediaries in order to lessen their regulatory burden.
“We think developing a whole new category of workers, especially to respond to what is a tiny part of the labor market, would engender a race by other businesses to reclassify their workers in order to avoid accountability,” says Rebecca Smith, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project.
In response to an outline of the paper, Lyft declined to comment on the record, and Uber sent a short statement saying “we look forward to continuing this discussion with policymakers, experts, and most importantly the people who use Uber to make money and improve their lives.” Krueger notes that, in a workshop session where they solicited feedback from interested parties, representatives from on-demand platforms also weren’t happy, particularly about parts of the proposal that would allow workers to collectively bargain.
“We think we’ve perfectly found no-man’s land,” Krueger joked. "We in the Obama administration were great at crafting the exact policy that gets all the tradeoffs right and makes nobody happy.”
Actual legislative language is likely still a long ways away. But any legislator who might like to offer it is getting a lot more to work with.Yesterday gave us one of the most riveting NBA games of the season. Not because of the actual basketball but because of the rivalry between KD and Russell Westbrook that seemingly grew right in front of our eyes.
Following the game, Kevin Durant's mom, Wanda, gave her thoughts about her son's feud with his ex-teammate.
Kevin Durant and his mom think the perceived beef with Russell Westbrook is 'too hyped' https://t.co/41hPsPbP3b pic.twitter.com/1SyI6XEMnL — Dime on UPROXX (@DimeUPROXX) November 23, 2017
" It’s OKC. It’s the same atmosphere that they’ve always had, so we wouldn’t expect anything different. I just think it’s too hyped. It’s just basketball. Not even as a fan and being here and watching both of them, I really don’t get it. But it is what it is," said Wanda following the game.
I'm really not sure KD's mom fully understand what she was seeing yesterday. Im pretty sure this:
RUSSELL WESTBROOK VS KEVIN DURANT FOREVER pic.twitter.com/iZsjG50HQe — Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) November 23, 2017
Isn't a common occurrence at every OKC game, nor does it have anything to do with the atmosphere of the crowd.
At this point it is pretty clear that neither Durant or Westbrook are very fond of one another. It could just be a competitive spirit between the two but even competitive spirit doesn't usually result in that.
Regardless of Wanda's perception or the actual nature of the relationship between the two, one thing is for sure: the NBA just got it's most intriguing rivalry in the past 10 years.WNY Flash expected to introduce Paul Riley as new coach
Western New York Flash (Photo:.)
The Western New York Flash are expected to introduce Paul Riley as their new head coach on Friday at an 11 a.m. news conference at Sahlen’s Sports Spark in Elma, Erie County. Riley, 52, who coached the Portland Thorns the past two years, replaces Aaran Lines, the only previous coach in National Women’s Soccer League club’s seven-year history. Lines resigned just before Christmas and was named the club’s vice president last month.
The announcement of Riley’s hiring will come about two months before the Flash’s April 16 season opener at two-time defending champion FC Kansas City. The NWSL announced its schedule Thursday. WNY's home opener is April 29 against the Washington Spirit. Riley will get his first crack at Portland on June 17 in Rochester. The Flash travel to Portland on Sept. 11.
Based on the way his tenure in Portland ended, Riley should be hungry to produce a winner.
Riley was let go last fall after a disappointing season in a city where sell-out crowds are the norm for women’s soccer. A native of England, he has been based in the Long Island area for much of the past 20 years. From 1994-97, he coached in the A-League (against the Rochester Rhinos) for the Long Island Rough Riders. He also coached women’s soccer for the Long Island Fury (W-League, 2006-09), Philadelphia Independence (WPS, 2010-11) and New York Fury (WPSL Elire (2012-13).
He was WPS Coach of the Year in 2011, edging out Lines for the honor.
Riley went just 16-17-11 in two seasons in Portland, where he replaced Cindy Parlow Cone following the Thorns’ 2013 NWSL Championship season when they beat the Abby Wambach- and Carli Lloyd-led Flash 2-0 for the title in Rochester. Portland made the playoffs under Riley in 2014, but was eliminated 2-0 by Kansas City in the semifinals. The Thorns went 6-9-5 and finished in a sixth-place tie last year with the Flash.
Riley also has a link to the 2011 and 2012 Flash teams. His 2012 New York Fury lost in the playoff semifinals in Rochester to the eventual WPSL Elite champion Flash. His 2011 Philadelphia squad lost the Women’s Professional Soccer title match on penalty kicks to WNY in Rochester. That Flash team was star-studded with Christine Sinclair and then-rookie Alex Morgan, star forwards Riley coached the past two years in Portland, Brazilian midfielder Marta and future U.S. national team backups, Whitney Engen and Ashlyn Harris. Engen and Harris were named WPS Defender and Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively, that season.
But this season’s Flash team, much like last year’s, won’t have much star power. Riley will have to rely on a young squad featuring American up-and-comers, Samantha Mewis (midfield), Jaelene Hinkle (defender) and Abby Dahlkemper (defense). Speedy forward Lynn Williams, who led WNY in scoring last year with four goals and four assists as a rookie, is also expected back after having last season cut short by injury.
NEWSLETTERS Get the High School Sports newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Stay in the know about what is happening in HS sports Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-790-9565. Delivery: Thurs Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for High School Sports Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
Newcomer Jess McDonald played for Riley in Portland in 2014 and finished third in the NWSL with 11 goals.
Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/1TtoY84Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a constitutional amendment to the U.S. Senate on Thursday that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United ruling.
The decision held that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as people, and that political spending was free speech. The ruling allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, so long as their actions were not directly coordinated with a candidate’s campaign.
“There comes a time when an issue is so important that the only way to address it is by a constitutional amendment,” Sanders said.
He had previously described the Citizen United ruling as “basically insane.”
“Nobody that I know thinks that Exxon Mobil is a person,” Sanders said in November.
The Saving American Democracy Amendment would state that corporations are not entitled to the same constitutional rights as people. It would also ban corporate campaign donations to candidates, and give Congress and the states broad authority to regulate spending in elections.
“The dominance of corporations in Washington has imperiled the economic security of the American people and left our citizens profoundly disenchanted with our democracy,” said Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), who has introduced a companion measure in the U.S. House.
“I look forward to working with Sen. Sanders to save American democracy by banning all corporate spending in our elections and cracking down on secret front groups using anonymous corporate cash to undermine the public interest.”
The amendment comes only days after the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to support a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that would assert that corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights.
“Sen. Sanders’ amendment returns us to shared understandings that democracy is for people,” said Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen.
Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Michael Bennet of (D-CO) have also introduced a constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United by granting Congress and the states the authority to regulate the campaign finance system.
The amendment would not dictate any specific policies or regulations, Udall said, so that it could garner some support from Republicans, who have blocked attempts to overturn the ruling in the past.
Democrats had previously attempted to pass a law — the DISCLOSE Act — to mitigate the effects of Citizens United, but it was opposed by conservatives and failed to clear Congress thanks to a Republican filibuster.
Watch video of Sanders on the Senate floor below:The division one-winning ticket was purchased at Oak Flats Newsagency, south of Wollongong. Credit:Bloomberg
The day after three winning entries shared a first-division pool of $50 million on October 16, Mr Baron is understood to have called in sick and took the day off work. The following Monday, he suddenly resigned.
In an extraordinary twist, a syndicate member and Toll Group courier was hired by Tatts Group to deliver champagne to Mr Baron shortly after the lottery win.
Mr Baron suddenly distanced himself from most of his colleagues in the syndicate, aside from one woman whom he is now romantically involved with. The woman has also resigned from Toll Group and is not party to the legal proceedings about to be initiated by the 14 other syndicate members.
Since the massive windfall, the former courier has allegedly purchased a $200,000 convertible BMW M4 and a double-storey house in the Geelong suburb of Lara. His son, in his early twenties, has also purchased a new home in Lara, where a luxury in-ground pool was recently installed.
The disgruntled syndicate will allege in court they were one of three winning groups to collect 16,666,666.67 in the $50 million jackpot, and each member is entitled to more than $1 million. They will claim their former friend and colleague reneged on a deal to share the winnings.A A
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Five people were shot to death at a Federal Way apartment complex late Sunday, including one man who was killed by responding police officers.
Police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock said officers were called to the chaotic scene about 9:30 p.m. when someone reported gunshots at the Pinewood Apartments on Pacific Highway South.
"When officers arrived there were still shots being fired," Schrock said.
The officers saw two wounded men on the ground in the parking lot, and Schrock said one of the injured men reached for a gun as the officers approached. Several officers opened fire, killing the armed man. No officers were hurt.
The second wounded man died at the scene, and police found the bodies of three other people who had also been shot to death.
One man's body was found elsewhere in the parking lot, and the bodies of a man and woman were found inside separate apartment units.
Police believe the apartment where the man's body was found is where the shootings started, Schrock said.
A large contingent of police officers converged on the scene to help search the area, but by 11:30 p.m. officials said no one else was being sought in connection with the killings.
It was not clear what prompted the initial shootings, but Schrock described it as a firefight between all four men.
Schrock said investigators are trying to determine if the woman who was killed was hit by a stray bullet.
A total of eight officers fired their weapons, Schrock said. All have been placed on administrative leave, per standard policy, as the investigation continues.
By dawn, a King County medical examiner's office truck arrived at the scene to pick up bodies. Crime scene investigators continued working. One officer was seen carrying books and a gun to what appeared to be an evidence van.
No officers were hurt, and the names of the five people who were killed have not been released.
---
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Testing pre-commit with git
It’s great to run tests on your code before you commit it. It’s even better to make that happen automatically!
git lets you run a script before a commit succeeds by creating what is known as a “pre-commit” hook; it’s simply an executable located at.git/hooks/pre-commit.
However, there are a few gotchas: by default, git will just run it against your current (possibly dirty) checkout. To make sure you’re actually testing the code you’re about to commit, we can stash your other changes while the tests run.
This brings up another issue: that popping a git stash that includes an index will often result in conflicts; we can solve this by using git reset --hard before we pop from the stash.
One last thing: we want to recover to the original directory state no matter what happens (e.g. maybe our test suite itself fails); so we use a bash trap to ensure that our stash popping happens no-matter the exit path.
With that all said, here is what I use as a pre-commit hook for my lua projects:Photo
“A story like the one I’ve been telling you is unimaginable nowadays,” a physician proclaims in “The Soul of Medicine,” Sherwin Nuland’s new collection of medical tales. The stories — modeled on “The Canterbury Tales” — are intended to “describe that sacrosanct connection between two people that we call the doctor-patient relationship,” Nuland writes. Indeed, the tales, narrated by physicians recalling their most memorable patients, evoke a bygone era in medicine, though one that is thankfully over.
In “The Surgeon’s Second Tale,” a young man is whisked to the operating room to have a ruptured spleen removed on the basis of a history and physical exam — unthinkable nowadays, when a patient with a simple headache cannot get out of the emergency room without a CAT scan of the brain (though the diagnosis was correct). Another surgeon performs a radical mastectomy on a young woman who believes she is getting only a breast biopsy and a simple vaginal procedure, without even waking her up from anesthesia to tell her that the biopsy indicates cancer. Four hours later, the entire breast and mass of contiguous tissue have been removed. “There’s something we have to talk about,” the surgeon tells her at the bedside.
It is horrifying what doctors used to get away with. Nuland himself recalls a young man whose bowel had perforated into his chest, spreading fecal material around the lungs, causing a life-threatening infection. He graphically describes cutting down to the bone, excising part of a rib and draining the light-brown feculent pus. But what is amazing is not the infection or the way it occurred but that Nuland, a resident at the time, and his intern performed the surgery by themselves, apparently without any attending supervision. Nuland proudly tells the chief of the surgical service about the case the next morning. But where was the chief the previous night?
Indeed, more than a couple of doctors in these tales would be brought before a state medical board today, if not put in jail. In “The Anesthesiologist’s Tale,” a surgeon with bipolar disorder stops taking his medications and loses his mind during a routine gallbladder operation, cutting wildly, lopping out part of the stomach, lacerating the aorta, eventually being jumped and restrained by orderlies, all the while threatening to sue. In “The Chest Surgeon’s Tale,” a self-described scoundrel boastfully recalls bedding student nurses while a young married surgeon; lying to get a nursing supervisor fired; and, in the most disturbing anecdote, purposefully thrusting an ungloved hand into the chest of a 14-year-old boy undergoing a heart operation.
Nuland writes that these stories are “the lessons of humanity itself, with all its wondrous gifts and its failings.” But this collection suffers from the lack of an overarching theme or idea. If you’re going to write a book of stories with this conceit, the reader has the right to expect more: engaging narrative, insight, reflection. Nuland does provide commentaries to some of the tales, which bring out some historical tidbits, but they have a sort of ad hoc, cobbled-together quality. It would have been better to integrate the commentaries into the tales themselves, and Nuland doesn’t help the situation with gushing encomiums to some of his narrators, physicians he has encountered in the course of his career.
As a great admirer of “How We Die,” which won Nuland the National Book Award, and “Lost in America,” a soul-searching memoir of his immigrant father, I was hoping for much more from this slim book. Still, despite its antediluvian elements, there are some timeless lessons here, like the story of an 85-year-old man who undergoes a colonoscopy that reveals a cancerous polyp. The doctors decide to operate, and during the induction of anesthesia, the man dies of cardiac arrest. In his frail condition, he had a probable life expectancy of only three years, much less than the time it would have taken for the cancer to do him in. The fact that we can treat disease, Nuland suggests, does not always mean we should. Would that more doctors today followed this basic maxim.NASHVILLE — Hayley Williams needed a break from “Paramore hair.”
For more than a decade, while she established herself as one of the most dynamic mainstream rock singers of her generation, Ms. Williams was recognizable for her dramatic razor-cut bangs and bobs in bursts of violent color, typically the loudest synthetic shades of red, orange and pink. “I had a haircut that could have murdered you,” she said of the look that helped make her an icon of the mall-punk Warped Tour set.
Yet as her band, Paramore, worked to transcend its restrictive genre dogmas across four increasingly ambitious albums, taking the angsty pop punk of the Myspace moment to the Grammys and the Billboard charts largely on the strength of Ms. Williams’s voice, the singer, now 28, began to feel beholden to a visual shtick.
Last year, staring down a deep depression amid more personnel changes in a band plagued by them — and questioning herself under the hefty burdens of adulthood — Ms. Williams opted for “a blank slate,” she said, her currently white-blond locks further minimized under a beanie.
“You can run on the fumes of being a teenager for as long as you want, but eventually life hits you really hard,” Ms. Williams, a mighty presence who barely cracks five feet, explained last month, speaking for the first time about the tumultuous period since Paramore last released an album, in 2013. “I didn’t even know if we were going to make another record,” she said. “There was a moment when I didn’t even want it to happen. Then it was like, I want it to happen, but I don’t know how we’re going to do it.”Loading... Loading...
About three-quarters of the world’s dictatorships currently receive military assistance from the United States. This is a strange record for a nation that consistently justifies its sweeping foreign interventions as aimed at “promoting democracy” and “thwarting evil dictatorships.”
In the Cold War it was “He may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” Current analysis shows the U.S. militarily assisting dictators the world over, calling it “promoting democracy,” and disingenuously wondering why it’s all going so badly.
For much of its history, the United States government has explained or defended its intervention in the affairs of other nations by framing such behavior as necessary to “promote democracy” abroad and to thwart the advance of “evil dictators.” While the use of those phrases has hardly dwindled over the years, establishment figures have been forced to admit in recent years that the U.S.’ democracy promotion efforts haven’t gone quite as planned.
For instance, last year, Foreign Policy published an article headlined “Why is America So Bad at Promoting Democracy in Other Countries?” There, Harvard professor Stephen M. Walt noted that most of the U.S.’ democracy promotion efforts abroad end in failure, with nearly a quarter of the world’s democracies having been degraded in the past 30 years. Though Walt blames the U.S.’ muddled history of military interventions for failing to spread democracy, a new analysis suggests that the reason for this troubling trend is not that democracy wasn’t promoted the “right” way, but rather that democracy was never meant to be promoted at all.
By the numbers: U.S. backs three of every four dictators
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner watches a ceremony where President Donald Trump was presented with The Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, at the Royal Court Palace, May 20, 2017, in Riyadh. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Rich Whitney, an attorney and writer, sought to compare Freedom House’s rating system of political rights for 2015 to the U.S. government’s provision of military assistance – military training, military aid and weapons sales – to foreign nations that same year. Whitney’s stated goal was to determine whether the U.S. government actually opposes dictatorships and champions democracy at a global level, as is often claimed. His independent analysis found that the U.S. has actually manifested the opposite of its stated intention, by providing military assistance to 36 of the world’s 49 dictatorships. In other words, more than 73% of the world’s dictatorships currently receive military assistance from the United States.
For his analysis, Whitney used a commonly accepted definition of dictatorship: “a system of government in which one person or a small group possesses absolute state power, thereby directing all national policies and major acts — leaving the people powerless to alter those decisions or replace those in power by any method short of revolution or coup.” He chose Freedom House’s Freedom in the World annual reports, citing it as the best source for a comprehensive list of dictatorships and “free” societies. Whitney, however, noted that the ostensibly independent organization has a “decidedly pro-US-ruling-class bias.”
Freedom House’s bias makes the results of Whitney’s analysis even more damning. The organization is funded by a combination of Western government and nongovernmental-organization sources, including the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations. Thus, its categorization of nations as dictatorships or as free societies is largely analogous to how the U.S. State Department classifies such nations — meaning that U.S. monetary support of such dictatorships is a knowing and willful repudiation of democracy promotion abroad.
Furthermore, many of the nations labeled as dictatorships by Freedom House are rivals of the United States, and thus tended to be labeled dictatorships even though they are not. For example, both Iran and Syria were labeled dictatorships even though Iran held democratic elections earlier |
CVS, I know better — I've commuted beside them in the mornings, quietly mortified. Because, more often than not, I've forgotten to apply lipstick before leaving the house, my skirt is clean but wrinkled from sitting on the train ride in, and my own obligatory Longchamp tote — a bid at joining their ranks — is coated in what I am 86% sure is Marshmallow Fluff. (Furtive licking would later prove this to be so.)
It's not like I'm a slob. I know how to dress for my corporate day job and when I get to the office there's always a stop at the bathroom to make sure I can pass for business casual. This means: the forgotten lipstick is applied, the cardigan put on, the Fluff removed, the slept-on-it-wet hair pulled back into a clean ponytail, my favorite boots replaced with sensible pumps. By the time I'm done, I'm transformed from who I am into an appropriate, if not stylish, secretary.
As a person who likes to play dress up, who loves her some eye makeup and red lippy in her civilian life, it took me a long time to accept that when it came to keeping my job in corporate America, I'd have to play the part. Once I did, it was no skin off my nose — sure, I may look like Mrs. Doubtfire from 8 to 5, but my out-of-work wardrobe suddenly included many, many sheer shirts.
I thought I'd perfected the art of blending in after almost a year as a temp, until I was called into my supervisor's office. I was up for a promotion to permanent staffer, so I went to see her with anticipation rather than my usual perpetual sense of dread. She, on the other hand, shifted in her seat, avoiding eye contact with me. When she did open her mouth and speak, I was floored.
Advertisement
"Someone has come to me," she said, "And they've got some complaints about what you've been doing with your face and your hair."
I stopped breathing for a second, and when I did speak it was past a confused lump in my throat. "My face and hair?" I parroted back at her.
Now that she'd started talking, it was hard to shut her up. While this mysterious-presumably-higher-up had no complaints with my attire, they found the way in which I styled my hair and made up my face to be indicative of someone who wasn't concerned with moving ahead.
Advertisement
I nodded along at this, but inside I was reeling. Basically, when you reduced the statement to its simplest truths, I'd been told someone at my firm didn't think I was attractive enough to get promoted from temp to full-staff administrative.
As an aspiring writer, I didn't miss the irony that I was potentially too homely to answer a phone. Though I appreciated it less than I would with the dual charmers, time and perspective.
On the walk from my boss's office to HR, my sadness turned to anger and I quietly began fuming — I DID do my hair, I DID do my makeup, I made an effort to do it in the appropriate way for these very people! Not only that, but I was good at my job. The idea that my physical appearance would be so distasteful to someone that they would potentially deny me a job that would be provide me with much-needed benefits had to be, not only morally wrong, but illegal.
"Did she actually tell you that you had to start doing something different with your makeup or your hair?" the woman in HR asked me, unblinking. I shook my head, "She just sort of — presented the fact that someone else thought it would hold me back."
Advertisement
The HR woman nodded like she expected as much. "Outside of our dress code, we cannot legally tell you how you should look when you come to work, but..." The "but" in question is that in work, as in daily life, people are prone to snap judgments, and those aren't illegal.
I left the office with the instructions to take my manager's words as well-meant advice. With no other options — other than flipping her desk and bellowing something about how I was outtie five thousand — I left her office and tried to meet their expectations.
If I'd felt like I was wearing a costume to work before, now I felt like I was wearing a mask and a wig as well. My ponytail was replaced with blowouts that cost me an extra hour of sleep; my neutral makeup and glasses were replaced for my contacts and jewel tones. These were things I knew how to do, that I loved doing — but digging this deep into my beauty arsenal to go sit for eight hours? Frankly, that seemed ridiculous to me.
Advertisement
Until I got the promotion I'd been angling for.
I started thinking about all this again when I read this article in the Daily Mail. I immediately forwarded it to a co-worker who'd known me through the time of my unwilling My-Fairy-Lady-ing. She laughed and I didn't blame her. The notion that the depth of my tan could make an employer less likely to hire me because they assume I like excessive amounts of time off is ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as not hiring a woman whose makeup is too flawless because it means she's out for your job.
But I didn't laugh, because although I've been in the new position for over a year now, and have quietly reverted to my glasses-and-ponytail ways, I can't shake the feeling that I got where I am by bowing to this warped way of thinking.
Advertisement
By accepting this line of thought the way I did, by not flipping the desk (and maybe also the bird) to the company I work for, was I contributing to a culture that was already problematically looks-obsessed? Have you ever worked the system and then regretted it?
This article originally appeared on xoJane. Republished with permission.SINGAPORE - The National Environment Agency (NEA) has written to Indonesia with its concerns over the haze as air quality in Singapore is forecast to remain in the unhealthy range.
The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading crossed into the unhealthy range at 4pm on Friday (Aug 26), and is expected to remain unhealthy for the next 24 hours.
"The prevailing winds are forecast to blow mainly from the west... There could be a further deterioration in the air quality in the night should the westerly winds blow in denser haze from Sumatra," said NEA.
The CEO of the NEA wrote to his Indonesian counterpart on Friday to register Singapore’s concerns over the haze, the agency said.
NEA said it "urged Indonesia to continue taking the necessary actions to prevent and mitigate the fires during this dry season". It has also asked for an update on the situation in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
As at 2am, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) was 91-139, according to the NEA website. Readings in the west and north are in the unhealthy range at 139 and 134 respectively. It was 104 in the south, 108 in the central regions and 91 in the east.
The 3-hour PSI - an indicative reading not tied to a health advisory - was 59.
The 1-hour PM2.5 reading has fallen to 9 in the central region in Singapore at 4am, followed by 4 in the east, 29 in the north, 4 in the south and 51 in the west.
The 1-hr PM2.5 concentration over the next 24 hours is expected to fluctuate between Band II (Elevated, 56 - 150) and Band III (High, 151 - 250), said NEA.
Related Story Hot spots from forest and land fires in Indonesia's Riau province double overnight
Related Story NEA creates bands to simplify PM2.5 readings
In July, NEA introduced new bandings and descriptors for the one-hour concentration readings of fine particles called PM2.5 - a major pollutant in smoke haze.
They are a good indicator of the current air quality and members of the public can "use this for immediate activities like going for a jog", said NEA.
The Straits Times understands that they were introduced after members of the public suggested having a guide to PM2.5 readings after last year's haze episode.
However, the bands do not state what levels are healthy or not, unlike the 24-hour PSI, which is used by the authorities here as the reference for health advisories.
The hazy conditions in Singapore have persisted, as haze from central Sumatra continued to be blown in by the prevailing westerly winds, the agency added.
"The main cause of the haze and smell that Singapore is experiencing today is likely from the forest and peatland fires from land clearing practices in Sumatra," said Assistant Professor Janice Lee from the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
Ms Lee said the chances of the haze continuing into September are high, as it is the peak dry season where there is frequent land clearing activities using fires. Dry weather conditions in Sumatra also means that Singapore can expect smoke from fires due to the South-Westerly winds in the region.
"The wetter conditions from La Niña are expected to help douse the fires but international climate models do not indicate that these conditions have kicked in yet. Presently, dry weather conditions prevail in Sumatra and Kalimantan and we can expect smoke from fires due to the South-Westerly winds in the region," she added.
Given the air quality forecast, NEA advises the public to reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. Those who are not feeling well, especially the elderly and children, and those with chronic heart or lung conditions, should seek medical attention.
Schools are taking precautions during this examination period. Some have moved students taking exams to an air-conditioned venue, while others have brought out the air purifiers.
Singapore experienced one of the worst haze outbreaks last September when PSI almost hit hazardous levels, forcing schools to close.
The 24-hour PSI reading then was between 219 and 270, in the very unhealthy range. A PSI reading above the 300-point mark is considered hazardous.
Omg the school is so dope!! Thank you Aunty and Uncles. 🎉💚☺️ #sghaze pic.twitter.com/CavjMIViBq — 🌙 (@chelseagoh) August 26, 2016
Pretty sure it's just Koffing and Wheezing using smoke screen. Pokemon Go trainers. You know what to do. #sghaze — Joakim Gomez (@JoakimGomez) August 26, 2016
Masks on the street, gloomy grey surrounding. It's that time of the year again. #sghaze — Stefanus Ian (@stefanusian) August 26, 2016WASHINGTON—In an effort to avoid a potentially disrespectful or insensitive response, House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly quickly ran a tweet about the Texas mass shooting past Wayne LaPierre before posting the message, sources confirmed Monday. “Wayne, I understand that this is a delicate situation so I wanted to check to make absolutely sure you’re on board with this response before I send it out,” wrote Ryan, who pasted the 16-word draft urging Americans to send prayers to the people of Texas into an email for the NRA executive vice president to peruse and approve. “Obviously, I’d never want to write anything that might offend you or the National Rifle Association. If you don’t like the sentiment or there’s a different wording you’d prefer, just let me know and I can change it without delay. Also happy to provide a few options for you to select from if that would work better. Just let me know when you get a second.” After receiving LaPierre’s consent to post the tweet, Ryan reportedly assured the gun rights advocate that this would be his last public statement on the shooting.The Witness is our pick for best puzzle game this year, chosen by PC Gamer staff through voting and debate. We'll be posting an award a day leading to Christmas, along with personal picks from the PCG team. Keep up with all the awards so far here.
Chris Livingston: The most wonderful moment in The Witness came when I realized, after several hours of playing, that I wasn’t simply standing in front of a series of puzzles but actually standing in a series of puzzles crafted from the island itself. Beyond the linked flat puzzle panels, there are patterns in The Witness. They’re etched into mountainsides, formed by tree branches and shrubs, looped around staircases and paths, in the shadows, in the reflections of the water, and even in the clouds. Some I passed dozens of times without ever seeing them until I happened to stand in just the right spot and peered at just the right angle, and then suddenly it was clear as day. Best of all, once you begin to see these environmental puzzles, you’ve already been taught how to solve them by the panels you’ve been tracing designs on all along. It’s breathtakingly brilliant, and shows how well designed The Witness is, not just in terms of its puzzles but in every boulder, path, tree, and hill.
Tom Marks: The island itself is the most impressive part of The Witness for me. To start, it’s simply gorgeous. Its vibrant colors and perfectly reflective water is a wonderful contrast to the darker settings of most modern games, especially when compared to similar first-person puzzlers like Portal or The Talos Principle. But the island’s brilliance goes beyond visuals, as it’s been crafted to guide you through the game and teach you everything you need to know without ever saying a word. The puzzles themselves are simple enough, but the feeling of accomplishment The Witness’ evokes from exploring its world and slowly learning how those puzzles work is what truly sets it apart from other games.
Phil Savage: It's as brilliant as it's possible for 600+ maze puzzles in a row to be.
taking a break and wandering off is practically a requirement, as you tend discover the keys to solving certain puzzles by learning how the island’s other puzzles work.
Chris Livingston: At least, unlike many puzzle games, if you tire of the type of puzzle you’re working on (as I sense Phil did) you can wander off and work on some others. It can definitely get a bit exhausting to solve a series of panels, gain entrance into a new area, and find yet another series of panels awaiting you. That’s the beauty of The Witness’ open world, though. If and when you get stuck on something, or simply tire of it for the time being, you can go have a nice wander. You can try out some other puzzles, or try to find some of the environmental ones I mentioned earlier. In fact, taking a break and wandering off is practically a requirement, as you tend discover the keys to solving certain puzzles by learning how the island’s other puzzles work.
You can also say the hell with puzzles for a while! Simply stroll around and enjoy the scenery, which itself is littered with amazing detail that don’t involve puzzles at all. The discovery of the shadows caused by some branches on a wall, or sunlight through a windowframe, or interesting etchings on a rock, or a scene in a clearing that comes into view from a certain angle—there are so many brilliant little details to look for and find that don’t involve solving puzzles at all.
The Witness was a great game to play with someone sitting next to you—provided you work well together—and it was especially fun to see what other players had discovered online. Not just in terms of finding solutions to panels (though I for one certainly needed help from time to time) but to see secret endings, screenshots of interesting details, and share theories about what it all might mean. I know The Witness didn’t get the acclaim and attention of Braid, but it’s still a remarkable achievement of design and a game I’ll return to again in the future.
For more on The Witness, read our full review.NON-EU CITIZENS last year had more than twice the unemployment level across the EU’s 28 member states than citizens of that state, according to the latest Eurostat figures.
EU citizens aged 20 to 64 years registered a 10% unemployment rate in their home country, while 21.3% of the same age group of non-citizens were unemployed.
The proportion of people out of work for 12 months or over was similar between the groups though, at 48.6% for unemployed EU citizens and 46.1% for non-citizens.
Some 65.8% of Irish citizens were employed here last year, compared with 54.4 of non-EU citizens in Ireland and 68.6% of nationals from other EU states.
Overall, 56.1% of non-EU nationals aged 20-64 were employed; 68.9% EU nationals were working in their state. The rate of employment among EU citizens living in another EU country was even higher, at 70.9%.
Non-EU citizens had almost twice the proportion of employees on temporary contracts than EU citizens, at 20.2% and 12.4% respectively, while the proportion of part-time employment was also higher for non-EU workers (at 27.5%, compared to 18.4% for EU nationals).
EU citizens working in other EU countries registered a higher proportion of temporary work contracts (16.4%) than those from that country (12.4%).
Four EU states showed a higher rate of employment for non-citizens than for citizens from that state: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Italy. The largest difference between the two groups was found in Sweden, where 81.3% of its citizens are employed compared to 50.2% of non-EU citizens there.This article is about practice of stuffing and mounting animals. For field of biology, see Taxonomy (biology)
Taxidermy is the preserving of an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word taxidermy describes the process of preserving the animal, but the word is also used to describe the end product, which are called taxidermy mounts or referred to simply as "taxidermy".
The word taxidermy is derived from the Greek words taxis and derma.[1] Taxis means "to move", and derma means "skin" (the dermis).[1] The word taxidermy translates to "arrangement of skin".[1]
Taxidermy is practiced primarily on vertebrates[2] (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and less commonly on amphibians) but can also be done to larger insects and arachnids[3] under some circumstances. Taxidermy takes on a number of forms and purposes including hunting trophies and natural history museum displays. Museums use taxidermy as a method to record species, including those that are extinct and threatened,[4] in the form of study skins and life-size mounts. Taxidermy is sometimes also used as a means to memorialize pets.[5]
A person who practices taxidermy is called a taxidermist. They may practice professionally, catering to museums and sportsman (hunters and fishermen), or as amateurs (hobbyists). A taxidermist is aided by familiarity with anatomy, sculpture, painting, and tanning.
History [ edit ]
Tanning and early stuffing techniques [ edit ]
Preserving animal skins has been practiced for a long time. Embalmed animals have been found with Egyptian mummies. Although embalming incorporates the use of lifelike poses, it is not considered taxidermy. In the Middle Ages, crude examples of taxidermy were displayed by astrologers and apothecaries. The earliest methods of preservation of birds for natural history cabinets were published in 1748 by Reaumur in France. Techniques for mounting were described in 1752 by M. B. Stollas. There were several pioneers of taxidermy in France, Germany, Denmark and England around this time. For a while, clay was used to shape some of the soft parts, but this made specimens heavy.[6]
By the 19th century, almost every town had a tannery business.[7] In the 19th century, hunters began bringing their trophies to upholstery shops, where the upholsterers would actually sew up the animal skins and stuff them with rags and cotton. The term "stuffing" or a "stuffed animal" evolved from this crude form of taxidermy. Professional taxidermists prefer the term "mounting" to "stuffing". More sophisticated cotton-wrapped wire bodies supporting sewn-on cured skins soon followed. In France, Louis Dufresne, taxidermist at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle from 1793, popularized arsenical soap in an article in Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle (1803–1804). This technique enabled the museum to build the greatest collection of birds in the world.[8]
Dufresne's methods spread to England in the early 19th century, where updated and non-toxic methods of preservation were developed by some of the leading naturalists of the day, including Rowland Ward and Montague Brown.[9] Ward established one of the earliest taxidermy firms, Rowland Ward Ltd. of Piccadilly. However, the art of taxidermy remained relatively undeveloped, and the specimens that were created remained stiff and unconvincing.[10]
Taxidermy as art [ edit ]
The golden age of taxidermy was during the Victorian era, when mounted animals became a popular part of interior design and decor.[11] English ornithologist John Hancock is considered to be the father of modern taxidermy.[12] An avid collector of birds, which he would shoot himself, he began modelling them with clay and casting in plaster.
For the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, he mounted a series of stuffed birds as an exhibit. They generated much interest among the public and scientists alike who considered them as superior to earlier models and were regarded as the first lifelike and artistic specimens on display.[13] A judge remarked that Hancock's exhibit "... will go far towards raising the art of taxidermy to a level with other arts which have hitherto held higher pretensions".[14]
Hancock's display sparked great national interest in taxidermy, and amateur and professional collections for public view proliferated rapidly. Displays of birds were particularly common in middle-class Victorian homes – even Queen Victoria amassed an impressive bird collection. Taxidermists were also increasingly used by the bereaved owners of dead pets to'resurrect' them.[15]
Anthropomorphic taxidermy [ edit ]
In the late 19th century a style known as anthropomorphic taxidermy became popular. A 'Victorian whimsy', mounted animals were dressed as people or displayed as if engaged in human activities. An early example of this genre was displayed by Herman Ploucquet, from Stuttgart, Germany, at the Great Exhibition in London.[16]
The best-known practitioner in this genre was the English taxidermist Walter Potter, whose most famous work was The Death and Burial of Cock Robin. Among his other scenes were "a rat's den being raided by the local police rats... [a] village school... featuring 48 little rabbits busy writing on tiny slates, while the Kittens' Tea Party displayed feline etiquette and a game of croquet."[17] Apart from the simulations of human situations, he had also added examples of bizarrely deformed animals such as two-headed lambs and four-legged chickens. Potter's museum was so popular that an extension was built to the platform at Bramber railway station.[18]
Other Victorian taxidermists known for their iconic anthropomorphic taxidermy work are William Hart and his Son Edward Hart.[19] They gained recognition with their famous series of dioramas featuring boxing squirrels. Both William and Edward created multiple sets of these dioramas. One 4-piece set of boxing squirrel dioramas (circa 1850) sold at auction in 2013 for record prices. The four dioramas were created as a set (with each diorama portraying the squirrels at a different stage during their boxing match), however, the set was broken up and each was sold separately at the same auction. The set was one of a number they created over the years featuring boxing squirrels.[19]
Famous examples of modern anthropomorphic taxidermy include the work of artist Adele Morse who gained international attention with her "Stoned Fox" sculpture series[20] and the work of artist Sarina Brewer, known for her Siamese twin squirrels and flying monkeys partaking in human activities.[21]
20th century [ edit ]
In the early 20th century, taxidermy was taken forward under the leadership of artists such as Carl Akeley, James L. Clark, William T. Hornaday, Coleman Jonas, Fredrick and William Kaempfer, and Leon Pray. These and other taxidermists developed anatomically accurate figures which incorporated every detail in artistically interesting poses, with mounts in realistic settings and poses that were considered more appropriate for the species. This was quite a change from the caricatures popularly offered as hunting trophies.[citation needed]
Additional modern uses of Taxidermy have been the use of "Faux Taxidermy" or fake animal heads that draw on the inspiration of traditional taxidermy. Decorating with sculpted fake animal heads that are painted in different colors has become a popular trend in interior design.[22]
Rogue taxidermy [ edit ]
A stuffed griffin, an example of rogue taxidermy
Rogue taxidermy (sometimes referred to as "taxidermy art"[23]) is a form of mixed media sculpture.[21][24] Rogue taxidermy art references traditional trophy or natural history museum taxidermy, but is not always constructed out of taxidermied animals,[21][24] it can be constructed entirely from synthetic materials.[21][25] Additionally, rogue taxidermy is not necessarily figurative, it can be abstract and does not need to resemble an animal.[21] It can be a small decorative object or a large-scale room-sized installation. There is a very broad spectrum of styles within the genre, some of which falls into the category of mainstream art.[21][26] "Rogue taxidermy" describes a wide variety of work, including work that is classified and exhibited as fine art.[25] Neither the term, nor the genre, emerged from the world of traditional taxidermy.[24] The genre was born from forms of fine art that utilize some of the components found in the construction of a traditional taxidermy mount.[24] The term "rogue taxidermy" was coined in 2004 by an artist collective called The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists.[25][27] The Minneapolis-based group was founded by artists Sarina Brewer, Scott Bibus, and Robert Marbury as a means to unite their respective mediums and differing styles of sculpture.[27][28] The definition of rogue taxidermy set forth by the individuals who formed the genre (Brewer, Bibus, and Marbury) is: "A genre of pop-surrealist art characterized by mixed media sculptures containing conventional taxidermy-related materials that are used in an unconventional manner".[23][29][30] Interest in the collective's work gave rise to an artistic movement referred to as the Rogue Taxidermy art movement, or alternately, the Taxidermy Art movement.[24][29][31][32] Apart from describing a genre of fine art,[24][21][31] the term "rogue taxidermy" has expanded in recent years and become an adjective applied to unorthodox forms of traditional taxidermy such as anthropomorphic mounts and composite mounts where two or more animals are spliced together.[33][34] (e.g.; sideshow gaffs of conjoined "freak" animals and mounts of jackalopes or other fictional creatures) In addition to being the impetus for the art movement, the inception of the genre also marked a resurgence of interest in conventional (traditional) forms of taxidermy.[33][34]
Methods [ edit ]
Traditional skin-mount [ edit ]
The methods taxidermists practice have been improved over the last century, heightening taxidermic quality and lowering toxicity. The animal is first skinned in a process similar to removing the skin from a chicken prior to cooking. This can be accomplished without opening the body cavity, so the taxidermist usually does not see internal organs or blood. Depending on the type of skin, preserving chemicals are applied or the skin is tanned. It is then either mounted on a mannequin made from wood, wool and wire, or a polyurethane form. Clay is used to install glass eyes. Forms and eyes are commercially available from a number of suppliers. If not, taxidermists carve or cast their own forms.[35]
Taxidermists seek to continually maintain their skills to ensure attractive, lifelike results. Mounting an animal has long been considered an art form, often involving months of work; not all modern taxidermists trap or hunt for prize specimens.[36]
Animal specimens can be frozen, then thawed at a later date to be skinned and tanned. Numerous measurements are taken of the body. A traditional method that remains popular today involves retaining the original skull and leg bones of a specimen and using these as the basis to create a mannequin made primarily from wood wool (previously tow or hemp wool was used) and galvanised wire. Another method is to mould the carcass in plaster, and then make a copy of the animal using one of several methods. A final mould is then made of polyester resin and glass cloth, from which a polyurethane form is made for final production. The carcass is then removed and the mould is used to produce a cast of the animal called a 'form'. Forms can also be made by sculpting the animal first in clay. Many companies produce stock forms in various sizes. Glass eyes are then usually added to the display, and in some cases, artificial teeth, jaws, tongue, or for some birds, artificial beaks and legs can be used.
Freeze dried mount [ edit ]
An increasingly popular trend is to freeze dry the animal. For all intents and purposes, a freeze-dried mount is a mummified animal that still has fur on it. The internal organs are removed during preparation; however, all other tissue remains in the body. (The skeleton and all accompanying musculature is still beneath the surface of the fur.) The animal is positioned into the desired pose, then placed into the chamber of a special freeze drying machine designed specifically for this application. The machine freezes the animal and also creates a vacuum in the chamber. Pressure in the chamber helps vaporize moisture in the animal's body, allowing it to dry out. The rate of drying depends on vapor pressure. (The higher the pressure, the faster the specimen dries.)[37] Vapor pressure is determined by temperature of the chamber; the higher the temperature, the higher the vapor pressure is at a given vacuum.[37] The length of the dry-time is important because rapid freezing creates less tissue distortion (i.e.; shrinkage, warping, and wrinkling)[37] The process can be done with reptiles, birds, and small mammals such as cats, rodents, and some dogs. Large specimens may require up to six months in the freeze dryer before they are completely dry. Freeze drying is the most popular type of pet preservation. This is because it is the least invasive in terms of what is done to the animal's body after death, which is a concern of owners (Most owners do not opt for a traditional skin mount). In the case of large pets, such as dogs and cats, freeze drying is also the best way to capture the animal's expression as it looked in life (another important concern of owners). Freeze drying equipment is costly and requires much upkeep. The process is also time-consuming; therefore, freeze drying is generally an expensive method to preserve an animal. The drawback to this method is that freeze-dried mounts are extremely susceptible to insect damage. This is because they contain large areas of dried tissue (meat and fat) for insects to feed upon. Traditional mounts are far less susceptible because they contain virtually no residual tissues (or none at all). Regardless of how well a taxidermy mount is prepared, all taxidermy is susceptible to insect damage. Taxidermy mounts are targeted by the same beetles and fabric moths that destroy wool sweaters and fur coats and that infest grains and flour in pantries.[38]
Reproduction mount [ edit ]
Reproduction mount of a rhinoceros made of fiberglass
Some methods of creating a trophy mount do not involve preserving the actual body of the animal. Instead, detailed photos and measurements are taken of the animal so a taxidermist can create an exact replica in resin or fiberglass that can be displayed in place of the real animal. No animals are killed in the creation of this type of trophy mount. One situation where this is practiced is in the world of sport fishing where catch and release is becoming increasingly prevalent. Reproduction mounts are commonly created for (among others) trout, bass, and large saltwater species such as the swordfish. Another situation where reproduction trophies are created is when endangered species are involved. Endangered and protected species, such as the rhinoceros, are hunted with rifles loaded with tranquilizer darts rather than real bullets. While the animal is unconscious, the hunter poses for photos with the animal while it is measured for the purpose of creating a replica, or to establish what size of prefabricated fiberglass trophy head can be purchased to most closely approximate the actual animal. The darted animal is not harmed. The hunter then displays the fiberglass head on the wall in lieu of the real animal's head to commemorate the experience of the hunt.
Re-creation mount [ edit ]
Re-creation mounts are accurate life-size representations of either extant or extinct species that are created using materials not found on the animal being rendered. They utilize the fur, feathers, and skin of another species of animal. According to the National Taxidermy Association: "Re-creations, for the purpose of this [competition] category, are defined as renderings which include no natural parts of the animal portrayed. A re-creation may include original carvings and sculptures. A re-creation may use natural parts, provided the parts are not from the species being portrayed. For instance, a re-creation eagle could be constructed using turkey feathers, or a cow hide could be used to simulate African game".[39] A famous example of a re-creation mount is a giant panda created by taxidermist Ken Walker that he constructed out of dyed and bleached black bear fur.[40]
Study skins [ edit ]
A study skin is a taxidermic zoological specimen prepared in a minimalistic fashion that is concerned only with preserving the animal's skin, not the shape of the animal's body.[41] As the name implies, study skins are used for scientific study (research), and are housed mainly by museums. A study skin's sole purpose is to preserve data, not to replicate an animal in a lifelike state.[41] Museums keep large collections of study skins in order to conduct comparisons of physical characteristics to other study skins of the same species. Study skins are also kept because DNA can be extracted from them when needed at any point in time.[42]
A study skin's preparation is extremely basic. After the animal is skinned, fat is methodically scraped off the underside of the hide. The underside of the hide is then rubbed with borax or cedar dust to help it dry faster. The animal is then stuffed with cotton and sewn up. Mammals are laid flat on their belly. Birds are prepared lying on their back. Study skins are dried in these positions to keep the end product as slender and streamlined as possible so large numbers of specimens can be stored side-by-side in flat file drawers, while occupying a minimum amount of space.[43] Since study skins are not prepared with aesthetics in mind they do not have imitation eyes like other taxidermy, and their cotton filling is visible in their eye openings.[44]
1. Measurements are collected
2. Animal is Skinned. Notes on internal organs are recorded
3. Skin is stuffed with cotton
4. Completed study skin is labeled with a data tag
Notable taxidermists [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]According to multiple sources, free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the NFL for collusion. In March, I wrote a legal analysis of this scenario occurring and explained how it would work for Kaepernick and the NFL. The March article details the relevant procedures at play and how they are governed by the collective bargaining agreement.
Here’s an update, and 16 key points to stress.
1. Collusion requires actual cooperation between teams (or cooperation between a team or teams and the league)
Here’s a scenario that has probably played out in recent months: Officials on one NFL team meet to discuss the team’s need for a quarterback. Kaepernick is one player they discuss. The officials then decide, without the involvement of any other team, to not sign Colin Kaepernick. Instead, the team signs a quarterback who, by objective metrics, isn’t as good as Kaepernick. These officials even admit to taking such an approach because they believe that Kaepernick would be a distraction. They also openly disagree with his political views and are offended by his kneeling during the national anthem.
Sounds suspicious, right? It’s not, at least not for purposes of collusion.
The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now
The scenario I just described is not collusion because it involves only one team. To be sure, those officials might regret not signing the “better” player. That’s not the point. It is lawful for one team to not want Kaepernick on grounds that team officials don’t like him. Along those lines, no NFL team is legally obligated to sign Kaepernick.
For Kaepernick to prove collusion, he would need to show that two or more teams, or the league office and at least one team, conspired in some way to deny him an opportunity to play in the NFL.
2. Kaepernick needs evidence of collusion
Kaepernick needs more than mere supposition or belief that he has been victimized by a conspiracy. Perhaps he has an email, text, social media message, video, audio recording, hand-written note or sworn testimony from a witness. Maybe his agents, Jeffrey Nalley and Sean Kiernan, are in possession of such evidence. Regardless, the evidence must clearly show that two or more teams, or the NFL and a team or teams, conspired to deny Kaepernick of an opportunity to play in the NFL.
So where might Kaepernick have uncovered evidence that he believes proves collusion? We know that if it occurred, it must have been within the last 90 days, as under Article 17 of the |
crawled through the toad's gut instead of simply being carried through by muscle contractions that move food along.
One factor that might have made that journey easier is the toad's earlier dining habits. It may not have eaten much in the hours before it swallowed the snake, meaning the path through its gut might have been clear. If so, the trip would have been a quicker one, reducing the snake's exposure to digestive acids.
But its skin was probably the biggest lifesaver. The closely-knit, overlapping scales that help blind snakes move on land would likely block gastric juices, preventing them from reaching delicate tissues and organs. The scales of other snakes come apart slightly when they move, so would not have the same protective effect.
Almost certainly the biggest problem the blind snake had to deal with was a prolonged lack of oxygen. As an underground dweller and due to its small size, it needs less air to survive than many animals. But still, there is a limit to how little it can tolerate. "Theoretically, the time it takes to get through the gut would determine if it lives or dies," says O'Shea.
Snails can endure the short digestive time without being fully exposed to the digestive juice
The researchers do not know how long it took the snake to journey through the toad's gut. But although they watched it wriggle out alive, it died about five hours later.
No post-mortem examination was carried out, but the researchers think the snake probably died from complications due to a lack of oxygen. "We couldn't think of anything else that would have killed it," says O'Shea.
Snails may be better gastric travellers than blind snakes, since they can survive on less oxygen.
In an experiment published in 2011, Shinichiro Wada from Tohoku University in Japan and colleagues fed tiny land snails, Tornatellides boeningi, to Japanese white-eye birds to see whether they could pass through their digestive system intact. About 15% survived the journey, which took between 20 and 120 minutes, proving for the first time that land snails can survive digestion. "Snails can endure the short digestive time without being fully exposed to the digestive juice," says Wada.
The snails' resistance is likely due to their shell, which provides them with natural armour. But Wada and his colleagues found that size was also key to survival. The shells of the species they examined, roughly 2.5mm wide, were recovered from bird faeces intact whereas those of larger species were usually broken into pieces. They think the snails may also produce mucus as additional protection from the acidic environment, but that idea still needs to be tested.
Larger snails seem to occasionally survive ingestion too, though. Jasna Simonova from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic found that land snails with shells up to 17mm in diameter sometimes emerged alive from a variety of bird species. These much larger shells were left undamaged by digestion.
Mussels can pass through common sea anemones and avoid being digested if their shells are sealed shut
Another unexpected gut voyager is a species of nematode worm called Caenorhabditis elegans. Hinrich Schulenburg from the University of Kiel in Germany and his team found nematodes in the intestines of slugs collected in northern Germany. Later they were surprised to find the worms alive in the slugs' faeces.
"They seem to be taken up orally which is unusual because slugs have a grinder organ that should destroy them," says Schulenburg. "And we don't know how they survive the acidic conditions." Other types of nematodes have been found inside slugs and earthworms, but they are parasitic and usually enter through a puncture in the gut.
The team was also surprised to find that it was not just juvenile nematodes that survived the journey: adults did as well. Larvae have a tough outer layer to protect them during development, so are usually able to withstand harsher conditions than their fully formed elders. "It's still completely a puzzle," says Schulenburg. The nematodes seemed to survive the journey quite frequently although they never remained in the slug for longer than a day.
Gut travelling is rare on land but it seems to be more common in aquatic environments. Casper van Leeuwen from the Utrecht University in the Netherlands and colleagues found that some adult aquatic snails were still alive after passing through mallards. Females of a species of seed shrimp can also survive in the gut of white sucker fish, while mussels can pass through common sea anemones and avoid being digested if their shells are sealed shut.
Van Leeuwen and his team speculate that traits conducive to life in wet environments may help invertebrates stay alive in the moist internal world of the gut. Survival may also be aided by digestive systems that favour high prey intake over digestive efficiency, like those of some birds. Food passes through these animals faster, and some of it might emerge unprocessed.
Since trips through digestive systems seem to be reasonably common, it is possible that they have left their mark on some animal populations. They could be an important form of transport for less mobile species, enabling them to colonise locations far away.
These results strongly suggest that the land snails can be dispersed by predatory birds
This seems to be the case with the snails that Wada and his team observed. They were collected from Hahajima, one of the Ogasawara Islands in Japan. Their pattern of distribution on the surrounding islands seemed to make sense only for an animal with wings.
And evidence of gene transfer between geographically distant snail populations could also be explained by gut transport. Wada's team found that areas with a high density of Japanese white-eye birds, the species in which the snails were able to survive, also contained more genetically diverse snails.
"These results strongly suggest that the land snails can be dispersed by predatory birds," says Wada. Furthermore, they witnessed one snail give birth after emerging from a bird's rear end, implying that the migration of just one snail is enough to start a new population.
Schulenburg suspects that nematode worms could be hitching a ride in slug guts, too. They are already known to cling on to the legs of woodlice to move from one place to another. Another possibility is that the slug's gut itself is appealing to the worms: they may be targeting its gut bacteria as a source of food. "It's also possible that they wait until the slug dies to feed on bacteria that live on the carcass," says Schulenburg.
One of the first cases of an insect using internal transport was documented in 2014 by Jan-Jakob Laux from the University of Hamburg in Germany and his team. They suspect that the eggs of an aquatic leaf beetle, Macroplea mutica, are being dispersed by mallard ducks since they can emerge from their digestive system intact. The insects' wide distribution across the Palearctic region has long been a mystery since they are not very mobile.
In the case of the blind snake, however, its voyage was probably an accident. O'Shea thinks the toad mistook it for an earthworm, one of its typical prey. "I'm certain the toad didn't know it was swallowing a vertebrate," he says. "It thought it was a shiny worm."
I think it's more likely they were brought up by accident through the gut of an owl
Other types of toads are known to hunt blind snakes, but they never escape alive once eaten. However, blind snakes may use the gut of another animal as a mode of transport: the owl.
There have been several reports of the snakes turning up in owls' nests. How they get there is unclear. Some researchers suggest that they climb up trees to feed on invertebrates living in nest detritus. According to another theory, the owls carry them to the nest as food for their fledglings.
Although O'Shea doesn't doubt their climbing ability, blind snakes would have to locate the nest first or be ending up there by chance. And an owl would be hard-pressed to feed a blind snake to its young: the snakes curl up in knots when touched and would probably wriggle quickly deep into a nest when dropped.
"I think it's more likely they were brought up by accident through the gut of an owl," says O'Shea. Like toads, owls often gulp back prey without chewing it.
If predators are unknowingly ingesting living animals, are there any implications for their health? Intestinal parasites, for example, often enter an animal with food and water and then take up residence in the gut. Schulenburg thinks that the nematode worm species – C. elegans – that he found in the intestines of slug could in fact be a parasite. "It would be exciting if it was," he says. "I think it's possible."
Some nematode species are true parasites, whereas others can switch between free-living and parasitic lifestyles. C. elegans is assumed to be non-parasitic – evidence that it can be parasitic could provide insight into the ways animals evolve into parasites.
The toad just appeared to be embarrassed
"It would be an exciting system to study adaptations and molecular mechanisms that allow organisms to become parasites and what kinds of traits are required to sometimes live as a parasite and sometimes not," says Schulenburg. As one of the simplest animals with a nervous system, C. elegans is already a model organism frequently used in research.
Wada also thinks that parasitism could be involved in the interaction between land snails and birds. He found parasitic flatworms living off many of the land snails he studied and thinks that birds could be their final host. Perhaps the flatworms are sneakily using the snails as a sort of Trojan Horse to gain access to the duck's intestines. "I am currently studying the relationship," says Wada.
However, gastric travellers may not just be exploiting predators for their own good: they could have a positive impact on them as well. Schulenburg thinks that by feeding on the bacteria inside slug guts, C. elegans nematodes could influence the microbial community in a positive way. "Some bacteria-feeding organisms help improve diversity within the microbiome," he says.
The brahminy blind snake, however, probably had little impact on the toad that ate it, beyond the strange feeling of having an animal move through its stomach and intestines. "The toad just appeared to be embarrassed," says O'Shea. After all, it had a snake sticking out of its bottom.Kristiann C. Heesch A C and Michael Langdon B
References
[1] Litman T. Evaluating active transport benefits and costs: guide to valuing walking and cycling improvements and encouragement programs. Victoria, Canada: Victoria Transport Policy Institute; 2015.[2] Figliozzi M, Blanc B. Evaluating the use of crowdsourcing as a data collection method for bicycle performance measures and identification of facility improvement needs. Salem, Oregon: Oregon Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration; 2015.[3] Garrard J. Evaluating cycle promotion interventions. In Bonham J, Johnson M, editors. Cycling futures. (pp. 429–52). Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press; 2015.[4] Götschi T, Garrard J, Giles-Corti B (2016) Cycling as a part of daily life: a review of health perspectives., 45–71.| |[5] Garrard J, Rissel C, Bauman A. Health benefits of cycling. In Pucher J, Buehler R, editors. City cycling (pp. 31–55). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 2012.[6] Kelly P, Kahlmeier S, Götschi T, Orsini N, Richards J, Roberts N,(2014) Systematic review and meta-analysis of reduction in all-cause mortality from walking and cycling and shape of dose response relationship., 132| | |[7] Mueller N, Rojas-Rueda D, Cole-Hunter T, de Nazelle A, Dons E, Gerike R,(2015) Health impact assessment of active transportation: a systematic review., 103–14.| | |[8] Pucher J, Buehler R, Seinen M (2011) Bicycling renaissance in North America? An update and re-appraisal of cycling trends and policies., 451–75.[9] Koorey G. Spaces for cycling. In Bonham J, Johnson M, editors. Cycling futures (pp. 251–82). Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press; 2015.[10] Australian Bicycle Council. Australian Census 2011 Travel to work by bicycle only. Sydney: Australian Bicycle Council; 2013.[11] World Health Organization. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2016 Available from: http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/. [Verified 31 March 2016].[12] Petrunoff N, Rissel C, Wen LM (2016) The effect of active travel interventions conducted in work settings on driving to work: a systematic review., 61–76.| |[13] Pucher J, Dill J, Handy S (2010) Infrastructure, programs, and policies to increase bicycling: an international review., S106–25.| | |[14] Rissel C, Greaves S, Wen LM, Crane M, Standen C (2015) Use of and short-term impacts of new cycling infrastructure in inner-Sydney, Australia: a quasi-experimental design., 129| | |[15] Scheepers CE, Wendel-Vos GCW, den Broeder JM, van Kempen EEMM, van Wesemael PJV, Schuit AJ (2014) Shifting from car to active transport: a systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions., 264–80.[16] Broach J, Dill J, Gliebe J (2012) Where do cyclists ride? A route choice model developed with revealed preference GPS data., 1730–40.[17] Casello JM, Usyukov V (2014) Modeling cyclists’ route choice based on GPS data., 155–61.| |[18] Dill J (2009) Bicycling for transportation and health: the role of infrastructure., S95–110.| | |[19] Johnson M, Chong D, Carroll J, Katz R, Oxley J, Charlton J. Naturalist cycling study: identifying risk factors for cyclists in the Australian Capital Territory. Report No. 322. Melbourne: MUARC, Monash University, Amy Gillett Foundation; 2014.[20] Menghini G, Carrasco N, Schussler N, Axhausen KW (2010) Route choice of cyclists in Zurich., 754–65.[21] Shen L, Stopher PR (2014) Review of GPS travel survey and GPS data-processing methods., 316–34.| | |[22] Griffin GP, Jiao J (2015) Where does bicycling for health happen? Analysing volunteered geographic information through place and plexus., 238–47.| |[23] Hood J, Sall E, Charlton B (2011) A GPS-based bicycle route choice model for San Francisco, California., 63–75.| |[24] Hudson JG, Duthie JC, Rathod YK, Larsen KA, Meyer JL. Using smartphones to collect bicycle travel data in Texas. UTCM Project 11–35–69. College Station, Texas: Texas Transportation Institute; 2012.[25] Oksanen J, Bergman C, Sainio J, Westerholm J (2015) Methods for deriving and calibrating privacy-preserving heat maps from mobile sports tracking application data., 135–44.| |[26] Strava Inc. Strava Metro: better data for better cities. Hanover, New Hampshire: Strava Inc. 2014. Available from: http://metro.strava.com [Verified 15 July 2016].[27] Riordan B, Langdon M. Using Strava Metro data for cycling policy and planning. Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific Cycling Congress; 13–16 September 2015. Brisbane, Qld.[28] Gordon M. What is Strava Metro? Hanover, New Hampshire: Strava Inc.; 2016. Available from https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918877-What-is-Strava-Metro- [Verified 15 July 2016].[29] Norman G, Kesha N. Using smartphones for cycle planning. Paper presented at the IPENZ Transportation Group Conference; 22–24 March 2015. Christchurch, NZ. Available from http://conf.hardingconsultants.co.nz/workspace/uploads/paper-norman-graham-using-54fe436fb2a3e.pdf. [Verified 31 March 2016].[30] Australian Bureau of Statistics. Participation in sport and physical recreation, Australia, 2013–14. Canberra: ABS; 2015. Available from: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4177.0Explanatory%20Notes12013-14?OpenDocument. [Verified 25 March 2016].[31] Heesch KC, Sahlqvist S, Garrard J (2012) Gender differences in recreational and transport cycling: a cross-sectional mixed-methods comparison of cycling patterns, motivators, and constraints., 106| | |[32] Burke M, James B, Heesch K, Washington TL. Analysis and evaluation of use of the V1 and the South East Freeway Bicycleway post-completion of Stage C of the V1. Brisbane: Transport and Main Roads; 2015.[33] Dill J, Gliebe J. Understanding and measuring bicycling behavior: a focus on travel time and route choice. Portland, OR: Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC); 2008.[34] Madsen T, Schipperijn J, Christiansen LB, Nielsen TS, Troelsen J (2014) Developing suitable buffers to capture transport cycling behavior., 61| | |[35] Mavoa S, Oliver M, Witten K, Badland HM (2011) Linking GPS and travel diary data using sequence alignment in a study of children’s independent mobility., 64| | |[36] Nitsche P, Widhalm P, Breuss S, Brandle N, Maurer P (2014) Supporting large-scale travel surveys with smartphones – a practical approach., 212–21.[37] Langdon M. An evidence-based assessment of the impact of cycling infrastructure in South East Queensland. Paper presented at the Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management 2015 National Conference, 28–31 July 2015, Brisbane. Available from http://www.aitpm.com.au/conference/papers/2015-papers/2015-transport-planning [Verified 29 July 2016].[38] Munro C. Australian cycling participation 2013. Report No. AP-C91–13. Sydney, NSW: Austroads Ltd; 2013.[39] Rissel CE, New C, Wen LM, Merom D, Bauman AE, Garrard J (2010) The effectiveness of community-based cycling promotion: findings from the Cycling Connecting Communities project in Sydney, Australia., 8| | |[40] MapMyFitness Inc. MapMyRide. Austin, TX: MapMyFitness; 2016. Available from: http://www.mapmyride.com. [Verified 15 July 2016].[41] Heesch KC, James B, Washington T, Zuniga K, Burke M Evaluation of the Veloway 1: a natural experiment of new bicycle infrastructure in Brisbane, Australia.In press.[42] Abvio Inc. Cyclemeter. USA; 2015. Available from: https://abvio.com/cyclemeter. [Verified 15 July 2016].[43] Pettit CJ, Lieske SN, Leao SZ. Big bicycle data processing: from personal data to urban applications. Paper presented at the XXIII International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Conference; 12–19 July 2016. Prague, Czech Republic.[44] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. NACDC: Population projections, 2012 (base) to 2027 for all states and territories at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) by sex and age. Canberra: AIHW; 2016. Available from http://www.aihw.gov.au/nacdc/population-projections/. [Verified 25 March 2016].[45] Gong H, Chen C, Bialostozy E, Lawon CTA (2012) GPS/GIS method for travel mode detection in New York City., 131–9.| |[46] Li H, Kulik L, Ramamohanarao R (2015) Robust inferences of travel paths from GPS trajectories., 2194–222.| |Q: Hello and welcome to Teamliquid. Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
A: I am FeniX former Jin Air player Miso and now I am the mid laner for Teamliquid.
Q: How did you become a progamer? What did your parents say?
A: I was studying hard when a friend showed me the game once because of that I started playing it. It was a lot of fun around level 20 I got the dream of becoming a professional. When I told my parents for the first time our relationship became bad to some degree and they didn’t like it but these days they believe in me and want me to succeed.
Q: You were a training member at the CJ Team. How did you become one and what was it like?
A: It was just sometimes scrimming, watching games and playing solo queue. Basically I just did a lot of solo queue (laughs).
Q: How long did it take you to become a training member?
A: When I reached level 30 it took me roughly 8 months because I finished high school at the same time.
Q: What was your parents response when you said that you are going to america?
A: I am the youngest son so they are worried but they believe in me (laughs).
Q: What is your goal which you want to accomplish in America?
A: I want to become the best mid laner in America (laughs).
Q: Your first impression of America?
A: The food seems to be tasty and at first I couldn’t speak English well so the people seemed a little bit scary but now its fine.
Q: Difference between Korean and American server?
A: On the korean server the desire to win is always very high? Koreans really hate losing. So teammates always argue and fight? But on the American server in comparison to the Korean server the game seems to be more enjoyable. Teammates don’t fight and don’t surrender (laughs). In Korea they surrender a lot.
Q: Is the gaming house atmosphere different or similar to the one in Korea?
A: Life is similar. In America the atmosphere seems to be even better.
Q: Can you describe your teammates?
A: hmm Xpecial really cared about me. Dom really wants to win and is a mischievous boy. Quas has a very quiet and try hard style. Piglet takes the game really seriously and I learned a lot from him. They are all really skilled.
Q: If your teammates were LoL Champions, which champions would they be and why?
A: Quas would be Alistar because he is very buff. Dom is shaco because he is so mischievous. Xpecial is Soraka I get a motherly feeling from him. Piglet would be Vayne because he is always hunting (I think he meant he is always chasing to improve but dont know a better english word or hunting for success).
Q: Is there anything else you want to say to your foreign fans?
A: I am not very famous and many people don’t know me yet but I will show definitely a good performance that will stand out in your mind.
Welcome,We would like to introduce to you one of the newest additions to our player roster. It is Kim “Fenix” JaeHoon, our mid laner from the newly acquired LoL team. Fenix is 19 years old and came from Korea to America to play professional League of Legends. In Korea he lived the dream of every high school student and became a professional e-Sports player while finishing his high school and he quickly became a top tier player on the Korean ladder, capturing the attention of professional teams. He started out as a training member for CJ Entus and became a starter on the amateur team Eat Sleep Game (ESG) which managed to qualify for OGN without having a sponsor. Shortly after their success they were acquired by Jin Air Greenwings which took over Team 8 and branched out into League of Legends. Fenix, at this time called Miso, was the top laner for the Jin Air Greenwings Falcons. In his first OGN season he reached the rounds of 8 and dropped out against SKT T1 which later became the winner of that season. After leaving Jin Air in Summer 2014 he was looking for a new opportunity and found it in the form of Curse Gaming. With his move overseas he also switched his role from top to mid lane.Women protesting Donald Trump (Lucy Westcott)
Portland’s Women’s March against President-elect Donald Trump has been criticized as a march for white women, leading the NAACP of Portland to drop its endorsement of the march, the Willamette Week reports.
“I didn’t want to be part of the march if it was going to be a white-woman kumbaya march,” the group’s president Jo Ann Hardesty said of the march, which will be held on Jan. 21 along with other women’s marches across the country.
The NAACP of Portland voted on Wednesday to drop their endorsement of the march, commenting on the original organizers’ unwillingness to include any discussion of discrimination affecting immigrants, Muslim women, and women of color.
Hardesty told WW the organizers said those issues, as well as mention of the Black Lives Matter movement were “too political.” She said, “I can’t imagine bringing 20,000 women together and not addressing the most critical issues that are facing women in our community.”
Writer and activist Margaret Jacobsen joined the organizing efforts last Friday and told WW, “We’re changing it so that people feel welcome and know that they are safe here.” The march’s new leadership attempts to be inclusive of issues faced by women of color and turn the movement around before next week.
Women’s marches across the country, including the march in Washington, D.C. — also scheduled the day after Trump’s inauguration — have received similar criticism about a lack of inclusion. Organizers of the Washington march have since released a platform of guiding and defining principles that seek to make the movement inclusive of a variety of issues women face.
“Recognizing that women have intersecting identities and are therefore impacted by a multitude of social justice and human rights issues, we have outlined a representative vision for a government that is based on the principles of liberty and justice for all,” it reads.
Touching on racial and economic justice as connected to gender justice, the platform notes, “Our liberation is bound in each other’s.” The guiding principles also touch on reproductive justice, LGBTQIA rights, police brutality, and workers rights.
Raw Story reached out to the Portland NAACP for a comment but it did not immediately respond. However, Hardesty told the WW, “I felt it was important that we not miss this teachable moment about what role of race and religion and class were playing in pulling this march together.”Canada's federal housing agency has raised new alarms about Canada's housing market, warning that euphoria over real estate is spreading beyond detached homes in Toronto and Vancouver to townhouses and condos, and to other cities.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said in its quarterly market assessment released on Wednesday that it sees what it calls "moderate evidence of problematic conditions" in the housing market after months of soaring demand have pushed national home prices up 14 per cent compared with a year earlier, faster than what economic drivers such as employment and income growth should support.
While CMHC said most of the problems in the housing market remain concentrated in Toronto and Vancouver, it also raised red flags about Hamilton, a city near Toronto, and the national market.
Story continues below advertisement
RELATED: How other countries have tried to deter foreign real estate investors
The CMHC uses the assessments when it makes its decisions on whether to approve mortgage insurance for home buyers who do not have a 20 per cent down payment.
The federal housing agency joins a growing chorus of voices that have raised concerns about the Canadian housing market.
The Bank of Canada warned last month about the "increased riskiness" of mortgage debt. This week, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Services said it would require lenders to stress-test their mortgage portfolios to ensure they could withstand a drop in home prices of 50 per cent in Vancouver and 40 per cent in Toronto. Earlier this month, the banking regulator issued an open letter pointing to record levels of household borrowing and saying it felt the "risks and vulnerabilities for financial institutions have increased."
EXPLAINER: Everything you need to know about real estate reform in B.C.
Market analysts for the Crown corporation said they found signs that prices are starting to climb for traditionally more affordable condos and townhouses in addition to single-family homes. They said the pace of growth in home prices has started to pick up outside the Greater Toronto and Vancouver areas, with demand spreading to other regions of British Columbia and Ontario. It offered new warnings about strong price gains in Hamilton, west of Toronto.
"What we're also detecting now is a spreading of those price pressures to neighbouring communities," said Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist.
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
The federal housing agency also said it finds "strong" evidence of what it described as "vulnerabilities" in Vancouver's housing market, with prices becoming unaffordable in relation to local incomes and demand exceeding supply. Average prices in the region have soared more than 30 per cent from the same time last year. CMHC also indicated increasing demand for more affordable properties in suburban neighbourhoods.
RELATED: B.C. realtors voice unease over new foreign-buyer tax
"We have started to see … both townhomes and apartments also moving into overheated conditions," said CMHC Vancouver analyst Robyn Adamache, "whereas before it was mostly on the single-family side."
The B.C. government is attempting to cool the Vancouver market, announcing that, starting next week, it will add 15 per cent to the property transfer tax for people who are not citizens or permanent residents who buy homes in Metro Vancouver. The province released new estimates showing that one in 10 homes sold in the region between June 10 and July 14 went to international buyers, with the majority in the City of Vancouver. The figures translate into more than $885-million worth of home sales.
CMHC's Mr. Dugan said it was too early to tell how the new tax would affect Vancouver's housing market, or whether it would significantly curb demand from foreign investors for Canadian housing, which remains relatively inexpensive compared with some global real estate markets, such as Shanghai.
"How much that affects the relative price advantage of Vancouver versus Shanghai real estate for example, we just haven't had enough analysis yet to be able to determine that," he said.
Story continues below advertisement
CMHC says it intends its quarterly market assessment to be an "early warning system" for home buyers, developers and mortgage lenders to consider the state of the local market when they make their decisions, rather than a signal that any area is headed for a crash.
However, in the past, CMHC has found that combinations of problem conditions in a market have corresponded with spikes in claims for its mortgage-default insurance. The Crown corporation's local market assessments are among the factors it considers when deciding whether to approve an individual application for government-backed mortgage insurance.
Here is a look at what CMHC found in the housing markets of major census metropolitan areas across Canada in its third-quarter report:
Vancouver and Victoria
CMHC upgraded its assessment the Vancouver regional market to "strong evidence of problematic conditions" up from "moderate" in April and "weak" in January. It pointed to home prices that have soared over the past year, eroding affordability for local buyers, along with a dwindling supply of homes on the market to meet demand.
In particular, CMHC flagged a shift in demand toward more affordable properties and away from expensive detached homes at a time when listings for single-family homes have started to increase in the region. In West Vancouver, for instance, CMHC said the sales-to-new-listings ratio – a measure of supply and demand – was 121 per cent for condos. In other words, for every 100 condos put on the market in May there were 121 sales (including earlier listings), signalling a hot sellers' market. For detached homes the ratio, was just 48 per cent, or a balanced market. "The results show that the single detached market has cooled somewhat in some of the more expensive locales," CMHC wrote, adding that high demand for less expensive properties has narrowed the gap between single-family and multi-family homes.
Story continues below advertisement
It saw "weak" evidence of problems in Victoria, despite what it said were signs the market is beginning to overheat as sales have outpaced new listings.
Calgary and Edmonton
While home prices in Calgary have fallen this year, they are still higher than the city's weakened oil economy can support, CMHC said. The vacancy rate jumped above 5 per cent in October and has continued to rise, leading to what CMHC said was a concern about overbuilding and "strong evidence of problematic conditions." In Edmonton, the risks remained "moderate," largely because home prices have not fallen enough to reflect the slowing economy.
Regina and Saskatoon
CMHC reiterated its "strong" concerns about Regina and Saskatoon, driven by high levels of new-home construction and a rising vacancy rate, even as home prices have fallen amid the fallout from a weakened commodities sector.
Winnipeg
Story continues below advertisement
Winnipeg continued to show "moderate" evidence of problems, mainly because of high levels of new condos sitting unsold on the market or under construction, CMHC said. It also predicted the city's vacancy rate would rise because of a surge in new rental apartment construction.
Toronto and Hamilton
The federal housing agency has long warned of "strong" evidence of problems in the Toronto market, although it raised red flags about Hamilton for the first time.
In Toronto, it pointed to a tight market, with new listings falling even as sales have continued to surge. Sales of homes priced above $2-million soared 41 per cent in the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter. Toronto's market has been supported by low mortgage rates and strong employment growth, particularly in jobs connected to the housing market, CMHC said. Still, home prices have outpaced even the city's relatively robust economic growth. "The growth in house prices persistently outpaced economic and demographic fundamentals," the housing agency wrote.
CMHC also warned of "moderate" evidence of problems in the Hamilton market as home sales have boomed even though immigration to the city has slowed and job growth has been weak. "Hamilton's employment growth has been consistently slowing since the third quarter of 2014, while house prices have grown faster," the Crown corporation wrote.
Ottawa
Story continues below advertisement
Ottawa's market turned a corner in the early part of the year and CMHC said it now saw "weak" evidence of problems, down from "moderate" in the second quarter. Rising levels of unsold, newly built condos began to drop after the first three months of the year and rental vacancy rates have also increased, but home prices have slowed in line with a softer economy, CMHC said.
Montreal and Quebec City
CMHC said it found "moderate" evidence of problems in the housing markets of both Montreal and Quebec City. Home prices in both cities are higher than supported by slowing income growth and a drop in the population of workers aged 25-34, who are most likely to be first-time home buyers. The two markets are also grappling with unsold newly built condos languishing on the market, aggravated by high levels of condo construction, although it said the supply of new homes has begun to come down.
Atlantic Canada
The federal housing agency said it saw little cause for concern in Atlantic Canada's urban housing market, pointing to "weak" evidence of problems in Halifax, Moncton and St. John's.Information Automatically Collected About You When You Use Our Services. We also collect information automatically when you use our Services. Depending on how you access and use our Services, we may collect information such as: Information about your interactions with our Services, like information about the games, content, apps or other experiences you interact with, and information collected in or through cookies, local storage, pixels, and similar technologies (additional information about these technologies is available at https://www.oculus.com/en-us/cookies-pixels-and-other-technologies/ ); Information about how you access our Services, including information about the type of device you're using (such as a headset, PC, or mobile device), your browser or operating system, your Internet Protocol ("IP") address, and certain device identifiers that may be unique to your device; Information about the games, content, or other apps installed on your device or provided through our Services, including from third parties; Location information, which can be derived from information such as your device's IP address. If you're using a mobile device, we may collect information about the device's precise location, which is derived from sources such as the device's GPS signal and information about nearby WiFi networks and cell towers; and Information about your physical movements and dimensions when you use a virtual reality headset. Third parties may also collect information about you through the Services, as described below.
Related companies. We may receive information about you from other companies that are within the family of related companies that are legally part of the same group of companies that Oculus is part of, or that become part of that group, such as Facebook, and may combine that information with other information we collect about you. View a complete list of related companies at https://www.oculus.com/en-us/related-companies/.
Information from other sources. We may also receive additional information about you from third parties, including partners that provide us information that is publicly or commercially available, and may combine that information with the other information we collect about you.
Now that at least one Oculus Rift has been delivered, details about the terms of service that come with the VR headsets are coming to light. This post hashes through some fine points (thanks Slashdot via Ant ), raising concerns about the unit's software phoning home. Gizmodo also notes an issue with content created using a Rift, as Oculus stakes a claim to use (but not own) any for free into perpetuity. Back to privacy concerns, the Rift installs an always |
before applying for a permit at the Stenton Avenue location.
"They never talked to me about it," she said. "We were shocked that the attorney never even informed us this was occurring."
In an apparent attempt to ease anger, the chairman of the zoning board offered one alternative.
"Sometimes you might want to look for another place," former City Councilman Frank DiCicco said as audience members clapped and whistled.
"I know this community well. They're not going to give up."
After more than two hours of back-and-forth, both sides agreed to break. The hearing will be continued Sept. 19 at 9:30 a.m.
"I know what some of you sacrificed to be here," Parker said before Mt. Airy residents boarded buses and shuttles back to their neighborhood. "But come September, if you can't be here, you better find someone to take your place."
Councilwoman Cindy Bass said in an emailed statement that she will ask the Department of Health to revoke TerraVida's permit during a Wednesday morning press conference.
Editor's Note: The president of TerraVida Holistic Center is the sister of NBC10’s Deanna Durante. Deanna is not involved in the business venture.CENTENNIAL — When the Centennial IKEA store opens July 27, customers will enter the second-largest IKEA store in all of North America, housing the largest IKEA restaurant in the Western Hemisphere.
This week inside the unfinished store, the showroom displays and much of the merchandise are still draped in plastic wrap — room decor such as flat-screen televisions and board games are still in the packaging.
Construction workers and store employees bustle around marking final lines off to-do lists, including finishing the model homes and decorating the display rooms.
The 415,000-square-foot store is massive — only the store near Chicago is larger.
“It’s enormous. It’s humongous. It’s gargantuan,” said Kelly Frieze, store manager for IKEA Centennial.
IKEA Centennial will offer:
over 10,000 items.
three complete model home interiors.
50 different model room settings.
a supervised playground for children.The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe on Friday dismissed on procedural grounds a request from a Berlin district court to rule on whether gay couples living in a registered civil partnership could adopt children.
The judges said the submission from the court in Berlin's Schöneberg precinct failed to sufficiently provide reasons and therefore did not meet the formal requirements of Germany's top court.
The case was introduced by a gay couple who want to adopt their two former foster children, who are now adults. A district court had stayed the proceedings in March 2013 and submitted the case to the court in Karlsruhe.
Just last year the same court overturned a ban on so-called "successive adoptions" for gay couples in civil partnerships.
Under the ruling, if one partner has adopted a child, the other partner now has the right to become the adoptive mother or father of that child as well. Until now, they could only adopt their partner's biological child.
The February 2013 ruling said that same-sex couples could provide for a child as well as couples in a traditional marriage.
Germany legalized civil partnerships in 2001 but has not yet moved to allow same-sex marriage.
hc/ipj (AFP, dpa, KNA)In the wake of splashy coverage of the porn scandal at the Securities and Exchange Commission, called a political ploy by a sleuthing watchdog, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) told MSNBC on Friday that deregulation of banks was the real problem.
“The Republican philosophy was one that said, ‘Do not regulate. Let the market do it better,'” said Frank. “That was a conscious policy preference by the people in power, namely to defer to the market in almost every instance and under regulate.”
As Congress battles financial reform, the SEC is already under attack for failing to curtail dirty deals by Lehman Brothers and letting Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme go unnoticed for years. Porn viewing among high-ranking SEC staff, however, has been public knowledge for some time.
Marian Wang at the investigative news group ProPublica wondered if it is a coincidence that Republicans opposed to financial reform “suddenly” have plenty to say “about how troubling the porn problem at the SEC is.”
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) criticized what he considered a politicized SEC after commissioners voted 3-2 to sue the investment bank Goldman Sachs for defrauding investors. Just as Republicans questioned the timing of the suit, now questions are being asked about the GOP strategy of pointing to the porn issue.
“Is it a coincidence,” Wang writes, “that the SEC’s porn problem has resurfaced in the headlines after Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, specifically requested a report from the inspector general?”
Wang’s blog post today features a provocative headline, “Is the SEC porn story a new problem, or a political ploy?” Meanwhile, the AP, ABC News, CNN and other national news organizations have been driving traffic to the porn story all day.
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell asked House Banking Committee Chairman Frank, “Do you think maybe we’ve just finally figured out why the SEC missed the whole Madoff thing? Where we now have an internal report that says they found some of the people at the SEC on pornography sites for thousands and thousands of hours, sometimes as much as eight hours a day?”
Frank reply in full was, “I think that is a factor, but how do people get there? The culture of the SEC, and here, you have to get political in the voter’s sense. The republican philosophy was one that said, do not regulate. Let the market do it better. We had a hearing earlier this week on the Lehman Brothers issue where the SEC was found by the bankruptcy examiner to have been clearly deficient in 2006 and 2007 and the examiner said the SEC didn’t do its job. My Republican colleagues said yeah, but we don’t need to change the regulation. That was a conscious policy preference by the people that in power, namely to defer to the market in almost every instance and to under regulate.”
This video is from MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports, broadcast April 23, 2010.We all know about vampires and werewolves, or at least we think we do. The legends and myths that inspired these monsters are sometimes surprisingly different, but no less chilling. In this series of posts, Monster Monday, we’ll investigate the monsters that have informed our modern notions, as well as some lesser known monsters. Today, we talk about the Peri.
A peri is a usually winged, fairy-like creature in Turkish folklore borrowed from the Persians. Peris fulfill a similar role to fairies in European folklore in that they are often depicted as spirits that can be either good or evil, helpful or harmful to humans.
In some stories, they are fallen angels who must do penance before they are allowed to reenter Paradise. In other stories, they are more akin to the djinn, and sometimes the term peri is used to distinguish good djinn from evil djinn. In these stories, the are depicted as being in constant battle with the evil djinn, who try to lock them in iron cages.
Because the term peri is feminine, when they take human form it is usually that of a beautiful maiden. There are also many folktales in which they disguise themselves as animals, such as fish or ravens. In these stories, they generally help people who show them kindness and punish those who are unkind.One by one, six different people stood up and started heckling televangelist Pastor Joel Osteen at his mega-Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas Sunday morning. Sportswriter Anwar Richardson was among the congregants and took video of the “crazy scene” at the pastor thanked the massive crowed for their patience:
Crazy scene. Sixth person ejected from Lakewood Church by police and security pic.twitter.com/SwGTcH66Qs — Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) June 28, 2015
According to witnesses, several men stood up, yelling “Shame on you!” and called Osteen a “liar.” While some churchgoers initially thought the first man was just “catching the holy ghost or something,” it turned out to be a coordinated protest allegedly organized by The Church of Wells, which views Osteen’s operation as a cult.
“After the sixth time that it occurred, my son was sleeping in my lap, and I looked at my wife and she was nervous and we just decided we have to get out of here,” Richardson told ABC 13.
All six people who charged with “criminal trespass” after being warned by police not to come back following a similar incident earlier this year.
Watch video below, via ABC 13:
[Photo via Twitter]
— —
>> Follow Matt Wilstein (@TheMattWilstein) on Twitter
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comLast month, The Children’s Defense Fund compiled some statistics about children and guns which can be found in a report, “Protect Children Not Guns 2013.” Here are some of those gruesome statistics, using 2010 data, which the most recently available, from the Center for Disease Control:
* A child or teen dies or is injured from guns every 30 minutes.
* Guns are the second leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1 to 19, and the number one cause among black children and teens.
* Since 1963, three times more children and teens have died from guns on American soil than U.S. soldiers killed in action in wars abroad.
* U.S. children and teens are 17 times more likely to die from a gun than their peers in 25 other high-income countries combined.
You can read the report for yourself here. Here is today’s Gun Report.
—Joe Nocera
A shooting critically wounded a 27-year-old woman in the East Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, Ill., early Tuesday. A 31-year-old man was in a fight with his cousin and opened fire, but missed his intended target and hit the woman instead. Police are questioning him. Two people were killed and another 11 wounded in shootings across the city Monday evening to early Tuesday.
—CBS Chicago
Four men in their early 20s were hospitalized after a shooting in the Kingsessing section of Philadelphia, Pa., Tuesday night. No arrests have been made and there is no word on a motive.
—CBS Philly
Three people were injured after a group began shooting at each other in Columbus, Ga., Monday night. Police are uncertain why the men were shooting at each other, as each suspect gave a different story. Five people were arrested.
—Ledger-Enquirer
Three people were wounded in a shooting in Riviera Beach, Fla., Tuesday afternoon. Officers found a Chrysler sedan and a Chevrolet Impala with bullet holes and shot-out windows, and reported that the three people inside had been shot. Police recovered three handguns and two assault-style rifles from the scene. All vehicles involved fled before police arrived.
—The Palm Beach Post
Two people were wounded in a drive-by shooting in north St. Louis, Mo., Tuesday afternoon. One victim was grazed in the head and the other was struck in the upper torso after someone in a black Chevy Impala opened fire. The investigation is ongoing.
—KMOV.com
Two men were killed and a woman was injured after being shot by former Knox County, Ky., Judge-Executive Raymond C. Smith, who then killed himself Tuesday morning. Police said Smith, 51, shot himself at his father’s grave after he killed Michael Smith, 50, and Michael Smith’s son, Mychael Dustin Smith, 21, and wounded Michael Smith’s daughter, Robin Smith, also 21. Authorities would not elaborate on their relationships and don’t know why Smith shot the others.
—Kentucky.com
An Elko County, Nev., sheriff’s deputy accidentally shot himself in the wrist while cleaning his department-issued weapon Saturday afternoon. Deputy Mike Moore was polishing his.40-caliber Glock and had his finger on the trigger when he dropped the magazine at the Jarbidge Days celebration Saturday afternoon. Law enforcement occasionally become relaxed around firearms because they are a routine part of the job and uniform, Undersheriff Clair Morris said, “but it’s something we need to pay attention to.”
—Elko Daily Free Press
25-year-old Juan Escobar was found lying on a Fort Smith, Ark., street with gunshot wounds to his legs Tuesday night. Oscar Serafin Rivas, 19, was taken into custody. The victim told police he and Rivas had been arguing when Rivas pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and began shooting.
—5News
19-year-old Akeem Mayes was killed while attempting to break into a home in the Country Club Hills neighborhood of St. Louis Monday morning. The homeowner was inside with his fiancée when two teens knocked on the door. They and the homeowner became engaged in a dispute, which resulted in an exchange of gunfire. The surviving teen remains at large. County investigators are trying to determine if the Castle Doctrine applies to the homeowner.
—KSDK.com
One man was shot in the leg and a another person was shot in the stomach during a robbery at an illegal gambling operation in Atlanta, Ga., early Tuesday. A crew rushed inside with guns drawn, robbing each customer and shooting the security guard before driving away.
—WSBTV.com
Two men were shot in the legs and wounded in front of a deli in Newport News, Va., Tuesday night. There are no suspects.
—WVEC.com
Two 21-year-old men were wounded during a drive-by shooting in Hayward, Calif., Monday night. Witnesses told police that a black Toyota Camry was seen speeding away from the scene. A motive is not yet known and no arrests had been made.
—Contra Costa Times
Two people were injured in a shooting at a home in in Maple Valley, Wash., Tuesday night. A 30-year-old man was dropped off at a 7/11 convenience store with a gunshot wound to the face, and he told police that a woman had arrived at a local hospital with at least one gunshot wound. Police aren’t sure how the shooting happened. Deputies recovered three shotguns and assault rifles from the roadside.
—KOMONews.com
A shooting in Shelton, Wash., left one person dead and another injured Tuesday night. Police said the incident may have stemmed from a disturbance earlier in the day at a home, to which the shooter returned several hours later and began firing. Police arrived on the scene as the suspect sped off in a car, but he was later apprehended.
—KOMONews.com
Quinton Omar Solomon, 25, was fatally shot at a Fayetteville, N.C., intersection Monday. Police have charged Justin Quavon Shumpert, 18, with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
—WRAL.com
One person is dead and another is injured after a shooting in south metro Burnsville, Minn., early Tuesday. A vehicle with two gunshot victims pulled into a SuperAmerica gas station, and a woman there told police that the shooting happened in a townhome a mile away from the gas station. Police don’t know why the victims went to a gas station instead of a hospital. No one has been arrested.
—KSTP.com
34-year-old Eric Chism was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting outside a post office on Chicago’s South Side Tuesday morning. Officers are looking for the shooter. His longtime partner said she is looking for a way to tell their 7-year-old daughter that her father is gone. “I don’t know how to find the words really,” Tonya Edwards said.
—WGNTV.com
A 33-year-old man was killed and a 32-year-old man was seriously injured in a shooting just south of Wilmington, Del., city limits Monday night. Troopers found the dead man lying in the road and a bicycle laying on its side nearby. The injured man was hospitalized. Police are piecing together what happened.
—Delaware Online
28-year-old Victoria Vernetta Glover was killed when someone opened fire with a shotgun as she loaded her 3-year-old son into a car in Parkville, Md., Tuesday morning. The boy was unharmed. Police believe the shooting was targeted.
—The Baltimore Sun
George R. “Moose” Williams, 46, was shot and killed in the driveway of a South Huntingdon, Pa., residence after he went there to collect a debt Monday. Police charged Lee Joyner Atwood with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
—TribLive
According to Slate’s gun-death tracker, an estimated 7,183 people have died as a result of gun violence in America since the Newtown massacre on December 14, 2012.Transcript: Paul Ryan's Full Interview With NPR's Steve Inskeep
NPR YouTube
President Trump wants a tax overhaul plan passed by Christmas. Both the Senate and the House have versions of the plan with the goal of cutting taxes. Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep talks to House Speaker Paul Ryan about the tax overhaul measures, and the rash of sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations being made public. Here's the full transcript of their conversation. The audio on this page is an edited version of the interview that was broadcast on Morning Edition.
Steve Inskeep: I want to begin by asking you about tax reform. I know that any tax reform measure has winners and losers. People who gain, people who lose money. But you're choosing here who the winners and losers are. What do the choices you've made say about your priorities?
We wanted a middle class tax cut. We wanted to have a system that's more fair. much simpler. Right now the tax code is just chock full of special interest carve-outs and deductions and loopholes. When you take away those loopholes, in exchange for lower tax rates and a broader tax base, people who are very sophisticated who use all those loopholes will not have all those loopholes. But the exchange is lower tax rates across the board for most taxpayers in a simplified system. By doubling the standard deduction, instead of 70 percent of Americans being able to fill an easier tax form, nine out of 10 Americans can fill out their taxes on a post card. So by simplifying the system that way and reducing loopholes, you can actually simplify dramatically and lower tax rates across the board.
NPR YouTube
So that was your goal, was a middle-class tax cut. But what does it say that — in practice according to independent analyses, I mean you do have winners and losers, not everybody gains, businesses gain, people with large estates to leave to their heirs gain, high-income people gain — but a lot of middle-income people do not gain in terms of money.
I disagree with that. The average tax cut for a middle-class family is going to be $1,182.
Average, meaning not everybody.
So that's when you run numbers on average taxpayers. This is designed to be a middle-class tax cut. I think the people who are concerned the most are some of the big businesses. That's where we hear most of the complaints about. But this is a middle-class tax cut, no two ways about it. I just ran the numbers of Wisconsin. The median family of four, the median household of four gets about a $2,000 tax cut on average. So it is a middle-class tax cut. Here's — just do the math. Instead of your first $12,000 being tax-free, as a couple your first $24,000 are tax-free. You pay lower tax rates up the income scale until you come to the top tax bracket, which is a million dollars. You have your child tax credit go from $1,000 per child to $1,600 per child. So things like that clearly produce tax relief for middle-income taxpayers. You mentioned businesses. I think it's very important — we have to recognize that we're in a 21st-century global economy, that we have to compete. And when we tax our businesses at far higher tax rates than our foreign competitors tax theirs, that puts us at a huge competitive disadvantage and we have to fix that and that's one of the things we do in this bill.
Politics Listen: House Speaker Paul Ryan Defends GOP Tax Plans In 'Morning Edition' Interview Paul Ryan Defends GOP Tax Plans Listen · 7:02 7:02
OK, so a few things to follow up on there. First you mentioned the rates do go down for a lot of people. At the same time, a lot of deductions go away and it's not necessarily what you'd think of as a special interest deduction. We've reported that 9 million people or so use a deduction for medical expenses, excessive medical expenses, and that deduction goes away. A lot of them are ordinary people with kids who have severe trouble.
But it's typically a higher income person because of the way the Obamacare tax increase worked on that. You have to make a pretty good amount of money before you can even enjoy the ability to use that tax deduction. But the whole point of this is, and the analysis is very clear, this is an average tax cut for every taxpayer on average. You can't run a number for every single 330 million people in America. But it's designed to provide tax relief across the board. The only rate we don't reduce, this is the House bill I'm talking about, is the top rate.
Lily Batchelder of New York University took some numbers from the Joint Committee of Taxation, bipartisan part of Congress as you know very well, and concluded that something like 100 million households in this country under the House bill, and even more under the Senate bill, would either get no tax cut or would get a tax increase. Does that sound right to you?
No, it doesn't sound right unless it's a person that's not paying taxes already. You have to remember there are millions of people who do not pay taxes today to begin with. So if you're not paying income taxes today, it's pretty hard to cut your taxes if you're not already paying taxes today. I think some people are cherry picking statistics — I haven't seen this analysis so it's hard for me to go into it. But because of the Senate budget rules, there are some sunsets in the law, in the later part of the decade where some of that tax relief goes away.
It gets worse in later years, that's true.
And that's what I think maybe that could be talking about. But just as history, if history is any guide, Congress has a very strong practice in history of not removing a middle-class tax relief like we didn't in 2010.
But help me understand that. You made the middle-class tax cuts limited in terms of years in order to avoid damaging the deficit too badly, increasing the deficit too badly, trusting that a later Congress would fix it, which means the deficit gets worse or it doesn't get fixed. Why does that make sense?
Well first of all history, if it's any guide, Congress doesn't have a big tax increase on middle-income families. This was because of the Senate budget rules, which obviously we're not big fans of here in the House. But I'd also attest to the fact that this is going to produce economic growth. The Tax Foundation, a non-partisan think tank, showed that because of the tax relief in this bill and the pro-growth provisions in this bill, particularly for businesses to expense and hire and build more factories in America, that will lead to about a trillion dollars in additional revenue because of faster economic growth. So our goal here isn't just to balloon the deficit. Our goal here is to give people living paycheck-to-paycheck a break. More than half of the people in this country on the surveys show that they're living paycheck-to-paycheck. A lot of other people in this country are about $500 away from living paycheck-to-paycheck. So our goal here is to give people relief and to grow the economy. Grow the economy means we can get out of this stagnant economic malaise we've been in with 1 to 2 percent growth, get ourselves up above 3 percent growth like we used to be. You get that kind of economic growth which is clearly possible, and we think this helps us do that, then people can get wage increases. We have living standards go up. You have more jobs being created that pay better. You have faster economic growth and you get more revenue as a result of that.
You cited a study finding that that economic growth can come from the business tax cut. We could also cite a study from the Institute for Policy Studies casting questions or raising questions about that. We don't want to go back and forth with studies, but you do know that it is possible that businesses will take their tax savings and simply give it to stockholders in the form of dividends, or simply hold onto it in cash or buy back stock. What if they do? Does it matter to you?
That's still not an excuse not to put American businesses on a more level playing field with the rest of the world. Here's the dirty truth of the matter. We live in a global economy whether we like it or not. I come from Wisconsin. The biggest company publicly traded in Wisconsin — headquartered in Wisconsin — used to be Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls is now an Irish company. Their worldwide tax rate is 12.5 percent because they became an Irish company, not 35 percent. So what is happening in America is American businesses are leaving, going to other countries, building factories in other countries, and foreign companies are buying American companies. This is costing us jobs. It's costing us economic growth. It's removing headquarters from our communities, which — there goes the United Way campaign, there go the jobs. And so, I don't think any of these arguments hold a candle to the fact that we better get competitive with the way we tax our businesses so we can make an incentive to keep businesses in America. Let me just give you one more thing. I talked to the head of Intel, one of the biggest companies in America. They make all the microprocessors in your computers for the most part. They have 50,000 employees in America, factories spread across this country. They ran the numbers. They would save in taxes alone, over a 10-year period per factory, $2 billion in taxes if they just moved to another country. If they just go relocate to another country.
So our current tax code today rewards and incentivizes businesses to move money, capital, manufacturing, employees overseas. We want to reverse that trend so that we can keep businesses in America, jobs in America, expansion in America. And that's why I'd say all these arguments about why we shouldn't be doing corporate rate reductions, I think they pale in comparison to the fact that if we don't do this, we'll see more of this ugly trend continue.
How do you keep corporations from just pocketing the money?
So what we do is we have an incentive which says if you invest that money in your factories in America by expanding plant and equipment, which you inevitably hire people to run it, you can write that off 100 percent. So you take your money — first of all, we have about $3 trillion of cash trapped overseas that companies don't bring back because of our goofy tax laws. We remove that hurdle so companies can bring that money back from overseas to America.
Is that a tax accountant term, "goofy tax laws," by the way? Just wanted to check.
Yes it is. It's the one I've been using forever. And so we say you invest that in this country by building out a factory, by buying more equipment, by, you know, doing things that hire people. You can write that off in the year in which it takes place. We call it full expensing. Those are the kinds of incentives we have. And what we find is that is what really does help create economic growth in jobs and higher wages.
Why is it okay to increase the deficit, as this tax bill will do?
Actually I don't think it will increase the deficit. That's my entire point. I don't think this will increase the deficit. I think this will give us the kind of economic growth we need to keep jobs, to keep companies here, and faster economic growth. There's two things you gotta do to get the deficit. You've got to grow the economy. You got to control spending. We need — we have far more work to do to control spending. Believe you me. I wish our health care bill that we passed in the House would have passed because that would have done a, been a good step in the process. But we also had to focus on economic growth, and this is our focus on economic growth. We've got to get back to controlling spending, but if we don't pass this tax law, we will not get the kind of economic growth we can get in this country. And if you want to get the deficit and the debt under control, control spending, grow the economy. This grows the economy.
If you'll forgive me, Stephen Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, has also said that this will spur so much economic growth it will pay for itself. It will bring in more tax revenue.
I think that's quite possible.
He said that, but the Treasury Department has been unable to produce an analysis proving that.
Yeah, I really think we're at a global economic focal point, which is if we do not modernize our tax laws and put American businesses on a level playing field with the rest of the world, we'll lose more jobs and we will see economic damage occur as a result of it. On the flip side, if we do this and put America at the head of the pack, instead of having arguably the worst tax code in the world, with one of the best tax codes in the world, we will get much faster economic growth. And that faster economic growth clearly produces more revenue, more jobs, more take home pay. That's a good thing. That's why I feel confident this is going to make a very very positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans.
Jack Reed, Democratic senator, said the other day that this tax bill suggests the Republicans are not serious about national security because...
I don't even understand where that would come from.
Here's where he is coming from. He says the money is needed for national security, and instead it's going to this tax cut.
I would argue that a stronger economy is one of the most important things we can do for national security. If you want America to be strong in many senses of the word, you've got to grow the economy. You've got to help people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck. You've got to help families who are struggling. You've got to help businesses stay in business and be able to compete with their foreign competitors in this global economy. And that faster economic growth, that more confidence in family income and household income, that helps national security. And by the way, if you want to help the military, you got to have a growing economy, so people can pay taxes so we can actually help the military.
Are you really willing to say though, that you are sure this is going to grow the economy so much that you're going to have money to defend the country?
I'm not willing, I'm telling you that's what I believe will happen. I'm not going to tell you I'm sure. How can a person say such a thing? I can't say that. But I do — I am fundamentally convinced. I used to be the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. I've been working on this issue for many many years. I am convinced that at this stage in the global competition we find ourselves, we are on the losing end of global competition. This tax law will do more to help Americans — American families, American middle-class taxpayers and American businesses get ahead of the rest of the world so that we can get faster economic growth.
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask about sexual harassment. You have said that you want everyone here to receive sexual harassment training as a mandatory measure.
Yes, we passed that yesterday.
Then there's the question of accountability. What, if anything, is wrong with accountability in this body?
Yeah I think, first of all let me back up for a second. I think we're having a watershed moment in this country. I think this is a defining moment in this country and I think it needs to be a defining moment in this country. I think we're all horrified at the stories we've been seeing unfold in the last few weeks. I think we're all realizing that sexual harassment in America is absolutely pervasive and it's got to go and we need to end it. And nowhere more is this important to set a standard and example then elected officials. We should be held to a high standard. So to that end, we've been holding hearings on this particular issue for how Congress governs itself. The last hearing suggested we should have mandatory training for sexual harassment for members and staff and interns. We just put that in place yesterday. We've got another hearing next week. where we're reviewing all of the systems. The procedures and the sense of accountability, so that we can review the entire soup-to-nuts system we have in place and where upgrades and improvements can be had. And I believe what we did yesterday was a first step. We have more steps to go.
Define the problem for me. What's wrong with accountability here? When we talk about secret settlements, for example.
The law was written in 1995 and I think the law needs to be updated and upgraded.
Do you believe that when Congress — when taxpayers pay a settlement for a member of Congress, that the public should know?
I do. I think we're also trying to get data on this, on the settlements. So that's one of the issues, which is the settlements issue which is — we're looking at. Just so you know, a lot of the settlements that people have been hearing from — we had an anthrax — I was out of my office for a number of months. We had anthrax claims being paid because Longworth Building was shut down. I think one of the Senate buildings was shut down. We had some asbestos exposure. So those are claims that are paid as well, so these claims include many many things. What we're trying to figure out is, because these are confidential, I don't even know what they are. We're trying to figure out what claims were paid to whom and what was the nature of these claims. And then, how do we go forward to have a more transparent, more accountable system? That's the kind of an analysis I'm telling you is what we're going through right now on the entire settlement question and sexual harassment policy itself, in addition to mandatory training that we've now put in place yesterday.
Well there's two questions there. First, if taxpayers are paying those settlements, should they be secret?
Yes, so that's — all of those things are what we're reviewing. So the point is, some of the victims want that. So you have to remember there is — there are victim-rights issues here as well, so this is not as simple as it seems because of victims' rights. So that is why we're not gonna just knee-jerk and just come up with something without thinking through its consequences. That's why we're doing research, consulting experts and having public hearings on how to address this issue.
Should taxpayers be paying those settlements at all?
Well again, if somebody — there's asbestos settlements, there's anthrax settlements, there's slip-and-fall settlements. No, I think, I have my own views on that. I'll let those views be made clear very soon.
You said that public officials should be held to a very high standard. Can you define that for me a little bit?
Well, that's a good question. I think the standard you want is, I want my daughter to grow up in a country, she's 15 years old, where she is empowered and respected wherever she goes and wherever she works in whatever she does. And I think nowhere should that be more obvious and apparent than working here in Capitol Hill. So I think here in Congress, we should set ourselves to standards that we expect of other people and we should set high standards for ourselves so that we can be role models and set examples, and clearly people have been falling short of that and I think we always have to endeavor to do a better job on that.
How bad is it?
I don't know the answer to that yet.
How are you going to find out?
I think we're finding out just like the rest of Americans. We just found out about John Conyers about a week ago. So I think we're just finding out about some of these things which are quite frankly very disturbing.
You, quite early, called for Roy Moore, the Alabama Senate candidate, to withdraw from the race after a number of accusations were made against him.
That's because I believe those allegations are credible.
What is the difference between his case and the case of President Trump, who was also accused by a number of women and also denied it?
I think the Roy Moore — I don't know if — I'm focused on Congress. Roy Moore is trying to come to Congress. My job here as Speaker of the House is to help make sure that Congress is an institution that we're proud of and that's what I'm focused on. He's running for Congress and I think the allegations against him were very very credible.
Is there a difference between those two cases?
I don't know the answer to that. I haven't spent my time reviewing the difference in these two cases.
Let me ask another question about the president if I might, Mr. Speaker, because you talked about holding people to a high standard, and you've talked about that for a very long time. In 2012, you gave a convention speech for Mitt Romney in which you talked about his high character as being above reproach. Is the president meeting that high standard?
Look it's no secret that he and I have had our difference of opinions. It's no secret that I've shared my opinions about his tweets and the rest. But what I see is a president who is fighting for the things that I'm fighting for. I see a president who's fighting for an agenda that will make a positive difference in people's lives. Is this president unconventional? No two ways about it. He's very unconventional. But if we make good by the American people by actually improving their lives and fixing problems and finding solutions that are bothering them, that's a good thing. That's what we're working toward. Is he unconventional — yes. Would I do things differently? Of course. But he's — he's himself, I'm myself and he got elected. And you know what? My duty as a constitutional officer, as a representative of Congress is to make government work and make sure that this branch of government works for the other branch of government so we can fix people's problems and that's what my focus is.
Has he become, in recent days and weeks, more unconventional, to use your words or out of control?
Not really. I think he's been like this. I think he's been fairly unconventional from day one. That's his style.
How well do you think Congress is doing at keeping the president in |
easy to accept... it would seem churlish of me to refuse.
There's more than one way to contribute to the perl community, after all.
-- mst, out.MULTIMEDIA
Assignment Marawi: What a photojournalist brings to cover a war
Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News
Share Save
Facebook
Twitter
GPlus
Pinterest
I was asked by a public school teacher in a recent forum where I was a speaker what my "kit" consisted of. The long and short of it is, it depends. It depends on what the assignment calls for.
For instance, in a recent trip to Marawi, where I was away from the office for an extended period, I brought most of my tools, all approximately 35 kilos, so I could respond to all possible stories.
I was able to use every equipment pictured here in the course of my 12-day assignment. And, the photo doesn't include the drone camera I had to hire from a local.
1. Pelican 1510 travel case 2. Manfrotto monopod 3. Canon 5D Mark III 4. Canon 5D Mark III 5. Zacuto Optical viewfinder 6. GoPro Hero 7. Canon and Fuji batteries 8. Sony digital audio recorder 9.Fuji X-Pro2 with 14mm lens 10. Canon 70-200mm f4 lens 11. Canon 24-70mm F2.8 lens 12. Assorted batteries 13. iPhone 14. Android phone 15. Seagate 2T external hard drive 16. Powerbanks 17.Canon and Fuji battery chargers 18. Sennheiser wireless mic set 19. Saramonic mic to phone adapter 20. Rode VideoMic 21. Rode Lavalier mic 22. Canon 200-400mm with 1.4x extender 23. Apple MacBook Pro 15in. 24. Various power cables 25. Notebook and pens 26. Gorillapod 27. Petzel head lamp 28. Gaffer's tapes 29. Osmo Mobile phone stabilizer 30. Gerber Multiplier 31. Rain poncho 32. Chamois 33. N-95 mask 34. Manfrotto tripod 35. ProTec helmet with GoPro adapter 36. Ballistic helmet 37. Level III-A ballistic vestWASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Members of the Federal Open Market Committee say they expect the economy to begin to grow later this year, but cautioned that any recovery would be gradual.
How gradual? How about five or six years before the economy is back on even keel?
The FOMC released the minutes of its April 28-29 meeting on Wednesday. The good news: Policymakers said the already-small risk of a truly calamitous depression had gotten even smaller. The bad news: They significantly reduced their forecasts for how the economy would mostly likely to perform this year and over the next two years. See full story.
Although sales and production are expected to begin to grow slowly this year, unemployment is expected to keep rising and stay high for years. Just as occurred after the 1991 and 2001 recessions, U.S. gross domestic product could turn higher long before the unemployment rate begins to fall.
At least one member of the committee expected the unemployment rate at the end of 2011 to be 9%, which is even higher than the 8.9% we saw in April. At least one member said the unemployment rate would hit 10% later this year, although the "central tendency" of the full committee wasn't quite so dire, with an expected jobless rate of "just" 9.2% to 9.6% in the fourth quarter.
Most members of the committee -- the 12 Fed bank presidents and the six Fed governors -- "indicated they expected the economy to take five or six years to converge to a longer-run path" consistent with the Fed's goals of maximum employment and price stability, the minutes said.
(In the long run, the Fed thinks the economy can grow at a 2.5% pace, with unemployment at about 5% and inflation at 2%.)
What's more, "several" members thought full recovery "would take longer" than five or six years.
Talk about a lost decade!
--Rex Nutting, Washington bureau chief
Want this type of analysis sent to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch's free MarketWatch First Takes newsletter. Sign up here.For the most part, we are talking about 17- and 18-year-olds, and it can be very difficult to know which of them will graduate and earn enough money to pay back their loans, even when universities have information about their academic background.
The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education show that 69 percent of all undergraduates in 2013 were 24 or younger. And the great majority of students applying to college for the first time are coming directly out of high school.
An unintended consequence of such a requirement would be that institutions would be more likely to shy away from enrolling students from disadvantaged families, and those whose academic preparation was weaker. Over a third of all undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the federal assistance program for students from low- and moderate-income families.
Such a move would exacerbate the large gaps in college enrollment and degree attainment that already exist in this country. It would lead to even higher rates of income inequality across income and racial groups.
Every year, thousands of students graduate from college and go on to successful careers who, at first glance when they were graduating from high school, may have looked like risky investments.
Another impact of this proposal is that it could lead to a further deterioration of liberal arts education, as colleges may deemphasize majors that are seen as not having strong labor market prospects. Some politicians, including Governor Rick Scott of Florida and even President Obama, have questioned whether liberal arts degrees are worth the investment.
But data from the Association of American Colleges and Universities have demonstrated that over the long run liberal arts graduates earn as much as many with more technical degrees.
History of student loans
Now let’s turn to the issue of loans through private lenders. Since the passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which first authorized widespread student loan program, banks have played a key role in the system.
Banks originally provided all the capital, and because the loans were guaranteed by the federal government, it became a lucrative business for them. But in 1993, during the first Clinton administration, a federally originated student loan program was created. This was done as an attempt to lower the cost of borrowing to students by removing some of the banks’ profits.
Between 1993 and 2010, bank-originated and federally originated student loans coexisted, with the federal share no more than one-third of the volume. During President Obama’s first term, however, he signed legislation that removed banks from the federal student loan program entirely, shifting all of the loan origination to the federal government.
The rationale behind this legislation, signed in 2010, was to take away the profits earned by banks, and instead reinvest them in the federal Pell Grant program, which provides direct assistance to college students from low- and middle-income families.
What about disadvantaged students?
Trump’s proposal is certainly consistent with his business-based, free-market approach to government. As Clovis said in his interview, “We think it should be marketplace and market driven.”
While the question of whether the banks or the government should provide student loans may be a political one, there are large fiscal implications of shifting back to a bank-based system.
At the time the 2010 legislation passed, the Congressional Budget Office had estimated that the federal government would save almost $10 billion per year that had been going to banks in the form of loan subsidies and fees.
That money came to be invested in funding for the Pell Grant program rather than going to bank profits.
A return to a bank lending system for student loans could potentially reduce levels of Pell Grant funding, unless Congress (along with the next president) is willing to appropriate more money.
Any reduction in Pell Grant funding would have a similar effect as Trump’s proposal: it would reduce college access and graduation rates for poorer, African American, Latino, and Native American students. And that would lead to increased gaps in educational attainment between these groups and students from more advantaged families.
A complex system
The truth is that higher education policy is not quite as simple as it may appear to an outsider.
The interaction of federal and state policies, along with the actions of the thousands of colleges and universities that are funded by governments as well as students, creates a complex system in which it is often difficult to encourage some behaviors without creating other problems.
The high cost of college along with the high volume of student debt have received much attention from both groups in recent years. There has been an absence of detailed proposals in this arena from Trump’s campaign up until now. His slogan of “Make America Great Again” implies returning to some bygone era.
But for higher education, a return to that era would mean that fewer students are able to go to college, and poorer and racial minority students have fewer educational opportunities.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.Git2Go’s 2015 sales numbers
Tim Herbig Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jan 8, 2016
While Git2Go has only been available in the App Store for 66 days in 2015, Piet and I also wanted to share what we’ve accomplished so far with our vision of re-imagining mobile productivity with Git.
Git2Go is a free app and contains 3 different in-app purchases:
Git2Go Private: Clone and edit your private GitHub, Bitbucket and gitlab.com repositories for $9,99.
Clone and edit your private GitHub, Bitbucket and gitlab.com repositories for $9,99. Git2Go Unlimited: Clone and edit your private GitHub, Bitbucket and gitlab.com repositories as well as GitHub Enterprise and GitLab CE/EE for $14,99.
Clone and edit your private GitHub, Bitbucket and gitlab.com repositories as well as GitHub Enterprise and GitLab CE/EE for $14,99. Git2Go Unlimited — Upgrade: Upgrade from the ‘Git2Go Private’ IAP for additional GitHub Enterprise and GitLab CE/EE access for $4,99.
We do this mainly to get the conversation about indie development apps and their sales numbers in the App Store going. We also hope to see a couple of other developers sharing their numbers for 2015 as well.
App Store metrics and Financials
4.053 total downloads
246 in-app purchases sold (5,2% conversion rate from installs).
sold (5,2% conversion rate from installs). $1.827 total revenue after Apple’s 30%, but before any taxes or expenses.
after Apple’s 30%, but before any taxes or expenses. $988,40 received in the first 31 days alone.
Daily App Installs
Daily In-App Purchase Units sold
Daily Revenue
Our top referrer to the App Store page(mobile Safari only):
App Usage
4.236 total GitHub Logins (available since the beginning with 1.0)
704 total BitBucket Logins (available since November 21st with 1.2)
149 total GitHub Enterprise Logins (available since December 9th with 1.3)
3.850 total Clones performed
1.968 total Syncs performed
596 total Commits performed
62 daily active users on average
~100 Daily Active Users on average (without launch week and update days)
~550 Weekly Active Users on average (without launch week)
2 received support mails…and roughly 100 requests coming in via our smooch integration
Our expenses
Private GitHub Account Piet: $18 per month
Private GitHub Account Tim: $7 per month
Summary
Looking back, it was the absolute right decision to launch with a reduced set of services and to add Bitbucket & GitLab over time. Since the introduction of our higher tier IAP options, we’ve also been able to make more money with the (quite steady) amount of daily IAP performed by our users.
While we got some neat coverage from German and international blogs out there, we still think that Git2Go hasn’t been noticed by all the people who would love to use it out there. That’s why we’re currently looking for conferences/talks/meetups/fireside chats etc. to talk about Git2Go. So, if you know of an event like that or even host one, feel free to hit us up on Twitter or send us a mail.
We can’t wait to rock the App Store in 2016 with your help and would like to use the chance to thank all of you out there who believe(d) in us, use Git2Go and provide valuable feedback. ❤Branding men with undesirable character traits has turned into a popular sport. Men are considered by some—a vocal few, at least—to be competitive, aggressive, and violent, while women are thought of as passive and more inclined to collaboration. As an unrepentant male, I take umbrage at the increasing references to “toxic masculinity.” There are two reasons. First, I believe this is pure sexism driven by a small but angry cadre of power-hungry radical feminists. I can see no earthly reason that would require me to defend the values and behavior of my sex. Second, my basic sense of fairness resents the fact that men are often demonized while women get a free pass. If we are going to have a conversation about toxic masculinity, equal time should be devoted to “toxic femininity.”
What is toxic femininity? Does our typical female bear the burden of undesirable character traits? “Sentimental insistence on female innocence,” suggests The New York Times, “does no service to women, who should be treated as human beings with a capacity for aggression and held equally accountable for their actions.” Here are ten characteristics of toxic femininity:
1. Male-directed anger and paranoia: Many contemporary women actively dislike the male of the species. Ask the average man. He will tell you that a lot of women are just plain angry at men. They love to hold men accountable for all women’s problems. If a hurtful motivation can be attributed to men, women will go for it. Some are angry because they have convinced themselves that men perceive women strictly as sex objects. For many, feminism is synonymous with demonization of men.
2. Transference neurosis: This is an unconscious defense mechanism where a woman’s feelings and attitudes originally associated with male authority figures earlier in her life are attributed or redirected to others in the present. A good example is the unreasonable hatred many women have for President Trump. The transference takes place when Trump—the ultimate male authority figure—is substituted for the bad father, husband, boyfriend, etc. “Angry woman syndrome” is another label given to this condition, where a woman’s negative past experiences create obstacles to current relationships.
3. Gender manipulation: Women have become adept at passive-aggressive “bitchy” behavior and hidden agendas used to manipulate men. “Men’s brains are designed to spend their time figuring out how to get objects in the environment to do their bidding,” says angryharry.com. “Women’s brains are designed to spend their time figuring out how to get men to do their bidding.” According to Fox News, female manipulation can manifest itself as “dressing sexy,” withholding sex and affection, and flirting with other men. Without blinking an eye, a woman may compromise her integrity for money and security, the ultimate form of gender manipulation.
4. Emotional detachment: It seems that women are less dependent on relationships than men. Many women are “unwilling or incapable to commit completely to a relationship,” says match.com. “The reasons for this can be quite complex, ranging from emotional trauma to a simple matter of priorities, where a woman is more focused on her career than a relationship.” According to The Telegraph, the number of female sociopaths is rising: “cruel, calculating and calm under pressure.”
5. Female victimization: Many women play the victim as a method of controlling men. The “damsel in distress” persona has created a sense of entitlement. “Poor me.” “I deserve to be taken care of.” “I gave you the best years of my life.” “Women are not paid the same as men.” “There is a war on women.”
6. The “superwoman” delusion: Thanks to the feminist movement, women have been saddled with the idea that “you can do it all.” You can have success at both family and career, with no exceptions. This is a huge burden. Heaven help the woman who is satisfied to be a housewife.
7. Female self-hatred: Most women are depressed by what they see in the mirror. They hate themselves for not living up to impossible standards of physical beauty. This “self-loathing” in women can lead to depression, suicidal feelings, and related eating disorders such as obesity, bulimia, and anorexia.
8. Avoidance of accountability: It has become socially acceptable for women to deny responsibility for their actions. In the movie As Good As It Gets, Jack Nicholson explains his success at writing fictional women characters. “I think of a man,” he says, “and then I take away reason and accountability.”
9. Vicious competition with other women: “Women compete, compare, undermine and undercut one another,” says The New York Times. “Feeling on guard around other ladies is normal for a lot of women.” Evolution has made women wary of their sisters as they compete for male attention or in the workplace. “A host of studies in recent years have shown convincingly that the traditional view of women as passive and uncompetitive is wrong,” says Psychology Today. “Women, it turns out, are engaged in a competition of their own, aggressively jockeying for position in a battle to secure a suitable mate.”
10. Female martyr syndrome: We are witnessing many examples of individual women pretending to speak for all women when they are only expressing their own opinion. Recent examples in the news are Gloria Steinem, Madeleine Albright, Ashley Judd, and Madonna. The irony is that these women typically lead privileged lifestyles and so have difficulty relating to “average” women.
Colleges and universities are giving men a forum to examine their allegedly toxic behavior patterns. Fairness demands that we consider the following:
• Equivalent college courses giving women the opportunity to confront their toxic femininity.
• Hollywood films that describe how both sexes are suffering because of women’s gender-related shortcomings.
• More alternative life choices for women in order to relieve the intolerable pressure arising from the superwoman delusion.
• A provision in healthcare insurance for psychotherapy to help women overcome their transference neurosis.
If we can encourage women to spend more time looking inward, we may enjoy a reprieve from the anger that has characterized the women’s movement from its inception.
Ed Brodow is a negotiation expert, political commentator, and author of In Lies We Trust: How Politicians and the Media Are Deceiving the American Public.Hmm, yes, "2014 was a weak year" and "consoles are taking forever to prove themselves" and so on and so forth. You've heard plenty of that by now, so let's just move on to the good stuff, huh?
While I feel like every game on this list comes with a caveat of one sort or another and there weren't any standouts that felt like true, indelible classics, there was also a huge number of good games that I really enjoyed this year, too many to make it onto this list. Wolfenstein: The New Order was better than it had any right to be, and I actually managed to enjoy a Call of Duty campaign for the first time in years with Advanced Warfare. If I'd finished the former or spent more time with the multiplayer in the latter, either could very well have ended up on this list. Other games I wish I'd put more time into include Bayonetta 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Captain Toad, and Shovel Knight (and I hope to catch up on those over the coming months). But then, you can only speak about the games your natural interests led you to play, right? Maybe if those games actually rated on my list, I'd have played them more.
10. Crypt of the Necrodancer
It's not just early access, it's very early access; the initial release was missing a lot of content, but the way the game plugged the holes where that content was supposed to be was pretty clever. But the content that was already included made Crypt of the Necrodancer my favorite indie pick-up-and-play game this year, combining the fast-paced precision of a rhythm game with the variety and depth of a rogue-like. And lord, that Danny B soundtrack. I almost dismissed this as "that game they show at every PAX that you have to play with a dance mat," but I'm very glad I finally stopped and gave it a look. They're adding in that missing content on a regular basis (and communicating what's new and what's coming to the audience pretty well), and I'm excited to see what the game looks like once it all comes together.
9. Grand Theft Auto V for PS4
Yes, it's a rerelease, and yes, the PC version will probably be even better in January, and... yes, I had some issues with the original game last year, but somehow GTA V finally clicked for me on the PS4 this time around. While I still wish Rockstar populated this open world with a wider variety of structured side content--something I think Red Dead Redemption did a better job of--I came to appreciate the act of simply existing in and traveling around this incredible faux Los Angeles, rendered as it is with both enormous breadth and a staggering level of detail. The huge improvements to the visuals and the ability to drop into first-person view to get an up-close look at the inventory of some shitty Beverly Hills-esque boutique or the revolting squalor of Trevor's methed-out trailer made the world feel that much more real, and somehow that helped me get more invested in the storyline on my second try.
8. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Metal Gear has always gotten by on thematized weirdness more than solid play mechanics, so I was as surprised as anyone at how much fun I had sneaking around the Cuban base, tagging guards from afar, shooting them in the head with a tranq pistol and then dumping their bodies out of sight. The game has robust enough AI routines and physics that it hits all the right open-world notes, even if it's on a dramatically reduced scale, and damn does it look good. Too bad the story is nine-tenths bland and uneventful (and the other tenth needlessly graphic), but if The Phantom Pain is just going to be a couple dozen more hours of this in a much larger world, I'm all in.
7. Sunset Overdrive
Sunset Overdrive is the most an Insomniac game has ever grabbed me (Ratchet & Clank and Resistance never really did anything for me, and let's not talk about Fuse). Bright, cheery, irreverent, hyperkinetic, good-natured and funny (mostly), it's just a splendid time. While the lineup of guns didn't quite click for me and the urban bouncing-and-grinding traversal felt like it was only about 80 percent of the way to perfection, spending a dozen hours in Sunset City was still a heck of a lot of fun. Great boss fights and a nicely executed ending, both of which are too rare in big-budget games lately. I sure hope they get to make another one.
6. Transistor
Sure, I know a lot of the people who made this, so grain of salt and all that, but I love how obvious it is that Transistor was made by people who used to make strategy games for a living. The quasi-turn-based combat and endless combinations of abilities (I love the idea that you can sacrifice an active power to turn it into a related passive effect) make for a type of strategy that's not quite like anything else I can remember playing. The slightly nebulous, mysterious world-building is really intriguing and builds steadily as you move through the story, and I found the setting that blends low-level computing concepts into the everyday life of the populace to be really interesting. And, of course, the visuals and music in particular are just some of the best in video games. Ultimately, Transistor didn't hit me with quite the emotional gut-punch Bastion did, but every aspect of this game is made with such an incredible degree of craftsmanship that I just can't not respect the hell out of it.
5. Far Cry 4
Far Cry 3 tumbled down my list in 2012 due to its enormous bummer of a storyline, so you might think that Far Cry 4--which marries numerous improvements on the same formula to a story that's both more interesting and better told--would be right up there at the top this year. Where 3 was a revelation in terms of its open-world design and mission structure, though, 4 is... more of that. That's not a bad thing (unless Far Cry 5 etc. etc.), it's just inherently less exciting. At the time of this writing I'm still having a hell of a lot of fun soaring around the Himalayas on a little jury-rigged lawnmower/helicopter, shooting a grenade launcher at convoys below or setting up elaborate land mine traps before taunting a herd of rhinos. There's so much open-world nonsense to get into that I haven't even made it to the second area of the map yet. It'll probably be ages before I finish this, and that's just fine, because as of right now I don't want it to end.
4. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
This is practically the perfect open-world game. Extremely satisfying components--climbing, stealth, melee combat--that are in some ways better than the games they take inspiration from. Tons of side content that's actually fun to do over and over. But it's the dynamic named enemies of the Nemesis system that really elevates Mordor and makes it feel like a wholly original, invigorating experience. If open-world or sandbox games are all about creating unique moments specific to your experience that you're going to remember, Mordor takes that idea and codifies it with the single freshest new game mechanic I saw this year. Pity the storyline is all over the place and largely inconsistent with Tolkien (and just kind of bad), or this could have been at the top of my list.
3. South Park: The Stick of Truth
Alex's review summed it up perfectly, so I'll just paraphrase that: It's hard to imagine how you could make a better video game out of South Park. The game is just packed so densely with good material, the writing is really sharp, and even the JRPG mechanics become good fodder for humor. I haven't watched the show in several years and often found it to be pretty hit-and-miss, but very little of the content packed into this game misses and there are so many absurd or disgusting or downright unbelievable moments that it'd be hard to remember them all. Of course, you have to mention how perfectly Obsidian recreated the show's visual style, but one of the things I love the most is the wide array of clever makeshift fantasy trappings created out of everyday objects, like the weapons and armor you can buy or the medieval tavern recreated in someone's living room. As much as the characters in South Park exist as vehicles for Parker and Stone's unapologetic sense of humor, Stick of Truth's make-believe world reminds you that they're also, you know, kids.
2. Destiny
Destiny is one of the best games in 2014. Boom. I said it. Try and argue!
Actually, you could mount a pretty stiff argument against Destiny. There's too much item grind at the end. (They've relaxed some of that stuff.) There's just not enough content. (The raids and heroic and nightfall missions are way more interesting though, seriously!) The storytelling is shockingly barebones. (Yeah, not much rebuttal for that one.) There are plenty of valid reasons that you might play Destiny to the end of the story, such as it is, and walk away from it feeling some degree of disgust. Clearly many people have.
There was something undeniable about Destiny, though, that ensured I couldn't stop playing it. No, I don't think Destiny is the "best" game of 2014, by whatever objective standard of bestness you want to apply. But I do think you have to make serious concessions when you're having this much fun with a game for this many hours, whatever aspects of it you wish were better. At least I do. The shooting is just so damn good, and so varied, with all the combinations of different weapon and damage types, classes and subclasses, difficulty modifiers and level offsets. Call it Best Shooting of 2014. I still lust after various guns and armor. I like the way the game looks and feels and moves. I like how it's set in our solar system, and how all the future space machinery has the same drab, form-before-function look of today's modern space machinery. I like to pretend that Destiny actually happened.
OK, I decided to check. 91 hours and counting, and I haven't even played that new raid yet. Thanks for reading.
1. Dota 2
I've found it. My GOAT. The old desert-island video game what-if used to make me roll my eyes--who could possibly choose only one game for the rest of their lives?--but now I answer it without hesitation. As long as there's decent Internet, I'd play Dota 2 forever.
Before you ask, I really don't care if it didn't "come out" in 2014. Dota is over a decade old. The beta of Dota 2 ran for years before it technically went into release. And even this year, the evolution of Dota 2's free-to-play model and the mainstream cultural impact of The International meant that Dota 2 was more "important" than most games that did come out this year, if you care about such things.
That more and more people seem to respect Dota is nice from a big-picture legacy standpoint, but I'm happy just to keep spending time getting better at it and playing it with other people who love it. Last year I discovered how much I actually enjoy playing this game and what an incredible job Valve was doing curating it. This was the year that I settled into a more comfortable, familiar rhythm with Dota, integrating it a bit better into my everyday life. For me it remains a game of phenomenal depth and complexity, the most stressful and exhilarating ups and downs, endless room for my own improvement, and socializing with a bunch of friends I wouldn't otherwise talk to much, or wouldn't even know without the game in the first place.
It's worth mentioning how much Valve actually monkeyed with the formula this year. Between drastically reworking the skills of a number of old heroes and making major changes to sacrosanct game elements like the way runes work and the very layout of the map, Dota continues to undergo changes that radically shake up the state of the game on a frequent basis. This is a refreshing contrast to the couple of years I spent with StarCraft, where balance changes are fairly drab and stat-driven. With Dota, every patch tends to make the game feel even fresher and more exciting.
It would get a bit rote for me to just put this game at the number one position from now until the end of time, and nobody can say what next year's lineup of game releases is going to look like. But I'm confident that no matter how many of next year's games prove to be wonderful (and a lot of them look promising), Dota will always be hanging around in the background, making it difficult for me to finish every other game that comes out.Phew i am so tried: faint: not of doing this oh: no: just of this piece wanted to get it finalized tonight so i can move on to some apple jack episodes nextFelt Trixie needed her intro to be rather imposing and impressive (same with spikes mustache) lol. since she is a fan favourite and possibly will return again for the 3rd season.I started this MLP FIM title card series a few days ago because a show like this deserves them in my opinion and title cards were a way to hook me in to any cartoon usually thats why I started watching a bit of Adventure Time again.I want to make one for every episode with its own quirky style that best suits that particular episode its very ambitious as I want to get it done before heaths warming eve if its possible lol. With the other jobs and shenanigans I doing out side of this it could be longer but wish me luck Bronies I hope to do our fandom proud.Until next deviation LATERSAll drawn on photoshop CS6 with my Wacom tablet 5Epic FTWor Do Not wantyou choosePresumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE said on Saturday that women “get it better” than men.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking at a rally in Spokane, Wash., Trump was railing against the criticism he gets for accusing Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails County GOP in Minnesota shares image comparing Sanders to Hitler Holder: 'Time to make the Electoral College a vestige of the past' MORE of playing the "woman card."
“I mean all of the men, we’re petrified to speak to women anymore. We may raise our voice,” he said. “You know what, the women get it better than we do, folks.
“Look, we’re living in the real world. This political correctness is killing our country.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked Clinton for playing the “woman card” and claimed that if she were a man she would not get 5 percent of the vote. He kept up his attacks on Saturday, accusing former President Bill Clinton William (Bill) Jefferson ClintonKasich fundraises off 2020 speculation Inviting Kim Jong Un to Washington Howard Schultz must run as a Democrat for chance in 2020 MORE of abusing women.
“In the history of politics, Hillary Clinton’s husband abused more woman than anyone that we know of," he said.
He also repeated his claim that Clinton “enabled” her husband and harassed women who accused him of abuse.Islamabad, Jan 25: A massive power failure hit Pakistan after midnight, plunging major cities into darkness, as authorities struggled on Sunday to restore electricity supply in the country plagued by a crippling energy crisis. The nature of fault was not known exactly but it plunged about 80 per cent country into darkness, the fourth major breakdown of the system within the past one month.
There were contradictory statements about the reason for the breakdown. Initially television channels reported that militants had disrupted the Guddu transmission line in the troubled Baluchistan province’s Nasirabad district. But, Deputy Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali, later denied the breakdown was due to any terrorist activity. He said the breakdown occurred after a key power transmission line broke down in Baluchistan one hour after midnight on Saturday.
However, Sarbaz Baluch, who claimed to be a spokesman of the Baluch Republican Army, claimed that the defunct militant group had carried out the bombing of two 220 KV transmission lines in Notal area of Naseerabad district. Officials said that last night’s breakdown resulted in many urban areas like Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Islamabad and Peshawar plunging into darkness with hundreds of villages and small towns in all four provinces also affected.
The authorities were working non-stop to fix the problem and according to various reports electricity was gradually being restored. “Repair work to restore the transmission line has nearly been completed and power has been restored to most parts of the country,” Sher Ali said. The crisis came close on the heels of the recent petrol shortage which paralysed the country for about two weeks. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was already reeling from the petrol criticism, faced another barrage of outrage.
He took notice of the worst-ever power breakdown and issued instructions for the immediate resumption of power supply on an emergency basis. The breakdown hit amid rumours that the country’s power crisis would be exacerbated as a result of acute shortage of furnace oil. Due to shortage of furnace oil, the power production from Jamshoro power plant was decreased to 170 MW from 570 MW and from 700 MW to 360 MW at Muzaffargarh plant, as Faisalabad power plant has suspended power generation. Currently the country demand of electricity is around 14,000 MW as compared to total generation of 7,000 MW.Most people are not aware that there are some areas in the business operation that are very vital and yet are taken very little notice of. This is especially true for businesses that have offices and transactions in the four corners of the globe. The field of expertise referred to is the skill of Translation Houston Texas. Global banking industries, and industries related to the supply of energy are two of the most common global businesses that uses professional translators in understanding business ethics in foreign soil. In the U.S. the main objective of translations for large scale businesses is to pass on the understanding of text documents normally written in English to the foreign recipients’ language, with the condition that it will contain the same meaning and message as that of the original text. In Translations Houston Texas, the person responsible should be able to replicate the same meaning and thought as the original text to his or her target audience. Because of the development of translation software, there is now a conflict on whether translation should be done by computers of by professional native translator. It must be understood that machine translation suffers from the inadequacy of understanding what the message of the original text wants to impart to the target language recipient. This in turn will result in a meaningless message that usually ends for parties not understanding each other.
CD Language Solutions, a translation specialist company in Houston Texas will attest to the effectiveness and efficiency of using professional translators (in lieu of machine translators) to translate documents legal or otherwise, from the English Language to other Tongues. Being in Texas they handle companies that are involved in the manufacture of fuel and energy and therefore have offices and clients all over the globe. In cases like this, the need for Professional Translation Services for almost all of the languages worldwide is a necessity, something that may be impossible for translation machines to do.
http://cdlanguage.com/
Because of the growing marketing promotions being used in the internet today, there is a need for the Localization Houston Texas and translation of websites to the people native language. The demand for translation has grown more today and businesses often seek translation services in an effort to serve their clients better and to understand and keep up with their business requirement. In order to do this, a business needs an intelligent individual |
‘80s. This extremely difficult game spawned a sub-genre known as "roguelikes," games which are primarily known for variations on the super hardcore "one life only" design. This isn't the part of Rogue that Johnson was interested in, though; what he borrowed for ToeJam & Earl was the game's structure. "...I go straight to describing Rogue. That's what ToeJam & Earl is at its core." In Rogue, players enter a randomized dungeon layout. They must work from the top floor of the dungeon to the bottom, defeating monsters and collecting treasure as they go. The treasure, too, is randomized and, most notably, anything you pick up can have an unexpected effect attached to it. Essentially, each journey from the top of the dungeon to the bottom is entirely unpredictable. In ToeJam & Earl, you start on the lowest of a series of islands floating in space. Each floor has an elevator that goes one floor up, and players must work their way to the top, collecting spaceship parts along the way. Rather than skeletons and orcs, ToeJam & Earl's enemies are light-hearted goofs on humanity: dentists, angry shoppers, a pack of nerds. And rather than collecting swords, potions or armor, the titular heroes can stumble across presents containing randomized power-ups. For example, a present with some tomatoes will temporarily allow the alien protagonists to incapacitate earthlings. Sneakers might increase your run speed. Or a rain cloud could pop out of the present and continuously zap you with lightning. For those who missed ToeJam & Earl in the Genesis days, this description might be a little difficult to follow, but Johnson is used to it. "Any time you do anything new, you face the problem of having trouble describing it," he says. "That's sort of been the bane of my existence in the game industry. I always want to do something new and different, and it's always a challenge to explain it relative to what people are already familiar with."
These screenshots of the original ToeJam & Earl for the Genesis are via Hardcore Gaming 101.
Strangers from a strange land This issue may also explain why Johnson struggled so much to get follow-ups to the original ToeJam & Earl created in line with his vision. An initial sequel, ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron, was released for the Genesis in 1993. However, the isometric perspective and Rogue callbacks had been dropped in favor of a more traditional — if still colorful and weird — sidescrolling platformer. "I started off to make a sequel to ToeJam & Earl along with my old partner, Mark Voorsanger," Johnson says. "We wanted to make something true to game one, and then Sega asked us to change course. We ended up doing Panic on Funkotron. That's what they wanted us to make, but our fans were pretty confused by that." After a fairly tepid response to the sequel, both Johnson and Sega decided to set aside the ToeJam & Earl series. It would remain on the sideline for another nine years, until Sega had moved away from hardware. In 2001, Johnson decided to approach Visual Concepts, then a subsidiary of Sega, with a pitch for a third ToeJam & Earl game, one that could reclaim the wacky style of the original. "I don't want to moan about it too much, because that's just sort of the industry." "They said yes to us making a sequel," he recalls. "We got two-thirds or three-quarters of the way done, and they changed their minds and suddenly wanted it to be very different. They said the stacked levels were too old school. They asked for all these changes — a hub structure and bosses and mini-games and unlockables. We ended up changing course again." The result was ToeJam & Earl 3: Mission to Earth, a watered-down take on the concept that received some very kind reviews and just as many harsh rebuttals from fans of the original. It was, yet again, neither what Johnson wanted nor what fans wanted. Johnson is quick to accept some of the blame for this. "It wasn't all because of Sega," he says. "Some of the choices I made, like having the over-the-shoulder camera... it was a bit of an experiment, because it was back in the days when that camera angle was exciting. The Xbox had just come out, and you could do all this cool stuff. 3D was advancing really quickly. But the net result was that it was kind of disorienting in our game." When discussing the development of the last two ToeJam & Earl games, Johnson sounds frustrated but also aware of the realities of the situation he was in. "I don't want to moan about it too much, because that's just sort of the industry," says Johnson. "You're taking their money, they should have a right to say what they want and evaluate what they think is risky and not risky. I don't hold it against publishers at all." He may not hold it against publishers, but in planning the next step for the series, Johnson thinks he's figured out the best path to avoid having to work with them: Kickstarter. This screenshot from an early build of the new ToeJam & Earl project was provided for the article by Greg Johnson.
Return to the past In 2006, Johnson created a small game development studio in Albany, California, called HumaNature Studios. Most recently, this team worked on Doki-Doki Universe, a charming PlayStation exclusive that's focused on empathy over competition. Like ToeJam & Earl, it's largely non-violent and really hard to describe in comparison to other games. But as a small downloadable game, Doki-Doki Universe never found the audience that ToeJam & Earl did on the Genesis. "None of Sony's digital only games did well [at that time]," Johnson says. "I think it's something about the way the PlayStation Store is arranged and how people have to dig through it to find stuff." After Doki-Doki Universe's struggles, Johnson looked for something more comfortable to tackle next, and every sign pointed to ToeJam & Earl. "I've been wanting to do it for a long time," he says. "I have tried pitching ToeJam & Earl to publishers periodically over the years, but I've been doing different projects. Once I'm buried in a game, I'm out of commission for a year-and-a-half or two years. And then I have this window of opportunity between products where I can raise my head up and take another shot at it. Now, because of crowd-sourced funding, it felt like a really good opportunity." Johnson and his small team launched a Kickstarter today to fund the new ToeJam & Earl project. They're seeking $400,000 for the game, which they intend to bring to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U "and maybe 3DS." Johnson also mentions the possibility of doing a mobile version for tablets, though he clarifies that they won't "do any funky monetizing." In addition to the availability of crowdfunding, Johnson also notes the wave of nostalgia in gaming at the moment. He cites a GameSpot editorial from last year titled "We Need a New ToeJam & Earl As Soon As Possible." "I know that such a game would be a wild success, so I can only hope that we're treated to a new entry in the not-too-distant future," reads the piece by Tom McShea. Johnson laughs off the high praise, calling it "a very subtle article," with a wink, but he's clearly flattered. "I don't know why there's so much nostalgia these days," he says. "I think it's the age people are at and the fact that social media makes it so easy for people to tweet out, ‘Hey, wasn't this cool?'" That nostalgia means Johnson is comfortable with going back to the first game for inspiration. The new ToeJam & Earl will return to an isometric view with a fixed camera. It will retain the original game's structure, of slowly working your way up a series of floating islands. And it will have the same "undercurrent of social commentary," as Johnson describes it. "We're kind of splitting the difference in a way," he says. "We're going to make it feel very much reminiscent of the first game, much moreso than ToeJam & Earl 3 was, and it's going to look more like that. But it's also not just a straight-up remake. There's going to be a bunch of fun new things. There's a long list of things I want to get in. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we'll have the resources and the time to do it." This screenshot from an early build of the new ToeJam & Earl project was provided for the article by Greg Johnson.A crowd of jubilant Proviso Together supporters gathers at McGaffer's Saloon in Forest Park on April 4. | William Camargo/Staff
A crowd of jubilant Proviso Together supporters gathers at McGaffer's Saloon in Forest Park on April 4. | William Camargo/Staff
A crowd of jubilant Proviso Together supporters gathers at McGaffer's Saloon in Forest Park on April 4. | William Camargo/Staff
A crowd of jubilant Proviso Together supporters gathers at McGaffer's Saloon in Forest Park on April 4. | William Camargo/Staff
By THOMAS VOGEL
Contributing Reporter
The Proviso Together slate completed a historic election night sweep, April 4, as its four candidates all secured a spot on Proviso District 209's high school board, guaranteeing a clear majority for the reform-minded group.
Amanda J. Grant of Westchester was the top vote-getter with 7,401 (15.05%). Samuel Valtierrez of Melrose Park was second, with 6,878 (13.99%). Arbdella "Della" Patterson of Maywood was third with 6,875 (13.98%) and Rodney Alexander of Bellwood finished fourth with 6,455 (13.13%).
The four other candidates, who ran as the Proviso First slate, included three incumbents. Brian M. Cross of Westchester, Daniel J. Adams of Melrose Park and Teresa D. McKelvy of Berkeley were all current board members who failed to secure re-election.
Voters could choose four candidates, each for a four-year term, among the eight-candidate field.
Jacqueline M. Walton of Bellwood, Proviso First's fourth member, placed seventh with 5,111 votes (10.39%).
Adams was fifth with 6,031 votes (12.27%).
McKelvy was sixth with 5,679 votes (11.55%).
Cross was eighth with 4,742 votes (9.64%).
"The voters have spoken. They've asked for a change," Cross said when reached by phone the morning after the election. "I wish the board members-elect the very best in their future endeavors."
A total of 14,504 votes were cast in the April 4 election, an increase of 2,352 votes from the last election in 2015.
Ned Wagner and Claudia Medina of Forest Park and Theresa Kelly of Maywood, current board members elected in 2015, supported Proviso Together in this election.
"We give [D209 Superintendent Jesse] Rodriguez carte blanche to focus on education, empowerment and excellence for all children in the district. Not crazy politics, or politicians," Medina said in an email to the Review on April 5. "The community wants schools to be focused on advancing children for a great tomorrow. And that is what we are going to do."
Dozens of Proviso Together supporters packed an enclosed outdoor patio at McGaffer's to celebrate the campaign, cheering and chanting enthusiastically throughout the night as returns were announced.
"The amount of time, energy and passion from hundreds of people across 10 towns, it's incredible," said Connie Brown, Proviso Together's political committee chairperson, Tuesday night. "We finally have a board without politicians on it. These guys have been fighting for so long to make that happen."
The assembled supporters were geographically diverse with Forest Parkers, including Village Administrator Tim Gillian, mingling with voters from Maywood, Melrose Park and Bellwood.
"Basic training, pledging my fraternity, and campaigning," said Alexander, a former Marine. "Those are the hardest things I've ever done in my life."
Valtierrez was tired from a 14-hour day of hopping between polling places, but he remained positive.
"I'm very excited. It was a tough day," he said. "I'm very emotional right now."
Supporters repeatedly mentioned the fact that Proviso Together's candidates were all former, future or current parents of D209 children as a top reason for their support.
Still, others cautioned that change for the troubled district will take time.
"This gave us control of the board," said Gary Woll, a retired Elmwood Park High School teacher and a longtime resident of Maywood. "Now we have to prove ourselves. It's gonna be incremental. But I believe in these folks."ISLAMABAD: Citing'reservations over some matters', the Muttahida Qaumi Movement did not attend a joint meeting called by opposition party leaders on Tuesday to formulate a joint strategy after the prime minister’s speech in parliament addressing allegations stemming from the Panama Papers leak.
Sources told Geo News that the leadership of the MQM had problems with how some leaders in the opposition had also been named in the Panama Papers for having offshore companies.
The joint opposition held the meeting today to devise its future strategy after the prime minister’s speech in the assembly the previous day. The meeting was chaired by Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah.
Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid chief Pervez Elahi said that the opposition was united. "We will present 70 questions to the government and add to their worries."
On Monday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked Parliament to form a committee to investigate allegations stemming from the Panama Papers leak but opposition lawmakers walked out, saying he had evaded questions about his family's affairs.
"We are not afraid of anything and present ourselves for accountability," Nawaz told Parliament. “I request the House to join me in formulating a charter, like the one I had signed with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (late), to investigate Panama Papers,” he added.
The prime minister, who presented his tax record before the House and gave details about his family’s assets abroad and sources of financing, said further evidence could be presented to the committee.
Earlier, PML-N parliamentarians raised full throated slogans on the arrival of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the House. The PTI members retaliated with anti-Nawaz slogans when their party Chairman Imran Khan entered the National Assembly hall.Last night, 19,150 St. Louis Blues fans, packed into the Scottrade Center to watch the Blues do battle against the hated Chicago Blackhawks, erupted with joy when it was announced that St. Louis would host the Blackhawks in the NHL’s premiere outdoor event, the 2017 Winter Classic.
After watching a thrilling shootout victory, those who bled blue began making their way to the exits, excitedly chattering about the game, and the upcoming Winter Classic.
With the Blackhawks defeated however, NBC phoned the NHL and made some slight modifications to the 2017 Winter Classic.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reportedly shoved Blues PA announcer Tom Calhoun out of his chair and commandeered the public address system.
“Is this thing on?” – Gary Bettman
“There have been some, errr, changes to the Winter Classic plans.” Mr. Bettman began. “Due to the significant and very probable possibility that the Blues could embarrass the Blackhawks in an outdoor game next year, and in order to maximize TV ratings, Chicago will instead play a split-squad game against themselves at Busch Stadium for the 2016 Winter Classic, rather than play the Blues as originally planned.”
Fans were none too pleased with the news, and cries of “that wasn’t part of the deal!” could be heard.
A deep ominous voice then said “I am altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further.”
After the boos died down, Bettman was made available to reporters and had this to say:
“It’s a great opportunity for the city of St. Louis, you get to host the legendary Chicago Blackhawks for an outdoor game, Busch Stadium will look brilliant in Blackhawks Red!”
Bettman was later checked into a hospital, reporting his ears were still ringing from all the boos.Fans of Microsoft Windows now have something to look forward to in 2014 if newly leaked information is correct. A "hacker" going by the name of, WZor, says that we can expect to see Redmond release Windows 9 in October of this year, not the following April as previously expected.
WZor has been accurate in the past, and many industry insiders believe him to have insiders deep within Microsoft, if not an actual Microsoft employee himself. The new release date rumor came in the form of a Tweet which read "Win 9 released in April 2015? No! No! No!..WIN RTM-0 RELEASED SIGN-OFF DEADLINE IN 21 OCTOBER 2014 :)" In any event, lets just hope that Microsoft returns to their senses and brings back something more similar to Windows 7 instead of the atrocity that Windows 8 is turning out to be.Digitoday
"Oled-televisioiden hinnat putoavat jo liiankin nopeasti"
Mainos (Teksti jatkuu alla) Mainos päättyy
– Oled-televisioiden hinnat putoavat jo liiankin nopeasti, väittää LG:n tuoteasiantuntija– Kun julkaisimme ensimmäisen 55-tuumaisen oled-televisiomme, sen hinta oli aluksi noin 9000 euroa. Noin yhdeksässä kuukaudessa sen hinta oli pudonnut 2000 euroon.Åhsgrenin mukaan oled-televisoiden hinnat ovat pudonneet nopeammin kuin lcd- ja plasmatelevisioiden, mutta ovat vielä selvästi korkeampia.Hinnan pudotuksen syynä on tuotantomäärien kasvaminen. Niiden valmistus on silti vielä kalliimpaa kuin lcd-näyttöjen, sillä niiden valmistaminen on herkkä häiriöille. Åhsgrenin mukaan yksi kahdestakymmenestä oled-näytöstä menee pilalle valmistuksessa, kun taas lcd-näyttöjen valmistus on nykyään tehokkaampaa.Hintoja painaa kuitenkin tuotannon kasvu, kun oled-tehtaiden määrä lisääntyy.Åhsgren esitteli torstaina yhtiön uusia kolmannen sukupolven oled-televisiomalleja Tukholmassa toimittajille suunnatussa tapahtumassa.Yhtiön uusi EF950V-televisio ja sen kaareva sisarmalli EG960V esiteltiin alunperin Berliinissä IFA-messuilla syyskuun alkupuolella.LG:n mukaan 55- ja 65-tuumaiset mallit ovat tulossa kauppoihin lokakuussa.Oled-tekniikkaa pidetään kuvan laadun kannalta parempana kuin lcd- ja plasma-tekniikkaa kontrastin ja väritoiston kannalta. Koska kuvan jokainen pikseli on valaiseva, ei niissä tarvita taustavalaisua lcd-näyttöjen tapaan.Åhsgrenin mukaan LG on myynyt jo kymmeniä tuhansia oled-televisioita Pohjoismaihin. Kysyntä on kasvussa, mutta sitä jarruttavat vanhat myytit.– Jotkut kilpailijat väittävät yhä, etteivät oled-näytöt kestä yhtä pitkään kuin lcd-näytöt, Åhsgren sanoo.Hänen mukaansa tämä pitikin paikkansa, mutta tekniikkaa on kehitetty. LG lupaa televisoilleen 30 000 katselutuntia, ennenkuin näyttö haalistuu puoleen alkuperäisestä.Wildlife hospital steps in after woman tries to sell bunnies as food on Craigslist
A Pleasant Prairie woman is in some hot water with the Department of Natural Resources after trying to sell seven live baby rabbits on Craigslist as food.
Seven baby bunnies almost sold for food on Craigslist have \"new lease on life\" thanks to the people at \"Fellow mortals.\"
\"The fact that people would think these beautiful little babies would be used as good for something else. I can't speak to what they were thinking,\" said Yvonne Wallace Blane, who is the director of rehabilitation at the wildlife facility, which is not a shelter.
Just eight days old the bunnies were being sold as food for snakes on Craigslist, that is until a DNR agent was alerted about the situation and brought them to \"Fellow mortals,\" a place that takes in wild birds and other non predatory mammals, to be rehabbed and released into the wild.
\"(They were) In pretty good shape but dehydrated and thin because they had missed an entire day of feeding. Tto put that into perspective that's like a human baby missing 12 days of feeding,\" said Wallace Blane.
Wallace Blane says the best thing to do if you see an animal in the wild that is possibly in distress, is to call a rehabilitator, who will provide all the proper care, especially feeding, for free.
\"You may not see results of improper feeding for weeks or months but it ends up being bones that are fragile or fur that falls out,\" said Wallace Blane.
She says they get no money from the government, they are a strictly privately funded service, and are always looking for donations.
All of the animals start by receiving care in the hospital but as their healing process grows they're then moved outside into cages and eventually back into the wild.
Everything is done so that it mimics the wild, in fact, there's very little talking even allowed inside the facility.
\"We don't pet these animals we don't interact with them anymore than necessary and to add to their experience and growing wild we have foster parents so they can imprint from their own species,\" she said.
Wallace Blane hopes the woman has learned a lesson.
\"He didn't give the woman a ticket because he said he didn't think she knew what she was doing,\" she said.
And is hopeful all seven bunnies will make a full recovery.
The staff at fellow mortals says if you find wildlife give them a call first. To make a donation, click here: http://fellowmortals.org/
Share this article:
emailGet 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
Enjoying regular sex can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease - but the news isn't so great for women.
Research found having sex several times a week can slash levels of homocysteine in men, whereas women benefit far less from regular romps.
The harmful chemical is found in the blood and can trigger potentially life-threatening cardiac problems.
It's thought men getting regular sex often have better circulation and healthier blood vessels. This is crucial for preventing a build-up of homocysteine.
But scientists say women benefit much less because sexual arousal is less dependent on having a healthy blood flow, which is a key factor in keeping homocysteine under control.
(Image: Getty Images)
Every year, around 73,000 people in Britain die from coronary heart disease. It remains the country's biggest killer.
Doctors have suspected for years that frequent sex can reduce the risks.
One previous study found intercourse twice a week halved a man's chances of clogged arteries compared to those indulging less than once a month.
Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now
But there has been little scientific evidence to explain why a healthy sex life protects against illness.
The latest findings, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, are the first to show it works by driving down homocysteine levels.
The chemical is a vital building block of proteins and occurs naturally in the body.
(Image: Getty Images)
But excess levels, which can be caused by poor diet, are thought to damage blood vessels supplying the heart - raising the risk of a deadly clot forming.
A major review of scientific data in 2015 found raised homocysteine levels increased the risk of death from heart disease by 66 per cent.
And last year experts at Boston University discovered the chances of a stroke jumped by almost a third in those with high readings.
It has also been linked with Alzheimer's disease and cancer.
Researchers from the National Defence Medical Centre in Taiwan tracked more than 2,000 men and women, aged from 20 to 59.
They analysed blood samples to measure levels of homocysteine and matched the results up with volunteers' sexual activity.
(Image: Getty)
The results showed the lowest traces of the chemical were found in men claiming to have sex at least twice a week, while the highest readings were found in those restricted to less than once a month.
But in women there was no significant variation.
Researchers called on doctors to advise male patients at risk of heart disease to have more sex.
In a report on their findings they said: "This is the first study of its kind to evaluate the correlation between sexual frequency and homocysteine levels.
"A good quality sex life, frequent sex and libido are all related to health in the middle-aged and elderly.
"Increased sexual frequency could have a protective effect on general health and quality of life - especially in men - so doctors should support patients' sexual activity."
Dr Mike Knapton from the British Heart Foundation said the study produced an 'interesting result' but did not prove regular sex reduced homocysteine levels.
He said: "A relationship does exist between sex and heart disease risk.
"Checking your blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as keeping active and not smoking, remain the best ways to ensure a healthy future."By Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto
With the first debate less than two weeks away, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a tight race for the presidency nationally. Clinton has just a 2-point edge in a two-way match-up among likely voters. The race is tied when third party candidates are included. Among the broader electorate of registered voters, Clinton leads Trump by five points.
One disadvantage for Clinton is diminished voter enthusiasm. Democrats are less enthusiastic about voting now than they were in August.
More than four in 10 voters think each presidential candidate should release more of their medical records. This poll was conducted before either candidate’s recent release of medical information.
With Election Day just under eight weeks away, the race for President nationwide is tight. In a two-way match-up, Clinton has a slim edge over Trump, 46 - 44 percent among likely voters who support or lean toward a candidate.
This is the first national poll in which CBS News and the New York Times have measured the presidential race among likely voters. The measure for likely voters takes into account voters’ reported intent to vote, enthusiasm about voting and other factors that historically affect an individual’s decision to vote.
Among the broader electorate – registered voters nationwide – Clinton leads Trump by five points, 46 percent to 41 percent.
When third party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are factored in, the race is tied, with Trump and Clinton each getting the backing of 42 percent of likely voters. While Clinton and Trump retain most of their support when Johnson and Stein are included, slightly more of Clinton’s supporters move to Johnson or Stein, compared to Trump’s supporters.
Among registered voters, Clinton has a slight edge over Trump in a four-way contest.
Most Clinton and Trump voters say they’re sticking with their candidate. Ninety-two percent of Trump voters and 94 percent of Clinton voters say their choice is set. Few say they will change their minds before the election.
Enthusiasm and Strength of Support
Thirty-six percent of registered voters overall now say they are very enthusiastic about voting, the same as a month ago. But one disadvantage for Clinton is that enthusiasm among Republican voters has remained steady, while enthusiasm among Democrats has dropped. Among Democratic voters, the percentage that is at least somewhat enthusiastic has dropped from 77 percent in August to 64 percent today, while the percentage of Democrats who are very enthusiastic has dropped nine points – from 47 percent to 38 percent.
More specifically, Trump supporters are more excited about voting than Clinton’s supporters are. Forty-five percent of Trump voters say they are very enthusiastic about voting, compared to 36 percent of Clinton backers who feel that way.
Just over half of each candidate’s voters say they strongly support their candidate, but for many, support is not so strong - including a quarter who are voting for their candidate because they dislike the other choice.
Who’s Supporting Whom?
Trump now garners support from just under nine in ten Republican voters, as does Clinton among Democrats.
A look at the candidates’ demographic support also illustrates why the race is close. A gender gap remains: Trump has a double-digit lead over Clinton among men, while Clinton is ahead by a similar margin among women. Trump continues to struggle with African American voters but has an advantage over Clinton among whites.
Whites without a college degree are strong supporters of Trump (58 percent back him), while Clinton leads Trump among white voters with a college degree.
Clinton is ahead of Trump among voters under 30 but she is not getting the level of support Barack Obama received in 2012. 48 percent of young voters are currently backing her, while Obama won 60 percent of the young vote in 2012. Only 29 percent of young voters are supporting Trump, but 21 percent say they’ll vote for someone else or won’t vote.
The Candidates’ Medical Records
After Clinton’s bout of illness at the 9/11 ceremony and the announcement of her pneumonia diagnosis, more than four in 10 voters think each presidential candidate should release more of their medical records. About as many think the candidates have released enough information about their health already. The poll was conducted before either candidate’s recent release of medical records.
Over half of Republicans think Clinton should release more medical records concerning her health, but 52 percent think their nominee has released enough information already. Among Democrats, most (53 percent) say Clinton has released enough health information already, but want Trump to release more of his records.
This poll was conducted by telephone September 9-13, 2016 among a random sample of 1,753 adults nationwide, including 1,433 registered voters. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News and The New York Times by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.
The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone.
Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers.
The data have been weighted to reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables.
The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample and the sample of registered voters could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly.
The sample of likely voters is modeled among registered voters (N=1,433), assigning each respondent a probability of voting based on their responses. The margin of error for the sample of likely voters is plus or minus three points.
This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.I believe in people. I feel, love, need and respect people above all else, including the arts, natural scenery, organized piety, or nationalistic superstructures. One human figure on the slope of a mountain can make the whole mountain disappear for me. One person fighting for the truth can disqualify for me the platitudes of centuries. And one human being who meets with injustice can render invalid the entire system which has dispensed it.
I believe that man’s noblest endowment is his capacity to change. Armed with reason, he can see two sides and choose: he can be divinely wrong. I believe in man’s right to be wrong. Out of this right he has built, laboriously and lovingly, something we reverently call democracy. He has done it the hard way and continues to do it the hard way–by reason, by choosing, by error and rectification, by the difficult, slow method in which the dignity of A is acknowledged by B, without impairing the dignity of C. Man cannot have dignity without loving the dignity of his fellow.
I believe in the potential of people. I cannot rest passively with those who give up in the name of “human nature.” Human nature is only animal nature if it is obliged to remain static. Without growth, without metamorphosis, there is no godhead. If we believe that man can never achieve a society without wars, then we are condemned to wars forever. This is the easy way. But the laborious, loving way, the way of dignity and divinity, presupposes a belief in people and in their capacity to change, grow, communicate, and love.
I believe in man’s unconscious mind, the deep spring from which comes his power to communicate and to love. For me, all art is a combination of these powers; for if love is the way we have of communicating personally in the deepest way, they what art can do is to extend this communication, magnify it, and carry it to vastly greater numbers of people. Therefore art is valid for the warmth and love it carries within it, even if it be the lightest entertainment, or the bitterest satire, or the most shattering tragedy.
I believe that my country is the place where all these things I have been speaking of are happening in the most manifest way. American is at the beginning of her greatest period in history–a period of leadership in science, art, and human progress toward the democratic ideal. I believe that she is at a critical point in this moment, and that she needs us to believe more strongly than ever before, in her and in one another, in our ability to grow and change, in our mutual dignity, in our democratic method. We must encourage thought, free and creative. We must respect privacy. We must observe taste by not exploiting our sorrows, successes, or passions. We must learn to know ourselves better through art. We must rely more on the unconscious, inspirational side of man. We must not enslave ourselves to dogma. We must believe in the attainability of good. We must believe, without fear, in people.
Composer, conductor, pianist and educator Leonard Bernstein was longtime music director of the New York Philharmonic, where he led the highly successfuly Young People`s Concerts series. Bernstein forged a new relationship between classical and popular music with his compositions "West Side Story," "On the Town." "Candide" and others.
Donate If you enjoyed this essay, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to This I Believe, Inc.Our spelling practice includes an entire years worth of practice for your student. We offer research based spelling lists, a variety of spelling activities to practice the words, and spelling jobs for more word study. We also offer spelling test paper when your ready to assess. Best of all, spelling activities are entirely free for teachers and homeschool educators.
Hover over an image to see what the PDF looks like. Then you can click on any one of the images to pull up the PDF. You can then print the PDF.
Spelling Lists
ABC Order
ABC Order A2– Practice spelling list A2 with this ABC order practice activity
ABC Order– Get more ABC Order worksheets to support spelling lists
Spelling Vocabulary
Matching Words– Practice spelling list A1 with this matching words practice activity
Matching Words– Practice spelling list A3 with this matching words practice activity
Matching Words– Practice spelling list A2 with this matching words practice activity
Spelling Vocabulary– Get more Spelling Vocabulary worksheets to support 1st Grade spelling lists
Word Scramble
Word Scramble– Practice spelling list A1 with this scrambled words practice activity
Word Scramble– Practice spelling list A3 with this scrambled words practice activity
Word Scramble– Practice spelling list A2 with this scrambled words practice activity
Word Scramble– Get More Word Scramble worksheets to support 1st grade spelling lists
Word Search Puzzles
Word Search A1– Practice spelling list A1 with this spelling word search puzzle
Word Search A3– Practice spelling list A3 with this spelling word search puzzle
Word Search A2– Practice spelling list A2 with this spelling word search puzzle
Word Search Puzzles– Get more Word Search Puzzles to support 1st grade spelling lists
Thank you for checking out our Spelling worksheets. Come back often as we are always adding new activities for teachers and students to enjoy.
If you’re looking to practice math concepts including math facts, math computations, fractions, counting money and more, you can find it here- Math Worksheets. For language arts practice, such as phonics and diagramming, you can find it here- Language Arts Worksheets We also offer a ton of fun activities including mazes, decoding, coloring pages, and more. Find it here- Fun Activities
More free activities for kids will be coming soon. Come back often to see what’s new!
Teaching Squared: Free Educational ResourcesCLOSE Delaware County Sheriff Ray Dudley speaks to The Star Press Douglas Walker / The Star press
Buy Photo Police were at this Muncie residence Thursday morning. One woman was dead of a gunshot wound. (Photo: Douglas Walker / The Star Press)Buy Photo
MUNCIE — A Muncie man faces a murder charge in the early Thursday shooting death of his mother.
Richard Milton Franks, 42, was booked into the Delaware County jail at 5:42 p.m., about 12 hours after he was taken into custody in a traffic stop in northwest Muncie.
Authorities said Richard Franks provided investigators with a confession.
Franks was one of two “people of interest” questioned after the body of his |
opportunities. Over the course of the night, Jonah and Walter will be pushed to the edge, and will be forced to confront their demons for better or worse.
Walter Braeburn: Ed David
Jonah Braeburn: Brandon David
Gala Gold: *Casting*
Newton Pippin: Carlton Bowie
Braeburn will be an Impossible Astronaut production.
"The CREW of BRAEBURN"
Written & Directed by: Matt Pye & Josh Mitton
Produced by: Sabra Summers, Matt Pye and Josh Mitton
Cinematography by: Josh Mitton
Music & Score by: Matt Pye
Art Direction by: Sabra Summers
Sound Design by: Brandon David & Matt Pye
Edited by: Matt Pye & Josh Mitton
Set Design and Fabrication by: Mitch Mitton
"Here are samples of Matt & Josh's film work."
"Here are examples of Sabra's design Work"
"Here is a sample of Mitch Mitton's Fabrication Work"
"Here are sample musical sketches of the score"
"Walter's Dream" by: Matt Pye
"Walter's Theme" by: Matt Pye
"Newton Pippin's Party" by: Matt Pye
"Jonah's Theme" by: Matt Pye
CONCEPT ART: by Tyler Lewis-Goshen
"Spying at Orion's Orchard"
CONCEPT ART: by Tyler Lewis-Goshen
"Walter's Dream"
CONCEPT ART: by Matt Pye
"Gala Gold's Golden Apples"
BUSINESSES ASSOCIATED WITH BRAEBURN:
impossible Astronaut
Creative Fiasco
Mitton Theme Design
Beard Envy T-Shirts
True Tone Recording Studios
Matt Pye Music
Tyler Lewis-Goshin Concept Art
Braeburn Facebook
Impossible Astronaut YoutubeThere have already been many rumors about the Galaxy S7, the upcoming flagship’s display panel may have been leaked as well, and we’re bound to see more before Samsung unveils the device at MWC 2016 next month. A new report out of Korea claims to cite a Samsung employee who has leaked some specifications of the Galaxy S7, there’s no way to confirm really if the person that has leaked all of this information really is a Samsung employee or is just making assumptions, so keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet.
The alleged employee claims that all variants of the Galaxy S7 will feature a black chassis to lend the handsets a premium feel, adding that Samsung will particularly market the Galaxy S7’s ability to take great pictures in low-light conditions, made possible by its 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture. It has been previously reported that instead of running in the megapixel race Samsung has opted for a 12-megapixel camera for the Galaxy S7 as opposed to the 16-megapixel camera in the Galaxy S6, however the new camera will have a larger sensor and lens improvements to allow for better mobile photography performance particularly in low-light, and won’t protrude so there won’t be a camera hump on the back of the device. The alleged employee also claims that the Galaxy S7 will be dust and water resistant, and reiterates something we’ve already confirmed, that the upcoming flagship does feature a microSD card slot. Black, White, Silver and Gold will be the color options, the Galaxy S7 is expected to be released by early March.
Since none of this comes from an official or verified source it’s best to take this information with a healthy dose of salt for now, most rumors are based on prototypes anyway, so one can’t really be sure of what the final version will look until it’s unveiled. Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S7 at Mobile World Congress 2016 next month.
SourceDEVON, Chicago - Markets, bakeries and hair salons echo with memories of Iraq, and names like Baghdad and Sumeria dot the cityscape of one of Chicago's most vibrant neighbourhoods, where amid the South Asian and Orthodox Jewish shops that line the area sits the city's largest Iraqi neighbourhood - Devon. A closer look reveals that the flag hanging in most windows is the vibrant red, white, and blue tricolour of the Assyrians, and inside most shops it is Syriac - a distant relative of Aramaic, the language of Jesus - that is spoken, with Arabic mixed in to fill in the gaps.
Chicago is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of Assyrians, a mostly Christian community that hails from northern Iraq and neighbouring areas in Syria, Turkey and Iran.
Around 80,000 Assyrians are thought to call the city home, while another 100,000 live in nearby Detroit. There are thought to be only around 1.2 million Assyrians worldwide (though some estimate the number as high as 3-4 million), meaning that the American Midwest is home to one of the most important concentrations."
Yet the community’s vibrancy masks the fact that the Syriac language is slowly dying out. Assyrians in the United States are increasingly switching to English, trying their hardest to get ahead while adopting a wait-and-see attitude toward their homelands.
While the community’s dispersion has created challenges, it has also opened up opportunities. A Chicago-based group named Rinyo - Syriac for “thought” or "idea" - is hoping to spark a global revolution in the way the language is learned, and they have already managed to bring major changes into this conservative community’s approach to preserving their language.
Chicago-based group named Rinyo - Syriac for “thought” or "idea" - is hoping to spark a global revolution in the way the language is learned (Photo courtesy of Rinyo)
‘We broadcast our song just miles away from IS’
Rinyo was founded in 2011, when physician Robby Edo was visiting his family in Qamishli, a town in Syria near the Iraqi border with a large Assyrian population. He noticed that despite the long history of Syriac literature, few books or materials were published in the language anymore. Similar to neighbouring Iraq, the Syrian government has long emphasised Arabic as a national language at the expense of minority languages like Syriac and Kurdish.
Robby spoke to his brother Hedro, a software designer, about the need for more written materials in Syriac to help the younger generation learn, and they began working on a short cartoon.
“We found people who were thinking like us and wanted to produce materials to help the language live,” Hedro told Middle East Eye. “And now we have Rinyo: a multi-dialect and multicultural global entity.”
Rinyo has since developed interactive storybooks and alphabet lessons that have reached all corners of the Syriac universe. The group conducted numerous tours visiting Syriac-speaking communities in Iraq and Syria, as well as in the diaspora in Sweden, Germany and many US states.
Rinyo even set up a technology lab in Qamishli, employing 10 people on behind-the-scenes technical aspects of the applications. Not only has Rinyo revived interest in Syriac, it is also creating jobs in a war-torn country where the economic situation and political uncertainty have driven many Syrians, especially from the Assyrian minority, to emigrate.
Members of Rinyo work on a cartoon at the group's technology centre in Qamishli, Syria (Photo courtesy of Rinyo)
Marganita Samuel, a native of the northern Iraqi city of Duhok, is active in Rinyo along with her sister. While they have both volunteered for years teaching Syriac in Sunday School, Samuel complained that language teachers are stuck using out-dated and uninspiring materials.
“As teachers, we only spend two hours a week teaching them. But the Rinyo applications are completely interactive, and with the memory games they get more exposure and retain more.”
Members of Rinyo visit a school in the Assyrian village of Bakhtmi in northern Iraq, during a tour to promote their educational materials (Photo courtesy of Rinyo)
Her sister Ramina Samuel, Rinyo’s secretary, agreed: “When we ask people why they don’t speak Syriac with their kids, a lot of them say it’s because they don’t have any Syriac resources from which to teach them. Rinyo is helping us catch up with other communities by creating these resources.”
Spurred on by the group’s success, Assyrians have reached out around the world. Samuel told MEE that some people send lullabies their grandparents used to sing, asking for them to be made into applications so they can be preserved. Not only is Rinyo helping parents pass on the language, it is also helping them revive oral traditions that are in danger of dying out.
“Our ‘Silent Night’ song in Syriac was even broadcast at Christmas in al-Qosh, an Assyrian town in northern Iraq just a few miles away from the ISIS frontlines,” Ramina told MEE. “It’s so exciting!”
Assyrians recall 1915 killings
Although there have been Assyrians in the US since the mid-1800s, their numbers have increased rapidly in Chicago as a result of the instability that began with the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and worsened when the Islamic State group invaded northern Iraq in 2014.
The recent wars are hardly the Assyrians’ first brush with violence. Their homeland sits in a region with multiple religions, ethnicities and cultures existing together in a rich mosaic of the kind that has long characterised the Middle East. The area’s diversity, however, was torn asunder beginning in 1915, when - as the Ottoman Empire began to collapse - authorities carried out a series of mass killings and deportations that culminated in the genocide of around 1.5 million ethnic Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks.
While the Armenian Genocide is widely remembered, the killing of 300,000 Assyrians in what the community calls the Seyfo, or sword, is little known. The genocide has cast a shadow ever since, as the majority of Assyrians fled their homeland as refugees and joined communities in Iraq, Syria and Iran. Others were offered refuge further afield in Arab countries such as Palestine or Lebanon.
Part of the difficulty in making reliable estimates of Assyrian population figures today is due to an ongoing dispute over what to call them. Assyrians are split between three churches: the Assyrian Church of the East, the Syrian Orthodox Church, and the Chaldean Catholic Church. The groups often eschew their single ethnic identity and instead call themselves Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean in reference to their churches.
All three groups speak the Syriac language which they call Sureth in Syriac or Sirianni in Arabic; it is only in English that they are divided over their name.
Constructing a single Syriac
For Rinyo, the language challenge is complex. Syriac has two main dialects - Eastern and Western - and most applications are in both. But each dialect has numerous sub-dialects, not all of which are totally mutually comprehensible, and all of these dialects are only spoken. There is a shared classical written version, but it is never spoken except in formal settings.
As a result, Rinyo members are constantly debating what word to use in the apps. In the process they are developing a standardised spoken variant of the language where none previously existed.
But this complexity is nothing new for them. Ramina and Marganita, for example, grew up speaking two very different Eastern sub-dialects, one from Turkey and the other Iran.
“We struggled,” Ramina told MEE, adding that it took years for them to be able to figure out how to navigate both.
“If we get stuck on a word where half the population uses one word but the other half uses another, we try to use both. But sometimes we find out that within each dialect there are five different ways to say it, in which case we have to go back to the classical version to find a word,” Robby explained.
“Our vision for the future is that we will be able to explore the sub-dialects further and look at the rich traditions that our communities have created… We think that cultural diversity is beautiful,” Robby added.
A brighter future?
In a few short years, Rinyo has managed to revitalise community passion for language preservation, but some fear it may be too little, too late.
Father Gewargis Suleiman is the priest at Chicago’s Assyrian St George’s Cathedral. He previously served the church in Syria and Iraq, where he was born, but has lived in Chicago since 2012.
“Back in Iraq, we studied the language at church and spoke Syriac at home,” Suleiman told MEE. “But kids here, even the ones who speak the language, are switching to English because it’s easier.”
Suleiman stressed that the wider problem is the lack of strong community institutions in the US given the perpetual focus on hardships back home.
“Our people in Iraq and Syria have gone through a lot of difficulties since 1980. During all these years, we focused on how we could financially help the people there. So any money that people had, they sent back. They never focused on keeping ourselves together here,” he said.
“We need to differentiate between our struggles and their struggles, and take care of ourselves first so we can be strong for them too,” he added.
It’s unclear whether Rinyo’s success will be enough to ensure the survival of this ancient language. But the commitment to challenging the status quo is a ray of hope for a community that has lived too long in the shadow of its own extinction.
“With everything going on back home, we feel so helpless. But Rinyo is something I can do for my community, my culture, and my language,” Ramina told MEE.
“Our community is fatigued from giving because there’s always a crisis going on,” she continued. “But Rinyo is free, and our goal is to spread it as far and wide as possible.”
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A man has been charged in a string of distraction thefts from unsuspecting victims who are just going about their daily lives in Vancouver.
The victims are often elderly or of visible minority groups.
Vancouver Police believe the 21-year-old is just one person involved in a suspected crime ring operating across the city — and potentially across the country.
Sergeant Randy Fincham says four people were arrested at YVR earlier this week.
“After a fairly lengthy investigation and a number of tips that came in from the public, we were able to identify four men that we believe were responsible for the distraction thefts,” he says. “On December 2nd, all four men were taken into custody as they attempted to board a flight out of Vancouver, flying to eastern Canada.”
Spaniol Alexandru has been charged with one count of theft under $5,000 but the other three were released.
Fincham says they could be charged, too, but more witnesses need to come forward with information in the case.
In the last two weeks, crooks have used sleight-of-hand techniques to swipe expensive, usually gold, jewels off nine victims and then leave behind worthless trinkets.
Police say these types of thefts have been happening for a couple of years now, and losses total upwards of $150,000.Required drug tests for people seeking welfare benefits ended up costing taxpayers more than it saved and failed to curb the number of prospective applicants, data used against the state in an ongoing legal battle shows.
The findings — that only 108 of the 4,086 people who took a drug test failed — are additional ammunition for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which sued the state and won a temporary ban on the drug-testing program in October, said ACLU spokesman Derek Newton.
Attorneys for the state immediately appealed the ban, and will face off against the ACLU again at the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta and the U.S. District Court in Orlando in coming months.
The costs and benefits of the law — and the outcome of the court case — could reverberate nationwide. This week, Georgia passed its own drug welfare law.
Since Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill into law last year, 25 states have considered similar legislation, Newton said.
Data about the law's cost may impact the court of public opinion, but Jenn Meale, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said it won't play a role in the legal proceedings.
That's because ACLU's case rests on whether the law violates the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against "unreasonable searches" by the government.
"Any costs associated with the program are irrelevant to the analysis of whether the statute is constitutional," Meale said.
Of the 4,086 applicants who scheduled drug tests while the law was enforced, 108 people, or 2.6 percent, failed, most often testing positive for marijuana. About 40 people scheduled tests but canceled them, according to the Department of Children and Families, which oversees Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, known as the TANF program.
The numbers, confirming previous estimates, show that taxpayers spent $118,140 to reimburse people for drug test costs, at an average of $35 per screening.
The state's net loss? $45,780.
"That's not counting attorneys and court fees and the thousands of hours of staff time it took to implement this policy," Newton said.
The law also didn't impact the number of people who applied for benefits.
The findings don't ruffle supporters of the law, who say that its primary purpose is to make sure taxpayer money doesn't supplement drug use.
"It's not about money, it's about the drug issue," said Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Lecanto, who sponsored the legislation. "It's about using every tool we have in the toolbox to fight drugs."
Jackie Schutz, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, said the governor agreed: The drug welfare law is about protecting children and getting parents back to work.
"It is important to ensure that people who receive TANF dollars use the cash assistance appropriately and not spend it on illegal drugs," she said.
Smith said he believes the law helps keep people off drugs and that there's undocumented savings in the form of less prison costs and fewer broken families.
He sponsored another bill in 2012, recently signed into law by Scott, to allow state agencies to drug test their employees and fire those who test positive.
That law is also expected to cost money and to yield lawsuits.
@britt_alanaMedia playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Victoria Balch is learning to walk again, using a prosthetic
A woman who required a leg amputation following a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers theme park has described the operation as a "relief".
Victoria Balch, 20, from Lancashire, had six rounds of surgery in a bid to save her leg.
But she told the Victoria Derbyshire programme the pain had become a burden following an infection.
Ms Balch was one of five people who sustained serious injuries on the Smiler ride on 2 June.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Speaking in September: Victoria Balch told Victoria Derbyshire the ride collided with empty carriage in front several times
She was sitting in the front of the ride alongside Leah Washington, Joe Pugh and Daniel Thorpe, when it hit an empty carriage.
The crash left them and 12 other people trapped 25ft (7.6m) above the ground. They were rescued by firefighters using a hydraulic platform.
'Unable to move'
Ms Balch said: "After the third operation it was looking good - I thought I might be able to walk again.
"But the bad news came before my seventh operation, by which time I was exhausted. I had spent so much time asleep.
Image copyright Facebook Image caption Leah Washington, Joe Pugh and Daniel Thorpe were in the ride's front carriage with Victoria Balch
"My mum noticed something going on with my leg. I had stopped being able to move as well, and people started needing to help me move around again."
Her right leg had become infected and required an amputation. More acute surgery followed to extend the amputation above the knee, on the advice of her surgeon.
Ms Balch described losing her leg as feeling "like a burden had been taken away".
"The leg was so painful that I couldn't do anything with it," she added.
Learning to walk
Ms Balch has been receiving physiotherapy at the Specialist Mobility Rehabilitation Centre in Preston.
She has now progressed onto crutches, having previously used a wheelchair, and has recently been provided with her own prosthetic with which she can begin learning to walk again.
It is a process she says left her "shaking" with apprehension during the first attempt, but the University of Derby student has a clear goal.
Image copyright PA Image caption The crash left 16 people trapped on the ride for about four and a half hours
"I'm graduating in November, so I want to be able to walk with a crutch. I just want a leg so at graduation I can say 'look how far I've come'.
Ms Balch said that while most people have been supportive, she had also encountered "staring and pointing" while shopping for the first time following the crash.
She said of Alton Towers: "I do think they're doing everything they can for the families."
Ms Balch said she had received weekly visits from staff following the crash.
"It's not their fault personally - they're normal people that have families," she added.
Merlin Entertainment, which owns the theme park, said it had contacted those injured and all 16 on board at the time of the crash will receive compensation. It said the incident was the first accident in the company's history.
Lawyer Paul Paxton, from Stewarts Law, who is representing Ms Balch among other crash victims, told the BBC in June that victims had received their first interim insurance payments to help with their rehabilitation.
Watch Victoria Derbyshire on weekdays from 09:15-11:00 BST on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.Image copyright West Yorkshire Police Image caption Daria Pionko died in hospital after she was found seriously injured in Springwell Road, Holbeck, on 23 December
A man has been charged with the murder of a 21-year-old woman in Leeds.
Polish national Daria Pionko was discovered seriously injured in Springwell Road, Holbeck, on 23 December.
Ms Pionko, who police said was a sex worker, died later in hospital. She was found in a defined managed area where sex workers operate during set hours.
Lewis Pierre, 24, from Leeds, was also charged with robbery and rape. He was remanded in custody.
Mr Pierre is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court on Monday.
A memorial service is due to be held in memory of Ms Pionko at 14:30 GMT on Springwell Road, Leeds.CookBeck said: Cool print, love the framing too but I would be nervous about Ferrari getting wind of this.
But I guess that is the case with a lot of tribute projects. Most of these things are small enough commercially for licencors not to take notice or make too much of a fuss about it. Or your design should be 'parody' in that case I think your always covered under creative law I believe. Click to expand...
Yeah with these stylised images as far as Ferrari licensing is concerned, there is no use of the prancing horse logo or Ferrari name, so basically its just a graphic that happens to look like a testarossa. No legal infringement there on any front.Much like how Sega themselves removed Ferrari branding and changed the prancing horse on the car to a bird style logo on the recent 3DS Outrun remake, to get around the licensing issue.Very difficult for them to legally restrict any of the visual design elements that make up the look of the car itself. Its how companies get away with selling body panels which can make an MR2 look like a 355 etc.A new, small Italian restaurant opened in Oak Cliff recently, but a grand opening is set for this weekend. Owners Donna and Robert Rice describe their menu as southern Italian and the restaurant is BYOB.
Don't take the name too literally; there are no Bocce courts to be had. The moniker is meant to evoke a favorite family past time of the Rice's, while the menu is inspired by their love of eating.
I sneaked in earlier this week because menus with Sunday gravy on them tend to freak me out a little. "Gravy" references a tomato sauce not embraced by southern Italians, but by northern Italian Americans. Immigrants made use of odd cuts from the butcher and leftover meats to make a sauce for Sunday supper. It was a way to clean out the refrigerator and spin up a huge meal on the cheap. It's also delicious.Guest Editorial
Kaaa-ching
Holding back the tide of big money in New Mexico politics
John Gardner was a moderate Republican who served in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat. Gardner founded Common Cause in 1970 after observing firsthand how our nation’s capital was being overrun by lobbyists from every well-heeled industry and special interest under the sun. As he put it at the time, “Everybody’s organized but the people.”
In the intervening years, Common Cause has successfully advocated for campaign finance laws designed to ensure that the voices of ordinary Americans won’t drown beneath tsunamis of special interest campaign cash. A major part of that effort has included programs that provide public financing to candidates who don’t want to have their campaigns bankrolled by deep-pocketed folks. Those fancy suits may feel the candidate owes them special favors after the election is over.
Albuquerque passed such a system in 2005, with a whopping 69 percent of Duke City voters supporting the measure. New Mexico lawmakers passed a similar system for Public Regulation Commission races in 2003 and expanded it to include appellate judicial races in 2007. Santa Fe voters created a program of this kind for municipal races in 2008.
That’s what I call progress. Unfortunately, five justices on the U.S. Supreme Court seem hell-bent on dismantling campaign finance laws designed to prevent the wholesale buy-off of the American democratic process. The judges’ efforts are based on an eccentric interpretation of the First Amendment that could only be concocted by a bunch of insulated eggheads who are completely out of touch with political reality.
Exhibit A is last year’s infamous Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, which has made it easier for corporations— including those owned by foreign interests—to spend limitless amounts of cash to sway American elections in their favor. Citizens United was the worst in a string of Supreme Court decisions that dramatically strengthened the political hands of powerful industries and lobbyists at the expense of ordinary citizens.
“We couldn’t even call our form of government a ‘democracy’ if it weren’t for the campaign finance reforms put into place over the last four decades.”
A couple weeks ago, the court issued Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett, a decision that directly addresses public campaign financing. Thankfully, this opinion isn’t nearly as awful as some folks feared. Yes, it will have an impact here in New Mexico. But the good news is the decision also makes it crystal clear that the concept of public campaign financing is here to stay.
A little bit of background: For almost 40 years, the Supreme Court has held that public campaign financing is a constitutionally permissible way to reduce the improper influence of wealthy interests on the political process. In Arizona Free Enterprise, the court reaffirmed that long-standing position. But at the same time, it struck down one mechanism used in certain types of public campaign financing programs, including those in operation in New Mexico.
Here’s how these programs work: In all three New Mexico systems, candidates who want to use public financing must show there's some support for their candidacy by gathering a certain number of $5 contributions from voters in their districts. If the candidates receive enough contributions, they then qualify for a block grant to run their campaigns. The amount is sufficient to allow candidates to run a basic campaign. This core part of public financing remains untouched by the Arizona Free Enterprise decision.
However, the three New Mexico programs also allow additional money for publicly financed candidates if their privately financed opponent outspends them. This is the concept that was struck down in Arizona Free Enterprise, based on the Supreme Court’s loony interpretation of the First Amendment.
For the most part, Arizona Free Enterprise was not a surprise. Public campaign financing advocates anticipated this ruling from as far back as two years ago. They’ve been pondering alternatives ever since.
One possibility that’s well worth considering is the model found in the Fair Elections Now Act, a federal bill that was drafted in anticipation of Arizona Free Enterprise. As with the New Mexico programs, this act would allow candidates to obtain public funds by voluntarily agreeing to limit their acceptance of large, private donations.
Yet unlike New Mexico’s programs, the Fair Elections Now Act also allows candidates to accept small donations of $100 or less, which the candidate can then have matched with additional public funds on a five-to-one basis. For example, if the candidate collects a $50 contribution, she can have it matched with $250 of additional public money.
Such a system would allow publicly financed candidates to raise additional money to remain competitive without running afoul of the new criteria concocted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
I believe we couldn’t even call our form of government a “democracy” if it weren’t for the campaign finance reforms put into place over the last four decades. It’s up to lawmakers to ensure that our elections are of, by and for the people—not bought and paid for by special interests. In that regard, we need to protect and continue to expand public financing in New Mexico. Nothing short of our democracy is at stake.Matthew Leuenberger returns for this week's game against the Dockers
The Coaches have made three changes to the team set to take on the Fremantle Dockers this Saturday at Domain Stadium.
Essendon will be searching for their second win of the season when they travel to the West to take on the winless Dockers.
Matthew Leuenberger and Jackson Merrett both return to the team, while Will Hams will play his first game in over a year.
Read more about Will Hams’ return here.
The trio comes in at the expense of the injured Michael Hartley, ruckman Mark Jamar and veteran James Kelly – who has been rested after a blistering start to the season.
Leuenberger’s return is one of importance, with the ruckman expected to benefit from consistent game time with the Essendon midfielders.
“We’re rapt to have Leuey back in the side, he’s fully recovered and stringing some games together which is great for us,” said Worsfold
“His form and fitness will continue to improve over the course of the year.
“We were really pleased with Jamar’s performance last week, but Leuenberger is ahead of him at this stage.
“There may be some point in the year where we’ll play both ruckmen and have a look at how that structure works.”
The game will also hold particular significance for midfielder Ryan Crowley, who will come up against his old team for the first time since joining the Bombers.
Crowley was an integral part of the Docker’s mix, playing 188 games for the team and winning the Club’s best and fairest medal in 2012.
Woosha has tapped into Crowley’s knowledge of his old teammates, as he looks to prepare the boys for the trip to the West.
“We’ve talked to Ryan and he’s given the players some feedback on Fremantle’s main goals and main aims and how they go about things,” said Worsfold
“Ultimately, it will boil down to our intent on the weekend to get in and win the contest.”
Fremantle vs. Essendon
Saturday June 4, 5:40PM (AWST)
Domain Stadium
Click here for all the Game Day Info
IN: Will Hams, Jackson Merrett and Matthew Leuenberger
OUT: Michael Hartley (hamstring), James Kelly (rested) and Mark Jamar (omitted)
TEAM:
B: C.Dempsey, P.Ambrose, S.Edwards
HB: A.McDonald-Tipungwuti, J.Gwilt, M.Dea
C: J.Merrett, D.Zaharakis, W.Hams
HF: B.Goddard, M.Brown, D.Parish
F: M.Baguley, J.Daniher, A.Cooney
Foll: M.Leuenberger, R.Crowley, O.Fantasia
IC: Z.Merrett, M.Gleeson, C.Bird, K.Langford
Emergencies: J.Polkinghorne, M.Jamar, S.MichaelThe Caped Crusader joins forces with the super heroes of the DC Comics universe and blasts off to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth. Using the power of the Lantern Rings, Brainiac shrinks worlds to add to his twisted collection of miniature cities from across the universe. Now the greatest super heroes and the most cunning villains must unite and journey to different Lantern Worlds to collect the Lantern Rings and stop Brainiac before it’s too late. The Season Pass will include six DLC packs each with a unique themed mission level with story and free play modes. Players will be able to unlock a total of over 40 characters, vehicles, achievements and more. The Season Pass includes: ● The Dark Knight Pack ● Man of Steel Pack ● Batman 75th Pack ● Arrow Pack ● Access to 2 additional DLC Packs The downloadable version of this game supports English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian.
Show MoreGet 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
A fake sign language interpreter took to the stage at the Nelson Mandela memorial service and gesticulated gibberish before a global audience of millions.
Deaf people across the world were outraged after the imposter signed nonsense as he stood beside world leaders including Barack Obama.
The hunt is now on for the mystery man, who was wearing an official security pass around his neck during the event at the 95,000-seater Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
Questions are now being asked about security procedures and how he was able to share the stage with some of the 91 heads of state who attended.
Footage has also emerged of what appeared to be the same man pulling a similar stunt next to South African President Jacob Zuma at an African National Congress event last year.
Delphin Hlungwane, an official South African sign language interpreter at DeafSA, attacked the faker’s display at Tuesday’s service.
She said: “He was basically gesturing. He didn’t follow any of the grammatical rules and structure of the language. He just invented his signs as he went along. There was zero per cent accuracy.
“He couldn’t even get the basics right. He couldn’t even say thank you.”
Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now
She said the “interpreter” also failed to relay to television viewers, as is expected for signers, that the crowd gave a hostile reception to Mr Zuma – a scandal-plagued leader who faces an election in less than six months.
Delphin added: “You’re supposed to indicate with your facial expressions, even if it’s not an exact sign. He didn’t indicate that at all. It just passed him by.”
Many TV viewers noticed the interpreter’s actions on stage did not match the gestures of the studio signer in the corner of the screen.
Braam Jordaan, a deaf South African and board member of the World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section, fumed: “The structure of his hand, facial expressions and the body movements did not follow what the speaker was saying.
“I was really upset and humiliated by the mystery interpreter who was supposed to be signing what Barack Obama, the president of United States of America, was saying. He made up his own signs.
“What happened at the memorial service is a truly disgraceful thing to see – it should not happen at all.
"What happened will be forever aligned with Nelson Mandela and the deaf community, thanks to this fake interpreter.”
Sheena Walters, another sign language expert, added: “It seems quite obvious that the interpreter isn’t using South African sign language.
“Most sign languages across the world share a similar structure and pattern and this person seems to be making a lot of repetitive signs and isn’t displaying the usual facial expression or structure of sign language that you would normally see.”
Other members of the deaf community took to Twitter to express outrage. Sign language interpreter Francois Deysel said the faker was “making a mockery of our profession”.
The South African government, which was officially in charge of the ceremony, said it was investigating the blunder, but had been overwhelmed with work preparing for Mandela’s funeral on Sunday.
Collins Chabane, one of two Presidency Ministers, said: “The government is looking into this matter but has not been able to conclude this inquiry due to the demanding schedule of organising events.”
The ruling African National Congress also claimed to have no knowledge of the man, even though television footage from a party event a year ago appears to show him gesticulating on a stage beside Zuma.
Spokesman Jackson Mthembu said: “I don’t know this guy. He doesn’t work for the ANC. It was a government event.”
Can you spot the difference? Click here to see what Nelson Mandela tribute SHOULD have looked like in sign language.The Bhagavad Gita and the Vedas—especially the Rig Veda—were works that Heinrich Himmler, Hitler's trusted lieutenant, was intimate with and were used by him to justify the genocide of the untermenschen, the subhuman races. Himmler was the head of the SS and the man in charge of the Nazi concentration camps. He is widely held responsible for the Holocaust, the "Final Solution". Some sources claim that Himmler always carried a copy of the Bhagavad Gita with him and read passages from it every night. He called the book his "high Aryan canto" and regularly quoted excerpts from it. He espoused the Vedic caste system and believed that his SS were like the Kshatriyas, warriors who were empowered to kill for a higher purpose. He particularly referred to conversations between Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra where the latter questions the rightness of war and violence and Krishna explains that it would actually be a sin not to fight in the battle as he would not be respecting his own dharmic duty. In speeches to the SS, Himmler drew a parallel between Hitler and Krishna and possibly identified with Arjuna himself.Stan Wawrinka (right) adds the US Open to his 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open titles
World number one Novak Djokovic says tennis now has a 'big |
good. The bike arrived nearly fully assembled, as pictured, with the rear wheel mounted and the drivetrain dialed and ready to ride. All we had to do was attach the seat post and saddle, the handlebar-stem combination, and the front wheel (and of course our own pedals and water-bottle cages).
Here's everything that came in the box. In addition to the bike, our shipment included an owner's manual (a book with a CD/PDFs), a torque wrench, a battery charger for the electronic-shifting system, and a thru-axle for the front wheel.
Around the bike were pads secured with Velcro straps to keep everything in place and protected during shipping. These remove easily and should be saved for future shipping.
Next we broke out the Canyon torque wrench. Canyons have Allen bolts that need to be tightened to a specific torque value, known as a Newton meter, or Nm. This helps ensure that the parts are fixed securely to the bicycle. Canyon includes its own torque wrench (pictured) for doing this, with five different-size bits.
Mounting the handlebar-stem combination. We started assembly by coating the bolts and clamping areas with a thin layer of the assembly paste, a packet of which comes in the welcome kit. Here, we applied paste to the fork steerer tube before sliding on the handlebar-stem combination.
Securing the cockpit. After sliding the handlebar-stem combination (a one-piece design) onto the fork steerer tube, we made sure it was aligned with the front wheel before tightening the bolts to the marked tightening torque as instructed in the manual. We used the torque wrench without issue.
Putting on the front wheel. Our bike was equipped with disc brakes. Once we lined up the front disc-brake rotor, we slid it into the brake caliper. Then we made sure the wheel was sitting secure in the fork and inserted the thru-axle, tightened it, and locked it closed.
So far so good. Next we had to insert the seat post and saddle, which came attached together.
The top of the frame has a large opening for the aero seat post.
Inserting the seat post and saddle. After applying assembly paste to the bottom of the seat post, we slid it into the frame to our desired height. Then we inserted the seat-post clamp, a small tightening mechanism (pictured).
Using the torque wrench to secure the seat-post clamp. Using the torque wrench, we inserted the matching bit into the Allen bolt and turned the wrench until the pointer lined up with the marked tightening torque on the orange gauge. In this case it was "Max 5 Nm."
Less than 30 minutes after opening up the box we had our Canyon assembled. All we had to do was put on our pedals and bottle cages.
The Canyon Aeroad CF SLX Disc 8.0. The Canyon Aeroad CF SLX Disc 8.0 came well specced with excellent Shimano's 11-speed electronic Ultegra Di2 component group, hydraulic disc brakes, deep-section carbon Reynolds Strike wheels, and Continental Grand Prix 4000 tires. Canyon claims the Aeroad CF SLX Disc 8.0 in size "medium" weighs 7.8 kilograms (17.2 pounds); we rode a bigger bike, 58 cm, a tad heavier. We found the assembly on our end to be simple and quick, but we did take the time to read the manual first, to be sure we were thorough and not missing important specifics about this (partial) bike build. Our Aeroad came with the tires inflated — we just pumped them up more to our desired PSI (110 front, 120 rear). The Di2 battery was nearly fully charged upon arrival, which was nice as it meant we could get the door for a ride right away. The drivetrain was already fully adjusted, and we ran through the 22 gears smoothly. This bike is not yet available in the US, so pricing is TBD, but we expect it to sell for about $4,200. (On the UK site, for instance, the same bike with a slightly different build sells for 3,400 euros, or $4,000.) After installing our pedals and bottle cages, and doing a final safety check to make sure everything was bolted down securely, we headed out for our first ride. Impressively, the bike rode perfectly with no adjustments needed.
The Aeroad is stunning. Red is not a color we normally like for road bikes, but somehow it worked for us on this bike. We couldn't decide whether to call it the Ferrari of road bikes or the BMW of road bikes. Perhaps it's a bit of both. Either way, it's a beautiful bicycle that got a lot of oohs and aahs from cyclists and noncyclists alike.
A clean cockpit. The one-piece aero handlebar-stem combination is designed to help reduce drag at the most important place: the front of the bike. And note that the bar comes taped (as pictured), so the position of the brake hoods is set on arrival. If you prefer them lower or higher, you'll have to remove the tape, reposition the brake hoods, and then retape the bar (the default position worked for us just fine). If you use a bike computer, Canyon sells a mount for these bars.
Stem height. Since you can't adjust the stem itself, the bike comes with several spacers. If you want to lower the handlebar-stem combination, remove the spacers until you find your desired height. If you desire a more aggressive, aero position, you can go as low as the top of the head tube and then cut off the extra steerer tube.
The Aeroad CF SLX is Canyon's top-of-the-line aero road bike.
This is a UCI-approved frame, so it can be raced at the sport's highest level, in case you make it to the Tour.
And yes, it's got disc brakes. People who prefer disc brakes over rim brakes say they brake more powerfully and brake more smoothly, especially in wet conditions. Those who prefer rim brakes say discs are too heavy (they do add about a pound to a bike) and are just not necessary on road bikes. We liked them, and they performed superbly, providing smooth, powerful braking, most notably on fast, technical descents. Eventually, all (or most) higher-end road bikes will come equipped with disc brakes, so say many in the industry.
The front disc brake from Shimano.
And the rear disc.
Reynolds Strike carbon wheels. The first thing we noticed about these wheels was how fast they felt. They Strikes have a 62 mm rim profile, are fairly light (727 grams up front, 888 in back), and are very aero. They're built for straight-ahead speed. As predicted, the deep-section hoops did not make for great wheels in strong crosswinds. On blustery days, handling became distracting, and on really windy rides the wheels will challenge even heavier riders. But in our experience that goes for most deep-section wheels. As for the Continental Grand Prix 4000s, they're among the best tires on the market, and they're the best all-around tire we've ridden recently. They felt grippy but fast, with low rolling resistance, though we didn't get to try them in the wet. After about 500 miles, we did get two punctures, one pinch flat and one puncture from a tiny piece of glass. Our Canyon had a 23 mm tire up front and a 25 in back, making for a nice balance between aerodynamics and comfort and traction. Sidenote: This wheel-tire combination challenged us when taking the tires off and putting them back on. Some tire brands and wheel-tire combinations are notoriously stubborn, and we've added this combo to the list. To get the tires on, we made sure the bead sat in the deepest section of the inner rim and used a tire iron as we worked to roll the tires on. In one instance we used dishwashing liquid to help seat the tire.
Fizik Arione saddle. Saddle choice is probably the most subjective thing on a bike, but the Fizik Arione is a quality saddle and a good choice for this bike.
The stiff, oversize down tube and bottom bracket helped transfer power effectively.
What it's like to ride a Canyon out of the box. We've ridden the Aeroad CF SLX Disc 8.0 about 500 miles so far. It's a high-performance bike for serious and competitive cyclists. Triathletes might want to check it out too. Everything about the Aeroad made us want to pedal fast, from the sleek frame design and deep-section carbon wheels to the aero cockpit and disc brakes. It's thrilling to ride, as I imagine an F1 car would be to drive, and I felt as if I was going a mile or two an hour faster just because of the bike, and probably I was. The handling, aerodynamics, and power transfer are among the best we've experienced. The bike got more oohs and aahs than any other bike I've ridden.
Surprisingly good wherever we rode it. We didn't have the opportunity to ride this bike in the mountains, but on smaller climbs we sprinted up the bike went fast. It always felt stiff, responsive, lively. This is, after all, a true performance bike. To many, it will feel like a rocket. The longest ride we've managed on the Aeroad was four hours, and it still felt comfortable. We've ridden aero bikes we couldn't wait to get off of after two hours because they were so rigid; the Aeroad is not one of them. What it is, though, is a crit bike, a road-race bike, or a bike for any roadie who wants to go as fast as possible. For those not into racing or fast group rides, it would make easy work of a gran fondo or century. It has a lot to do with all the fine engineering that's gone into the frame and fork. The frame starts off aero in front, and things stay slippery-shaped all the way through the compact rear triangle, which has small angles for increased stiffness. The engineering comes through as the bike tracks like a laser, most appreciated on fast, technical descents and in corners. As with any carbon aero road machine, it's not the most comfortable on bumpy roads. The bike, though relatively compliant, does thrive on the smooth roads. The Aeroad has no flaws. And at $4,200 it's more than attractive, especially with Ultegra Di2 and disc brakes.Share. Funcom's MMO to adopt a familiar pricing model. Funcom's MMO to adopt a familiar pricing model.
Age of Conan developer Funcom has announced that its low-fantasy MMORPG will be switching to a hybrid free-to-play model, akin to the sort of model used by Lord of the Rings Online, EverQuest II Extended and Champions Online. Funcom is no newcomer to the free-to-play scene, in fact they helped pioneer it in the western market when Anarchy Online switched to an advertisement-supported model in 2005.
Ads wouldn't fit the Age of Conan universe, of course, so AoC is instead turning to the tiered-pricing models adopted by others, where players may still subscribe to the game for a monthly fee and gain access to everything they normally would, or can spend "Funcom Points" (bought with real money) to purchase specific items such as consumables or recipes, or access to a new dungeon or territory. Or they can play without spending a cent, though there are typically limitations on conveniences such as mail, chat, and the number of characters allowed on an account. Side-areas may be locked out. According to Game Director Craig Morrison, the subscription price will not change, and that the price of microtransactions will be in line with other free-to-play MMOs.
Funcom Points are already in use for Funcom's free-to-play competitive multiplayer online arena game Bloodline Champions, so Bloodline Champions players will now see their point stockpiles doubling in usefulness.
The switch should come as no surprise to those who have followed the game's history. When Age of Conan launched in 2008, players were met with a gorgeous game with an impressive combat system and an intriguing story. Then players hit level 20 and the content began to peter out. Quests became sparse and only grinding seemed to be the way to progress any further. This jarring drop in content density was likely one of the reasons for Age of Conan players leaving in droves just months after the MMO's launch, causing massive server mergers.
The switch to free-to-play has been timed to coincide with content that crosses over with the Conan film debuting this Fall. Funcom hopes that the popularity of the Conan film will drive players to their MMO, and with no barrier for entry (other than the necessity for a pretty powerful PC to get the most out of the game) the hope is that these players will find themselves hooked on the world of Hyborea, with its big swords, muscles and boobs.
Morrison believes the reaction from the Age of Conan community will be mostly positive. "In fact there has been some of our community who have been actively calling for us to [go] free-to-play for just those reasons since the turn of the year." Thought, he admits, there may as always be some in the community who "will take exception." He's adamant that this change is a win-win for everyone. Existing players will see new life breathed into the game, and new players will get to explore Hyborea at no cost.
What this means for Funcom's in-development MMO The Secret World is unclear. Morrison wasn't able to comment, though, in answering a separate question, he did say that Funcom "have always felt that it is a natural progression for an MMO title at a certain stage in its life cycle." It seems likely that The Secret World may launch with a subscription cost for as long as it is economically viable.
Going to play Age of Conan when it drops the cost? Let us know below.Study finds less domestic violence among married couples who smoke pot
“These findings suggest that marijuana use is predictive of lower levels of aggression towards one’s partner in the following year.”
BUFFALO, N.Y. – New research findings from a study of 634 couples found that the more often they smoked marijuana, the less likely they were to engage in domestic violence.
The study, conducted by researchers in the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions and Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), appeared in the online edition of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors in August.
The study attempted to clarify inconsistent findings about domestic violence among pot-smoking couples that primarily has been based on cross-sectional data (i.e., data from one point in time). Looking at couples over the first nine years of marriage, the study found:
More frequent marijuana use by husbands and wives (two-to-three times per month or more often) predicted less frequent intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration by husbands.
Husbands’ marijuana use also predicted less frequent IPV perpetration by wives.
Couples in which both spouses used marijuana frequently reported the least frequent IPV perpetration.
The relationship between marijuana use and reduced partner violence was most evident among women who did not have histories of prior antisocial behavior.
The study’s lead author is Philip H. Smith, PhD, a recent doctoral graduate of the UB School of Public Health and Health Professions and now associate research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University.
It is based on research data collected by lead investigator Kenneth Leonard, PhD, director of the UB Research Institute on Addictions. The study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to Leonard and a grant to Smith from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“These findings suggest that marijuana use is predictive of lower levels of aggression towards one’s partner in the following year.” Leonard says. “As in other survey studies of marijuana and partner violence, our study examines patterns of marijuana use and the occurrence of violence within a year period. It does not examine whether using marijuana on a given day reduces the likelihood of violence at that time.
“It is possible, for example, that — similar to a drinking partnership — couples who use marijuana together may share similar values and social circles, and it is this similarity that is responsible for reducing the likelihood of conflict.
“Although this study supports the perspective that marijuana does not increase, and may decrease, aggressive conflict,” he says, “we would like to see research replicating these findings, and research examining day-to-day marijuana and alcohol use and the likelihood to IPV on the same day before drawing stronger conclusions.
"While couples who reported marijuana use also reported less marital aggression, previous research with these couples found that couples who smoked marijuana were not less likely to divorce. In addition, the current study does not address the potential impact of parental marijuana use on children in the family and other problems associated with daily marijuana use. The most frequent use reported by couples in this particular study was once a week."
In addition to Smith and Leonard, study co-authors are Gregory Homish, PhD, associate professor, R. Lorraine Collins, PhD, professor, and Gary Giovino, PhD, professor and chair, all of the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, UB School of Public Health and Health Professions, and Helene R. White, PhD, distinguished professor of sociology in the Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University.In 2015, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government brought up their promise of taking in 25,000 Syrian refugees, critics of the PM's politics would strike a comparison between the resources going to refugee settlement and those going to Canada's First Nations.
It arose quite frequently then, and it arose again during the Sept. 25 Cross Country Checkup conversation. While we were hosting a conversation on how the first wave of Syrian refugees are settling in to Canada, several participants in the show spoke on this issue.
The first was a caller from Cape Breton, N.S., named Jim Steel. He said, "My concern is for all the energy and enthusiasm that's going into helping the refugees, none of that is going into the neglected people of Northern Canada that are hungry and destitute. We have the government and private citizens that are totally ignoring the plight of our own starving people."
Jim Steel raised the issue of how Canada addresses domestic issues, and whether those should take priority over refugee settlement. 2:00
In Canada's Northern communities, food is often twice or three-times as expensive as in the South, due to costs of transportation. The government's Nutrition North program gives a subsidy to offset that cost, but critics deem it insufficient.
However, others took a different perspective. Amer Almahamed came to Canada as a refugee from Syria. He sharply disagreed with Steel. Adapting a proverb to make his point, he said, "We, as Syrian refugees here, we are not taking fish so much as …we are learning how to fish ourselves. So in a year's time or later, we will be part of the community. When we are part of the community, we're contributing."
Listen to Almahamed share his thoughts with Checkup host Duncan McCue:
Amer Almahamed speaks about how he wants to contribute to Canadian society and help fix Canada's problems, after settling in as a refugee. 4:34
Marwan Ismail, executive director of Polycultural Immigrant and Community Services, said, "I think it's not an 'either/or' [situation]; we can do both at the same time."
"I'm sure that the government have plans for the First Nations and other people who are in need in Canada," Ismail continued. "But as a G8 country we have some obligations toward the international community too. It's part of our obligation to help stop wars, and help refugees; that said, it doesn't mean that we don't have to cover our own famine here inside Canada."
For a perspective from an indigenous scholar, Checkup followed up with Katherine Minich, lecturer of Indigenous Studies at McMaster University.
"I'm leery of this sort of comparison," she said, referring to the government services given to indigenous Canadians and refugees.
The sponsorship model raises red flags, in particular, the church involvement historically in its creating the model and continuing to this day. She said, sponsorship bears striking similarities to many programs that were enacted during the colonization of Canada, including residential schools.
Minich said, "When Canada was being founded, churches took a big role in co-sponsoring policies in relation to indigenous peoples, including residential schools. We should be critical of this. Is their ethic the same or different from what it used to be?"
Where the similarities between the two depart, is in the way that indigenous policies have become acculturated, Minich explained.
There is a lot of support for refugees at a family level, whereas Indigenous peoples support is more often given to government departments or businesses, she said.
She gave the example of Nutrition North. "Their method of providing the food subsidy is to provide it to airlines or the postal service," she said.
"There hasn't been a push to help each family with the cost of nutrition. It's always being positioned on another plane, something that is not taking into account the needs on the ground; whereas with refugees, we give them a lot of support at the family level."
When asked, "Is it fair to compare Canada's actions with Syrian refugees to Canada's action with First Nations?"
Minich said, "On a humanity level, certainly not. It's like trying to pick the worst victim. If we're looking only at events, we're going to be drawing comparisons. But if you want to build relationships, and want to build a Canada that respects indigenous peoples, we need to look at history."
Ultimately, Minich agreed with one of our final callers on the program, Peter, who called in from Taloyoak, Nunavut, to offer his support to Syrian refugees. While Peter mentioned that he and others in Taloyoak have to rely on country food when imported foods are too expensive, he wanted to share government resources with refugees.
Peter said, "Most of all what comes to my attention is that people have gone through traumas, and the seriousness of their lives over there in Syria. If they can work together with Aboriginal peoples; they've gone through serious traumas in life, because of the residential schools. I think it would be a great idea for them to help each other, so they can grow this new life."
Hear Peter's full interview:DreamHack is proud to announce the first Regional Partner for DreamHack on Tour 2011. Canales Corporativos will host DreamHack Regional Finals in Valencia, Spain the 16th to 17th of September 2011.
DreamHack extends partnership with local partner Canales Corporativos in Spain to host qualifiers in four countries and host a live event in mid-September. During 2010 DreamHack hosted international qualifiers in 17 countries. In 2011 DreamHack will change the formula of the international eSports franchise DreamHack on Tour.
- Canales Corporativos as our first Regional Partner is a perfect match. Their high standards in professionalism and creativity make them in all sense and purpose a Spanish DreamHack, said CEO of DreamHack Robert Ohlen.
3 major changes in DreamHack on Tour 2011 1) One season with one Grand Final at DreamHack Winter 2011 2) Main games – Counter-Strike,Street Fighter and StarCraft II with a combined prize purse of 700 000 SEK in the Grand Finals. 3) Regional Partners instead of National Partners. Online qualifications in more countries, one live event “Regional Finals” in each region – and one regional delegation sent to the Grand Final at DreamHack Winter 2011.
Spain will join as the first Regional partner in 2011. Canales Corporativos will host DreamHack qualifiers in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. Best teams and players will qualify for the Regional Finals to be played in Valencia 16-17 September.
- For us it’s an honour, a pleasure, to have the opportunity to work again with DreamHack. This time our enthusiasm has grown along with our duties and we are ready to bring the real DreamHack experience to all Mediterranean Countries, said Arturo Castello, CEO of Canales Corporativos.
Canales Corporativos will once again host the event in Veles e Vents in direct connection to the Valencia Street Formula1 Circuit and the 33rd America’s Cup harbour. Regional Finals will not only be a Spanish celebration of games and digital culture but also a regional event open for Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian gamers.
- Veles e Vents is a perfect event location, between the beach and the city centre. The city of Valencia has already a reputation to be a great hosting city for international conferences and high-profile sports events, said CEO of DreamHack Robert Ohlen.
Regional Finals Location: Veles e Vents, Valencia, Spain
Dates: 16-17 September
Qualifiers: Spain, Portugal, Italy, France
Tournaments: Counter-Strike 1.6, StarCraft II, Super Street Fighter IV
Tournament slots: 8 spots in each game
Prizes in Regional Finals: Winners qualifies for the Grand Final at DreamHack Winter 2011 including auto berth to main tournament, accommodation and travel paid from the point of qualifier to Jönköping, Sweden.
Additional information will be released at the official webpage www.dreamhack.es that will replace the earlier www.dreamhackspain.com.
About DreamHack
DreamHack is the World’s Largest Computer Festival. DreamHack’s roots and core is the LAN party, with the major events DreamHack Summer and Winter, where participants bring their own computers and connect to the Internet in a large local area network which basically BECOMES the Internet by sheer scale. DreamHack is also Sweden’s first consumer-oriented trade show / event / festival for computer games, game consoles and computers. The events are a platform for tournaments in eSports, knowledge and creative competitions, concerts by famous music artists, lectures by game developers and much more.
Website: www.dreamhack.se
About DreamHack on Tour
DreamHack is not only Sweden’s principal eSports organizer, but also one of the leading global eSports brands. By increasing efforts to develop eSports through event- and online tournaments, live streaming broadcasts, DreamHack continuously work to position and grow the brand nationally and internationally as well as aiming to give the gamer community what they want. DreamHack as a phenomenon, the festivals, events and brand makes DreamHack the only organization being both truly professional as well as a part of the global community.
Website: TBA
About Canales Corporativos
Canales Corporativos a Spain based company specialising in developing strategies that connects the brands with their audience using, and understanding, the new tools available in digital media. Since 2009 Canales Corporativos is working hard to implement videogame concepts into communication strategies, pioneering the use of gamification and transmedia in Spain and developing DreamHack presence in Spain, and now throughout the Mediterranean Countries.
Website: www.canalescorporativos.comControls: - 'Play Animation' simulates UTC time flow according to combobox settings
- 'Play Animation' simulates UTC time flow according to combobox settings - 'One Step' button moves the UTC clock one step ahead or backwards according to combobox settings
- 'One Step' button moves the UTC clock one step ahead or backwards according to combobox settings - Sets current time. Back to today's Moon.
- Sets current time. Back to today's Moon.'Next New Moon ',' Next First Quarter ','Next Full Moon ','Next Third Quarter'buttons - set simulated time to the specified Moon's phase.
',' ','','' buttons - set simulated time to the specified Moon's phase. 'Set UTC Time' allows you to set UTC time.
Parameters: Moon Phase - name of the Moon's phase (New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent)
- name of the Moon's phase (New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent) Illumination - fraction of the Moon's disk illuminated by the Sun (units: percent, 0% - New Moon, 100% - Full Moon, 50% - I and III Quarter)
- fraction of the Moon's disk illuminated by the Sun (units: percent, 0% - New Moon, 100% - Full Moon, 50% - I and III Quarter) Moon Earth Distance - the distance between the Moon and the Earth. It varies from around 356400 km (perigee) to 406700 km (apogee). (units: kilometers [km], miles [mi], astronomical units [AU])
- the distance between the Moon and the Earth. It varies from around 356400 km (perigee) to 406700 km (apogee). (units: kilometers [km], miles [mi], astronomical units [AU]) Moon Ecliptic Longitude - ecliptical position of the Moon, an angle between zero point of the longitude, also called first point of Aries (the point where the Sun occurs during the Vernal Equinox) and the Moon measured eastwards. (units: degrees)
- ecliptical position of the Moon, an angle between zero point of the longitude, also called first point of Aries (the point where the Sun occurs during the Vernal Equinox) and the Moon measured eastwards. (units: degrees) Sun Ecliptic Longitude - ecliptical position of the Sun, see above. (units: degrees)
- ecliptical position of the Sun, see above. (units: degrees) Moon Sun Elongation - an angle between the Sun and the Moon. (units: degrees)
- an angle between the Sun and the Moon. (units: degrees) Moon Ecliptic Latitude - location of the Moon. Angular distance between ecliptic (apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere) and the Moon. Positive to the north, negative to the south. (units: degrees)
- location of the Moon. Angular distance between ecliptic (apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere) and the Moon. Positive to the north, negative to the south. (units: degrees) Right Ascension of the Moon - coordinate of a point on the celestial sphere using the equatorial coordinate system. Right ascension is the celestial equivalent of the longitude. RA is measured towards the east. (units: HMS - hours, minutes, seconds - 24 hours is equivalent to a full circle)
- coordinate of a point on the celestial sphere using the equatorial coordinate system. Right ascension is the celestial equivalent of the longitude. RA is measured towards the east. (units: HMS - hours, minutes, seconds - 24 hours is equivalent to a full circle) Declination of the Moon - second coordinate on the celestial sphere, comparable to latitude. Angular distance between celestial equator (great circle on the celestial sphere, in the same plane as the Earth's equator) and the location of the Moon. (units: degrees)
Note: Algorithms implemented in the 'Where is the Moon' tool are based on Jean Meeus' Astronomical Algorithms (Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, 1998)
'Where Is The Moon' online tool requires browsers with CSS3 support that means you could not be able to run all its features on older versions of internet browsers.
The distances, size of the Moon and size of the Earth shown on the visualization are not drawn to scale.
Stars in the background are generated randomly, they are only to beautify the page.
visualizes today's/tonight's or simulated Moon's phase (as viewed from the northern hemisphere) and position of the Moon in relation to the Earth and the Sun (from above the north pole). Additionally, it displays some lunar astronomical parameters. Using control panel you can observe future or past Moon's phases, locations and parameters.Children ordering (accidentally or otherwise) items from gadgets is nothing new. Major retailers have refunded purchases made by children playing with phones or computers, and with voice-activated devices making their way into homes, it’s a problem that parents will have to be on the lookout for.
One recent instance occurred in Dallas, Texas earlier this week, when a six-year-old asked her family’s new Amazon Echo “can you play dollhouse with me and get me a dollhouse?” The device readily complied, ordering a KidKraft Sparkle mansion dollhouse, in addition to “four pounds of sugar cookies.” The parents quickly realized what had happened and have since added a code for purchases. They have also donated the dollhouse a local children’s hospital.
The story could have stopped there, had it not ended up on a local morning show on San Diego’s CW6 News. At the end of the story, Anchor Jim Patton remarked: “I love the little girl, saying ‘Alexa ordered me a dollhouse,’” According to CW6 News, Echo owners who were watching the broadcast found that the remark triggered orders on their own devices.
Patton didn’t think that any of the devices went through with their purchases, who told The Verge that the station received a handful of reports of viewer devices attempting to order a dollhouse after hearing his remarks. “As for the number of people affected - I don't know,” Patton noted in an email. “Personally, I've seen one other email and have been told there were others, as well as calls to our news desk with similar stories.”
Alexa’s settings can be adjusted through the device’s app, and users can either turn off voice ordering altogether, or add a passcode to prevent accidental purchases.About
On the evening of my 21st birthday, my roommate and a few close friends watched a film called The Room. The film is legendarily awful (once called the Citizen Kane of bad movies) and afterwards I found myself unable to type properly.
However, as the year progressed, I found myself growing strangely fond of it. It enjoys a large fanbase and constantly tours the country, ala The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Big Lebowski. This eventually culminated in me attending a showing of it last summer. And while at it, they asked audience members who had seen it before, one member of the audience said they'd seen it in theaters 9 times.
That hit me in a weird way. Nine times. How many movies can you honestly say you've seen nine times, much less in theaters. Not a lot I bet. So that got me thinking: What is it about this film that really interests or attracts people to that level? So that is the ultimate point of this documentary; To get to the heart of The Room and it's fanbase (of which I am a member, I must admit).
The first half of this documentary is devoted to the story of The Room's creation. It would, ideally, include interviews with people who worked on The Room. Hopefully with cast members, crew members, the director himself and the Script Supervisor who is currently fighting director Tommy Wiseu for directorial credit.
The second half is the easier half. It would be devoted to the fanbase. I would attend several showings of it, interview people arranging it, people attending it and high profile fans. I would hopefully interview both regular movie experts, such as critics and film experts and 'bad movie' experts, such as the people behind Rifftrax and Mystery Science Theater 3000.
But none of this can happen without your help. So, if this sounds like a film you'd like to see made, please donate.The essay “On Some Aspects of the Historiography of Colonial India” by Ranajit Guha analyses and compares neo-colonialist historiography and neo-nationalist historiography from the elitist perspective. The essay also touches upon the subaltern groups’ contribution to Indian Nationalism, which has been overlooked by the elite historiographers.
There are sixteen points discussed in the essay with reference to bourgeoisie nationalist, colonialist, elite and subaltern tendencies in the writing of Indian history. The essay speaks of both pre-colonial and post-colonial India with reference to Nationalism.
The author begins by establishing the differences between the history written by British elite groups and Indian elite groups. The British adopt a method of neo-colonialism or the use of economic, political and other pressures to control or influence a former dependency such as India. This method is adopted chiefly by British writers but not without Indian imitators. On the other hand, the neo-nationalists attribute the entire credit of achieving Indian Independence to native (Indian) elite groups. There are liberal British historiographers who support this idea along with the Indian historiographers.
The one commonality however, is their prejudice to the elite class making them predominant heroes who brought about the nationalist consciousness in an otherwise subdued India.
In the neo-nationalist sense the Indian elite groups are made up of Indian elite personalities, institutions, activities and ideas. It seems correct, for, the Indian neo-nationalist history credits the whole of the struggle for Independence as an act performed by a group of elitist lawyers such as Gandhi, Nehru, Ram Mohan Roy, Tilak, Gokhale, Patel, Rajagopalachari and others.
In the neo-colonialist sense the elite groups are made up of British colonial rulers, administrators, policies, institutions and cultures. The neo-colonialist definition of Indian Nationalist portrays it as a function of stimulus and response. A good example would be the text book depiction of the 1857 War of Independence as “Sepoy Mutiny”. This portrayal attempts to classify the 1857 rebellion of the Indian soldiers as a mere reaction to a provocation of their religious sentiments (The Enfield Cartridges). It also portrays the native elite as a group of people who were in a learning process, trying to assimilate a huge governing structure and understand its principles. This too is not due to any great idealism but only because the native elites seemed to want to gain power, wealth and positions of pride. The Zamindars and princes (bourgeois) are always represented as the subordinate natives who would commit treason for their own ends. They were also depicted as being divided, inefficient, dull and easily surmountable.
As opposed to the neo-colonialist depiction, the native elitist historiographers depict the elite nationalists as idealists who led the people from subjugation to freedom. There are several versions in this sort of historiography depending on varying degrees of emphasis on individuals and institutions. The chief aspects highlighted about the indigenous elite nationalists are:
1. Their goodness and its phenomenal expression in the form of Indian Nationalism.
2. Their antagonistic stance against the colonial regime.
3. Their role as promoters of the cause of the indigenous people.
4. Their altruistic and self-abnegating characters.
Guha puts it across very satirically and sardonically by placing an opposition next to each of these tall claims.
“They have completely tried to evade the accusations of being collaborationists, exploiters and oppressors who scrambled for power and privilege, making them appear like spiritual men…” he says.
There are certain advantages in elite historiography. It helps:
In understanding the colonial state |
tuned!Chief: I gave complaints about moonlighting Seattle cops to FBI Acrimonious relationship between headquarters, officer-run security firms boils over
A Seattle Police officer works off-duty construction detail as crews work on building projects near 9th Avenue and Stewart Street in downtown Seattle. Seattle Police Chief Katherine O'Toole announced Wednesday that she has passed complaints related to police officers' off-hours work to the FBI and the department's Office of Professional Accountability. less A Seattle Police officer works off-duty construction detail as crews work on building projects near 9th Avenue and Stewart Street in downtown Seattle. Seattle Police Chief Katherine O'Toole announced Wednesday... more Photo: GENNA MARTIN, GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI Photo: GENNA MARTIN, GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close Chief: I gave complaints about moonlighting Seattle cops to FBI 1 / 34 Back to Gallery
A complaint about security firms staffed and run by Seattle Police Department officers has been forwarded to the FBI.
In a statement Wednesday, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole said she passed along a complaint against the after-hours firms to the FBI and the department’s oversight office in April. The head of the Office of Professional Accountability and the FBI special agent in charge agreed to launch investigations.
Commissioned police officers currently do off-duty work for two security firms owned and run by officers themselves. The operations, which provide traffic control and other services, have been sanctioned in contracts with police unions.
The last major review of off-hours employment rules for police followed another FBI probe more than a decade ago. Several officers were targeted by the bureau’s public integrity task force for their second jobs.
Three years ago, the department squared off with a police-owned firm, Seattle’s Finest Police Security & Traffic Control, following a lawsuit by Seattle Police Officer Raleigh Evans. Evans, the firm’s co-owner, ultimately settled the lawsuit in what amounted to a draw.
O’Toole on Wednesday called for a new review of the off-duty employment rules, a perennial flashpoint between department management and front-line officers.
“SPD managers have long identified secondary employment as a significant risk when reviewing department business practices,” O’Toole said in a statement. “While acknowledging that the business needs of our community often require the engagement of SPD officers off-duty, current practice limits SPD’s visibility into the management, assignment, and performance of this work."
O'Toole and Seattle Police Officer's Guild are currently bargaining a new contract for the department's officers, detectives and sergeants. The negotiations have not gone well -- by the guild's count, 993 days have passed since the last contract expired. With a hefty package of U.S. Justice Department-demanded reforms in the mix, resolution appears distant.
O’Toole’s comments followed a Seattle Times report that the FBI was investigating the complaint forwarded by O’Toole in April. Blucadia, an Olympia startup that described itself as Uber for police, claimed that the police guild pressured members not to contract themselves out through Blucadia.
In a statement Thursday, Evans said Seattle’s Finest has not been contacted as part of the investigation. O’Toole, he said, sent an email to department personnel on Wednesday describing the investigation as relating to a “small number of Seattle Police officers.”
“We are confident that none of these officers are connected with Seattle’s Finest,” Evans said by email.
“We are proud of the work our officers do, primarily providing security and traffic control for retail locations and construction projects in the area,” Evans continued. “This makes the community safer by having more officers on the streets and facilitating the free and safe flow of traffic in and around Seattle.”
Evans said his company coordinates scheduling in a manner that complies with the rules set by each officer’s department. Troopers and police with other departments in the region contract themselves out through Seattle’s Finest.
MORE: FBI investigates off-duty work by Seattle police officers
If O’Toole gains traction against the police guild-backed contracting firms, she will be the first Seattle chief to manage to do so since 2004. Though police are among the city’s best-paid employees, off-duty work remains a prized, lucrative benefit for many working police and reserve officers.
Seattle’s Finest and the guild-operated Seattle Security provide off-duty officers to manage crowds and traffic at large events, including Seattle Seahawks games. A city of Seattle mandate that an off-duty officer be onsite when construction impacts traffic signals also guarantees plenty of work for moonlighting police.
Evans, co-owner of Seattle’s Finest, joined the Seattle Police Department in 1995. He opened the business in 2002, establishing a relationship with First & Goal, billionaire Seahawks owner Paul Allen’s firm.
Suing in 2013, Evans claimed the city was trying to take over his business, which schedules off-duty police officers, by restricting secondary work permits that control what police can do after hours in a “law enforcement capacity.”
“These secondary work permits have routinely been granted,” attorney Matthew Bean said in a brief filed on Evans’ behalf. “They appear to function as a formality, solely as a way to notify the city of such activities.”
Evans took umbrage in February 2013 when SPD managers denied him permission to schedule officers monitoring events at CenturyLink Field. He contended his position as an officer was threatened with disciplinary action if he continued to do scheduling work after hours.
Evans ultimately won a $45,000 settlement and a meeting with O’Toole, who took charge of the department in March 2014.
MORE FROM SEATTLEPI: Moonlighting Seattle cop who sued city gets $45k, meeting with chief
A byzantine set of rules currently governs off-duty employment for Seattle police officers. Some notable provisions include:
Officers working off-duty in uniform or in a law enforcement capacity must be paid at the top pay rate for their rank.
Officers can work up to 18 hours straight between their official duties and off-hours jobs, though managers can waive that restriction.
The captain managing the downtown police precinct is in charge of scheduling off-duty officers at Seattle Center.
Officers must check in and out while working off-duty, reporting their location through the dispatch system.
Officers cannot work for establishments that sell alcohol or marijuana without special permission, nor can they act as bill collectors or assist defense attorneys.
In 2004, then-Chief Gil Kerlikowske presided over the last large overhaul of the department’s off-duty work rules. More popular with City Hall than the rank and file, Kerlikowske spent months drafting regulations prompted in part by an FBI inquiry.
At the time, police brass defended off-hours work as a crime deterrent that put more police in visible positions in the community. Kerlikowske’s key revisions were the requirement that off-duty work be approved by an officer’s or sergeant’s commander, and the prohibition against off-duty police working as nightclub bouncers.
O’Toole on Wednesday said she was “renewing” her request to city leaders that they develop legislation limiting off-duty work. She did not comment directly on the FBI and Office of Professional Accountability investigations, except to say that both are ongoing.
SeattlePI senior editor Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.Video (05:42) : For many people in Minnesota and across the country, defaulting on a debt has become tantamount to a crime.
As a sheriff's deputy dumped the contents of Joy Uhlmeyer's purse into a sealed bag, she begged to know why she had just been arrested while driving home to Richfield after an Easter visit with her elderly mother. No one had an answer. Uhlmeyer spent a sleepless night in a frigid Anoka County holding cell, her hands tucked under her armpits for warmth. Then, handcuffed in a squad car, she was taken to downtown Minneapolis for booking. Finally, after 16 hours in limbo, jail officials fingerprinted Uhlmeyer and explained her offense -- missing a court hearing over an unpaid debt. "They have no right to do this to me," said the 57-year-old patient care advocate, her voice as soft as a whisper. "Not for a stupid credit card." It's not a crime to owe money, and debtors' prisons were abolished in the United States in the 19th century. But people are routinely being thrown in jail for failing to pay debts. In Minnesota, which has some of the most creditor-friendly laws in the country, the use of arrest warrants against debtors has jumped 60 percent over the past four years, with 845 cases in 2009, a Star Tribune analysis of state court data has found. Not every warrant results in an arrest, but in Minnesota many debtors spend up to 48 hours in cells with criminals. Consumer attorneys say such arrests are increasing in many states, including Arkansas, Arizona and Washington, driven by a bad economy, high consumer debt and a growing industry that buys bad debts and employs every means available to collect. Whether a debtor is locked up depends largely on where the person lives, because enforcement is inconsistent from state to state, and even county to county. In Illinois and southwest Indiana, some judges jail debtors for missing court-ordered debt payments. In extreme cases, people stay in jail until they raise a minimum payment. In January, a judge sentenced a Kenney, Ill., man "to indefinite incarceration" until he came up with $300 toward a lumber yard debt.
"The law enforcement system has unwittingly become a tool of the debt collectors," said Michael Kinkley, an attorney in Spokane, Wash., who has represented arrested debtors. "The debt collectors are abusing the system and intimidating people, and law enforcement is going along with it." How often are debtors arrested across the country? No one can say. No national statistics are kept, and the practice is largely unnoticed outside legal circles. "My suspicion is the debt collection industry does not want the world to know these arrests are happening, because the practice would be widely condemned," said Robert Hobbs, deputy director of the National Consumer Law Center in Boston. Debt collectors defend the practice, saying phone calls, letters and legal actions aren't always enough to get people to pay. "Admittedly, it's a harsh sanction," said Steven Rosso, a partner in the Como Law Firm of St. Paul, which does collections work. "But sometimes, it's the only sanction we have." Taxpayers foot the bill for arresting and jailing debtors. In many cases, Minnesota judges set bail at the amount owed. In Minnesota, judges have issued arrest warrants for people who owe as little as $85 -- less than half the cost of housing an inmate overnight. Debtors targeted for arrest owed a median of $3,512 in 2009, up from $2,201 five years ago. Those jailed for debts may be the least able to pay. "It's just one more blow for people who are already struggling," said Beverly Yang, a Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation staff attorney who has represented three Illinois debtors arrested in the past two months. "They don't like being in court. They don't have cars. And if they had money to pay these collectors, they would." The collection machine The laws allowing for the arrest of someone for an unpaid debt are not new. What is new is the rise of well-funded, aggressive and centralized collection firms, in many cases run by attorneys, that buy up unpaid debt and use the courts to collect.
Three debt buyers -- Unifund CCR Partners, Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc. and Debt Equities LLC -- accounted for 15 percent of all debt-related arrest warrants issued in Minnesota since 2005, court data show. The debt buyers also file tens of thousands of other collection actions in the state, seeking court orders to make people pay. The debts -- often five or six years old -- are purchased from companies like cellphone providers and credit card issuers, and cost a few cents on the dollar. Using automated dialing equipment and teams of lawyers, the debt-buyer firms try to collect the debt, plus interest and fees. A firm aims to collect at least twice what it paid for the debt to cover costs. Anything beyond that is profit. Portfolio Recovery Associates of Norfolk, Va., a publicly traded debt buyer with the biggest profits and market capitalization, earned $44 million last year on $281 million in revenue -- a 16 percent net margin. Encore Capital Group, another large debt buyer based in San Diego, had a margin last year of 10 percent. By comparison, Wal-Mart's profit margin was 3.5 percent. Todd Lansky, chief operating officer at Resurgence Financial LLC, a Northbrook, Ill.-based debt buyer, said firms like his operate within the law, which says people who ignore court orders can be arrested for contempt. By the time a warrant is issued, a debtor may have been contacted up to 12 times, he said. "This is a last-ditch effort to say, 'Look, just show up in court,'" he said. Go to court -- or jail At 9:30 a.m. on a recent weekday morning, about a dozen people stood in line at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis. Nearly all of them had received court judgments for not paying a delinquent debt. One by one, they stepped forward to fill out a two-page financial disclosure form that gives creditors the information they need to garnish money from their paychecks or bank accounts. This process happens several times a week in Hennepin County. Those who fail to appear can be held in contempt and an arrest warrant is issued if a collector seeks one. Arrested debtors aren't officially charged with a crime, but their cases are heard in the same courtroom as drug users.
Greg Williams, who is unemployed and living on state benefits, said he made the trip downtown on the advice of his girlfriend who knew someone who had been arrested for missing such a hearing. "I was surprised that the police would waste time on my petty debts," said Williams, 45, of Minneapolis, who had a $5,773 judgment from a credit card debt. "Don't they have real criminals to catch?" Few debtors realize they can land in jail simply for ignoring debt-collection legal matters. Debtors also may not recognize the names of companies seeking to collect old debts. Some people are contacted by three or four firms as delinquent debts are bought and sold multiple times after the original creditor writes off the account. "They may think it's a mistake. They may think it's a scam. They may not realize how important it is to respond," said Mary Spector, a law professor at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law in Dallas. A year ago, Legal Aid attorneys proposed a change in state law that would have required law enforcement officials to let debtors fill out financial disclosure forms when they are apprehended rather than book them into jail. No legislator introduced the measure. Joy Uhlmeyer, who was arrested on her way home from spending Easter with her mother, said she defaulted on a $6,200 Chase credit card after a costly divorce in 2006. The firm seeking payment was Resurgence Financial, the Illinois debt buyer. Uhlmeyer said she didn't recognize the name and ignored the notices. Uhlmeyer walked free after her nephew posted $2,500 bail. It took another $187 to retrieve her car from the city impound lot. Her 86-year-old mother later asked why she didn't call home after leaving Duluth. Not wanting to tell the truth, Uhlmeyer said her car broke down and her cell phone died. "The really maddening part of the whole experience was the complete lack of information," she said. "I kept thinking, 'If there was a warrant out for my arrest, then why in the world wasn't I told about it?'" Jailed for $250
One afternoon last spring, Deborah Poplawski, 38, of Minneapolis was digging in her purse for coins to feed a downtown parking meter when she saw the flashing lights of a Minneapolis police squad car behind her. Poplawski, a restaurant cook, assumed she had parked illegally. Instead, she was headed to jail over a $250 credit card debt. Less than a month earlier, she learned by chance from an employment counselor that she had an outstanding warrant. Debt Equities, a Golden Valley debt buyer, had sued her, but she says nobody served her with court documents. Thanks to interest and fees, Poplawski was now on the hook for $1,138. Though she knew of the warrant and unpaid debt, "I wasn't equating the warrant with going to jail, because there wasn't criminal activity associated with it," she said. "I just thought it was a civil thing." She spent nearly 25 hours at the Hennepin County jail. A year later, she still gets angry recounting the experience. A male inmate groped her behind in a crowded elevator, she said. Poplawski also was ordered to change into the standard jail uniform -- gray-white underwear and orange pants, shirt and socks -- in a cubicle the size of a telephone booth. She slept in a room with 12 to 16 women and a toilet with no privacy. One woman offered her drugs, she said. The next day, Poplawski appeared before a Hennepin County district judge. He told her to fill out the form listing her assets and bank account, and released her. Several weeks later, Debt Equities used this information to seize funds from her bank account. The firm didn't return repeated calls seeking a comment. "We hear every day about how there's no money for public services," Poplawski said. "But it seems like the collectors have found a way to get the police to do their work." Threat depends on location A lot depends on where a debtor lives or is arrested, as Jamie Rodriguez, 41, a bartender from Brooklyn Park, discovered two years ago. Deputies showed up at his house one evening while he was playing with his 5-year-old daughter, Nicole. They live in Hennepin County, where the Sheriff's Office has enough staff to seek out people with warrants for civil violations.
If Rodriquez lived in neighboring Wright County, he could have simply handed the officers a check or cash for the amount owed. If he lived in Dakota County, it's likely no deputy would have shown up because the Sheriff's Office there says it lacks the staff to pursue civil debt cases. Knowing that his daughter and wife were watching from the window, Rodriguez politely asked the deputies to drive him around the block, out of sight of his family, before they handcuffed him. The deputies agreed. "No little girl should have to see her daddy arrested," said Rodriguez, who spent a night in jail. "If you talk to 15 different counties, you'll find 15 different approaches to handling civil warrants," said Sgt. Robert Shingledecker of the Dakota County Sheriff's Office. "Everything is based on manpower." Local police also can enforce debt-related warrants, but small towns and some suburbs often don't have enough officers. The Star Tribune's comparison of warrant and booking data suggests that at least 1 in 6 Minnesota debtors at risk for arrest actually lands in jail, typically for eight hours. The exact number of such arrests isn't known because the government doesn't consistently track what happens to debtor warrants. "There are no standards here," said Gail Hillebrand, a senior attorney with the Consumers Union in San Francisco. "A borrower who lives on one side of the river can be arrested while another one goes free. It breeds disrespect for the law." Haekyung Nielsen, 27, of Bloomington, said police showed up at her house on a civil warrant two weeks after she gave birth through Caesarean section. A debt buyer had sent her court papers for an old credit-card debt while she was in the hospital; Nielsen said she did not have time to respond. Her baby boy, Tyler, lay in the crib as she begged the officer not to take her away. "Thank God, the police had mercy and left me and my baby alone," said Nielsen, who later paid the debt. "But to send someone to arrest me two weeks after a massive surgery that takes most women eight weeks to recover from was just unbelievable." The second surprise Many debtors, like Robert Vee, 36, of Brooklyn Park, get a second surprise after being arrested -- their bail is exactly the amount of money owed.At the LA Auto Show today, Audi unveiled the A7 Sportback h-tron quattro, a modified version of its swoopy four-door coupe that swaps out the traditional drivetrain for a hydrogen fuel cell and electric motors at the front and rear. It'll go over 300 miles between refuelings, which take three minutes — a far cry from the hours that it can take to fully recharge a battery-powered electric vehicle. The h-tron is also a plug-in hybrid, which means you can connect it to charge a battery with roughly 31 miles of range.
It's just a proof of concept — for now
California is becoming a popular place to announce hydrogen cars: Honda actually already offers one for lease here, the FCX Clarity, and has announced another (the FCV Concept) for 2016 release. Toyota, meanwhile, is using California as its launchpad for the Mirai sedan. A major reason for that is infrastructure: hydrogen cars require hydrogen stations, which don't exist in sustainable numbers at this point. Toyota is working with California to build out a network there, and has also announced a partnership in the US Northeast to do the same. Globally, though, the cars don't do much good until the stations are widespread.
There's no indication that Audi plans to sell the A7 h-tron — it's billed as a technology demonstrator, just as many of Audi's e-tron EVs have been — but the company says it can make hydrogen cars should the stations ever actually exist. "The h‑tron concept car shows that we have also mastered fuel cell technology. We are in a position to launch the production process as soon as the market and infrastructure are ready," says Ulrich Hackenberg, who leads technical development at Audi.Luis "Peacemaker" Tadeu will continue to coach OpTic Gaming through IEM Katowice, according to a tweet he made Monday.
As I mentioned on my insta, I'll be in action again at IEM Katowice for OpTic. My future is not 100% yet. Ty greenwall for all the love. — Luis Peacemaker (@peacemakercsgo) February 20, 2017
Peacemaker joined OpTic gaming as a temporary coach for DreamHack Masters Las Vegas, though it is unclear if the organization plans to bring him on in a permanent capacity. He was brought on alongside former Team Liquid player Spencer "Hiko" Martin, who has yet to make a statement regarding whether or not he will play for OpTic in Katowice.
OpTic placed 9th-12th at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas with a 1-2 record in the group stage. OpTic finished the tournament with one win over North, and losses to Astralis and North.
Peacemaker left Team Liquid in October, then joined NRG Esports in November as their CS:GO general manager but stepped down after less than a month, citing differences in vision.
IEM Katowice will run from March 3-5 in Katowice, Poland.
Daniel Rosen is a news editor for theScore esports. You can follow him on Twitter.Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the popular Ernest Cline novel Ready Player One is coming to the big screen in the spring, and the legendary director says going back to the pop culture icons of the 1980s provided for a unique kind of escapism.
Spielberg says the movie is "a cautionary tale but also an exhilarating adventure." He goes on to say the '80s "had a refreshing lack of cynicism, and in our story, that’s what people are trying to return to. In their real lives, they’re living in a debris field of the first half of the 21st century."
Ready Player One tells the story of Wade Watts, a young man living in the bleak world of 2045, where people around the globe have entered a virtual Easter egg hunt that could leave the winner rich beyond their wildest dreams. The hunt is orchestrated by dead billionaire James Halliday, the 1980s-obsessed creator of the virtual OASIS, who designed the treasure hunt to give away his fortune.
People enter the OASIS through avatars they can design, and this aspect of the story has some relevance to the way people interact today. When asked about how characters interact through the OASIS, Spielberg says:
"You get to know their quirks, (but) you don’t know who the person really is until you meet them in the real world. So there’s always that doubt: Are they telling the truth about themselves?"
The movie features X-Men: Dark Phoenix star Tye Sheridan as Wade and Mark Rylance as Halliday. Other cast members include Olivia Cooke, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg and Ben Mendelsohn. Ready Player One hits theatres March 30 2018.Tucked into the details of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that President Trump signed into law Dec. 12 is a long overdue recognition of the first American astronauts who were lost in service to their country while practicing for a mission – a provision authorizing a memorial to the crew at Arlington National Cemetery.
Just over 50 years ago, on Jan. 27, 1967, the crew of the Apollo 1 mission – Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee – were killed after a fire erupted in the Apollo command module during a launch pad rehearsal of procedures for the planned first launch of an Apollo mission.
Apollo was the third crewed spacecraft built by the United States in pursuit of its effort to land a human on the moon before 1970. The program was at the high point of the Cold War with the Soviet Union and was commonly called the “Moon Race.” While overshadowed by the Vietnam War, this crew of military pilots were veterans who were fiercely committed to supporting the effort to showcase the superiority of American freedom and technology to the world.
Apollo was ultimately successful with the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969 and, while other astronauts were lost in jet trainer aircraft during the 1960s, these three were the first astronauts who died in their spacecraft while preparing for their mission.
At the time, this was a major national tragedy and the next Apollo mission was delayed by almost two years. But, since this was the first astronaut crew lost by NASA — itself an agency barely nine years old — there was no precedent for how best to honor them. After the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986, a congressionally authorized memorial was placed at Arlington National Cemetery and the same was done for Space Shuttle Columbia when it was lost in 2003. While there is a memorial to the Apollo 1 crew at the base of the concrete structure that supported the pad where they died, its location in Florida at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is not usually accessible to the public except on special occasions. The crew members themselves are buried elsewhere; Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee are in Arlington Cemetery and Ed White is buried at West Point.
The 2018 National Defense Authorization provision was supported by a bipartisan group of legislators in the House and Senate. In the House, it was championed by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), along with Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.). And in the Senate, John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bill Nelson (D-Florida) took the lead. Additional support came from the Challenger Center, a non-profit organization set up by the families of the Challenger crew that is focused on promoting Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.
The provision authorizes the memorial but specifically does not authorize government funding. Because the legislation requires that the memorial be privately financed, AIA plans to develop a fundraising campaign to assure that the Apollo 1 crew will be appropriately memorialized near the crews from the lost shuttle missions.
It is over 50 years since the loss of the Apollo 1 crew and almost fifty years after the first crewed lunar landing. It is high time to permanently remember the mission in our national cemetery for fallen heroes; we are grateful that the Congress and the President agree.
Frank Slazer is vice president for space systems at the Aerospace Industries Associationo.He is as muddled as ever: he says that “the forces that made those interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan so difficult are of course the very forces at the heart of the storm today.” That would be al-Qaeda. But Western intervention to topple Assad will only aid al-Qaeda. “Tony Blair: military intervention in Syria vital to prevent ‘breeding ground for extremism,'” by Melanie Hall in the Telegraph, August 27:
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has backed a military strike on the Syrian regime, saying international action is required to prevent the country from becoming a “breeding ground for extremism”.
The ex-prime minister who took the decision for British troops to join the US-led action, and who is now the Middle East peace envoy for the US, Russia, the EU and the United Nations, said it was vital to ”take sides” against the Assad regime and in other regional disputes.
Drawing on his own experiences, Mr Blair wrote in The Times: ”I know as one of the architects of policy after 9/11 the controversy, anguish and cost of the decisions taken.
”I understand why, now, the pendulum has swung so heavily the other way. But it is not necessary to revert to that policy to make a difference. And the forces that made those interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan so difficult are of course the very forces at the heart of the storm today.
”They have to be defeated. We should defeat them, however long it takes because otherwise they will not disappear. They will grow stronger until, at a later time, there will be another crossroads and this time there will be no choice.”
He continued: ”After the long and painful campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, I understand every impulse to stay clear of the turmoil, to watch but not to intervene, to ratchet up language but not to engage in the hard, even harsh business of changing reality on the ground.
”But we have collectively to understand the consequences of wringing our hands instead of putting them to work.
”People wince at the thought of intervention. But contemplate the future consequence of inaction and shudder: Syria mired in carnage between the brutality of Assad and various affiliates of al Qaida, a breeding ground of extremism infinitely more dangerous than Afghanistan in the 1990s; Egypt in chaos, with the West, however unfairly, looking as if it is giving succour to those who would turn it into a Sunni version of Iran.”
He added: ”Iran still – despite its new president – a theocratic dictatorship, with a nuclear bomb. Our allies dismayed. Our enemies emboldened. Ourselves in confusion. This is a nightmare scenario but it is not far-fetched.”
On Syria, he wrote: ”I hear people talking as if there was nothing we could do: the Syrian defence systems are too powerful, the issues too complex, and in any event, why take sides since they’re all as bad as each other?
”But others are taking sides. They’re not terrified of the prospect of intervention. They’re intervening. To support an assault on civilians not seen since the dark days of Saddam.
”It is time we took a side: the side of the people who want what we want; who see our societies for all their faults as something to admire; who know that they should not be faced with a choice between tyranny and theocracy.”…Sydney has the unenviable title of Australasia's most congested city after a report from a peak transport body revealed it features seven of the 10 slowest roads on both sides of the Tasman.
And in a sign of the mounting pressures of a booming population, average speeds of 72.5 kilometres an hour on Sydney's road network – which includes motorways such as the M7 and M2 – are even slower than New York.
The Austroads report shows Sydney is worse than Melbourne on most measures of congestion, including the extent to which motorists are delayed and need to allow for extra time to reach their destinations at peak periods.
And when compared with international peers in the United States, the average speed on the Sydney road network is slower than San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia – which range from 79 to 86km/h – and only slightly faster than Seattle's.World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is experiencing its “worst year in decades,” according to self-proclaimed “wrestling historian” Jaden McCreary.
McCreary, who moments ago rang in the new year by watching a solo marathon of New Japan Pro Wrestling matches from the 1980s, insists 2016 has been “abysmal” for WWE.
More from Kayfabe News
“I haven’t seen one decent WWE match all year,” tweeted McCreary, whose Twitter handle is @ROH_NJPW_LUCHA_69Styles.
He added: “Mark my words: WWE declares bankruptcy in 2016.”
McCreary is known among the so-called “Internet Wrestling Community” for his bold proclamations, such as his insistence that he predicted the Undertaker’s streak-ending loss at WrestleMania, and that Shane McMahon would be running WWE by 2013.
Although he religiously watches WWE Raw every week — and has done so for the past two decades — McCreary declares he will “give up WWE forever” if the company doesn’t immediately sign some Japanese wrestler he claims to like.We are blind to what is truly going on in the world, it is an unexplained mystery. After all that has happened in the last decade, how will politicians, religious leaders and financial institutions ever to regain our trust? The answer is simple, they don't have to. From the point of view of the masses, after the propaganda machine went on, they never lost our trust. We are blissfully unaware of what truly happened since we only read and watch the mass media. None of them lied to us, none of them worked for their own interests, all is well in the best world there is, and salvation is just around the corner. Trust me, I know what to do, things will be much better afterwards. Trust me, you don't need to know anything about it. Although this is all done in secret, I'm working toward solving all humanity's problems. Here is the truth, or at least a distorted version of it. Will we ever learn how bad things are? How close countries like the United States and the United Kingdom are to declare bankruptcy? I don't think so. We will learn about it when it happens, not even the day before. As to how this was made possible, it is unlikely the general population will ever know. After all, is it important that they should know? No one should be held accountable anyway, no one will at any rate. So let's just forget it, let's just bury everything. I think Madonna is trying to adopt another African baby. If there is one thing every single kid learns early on, it is not to trust anyone. We learn very quickly that this world is filled with deception, as if lying was second nature to everyone on this planet. I'm sure there are some religions out there preaching of always telling the truth, but as more religious leaders are caught lying and promoting hate against even the teachings of their own religion, you might wish to think twice before trusting anyone. In politics it is as bad, that no politician could ever survive by telling the truth, no matter the justifications and how nicely it could be presented. And about financial institutions, do I need to say more? Make a quick buck now, forget the consequences on the international financial markets in the long term, and suffer for an eternity afterwards. Your parents will lie to you on a daily basis, most likely when you are young, so they can escape all sorts of traps and embarrassment. Just look at how Madonna justified to her kid Lourdes that kiss to Britney Spears. It was all about passing up energy. Why not tell your children the truth? Mummy is not a lesbian darling, it was just a marketing stunt. And it worked wonders, since it shocked the world. My God, this world is so easily shocked. The truth is, no one was shocked by that kiss, we all understood what it meant, more marketing gimmick. Only a few journalists appeared to have been shocked by a kiss between two great pop stars. Those journalists are not allowed to report real news, so they report how shock we are supposed to be by anything unimportant, whilst none of us are shocked by anything these days. I wish we could all be shocked by what happened in the last decade, and maybe we are despite the appearances. It is like at the height of the Russian propaganda machine, when those poor Russians were lied to by their government on a daily basis. At least then, none of them believed it, none of them were fooled. The government then did not try to hide the truth, they just expected you to hear the lies and shut up, or suffer the consequences. In America it is quite different, as we will not believe that this is propaganda, we believe it is the truth. I tested it many times at work with the lightest conspiracy theories you could find, the most believable ones as they are mostly all proven already, and everyone thought I was a lunatic. Of course, George W. Bush was such a great President, perhaps the best we ever had. And those religious leaders, what they are stating is so perfect for us, women need to go back to being home makers, serve their husbands and have babies, whilst gay people should be shot where they stand. Teachers, managers, bosses, the prosecution and police officers in Court, none of them will tell you the truth straight, they will lie to safeguard themselves until it is proven that you are the one who's been lying all along for most of your life. Lying is definitely a law of human nature. Even animals lie. Apparently the more intelligent they are, the more likely they are to do so. The less elaborate the language, the more they will use subterfuge instead, bluffing and deception. It has to be said that these are instincts link to survival, to avoid punishment, embarrassment or losing everything. So should it be forgiven that we are all liars and deceivers? It could very well explain why humans are today at the top of the food chain in the animal kingdom. We are what we are. At the very least we need to be made fully aware of it, so we can protect ourselves. So many still think they live in such a perfect world where everyone is working so hard to make it all so much better for the rest of humanity. I could puke just about now. I have read enough on the independent news websites to be aware of what |
ed as it is between giants China and Russia, Mongolia is expert at navigating the rocky diplomatic territory between friendly disagreement and impudence.
It shouldn't come as a surprise then that it has proven adept at balancing ties with Washington and other Western powers while pursuing warm relations with North Korea, Iran and other pariahs.
The Mongolian press regularly refers to the United States as "our third neighbor." Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj met President Barack Obama at the White House in 2011, and President George W. Bush dropped in on Elbegdorj's predecessor in 2005 -- in part to thank Mongolia for sending troops to join US-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Even as foreign direct investment from G7, Russian and Asian investors has surged in Mongolia, earlier this year Elbegdorj became the first foreign leader allowed to visit the Iranian centrifuge array at the uranium enrichment center in Natanz.
Mongolia also has strong ties with two energy-rich Central Asian states known for their standoffish attitude, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. And it has kept strong ties with China, its largest trading partner, in spite of open criticism in Mongolia's press about the suppression of their ethnic cousins in China's province of Inner Mongolia.
But it is the relationship with Pyongyang that stands out most starkly.
During the Korean War, when Mongolia was effectively a communist satellite caught between China and Russia, Mongolia sent 200,000 head of cattle to help feed the North's population.
The tacit alliance ended in 1990, when Mongolia recognized South Korea and embraced market reforms and democracy. But after some rocky times later that decade, ties have flourished again.
A top-level North Korean military delegation's visit to the Mongolian capital was revealed in 2009, partly by accident -- literally, an automobile accident. The crash made the local papers since North Korea's deputy defense minister required treatment at an Ulan Bator hospital.
So what exactly is discussed when the North and Mongolia meet? North Korea may press Mongolia to follow China's example and turn over North Korean defectors who use Ulan Bator's air links as a gateway to South Korea. To date, the Mongolian government has held its ground, winning praise from human rights groups.
But land-locked Mongolia also has serious economic interests in developing the so-called Rahon Special Economic Zone, a port development at the northern tip of North Korea that offers Mongolia a way to export manufactured goods via the trans-Siberian railroad, bypassing Chinese and Russian ports.
There is also a controversial labor arrangement whereby some 5,000 North Koreans work in Mongolia's booming mines and factories. Many work under miserable conditions, according to The Independent, and are likely forced to turn their pay over to Pyongyang -- in effect, allowing North Korea to raise hard currency otherwise banned under sanctions.
The fact that neither the US, South Korea nor Japan has made an issue of these workers suggests there are good reasons not to upset Mongolia's ties with the North.
But don't oversell the Mongolia-North Korea friendship, experts say.
"These [North Korean] ties are based neither on common interests nor shared values but exclusively on the psychological imperative to defend maximum sovereignty and maintain room for maneuver," wrote Munkh-Ochir Dorjjugder, director of Mongolia's Institute for Defense Studies, in a paper for the Brookings Institution.
"The last thing the Mongolian government is willing to do is to act, once again, as the'mouthpiece' and 'promoter of ideology' of any neighbor, real-world or virtual."
This story originally appeared onThe revenue from semiconductor IP has risen steadily to become the largest segment of the EDA industry. Industry forecasts expect it to keep growing at a CAGR of more than 10% for the next decade.
Part one of this article examined the possibility those forecasts are wrong and that large semiconductor companies are likely to start bringing IP development back in house. This is a minority viewpoint, and one not embraced by much of the semiconductor industry.
“The reason is simple,” argues Sanjive Agarwala, senior director of worldwide silicon development and fellow at Texas Instruments. “The number of nodes will slow down, industry consolidation, standardization of IP—these all add margin pressure. And R&D costs are proportional to what you can afford.”
Others are less pessimistic, with some qualifiers. Hugh Durdan, vice president of strategy and products for eSilicon adds another dimension to industry health. “One is revenue. Is it growing? It looks quite healthy today. The second dimension is profitability. That is where the real challenge lays for the IP business.”
The real question becomes whether the IP industry can transform itself to deal with the evolution of the market. As quickly as some companies may be re-aggregating IP development, other companies are entering the market. “We see major OEMs, who used to buy SoCs from merchant chip suppliers, now designing very complex SoCs in house,” says Tom Wong, director of marketing, design IP at Cadence. “This trend will continue as the number of companies capable of deploying “unicorn” SoCs continues to grow.”
A Unicorn SoC is a complex SoC that ships in excess of 100 million units.
Fig. 1: Global Semiconductor Market. Source International Business Strategies, Inc. (IBS)
IP business model
One of the challenges for the IP industry is the business model. When IP is developed in house, it is an engineering cost. When IP is licensed, there may be both an engineering cost, which is the license fee, plus a manufacturing cost for many pieces of IP, which is the royalty.
“There should be a success element that help two companies come together and to encourage each other to push the envelope of IP development,” says Grant Pierce, president and CEO at Sonics. “The royalty model may be too difficult a business model for every company to share their direct profit back to every IP company that contributed to the profit, but we hope to be rewarded based on the utility we provided in their design.”
Another problem for some IP companies is scale. “The market is such that IP vendors tend to be small companies and the customers tend to be big companies with lots of purchasing power,” remarks Dave Kelf, vice president of marketing for OneSpin Solutions. “If the big company has all of the buying power and there are multiple companies trying to produce the same IP, then it becomes a tough market and the big companies know that they can squeeze on royalties.”
“Part of the success story for Arm was that they were able to get royalties for their entire IP portfolio and that drives their margin and profitability,” explains Anush Mohandass, vice president of business development for NetSpeed Systems. “Successful IP companies are those that can drive this business model and get both a license component and a royalty component.”
So why do some companies not get royalty? “That goes back to the impact of the IP,” continues Mohandass. “You have to provide value to the designers of the SoC.”
Value can be provided in several ways. “First, we saw that customers wanted complete solutions, and that may include integrating a controller and PHY,” says eSilicon’s Durdan. “Second, things like the PHY for DDR are extremely challenging to implement and to get to timing closure. So another service is the hardening of the interface so that the customer does not have to deal with that. The next level is complete sub-system integration.”
We are also seeing customers looking for increasing levels customization. “An example is Adapt IP,” says Kelf. “While they are trying to sell the IP for royalties, they make more money from configuring the IP to fit into the chips. They charge a service fee to configure the IP and doing the synthesis runs.”
Another aspect to IP health is just making sure you do get paid for what you provide. “There is a lot of IP floating around that has not been paid for,” claims Warren Savage, general manager of the IP Division at Silvaco. “This is either intentional or not, but there is money left on the table. Eventually, with the help of IP fingerprinting, IP companies can protect their hard earned work and help semiconductor companies stay in compliance.”
Impact of Open Source
ARM is the shining star in the IP business because it is the largest provider of IP and it is quite profitable. Is RISC-V, an open source processor, a challenge to that?
“If people are invested with ARM or other cores, then having RISC-V be open source and potentially cheaper will not make difference to them,” says Geoff Tate, CEO of Flex Logix. “I don’t think people will be in a rush to put open source IP into their chips. IP has to be proven. They want to see timing and power numbers verified by actual silicon results. When mask costs are $5 million to $6 million and total chips costs are perhaps $100 million, they will not risk the chip to save some money. The important thing is to get it right first time.”
There are other barriers, as well. “It is all about the ecosystem,” says John Koeter, vice president of marketing for Synopsys’ Solutions Group. “We have a core – ARC, which is demonstrably better in a PPA compared to ARM. By every rational objective it should be sweeping ARM out of the market. We are talking about a 50% difference in area or performance. And while we are doing well, we are not a billion-dollar microprocessor IP vendor. It is all about the ecosystem and the software that has been ported to it and the development kits that are available.”
So, how does RISC-V stack up? “The scalable RISC-V instruction set means designers can choose the right mix of instructions, associated power footprint and throughput for the specific application,” says Graham Bell, vice president of marketing for Uniquify, Inc.. “Power footprints so far are competitive when compared to commercial offerings.”
While RISC-V may not directly attack ARM in its core markets, it may make inroads elsewhere. “One company had a controller in all of the SoCs,” explained Rick O’Connor, executive director of the RISC-V foundation. “This is not seen or programmed by the end user. It controls the SoC, and there are multiple instances of them on the larger SoCs. It was homegrown and they have been maintaining this for a long time. They needed to upgrade it to 64-bit. After they reviewed their options and considered internal development, they picked RISC-V. It didn’t steal any IP business, but it may have stolen some growth.”
Durdan agrees. “For high-end processors, such as those in a smart phone, there is a significant barrier to anyone else getting into that market. It is not insurmountable. But it would take a long time, mainly because of the comfort and familiarity that the software engineers have with the architecture and tools. But there is another class of processors that is more embedded. For those, all of the software is written in house and they do not rely as heavily on third party software ecosystem. In those applications it is much easier to switch architecture.”
Many see open source as a distraction. “USB and PCI express are effectively open source,” Koeter points out. “They are based on a public standard that anyone can implement. It is all about how well you can implement it.”
So RISC-V may take away some growth from CPU providers, but others argue this creates more opportunities. “It will bring more people into the fold,” says Mohandass. “People who are buying merchant silicon or buying standard components will start to do their own. It will reduce the cost of entry into designing your own hardware. It may reduce the IP revenue per chip. So will the increase in volume be enough to balance the decrease in perceived value? I don’t know the answer to that.”
O’Connor agrees. “It may lower the barrier to creating new devices. While they will not license a commercial processor core, they would still need to license all of the peripheral IP. There are many more of these than processor cores, so it may grow the market.”
In the meantime, the market watches carefully. “Linux certainly killed Solaris, but software is different from hardware,” points out Savage. “I’m not a big believer in the open source hardware movement for a variety of reasons, not the least being I don’t see customers asking for it. But regarding RISC-V, there are a lot of ways this could go off-the-rails on its journey to be the Linux of processors. I’m watching just like everyone else.”
Very hard IP
Another possible development for the IP industry may be enabled by advances in packaging. “Multi-chip packaging is a niche technology limited to a few specialized users in the past,” explains Tate. “We hear a lot more about it today. The willingness to consider a multi-chip design is going up sharply and people are considering it for a lot of reasons.”
“It is a reality today and there are people selling chiplets with certain functions embedded in them,” says Durdan. “The value to the end customer is that they can isolate a piece of functionality that may be high risk, such as a high performance SerDes, from the rest of the SoC. They are mitigating risk by using a known, proven chiplet that embodies the high risk IP.”
There are other advantages as well. “It makes the most sense to think about chiplets when you want to integrate things built on different process technologies,” says Drew Wingard, CTO at Sonics. “The image sensor may need low noise which you will not get from finFETs. Other things may be built using MEMs. There are key parts of the RF link that can be manufactured using Si or GaAs that don’t behave nicely with complex digital. There are good reasons to believe that heterogeneous integration at the package level makes sense.”
Typically 20% of an SoC design is analog or analog/mixed-signal. “This IP for SoCs will be developed at 2x and 1x nodes, or new ways will be used to combine older analog-friendly processes with current digital offerings through the use of 2.5D and 3D stacking technologies,” says Bell. “This can change the IP design problem to a packaging and manufacturing, one that can be easier to solve.”
But there are barriers that have to be overcome first. “The problem with chiplets for any IP supplier is the lack of interconnect standards,” says Tate. “You have to drive signals over an interposer. People use different types of interconnect technologies, such as HBM, and everyone seems to do something different for connecting the chips. That is the signaling layer and then there is the logical layer and there is a lack of standard here as well. We are not yet at the point where they can buy stuff off the shelf because of the lack of standardization.”
Cost is the biggest barrier today. “It is not going to be the lowest cost solution for the end product,” points out Durdan. “It is more expensive to package up multiple chips into a package compared to a large integrated monolithic chip. There may however be a time to market advantage to the chiplet solution.”
Those costs will probably come down over time leading IP developers to change. “Chiplets require silicon hardening,” says Bell. “Competitors will not find it easy to enter this market, particularly those that have a soft IP focus.”
Conclusion
“Moore’s Law is irrelevant to IP,” says Savage. “Bigger chips mean more IP, and an increased number of smaller chips mean more IP. The IoT era is going to mean more IP licensing than we’ve seen with ASSP’s because instead of having one ASSP with one IP license, a company might have five small chips with five IP licenses.”
The IP industry had to change in the past, and it will continue to evolve in many ways. Semiconductor companies cannot afford to put IP companies out of business because their success relies on them. While each may want to take a larger part of the pie, at the end of the day they are business partners. IP companies that invest more in R&D will produce better products and will demand higher prices for it.
Related Stories
Is The IP Industry Healthy? (Part 1)
IP has grown to become the largest segment of EDA revenue, but is it sustainable?
IP Business Changing As Markets Shift
Experts at the Table, part 1: Rising complexity, new technologies, and the challenges of keeping track of and protecting intellectual property are straining the ecosystem.
Re-Using IP In Packaging
The biggest advantage in advanced packaging is still missing, but that’s expected to change.
Challenges Grow For IP Reuse
Methodologies for integration become a competitive tool as complexity and possible options skyrocket.
No More Easy IP Money (July 2016)
Revenues for semiconductor IP are expected to grow, but the easy money may have already been made. Developing IP is getting tougher on several fronts."It's the document that creates a transparency as to the Congressman or the nominee's holdings to let the public know who he is, what he has, and do you want to vote for him. If he's voting on things in Congress that he has a conflict with.”
~Burton S. Odleson
“The law is there for a purpose. This is the second time he’s run for Congress, and to not know it, it’s unconscionable"
“Do we want somebody in Congress who is going to forget to file official paperwork? He broke the law. He can make any excuse in the world, but fact of matter is, he knew he should do it, but he didn’t do it.”
~Mark Cramer
Only in Illinois
Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, Democratic political staffer, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.
Attorney Burton Odelson, a veteran at helping political candidates get their paperwork in order, said it's significant that Republican Joe Walsh failed to file the required personal financial disclosure report with the FEC before the Illinois primary. Traditionally it's filed almost immediately, but candidates can file up to 30 days after the first quarter in which they have $5,000 of fund-raising activity, or at least 30 days before an election (including primaries.)Now others within the Republican party are calling for him to get out because he's broken election law, because in a district that's in play (the Illinois 8th) they've got a guy running who even staunch Republicans don't want to vote for.You'd expect Democrats to be using this, to draw attention to disorganization at a minimum, and call into question where the money came from in cases such as this one where a candidate loans substantial amounts to the campaign despite having outstanding financial judgments going unmet.Check this out:Despite Walsh’s apology, Fox was reporting that calls for his resignation were growing more intense in some corners even before more staffers quit. Let's face it, staff quits in almost every election, it's a stressful job, but these latest two sound like pretty solid GOP supporters engaged in more than ordinary angst.According to Jeff Goldblatt of Fox Chicago, Mark Cramer, a Precinct Captain with Schaumburg Township Republicans, repeated his call for Walsh to get out of the race.Can you imagine if Obama had failed to file this fundamental a piece of documentation? Never mind the whole birth certificate uproar, this is the chance for voters and the media to examine the finances and look for conflicts of interest before casting their ballots. It's our chance to see the assets, debt, and recent income of people we send off to vote on how to manage and spend vast sums of tax-payer money, but Walsh wants to quietly pay the late fee, plus whatever civil fine (a maximum of $50,000) the Attorney General's pursues in a civil case - andWas Walsh even eligible to run and/or hold the office having failed to comply FEC regulations? If this had emerged after the election itself would it result in just a slap on the wrist, or would his eligibility to serve in the U.S. Congress be nullified?What is the point of FEC regulations if they don't apply to every candidate? I realize this is Illinois, and that means the focus is on Rod Blagojevich, and people just accept a certain amount in politics, but --Voters have a right to expect our elections are conducted fairly.Dan Barron of Conroy Barron Public Relations sent the following press release and photograph…a “happy accident” and a hilarious juxtaposition of bicycle-friendly billboard and local business signage:
Sell your car. Buy a bike (and lots of beer).
Denver, Colo.—When New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo., was offered a package of urban Denver billboards, pro bono, for a pro-biking ad campaign, it quickly accepted, and assigned its agency, CULTIVATOR ADVERTISING & DESIGN, Denver, to create the outdoor messages. Neither client nor agency imagined how appropriate the placement would turn out to be.
The headline, “Work to Bike More,�? was inspired by the priorities of several New Belgium employees who may well be more passionate about cycling than about gainful employment. The billboard promotes New Belgium’s Team Wonderbike, which encourages both New Belgium employees and the general public to trade in their cars for a bike (motto: “Bike More. Drive Less�?). The placement above PT Motor’s “Cash for Cars�? sign, at I-76 and North Federal Blvd., Denver, was fortuitous.
Media space was donated by Lamar Outdoor, via New Belgium’s media agency, Explore Communications, Denver. The vinyl on which the billboard is printed will be “repurposed�? by Ecologic, Boulder, Colo., into bike messenger bags, which will be offered to Team Wonderbike members (including the billboard’s poster boy, Bryan “Big Bry�? Simpson).
New Belgium Brewing Co. is employee-owned, wind powered (since ’99), pro-bicycle, and recycles, reuses or composts 73% of its waste stream.
Cultivator is a creative-focused advertising and design firm. Other accounts include Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Anthony’s Pizza, Spyder Active Sports, Pronghorn Club (luxury golf community) and ink! Coffee.Cancer sucks on so many levels. Indeed, many liken the Stage IV experience to a roller coaster because of the ridiculous numbers of peaks and valleys with little time in between to catch your breath. And so it was for me a few weeks ago when I found myself hospitalized for the first time since being diagnosed with breast cancer.
I had been feeling really lousy for some months. But if you are from the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, you know how cruel and unforgiving the winter of 2015 had turned out to be. That I felt lousy and unable to really do much I chalked up to the weather. Any confusion or restlessness was the fault of a substantial lack of sunlight. And general crankiness I blamed on being lonely.
But on one particular Monday my ankle, that was sore for a day or two for no reason, had become so sensitive that I could scarcely put any weight on it. And more than any day before, I felt there was something intrinsically wrong with my body. I was nauseous more than I wasn’t and most mornings began with a short stint of dry heaves. Occasionally I was a little dizzy and I didn’t pee much. And that bloody primary tumor in my right breast was still growing. Only a week ago I had attended my monthly oncology appointment and, because the creatinine was a slightly elevated (which it has been for a year by this point) and my potassium ridiculously low, I had received some IV hydration and potassium. But on this particular Monday I called my oncologist in tears and was urged to take a taxi or call an ambulance to the breast center. I didn’t want to take an ambulance away from someone whose life might be on the line. I could not find a taxi, so I took the bus.
The only way that I could describe how I felt was to say that I felt weird and unsettled–just a general feeling of not being quite right. And I was concerned that the sudden and extreme ankle pain, even without swelling or heat, was indicative of a blood clot. After a blood test, I was informed that my creatinine level was “in the nines” and that I would not be going home. I was inpatient bound.
After what seemed like endless tubes of blood that went to the lab, I learned that my creatinine was so high that at first glance the attending physician thought I would need dialysis; I had acute kidney failure. My plump and happy kidneys had turned into shriveled raisins and I was severely dehydrated. That explained a lot of the symptoms I had been experiencing, not the least of which was not peeing very much. Worse still, a lung scan revealed the presence of two pulmonary emboli. Over achiever.
My job from there on out was to cooperate fully with my physicians and do what I was told for however long I was told to do it. It did not matter that I desperately wanted to be no place else but home.
Mount Sinai is a teaching hospital and what that meant for me, of course, was a never-ending flow of doctors, residents, interns, and fellows that started at 6:00 am and continued throughout the day. And, as anyone who has spent time in a hospital will know, it was noisy, people spoke at the top of their lungs at 2:00 am, I was nudged awake for blood tests in the wee hours while lying under fluorescent lights that inevitably were left on out of habit when whomever did what they did to me left the room. Machines didn’t just take your vitals, they had to turn on with little musical announcements, beeps, and bells. The IV pumps would beep. Was it plugged in? Did one infusion or the other stop? With three pumps going it was a never ending cacophony of warning signals of one type or another. You know what they say, don’t go to the hospital to get a rest.
And the food sucked. I think the chef’s previous job was supervising the food that prisoners get on Riker’s Island. You know when the movie prisoner gets some kind of mold covered mystery shit patty that, even if not eaten, makes them vomit? Yeah, it was pretty bad.
For the first four days I was on clear liquids. A dietitian came to my room and said that she knew that just having clear liquids was a challenge, but “even then you do have the ability to make some choices to enhance your dining experience.” I was then told that in addition to clear chicken broth, I could also choose beef broth or vegetable broth. Jello choices were cherry and raspberry. When I was finally allowed solid foods, I contemplated asking for clear liquids again. The food was so bad that I didn’t even post a picture to Facebook with some sarcastic caption. It was that bad. It always smelled like feet, tasted worse, and nothing–absolutely nothing–was fresh.
Oh, and while in the hospital I caught a virus that took all but everything out of me. Every thing that came out my lungs or head was green and gross. Every two hours or so I retreated to the bathroom and spent 30 minutes doing what I called going green and tried to clear my lungs and sinuses in an attempt to breath normally for ten minutes. I begged for cough syrup, a culture, anything. If it didn’t have to do with kidneys or lungs no one seemed to give a shit and I never received anything to help me with the symptoms. And then I finally had a meltdown. I had it with the IVs, the round-the-clock blood draws, the endless noise from machines that take your blood pressure (no one knows how to take a manual BP anymore?), coughing up my lungs and suffocating from stuffed sinuses. When I talked I sounded like a frog. I wanted out for I felt worse than I did when I entered the place a full week before. But waiting for Coumadin to reach a therapeutic level increased my stay one day at a time. I was going to go home on Friday, then Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday, then Tuesday. Finally I was released on Monday evening and was spared another day. (As I write this, three weeks later, only now do I feel a spark of energy and am able to walk across the street to a park bench and keep down a meal.)
It all just goes to show how vulnerable I am now that I’m carrying around the cancer monkey on my back. I was not aware that blood clots are a concern with Stage IV cancer, so now I’m on Coumadin for the long haul. I drink constantly: water, lemonade, juice, milk. I even wake in the middle of the night for a glass of ginger ale to soothe my still sore throat and add to the hydration totals. Jello is my go-to for a snack. In the course of just a few weeks I had shed 28 pounds.
Until now it was all about pain from bone metastasis. But a step away from serious kidney damage and blood clots that could have fatally dislodged? Not to mention that Floyd not only hurts but bleeds and leaks to varying degrees from day to day. So in addition to facing a pretty precarious health crisis, I will say goodbye to aromatase inhibitors and anti-estrogens and begin oral chemotherapy in an attempt to target Floyd and (hopefully) kill the bastard. I begin Xeloda on April 20. Until now, all of the medications that I have taken have been effective for six to eight months. My fingers are crossed that Xeloda remains effective much longer.
As I sat in the emergency department on the night that I was admitted to the hospital, my overwhelming fear was one of entering a phase of progressive deterioration. Was this the moment where my health would become ever compromised and I would start to divide my time between home and hospital? Was this the proverbial beginning of my end?
Thankfully, the answer seems to be no. My scans are excellent: no progression has been detected apart from Floyd, both sites that received radiation have responded well. There is still a lot of pain in my lower back and groin, but I take narcotics on schedule to address that. I can’t escape the fact my immune system is wonky, I am still easily fatigued, and I need to be aware of things that heretofore I never had to think about in order to attain and then maintain good overall health.
If you are living with metastatic breast cancer, then you know it’s a full time job. You need to learn about your disease and cancer writ large, master your medications, understand your treatments, and anticipate challenges. You need to become your own advocate and to the best of your ability keep the myriad appointments for scans, follow ups, and monthly treatments. There are moments of triumph, times when you lose your footing and slip backward, times when you are hopeful, and other times in which you just don’t care. But over time you realize that the fear you try to smother never really goes away; and I venture to think that this is probably varies from person to person. The fear, for me, is not one of inevitable death, for we all die. My fear is that of profound vulnerability.
My first exposure to being vulnerable came with the news that I had breast cancer. Intractable pain made me feel fragile. Finally acknowledging that I had to leave my career was, I thought, the worst vulnerability of all. The loneliness and isolation reveals yet another layer of fragility. Having to depend on people and feeling resentment from some that you need their assistance. But this experience taught me there are even deeper levels of vulnerability that leave one exposed and in real day-to-day danger. And I know that as time passes I will discover even more.
I never liked roller coasters. And I really hate the one on which I’m stuck until the ride is really and truly over.A photo of a beaming, bespectacled woman in a yellow coat attending President Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Friday made the rounds on social media over the weekend, inspiring jeers, laughs and cries of sexism.
The woman in question poses for a selfie with U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and John McCain, and the photo's caption identifies her simply as "a woman."
The problem? The woman wasn't a random admirer, but U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Online critics chimed in:
Alex Wall saw the photo on SFgate.com, a San Francisco Chronicle website. It was taken by Joe Raedle of Getty Images. Wall tweeted: "@SFGate that's Senator Klobuchar, not 'a woman.' Three US Senators took a selfie. Not two and "a woman."
Beth Pitzel Commers wrote to Klobuchar on Facebook: "I hope you take this caption as a challenge to make so much damn noise in DC for the next 4 years that they never overlook or forget your name again."
A screen shot of a selfie Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobouchar tweeted of her with colleagues Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) while attending the inauguraton of Donald J. Trump Friday morning.
Klobuchar took the gaffe in stride, issuing a response on Sunday night:
"The reaction on social media has been both endearing and amusing. Since only senators were seated in that section (with many layers of security) it did seem a bit odd that they didn't try to pin down who the random "woman" was sitting next to Senators McCain and Sanders. Next time I will wear a big name tag or better yet a Vikings jersey with my name on the back."
Representatives from SFgate.com attributed the mistake to Getty Images and said they fixed the caption immediately after it was spotted.
"We also apologized to the senator for not catching this earlier," said Brandon Mercer, executive producer of SFgate.com.
A Getty Images spokesman said Monday night that they processed more than 20,000 images from the inauguration. "Unfortunately, we were unable to identify Senator Amy Klobuchar at the time of the image upload," said Kelly Goucher of Getty. "However, the caption was quickly updated to reflect accuracy as soon as we were alerted. Our apologies go out to Sen. KlobucharTired of Being SARDINED on the TTC?
By the time the subway train arrives there’s a crowd on the platform. Tight for time, you squeeze in.
Tired of being SARDINED on your TTC commute? Ready to do something about it?
Pull out your cellphone, TAKE A PICTURE, and share it. Note the location, time, and date and tag it as #TTCsardines. Send it to us via tumblr, facebook, twitter, or email.
TTCriders will post online #TTCsardines photos taken by YOU and other transit users showing crowding on every part of the system, including buses, streetcars, the subway, and the Scarborough RT.
Posting #TTCsardines photos online will show transit decision-makers that TTC riders are FED UP with the daily indignities of a transit system that’s in crisis because of inadequate government funding. The more photos we get the stronger the message we can send.
The #TTCsardines campaign will run from now until March 5, which is just before the provincial budget is going to be released. TTCriders is calling on the provincial budget to include funding for the TTC.
The BEST PHOTO from the campaign will be part of a brand new TTC SARDINE AWARD that TTCriders will present to a key decision-maker who has dropped the ball on providing riders with more service and more affordable fairs.
Do you have an opinion about who should be presented with the TTC SARDINE AWARD? Send us your suggestions at info@ttcriders.ca.Slim 3.0.0 released!
We are delighted to release the first stable version of Slim 3, 3.0.0 following a series of release candidates.
New features
Slim 3 is a major update with all parts of the framework updated. These are the highlights.
Dependency injection
The \Slim\App class composes a dependency injection container that implements container-interop. We ship Pimple by default, but it is possible to swap this out for your own preferred DI container as we support Container Interoperability interface. The DI container means that we can easily inject third-party components into a Slim application or override Slim’s internal objects such as the request and response objects.
PSR-7 support
Slim’s HTTP request and response abstractions support PSR-7. This means their interfaces differ significantly from previous releases. In the past, each Slim application had one request object and one response object that were passed by reference throughout the entire application.
Version 3, however, treats the request and response objects as value objects. Each middleware layer and application route will receive the most current request and response objects as arguments. Each middleware layer and route callback is responsible for returning an updated HTTP response object.
The HTTP request and response objects are immutable, too. You must use the appropriate withStatus(), withHeader(), withBody(), etc. request and response object methods to create and return a new request or response object with the specified changes. You can read more about the new interface in the PSR-7 documentation at https://github.com/php-fig/fig-standards/blob/master/accepted/PSR-7-http-message.md.
This also makes it possible to use third-party middleware with the Slim Framework. For example, perhaps you find PSR-7 middleware designed for another framework. However, by virtue of using PSR-7 interfaces, that middleware is also compatible with Slim.
Slim’s PSR-7 changes may sound complicated, but they’re actually pretty simple. You can read more about PSR-7 at:
Coded to an interface
The 3.0 release is (mostly) coded such that all internal app methods expect interfaces instead of concrete class implementations. This means it will be easy to provide your own implementation for any of a Slim app’s dependencies if you want, and you can inject or override dependencies with DI container services.
Route callback binding
If you use Closures as Route callback routines, the Closures will become bound to the Container instance. This means you will have access to the DI container instance inside of the Closure via the $this keyword.
<?php $app = new \Slim\App (); $app -> get ( '/hello/{name}', function ( $request, $response, $args ) { $url = $this -> get ( 'router' ) -> pathFor ( 'hello', [ 'name' => 'Josh' ]); return $response ; }) -> setName ( 'hello' );
Simpler codebase
The framework codebase is much simpler. Previously, the application class contained many methods concerning rendering or response headers. This is no longer the case as they have been migrated into other appropriate classes. For example, the contentType() and status() methods are removed, and you must use the response object’s methods to modify the HTTP response. Slim no longer ships with view or logger objects allowing you to pick the best components for your needs. We do, of course, continue to provide integration with the Twig templating component via Twig-View and also have PHP view script integration via PHP-View.
|
Walk past the bar and to the right will be a cooler where the beer is stored, but behind that will be where the magic happens. Kevin has been involved in the home brewing scene for the past 18 years and has previously served as the Vice President of the San Francisco Homebrewers Guild and is currently an active member of the board.
As you enter FDR, you’ll walk right into the tap room. Where you can drink a full pint of any one of the beers on tap. Initially the beers will be of Kevin’s own creation, but the idea is that he will select home brewers, who have proven their mastery of the craft by winning an award, to come and brew their recipe at FDR. 2-3 weeks later, you’ll be able to drink the beer onsite. Like what you are drinking? Then head upstairs to their retail store where you can purchase all the equipment and ingredients you need to make your own. Although, as Shae reminded me, just because you can follow a Martha Stewart cake recipe, doesn’t mean you are making Martha Stewart cakes!
The equipment for FDR is being constructed specially for them and the fermenters above are now finished and ready for delivery. It’s impressive looking stuff, but Kevin assures me that it’s not going to scare your average home brewer. His fermenting room is essentially large scale versions of what most home brewers already use, so it’s going to be familiar territory. Is he expecting anyone to wander in and brew? No, he is going to be selecting those who are well versed in the craft. But, for those who want to start learning, you can buy everything you need for your first brew from FDR for somewhere between $100 to $150. If you want to learn more about the whole home brewing scene and start reading up before you try it yourself, Kevin recommends the How To’s on the American Homebrewers Association website.
I asked him if he had any ideas for a local Portola beer? He was already one step ahead. He said he has Portola Porter in the works! We cannot wait. When FDR gets closer to opening, keep an eye on the Planet and we’ll bring you up to date.
Share this: Email
Print
Facebook
Pinterest
Google
LinkedIn
Twitter
Like this: Like Loading...The Senate Sergeant at Arms has approved the encrypted messaging app Signal for lawmakers and staff.
The move was first noticed by the tech publication ZDNet in a letter from Sen. Ron Wyden Ronald (Ron) Lee WydenTreasury official: Tax withholding guidance wasn't manipulated for political reasons Cohen grilled by Senate Intelligence panel Senate confirms Trump court pick despite missing two 'blue slips' MORE (D-Ore.) thanking Sergeant at Arms Frank Larkin for the decision.
In a letter last week, the senator thanked Larkin for improving the security of Senate websites and also praised him for “the recent announcement by your office that the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal is approved for Senate staff use.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ZDNet reported Tuesday that the approval for Signal took effect in March but appears to have flown under the public radar.
Recently, employees at the Environmental Protection Agency and White House both came under fire for either using Signal or the competing app Confide. Both of those agencies fall under different, stricter records laws than Congress.CLOSE Stephen Cole-Hatchard has been entangled in the disciplinary proceedings against Clarkstown's embattled police chief has been mentioned often and repeatedly accused of wrongdoing by the town's prosecutor, but he has remained absent from the hearings. Wochit
A file photo of former Clarkstown Det. Sgt. Stephen Cole-Hatchard. (Photo: Erika Moschetti)
CLARKSTOWN - The man entangled in the disciplinary proceedings against the town's suspended police chief has been mentioned often and repeatedly accused of wrongdoing by the town's prosecutor.
But Stephen Cole-Hatchard, the former Clarkstown police sergeant and onetime director of Rockland's Special Intelligence Unit, has remained absent from the hearings, which are expected to conclude around June 7.
Joseph Ranni, Cole-Hatchard's lawyer, characterized the accusations against Cole-Hatchard and the attempt to oust suspended Police Chief Michael Sullivan as a “charade” and a “legal circus.”
Buy Photo Clarkstown Police Chief Michael Sullivan is suspended and faces disciplinary charges. (Photo: Journal News)
Although the town's special prosecutor William Harrington has subpoenaed Cole-Hatchard twice to testify, he has not sought a court order to force him to appear, Ranni said.
Cole-Hatchard is not legally compelled to testify, Ranni said, and doing so could jeopardize his ongoing civil rights lawsuit against town officials related to his removal from the SIU.
“He’s in legal proceedings, and they’ve smeared him … That’s why they’re doing it: They’re trying to trap him,” Ranni said about the town’s attempts to get Cole-Hatchard to testify during the hearings.
A resident of Stony Point, Cole-Hatchard also is a lawyer and has served as town attorney and councilman for Stony Point.
RELATED: Clarkstown: Sullivan case costs at $240K so far
RELATED: Clarkstown: Hoehmann says Sullivan flip-flopped on issues
Cole-Hatchard is not facing any disciplinary charges.
The former sergeant was cleared of any wrongdoing after he was removed from the SIU last year. He was later placed on administrative leave, and soon after resigned from the Clarkstown Police Department, where he served for more than three decades.
But that has not stopped Harrington from attempting to link Sullivan and Cole-Hatchard during the disciplinary hearings.
Buy Photo Attorney William Harrington, Clarkstown's special prosecutor in the case against Police Chief Michael Sullivan. (Photo: Ricky Flores/The Journal News)
When asked about Cole-Hatchard's refusal to testify, Harrington said: “It doesn’t hurt our case a bit. In fact, it helps.”
“I’d like to have him, but I don’t need him because of the forensic proof we’ve developed," he added.
Sullivan's lawyer, Richard Glickel, emphasized in an email that Cole-Hatchard was not the one facing disciplinary charges.
"In light of the fact that the town remains unable to prove any wrongdoing on the part of Chief Sullivan, (the) special counsel’s continued attempt at 'guilt by association' is unconscionable," Glickel said.
During the hearings, Cole-Hatchard has been accused of:
Ranni denied those allegations levied against Cole-Hatchard.
"He acted in accordance with the town policy and he acted in accordance with law enforcement confidentiality," Ranni said.
Those allegations, Ranni added, also are part of a coordinated effort of retaliation against Cole-Hatchard and Sullivan for raising concerns over political campaign donations from former Clarkstown Sgt. Michael Garvey, who secretly funded George Hoehmann’s campaign for supervisor and other GOP candidates in 2015.
Garvey funneled campaign donations through a business linked to Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino's Reform Party campaign fund.
NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-888-426-6388. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Breaking News Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
Cole-Hatchard's lawsuit is seeking for him to be reinstated to the Clarkstown Police Department, as well as receiving lost pay and monetary damages, among other things.
Where the case stands
The hearings resume Tuesday on 22 of the most significant disciplinary charges against Sullivan, which include insubordination, dereliction of duty, disobedience and incompetence.
He has denied the charges and called them politically motivated.
Sullivan was suspended with pay from his $273,000-a-year job in July 2016.
Robert Ponzini, the hearing officer, has yet to render his recommendations to the Town Board for the charges covered in the first round of hearings, which concluded earlier this year.
The recommendations could include exoneration, suspension without pay for up to 20 days, or termination.
The Town Board will ultimately vote to accept or reject the recommendations regarding both sets of disciplinary charges.
Twitter: @mikedonofrio_
Read or Share this story: https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/clarkstown/2017/06/02/clarkstowns-chief-sullivan-key-figure-absent-hearings/365044001/In the lead-up to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we look back at the first Jedi (narratively speaking) with a series of stories about the much-beloved and never-disparaged prequel trilogy.
Aside from the Star Wars Holiday Special, the prequels are easily the wildest installments in the Star Wars franchise. But they were almost even wilder: As is probably unsurprising, given just how sprawling the far, far away galaxy is, there were a lot of ideas that (for better or worse) didn’t make it into the final cut. Compiled here for your perusing pleasure are 11 of those scrapped plans:
1. “I am your father,” is now an indelible part of pop culture, and the prequels almost had their own equivalent. As per How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise, though Anakin was a virgin birth, it was supposed to have been revealed that Emperor Palpatine manipulated his birth by using the Force. “I used the power of the Force to will the midi-chlorians to start the cell divisions that created you,” the book quotes him saying. “You might say I’m your father.”
Who Are Rey's Parents?
2. Speaking of familial relations, George Lucas had ambitions of revealing Anakin and Boba Fett as biological brothers. Eventually, however, he abandoned the idea on the grounds that it felt a little too contrived.
3. Still, Boba Fett appears as a young boy in Attack of the Clones, and was originally also slated to appear in Revenge of the Sith. Though Lucas promised publicly that we’d see Fett again, if you’ve seen the movies, you know that didn’t happen. Early concept art for the third prequel includes the teenage Boba Fett, but he was ultimately cut in order to narrow down the scope of the film. If he had remained in the movie, he was intended to have joined with the Separatists under Count Dooku, and tracked down Mace Windu to avenge the death of his father.
4. A young Lando Calrissian was also considered to appear in prequels as an expansion of Lucas’s original vision that Lando had been alive during the Clone Wars. This idea was scrapped as the timelines ultimately didn’t really match up in a way that would allow this to make sense.
5. The same goes for the young Han Solo (now getting his own movie), who was almost to be glimpsed in Revenge of the Sith. Han was going to show up as an orphan living on Kashyyyk, being raised by Chewbacca. The cameo was eventually cut, leaving the relationship between Chewie and Han as one of friends instead of a father-son bond.
6. Another possible entry in the cavalcade of prequel cameos was Greedo, who picks a fight with the young Anakin in a deleted scene in The Phantom Menace. The scuffle occurs when Greedo accuses Anakin of cheating in the podrace. Greedo comes off worse in the fight, as his friends tease him by saying he might come to a “bad end” one day, which is probably the kindest way of describing becoming a meme.
7. Qui-Gon Jinn’s role in the prequels was also somewhat curtailed. The Jedi was originally supposed to play a much larger part in the films, returning as a Force Ghost to try to prevent Anakin’s eventual embrace of the Sith. An iteration of this idea still appears in The Clone Wars animated series, where Qui-Gon appears to Obi-Wan to speak about Anakin’s path. Qui-Gon was also notably closer in age to Obi-Wan in the original plans for The Phantom Menace, with Anakin a teenager instead of a child.
8. Of course, there’s no mentioning the Star Wars prequels without mentioning Jar Jar Binks. Despite being such an outsize personality on his own, Jar Jar was at one point meant to have a sidekick as well, in the form of a doglike creature called a blarth. Though the creature obviously didn’t make it into the series, The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide still has a record of it, describing it as having a “constant desire for attention.”
9. Jar Jar was also meant to be even more comical (if you can believe it). His bones were to be made of elastic, which would alter his body shape in different levels of gravity and under different levels of pressure to maximize his potential for expression. Luckily, his final design wasn’t quite so extreme.
10. On the other end of the tragicomedy spectrum, the Gungans almost met with a much darker fate. Instead of winning their battle in The Phantom Menace, early storyboards had the entire underwater city wiped out before Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon could ever seek the Gungans’ help. Unsurprisingly, genocide was judged to be too dark for the movie, and the story was adjusted accordingly.
11. All that said, the coolest scrapped idea by far is that Darth Maul could have been a female character. Lucas had apparently considered the idea, with a photo of actress Maggie Cheung hung on the casting wall for inspiration. In the Mood for Sith, anyone?Tony Fernandes has revealed the man he had in mind for the QPR manager’s job is British.
But after a think and an away win at Sunderland, former academy chief Chris Ramsey will stay in charge until the end of the season.
The chairman tweeted a few days before a first victory on the road he believed he had found his ‘dream manager’ - and for the first time explained the social message was more exasperation than information, while hinting strongly he might revisit the ideal candidate at a later date.
(Image: Action Images / Adam Holt)
Whether it’s Ramsey or someone else - it definitely won’t be outgoing Brentford manager, Mark Warburton.
“He was on the list,” admitted Fernandes. “I never spoke to him. His was a name I picked up on Twitter as it happened because of his pedigree and what he has done for Brentford, but he’s not in the mix for the end of the season.
“I wanted someone who believed in coaching players.
“We wanted a people person who could motivate players. Someone who had come up the hard way, and up through the leagues, and someone who fitted QPR. We know more or less who Rangers fans want, and would say: ‘wow’, when we announced it.
(Image: Action Images / Craig Brough)
“If you look at Chris, he’s fitted all those points.
“We never ever considered anyone who wasn’t from here. The reason I put that Tweet out was I was getting tired of those being suggested. (Danish manager, Michael) Laudrup was the last straw for me.”
Keep up to date with all the build-up, matchday and post-game reaction to Hull City v QPR right here on GetWestLondonA quirky tagline on an Indigo flight food packet set off a war of words mid-air between flight attendants of a private airline and a Gurugam-based businessman, leaving him "humiliated and cheated".
The traveler, Vinod Kumar, who had boarded a Pune-Delhi flight on September 1, told MAIL TODAY that he was shocked to read the tagline printed on the food-box served during the flight as it said: 'Buri nazar wale, rajma-chawal khale' (Have rajma-rice, you the evil-eyed).
"It was shocking and humiliating," said Kumar. "We pay for our comfort and here was this airline calling us 'evil-eye'. I was travelling with my sister who also felt insulted with the line."
He said he could not believe what was written and asked his sister, who was accompanying him, to confirm it. He even asked his fellow passengers to check what was written on their boxes, and said it was an embarrassing moment for him.
Kumar said that when he wanted to register a complaint over the matter in writing he was told by the flight attendant that there was no such on-flight provision.
Kumar said he would be filing a criminal case against the airline company and the Chennaibased food company Triguni Eze Eats which supplies the food box in flights.
The businessman said that first he had tried to take up the matter with the airline's office but their response had also not been satisfactory.
"The airline, after receiving my complaint, contacted me and agreed that what happened was wrong but they could not explain how they allowed such horrific lines printed on top of the packet," Kumar said.
Kumar says the incident has been a shocking experience because he had always relished 'rajma-chawal'.Monsanto’s Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health
The following article reveals the devastating and unprecedented impact that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide is having on the health of our soil, plants, animals, and human population. On top of this perfect storm, the USDA now wants to approve Roundup Ready alfalfa, which will exacerbate this calamity. Please tell USDA Secretary Vilsack not to approve Monsanto’s alfalfa today.
The diseased field on the right had
glyphosate applied the previous season.
Photo by Don Huber
While visiting a seed corn dealer’s demonstration plots in Iowa last fall, Dr. Don Huber walked passed a soybean field and noticed a distinct line separating severely diseased yellowing soybeans on the right from healthy green plants on the left (see photo). The yellow section was suffering from Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), a serious plant disease that ravaged the Midwest in 2009 and ’10, driving down yields and profits. Something had caused that area of soybeans to be highly susceptible and Don had a good idea what it was.
The diseased field on the right had glyphosate applied the previous season. Photo by Don Huber
Don Huber spent 35 years as a plant pathologist at Purdue University and knows a lot about what causes green plants to turn yellow and die prematurely. He asked the seed dealer why the SDS was so severe in the one area of the field and not the other. “Did you plant something there last year that wasn’t planted in the rest of the field?” he asked. Sure enough, precisely where the severe SDS was, the dealer had grown alfalfa, which he later killed off at the end of the season by spraying a glyphosate-based herbicide (such as Roundup). The healthy part of the field, on the other hand, had been planted to sweet corn and hadn’t received glyphosate.
Sudden Death Syndrome is more
severe at the ends of rows, where
Roundup dose is strongest.
Photo by Amy Bandy.
This was yet another confirmation that Roundup was triggering SDS. In many fields, the evidence is even more obvious. The disease was most severe at the ends of rows where the herbicide applicator looped back to make another pass (see photo). That’s where extra Roundup was applied.
Don’s a scientist; it takes more than a few photos for him to draw conclusions. But Don’s got more—lots more. For over 20 years, Don studied Roundup’s active ingredient glyphosate. He’s one of the world’s experts. And he can rattle off study after study that eliminate any doubt that glyphosate is contributing not only to the huge increase in SDS, but to the outbreak of numerous other diseases. (See selected reading list.)
Sudden Death Syndrome is more severe at the ends of rows, where Roundup dose is strongest. Photo by Amy Bandy.
Roundup: The perfect storm for plant disease
More than 30% of all herbicides sprayed anywhere contain glyphosate—the world’s bestselling weed killer. It was patented by Monsanto for use in their Roundup brand, which became more popular when they introduced “Roundup Ready” crops starting in 1996. These genetically modified (GM) plants, which now include soy, corn, cotton, canola, and sugar beets, have inserted genetic material from viruses and bacteria that allows the crops to withstand applications of normally deadly Roundup.
(Monsanto requires farmers who buy Roundup Ready seeds to only use the company’s Roundup brand of glyphosate. This has extended the company’s grip on the glyphosate market, even after its patent expired in 2000.)
The herbicide doesn’t destroy plants directly. It rather cooks up a unique perfect storm of conditions that revs up disease-causing organisms in the soil, and at the same time wipes out plant defenses against those diseases. The mechanisms are well-documented but rarely cited.
The glyphosate molecule grabs vital nutrients and doesn’t let them go. This process is called chelation and was actually the original property for which glyphosate was patented in 1964. It was only 10 years later that it was patented as an herbicide. When applied to crops, it deprives them of vital minerals necessary for healthy plant function—especially for resisting serious soilborne diseases. The importance of minerals for protecting against disease is well established. In fact, mineral availability was the single most important measurement used by several famous plant breeders to identify disease-resistant varieties.
Glyphosate annihilates beneficial soil organisms, such as Pseudomonas and Bacillus bacteria that live around the roots. Since they facilitate the uptake of plant nutrients and suppress disease-causing organisms, their untimely deaths means the plant gets even weaker and the pathogens even stronger.
The herbicide can interfere with photosynthesis, reduce water use efficiency, lower lignin, damage and shorten root systems, cause plants to release important sugars, and change soil pH—all of which can negatively affect crop health.
Glyphosate itself is slightly toxic to plants. It also breaks down slowly in soil to form another chemical called AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid) which is also toxic. But even the combined toxic effects of glyphosate and AMPA are not sufficient on their own to kill plants. It has been demonstrated numerous times since 1984 that when glyphosate is applied in sterile soil, the plant may be slightly stunted, but it isn’t killed (see photo).
The actual plant assassins, according to Purdue weed scientists and others, are severe disease-causing organisms present in almost all soils. Glyphosate dramatically promotes these, which in turn overrun the weakened crops with deadly infections.
Glyphosate with sterile soil (A) only stunts
plant growth. In normal soil (B), pathogens
kill the plant. Control (C) shows
normal growth.
“This is the herbicidal mode of action of glyphosate,” says Don. “It increases susceptibility to disease, suppresses natural disease controls such as beneficial organisms, and promotes virulence of soilborne pathogens at the same time.” In fact, he points out that “If you apply certain fungicides to weeds, it destroys the herbicidal activity of glyphosate!”
By weakening plants and promoting disease, glyphosate opens the door for lots of problems in the field. According to Don, “There are more than 40 diseases of crop plants that are reported to increase with the use of glyphosate, and that number keeps growing as people recognize the association between glyphosate and disease.”
Roundup promotes human and animal toxins
Photo by Robert Kremer
Some of the fungi promoted by glyphosate produce dangerous toxins that can end up in food and feed. Sudden Death Syndrome, for example, is caused by the Fusarium fungus. USDA scientist Robert Kremer found a 500% increase in Fusarium root infection of Roundup Ready soybeans when glyphosate is applied (see photos and chart). Corn, wheat, and many other plants can also suffer from serious Fusarium-based diseases.
But Fusarium’s wrath is not limited to plants. According to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, toxins from Fusarium on various types of food crops have been associated with disease outbreaks throughout history. They’ve “been linked to the plague epidemics” of medieval Europe, “large-scale human toxicosis in Eastern Europe,” oesophageal cancer in southern Africa and parts of China, joint diseases in Asia and southern Africa, and a blood disorder in Russia. Fusarium toxins have also been shown to cause animal diseases and induce infertility.
As Roundup use rises, plant disease skyrockets
When Roundup Ready crops were introduced in 1996, Monsanto boldly claimed that herbicide use would drop as a result. It did—slightly—for three years. But over the next 10 years, it grew considerably. Total herbicide use in the US jumped by a whopping 383 million pounds in the 13 years after GMOs came on the scene. The greatest contributor is Roundup.
Over time, many types of weeds that would once keel over with just a tiny dose of Roundup now require heavier and heavier applications. Some are nearly invincible. In reality, these super-weeds are resistant not to the glyphosate itself, but to the soilborne pathogens that normally do the killing in Roundup sprayed fields.
Having hundreds of thousands of acres infested with weeds that resist plant disease and weed killer has been devastating to many US farmers, whose first response is to pour on more and more Roundup. Its use is now accelerating. Nearly half of the huge 13-year increase in herbicide use took place in just the last 2 years. This has serious implications.
As US farmers drench more than 135 million acres of Roundup Ready crops with Roundup, plant diseases are enjoying an unprecedented explosion across America’s most productive crop lands. Don rattles off a lengthy list of diseases that were once under effective management and control, but are now creating severe hardship. (The list includes SDS and Corynespora root rot of soybeans, citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC), Fusarium wilt of cotton, Verticillium wilt of potato, take-all root, crown, and stem blight of cereals, Fusarium root and crown rot, Fusarium head blight, Pythium root rot and damping off, Goss’ wilt of corn, and many more.)
In Brazil, the new “Mad Soy Disease” is ravaging huge tracts of soybean acreage. Although scientists have not yet determined its cause, Don points out that various symptoms resemble a rice disease (bakanae) which is caused by Fusarium.
Corn dies young
In recent years, corn plants and entire fields in the Midwest have been dying earlier and earlier due to various diseases. Seasoned and observant farmers say they’re never seen anything like it.
“A decade ago, corn plants remained green and healthy well into September,” says Bob Streit, an agronomist in Iowa. “But over the last three years, diseases have turned the plants yellow, then brown, about 8 to 10 days earlier each season. In 2010, yellowing started around July 7th and yield losses were devastating for many growers.”
Bob and other crop experts believe that the increased use of glyphosate is the primary contributor to this disease trend. It has already reduced corn yields significantly. “If the corn dies much earlier,” says Bob, “it might collapse the corn harvest in the US, and threaten the food chain that it supports.”
A question of bugs
In addition to promoting plant diseases, which is well-established, spraying Roundup might also promote insects. That’s because many bugs seek sick plants. Scientists point out that healthy plants produce nutrients in a form that many insects cannot assimilate. Thus, farmers around the world report less insect problems among high quality, nutrient-dense crops. Weaker plants, on the other hand, create insect smorgasbords. This suggests that plants ravaged with diseases promoted by glyphosate may also attract more insects, which in turn will increase the use of toxic pesticides. More study is needed to confirm this.
Roundup persists in the environment
Monsanto used to boast that Roundup is biodegradable, claiming that it breaks down quickly in the soil. But courts in the US and Europe disagreed and found them guilty of false advertising. In fact, Monsanto’s own test data revealed that only 2% of the product broke down after 28 days.
Whether glyphosate degrades in weeks, months, or years varies widely due to factors in the soil, including pH, clay, types of minerals, residues from Roundup Ready crops, and the presence of the specialized enzymes needed to break down the herbicide molecule. In some conditions, glyphosate can grab hold of soil nutrients and remain stable for long periods. One study showed that it took up to 22 years for glyphosate to degrade only half its volume! So much for trusting Monsanto’s product claims.
Glyphosate can attack from above and below. It can drift over from a neighbors farm and wreak havoc. And it can even be released from dying weeds, travel through the soil, and then be taken up by healthy crops.
The amount of glyphosate that can cause damage is tiny. European scientists demonstrated that less than half an ounce per acre inhibits the ability of plants to take up and transport essential micronutrients (see chart).
As a result, more and more farmers are finding that crops planted in years after Roundup is applied suffer from weakened defenses and increased soilborne diseases. The situation is getting worse for many reasons.
The glyphosate concentration in the soil builds up season after season with each subsequent application. Glyphosate can also accumulate for 6-8 years inside perennial plants like alfalfa, which get sprayed over and over. Glyphosate residues in the soil that become bound and immobilized can be reactivated by the application of phosphate fertilizers or through other methods. Potato growers in the West and Midwest, for example, have experienced severe losses from glyphosate that has been reactivated. Glyphosate can find its way onto farmland accidentally, through drifting spray, in contaminated water, and even through chicken manure!
Wheat affected after 10 years of glyphosate field applications
Imagine the shock of farmers who spread chicken manure in their fields to add nutrients, but instead found that the glyphosate in the manure tied up nutrients in the soil, promoted plant disease, and killed off weeds or crops. Test results of the manure showed glyphosate/AMPA concentrations at a whopping 0.36-0.75 parts per million (ppm). The normal herbicidal rate of glyphosate is about 0.5 ppm/acre.
Manure from other animals may also be spreading the herbicide, since US livestock consume copious amounts of glyphosate—which accumulates in corn kernels and soybeans. If it isn’t found in livestock manure (or urine), that may be even worse. If glyphosate is not exiting the animal, it must be accumulating with every meal, ending up in our meat and possibly milk.
Add this threat to the already high glyphosate residues inside our own diets due to corn and soybeans, and we have yet another serious problem threatening our health. Glyphosate has been linked to sterility, hormone disruption, abnormal and lower sperm counts, miscarriages, placental cell death, birth defects, and cancer, to name a few. (See resource list on glyphosate health effects.)
Nutrient loss in humans and animals
The same nutrients that glyphosate chelates and deprives plants are also vital for human and animal health. These include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, magnesium, calcium, boron, and others. Deficiencies of these elements in our diets, alone or in combination, are known to interfere with vital enzyme systems and cause a long list of disorders and diseases.
Alzheimer’s, for example, is linked with reduced copper and magnesium. Don Huber points out that this disease has jumped 9000% since 1990.
Manganese, zinc, and copper are also vital for proper functioning of the SOD (superoxide dismustase) cycle. This is key for stemming inflammation and is an important component in detoxifying unwanted chemical compounds in humans and animals.
Glyphosate-induced mineral deficiencies can easily go unidentified and untreated. Even when laboratory tests are done, they can sometimes detect adequate mineral levels, but miss the fact that glyphosate has already rendered them unusable.
Glyphosate can tie up minerals for years and years, essentially removing them from the pool of nutrients available for plants, animals, and humans. If we combine the more than 135 million pounds of glyphosate-based herbicides applied in the US in 2010 with total applications over the past 30 years, we may have already eliminated millions of pounds of nutrients from our food supply.
This loss is something we simply can’t afford. We’re already suffering from progressive nutrient deprivation even without Roundup. In a UK study, for example, they found between 16-76% less nutrients in 1991, compared to levels in the same foods in 1940.
Livestock disease and mineral deficiency
Roundup Ready crops dominate US livestock feed. Soy and corn are most prevalent—93% of US soy and nearly 70% of corn are Roundup Ready. Animals are also fed derivatives of the other three Roundup Ready crops: canola, sugar beets, and cottonseed. Nutrient loss from glyphosate can therefore be severe.
This is especially true for manganese (Mn), which is not only chelated by glyphosate, but also reduced in Roundup Ready plants (see photo). One veterinarian finds low manganese in every livestock liver he measures. Another vet sent the liver of a stillborn calf out for testing. The lab report stated: No Detectible Levels of Manganese—in spite of the fact that the mineral was in adequate concentrations in his region. When that vet started adding manganese to the feed of a herd, disease rates dropped from a staggering 20% to less than ½%.
Veterinarians who started their practice after GMOs were introduced in 1996 might assume that many chronic or acute animal disorders are common and to be expected. But several older vets have stated flat out that animals have gotten much sicker since GMOs came on the scene. And when they switch livestock from GMO to non-GMO feed, the improvement in health is dramatic. Unfortunately, no one is tracking this, nor is anyone looking at the impacts of consuming milk and meat from GM-fed animals.
Alfalfa madness, brought to you by Monsanto and the USDA
As we continue to drench our fields with Roundup, the perfect storm gets bigger and bigger. Don asks the sobering question: “How much of the hundreds of millions of pounds of glyphosate that have been applied to our most productive farm soils over the past 30 years is still available to damage subsequent crops through its effects on nutrient availability, increased disease, or reduced nutrient of our food and feed?”
Instead of taking urgent steps to protect our land and food, the USDA just made plans to make things worse. In December they released their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Roundup Ready alfalfa, which Monsanto hopes to reintroduce to the market.
Alfalfa is the fourth largest crop in the US, grown on 22 million acres. It is used primarily as a high protein source to feed dairy cattle and other ruminant animals. At present, weeds are not a big deal for alfalfa. Only 7% of alfalfa acreage is ever sprayed with an herbicide of any kind. If Roundup Ready alfalfa is approved, however, herbicide use would jump to unprecedented levels, and the weed killer of choice would of course be Roundup.
Even without the application of glyphosate, the nutritional quality of Roundup Ready alfalfa will be less, since Roundup Ready crops, by their nature, have reduced mineral. When glyphosate is applied, nutrient quality suffers even more (see chart).
The chance that Roundup would increase soilborne diseases in alfalfa fields is a near certainty. In fact, Alfalfa may suffer more than other Roundup Ready crops. As a perennial, it can accumulate Roundup year after year. It is a deep-rooted plant, and glyphosate leaches into sub soils. And “Fusarium is a very serious pathogen of alfalfa,” says Don. “So too are Phytophthora and Pythium,” both of which are promoted by glyphosate. “Why would you even consider jeopardizing the productivity and nutrient quality of the third most valuable crop in the US?” he asks in frustration, “especially since we have no way of removing the gene once it is spread throughout the alfalfa gene pool.”
It’s already spreading. Monsanto had marketed Roundup Ready alfalfa for a year, until a federal court declared its approval to be illegal in 2007. They demanded that the USDA produce an EIS in order to account for possible environmental damage. But even with the seeds taken off the market, the RR alfalfa that had already been planted has been contaminating non-GMO varieties. Cal/West Seeds, for example, discovered that more than 12% of their seed lots tested positive for contamination in 2009, up from 3% in 2008.
In their EIS, the USDA does acknowledge that genetically modified alfalfa can contaminate organic and non-GMO alfalfa, and that this could create economic hardship. They are even considering the unprecedented step of placing restrictions on RR alfalfa seed fields, requiring isolation distances. Experience suggests that this will slow down, but not eliminate GMO contamination. Furthermore, studies confirm that genes do transfer from GM crops into soil and soil organisms, and can jump into fungus through cuts on the surface of GM plants. But the EIS does not adequately address these threats and their implications.
Instead, the USDA largely marches lock-step with the biotech industry and turns a blind eye to the widespread harm that Roundup is already inflicting. If they decide to approve Monsanto’s alfalfa, the USDA may ultimately be blamed for a catastrophe of epic proportions.
Please send a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging him not to approve Roundup Ready alfalfa, and to fully investigate the damage that Roundup and GMOs are already inflicting.
Related
PopularFrance: One million strike in defence of education and social services
By Antoine Lerougetel and Pierre Mabut
17 May 2008
Over one million public sector workers went on strike, and 300,000 demonstrated in the streets in all major cities and towns in France on Thursday. The strikers were protesting government plans to eliminate 11,200 teaching positions and cut some 30,000 public service jobs.
If the government’s plans are carried out, some 80,000 teaching posts will be eliminated by 2012, the four-year course for the Bac Pro vocational diploma is to be reduced, and an intermediate qualification, the BEP, will be suppressed for some trades.
In many places high school students headed the protests, the culmination of two months of mobilisations against government attacks on education. However, one of the two main high school unions, the FIDL (Independent Democratic Federation of High School Students) has called off further action this school year, but not the UNL (National Union of High School Students. They have claimed as a victory |
season and it’s difficult to see how he could play extended minutes in the playoffs, especially against the duo of Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard. On the other hand, when the playoffs come around, San Antonio always seems to show up and prove any doubters and nay-sayers wrong. This series will last six or seven games and in the end, I think the Lakers have a shot at pulling off a big upset. Dwight and Pau have been clicking of late and Duncan and Parker average less than 35 minutes a game each. The Lakers got hot at the right time.
Prediction: Los Angeles wins, 4-3
(3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Golden State Warriors
This should also be a very entertaining series. The raining threes show that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson can put on is something that can be nearly unstoppable at times. The Nuggets, however, owned the NBA’s best home record at 38-3 this season. If the Warriors can play defense like they have in the final games of the regular season and continue to nail outside shots, the wild West is in for another upset.
Prediction: Golden State wins, 4-3
(4) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (5) Memphis Grizzlies
Ironically, the four vs. five seed game will likely be less competitive than either the two vs. seven or three vs. six seed games. Lob City is rolling and Memphis always seems to choke in the playoffs. It would be tragic if Los Angeles finished the season that they started off so well with with a first round loss—and that should not happen.
Prediction: Los Angeles wins, 4-2
Eastern Conference
(1) Miami Heat vs. (8) Milwaukee Bucks
Not much to say here. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh will handle Monta and Brandon Jennings with ease.
Prediction: Miami wins, 4-0
(2) New York Knicks vs. (7) Boston Celtics
Like Popovich, I would never cast out the coaching ability of Doc Rivers in the playoffs. Clearly New York has the better player personnel but Boston has the been-there-done-that attitude and found a way to get into the playoffs without their superstar point guard, Rajon Rondo. In the end, however, I will keep with my theme of out with the old in with the new. KG’s limited minutes won’t be enough to slow down the 2013 NBA scoring champion.
Prediction: New York wins, 4-3
(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks
Like Memphis, Atlanta has a knack for playing teams very well in the first round of the playoffs but are just never able to pull off the series win. Indiana played Miami well in the 2012 playoffs and their core group is still together. With one of the NBA’s best defenses, the Pacers will win this series relatively comfortably.
Prediction: Indiana wins, 4-2
(4) Brooklyn Nets vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
As great as the Chicago Bulls have played without their MVP point guard, Derrick Rose, it won’t be enough come the playoffs. Brooklyn has Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and a force down-low in Brook Lopez. While none of that trio has been particularly impressive on their own in playoff situations, the combination of the three will be enough for Deron Williams to beat his former teammate, Carlos Boozer, and the Chicago Bulls.
Prediction: Brooklyn wins, 4-3
Conference Semifinals
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (4) Los Angeles Clippers
Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins will help showcase their roles for OKC in this conference semifinal matchup and keep Blake Griffin from throwing down many Chris Paul alley-oops. Durant and Westbrook will provide the brunt of the scoring load and they will prove that they don’t (yet) miss James Harden.
Prediction: Oklahoma City wins, 4-2
(6) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
Six seed vs. seven seed…you probably didn’t expect that but there is certainly a legitimate possibility that three California teams advance to the second round of the playoffs. A Golden State vs. Los Angeles matchup will be very interesting because the Lakers will struggle to stop the outside shooting of the Warriors and the Warriors will have trouble with Gasol and Howard on the inside. In the end, Bogut, D-Lee, and Festus Ezeli will provide the interior defense needed to muffle LA’s duo and if Curry and Klay can hoist up threes with success similar to their regular season performance, this “We Belong” team can advance a round further than the 2007 “We Believe” team.
Prediction: Golden State wins, 4-3
Eastern Conference
(1) Miami Heat vs. (4) Brooklyn Nets
Again, barring an incredible surprise, the Heat road to the conference finals should be smooth sailing if they don’t take anything for granted. I don’t see that happening after the scare that Indiana gave them last year. They know what it takes to win in the playoffs.
Prediction: Miami wins, 4-1
(2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Indiana Pacers
A Knicks-Pacers series will be a fun one to watch as strength battles strength. Can the Knicks great offense beat the Pacers stellar defense? My thoughts: Carmelo realizes what these playoffs mean and it is his time to prove he is more than a great regular season performer.
Prediction: New York wins, 4-3
Conference Finals
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (6) Golden State Warriors
As much as I would like to say that the Warriors can earn a trip to the Finals, one year together (really less because of Bogut’s injury) is not enough to beat a perennial championship contender. Unless Westbrook makes some bone-headed decisions like he did in last year’s NBA Finals, this is the Thunder’s series to lose. If the shots fall for Golden State and Bogut solidifies the interior, the series may go to six or seven games but otherwise look for the Thunder to return to the Finals.
Prediction: Oklahoma City wins, 4-1
Eastern Conference
(1) Miami Heat vs. (2) New York Knicks
This is the battle of the 2003 NBA Draft as four of the top five picks fight for a trip to the NBA Finals—LeBron James (1st overall pick), Carmelo Anthony (3), Chris Bosh (4), and Dwyane Wade (5). Melo should give Miami more than an easy walk-through but like their previous series, the Heat will take care of business in the conference finals.
Prediction: Miami wins, 4-2
NBA Finals
Miami Heat (1) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1)
Just as I stuck with my preseason predictions for the NBA Finals matchup, I’m also doing so for the NBA champion. If OKC cannot beat Miami with Harden, then they definitely cannot do so without Harden. While it is probably legitimate to say that an OKC team minus Westbrook would have a tough time against the Big Three in Miami, too, what the Thunder have now is not enough to win a championship. Like last year, LeBron will take home regular season and NBA Finals MVP honors en route to a second consecutive title for the Heat.Writer for iPad
“Writer has out-innovated Apple. Writer is actively designed to help you write.” —Fast Company
The new additions to iA Writer 4 allow you to embed text in text to craft your masterwork:
Reactions to iA Writer
Stephen Fry “Astonishingly simple. Everything goes away except for the writing experience.”
A. Burroughs “Most useful and remarkably clever—invisibly so—device for writing.”
You can get Writer at the App store. View in iTunes.
Philosophy
The key to good writing is not that magical glass of Bordeaux, the right kind of tobacco, or groovy background music. The key is focus. What you need to write well is a spartan setting that allows you to fully concentrate on your text and nothing but your text. Many professional writers use SimpleText or TextEdit because these are the only writing programs that are totally distraction free. But text editors are not perfect. That’s why we made Writer.
Concentration: When writing with computers, we too easily get into a chaotic loop of crisscross editing, destroying the voice and the organic structure of our original thought. Orientation: Page numbers work well for physical objects that you can touch, but they are pretty much meaningless for digital text. We believe that reading time is a more useful measure. Typography: Writer comes with a typographic design that works perfectly on the iPad. We asked the best type designers, screen designers, and graphic designers in the industry to work with us—so you don’t need to worry about it. With Writer all your thought goes into what you write, not how your writing looks.
How Writer Works
Writer has no graphical settings or formatting features. It avoids all distracting glitz in the user interface and puts all the beauty in the shape of the text. It uses an interaction logic that helps you concentrate, find your orientation, and express yourself. For the iPad version we also added Dropbox synchronization, punctuation, and arrow keys.
Focus Mode creates a noise-free writing space. No auto-correction, spelling errors, toolbars, scrolling, editing, cut/copy/paste to distract you moving forward in your text. Focus Mode fades out everything except the current three lines of text you are working on. The idea is to activate it when you get stuck, shutting out everything else. Professional Typography is not just pretty to look at. It facilitates the process of reading. If you look at text as an interface, typography is its usability. Common text editors are typographically weak (small font, tight leading, random measure, lack of whitespace). In addition, few people have the professional skills to design digital text. In Writer, font type, text size, column width, leading, and contrast are carefully set for the best reading experience, both in portrait and landscape mode. Writer uses a monospaced font called Nitti Light, created and optimized for iPad by the type wizards at Bold Monday. The font conveys the provisory character of drafting, and forces you to read slowly and precisely without being tedious to look at. Reading Time gives you an approximation of how long it will take to read your text. Cursor time shows you in minutes and seconds up to where the cursor is. Keyboard Extensions provide arrow keys and punctuation. We disabled smart quotes to keep you focused on what you say and not how you type. The suggestion to get rid of smart quotes is not a nerd’s wish, it came from a grandmaster of type, Erik Spiekermann. Dropbox allows web synchronization of your documents from iPad to the cloud, seamlessly, so you don’t have to spend time syncing with iTunes. Quick renaming — rename a document by tapping on the document’s title in the Menu bar.
“Stephen Fry, what are your four iPad apps you can’t live without?” Guess what: IMDB, Instapaper, Soundhound and… Writer.
You can get Writer at the App store. View in iTunes.
Thank you
Beta Testers & Contributors: Erik Spiekermann, Scott Thomas, Khoi Vinh, Mike Rundle, Liz Danzico, Aza Raskin, Patrick Algrim, John Boardley, Paul van der Laan, Vitor Lourenço, Mark Boulton, Om Malik, Marcos Weskamp, Craig Mod, Joshua Brewer, Antonio Carusone, Aegir Hallmundur, Jürgen Siebert, Indra Kupferschmid, Alan van Roemburg, Paul Bakaus, Jean Snow, Alexander Limi, Matt Roberts, The Design Observer Group, Robin Sloan, Tina Roth Eisenberg, Guido Mingels, Wolfgang Blau, Stefan Seiz, Giovanni De Mauro, Stephan Seidt, Kari Pätilä, Moritz Zimmer, Edial Dekker, Daisuke Don Horie, Christian Steinert, Jay Nelson, Nobuyuki Hayashi, Matthew Solle, Paul Baron, Dan Oliver, Bodhi Philpot, Anatole Varin, Juho Viitasalo, Michael Donohoe, Ben Sekulowicz, Tina Staeheli Shinohara, Takeshi Tanaka, and the Legendary Shane Berry, Raphael Schaad. Special thanks to Yumiko and Akira.KAPOLEI, Hawaii — This is how the toughest season of Darrelle Revis' career is ending, the sounds of 15-foot waves crashing on the beach, palm trees swaying and leis draped around the necks of players at the Pro Bowl.
"This was a surprise to me," Revis said of his Pro Bowl selection, "especially with all that happened this year, coming off the ACL injury and everything. It shows the respect players have for me in the league."
But Revis describes his first season in Tampa Bay as paradise lost.
The cornerback said coach Greg Schiano, fired after going 11-21 in two seasons, created a stressful environment that made it hard for players to perform.
"The atmosphere, I felt like, was real tense," Revis said. "Guys didn't like coming to work. That's one of the things you have to have, a stress-free atmosphere and environment. You're going to get everything out of everybody if it's stress-free and let people be who they are. I just didn't feel he did a very good job of that. It was a learning experience for him as well, and hopefully, if he ever gets another stab at it, he'll do things differently."
During a break from the Pro Bowl draft Wednesday, Revis described Schiano, whose only previous experience in the NFL came as a defensive assistant for the Bears from 1996-98, as unprepared to be a head coach due to his schemes and unwillingness to listen to his veterans. In fact, Revis said other players at the Pro Bowl described some of Schiano's schemes, particularly on defense, as a "joke."
"There's a difference between being a head coach and in control of the whole team and the whole organization at the time," Revis said. "Everybody's got their own schemes and what they bring to the table.
"I wish he would have listened to some of the players a little bit more, especially the veterans and some of the older guys. We can go down the line like Dashon Goldson, Davin Joseph, Carl Nicks, Vincent Jackson and those type of guys and listen to them. But he was the boss, and you've got to fall in line."
Revis, 28, said he's excited about the opportunity to play under new coach Lovie Smith, who has nine years experience as a head coach with the Bears, including three NFC North titles and a Super Bowl appearance. Revis said while he has not met Smith, he has heard great things about him from Bears players.
"One of the guys I really listened to was (former Bears linebacker) Brian Urlacher," Revis said. "He said, 'You're going to love Lovie.' (Receiver) Brandon Marshall … told me I'm going to love Lovie. You've got to run with that in Tampa, Love Lovie. All the guys that played under him have good things to say about him."
When Smith was hired, there was speculation Revis would not be a good fit for his Tampa 2 defense. But Revis said Wednesday that he played in similar coverages this season under Schiano and believes he will be successful.
"I love to play ball, and if we're going to run the Cover 2 scheme, I have to master the Cover 2." Revis said. "I feel confident in Lovie and (defensive coordinator) Leslie Frazier, too. They have a lot of experience in the league with unbelievable players. I think we have great talent. We just need the right personnel and the right coaches."
Based on his discussions with former and current Bears players, Revis said Smith is more likely to allow players to improvise and add input.
"With Greg, we were just very detailed," Revis said. "With Lovie, he'll give us a little more freedom to take control of the defense, of the scheme, and try to enhance certain things about the defense, whether it's with Gerald McCoy and the defensive line or Lavonte (David) and the linebackers or Dashon and us on the back end."Thousands attended on Wednesday the funeral of sergeant-major Zidan Nahad Seif, the policeman who was wounded while attempting to stop the attack at the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue a day before.
Seif, a member of Druze minority, was hospitalized in critical condition and succumbed to his wounds overnight Wednesday.
Many non-druze were among those who came to pay their respects to Seif. Postings on social media had urged members of the ultra-Orthodox to attend the funeral.
Muafak Tarif, Sheikh of Israel's Druze community, called on President Reuven Rivlin, who also attended the funeral, to help calm the tensions between Jews and Arabs. The Druze community, he said, will adhere to the path of peace, and will continue to serve Israel loyaly.
Rivlin, who has since taking office been vocal about the need for working towards Jewish-Arab coexistence within Israeli society, addressed Seif's family. "I stand before you in shock and in pain. Yesterday morning terror struck in Jerusalem once more. Terror that does not differentiate between people, between creeds Your beloved Zidan, one of this State's best sons, didn't hesitate and didn't waver," Rivlin said. "He was among the first to reach the scene of the massacre, among the first to protect the people of Jerusalem. Your dear Zidane stood fearlessly before the terrorists and used his own body to blocked their attack, to block their fire."
Members of the ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood - that had just buried four of its members killed in the attack – had launched efforts to unite in the mourning of Seif. At least one bus departed from the Jerusalem International Convention Center at 12 P.M. that was carrying mourners to his funeral.
"We are asking anyone from the ultra-Orthodox community who is able to attend the funeral of the police officer who protected our praying brothers with his body," the post on social media read. "Come show him your gratitude," it added, describing his actions – being killed while protecting Jewish worshipers – as kiddush hashem.
Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close
Ariella Sternbuch, one of the organizers of the drive to honor Seif, told Walla! news that she was touched by a photograph of him with his baby daughter. "I was moved by the thought that he chose to sacrifice his life for the Jewish people," she said. "Haredim [ultra-Orthodox Jews], who were the main victims of this attack, should come pay him their last respects."
Sternbuch said that she began receiving donations to pay for buses to bring people to Seif's funeral. Lt. Col. (res.) Erez Eshel told Walla! that he offered to pay for as many buses as they could organize to bring mourners to the funeral. "The most important thing at this time is unity between the citizens of Israel," he said.
Mada Hasbani, head of the Yanuh-Jat local council in the Galilee, who had visited Seif in hospital on Tuesday afternoon, said that the policeman came from a veteran village family. "It's a family of values," he said. "The boy acted as was expected of him and according to the standards and values that his parents instilled in him."
Zidan Nahad Seif, the fifth casualty in the Jerusalem terror attack.
Seif, 30, joined the traffic police four-and-a-half years ago and recently reached the rank of sergeant-major. He married his wife, Rinal, in summer 2013 and their first daughter, also named Rinal, was born four months ago.Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., does not support extending the current lobbying ban on members of Congress, which is part of President-elect Donald Trump’s ethics overhaul plan. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday that a proposal to extend the one-year lobbying ban for retired members of Congress to five years — part of President-elect Donald Trump’s series of ethics reforms — is “dangerous.”
The Wisconsin Republican said during a CNN town hall that he agrees with the intent of preventing members of Congress from leaving the institution and immediately going into the private sector just to get rich. However, he noted there are other “unseen circumstances” that come with the lobbying ban.
“What if you want to become an advocate for the cancer society? What if you want, after you retired, to help your local hospital system and be on their board to support them and then go get legislation?” Ryan said.
“There are a lot of other unseen circumstances that can play into this and you’ve got to be careful about that,” the speaker added. “When people leave Congress, what’s wrong with them going out and advocating for causes they believe in?”
The proposal to extend the current one-year lobbying ban for members of Congress to five years is a part of a five-point ethics overhaul plan Trump released during his campaign as part of a pledge to “drain the swap” in Washington.
[Congress Unlikely to Move on Trump Ethics Plan]
Ryan suggested the proposal would go beyond that intent.
“I don’t think we should tell men and women we want a citizen legislature, take time out of your private life and come and serve and then go back into private life and you can’t get engaged in civics,” the speaker said. “I think that’s dangerous. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Trump’s ethics platform also included proposals to ban exiting executive branch officials from lobbying for five years, prohibit senior executive officials from ever being able to lobby on behalf of a foreign government, expand the definition of lobbyist to include consultants and advisers and to prevent registered foreign lobbyists from raising money in U.S. elections.
Ryan did not address the other four proposals in Trump’s original plan. Later, Trump added an ethics proposal calling for a constitutional amendment to institute term limits for members of Congress.
“I’ve always supported term limits,” Ryan told the town hall audience, noting “the only way to do that is a constitutional amendment for term limits.”
While dozens of Republicans also support congressional term limits, Democrats have been less inclined to publicly back the idea. A constitutional amendment requires two-thirds support of Congress or ratification from three-fourths of the states, both of which would require Democratic support.Many Republicans, including Rubio, spoke much more extensively about the threat of ISIS and Islamic terrorism. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, pegged the problem to immigration policies, noting on Twitter he asked for a ban on Muslim admissions and calling on President Obama to resign the presidency for not mentioning “radical Islam” during the president’s statement on Sunday. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned the attacks as an act of terror, emphasizing that America is “a nation at war with Islamic terrorists.” And Monday’s New York Post cover declares, “Islamic Terrorist Kills 50 … ISIS vs. U.S.”
On the Democratic side, leaders were much more eager to show their solidarity with the LGBT community. Obama noted that “the shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance, and to sing, and to live,” and Vice President Biden said “the violence is not normal, and the targeting of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans is evil and abhorrent.” Hillary Clinton addressed the LGBT community directly: “Please know that you have millions of allies across our country. I am one of them.” Leaders of left-leaning organizations including the National Center for Transgender Equality, the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, and Muslim Advocates gathered outside of the Human Rights Campaign building in Washington, D.C., to decry the violence. Like Obama, Clinton, and other Democratic politicians, though, they also emphasized a policy issue: gun control.
“Let’s not forget that what made this hate so deadly—is that it’s still far too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on guns in our country,” said Chad Griffin, the president of HRC. Like a mirror to the Post’s cover, the headline of the New York Daily News was “Thanks, NRA.”
People seemed to feel a sense of helplessness in the face of evil. It’s not yet clear why Mateen committed the attacks, though initial evidence suggests the answer is complicated: the pledge to ISIS suggests the crimes were motivated by faith, yet Mateen’s father said homophobia, not religion, was the more likely cause. Gun control, immigration policies, and the war on ISIS are accessible policy proposals—they represent an instinct to explain and solve violence that defies logic.
And yet, the more difficult problems are ones of ideology and culture. On Twitter, The New York Times’ Rukmini Callimachi discussed the way ISIS has encouraged “lone wolf” attacks, providing templates for hostage-taking and martyrdom. It’s a decentralized call to violence—anyone with social-media access can follow the group’s writings and decide to take up the cause themselves.
And many American conservatives have widely condemned these murders, but some have also been at the forefront of rhetoric against same-sex marriage and bathroom restrictions. Mara Keisling, the head of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in an interview that this kind of rhetoric creates a culture of fear.A VICTIM of shoddy lack of data protection by ACS:Law, Sky Broadband has admitted that copyright holders pay the costs incurred by Internet service providers (ISPs) to turn over the personal information of their subscribers accused of copyright infringement.
Since 4Chan took ACS:Law's website offline and the subsequent emergence on the website of a backup file that included the email archive of the firm's founder and only known solicitor, Andrew Crossley, the UK ISPs Sky, BT and Plusnet have found themselves at the centre of this fiasco. Sky was the first up to face the media after the personal information about more than 5,000 of its customers was leaked onto the Internet by ACS:Law.
Matters haven't been helped by the fact that Sky's news arm, er, Sky News, decided to ignore the matter completely. Searching for "ACS:Law" on the Sky News website returns nothing, while a search for "ACS Law" brings up Crossley's now second most famous flirtation with the media, which was representing a British couple who were jailed for allegedly having sex on a beach in Dubai.
One might say that it's not all that surprising that Sky News would not cover the legal troubles of its corporate sibling, but given that Sky Broadband was simply complying with a legally binding court order, as it claims, it's a bit curious that Sky's own news outlet did not cover the news or put forward the ISP's views.
Since then, an interesting image has tipped up in our inbox, an image of what appears to be a price list for Sky to look up its subscribers' names and addresses based upon whatever IP addresses might be provided by copyright holders.
Sky's official line is that, "Sky has only disclosed account information to ACS:Law when served with a Court Order requiring us to do so. Because this process inevitably imposes a burden on ISPs' resources, the Court has ordered that they should be entitled to recover the reasonable costs of complying."
We were told that the court order doesn't actually include costing and that is something determined after negotiations between copyright holders and ISPs. We have heard on the grapevine that the costs are close to £1 per IP address for the volume of data that Sky was asked to fork over.
A spokesman for Sky responded to the allegations that the screenshot was tantamount to an "IPs for hire" list by saying, "It is wrong to suggest that we have provided information for commercial reasons. This is simply a question of complying with a legally-binding Order and recovering the reasonable costs of doing so." Even the most cynical hack would find it hard to believe that a firm such as Sky would take such a risk to pad its bottom line with so little money by flogging its own customer's personal data, which is covered under EU and UK data protection laws, for minimal profit.
The idea of ISPs negotiating with copyright holders to recoup costs is still likely to leave customers uncomfortable. One can imagine the outpouring of disgust, should Sky or any ISP ask for customers to pick up the tab for sending their own data over to law firms.
A Sky spokesman told The INQUIRER that, unlike BT, which admitted yesterday that it had sent ACS:Law some of its customer data unencrypted, Sky had always sent data encrypted, which was "more than just putting a password on an [Microsoft] Excel file". Apparently the firm has implemented "data management protocols" to ensure that customer data remains private. Obviously ACS:Law didn't do a particularly good job of following those protocols, and it will be interesting to see what action Sky Broadband might be entitled to take against Crossley for failing to observe its private data protocols and thereby arguably damaging its reputation.
We were also told, after ACS:Law's flagrant disregard for private data became apparent, that Sky will be more "aggressive" in opposing requests to hand over its customer data, until ACS:Law and other law firms can demonstrate that they can protect its customers' data. We were not told what law firms would have to do in order to satisfy Sky and other ISPs, although given the adverse publicity that's been recently suffered by Sky, BT and Plusnet, it's likely to be a case of once bitten, twice shy, at least for the time being and perhaps into the future.
It's hard to see how Andrew Crossley and his apparently sole practicioner firm will manage to weather this storm, let alone show up in court asking for more data from ISPs following all this.
In some ways the ISPs are off the hook, at least for the moment, maybe. After all Sky was just complying a legally binding court order for information, it claims.
The question is, however, if ISPs would take a more aggressive stand against handing over personal data about their subscribers without solid proof of wrongdoing in the first place, might they stand better chances to avoid becoming mired such public relations disasters? µMany of you have been involved in the 2012 Xbox LIVE Update Public Beta and have been busy getting an early look at the latest Xbox LIVE features. Today we’re starting to roll out the official release of the update to Xbox LIVE subscribers around the world. To ensure a stable release, this will be a gradual deployment across subscribers and regions over the course of the next week. Our initial deployment will reach approximately three million consoles worldwide, with additional users being updated over the course of a couple weeks. Don’t panic if you don’t see an immediate update, just keep checking back in.
In this update, you will see the following features.
Refreshed Xbox 360 Dashboard. We’ve updated the UI with a few things, including an updated layout with more tiles, a combined TV & Movies channel and, in the US, a Sports destination.
Internet Explorer for Xbox. With Internet Explorer on Xbox, you can easily find and view internet content on the biggest screen in the house, including HTML5 videos.
Recommendations and Ratings. Recommendations will allow you to discover new favorites, generated based on a number of variables including the content you previously viewed, what your friends are consuming and what is most relevant and popular with our Xbox community. You can now rate content yourself and also see Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
Pinning. Pinning lets you personalize the dashboard by saving your favorite movies, TV shows, games, music, videos and websites right to the home screen. It’s as easy as opening an app or a favorite movie and clicking “pin.”
Xbox Video. Formerly called Zune Video Marketplace, Xbox Video offers hundreds of thousands of TV shows and movies for buying or renting in instant HD streaming.
Recent. Previously called Quick Play, the Recent view gives you a list of movies, games, apps or other types of content that you most recently accessed on the console.
Enhanced Search. The last Xbox LIVE update brought Bing voice search to Xbox so you could use voice to search for movies, TV shows, actors, directors and artists. This year we added genre search to the list, so now you can search for action, comedy, romance, drama or sci-fi. Bing voice search now includes results for video across the Web, including YouTube.
International Expansion of Voice Search. We’ve expanded our Kinect voice search capabilities to 9 new countries – Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Ireland.
What about Xbox SmartGlass? That’s coming too, but not until Windows 8 launches on October 26th. When the Xbox SmartGlass app launches on tablets, PCs and smartphones, it will include key foundational experiences for interacting with your Xbox 360, such as dashboard and app navigation and Internet Explorer control, like text input, scrolling and pinch and zoom.
Yesterday, we shared all the details about Xbox Music, our brand new digital music service. Xbox Music begins rolling out today on Xbox 360, it will launch with free streaming on all Windows 8 PCs and tablets on October 26th and Windows Phone 8 as devices arrive in market. Xbox Music combines all the different ways people love to enjoy music, creating the ultimate all-in-one music service.
For all the details on Xbox Music, check out the Microsoft News Center.
The 2012 Xbox LIVE update is beginning its rollout today and we expect all Xbox LIVE subscribers to have access to the update in the coming days.National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent urged his supporters to vote for GOP nominee Donald Trump in a racially charged rant that labeled Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton a “lying hypocrite bitch.”
In a August 24 post on his Facebook page, Nugent claimed that gun-related homicides “are largely the result of recidivistic, gangster, ‘black lives don’t matter’ punks killing other recidivistic gangster, ‘black lives don’t matter’ punks.”
“Not you. Not me. Leave us the hell alone!” Nugent added.
In fact, according to an analysis of a Centers for Disease Control study, “more than 80 percent of gun homicides are non-gang related.”
Nugent then downplayed the danger to the public posed by assault weapons, ignoring their ubiquitous involvement in public mass shootings, before calling Clinton a “Scammaster lying hypocrite bitch.” He concluded his post by writing, “Vote for Donald Trump and make America Great Again”:
This year Nugent has called for Clinton, along with President Obama, to be hanged for treason and also shared a fake video of Clinton being shot to death, writing, “I got your guncontrol right here bitch!”
Both the NRA and Nugent have endorsed Trump for president.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
A graduate from Warwickshire has revealed how acting in porn films helped her battle depression and improve her confidence.
Jade Buxton, better known to fans as actress Carly Rae Summers, says she is a feminist and loves her job - even though she can earn as little as £10 a hour on 14-hour shoots.
The 23-year-old from Stratford studied fashion at Manchester Metropolitan University where she started working in adult films, reports the Daily Mirror.
She said: “When you think of porn you think of these bright orange girls with masses of make-up on, I don’t want to be like every other porn star out there, I want to be me and no-one else.
“I have watched porn online and was always fascinated and thought it was something I might get involved in.
“If I wanted to get a job in fashion I’d have to do an unpaid internship for a year and work five days a week unpaid full time.
“Getting into porn changed my life and made my life at university better.
“I tried so hard to make friends but I couldn’t, I cried every day and had depression badly, my life was in a bad place
“Then I got into this and people were telling me I was beautiful and people wanted to know me, it brought me out of my shell and gave me confidence in myself and to believe in myself.”
Jade started by selling pictures and videos of herself online and then she was contacted and asked to make a porn film.
She said: “I suddenly had £100 in my bank account every few weeks and I could go shopping and it made me happy.
“One day I got an email through the website asking if i would like to make a porno and I was ‘yes I would love to that, it sounds amazing’.”
She features in a new BBC Three documentary Jade: Why I Chose Porn where she is shown flying to Barcelona, in Spain, to shoot a virtual reality porn film.
Asked why she went into porn Jade says: “My parents were strict and restrictive of everything I did that’s why i rebelled and ended up how I have.
“If you let your child do what they want and be their own person she probably wouldn’t make the same decisions I did.
“Any daughter I had probably wouldn’t end up making porn like I did because she would be ‘where is the fun in that, there is no point in me doing this if my mum is all for it.”
Jade: Why I Chose Porn is available from bbc.co.uk/bbcthree and BBC Three on iPlayer on Tuesday, August 2, from 10am.David Duke may have been a Grand Wizard, but damnit man he was our Grand Wizard, and most importantly, HE ISN’T A CUCK:
“David Duke says he is getting ready to run for Congress.
The former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and ex-candidate for Louisiana governor told The Daily Beast he is heavily leaning towards challenging Rep. Steve Scalise. Scalise is the No. 3 Republican in the House who reportedly once called himself “David Duke without the baggage” and spoke at a white nationalist group that Duke founded (two event attendees later said Scalise never attended the conference).
“I’ve very seriously set up an exploratory committee to run for the United States Congress against Steve Scalise,” Duke said. “I expect to make a decision in a few days” ahead of the July 22 ballot deadline. …”Image caption Gross peak oil production in the Kraken field is expected to be more than 50,000 barrels per day
A £4bn investment in a major oil field off Shetland has been given the go-ahead.
The Kraken field, which is estimated to contain nearly 140m barrels of oil, is majority-owned by Aberdeen-based EnQuest.
The construction phase of the project is expected to support 20,000 jobs.
EnQuest also expects to take on an average of about 1,000 operational jobs in |
on Tuesday.
Well, they’d known that all week.
The bubble bloodshed reached an all-time high because college basketball this season trended toward the ordinary and not the exceptional. Depending on the talking head you heard or the keyboard jockey you read, Saint Mary’s –the Zags’ victim in the West Coast Conference title game – was out, was in, was out, was maybe. Wichita State lost early in its tournament, a carcass for hungry buzzards. St. Bonaventure or Syracuse, Valpo or Vandy, Monmouth or Michigan – who could definitively determine their at-large worth?
Interns have meatier resumes.
“I don’t want to think about what it would have felt like,” said Gonzaga senior Kyle Wiltjer. “We would have been very nervous.”
And when the Zags were assigned an 11-seed, it was obvious they would have felt lousy, too. Given the butchery performed by the committee on teams not in the Power 5 or the teacher’s pet Big East, A-10 and American, the Zags would have been bucking up to host an NIT game without their all-access pass earned last week.
As it stands, the draw of Seton Hall is the kind of opponent Gonzaga teams have had a good history with in the NCAAs. And an 11-seed without the play-in whoopee-cushion of Dayton was as good as the Zags could have imagined given “the bed we made for ourselves,” as coach Mark Few put it.
Then he put out a challenge.
“Our league needs to really step back and take notice,” he said. “It’s time for some of these other institutions to start picking it up. They’re really dragging the top three down.”
Saint Mary’s was the dragee in this case, but a couple of buckets difference last Tuesday night and the pain is closer to home. The Gaels’ resume was pilloried for its soft underbelly of 18 victories over the sub-200 set of the Ratings Percentage Index – but the real shame is that 13 of those came against the WCC’s bottom six schools.
Now, a few caveats. The RPI can be gamed a bit with nonconference scheduling that is less daunting than it appears (think good teams in mid-level leagues, playing at your gym for a price). A good RPI didn’t save the likes of St. Bonnie or Valpo. And it’s just not in Saint Mary’s DNA to schedule outside the WCC boldly – which has hurt the Gaels on Selection Sunday before.
Gonzaga’s nonconference lineup would include four tournament teams – though one slipped away in Okinawa – and another that would have been if not for NCAA probation. There were other “name” opponents that didn’t hit for high average – and, of course, neither did the Zags, whose only marquee win out of the league was UConn.
But the point is, they scheduled.
“Absolutely – but ours is more complicated than that,” said Few. “We’re trying to make single-digit seeding – we’ve even tried to make an argument for No. 1. It’s deeper than just ‘getting in.’ It’s a way to attract recruits. It creates incredible exposure for the university and the community. There’s more to it than the tournament — but that’s big in my mind.”
Seems big in the committee’s mind, too – when it’s convenient. There’s not much solace for a Monmouth, however, which sought out and won neutral-site games against Notre Dame and USC, and also won at UCLA and Georgetown, only to see those teams tank a bit. Apparently, the Hawks were expected to run the table to overcome the conference company they keep.
And that’s starting to be an issue in the WCC, where too many schools seem content to hand out participation medals.
“We need to talk long and hard about (NCAA Tournament) money distribution that we’re making for the league,” Few said, “and if they’re not spending it on basketball, we don’t need to be sponsoring swimming at those schools or whatever they’ve got going. They’re not all in.”
And on Selection Sunday, that’s going to get somebody left out.Back in 1990, Robert Kosilek (pictured above) killed his wife, Cheryl. He strangled her to death after she poured boiling tea on him. The details are pretty gruesome; Kosilek used a wire. He nearly decapitated her. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Kosilek is currently incarcerated in a Massachusetts prison, where he became she; Kosilek is now living as a woman “to the extent possible.” According to her lawyer, Frances Cohen, who I spoke to at some length last week, the "extent possible" translates to Kosilek growing her hair long and legally changing her name to Michelle.
Michelle is currently embroiled in a legal battle, which—after dragging on for years—has now reached the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit—the judiciary tier right below the US Supreme Court. It's an interesting case and, because of its subject matter, has become national news. The two sides of the coin are equally compelling: On one side, you have the human rights of a prisoner. On the other, you have an individual who has severely violated that same code of morality.
Kosilek has sued the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC), saying that the agency must pay for sexual-reasignment surgery—the removal of the penis and the construction of female genitals—because she suffers from gender identity disorder. Denying medical treatment, Cohen tells me, violates the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.
“It’s not as if she’s being afforded something that's a luxury or elective or cosmetic,” she says. “It’s the prison doctors who have recommended this treatment.”
Unsurprisingly, the case has become a source of great controversy. The friends and family of Cheryl, Kosilek’s former wife and murder victim, have campaigned against the state paying for the surgery. Last autumn, then US Senator Scott Brown called a judge’s decision to go ahead with the surgery “an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
Cohen, however, downplays the cost, saying medical services already paid for by the DOC would cover the surgery. A handful of surgeries, she says, “wouldn’t move the needle all that much.” She continued, saying that the only precedent the case would set would be “the DOC following the instruction of its own doctors.”
The ripple effect of the case is hard to gauge. In reference to Kosilek successfully suing for hormone treatment in 2002, Boston radio station WBUR reported that, “The case reverberated across the country. Inmates from Massachusetts to California started requesting hormone therapy, and a lot of them got it. In 2005, the Wisconsin state legislature passed a bill prohibiting that state’s corrections department from providing any treatment of the sort, and the law was swiftly challenged in court.”
Exact numbers are hard to come by. Cohen doesn't know how many inmates in the US suffer from gender identity disorder, and she's unsure if there is an international example of a state paying for a convicted murderer’s sex-change operation.
Then there’s the issue of where to house Kosilek should she become, anatomically speaking, a woman. Asked if Kosilek would be moved to a female prison if she had the surgery, Cohen says, “It’s too early to say.” The prison system’s lawyers have argued that the surgery could put Kosilek at increased risk of sexual assault. The department has also argued that the previous treatment, which included hormone pills and psychotherapy, should suffice.
Cohen disagrees. Gender identity disorder has lead Kosilek, who is now 64 years old, to attempt suicide, according to her lawyer. Kosilek has also attempted self-castration and self-mutilation in the past, says Cohen.
Last autumn, US District Court Chief Judge Mark Wolf declared that the state should pay for the surgery. Wolf, according to the Boston Globe, noted that a course of action "had been prescribed by Department of Correction doctors, and that the only justifications for denying the treatment were based on public opinion."
The department, which declined to comment when I got in touch, appealed the decision and a three-judge First Circuit panel heard arguments earlier this month. The panel is currently reviewing the matter and is expected to announce their decision before the end of summer, so place bets and hang on to the edge of your seat—or do whatever you normally do when you're awaiting interesting news—until then.
Follow Danny on Twitter: @DMacCash
More stuff about prison and transgender people:
The New York Penal System Threw Our Friend Kira to the Wolves
Life Inside the Sex Prison
The Swedish Goverment has Stopped Tranquilizing Transgender PeopleFollowing Tesla’s announcement that it plans to double its total production output to 500,000 vehicles in 2018 and 1 million in 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was asked by analysts how and where he plans to manufacture those vehicles.
While the company has been talking about plans to build more vehicle factories in Europe and China, Tesla’s Fremont factory remains its only full-fledged car manufacturing facility. Company officials have always referred to the Fremont plant’s total capacity to be around 500,000 cars per year once optimized, which is what Toyota and GM were producing when they owned the factory, until now.
During the conference call with financial analysts, Musk said that he sees a path to Tesla producing up to 1 million cars per year in Fremont – more than twice what Toyota and GM were producing.
Though the CEO said that it might not be the best solution:
“Well, I think it is actually feasible, maybe not advisable, but feasible to do it with just Fremont and the Gigafactory. We actually believe that Fremont and the Gigafactory could scale to a million vehicles. Whether that’s actually wise is a separate question…”
Fremont is manufacturing the vehicles and the Gigafactory in Nevada is manufacturing the battery packs.
Although Tesla may not try to get Fremont up to 1 million cars per year, it could mean that the company is at least going over the previously stated goal of 500,000 cars per year once optimized.
Interestingly, Tesla’s President of Global Sales, Jon McNeill, Tesla’s President of Global Sales, was in China last month for the Beijing Auto Show. During an interview, he referred to Fremont’s capacity as ‘600,000 per year’:
“So we will have production capacity ready to do that. We have a factory in California that is sized for about 600,000 vehicles a year, but in addition as I mentioned, we are looking for an additional factory as well. That could very well may be in China.”
It might have been the first time that a Tesla official referred to Fremont factory’s capacity as more than 500,000 units per year, though right after the interview, a Tesla spokesperson told us that “600,000 per year” was a mistake and that “there has been no change” to the factory’s planned capacity.
Based on Musk’s comments yesterday, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to think Tesla is planning for the Fremont plant to have an output greater than 600,000 units per year.
The Fremont factory is one of the biggest buildings on earth with 5.3 million square feet of manufacturing and office space. While it was the same size when Toyota and GM were producing 500,000 vehicles, Tesla has been acquiring space in other locations close to the factory to expand its operations, including the former Solyndra manufacturing building (500,000 sq-ft), another building on Kato Road in Fremont (300,000 sq-ft) and the Lathrop facility.
Tesla also recently signed a lease for two new buildings in the Bay Area, adding a total of over 1 million square feet of production or warehouse space in the region. Tesla could potentially use all this space to move some of its operations from the Fremont factory and focus on the core components and assembly in order to get to 1 million vehicles a year.
Additionally, Tesla is set to go on a hiring spree this weekend to hire “hundreds” of “production assembly associates” at a “massive” job fair in Fremont, California, according to job listings.
Featured Image: New footage of the Tesla Model X assembly line in Fremont Factory [Gallery & Video]Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Birmingham Super Prix took place for five years until 1990
Hopes are rising that a change in law will lead to motor racing on the streets of Britain - or in the case of Birmingham - returning after a break of more than 20 years.
Every spring, yellow crocuses beside the city's Bristol Road spell out a few letters of "Birmingham Super Prix" - a reminder of the glory days when thousands of people saw Formula 3000 cars race along a 2.6 mile city centre circuit.
The event, staged from 1986 until 1990, saw cars travel at up to 200mph along closed city roads and through the tunnels that intersect the city centre.
Image copyright Bob Thomas/Getty Imnages Image caption France's Jean Alesi celebrates his win at the Birmingham Super Prix on 8 August 1989
Years of discussions and campaigning led to the race being permitted via a special act of Parliament until it ended amid financial concerns and complaints from MP Clare Short.
But now the government has said red tape will be cut and local authorities given powers to suspend speed limits and regulations to host such events.
British motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss is among those calling for its return.
"I think Birmingham would be an excellent place to have it," he said. "People are enthusiastic, it is central to England, and people can fly there too."
"Another good thing about having it in Birmingham is that it would be a bigger event within the city of Birmingham than in the city of London," he said.
Sir Stirling said he believed a Grand Prix in central London would be "exceptional" but admitted it would be "tremendously complicated" to organise because of the infrastructure needed.
Racing fan Matthew Taylor, 32, of Chelmsley Wood, near Birmingham, remembers watching the penultimate Super Prix as an enthralled seven-year-old.
"I remember in 1989, this man in a yellow car and it was Jean Alesi who was to become one of my favourite Formula One drivers," he said.
"He was an amazing driver, he had flair and he had passion. He drove a Ferrari in the mid-90s, the number 27. He is still a legend today."
It seemed a great idea at the time - a city centre road race that would put Birmingham on motorsport's world map. But Brum is no Monte Carlo and memories of the Super Prix years are not all rosy. True it brought in the crowds and with it, revenue, but at what cost? The interruption to traffic and inevitable noise combined to alienate many residents. None of the years passed without significant incidents. The first, 1986, was ruined by torrential rain, causing many spins, crashes and delays while the main event, the Formula 3000, was halted halfway through the scheduled 51 laps. The tight circuit and bumpy road proved unhelpful to motor racing. The 1988 race had two restarts following a massive shunt and then a lengthy delay while a crane removed a stranded car and driver. The final year - 1990 - saw another host of crashes and withdrawals. Only 11 of the 30 starters finished the race. The Birmingham Super Prix remains a fond memory for many motorsport enthusiasts - but a nightmare for many locals.
Mr Taylor is among more than 1,100 people who signed a petition, started by hyper local website Birmingham Updates, calling for the city council to bring back the Super Prix.
"I think it's about getting closer to the action than at a normal track," he said. "At Grand Prix like Silverstone you are a bit too far back so you would be closer to feel the noise and the speed. I'd love to see it come back to us, it would be absolutely amazing."
Martin Hone, who helped plan the original Super Prix, said he was disappointed Birmingham, the first UK city to host motor road racing, had not become the permanent home for an annual event.
"My personal view goes back to my own motor racing days, we never had road racing so never had the experience we needed overseas," he said.
"You really have to be precise with road racing. If you make a mistake you are going to hit the barriers."
In 1990, the then-MP for Ladywood in Birmingham, Clare Short, told the House of Commons: "Here we have a two-day race taking place in the middle of the city around a residential area.
"It is deeply unpopular with the people who live there, it disrupts traffic going in and out of the city for weeks on either side of the race and it cannot cover the costs."
The race that year was the final one.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Thousands of people watched Birmingham's Super Prix races
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sir Stirling Moss raced 1,000 miles along open roads in Italy to win the Mille Miglia in 1955
If the race was to succeed again it would need to overcome financial and PR problems that beset the original.
Figures cited in a Parliamentary debate in 1989 revealed that staging the race led to a loss in 1986 and 1987, and breaking even in 1988.
Birmingham City Council has also suggested financial constraints would hamper future race plans.
The 1989 race cost £1.3m to stage, and under the same conditions and allowing for inflation, would today cost £2.7m.
Councillor Ian Ward, deputy leader of the Labour-run council, said it had been "at the front of the grid" on motorsport by going to Parliament to get an act of law passed, but all councils now "faced the unavoidable reality of reduced budgets".
"Major motorsport events require big sponsors and event organisers also always look to local authorities for financial support and backing," he said.
"We are always keen to attract new events to Birmingham, but in this climate, we would need to look at any proposals very closely to see if they were in the best interests of the taxpayer.
"However, the ability to suspend the Road Traffic Act could also prove very helpful in terms of attracting production companies wishing to shoot major films on the city's streets - which would be an added bonus to be gained from these proposals."Americans will soon have a new national wildlife refuge to visit in five New England states and New York.
The Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge, finalized by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on Tuesday, includes 15,000 acres of land that mainly consists of shrubland teeming with as many as 136 types of animals and insects, according to the Associated Press, which includes the New England cottontails and American woodcock. It also hosts threatened and endangered species such as bog turtles and the Massachusetts's northern red-bellied cooter.
“National wildlife refuges provide Americans with incredible opportunities to experience nature at its finest,” Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said in a press release. “Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge will give New Englanders and New Yorkers the chance to conserve important habitat in the region, ensuring current and future generations can experience the rich variety of animals and plants that call these special places home.”
This new refuge is a continuation of President Obama’s streak in holding the record for protecting the most public land and water of any past president. It will be the 18th created under his administration since 2009 and the 566th in the nation, joining a network of protected areas covering over 150 million acres of land. It also increases the amount of land under FWS’ purview. In August, Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii to become the world’s largest marine protected area that spans two wildlife refuges.
“With this expansion, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now manages the largest system of lands and waters set aside for the conservation of wildlife and wild places” Service Director Dan Ashe said in a press release then. “No other entity on this planet can make that claim (or even comes close).”
Development activities in these areas are prohibited, but public use of the land for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, and education are welcome. According to the FWS, these wildlife refuges are visited 47 million times a year, becoming an important source of revenue for local communities, thus drawing in collaboration from various levels of government.
“The Great Thickets Project really started as all great projects do — pretty much at the grassroots level,” Scott Kahan, the agency’s chief of refuges for the Northeast, told Maine Public Broadcasting Network, commenting on how the agency partnered with six state wildlife agencies and local governments. “When we think about providing habitat for wildlife, we really need to think about it in terms of these bigger geographies, in terms of where that habitat needs to be located to help protect and to keep some of these common species common and to help recover some of the ones that are more rare.”
When the plan was first made available for public review in early 2016, it drew more than 6,000 comments. According to FWS, more than 90 percent were positive, including letters of support from thousands of individuals from the National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife. The former commended the plan for addressing the “alarming rates” of decline in populations of shrubland birds while the latter touched on economic benefits of the refuge.
“Great Thicket NWR would also provide Northeasterners with new wildlife viewing and recreation opportunities and would aid our local economy by attracting birdwatchers and other visitors to our region,” they wrote.
Of course, it also drew comments that highlighted general wariness of federally-controlled land, alleging “intrusion of federal directives and control” as a “greater concern.”
The economic potential of the refuge was highlighted by the service. Referring to a 2013 national report, spending by refuge visitors generated nearly $343 million in local, county, state, and federal tax revenue in 2011 while supporting more than 35,000 jobs.
“National wildlife refuges do not just benefit wildlife. They are strong economic engines for local communities across the country,” according to the report.
For the refuge to materialize, the next step for FWS is to acquire land from willing landowners in non-contiguous areas in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island. According to the Associated Press, the officials say they plan to purchase half of the land targeted while obtaining the other half through conservation easement.
Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy
The process could take decades, as the press release points out. It is entirely up to landowners to decide if they want to sell or donate their land to become part of the refuge. They could also opt for conservation easement, where the owners permanently sell property rights to FWS that restricts the types of activities that can be done on the land.
The funds used to purchase these lands will not be from federal tax dollars but from two buckets of funds set up by Congress, drawing revenue from offshore oil and gas drilling royalties and sale of Federal Duck stamps amongst other things.John Patrick Halling of John Patrick & the Outside Voices
Annie Benson Blocked Unblock Follow Following May 27, 2016
Driving down to interview J.P., the sweetheart and lead vocalist of John Patrick & the Outside Voices, I had every intention of doing an interview and heading on home. Little did I know, Kent, the small college town in which I was to meet with J.P., had entirely different plans for me. Thankfully, before the devil that is Jameson reared its ugly face, I got some pretty good information on the up-and-coming artist.
He was born in Kansas City, Kansas, which really isn’t that surprising. He looks like a guy born in Kansas City. I think that’s a compliment? He didn’t get to the O-H-I-O until he was ten years old, and by then, he was two years deep into torturous piano lessons. He was thirteen when he finally picked up a guitar and, I quote, “the rest is history.”
The history, however, is much different than the present. His earliest influences are all very different in style: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, and Butch Walker. It makes perfect sense, then, that his first group was a cover band that only played Blink-182, Weezer, and Green Day songs. Contradictory to the above statement, J.P. says he was actually a big hippie in high school. His dream car is still a VW Bus. Groovy, baby.
J.P. started really writing music when he was eighteen; his first song was about a post-prom breakup. In college, he started playing some solo open mic shows, eventually starting the band Haymaker Heart. Now, I’m not going to include a link to their YouTube channel because I promised not to. However, let it be known that the YouTube channel exists, and I had a good time checking it out. Ahem.
After the Haymaker Heart broke up, J.P. started hitting open mics hard as a solo artist. That’s how he met Johnny Miller and Cory Grinder of Johnny and the Applestompers, who would go on to become two of the original Outside Voices. Jimmy Dykes and Shawn Cline joined in shortly thereafter, and in 2015, John Patrick & the Outside Voices started rockin’ and rollin’.
John Patrick is the main singer-songwriter for the project, and he decided to make the first cross-country tour a solo trip. He started saving at least fifty bucks a paycheck, plus any CD sales or show payments, and by the time his tour came around, he had banked about a grand. In 2015, he released the album ‘Boy in the Water,’ and later that year, went on his merry way across the country from August to October.
He left from Kent, OH, and headed southwest first, stopping by his hometown in Kansas, and then continuing on through Colorado and the Four Corners region, as well as Iowa, Indiana, and, I’m sure, a bunch more places. He made it back to Kansas to finish up his tour. The whole time he talked to me about this trip, I kept thinking about how scary that must have been. Not necessarily being a stranger in a new town, but absolutely baring your soul to strangers. That is fucking terrifying. Luckily, it worked out because absolutely everyone along the way adored him, and it’s hard not to. I first heard him play in Highland Square down in Annabell’s dirty-ass basement that makes everyone sound like a subpar punk band, but I remember being absolutely blown away by his acoustic set.
The most mind-blowing thing he told me about the tour was not the fact that he went alone, and it wasn’t the fact he was once paid in apples (which is pretty fucking neat), it was the fact his car never broke down. Is that even a tour? Does that even qualify? He broke the rules, and I won’t stand for it! My fucking check engine light came on while I was driving back from this interview. It’s bullshit. I’m not even mad, though. I guess the one redeeming factor is he did get his car stuck in the sand on an abandoned road with no cell phone service. I guess that will have to suffice.
I figured the most difficult part of touring would be expenses, but J.P. said people usually took care of him pretty well. That’s one of those beautiful things about the arts community — most everyone looks out for everyone else. There’s the occasional douche, of course, but for the most part, we are all in this together. J.P. said the hardest thing was booking the shows and getting people to let a random guy from Ohio play their venue. After that, he said, it was absolutely great. Since he went alone, he could be whoever the hell he wanted to be. He could go anywhere he wanted to go. There was never any arguing in the car about potty stops or whatever else — he had complete control.
Finally back home, the Outside Voices joined John Patrick once more and now they are focusing on releasing a full-length album.
Their current lineup is as follows:
From Left: John Patrick, Sam, Kevin, Johnny, and Jimmy in back
John Patrick Halling on lead vocals and guitar
Jimmy Dykes on guitar
Johnny Miller on guitar
Kevin McManus on bass
Sam Langstaff on drums
J.P. enjoys the flexibility of being a solo artist, but he says there are plenty of benefits to being in a full band. Obviously, hanging out and jamming with your best friends is a blast, but the more hands you have in the pot, the more challenging it becomes. Fortunately for him, all of the Outside Voices have been incredibly respectful of the direction he’s heading.
His piece of advice to any aspiring musician out there is: Don’t stop. Do whatever it takes and run with it. He would sincerely encourage anyone to lead a life like his. Don’t settle for less just because nothing is guaranteed.On Sunday in London, CNN's Becky Anderson and an accompanying camera crew were captured by another videographer appearing to stage an anti-ISIS protest by a small group equipped with printed signs.
CNN has denied staging the event, claiming that it "simply filmed" those involved, but it's clear that the affair was at the very least quite orchestrated and agenda-driven.
Let's work backwards from the CNN report which aired as a result of the alleged staging. Here it is, narrated by Anderson:
Transcript:
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN: What I want to show you now is, viewers, is a wonderful scene. And these are Muslim mums, and the little fella here and his poor little sign. And this is in commemoration, you can see his little sign: "To the heroes of London." There are flowers on the streets here, Ladies with (signs reading) "#TURNTOLOVE"; "#ISIS=ENEMIES OF ISLAM"; "#ISIS WILL LOSE"; "#TURN TO LONDON" (actually says "#FORLONDON" — Ed.) And I think a poignant scene, and a scene we should sit on just for you viewers to understand exactly how people feel here on the streets of London so close to what were such brutal attacks last night.
Immediate observations:
The shots are almost exclusively very tight. Why? Because there are so few people in the group. The idea that such a small group reflects "exactly how people feel here on the streets of London" is, to be kind, really shaky.
Only the sign held by the "little fella" looks homemade.
Anderson didn't take the risk of actually talking to any of the protesters.
Given the size of the group and the lack of interaction, one has to wonder how CNN even found out about it, and why the network put in the effort seen below to orchestrate the scene for presentation to viewers:
Clearly, the protesters were being moved into place so that the cameras could take a group shot.
CNN "rebuttal" seems to actually describe what many people would consider the very definition of "staging":
This story is nonsense. The group of demonstrators that was at the police cordon was being allowed through by officers so they could show their signs to the gathered media. The CNN crew along with other media present simply filmed them doing so.
CNN's Brian Stelter predictably chimed in with a pair of tweets claiming that "Far-right twitterers are misleading folks," and that "CNN, BBC, AP'simply filmed them.'"
The Associated Press used a photo from the "protest" to promote a story about hospitality provided to those who were stranded by post-attack police containment efforts.
British reporter KT Hopkins claims that "(the) Same group" was seen in "Multiple locations," and asked if "this group (was) for hire."
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>> DONATE
Blogger Ace's measured reaction (bolds are mine):
I don't know if this is "staging," but it does seem like coordination between CNN and the "protesters," rather than pictures of a spontaneous protest. It seems like a show put on only to be photographed by CNN, with CNN providing cinematography expertise -- maybe not "staged," per se, but it sure looks stage-managed. Would CNN help protesters of any right-wing cause set up their shot for maximum viewer impact? This may well show a genuine, real sentiment being expressed by the protesters -- but it also shows CNN coordinating with them not to show an actual, organic protest, but to artificially set up a specific message that both CNN and the protesters want on TV.
That's the key.
From all appearances, CNN and Anderson went out looking for support for a specific message, namely some evidence, any evidence, that London's Muslims were genuinely outraged by the attacks.
Any doubt as to whether that's the case will be erased once one sees Becky Anderson's two-minute angry rant posted on her own Twitter account. It apparently aired sometime Sunday on CNN. In its final 15 seconds, she offered up the "hashtag" signs mentioned earlier held up by individual Muslim protesters as examples of "who we are, and that is what you (terrorists) will never stop." Anderson never explained how hashtags are supposed to overcome people determined to kill others.
That what readers have seen here is apparently all the visible Muslim outrage CNN could find, despite its strenuous efforts — staged, stage-managed, orchestrated, or not — appears to send a message completely the opposite of what Anderson and her network wished to convey.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.This is the shocking moment an owl was interrogated by superstitious Mexican villagers after being set on fire ‘for being a witch’.
The terrified animal was filmed being questioned by its captors from inside a scorched cage in the city of Durango, north-west Mexico, with its feathers badly charred and its legs bound.
Believing it to be a witch, the female villagers can be heard demanding the owl reveal its human name and turn itself back into a woman if it wants to be freed.
The horrific scene was captured on video and later uploaded to social media by the villagers.
Footage shows the burnt owl screeching at its captors as it flaps around inside the cage–just seconds after being set alight by the women.
But the women interpret the bird’s cries as proof that it is really a witch and does not like the fact that its true identity has been discovered.
They then repeatedly ask the owl to identify itself and at one stage, read sections of the Bible in the belief that this will force the animal to turn back into a woman.
They are also heard recounting stories of how the owl had been seen looking through the window at the home of one villager, and how it had apparently tried to curse another.
The city of Durango, like many places in Mexico, includes the superstition that some women are witches that have the power to turn into animals.
Following its publication, the video was widely condemned by social media users, who urged police to track down the villagers and punish them as a warning to others to avoid such ‘foolish’ beliefs.
One user wrote: ‘This is just an animal inside a cage and anything would scream if it was threatened by these women in this way.’
Another added: ‘This is just superstitious nonsense and I really wish that authorities could finally do something treat these people like the criminals they are.’
It is unknown what happened to the owl following its interrogation.
[Editor’s Note: We’ve decided not to include the video, but it is available at the original article link below.]
Original Article
Share ThisSCP-3032
Item #: SCP-3032
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: Reports of forest fires with unknown/unusual causes are to be constantly monitored, with an increased priority in regions with a history of SCP-3032 instances. [Consult Document 3032-Regions for further information]
Identified instances of SCP-3032 outside of containment are to be neutralized via aerial-strike by local Armed Observation Posts [See Incident Report 3032-01]. Once an instance of SCP-3032 has been identified, it is to be immediately reported to the nearest Biological Containment Site equipped for SCP-3032. Identified instances are to be kept under constant surveillance; should it enter an active state, the appropriate Site is to deploy anti-air guided missiles in order to neutralize the object before it enters Phase 7. Should object succeed in entering Phase 7, Foundation personnel are to be deployed to destroy any cones that have been released. A thin acid spray has been found to be the most effective method thus far for quick disposal of cones.
A current total of 14 13 instances of SCP-3032 are contained in an 18 meters2 open-air greenhouse area. Each specimen is to be planted within a 2 meters2 plot of soil extending 10 meters deep maximum, in order to minimize chances of a coordinated assault. In the event a contained instance should enter Phase 1, the root system is to be immediately flooded with water, which will neutralize the active state and prevent the specimen from entering Phase 3. Should the specimen achieve Phase 3, the neutralization strategy detailed above is to be employed.
Description: SCP-3032 is the collective designation for an anomalous strain of Larix laricina. New instances of SCP-3032 develop complex, repetitive root systems, which seem to prioritize stability over resource collection. Instances possess extremely durable bark, rendering most tree felling tools and methods ineffective. Due to these properties, as well as the objects' other anomalous properties, instances take approximately 2x longer to reach maturity than their non-anomalous counterparts.
The primary anomalous property of SCP-3032 specimens manifest when instances are ready to reproduce, or are under threat. Specimens, upon entering an active state, are capable of simulating the launch sequence of conventional ballistic missiles. Specimens appear to target random locations, unless preparing for a coordinated assault [SEE INCIDENT REPORT 3032-01]. To accommodate for this unconventional means of dispersal, cones produced by SCP-3032 are noted to be highly resistant to impact forces and extreme heat, and will naturally angle downwards during descent. Cones will impact the ground at terminal velocity, capable of causing severe damage to impact zone. Additionally, attempts to tamper with instances of SCP-3032, or after successfully penetrating the outer bark, will result in the object entering a "panic" state, resulting in premature, rushed flight. Panicking SCP-3032 instances seem to possess a 43% failure rate, wherein fuel is improperly created and the object either explodes violently or fails to achieve liftoff.
The following is a list of flight phases SCP-3032 instances undergo:
+ Show Phase Table - Hide Phase Table Phase Description 1 Root |
Bashore, in collaboration with town manager Hank Raper, began a program — using compassion instead of violence — known as the HOPE initiative that is both saving lives and lowering crime.
Nashville, North Carolina, a town of 5,400 offers a unique program to help addicts recover, rather than continue the cycle of crime and addiction, by allowing addicts to turn themselves into police with their drugs and paraphernalia, without being thrown in a cage.
Instead of them facing arrest, they get help getting into a program to fight addiction.
Thomas Spikes, 24, has battled addiction since before he was a teenager, and credits Bashore with saving his life by putting him on a path to recovery from the deadly scourge of opioid addiction.
“He saved my life for sure,” he said. “I owe a lot to him and the program.”
As opioid deaths continue to rise dramatically across the United States, replacing car accidents as the number one cause of unintentional deaths, the state of North Carolina has seen a more than 340 percent increase in opioid deaths from 2010 to 2016.
“There’s no clear characteristic of what a heroin or opioid addiction looks like,” Raper told CNN. “It’s not a white problem, it’s not a black problem, it’s not a Hispanic problem, middle class, working class, upper class. It affects all peoples of all walks of life.”
The HOPE initiative was modeled on the “Angel” program in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which allows addicts to safely get medical help and police assistance—without fear of being arrested. These innovative programs are creating a new paradigm that reconfigures the manner in which law enforcement responds to addiction.
“They walk into the front door, if they have drugs or paraphernalia on them at any time, they can turn it in to us at that time, and have no charges filed. And we facilitate them into recovery,” Bashore said.
“We have actually had individuals who have brought in heroin bags and turned that over because they knew that they were going to get into recovery and they didn’t want that around when they got out,” Bashore said.
To ensure that there would be no impediments to the HOPE program, Chief Bashore and Raper recruited the county district attorney, who was on board with the initiative, ensuring that addicts seeking help would not be charged. With the support of the county attorney, the HOPE program began on Feb. 9, 2016—with the first addict coming into the police station seeking help only eight days later.
“It was eye-opening,” recalled Bashore. “That individual came in and we spent the better part of 7 and a half hours getting him processed. Only then did I leave the hospital and come back to the police department to start calling facilities to start having him placed, after he left detox. You can spend hours on the phone, calling facilities, saying, ‘Do you have a bed?'”
Bashore has been intimately involved in the program, driving many of the 172 men and women that have been helped by the HOPE initiative. Revealing the changing nature of law enforcement’s fight against drug addition—and a clear movement from a punitive “War on Drugs” mentality, to a recovery-based model—Bashore has worked to build personal relationships with numerous rehabilitation facilities across North Carolina.
The business cards he passes out even have his personal cellphone number so that rehab facilities across the state can personally alert him when a space opens up for an addict.
“My cellphone, it rings all the time,” Bashore said. “Each participant who comes through the program and all their family members have it. So, when they need something, they reach out.”
In addition to helping numerous addicts get clean, the HOPE initiative has substantially changed the dynamics between the police and the community. Bashore said he is working to help people understand that substance abuse is a disease and that his department’s goal is to “supportive not only for their benefit, but for the community benefit.”
Revealing exactly how this new approach by law enforcement, to drugs and addiction, can drastically alter crime rates, Bashore said that crime is down 40 percent since the program’s inception.
“We’ve had a pretty significant drop in our crimes that are associated with substance-abuse disorder,” Bashore said. “Things like shoplifting and larcenies and breaking into cars.”
The beautiful thing is that HOPE does not limit its services to residents of Nashville, as people from across the state have taken advantage of the program—as well as people from as far away as California and Pennsylvania.
The initiative has no cost to participants in the program, and is funded through small grants, fundraisers, and donations.
“The chief paid for the first two months that I was there and the rehab I was at,” recalled Spikes. After spending over half his life in the grip of addiction, Spikes has now been clean for four months after leaving the rehabilitation facility.
In an interview with CNN, Spikes said that he first used drugs when he was 12 years old. “It started off with just smoking weed,” he said, “then occasional pills, and it progressed through the years.” Eventually, his addiction became a $200 to $300 a day habit at its worst.
After being caught with heroin and sent to jail in October 2016, he had his first encounter with Chief Bashore. Initially, Spikes was skeptical of any help police offered, and expressed a commonly held belief: “You don’t talk to cops, you don’t associate with them, they’re not your friends.”
Spikes’ perceptions quickly began to evolve when he recognized that Bashore was solely there to help him, no questions asked.
The chief “never tried to pry into anything in my life in that era,” Spikes said. “[He doesn’t] care who you hang out with, what kind of drugs you do.”
After having gone through countless rehab facilities in the past, Spikes said his life has changed because of Chief Bashore and the HOPE initiative.
“He saved my life for sure because if it wasn’t for the HOPE Initiative, I wouldn’t have gotten help,” Spikes said. “My life has done a 180. I’m working, I have a vehicle, a house, I have a beautiful girlfriend with a baby on the way.”
This inspirational police chief decided that criminalizing addiction is a clear recipe for failure, and increased crime and death in his community—and made a decision to do something about it. By not comporting with the “get tough on crime” mentality that is often prevalent in law enforcement, Bashore is actually making a difference in people’s lives. He is also saving taxpayers money as the cost of rehabilitation is far less than prison, and it is being independently funded.
“Of those 172 people that have come through the program, I’ve actually been to two funerals. Knowing what the alternative could have been for Thomas … (who) just recently disclosed to me that his girlfriend’s pregnant, he’s going to be a father,” he said. “So, that’s an amazing thing. That touches me deeply.”Updated at 9:30 p.m. with results from a vote on a measure by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
WASHINGTON — After months of raucous negotiations and embarrassing setbacks, GOP leaders narrowly cleared a critical hurdle on Tuesday in their quest to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
But just hours later, the party faced an expected first defeat, as a vote to advance a version of the GOP's Better Care Reconciliation Act that included a proposal by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz failed to move forward.
GOP leaders downplayed that setback, still riding high from gaining the support of 50 Republicans to even begin debate on a health care replacement measure, a goal that has eluded Republican lawmakers in recent months as they navigated health care disagreements.
Two senators -- Susan Collins, of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, voted against the motion to proceed. Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie, starting the clock on hours of debate over still-evolving health care legislation. The process will include a flurry of amendments as conservative and moderates seek to shape the bill in their favor in coming days.
"Let the voting take us where it will," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said ahead of the vote.
Democrats, meanwhile, will pitch a last ditch — but likely unsuccessful — effort to salvage President Barack Obama’s landmark health care law.
The final bill — what it will look like, how it will affect health care for millions of Americans, and whether it can win the support of a fractious GOP party — is still unknown, a point acknowledged by Cruz on Tuesday.
"At this point, it's not clear what the final product will be of all of these amendments," he said. "But I think the key to uniting Republicans is to focus on honoring our promise to the voters to repeal Obamacare and to focus critically on lowering premiums."
Tuesday's initial vote came amid boisterous chants of "shame" and “kill the bill” from protesters, with groups interrupting the proceedings before being escorted outside the Senate chamber.
Opponents of the Senate GOP's Better Care Reconciliation Act proposal — both Democrats and health care advocates — say planned reductions to Medicaid and other changes to existing health care policy will lead to millions of Americans losing or dropping health insurance coverage.
GOP defectors
With Republicans holding just a narrow 52-48 majority, and Collins and Murkowski voting against the motion to proceed, its passage was briefly in doubt as Republican lawmakers waited for Arizona Sen. John McCain and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson to cast their votes.
Johnson was seen huddling with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Whip John Cornyn for several minutes before finally casting his approval. McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, entered the chamber several minutes into the vote and received a standing ovation from his colleagues before approving the procedural step.In 2013, Culkin co-founded the New York-based, pizza-themed comedy rock band The Pizza Underground, of which he was the vocalist. They toured in 2014, beginning in Brooklyn on January 24, 2014. On July 10, 2016, Culkin said that The Pizza Underground was splitting up and their next album would be the last.
He took a break from acting in 1994, and made his return in 2003 with a role on the television show Will and Grace and in the film Party Monster (2003). He wrote an autobiographical book, Junior, which was published in 2006.
He was raised Roman Catholic, [8] and attended a Catholic school (St. Joseph's School of Yorkville) for five years [9] before moving on to Professional Children's School.
Culkin is the third of seven children, five boys and two girls: Shane (born 1976), Dakota (1979–2008), [6] Kieran (born 1982), Quinn (born 1984), Christian (born 1987), and Rory (born 1989). During Culkin's early childhood, the family lived in a small apartment; his mother was a telephone operator and his father worked as a sacristan at a local Catholic church. [7]
Culkin at the Governor's Ball after the Emmy Awards on August 25, 1991.
1985–1989: Early work Edit
Culkin began acting at the age of four. Early roles saw him appearing in a stage production of Bach Babies at the New York Philharmonic. He continued appearing in roles on stage, television and films throughout the 1980s. He made a small appearance in the TV movie The Midnight Hour (1985). In 1988 he appeared in an episode of the popular action television series The Equalizer, in which he played a kidnapping victim, Paul Gephardt. He made his big-screen debut portraying the character of Cy Blue Black in the drama film Rocket Gibraltar (1988).
He played the role of Billy Livingstone in the romantic-comedy film See You in the Morning (1989), starring Jeff Bridges, Alice Krige, Farrah Fawcett and Drew Barrymore. He starred as Miles Russell alongside actor John Candy in the comedy film Uncle Buck (1989).[10]
1990–1994: Breakthrough Edit
Culkin rose to fame with his lead role of Kevin McCallister in the blockbuster Christmas film Home Alone (1990), where he was reunited with Uncle Buck writer and director John Hughes and Uncle Buck co-star John Candy, who played the role of Polka band member Gus Polinski. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and won an American Comedy Award and a Young Artist Award for his role as Kevin McCallister.
In 1991, Culkin starred in an animated Saturday morning cartoon television series, Wish Kid, hosted Saturday Night Live and starred in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video. He starred as Thomas J. Sennett in the film My Girl (1991), for which he was nominated for Best On-Screen Duo and won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, with Anna Chlumsky.
He reprised his role of Kevin McCallister in the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), for which he won a Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor. He played the role of Henry in the drama-thriller film The Good Son (1993), which only did reasonably well (although he was nominated for MTV Movie Award in the category for Best Villain for his performance). He also appeared, while a student at the School of American Ballet, in a filmed version of The Nutcracker as the title role in 1993, which was staged by Peter Martins from the 1954 George Balanchine New York City Ballet version of the work.
He was in the films Getting Even with Dad (1994), The Pagemaster (1994) and Richie Rich (1994), which were all only mildly successful at the box office.
1994–2003: Career break Edit
In 1994, Culkin took a break from acting after his 15th film in seven years. Desiring a "normal life", he went to a private high school in Manhattan.[11][12] In 1998, he appeared in the music video for the song "Sunday" by the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2000, Culkin returned to acting with a role in the play Madame Melville, which was staged in London's West End.[13]
2003–2010: Return to acting and book debut Edit
In the spring of 2003, he made a guest appearance on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace.[14] His role as Karen Walker's deceptively immature divorce lawyer won him favorable reviews. Culkin headed back into motion pictures in 2003 with Party Monster, in which he played a role very different from those he was known for; that of party promoter Michael Alig, a drug user and murderer. He quickly followed that with a supporting part in Saved!, as a cynical wheelchair-using, non-Christian student in a conservative Christian high school. Though Saved! only had modest success at the box office, Culkin received positive reviews for his role in the film and its implications for a career as an adult actor.[15][16][17] Culkin began doing voice-over work, with appearances in Seth Green's Robot Chicken.
In 2006, he published an experimental, semi-autobiographical novel, Junior, which featured details about Culkin's stardom and his shaky relationship with his father.
Culkin starred in Sex and Breakfast, a dark comedy written and directed by Miles Brandman.[18] Alexis Dziena, Kuno Becker and Eliza Dushku also star in this story of a couple whose therapist recommends they engage in group sex. Shooting for the film, Culkin's first since Saved!, took place in September 2006. The film opened in Los Angeles on November 30, 2007 and was released on DVD on January 22, 2008 by First Look Pictures. Culkin's next project was a role in the thirteen-episode NBC television series Kings as Andrew Cross.[19]
In 2009, Culkin appeared in a UK-based commercial for Aviva Insurance (formerly Norwich Union) to help promote their company's rebranding. Culkin stared into the camera stating, "Remember me." On August 17, 2009, Culkin made a brief cameo appearance on WWE Raw at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, following a "falls count anywhere" match between Hornswoggle and Chavo Guerrero, in which Guerrero was defeated by the classic Home Alone gag of rigging a swinging paint can to hit him upon opening a door. Culkin appeared in the doorway and said, "That's not funny." In February 2010, Culkin appeared in an episode of Poppy de Villeneuve's online series for The New York Times, The Park. On March 7 of the same year, he appeared alongside actors Matthew Broderick, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Jon Cryer in a tribute to the late John Hughes.
2010–2016: Musical and other artistic endeavors Edit
Culkin with The Pizza Underground in Chicago, 2014
In April 2011, Culkin was featured in musician Adam Green's experimental film The Wrong Ferarri, which was entirely shot on an iPhone. In the same month, he also appeared in the music video for "Stamp Your Name On It" performed by Green's former bandmate Jack Dishel/Only Son. In September 2012, he appeared in a video on YouTube explaining how he turned his apartment in New York into a painting workshop.
In December 2013, a viral video that Culkin co-produced and directed of himself eating a cheese pizza was uploaded to YouTube, co-starring Phoebe Kreutz. He was parodying Andy Warhol consuming a Burger King Whopper in Jørgen Leth's documentary 66 Scenes from America.[20] Culkin was promoting the debut of his New York-based, pizza-themed comedy rock band The Pizza Underground.[21] Their tour began in Brooklyn on January 24, 2014.[22] In late May 2014, Culkin stormed off stage at Rock City during his kazoo solo after fans began booing and throwing pints of beer at the band.[23] They subsequently cancelled the remaining U.K. shows, though they claimed the cancellation had nothing to do with the Rock City performance.[24]
On July 10, 2016, Culkin revealed that The Pizza Underground was splitting up and their next album will be the last.[25]
2016–present: Continued acting career Edit
In July 2016, Culkin had joined the meerkats Aleksandr and Sergei in Compare the Market's new ad.[26] In January 2018, Culkin launched a comedy website called Bunny Ears, which parodied other celebrity-owned websites such as Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop.[27]
In late 2018, Culkin made guest appearances in famous internet shows including Red Letter Media's Best of the Worst[28] and Angry Video Game Nerd either as a character or as a parody of himself.[29]
In an advertisement for Google Assistant published on December 19, 2018, Culkin reprised his Home Alone role as Kevin McCallister after 28 years. It recreated scenes from the movie where McCallister shaved his face, jumped on the bed, and decorated the Christmas tree all while asking Google Assistant to set reminders for him. The advertisement quickly went viral.[30][31][32]55User Rating: 5 out of 5
Review title of SWP Trashboat This Overall rating on the Marketplace is a lie!!!
While the marketplace says it's 2.2 stars, that is complete and utter Manure!!! ranting aside, this game is truly a gem in the indie community! While it's retro appearance may drive away many, the game is utterly addicting, The day this was released I spent the entirety of my day playing it through to the end, the game generates each screen as a random environment and to progress you simply move forward (to the right) while it sounds simple, you encounter sidequests and gain new abilities along the way, there is also a Karma system which determines what powers are more prevalent in your playthrough and each of your actions influence it, there are also consumables that can aid you in your quest, as well as a growth and offspring feature that functions as a power phase and extra life system. This is definitely an indie platformer you don't want to miss! Give it a try if you are looking for a game that is both relaxing and fun!!! This game forever has a special place in my heart!!!Warner Bros. and New Line must be feeling pretty good about director Andy Muschietti‘s big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s It. Box office tracking predicts a blockbuster. The early buzz has been very positive. The trailers are just plain creepy. Since the movie only adapts one half of King’s massive novel, there’s plenty of room for a sequel. If everything goes right, it’s a no-brainer.
While Muschietti recently signed on to make a live-action version of Robotech, he’s now made it clear that his first priority is the It sequel. And based on some of his comments from our visit to the set last year, he has a good reason to hurry up and make this happen as soon as possible.
While making the press rounds for It (look for our interviews next week), Muschietti spoke with the Italian film outlet Bad Taste (via ScreenRant). When asked if he would make his Robotech movie for Sony before returning to the haunted town of Derry, Maine, the Mama director said that he’s going to finish his evil clown saga before turning to giant robots. Here’s the roughly translated (emphasis on roughly) version of his statement: “No, It 2 is my priority. I would run Robotech, in case later.” Thanks, bad internet translations!
When asked if the sequel would have a higher budget, he responded with “Well, clearly I hope so!”
For those unfamiliar with the novel, Stephen King’s It takes place over two timelines: a group of kids do battle with an evil shapeshifting creature (often seen in the guise of a clown named Pennywise) and return 30 years later to finish the the job. While the storylines are closely intertwined in the book, jumping back and forth to escalate tension, the new film will focus solely on the story of the young “Losers’ Club,” whose story is now set in 1989 instead of the ’50s. Obviously, the sequel would take place in modern day.
Muschietti has been in demand recently. In addition to Robotech, he was briefly in the running to helm Warner Bros.’ Justice League Dark…although Deadline notes that he stepped away from the project to focus on the It sequel.
What We Know About the It Sequel
When I visited the set of It last year, Andy Muschietti and producer Barbara Muschietti were surprisingly open about the possibilities of a sequel. The former even noted that, while the first film was built to stand alone, he has already started planning for the sequel to have a “dialogue” with the original movie:
Well, it appealed to me because I always thought that the kids’ storyline was more interesting than the adults, but I also appreciate the fact that there is a dialogue between the two timelines. […] But I always insisted that if there is a second part, there would be a dialogue between the two timelines, and that it would be approached like the adult life of the losers, there would be flashbacks that sort of illuminate events that are not told in the first one.
And since that approach would involve additional scenes with the young child actors, it was pretty clear that any sequel would have to come together quickly. “I’m just praying that the kids don’t grow up,” he joked. Fans of the book will be happy to know that the “blood oath” scene has been retained, which will help lay the groundwork for the follow-up. Consider this a minor spoiler for those unfamiliar with the novel or the 1990 miniseries adaptation:
And in the end […] is the scene with the blood oath, where everyone sort of says goodbye. Spoiler. The blood oath scene is there and it’s the last time they see each other as a group. It’s unspoken. And they don’t know it, but it’s a bit of a foreboding that this is the last time, and being together was a bit of a necessity to beat the monster. Now that the monster recedes, they don’t need to be together. And also because their childhood is ending, and their adulthood is starting. And that’s the bittersweet moment of that sequence.
While there is plenty of storyline left in the book to fill out a second movie, both Andy and Barbara Muschietti spoke of the sequel involving flashbacks throughout Derry’s history, revealing the many times “It” has terrorized the community. They even teased that the fire at the Black Spot, a terrifying flashback in the novel, could open the sequel:
The next one is a little warped, in the story. The ones who are going to die in a fire in this adaptation are Mike’s parents. And this tragic event is directly in relation with his fear, which is a traumatic image of his parents dying. And he witnessed this as a baby, and it’s an image that’s in his head and comes back when Pennywise basically incarnates. This image, which is white, abstract, it’s not a monster, it’s just an image. It’s terrifying.
It opens on September 8, 2017. If it makes as much money as everyone expects, we’ll start hearing more about the sequel very soon.The Treasury has not carried out a detailed economic forecast of Britain's Brexit options since the referendum, Sky News has learnt.
In an interview with Sky News, the Chancellor Philip Hammond repeatedly refused to say whether he had produced another such assessment since the vote on 23 June.
Last month the Brexit Secretary, David Davis, admitted that his department had produced no such analysis.
Some had assumed that the Treasury would carry out its own work, given that the Government has since narrowed down the options and ruled out staying inside the EU's single market.
However, senior Government sources have now told me that in the wake of the vote, the Treasury was so disturbed by the response to its forecasts of an economic downturn that it decided to "lock them in the cabinet" and not carry out any detailed updates.
Image: The chancellor is in India for trade talks
The news comes as the Chancellor and Prime Minister embark on foreign visits, to India and the Gulf respectively, to drum up support and investment for Britain from countries outside the EU.
During his trip to Delhi, Mr Hammond said he was "ambitious to do a free trade deal with India as soon as we can."
However, in an interview with Sky News, Mr Hammond was asked seven times whether his department had attempted to calculate the economic impact of the Government not reaching a deal with its European counterparts.
Mr Hammond said "we are looking at the possible range of outcomes", but refused to answer specifically whether his department had carried out work analogous to the forecasts it famously made before the referendum.
It comes amid growing concern that the UK authorities have sacrificed economic priorities in favour of cutting immigration and loosening ties with Europe.
'Every negotiation is about give and take'
The pre-referendum analysis produced by the Treasury suggested households would be around £2,000 a year worse off by 2030 if the UK left the single market than if it stayed inside.
Mr Hammond also admitted that last month's u-turn on raising national insurance contributions for self-employed workers had underlined the difficulty of making economic policy against the backdrop of the last election's manifesto promises.
He said: "The 2015 manifesto contained a lot of commitments around tax and spending that have made the room for manoeuvre for a Chancellor very limited.
"They've very significantly limited the scope that a Chancellor normally has. But we've accepted that that's something we will live with.
"We will not necessarily be able to renew all those commitments. We'll look at them in due course before the next general election."The Lowdown on Downtown
First things first: this is not a tour about beautiful buildings, although they’ll be all around us. Nor is it a tour about brilliant architects, although we’ll gaze upon their works and marvel. What the Lowdown on Downtown is, is a deeply researched “warts and all” history, with a focus on urban redevelopment, public policy, protest and political power.
It is the revealing tale of how the New Downtown became an “overnight sensation” after decades of behind the scenes work by public agencies and private developers. This complicated story will fascinate and infuriate, break your heart and thrill your spirit. So get on the bus for the real Lowdown on Downtown, as no one but Esotouric’s Richard Schave, also the founding director of the Downtown L.A. Art Walk, can reveal it. Our tour begins in the corporate public spaces of Bunker Hill and Pershing Square, each the result of deliberate social engineering. Bunker Hill’s redevelopment displaced 9,000 people, the largest eminent domain land seizure in American history.
Down the hill, we find the formerly positive public space of Pershing Square paved over, rendering downtown’s “living room” into a place where even the indigent become architecture critics. In the historic core, we’ll explore the tragedy of St. Vincent Court, a thriving open-air restaurant district hobbled by the interests of rival property owners. Then down Broadway and Spring Street, where adaptive reuse and the monthly Art Walk have brought life to spaces which have been dead for decades, even as Broadway’s longtime Latino vendors are leaving in droves. The tour concludes in the Arts District, with the bold urban explorers who reclaimed vacant warehouse space at great personal risk, the public policy shift that legalized this creative community, the astonishing growth of the “new” Arts District and what it means for the artists who remain.
WHY “THE LOWDOWN ON DOWNTOWN?” – Having studied under architecture critic Reyner Banham in the mid-1980s, tour host Richard Schave has taken it upon himself to correct his teacher’s gross oversight of downtown Los Angeles, relegated to a dismissive coda in his seminal Los Angeles guidebookLos Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. Richard and his wife Kim Cooper work extensively with the history and lost cultures of downtown in their bus tours, in their work placing Art Walk into a non-profit, on blogs including On Bunker Hill, In SRO Land and 1947project, and through public lectures on the subject. This tour has a significant walking component. It is broken up, but please be advised to be ready to stretch your legs.
Locations on the tour typically include the following (check the listing for the date you’re interested in booking for special additions):
This tour is just one of our California Culture tour series (formerly known as the Reyner Banham Loves L.A. series).
Share this: Twitter
Facebook
Email
PrintViolence broke out in the so-called 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais today as hundreds of UK-bound migrants fought a pitched battle with police.
Clashes started at around 3pm on waste ground bordering the notorious shantytown, which is now home to around 10,000 people.
'Missiles were thrown at officers, and migrants tried to get out of the camp, and on to nearby roads. Their aim was to stop lorries heading for Britain,' said a local police source.
Riot police disperse migrants with tear gas today as they tried to get into lorries heading to Britain
Police fired scores of teargas canisters and the ring road next to the camp was temporarily closed.
One migrant was arrested after being caught throwing objects at police officers, one of whom suffered a shoulder injury.
The disturbances, which went on for about 90 minutes, came as work continued on a controversial British taxpayer-funded £2m wall in the area.
Meanwhile former French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the ‘restoration of controls on all of France’s borders’ so it is not ‘overwhelmed’ by migrants.
Mr Sarkozy, who is planning to run for President again next year, repeated a call for Britain to stop being allowed to have border controls on French soil, even though they were introduced while he was interior minister in 2003.
Migrants are seen walking along the road today near lorries which are heading towards the ferry terminal in Calais
A migrant climbs out of a lorry heading to Britain after being spotted by police in the port of Calais today
French charities and politicians from both left and right are among those who have reacted with fury to the building of the so-called 'Wall of Shame'.
A French online petition against the wall reads: 'We must stop this expenditure by the British taxpayer being used to build a wall that has no meaning.'
It adds that Britain should deal with the refugees who want to start lives in the UK, deporting them if necessary.
Migrants flee as French riot police use tear gas, close to the ferry terminal in Calais today
French riot policemen stand guard at the entrance to 'the Jungle' as dozens of migrants try to storm lorries heading towards the ferry terminal in Calais today
Under the 2003 Le Touquet deal between France and the UK, Britain can carry out checks in Calais to stop migrants trying to get to Britain, while French counterparts can do the equivalent in Dover.
Right-wing politicians such as Sarkozy and Xavier Bertrand, the head of the regional council in Calais, want the Le Touquet deal torn up if the Republicans defeat the Socialists in French presidential elections in the spring.
Residents of Calais want the government to set a date for the entire camp to be razed.
French riot police officers with cameras and batons stand guard at the entrance of 'the Jungle' today as dozens of migrants try to storm lorries heading for Britain
Riot police disperse migrants trying to get into lorries heading to Britain
Dozens of migrants gather near lorries which are heading towards the ferry terminal in Calais
Migrants run away from tear gas during clashes with riot police trying to prevent them from getting into lorries heading for Dover
Migrants run away from tear gas during clashes with riot police trying to prevent them from getting into lorries heading for Britain
Around 300 migrants were involved in today's disturbances
Tear gas was used to keep migrants away from the temporary barrier which keeps them away from lorries heading into the port
Dozens of French riot police officers were involved in today's disturbances
A mile-long 13ft high wall, which will cost the UK taxpayer £2 million, is being built to stop migrants getting near the road
The new wall is designed to prevent migrants from accessing trucks making their way to Calais and towards Dover
Workers leveled of the wet concrete on the foundation for the planned wall which will be 13 foot high once complete
They said they were disgusted by the prospect of the 13ft high, mile-long structure which will be designed to try and stop migrants getting aboard UK-bound lorries.
A petition has already been started, saying French frontier controls should simply be moved to the south coast of England, along with all the refugees who want to go there.
Numerous demonstrations have already been held in Calais against the construction of the wall over the past two years.
'When you build a wall, people try to find ways to get round it,' Francois Guennoc, of the Auberge des migrants (Migrants' Shelter) group, told a crowd at one.
Mr Guennoc said: 'It's a waste of money. The only consequence is that the crossing will be more dangerous for migrants, and the people smugglers will increase their rates. People will just take more risks.'
The Auberge is one of numerous charities currently looking after some 10,000 refugees in the so-called 'Jungle' camp in Calais.
All want to get to Britain, where they will claim asylum, or else start working in the black economy.
There are an estimated 10,000 people living in the Jungle on the outskirts of Calais seeking to sneak into the UK
Large rubber-wheeled excavators began digging out the foundations as work began on the massive contract this morning
Some locals have dubbed the planned structure 'a wall of shame' which 'dishonours the French Republic'
Thierry Kuhn, head of the Emmaus France charity, which also works in the Jungle, said: 'We are all gathered to refuse a new wall which is set to be built on our doorstep, in Calais. We are all gathered to say no to the wall of shame.'
Humourist Guy Bedos, a French celebrity who lives in Calais, said he was'repulsed' by the thought of the wall, because it made him 'ashamed to be human'.
Mr Bedos said the wall 'dishonours the French Republic', and that more humanitarian steps should be taken to deal with Europe's mounting refugee crisis.
The online petition against the wall reads: 'We must stop this expenditure by the British taxpayer being used to build a wall that has no meaning.'
It adds that Britain should deal with the refugees who want to start lives in the UK, deporting them if necessary.
An online petition has called on Britain to deal with its own asylum seekers, which is a view backed by Nicolas Sarkozy
A 2003 deal between Britain and France allowed them to conduct immigration checks on the 'other' side of the Channel
Nicolas Sarkozy, who is running for President next year wants the migrants in the Jungle moved to Dover instead of Calais
This view is shared by France's Opposition Republican Party. Its leader Nicolas Sarkozy, who wants to stand for re-election as president next year, is 'demanding the opening of a centre in Britain to deal with asylum seekers in Britain so that Britain can do the work that concerns them.'
This would lead to the French simply sending the thousands arriving from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Syria straight to the south coast of England, so effectively transferring the Jungle to England.
Under the 2003 Le Touquet deal between France and the UK, Britain can carry out checks in Calais to stop migrants trying to get to Britain, while French counterparts can do the equivalent in Dover.
Right-wing politicians such as Mr Sarkozy and Xavier Bertrand, the head of the regional council in Calais, want the agreement torn up if the Republicans defeat the Socialists in presidential elections next Spring.
The immigration minister, Robert Goodwill, told the Commons Home Affairs Committee 'we are going to start building this big new wall very soon.'We've done the fence, now we are doing a wall,' he said.
Critics of the wall claimed migrants will simply be able to find their way around the structure which will be half-a-mile long
The wall will pass within a few hundred metres of the sprawling Jungle migrant camp which now houses 10,000 people. The wall will extend the wire fences that already run down each side of the main road leading to the port.
Local authorities say it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said this month the Jungle would be closed down 'as quickly as possible' but said it would be done |
claiming deductions for things that were not permitted.
“On this basis, the ANAO has doubts about the eligibility of deductions claimed for the cost of debt and equity funded capital, excise paid on crude oil and excise paid on condensate,” the report warns. “There has been limited scrutiny of the claimed deductions.
“Some errors in the claiming of deductions have been identified, but the available evidence indicates that the problems are much greater than has yet been quantified.”
The report said the Western Australian government had commissioned consultants to investigate some deductions claimed by oil and gas companies, and they found $8.6m in underpaid royalties to date.
It said that investigation provided valuable information but a comprehensive review of claimed deductions had not been commissioned.
“The full extent of any errors in the calculation and payment of royalties has been been quantified,” the report said, adding that “significant effort” was required to resolve the status of another $281.4m in operating expenditure deductions and $21.1m in capital expenditure deductions.
The report said more than $5bn worth of deductions were claimed against petroleum revenues in the 18 months to December 2015. It said revenue reported by producers from NWS petroleum sales in the same period was $19.7bn.
From this, $1.9bn in royalties was collected. The Australian government retained $600m (32.3%) and the remaining $1.3bn (67.7%) was paid to Western Australia.
Coal price rally raises Australian hopes – but it won't last, say economists Read more
The NWS project is a joint venture project between seven major international companies:
Woodside Energy Pty Ltd (the NWS project operator)
BP Development Australia Pty Ltd
BHP Billiton Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd
Chevron Australia Pty Ltd
CNOOC NWS Private Limited
Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd
Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy has been approached for comment.NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Women in India’s capital are taking self-defense classes, snapping up pepper sprays, booking cabs with female drivers or leaving work early, all signs of growing insecurity following the brutal gang rape and murder of a student last month.
Sweety, 22, a student, takes a self defence class in New Delhi, January 14, 2013. Sweety travels four hours every day from her village to the city to learn karate and taekwondo. She said, "boys in my village are scared to tease me after I beat up one boy who was passing lewd comments on me". Since a medical student died after being gang raped on a bus in New Delhi, the issue of women's security in India has been under the spotlight. Picture taken January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal
The assault on the 23-year-old - who was raped by six people and tortured with an iron bar on a bus, then left bleeding on a highway - stunned the nation and generated an unprecedented wave of protests calling for better security for women.
In response to the public outrage, authorities have initiated several measures to instill confidence, but many women say they cannot rely on India’s often gender-insensitive and under-resourced police force to ensure their security.
“It’s no secret that Delhi is unsafe for women. A lot of us have known it for a long time, but this case has brought things to light,” said Sunanda Jalote, 18, a psychology student, attending her first self-defense class with Invictus Survival Sciences in South Delhi.
“It really has hit the confidence of women in the city. We don’t want to feel like that. We want to be able to go out wherever we want, at any time of day or night, and feel safe. So you have to learn how to defend yourself.”
New Delhi, with a burgeoning population of 16 million, has the unsavory reputation of being the country’s “rape capital”, recording more rapes annually than any other Indian city.
There were 706 rapes reported in 2012, a 23 percent rise from the previous year, according to the Delhi police, while molestation cases rose by 11 percent to 727.
FEMALE CAB DRIVERS, PEPPER SPRAY
Private companies running self-defense classes in the capital say they have had a flurry of requests since the December 16 attack.
“Since the incident happened, the number of inquiries and enrolments has shot up considerably... by about 40 percent,” said Ankur Sharma, senior instructor at Invictus, adding that most are from female students or professional women between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
Sharma added that many business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, especially those that employ women working late shifts, have been booking week-long self-defense workshops for their employees.
A survey conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) earlier this month found that 80 percent of women working in Delhi’s BPO/IT sectors were leaving work earlier than usual, affecting work productivity.
The poll, which questioned 2,500 women in the capital and its environs, said most women feared taking public transport such as buses, auto-rickshaws or the subway after sunset.
This is reinforced by the surge in bookings of taxi operator “Sakha Cab Services”, a women-only taxi service with female drivers, which says the number of cab bookings has increased by 35 percent over the last month.
For those who cannot afford private taxis or self-defense classes, pepper spray has been the answer.
Grocery stores, chemists and even cosmetic shops in Delhi’s centrally located Connaught Place say the brightly colored spray cans have been flying off shelves since the gang rape, selling up to five times more than usual.
Authorities in Delhi have announced a raft of measures to help women feel safer on the city’s streets.
These include a 24-hour helpline for women in distress, instructions to all BPOs to ensure female employees return home from work safely, more policing on the streets and a crackdown on drunk driving.
Slideshow (19 Images)
But women like student Sunanda Jalote remain unconvinced.
“Women have to learn to defend themselves,” she said in between learning how to kick her partner in the crotch at a self-defense class. “We don’t want to have to wear a burkha in order to go out and feel safe.”
(TrustLaw is a global news service covering women’s rights and governance issues run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters)Do you remember high school English class very well? If so, you likely spotted the flaw in that sentence. If you didn't, here's a refresher: As our composition teachers told us long ago, the modifier "very" is lazy and inprecise—and some of America's most prominent writers can vouch for that assessment.
Florence King, the sharp-tongued American novelist, essayist, and columnist, reportedly once wrote: "'Very' is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen." As for Mark Twain, he advised writers to writers to "Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very'; Your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."
There's always a stronger, more vivid word to describe something, which is why Lifehacker recently posted the infographic below, created by the editing pros over at ProofreadingServices.com. It lists 128 adjectives you can use instead of the dreaded "V" word. Peruse the full list, and refer back to it later if you're still struggling to conjure the perfect phrase.
[h/t Lifehacker]What’s it like in federal prison? How did Hopwood become a jailhouse lawyer? If people do in fact “age out” of criminal activity, then what should our prison system look like?
Shon Hopwood joins us this week to tell about his journey from bank robber to federal prisoner to U.S. Supreme Court practitioner and Georgetown law professor.
Transcript
Trevor Burrus: Welcome to Free Thoughts. I’m Trevor Burrus.
Aaron Powell: I’m Aaron Powell.
Trevor Burrus: Joining us today is Shon Hopwood, associate professor of law at Georgetown Law Center and author of “Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases and Finding Redemption.” Welcome to Free Thoughts, Shon.
Shon Hopwood: Thanks for having me.
Trevor Burrus: What is it like to rob a bank?
Shon Hopwood: Everything in your body is telling you to get out of that bank. [00:00:30] Just think of the most anxious, anxiety-ridden moment of your life and then times that about 100. What’s weird is, sitting here telling you now, I can’t imagine going to do that now because my life is so different, but 20 years ago, I was a much different person and very crazy and wild. At the time, it sounded like a solution to some problems and turned [00:01:00] out not so much.
Trevor Burrus: Your first bank robbery was … You tell in the book about dropping a toolbox. Is that what it was?
Shon Hopwood: A toolbox.
Trevor Burrus: That seems like a very advanced bank robbing strategy. Actually, your whole first bank robbery seemed very advanced. It’s gets less so-
Shon Hopwood: Very advanced. Very advanced for too young 20-year-olds who had no idea what they were doing.
Aaron Powell: How do you end up robbing a bank?
Shon Hopwood: Well, you mix [00:01:30] in some immaturity, no purpose. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, some depression, some alcohol and drugs and a bunch of other young, stupid, immature 20-year-old men and you combine that and what came out was five armed bank robberies and me and five or six people robbing all of these banks together over the scope of a year.
Aaron Powell: Were these banks near where you lived?
Shon Hopwood: [00:02:00] No, they were … Well, yes. They were all in eastern rural Nebraska, but they were all banks that were so small and the towns were so small that they didn’t have any local police departments, which is the reason we went there. Rather than going to a big, huge office in a big city, whereas soon as you hand over a note or walk in with a gun, the police are going to be there in two or three minutes, we decided to go to these rural [00:02:30] towns.
Trevor Burrus: You did have a gun?
Shon Hopwood: I had guns on all five robberies.
Trevor Burrus: They were fired?
Shon Hopwood: No.
Trevor Burrus: That probably helped with your sentencing maybe a little bit?
Shon Hopwood: Yeah. Helped a little bit. If they had been fired, I think that I would still be in federal prison.
Trevor Burrus: You discuss how your friend, Tom, he only did the first one. He was a very old childhood friend of yours.
Shon Hopwood: Yep.
Trevor Burrus: Then you kept going, and it seemed like you had more [crosstalk 00:02:56]
Shon Hopwood: I was an overachiever.
Trevor Burrus: Yes. Yes. Just like you are today, yes. [00:03:00] Maybe you’re not exactly not the same person. You still go all the way when the call comes. You kept going and you got more careless the way you describe it.
Shon Hopwood: Very careless. I was never under any illusion that we weren’t going to get caught.
Trevor Burrus: That’s an interesting point of this. You’re just like, “I’m going to do this until I get caught.”
Shon Hopwood: I just kind of knew that this was eventually going to end, and that kind of tells you where my mind state was. My thought was, “When they come to get me, there’ll probably be a shoot-out. I’ll be dead and therefore [00:03:30] I’m not really worried too much about the consequences.” When you don’t care about the consequences of your actions on yourself, it’s really easy to forget about the consequences of your actions on others.
Aaron Powell: How much money did you steal?
Shon Hopwood: I think all together it was 175,000 over five banks.
Aaron Powell: Did you live high on the hog while …?
Shon Hopwood: Well, it’s much easier to spend money when you don’t earn it, and yes. It was a nonstop party for a year. [00:04:00] Every stupid thing that you could ever think to buy, we bought. I don’t know where my friends and people I was around thought the money came from because they saw me living a lavish lifestyle and not working, so I knew it was going to come crashing down at some point.
Trevor Burrus: When you were caught, you didn’t get a trial. It was like most prisoners do not get a trial. You pled to … Is it unarmed robbery did you plea [00:04:30] to?
Shon Hopwood: I pled to unarmed robbery and then the use of a firearm during one of the robberies.
Trevor Burrus: Oh, okay.
Shon Hopwood: If I had pled guilty to one more firearm charge, people think the bank robberies is what I got the time for. I got seven years, three months for the banks. I got five years for one gun. If I had been charged with use of a firearm during the other four robberies, I would’ve been looking for just the gun charges at a mandatory minimum sentence of 85 years.
Trevor Burrus: Jeez, [00:05:00] and you then found yourself in Illinois. Interesting, I guess-
Shon Hopwood: Yeah, federal prison in Illinois. Nebraska doesn’t have a federal prison, so …
Trevor Burrus: It wasn’t maximum security? It doesn’t sound like from the book.
Shon Hopwood: No, it was a medium-high security, so one level down from maximum.
Aaron Powell: What does the mean in practice?
Shon Hopwood: Well, a little less violent. It was place where there were people at the out-dates. Most of the [00:05:30] people in the max, they may have an out-date, but an out-date that’s 40 or 50 years away or several life sentences, so there were people with out-dates at my prison, which meant that there was a little less violence because people eventually wanted to go home, but for the most part, it was prison kind of like what people think prison is like, and there were a lot of boredom and a lot of violence, and your movements control in every [00:06:00] single way.
Trevor Burrus: What is the first night in prison like?
Shon Hopwood: Just not a lot of sleep because you don’t know what’s going to happen the next day and you kind of just … It takes a while to figure out what prison is like. You don’t ever really feel comfortable in prison. Plus, you don’t really want to because if you do feel comfortable in prison, that probably means that’s where your focus is rather than on getting out, but it’s not a place where [00:06:30] there’s a lot of peace.
Aaron Powell: How did you end up getting into being a jailhouse lawyer, effectively?
Shon Hopwood: Bad luck. I’m kidding. Yeah, so I got a job in the prison law library so that I could get of the kitchen where I was scrubbing tables, which wasn’t much fun, and the kitchen is one of the most dangerous places in the federal prison because, even though there are prison guards watching, there are things like knives [00:07:00] and all sorts of things you can use as weapons, so I got a job in the prison law library, and for the first six months there, I wanted nothing to do with the law. I just checked out books.
When I did pull down one of those books, they were big and intimidating and thick. When I did read them, it felt like they were written in another language and I didn’t think much about having a career in law. Then June 26th of 2000, the supreme court handed down a decision [00:07:30] called Apprendi v. New Jersey, and I along with every other federal prisoner in the country thought, “Maybe this could lead to a sentence reduction.” All of a sudden, I had a lot of motivation to try and learn the law on my own and try and figure this all out.
Trevor Burrus: What is that decision? What did they say in Apprendi?
Shon Hopwood: They said that facts which increase your maximum sentence [inaudible 00:07:52] prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, and I had pled guilty to unarmed bank robbery [00:08:00] but had been sentenced and had my sentenced enhanced based on the gun, even though I also got a gun charge, and so my thought was, “Well, if I had to actually plead guilty to armed robbery to get that enhancement, this violated Apprendi.” It turns out I was right, but it took five or six years for the rest of the criminal justice system and the supreme court to get there, so by then, it was too late to help me.
Trevor Burrus: Because your case was finished?
Shon Hopwood: Yeah, because my case was finished, but what I found was I really enjoyed the process of solving these legal puzzles, [00:08:30] writing out the solution and then once I started winning cases, I found out I really enjoyed helping my fellow prisoners get time off their sentence.
Trevor Burrus: You didn’t have an undergrad degree either?
Shon Hopwood: I did not. I did not. I had never done any writing other than letters to people when I started this kind of venture. I just learned by reading lots of good books and lots of lawyers send in briefs that were really good, people like Seth Waxman, and I just [00:09:00] tried to emulate what they did.
Aaron Powell: The success that you had and the praise that your legal writing received showed an enormous, almost it seemed like natural talent for this stuff. Was there a point at which … You started reading the legal stuff and you started doing this for this very practical reason, but was there a point at which it ticked over into intellectual curiosity or you discovered that you also [00:09:30] just have an affinity for it?
Shon Hopwood: No, very much so. I was a solid C student in high school. Did not do very well in part because I didn’t really care and it was not interesting to me and not challenging, and the law was challenging from the get-go, and I really got drawn in and realized that my writing ability, it took many, many years to get that to where I would be proud to say [00:10:00] I wrote something from several years ago, but as far as analytical ability, I kind of felt like I got that right away, and I could see arguments and I could see arguments that lawyers were making that were wrong, and most of the cases I won were in effective assistance of counsel cases where lawyers had made mistakes.
Trevor Burrus: When you enter prison, it seems like, and I think you write in the book, that the first year or so, I think you say something like you move past the, [00:10:30] “I don’t care about my life” stage and you start thinking about a future and some sort of … It seems that that’s a lot of the problems that occur in prison for prisoners, from violence to other types of abuses is because there’s no hope or something like that. Did you get hope from the law and you also, of course, were corresponding with your future wife, which gave you some hope, too. Was that really important?
Shon Hopwood: That was part of it. It’s [00:11:00] really hard to get up and kind of seize the day, so to speak, when you’re facing a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence. In the federal system, you know you’re going to … even with good time and good behavior, you’re going to serve 17, 18 years of that. It’s really hard, especially for someone that’s 20 or 21 or 22 to think, “Oh, well, I need to be working on myself today to get myself ready for release,” when the amount of time you’re going to serve is equivalent to the amount of time you’ve been alive, [00:11:30] so it is very hard, but the closer you get to the door, the more you realize or at least you should realize that, “Woah, I’ve got to start thinking about life on the outside.”
For me, I made it through the first couple of years and then I started winning cases in court and corresponding with my now wife and having a great mentor in Seth Waxman who is a former solicitor general of the United States, and all of those things led me to [00:12:00] make quite a few changes, and the fact I just grew up. I was 22 and 21 when I committed these crimes. By the time I hit 25, 26, 27, I was in a different place like most young men are, and that’s one of the reasons why these long sentences don’t really serve society well, because people tend to age out of crimes because they just mature and everyone knows this intuitively, but the criminal justice system [00:12:30] has not really caught up to that.
Trevor Burrus: Talk about your fellow prisoners. You mentioned some of them, but you had mentioned, I think, in a sort of wonderful way that you became one of the welcome wagon for the prison. You give new prisoners a good bar of soap and a toothbrush and things like that, so if I was coming in and you were walking me through, like a tour guide, and saying, “These are these people. These people …” How would you introduce someone to federal prison?
Shon Hopwood: [00:13:00] Yeah, so that’s the really interesting thing about prisoners. They’re very generous, so when you come in people did that for me. I was going to go take a shower and somebody stopped me and said, “Oh my gosh. Don’t walk in the shower barefoot. Don’t ever do that. Here’s a pair of shower shoes.
Trevor Burrus: Same with the dorm rooms.
Shon Hopwood: Yeah. Yeah. There’s certain things you just don’t do. Here’s a toothbrush. Here’s toothpaste because you aren’t going to get to the commons area, [00:13:30] the store, for several days, and so people did that for me and it’s just … I would see prisoners constantly returning the favor. Some of it was based on race, where you grew up. We had a group of guys that were from Nebraska that tended to look out for black or white or Hispanic prisoners, but that they were coming from Nebraska, and so what you find is there is a sense of tribalism even in federal prison.
Trevor Burrus: [00:14:00] You have to know these rules just about where you sit for lunch and who you talk to and all these things.
Shon Hopwood: The consequences are so severe. I reached across to get a cup of milk one morning, reached across someone’s tray, literally put my arm over their food and the guy wanted to kill me. First thing in the morning, said, “If you ever do that again, I’m going to take this tray and beat you over the head with it.” You know what? I learned my lesson pretty [00:14:30] quickly.
It’s funny because in prison there is far more respect for people that I ever see like here on the metro and DC, where people will almost kill each other or a seat or to get out of a car to go to their important job. In prison, it’s not like that because the consequences of being rude and disrespectful are so immediate and severe.
Aaron Powell: Is that a, I guess the reasons for that. Is that just a factor of [00:15:00] there’s naturally going to be violent people in prison and so you just behave this way because you don’t know who might be violent, so it’s better to treat everyone as they might be, or do you get acculturated into that? Did you or other prisoners who weren’t that way come to behave that way over time, too?
Shon Hopwood: Yeah. I just think you learn very early on in prison that respect is very important. [00:15:30] That’s all these guys got. Some of them have no family. Some of them are doing several life sentences. All they have is respect, and you realize really early on that that’s how you behave, and if you don’t, there are consequences.
Trevor Burrus: Are there a lot of innocent people in prison, do you think, or I guess it would be a secondary question because a lot of people might think with the federal [inaudible 00:15:57] project and things like this that there are a lot of innocent people in prison. [00:16:00] Do you think that that’s true?
Shon Hopwood: I didn’t see a lot of what you would call factually innocent people in federal prison, but what I saw were thousands of people who sentences were increased based on bogus things, like back when I was being sentenced, it was mandatory guidelines, mandatory sentencing guidelines, and the only way you really got out of those was if you cooperated.
What would inevitably happen is the people that were cooperating and [00:16:30] would embellish drug amounts, make drug amounts up, try and recruit other people to corroborate their story to the prosecutor, and you would see people like my friend, John Davis, who I write about in the book, who the police found point four grams of methamphetamine in his house, but he was sentenced to 14 pounds of methamphetamine based solely on the testimony of a bunch of drug addicts who are looking to get their own sentences reduced. [00:17:00] If John had been sentenced to the point four grams, he would’ve done a year or two, but instead, he was sentenced to 14 pounds and he was a first-time offender given a mandatory life sentence.
Trevor Burrus: He’s the one you referred to as “Hater?”
Shon Hopwood: Yes. Yeah.
Trevor Burrus: At one point, he actually confronted one of the … I don’t know if “snitch” is the right term. Informants, who you call “Voicebox.” That’s a fascinating story.
Shon Hopwood: Yeah, so we walked into the cell and John approached this guy and said, “Do [00:17:30] you know who I am?” The guy’s like, “No.” He’s like, “Really? You don’t know who I am?” and the Voicebox, because he had his larynx taken out from throat cancer, says, “No, I don’t think I’ve ever met you,” and John pulls a piece of paper out of his back pocket and says, “Well, then why did you tell the prosecution you bought two pounds of methamphetamine from my house and you even described my dog at my farm?”
The guy started crying and basically broke down the entire story, how John’s co-defendants [00:18:00] had paid him 1,000 or 2,000 dollars to corroborate what they were saying against John so that they could all get time off because, like I said, under mandatory guidelines, the only way people are getting out from under these 10 and 20 and 30-year sentences was to cooperate, and it didn’t look like to me, at least in Nebraska, that there was a lot of quality control from the US Attorney’s Office, and they would just take whatever anyone said and trot them into court. That’s kind of how in [00:18:30] the system worked. In fact, it was so bad in Nebraska that they had a term for this. It was called, “Jumping on a case,” on someone else’s case, even though you knew nothing about them.
Trevor Burrus: John is still in prison?
Shon Hopwood: John is still sitting in prison serving a mandatory life sentence.
Aaron Powell: How does that work? If they find, just from the procedural standpoints, if they find a vanishingly small amount of methamphetamine and that’s all the cops have actually found, how do you then argue in court like, “Well, no. In fact, what [00:19:00] he actually had was this amount that we didn’t find”?
Shon Hopwood: Yeah. Well, so they got him for conspiracy and they had … The jury found over 500 grams was involved in the conspiracy, which the federal system sets that set of statutory minimum and maximum of 10 years to life. Then the judge, back then, could find whatever he wanted or she wanted as far as facts that produced a bigger drug amount by preponderance of the evidence [00:19:30] at sentencing, and that’s what you get sentenced to, is whatever fact-finding the judge does then. They brought some of these people out, and yeah.
Trevor Burrus: You said, “back then.”
Shon Hopwood: Well, so it’s a little different now because there’s advisory guidelines. The supreme court in 2005 finally bought the argument that I had presented to my judge in 2000 and declared the guidelines aren’t constitutional, and so now the judges can depart from the guidelines [00:20:00] and there’s not so much pressure on people to run to the prosecutor to get a lower sentence because they feel like, “I don’t have to cooperate. I can just plead guilty and then try and convince the judge to not send me away for 20 years.” Back then, that didn’t happen.
Aaron Powell: You’ve argued quite a lot that these sentences are too punitive, they’re too long and that’s something that we at the Cato Institute, census and reform is an important thing, but is there among the prisoners … so, of course, many [00:20:30] prisoners probably think that their own sentences were too long because of the sort to things you just described or other factors, but is there a sense among the prisoners that in general criminal sentences are too punitive, too long?
Shon Hopwood: Yes. I felt that way. I actually, with my 12 year, three month sentence, felt like I got a pretty good deal when I got to prison and saw all these young African American men [00:21:00] with nonviolent drug cases not involving firearms doing 20 year mandatory minimums for crack cocaine. I felt very lucky, but you quickly realize that the sentences on the whole are just far greater than they need to be to protect the public.
One of the things I argue about with people all the time is this notion of general deterrents. You sentence someone long so it deters everyone else. I don’t think that actually is a [00:21:30] thing, and the reason is I never met anyone in federal prison who knew the amount of time they were facing, and the sorts of people that commit these crimes are people with drug addiction, alcohol addiction, mental health illness.
Impulse control issues are all four, so they’re not rational actors, but even if they were, to try and figure out the amount of time you would face for a federal crime, you’d have to research and find the one of 5,000 federal criminal statutes, determine the statutory minimum [00:22:00] and maximum, and then you’d have to go to a 500 page guideline manual that judges and lawyers misapply every day in federal court, and to think that anyone actually does that and weighs that out before they commit a crime, I just never saw it in 11 plus years of being in the criminal justice system.
Trevor Burrus: Well, I do that before I commit every crime. Got all the law books, every sort of thing, put together the likelihood of being caught.
Shon Hopwood: I know, but Jeff Sessions thinks that general deterrents. That’s why we have [00:22:30] to have these long sentences, because it tells everyone else not to do this, and I just have never seen any evidence, either empirically or anecdotally that says that that actually happens.
Aaron Powell: It seems so nonsensical that that’s what happens and that these long sentences actually deter people. To me, it just makes it clear that, say, someone like Jeff Sessions who just last week or the week before ordered federal prosecutors to always seek maximum penalties, [00:23:00] that it’s not about deterrents. It’s punitive. They just feel like people need to be punished and punished harshly and they want to do it, which is also partly why it’s hard to argue against it, because it feels like all the arguments about, “It doesn’t deter things and it has these terrible effects,” is like, “Well, but so what? Because we’re punishing them and they deserve it.”
Shon Hopwood: Well, I see that a lot, too, and I think there is a fundamental mismatch [00:23:30] between people that are politicians, lawyers and federal judges who, on the whole, all those groups of people are generally rule followers. The problem is, they’re the ones that set the laws and assume everyone else is going to follow the rules, and the majority of Americans are not rule followers.
Walk out into the street and just watch people walk across the street when the sign for not walk is not on, or speeding laws or any of the other laws. [00:24:00] We’ve got millions of people that use an illegal substance every day in this country, and so there always seems to me to be a mismatch between what someone like Jeff Sessions thinks the world should be and what America is actually like.
Trevor Burrus: How did you get involved in your first supreme court petition for [inaudible 00:24:19]?
Shon Hopwood: Yeah, so a friend of mine from Nebraska, John [Fellers 00:24:22] came to me one day.
Trevor Burrus: This is in prison?
Shon Hopwood: This is in prison, and I had been self studying the law for 18 [00:24:30] months at this point.
Trevor Burrus: Set the scene. You’re in the prison yard?
Shon Hopwood: We’re in the prison yard and he comes and says, “The A circuit just denied my appeal.” He had gone to trial on a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, received a sentence that was the same as mine, 12 years. I walked in five banks with guns, got 12 years. He sells a little meth and gets the same amount of time as me. He says, “You know, I lost in the A Circuit. [00:25:00] I want to file to the supreme court and I called my lawyer and he says, “We’ve got no chance of winning in the supreme court,” but as many lawyers like to do, he said, “John, if you give me 12,000 dollars, I’ll throw something together to file in court.”
John just didn’t think that that was a great idea, but he had to do some convincing, because at that point I had filed, I think, one or two habeas petitions and I knew enough to know that filing a habeas petition in federal district [00:25:30] court is not the same as convincing the United States Supreme Court to take a case. I was hesitant to do it because I didn’t think I could. John was persistent, and I said, “Yes,” and I spent two months basically working on his case day and night and pecked out that petition on a prison typewriter and we sent it off.
I largely forgot about John Fellers and this case because I knew the odds were against us and John had transferred to another prison, and one morning [00:26:00] I’m walking out to the recreation yard at 6:30 and a friend of mine comes running and screaming out of the housing unit. This being federal prison, the first thing I thought was, “What did I say to this guy yesterday that he wants to come fight me at 6:30 in the morning?” You don’t usually go to a fight carrying a newspaper in your hands, and what he had was a copy of the USA Today saying that the court had granted John Fellers case.
How unlikely that was given that he had filed pro se without a lawyer and it actually quoted from the brief that I [00:26:30] had written out on a legal pad and then pecked out on a prison typewriter. I had no idea what it would lead to, but it was, on the whole, as far as prison days go, it was a pretty good day.
Trevor Burrus: You wrote a note on the cover of the brief to the court.
Shon Hopwood: Yeah. Yeah. We prepared a cover letter and I just said … and I don’t actually have a copy of that, and I don’t know if the court [00:27:00] does or not, but the letter just said, “Hey, I know you get lots of these from prisoners all over the country. Most of them have no merit. They’re hard to read, but this case actually does have merit. It’s really interesting issues. Take a look at it.” I have no idea if that played any role, but …
Trevor Burrus: I think it could. There’s so many pro se, you got to get them to take notice somehow.
Shon Hopwood: Yeah. Yeah, and that’s the whole ballgame up there because they’re getting briefs from all over the place.
Trevor Burrus: [00:27:30] What was the issue in John’s case?
Shon Hopwood: |
published in the journal Science. “Climate change is impelling a universal redistribution of life on Earth.”
Positive feedback loops are one of the most important things to understand about abrupt ACD. The most well-known example of one of these is the melting Arctic sea ice. Intact sea ice reflects most solar heating back into space. As the ice melts, more of the ocean absorbs that heat, which melts more of the ice, which causes more heating, and on it goes.
In Canada, a recent scientific study has unearthed another climate feedback loop — this one coming in the form of vast expanses of farmland being exposed by melting snow and ice over longer amounts of time that then make a larger contribution to greenhouse gases and ACD. According to the study, the thawing of previously frozen cropland is burping nitrous oxide into the atmosphere at rates much greater than previously thought, which means that agriculture’s role in generating greenhouse gases has been greatly underestimated.
On a similar note, recent research has shown that ACD could thaw far more permafrost than was previously expected. The study showed that more than 40 percent of Earth’s frozen tundra could unfreeze if global temperatures continue trending upward.
Water
This month, the signs of how rapidly ACD is progressing in the watery realms are glaring and painful.
A report published in March shows that, according to the UN, the world is facing the widest and deepest humanitarian crisis since the end of WWII, as 20 million people face starvation and famine in Somalia, Nigeria, Yemen and South Sudan, with no end in sight.
Underscoring this crisis, another report from this spring has provided evidence that the Middle East and North Africa risk becoming uninhabitable within a few decades, due to lack of accessible fresh water, which has already fallen by two-thirds over the last 40 years.
The 22 countries impacted by this growing water crisis are home to nearly 400 million people, who are also impacted by lack of adequate water for agriculture and food production for their populations that are continuing to grow rapidly.
According to the report, per capita availability of fresh water across this region is already 10 times less than that of the world average, and ACD-driven higher temperatures may shorten growing seasons across the region by 18 days. At current trends, this would reduce agricultural yields another 27 percent — meaning a decrease of 55 percent by 2100, despite rising populations.
Meanwhile, conditions in the ocean are looking increasingly grim.
An algae bloom the size of Mexico in the Arabian Sea reminded people there of a 2008 bloom that killed 50 tons of fish that were starved of oxygen. The fish that inhabit the Gulf of Arabia sustain 120 million people.
As mentioned in the beginning of the dispatch, the Great Barrier Reef is struggling to survive amidst yet another major coral bleaching event. “We didn’t expect to see this level of destruction to the Great Barrier Reef for another 30 years,” Terry Hughes, director of an Australian government-funded center for coral reef studies at James Cook University told the New York Times. “In the north, I saw hundreds of reefs — literally two-thirds of the reefs were dying and are now dead.”
Even the once-pristine Maldives are seeing their coral succumbing to mass bleaching.
And there are no signs of this disturbing trend slowing down. A study published in March revealed that Earth’s oceans are now warming 13 percent faster than they were in 1990, and the rate is accelerating. Another report showed that the rate of oceanic warming has nearly doubled over two decades, and the heat being added to them is reaching into even deeper waters.
Earlier this month, a report revealed that approximately one-third of the Arctic Ocean is, in an astonishingly rapid transition, becoming more like the Atlantic Ocean as warm waters streaming into the Arctic are altering both its productivity and chemistry.
Yet another issue besetting the Arctic due to runaway ACD is ocean acidification, according to another recently published study on the subject. It’s quite simple actually: As increasing amounts of sea ice melt, an increasing amount of ocean is exposed to the CO2-loaded atmosphere. More CO2 is therefore absorbed into the once-pristine waters, thus increasing their acidification, with dire consequences to the biome.
NOAA reported in February that sea ice in both the Arctic and Antarctic had shrunk to record lows, and it became clear that ACD was on pace to wipe out an Ice Age remnant, Canada’s Laurentide Ice Sheet. It is worth noting that this has not happened in 2.6 million years.
In early April more than 400 icebergs drifted into North Atlantic shipping lanes, an unusually large swarm for that time of year. These kinds of numbers are usually not seen until late May, and the average number of icebergs for the time of year this occurred is around 80. The massive flotilla of icebergs was released thanks to the melting of the Jakobshavn, the largest glacier in Greenland. Scientists reported recently that Jakobshavn is now even more vulnerable to ice losses than previously believed.
Scientists also pointed out that the dramatic melting of the Arctic sea ice is already affecting weather patterns around the world by generating more extreme weather events.
Fire
In an astonishingly short period of time, Peru has gone from experiencing record wildfires to record flooding. “We’ve rarely seen this kind of rapid and quick change in climatic conditions,” Peru’s Civil Defense Institute member Juber Ruiz told The Guardian.
The wildfires burned furiously from September through November, as the Peruvian Amazon experienced its driest period in two decades, and more than 100,000 acres of rainforest and farm land burned. Then, in January, the droughts gave way to record-setting rains, which killed dozens and destroyed more than 12,000 homes as more than 175 districts around the country had to declare a state of emergency.
In March, in the US, a wildfire near Boulder, Colorado signaled an early kick-off to wildfire season when it forced the evacuation of 1,000 people.
At the time of this writing, wildfires across the US were already off to a furious start, with more than 2 million acres having burned. That number of acres burned is approximately 10 times the average for the time of year it was tabulated, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Air
A recently published study, led by climate scientist Michal Mann, has shown that the ACD-fueled jet stream is linked to extreme weather events like massive floods and intense heatwaves. Jet streams are fast-flowing major air currents in the atmosphere that have a major impact on climate and weather patterns. The study showed that greenhouse gas buildup in the atmosphere is slowing down planetary atmospheric waves, resulting in regional summer climate extremes, examples of which include the deadly 2003 European heat wave, extensive wildfires across Siberia in 2010, and record-breaking flooding in Pakistan in 2010.
Looking at the Canadian north, another recent study has revealed a massive thawing area of permafrost covering 52,000 square miles (an area the size of Alabama), where expansive areas of permafrost are literally disintegrating before the eyes of the scientists studying them. As they disintegrate, they are releasing massive amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. The study, carried out by researchers with the Northwest Territories Geological Survey found that the permafrost collapse is intensifying and causing landslides into rivers and lakes that can eventually lead to the choking off of life far downstream. Similarly expansive Arctic landscape changes are already evident across huge areas of Alaska, Siberia and Scandinavia, and scientists already estimate that there is twice as much carbon in the world’s permafrost as there is already in the atmosphere.
Another major study released recently has predicted that ACD will bring air temperatures to Vancouver, Canada similar to — and even exceeding — those in San Diego, California, “in the coming decades.” The study predicts that daytime temperatures in metro-Vancouver will increase 6C by the 2080s, and the city will have to transform itself with requisite air conditioning, melted ski slopes and infrastructure to deal with new sewage problems.
Melting permafrost has created a formation in the Siberian Arctic known as the “doorway to hell,” a giant half-mile-long and 282-foot-deep crater that continues to grow in area and depth. Scientists, worried about what this means for the future of permafrost across the Arctic, are studying the crater, which continues to grow with each successive year and release more and more stored carbon as it does.
Very early spring in the US saw heat spreading across Colorado and other locations, with that phenomenon contributing to increased wildfire risk. The untimely heat extended from the Central US to the Desert Southwest. There, cities like Phoenix experienced summer-like heat long before they used to reach those temperature levels.
Other temperature anomalies continued: The science news service Phys.org reported that even without an El Niño warming ocean waters this year, Earth warmed to its second hottest temperature ever during February, second only to — you guessed it — last year. Earth also experienced its second hottest winter in the history of record keeping. It is worth noting that in the past, Earth did not approach record warm temperatures without an active El Niño — but this year it did just that, and on every single continent.
Thus far, 2017 is in the running to be one of the hottest years on record — following three consecutive years of record-breaking temperatures — due to the highest volume of heat-trapping gases filling Earth’s atmosphere in all of the past 4 to 15 million years, coupled with a dramatic warming of Pacific Ocean surface waters. These forces, and this warming, are obviously continuing into 2017.
How will the US government respond to these clear and terrifying trends?
Denial and Reality
As usual in the Trump era of US politics, there is no shortage of news on the ACD-denial front.
In March, during this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), multiple seminars attempted to make the case that more CO2 in the atmosphere is actually a good thing. One of the presenters told a reporter from Breitbart, “The Earth is in a far better place today” because of increased CO2 levels.
Meanwhile, Trump has been active in reversing Obama’s ACD policy legacy, meager as that was to begin with. Trump called Obama’s ACD policies “stupid,” and has gone on to scrap funding for ACD research, slash the EPA’s budget by 31 percent, appoint an oil and gas man (Scott Pruitt) as the head of that embattled agency, promote coal, and reverse Obama’s plan to close heavily polluting power plants.
Trump’s anti-ACD-mitigation efforts are on track to ensure the US misses its (non-binding) Paris Climate Agreement target of emissions reductions, with one analyst pegging the target shortfall at more than one billion metric tons of CO2.
The corporate media has consistently maintained complicity in active ACD denial. According to a study by Media Matters, the major networks spent a grand total of 50 minutes on ACD coverage during the entirety of 2016. That pathetic amount was a 66 percent drop in coverage from 2015.
Meanwhile, geoengineering advocates are entering the Trump administration, and bringing with them their plans to spray sun-reflecting chemicals into the atmosphere. Advocates of geoengineering argue for planetary-scale manipulations of Earth systems in order to cool the Earth. Most scientists oppose the philosophy and practice of geoengineering, given the high likelihood of unintended consequences that will ultimately only intensify the impacts of ACD.
Back in the real world, in an example of how topsy-turvy things have become, 17 Republican lawmakers have backed a resolution urging action on ACD, and Trump’s Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis has cited ACD as a national security challenge.
To close out this month’s dispatch on a sobering note, consider the results of a recent study published in Nature Geoscience: For the second year in a row, CO2 in the atmosphere — the primary driver of ACD — is now rising at the fastest rate ever recorded.
Truthout is one of the few remaining sources for stories like the one you just read — and readers like you keep us going strong. Click here to support independent journalism!In The Arena The Private Prison Racket Companies that manage prisons on our behalf have abysmal records. So why do we keep giving them business?
Matt Stroud is a journalist covering law and policy.
In October, when California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new contract with Corrections Corporation of America, a Nashville-based private prison behemoth, onlookers might’ve wondered if he’d been following the news.
The same could be asked of Wall Street in general. Over the last five years, CCA’s stock price has increased by more than 200 percent and earlier this month Jim Cramer’s investment website The Street praised the company’s “strengths” on Wall Street, enthusiastically rating its stock a “buy.”
Story Continued Below
As inmate populations have soared over the last 30 years, private prisons have emerged as an appealing solution to cash-starved states. Privately run prisons are cheaper and can be set up much faster than those run by the government. Nearly a tenth of all U.S. prisoners are housed in private prisons, as are almost two-thirds of immigrants in detention centers—and the companies that run them have cashed in. CCA, the oldest and largest modern private prison company, took over its first facility in 1983. Now it’s a Wall Street darling with a market cap of nearly $3.8 billion. Similarly, GEO Group, the second largest private-prison operator, last week reported $1.52 billion in revenue for 2013.
But while privatizing prisons may appear at first glance like yet another example of how the free market beats the public sector, one need only look at CCA’s record in Idaho to wonder whether outsourcing this particular government function is such a good idea.
In July 2000, Idaho’s then-Governor Dirk Kempthorne made a decision similar to Jerry Brown’s. He opened the Idaho Correctional Center, the state’s first private prison. But it wasn’t long before the facility—built and operated by CCA—began to draw concerns. Prisoners in the 2,000-bed facility dubbed it “Gladiator School” for the rampant fighting that took place inside. A 2008 study by the Idaho Department of Corrections obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union showed that there were four times as many prisoner-on-prisoner assaults there than in all the state’s seven other prisons combined.
The ACLU sued CCA in 2010, alleging that violence had become an “epidemic” in the facility, and the Associated Press released a video showing a prisoner beaten unconscious while correctional officers stood around watching. A 2011 settlement required CCA to keep more officers on staff, but the company apparently didn’t bother to do that. Last year, a review of CCA’s staff records showed that prison employees had falsified as many as 4,800 hours over the course of seven months; they had understaffed the prison on purpose and fudged records. The end result: Idaho's private prison experiment with CCA will end in June.
CCA’s failure in Idaho is just one example of the industry’s spotty record. Another recent case study comes from the CCA-run Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, Mississippi. Last June, 20 prisoners were indicted in connection with a riot that left one man dead and dozens injured. According to a prisoner who called a Jackson, Miss. television news station, the riot was connected to prisoners’ protests for better “medical [care], programs, clothes,” and a modicum of “ respect from the officers and lieutenants.” And an FBI agent filed an affidavit supporting those claims.
Similar riots have broken out in private prisons run by CCA and other companies in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Florida and California. At least 10 deaths ( one from natural causes) occurred at CCA prisons in 2013 alone. There have also been allegations that CCA employees at a Texas prison that has since closed repeatedly denied basic medical care to prisoners who, in some cases, died from their untreated ailments. (The Texas Observer described the story of a woman who bled for nine months during a one-year prison term because CCA employees declined to treat her for endometriosis and a retroverted uterus.)
Of course, government-run prisons aren’t without their share of troubles. But those troubles and lawsuits are easier to accept when the system behind those problems isn’t making billions on Wall Street. As The Week put it last summer: “Private prisons ultimately pose a greater threat to inmates because of their raison d’être; they exist solely to make a profit off of incarcerated individuals.”
And then there are the political fiascoes.
Before Gov. Chris Christie was taking heat in New Jersey over supposed bridge traffic studies, he was under fire for his support and gushing praise for a private prison company—one he once worked for as a lobbyist—as “representing the very best of the human spirit.” That company, Community Education Centers, oversaw about 3,500 beds in large halfway houses throughout the state and was shown in a 2012 series of scathing New York Times investigative reports to be woefully unregulated, mismanaged and violent. The series described the facilities as “ hell on earth.”MY JUDGMENT BEFORE GOD (Dr. Gloria Polo's testimony) Translated from Spanish to English by Susanna Vallejo.
[Foreword by Eric R. Dunstan]
Doctor Gloria Polo was an orthodontist living in Columbia when she was struck by lightning and had a near death experience in which she was judged by Jesus and condemned for mortal sin. Fortunately, a very pious, humble farmer who saw a picture of her in the newspaper prayed for her soul and Jesus granted her a second chance, with a mission to repeat what she witnessed not only a thousand times, but a thousand times a thousand; and that when she comes back before Jesus to be judged again, she will be judged with greater severity, due to her second chance and all that she saw while over there. Susanna Vallejo personally met Dr. Gloria Polo on several occasions and painstakingly translated her testimony from Spanish audio recordings to English and sent me this copy which I have posted on this page. Consider this therefore to be furthering the mission given to Dr. Gloria Polo.
[End of foreword by Eric R. Dunstan]
View as a text file
Very well, brothers and sisters, blessed be the Lord. It's a miracle that I am here with you sharing this beautiful gift that I received from the Lord, 10 years ago. This occurred on May 5, 1995, at the National University in Bogota. On that day, it was around 4:30. My husband was with me in the car, my 23-year-old nephew, an orthodontist, and myself, also an orthodontist. We were on our way to the Orthodontist Facility of the University to pick up some books.
It started pouring rain. We only had a very small umbrella with us. My nephew and I went under the umbrella. We started jumping over puddles. When we jumped to avoid stepping into a very large puddle, we were struck by lightning. My nephew and I were killed by the lightning. My nephew's interior organs were completely burned, charred, but his exterior was left intact. He suffered cardiac arrest and he did not respond to the paramedics' attempts to resuscitate him. The lightning burned me horribly. The lightning entered through my arm. It burned my breasts. My breasts were completely gone. It removed all of the flesh from my stomach and my reproductive organs. My legs were totally and completely charred, I mean completely. The lightning exited through my right foot.
As far as the interior of my body, my liver was completely charred, as well as my lungs and my kidneys. My kidneys were gravely burned. I used to use the IUD as a form of birth control. You want to know the words that the doctors used to describe my ovaries? "Your ovaries look like raisins." The doctors told me, "You'll never have children again." My ovaries were burned and I was in cardiac arrest.
The difference is that when the doctors attempted to do artificial resuscitation on me, the Lord allowed me to return to my body. The doctors told my family, "Look, there is nothing that we can do for Gloria. The best thing to do is to allow her to continue her process of agony and allow her to die peacefully."
At that very moment, I was taken out of surgery and I entered into a period of agonizing. The doctors told my family, "It's best if you do not hook her up to life support." You want to know the irony about that, brothers and sisters? I used to defend euthanasia, the right to die with "dignity." But thank God, God inspired my sister, who is an M.D., and when the doctors told her not to hook me up, she responded by saying, "You are not God." For three days I was in a deep coma. I was alive because they had me hooked to an oxygen tank and they were giving me artificial life, otherwise I would have died right there.
At that point, the Lord tells me to go back. When he tells me to go back, immediately - my kidneys did not work and I was pale. And they wouldn't put me on dialysis because it was not worth it. I was dying - immediately my kidneys begin to work again and my lungs and my heart begin to beat again with normal strength. They transferred me to Social Security (that's a hospital). There they scraped the flesh that was burned. They were very surprised. They never imagined that I would come back there alive. The pain was so excruciating that I couldn't be comfortable, not even for a second. It hurt me even to breathe. I was in pain interiorly and exteriorly. One feels horrific pain when they are scraping those burned areas. Everything is raw flesh. My legs were black like dead tissue. When the doctors would clean my legs, I'd feel no pain. From my legs down, I felt no pain.
About a month later, they tell me, "Look, Gloria, the Lord is doing a miracle in you. The wounds are almost completely healed, you have dents and scars, but new skin has already formed. But unfortunately there is nothing we can do for your legs. We must amputate them." When they told me that they were going to amputate my legs -- I was very athletic. I was into aerobics. When they told me that they were going to amputate my legs, I thought, "I must escape." As soon as the doctor walked out of the room, I tried to get out of bed to escape but my legs did not support me and I slipped like a frog. I ended up on the floor. I had to be picked up. They moved me from the fifth floor to the seventh floor. You want to know who I ran into, brothers and sisters? I ran into a lady whose leg had been amputated up to here and they were going to amputate a little higher. When I saw that they had amputated her legs, I asked myself, "How much money in the world can buy us a pair of legs?" Not the entire money from the world can buy us a pair of legs. Our legs are a marvel. When they were going to amputate my legs, I became very sad. I never thanked God for my legs. On the contrary, I used to torture myself because of my tendency to be a little heavy. I used to starve myself. I used to spend a lot of money, a fortune, a small fortune, on diets to make myself look thin. And now I see my legs all skinny, black and burned with holes in them. And for the first time in my life I thanked God for my legs.
And I said, "Lord, I thank you for this second opportunity that you've given me. Thank you, Lord. I do not deserve it. But I want to ask you for a favor, Lord, a tiny favor. Please do not take away my legs, just so that I can be a little mobile and so that I'll be able to stand a little bit. Please, Lord, do not take away my legs. Please." And I began to feel a sensation in my legs, brothers and sisters. And those legs that were black and without circulation and full of blisters began to turn red. And when the doctors returned on Monday, my legs were red. The circulation had been restored. When the doctors came down to see me, I got out of bed and my legs were able to sustain me. The doctors were totally surprised. They would look at each other; they would touch me. I had recuperated a lot of other movements and my legs had lost that black color and now they were red. And I told the doctor, "My legs hurt so much. There has never been anyone on this earth to be so happy to feel such excruciating pain on their legs like me."
You want to know what the director of the seventh floor told me? He said, "You know what, in my 38 years of service, I have never seen such a miracle like that of your legs." And here are my legs, brothers and sisters. My gait has changed but for the glory of God here they are to show you the greatness and the power of a living God, a God that is alive. Another one of the great miracles that the Lord did with me is, I had no breasts. My breasts had been completely burned. And imagine this, I was very prideful. I used to say, "A woman has to show off her best assets." And I used to say, "Since my breasts, and my legs, and my abdominals are my best assets, why not show them off." I was always showing off that I had great abdominals. I used to wear very low-cut blouses to show off my breasts. I was very proud of my legs. Well, brothers and sisters, those were the parts that were completely burned and charred.
And here goes the next miracle. The doctor that used to be my trainer, as far as sports and diets were concerned -- just imagine I used to be very prideful and vain. I used to starve myself to look thin and I used to consume hormones to lose weight and drugs to lose weight -- now here I was before the very doctor, who always took care of my body so-to-speak, now here I was before him totally charred. The doctor could not believe it. He was more shocked about the fact the he knew how prideful and vain I was and now here I was just grateful to God to be alive and to have whatever was left of my body.
The doctor tells me, "You know what, Gloria, I think that with that little piece of liver that's left, you should be able to live." He had performed on me nuclear exams and all kinds of exams. "But your ovaries are completely burned up. You will never be able to have children again."
Within me I thought, "Thank you, Lord. Now I don't have to worry about birth control. I can use the natural family planning method. Glory to God. You have solved this problem for me, Lord. Thank you. I was very happy to hear that."
About a year and a half later, I began to notice that my breasts began to form again and I begin to feel pain in my breasts. I used to think, how weird that I have breasts. Well, you want to know why? Well, I was pregnant, with charred ovaries and all. God gave me my breasts back and I was able to breastfeed my daughter. Her name is Maria Jose. And I know I'm pressing on quickly, but those are the great miracles. And immediately my menstruation was restored, and my hormones were restored, and my ovaries began to function. Those are the physical miracles that the Lord has done with me.
But the best part, brothers and sisters, is when I was jumping to avoid the puddles and lightning struck me, my God, I wish I had words to express to you and to help you understand the beauty of it. I jumped and I was struck by lightning and immediately I entered into a beautiful light, so, so, so, white and beautiful that nothing exists in this world for me to compare it to. There is nothing humanly possible to describe it. I saw a beautiful sun, such peace, such joy, such happiness that is felt there. How beautiful death is, brothers and sisters. I don't know why we've been taught to think of death as a form of punishment. I can describe that light as a hug from our Heavenly Father. There I am engulfed in that beautiful light, filled with endless love.
When I'm up there, I immediately see my charred body bouncing like a piece of rubber. I saw the body of my nephew laying there also charred. At that instant, I saw all the persons in the world, all of humanity, at eye-level. I didn't even have to move. I was free from time and space. I could see the sins that each person carried within them. The love that I felt there in that light was so great that it overflowed through me. And I started hugging all the people because I wanted all of humanity to feel this great love that was inundating me. But only my older daughter, my 9-year-old, was able to feel the hug that I gave her. Outside of her, no one else felt the hug.
When I saw my body laying there charred, I said, "Crap, I am dead." And I immediately thought, "My children. What are they going to say about a mother who never had time for them." I used to leave my house at 5:00 in the morning and return home at 10:00 at night. I used to see my children once in a while on Sundays. But then when I saw my body there all burned up, I said, "What good will I be to them with that charred body. Plus, I've already purchased life insurance for them. So everything is taken care of." I used to manage and take care of everything economically. I thought, "Their education is taken care of, problem solved."
When I am going up, higher, and higher, enveloped in that love, in that joy, I saw my dad; I saw my mom, my grandparents, my great-grandparents. I saw many of my relatives. I saw my great-grandmother, whom I got to know when she was 100-plus years old, because back then people lived longer. When I was up there, I discovered that I had wasted a lot of money, doing regressions. Such was the shrewdness of the devil, that for a period of time I believed in reincarnation. I didn't find out where my great-grandmother had reincarnated to because it was very expensive to do so. All of that is false. My great-grandmother was up there in heaven.
When I'm up there in that beautiful light, in what I described to you already as a hug from our Heavenly Father -- to me it was beautiful because over there, there was no time or space for me. I saw my nephew that had died, the 23-year-old orthodontist. I saw when he hugged his mom. His mom was mopping and when he hugs her, she grabs her heart and she feels unbearable pain. She throws herself on the floor from that heartache. And when she hits the ground, she begins to roll over due to the emotional pain. And she yells out, "No, God, no. Do not do this to me because I will not be able to bear it." She had never shared that experience with anyone. When I was out of the hospital, I told her, "Remember when you threw yourself on the floor and you would say that you could not bear the pain, that's when your son was hugging you, at that very instant."
When I was up there, I saw a beautiful, beautiful, indescribably beautiful lake, two extremely beautiful trees. The beauty that exists up there is so indescribable. There is so much light and so much love. It's a love that is alive. And the peace that exists up there is indescribable peace. It's so joyful being up there, brothers and sisters. As I am getting closer and closer to the very top, I hear my husband's voice say, "Gloria, please, do not be a coward. Come back. Come back, the children, Gloria, the children."
At that moment, I came to a standstill. I looked down and I saw him crying and bleeding. He was not burned directly by lightning. He was shocked with the electricity that was left in the water. He was also being tossed like a rubber band, like my nephew and I were. My husband says that we were being tossed into the air with such force that we were seven meters up in the air. When I looked at him and I saw him crying and bleeding, I was sent back. What sadness! When I am being told to go back, I saw that my nephew entered into the garden and he went like this to me. He enters filled with joy. But I was sent back. It was very clear, brothers and sisters, that I was not going to enter into that garden.
All persons, except those who commit suicide, experience the hug, that light, from our Heavenly Father; that's why everyone who dies sees a light, and the love, and the peace that is felt there. Our Heavenly Father hugs every single person that dies because he loves us all. He shows us how great his love for us is. But since our Heavenly Father does not force anyone --and if we chose, here on earth, to live without God, if God is love and I am hatred, then who is my father? After our Heavenly Father allows us to experience His hug, he must turn us over to the father that we have chosen to be with, for eternity. He will not force us to anything. If we have lived a life without Him here on earth, he will not force us to spend eternity with him. He turns us over to where we freely chose to be for all eternity.
I was sent back. I found my body without life. I was in a gurney at the National Hospital. I could see how the doctors were trying to resuscitate me. I put my feet here on this part of my head. When I put my feet there, I felt as though something sucked me back into my body. My body jerked. When I entered into my body, I felt, once again, that horrible pain of entering my charred body, but the worst feeling was my vanity because I was well aware that I no longer had that body to which I had sacrificed so much money and effort to. They took me from there to surgery. When I was in surgery and they were taking care of my wounds, I once again went into cardiac arrest. When I suffered the cardiac arrest, I immediately left my body again. I could see the doctors working hard to bring me back. All I was worried about at that moment were my legs. The thoughts that were crossing my mind at that moment were, "They better not mess with my legs. I have a marathon to run." At that moment, I still had so much pride that I thought that I owned my legs.
At that moment, brothers and sisters, what an impressive moment, I saw many, many persons coming out of the walls of the surgery room. They appeared to be normal human beings, but they had such hatred coming out of their eyes and evil looks. When I saw those human beings, I came to know that those were all my sins that I had committed since my last sacramental confession; that is, confession with a priest. I see all of my sins come out. I went out of there running, trying to escape. I don't recall at what moment this happened, but I went right through the wall of the surgery room. When I went through that wall, I automatically jumped into a void. I began to descend from the light into the darkness. I began to go through a whole bunch of like cells, like jails. There are millions and millions of persons there. It was as though it were many jails, mazes and honeycombs.
Up there, where the light was, brothers and sisters, you should see how beautiful the people look. Their vestments were as though they were wearing the sun. The persons that were way at the top were so beautiful that you couldn't even see their faces clearly. They looked so beautiful. You can imagine the happiness I felt when I saw my mother up there, where there was light. My mother had passed away years ago. Those beautiful white vestments that my mother was wearing looked like the sun. I was given the understanding that those are the Eucharists that my mother had consumed throughout her entire life; therefore, she was dressed in the Lamb.
I wasn't able to stay with my mother. I continued descending. It continued to get darker. The people down there are deformed. Sin, brothers and sisters, scars you. It leaves a scar. Your soul gets scarred, like with burns and dents. When I continued descending through those tunnels and jails, the smell that comes out of there is horrifying. It's an impressionable odor. It was horrific for me, brothers and sisters, to see that the worst stench of all was coming out of me. How much money did I spend throughout my life on expensive perfumes? I used to loathe bad odor. When I discovered that those sins from which I was running away, those sins were not in my exterior. You want to know what the most horrifying thing was? It was seeing that those sins dwelt within me. I looked like a demon, like the Beast. It was horrible. Just like my mother was dressed of the Lord, I was dressed of the Beast, like a black bag of trash, that's how I was enveloped in those things. All of those things cried out within me and lived within me. In desperation, I tried to escape. I screamed horrified by those things. They would laugh within me.
When I was coming to the end of my descending, I ended up in a place where there were swamps. There were millions and millions of people buried in those swamps. The people in those swamps were buried up to here. I was given the knowledge that the people in there were the people who had given their bodies over to concupiscence, to pleasure. There were thousands and thousands of miles of that mud. You want to know what that mud is? It's all of the non-holy ejaculations. How many millions and millions of sperms get released every time there is an ejaculation? All of that creates a horrible swamp and darkness. And these people are in there being tortured by thinking of every person whom they had relations with outside of the Sacrament of Marriage, because that is the only holy relationship, the one in which Jesus is in their midst, which is only through the Sacrament of Marriage. Outside of that, even if you are the only couple in |
t stretch much beyond barking the price of various goods at potential customers, so I had no luck there either.
At the fifth or sixth shop, just as I was ready to give up, I found a charming young teenager who went to fetch her grandfather for me, and stood there translating back and forth as I explained what I was looking for. His face cracked into a big smile at how daft gweilo tourists could be, and between the two of them they directed me to a store about seven or eight blocks away. This took me well away from Grant Avenues main drag to a backstreet where only the areas native Chinese population went to shop.
The store was the size of a large living room, and staffed by an elderly Chinese man. When I think of it now, I remember a dark interior with dust mites dancing in the odd bit of sunlight that managed to find its way in. The place was crammed with display gondolas, each groaning beneath of the weight of goods piled higgledy-piggledy on its shelves. In the back corner, I found a section packed with bundles of Hell banknotes in eight different designs. Each bundle was held together with a cellophane band, and contained about 30 or 40 identical notes. This was in 2004, when the cheapest bundle was priced at 35c and the most expensive at 50c. (1)
Next to the notes, I found a display of the paper replica goods Chinese people also burn at funerals, again with the idea of transmitting them to loved ones in the afterlife. At this particular shop, mourners could find paper telephones, games consoles, cigarettes and jewellery. I took a few photographs, then made my selections and took them up to the counter. The old boy there clearly thought I was mad as well, but we got through the transaction with a mixture of smiles and benevolent nods, and thats how I came by most of the banknotes and all the paper replicas youll see illustrating this piece.
A few months later, I repeated the process in Londons Chinatown, again finding it was only the smaller, slightly tattier, shops that could help me. I didnt find any paper replicas in London, but I did add a few new Hell notes to my collection, an example of which youll find at the end of this article. One day, I hope to find a Hell note denominated in British sterling or (better yet) in Euros, but I havent managed it yet.
Hell money is usually made in Hong Kong, China or Vietnam for the local market, banknote dealer Joel Anderson told me. Hong Kong uses dollars, and for a long time the US dollar was the preferred currency in the Far East, so most Hell notes are still denominated in dollars. For a long time, the Chinese yuan was not convertible, so I guess they figured it wouldnt do them any good when they got to Hell. (2)
Hell money springs from a very old tradition in Chinese culture, arguably stretching back as far as 1600 BC. Archaeologists have found tombs of that era in China with imitation metal money placed among the human remains. China has been using some form of paper money since the 9th Century, and paper moneys been dominant there for nearly 800 years. Joss paper copies of this money have been burned at funerals and graves for almost as long, and some people still prefer to use this form of spirit cash in paying their respects today.
The first Chinese currency resembling a modern banknote was printed around 1890, and its reasonable to assume that Hells currency appeared soon after. The earliest Hell notes Ive seen that look like banknotes were printed in the mid-1930s, Anderson told me. In the past decade or two, they have become increasingly elaborate and colourful. When hyperinflation gripped China in the 1940s, Hell banknotes followed suit, producing the denominations of $1bn, $5bn or even $50bn we see today.
The name Hell money is thought to derive from a misunderstanding between the first Christian missionaries to reach China and the people they tried to convert there. Thinking Hell meant merely the afterlife in general, rather than the zone it sets aside for evildoers alone, Chinese people were happy to use this word on their dead relatives offerings. The habits stuck ever since, with a dozen Hell Money designs appearing for every one which labels itself Heaven Money instead. For Western collectors like me, this has the added appeal of giving the notes a sexy, badass name which Paradise Money or Afterlife Money simply cant match. (3, 4)
The Chinese concept of the afterlife is that the dead persons spirit lives on, doing much the same things it did in life. It follows that money will be needed to buy all those little treats that make death worth living, as well as the occasional gift like the consumer goods I found in San Francisco. Sometimes, the hope is that sending your loved ones cash in this way will help to speed their progress through the afterlifes various stages to a happy reincarnation. This can be achieved either by supplementing the offerings they made in life to atone for their sins, or simply by bribing the spirit worlds ruling administrators. (5)
Chief among these are Yu Huang, also known as the Jade Emperor, and Yan Luo, the King of Hell. Their twin signatures appear on many of these banknotes, though the Romanised spelling often varies.
Yu Huang was a wise and kindly Chinese leader whose good deeds in life and cultivation of his Tao won him immortality. When he defeated a terrible demon who was set to take over every realm of existence, the gods rewarded him by giving him command of what Christians would call Heaven, Hell and the mortal world. Yu Huang delegated part of these duties to Yan Luo, who presides over Diyu. Everyone has to go to Diyu when they die, where Yan Luos first job is to judge whether their next stop should be the Taoist version of Heaven or Hell. Its this decision or perhaps the length of a stay in Hell/Limbo which people hope to influence when they offer Yan Luo these banknotes as a bribe. (6)
Almost all the Hell notes Ive seen use a Yu Huang portrait showing him in his trademark flat hat with the beads dangling from it. Hes generally placed where a US President would appear on American currency, or the Queen on a British banknote. Most of the other images used, as Ive detailed in the captions, are good luck symbols of one kind or another: a fish, a phoenix, a dragon and so on. Hell notes are mostly found in Cantonese areas throughout Asia, and draw on both Taoist belief and Chinese folk religion for their customs and imagery. (7, 8)
The Chinese characters on the notes say the same sort of things as the English text, mostly just giving the notes value or naming its issuer as some variety of Hell Bank.
Some notes go a step further, and blur the line between innocent parody of a real banknote and something more like deliberate forgery. The Chinese printers often copy images and names from legitimate bank notes to make the Hell notes more authentic, Anderson told me. One of my favourites copied a US $100 bill, changing only the legend on the back. Understandably, the US Secret Service was not too pleased, and that issue seems to have been discontinued.
You can see the $100 Hell note Anderson has in mind here, where its wrongly described as movie prop money. These notes were produced in Vietnam in the late 1990s or early 2000s, and the only change they make to the genuine $100 bill is replacing the words The United States of America with Ngan Hang Dia Phu on the reverse side. This translates as Bank of Limbo. (9)
Among my own collection, the note that comes closest to a forgery is the ¥500 note below, which takes almost all its imagery from genuine Hong Kong banknotes like this one.
Chinas currency designers have suffered their share of theft too. The image of the Hukou waterfall shown on the back of my ¥50 Hell note, for example, is lifted from Chinas genuine ¥50 note. The long flat building shown on the back of my red ¥100 Hell note is Chinas Great Hall of the People, and the image itself is lifted from Chinas real ¥100 note. Even the use of four Jade Emperors on my blue ¥100 Hell note seems based on the genuine ¥100 notes design, which shows four former Chinese leaders in a similar arrangement. (10)
With this degree of detailed copying in their design, its small wonder some people mistake Hell notes for genuine currency. A few years ago, I got a phone call from someone in India who had a high denomination Hell banknote and wanted to know how to contact the bank to redeem it, Anderson told me. I tried to explain that it was not a real banknote, but was printed for use by dead people.
He did not grasp the concept, and a few minutes later his wife called with the same question. Again, I tried to explain that Bank of Hell did not exist. I added that the money could only be used by dead Chinese, but she too did not grasp the explanation. They were convinced that they had a real banknote that could be redeemed by some bank in China or Hong Kong.
Searching for paper replicas of consumer goods in San Francisco, I found nothing more exotic than the beer, jewellery and electronic items mentioned above. But these just scratch the surface of what a dead loved one can receive.
At the luxury end of the market, people also burn paper replicas of gold and platinum credit cards, travellers cheques, laptop computers, passports, airline tickets, luxury villas with manicured gardens, Mercedes limousines (some complete with a liveried chauffeur), sub-zero refrigerators and even domestic servants. Often, these elaborate paper models are commissioned specially to reflect not only the familys wealth but also the dead individuals own preferences and style. The British Museums Living and Dying exhibition has a particularly nice example in this rather beautiful paper motorcycle from Malaysia. The same show has photographs of a Penang family burning a life-size paper Mercedes in order to deliver it to one of their own dead relatives.
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia all have specialist Gods Material Shops, where a wide range of paper replicas and Hell notes can be bought by grieving relatives. Some are keen to ensure the deceased enjoys not only the normal consumer comforts, but a healthy sex life too.
In April 2006, China Daily reported that Dou Yupei, deputy secretary at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, had introduced fines for anyone found burning vulgar items at graveside. Among the examples he complained of were paper models of condoms, Viagra tablets and the bar girls hired to pamper men at expensive nightclubs. Some families had even been found burning paper dolls representing the Supergirls made famous by Chinas version of Americas Got Talent. (11)
Not only is [this custom] mired in feudal superstition, but it just appears low and vulgar, Dou said. He asked people to make their tributes online instead, but this suggestion was widely ignored. A year later, the Nanjing Morning News was condemning the sales of paper Viagra tablets all over again. The people who make this stuff are definitely lacking in taste and civilisation, it quoted one reader as saying. (12, 13)
Mao tried to wipe out the custom of burning paper offerings in graveyards too, but even he never quite succeeded in doing so. Tomb Sweeping Day, the annual festival when Chinese families tend to their loved ones graves, was banned under communism, but reinstated as a public holiday in 2008. Thats still the day when a lot of Hell notes get burned. Some families stack them in loose piles on the grave before setting a match to them, while others fold them into intricate patterns to distinguish the Hell notes from real cash. A third group burn Hell notes alongside their paper replica gifts, believing the money will distract evil spirits who would otherwise intercept the burned gifts for themselves. (14, 15)
For those unable to travel to their own family graves on Tomb Sweeping Day a convenient patch of waste ground is pressed into service instead. In the evening, the street corners all over town will light up as people make small fires to burn the Hell money and things to send their ancestors, Joann Pittman, an American teacher living in Beijing, reports. (16)
At funerals, its also acceptable to place Hell notes intact in the loved ones coffin, or simply to release them into the wind so theyll waft to the afterlife that way. Some families distribute Hell notes to mourners as they arrive at the funeral for just this purpose. (17)
Although many young Asians continue to use Hell notes today, they generally do so out of respect for family tradition rather than any literal belief in the notes power.
Thats certainly what a group of anthropology students found when they interviewed a young Vietnamese woman burning Hell notes at a Taoist temple in California. Their interview also gives an intriguing glimpse into how different generations of the same family view this custom. This became clear from the students very first question: What is Hell money?
Its not Hell money, its Heaven money, the young woman replied. My dad got mad at me for calling it Hell money. (18)
I personally dont believe in Heaven money and all the other stuff that goes along with it, but I know it meant a lot to my Grandma, so I was mainly doing it for her and other members of my family. All I know is that my mom made me do it, and she told me the money floated up to Heaven for Grandma to use.
At this point, the young womans mother came over to see what was going on, and the students were able to interview her too. I have done the same thing my parents and their parents did before, she explained. We pray for the dead person to give us good luck and good health. We burn Heaven money and paper clothes on the anniversary of the death. Burning Heaven money is mostly religious, but it can be somewhat of a cultural thing also. They use the money to buy a Prada suit or something. (19)
The other young people burning Hell money at the same temple gave very similar answers to this womans daughter, placing them more in the cultural camp than the mothers religious one. For those without this familys traditions to follow, popular culture such as gaming or TV may provide their only encounter with Hell money. The 2012 video game Sleeping Dogs: Murder at North Point, for example, asks players to collect Hell money from various hidden shrines in Hong Kong. The game itself pits cops against supernatural gangsters, so you can see how Hell notes fit its theme.
The X-Files has used these banknotes in one of its own plots too. In the season three episode Hell Money, Fox Mulder finds the charred remains of a Hell note on a murder victims body in San Franciscos Chinatown, and it provides a vital clue. Told by local detective Glen Chao that only a few shops in Chinatown sell the Hell money a fact I can vouch for myself Mulder replies: Thats good. Maybe we just found a way to identify the body. (20)
Nielsen ratings show this particular episode of The X-Files was watched by close to 15m people on its first airing alone, giving Hell notes whats almost certainly their biggest exposure yet to a mainstream western audience. Factor in repeats, syndication and video/DVD sales too, and that number would be much, much higher.
Ive also seen pictures of Hell notes featuring actors like Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and James Dean. Another set concentrates on dead world leaders, presenting the unlikely quintet of John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev and Ho Chi Minh.
To see many more photographs of Hell notes and other paper offerings, please visit the PlanetSlade pages here.
In July 2016, a Louisiana collector whod seen this article sent me some scans of his own most interesting Hell banknotes, together with a few comments on what made them so special. Ive used the scans and information in his letter to create this special PlanetSlade bonus page.
Sources & FootnotesCopyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. An unusual display in the backyard of a north Abilene home is making local realtors uncomfortable.
Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. An unusual display in the backyard of a north Abilene home is making local realtors uncomfortable.
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) - An unusual display in the backyard of a north Abilene home made local realtors uncomfortable in July of 2017.
A collection of headshots of female realtors, along with one picture of a local attorney, has been plastered on the side of a shed in the yard, as well as along the fence.
Realtors who spoke with KTAB and KRBC called the shed 'creepy' and said it makes them uncomfortable knowing their pictures and their co-workers pictures are included in the collage.
KTAB and KRBC contacted the man responsible for the display, and he said he does realize why people would consider the display creepy. He also said that he will be taking the pictures down Wednesday night or Thursday to allow those concerned to sleep soundly. He offered no comment when asked what provoked him to create the display and has since removed the pictures.
Abilene police have been contacted in regards to the shed, but no citations have been issued because officers determined no criminal act was being committed.
Police Chief Stan Stanridge released a statement, saying, "APD and ACU PD are aware of this issue [and] we readily concede that the issue is very concerning, but we do not believe it is criminal."
BigCountryHomepage will not be releasing the name of the man responsible for the display or his address since no criminal act is involved.
Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Skeptoid answers some more questions from students. Send yours in today!
by Brian Dunning
Filed under Feedback & Questions
Skeptoid Podcast #119
September 16, 2008
Podcast transcript | Download | Subscribe
Listen:
http://skeptoid.com/audio/skeptoid-4119.mp3
Once again we're going to open the email folder and answer some questions from students. If you're a student of any age, and you have a question you'd like me to answer, I'd love to hear from you. Just go to Skeptoid.com and click on Student Questions to see how to record and submit your question to me. It's really easy, and all you need is access to any computer with a microphone. Today's questions cover body searches, theta healing, dreams coming true, marijuana use, and the genetic foundations of homosexuality. Let's dive right in.
Hi, my name is Avi Steiner, and I was wondering: Is the controversy over full-body searches in airlines merited?
There are many branches to this question, and I'm not quite sure which you're most interested in. Two that are within the scope of Skeptoid to address are the statistics of whether full body searches actually prevent air piracy, and whether the image clarity of the latest imaging techniques are actually as revealing as some say they are. As far as this question goes, that's a big yes. It's called Backscatter X-Ray and it produces images that are exactly what every 10-year-old boy hoped his Cracker Jack X-Ray Spectacles would produce. Susan Hallowell, Director of the Transportation Security Administration's research lab, famously allowed a picture of herself that leaves little to the imagination to be released to the media, and if that doesn't send you scrambling to Google's image search, I don't know what will.
If your concern is whether body searches have been proven to reduce air piracy, the answer's not as clear. You may be tempted to answer "Well duh, of course it helps, because the hijackers can't bring weapons on board." But this thought experiment may be all you have to go on, because there's insufficient data to draw any conclusions from the real world. Most such incidents happen in countries where security is minimal, but there are far too many other variables at play to conclude that the low security level was the reason that the piracy acts took place from those particular airports. The Aviation Safety Network lists six fatality hijackings that took place in 2007, four in Africa and two in Turkey. Are body searches the reason these hijackings didn't happen in the United States? It could also be that these particular hijackers had less to gain by choosing a flight from Colorado Springs to Orlando.
Hi Brian, My name is Mia, from Swinburne University, Melbourne, Australia. I want to know what your take is on the mystical Theta Healing. I have a friend who is very much into it but I get the feeling that there's not much evidence behind what it claims to do. What do you think?
Theta healing is just another random "roll-the-dice and invent a New Age healing technique" based on some imaginary energy field. This one was invented in 1995 by a self-described "intuitive reader" who believed that she could project theta waves from her brain which would instantly heal the patient. Theta healing claims to immediately and completely cure cancer, severe injuries, and even psychological and financial problems.
In fact, a theta wave is not an energy field or a type of energy at all. It's simply the name of one type of waveform on an electroencephalogram. When an EEG shows a sine wave with a period of between 4 and 8 Hertz, neurologists designate that as a theta pattern. This waveform is observed when the subject is asleep or at rest, and in some types of learning involving short term memory.
Probably what happened is that this "intuitive reader" heard the term "theta wave", misinterpreted it to mean a type of mystical energy field generated by the brain; and then erroneously put two and two together when one of her customers reported some kind of positive experience. If you look at any web page about theta healing, you'll see all kinds of vaguely scientific sounding words thrown out there in meaningless disarray. There's nothing plausible about it and no description specific enough to test, but unfortunately, unscientific laypeople are all too often ill-equipped to recognize that such technobabble on a web page is baseless.
I'm David Alexander, a university student in Ottawa, Canada, and I myself have had quite a few dreams I recall very vividly, and discover myself weeks or months later in a situation that (as far as I could tell) matches my prior dream almost exactly to the point of being able to predict with certainly what is about to happen. My question is: what would you tell me about these experiences I have, in light of the sheer improbability of these types of things occurring?
Although I can't speak authoritatively on your specific case, I can tell you that what you describe as sheer improbability, when applied to all the dreams, thoughts, and daily experiences that a person has, surprising coincidences become not only probable, but inevitable. The law of large numbers requires that, on average, of the one million waking events you experience in a month at the rate of about one a second, one of them will be a one-in-a-million coincidence. You seem to be someone who pays a great deal of attention to matching his dreams to later experiences, and so you are by definition a walking case of confirmation bias. How many dreams have you had that did not later come true? Most of them. Of each dream that did come true, how much of the dream came true? All several hours of it, or only one of its thousands of bits? Considering that your dreams have only your life experience to draw from for their material, it's almost inconceiveable for your dreams to not match a substantial part of what happens in your daily life.
I'm sure you can point to half a dozen cases where the match was too incredibly strange to have been a coincidence. Well, so can everyone, the difference is that most of us don't pay as much attention to it as you and so we quickly forget. I only remember one such case, but I know there have been others, I just forgot about them. Don't allow yourself to confuse confirmation bias — our tendency to remember the few hits and forget the vast majority of misses — with the impression that hits were more prominent than they really were.
Hello, this is Evan from Stratford Ontario. I was wondering what are the real effects of regular marijuana use?
Well, I'll avoid the obvious assumption about why you're asking, and instead cut to the chase. For most light users, the risks of long term pot smoking are probably not worth worrying about. The risks of driving your car or smoking cigarettes are more substantial concerns. About 1 in 25 adults smoke marijuana at least once a year, with few long term effects. Short term effects can be a bigger concern. Don't plan to drive that day; don't put yourself in a situation where you might make a jackass out of yourself; don't get fired for being high on the job. Use good sense.
Heavy usage, or even a rare heavy usage, can absolutely be a problem. I once ate some brownies that I didn't know were full of pot, then drove home. I passed out on the freeway, and came to driving on the dirt shoulder at 70 mph, blind and paralyzed on my left side. It took several days to recover fully, and you can bet I went to the hospital where they ruled out all the other possible causes they could think of. You can also bet that I'll never touch the stuff again. Don't ever OD, and don't let your friends OD.
You've already demonstrated the best precaution, which is to ask before you leap. Impress the heck out of your doctor by asking him. Look it up on the web. Sites like WebMD are great places to get decent, general, consumer level information about health topics like this, and you'll see that WebMD does list potential long term problems like gum disease, changes in blood viscosity, and pregnancy concerns. No drug is completely safe, but then again, what is?
I'm Kevin Mellis, I'm 18, and I'm a student at the University of La Verne. My question is this: Homosexuality is popularly conceived as innate in a person's personality. Is there any scientific research regarding the veracity of this commonly held belief?
Yes there is. Despite Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal's best efforts to promote sensationalism through misleading headlines, one thing that is very clear to geneticists is that there is no "gay gene". The idea got its start in 1993 when Science published a study of homosexuality and genetic frequencies among familes. It was complicated, and was grossly and irresponsibly oversimplified into the "gay gene" by the media. New research is published pretty often, and about the only consensus that's displayed is that it seems likely that homosexuality has a combination of genetic, other biological, and environmental causes. If you read anything that claims to have found a single or clearly identified cause of homosexuality, you have very good reason to be skeptical of that source.
If you're a student and you want to hear my take on something, come to Skeptoid.com and click on Answering Student Questions. Get a quick answer on some urban legend, conspiracy theory, or paranormal phenomenon you're curious about. I'd love to hear from you, and answer your question on a future show.
By Brian Dunning
Follow @BrianDunningCredit: Shutterstock
They’re the darkest places on the dark web – ‘Red Room’ sites where ‘Pay per View’ viewers part with Bitcoin to watch scenes of unimaginable horror.
Boys aged 2, 3, and 5 'never learnt to speak after dad made them live alone'
‘Red Room’ sites, the story goes, are darkweb sites where users pay thousands – or tens of thousands – to watch rapes and murders live.
Urban legends about the existence of ‘Red Rooms’ have circulated for years – but as yet, there’s no evidence that they exist.
If ‘Pay per View’ torture sites do exist, it’s almost certain that they don’t work via Tor (the software used to access dark web sites) – which is too slow to stream video live.
The term ‘Red Room’ has been around on the internet for more than decade – thought to originate either from ‘red rum’/’murder’, or from the 1983 horror film Videodrome, where torture is shown live on satellite TV in a red-painted room.
One case which suggests that there might be sites where people pay to view videos of torture is the case of Peter Scully, a paedophile currently facing trial in the Philippines.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Users of a paedophile site reportedly paid up to $10,000 to watch videos of Scully’s abuse and torture of a young child – one of a series of videos produced by Scully’s company, No Limits Fun.
The video Daisy’s Destruction – widely discussed on forums and on Reddit – is not actually a snuff film, but features horrifying abuse and sexual assault of a young child.
It was streamed on so-called ‘Hurtcore’ paedophile sites – where paedophiles watch torture and abuse of children and babies.
Its creator, Peter Scully, is in jail in the Philippines.
The video called ‘Daisy’s Destruction’ showed the baby girl being tied upside down by her feet, sexually assaulted and beaten by Scully and a masked woman.
60 Minutes/Nine Network
In the series of videos, she is whipped and assaulted with sex toys by Peter Scully’s girlfriend – who he met when she herself was a child prostitute.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the footage was so horrific police called it ‘the worst we have encountered in our years campaigning against child pornography.’
Reports that the video feature ‘Daisy’ being killed are inaccurate – while human remains were discovered at one of Peter Scully’s homes, the girl from the film was rescued alive.
The videos were streamed via a paedophile website which hosted torture videos, called Hurt 2 The Core – which boasted 15,000 videos downloads daily.
The worst paedophiles – those who uploaded their own material – gained access to a Producer’s Lounge, with the most offensive material.By Richard Walker —
Who controls Ukraine’s gold reserves, worth about $1.5 billion, remains one of the great mysteries of 2014. And if that is not bad enough for Ukrainians, evidence has emerged that the country’s central bank was duped into buying an unknown amount of lead bars that had been painted gold, believing they were the real thing.
Since March 2014, there has been widespread speculation about the whereabouts of the country’s 40 metric tons of gold bullion. In March 2014, Russian news and commentary website “Iskra” claimed 40 metric tons of gold were spirited out of Kiev’s central bank in the capital in a hush-hush military-style operation and loaded onto a plane at the national airport. The plane then took off for an unknown destination.
While the story did not make it into the mainstream media, it was picked up by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), “China’s leading, independent, integrated suppliers of metals market intelligence.” It reported that a Ukrainian government source confirmed 40 metric tons of Ukraine’s gold had been airlifted to the United States.
For SMM, the figure of 40 metric tons seemed strange since the World Gold Council had listed Ukraine’s gold reserves at only 36 metric tons. According to SMM, orders for the transfer of the gold were given by the country’s acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the U.S. Federal Reserve organized the operation.
One of the questionable issues at the heart of the mystery is that if Yatsenyuk gave the order for the removal of his nation’s gold reserves, he did it in March, just weeks after he was propelled into power by Washington. U.S. officials had conspired with right wing elements to overthrow the elected government of the country’s president, Victor Yanukovich. Another element of the puzzle is that in February before Yanukovich fled to Moscow, the country’s Central Bank chairman, Sergey Arbuzov, claimed the nation’s gold reserves were 21 metric tons and not the 40 metric tons reported by SMM and its source a month later.
If that is not puzzling enough, in May 2014, Vira Rychakovska, deputy chairman of Ukraine’s National Bank boasted her country was 47th in the world with a gold hoard of 36.1 metric tons of gold. However, she neglected to reveal the actual location where the gold was being stored, choosing to say instead it was within the National Bank’s foreign currency reserves.
Washington and the Fed have denied any knowledge of the vanishing gold, but that should not surprise anyone. After all, where is Libya’s gold? It is suspected that after the fall of the Libyan regime, a move also engineered by Washington, massive gold reserves of the late Colonel Muammar Qadaffi were spirited out of that country, too, into the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The Fed has been a major repository for gold bullion since the end of World War II. Germany has been trying to repatriate its gold from the Fed and demanded an audit of Fed holdings in 2014. The Bank of the Netherlands removed 120 metric tons of gold from the Fed in 2014, implying it was not happy having its gold in the U.S.
If the missing Ukraine gold seems like a bizarre tale, even more absurd is the fact the country’s Central Bank in Odessa was buying what it thought was gold from the public to boost its reserves. It has since transpired one of its senior employees was scamming the bank by replacing actual hold bars with ones made of lead and painted gold. There is therefore a strong possibility the Fed in New York is holding in its cache of Ukraine’s gold bullion some gold that is not the real thing.
Richard Walker is the pen name of a former N.Y. news producer.MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Suicide bombers killed at least 13 people at the gates of the African Union’s main peacekeeping base in the Somali capital on Tuesday, police said, in an attack claimed by the Islamist militants of al Shabaab.
The wreckage of a car destroyed during a suicide bombing is seen near the African Union's main peacekeeping base in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Taxta
The force of the explosions shattered windows at Mogadishu’s nearby airport, showered arriving passengers with glass and forced the suspension of flights, police and witnesses said.
Police said the first attacker detonated a car bomb and the second tried to storm the base on foot, but was shot and exploded at the gate.
“At least 13 people - mostly security forces - died in the two car bomb blasts,” and 12 others were wounded, police officer Abdiqadir Omar told Reuters.
The guards were caught in the blast as they escorted U.N. personnel into the base, known as Halane, he added.
Al Shabaab, an Islamist militant group linked to al Qaeda and fighting to topple Somalia’s Western-backed government, said it set off two car bombs.
The African Union’s AMISOM force said on Twitter it condemned the “senseless attacks that aim to disrupt and cripple the lives of ordinary Somalis”. There was no immediate comment from the United Nations.
People arriving on international flights said the blasts shattered windows in the airport buildings.
“We were greeted by two loud blasts. The glass of the airport building fell on us,” said Ali Nur, who had just got off a plane from Nairobi.
Al Shabaab regularly attacks AMISOM, which is made up of about 22,000 military personnel from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and other African countries helping to support Somalia’s government and army.
The country in the Horn of Africa was plunged into anarchy in the early 1990s following the toppling of military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The U.N. refugee agency on Tuesday increased its funding appeal to nearly $500 million to finance the voluntary return and reintegration of Somali refugees from the sprawling Dadaab camp in Kenya, which hosts some 330,000 Somalis.
Kenya, citing security threats, said last month it aims to reduce by almost half the population of the camp.[nL8N19I033]
“Despite the security situation currently in Somalia, people are returning on a daily basis,” UNHCR’s representative in Somalia Caroline van Buren told a news briefing in Geneva.
“We cannot assure the refugees that they will be safe, but we take precautions,” she said. “For instance, when we have return convoys, we inform AMISOM of the convoys, the routes they will be taking, the number of vehicles, the number of people. It is not 100 percent, but we are doing the best we can.”Scunthorpe United supporters have been impressed by Wolverhampton Wanderers' Tommy Rowe's displays on his loan spell so far.
Scunthorpe United fans were very impressed by Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Tommy Rowe's performance against Oldham Athletic at the weekend.
Scunthorpe picked up a 4-2 victory against Oldham, and it was Rowe's display which earned him man of the match in the fixture.
The left-midfielder scored his side's second goal in the contest, and generally impressed with his hard-working attitude.
Rowe has now won his first two games as a Scunthorpe player, and he seems to be enjoying himself playing regular football again.
The 27-year-old has not played much since moving to Molinuex in 2014, with a succession of injury problems harming his chances with Wolves.
The Midlands club gave him 14 appearances last campaign, but his form was poor and he never showed the ability which made him such a star at Peterborough United and Stockport County, earlier in his career.
A move to Scunthorpe appears to have worked though, and Wolves |
-athletes.
The Center for Excellence is expected to open in fall 2016.
A news conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the gift, one of the largest corporate donations in university history.
“Meaningful partnerships with Minnesota businesses are vital to the success of our students and the state’s economic future,” University President Eric Kaler said in a statement. “The 40-plus-year partnership between the U and Land O’Lakes is one in which we take great pride. This new commitment and innovative model of support will advance our teaching, student support, athletic programs and research mission, and will further position the U as a continued leader in addressing society’s pressing challenges.”
The $25 million will be given to the university from 2015 through 2024.
Land O’Lakes is based in Arden Hills.The despicably charming Tom Hiddleston was meant to appear as the despicably charming Loki for a cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but was cut at the last minute. Finally, the star himself explains why.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Hiddleston says that test screening audiences presumed that Loki's appearance in Thor's dream sequence meant The God of Mischief was actually controlling the film's real villain, evil AI Ultron.
Click play on the video above to see the trickster elaborate on what actually happened when Marvel head honcho Kevin Fiege called him up to explain why he'd been cut.
For anyone allergic to moving images, however, here are just a few of his words, typed out for your reading pleasure:
"In test screenings, audiences had overemphasised Loki's role, so they thought that because I was in it, I was controlling Ultron, and it was actually imbalancing people's expectations."
Hiddleston was speaking to Digital Spy during his press rounds for Guillermo del Toro's upcoming horror Crimson Peak (see trailer below), due out in UK cinemas on October 16.
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for our full interview with Hiddleston later this week, where you'll get to see some more of his famous impressions...WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican leaders have been mired in a dispute over taxes as they try to avert a looming debt default, but a deal is possible that would allow both sides to declare victory.
Storm clouds gather above the U.S. Capitol in Washington July 11, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Republicans could live up to their promise to prevent tax increases. At the same time, Democrats could say they are raising taxes on the rich and boosting the economy.
That could resolve the biggest remaining obstacle to a budget deal that would cover the United States’ borrowing needs through the November 2012 elections. Congress needs to act soon to ensure the Treasury can continue paying its bills beyond August 2.
The two sides have already agreed in principle on roughly $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in spending cuts but have repeatedly clashed over raising new tax revenue, which Democrats insist must be part of any deficit-reduction package.
Republicans say signing off on any increase in taxes would violate a pledge to voters that helped them win control of the House of Representatives last year.
“We’re not asking the president to violate his promises to the people of this country and we wish he wouldn’t ask us to do the same,” Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, told a news conference on Monday.
Cantor scuttled an earlier round of negotiations after Democrats insisted on closing a range of tax breaks and loopholes that benefit the wealthy in order to generate $400 billion in new revenue.
Since then, Obama and other Democrats have accused Republicans of being more interested in protecting these perks — notably, a benefit for corporate jet owners — than in solving the country’s fiscal problems.
Last week, Cantor suggested a way beyond the impasse. Republicans could support closing some of these tax breaks, he said, as long as they are offset by tax cuts elsewhere.
Cantor said he brought up the proposal at a White House meeting on Sunday. “I mentioned it last night and I’m sure that we’ll have to get into the specifics,” he said.
ONE STONE, THREE BIRDS
One set of tax cuts could fit into this equation nicely.
Democrats have called for a package of tax cuts and new spending to boost the economy, an effort that has gained new urgency after a dismal jobs report on Friday showed the unemployment rate rising to 9.2 percent.
Republicans initially rejected the idea when it was introduced last month. But they could back some of the cuts to offset other tax revenue, a Republican aide said.
Thus, Cantor’s proposal could kill three birds with one stone:
* Democrats could close some of the tax breaks they have targeted;
* Democrats could pass some of the economy-boosting tax breaks they have proposed;
* Republicans could claim that the overall package does not raise taxes.
With those talks ongoing, Cantor has declined to talk about what specific tax provisions could be in play.
Democrats have proposed extending the payroll tax cut, limiting the Alternative Minimum Tax, and making a credit for business’ research costs permanent.
Together, they would cost the government about $350 billion in lost revenue over the coming 10 years. That’s nearly the size of the $400 billion in tax breaks they had proposed closing as part of the budget talks.
Republicans have shown a willingness to end some tax breaks, which reduce the government’s tax haul by $1.1 trillion each year. Most Senate Republicans voted last month to end a subsidy for ethanol producers.
“None of us are fond of loopholes,” House Speaker John Boehner said on Monday.Today on “The 700 Club,” Pat Robertson defended Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who is facing allegations that he grabbed and bruised former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields at a campaign event. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery yesterday over the incident.
“The female reporter rushed the candidate,” Robertson said. “Where were the Secret Service people who were supposed to defend him? She could’ve had a knife. She could’ve had a gun. She could’ve had a bomb.”
She had a pen.
“Secret Service did nothing so now the aide is being sued,” he lamented.
Robertson’s claim that Fields, a credentialed reporter, rushed Trump conflicts with a police report that found that the presidential candidate was taking questions from the press and signing autographs at the time.
According to the police report, rather than valiantly trying to save Trump from an assailant, Lewandowski, who initially claimed he “never touched” Fields, was just trying to get closer to the candidate:Please enable Javascript to watch this video
MILWAUKEE -- Nearly two-thirds of Wisconsin voters say they're embarrassed by President Donald Trump's conduct in office, according to an NBC News/Marist Poll released Sunday, August 20th.
The president's approval rating has fallen to below 40 percent in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania -- three states that were key to his victory in November.
The poll came during another tumultuous week for President Trump, who generated controversy for saying there were "very fine people" on both sides of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that turned into a violent clash with protesters.
Sixty-four percent of Wisconsin voters said they felt "embarrassed" by the president's conduct in office -- a number that likely includes people who voted for him last year. Just 24 percent of Wisconsinites surveyed said President Trump's actions made them "proud."
President Trump's approval rating stood at 34 percent in Wisconsin, while 56 percent disapproved of the job he's doing. The president had a similar showing in the Michigan and Pennsylvania poll results.
But Republican voters are sticking by his side through the controversies.
Seventy-one percent of Wisconsin GOP voters said they approved of the president's performance, compared with just 5 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of independents.
President Trump's comments about the white supremacists earned widespread criticism from Democrats and many Republicans.
Gov. Scott Walker refused to address Mr. Trump's comments when asked by a reporter last week if he thought the president was racist.
"My comment on this is that I denounce the bigotry and the hatred," Walker said. "I'll let the president and his team speak for him."
Walker said he supported the president's work on the issues but acknowledged that he would "occasionally" like the president to say and do things differently.
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said President Trump should be removed from office.
"I am so disgusted," Moore said last week. "I think he is unfit for the presidency."
Friday, President Trump continued a weeks-long staff shakeup by firing his chief strategist, Steve Bannon.
Under Bannon, the conservative website Breitbart News had made House Speaker Paul Ryan a major target in recent years, though that quieted down while Bannon was in the White House.
Some Wisconsin Republicans said this weekend that they expected Bannon to resume his war against Ryan.In DC’s comics, the Amazons’ longevity has fluctuated over the years—ranging anywhere from being actually immortal to having a normal lifespan—but we’ve yet to see how exactly her life was going to work in the DC movies. We now have an answer, and the movie version of Diana has been around for a long time. Enough to be damned tired of Man’s bullshit, too.
The revelation comes from Empire magazine’s latest issue (which also has some pretty intriguing new stills from the film) in which director Zack Snyder reveals that by the time of Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman is 5,000 years old.
Advertisement
And very retired.
Yes, although she’ll be kicking a lot of butt around in the early 20th century in her own movie, by the time Batman v Superman: Glower Champion of the Year 2016 rolls around, Diana has retreated from the world of Men, mainly because they’re assholes. So says Gal Gadot, but in a slightly more diplomatic manner, comparing Wonder Woman to her alter-ego, Diana Prince:
Because she’s seen it all, she has seen what humans can do, so it was very hard for her to come back and fight. They have the same attitude. Although when she is Diana she tries to blend in, she is not too outgoing. I don’t want people to think she is perfect. She can be naughty.
Advertisement
Does this mean the older Bruce and Diana are gonna crack a lot of jokes about Superman being a young whippersnapper? That’d be kind of hilarious, actually. In the end, regardless of her age, Wonder Woman will be kicking butt in Batman v Superman, that much we do know.
Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
Not bad for a woman in her fifth millennium. She doesn’t look a day over 3,000.
[Empire Magazine, via MovieWeb]
Header Image Credit: Brightened shot of Wonder Woman from the Wonder Woman teaser footage, via The Nerdy Bird.Opposition says PM still has questions to answer after he finally admits benefitting from late father’s offshore fund
David Cameron is facing mounting pressure to be fully transparent about his previous finances after finally admitting he benefited from a Panama-based offshore company set up by his late father.
After three days of stalling and four partial statements issued by Downing Street, on Thursday night the prime minister confessed that he owned shares in a tax haven fund, which he sold for £31,500 just before he became prime minister in 2010.
Opposition parties said the admission had failed to draw a line under the matter and demanded full disclosure on what other financial arrangements Cameron benefited from as an MP and leader of the opposition.
Owen Smith, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said Cameron still had questions to answer.
“Why didn’t he register his interest in this offshore [fund] back in 2005 when he first became an MP?” he said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “He [Cameron] says he’s going to publish his tax return. I think he will need to go further and be clear about what his investments have been in the past.”
Labour, the Scottish National party and the Greens are demanding that Cameron make a statement in the Commons about his finances.
The Green MP Caroline Lucas said: “David Cameron must now come to parliament on Monday and be entirely honest with the British public – any further evasion of the truth over this issue will only add to a growing sense that this government simply can’t be trusted to take tax avoidance seriously.”
The SNP’s Commons leader, Angus Robertson, issued a similar statement, while the party’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon, said: “Whether or not it was legal, the tortuous way the information was dragged out of the prime minister leaves his credibility in tatters – and completely betrays public trust. There are also now questions to answer over whether David Cameron’s interests have influenced his actions in parliament – and if they should have been declared in full before now.”
The pressure on Cameron piled up after he told ITV News about a direct link to his father’s tax-avoiding fund in a specially arranged interview on Thursday evening.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Cameron gave his interview after speaking to students at Exeter University. Photograph: Pool/Reuters
Admitting it had been “a difficult few days”, the prime minister said he held the shares with his wife, Samantha, from 1997 and during his time as leader of the opposition. They were sold in January 2010 for £31,500, making a profit of £19,000.
Cameron said he paid income tax on the dividends but there was no capital gains tax payable. He sold up before entering Downing Street “because I didn’t want anyone to say you have other agendas or vested interests”.
Cameron also admitted he did not know whether the £300,000 he inherited from his father had benefited from tax haven status due to part of his estate being based in a unit trust in Jersey.
“I obviously can’t point to the source of every bit of money and dad’s not around for me to ask the questions now,” Cameron said.
It was the fifth explanation in four days from Cameron and his aides about the benefits he and his family had enjoyed from the offshore fund.
Smith said the issue raised doubts about the prime minister’s credibility. “People will now have doubts about the trustworthiness of our prime minister given that he has been so revealed as having double standards.”
He asked: “Is it effectively one rule for the rich, and the rich who run the Tory party, and another rule for the rest of us? These are people who came to power arguing ‘we are all in it together’. And clearly that is not true and this episode reveals that in stark detail.”
‘Pay back the money’
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, called on Cameron to pay back money that “morally belong[s] to the exchequer”. He also urged Cameron to be “very clear about what other vehicles and investments he has had as an MP”.
Speaking on BBC Newsnight on Thursday, Watson asked: “Did he dispose of any other shareholdings in advance of 2010, has he used any other vehicles as a way of generating income and any offshore accounts that we don’t know about yet?”
He added: “He’s made judgments on people as a prime minister for doing exactly what he used to do, and I don’t think it’s a good look for a prime minister to use the line ‘do as a I say not as I do’. The avoidance of journalistic questions in the last three days just means there are going to be more questions about what his financial arrangements were both as leader of the opposition and as an MP.”
After the prime minister’s admission of a direct link to his late father’s UK tax-avoiding fund, bookmakers PaddyPower shortened the odds on him resigning from 20/1 to 11/2.
Watson said: “It may be a resignation issue, but we don’t have the facts.”
He added: “We certainly need to know what other investments David Cameron had when he was leader of the opposition lecturing the country on tax reform.
“Had he given a straight answer three days ago I think he would be in a much better position. As it happens, he has now aroused all our curiosity and it makes you think if he has had to admit this tonight what other shareholdings may he have had and I think he needs to clean that up tomorrow.”
In a statement, Watson added: “The time has come for David Cameron to put the record straight rather than having details dragged from him in instalments – that is the absolute minimum... In the meantime, I’m sure the prime minister will be considering voluntarily paying the money that, in his own words, should morally belong to the exchequer.”
Other Labour MPs asked whether other ministers, including the chancellor, George Osborne, had benefited from off-shore companies.
‘Private matter’
The skills minister Nick Boles defended Cameron’s initial evasive answers about disclosures in the Panama Papers. “I think it was a natural human reaction to not want to intrude further on his father’s memory,” he told Today.
But he added: “I’m sure with the benefit of hindsight he would rather that all of what has come out over the last four days had come out on the first day.
“Taxation is a private matter in this country... So I think he thought, ‘I know I’ve complied fully with all of the tax laws and I don’t like feeding this mill of preying on my father’s memory.’ And his father is not here to defend himself.”
Boles insisted the disclosures had not damaged the prime minister’s reputation.
“People are fair-minded. They will want to see did he pay all the tax that he should have paid. And he did. Did he break any laws? He didn’t... We all have natural human instincts to rally around our family... I think people will be forgiving.”This is a teen-written article from The Communicator, the student-run print and online newspaper of Community High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Words, like most other teenage cultural expressions, go in and out of fashion. And though certain phrases we use on a daily basis can leave older generations perplexed, they are often harmless and insignificant. However, the increasing use of the weighted word “rape” as a casual slang term threatens to do much more than raise a few parental eyebrows.
The word “rape” is generally used by high school students either negatively, to represent mental or physical injury or damage, (“Wow, that math test totally raped me.”) or positively, to represent beating, winning, or acing something. (“Oh yeah, I just raped that math test.”).
The use of “rape” in such a casual way misrepresents the gravity of sexual assault. Rape is no laughing matter. In the United States, approximately 16 percent of women and three percent of men have been victims of attempted or completed rape. Fifteen percent of sexual assault victims are under 12. Sexual assault victims are three times more likely to suffer from depression and four times more likely to contemplate suicide than non-victims.
Therefore, the use of rape as a positive term is confusing and worrying. How can committing an act of rape be equated to winning or doing something well? There is nothing glamorous about rape, and nothing “cool” about committing sexual assault. The negative use of the word ”rape” is not much better. Losing a sports game or doing badly on a test is nowhere near comparable to being a victim of rape. Imagine how a victim of sexual assault would feel hearing the word thrown around so casually.
Sure, rape is not the only word used in this context. “Kill” has often been used in exactly the same way, and complaints about it are few and far between. The use of murder in this context, however, is not as problematic as that of rape. The two words, while perhaps interchangeable in a sentence, are different entities with different histories.
For the last several centuries, murder has been universally accepted as the horrible crime that it is. When a murder is reported, it is always investigated and taken seriously. Even young children know and understand that killing is wrong.
Rape, however, still has a long way to go in terms of awareness, understanding, and prosecution. Almost all rapists (94 percent) do not spend even a day in jail. On average for the past five years, 60 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Even when a rape is reported, there is only a 50.8 percent chance of an arrest being made, and 31 percent of those convicted of a felony for rape will not spend time in jail.
In addition, rape prevention efforts and the recognition of marital rape as a crime did not come about until fairly recently, contrary to what one might assume. The first legally incorporated rape crisis center was not established until 1972. Every U.S. state had a marital rape exemption law, which stated that a husband raping his wife was not a crime, until 1975, when South Dakota became the first to remove it. The last state to remove this exemption, North Carolina, did not do so until 1992. Many countries today still do not view rape within marriage as a crime.
In just four decades, the United States has come a long way in terms of assistance for rape victims, education about rape, and prosecution of rapists. But there is still a long way to go in both our own country and others. We need to start by treating rape as the serious issue that it is. How can students in our generation understand the damage and severity of rape when it is thrown around in every other sentence? How can the 60 percent of sexual assault victims who do not report the crime to the police find the courage to do so when “rape” is used jokingly and treated as “nothing”?
I know that the students who use the word “rape” in a casual way usually do not mean anything by it. They do not condone rape or think that it is a good thing. I know that there have been times I’ve used the word more lightly that I should have. But in this case, intention doesn’t count. Even if you don’t think rape is insignificant or funny, using it as a slang term sends the message that you do.
There is nothing funny, glamorous, or casual about rape. Committing an act of rape does not make you cool, powerful, or superior. As high schoolers, we should know this. So why can’t our vocabulary reflect that knowledge?MOSCOW/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - After weeks of defying international pleas to free eight European officials they had captured in May, pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine released them unexpectedly in June following a public appeal by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill arrive for the meeting with Russian Orthodox church bishops in Moscow February 1, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Gunyeev/Ria Novosti/Kremlin/Files
The role Kirill’s resurgent church played in the release of the monitors, who were from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), sheds light on how a close cooperation between the state and the church in Russia is now playing out in Ukraine.
What the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) presents as its humanitarian mission in east Ukraine, Western diplomats see as a pattern of cooperation in which the church is acting as a “soft power” ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the OSCE monitors’ captivity, Moscow gave no public indication that it was heeding calls to help their release by using its influence with the rebels fighting to split east Ukraine from Kiev.
But what looked like a solo venture by Kirill was the culmination of a flurry of diplomatic contacts that, behind closed doors, involved the OSCE, Russian and church officials, separatist leaders and a rebel Cossack unit, according to interviews with parties to the talks.
With questions lingering over Moscow’s role in the turmoil in east Ukraine that has killed more than 3,500 people, European diplomats say the ROC was used to strike a deal and conceal Moscow’s influence with the rebels.
The ROC, which claims jurisdiction in most of the former Soviet world, used its leverage beyond Russia’s borders merely to mediate, it said.
“(The church) was asked to take part. Why shouldn’t it help?” Metropolitan Merkury, Kirill’s contact man for the OSCE release, told Reuters.
The crisis in east Ukraine, which followed Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in March, threw ties between the Kremlin and the West deep into disarray. The West responded with sanctions to what it says is Moscow arming the rebels and reinforcing them with Russian troops. Moscow denies taking part in the armed conflict in spite of growing evidence to the contrary.
“Russia does not fully control the rebels but it does exercise influence over them,” said a Western diplomat in Moscow closely following the crisis. “The Church is put in between the two to blur that link and avoid having any direct lines between them.”
A European diplomat in eastern Ukraine said the ROC had acted as Moscow’s “front organization” in the release of the OSCE captives, allowing the Russian state to continue denying it had any direct involvement.
The OSCE said it was a mix of interventions that made the release possible. A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the OSCE case. The person said the ministry does not favor the ROC over other creeds it works with. The Kremlin was not available for comment.
THE RUSSIAN WORLD
The ROC says it is not the state church of Russia. But it has cooperated closely with the Kremlin under Putin, who helped it make a striking comeback from heavy oppression in the Soviet era.
The ROC and Kirill, who once famously likened Putin’s long rule to “a miracle of God,” are active in promoting Russia’s culture abroad and strengthening ties with compatriots around the world, helping the Kremlin boost its leverage on the global stage.
Putin and Kirill share a vision of “the Russian world” based on common ideological values, a belief driving their mutually-beneficial cooperation and crusade against a common threat they see in the West.
The ROC has built or restored about 25,000 churches in the past quarter-century, most of them in its traditional territory of the former Soviet Union. But it has also reclaimed churches in countries from France and Italy to Cuba and North Korea. With about 200 million members worldwide, the ROC is now the second-largest single church in Christianity after Roman Catholicism.
The ROC’s Department of External Church Relations has a working group with Russia’s Foreign Ministry that meets regularly for what Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called “active and constructive” cooperation.
Senior officials in the ROC, still dogged by rumors of Soviet-era collaboration with the KGB secret police, are used to being asked whether they are too close to Putin.
“To people who, in a certain manner, ask me if our relationship with the state is good today, I say: ‘Do you want it to be bad?’,” said a senior ROC spokesman, Vladimir Legoyda.
“Do I think that the state may try to use the Church for its own purposes? Probably. Do I think we should be afraid of that? No.”
OLIGARCH CONNECTIONS
Under Putin, the ROC gets support from the state and powerful oligarchs allied to the Kremlin, while Moscow benefits from its public blessing. A recent poll showed 75 percent of Russians approve of the ROC and more than half value its close ties with the state.
One influential financier is Konstantin Malofeev, a Russian Orthodox businessman and philanthropist whose St. Basil the Great Foundation paid for the renovation of the Moscow headquarters of the ROC’s Department of External Church Relations.
The foundation’s board includes Igor Shchyogolev, one of Putin’s aides at the Kremlin. The fund says it offers humanitarian aid for the rebel-held east Ukraine under an agreement signed with Aleksander Borodai, formerly the top separatist leader.
In July, Kiev opened an investigation into Malofeev, alleging that he was financing armed rebels in east Ukraine. The European Union sanctioned Malofeev soon afterwards, saying he used to employ Borodai and was destabilizing Ukraine. Malofeev did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on that.
He has previously dismissed Kiev’s investigation as “ridiculous,” saying he sent only humanitarian aid and had sent no funding to pro-Russian separatists.
Another powerful figure in the Orthodox world is Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russian Railways and a long-standing ally of Putin. Yakunin, sanctioned by Washington over Ukraine, heads the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, which helped reunite Kirill’s Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which separated from the ROC in the 1920s.
At the 2007 Moscow ceremony marking the reunification, Putin called the merger “an event of truly nationwide, historic importance and great moral significance.” He added: “The revival of the church unity is a crucial condition for revival of lost unity of the whole ‘Russian world’, which has always had the Orthodox faith as one of its foundations.”
CHURCH AT CROSSROADS
The ROC’s close ties to the state were on display early in the Ukraine crisis when Kirill and the Russian Foreign Ministry issued nearly identical statements, warning against a confrontation and speaking of the larger Russia’s “brotherly” Ukraine.
When Russia sent its troops to Crimea, one of the justifications it used was an alleged threat to parishes there linked to Kirill’s Moscow Patriarchate. Kirill’s full title is “Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus,” a reference to a medieval state in Kiev to which modern Russia traces its roots.
In Ukraine, Kirill oversees the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. It competes against a smaller church of the Kiev Patriarchate that split from Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Winning applause from those Ukrainians who seek Western integration and scorn Moscow’s efforts to undermine it, the Kiev Patriarchate has strongly backed Ukraine’s national cause in the current conflict. Its head, Patriarch Filaret, blamed Putin squarely for the violence and said he was possessed by Satan.
The conflict in Ukraine has put strains on the ties between the ROC and the state in Russia; and Kirill, wary of alienating worshippers in Ukraine by being too closely associated with the Kremlin, has increasingly hedged his bets.
He was conspicuously absent from a March ceremony where Putin sealed the annexation of Crimea, and he has not taken over two dioceses from the Ukrainian church in the peninsula even though they sit on territory now controlled by Russia.
Late last month, Kirill told a meeting with Orthodox media that it was “fundamentally wrong” to view the ROC as a vehicle of Russian state policy. But to many in Ukraine that sounded unconvincing, and controversy over the ROC’s role in the OSCE monitors’ case adds to that scepticism.
Back in May, the OSCE, through the Russian Foreign Ministry, got in touch with Russian lawmaker and senior Cossack leader, Viktor Vodolatsky, according to his account.
Vodolatsky, a member of Putin’s ruling United Russia parliamentary faction, said he contacted the head of Cossack forces in east Ukraine, Nikolay Kozitsyn. He said ROC’s Metropolitan Merkury also talked to Kozitsyn.
“He (Merkury) knows every ataman (Cossack leader) among us,” Vodolatsky told Reuters. “It was no problem for him to take his phone, call Kozitsyn and solve all the problems with him.”
Slideshow (3 Images)
Merkury declined to specify his or the church’s role in the OSCE case.
Kirill’s appeal for the monitor’s release was the clincher, said Vodolatsky, whom the EU sanctioned over the Cossacks fighting on the rebel side in east Ukraine.
“For any Cossack the Orthodox faith is predominant. The Patriarch is our spiritual leader,” he said. “After the Patriarch statement everyone stood at attention and did everything that the Patriarch ordered.”FORT LAUDERDALE A man arrested for possessing Ecstasy pills will receive $30,000 from the city to settle a federal suit he brought after the nine yellow heart-stamped pills police confiscated turned out to be aspirin.
Antonio Grant, 37, sued the city and police officers Jared Gross and Steven Johnson last year, claiming false arrest, battery and unlawful search during a 2013 incident in which he was a passenger in a car pulled over for having expired tags.
The suit said Grant was handcuffed at gunpoint, placed face-down on the asphalt, had his gym short pockets searched and that an officer partially inserted a finger through his shorts and underwear into his rectum to check for drugs.
Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to settle the suit.
"To take this man to jail for having generic aspirin is outrageous," said Hugh Koerner, Grant's attorney. Prosecutors dropped the charge a month after Grant's arrest, according to court documents.
Gross and Johnson were in an unmarked police car during the incident and treated the situation as a "high-risk traffic stop" when the driver didn't immediately pull over after the undercover officers turned on their lights and siren, according to police reports. The driver, Jimmy "Holiday" Noel, was charged with driving with a suspended license and for having an expired tag.
Gross reported that during the traffic stop he could see Grant making "furtive movements" and reaching into the glove compartment, where Gross recovered the suspected drugs and some blue pills in a pill bottle. The suit said the blue pills were high blood pressure medicine.
Johnson patted down Grant and found a pocket knife in his shorts pocket, his report said.
The suit said police never conducted any chemical tests of the pills to confirm the presence of a controlled substance, nor did they use a narcotics K-9. Gross said he called for a narcotics K-9, but there weren't any available.
While Gross reported that "from my knowledge, training, and experience as a narcotics officer, I recognized the pills as MDMA (Ecstasy) pills," the suit said Gross knew that Ecstasy "was sold on the street in hundreds of different sizes, shapes, and colors, with different imprints and raised marks."
lbarszewski@tribpub.com or 954-356-4556Posted by Darren Urban on January 17, 2015 – 9:53 am
Cardinals cornerback Antonio Cromartie has been a natural go-to guy the last few days to talk about Todd Bowles as the new New York Jets coach, since Cromartie just played for Bowles and since he still has a lot of media relationships with New York media after playing so many years with the Jets. He went on NFL Network to talk about Bowles — and also about his future given his impending free agency.
During his Bowles’ analysis, Cromartie noted “$50 million in cap space” the Jets have to work with. That probably wasn’t a coincidence, especially from a guy who didn’t really want to leave the Jets last year in the first place.
“I’m leaving the door open,” Cromartie said. “Right now, until the Super Bowl is over, I’m still an Arizona Cardinal. Until they come to me about a conteact, I’m still an Arizona Cardinal. Once March 10 at 4 o’clock hits, March 12 at 9 a.m. hits, and no one’s offered me a contract, then I’m free game. And I’m open to anything to go out and try to win a championship and help any organization.”
(Free agency does indeed start March 10 at 2 p.m. Arizona time, which will be 4 p.m. Eastern.)
Cromartie made $3.5 million on a one-year contract this season. He had a good season and is a Pro Bowl alternate. But his signing, and his season, has long played out as a parallel to the one linebacker Karlos Dansby had in 2013 for the Cardinals. Dansby, like Cromartie, signed with the Cardinals for one year when the free agent market did not play out the way they wanted. Dansby, like Cromartie, had a good season (Dansby actually had an excellent season, even better than Cro’s.) But both are on the wrong side of 30 in a league that values youth. There has always been a good chance Cromartie’s situation plays out just like Dansby’s did — I expect the Cardinals to make a solid offer, although it may only be for two or three years. And it’s easy to see another team swooping in to offer more years/more money. The Browns did that with Dansby, and maybe the Jets — or the Bills, who now have Cro’s former coach, Rex Ryan — will do the same with Cromartie.
Cromartie, as he said, is open to everything.
Tags: Antonio Cromartie Posted in BlogAfter a year of self-flagellation and angst, Democrats finally got some good news last week. But they shouldn’t get carried away: They also got some bad news.
First the bad news: Rural America still really dislikes Democrats. But that wasn’t a surprise. The good news came in increasingly affluent and diverse Virginia: In the age of Trump, well-educated suburbanites like Democrats considerably more than they used to. And voters are, overall, quite energized (turnout was at a 20-year high for the Virginia governor’s race) — especially younger voters, who supported the Democrat, Ralph Northam, overwhelmingly as compared with the Democratic nominee in 2013 and turned out at much higher rates.
All this, despite Democrats’ nationally failing to coalesce around a singular bold message and Mr. Northam’s running a decent but not particularly inspiring campaign.
Democrats are benefiting from a law of political physics, and despite so much else going haywire in our politics, it appears to still hold: There is a pendulum-like swing in American politics against the party that holds the presidency. One of the most striking results from the exit polls is that Mr. Northam did a little better across almost all subgroups in Virginia than Hillary Clinton did in 2016.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland police officer has been arrested, accused of tampering with evidence and obstructing justice in connection with a situation that took place while she was off-duty.
Valarie Thompson, 50, faces charges in connection with an off-duty incident at her second job, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. Thompson turned herself into police Friday and was almost immediately released on a $5,000 bond set via telephone by a Cleveland Municipal Court judge.
Thompson is scheduled for arraignment Monday morning, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Joe Frolik said Friday evening.
Thompson was hired by Cleveland police in 1994 and was most recently assigned to the property unit, Ciaccia said. She is suspended without pay pending a conclusion of the criminal case.
No additional details about Thompson's arrest has been released. This post will be updated when more information becomes available.
cleveland.com reporter Cory Shaffer contributed to this post. If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.New York’s annual Village |
that doesn't mean the league's members will let their guard down or stop fighting the grassroots battles against the removal of royal emblems or other forms of "de-monarchization," says Rowe.
"You can have the prime minister on side, you can have the government on side, but a lot of it comes down to an individual clerk in a town somewhere [who] decides to take things down," Rowe said. "We rely on the vigilance of our members to watch out for that stuff. You don't want to get on the wrong side of a monarchist; they're tenacious."
Dispelling myths about monarchy
Despite the warming attitude toward the royals in recent years, there are still a lot Canadians don't know about the monarchy, say the league's spokespeople.
"The real danger to the Crown is not committed republicans; it's that nobody knows how the system works," said Richards.
Educating Canadians about the place of the monarchy within Canada's system of government and national identity is a large part of the league's mandate. Members advocate on an individual and organizational level to remind Canadians that the monarchy still has an active role in Canadian life, to correct misconceptions and to foster an appreciation for the institution itself.
Some people still believe Canadians pay some sort of tithe to Queen Elizabeth II. A large part of what members of the Monarchist League do is to publicly dispel that and other myths about the role of the monarchy in Canada. (Akira Suemori/Associated Press)
"The education system in the last two decades or so has done a tremendous disservice to young people by either marginalizing the role of the Crown or just not even discussing it altogether," said Rowe. "So, there is a lot of confusion with how it operates, what sort of powers they have."
Some of the most common misconceptions have to do with how much the monarchy costs Canadians.
"There is the perception that because monarchy is glamorous, because there is a lot of razzle-dazzle, that it's expensive. It's actually much cheaper than a presidency," Rowe said.
As part of its effort to dispel myths about cost, the league publishes an occasional surveyof expenses related to maintaining Canada's constitutional monarchy, including the cost of royal tours and the operation of the offices and residences of the Governor General and provincial lieutenant-governors. By its 2009 estimate, the monarchy costs each Canadian $1.53 per year, which many say is still too much for what Canadians get in return.
Royals back in favour
While the league's membership tends to swell at times of royal weddings and visits like the current one of William and Kate, its most committed and motivated members tend to join when the institution is perceived as being under threat, Rowe said. It was at just such a time that the league was first founded — on the heals of the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, when institutions like the church and the monarchy were fast falling out of favour — and not just in Quebec but also on Parliament Hill under the government of Pierre Trudeau.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are greeted by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird upon their arrival in Ottawa on June 30, 2011. The current government has shown a new appreciation for the role of the monarchy in Canadian life, says the league. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
"Like never before, you had these forces that were challenging the authority of monarchy and the role of monarchy in public life," Rowe said. "So, all of a sudden, there was a need for … an organization of concerned citizens, friends of the monarchy, to stand up for the institution, because it can't fight for itself in that regard."
The monarchy is faring much better these days, says Rowe.
"The reason why monarchy survives, and the reason why it lasts and why it has lasted for a thousand years is because it changes, it adapts, it evolves, and with this next generation, you're seeing sort of a resurgence in Canadian appreciation and understanding for the Crown and also a government that understands that better," he said. "The tide is now the other way — we're putting more of an emphasis on the royal symbols and celebrating them as part of what it means to be Canadian."
As for the current visit of William and Kate, the league is holding informal get-togethers with its members in some of the cities on the couple's itinerary but won't be meeting with them privately as it has with some other members of the royal family in the past. That is as it should be, says Rowe, since the trip is being organized by the government and is not a private visit.
"The purpose of this trip is not for them to just meet with monarchists and people who like the monarchy," he said. "It's to meet with as broad and wide selection of Canadians as possible and to engage Canadians who otherwise wouldn't necessarily take as much interest in the monarchy."Millionaire investors usually have a large number of items on their metaphorical plate, and it turns out retirement concerns are among those items.
Spectrem researched investors with a net worth between $1 million and $5 million for its 2015 study Financial Behaviors and the Investor's Mindset and determined that more than one-third are concerned about when they are going to be able to retire.
Spectrem / Millionaire Corner
Thirty-seven percent of millionaires expressed the concern about being able to retire when they want to, including 70% of millionaires between the ages of 36-44. The youngest millionaires, aged under 36, are not yet thinking about retirement, as only 28% expressed that particular worry.
Asked about a more specific concern, millionaire investors were asked whether they were worried about depleting their retirement funds too early, placing that worry on a 100-point scale, with "0" being no concern and "100" being very worried. millionaires on average placed their concern at 33, but that worrisome age group of between 36-44 had the concern at 47.
The top concern of the 36-44 age group was the cost of health care, as 80% indicated that was what was bothering them.
Interestingly, approximately one-quarter of all millionaires are concerned either they or their souse will be forced into retirement before they are prepared for that stage of life. That includes 35% of the 36-44 age group and 31% of the 45-54 age group.
The study respondents were segmented by occupation, and the greatest concern was registered among professionals such as doctors, dentists and lawyers. Forty-three percent were concerned about being able to retire when they want to (over the 37% average), and 29% were worried about being forced into retirement prematurely.
Apparently, millionaires are relatively satisfied with their advisor assistance in regards to retirement. Only 26% said they were concerned about getting adequate help and advice leading up to retirement.Shannon Szabados says she wants to have fun and play hockey, not engage in a war of words through the media with her former coach.
After the Canadian goalie was released Monday by the Peoria Rivermen, just two games into the Southern Professional Hockey League season, head coach Jean-Guy Trudel told CBC Sports that he only signed the 30-year-old as a "package deal" in order to get defenceman Carl Nielsen, a friend of Szabados, and that their relationship was "cancerous" within the dressing room.
Trudel said he noticed a drastic change in team morale shortly after the pair joined the men's team in September — on the initiative of Szabados' agent, Russ King — saying cliques began to form that turned a close-knit group into one that had become quiet and unproductive on the ice.
"They were always together and it became kind of weird," said Trudel of Szabados and Nielsen, a native of Lorain, Ohio. "Seeing the [other] players in the locker room, I just saw the situation being heavy on everyone. It was cancerous toward the team. I coach 18 players here so I need to make 18 players happy, not just two."
"The story's already out there and I don't want to fuel the fire," Szabados told CBC Sports on Thursday. "My focus is signing with a new team. There's a lot more to [the Peoria release] and misleading information but I don't want to put [Trudel] in a bad spot, or the team.
"I don't know why he said some of those things," Szabados said, noting she had a good player-coach relationship with Trudel. "It was a very strange situation."
Thanks to everyone for the support!<br>Just over here wanting to have fun playing a silly game called hockey! Thats all :) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/itsjustagame?src=hash">#itsjustagame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/calm?src=hash">#calm</a> —@ShannonSzabados
If anyone needs me i'm just here chillin'. Reading funny articles. Love ya'll <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ELE?src=hash">#ELE</a> ❤️ —@ShannonSzabados
Trudel, the reigning SPHL coach of the year, reluctantly accepted the package deal because he wanted to upgrade the Rivermen blue-line with the six-foot-four, 225-pound Nielsen, a former captain with Orlando of the ECHL who had two stints in the American Hockey League with Syracuse.
But getting Trudel meant also taking Szabados, whom he said "was fourth on the depth chart after camp."
The two had been inseparable since meeting at a hockey camp in Denver this past off-season and wished to be teammates in Peoria so King brokered the "unique signing."
Trudel had tabbed Szabados, an Edmonton native, for a backup role behind rookie Storm Phaneuf after she posted a 20-20-6 record the past two seasons with the SPHL's Columbus Cottonmouths, including a.910 save percentage last season.
The first female to appear in the SPHL when she debuted with Columbus in the spring of 2014, Szabados relieved Phaneuf early in the second period of the Rivermen's season-opening 6-1 loss on Oct. 21 and allowed two goals on 15 shots to the visiting Huntsville (Ala.) Havoc.
The next night, Trudel pulled Szabados from her first start after a pair of Huntsville goals in the first four minutes five seconds of the second period in an eventual 5-1 defeat.
By Monday of this week, Trudel had seen enough — on and off the ice — and sent Szabados and Phaneuf of Gatineau, Que., packing while the team placed Nielsen, 28, on indefinite suspension and retain his SPHL rights. Trudel tried to talk Nielsen into staying without Szabados but he chose to join the latter in leaving the club.
"I tried to do something to get this great defenceman that plays 25 minutes a game, and it didn't work out," Trudel told CBC Sports. "It's the first time I've dealt with a package deal and I won't deal with it again. I think it's wrong for the game of hockey. Maybe I'm old-school but I like to coach players who deserve to be here."
It feels like a lot of weight has been lifted off everybody's shoulders. It's back to being a team. - Peoria coach Jean-Guy Trudel on the departures of goalie Shannon Szabados and good friend Carl Nielsen
Trudel said the Szabados-Nielsen deal is the "most different situation" he's been involved with in all his years coaching and 13 seasons playing mostly at the minor pro level.
"I'm paid to make sure my ownership is happy, that we win a lot of games, so I gotta do what I gotta do to make sure my team is in a good state of mind to win hockey games," said Trudel, who hails from Sudbury, Ont.
"The last two days of practice have been phenomenal. It feels like a lot of weight has been lifted off everybody's shoulders. It's back to being a team."
In less than a month, Szabados went from being the first female to appear in a game in the Rivermen's 35-year history to the first to be cut, departing Illinois with a 6.10 goals-against average and.792 save percentage.
Stronger league
A better calibre of play in the SPHL and Szabados' small stature seemed to catch up to the five-foot-nine netminder, whose butterfly style is more exposed in the men's game.
"Down low, she's very strong, very fast, but hard shots up high were kind of tough for her," said Trudel. "You could see in practice she was struggling and the top of the net was open a lot. At this level, guys know how to pick corners."
King, a NHLPA certified agent and president of Kingdom Player Management in Stouffville, Ont., acknowledged in an email to CBC Sports that the SPHL has become a stronger league over the past two seasons "because NHL teams have utilized developing their players at the ECHL level, forcing good non-contracted players to the SPHL."
Szabados is still in the United States with Nielsen hoping to soon land a job with one of the SPHL's 10 teams. While she said "a few" have expressed an interest to King, Szabados said a deal is not imminent.
"Not a lot of teams are going to cut goalies after one weekend, so I would assume I'd have to wait a week or two before there's an injury or someone is consistently not playing good," said Szabados, whose preference is to play men's hockey.
"I'm pretty comfortable in the [SPHL]. I know players on pretty much every team and I've heard a lot of good things about almost every team in the league.
Szabados off Four Nations Cup roster
"I just want to play somewhere and have fun," continued Szabados. "I'm 30 so who knows how long I'll be playing for."
Contrary to some belief, Szabados will not play for Canada at the Four Nations Cup from Nov. 1-5 in Vierumäki, Finland. Canada's two-year title reign ended last year with a 3-2 loss to the United States in Sweden.
"Shannon is focused on future opportunities in the men's game," Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada's general manager of national women's teams program, said in a statement. "The lines of communication remain open, and if Shannon would like to be considered for any other events throughout the 2016-17 season, we will have those discussions at that time."
Trudel said he harbours no ill feelings toward Szabados and Nielsen, noting he had a good coach-player relationship with the goalie.
"Shannon's a great person, she loves the game of hockey and she's a good leader on the ice," he said.
"Maybe … if she had come [to Peoria] by herself, gave it her all and focused on the team, maybe [the outcome] would have been different."We asked Matt in California (@mojave_jku on Instagram) what he loves about his Jeep. What separates it from the pack and makes it his own? He shared his to-date modifications, upcoming projects, and a wish list. Here is what Matt had to say:
You asked why we love our Jeep – well the answer is simple. This Jeep can take us anywhere we would like to go and we have a lot of fun while doing it. My wife and I bought this Jeep one year ago (2016 Jeep Wrangler JKU Sport S in Mojave Sand), and since then it has gone through a lot of modifications. There are many more to come in the future as well. Our personal favorite mod is a toss up between the Alpine PSS-21WRA and the 4″ Teraflex long arm kit with the 3.3 series falcon adjustable shocks. The Jeep drives like we are floating on a cloud now, but sounds amazing while doing it!
Modifications include:
4″ Teraflex LCG Longarm suspension with falcon 3.3 Adjustable series Shocks
2.2 Nexus Series Steering Stabilizer
17″ Double standard method wheels on 37×13.50r17 Toyo Open Country M/T tires Shop for Toyo tires at Tire Rack.
G2 1.5″ Wheel Spacers
Mopar Cold Air intake
AFE Catback Exhaust
Poison Spyder Rear Bumper
Poison Spyder JK 4-Dr Brawler Rockers (Steel)
Teraflex 4838150 HD Hinged Carrier Kit
Rigid Industries Headlights
Smittybilt Narrow Fenders
Pedal Box
Rugged Ridge Hood Latch Kit
KC Hilites Underhood light
Mopar 430N headunit with camera
Mopar Head Liner kit
Alpine PSS-21WRA
Upcoming Modifications:
Revolution 4.88 Gear set
JE Reel 1350 Driveshafts
Synergy Axle Assurance kit
Rubicon Express Skid Plate Set
Alpine X209 Radio
360 Camera
Poison Spyder Front Bumper Lite
Poison Spyder Narrow Fenders
Curry Anti Rock Swaybars
Wishlist:
Full width Full Float Dana 60s
Hemi SwapTAYA REYES FROM ELKO, NV:
I’m very excited to see what the future holds for Josh Dobbs. When the Steelers draft a developmental quarterback, who works with him on his mechanics? Since he’s not getting that many reps in practice now, does he stay after or before practice to get work in?
ANSWER: Once the regular season starts, each NFL team’s focus shifts from development to preparing for the upcoming opponent to put the team in its best position to win that week’s game. That’s because the NFL is all about wins and losses, and coaches who might consider spending time on development instead of planning and practicing to defeat that week’s opponent would find themselves fired before the players they had spent time developing had developed enough to help them win. That’s why Mike Tomlin believes in training camp and keeping the preseason at four games per team, because that’s the time when a player such as Josh Dobbs can get work on his mechanics and then get the repetitions in practices and game situations to hone those mechanics. And for the Steelers, the man working with Dobbs on his mechanics is quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner.
MIKE HENRY FROM HAGERSTOWN, MD:
Is Cam Sutton on the injured reserve list for the year, or can he come off in eight weeks?
ANSWER: Each team is now permitted to have two designated-to-return players come off their injured reserve list, and Cam Sutton would qualify because he was on the original 53-man roster before the Steelers put him on injured reserve. If all goes well, Sutton would be eligible to return to practice after six weeks on IR, and then he could return to the field for the Steelers after eight weeks, which would make him eligible for the game against Indianapolis on Nov. 12.
STEVE RANDALL FROM TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA:
The Steelers placed Cam Sutton on the reserve/injured list. Sutton can be designated to return to the 53-man roster after eight weeks. While he's inactive, is he still allowed to practice with the team during that time?
ANSWER: During the first six weeks that he’s on injured reserve, Cam Sutton would be able to attend meetings and rehabilitate his injury. He is not allowed to practice. After he has been on the injured reserve list for six weeks, then Sutton could return to practice for two weeks before the Steelers would have to make a decision on whether to bring him back to the 53-man roster.
MARK GOLDMAN FROM MOUNT KISCO, NY:
Did William Gay play at all vs. the Browns?
ANSWER: James Harrison was on the field for four defensive snaps in Cleveland. He was not credited with any statistics.
KEN WALDROP FROM ONTONAGON, MI:
A very noticeable lack of offense throughout the NFL in week one (more than normal). The rules certainly favor the offense. Do you attribute this to anything aside from the usual rust?Box Score | Photo Gallery
Junior Cory Abbott threw the first perfect game in LMU history on Saturday afternoon, proving perfect in a 2-0 LMU (13-10, 4-2 WCC) victory over BYU (10-11, 1-2 WCC). The right-hander struck out a career-high 13 hitters and used 106 pitches to dispatch of the Cougars.
The perfect game is the first at the Division I level this year, and is the 26th since 1957. The last perfect game came on March 11, 2016 when Jesse Scholtens was perfect for Wright State against Dayton. For a complete list of NCAA Division I perfect games, Click Here.
Abbott, who improved to 4-1 with the victory, sealed the perfect game with a strikeout of pinch hitter Tanner Chauncey, striking Chauncey out on a 3-2 pitch. LMU had thrown two previous no-hitters, including current volunteer assistant Matt Florer's no-hitter against Cal State Northridge on April 23, 2013. Bob Seus had LMU's first-ever no-hitter, limiting Long Beach State to just two walks and a hit batter on March 14, 1980.
Abbott found himself in only four three-ball counts all day, and had only one real scare on a hard hit ball, with Niko Decolati diving forward to steal a potential hit from shortstop Daniel Schneemann with one out in the seventh.
While Abbott was flawless, left-hander Hayden Rogers was impressive in his own right for BYU. Rogers dealt a complete game, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts over 8.0 innings and 89 pitches. The loss dropped him to 1-1 on the year.
LMU found itself in a scoreless ballgame headed to the bottom of the sixth inning, but Phil Caulfield punched a single back up the middle to get the ball rolling. A wild pitch moved Caulfield into second base, setting the table for Niko Decolati's RBI-single into centerfield to make it 1-0.
With Abbott locked in on the mound, LMU added one more insurance run in the eighth inning when Rogers issued a bases-loaded walk to Billy Wilson.
Caulfield and Decolati finished the game with two hits, as Decolati also drew a walk.
LMU, which is now 5-0-1 in weekend series this year, will return to action on Tuesday when it visits UC Irvine at 6:30 p.m.Now would be a good time to look at 2014 in retrospect and see what I achieved, and what I haven’t. So without further ado, let’s get right to it!
Major Projects
In January, I’ve visited and teamed up with various friends from IGDA DC and new friends from American University to create a new game for Global Game Jam 2014. That game? Ichabot Crane, a first-person puzzle game where you can through the lead character’s head to activate switches and have better perspective of the level. As with the usual game jam rules, it took 48 hours to develop with 5 people to develop this game. The unique premise of the game got a mention as one of the best free games of the week by PC Gamer. While I moved on to other projects, the rest of the team has been keeping the game alive with an appearance at Smithsonian’s Indies In The Middle event.
In July, I worked with e4 Software to make one last game with them: ZUP! It’s a tilt-based arcade game where you have to swerve Top Hat Joe away from spikes and other obstacles while collecting power-ups to help his journey up to the stratosphere and beyond. The project was in development for 1.5 years with 4 people. Since it’s a mobile game, it’s available in a few app stores, including iPhones, iPads, Androids, Amazon Kindles, and Barnes & Noble’s Nooks.
In September, I developed a game that speaks loudly of my experience with making mobile games: Not a Clone. The minigame collection of cloned mobile games signifies the shallow and frequently short nature of clones. It’s heavily critical of the mobile app stores allowing clones to become popular without providing any highlight or care to the original product. It took about a month working solo to create this game. It was featured in GameJolt, and also got a mention in Warp Door. Thanks to the GameJolt feature, it’s one of the fastest growing game I’ve created, with a strong Let’s Play following.
In October, I developed an application intended to help developers create more engaging games with Make it Juicy: Easy Methods to Make Your Game More Engaging. It was created in 2 weeks solo for a presentation at Capital Region Unity Developers. Hopefully, other developers had found the application to be educational as the Unity Developers had during the presentation.
Also in October, I participated in Bacon Game Jam 08 to create a game in 48-hours again. As a result, I had an innovative accident, and developed Suddenly, Thousands, a game about controlling multiple synchronized characters at once while traversing levels and solving their puzzles. Shockingly enough, I’ve managed to create it in solo within the 48-hour time limit. Despite the short development time, this game had the highest critical praise: it was the highest rated game in Bacon Game Jam, had a mention as one of the best free games of the week in PC Gamer, and a positive review in Jay Is Games.
In November, I’ve started on Prototype: Murakami, an on-rails third-person shooter with point & click puzzle elements inspired by Killer7, but due to poor scoping, I haven’t been able to finish it in the one month schedule I originally estimated. The prototype is still in development right now, so it might see the light of day…
In December, Robert Denner and I teamed up with Indies Need Booze to create a Indies Need Booze patron-exclusive Letters From Secret Santa, a narrative platformer where the words are your platforms. It took about a week to make the game, with Robert as the writer and level designer, and myself as developer. As it remains a patron exclusive for a few more days, the only reception we’ve received were from AbleGamers‘ Twitch live stream interview.
In December, a number of Tech Valley Game Space members gathered for Ludum Dare 31, and created Laundry Day, a laundromat simulator. 8 people participated, mostly on-and-off, to make the game in 72-hours. Instead of using the Unity engine to make the game as I usually do, we decided to learn how to use Construct 2, as this was the first game most of the team members has ever developed. With a game engine like Construct 2 that doesn’t require programming, it would make it easier for others to contribute. Despite being a completely goofy satire of social and free-to-play games, we ranked within the top 100 games for humor, so many thought it was an interesting game.
With 7 projects finished, and 1 in development, 2014 was quite a productive year for me. Here’s to hoping that I can finish Prototype: Munch pretty quickly.
Major Events
There were some major events going on in 2014. After a long 4 years working as a regular software engineer, I’ve decided I’ve had enough saved (and endured enough stress) to go independent. On August, I quit the company I was working at, and started working for my own company, Omiya Games, full-time. Furthermore, I moved from Maryland to New York to rent a cheaper location. There, I was able to get in contact with Albany IGDA, and re-establish a few contacts there. I happen to meet with Jamey Stevenson in one of their meeting, who was working on establishing a game developer community near the area.
Sure enough, late October, Jamey managed to secure a co-working office, and we both moved in to the new Tech Valley Game Space. The office has been spectacular so far, and we’re both really enjoying it. I’ve showcased Suddenly, Thousands at the Rensselaer Game Showcase on November, along with Jamey Stevenson and Keith Morgado from Binary Takeover. Lastly, I helped Tech Valley Game Space conduct the Ludum Dare game jam. Overall, it was a busy, exciting year.
On To 2015
So what’s there to look forward to in 2015? A lot, it turns out. With Tech Valley Game Space established, a large part of my time will be spent helping them out as they gather more developers and create a more inviting environment for those curious in joining in. The projects I’ll be working on at the start of the year are already fixed: there’s Global Game Jam going on at MAGFest that I plan to attend, and I still have Prototype: Murakami to finish. Right after those two projects, I need to figure out how to make Omiya Games sustainable. Given the large number of game jam games I have in my disposal, I simply need to look for the game with the best balance between popularity and simplicity to reduce development time. In this case, Not a Clone and Suddenly, Thousands seems to be the most ideal, although the former is expensive to develop despite short development time, and the latter will require a lot of experimentation. If I don’t make any progress in making the business sustainable, well, it might be time to seek a new way to make income.
Like this: Like Loading...All but 0.4% of the German population have been contaminated by the controversial herbicide glyphosate, according to a study carried out by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
The study analysed glyphosate residue in urine and concludes that 75% of the target group displayed levels that were five times higher than the legal limit of drinking water.
A third of the population even showed levels that were between ten and 42 times higher than what is normally permissible.
Glyphosate residues were recorded in 99.6% of the 2,009 people monitored by the study. The most significant values were found in children aged from zero to nine and adolescents aged 10 to 19, particularly those individuals raised on farms.
Meat eaters also displayed higher levels of glyphosate contamination than vegetarians or vegans. This finding may reflect the high levels of glyphosate found in the 'Roundup-ready' GMO soy and corn used in animal feeds, which are sprayed with the herbicide many times over their growing season.
"The investigation confirmed the findings of the Federal Environment Agency, in regards to the majority of the population having glyphosate residue in their urine", said retired veterinarian Monika Krüger, who supervised the study. The investigation was the largest of its kind ever carried out.
Krüger emphasised that these results show that further studies have to be carried out in order to fully understand the link between exposure to glyphosate and disease and other health problems.
EU still to decide on glyphosate re-authorisation to 2031
Harald Ebner, a genetic engineering and bio-economic policy with the German Greens, warned that "now nearly every single one of us has been contaminated by plant poison, it is clear to me that no new authorisations for 2031 should be issued."
The European Commission recently called for glyphosate to be renewed until 2031, but it emerged today that the decision has been postponed by member state representatives, as reported today on The Ecologist.
France, Sweden, Netherlands and Italy have announced that they would be voting against the relicensing. Brussels, Bulgaria, Denmark, Austria, Belgium are also rumoured to be opposing licence renewal. One and a half million people have signed Avaaz's petition urging the EU not to relicense the herbicide.
The German government position has not been confirmed however the result of the new study can only add to pressure to oppose the reliciencing. Ebner today called upon both the agriculture minister, Christian Schmidt, and the environment minister, Barbara Hendricks, to oppose the Commission.
Another excellent reason to postpone the decision is that scientific analysis is still ongoing, with studies by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and a joint undertaking by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) still pending.
German regulators split
The President of Germany's Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Maria Krautzberger, said she was was "not surprised" by the study's findings, pointing out that her own agency had recorded similar findings in its own smaller-scale investigation. The presence of glyphosate in urine is unsurprising given the extensive use that has been made of the compound.
The UBA called for further research to be undertaken, as "probably carcinogenic" substances should not be authorised as 'pesticides' by EU law.
On the other hand, the Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (BfR) saw no health risk in the study's findings. The authority admitted that glyphosate residue in low concentrations should be expected, however, it maintained that the compound is quickly excreted in the urine and, as a result, poses no risk.
Indeed the BfR study formed the foundation of the EFSA study which concluded that there was 'no evidence' that glyphosate was carcinogenic - the precise opposite to the more scientifically rigorous study of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organisation.
Now more evidence will come piling in - to Monsanto's dismay
The decision on glyphosate may come before the EU's Council of Ministers once again in six weeks time, uncomfortably close - for the pesticides industry - to the expiry of the current licence in June.
However as more evidence from current research that's under way becomes available, it may become ever harder to force through the quick affirmative decision the industry has been lobbying for.
For example the Commission has announced that it will publish criteria for the classification of 'endocrine disruptors', chemicals which mimic hormones, this summer, after years of inaction.
As Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis told the French press in Paris on 3rd March following a meeting with France's Minister of Ecology Ségolène Royal: "I confirmed to the Minister Ségolène Royal that the Commission intends, by this summer, to present a list of criteria defining hormone disruptors, based on the one used by the World Health Organisation (WHO)."
France supports the WHO's classification system, which divides hormone disruptors into three categories: proven, probable and possible. "I appreciate the Commission's willingness to accelerate its action on hormone disruptors and to present its conclusions by this summer."
With glyphosate widely recognised as an endocrine disruptor that's active at very low concentrations approaching the limits of detectability, the Commission's progress in the area may once again delay a final decision on the herbicide pending further stuidies.
The Commission is also coming under pressure to ensure that all studies it relies on in its assessments of pesticides are published in full so they may be independently assessed and verified. The EFSA / BfR glyphosate studies relied heavily on unpublished, non-peer reviewed industry-funded studies.
Nicole Sagener is a journalist with EurActiv.de.
This article was originally published by EurActiv.eu following translation by Samuel Morgan. This version includes additional reporting by The Ecologist.Alex Wong/Getty Images Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the stock market's rally since the election was a positive reflection on the new administration.
In an interview on Thursday, CNBC's Becky Quick asked Mnuchin whether he viewed the rally as a scorecard.
"Absolutely, this is a mark-to-market business, and you see what the market thinks," Mnuchin replied.
Asked whether a market pullback would reflect disappointment in the speed of President Donald Trump's agenda, Mnuchin said he was not focused on day-to-day gyrations.
Still, his comments are a bookmark to return to at the end of Trump's presidency, since the stock market's performance will most likely be used as one way to assess how investors appraised the administration. The S&P 500 returned 234% during President Barack Obama's eight years in office. Alpha Hat The benchmark S&P 500 has jumped 10% since the election on the hope that Trump will deliver on his promises of corporate tax reform and fewer regulations. The index, which closed at 2,362.82 on Wednesday, has already eclipsed the average year-end forecast among Wall Street analysts, according to Bloomberg.
The financial sector has been the poster child of the rally as investors see the big banks benefitting from deregulation and higher interest rates. Goldman Sachs' shares contributed the most to the gains of the Dow Jones industrial average, which on Wednesday closed at a ninth straight record high for the first time since 1987.
"We believe we can get back to sustainable [economic] growth of 3% or more," Mnuchin said.Yes, Some Comics Are For Kids — And They're Big Business
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier Paperback, 239 pages | purchase close overlay Buy Featured Book Your purchase helps support NPR programming. How?
Any self-respecting comics fan cringes at the phrase "comics aren't just for kids anymore." But any self-respecting comics fan also has to admit there are some great kids' comics out there — especially right now.
Before I left for San Diego Comic-Con this week, I checked in with Lucy Strother, a fourth grade teacher in Philadelphia whose students just love comics. "We have like a comics and graphic novels bin in the library and it's perpetually empty because the kids are so obsessed with comics and graphic novels," she says.
Strother says graphic novels are an important way to get kids used to reading longer chapter books with more mature ideas. And for her students, there's one author who reigns supreme. "The queen of my classroom is Raina Telgemeier."
"My name does mean queen," Telgemeier laughs. She's here at Comic-Con to talk comics and meet young readers; her latest graphic novel, Ghosts, is a gentle, lovely story for middle grade readers, about a girl coming to terms with her little sister's serious illness.
"Comics are good for so many different kinds of readers," she says. "Kids who have never finished a book on their own before can pick up a graphic novel and be done in an hour and feel empowered, that they've never had that experience before. They finished something."
Telgemeier says she draws comics for the kid she once was, the one who wanted more than newspaper strips, or DC and Marvel superhero comics. At first, she had to self-publish. "When I started publishing, really the top five book publishers hadn't quite gotten on board yet," she says. "My work didn't really fit into any of the spaces that existed and I wasn't sure what I was going to do."
But even though the big publishers weren't on board, Tel |
again. And so on and so on. In real life, we seldom get exactly what we want—but it’s the wanting the impossible so badly that makes us pull for these characters. And then you get the unexpected payoff, like Buffy getting the “class protector” trophy at the Homecoming Dance, and it’s more beautiful than you could ever have expected.
Advertisement
4) Places where we want to spend time can be great supporting characters
This is something I learned from television, in general, but especially Buffy. The Bronze, the weird all-ages nightclub where they hang out incessantly, and the library where they kibitz about this week’s monster threat, feel like places where I spent a lot of time in real life. Most TV shows have a handful of standing sets that they use in every episode, and a great TV show will make you care about those places as if they were your own living room or the bar where you hang out every day. (If you’re a functioning alcoholic, like a lot of TV characters apparently are.) Few shows make their main sets as lovable as Buffy manages to do with the Bronze and the school library, maybe because the characters seem to have a lot of love for those places. In a book, of course, you can have as many locations as you want—but I always try to think about a handful of “sets” where the characters are going to spend a lot of time, which the reader can hopefully fall in love with.
Advertisement
5) Big mysteries should always have a hard-hitting payoff
We’re living in the era of the rabbit hole—although it’s not quite as rabbity as it was in the years during and immediately after Lost was on television. Mysteries, prophecies, cryptic hints, weird puzzles, flash-forwards, dark backstories—television is all about keeping you guessing, so you’ll have to keep coming back every week. And for the most part, Buffy not only paid off its big mysteries, it paid them off with a punch in the gut. Like the big prophecy about Buffy in season one, or the thing where the First Slayer tells her “Death is your gift.” Or Angel’s secret past. Or the whole mystery of Dawn and Glory in season five. Because Joss Whedon is not always the best at coming up with coherent plots, these stories didn’t always entirely make sense, but the big questions generally had answers—and those answers felt like a slap in the face, not just a new piece of information. That last bit is the vital one. The longer you make people wait for a secret, the more upsetting and horrifying it should be when it arrives. Don’t EVER tease a secret for months and then have it turn out to be prosaic or harmless. As a rule, people keep secrets because they’re too horrible to share, not because they’re pathologically secretive.
Advertisement
6) Magic should come with dreams and visions
Magic, by definition, is an interruption to the logic of the “real” world. So you have to depict it as something strange and otherworldly, in the midst of our reality. This can be hard to accomplish—which is why, for example, The Vampire Diaries always settles for having its witches speak Pig Latin while bright orange swooshes appear over people’s faces to convey that magicky things are happening. SWOOSH. Anyway... the thing that Buffy did in a lot of its most memorable stories about magic and mystical forces was to incorporate a touch of surrealism, or actual dream sequences, or crazy visions. This reached its peak with the fourth season finale, which is just one long cray-cray dream sequence that people either love or hate. And for me, whenever I’m trying to write a story in which magic is a Thing, I often try for a somewhat “dreamlike” feel, as if the characters are inside a waking dream or something. I don’t think magic should ever be totally predictable, safe, or comfortable, so it’s important to find ways to amp up the strangeness and wildness of magic, with some dreamy feels.
Advertisement
7) Characters can start out as archetypes and then go SO deep
Watching season one of Buffy at the same time as season four or five is an interesting experience. Almost all the characters, in season one, are one-dimensional archetypes. Buffy’s watcher Giles is the stuffy British guy. Her friends Willow and Xander are awkward nerds. Cordelia is a stuck-up popular girl. Over the course of a few years, they all develop more layers and defining characteristics, until they barely seem like the same people we met. This happens organically, as we get to know them, but also benefits from each of them getting characteristics that are at right-angles to their original description.Giles turns out to have this whole other “Ripper” side, and he’s a singer, and he’s all sexy danger when he’s not wearing his tweed jacket. People usually encourage you to start developing characters with tons of different attributes and facets, so they’re complex individuals from the start. But you can go the other route—create a character who’s just a single vividly drawn sketch, and then start adding stuff as you go. That’s how you often encounter people in real life, after all—you get an impression of “that stuffy British guy I just met,” and then you spend more time with him and discover there’s more to him than Britishness. My #1 rule for creating interesting characters is to find something memorable about them, so I get interested in them myself, and then I can slowly fill in the details over time. Often, it does start with a thumbnail sketch.
Advertisement
8) Real life can be more terrifying than monsters
This goes back to the thing about stakes being relative—but sometimes real-life challenges, like getting through high school, dealing with family and friends, or finding a job, can be more terrifying than dealing with a demon from Hell who wants to eat your soul. This was Buffy’s secret weapon: Making the traumas of regular life every bit as intense as the monster fights. It would have been easy for everything to turn out to be a demonic scheme, every time, but Buffy never makes it that clear-cut. Some things just suck because they suck. This comes to its acme in the famous episode where Buffy’s mother dies—not of a vampire attack, but of a brain aneurysm. When you’re writing a story about wild, fantastical, amazing, otherworldly things, it can feel like you’re putting the exciting stuff on hold when you pause to show your main character fighting with roommates or dealing with her family—but what Buffy taught me is that the scarier and more intense you make the non-supernatural traumas, the more intensity you’ll actually get out of the monsters when they arrive. Because showing the full scariness of real life will make us bond with your heroes on a much deeper level.
Advertisement
9) A great villain has a scary goal
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was at its best when it featured memorable villains—in fact, the times when this show had less scary villains were often the weakest. And one thing that made Buffy’s villains truly terrifying and fascinating was, often, that they wanted something truly terrible. An aimless villain, or a villain who just wants to torture the hero, can only go so far. But the Master’s goal of bringing about a vampire dystopia, or the Mayor’s goal of achieving giant-monster status, actually would make everybody else’s life horrible. And then there’s Glory’s plan to sacrifice Buffy’s “sister” Dawn, so she can regain her throne. This doesn’t just extend to villains—any character who’s a major player in the story should have his or her own agenda that isn’t just related to making sure the hero is okay/not okay. The more interesting and epic the goals of other characters, the more the hero can shine.
10) You can use a tired trope without following all the usual boring storylines
This is probably the most important of all—Buffy the Vampire Slayer is fundamentally a story about “the Chosen One,” who’s marked from birth for greatness and has a unique role in fighting evil. This was already kind of an overused story idea when Buffy took it on in the 1990s, and it’s desperately in need of a nap now. But Buffy the Vampire Slayer takes this idea and runs with it, in a bunch of directions that go off the dull Joseph Campbell garden path. She doesn’t just go on the Hero’s Journey like a good drone—instead, she grows and changes, and keeps wrestling with just what it means to be singled out for a purpose. By the end of the show, Buffy’s true mission turns out to be making a whole lot of other girls into the Chosen One, too. This has been a huge inspiration to me—because often, these old stories are where a lot of the most interesting ideas are, if you can just peel back all the drek and rote expectations that have been stuck to them. Buffy the Vampire Slayer made one of the cornerstones of heroic storytelling fresh again, and in the process showed how you can make any idea fresh—if you just ask the tough questions along the way.Please enable Javascript to watch this video
MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating 12 probable overdose deaths occurring within a 72-hour period this Labor Day weekend.
This number was reported on Twitter Sunday, September 4th.
The number keeps growing - 12 probable drug OD deaths in Milwaukee County in the last 72 hours. #doseofrealityWI — Medical Examiner (@mkemedexamine) September 5, 2016
Drug abuse is a problem that has plagued communities across southeastern Wisconsin for years -- but recently, it has spiked.
On August 22nd, FOX6 News spoke with Milwaukee Alderman Michael Murphy, who was reacting to the news of four probable overdose deaths occurring within a 48-hour period.
"Every one of these individuals on this sheet represents a loved one. It`s either a father, a mother, a brother, sister, cousin -- and that loss of human potential has been drastic and terrible for our community and unfortunately it`s not getting any better. And I`m fearful that it`s only going to get worse," Murphy said.
This Labor Day weekend, it did get worse. Twelve people lost their lives as a result of suspected overdoses, the medical examiner reported.
On September 1st, Senator Ron Johnson held a round-table discussion on opioid use in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel took part in that discussion -- outlining how he believes this issue should be combated.
"Above all, from my perspective, we need prevention. We have to stop more people from flowing into this problem," Schimel said.
Through July of 2016, 161 people have died as a result of drug overdoses -- up 10 percent so far this year, according to the medical examiner.
"We have great prevention messages, if we can just convince people to use their medications only as they`re prescribed to them, to store them safely and securely in their home, and to get rid of them when they`re done taking their prescription," Schimel said.
Schimel made that point about prescription drugs because they're often considered the gateway to heroin use.
The medical examiner said autopsies for all 12 people who died this Labor Day weekend will be performed this week.
Toxicology testing will take weeks. However, these deaths are currently being classified as probable overdose deaths.As you guys have seen over the last couple years, I am not the best Marketer (or video producer), so for this week's report I would just like to show you some of the features list and UI/UX work that we've been finishing up on the new mobile wallet..
The Carbon wallet now includes full support for:
all BlockPay Merchants
fully-confirmed transactions in 3 seconds or less
44 (human corrected) languages
NFC and v10 QR codes
near-zero fees
Overdraft Protection (example: it can cash out some of another one of your coins to cover your grocery balance)
Loyalty Points
invoicing/payment request features
unlimited accounts
built-in Bridge for coin-to-coin shifting
search/filter Transaction history
Transaction Memos
Export Transactions to PDF or CSV for accounting
WIF Key support
Yubikey Neo support for added 2FA/U2F security
FIDO Certified (in progress)
dApp performance (uses C-IPFS for app architecture, and "offline" data usage. also, no more App Store "approval" is needed)
customizable Contacts and Contact Groups
Bill-Pay tool for scheduling recurring payments to one or more Contacts
encrypted/automated backups to C-IPFS
PIN/Pattern/Pocket Security options
eReceipts (actual store receipts saved in pdf form, with the store logo, items purchased, tax info, etc)
100% Open Source Software for security auditing and forking
and native support for 6 different blockchains (Bitshares, Steem, Dash (including InstantSend), Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Litecoin).
The current Smartcoins Wallet on google play has many of the above features already, but this new UI/UX should help organize things a bit better for the non crypto-savvy folks. If Grandma wants to use it, THEN I'm happy. ;)
Carbon can also be white-labeled, so just contact us at:
http://BitShares-Munich.de
Please Upvote/Resteem : let's bring crypto to the masses :)Angel di Maria: Real Madrid have been criticised for selling the winger to Manchester United
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has defended his club's transfer policy after criticism followed the sale of Angel di Maria to Manchester United.
The European champions sold Di Maria to United last month in a £59.7million deal - a British transfer record.
Madrid also sold Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich, much to the disappointment of Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently voiced his discontent and questioned Perez's decisions.
We made the best offer that we could to Di Maria and he didn't accept it. Hence, we brought in James (Rodriguez), one of the best players at the World Cup and the Golden Boot award winner. Florentino Perez
"I know Cristiano Ronaldo very well," Perez said in a press conference on Thursday. "Cristiano is the best player in the world and his loyalty to Madrid is unquestionable.
"I have listened to all the comments he made and as I know him, I know that he never questioned the club.
"My relationship with him is perfect, there are zero discrepancies.
"Cristiano is the best player in the world, it's obvious, and more so this year."
Perez revealed that Di Maria left Real no option but to sell him after the Argentina international had turned down an improved contract following his impressive 2013-14 campaign.
"I've been here since 2000," Perez said. "Since then a lot of players have come and gone and my experience tells me that the ones that leave are always the best and those that arrive are always questioned.
"My first (signing) was (Zinezine) Zidane and the last (before this summer's transfer market) was (Gareth) Bale.
"We made the best offer that we could to Di Maria and he didn't accept it.
"Hence, we brought in James (Rodriguez), one of the best players at the World Cup and the Golden Boot award winner.
"Di Maria and all of those that have left have our gratitude and respect.
"A player that is under contract and leaves is because he wants to.
"Real has always respected contracts.
"Di Maria had financial requests that I considered legitimate but we couldn't satisfy them.
"I reiterate that we made him the best possible offer.
"With the exception of Cristiano (Ronaldo), Di Maria would have been the highest paid at Real Madrid.
"Had we accepted his financial demands it would have created an unbalanced treatment that would have put the club's stability in danger.
"Di Maria left to Manchester for a fee that we considered fair and that is why the transfer was completed.
The La Liga panel think that Real Madrid lack balance without Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria after they were beaten 4-2 away to Real Sociedad. The La Liga panel think that Real Madrid lack balance without Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria after they were beaten 4-2 away to Real Sociedad.
"We wish Di Maria the best professionally and personally."
Perez also spoke of Xabi Alonso's surprising move to Bayern.
"Xabi came to us and told us that he wanted to leave," he said. "He thought it was the best for him and for the club.
"Our relationship with Xabi is excellent and we accepted his proposal.
"Xabi is in the final stages of his sporting career and wants to manage it in this way.
"We understand it and we respect it."
Perez revealed that Real coach Carlo Ancelotti's opinion proved crucial in his club's decision not to sign Colombian star Radamel Falcao this summer.
Falcao was heavily linked with a move to the Bernabeu stadium in the past few months but joined Manchester United on season-long loan from Monaco on Monday instead.
"We considered signing Falcao," Perez said. "But in this club we follow a sporting-economic equation which (former club president Santiago) Bernabeu taught us, and we decided not to do so.
"The coach's opinion was also important in us turning it down."Gun Ownership
08 Jul, 2015
Trends in gun ownership remain difficult to quantify due to a lack of appropriate data. The most widely used source to gauge long-term trends in gun ownership in the US–primarily due to its standardized survey techniques over the last 40 years–is the General Social Survey. GSS asks subjects to self-report an answer to the following question:
Do you happen to have in your home (IF HOUSE: or garage) any guns or revolvers?
The interactive visualizations below depict trends in response to this question (% who own gun) among various demographics. Notably, these data show a growing gap in gun ownership based on ideology and politics, a trend more pronounced at higher income levels (see Figure 2).
Figure 1: Trends in Gun Ownership (GSS 1972-2014)
<a href=’http:&#47;&#47;onpublichealth.org&#47;’><img alt=’1. Difference Dash ‘ src=’https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;Gu&#47;Gun_Ownership_Trend&#47;1_DifferenceDash&#47;1_rss.png’ style=’border: none’ /></a>
Figure 2: Demographic Interactions (pick different demographics for Axis & Color)Early benchmarks reveal that Apple's new dual-core A5 mobile processor may not offer a significantly faster overall experience, at least when it comes to common Web tasks. CNET UK was able to run some JavaScript benchmarks on the iPad 2, and found that original iPad users won't be missing out on much compared to their iPad 2-touting friends, at least as far as Web-browsing performance is concerned.
Before the device's launch, Apple was rumored to be building an improved processor for the iPad 2, dubbed the A5. It was suspected that the A5 would be a two-core design based on ARM's Cortex A9 to be used in many tablets set to launch this year. It was also believed to include an updated graphics processing core capable of improved 3D and video performance.
During last week's media event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the A5 would indeed be a dual-core 1GHz design, allegedly capable of twice the raw compute performance of the A4 processor used in the original iPad as well as the iPhone 4 and fourth-gen iPod touch. The updated graphics core offered an even bigger boost—nine times the performance of the A4. And it could do all that while using the same amount of power of the A4.
We think the A5 is likely not built around Cortex A9 cores, but instead probably uses two the same custom low-power A8 cores used in the A4. If Apple had indeed used two Cortex A9-based cores, raw performance should be more than double that of a single core A8-based design.
This seems to be supported by the SunSpider JavaScript benchmarks run by CNET. Comparing the performance of an iPad 2 and an original iPad running the golden master build of iOS 4.3 released to developers last week, the iPad 2 only performed 1.5 times as fast. That's good news for original iPad users—sticking with that hardware you have now won't leave you with a significant performance disadvantage for general Web use.
CNET's results also suggests that iOS 4.3 could give all compatible iOS devices an extra bit of overall zippiness. An original iPad 2 running iOS 4.2 ran about 2.5x slower than the same device running iOS 4.3.
You can expect higher-performance graphics software to be built as developers get access to the iPad 2 and start experimenting with the A5's significant additional graphics resources. The stated 9x performance boost suggests that not only does the A5 contain an improved graphics core, but it likely has more than one.
Developers will also begin to code iOS apps to take advantage of both CPU cores in the A5—if they haven't already. On the whole, however, trading up to a new iPad won't likely translate to an instantly faster experience to end users for many tasks.
You can be sure we'll perform our usual thorough benchmarking as soon as we can get our hands on shipping hardware this Friday, and we will compare it to the original iPad as well.
In related news, the iPad 2 will also come in two 3G-equipped flavors—one with GSM/HSPA compatible with AT&T (and most carriers around the globe) and CDMA compatible with Verizon. We detailed the new postpaid option that AT&T is adding, which will allow users to consolidate iPad data plan charges on their existing wireless bill, but the plans remain largely unchanged from last year. Verizon will also carry over the same iPad-specific MiFi data plans from its current iPad + MiFi promotion to the CDMA-equipped iPad 2.
AT&T's plans can offer a bit of a savings for those that have light mobile data needs, though the lowest pricing tier in particular has a fairly minuscule data allotment. If you expect to do much video streaming, photo transfer, or other heavy data use away from home or other reliable WiFi, Verizon's plans offer a much better value. However, if you were lucky enough to sign up for (and consistently maintain) the $29.99 unlimited data plan AT&T offered for barely a month, you'll be able to pass that plan to your new iPad 2.
Carrier (US) Plan price Data allotment Cost per GB Overage costs AT&T $14.99 250MB $59.96 $14.99/250MB $25 2GB $12.50 $25/2GB ($10/1GB postpaid) Verizon $20 1GB $20 $20/1GB $35 3GB $11.67 $10/1GB $50 5GB $10 $10/1GB $80 10GB $8 $10/1GB
The Verizon plans do come with an important caveat—unlike using a MiFi (or smartphone equipped with a mobile hotspot feature), you won't be able to share that data allotment with other devices. On the other hand, you won't have to carry around and charge a separate device to use 3G data with an iPad 2. 3G-equipped models also have built-in GPS hardware, unlike the WiFi-only iPads."She wants its 130,000 employees to get over the past, take more initiative, become more fearless and be more frank and impatient with one another to ratchet up performance... 'Terminal niceness,' is how she describes an aspect of Xerox's culture, during her all-hands speech." -Xerox's New Chief Tries to Redefine Its Culture, New York Times, February 20, 2010
These words caught my attention two years ago and I've not forgotten them since. They were written in a profile of Ursula Burns, who'd just taken the helm at Xerox. Something surprised me about her frank assessment and its focus on the cultural hang-ups of the organization rather than the bottom line. What struck me was the dawning of something new, a fresh archetype in business leadership. Quite outside the common portrayal of corporate executives as heroes, visionaries, revolutionaries, mediators, politicians, or crooks... Ms. Burns was radiating qualities I'd ascribe to a bold empath.
In the two years since the publication of the article, the landscape of leadership has changed dramatically and evidence suggests we're just at the beginning of a new paradigm. Talk of fearlessness, the power of love, vision and purpose, David Brooks' class at Yale on humility, John Mackey's Conscious Capitalism, the concept of Creating Shared Value from Harvard... there is a shift underway from the head to the heart.
What's so prescient about Ms. Burns' sentiment -- based on her years of observation as an employee and then executive at the company -- is how it captures the real essence of heart-based leadership. It's a genuine wish for an evolution in the culture to a higher order of being, even if what's required to get there is scary, uncomfortable, and maybe even a little personal. It's tough love.
The bold empath is a character we're all familiar with outside the business world: the demanding guru pushing the student beyond his/her perceived limits, the unflinching sensei, the locker room coach delivering the game-changing speech, a war-time general taking troops into the unknown. Delivered without love, these techniques can be unduly harsh, with it they are the embodiment of the heart's true nature and the key to personal and organizational evolution.
The bold empath brings heart without sentimentality, which should appeal to those more traditional business leaders who are sensing the shift into a heart-based business culture and are concerned it might turn their workforce soft. Quite the contrary. Anyone who's ever done work opening his/her own heart knows it's not for the faint of heart. The heart only opens to those who are worthy of entry and you become worthy through intentional suffering-facing your fears, acknowledging your shame, speaking your truth, and being receptive to the needs of others.
Ms. Burns was right to invoke fearlessness at the outset of this journey towards being a less nice and more effective organization. Fear is the default mode of most adults and the worst impediment to an empowered, creative, purposeful workforce. We hardly recognize fear anymore, we've given it so many faces. Anger is fear. Boredom is fear. Apathy is fear. Depression is fear. Frustration is fear. Most heaviness in the human condition is tied to some aspect of fear. Shed fear and you can fly.Sometimes an idea is so out there that it’s hard to even explain clearly without sounding like a crazy person. Kurrenci is one of those ideas.
Kurrenci is money for the Internet. You “buy” Kurrenci (or earn it through browsing and other interactions) and then you can use it at various locations on the Web, including ecommerce sites, gaming services, and peer-to-peer payments.
Now one of the best things about currency exchange is arbitrage. Here’s where that comes in. Look at the list below. Each of those are exchange rates. But like mini-Pyongyangs, each website is in control of its own exchange rate. Parity can be 1 to 1 to the dollar or Amazon can offer 1.25, essentially offering a considerable discount on everything they sell. Kurrenci takes a small percentage of these “discounts” as payment for customer discovery.
“We came to this by thinking about the problems that currently exist as they relate to money on the Internet. From the merchant’s perspective, it has become increasingly difficult and expensive to acquire a customer. They are forced to resort to marketplaces and affiliates that only move product and don’t bring lasting customers. From the shopper’s perceptive, the coupon and discount mechanisms have become so fragmented that it is overwhelming,” said CEO Nathan Hecht. In other words this is a coupon that applies to everything on a site and, more important, is accepted everywhere on the Internet.
Wild, huh?‘Happy drunk’ accused of trespassing in Stamford
Steven Ballard, 35, of Stamford, giving a thumbs up, was charged with criminal trespass on Wednesday. Steven Ballard, 35, of Stamford, giving a thumbs up, was charged with criminal trespass on Wednesday. Photo: Stamford Police / Contributed Photo: Stamford Police / Contributed Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close ‘Happy drunk’ accused of trespassing in Stamford 1 / 30 Back to Gallery
STAMFORD — A city man police described as a “happy drunk” was charged with trespassing Wednesday after he was twice caught sitting outside a Lockwood Avenue home with 40-ounce bottles of liquor.
Sgt. Chris Weed said officers were first called to the multi-family home about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a man banging on doors and trying to get into apartments.
Officers found Steven Ballard, 35, sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch with two half-empty, 40-ounce Olde English Malt Liquor bottles, Weed said.
Ballard told officers he was waiting for a friend, who was not home at the time, Weed said.
A resident of the house requested police remove Ballard from the property because he was causing a disturbance, Weed said.
But less than 10 minutes later, the resident called police again to report Ballard had returned, Weed said.
Officers found Ballard in the same rocking chair and charged him with criminal trespass. He was held in lieu of a $100 bond.
However, Ballard remained in good spirits as he posed for his mugshot.
“He is a happy drunk,” Weed said.
jnickerson@scni.com;Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into a law a controversial bill that decriminalizes many cases of domestic violence.
RUSSIA SENDS SYRIA ITS LARGEST MISSILE DELIVERY TO DATE, OFFICIALS SAY
The bill concerns assaults that inflict physical pain but do not cause bodily injury that threatens the victim’s health.
It means that the new law makes battery on a family member punishable by a $500 fine or a 15-day prison sentence – so long as they don’t break any bones.
TOP PUTIN CRITIC CONVICTED IN FRAUD RETRIAL, VOWS TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT ANYWAY
Previously, the Russian law carried a maximum jail sentence of two years.
Assaults causing serious injury or repeat offenses within a year would still be criminal offenses and carry potential jail terms.
Supporters of the new bill insist it does not encourage or sanction violence, but instead gives families a chance to reconcile after what the bill’s co-author, Olga Batalina, described as an “emotional conflict, without malice, without grave consequences”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was important to tell the difference between serious violence and “various manifestations of family relations”.
But critics say the new law will make holding abusers accountable even more difficult and put lives at risk.
Politician Yury Sinelshchikov, who opposed the bill, said: “Women don’t often go to the police or the courts regarding their abusive husbands, now there will be even fewer such cases, and the number of murders will increase.”
Maria Mokhova, the executive director of the Sisters crisis center for abuse victims, told Reuters: “This law calls for the exoneration of tyrants in the home.”
Click for more from The Sun.Get the biggest daily 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
With Jamie Roberts joining a high-profile exodus of top international talent out of Wales, Wales' first choice XV is increasingly looking to players based in England or France.
We've put together two completely separate sides, one drawn from the ranks of Wales' top players playing their rugby at home and the other of established stars who have - or are almost certain to - move to play in England's Premiership or France's Top 14.
The exiles:
And here are the Wales-based players they might face:
Who would your winners be? And who else would you put in the sides? Leave your comments below.Beginning in 2013 Obamacare limits the amount of tax free contributions a worker may place in the popular FSA or Flexible Spending Account to $2,500. By limiting the contributions, which reduce taxable income for individuals, additional revenue was raised to fund the health care law. In the process of course, the value of the FSA was reduced and out of pocket medical costs were raised for many Americans.
Many people use these accounts to help pay for medical and dental care above amounts reimbursed by their benefit plans. The high cost of orthodontics and glasses are ideal uses for the FSA.
The main drawback of the FSA is that money placed in the account but not used for medical expenses is forfeited.
In May the IRS released guidance for employer plans on applying the new cap. The unexpected good news is that the Notice (2012-40) says the IRS and Treasury Department are re-examining the long-standing “use it or lose it” rule for health FSAs.
It’s not time to jump for joy however because modifying the use it or lose it provision costs money. This is because it is assumed that more tax-free money will be placed into FSAs. If the rule is modified, it is likely that the amount not forfeited will be limited, perhaps up to $500 which has been proposed in legislation. It would help many Americans if the unused FSA funds could be rolled over from year to year and thus accumulated for health care expenses in retirement.
Even with the new $2,500 limit the FSA is a valuable tool to reduce health care expenses. Unfortunately the account is under used by the people could benefit most. With a little planning the potential forfeiture is not a problem.
If you have an FSA available, you should seriously consider its use during your enrollment period for 2013.A Journey Of Pain And Beauty: On Becoming Transgender In India
Enlarge this image toggle caption Julie McCarthy/NPR Julie McCarthy/NPR
The signs came early that Abhina Aher was different.
Born a boy biologically and given the male name Abhijit, Aher grew up in a middle-class neighborhood of Mumbai, India. The son of a single mother who nurtured a love of dance, Aher would watch enthralled as she performed.
"I used to love to wear the clothes that my mother used to wear — her jewelry, her makeup," Aher, now 37, recalls. "That is something which used to extremely fascinate me."
Draped in a bright sari, gold earrings and painted nails, Aher is, by outward appearance, a female, preferring to be addressed as a woman.
She has undertaken a long and arduous journey, rejecting her biological sex and opting to become a hijra — a member of an ancient transgender community in India, popularly referred to as eunuchs.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Anna Zieminski/AFP/Getty Images Anna Zieminski/AFP/Getty Images
This week, India's Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling for hijras and other transgender Indians, by recognizing a third gender under the law that is neither male nor female. The sweeping decision redefines their rights and the state's obligation to them as one of India's most marginalized groups.
Aher has felt that marginalization from a young age.
With his mother working as a clerk in the state government, Aher was raised by a maid who indulged the fantasies of an only child, including a fascination with a mother's jingling anklets.
"I was mesmerized by that. When I used to be at home, I used to have grand performances, where I'm calling all the neighbors and dancing in front of them and putting up a show exactly replicating what my mother is doing on the stage," Aher remembers. "One fine day, she just found out, and she just got really mad about it. I was asked to sit in front of a god and make a pledge that I will never do that again."
'A Huge Feeling Of Incompleteness'
Things grew more complicated as Aher grew more effeminate and became the object of abuse — dragged into the school library, stripped and taunted by older male students. Aher's teacher was no source of comfort: She declared the tormentors were in the right.
"She categorically said to me, 'Your friends are doing this to you because you are behaving in an extremely feminine way and that's what is an issue,' " Aher says.
To resolve the deepening complexities of the teenager's sexual identity, a psychiatrist prescribed sitting "in a dark room" and taking two Tylenol.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images
"Which we tried for some time — and my mother took me to a lot of those saints and a lot of temples also to make sure that I sort of come back to what I should be," Aher says.
Aher was told to behave more "manly," sever contact with girls who were a feminizing influence and wear male clothing. And Aher obliged so as not to bring "shame" on her mother.
"I had to do that almost for 10 to 15 years. I used to watch myself, how I walk, how I talk, how I behave, how I dress up, just to hide my sexuality, just to fit into the heterosexual world," Aher says. "I finished my education... and I started working as a software engineer. There was a huge feeling of incompleteness all the time — having something wrong with your body all the time, not being able to connect with your soul all the time."
Confused about what was happening, Aher attempted suicide three times — and survived each attempt.
"I could not die," Aher says with a smile. "And that was turning point in life, because I thought that since I did not die, let me try to live now."
The strains with Aher's mother became so serious that while they lived under the same roof, the two did not speak for nine years.
All the while, Aher's desire to change gender was growing.
"My urge to become a woman was getting stronger inside me," she says.
Joining The Hijras
A sense of isolation drove Aher into the arms of a guru, or mentor, within a community of like-minded souls known as hijras, who wear saris and make-up and are enshrined in Indian literary epics. Regarded as auspicious, they are invited to bestow blessings at births |
. At day 6 after infection, virus was detected in the brain of 85% (6 of 7) of db/db mice as compared to only 42% (3 of 7) of WT mice. db/db mice (7 of 7, 100%) continued to show significantly increased viral burden when compared to WT mice (5 of 7, 71%) on day 8 after infection, 8.4×10 4 vs. 6×10 3 PFU/g, p<0.05, with increased morbidity and mortality.
Consistent with previous studies [31], no virus was detected in the liver of WT mice at any time point after infection ( Fig. 3E ). Unlike other peripheral organs, virus was also not detected in the liver of db/db mice at any time point with the exception of three db/db mice at days 4 and 6 after infection, suggesting an inability of virus to replicate efficiently in the liver.
Virus replication kinetics observed in the lung was similar to the heart. WNV burden in the lungs was either below the limit of detection or very low in all mice at days 2 and 4 after infection ( Fig. 3D ). While, WNV was detected only in 28% and 42% of WT mice at days 6 and 8 respectively, 85% of db/db mice had high viremia at day 6 (2×10 3 PFU/g) and day 8 (8×10 2 PFU/g) (p<0.05 for both time points) after infection.
WNV was undetectable in the hearts of both WT and db/db mice at days 2 and 4 after infection except one WT mice that was positive at day 4 ( Fig. 3C ). db/db mice developed heart infection beginning day 6 after infection with 85% of db/db mice exhibiting high viremia (8×10 3 PFU/g, p<0.05), which persisted till day 8 (6×10 3 PFU/g, p<0.05) after infection. In comparison, low levels of virus was detected in only 42% and 28% of WT mice at days 6 and 8 after infection, respectively.
The kidney of WT mice is relatively resistant to WNV infection and high levels of virus is usually not detected [22], [23]. As expected, low levels of virus were detected in the kidneys of few WT mice at days 4 (2 of 7) and 6 (3 of 7) after infection ( Fig. 3B ). Nonetheless, significantly high WNV replication was detected in the kidneys of db/db mice at day 4 (2×10 2 PFU/g) and day 6 (4×10 4 PFU/g, p<0.05). However, unlike spleen, there was no clearance phase, as high levels of virus persisted in the kidneys of db/db mice at day 8 after infection; 2×10 4 PFU/g, p<0.05.
Consistent with the earlier studies [22], [23], WNV was detected in the spleen of 1 of 7 WT mice at day 2 after infection ( Fig. 3A ). In contrast, 67% (4 of 7) of db/db mice had measurable virus titers (6×10 2 PFU/g) at day 2 after infection. By day 4, which corresponds to the peak of WNV infection in spleen, significantly higher virus titer was observed in db/db mice when compared to the WT mice; 4×10 4 vs. 8×10 2 PFU/g, p<0.05. While WNV was cleared from the spleen of 4 of 7 WT mice at day 6 after infection, an elevated virus titer of 8×10 3 PFU/g was detected in the db/db mice. The virus was cleared from all WT mice by day 8 after infection, however, in 2 of 7 db/db mice 8×10 2 PFU/g of virus was detected.
Nine-week old male WT and db/db mice were inoculated subcutaneously with 10 PFU of WNV, and the peripheral tissues and brains were harvested at days 2, 4, 6, and 8 after infection. Viral loads in the peripheral organs and brain were measured as noted in the figure by plaque assay using Vero cells and is reported as PFU per gram of tissue. Each data point represents an individual mouse, and data from two independent experiments are depicted. Data points below the horizontal dotted line are negative. The solid horizontal line signifies the median of seven mice per group. *p<0.05.
The WNV replication kinetics in the serum of WT and db/db mice as measured by plaque assay demonstrated higher and more prolonged viremia in db/db mice. Virus titer was similar in WT and db/db mice at day 2 after infection (2×10 3 PFU/mL), however at day 4 after infection, the virus titer in db/db mice was two logs higher than the WT mice, 2×10 5 vs. 1.5×10 3 PFU/mL, p<0.001 ( Fig. 2C ). At day 6 after infection, WNV levels decreased in WT mice, however it remained significantly high in db/db mice (1.1×10 3 PFU/mL, p<0.001), suggesting sustained replication or delay in clearance of WNV from the periphery. The virus was cleared from the periphery of all db/db mice by day 8 after infection.
(A) Nine-week old male WT and db/db mice were inoculated subcutaneously with 10 PFU of WNV. All mice were observed for 21 days. Data are combined of two independent studies (n = 38 per group). The survival difference between WT and db/db mice was statistically significant. All surviving animals were positive for anti-WNV IgG antibodies. (B) Animals were monitored for clinical scores twice a day. The designation for the clinical scores is as follows: 1, ruffled fur/hunched back; 2, paresis/difficulty walking; 3, paralysis; 4, moribund/euthanized; and 5, dead. Error bars represent SEM. (C) The kinetics and levels of WNV were determined in the serum of the WT and db/db mice after WNV infection at indicated time-points by plaque assay. The data are expressed as PFU/mL of serum. Each data point represents an individual mouse, and data from two independent experiments are depicted. Data points below the horizontal dotted line are negative. *p<0.05, **p<0.001, ***p<0.0001.
To investigate the effect of diabetes on WNV pathogenesis, we evaluated the morbidity and mortality of WT and db/db mice after infection with PBS (mock) or 10 PFU of WNV. PBS inoculated mice remained healthy throughout the observation period of 21 days, whereas db/db mice were more susceptible to WNV disease and displayed significantly higher mortality rate as compared to WT mice, 92% vs. 37%, p<0.0001 ( Fig. 2A ). At day 21 after infection all surviving animals were confirmed to be positive for WNV IgG antibodies. As depicted in Fig. 2B, both db/db and WT mice demonstrated clinical evidence of infection characterized by ruffled fur and hunchbacked posture, however, neurological symptoms such as paresis, hind limb paralysis, tremors and ataxic gait were more severe in db/db mice and was observed in all the infected db/db mice as compared to approximately 50% of the WT mice.
db/db mice, a well defined type 2 diabetes mouse model with mutations in the leptin receptor gene was used to characterize the relationship between diabetes and WNV disease severity [30]. db/db mice are the most commonly used model to study the effect of diabetes on various viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases [4] – [6]. As expected db/db mice had significantly high body weight as compared to WT controls, 41.4±5.3 vs. 24.3±2.4 g, p<0.0001 ( Fig. 1A ). db/db mice were glucose intolerant as measured by intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IGTT) and the blood glucose levels were significantly higher (p<0.0001 for all time points) than those of WT mice ( Fig. 1B ).
Discussion
Type 2 diabetes is associated with an impaired immune response and increased susceptibility to various pathogens [3], [7]. However, studies examining the effects of diabetes on the immune response to viral infections are limited. To our knowledge, this is the first report characterizing the effect of diabetes on WNV infection and associated immune responses in a mouse model. In this study we demonstrate that WNV-infected db/db mice display high virus titers, increased tissue tropism, and high mortality rates in comparison to WT mice. These observations were associated with a significant delay in the induction of antiviral immune responses and increase in the pro-inflammatory responses in the db/db mice.
Diabetes enhanced WNV replication, dissemination, and mortality In db/db mice decreased survival rate was accompanied with increased and sustained WNV replication in the serum, peripheral tissues and brain. As compared to WT mice, db/db mice exhibited elevated levels of virus titers in the serum, which persisted until day 6 after infection and correlated with increased tissue tropism (Fig. 2C). While the spleen was the only peripheral organ with significant WNV infection in WT mice, db/db mice displayed significant virus replication in other peripheral tissues such as kidney, heart, and lung (Fig. 3). Similar to the periphery, there was enhanced virus replication in the brain of db/db mice leading to increased mortality. However, virus was not detected in the brain of surviving WT and db/db mice by plaque assay at day 21 after infection. Several studies provide a link between diabetes and increased disease severity associated with multiple bacterial and parasitic pathogens. Infection of db/db mice with Staphylococcus aureus resulted in a prolonged infection with robust inflammatory response [5]. Similarly, infection with Listeria monocytogenes and Trypanosoma cruzi led to increased mortality and suppressed pathogen clearance in db/db mice [4], [6]. However, studies of virus infections in experimental diabetic models is limited except for coxsackievirus in which db/db mice displayed greater susceptibility to infection [32]. Our results suggest that in addition to multiple bacterial and parasitic pathogens, WNV infection also enhances disease severity among diabetics.
WNV can efficiently replicate in adipose tissues of db/db mice Little attention has been given to the role of adipose tissue in infectious diseases. Adipose tissue plays a major role in inflammation and is known to be a critical player in the pathogenesis of several infectious diseases [33]. The adipocyte can be a direct target for a number of pathogens and their products. Several viruses such as cytomegalovirus, adenoviruses-2 and -36, and Rous sarcoma virus, are able to infect adipocytes in vitro and induce an inflammatory response [34]. Subtypes of adenoviruses can persistently infect adipocytes and induce obesity [35]. Furthermore, adipose tissue also serves as a reservoir for recrudescent disease caused by infections with Rickettesiae prowazekii and Trypanosoma cruzi [36], [37]. Published data suggest that WNV, not only causes acute disease, but also can persist long term in humans [38] and animal models [39]. Persistence of WNV has been observed in various organs such as skin, kidney, brain and lymphoid tissues [39]. Herein, we demonstrate high levels of WNV in the adipose tissue of db/db mice (Fig. 4) suggesting that adipose tissues can also serve as a principal site for WNV replication and persistence in diabetics. Moreover, the production of inflammatory cytokines from WNV-infected adipose tissue may play a significant role in host defense mechanisms during WNV infection.
WNV-specific immune responses are severely impaired and delayed in db/db mice Robust induction of antiviral immune responses is critical for the control of WNV infection [40]. IFN-α is rapidly produced following WNV infection and is critical for controlling virus replication, and restricting tissue tropism [22]. We observed a robust increase in the levels of IFN-α in the serum and brain of WT mice, which correlated with virus clearance. In comparison, there was a significant delay in the induction of IFN-α response in the serum and brain of the db/db mice (Fig. 6). IFN-α levels were not detected in the serum of db/db mice until day 6 after infection. It is important to note that virus titers were higher in the serum of db/db mice until day 6 after infection, suggesting that type 1 IFN response is defective in db/db mice and might be responsible for delayed virus clearance in db/db mice. Similar to IFN-α response, previous studies have linked reduced WNV-specific antibody responses early during the course of infection with higher viremia, early spread to the CNS, and increased mortality [23], [24]. Similarly, we observed significantly delayed production of WNV-specific IgM and IgG antibodies in db/db mice when compared to WT mice (Fig. 5). This may be due to the delayed production of IFN-α, as type I IFN has been reported to enhance humoral immune responses by stimulating dendritic cells [41] as well as directly affecting B cells [42], [43]. Purtha et al. has also demonstrated that early B-cell activation after WNV infection requires α/β interferon [42]. Although, the impaired immune responses such as leukocyte activation, and cytokines and chemokines production have been characterized in diabetes models [3], [7], [8], the effect of diabetes on Type 1 IFN response have so far not been reported. This is the first report demonstrating the effect of diabetes on suppressing key antiviral defense responses such as those elicited by IFN-α, and IgM and IgG antibodies. However, Smith et al. have previously reported attenuated Type 1 IFN response in a related diet-induced obesity model upon infection with Influenza virus [44]. This finding also has significant implications on vaccine strategies for WNV in an increasingly diabetic population.Sunita Tomar passed away on April 1 in Mumbai.
Though Sunita Tomar was the face of India’s anti-tobacco campaign, the central government on its own did not give her any monetary assistance for treatment, her family has claimed days after she died in penury at a hospital in Gwalior.
Advertising
“We didn’t get even one rupee from the central government. What she got was just a ‘shreefal’ from the then Health Minister Harshvardhan when she was felicitated for her fight, determination and campaign against cancer in August 2014,” Sunita’s 35-year-old husband Brijendra Singh Tomar told PTI on phone from his home district Bhind in Madhya Pradesh.
[related-post]
“I was hopeful when she was roped in for anti-tobacco campaign in a video that some help from the Centre will trickle in for her. People around us comforted us that the central government might help us in distress but it didn’t happen,” he said.
However, he said the family had never asked for any help from the government.
Advertising
Brijendra, who is a driver, said that he has to repay around Rs 3.50 lakh loan which he had taken from people for her wife’s treatment at different hospitals. He also said that he was finding it difficult to bring up his two children Dhruv (13) and Gandharv (10).
He said that when Sunita’s health deteriorated, they rushed her to a hospital in Bhind on March 31 from where she was referred to Jayarogya hospital around midnight.
Sunita, 30, was then admitted to Jairogya hospital in Gwalior where she died in an hour or so at around 3.30 AM on April 1.
Sunita had undergone a surgery for oral cancer at Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital in July 2013, but the dreaded disease relapsed killing her.
She had shared her experience in a video, which was used by the central government for its anti-tobacco drive to warn people against consumption of smokeless gutkha and pan masalas.
A few days before her death, Sunita had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing deep disappointment at BJP MP Dilip Gandhi’s statement in his capacity as chairman of Lok Sabha’s Committee of Subordinate Legislations that there was no Indian study to confirm that tobacco use leads to cancer.
“Recently Dilip Gandhi, chairman of a parliamentary panel wrote to the Health Ministry asking for the notification on bigger tobacco pack warnings to be kept in abeyance. I was shocked that people in such high posts can be so irresponsible.
Advertising
“Bigger warnings can probably save some innocent lives like mine. You have started to take people along in your ‘Mann Ki Baat’ where you recently talked about de-addiction. I hope you will also take up the cause of tobacco,” Sunita had written in the letter.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The EU and US are Russia's biggest trading partners
Switzerland's economy failed to grow in the second quarter of the year, according to the country's State Secretariat for Economics.
The much weaker-than-expected figure came after exports were affected by weakness in the rest of Europe and construction spending fell.
The zero growth in the quarter was the weakest performance for two years.
Compared with a year earlier gross domestic product (GDP) was 0.6% higher, well below forecasts of 1.7%.
"For us it's really below expectations. We expected a bit more growth," said Maxime Botteron from Credit Suisse.
"The trend in exports is not a big surprise. Trade data so far already pointed to a rather weak contribution of exports. What is a bit more surprising is the weak investment spending, especially in the construction sector."
At the weekend, the chairman of the Swiss National Bank, Thomas Jordan, said that macroeconomic and geopolitical risks may lead to the bank cutting growth forecasts.
Figures released last month showed that the eurozone - a key export market for Switzerland - recorded zero growth in the second quarter of the year.
The lack of growth has raised the pressure on the European Central Bank - which holds its latest meeting on Thursday - to take measures to stimulate the eurozone.Henry Docter, 52, of NW, D.C., is photographed next to the Morning Glories he planted at the Dupont Metro North Station on June 21, 2013 in Washington, D.C. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
It turns out I underestimated Metro bureaucrats’ capacity for folly.
Two weeks ago, I wrote that the transit system would look silly if it let perish 1,000 flowers planted secretly at the Dupont Circle station by local garden artist Henry Docter, the self-described Phantom Planter.
I feared that Metro would merely neglect the flowers. Instead, last Sunday, it sent workmen to yank them out.
The transit system regularly pleads poverty, yet employees devoted supposedly valuable time to remove more than 1,000 morning glories, cardinal flowers and cypress vines that Docter donated to the city — albeit without permission. The plants would have bloomed from August to October in a patriotic display of red, white and blue.
Instead of greenery today and colors to come, the 176 flower boxes along the top stretch of the escalators at the station’s north entrance now feature dirt, a few straggling stems and the occasional discarded soda can.
Docter, known as “The Phantom Planter” had taken it upon himself to plant Morning Glories, Cardinal Flowers, and Cypress Vines on Metro property at the Dupont Metro North Station. He was told that he would be arrested if he watered or tended to them in any way. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Posy)
“It never occurred to me that Metro would think it was more efficient to rip out the plants than to let someone water them,” Docter said.
Metro tore out the foliage without waiting to solicit the neighborhood’s opinion, as it said it had planned to do.
“We want to meet with the community and see what the community would like. We will move forward with their wishes, as long as they are reasonable, sustainable and safe,” Michael McBride, manager of Metro’s Art in Transit Program, said June 21.
No meetings have taken place since then. Local leaders were aghast that Metro ignored their wishes for a compromise to keep the flowers in place.
“They paid people to tear out plants that everyone loves? Well, this is cause for insurrection. Talk about fixing something that’s not broken,” said Robin Diener, a member of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association board of directors.
“The guy was trying to be a really good guy, and Metro got really uptight,” said Dail Doucette, president of the Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets board of directors. “They [at Metro] don’t want to be involved. They don’t care about our neighborhood.”
(McBride met June 12 with an intern from Doucette’s group, but there was no follow-up.)
Docter, 52, has engaged in stealth gardening in public places for more than three decades. He describes his work as performance art.
He went public about it for the first time last month after Metro formally threatened him with imprisonment if he watered, weeded or otherwise cared for the flowers he’d planted.
Metro said it was concerned that Docter could not safely negotiate the steep, cobblestoned inclines in which the Dupont Circle flower boxes are set. A Web petition defending him has attracted more than 3,600 signatures.
According to the official explanation Friday, Metro removed the flowers because it needs to repair the paver blocks on the embankment.
Spokeswoman Caroline Lukas said that work had been “scheduled prior to the unauthorized planting of flowers.” When it’s complete, she said, Metro will plan “a low-maintenance ground cover.”
I’m skeptical. Such a need for repairs wasn’t mentioned in my extended June interview with McBride and Metro spokesman Dan Stessel.
I asked Lukas why we were suddenly hearing about the repair plan now. She said she assumed McBride and Stessel were coming at the issue from the perspective of McBride’s art outreach efforts, whereas the maintenance office was handling the repair and replanting project.
At best, that sounds like one part of the bureaucracy doesn’t know what another part is up to.
Lukas also said the flowers were removed after they had wilted. Docter said that was impossible to believe, given our recent weather.
“Rain would make them not wilt, and all we’ve had is rain,” he said.
More than two inches of rain were recorded at Reagan National Airport in the 48 hours preceding last Sunday, the day Metro said it removed the flowers. Total rainfall this June was more than double the monthly average.
Despite what he called Metro’s double talk, the Phantom Planter was philosophical about his setback.
“The fact is, not all performance pieces end in comedy,” Docter said. “The flowers have been uprooted, but the memory of the gift remains in our brain, and that’s something that no bureaucrat... can ever take away.”
For previous Robert McCartney columns, go to washingtonpost.com/mccartney.SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said on Thursday that it would restart talks with Japan about a military intelligence-sharing pact, four years after a similar agreement was canceled in the face of a domestic furor.
Officials at the Defense Ministry said in a news briefing on Thursday that such an agreement would allow South Korea to better address the growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. The South hopes to sign a deal by the end of the year, the officials said.
The United States has also pressed Japan and South Korea, its allies, to increase military cooperation so that the three countries could more effectively work together to monitor and confront the military threats from the North. Senior officials from all three countries met in Tokyo on Thursday to discuss ways of increasing pressure on North Korea.
But South Koreans remain wary of cooperating too closely with Japan, especially given its relatively nationalist administration under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which some say has tried to glorify Japan’s brutal colonial rule of Korea in the early 20th century.UPDATE: The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has now backed away from its previously published traffic counts for the Alaskan Way Viaduct!! The agency now says that it has no idea how many vehicles used the Viaduct in 2012. See our update on Viaduct traffic data—and be advised that this post, and particularly the chart below, are based in part on data that SDOT no longer supports.
Last week, I wrote about the surprising (and largely unheralded) decline in vehicle traffic on Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct in 2012. That’s when the state demolished the south end of the structure, shunting vehicles through a set of hairpin turns that can back up traffic, particularly during rush hour. Because of the delays, many drivers now avoid the route. Yet surprisingly little of the traffic that “disappeared” from the Viaduct moved to parallel routes. City streets near the Viaduct saw a slight uptick in traffic. So did I-5. But on the whole, traffic through downtown declined by a whopping 8 percent after Viaduct construction began—meaning that between 2010 and 2012, about 1 trip out of 12 vanished. But perhaps just as surprisingly, the declines of 2012 merely accelerated a longstanding trend. According to data from the Washington and Seattle departments of transportation, traffic through downtown Seattle actually peaked all the way back in 1998 and has declined steadily since then.
Just to be clear, traffic volumes don’t necessarily correspond to congestion, or to the frustration people experience in heavy traffic. A lot of folks still slog through rush hour traffic in Seattle; many have little choice. And lots of Viaduct commuters are no doubt annoyed by rush hour delays. (A number of them commented on my last post!) But when weighing the relative importance of the Viaduct, it’s worth keeping the numbers in perspective. A highway lane can carry at most 2,000 cars per hour. With the tight curves at both the north and south ends slowing down traffic, the Viaduct may now carry no more than 1,500 cars, and possibly fewer. With 4 lanes of traffic through the curves, this suggests that the Viaduct may now carry no more than 6,000 peak-hour round trips. Those are important trips, to be sure. Some of them are very important, and many of them will be difficult to service with transit. Still, it seems a particularly relevant number to keep in mind when evaluating a project that’s costing the state $4.2 billion.Ed Miliband is failing to repeat Tony Blair's success in winning over former Tory voters and will have to rely on people returning to Labour as well as ex-Lib Dem converts to win a majority, a new polling analysis suggests.
Research by the New Fabian Society finds just 400,000 voters have moved from Conservatives to Labour since the last election which, if unchanged on polling day, would mean Labour had made only tiny inroads into Tory heartlands. The Fabians' investigations – after a week in which proposed boundary changes, which would have benefited the Tories by around 20 seats in 2015, were defeated – will alarm those in the party who believe Labour is still not doing enough to attract potential Conservative defectors. The study makes clear that, if apathy were to set in among 2010 non-voters who say they intend to back Labour again, Miliband will struggle to win an overall majority.
Blair set out from the start of his leadership to woo disaffected Tories with his "New Labour" branding and constant message that being pro-business complemented, rather than conflicted with, Labour values. The result was a mass movement of Tories to Labour and a landslide victory.
Miliband, who won the Labour leadership with a large chunk of union votes, is seen by some Blairites in his party as pitching his case more to those on the left than Blair. The Tories have targeted him as "Red Ed" and in the pocket of the unions.
The research was based on months of detailed analysis of a YouGov poll that charted new ground by looking at the voting intentions of people who did not vote in 2010. It found that an estimated 1.4 million people who did not vote at the last election now say that they intend to vote Labour. This has helped increase Labour's rating in the polls by around 5% and could represent around another 40 seats.
Many of these 2010 "no-showers", the study says, are likely to be former Labour voters who became disillusioned with the party in its latter years in office. It also deduces that Labour has won over some 2.3 million voters who chose the Lib Dems in 2010. If current levels of ex-Labour support and the Lib Dem deserters do not drift away or decide not to vote, Labour would have enough to put Miliband in Downing Street.
Andrew Harrop, the Fabians' general secretary and author of the study, says that, with few Tories showing signs of moving directly to Labour, the key for Miliband could be whether he can motivate 2010 Labour "no-showers" to turn up on polling day. Harrop calls for a huge effort by Labour to invigorate grassroots voters similar to the Obama campaign that secured victory for the Democrats in the US last year. "Ed Miliband is not Tony Blair and he'll need to win power in his own way. Blair's success was based on winning over disillusioned ex-Tories who are so far resisting Miliband's appeal," said Harrop.
"Instead Ed has won the backing of people who had given up on voting as well as former Lib Dems. The Fabian research shows that together there are enough of them for Labour to win a majority. The challenge for Labour is to turn this mid-term support into votes in 2015. This will take a huge organisational effort, with strong parallels to the Obama campaign's efforts to mobilise sympathetic voters."Borussia Monchengladbach are back on the rise going from a league average Bundesliga side just a few years ago to comfortably qualifying for the Champions League and pushing for 2nd this season. They have rebounded from losing Reus, Dante, Neustadter and others after their great 2011-2012 season and climbed back toward the top of the league. There is something strange about Gladbach though, and you see it when you compare their shot numbers to Wolfsburg, who have a had a similar run.
Gladbach Points Rate
Gladbach TSR
The Foals haven’t neared 50% TSR (total shot rate, team shots/total shots in game) meaning they are repeatedly being outshot by their opponents. This is not how a Champions League team plays, in fact no team in a top 5 league currently in a UCL spot has a TSR of 50% much less Gladbach’s 45%.
So how can we explain Gladbach’s great season, which has them in 3rd place with the 3rd best goal difference?
It doesn’t have much to do with distance, they don’t take closer shots than the average Bundesliga team: 11th in close shot %, 12th in average distance. Defensively they do allow a tough shot:
Even with distance accounted for, we can’t explain Gladbach’s numbers. Take a look at this chart of last 3 years in the Bundesliga, it shows teams who have outperformed their expected goal* total on the offensive side:
*Expected goals is a model that factors in shot location, body part and game state to give a number showing how many goals that shot is typically worth.
This year, the Foals are in the middle of the pack but the previous two seasons they put up the 2 largest over-performances of the 54 seasons I have data for.
On defense, it’s a similar story:
Gladbach have the 2 largest under-performances of expected goals in the past 3 seasons. They have come this season and last season, with the 2012 year above middle of the pack.
Combining those two numbers we see that Gladbach have had 3 of the 4 top seasons where the goal percentage outpaces the expected goal percentage
How do they do this? Expected goals might be missing something, Gladbach could be the luckiest team in Europe or a combination of the two. Let’s look at the luck factor first.
Over the past 3 seasons Gladbach has a expG%/actual goal% ratio of 1.20. Here is the list of individual seasons across the top 5 leagues that reach that level of outperformance:
Sunderland 2012/2013 (1.23)
Man City 2010/2011 (1.21)
Levante 2013/14 (1.30)
None in France or Italy
So Gladbach’s 3-year average “outperformance” was equaled only 3 times in the other 331 single seasons I have in my database. When other teams are reaching your 3-year level approximately 1% of the time over a single year, I feel confident saying there must be more going on than just blind luck.
What factors are there that could lead Gladbach to perform so much better than their shot location data suggests?
DEFENSE
We see here that Gladbach are great at most per-shot defensive metrics. The distance is accounted for directly in the expected goals model and the others are regressed but still accounted for in part. Blocking shots, keeping balls off target and a low G/SOT have varying R squared values around between.3-.5 and go into the model but as we saw, Gladbach blow past the model each season. Do the Foals and Lucien Favre (manager since 2011) have a strategy or tactic that gives them more control over opponents rates than I expect and less left up to luck? Let’s take a look at the passing stats to see if they are doing something special there.
The first thing you notice as you peruse the pass numbers is Gladbach do not bother the opponents very much. They have allowed the 3rd, 1st, and 4th most completions per game and top 3 completion % against in each of the last 3 years.
At first glance, this ease of passing is distributed over the entire field. They have been the easiest team for opponents to pass against in all three thirds of the field (own, middle, attacking) in each of the past two seasons. The only exception is Koln has been easier to pass against in the midfield this season. This seems to imply Gladbach are putting zero pressure on the ball and simply sitting back.
These numbers don’t really show them ever pressuring the opposition, even as they move into the final third. We need to look deeper to find Gladbach’s defenders.
Within the final third, we see it gets harder and harder to complete a pass as you move toward Gladbach’s goal. This following graph is using a z-score, so a 0 is comparable to league average in each area. You can see that the Foals go from nearly 2 standard deviations easier to pass against to about.7 standard deviations on the tough side as opponents close in on goal. We finally find the Gladbach defense: they are packed in close protecting their goal.
This packed-in defense also stops intrabox passes (passes that start in the box and end in the box):
No team is harder to complete that extra pass inside the box against than Gladbach. Michael Caley in his ESPN piece wrote about how “extra-pass” shots can be scored at a higher rate: http://www.espnfc.com/blog/tactics-and-analysis/67/post/2427824/barcelona-arsenal-attacks-excel-due-to-danger-zone-passing. This makes sense as someone playing a shot immediately after a pass is generally going to have more space as the defense wasn’t closely marking him or paying full attention to him just seconds earlier giving him more of a window to get a shot off. Thus intra-box pass completion rate, block rate and pass completion rate close to the goal is likely the closest proxy we have to defensive pressure on shooters which is the biggest weakness of most current (mine included) expected goal models. Gladbach rate near the top of the league in all three of those categories, which means that all those shots they allow are harder than we’d expect on first glance.
Example pulled from one game (not claiming this is representative at all, it’s just one example)
Dortmund win the ball back from a Gladbach attack and look to have some space on the counter with 2 on 3 at the worst and maybe a 2-on-2 with pace:
Gladbach’s entire team sprints back full-speed to set up and stop the counter
a few seconds later, they set up their typical defense:
You can see all 10 men behind the ball in their own third. Dortmund wind up completing a lot of passes but none of any danger as they pass the ball around out of the reach of the Gladbach block before trying a speculative ball over the top. Lucien Favre has gotten his entire team to buy into getting back and defending in deep areas (6 different players are in the top 32 in blocking shots) in what seems to be a very effective system.
OFFENSE
Offensively Gladbach are a very deliberate team. In the 2013-14 season they had the lowest attack/own third ratio of any team in the Bundesliga. They spend more time passing the ball in their own third than any other team. That’s not where you usually see good teams:
This slow, deliberate pace allows them to complete a huge % of their passes and complete more passes per game than everyone shy of Bayern the past two seasons.
In total these past 3 years their offense has outscored significantly what we’d expect from their shot numbers alone. Let’s take a look at their metrics:
They take shots from way out yet routinely rack up good goal/SOT and SOT% numbers. Let’s see how they do this.
Counters?
Probably not. It makes intuitive sense that a team that sits so deep might break at pace on the counter and create some clean looks at goal but the numbers don’t really bear this out. WhoScored.com credits Gladbach with six counter goals this season (in a 5 way tie for 4th), but only two last year (t-14th) and three in 2012-13 ( |
said he hoped he would be among those invited, so he could talk to the president about the challenges facing Kenya’s youth, a subject close to both their hearts.
T-shirts for sale in Kibera (AFP)
Mr Obama set up the Young African Leaders Initiative in 2010. His brother runs a foundation supporting children from impoverished backgrounds in the run-down town of Huruma on the outskirts of Nairobi.
“Some of our children don’t have school uniforms, others don’t have school fees, basic stuff, books and so on, that’s what we try and organise for them to the best of our ability so they can have an education,” he said.
“The children are the future of the country. We try to show them the right way so that when it’s their time to take over, they make it better.
“So we do a similar thing. It’s just on a different scale.”
Nairobi has gone into security lockdown ahead of Mr Obama’s arrival tonight, with roads closed and police and soldiers on virtually every street corner.
A woman poses as she walks from the market near the ancestral home of President Obama in Nyangoma village, Kogelo (Reuters)
The city has also been festooned with American and Kenyan flags, billboards welcoming the US president “home” and murals of his famous face on the sides of buildings. Nairobi’s governor has even optimistically planted fresh grass seed in pavements of red mud.
Mr Obama said dismissed the measures as “cosmetic”. “It’s a smokescreen. They are just pleasing him. When he goes it’s just going to return to normal. We are living a lie. When he is gone, who’s going to take care of it?” he said.Coming Soon
The I-Land
In this sci-fi adventure series, ten people wake up on a treacherous island with no memory and soon discover this world is not as it seems.
Delhi Crime
Based on true events, this dramatized series follows the police investigation of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. Starring Shefali Shah and Adil Hussain.
SAINT SEIYA: Knights of the Zodiac
Seiya and the Knights of the Zodiac vow to protect the reincarnated Greek goddess Athena in her battle against evil forces bent on destroying humanity.
TRESE
When the cops are stumped, Alexandra Trese is there to protect Manila from threats of the supernatural kind. Based on the award-winning Filipino comic.
Juanita
Burdened by troubles in life and love, a mother of three grown children searches for hope and healing on an impromptu trip to Paper Moon, Montana.
Elisa & Marcela
In 1901 in Galicia, Spain, Elisa Sánchez Loriga adopts a male identity in order to marry another woman, Marcela Gracia Ibeas. Based on true events.
Gentefied
Three Latinx cousins navigate their differences as they work to keep their grandfather's taco shop afloat in their rapidly gentrifying L.A. neighborhood.
Rudy Ray Moore
When Hollywood shut him out in the 1970s, multi-talented Rudy Ray Moore created his own work, including the well-known blaxploitation film, "Dolemite."The supply of new homes in Ireland may be up to 75 per cent less than the official figures suggest, a leading housing expert has claimed.
Lorcan Sirr from the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) said while 12,666 new homes were completed last year the State’s housing stock, as measured by the Central Statistics Office, only increased by 6,282.
The anomaly is explained by the number of existing homes becoming derelict or being taken over for reconstruction, he told the annual policy conference of the Dublin Economics Workshop in Wexford last night.
Dr Sirr also highlighted that the official completion figures were calculated using ESB connection data, which is prone to a 20 per cent margin of error, meaning the real increase in the State’s housing stock may have been as low as 3,738 in 2015.
This is barely 15 per cent of 25,000 needed to meet supply and may explain why the current housing crisis has become so acute.
“Even though we think we’re building a certain number of houses we’re actually only adding a fraction of this amount to the existing housing stock,” he said.
“This is because we’re not managing our existing supply well, and we’re letting a lot of them fall into dereliction.”
In his address, Dr Sirr assessed the causes of demand in the Irish market, which he claimed was rarely examined with any rigour.
He noted that changing family structures with people staying single longer and more people getting divorced were driving a lot of the new demand.
The solution
“When we talk about supply being the solution we need to understand what causes the demand in the first place,” he said.
Also addressing the conference David Dumigan of US property investment firm Hines said Ireland’s housing crisis would not be resolved until the costs of construction came down.
He said his firm had calculated that construction costs here were on average 35 per cent higher than in other European countries. This acted as a barrier to building houses and undermined the viability of “big volume apartment developments”, which he said described as “the big weapon” in tackling the current crisis.
Hines is currently developing 400 acres on Cherrywood site in south Dublin with planning approved for 3,000 apartments and 1,200 houses, making it one of the biggest housing projects in the State.
Mr Dumigan said without the recent changes to the building guidelines, allowing for smaller apartment sizes, the project would not have been viable.
Jason Cronin from project management firm Virtus, said strict planning codes as well as an elitist planning standards were the cause of high costs here.The era feels impossible now, in a Russia that's increasingly closed, controlled and paranoid: Crowds dancing as buskers played world beats in a muddy field outside the governor's office. A government-supported contemporary art gallery displaying exhibits daringly mocking of the Kremlin. An independently run museum that kept alive memories of the gulag and held an annual festival of opposition politics, on premises that warned against the dangers of totalitarianism.
For several years, Perm – a city of brutal Soviet architecture that is home to just under a million people – was an anomaly in this country, a special political space. While the Kremlin was crushing opposition parties and the last independent media elsewhere, in Perm artists were encouraged to experiment, journalists could criticize, and visitors might think they were in Western Europe, rather than middle Russia.
Project Perm, as it became known, was the brainchild of a reformist regional governor and an art curator cum political strategist who had played a role in Vladimir Putin's rise to power, something he has come to rue. Together – and with the tacit support of Dmitry Medvedev, who swapped jobs with Mr. Putin and served as president between 2008 and 2012 – they decided to build a showcase of how a different Russia might look, an alternative to the throwback authoritarianism on the rise in Moscow.
Story continues below advertisement
And they succeeded – for a while.
At Perm’s museum of modern art, signs point out the distances to other modern art museums around the globe.
Perm's summers were transformed by the launch of the month-long White Nights festival, named for the endless summer evenings here on the plains just west of the Ural Mountains. Some years, as many as a million visitors were drawn to its mix of street art, theatre and live music. Each June, musicians and graffiti artists, some from as far away Western Europe and Latin America, descended on the city.
The heart of Project Perm was the Museum of Contemporary Art established in the city's disused River Station, a Stalinist hulk of a building where passengers once bought tickets for boat trips along the placid Kama River. Among the provocative works the museum displayed was a blood-red wall, spattered with black paint to look like clouds of smoke, entitled simply Maidan – a reference to the central square in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, where the pro-Western protest that was to overthrow a Russian-backed government had just begun.
The Perm-36 gulag museum – already the only place in Vladimir Putin's Russia where visitors could experience the mix of monotony and terror that was life inside a Soviet labour camp – launched Pilorama (the name means "sawing bench," a reference to the woodworking done by inmates), an annual festival featuring opposition politics and folk music.
The media also felt free enough to criticize Oleg Chirkunov, the reformist governor, and even Project Perm itself, although local journalists still knew better than to pay too much attention to national politics.
"The idea was they would allow Perm to become a democratic region. When people would come to Perm, they would see democracy and think: 'All of Russia could be like this,' " says Marat Gelman, the Moscow political scientist and art curator tasked by Mr. Chirkunov in 2008 with turning this little-known city into a renowned cultural centre, akin to Edinburgh or Bilbao. Over the next three years, Mr. Gelman recalls, Perm "made such important steps forward." He dreamed of spreading the model to other cities, of fathering an "artistic perestroika."
Then things started to unravel. Mr. Putin announced at a United Russia party conference in the fall of 2011 that he intended to return to the presidency the following year, and that Mr. Medvedev was stepping aside to clear the path. When anti-Putin protests erupted later that year, Mr. Gelman returned to Moscow to join them.
Story continues below advertisement
But middle Russia wasn't ready for the revolution Mr. Gelman and Mr. Chirkunov wanted to see. The protests foundered, and Mr. Putin won the 2012 election with precisely 63 per cent of the vote, both in Perm and across the country.
One of Mr. Medvedev's last acts in the Kremlin was to accept Mr. Chirkunov's resignation that spring – three years before the governor's term was to end. Project Perm was over.
Soon afterward, funding for White Nights and Pilorama was ended, and this year, the state moved to take control of the management of Perm-36. The new administration – arguing that residents of the city never wanted the avant-garde art and Western-style freedoms that Mr. Chirkunov and Mr. Gelman brought – seems possessed with trying to erase all traces of the brief period when Perm was ruled by liberal ideals.
Gone now are the art installations that mock the state, and the accompanying warnings about the dangers of returning to the Soviet past. In their place are endless billboards celebrating the Second World War victory over Nazi Germany – with scant mention that the country had allies in that fight – as well as the new symbol of pan-Russian nationalism, the orange-and-black St. George's ribbon used by Joseph Stalin to reward the heroes of his wars.
"The moment now is a moment for going back to spiritual and religious traditions, about restoring and renewing Russia's historical code of values," says Igor Gladnyev, the new regional minister of culture, youth policy and mass communication, his voice echoing through the empty café of the city's biggest hotel. "Some would call this conservatism. I would call it common sense."
But Mr. Gelman says the move against Perm is a microcosm of how the state has tightened control over how Russians think about themselves, substituting any desire to be part of Europe and the West with a belief in Russian exceptionalism and an accompanying willingness to stand alone.
Story continues below advertisement
"It's like some kind of conservative cultural revolution," he explains during an interview in Budva, the resort town on Montenegro's Adriatic coast where he now lives. "They are going back to the past, saying everything modern is bad, and everything old is good. In this way, the [Communist] revolution is a good thing, the monarchy was a good thing, and Stalin's labour camps were also good."
A prison cell at Perm-36, now on display at the Museum of the History of Political Repression outside Perm, Russia.
SAME STORY, NEW SCRIPT
Sergey Kovalev still remembers how the cold got into his bones – how guards told prisoners their barracks were warm enough, even as ice coated the inside walls – while he was an inmate in Perm-36, one of the lesser-known spots in the Soviet Union's infamous gulag archipelago.
Now, four decades later, Perm-36 is in the process of forgetting him.
Mr. Kovalev, one of the Soviet Union's more famous dissidents, spent seven years at the labour camp after being arrested in 1975 for publishing a samizdat journal chronicling human-rights abuses. After the Soviet collapse, he was among the founders of Memorial, a group that took over the management of Perm-36 and preserved it as a museum, a lonely testament to the horrors of a system that swallowed millions of citizens.
For 20 years, Perm-36 was simultaneously ignored, tolerated and partly funded by the state. But it was never promoted as an important tourist attraction, and the government never bothered to improve the potholed dirt road from the city to the camp, making the 120-kilometre trip a forbidding 2 1/2 hour journey.
Now the state, which was renting the site to the human-rights activists, has taken charge of the museum (which had already stopped accepting grants from abroad to avoid being labelled a "foreign agent"). These days, Perm-36 is directly controlled by the regional ministry of culture, which seeks to tell a "neutral" story of what happened there, giving the testimony of prison guards equal weight with that of inmates.
The Soviet authorities, visitors are now told, had reasons for doing what they did.
To a first-time visitor, the tour given today at Perm-36 seems thorough enough. The violence and repression of the Stalin era are grimly illustrated with statistics and maps. Nothing is glossed over about the backbreaking work done here, or the claustrophobic isolation cells. For inmates who broke the camp's often-inane regulations, "outdoor time" simply meant being escorted to another small room, this one with barbed wire for a roof.
Only if armed with Mr. Kovalev's recollections can you spot how the story is now told differently. In the new version, the prisoners' cells were warmer, the beds softer and the guards less cruel than Mr. Kovalev remembers.
"Sometimes the prisoners just wanted to find reasons to complain. But in the 1970s and eighties, the conditions were okay," says burly tour guide Sergey Spodin. A former member of the Red Army, he remembers that his unit used to conduct shooting drills outside the barbed wire that surrounded Perm-36, knowing it would scare those inside, whom, they'd been told, were enemies of the state.
And some really were Russia's enemies, Mr. Spodin insists. Perm-36 held members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the militia founded by Stepan Bandera that briefly fought alongside the Nazis, and against the Red Army, during the Second World War. More than 50 years after he was assassinated by the KGB, Mr. Bandera has been resurrected by Kremlin-controlled media as the core reason for Russia's involvement in Ukraine.
Today, his collaboration with the Nazis has been exaggerated to the point that in Russia his name has the same ring as Hitler's. Russia claims it needed to annex the Crimean Peninsula to save residents from Mr. Bandera's modern followers, portrayed as having genocidal intentions toward those who speak Russian rather than Ukrainian. The Kremlin-supported separatist armies of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions say they are fighting for freedom from the "fascist Banderites" who now rule in Kiev.
As Mr. Spodin continues his tour, it becomes clear that Perm-36 was brought under state control not to hide what happened here, but to make sure the story being told fits in with the government's narrative about the war in Ukraine. As in Soviet times, not even a museum is allowed to challenge the official version of the truth.
"What's happening to the museum is the same as what's happening to Perm, is the same as what's happening to the entire country," Mr. Gelman says.
An elderly couple out for an evening stroll in Perm on June, 7, 2015.
KNOWN BY ANOTHER NAME
Perm could have been famous, were it not for the Russian literary tradition of bestowing pseudonyms on cities.
Set in the forest approach to the Urals, which separate Russia's European and Asian halves, the city was founded by Catherine the Great during her 18th-century quest to secure Russia's influence over Siberia. Perm has been identified as the "uncultured and behind-the-times" town that playwright Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters are desperate to escape, and novelist Boris Pasternak set part of his Nobel-winning Dr. Zhivago here, although he called it Yuriatin.
During the Cold War, Perm sank deeper into anonymity as one of the Soviet Union's closed cities. Its Motovilikha artillery plant and Aviadvigatel aircraft-engine factory were deemed too sensitive for foreign eyes, and tourists came only after the Iron Curtain fell.
Today, the city is still the industrial heart of central Russia, although a rusting one. The Motovilikha and Aviadvigatel plants remain, but don't employ as many people. Part of the slack has been taken up by the oil and gas industry, but the city feels mired in stagnation. A construction crane is a head-turning sight.
Critics say Mr. Chirkunov and Mr. Gelman, neither of whom had lived in Perm, failed to grasp the region's essentially conservative and working-class nature. Locals wanted culture that was connected to their lives, not high-brow installations that mocked institutions they respected, such as the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Nikolai Novichkov worked as Mr. Chirkunov's chief of staff, and then as the region's deputy minister of culture, during the time of Project Perm. He was a supporter, until Mr. Gelman refused any censorship of an exhibit mocking the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The show included a poster showing five nooses hanging in the shape of the Olympic rings, and another depicting a snarling Stalin wearing the suit of Misha the Bear, the Sochi mascot. Mr. Gelman's gallery displayed the exhibit during the White Nights festival in the summer of 2013, ensuring the maximum number of people would see the critique of a project deeply personal to Mr. Putin.
But by then Mr. Chirkunov was gone. The exhibit was closed and Mr. Gelman fired.
The pressure then escalated when he returned to Moscow and became one of the few public figures to openly support Pussy Riot, the female punk-rock trio jailed for singing a profanity-laced, anti-Putin song in Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral. His name began to appear on "enemies of Russia" lists posted online, not far below that of Boris Nemtsov, the opposition leader gunned down in February outside the Kremlin walls.
By then Mr. Gelman had already decided it was time to leave. "Until 2012, the situation was that 'if you're not with us, don't speak out, but [otherwise] you can do what you want.'" After Mr. Putin's return to the presidency, however, "it became 'You are with with us or against us and, if you are against us, you will have problems.' There was no more place for neutrality."
People at the park in Perm on June, 7, 2015.
At the Kama River, an art installation reads: Happiness is not behind the mountains.
Musicians from the opera house.
Vendors and residents at a street festival.
Chess on a holiday.
It was quite a comeuppance for a man who had played a key role in Mr. Putin's rise to power 15 years before. In 1999 and 2000, Mr. Gelman was the deputy director of state television, tasked with the sensitive project of introducing Russians to Mr. Putin and convincing them that this previously unknown man was the solution to the country's many problems.
He succeeded, helping to orchestrate fawning media coverage of such stunts as Mr. Putin piloting a fighter jet into Grozny during the war in Chechnya. But by the end of his first four-year term in the Kremlin, the President's evident authoritarian streak had begin to concern Mr. Gelman. He left politics and focused on his Moscow gallery until Mr. Chirkunov lured him to Perm.
"I think that, yes, [Mr. Gelman] made a mistake. … He gave them a reason to fire him," Mr. Novichkov now says of the ill-fated Sochi show. "I think, if you're going to put on an exhibit that a million people will see, you have to take into account the opinion of the Putin Majority."
That majority, Mr. Novichkov explains, is the 63 per cent of Perm who voted for Mr. Putin in 2012, and the much greater share who back him now on the annexation of Crimea and the standoff with the West. They are the ordinary Russians who feel their lives have improved economically over the 15 years of Mr. Putin's rule, and who support him politically in exchange.
The Western sanctions imposed since the start of the conflict in Ukraine have yet to alter that social compact. Italian cheese and French mineral water have disappeared from store shelves and restaurant menus in Perm as elsewhere (Russian countersanctions ban most Western agricultural products), and residents keep a keen eye on the bouncing value of the ruble, now worth about 40 per cent less than a year ago. But Russians are known for stoic suffering, and Mr. Novichkov says that most blame the West, not their own government, for the conflict in Ukraine, and for the sanctions. His own understanding of the Putin Majority perhaps explains why he now has a high-ranking post in the capital.
"Some call it self-censorship, I call it marketing. No one denies that you have to know your audience and how they will perceive your art," he explains, sitting in a Moscow café. "I feel strongly that the Putin Majority are inclined to like this imperial state of mind. Being an empire is comfortable, and the annexation of Crimea is an act of being an empire."
Soviet period propaganda posters at the Museum of the History of Political Repression outside Perm.
'SOVIET UNION 2.0'
Sergey Kurginyan rejects the idea that the Kremlin is guiding Russia back to the past. Instead, the leader of a neo-Soviet movement called Essence of Time says the government has changed course to be in line with the majority.
Mr. Kurginyan is proud of the role Essence of Time played in the state's takeover of Perm-36, a move he says was essential to ending the "anti-Soviet propaganda" that was weakening Russia's sense of national identity.
Essence of Time is a new force in Russian politics. Mr. Kurginyan is an old one. Now 65, he was a gadfly in the last days of the Soviet Union, telling anyone who would listen that Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika program was part of a CIA plot.
Later, Mr. Kurginyan became part of the leftist reactionary movement that challenged then-president Boris Yeltsin's hold on power; he was inside Russia's White House when Mr. Yeltsin ordered tanks to fire on it in 1993 during his deadly power struggle with the Communist-dominated parliament.
After that, Mr. Kurginyan was confined to the political fringe. But the ideas he championed – he says he is hoping to see a "Soviet Union 2.0" – never went away. He took to posting lectures on YouTube. Despite their dry content (most feature Mr. Kurginyan just sitting at a desk and talking into the camera), some gained over 100,000 views. Most popular have been his recent lectures on why the Kremlin was right to seize Crimea, and why it should do more to support the separatist armies in Donetsk and Lugansk.
Mr. Kurginyan appears to have captured the political zeitgeist by working to reconcile two powerful forces that have long been in conflict: the Communist Party and the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 2012, when the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg were filled with tens of thousands of protestors, Mr. Kurginyan called for his online followers to defend Mr. Putin. They did, forming the backbone of a big pro-Putin rally, which Mr. Kurginyan opened by telling the crowd that "patriotic forces" needed to save the country.
Mr. Kurginyan believes the episode taught Mr. Putin that his support base was not the Moscow liberals who wanted the country to be friends with the West, but the deeply conservative millions who lived in the rest of the country.
Twenty years after his political career seemed over, Mr. Kurginyan was back with an army of motivated, Internet-savvy young people. And the Kremlin owed him a favour.
He says Essence of Time was responsible for starting the petition that led to a 2013 law banning U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children. He's also an outspoken supporter of the law against "homosexual propaganda" that Mr. Putin signed the same year.
After those victories, Mr. Kurginyan and his movement turned to Perm-36, unleashing an Internet campaign against the former prisoners who ran it. The local chapter of Memorial says that it was Essence of Time who pushed the government to run the museum.
"It was not a museum of history; it was a museum of propaganda, of anti-Soviet propaganda," Mr. Kurginyan now says, claiming – as the official tour guides now do – that conditions were not that bad. "This prison was the best in the whole Soviet Union."
While some historians say nearly 40 million people passed through the gulag system, Mr. Kurginyan says the real number is closer to 700,000. In Germany, questioning the extent of the Holocaust is a crime. In Russia, saying the gulags weren't so bad is now mainstream.
Mr. Kurginyan says only two ideologies can control Russia – extreme nationalism, which risks turning into facism, or a neo-communism that resurrects what he calls "the good in the Soviet Union."
The new Soviet Union, he says, would necessarily include territories populated by Russian-speakers beyond Russia's current borders. An aide says Essence of Time has actively been recruiting volunteers to help fight the Ukrainian army in Donetsk and Lugansk.
Despite Western accusations that Mr. Putin has become a dictator, Mr. Kurginyan says the President still needs and actively seeks popular support.
"If you have an anti-Soviet ideology in modern Russia, [to rule] you would have to be some military person who kills all the communists," Mr. Kurginyan says, reclining with a smile at the end of a two-hour interview that was much like listening to one of his lectures. "Putin is not as Soviet as I am. But he wants to be elected."
Visitors examine Second World War photographs in a military tent installed in a park in Perm as part of the city’s Kaleidoscope festival.
'LIKE 1936 IN GERMANY'
Instead of the White Nights festival that briefly drew crowds of tourists, Perm this year held Kaleidoscope, a much smaller offering focused on an amusement park stuffed with roller coasters and shoot-'em-up games in the city's central Gorky Park.
At the park's entrance, there is a canvas military tent where visitors can listen to a soundtrack of falling bombs mixed with martial music – and cries of "Glory to Stalin" – as they peruse 70 black-and-white photos from the war (which in the Russian telling began with Nazis invading the Soviet Union in 1941).
In most of the photographs, Soviet soldiers are driving back the enemy, or relaxing behind the lines. Only one shows someone killed in the fighting.
Many of those who visit the tent wear the orange-and-black ribbon that has – in its most recent resurrection – come to imply support for Mr. Putin and his policies in Ukraine. On the average street in Perm (or Moscow), half the cars and buses that pass will have an orange-and-black ribbon hanging from their rearview mirror.
"It feels like all the tragedy is gone and we only have success and this balloon of celebration. This is a problem, because it makes it seem as though war is good," says Nailya Allakhverdieva, who took over the Perm Museum of Contemporary Art after Mr. Gelman left.
The gallery has moved from the River Station premises – which the regional government declared officially derelict – to a smaller location far from the city centre. While Ms. Allakhverdieva prefers a lower-key and less provocative approach, the museum remains a hub of alternative thought.
"War won't come if we all say no," reads a message painted on the sidewalk outside the main entrance.
But Mr. Gelman thinks more war is coming. "People who were perfectly normal yesterday are going crazy today, saying 'Crimea is ours!'" he says as he walks through the quiet cobblestoned streets of his new home in Montenegro. "It's like 1936 in Germany. By 1939, everyone could see what was going on. But in 1936 there were still intellectuals who were rationalizing, explaining that Germans really did need Lebensraum" – more room to live.
In Mr. Gelman's telling, the closure of Project Perm and the state takeover of Perm-36 are akin to what the Nazis did in the 1930s: burning any books that didn't fit their official ideology. "For them, culture is an instrument of propaganda. An artist is just a hooligan – you have to limit and control them, to tell them what they can and cannot do. In fact, it would be better if there were no artists at all."
Artillery on display at one of the arms plants that made Perm off-limits to outsiders until the Soviet Union fell.
THE TROUBLE WITH 'BANDERITES'
The guided tour of Perm-36 is exactly the same as 12 years ago (when I took it while on vacation with friends) – except for one room.
They call it the Black Room now, and it's behind a padlocked door, avoided by the guides. The walls are covered with the biographies and photos of some of Perm-36's most famous inmates, including Mr. Kovalev, the human-rights activist. Also honoured were two heroes of the Ukrainian nationalist movement: poet Vasyl Stus, who died in a hunger strike and is buried inside Perm-36, and Levko Lukyanenko, who survived to co-author Ukraine's declaration of independence and to serve as the new nation's first ambassador to Canada.
A senior member of the museum's new management team, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says neither man should ever have been celebrated in public, and the Black Room will reopen only when it no longer features "Banderites."
"If we talk about the gulag and political repressions, we have to consider the context that created the situation on the territory of the Soviet Union," says Mr. Gladnyev, the minister of culture.
"It's not a question of avoiding something, or of bias. But within the framework of historical events there were people who helped the fascists, and committed crimes. And there were those who protected their homeland and thought about the future."
Those involved in running it before the state takeover say that, without the material in the Black Room, Perm-36 has lost its meaning.
"The museum was dedicated to the political prisoners," says Robert Latypov, who heads the Perm chapter of Memorial. "Now they say: 'If you had Banderites in this prison, then the museum is a Banderite museum.' It's pure manipulation."
He, like Mr. Gelman, sees the takeover as one of the last acts in Russia's slide back to totalitarianism. "The process is almost over. The media is almost completely under control. Our power structure is purely vertical. In the regions, the governors don't answer to the local communities. They answer to just one person," he says, pointing up at his ceiling. "I'm sure that someone's listening to us at this very moment. I don't doubt it."
Now 85 and living in anonymity in Moscow's suburbs, Mr. Kovalev, the former inmate, is even harsher in his assessment.
"The differences between Putin's Russia and Stalin's time are just one. There are not mass political repressions. The victims of the gulag camps were millions. Now the number of political arrests are just a few hundred," he says, his voice filled with the anger of someone who has spent decades issuing warnings that few have heeded.
"But the nature of this state hasn't changed one bit."
Mark MacKinnon is The Globe and Mail's senior international correspondent, based in London.The mission to end ageing got a significant boost today with the publication of an extensive strategy to take ageing-targeted drugs to clinical trials.
The strategy, which is laid out over six manuscripts, was published by the Geroscience Network, an organisation funded by the US’ National Institutes of Health whose members include the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University and Harvard University.
The publication is highly significant, because it demonstrates that the notion of ageing as a treatable disease has moved from a fringe theory held only by a small percentage of researchers to a widely accepted notion being used as the basis for widespread research strategies.
“Recent research suggests that aging may actually be a modifiable risk factor,” explains Dr James Kirkland, director of the Mayo Clinic Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging and study lead author on two of the manuscripts.
“The goal of our network’s collaborative efforts is to accelerate the pace of discovery in developing interventions to delay, prevent or treat these conditions as a group, instead of one at a time.”
The first manuscript, “Barriers to the Preclinical Development of Therapeutics That Target Aging Mechanisms“, largely focuses on summarising discussions held at a 2014 meeting of the Geroscience Network, however the second, “Frameworks for Proof-of-Concept Clinical Trials of Interventions That Target Fundamental Aging Processes“, addresses the possible benefits that tackling ageing could have on the general population.
“Aging is the largest risk factor for most chronic diseases, including stroke, heart disease, cancer, dementias, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, blindness and frailty,” said Kirkland.
Other manuscripts explore particular strategies to target human ageing; the quirks and characteristics of ageing in mice – a popular subject for early research – and the effective use of preclinical models to evaluate health span.
The final manuscript, “Moving Geroscience Into Uncharted Waters“, focuses on the potential impact of ageing research, and in particular its effects on the care of the West’s rapidly ageing population.
“In addition to the direct health issues, it has been calculated that care for the elderly currently accounts for 43% of the total healthcare spending in the US, or approximately $1 trillion a year, and this number is expected to rise as baby boomers reach retirement age, ” explained Dr Felipe Sierra, a Geroscience Network member from the National Institute on Aging.
“Reducing these costs is critical for the survival of society as we know it, and a 2013 paper by Dana Goldman and colleagues calculated that a modest increase in lifespan and healthspan (2.2 years) could reduce those expenses by $7 trillion by 2050.”
However, while the strategy is undoubtedly a significant step in the field of ageing research, it will only be meaningful in the long run if its proposals are enacted.
“While significant work has already been accomplished, there is much more to be done as we focus on translating findings into practice,” said Kirkland.
“The Geroscience Network is a collaborative way to overcome barriers and move us closer to our shared goal of increasing healthspan – the healthy, independent years of life for the elderly.”
The six manuscripts have been published today in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A – Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.Parse that carefully because it can be too easy to become focused on the “Stupid” part. It’s S-t-u-p-i-d W-h-i-t-e M-e-n.
For completeness we should add “Old”, and “Rich” (and probably some other adjectives as well) because of course in addition to being a race and gender issue climate change is a class and generational one. Having said that, it is a very particular brand of ‘Stupid’ that we are dealing with and it deserves dissection.
Nowhere is this clearer than the recent U.S. Congressional House Energy and Commerce Committee vote that denied the existence of climate change. As has been noted elsewhere, they may as well have voted to deny the existence of gravity. While I have been known to compare climate change Denier’s intelligence to that of lobotomized rodents it is still breathtaking to see them literally taking it to that level.
This is not garden variety stupidity such as found on thousands of Youtube videos (usually involving self-inflicted pain and injury, often labeled “funny”) or even the colossal idiocy honoured by the Darwin Awards. This descent to unprecedented levels of idiocy is politically motivated stupidity. It is intentional, albeit not necessarily consciously so, and it serves political ends far more important to the Republicans than merely pandering to their base.
That their stupidity is self-inflicted and deliberate is unquestionable. For example two years ago Christopher Monckton was chosen by the Republicans to testify before the Energy & Commerce hearing on climate change adaptation, and last year he was their sole witness giving “expert” testimony before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Let’s be clear here, Monckton is unique in that he is almost certainly the one person in the world most documented for not merely being grossly ignorant about climate science, but for being dead wrong in virtually every respect. Examination of a single article of Monckton’s found 125 logical fallacies, irrelevant statements, and outright errors.
The Republicans could have randomly selected any 8 year old not legally brain dead and gotten more credible and reliable climate change science than they get from Monckton. This is not hyperbole, it is literally true.
In earlier testimony before Energy & Commerce Committee hearings on climate change adaptation (and here) Monckton shared the electrifying news that “CO2 is plant food” (ie necessary for plant life). Hello! … Earth to Republicans! this “science” is taught at the Grade 3 or 4 level. While it is clearly a revelation to the House Republicans it would be hard to find an 8 or 9 year old who didn’t know it.
It’s not just Rep Shimkus (infamous for scientific ignorance) who seemingly never made it to middle school, this was apparently news to many Republicans. Obviously Monckton was chosen as a witness because a randomly chosen 8 year old’s Grade 4 level science would have been way over their |
Wall Street’s mistaken impression that the State of Michigan would never allow the city to file for bankruptcy.
In 2009, Harris — who became chief financial officer for Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. during his single year in office 2008-09 — met with Wall Street firms and rating agencies to help the water department issue revenue bonds. At one stop with a credit agency, he discussed the city’s tenuous financial circumstances with an analyst.
“She says, ‘Well, what happens if Detroit goes bankrupt?’” Harris recalled in a Free Press interview. “I said, ‘We don’t. The state will step in and ensure that they right the ship and that the bonds are paid.’”
Finally: What would Frank do?
An echo of Detroit’s current distress can be found in memories of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Then, too, Detroit suffered overwhelming unemployment, chronic budget deficits, rampant crime.
But the city government managed to avoid a financial collapse, led by charismatic Mayor Frank Murphy, later Michigan’s governor, U.S. attorney general and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a report to citizens, Murphy bemoaned the “unsatisfactory governmental administration in the near past,” the “racketeers” who were plaguing the community and the “acute” joblessness that undercut the city.
Despite an imploding economy, he called for a “stubborn stand against the allowance of deficits.” He pledged to cut the city’s budget “to the bone” and he declared war on “financial acrobatics” in a letter attached to the city’s 1930 annual report, which the Free Press uncovered in the Detroit Public Library.
His efforts helped the city survive the nation’s worst economic times.
Along the way, he made a vow.
“This is a great, rich city,” he proclaimed in the letter. “It never has repudiated an obligation nor defaulted upon a debt — and it never will.”
Contact Nathan Bomey: nbomey@usatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @NathanBomey. Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jgallagherfreep. Staff writer Kristi Tanner contributed to this report.
How this report was done
Digital information about Detroit’s financial history is sorely lacking. In pursuit of historical context on the city’s finances, the Free Press spent weeks conducting research at the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collection and Department of Sociology and Economics.
The Free Press created its own database of 50 years of Detroit’s financial history by reviewing the city’s annual financial audits for 1960-2012, reading a half century of pension fund reports and combing through many other city records.
City financial audits before 2002 were available in print only. Reports from 1964 and 1971 were not available.
The Free Press also conducted dozens of interviews with outside experts and leaders from the last six mayoral administrations to provide context and additional information.
The Free Press uses general fund revenue figures, which are the best reflection of the city’s financial health. For some years, the city’s audited figures were later slightly adjusted because of new accounting principles, delinquent receipts or additional spending.
Many news reports have relied on Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr’s assertion that the city has about $18 billion in debt. However, those figures include disputed estimates of the city’s long-term liabilities, including pension funds and retiree health care. In all references to the city’s debt, the Free Press is referring to the value of general obligation bonds, pension obligation certificates of participation and secured bonds, such as water and sewer debt.
In references to inflation-adjusted figures, the Free Press uses the recommended conversion method from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Read or Share this story: https://on.freep.com/1QASOoKPassengers managed to stop the weaving RapidRide bus inches from the guardrail, and tried to save the driver, once a performer with The Flying Karamazov Brothers.
Passengers guided a weaving bus to a stop on the Alaskan Way Viaduct and tried to save the driver through CPR when he suffered a fatal heart attack Thursday night.
Bus operator Sam Williams, 63, was better known as a longtime juggler and comedian with The Flying Karamazov Brothers, a vaudeville-style troupe founded in 1973 that appeared on TV shows ranging from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to “Seinfeld,” and with musical acts from The Who to the Seattle Symphony.
Williams had appeared locally as “Smerdyakov Karamazov” and was in the midst of rejuvenating his stage career.
Williams drove six years for King County Metro Transit.
He was merging his RapidRide C bus onto the elevated roadway from Columbia Street, heading toward West Seattle, when the incident happened about 11:15 p.m. Preliminary reports said Williams put his foot on the brake to slow the bus, then told his customers about the heart attack while still semiconscious.
“Passengers noticed the bus swerving at slow speeds and quickly rushed to Williams’ aid,” Metro said. One rider pushed the brake, halting the bus 6 inches from a guardrail. Five or six others unbuckled Williams and tried to revive him, said Metro spokesman Scott Gutierrez. Paramedics took him to Harborview Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
No passengers were hurt.
Before driving a bus, Williams performed on occasion but mostly stayed at home to raise his twin boys, Joshua and Zachary, after his wife, Barbara Warren, died in 1999, said Joshua Williams.
Williams originally joined the Karamazovs in 1981, touring the country for 18 years, and once opening for a Grateful Dead concert in Oakland, his son said. He taught Fred Rogers to juggle mesh napkins in 1997 on a “Mister Rogers” episode, and appeared in other cameos with the group. He unloaded items from the fridge to be juggled in a Rainier Beer ad.
With experience in driving tour buses, “he was used to moving large vehicles,” a skill that led him to join Metro in 2010, his son said.
His personality was “warm, kind, jolly, lovable,” Joshua Williams said. “He always saw the best, and he would never give up in thinking the best.”
Williams wore a red cap in winter because he looked like Santa Claus, and got a kick out of telling jokes on the bus. A couple of months ago he texted that he’d defused a drunken man with a knife downtown by saying, “Hey man, don’t do that,” in a mellow, patient manner, Joshua Williams said.
He also wrote a heartfelt essay in the transit-union newsletter last winter, about the need to assure operators of a 15- to 20-minute break between trips — not only for their health, but to improve customer service and above all public safety. “Hurrying + Stress = Accidents,” he wrote.
Joshua Williams said his father discussed how transit operators must be extra vigilant because other drivers can be inattentive, or unaware of how huge the buses are.
“Many of us are grieving today over the loss of Sam Williams, a dedicated Metro operator for the last six years,” Metro General Manager Rob Gannon said in a statement.
The long hybrid buses on RapidRide lines weigh 42,000 pounds and could probably break through the viaduct’s 63-year-old concrete railings if traveling at significant speed.
“I thank the passengers whose quick action to safely stop the bus prevented this from becoming an even greater tragedy,” Gannon commented.A day after Von Miller's glowing endorsement, Emmanuel Sanders has similarly hopped on the Trevor Train.
The Broncos wide receiver, previously on board with Tony Romo, now believes the team will find "greatness" with incumbent starting quarterback Trevor Siemian.
"I mean, Trevor had a good year. You talk about a guy, first-year player, had two receivers with over 1,000 yards," Sanders told ThePostGame.com during Super Bowl LI week in Houston. "He got a Pro Bowl nod, but he was hurt. So, they're not really talking about him and I hear people saying that our quarterback play was horrible. This guy's a first year player. To go out and do what he did, obviously we didn't make the playoffs, but every year, you get better and you grow and you understand what it takes to be a pro. I think that eventually, he's gonna get there and lead us to greatness, or so I hope."
Sanders was asked if he and fellow wideout Demaryius Thomas intimidated Siemian, a first-year starter in 2016.
"Nah, Trevor don't get intimidated by nothing," he said. "He has like one of the most chilliest personalities."
He added: "I call him cool, calm and collected."
What's next for the Denver Broncos? Don’t miss out on any news, take a second to sign up for our FREE Broncos newsletter!
This is quite the change in course from Sanders, who just last month claimed "we will win ballgames with Tony Romo or potentially a championship." Of course, that was when Romo was a legitimate possibility to join Denver's ballyhooed QB battle.
Now? Not so much.
The Broncos have made it evident they're content with and committed to Siemian and Paxton Lynch, with confirmation coming from both new head coach Vance Joseph and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.
Meaning Sanders will be catching passes next season from one of the two. Hopefully for his sake, those offseason throwing sessions materialize.
Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @Kelberman247Adrian Peterson has spoken more than once about his desire to run for 2,500 yards this season. At first, we thought the Minnesota Vikings great was kidding. After a while, we realized the running back was serious.
Instant Debate: Unemployed RBs
Willis McGahee just joined a long list of big-name running backs on the market. Who will get a job first? Our analysts debate. More...
Peterson has reached a rare point in a transcendent athlete's career. We don't really doubt he can do anything. Of course, he needs a lot of help from his teammates and coaching staff to reach such ridiculous heights.
"It's not imperative that (Adrian Peterson) rushed for 2,000 yards, or 2,500 yards, for us to win," coach Leslie Frazier said this week, via The Associated Press. "Our offense always is going to run through Adrian, but we want to be able to pass the ball better than we did a year ago."
Gaining more than 2,000 yards at least is partly about volume. Peterson had 348 carries last season, the most he had since 2008. The Vikings probably want to lower that number this year to keep Peterson fresh.
Peterson recovered quickly from his sports hernia surgery this offseason, just like he recovered quickly from his knee surgery last season. It's a topic Peterson has spoken about enough.
"I am getting tired of people asking (about the knee)," Peterson told SI.com. "I had a pretty good season, I won MVP -- why are you still asking about the knee? It is what it is, people are curious, it's a topic of conversation."
It shouldn't be much of a topic this season. The conversation mostly will be about how Peterson can orchestrate an encore after one of the greatest seasons by a running back in NFL history.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthalAlison Bossaert managed to capture this Iridium flare (above centre) from Kielder Forest Park in the UK while shooting some amazing aurora. Alison used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR camera.
Credit: Alison Bossaert
Iridium flare spotters and photographers are in for some bad news, as the bright flashes in the night sky could soon become a thing of the past.
Iridium flares occur as a result of sunlight reflecting off Iridium satellites orbiting Earth. There are currently 66 active satellites owned by communications company Iridium, which provide coverage for mobile phones and other forms of communication across the planet.
The shape of the satellites’ antennas and their silver reflective surface concentrates sunlight onto a small area, resulting in momentary bright flashes that can be seen in the sky from Earth. Many of these can reach up to -8 magnitude and can often be seen even during daylight.
Because the satellites are human-made, their exact position over the Earth can be predicted.
As a result, many photographers and stargazers are able to anticipate when these flashes will occur and plan observing and photography sessions accordingly.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from California in the US to deliver the first of the new satellites that could see Iridium flares come to an end.
Credit: SpaceX
However, hunting for Iridium flares could soon come to an end. On 14 January 2017, the rocket and spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US, to deliver 10 satellites to low-Earth orbit for the Iridium company.
These are the first of 70 new satellites that SpaceX will be launching for Iridium NEXT, the company’s new constellation of satellites.
Further launches are planned over the coming year to enable all 70 new satellites to be phased in by early 2018, replacing the current network. By this time, it is expected that bright Iridium flares in the night sky will be no more.
So while the updated satellite system promises improved communications across the globe, Iridium flare hunters may soon find their hobby is no more.
However, there is still time to spot some flares before the project is completed. Visit www.satflare.com to track satellites online and find out when one will be passing over your location.
If you manage to spot and photograph an Iridium flare, share with us via our Hotshots gallery or social media on Twitter and Facebook.Jason Leopold has a long article on Abu Zubaydah out that you should read in detail. It provides an update on AZ’s torture diaries (which his lawyer now has, though in untranslated form). And the tidbit that one reason officials are so worried about information on AZ coming out is that it’ll show the massive intelligence failure that resulted in the conclusion that he was a top al Qaeda officer.
These officials claim that while there is some concern within the Justice Department about the details of Zubaydah’s interrogations prior to August 2002 being revealed and leading to renewed calls for an investigation, there is greater unease with the fact that if the case moved forward it would expose the massive intelligence failure that took place in the last months of the Clinton administration and during George W. Bush’s first term that resulted in Zubaydah at one point being named the No. 3 official in al-Qaeda and one of the planners of the 9/11 attacks.
There’s also further confirmation that Mitchell and Jessen were conducting a human experiment on AZ, including testing how long a human could go without sleep.
For example, one current and three former CIA officials said some videotapes showed Zubaydah being sleep deprived for more than two weeks. Contractors hired by the CIA studied how he responded psychologically and physically to being kept awake for that amount of time. By looking at videotapes, they concluded that after the 11th consecutive day of being kept awake Zubaydah started to “severely break down.” So, the torture memo concluded that 11 days of sleep deprivation was legal and did not meet the definition of torture.
But I’m particularly interested in the degree to which AZ’s lawyer, Brent Mickum, seems to believe that John Durham is interested in AZ’s drawings of the torture done to him.
During a recent meeting with Durham, Mickum said he learned that the special prosecutor had obtained drawings during the course of his probe that Mickum believed were Zubaydah’s. In addition to the diaries, Mickum had previously sought from the Justice Department drawings Zubaydah made while in CIA custody. But the Justice Department told Mickum they could not locate the drawings. “When I met with John Durham I discovered he had drawings, which, based on my review I believed were my client’s,” Mickum said. “The drawings were ultimately produced to us in late 2009.” The Justice Department would not discuss the drawings, diaries, or other issues related to Zubaydah’s case. Mickum said in lieu of the torture tapes, the drawings Zubaydah made contain the best description of the torture techniques CIA interrogators used against Zubaydah while he was being held at the agency’s black site prison facilities. Mickum said he could not disclose how many drawings Zubaydah made nor could he discuss the content. “These are a good group of drawings and he is a pretty good artist,” Mickum said. “The depictions would be of interest. [Zubaydah] can draw and with great detail.”
This suggests two things. First, that until some time last year, DOJ claimed not to be able to locate drawings that had already been turned over to Durham for his investigation. And that those drawings may be detailed enough to clarify precisely what the torturers did to him when.This article is over 3 years old
Former Fifa vice president makes dramatic TV appearance in which he claims he will prove a link between soccer’s governing body and Trinidad and Tobago elections
Fifa scandal: Jack Warner fears for his life and will reveal 'avalanche' of secrets
The former Fifa vice president Jack Warner has made an extraordinary television appearance in which he says he fears for his life and claims he will prove a link between soccer’s governing body and the national elections in his native Trinidad and Tobago.
The claims come while Fifa struggles to cope with the ongoing fallout following corruption charges that were issued by US authorities against Warner and 13 other key football figures.
Jack Warner on Fifa corruption: 'I have kept quiet. I will do so no more' – live Read more
Warner is the subject of an Interpol red notice and was arrested and held in jail overnight in Trinidad last Wednesday, but was later released on bail.
He initially denied any wrongdoing, and said at the time he was “afforded no due process”.
Following his arrest, in a televised broadcast in Trinidad on Thursday, Warner claimed he had documentation that could prove a link between key Fifa officials and the 2010 Trinidad election.
“I will no longer keep secrets for them,” he said.
Warner makes allegations that the documents “also deal with my knowledge of transactions at Fifa, including – but not limited to – its president, Mr Sepp Blatter”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jack Warner says he will divulge Sepp Blatter’s financial dealings. Link to video.
Blatter has not yet responded to Warner’s allegations
Warner also apologised for not disclosing his knowledge of the alleged links previously.
“Not even death will stop the avalanche that is coming” he said. “The die is cast. There can be no turning back. Let the chips fall where they fall.”
Warner is yet to produce any documentation to support his allegations.
He also said in the televised address, which was a paid political advertisement, that “I reasonably actually fear for my life.”
The stunning revelations out of Marabella, Trinidad come just hours after a transcript was made public of former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer’s admission that he and other members of the all-powerful executive committee were bribed in return for voting for South Africa’s bid for the 2010 World Cup.
Chuck Blazer, a 70-year-old soccer chief, first made the admission in testimony to a New York judge in 2013, the details of which had not been publicly available until now, following a petition from three New York-based reporters.
Fifa whistleblower Chuck Blazer: I took bribes over 1998 and 2010 World Cups Read more
It revealed how the judge in the case, Raymond Dearie, referred to Fifa as a “racketeering influenced corrupt organisation”, the same terminology used in cases of organised crime, and only allowed the hearing to proceed after the Brooklyn courtroom had been locked.
Entering his plea, Blazer then detailed the long list of events and marketing contracts on which he and others took kickbacks.
“Beginning in or about 1993 and continuing through the early 2000s, I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups,” he told the judge.
The Department of Justice said last week that Blazer faces a maximum 20 years’ incarceration in a US prison for the conspiracies, 10 for the failure to declare his foreign bank accounts, and five years for the tax evasion charges.
It said Blazer had pleaded guilty to receiving $750,000 from Jack Warner, part of Blazer’s agreed $1m share of the $10m paid to Concacaf by Fifa, after Warner agreed to vote for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup.
The latest claims from Warner come shortly after the resignation of the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, just days after he re-elected for a fifth term to lead the world body.The Bozon Apple Watch charging dock is not complicated. It's a hollow piece of extruded silicone designed to hold your actual Apple Watch charger. You loop up the extra cable inside it, seat the inductive piece on the front, seal up the foot where the USB cable snakes out, and you're done. It's $39.99 and sold by the same company that makes this slightly-hilarious bumper case for the Apple Watch. It holds your watch horizontally, so that it will kick into the mode that shows you the time when it's sitting on the nightstand.
But it's also really cute. I can't stop looking at the little guy just squatting there on the table. I'm not saying that it's brimming with personality — it's not a Minion or anything — but those little rounded feet and its spherical body have a vibe I like. It's not pretentious at all, so maybe if you sprung for one of those $10k Edition watches you'll want to look elsewhere (It's also not compatible with the link bracelet watch band). Is it called the "Bozon' because it's supposed to evoke the Higgs Boson and therefore make you think it's some kind of representation of an elementary particle that serves as a foundation for quantum physics? Would that mess with the Apple Watch's vaunted accuracy?
The co-founder of the company that makes it says that he's "confident the BOZON has solved the many issues of the other Apple Watch charging docks currently on the market." I suppose he might be right, but that all-caps branding really takes away from the cuteness of this dock. What if we just called it bozon, or boz for short? "Hey boz, what's up?" you might say. And this cute little dock wouldn't reply, because it's a hunk of hollowed-out silicone, and hollowed-out silicone can't talk.Kelsy Barrett of Utah owns Lightweave Photography, a Mormon company specializing in photographing White Jesus as a prop in family portraits. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest Lightweave could have given Jesus a light weave to make him more believable (and be-weavable–sorry, I couldn’t help myself).
Caucasian Jesus, who seems to be donning Teva sandals and some sort of laptop satchel, appeared as an awkward third wheel in the engagement album for a young LDS couple, and naturally, Facebook commenters had a field day.
At the risk of being sent to Mormon hell, I’ve got to share some of the comments with you guys, because they are freaking hilarious.
“A photoshoot to commemorate that time we met the dude who runs the hemp clothing/yerba mate’ place.” “Perfectly great engagement photo shoot ruined by this homeless guy.” “I’m confused. Is ‘Kenny Loggins in a Toga’ their dating coach?” “I’m pretty sure that’s the same guy who put Kimmy Schmidt in the bunker.” “Sears portrait studio did not offer the “Jesus” option when we had our engagement pictures done 12 years ago. Do we need a redo?” “Blessed be polygamy.” “This is one of the most famous singers in Mexico.” “Looks like the pastor from Deadwood.” “Jesus wears New Balance.”
“We were interested in being Jedis, and we were wondering how the indoctrination starts.” “I’d like to tell you about my Lord and savior Obi-Wan Kenobi.” “Is this the cover for the 20th anniversary of ‘I Kissed Dating Goodbye’?” “Please tell us more about filming Scott Pilgrim, Jason Schwartzman! What was Chris Evans like?” “White people ruin everything.”
“By the power vested in me by the state of Utah, 1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war.” “I volunteer as a tribute.” “Let’s have this socialist hippie we worship marry us so we can spend the rest of our lives despising everything he said and stands for…Amen.”
Ouch, that last one hurts, y’all.
I don’t claim to know everything about Jesus, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t John Ritter’s doppelgänger. Even Christ himself is probably looking down on this weird album like, “Oh my Me, what the actual hell is going on here?!”
I also stumbled across this gem from the same company:
Um, yeah, if my kids encounter a fella like this in the woods, I’m going to assume he’s a crackhead and advise them to run away.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Ready. Set. Caption!
Get Weekly Updates! Sign up today for free and be the first to get notified of new posts just once per week. SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!State Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (KMBC)
The Republican-dominated Kansas Senate voiced its approval Tuesday of a bill that would make it easier to prosecute teachers and school administrators who present lesson materials deemed to be “harmful.”
The measure was proposed after a middle school teacher in the Kansas City area displayed a sex education poster that listed specific sexual acts.
The poster was taken down after parents complained, but Republican lawmakers filed a bill that would remove a provision in current law protecting high school and elementary schools from such prosecution.
“There was some resistance, and I had to kick it up a notch to get the poster removed,” said Mark Ellis, who complained after his 13-year-old daughter saw the poster.
State Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (R-Shawnee) told The Wichita Eagle the bill “protects children and the rights of parents,” and she dismissed concerns that the legislation could be used to criminally charge teachers who assign “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
Senate Bill 56 would allow misdemeanor charges to be filed against teachers who present materials depicting “nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse” that the “average adult person” believes “lacks serious literary, scientific, educational, artistic or political value.”
Current protections from prosecution remain in place for universities, museums, and libraries.
Critics of the measure say it would have a chilling effect on education because teachers and administrators would fear they could be prosecuted for teaching materials approved by local school boards.
“We’re going to self-censor to the point where nothing controversial is ever put before kids,” said Mark Desetti, legislative director of the state’s largest teachers union. “How do we get kids to think critically and challenge ideas? Everybody talks about let’s think out of the box. No, let’s not. Let’s cram everybody into this little box and scare them into not doing anything that people might find an objection to.”
A similar measure failed to pass last year, but it cleared the Senate on a voice vote without a single objection.
“My first thought: Oh no! This again?” said Liesl Wright, an art teacher in Wichita, in an email. “I’d be in trouble. I was showing my high school art students charcoal drawings of nude people just today. I do it all the time. You know when the religious laws regarding art are more restrictive than the European Renaissance, you’ve gone too damn far!”
Pitcher-Cook, the Republican state senator, said she was surprised Democrats didn’t follow through with their promise to fight the bill.
“I think they saved themselves,” she said. “To argue against having parents to have this control for their children to me really is just a non-starter.”
The bill came up for discussion when one of the Senate’s six Democrats had stepped out of the chamber and the Senate Minority Leader was at a meeting in his office.
“It’s just shortsighted and unfortunately we did not have a more vigorous debate,” said state Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City). “I stepped away for a moment, as did other members, and I came back and the bill had already been discussed.”
Watch this video report posted online by KMBC-TV:Appliances have long been Sears' bread and butter in the retail world, but lately the space has become more crowded, with players like Best Buy, Costco and J.C. Penney looking to take a larger slice of the market. As Sears has struggled with heavy debts and slumping sales, these players have been gaining ground in the category.
Shares of Home Depot, Lowe's and Whirlpool — other providers of home appliances — were all falling more than 3 percent Thursday morning after Sears' announcement.
In partnering with Amazon, Sears is looking to expand its reach and grow the Kenmore nameplate. However, the move is a double-edged sword, because it also gives shoppers another reason to avoid heading to a Sears store.
Appliances are one of the categories that have helped draw customers. Just last month, Sears opened a store — the first of its kind for the company — that only sells mattresses and appliances. Plans are also underway to open additional freestanding Sears stores dedicated to these two categories — what Sears has called "two of its strongest."
"This is consistent with Sears' aim of becoming more of a remote seller of strong brands without the encumbrance of expensive real estate," GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders told CNBC. "The move makes sense as it puts Sears' brand products where customers are shopping and gives them a better chance of selling."
"That said, in the short term it may create even fewer reasons to visit Sears' shops, which could put further pressure on that side of the business," Saunders added.
"It also puts Sears into a marketplace which is very price competitive and where fulfillment costs are high; this is something that may be challenging for margins."
Sears Holdings has been trimming its real-estate portfolio — which includes both Sears and Kmart stores — and laying out plans to shutter many of its big-box locations, which the retailer has said are no longer profitable.
Earlier this year, media shy CEO Lampert sat down for an interview with the Chicago Tribune in which he said the retailer is "fighting like hell" to battle negative headlines and pessimism regarding Sears' ability to continue.
On Monday, making another step forward instead of back, Sears announced it had landed a fresh line of credit, valued at $200 million. The money comes from Lampert, who also leads a hedge fund called ESL Partners.
Cash injections from ESL Partners and Lampert's heavy ownership of the chain's unsecured debt continues to convince some investors that Sears will avoid filing for bankruptcy protection. Sears' stock is up about 28 percent from one month ago, as of Wednesday's close.
Sears expressed doubts in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year about its ability to continue as a going concern. The retailer, though, has said it's remaining focused on long-term profitability and on taking actions to mitigate risks.
Signing a deal with Amazon could drive Sears' profitability, should the retailer be able to reach new customers online.
"The Amazon platform is so broad and also focuses on the millennial generation, which is very important for Kenmore to reach," Tom Park, the president of Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard divisions at Sears, told CNBC in an interview Thursday, discussing how a partnership with Amazon came about.
When a user visits Amazon.com in the future to search for a refrigerator, Sears' Kenmore is going to be a top brand that pops up, Park said.
Read the full press release from Sears.In order to record this week’s episode of the CME, Ben interrupts a madcap schedule of dancing to indie rock bands and Chad pauses his white-knuckle wait for the birth of his son. Really, they have no choice. What, you thought they were going to ignore Old Man Dan Henderson’s big win over Tim Boetsch last Saturday at UFC Fight Night 68? You thought they might not catch the UFC announcing the very sort of drug testing program the CME has been asking for for years? You thought Cain Velasquez’s heavyweight title unification bout against Fabricio Werdum this weekend at UFC 188 might fly under their radar? Fat chance. The guys serve of an hour’s worth of sizzling hot MMA news and commentary just for you.
All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff.
Direct downloaders can get Jesus to come in them and tell them to finish it, right here.The 2014 NFL Pro Bowl will be played Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 at 7:30 PM ET from Aloha Stadium in Hawaii on NBC. In an effort to revitalize waning fan interest in the game, the NFL is going with a non-conference format in which team General Managers and Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders drafted their teams.
The Pro Bowl draft provided some funny moments as players milled around for roughly three hours on Wednesday waiting to be drafted in the “green room” while frequently chiding each other in a show of camaraderie. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the new format is that because Rice and Sanders could draft any Pro Bowl player, the final teams ended up with team mates facing off against each other, as was the case with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Guard Evan Mathis was the first Eagle selected by Jerry Rice in the first round on day one. Following the Mathis selection, Sanders drafted Eagles quarterback Nick Foles and wide receiver DeSean Jackson, while Rice picked running back LeSean McCoy on day two. The team of Mathis/Foles vs. Jackson/McCoy squaring off should be fun to watch as the winners get bragging rights for the remainder of the year and $53,000.00, while the losers get a $26,000.00 consolation prize.
DeSean Jackson is getting fired up for the win and believes his team has a better chance with the ball in his hands when he told reports,
“Get 10 the ball. Let me win that car for being the MVP. I’ve got some relationships with some of the coaches so I’ve been talking to them about making sure I have some touchdowns, get a lot of passes and do my thing. That’s all I really know.”
You’ve got to love Jackson’s competitive nature, even during an exhibition game. Jackson’s Pro Bowl opponent LeSean McCoy is taking a slightly different approach as he was mic’ed up during the Pro Bowl practice and was overheard yelling at his opposition,
“Take it easy baby! Same team! Same team!”
Regardless of the game’s outcome, it is clear to see the players are enjoying each other and the new format seems to have created an extra layer of intrigue. Fans are wise to enjoy the game as the saddest of all days quickly approaches, the end of the NFL season.
Follow Matt Thornton on Twitter: @MattThorntonNFL
Follow Matt Thornton on the internet http://mattscowboys.com/home/category/inside-the-iggles/The Olympics are a rare moment in time when the world comes together in a celebration of human potential. The most compelling stories are the David and Goliath matches, like the 1980 "Miracle on Ice", where the US ice hockey team beat the nearly undefeated Soviets 4-3, and then went on to win the gold. These achievements, often in the face of overwhelming obstacles, lift us and remind us of what is possible.
Now we face another compelling international challenge, one which threatens all sports, particularly the winter Games: climate change. And, like all great athletic contests, we are our toughest opponents. But just like we did on that rink in 1980, we can prevail – with great courage, effort and skill.
The short-term sacrifices we'll make in order to meet this challenge pale in comparison to both the payback and the cost of ignoring the threat. A recent study estimated that the cost of climate change to the US alone will be $271bn per year by 2025, and more than $1.8tn per year by the end of the century. The threats to national security and human health are even more profound. No aspect of society is untouched, including sports.
The roots of my sport are in the frozen ponds, lakes, and rivers of North America. Though I grew up in Philadelphia, I skated outdoors as much as possible. But things have changed since I began skating; today, these same ponds, lakes and rivers are freezing later and melting earlier. Ice that lasts throughout the winter is, for the most part, a thing of the past. A recent McGill University study suggested that climate change may cause natural ice to disappear altogether, even across Canada, where some rinks now use expensive, artificial ice.
Now, every four years, winter Olympians ask: will there be enough snow? In 2011, the World Cup downhill in Europe was cancelled for lack of snow. Scientific projections say that, at best, 10 out of the past 19 host locations are climatically viable to hold future Olympics.
But it's not a problem just for ice hockey and skiing. Extreme heat will continue to present huge hurdles for endurance sports; in short, every outdoor sport is at risk.
Our leaders are beginning to take notice: in November, representatives from every major American sports league – NBA, WNBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and the US Olympic Committee (USOC) – met with Congress to discuss how climate change will affect the future of these sports – and to urge stronger action. As Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey points out:
Whether it's the slow death of pond hockey or increasing heat for football practices, global warming is negatively affecting the games we play and the sports we love.
Why, then, is our country is considering an energy project that could have a huge impact on winter sports by accelerating global climate change?
President Obama will soon decide whether to approve the final section of the Keystone XL pipeline, which will pump the world's dirtiest fuel from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada to refineries in Houston, where it will be shipped overseas. The tar sands industry is already the fastest growing source of global warming pollution in Canada; each barrel of tar sands oil generates three times more global warming pollution than conventional oil. That's a staggering amount of carbon. To make matters |
are given time to grow and improve in the course of being committed to paper. And yet the sustained, absolute spontaneity that comes of scraping out pun after pun onstage quickly pulls every contestant down to the bottom of the barrel—a low stratum I think of as “[blank]er, I barely know her” territory.
The closest I’ve come to finding a resolution to this dilemma is in the work of the early twentieth-century humorist Stephen Leacock, to which I was introduced by this year’s Punniest of Show winner Alexandra Petri, who also happens to write a pun-heavy column for the Washington Post. “The inveterate punster,” Leacock wrote, “follows conversation as a shark follows a ship.” What is missing from the Pun-Off, then, is this conversation; onstage, we inveterate punsters are forced to play only with the words we can find inside ourselves, rather than lying in wait for a punworthy moment in the course of normal dialogue. Hence the excess of gimmes like “philosophers Kant hold their liquor,” as opposed to a more organic, transcendent play on words, as when I misremembered the color of a friend’s car years ago and he told me that “it must have been a pigment of my imagination.” Or when a friend interning for a congressman confessed that he snuck a glance at John Boehner’s crotch in a Capitol restroom and I declared him the Peeker of the House. Such turns of phrase are unlikely to appear in any serious writing I attempt down the road, and yet the elation they produce is among my favorite feelings: a credit to their author and a gift to anyone with the wit and good sense to enjoy them.
When it was my turn to take the stage in Austin, however, all that wit and good sense promptly left me—boiled away, perhaps, as the scant shade migrated from my picnic blanket to the lawn chairs and their foresighted occupants behind me. A good two hundred people came to watch us sculpt and mangle the English language in the yard behind the O. Henry Museum, a modest old house wedged between towering hotels in downtown Austin. From under a tent just left of the small stage, a panel of judges doled out their points, but the real power lay with the moderators onstage, whose task it was to confirm that each new volley was indeed a pun, and not a mere cliché or, worse still, the kind of double entendre whose second meaning is derived from suggestive inflection rather than a legitimate play on words. And while, between rounds, the moderators showed themselves to be talented punsters in their own right, the stronger competitors’ deep vocabularies occasionally extended beyond those of anyone else on stage. Playing on the theme of art, for example, one contestant said he’d come up with a better pun if he weren’t so groggy—which, besides describing a state of exhaustion, apparently also names a kind of crushed clay used in pottery. Dictionaries being too unwieldy for a fast-paced live competition, in such moments the moderators have little choice but to take a contestant at her wordplay.
My time on stage challenged no one’s vocabulary, unless someone simply couldn’t find the words to express how quickly I was knocked out of contention. My opponent and I were given the theme of horses, a subject about which I know almost nothing; I opened with a weak joke about “stallion” for time, and before I caught my breath it was my turn again. I mumbled something about a quarter horse that was not quite a pun; the moderators gave me a chance to come up with something better, and after emitting the same faux-contemplative ums and ahs that used to escape me when caught off-guard in a job interview, I threw up my hands and admitted defeat. Despite a lifetime of making and loving puns, not to mention crossing an international border to demonstrate what until recently I called my skills, I’m almost certain I gave the weakest performance of the day.
My poor performance was a predictable result of my inexperience with the relevant kind of pun. Like Leacock’s shark, I follow conversations waiting for a good moment to strike. The constraints of the Punslingers tournament make for something more like a SeaWorld show: a performer can do great things if he’s comfortable with the walls placed around him.
Indeed, my favorite moment of the day occurred during a round in which players had to pun on the theme of “Groups (human and animal)”—e.g., flock, herd, choir, and the like. The two men on stage had exhausted most of the obvious words in the category, and were beginning to butt heads with the moderators as they strayed from proper groups into things like the spaces that hold groups (a stadium, a toolbox) and the plural form of any noun that came to mind (fans, otters), which would have allowed the round to run on indefinitely. After a healthy volley one of the contestants offered an invalid answer, and then another, courting disqualification. And then he rebounded with the perfect pun—not the most clever, not the most original, but one that managed to both keep the round going and poke fun at the increasingly strict moderators: “Next year,” he said, “this topic ought to be band.” Despite the limits on both time and topic, this contestant delivered a pun in the heat of the moment that, against all odds, actually made sense. The crowd went wild, perhaps forgetting for a moment that on Monday they would have to return to a world where words mean just one thing at a time.
Ted Trautman has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Slate, Wired, and others. He lives in Puebla, Mexico.ESA presents European participants in Mars500 isolation study
The candidates recently visited the facility in Moscow
ESA PR 48-2008. March 2009 will see two European participants entering a set of modules at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow. Together with four Russian participants, they will be sealed inside these isolation chambers for 105 days.
This joint ESA IBMP campaign is a preparatory study leading up to the 520-day isolation study in the form of a full-fledged simulation of a mission to Mars that is due to start end-2009.
As with a real space mission, the two European participants will have European backups. The backups (three in this case) will go through the same training and preparation and will be able to step in at the last moment if need be. In addition, they will have tasks to carry out in the mission control centre over the 105 days.Periyambillai Amabalakarar, the village elder in his late 70s, is angry, but manages a snarky smile. “What do you know about us peasants, about our life?” he says.
Advertising
His village, Vellalur, about 30 km from Madurai town, has faced unsolicited attention over a centuries-old ritual held at its Ezhai Katha Amman temple last month, when little girls were “offered” to the local deity for a fortnight. Reports spoke of the “exploitative nature” of the “bizarre temple ritual”, as part of which seven “divine” girls chosen by the temple priest were made to parade in skirts, with only gold ornaments and garlands to cover their bare chests; in Vellalur, there’s anger at the sudden intrusion into their lives.
For centuries, youngsters from Vellalur have migrated to lands far away in search of jobs — Myanmar and Malaysia as indentured labourers in the 19th century, later to Iraq and Iran and more recently, to the Gulf. But despite its diaspora, Vellalur maintains a strong sense of its agrarian, rural self — evident in the posters across the village to mark the sixth death anniversary of a Jallikattu temple bull and flag posts erected by youths from the Thevar community, a politically powerful OBC group, in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (an affinity that comes from their role in Bose’s Indian National Army).
Surrounded by fields that have mostly dried up due to the drought in the state, the Ezhai Katha Amman temple marks the centre of Vellalur village. It was here that the controversial ritual involving seven girls, selected from among 600 children from 60 villages surrounding Vellalur, began on September 19 and ended on October 4.
Advertising
The unwavering faith of the villagers in the powers of Ezhnai Katha Amman, or ‘she who protects the poor’, stems from their belief that the goddess has answers to each of their problems. During the festival, devotees make offerings of painted clay dolls and place them at the feet of the deity. As a testimony to that faith, in a yard behind the temple, lie over 2,000 such dolls, each holding a silent tale of woe — from a woman who wants her child’s illness cured, a couple with fertility issues or a man without a job. Villagers also practise a rigorous, self-imposed period of abstinence, during which they deny themselves their favourite dishes and devote themselves to the goddess.
The temple is also a venue for crucial meetings held twice a month, where villagers settle disputes and everyday discord. These meetings are led by three ‘Ambalakarars’ — a chief and his two deputies — who are a legacy of the 7th-century Chola dynasty, which had an army base in Vellalur and whose soldiers, the Ambalakarars, held considerable clout.
In September, with activists up in arms over reports of the “primitive” temple ritual, Madurai District Collector K Veera Raghava Rao ordered an inquiry to find out if the girls were being harassed or abused during their 15-day stay at the temple. With the inquiry report ruling out abuse, the district administration refused to stay the ritual, saying the parents had willingly sent their children.
“The report submitted to us said the ritual was held with the consent of both parents and their children. We asked the villagers if they could avoid bare-chested children. However, we found that children who attended the event this year and even those in the previous years were all between 6 and 10,” said a senior official in the Madurai district administration.
The activists, however, raised more questions — “Why can’t they carry out the ritual when children wearing blouses?”; “Did the parents of these children take their consent before sending them to the temple?” — and even moved the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against the practice.
Subramanian Ambalakarar, one of the two deputy Ambalakarars, says he is “hurt and shocked” to hear these questions. “Unlike children in cities, it’s normal for girls in these parts, at least up to the age of 10, to roam around in just skirts. Even when we take them to Sabarimala (for the annual pilgrimage), they are usually bare-chested. Does it imply we are being indecent or that we are exploiting them? Aren’t we parents? Why do you presume we wouldn’t know what’s right for our children and that you would?” says an angry Subramanian.
In his late 40s, Subramanian is a graduate from American College in Madurai and holds a diploma from Madras Christian College in Chennai. He says that some years ago, his two daughters took part in the ritual, but were never “chosen by the goddess”.
After an awkward pause, he continues, “You people in cities send your little girls for tuition and swimming classes. While you have the confidence to send your children to male teachers or trainers, you don’t trust parents in villages with their own children. And you call us and our rituals primitive?”
Talking of the ritual, he says most children chosen by the priest are below 10. “Over 600 children come with their parents and relatives from 60 villages around here. Of those, we select seven and they spend the next 15 days in the temple, where they are treated as goddesses.”
Manthayan Ambalakarar, the third Ambalakarar, says, “There are 100 more people in the temple premises throughout those 15 days — not strangers, but the parents of these girls, their relatives and grandparents. Besides, the girls who are chosen to be goddesses sleep with their mothers inside the temple.”
Manthayan points out that the village has no police station in a 10-km radius and that it’s the temple that is their moral compass. “Does it mean that we are primitive? Hundreds of youths from this village work abroad, mostly in the Gulf, and they come here for the 15-day festival,” he says, pointing out to all the other markers of a ‘modern’ society — government and private schools, four Public Health Centres, ration shops and four government-run liquor shops — in Vellalur and surrounding villages.
Subramanian, the deputy Amabalakarar, says, “What the Centre does to Tamil Nadu is what activists and the media are doing to us. Just like the government in Delhi imposes Hindi and tells us that there is only one culture, you people in cities dictate how we should live and celebrate our festivals.”
Sudha Ramalingam, a senior lawyer of the Madras High Court who, at the height of the controversy, said that “such practices” would affect “the psyche of the children”, now admits that people tend to judge others using their own yardsticks. “The question is whether is it right for us to do an objective analysis on a society in which we have no major role? Vellalur is a primary endogamous society and their standards vary from my secondary exogamous society. While we saw this ritual as an aberration, theirs is a society where everyone knows each other. So they will have their inherent systems to check crimes.”
Advertising
As the sun beats down on Vellalur, farmers and farm labourers continue to work on their parched land on either side of the village road. On trees that line this road are talismans, little bundles tied to the branches. They’ll stay that way, biding their time until the goddess “unties them” and frees them of their burdens, pains and sorrows.The owner of a downtown London, Ont. bar says that increases to minimum wage in his province could mean pricey beer, expensive burgers and slow service.
The Ale House on Dundas Street has a large sign outside warning customers that the bar can't afford increased labour costs and should send complaints to Premier Kathleen Wynne.
Ale House owner Alex Petro said the increases in minimum wage are happening on too fast a timeline for independent businesses. (Chris Ensing/CBC)
On Tuesday, Wynne announced a plan to increase the provincial minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2019.
The increase would be phased in over 18 months, rising to $14 an hour on Jan. 1, 2018, and then to $15 the following January.
"I'm in a survival mode," said Ale House owner Alex Petro, who employs 20 people at the bar he's owned for the last seven years.
"We're fighters. We believe we can survive almost anything, we survived the hydro increases," added Petro.
"This hit, because it's happening so quickly, it will affect me to the tune of $7,000 a month minimum."
Added Costs
Petro said he now has to decide how much to pay employees who make more than their co-workers, but are currently making less than $14 per hour.
"One of the biggest issues for me and this sector will be the experienced cook," said Petro.
"(They) are now making two to thee dollars more than the minimum wage and will now be at par with the entry level cook coming in," he explained. Petro believes he will have to pay up to $5,000 in additional pay per month to his experienced cooks per month, which could raise the annual cost of a minimum wage to the Ale House by about $144,000.
The Ale House menu focuses on fresh and different food but may have to chance to absorb increases to minimum wage. (Chris Ensing/CBC)
Petro said he now has six months to find ways to cut costs or increase revenue to deal with the increase to Ontario's minimum wage.
He's in the middle of planning his summer menu which he said was recently changed to include more complicated and fresher foods.
"Getting the news of this increase now has basically put me at a stall," said Petro. "I have to now stop thinking about the things that can help improve my business."
Fighting Back
Petro said he wants the province to lengthen the roll-out plan for wage increases but isn't sure how.
"Petitions, the general way that we as polite Canadians do things, I believe it will not work," said Petro.
He said he wants small business owners to fight back by banding together and not paying the increase.
Owner Alex Petro said he wants independent business owners to band together and fight back the minimum wage timeline. (Chris Ensing/CBC)
"I think if enough of us can agree to not abide by the increase whether that's through civil disobedience, whatever the case may be, I believe that is the only message she will hear," he said.
When the minimum wage change goes through, Petro thinks that the increase will lead to increased prices for products across the board and won't have a direct impact on his staffing.D.C. police recently stopped a man while responding to a call about a burglary alarm in Northwest Washington. Jody Westby, a neighborhood resident who intervenes, says the stop was inappropriate. (Video courtesy of Jody Westby)
D.C. police recently stopped a man while responding to a call about a burglary alarm in Northwest Washington. Jody Westby, a neighborhood resident who intervenes, says the stop was inappropriate. (Video courtesy of Jody Westby)
The District police officers were responding to a burglar alarm in an upscale neighborhood in Northwest Washington when they spotted Dennis Stucky leaning against a brick wall in Foxhall Crescent, dressed in work clothes and a ball cap and holding two bags.
Although the alarm was sounding in an adjacent subdivision — three-quarters of a mile away by car — one of the officers ordered the 64-year-old man to sit on the curb while she put on disposable gloves and prepared to search him.
Jody Westby, a resident and lawyer, rushed to Stucky’s defense, angrily telling the officers that Stucky had been a neighborhood fix-it man for 30 years and that they were not at the right house. The officers reluctantly freed Stucky, who lives in Southeast and said he feels he was stopped “because I’m black.” Westby’s housekeeper recorded much of the encounter on video.
Last week’s encounter reflects the challenges of policing and the perceptions of some residents in the District and beyond that they are singled out as suspicious because of their race, the neighborhoods they choose to visit or their appearance. Police policies and practices on stops will be addressed Wednesday at a community forum at Howard University. The forum, the first of a two-part hearing by the D.C. Council’s public safety oversight committee, is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the school’s business auditorium, 2400 Sixth St. NW.
The Foxhall Crescent stop was preceded by an alarm about 1 p.m. Oct. 1. The neighborhood is mostly white; the two officers who responded are black. The officers had no description of a possible suspect, and the alarm was canceled shortly after the initial 911 call from a private security company reporting that the owner had keyed in the wrong code to his garage. It was unclear whether the officers had that information when they stopped Stucky.
D.C. police, who watched the recording provided by The Washington Post, would not discuss the incident in detail.
The department’s chief spokeswoman, Gwendolyn Crump, said that without knowing what happened before the recording started, it would be difficult to assess the encounter. She did say the department believes that there was “no misconduct” by the officers and that officials believed it would be unfair to highlight the video in the context of the discussion over citizen stops.
Delroy Burton, head of the D.C. police union, would not discuss the officers’ actions because the video starts after the stop was made. He did note that he believed Westby interfered with the officers when she walked between Stucky and the female officer and by escorting Stucky away with the consent of one officer but over the protests of the other. “The woman in the striped dress, while accusing the officers of racism, has made some assumptions of her own,” Burton said.
Burton said the video shows “how tentative officers are because of all the negative media attention” over police stops and citizens taking videos of them at work.
Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), chairman of the public safety committee, said he thought the stop of Stucky could have been handled differently to make it more of a conversation than a confrontation. Noting that police will soon wear body cameras, he said, “I hope those cameras make these types of encounters more professional.”
The stop captured on video appears fairly routine, and the debate over whether it was legitimate for police to detain and question Stucky — and how officers handled the stop — is central to a larger discussion taking place across the country.
Wells backed the successful effort to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, in some part spurred by the belief that blacks were unfairly targeted, and D.C. police have begun a pilot program in which officers wear body cameras to record day-to-day interactions with the public.
The video taken by Westby’s housekeeper picks up with the female officer putting on blue gloves and questioning Stucky as he sat on the curb. Westby talks to the officer and then turns her attention to a male officer in a patrol car. Westby asks him which address the call came from and then walks between Stucky and the female officer to the patrol car window.
Learning that the officers had been called to the 4600 block of Foxhall Crescent, Westby informs them that they were in the 4500 block. Although seemingly close, the streets are not linked. The subdivisions are circular in pattern, and to reach the 4600 block from where the officers were parked requires making three turns on four streets. On foot, the route between the homes is more direct.
On the recording, much of what the female officer says is inaudible, but she points to Stucky’s bags, and Westby said the officer noted that as probable cause for the stop.
Westby, who also is a cybersecurity consultant, said the male officer in the car told her that Stucky was free to go. The video shows the lawyer walking over to Stucky and helping him up. “Come on, Dennis. He says you can go,” she says. The female officer puts out her hand and says “Stop,” while moving close to them. Westby ignores her.
“I’m an attorney, and this is wrong,” Westby tells the officers. After getting the officers’ business cards, Westby shouts, “Just because he’s black doesn’t mean he’s here to rob a house. He works for us. He’s been in this neighborhood for 30 years. Now go find 4600 Foxhall.”
Stucky said his lunch was in the bags and said he had been stopped and questioned many times in that neighborhood.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.The subject gets little publicity nowadays, but until the mid-1990s, the US Air Force openly funded research on how to destroy human eyeballs at a distance with lasers. At the time, the justification was that such a technology—causing permanent blindness—was no worse than burning people with napalm, irradiating them, or blasting them to bits with bombs.
The research got quite far along; in 1995, Human Rights Watch identified at least 10 different laser blinding programs of concern, which the military ran under the names “laser countermeasure system,” BOSS, Persuader, LX-5, Saber 203, TLOS, Green Laser, Nighthawk, and Y-Blue, among others. In that same year a treaty, the New Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, was adopted by the United Nations; it banned such weaponry, and Bulletin contributing editor William Arkin penned a full-page story applauding the ban. He wrote: “The humanitarian considerations of this potentially horrific new chapter in warfare far outweighed the minor—and redundant—military benefit.”
But while the weapon itself was banned, research into laser weaponry was not, so work on it continued, under other rubrics. While I was an editor at a laser magazine in the early 2000s, my colleagues and I attended a year-round litany of multi-day conferences on the latest developments in lasers—and usually found Air Force researchers there, including those in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Modesto, California. (Though located in California, their particular research was funded by the University of Illinois and the US Air Force.) In interviews in the year 2000, they said that technically speaking, they were researching with the aim of protecting America’s soldiers in the field from getting blinded by lasers, and doing so required them to study the precise laser settings that would cause the most damage to the human cornea. (For the record, researchers typically test their laser beams on artificial, eyeball-like tissue grown in petri dishes, which often consist of five layers of epithelial cells, each layer 0.450 nanometers thick.)
Researchers may have been careful to say that they were trying to protect US soldiers, but their logic could be interpreted as a fig leaf to get around the ban, which went into force in 1998. In interviews in 2000, Air Force-funded researchers admitted that it would be easy to turn their work to protect American soldiers around and use it to blind the enemy. It seems that at least part of the military rationale behind the technology is that a dead soldier is just dead, but a blinded one needs the help of others, thus tying up several enemy soldiers at once—similar to the thinking behind the use of landmines to blow off legs and arms.
Military-funded research in this area continues to be conducted by the Optical Radiation Bioeffects and Safety program—which sometimes contracts out the work to outside engineering firms. Research and development is also being conducted by firms such as B.E. Meyers Electro-Optics, makers of a laser device called the Glare Mout Plus, while the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate of the Defense Department leads the Pentagon’s end.
It is clear that lasers are being aimed at eyes in combat situations, but the militaries involved say the intent is not to blind, but to warn or protect against attack.
A 2010 article in the UK version of Wired says that laser “dazzlers” have been used by British soldiers against fighters in remote parts of Afghanistan—well away from public scrutiny. The Green Laser Optical Warner, or GLOW, is meant to temporarily stun, or “dazzle” the eye with glare. With an effective range of 300 meters, or nearly 1,000 feet, GLOW is intended to be used to stop suspicious characters from approaching a military checkpoint. It has been called an escalation of force option, providing an intermediate step before shooting starts. US forces used a similar device in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Green Laser Interdiction System, which has an effective range of a few kilometers at night, Laser Focus World wrote in 2012.
But something bright enough to dazzle at 300 meters can cause permanent eye damage at 50 meters, and these devices can be set to deliver a narrow (and more intense) beam. To get around the ban against blinding weapons, systems like the GLIS run off of a low-power source.
But the developers of the dazzler systems seem to be tiptoeing closer and closer to the line that defines what is a banned weapon and what is not—and their products are becoming more and more readily available. (One dazzler can be purchased for $15,999 on the Internet, although the seller notes that it is subject to government restrictions.)
Some laser dazzlers—supposedly intended for dazzling alone—are powerful enough to cause serious eye damage. Already, soldiers are taught not to fire when an intruder is too close, because of the laser’s power. One version, the Meyers’ 250 milliwatt LA9 dazzler, even has a built-in radar that shuts off the laser beam if it detects someone less than 41 meters away, or what is considered its nominal ocular hazard distance (NOHD), in which the beam is intense enough to cause eye damage. Other dazzlers like the Glare Enforcer are supposed to measure the distance to the target and switch to a low level that does not cause eye damage.
There is also a domestic version of the dazzler, meant for police use. The Dazer Laser, made by Laser Energetics, is supposed to flash rapidly at a low-intensity setting, theoretically causing nausea akin to motion sickness but no permanent injury. If this is true, the Dazer Laser could be a great advance in crowd control. The question is whether it could—either accidentally or after some modest intentional modification—cause lasting harm.
These dazzlers are not mere souped-up versions of laser pointers; sometimes, they are large, rifle-like weapons, although some versions are smaller and more lightweight, at under a pound.
So it seems that despite the UN’s 1995 Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, the world is moving closer to laser blinding weapons, and authorities are, by and large, turning a blind eye.The new upcoming ‘Commodore’ Smartphone got a lot of attention (good and bad) in the past few months, but it looks like they don’t own the rights to use the Commodore brand after all. They were actually trying to register a new trademark using the same name.
The actual owner of all Commodore-related brands is the company C= Holdings B.V., which has sent out a press-release making very clear that:
C=Holdings B.V. hereby announces that it has not granted any rights to CBM for making use of the COMMODORE trademark, nor that C=Holdings B.V. has any involvement in the development and marketing of its products. C=Holdings B.V. will vigorously defend its rights in this matter.
The smartphone maker new trademark application is now showing the status ‘Opposed’, which is filed by C= Holdings on August 11th.
C= Holdings B.V. itself doesn’t seem to be doing anything interesting with the brand they own, but that doesn’t give the rights to other companies to take over the Commodore name and do whatever they want with it.
The Italian company filed the trademark application as Commodore Business Machines with headquarters in London- UK back in May, and the opposition was filed only yesterday, which means no decision was made so far.
If you are one of those dreaming about a Commodore Smartphone, maybe it is time to give up on that dream. Now, if you are one of the many thinking a Commodore Smartphone is a sacrilege against Commodore legacy, maybe it is time to start to celebrate.
Source: Amiga-News.deIngredients
250 g (9 oz) chickpeas (dry weight)
herbs and spices
1 bunch parsley, fresh
1 bunch cilantro, fresh
4 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp cumin, ground
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp flour or cornstarch
For frying
1 liter tasteless oil (or more)
Directions
Cover the chickpeas in plenty of water and let them soak for 12-24 hours. Preferably for 24.
Mixing
When they are large and soft, then drain and rinse them. Remove any stones.
Chop them in a food processor, as finely as you are able to.
Put the chopped chickpeas into a large bowl.
Put the rest of the ingredients except the flour and baking powder into the food processor along with approximately the same amount of the chopped chickpeas.
Food process it :-)
Then mix the flour and baking powder, so that both can become evenly distributed in the chickpeas.
Now mix all the ingredients together with the chickpeas.
Frying
Heat the oil to 160°C to 180°C (320°F to 360°F). The closer to 180°C (360°F) the better.
Form the the chickpea mixture into solid spheres in the same way as you would do with meatballs. Use a spoon and you palm.
Fry them in the hot oil until well browned. 2-3 minutes depending on the temperature of the oil.
I usually cook 4 at a time in a saucepan.
Put them onto a drying rack or a towel.
Notes
Chickpeas swell up to twice their size and weight as they soak, so make sure your bowl is big enough to begin with. There should be approx. ½ of extra water to ensure that the chickpeas are well covered. Check on them after a while and see if they lack water.
When you pour a little chickpeas back together with herbs and spices. it is because that makes it easier to chop them, and it ensures that it gets mixed evenly back into the rest of the chickpeas.
If the mixture does not stick together when you shape it into balls, you can add a little bit of water, but it should not be too wet.
You should rather fry to few than too many at a time. If you fry to many at a time, the temperature of the oil will drop too much. I use a meat thermometer and keep an eye on the temperature, that it does not drop below 160°C (300°F). That way I know how many can be fried at a time.
Normally, the falafles generate a lot of steam when they fry in the hot oil. The steam pushes back oil so it does not soak into the falafals. You can therefore see that the temperature of your oil, and your cooking is okay, if the falafels don't seep oil when lying them on a paper towel. If the towel becomes wet with oil, and your falafels are greasy to th touch, then the temperature is too low, and the cooking time is too long. That will make them absorb too much oil.
Some recipes recommend that you boil the chickpeas before mixing and frying them. If you see such a recipe, you can rest assured that those who have made it, has written it of from someone who has never tried making falafel!
The first 5 times I tried to make it, I made it with cooked chickpeas. Because I had gotten my hands on a few recipes of that kind. What happened was that falafels fell apart as soon as they entered the hot oil. They dissolved 100%. "Greasy black fried mulch" is absolutely not as delicious as falafel!
Canned chickpeas cannot be used either. As they are pre cooked.The world produces more than eight billion gallons of wine each year (including those Algerian reds that taste like lighter fluid). All fifty American states, including Alaska, have thriving local wine industries. The eastern end of Long Island now looks like the Médoc, and one reason that the European Union is suffering its debt hangover is because of the huge subsidies that are paid each year to growers who produce wines that no one wants to drink. But perhaps the biggest success of the industry has been to ferment demand for an oversupply of these barrels.
Wines have evolved into that most delectable of American tastes: an asset class. The châteaux of Bordeaux are best understood as option houses, existing to serve up financial swaps and derivatives as much as their enchanting blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The street value of a year 2000 case (six bottles!) of Lafite-Rothschild is about $20,000. In fine wines, you can have your subprime and drink it, too.
I live amongst vineyards in western Switzerland, hard against the French border, but I didn’t understand the evolution of fine wine into a futures contract until I spent time in Shanghai and then went to Hong Kong. (Even though the drink of choice on the train from Shanghai was warm Budweiser served in plastic cups.)
Once in Hong Kong, I learned that almost a third of the world’s fine wines are stored there in local warehouses, waiting for Chinese billionaires to order up another $12,000 case of Château Ausone, perhaps to wash down a bucket of KFC chicken. ('Infanticide' is the term used to describe the practice, prevalent in China, of pulling the cork way too early on wines that need to mature for eight to ten years.)
The presence of so much Bordeaux wine washing around Chinese treaty ports pushed my curiosity about the direction of the elusive “wine market.” Through bike rides across the Loire Valley, and meetings in places like London and Burgundy, I encountered an industry that has more the bouquet of the petroleum standard, West Texas Intermediate, than of those charming Napa haciendas that get written up in Food & Wine.
Even the fabled BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) have been laying out vineyards as though they were steel foundries. And some time back, in Kosovo, while looking at the ravages of war, I was driven to a field that, despite its legacy of atrocity, I was told “would be perfect for Chardonnay.”
IGW (Investment-Grade Wine) is immune from the laws of supply and demand partly thanks to the genius and perseverance of Robert M. Parker, Jr., a former lawyer from Monkton, Maryland, who managed to transmute the world’s glutted wine market into something as easy to understand, and thus invest in, as municipal bonds rated by Standard & Poor’s.
Parker, 64, who is officially the editor and publisher of the Wine Advocate magazine, has been described as having “the nose of a dog.” He is said to have tasted some 200,000 wines in his peripatetic career and boasts to his friends that he can remember each of the wines and the scores that he gave them on his scale of 50 to 100, the latter number representing perfection.
Even if he sounds like the Wilt Chamberlain of wine, Parker has succeeded in translating obscure French and Californian wines into easily indexed numbers, insofar as most liquor stores will post on their shelves little markers that read: “Robert Parker...94.” There’s a New Yorker cartoon of a hesitant man in a wine shop with the punchline: “What do you have in investment-grade reds?”
Neither Chinese mandarins nor traders from Goldman Sachs would be caught dead drinking anything less than a 90, and those now selling participations in listed fine-wine investment funds need to do little more research than thumb through Parker and scoop up wines listed between 95 and 100.
Parker’s accomplished biographer, Elin McCoy, quotes the English wine writer Andrew Barr as saying that Parker’s scores are a “victory of American pragmatism over French mysticism;” it has also been said, |
a marketing firm, in the audio account.
“The third flow of people was security personnel and fire department people... in some of those eyes you could see, they knew something, that it was dangerous... while I was walking down, they were going up to their death, and I was walking down to live.”
Organizers of the timeline took particular care to allow visitors to view and hear only what they feel comfortable absorbing, and included a fast-forward button to skip anything particularly disturbing.
“The material itself is difficult and emotional, and we approach it sensitively by allowing the user to modulate their own experience,” Daniels said.Tweet
Portret „fenomenologic” (în formă de epistolă) al unui candidat la președinția României
N-am simțit niciodată nevoia să vă vorbesc. Dacă o fac acum este pentru că aspirați, cu șanse mari se zice, la funcția de președinte al țării. Iar fiind și țara mea, „îmi pasă”. Așa se face că mi-ați ajuns în mod fatal interlocutor.
Nu știu dacă m-am așezat vreodată cu mai multă nerăbdare (sentiment al urgenței?) să scriu o scrisoare cuiva. Deși este, după cum vedeți, o „scrisoare deschisă”, îmi imaginez tot timpul, scriind, că sunteți singurul cititor al rândurilor mele. Mai mult: am senzația, începând să scriu, că e ca și cum vom sta de vorbă singuri, privindu-vă în ochi și căutând punctul acela de inflexiune care trimite la ultima fărâmă de receptivitate din ființa cuiva. Altfel spus, deși suntem pe scenă, am uitat de sală înainte de a începe spectacolul.
Aș vrea să știți de la bun început că nimic din ce-am să vă spun nu e menit să vă jignească. Nu de un „pamflet” e vorba aici, oricât de abrupte vor fi pe alocuri cuvintele. Ele nu vor face decât să descrie. Voi încerca să vă plimb prin față o oglindă, în speranța că ați putea fi dispus, fie și o clipă, să deslușiți în ea imaginea celui care, candidând, își propune să conducă o țară. Vă las să judecați apoi dacă, punându-vă în locul meu, v-ați da sau nu pe mâna lui.
Limbajul
Înainte de a deveni prim-ministru în urmă cu doi ani și jumătate, v-am remarcat prin cele câteva intervenții din Parlament. Erau în linia maestrului dvs într-ale politicii, Adrian Năstase. Împărtășeați cu el aroganța aceea neșlefuită caracteristică indivizilor care se confruntă cu puterea la prima generație și care, la nivelul cuvântului, se manifestă sub forma jignirii, a deriziunii și prin introducerea „glumiței” în limbajul politic. Ați supralicitat cât ați putut stilistica aceea bășcălios-năstăsiană de genul poantei cu număratul ouălor. Era de un prost gust desăvârșit. Pe dvs v-a cucerit. Și v-a provocat. Îmi amintesc și-acum de scheciurile vulgare pe care le compuneați acasă și pe care apoi le citeați, mândru de umorul lor inexistent, amuzându-vă singur, de la tribuna Parlamentului.
O să-mi răspundeți poate că ăsta e un detaliu, care nu are nimic de-a face cu soarta țării și cu celelalte lucruri mărețe de care vorbim aici. Dar nu e deloc așa și, nu întâmplător, trag prima tușă a portretului dvs începând cu acest „detaliu”: pe poarta „miștocărelii”, care, cu aportul dvs deloc neglijabil, a devenit un loc comun al limbajului public de la noi, a intrat golănismul în clasa politică. Au intrat analfabeții, tipii al căror limbaj, înregistrat pe când puneau la cale afaceri dubioase, te făcea să crezi că ai descins în inima Ferentarilor. Au intrat miniștri ai culturii și ai învățământului incapabili de un acord gramatical corect. A intrat o șleahtă de huligani publici, prezenți în fiecare seară la televizor, care făceau din cuvinte materia primă pentru minciună, sofism, amenințare, jignire. Ați transformat clovnii în vedete ale partidului și ați lăsat neamendate înjurăturile lansate de la tribună la adresa procurorilor. Ați cauționat parlamentari PSD agresivi care, în discursurile lor, se inspirau din biografia lui Nero (?!), cerându-le colegilor de partid „să pună foc la toate județele din țară necolorate în roșu”. Pe scurt, ați reușit, prin propriile performanțe lingvistice (un fel de insolențe de puber devenite stil de exprimare), cât și prin oamenii pe care i-ați tras după dvs odată ajuns prim-ministru, să degradați nu numai climatul public și starea noastră de spirit, dar și funcțiile politice și administrative cele mai importante ale țării. V-ați obligat adversarii politici să folosească replici pe măsură și ați dus astfel la escaladarea fără precedent a vulgarității în viața politică. Din acest punct de vedere, comparativ cu ce se întâmplă acum, primele parlamente românești de după 1990 semănau cu Camera Lorzilor. Ne-ați obligat pe toți să ne scăldăm zi de zi în această mocirlă lingvistică și, astfel, să devenim în proporție de masă răi, agresivi și dureros de neciopliți.
Tupeul
În materie de cutezanță impudică ce depășește orice limită, sunteți în clipa de față un performer. Cel mai mare. Sunteți campionul. Ați mers atât de departe cu tupeul în planul realului, încât nimeni nu are pretenția că vă mai poate urma în planul cuvintelor. Pe scurt, ne-ați condamnat la Inexprimabil. Când e vorba de comportamentul dvs, pentru a-l descrie, nu ne-a rămas decât interjecția. Cam toți cei care ne pierdem timpul scriind am simțit că, în fața libertăților pe care vi le luați, puterea noastră de a formula intră în criză. Nu există în clipa de față un om al condeiului capabil să vă „cânte” insolențele de pe scena publică, comportamentul discreționar scăldat în dispreț, așa cum, pe vremuri, cronicarii reușeau să dea o narațiune convenabilă a isprăvilor pe care le făcea câte un personaj pitoresc scăpat la cârma țării. Așa încât, nu pot decât să enumăr, fad formulate pe lângă formidabila lor suculență, câteva dintre „faptele dvs de arme”.
Să luăm ca pildă pentru început – nu vă grăbiți să dați, sastisit, din mână! – faimosul dvs plagiat. O, nu sperați că trecerea timpului îl va șterge din memoria celor care contează! El vă însoțește ca o umbră și, la un moment dat, ea vă va ajunge din urmă și vă va înhăța. Plagiatul ăsta face parte din arhivele eterne ale lumii românești. Nu și dacă ați fi stat pitit prin nu știu ce cută a societății. Dar așa, ați ieșit pe scenă și ați început să faceți bezele cu aceeași mână cu care vă trecuserăți în cont, printr-un simplu copy paste, aproape o sută de pagini. Chiar nu înțelegeți că nu puteți defila fălos, la nesfârșit, ca procuror, prim-ministru și ca eventual președinte, cu o asemenea mârșăvie în portofoliul vieții dvs? Ceea ce ne-a stupefiat pe toți cei care înțelegeam caracterul scandalos al faptei dvs (în epocă, Dan Tăpălagă și-a încercat primul forțele în lupta cu punerea în cuvinte a acestei escrocherii – vezi articolul antologic De ce furi, procurorule?) a fost că ați putut, psihic și omenește vorbind, să țineți piept acestei grozăvii date pe față. Faptul că ați reușit nu e un motiv de mândrie, ci mai degrabă un simptom îngrijorător. Orice om sănătos, după ce pățește o poveste ca asta, moare de rușine, dispare o vreme, se duce acasă și se bagă sub plapumă.
Îmi amintesc prima conferință de presă după declanșarea scandalului, când le arătați ziariștilor cartea născută din furt. O tot răsfoiați sub ochii camerelor și, încolăcindu-vă în minciuni puerile, cu o mină senină, explicați de zor inexplicabilul. Doi ani mai târziu, ați avut tupeul să readuceți singur vorba despre „chestia aia” și să spuneți că până și o crimă se prescrie, darămite „așa ceva”. Ei bine, cred că ar fi cazul să știți că un plagiat n-are cum să se prescrie, nici măcar dacă, așa cum v-a sugerat recent dna Alina Mungiu, ați mai da un doctorat „pe bune”, sub privirea ei exigentă.
Ce n-ați făcut atunci ca să ștergeți de pe podeaua vieții dvs petele astea de sânge care nu se lasă șterse? Ați desființat comisii academice constituite anume pentru acreditarea titlurilor universitare. V-ați pus mercenarii să le stingă membrilor comisiei lumina, în timp ce deliberau. Ați înființat alte comisii, mamut, de câte patruzeci de oameni, ca rușinea participării la acoperirea unei crimei să se distribuie, verhovenskian, pe cât mai multe capete și verdictul să se piardă în anonimat. Ne-ați explicat, lăsându-ne perplecși, că în anul susținerii, 2003, nu existau reguli ferme pentru punerea ghilimelelor (?!), ca și cum, în lumea modernă, regulile citării sunt perisabile și ar putea evolua (sau s-ar negocia) de la un secol la altul. Ați pus un coleg de partid, ministru și el, să ne explice (nouă!) că plagiatul face parte, de la Aristotel încoace, din obiceiurile academice ale Europei. Ce energie, ce armate de oameni ați pus în mișcare, ca să ne convingeți că de fapt nu vă văzuserăm toți în pielea goală, ci bine îmbrăcat, în complet, de la chiloți la șubă! Vi s-a atras atenția că, de-acum înainte, toți șefii de state, dând mâna cu dvs, vor ști mereu cu cine au de-a face și că hoția asta se va rabate asupra imaginii poporului român: popor de hoți, vor spune, de vreme ce și-a ales un hoț să-l reprezinte.
Totul a fost în zadar! Ați fost, de fapt, redutabil! V-ați bazat oare pe faptul că 90% din poporul român nu știe ce-i un plagiat? (Asta e prima întrebare pe care, de doi ani încoace, i-o pun fiecărui șofer deîndată ce mă urc într-un taxi. Și, spre bucuria mea, am constatat că toți știau. Unul dintre ei mi-a spus: „Sigur că știu: îi furi unuia în cinci minute munca lui de un an-doi”.) S-ar putea să fie așa. Poate că 90% dintre români nu știu, și prea puțin le pasă, de plagiatul dvs. Da, dar alde noi (plus șoferii de taxi!) și străinii pe care-i întâlniți – știu. Și-atunci, dacă aș vrea să mă exprim prețios, v-aș spune că vă ascundeți după o judecată cantitativă, acolo unde e nevoie de una de esență.
Aș mai pomeni încă vreo două-trei din recentele dvs isprăvi. Legate tot de tupeu. Prima: în 2010, l-ați numit pe Mircea Cărtărescu „intelectualul Führer-ului”. Acum, pe 8 octombrie, în preajma anunțării câștigătorului Nobel pentru Literatură, i-ați transmis că-i țineți pumnii pentru a doua zi, „ca să ne bucure cu un nou laureat”. Un adevărat salt mortal pe care, privindu-l, Cărtărescu s-a mărginit să spună că „respinge cu dezgust” urările pe care i le făceați. Nu v-a dat mai multă importanță. Nu a scos din recuzita scrisului său cuvinte pompoase pentru a-și exprima perplexitatea și sila.
Iarăși, recent, v-ați purtat față de ruși, cum bine s-a spus, ca un avocat al lor, căci ați intervenit în treburile justiției și ați cerut procurorilor să ridice sechestrul pus pe stocurile de la Lukoil pentru fraudarea banilor poporului român. După care v-ați grăbit să-l denunțați pe Băsescu ambasadelor din România că atentează la independența justiției!
Românii n-au mai avut parte, în țara lor, de un spectacol de contorsionism de o asemenea anvergură. Patentul este sovietic. Hrușciov se ducea să instaleze rachete în Cuba, după care declara că marele popor sovietic luptă pentru pace. Astăzi, Putin ocupă teritorii ucrainiene, după care îi acuză pe ucrainieni de agresivitate. Nu vreau să spun că tupeul dvs e cultivat sau că are surse de inspirație răsăritene. Sunt convins, dimpotrivă, că are puritatea unui zăcământ autohton. Și că ar putea să fie un dar al lui Dumnezeu făcut, prin dvs, poporului român: o terapie de șoc, „terapia Ponta”. Încep să cred că prin dvs lucrurile sunt împinse hăt-departe, până în punctul-limită al degradării lor. Și că, odată ajunse acolo, ele se vor retrage, cu maxima viteză de recul, într-un „înapoi” salvator. Iar în acel „înapoi” – către care ne îndreptăm dramatic cu ajutorul „terapiei Ponta” – vom redescoperi poate cândva tot ceea ce dvs ne-ați furat: decența, pudoarea, bunul simț și locul pe care fiecare dintre noi se cuvine să-l ocupe în societate. Și asta pentru motivul simplu că nimic nu poate stărui la nesfârșit în inomabil.
Aș mai spune că, înnăscut fiind, tupeul dvs s-a manifestat de fiecare dată în forme compatibile cu vârsta. Dar de-abia din clipa în care ați intrat în viața politică, el și-a găsit debușeul, a devenit vizibil, nociv și a început să înflorească cu adevărat, atingând, în ultimii doi-trei ani, formele lui de exprimare mature. Asta a fost pentru dvs politica românească de la ora actuală: debușeul pentru un viciu. Iar viața politică de la noi s-a rostogolit atât de jos în acești 25 de ani, încât s-a dovedit pregătită pentru a-l primi și pentru a vi-l cultiva.
Minciuna
Este de fapt o componentă a tupeului dvs. Pentru că e minciună împotriva evidențelor. Dvs, de pildă, dacă ați fi pe jos, în țărână, ați susține sus și tare că sunteți în șa și călăriți voios. Minciuna are sens câtă vreme induce în eroare, câtă vreme își păstrează forța de desfigurare. Dar minciuna dvs nu păcălește pe nimeni (mă rog, pe nimeni dintre cei care au ieșit din minoratul mental). Cei care v-au împins înainte vă acceptă așa cum sunteți și consideră pesemne că minciunile fac parte din „arsenalul” dvs, că asta e arma pe care o preferați. Oricum pe ei nu-i afectează, câtă vreme vă pot utiliza în mod eficient. Nouă, celorlalți, minciunile dvs ne sunt băgate cu forța pe gât, devenind astfel o nemaipomenită formă de sfidare și dispreț. „Îți bați joc de mine?, se spune. Mă minți de la obraz?” Mințind în mod public și de la obraz, dvs ne disprețuiți pe toți.
Felul dvs de a minți a devenit legendar. „Minte și când îl întrebi cât e ceasul”, mi-a spus despre dvs un prieten după vara lui 2012. Ceea ce-nseamnă că prezentarea distorsionată a lucrurilor a devenit la dvs un reflex. Mințiți și când nu e necesar, ca să fiți sigur că veți minți cu rost dacă la o adică va fi necesar. Iarăși, acest tip de a minți nu face parte dintr-un sistem, așa cum se-ntâmpla în comunism. Acolo politicienii mințeau solemn și uniform, de la nivelul unei minciuni colective și impersonale care, ca ideologie, îi îngloba pe toți și-i străjuia de undeva de deasupra capetelor lor. Pentru că toți mințeau la fel, minciuna lor nici nu mai avea relief.
Dvs practicați minciuna oportună, ocazională, la firul ierbii. La dvs, minciuna are personalitate. Mințiți numai pe cont propriu, nu inspirat de vreo mare minciună colectivă. Mințiți după cum vă bate vântul minciunii, după cum cad zarurile în ziua aceea, după ce potlogărie sau minciună anterioară trebuie să cârpiți. Rezultatul? O suită de afirmații punctuale care nu se adună în caracterul unificator al unei linii. Comportamentul dvs nu poate depăși nivelul punctului, nu poate deveni liniar, ca să nu mai vorbim că nu poate alcătui harta cu contururi ferme care e necesară pentru nașterea unui caracter. Fiind făcut din milioanele de puncte dipersate ale minciunilor dvs, așadar neputând oferi garanția unei coerențe morale, dvs nu aveți, obiectiv vorbind, caracter. E, și acesta, un viciu de construcție, o malformație, un handicap din naștere. Cum naiba să vrei să conduci o țară în felul ăsta? Gândiți-vă că, sculându-se dimineața, românii nu vor ști niciodată în ce punct al minciunilor dvs se află în ziua aceea. Or, e extrem de neliniștitor, de inconfortabil și de văduvitor de proiecte să nu știi niciodată exact pe ce lume ești. Cu dvs ne putem culca seara în Europa și trezi a doua zi în China.
Incompetența
Nimeni nu ar putea spune ce anume știți să faceți. Cred că nici dvs nu știți. Formal vorbind, ați făcut studii juridice. Formal vorbind, ați dat și un doctorat în drept penal, dar, ținând cont că un sfert din lucrare este un plagiat, adică un furt, faptul de a-ți atesta calificarea în penal recurgând la un gest infracțional (plagiatul este o infracțiune) a reușit să împingă, în România, paradoxul pe culmi. Iarăși, deși o vreme ați fost procuror în cadrul Parchetului de pe lângă Curtea Supremă de Justiție („secția Anticorupție, Urmărire Penală și Criminalistică”), ba chiar, se zice, ați fost trimis în Italia pentru a studia obiceiurile mafiei, România nu a beneficiat cu nimic de pe urma acestor funcții și experiențe. Ați fi avut din plin ce face în anii aceia, odată revenit în țară. Erau anii în care în România se nășteau și începeau să se organizeze „grupuri infracțonale”. Nici unul dintre borfașii politici care și-au început cariera atunci, marea majoritate din PSD, și care de câțiva ani trec pe bandă pe la DNA nu apare în palmaresul dvs profesional. V-ați remarcat în schimb, odată ajuns șef al PSD-ului, prin zidul de protecție pe care l-ați ridicat în jurul colegilor dvs de partid trimiși în judecată, al urmăriților și al condamnaților penal. Ați pus astfel în circulație un nou paradox: un procuror care conduce un partid de infractori și care ține, public, partea infractorilor!
Așadar, ce știți să faceți? Sigur este că știți să-i jigniți pe cei care nu fac parte din lumea dvs. „Fasciști” i-ați numit pe câțiva dintre intelectualii de seamă ai țării, folosind cuvinte al căror sens vă scapă. Știți, așadar, să criminalizați opțiunile politice care nu vă convin. Deși oficial trăim într-o democrație care garantează libertatea alegerii, v-am auzit în mai multe rânduri amenințând cu o justiție viitoare care, reglându-și conturile cu actualul președinte, ar urma să și-o regleze și cu cei care au optat, politic, pentru el („O să dea ei seama!”).
Însă efectele incompetenței (și nepăsării) dvs care au lovit țara vor apărea din plin la anul, când se va face bilanțul celor doi ani și jumătate de guvernare. Deja de-acum, pentru un ochi avizat, situația este alarmantă. E al treilea trimestru (neîncheiat) în care, pe fondul unei economii emergente, România se află în recesiune tehnică. Cu felul în care cheltuiți banii era firesc să ajungem aici. Nu vă pasă de unde se vor putea umple găurile finaciare apărute prin cheltuielile de la buget menite să vă atragă un capital de simpatie. Uluitoare este generozitatea electorală cu care împărțiți alocații și subvenții de stat, fără să știți din ce vor fi acoperite în viitor datoriile făcute în numele lor. Când mai aruncați cu câte o pomană în stânga și-n dreapta, folosiți cuvântul magic „sustenabil”. Spuneți: e „sustenabilă” pomana. Dar n-ați explicat niciodată cum anume „se susține” ea și nici cu ce drept o faceți, din banii noștri, tocmai în campania electorală.
Două sunt lucrurile pe care, cred, știți să le faceți cu adevărat. Primul: aveți în mod cert vocație de arivist. V-ați cățărat atât de tenace pe scara vieții încât iată, deși „cârlan” încă (vorba „bunicului” dvs Ion Iliescu), sunteți gata-gata să ajungeți la vârf. Ați făcut-o cu o năucitoare lipsă de scrupule și cred că atunci când culisele acestei ascensiuni vor fi date complet pe față, lumea, amețită până acum de „comedia Spânului”, se va trezi în cele din urmă, îngrozită de anvergura mistificării. Deocamdată, din trusa dvs de cățărător, fac parte și tehnicile pentru secretizarea culiselor urcării.
Al doilea lucru pe care-l practicați cu voluptate sunt giumbușlucurile. Le faceți în ședințele de guvern, la televizor, în public, deîndată ce vă pomeniți în fața microfoanelor. Giumbușlucuri, glumițe, bănculețe, bășcăliuțe, miștocăreli, răspunsuri în doi peri peste tot… Măști, mascarale și mascarade. Și totul cu o mină zâmbăreață și trădând o nemăsurată încântare de sine.
Dar până la urmă, toate astea nu vă conferă decât pitorescul punctual al unui personaj. În fond, în spațiul diversiunii, al populismului și al tehnicilor acaparării, n-ați inventat nimic nou. Până la urmă, nu sunteți decât un urmaș: nu faceți decât să duceți mai departe ceea ce ați primit de la înaintașii dvs.
Moștenirea primită de la bunicul
Bunicul dvs politic, Ion Iliescu, s-a pomenit, la sfârșitul lui ’89, cu un popor bolnav în brațe. După patruzeci și cinci de ani de comunism, pacientul avea febră peste 40 de grade. Orice bun patriot ajuns în locul primului președinte liber ales ar fi încercat să joace rolul medicului. I-ar fi predat bolnavului primele lecții de democrație, l-ar fi învățat primele noțiuni de piață liberă și ar fi încercat să-l facă să se obișnuiască, încet-încet, cu lumina, prea tare după atâția ani de umilință, a libertății. L-ar fi integrat, pe scurt, într-un vast program de recuperare.
Dar bunicul dvs (ales în mod liber de bolnavul febril) a preferat să-i crească bolnavului febra și să-i sporească delirul. Singurul lucru care l-a interesat a fost să le asigure celor care ne inoculaseră virusul înainte de 1990 o aterizare lină pe celălalt mal al istoriei. Avea nevoie în continuare de febra noastră. Cu un popor incult politic, ținut decenii la rând departe de orice decizie, poți face orice. Și mai ales, vei fi sigur că-l va vota ani la rând, ca salvator, pe cel care nu va face decât să-l îmbolnăvească mai rău.
Așadar, „bunicul” n-a vrut să facă din poporul român o societate de alegători liberi într-o democrație matură, ci o masă de manevră în mâna unui partid unic, dusă cu zăhărelul pomenii de la un ciclu electoral la altul. Ce nu face un om sărac pentru un litru de ulei, pentru o masă în curtea bisericii, pentru un bal al primăriei cu mici și sarmale? Sărăcia este un ingredient esențial în scenariul manipulării. Oamenii săraci nu pot gândi dincolo de ziua de mâine, nu fac planuri, nu caută soluții. Oamenii săraci pot fi lesne introduși în ecuația lui „a cere” și „a primi”.
Așadar, bunicul dvs i-a crescut bolnavului febra, i-a cultivat maladia, a continuat să-l țină cu mințile sucite. Și toate astea spunând că, „om de stânga” fiind (inexact: un comunist nu e niciodată om de stânga, ci de extrema-stângă), moare de dragul poporului. A dat drumul peste țară armatei de activiști și securiști ajunse cu bine, cum spuneam, pe noul țărm al istoriei. S-au uitat o vreme, temători, în jur, și-au pus o vreme piciorul în ghips, s-au lămurit cum stau lucrurile, apoi și-au aruncat vechile uniforme de „activiști” și au reapărut radioși la rampă: acum purtau costume de „democrați” și „oameni de afaceri”.
Primul lucru pe care l-au făcut: preluând canalele de comunicare ale societății, au folosit sistematic sofismul ca mod de manipulare. Orice tentativă de lustrație a fost denunțată ca „vânătoare de vrăjitoare”. Le-au creat investitorilor străini, concurenți nedoriți, portretul de „capitaliști rapace” și au ridicat împotriva lor scutul demagogic al formulei „nu ne vindem țara!”. Aceste cuvinte magice le-au permis s-o acapareze ei și, obiectiv vorbind, au condamnat la subdezvoltare economia României. Împotriva celor care ar fi putut juca rolul de medic al societății, au pus „masele muncitoare” să strige „moarte intelectualilor!”. Sub pulpana lungii guvernări iliesciene a înflorit corupția și s-a născut baronetul României, „capitalismul de cumetrie”, cum l-a botezat atât de inspirat dl Iliescu însuși, tot |
Israel'sembassy in Canberra has declined to comment, although its ambassador met Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop for a pre-arranged meeting on Wednesday.
Speaking before the meeting, Ms Bishop said she would be raising the case with the ambassador and was concerned the Israeli government was censoring media reports.
"That's a matter that I'll raise directly with the Israeli embassy to get an understanding of the basis for it," she said.
"If there are security considerations I can understand it, but if it's just about embarrassing a government agency, then that certainly requires an explanation and I'll be seeking one."
A spokesman for Ms Bishop says the ambassador undertook to pass on her concerns to "relevant authorities" in Israel.
Mr Zygier's musician uncle Willy Zygier, who is the partner of Melbourne singer Deborah Conway, told ABC Local Radio in Melbourne that he had "no idea what is true, what isn't true".
"All I know is there's a family tragedy. Every suicide is a tragedy. That's all I've got to say," he said.
Mr Zygier's family has previously declined to speak to the ABC, and friends and acquaintances approached by Foreign Correspondent in Melbourne had also refused to comment.
ABC/wires
Topics: foreign-affairs, federal-government, prisons-and-punishment, australia, israel, melbourne-3000, vic
First posted“Yes there have been crashed craft, and bodies recovered.... We are not alone in the universe, they have been coming here for a long time.... I happen to be privileged enough to be in on the fact that we have been visited on this planet, and the UFO phenomenon is real.”
– Doctor Edgar Mitchell, 6th man to walk on the moon ( source )( source )( source)
When I was a kid I was wondering, kind of, what’s the meaning of life, like, why are we here, what’s it all about? I came to the conclusion that what really matters is trying to understand the right questions to ask, and, the more that we can increase the scope and scale of human consciousness, the better we are able to ask these questions....
Some of those things are in the long term, having long term sustainable transport and sustainable energy generation, and to be a space-bearing civilization, and for humanity to be out there among the stars, and be a multi-planetary species. I think being a multi-planet species and being out there among the stars is important for the long term survival of humanity.... It creates a sense of adventure, and it makes people excited about the future.
“Not Smart Enough To Realize It”
“Intelligent beings from other star systems have been and are visiting our planet Earth. They are variously referred to as Visitors, Others, Star People, ETs, etc.... They are visiting Earth NOW; this is not a matter of conjecture or wistful thinking.”
– Theodor C. Loder III, Phd, Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire ( source
Why the Masses Haven’t Realized It — Or Have They?
One the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re not longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.
“There are objects in our atmosphere which are technically miles in advance of anything we can deploy, that we have no means of stopping them coming here … [and] that there is a serious possibility that we are being visited and have been visited for many years by people from outer space, from other civilizations. That it behooves us, in case some of these people in the future or now should turn hostile, to find out who they are, where they come from, and what they want. This should be the subject of rigorous scientific investigation and not the subject of ‘rubishing’ by tabloid newspapers.”
– Lord Admiral Hill-Norton, Former Chief of Defence Staff, 5 Star Admiral of the Royal Navy, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee ( source
What Extraterrestrial Contact Is Really About
“An extraterrestrial influence is investigating our planet. Something is monitoring the planet and they are monitoring it very cautiously.”
– Former Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska), 2008 presidential candidate
“The Earth is about four and a half billion years go, that’s 45 hundred million years old. What if theres another planet that’s almost exactly like us, almost exactly 45 hundred and 1 million years old. They’re a million years ahead of us, and on a galactic scale they’re almost our twin brothers. We’ll have solved all these problems.”
– Jack Kasher ( source
A ‘Spiritual’ Revolution
“My people tell of Star People who came to us many generations ago. The Star people brought spiritual teachings and stories and maps of the cosmos and they offered these freely. They were kind, loving and set a great example. When they left us, my people say there was a loneliness like no other.”
– Richard Wagamese, one of Canada’s foremost authors and storytellers from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in Northwestern Ontario (source)
Stillness in the Storm Editor's note: Did you find a spelling error or grammar mistake? Do you think this article needs a correction or update? Or do you just have some feedback? Send us an email at Did you find a spelling error or grammar mistake? Do you think this article needs a correction or update? Or do you just have some feedback? Send us an email at sitsshow@gmail.com with the error, headline and url
Thank you for reading.
________________________________________________________________ Sign-up for RSS Updates: Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Stillness in the Storm Blog by Email] Question -- What is the goal of this website? Why do we share different sources of information that sometimes conflicts or might even be considered disinformation? Answer -- The primary goal of Stillness in the Storm is to help all people become better truth-seekers in a real-time boots-on-the-ground fashion. This is for the purpose of learning to think critically, discovering the truth from within—not just believing things blindly because it came from an "authority" or credible source. Instead of telling you what the truth is, we share information from many sources so that you can discern it for yourself. We focus on teaching you the tools to become your own authority on the truth, gaining self-mastery, sovereignty, and freedom in the process. We want each of you to become your own leaders and masters of personal discernment, and as such, all information should be vetted, analyzed and discerned at a personal level. We also encourage you to discuss your thoughts in the comments section of this site to engage in a group discernment process.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." – Aristotle
The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Stillness in the Storm, the authors who contribute to it, or those who follow it.
View and Share our Images
Curious about Stillness in the Storm?
See our About this blog - Contact Us page.
If it was not for the gallant support of readers, we could not devote so much energy into continuing this blog. We greatly appreciate any support you provide!
We hope you benefit from this not-for-profit site
It takes hours of work every day to maintain, write, edit, research, illustrate and publish this blog. We have been greatly empowered by our search for the truth, and the work of other researchers. We hope our efforts to give back, with this website, helps others in gaining knowledge, liberation and empowerment.
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting." — Buddha
If you find our work of value, consider making a Contribution.
This website is supported by readers like you.
[Click on Image below to Contribute]
As recent as a decade ago, avid UFO and extraterrestrial researchers were unable to speak openly about their research without being ridiculed. Today, the topic has gained considerable credibility and popularity, so much so that not only are high ranking figures from military, political, and academic spheres speaking out, but also popular global figures as well, and particularly at prestigious conferences around the world. Previously classified documents that have been released from dozens of governments around the world have also allowed this topic to enter the respected public domain.The 2011 Global Competitiveness Forum, at which a number of prominent scientists attended, featured a lecture by Jacques Vallee, notable for co-developing the first computerized mapping of Mars for NASA, and for his work at SRI International on the network information centre for ARPANET, on the UFO/extraterrestrial phenomenon.Here’s another talk by nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman at the same conference. The main theme of that conference was contact with intelligent extraterrestrials, and learning from outer space.As far as documents, whistleblowers, and other ‘proofs’ that have emerged, we’ve covered many in great detail in a number of articles that we’ve published. You can access those articles by visiting the exopolitics section of our website here The latest major figure to comment on extraterrestrials was Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX and co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc. Aside from a phenomenal businessman, Tesla is an activist who uses his wealth and resources to create a better Earth.He touched on extraterrestrials at the World Government Summit, a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of government worldwide. Each year, the Summit sets the agenda for the next generation of governments with a focus on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.Here’s an excerpt from that speech, which you can view here Below is a snippet taken from the full interview. In it, he states that if there are super intelligent extraterrestrials somewhere out there, which is the generally agreed upon scientific hypothesis, “they’re probably already observing us, that would seem quite likely, and we’re just not smart enough to realize it.”I think Musk is right — they are probably already watching us, we just don’t realize it yet. But things are changing. Numerous efforts are being made to educate the public on this subject, from the most credible sources available. Scientific publications, video footage, and photos have already been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals for a number of years. ( source Below is a powerful statement made by former NASA astronaut and Princeton physics professor Dr. Brian O’Leary, who says that there is “abundant evidence that we are being contacted, and that intelligent civilizations have been visiting for a very long time.”Again, if you want to sift through some of this evidence, we’ve presented it in hundreds of articles you can view in chronological order in the exopolitics section of our website here “Behind the scenes, high ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about UFOs. But through official secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown flying objects are nonsense.”– Former head of CIA Roscoe Hillenkoetter, 1960 (source) Movies and television shows bombard us constantly with stories of extraterrestrial invasions, and despite all of the evidence available, the fact that we are being and have been visited by extraterrestrials can be a scary thought, particularly given the way extraterrestrials are typically portrayed.With a massive disinformation campaign that has focused on covering up these facts for decades, along with the mass ridicule of this subject for anyone who took it seriously in the past, it quickly escaped the minds of the masses and many people considered the notion of ongoing intelligent contact with our planet from extraterrestrials completely preposterous.A great quote from Carl Sagan comes to mind:Current public perception of UFOs and extraterrestrials reveals how easily our minds can be influenced, and how quickly our thoughts about a subject can be given to us, even subconsciously. It begs the question, how many other beliefs do we share that have been, in a sense, ‘programmed’ into us by powerful groups of people with an agenda?All this being said, the fact that UFOs/extraterrestrials is one of the most searched subjects on the web suggests that people are at least curious to learn the truth.Humanity is waking up to the fact that this type of thing has been happening for quite some time, and the realization comes at a time when humanity is experiencing a massive shift in consciousness. By ‘shift in consciousness,’ I mean that we are letting go of long-held beliefs that have been rendered obsolete by new evidence. That being said, no matter how much evidence presents itself, it’s always going to be difficult to let go of belief systems, but minds are indeed opening. It was great to see Musk mention the topic of consciousness in his talk as well as mention that it’s important to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness, and part of increasing that scope, as Musk identifies, is asking the right questions. Some of these questions deal with pulling back the veil that’s blinded the masses for decades. It’s not that we aren’t smart enough, but rather that we have been lied to and misled for years.Acknowledging the fact that we are being visited opens up so many questions in all fields, from religion, to history, to new theories of scientific knowledge and many more, as I am sure you can imagine. If they have been around, and have been watching us, why has there not been major contact? There is sufficient evidence showing that contact has indeed occurred on an individual level, with perhaps millions of people, but a ‘one time’ mass disclosure event has yet to take place.Perhaps Musk is not sharing knowledge that he’s been privy too? Given the circles that he finds himself in, it would not be surprising. Furthermore, when in the business of new energy generation, the topic of UFOs is most likely to come up, because one of the main questions is, how are they getting here? What propulsion systems do they use? UFOs that are tracked on military radar and visually confirmed by pilots have performed maneuvers that completely defy our known laws of physics, and make maneuvers no known aircraft on Earth can.“There is another way, whether it’s wormholes or warping space, there’s got to be a way to generate energy so that you can pull it out of the vacuum, and the fact that they’re here shows us that they found a way.” ( source The statement above comes from Dr. Jack Kasher, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Nebraska. He is one out of multiple physicists (and scientists in general) to examine the truly remarkable NASA STS-48 footage. You can see that footage and read more about it here I’ve been studying the UFO/extraterrestrial phenomenon for a very long time, and one common theme that constantly comes up is a shift in consciousness, a change in the way we see and care for our planet, and a deeper understanding about life and the true nature of reality.Is it a coincidence that the ET/UFO topic continues to gain attention as we turn our focus toward global cooperation? A desire for peace? A desire for a clean, green planet clear of corporate, government, and financial interest?Can we work together, can we solve these problems in order to become the spacefaring race that Musk so passionately speaks of? It seems other civilizations have done so, civilizations that have probably already tackled and overcome these same problems we now face.Some people believe that ‘spirituality’ is another religion. And it can be (See: “ Why I Believe the Spiritual Movement Can Be Counter Productive “).That being said, spirituality doesn’t really have the same negative connotations that religion has, lacking its long history of violence, subjugation, and corruption. Spirituality isn’t concerned with converting people to specific beliefs and behaviours. It has roots in the most ancient of history, and also correlations with a lot of science that’s emerging today, mainly in the areas of quantum physics and neuroscience, which are now revealing the vast interconnectedness of all things. I think it would be wise to assume that this interconnectedness is not only planetary, but interplanetary and beyond.A big part of the extraterrestrial question coincides with this type of ‘spirituality.’ While there will always be people who are quick to label aliens as angels or demons, perhaps the best approach is, as the Dalai Lama emphasized a few years ago, to view ‘them’ as ‘us,’ and refuse the urge to label and judge them.The spiritual aspect of this topic is also emphasized in indigenous lore from all over the world.You can read more about that in an article I recently published linked below:If they are here, and have been for a while, I guess we can rule out any type of ‘alien’ invasion, but a staged alien invasion could be another story…At the end of the day, all of the research I and many others have done suggests that something special is happening, and there are many out there watching us, and perhaps assisting us in ways we do not know, to see if we can succeed in making the human experience beneficial for all life on the planet. Part of that is waking up to all of the lies and deceit that plagues this planet, presenting solutions to our problems, and then implementing those solutions. Many barriers may stand in the way of this progress, but we can’t break them down until they are at least identified. This is one aspect of the massive shift in consciousness that’s occurring right now, and how it may tie to the supposed “super intelligent aliens” that may not only be visiting us right now, but walking among us.Perhaps extraterrestrial contact can help us find out who we are and where we come from. There is a bigger picture here, and it requires us to let go of all of our judgements and destructive ways of life, and embrace the interconnectedness of all that is.What do you think? I’ll end this article with a great video that can give us all something to think about. There is ample reason to believe that these changes spoken below are directly correlated with some of the extraterrestrial groups currently visiting our planet. Obviously Rainn mentions nothing of that topic, but that’s not why I’m sharing this video.Full ET disclosure knocks opens pandora’s box, and makes it’s way into all aspects of our lives, if allowed to open…One thing is for certain, “the truth is going to come out sooner or later.” – Colonel Ross Dedrickson taken from this interview._________________________With the Rio Olympics kicking off today, Lexington athletes are giving hometown fans Olympic fever…and hopefully nothing else. Poor conditions for the spectacle are prevalent and range from raw sewage pouring into the bay to Zika virus being all over the place to drunk Europeans who were too wasted to leave after the 2014 World Cup still stumbling around. Despite the fact that organizers can’t tell which constantly burning fire is the Olympic torch, fans are still excited for the event and most folks across the Bluegrass are ready to back their Kentucky natives except for one holdout.
Rowan County employee Kim Davis, who obviously understands the sacrifices Olympic athletes make in their daily lives in order to participate at such a high level, as she’s a county clerk, is back in the news after refusing to acknowledge Lexington native Tyson Gay as a real Olympian. “I look at him and see someone who’s just running from their problems and I can’t support him. Especially since he’s running in the 4×100 relay. It’s just not natural for four men to run 100 yards together passing around that cold, hard baton from one man to another.”
While she doesn’t support the 31 year old sprinter, she does sympathize with his current situation. “I can relate to what’s happening in Rio right now. Violence, unfinished structures, that carnival, feces in the water…sounds like Rowan County to me.”
Tyson Gay declined to comment on the report saying he was focusing on the positives. “I’m having a great time and just thrilled to be in Rio hanging out with my fellow Lexingtonian and Olympic fencer Lee Keifer. I think she’s got a real shot at a medal this year, she’s relaxed and focused and because of the mosquitos, she’s refusing to remove her fencing suit the whole time we’re in Rio.” Gay and Kiefer, were spotted earlier in the day at the rowing qualifiers where a dead body washed up during the race causing lots of commotion. In the end, Germany won the drama filled race. The dead body finished fourth.Jared Fogle solicited sex from minors and knowingly received and shared child pornography created by his now-imprisoned charitable foundation director, according to documents released today by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Indianapolis.
The Associated Press reports that at a press conference today, prosecutors revealed details of the charges to which Fogle, a longtime Subway spokesman, is expected to plead guilty at a later date.
At today's hearing a not guilty plea was entered on Fogle's behalf; he will be released with an electronic monitoring device.
Fogle plans to plead guilty to one count of travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, authorities said. He will register as a sex offender and seek treatment for sexual disorders.
While Fogle's prison sentence is not yet determined, prosecutors say they will not request more than 12.5 years in prison and that Fogle has agreed not to request less than five years. He will pay a total of $1.4 million in restitution, split among 14 victims at $100,000 each, according to the AP. It was unclear this morning how many of those victims were involved in child pornography and how many Fogle is accused of having sex with.
Fogle's attorney did not comment to the press.
When news of Fogle's pending charges arose Tuesday, Subway announced it was immediately severing all ties with the former spokesman.
The former Subway pitchman's wife, Katie Fogle, released a statement Wednesday morning to the press. She will be seeking a divorce.
"Obviously, I am extremely shocked and disappointed by the recent developments involving Jared," she said. "I am in the process of seeking a dissolution of the marriage. My focus is exclusively on the well-being of my children. Neither I nor my family will have any further comment on the matter. I appreciate respect for my family's privacy during this difficult time."Leigh Halfpenny has won 71 caps for Wales and scored 619 points
Talks are under way to bring Leigh Halfpenny back to Wales, Welsh Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies has confirmed.
The Scarlets are set to sign the Wales full-back on a National Dual Contract (NDC) with the WRU, after Halfpenny left Toulon in the summer.
Davies wants Halfpenny, 28, back in Wales after three seasons in France.
"Talks are ongoing," Davies confirmed to BBC Wales News' Welsh language Newyddion 9 programme.
"I think the Union and the regions are eager to ensure that the best Welsh players play in Wales.
"Those discussions are ongoing but there is no development that can be announced as yet."
Davies refused to be drawn on which of the four regions Halfpenny would be joining if he agreed to return to Wales.
"We're looking forward to bring him back to play his rugby in Wales so that he's considered as one of the game's heroes and that the kids and the next generation can see one of our best players play in Wales," Davies said.
'Important to see star players'
Halfpenny has spent three seasons in Toulon after joining from Cardiff Blues but is set to link up with the Scarlets rather than his former region.
The WRU would pay 60% of his contract as part of the NDC, with the Scarlets contributing the other 40%.
"The regions are always looking to retain, first of all, and then repatriate our leading players to play rugby in Wales," added Davies.
"It's important for the young generation to see their star players being readily available for them to watch most weekends."
Scarlets general manager Jon Daniels remained coy on whether Halfpenny was heading to Llanelli.
"We are preparing for next season with the squad that we have got," said Daniels.
"If there is anything on Leigh Halfpenny in the near future, I am sure the Welsh Rugby Union will be making that statement when they are ready to do so. Until then we are getting on with our preparations.
"We have a squad here who has been working hard for a good couple of weeks and we are looking forward to the challenge."Posted 2009-08-09 03:50:00 GMT
The humiliation of having teepeedee2 play second fiddle to C implementations was weighing heavily on my mind, so today I spent a few hours squeezing a bit more fat out of the HTTP processing.
One of the major motivating factors for making tpd2 was the idea from the C10k website that it should be possible to get much better performance out of a webserver than is currently normal. The 10k goal looked very far away at the beginning of the project, and many people said it was impossible from Lisp, which after all is a very dynamic language.
Yes, tpd2 has broken the 10k requests/s barrier on one core.
This is a big moment for me psychologically (and a testament to the excellent work done by the SBCL hackers on their Lisp implementation).
The significance is that teepeedee2 presents a new level of speed for dynamic websites. The processing of GET parameters, building up of dynamic HTML and so on take less than 0.1ms — on my laptop, probably even less on a modern server CPU. Additionally, because of its scalable timeouts and use of epoll, teepeedee2 can handle many AJAX polling clients extremely efficiently. This opens up a world of opportunity for interactive web applications that simply can't be implemented on traditional platforms.
The two competitive (but slower) web application frameworks — ULib and kloned are based on custom template languages with the possibility to embed arbitrary C++ code.
The biggest obstacle was that the automatic code transforms from cl-cont mean that simply using local functions (i.e. flets and labels) causes memory to be allocated at runtime (inefficient funcallable/cc objects are created). Therefore I fiddled with the HTTP parsing to do more inside a without-call/cc. The result was a huge match-bind for cl-irregsexp.
Given a program has a (correct) performance orientated design, it's generally not very useful to look at profiling data. except to locate performance bugs where the implementation does not meet the design (e.g. this issue with cl-cont), or to do micro-optimizations. I had mostly concentrated on getting a good architectural design for teepeedee2, and hadn't done much micro-optimization based on profiles till now. Based on the profile output from sb-profile, I inlined a few timeout related functions, a few miscellaneous functions and rewrote the IP address to string routine (these changes boosted about 10% or so).
The result is this
$ schedtool -a 0 -e ab -n 100000 -c10 http://localhost:3000/test?name=John This is ApacheBench, Version 2.3 <$Revision: 655654 $> Copyright 1996 Adam Twiss, Zeus Technology Ltd, http://www.zeustech.net/ Licensed to The Apache Software Foundation, http://www.apache.org/ Benchmarking localhost (be patient) Completed 10000 requests Completed 20000 requests Completed 30000 requests Completed 40000 requests Completed 50000 requests Completed 60000 requests Completed 70000 requests Completed 80000 requests Completed 90000 requests Completed 100000 requests Finished 100000 requests Server Software: Server Hostname: localhost Server Port: 3000 Document Path: /test?name=John Document Length: 19 bytes Concurrency Level: 10 Time taken for tests: 8.839 seconds Complete requests: 100000 Failed requests: 0 Write errors: 0 Total transferred: 5800000 bytes HTML transferred: 1900000 bytes Requests per second: 11313.29 [#/sec] (mean) Time per request: 0.884 [ms] (mean) Time per request: 0.088 [ms] (mean, across all concurrent requests) Transfer rate: 640.79 [Kbytes/sec] received Connection Times (ms) min mean[+/-sd] median max Connect: 0 0 0.1 0 8 Processing: 0 1 0.5 1 39 Waiting: 0 1 0.5 1 39 Total: 0 1 0.5 1 39 Percentage of the requests served within a certain time (ms) 50% 1 66% 1 75% 1 80% 1 90% 1 95% 1 98% 1 99% 2 100% 39 (longest request)
I started tpd2 like this
schedtool -a 1 -e sbcl --load bench.lisp
(handler-bind ((error (lambda(c) (declare (ignore c)) (invoke-restart 'CONTINUE)))) (asdf:oos 'asdf:load-op 'teepeedee2)) (in-package #:tpd2.user) (defsite *bench*) (with-site (*bench*) (defpage "/test" (name) :create-frame nil (<h1 "Hello " name))) (http-start-server 3000) (event-loop)
where bench.lisp was
The hardware is my aging Panasonic Y7 laptop — an Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU L7700 @ 1.80GHz, running Linux 2.6.31-5-generic #24-Ubuntu, and SBCL 1.0.29.11.debian.
The (now) fastest is an awesome framework called ULib by Stefano Casazza. It is in C++, uses select for portability(!) to MS Windows, and of course compiles dynamic pages to machine code. It once scored 11169.22/s, which is just a smidgeon less that teepeedee2, but normally scores much less (about 9k/s) — teepeedee2 is the fastest in my book. However, I hope to be able to blog more about Ulib because it's quite interesting and maybe Stefano will be able to improve it to topple teepeedee2 from the top spot.
I guess this means mission complete for teepeedee2. The external APIs need to be designed and documented if anybody wants to use it, and I would be delighted to accept patches.
UPDATE 20090819 — Kloned and Ulib do not use limited scripting languages. They can embed arbitrary C++. (Thanks to Stefano Barbato.)
UPDATE 20091028 — Added nginx's perl mode.
UPDATE 20091231 — Note that ULib is now the winner — dammit! :-(Over a morning conference call for just a few members of the media — of which I was happy to be a part during my layover in Seattle on my way out to the New York Auto Show — Brian Carolin, Nissan’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, spilled the long-awaited pricing beans on the upcoming Nissan LEAF electric car.
Contrary to some of the recent rumors, at a base price of $32,780 it is relatively affordable… so affordable, in fact, that, after the $7,500 federal tax credit, Nissan is able to offer the LEAF for a lease price of $349 a month not including generous state incentives. When you add in some of those — like a $5,000 tax credit in California, up to $6,000 in Colorado, $5,000 in Georgia, and $1,500 in Oregon — all of a sudden you might be talking a final price of around $20K.
As Mr. Carolin said during the conference call, the LEAF lease of $349 runs for 36 months and includes a $1,999 down payment. Nissan has always said they want to storm the market with EVs, and at that price it certainly seems attainable. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to get a $33,000 car for $20,000 — regardless of its propulsion system? But with this one, you get zero emissions and incredibly cheap “fueling” costs to boot.
“Imagine the possibility of never needing to go to a gas station again. Or of paying less than $3 for 100 miles behind the wheel. Or of creating zero emissions while driving,” said Mr. Carolin. “Nissan leads the industry by offering the first affordable, zero-emission vehicle for the mass market. Nissan LEAF truly is in a class by itself.”
Two Trim Levels
The starting price of $32,780 is for the SV “base” model with standard equipment such a navigation system, Internet connectivity, bluetooth, LED headlights, a key with push button start, Sirius/XM satellite radio, roadside assistance, stability control, traction control and six airbags. The LEAF also comes standard with many recycled and recyclable materials, including seat fabric, instrument panels, and front- and rear-bumper fascias.
In addition to the base model, Nissan will also be offering a more tricked out SL model for an additional $940. The SL adds in features such as a rearview monitor, a solar panel spoiler, fog lights, and automatic headlights. Production of both trim levels will begin in September although they won’t hit showrooms until December. Brian Carolin said that there will be approximately 50,000 LEAFs available for sale in the 2011 calendar year.
Home Charging Stations
Also announced during the conference call was an option for the installation of a 220V home charging station priced at an “average cost” of $2,200. Of course, actual pricing may vary widely depending on the electrical state of your home, but a home wiring assessment is included at no charge.
The stations will be built and installed by AeroVironment and can be bought at the same time as the vehicle. If that cost is rolled into the lease price, it would add an extra $30 a month to the lease. Both the charging station and the installation are eligible for a 50% federal tax credit up to $2,000. Based on average electricity rates in the US, Nissan is claiming that the LEAF will cost less than $3 to “fill up” in your garage.
Purchase Process Revealed
As has long been known, the LEAF will go on sale in December of this year. Those who are signed up on the LEAF interest list (of which Nissan says there are now 85,000!) will be given the first shot at getting their names in line on the actual reservation list when Nissan opens it up on April 20. To ensure your place in line at that time, you’ll need to pay a fully refundable $99 reservation fee.
In August, people who have plunked down the $99 reservation fee will be able to start ordering their own LEAFs based on their place on the list and geographic location. Nissan has guaranteed certain areas of the US — such as Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, and some parts of California — access to the LEAF first. If you don’t live in those areas, don’t fret, every month of 2011 Nissan plans on adding additional markets so that “By the end of 2011 [the LEAF] will be nationwide,” as Carolin said. Paying the reservation fee also allows you access to “special upcoming Nissan LEAF events,” according to Nissan.
So, now that we know the actual base starting price of the LEAF, what do you think? Is the second coming of the electric car all starting to come together clearly yet? Now that we have some firm pricing out in the open for the vanguard EV, it somehow seems more real to me.In 1989, in an attempt to show they were at least attempting to be ‘down with the kids’, the Grammys introduced a new category: Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Recording. All good so far.
However, on February 22, when Metallica, Iggy Pop, Jane’s Addiction and the year’s other major contenders in the new category showed up for the Grammy Awards ceremony at The Shrine in Los Angeles, none of them could possibly have expected that, when award presenter Alice Cooper opened the envelope and began “And the winner is…” the award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Recording of 1989 would go to a folksy, flute- fronted prog rock band: the decidedly non-metal, far from hard-rocking Jethro Tull.
Yes, you can laugh. Many there on the night certainly did.
Chris Wright (founder, Chrysalis Records, Tull’s label): 1989 was the first year of the Heavy Metal Grammy. Chrysalis Records in America was based in Los Angeles at that time, but I don’t think there was one single person in the company who thought, hang on a minute, Jethro Tull might win the Heavy Metal award. I don’t think we were even expecting it to be awarded live on the show.
Ian Anderson (leader, Jethro Tull): Perhaps because we were five nice men who had never won a Grammy before, the voting members of NARAS [National Academy of Recording Arts And Sciences] decided we should receive a nomination. It’s a peer group award from people in the industry – producers, musicians, record company professionals – who give the award; it’s not six panellists on The X Factor.
Lars Ulrich: Some three weeks before the awards, all those who are ‘in touch’ – the critics, the day-today involved people – assumed that Metallica would walk away with the award. It’s easy for the in-touch people to think that, but remember that most of the academy, who vote for the nominees, are in the age group of 40 to 60, and are very much less in tune with what goes on in the music scene.
C Michael Greene (Then President, NARAS): Grammy bashing is one of the easiest sports in the world.
Ian Anderson: The hot ticket was Metallica, in this newly introduced category of Hard Rock/ Metal. I was told by our record company, by the then-head of Chrysalis in the USA, not to bother going, which is a euphemism for: “We’re not going to pay your air fare or get you a hotel, because we don’t think you’re going to win.” It was assumed that we would not win because we were up against Metallica and Iggy Pop and Jane’s Addiction. So we were definitely the odd ones out, because we were more commonly thought of as a folk rock band, certainly not hard rock or heavy metal.
Alice Cooper (Grammy Awards presenter): We went to the Shrine Auditorium for rehearsals that day, and that involved opening an envelope with a dummy card inside, |
1.2 1.6 Ciabatta 213.4 3.3 44.9 2.9 2.0 0.3 2.3 0.7 8.3 Raisin bread 261.0 4.0 49.1 18.6 4.2 1.5 0.8 0.8 1.6 Scone 293.2 3.7 52.2 13.8 7.5 2.2 1.4 1.1 2.7 Baguette 270.1 4.5 56.7 6.4 2.5 0.4 1.9 3.0 5.3 Lye Pretzel 343.8 4.8 59.2 7.8 9.4 4.7 1.0 0.9 2.2 Rusk 343.9 0.3 82.5 0.8 0.9 0.3 3.2 0.7 0.7 Crispbread 351.6 6.9 77.8 6.0 0.9 0.2 0.4 0.2 2.9 Wraps 228.7 3.1 38.8 0.4 7.5 2.2 0.3 0.4 2.8 Pasta and cereal-based products Fusilli 335.9 8.2 69.9 1.0 2.2 0.3 0.7 1.1 7.2 Spaghetti 329.0 8.7 66.3 1.3 2.8 0.4 0.9 1.4 9.4 Penne 338.4 6.9 72.4 4.3 1.9 0.3 0.5 0.9 4.9 Lasagne sheets 373.0 7.0 76.3 0.8 4.0 1.1 1.6 0.8 2.4 Vermicelli 371.2 12.5 71.6 2.0 3.4 0.4 1.0 1.7 13.5 Tagliatelli 370.9 12.1 72.0 1.9 3.3 0.4 1.0 1.7 13.1 Cous Cous 345.0 8.8 73.8 1.5 1.1 0.1 0.4 0.4 5.0 Cereals Granola (chocolate) 392.3 5.5 72.6 34.0 8.5 4.7 3.1 0.6 4.6 Granola (nuts) 478.0 7.1 64.9 16.7 21.0 7.7 10.3 2.5 4.8 Cornflakes 322.4 8.5 62.9 1.4 3.7 0.6 1.1 1.6 7.6 Cookie and Cakes Shortbread 385.3 3.3 73.6 13.8 8.3 2.7 3.9 1.5 1.2 Neapolitan wafers (original) 236.0 2.5 22.9 18.1 15.0 8.3 5.2 1.1 3.3 Cookie (chocolate) 479.2 2.0 64.3 5.7 23.8 11.9 8.5 2.5 2.3 Mignon wafers (hazelnut) 507.9 5.0 54.0 41.7 30.4 13.9 11.9 3.7 5.6 Marble cake 403.7 5.4 48.1 20.7 22.6 3.8 10.2 7.4 0.8 Ladyfinger 356.9 5.7 74.6 33.1 3.5 1.0 1.4 0.6 2.5 Cookie (whole-grain) 471.1 4.6 71.8 21.1 18.2 7.8 6.8 2.8 3.6 Granola bar 400.8 7.2 59.2 25.0 14.8 7.0 5.3 1.7 12.9 Cookie (orange)a 433.0 6.2 60.2 49.7 18.3 10.5 5.5 1.4 2.6 Apple strudel 270.9 4.2 43.2 18.1 8.7 3.4 2.9 2.2 1.6 Muffin 371.6 5.2 55.8 30.0 14.6 4.1 3.4 2.2 3.5 Snacks Cracker 340.8 10.1 43.5 0.0 13.8 9.3 3.3 0.4 0.3 Brezels 449.7 0.5 65.5 0.8 20.6 9.8 7.5 2.4 0.8 Grissini 392.5 2.0 67.4 2.6 12.6 3.9 6.1 2.4 0.7 Saltsticks 480.9 0.6 72.0 1.5 21.1 10.3 7.8 2.2 0.8 Wafers (plain) 329.7 8.6 63.8 1.4 4.1 0.6 1.2 1.8 7.7 Convenience foods Pizza (salami) 235.1 8.0 24.8 2.8 11.5 4.8 4.1 1.9 1.5 Pizza (margherita) 209.1 6.3 27.6 3.5 8.0 3.8 2.5 1.3 2.0 Lasagne 170.4 7.4 16.4 2.2 8.3 3.8 3.2 0.8 1.1 Chicken nuggets 251.2 15.3 22.5 0.5 11.0 1.5 4.2 4.8 3.0 Fish sticks 216.0 9.2 28.1 4.0 7.3 0.8 1.8 3.8 1.9 Tortellini (pork) 285.3 7.7 48.1 1.3 6.6 2.5 2.5 1.0 1.7 Soup (potato and leek) 355.9 16.2 47.7 7.9 10.4 2.2 4.3 2.6 8.3 Soup (mushrooms) 431.4 15.5 43.4 13.7 21.7 2.1 10.2 5.7 1.6 Wafer-cone (icecream filling) 278.0 5.2 27.8 24.2 16.2 5.9 7.0 2.9 3.5 Pudding (semolina) 362.5 6.2 82.0 14.8 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.2 1.8 Baked pastry case 483.9 4.3 43.3 21.6 32.9 15.7 12.0 3.6 4.4 Wafer (Oblate) 329.2 1.1 79.1 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 1.2 Rice drink (natural) 56.9 1.1 11.0 0.2 0.9 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.4 Flaky pastry 389.5 1.4 31.6 2.05 29.0 8.1 7.3 12.3 5.3 Frozen cake (almond, chocolate) 405.2 7.0 25.1 24.4 31.1 10.9 13.1 4.3 2.0 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1337/table-1 Sodium (mg) Cholestorol (mg) Iron (mg) Calcium (mg) Potassium (mg) Zinc (mg) Phosphor (mg) Vitamin C (mg) Vitamin D (µg) Vitamin E (mg) Retinol (µg) ß-Carotin (µg) Thiamin (mg) Riboflavin (mg) Niacin (mg) Flour/bake mix Flour a 3.02 0.00 1.42 32.16 147.84 0.99 78.76 0.00 0.00 0.11 0.00 0.02 0.08 0.03 0.29 Bake mix white (cake) 39.67 0.00 1.17 54.73 240.21 1.08 204.11 0.12 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.02 0.29 Bake mix brown (cake) 41.71 9.47 1.23 17.52 252.71 0.79 118.76 0.32 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.29 Bake mix (Pizza) a 783.75 0.00 1.49 89.31 347.84 1.64 720.85 0.39 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.05 1.14 Breadcrumbs a 196.33 0.04 2.25 31.67 182.99 1.88 183.23 0.00 0.00 1.02 0.00 4.51 0.25 0.04 0.31 Bread/bakery products Rustic bread 120.53 0.00 0.38 10.58 75.45 0.48 35.90 0.00 0.00 1.01 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.02 0.48 Whole-grain bread 685.79 0.00 2.41 96.43 304.10 1.70 208.75 0.01 0.00 0.23 0.00 0.01 0.21 0.10 1.33 Toast a 394.29 0.02 1.58 34.01 273.02 1.24 135.35 0.03 0.00 2.05 0.00 0.37 0.17 0.11 1.92 Bun 402.11 4.02 0.60 17.67 52.68 0.39 36.52 0.00 0.00 0.48 0.00 1.28 0.03 0.06 0.48 Ciabatta 355.74 0.00 1.03 17.15 117.38 0.86 91.38 1.20 0.00 1.05 0.00 0.08 0.14 0.09 0.97 Raisin bread 299.48 0.37 1.01 59.31 157.72 0.73 80.86 0.43 0.00 0.08 0.02 0.04 0.07 0.09 0.51 Scone 314.90 32.64 0.82 30.76 91.38 0.50 73.71 0.01 0.00 0.19 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.14 1.09 Baguette 336.38 0.00 0.66 13.96 120.93 0.41 48.25 0.84 0.00 1.41 0.00 0.01 0.07 0.06 0.62 Lye Pretzel 790.76 7.06 0.40 124.30 137.68 0.57 78.43 13.10 0.00 0.49 0.02 1.29 0.04 0.15 0.15 Rusk 5.52 0.01 1.06 21.34 11.95 0.40 20.24 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.01 0.09 Crispbread 547.20 0.00 0.67 11.61 99.13 0.67 109.04 0.00 0.00 0.24 0.00 0.04 0.11 0.04 1.38 Wraps 402.35 0.63 0.21 18.09 83.57 0.19 39.96 0.25 0.23 0.07 0.05 0.06 0.03 0.01 0.58 Pasta and cereal-based products Fusilli 1.88 0.00 1.80 14.67 114.68 1.87 205.75 0.00 0.00 0.81 0.00 0.21 0.33 0.10 1.76 Spaghetti 1.00 0.00 2.40 18.00 120.00 2.50 256.00 0.00 0.00 1.11 0.00 0.30 0.44 0.13 1.93 Penne 1.90 0.00 3.15 22.73 198.37 1.43 211.40 0.00 0.00 0.48 0.00 0.12 0.28 0.12 1.61 Lasagne sheets 55.98 146.52 1.37 30.53 91.97 1.32 144.47 0.00 0.00 0.89 0.10 0.04 0.10 0.18 0.52 Vermicelli 6.71 0.00 3.81 45.15 297.12 3.05 327.38 0.93 0.00 1.68 0.00 0.31 0.51 0.16 2.14 Tagliatelli 5.94 0.00 3.65 41.70 274.68 3.02 321.78 0.80 0.00 1.62 0.00 0.32 0.51 0.16 2.14 Cous Cous 1.00 0.00 1.00 4.00 80.00 0.41 73.00 0.00 0.00 0.52 0.00 0.26 0.13 0.04 1.20 Cereals Granola (chocolate) 504.01 15.77 1.51 17.98 265.98 0.52 73.86 0.13 0.00 0.25 0.00 0.51 0.05 0.06 0.96 Granola (nuts) 393.96 0.16 1.72 44.88 314.76 1.60 174.62 0.11 0.00 3.54 0.00 1.78 0.20 0.09 1.40 Cornflakes 575.88 0.00 1.52 8.61 265.44 1.45 208.76 0.00 0.00 1.47 0.00 0.90 0.35 0.20 1.47 Cookie and cakes Shortbread 408.14 17.31 0.66 33.19 79.97 0.59 72.93 0.22 0.00 0.84 0.02 9.02 0.05 0.10 0.73 Neapolitan wafers (original) 16.20 21.70 0.71 8.86 259.18 0.59 61.06 0.01 0.00 0.12 0.00 0.01 0.03 0.03 0.37 Cookie (chocolate) 199.30 3.37 0.82 13.20 91.10 0.73 57.96 0.00 0.00 1.66 0.00 4.50 0.05 0.02 0.26 Mignon wafers (hazelnut) 417.91 28.84 2.70 28.12 476.92 1.16 124.82 0.02 0.00 1.31 0.00 0.03 0.09 0.06 0.68 Marble cake 54.88 138.60 1.32 22.11 103.26 0.76 98.91 0.00 0.00 12.54 0.10 0.02 0.05 0.15 0.24 Ladyfinger 98.46 141.37 1.00 37.26 79.88 0.80 100.96 0.00 0.00 0.72 0.10 0.00 0.05 0.15 0.28 Cookie (whole-grain) 295.19 5.16 1.17 15.24 68.83 0.78 89.30 0.13 0.00 0.37 0.00 0.12 0.14 0.05 0.87 Granola bar 237.91 4.24 2.14 96.16 292.51 1.37 170.55 0.45 0.00 1.00 0.01 0.16 0.19 0.19 1.23 Cookie (orange)a 190.66 23.28 1.74 103.46 389.10 0.83 120.50 4.78 0.00 0.39 0.06 0.27 0.08 0.13 0.45 Apple strudel 102.98 1.83 1.13 177.03 240.82 0.68 128.36 4.75 0.00 0.16 0.05 0.08 0.07 0.27 0.25 Muffin 247.84 79.20 2.66 29.50 219.98 0.74 102.31 0.00 0.00 3.54 0.06 0.01 0.06 0.11 0.30 Snacks Cracker 2416.36 47.71 1.40 434.99 83.08 2.05 305.78 0.43 0.00 0.41 0.13 0.06 0.03 0.12 0.48 Brezels 554.28 0.20 0.67 11.72 17.23 0.45 26.93 0.00 0.00 1.48 0.00 4.26 0.01 0.03 0.21 Grissini 226.87 20.01 0.63 52.59 64.73 0.62 62.82 0.06 0.00 1.31 0.03 15.02 0.02 0.09 0.07 Saltsticks 1007.36 0.21 0.93 15.82 25.22 0.47 30.69 0.00 0.00 1.56 0.00 4.47 0.02 0.04 0.34 Wafers (plain) 119.98 0.01 1.50 8.15 268.55 1.47 211.73 0.02 0.00 1.61 0.00 0.92 0.36 0.20 1.49 Convenience foods Pizza (salami) 614.15 22.66 0.97 103.75 275.57 1.13 115.28 7.43 0.00 3.23 0.04 0.24 0.11 0.11 1.68 Pizza (margherita) 437.51 14.95 0.68 110.73 266.87 0.85 106.10 6.97 0.00 2.97 0.05 0.26 0.05 0.10 1.02 Lasagne 450.21 38.88 0.79 56.08 211.47 1.38 99.60 5.51 0.02 1.14 0.04 0.24 0.11 0.13 1.51 Nuggets 396.19 35.00 1.34 16.80 158.47 1.37 179.53 0.05 0.00 5.46 0.00 0.16 0.14 0.09 4.71 Fish sticks 378.34 23.54 1.19 24.87 128.33 0.49 142.50 0.24 0.00 4.04 0.00 0.11 0.12 0.22 1.62 Tortellini (pork) 628.05 72.33 1.49 51.06 118.68 1.64 122.19 1.06 0.01 0.75 0.04 0.04 0.24 0.12 1.38 Soup (potato and leek) 3801.76 1.03 2.53 80.57 1014.25 0.88 260.47 11.70 0.00 1.61 0.00 0.42 0.17 0.28 4.63 Soup (mushrooms) 472.57 0.43 0.89 17.52 104.01 0.22 34.90 0.95 0.00 3.82 0.00 0.68 0.04 0.07 0.91 Wafer-cone (icecream filling) 101.42 22.61 1.39 97.43 358.09 0.78 127.37 0.81 0.12 3.66 0.02 0.04 0.04 0.16 0.37 Pudding (semolina) 117.48 0.00 0.54 9.64 91.27 0.50 79.69 0.10 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.02 1.18 Baked pastry case 108.30 0.32 1.61 30.08 138.24 1.30 202.23 0.70 0.00 2.87 0.00 6.82 0.18 0.09 1.91 Wafer (Oblate) 6.98 0.00 1.80 31.88 26.15 0.43 35.54 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.00 0.03 0.05 0.02 0.33 Rice drink (natural) 52.58 0.00 0.23 12.47 17.01 0.20 15.55 0.00 0.00 0.51 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.19 Flaky pastry 412.00 2.35 0.22 49.65 47.07 0.20 24.56 0.13 0.03 2.10 0.00 0.17 0.24 0.01 0.22 Frozen cake (almond, chocolate) 120.14 170.20 1.69 39.44 219.39 0.90 126.96 0.21 0.13 4.26 0.15 2.19 0.06 0.16 0.38 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1337/table-2 Primary outcome parameter: macronutrient and energy content Across all food categories, energy content ranged between 270.5 ± 13.5 kcal/100 g (category: bread and bakery products) to 398.8 ± 25.4 kcal/100 g (category: snacks). Across all food categories, energy content, carbohydrate, total fat, saturated fatty acids, fiber and sugar did not differ between GF and products gluten-containing products (F < 1; p > 0.05). Protein content was significantly lower in GF foods (5.8 ± 3.7 g/100 g) than gluten-containing foods (8.6 ± 2.9 g/100 g); F = 31.9; p < 0.01 (see Fig. 1). Lower protein content was present in 4 out of 7 food categories (flour/bake mix, bread and bakery products, pasta and cereal-based products and snacks). In flour/bake mix products, the average protein content was 4.6 ± 3.4 g/100 g for GF and 9.9 ± 2 g/100 g for their gluten-containing counterparts (see Table 3). Figure 1: Nutrient content in g/100 g between gluten-free and gluten-containing foods across seven different food categories. Notes. Data displayed as mean values. * Significant differences (p < 0.05) between gluten-free and gluten containing foods. Flour/bake mix Bread/bakery products Pasta and cereal- based products Cereals Cookie and cakes Snacks Convenience foods Energy (kcal) Gluten free 346.4 ± 35.5 270.5 ± 46.7 351.9 ± 17.7 397.5 ± 63.6 395.8 ± 84.4 398.7 ± 59.2 297.3 ± 108.5 Gluten-containing 335.0 ± 23.0 280.9 ± 49.8 346.5 ± 10.9 397.4 ± 56.3 416.3 ± 78.1 371.6 ± 45.3 298.2 ± 102.0 P† 0.373 0.543 0.426 0.997 0.488 0.376 0.978 Protein (g) Gluten Free 4.6 ± 3.2 4.1 ± 2.2 9.2 ± 2.1 7.0 ± 1.2 4.8 ± 1.6 4.3 ± 4.1 7.4 ± 4.8 Gluten-containing 10.0 ± 2.0 8.3 ± 1.0 11.9 ± 0.9 9.2 ± 2.4 5.8 ± 1.9 10.5 ± 1.4 8.2 ± 3.9 P† <0.01 <0.01 <0.05 0.245 0.105 <0.01 0.605 Carbohydrates (g) Gluten Free 74.4 52.3 71.7 66.7 57.3 62.4 37.2 Gluten-containing 67.8 52.7 69.4 57.6 59.9 61.4 39.5 P† <0.05 0.912 <0.05 0.101 0.561 0.860 0.733 Sugar (g) Gluten Free 9.5 ± 17.2 5.5 ± 5.2 1.8 ± 1.1 17.4 ± 13.3 27.2 ± 14.6 1.3 ± 0.8 8.2 ± 8.8 Gluten-containing 6.0 ± 9.1 4.4 ± 5.4 0.8 ± 0.2 14.5 ± 6.4 33.7 ± 12.6 1.0 ± 0.2 9.8 ± 12.2 P† 0.543 0.912 <0.05 0.714 0.188 <0.860 0.655 Total fat (g) Gluten Free 2.9 ± 2.2 4.7 ± 2.7 2.7 ± 0.9 11.1 ± 7.3 16.4 ± 8.4 14.4 ± 6.2 13.1 ± 10.5 Gluten-containing 2.2 ± 2.3 3.8 ± 2.8 1.9 ± 1.0 14.3 ± 8.0 17.0 ± 8.4 9.0 ± 8.0 11.6 ± 9.0 P† 0.481 0.349 0.133 0.621 0.852 0.238 0.630 Saturated fatty acids (g) Gluten Free 0.9 ± 1.1 1.4 ± 1.3 0.4 ± 0.3 4.3 ± 2.9 7.1 ± 5.1 6.8 ± 3.8 4.1 ± 4.3 Gluten-containing 0.7 ± 1.2 0.9 ± 1.0 0.4 ± 0.3 4.4 ± 3.4 6.8 ± 4.5 4.2 ± 5.3 4.0 ± 4.1 P† 0.716 0.183 0.818 0.986 0.868 0.384 0.917 MUFA (mg) Gluten Free 1.0 ± 1.1 1.5 ± 0.8 0.9 ± 0.4 4.8 ± 4.0 5.9 ± 3.2 5.2 ± 2.6 4.8 ± 4.1 Gluten-containing 0.5 ± 0.9 1.3 ± 1.2 0.4 ± 0.4 6.4 ± 4.1 6.7 ± 3.6 2.7 ± 2.4 4.5 ± 3.7 P† 0.236 0.614 <0.05 0.627 0.509 0.117 0.783 PUFA (mg) Gluten Free 0.8 ± 0.6 1.4 ± 1.1 1.1 ± 0.4 1.5 ± 0.8 2.4 ± 1.7 1.8 ± 0.7 3.0 ± 3.0 Gluten-containing 0.6 ± 0.4 1.0 ± 0.8 0.8 ± 0.3 3.2 ± 0.9 2.6 ± 1.8 1.4 ± 1.0 1.9 ± 1.4 P† 0.220 0.195 0.100 0.055 0.723 0.412 0.101 Fiber (g) Gluten Free 4.1 ± 2.9 3.9 ± 2.7 7.9 ± 4.0 5.6 ± 1.4 3.5 ± 3.1 2.0 ± 2.8 2.6 ± 2.0 Gluten-containing 4.0 ± 2.3 3.3 ± 1.7 3.7 ± 0.7 7.4 ± 1.9 3.5 ± 3.8 4.6 ± 3.2 2.4 ± 2.0 P† 0.944 0.429 <0.05 0.247 0.979 0.188 0.669 Sodium (mg) Gluten Free 255.9 ± 326.9 388.4 ± 198.3 10.6 ± 18.6 491.3 ± 74.8 205.0 ± 122.6 856.0 ± 835.0 539.8 ± 894.2 Gluten-containing 281.6 ± 294.6 581.9 ± 284.6 15.8 ± 18.0 160.7 ± 127.2 247.8 ± 394.0 832.1 ± 626.7 715.8 ± 1186.1 P† 0.855 0.039 0.564 <0.05 0.724 0.938 0.623 Cholestorol (mg) Gluten Free 1.2 ± 3.1 3.4 ± 8.7 20.9 ± 51.3 5.3 ± 7.4 40.7 ± 49.0 13.6 ± 18.7 27.0 ± 43.1 Gluten-containing 2.6 ± 7.0 5.5 ± 12.1 21.5 ± 42.2 1.4 ± 2.0 32.4 ± 38.4 1.5 ± 2.6 28.5 ± 41.5 P† 0.617 0.602 0.980 0.318 0.595 0.083 0.908 Iron (mg) Gluten Free 1.6 ± 0.8 1.0 ± 0.7 2.5 ± 1.0 1.6 ± 0.1 1.5 ± 0.7 1.0 ± 0.4 1.2 ± 0.6 Gluten-containing 1.6 ± 1.1 1.2 ± 0.6 2.5 ± 0.3 6.1 ± 7.3 1.6 ± 1.3 2.2 ± 1.8 1.4 ± 1.3 P† 0.964 0.216 0.944 0.375 0.840 0.188 0.496 Calcium (mg) Gluten Free 47.3 ± 27.2 37.6 ± 33.9 25.3 ± 13.7 23.8 ± 15.4 55.6 ± 55.0 104.7 ± 165.9 48.8 ± 33.1 Gluten-containing 24.3 ± 19.1 18.9 ± 10.8 33.6 ± 7.6 75.4 |
industrie, former town hall, on Place Gutenberg), as did the French Baroque and Classicism with several hôtels particuliers (i.e. palaces), among which the Palais Rohan (1742, now housing three museums) is the most spectacular. Other buildings of its kind are the "Hôtel de Hanau" (1736, now the city hall), the Hôtel de Klinglin (1736, now residence of the préfet), the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts (1755, now residence of the military governor), the Hôtel d'Andlau-Klinglin (1725, now seat of the administration of the Port autonome de Strasbourg) etc. The largest baroque building of Strasbourg though is the 150-metre-long (490 ft) 1720s main building of the Hôpital civil. As for French Neo-classicism, it is the Opera House on Place Broglie that most prestigiously represents this style.
Strasbourg also offers high-class eclecticist buildings in its very extended German district, the Neustadt, being the main memory of Wilhelmian architecture since most of the major cities in Germany proper suffered intensive damage during World War II. Streets, boulevards and avenues are homogeneous, surprisingly high (up to seven stories) and broad examples of German urban lay-out and of this architectural style that summons and mixes up five centuries of European architecture as well as Neo-Egyptian, Neo-Greek and Neo-Babylonian styles. The former imperial palace Palais du Rhin, the most political and thus heavily criticized of all German Strasbourg buildings epitomizes the grand scale and stylistic sturdiness of this period. But the two most handsome and ornate buildings of these times are the École internationale des Pontonniers (the former Höhere Mädchenschule, girls college) with its towers, turrets and multiple round and square angles[25] and the Haute école des arts du Rhin with its lavishly ornate façade of painted bricks, woodwork and majolica.[26]
Notable streets of the German district include: Avenue de la Forêt Noire, Avenue des Vosges, Avenue d'Alsace, Avenue de la Marseillaise, Avenue de la Liberté, Boulevard de la Victoire, Rue Sellénick, Rue du Général de Castelnau, Rue du Maréchal Foch, and Rue du Maréchal Joffre. Notable squares of the German district include: Place de la République, Place de l'Université, Place Brant, and Place Arnold.
Impressive examples of Prussian military architecture of the 1880s can be found along the newly reopened Rue du Rempart, displaying large-scale fortifications among which the aptly named Kriegstor (war gate).
As for modern and contemporary architecture, Strasbourg possesses some fine Art Nouveau buildings (such as the huge Palais des Fêtes and houses and villas like Villa Schutzenberger and Hôtel Brion), good examples of post-World War II functional architecture (the Cité Rotterdam, for which Le Corbusier did not succeed in the architectural contest) and, in the very extended Quartier Européen, some spectacular administrative buildings of sometimes utterly large size, among which the European Court of Human Rights building by Richard Rogers is arguably the finest. Other noticeable contemporary buildings are the new Music school Cité de la Musique et de la Danse, the Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain and the Hôtel du Département facing it, as well as, in the outskirts, the tramway-station Hoenheim-Nord designed by Zaha Hadid.
The city has many bridges, including the medieval and four-towered Ponts Couverts that, despite their name, are no longer covered. Next to the Ponts Couverts is the Barrage Vauban, a part of Vauban's 17th-century fortifications, that does include a covered bridge. Other bridges are the ornate 19th-century Pont de la Fonderie (1893, stone) and Pont d'Auvergne (1892, iron), as well as architect Marc Mimram's futuristic Passerelle over the Rhine, opened in 2004.
The largest square at the centre of the city of Strasbourg is the Place Kléber. Located in the heart of the city's commercial area, it was named after general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753 and assassinated in 1800 in Cairo. In the square is a statue of Kléber, under which is a vault containing his remains. On the north side of the square is the Aubette (Orderly Room), built by Jacques François Blondel, architect of the king, in 1765–1772.
Parks [ edit ]
Pavillon Joséphine (rear side) in the Parc de l'Orangerie The(rear side) in the
Château de Pourtalès (front side) in the park of the same name The(front side) in the park of the same name
Strasbourg features a number of prominent parks, of which several are of cultural and historical interest: the Parc de l'Orangerie, laid out as a French garden by André le Nôtre and remodeled as an English garden on behalf of Joséphine de Beauharnais, now displaying noteworthy French gardens, a neo-classical castle and a small zoo; the Parc de la Citadelle, built around impressive remains of the 17th-century fortress erected close to the Rhine by Vauban;[27] the Parc de Pourtalès, laid out in English style around a baroque castle (heavily restored in the 19th century) that now houses a small three-star hotel,[28] and featuring an open-air museum of international contemporary sculpture.[29] The Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden) was created under the German administration next to the Observatory of Strasbourg, built in 1881, and still owns some greenhouses of those times. The Parc des Contades, although the oldest park of the city, was completely remodeled after World War II. The futuristic Parc des Poteries is an example of European park-conception in the late 1990s. The Jardin des deux Rives, spread over Strasbourg and Kehl on both sides of the Rhine opened in 2004 and is the most extended (60-hectare) park of the agglomeration. The most recent park is Parc du Heyritz (8,7 ha), opened in 2014 along a canal facing the hôpital civil.
Museums [ edit ]
For a city of comparatively small size, Strasbourg displays a large quantity and variety of museums:
Fine art museums [ edit ]
Unlike most other cities, Strasbourg's collections of European art are divided into several museums according not only to type and area, but also to epoch. Old master paintings from the Germanic Rhenish territories and until 1681 are displayed in the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame, old master paintings from all the rest of Europe (including the Dutch Rhenish territories) and until 1871 as well as old master paintings from the Germanic Rhenish territories between 1681 and 1871 are displayed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Old master graphic arts until 1871 is displayed in the Cabinet des estampes et dessins. Decorative arts until 1681 ("German period") are displayed in the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame, decorative arts from 1681 to 1871 ("French period") are displayed in the Musée des Arts décoratifs. International art (painting, sculpture, graphic arts) and decorative art since 1871 is displayed in the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain. The latter museum also displays the city's photographic library.
Other museums [ edit ]
The Musée archéologique presents a large display of regional findings from the first ages of man to the sixth century, focussing especially on the Roman and Celtic period.
presents a large display of regional findings from the first ages of man to the sixth century, focussing especially on the Roman and Celtic period. The Musée alsacien is dedicated to traditional Alsatian daily life.
is dedicated to traditional Alsatian daily life. Le Vaisseau ("The vessel") is a science and technology centre, especially designed for children.
("The vessel") is a science and technology centre, especially designed for children. The Musée historique (historical museum) is dedicated to the tumultuous history of the city and displays many artifacts of the times, among which the 'Grüselhorn, the horn that was blown every evening at 10:00, during medieval times, to order the Jews out of the city.
(historical museum) is dedicated to the tumultuous history of the city and displays many artifacts of the times, among which the 'Grüselhorn The Musée de la Navigation sur le Rhin, also going by the name of Naviscope, located in an old ship, is dedicated to the history of commercial navigation on the Rhine.
, also going by the name of, located in an old ship, is dedicated to the history of commercial navigation on the Rhine. The Musée vodou (Vodou museum) opened its doors on 28 November 2013. Displaying a private collection of artefacts from Haiti, it is located in a former water tower ( château d'eau ) built in 1883 and classified as a Monument historique.
(Vodou museum) opened its doors on 28 November 2013. Displaying a private collection of artefacts from Haiti, it is located in a former water tower ( ) built in 1883 and classified as a Monument historique. The Musée du barreau de Strasbourg (The Strasbourg bar association museum) is a museum dedicated to the work and the history of lawyers in the city.[30][31]
University museums [ edit ]
The Université de Strasbourg is in charge of a number of permanent public displays of its collections of scientific artefacts and products of all kinds of exploration and research.[32]
The Musée zoologique is one of the oldest in France and is especially famous for its collection of birds. The museum is co-administrated by the municipality.
is one of the oldest in France and is especially famous for its collection of birds. The museum is co-administrated by the municipality. The Gypsothèque (also known as Musée des moulages or Musée Adolf Michaelis ) is France's second largest cast collection and the largest university cast collection in France.
(also known as or ) is France's second largest cast collection and the largest university cast collection in France. The Musée de Sismologie et Magnétisme terrestre displays antique instruments of measure
displays antique instruments of measure The Musée Pasteur is a collection of medical curiosities
is a collection of medical curiosities The Musée de minéralogie is dedicated to minerals
is dedicated to minerals The Musée d'Égyptologie houses a collections of archaeological findings made in and brought from Egypt and Sudan
houses a collections of archaeological findings made in and brought from Egypt and Sudan The Crypte aux étoiles ("star crypt") is situated in the vaulted basement below the Observatory of Strasbourg and displays old telescopes and other antique astronomical devices such as clocks and theodolites.
Museums in the suburbs [ edit ]
Demographics [ edit ]
The metropolitan area of Strasbourg had a population of 768,868 inhabitants in 2012 (French side of the border only), while the transnational Eurodistrict had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014.
Population growth [ edit ]
1684 1789 1851 1871 1890 1910 1921 1936 1946 22,000 49,943 75,565 85,654 123,500 178,891 166,767 193,119 175,515 1954 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2014 200,921 228,971 249,396 253,384 248,712 252,338 263,941 272,975 276,170
The Ill, seen from the terrace of the Palais Rohan
Population composition [ edit ]
2012 % 2007 % Total Population 274,394 100 272,123 100 0–14 years 47,473 17.3 46,263 17.0 15–29 years 77,719 28.3 78,291 28.8 30–44 years 54,514 19.9 54,850 20.2 45–59 years 45,436 16.6 47,236 17.4 60–74 years 30,321 11.1 27,060 9.9 75+ years 18,931 6.9 18,424 6.8
Culture [ edit ]
Strasbourg is the seat of internationally renowned institutions of music and drama:
Other theatres are the Théâtre jeune public, the TAPS Scala, the Kafteur...
Events [ edit ]
Education [ edit ]
Universities and tertiary education [ edit ]
Strasbourg, well known as centre of humanism, has a long history of excellence in higher-education, at the crossroads of French and German intellectual traditions. Although Strasbourg had been annexed by the Kingdom of France in 1683, it still remained connected to the German-speaking intellectual world throughout the 18th century and the university attracted numerous students from the Holy Roman Empire, including Goethe, Metternich and Montgelas, who studied law in Strasbourg, among the most prominent. With 19 Nobel prizes in total, Strasbourg is the most eminent French university outside of Paris.
Up until January 2009 there were three universities in Strasbourg, with an approximate total of 48,500 students as of 2007 (another 4,500 students are being taught at one of the diverse post-graduate schools):[37]
Since 1 January 2009, those three universities have merged and constitute now the Université de Strasbourg. Schools part of the Université de Strasbourg include:
Primary and secondary education [ edit ]
International schools include:
Multiple levels:
European School of Strasbourg (priority given to children whose parents are employed at the European institutions)
For elementary education:[38]
École Internationale Robert Schuman
Strasbourg International School
International School at Lucie Berger
Russian Mission School in Strasbourg[39]
For middle school/junior high school education:[38]
Collège Internationale de l'Esplenade
For senior high school/sixth form college:[38]
Libraries [ edit ]
The Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire (BNU) is, with its collection of more than 3,000,000 titles,[40] the second largest library in France after the Bibliothèque nationale de France. It was founded by the German administration after the complete destruction of the previous municipal library in 1871 and holds the unique status of being simultaneously a students' and a national library. The Strasbourg municipal library had been marked erroneously as "City Hall" in a French commercial map, which had been captured and used by the German artillery to lay their guns. A librarian from Munich later pointed out "...that the destruction of the precious collection was not the fault of a German artillery officer, who used the French map, but of the slovenly and inaccurate scholarship of a Frenchman."[41]
The municipal library Bibliothèque municipale de Strasbourg (BMS) administrates a network of ten medium-sized librairies in different areas of the town. A six stories high "Grande bibliothèque", the Médiathèque André Malraux, was inaugurated on 19 September 2008 and is considered the largest in Eastern France.[42]
Incunabula [ edit ]
As one of the earliest centers of book-printing in Europe (see above: History), Strasbourg for a long time held a large number of incunabula—documents printed before 1500—in her library as one of her most precious heritages. After the total destruction of this institution in 1870, however, a new collection had to be reassembled from scratch. Today, Strasbourg's different public and institutional libraries again display a sizable total number of incunabula, distributed as follows: Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire, ca. 2 098[43] Médiathèque de la ville et de la communauté urbaine de Strasbourg, 394[44] Bibliothèque du Grand Séminaire, 238[45] Médiathèque protestante, 94[46] and Bibliothèque alsatique du Crédit Mutuel, 5.[47]
Transportation [ edit ]
One of Strasbourg's trams passes over one of its canals, whilst a tourist trip boat passes underneath
Train services operate from the Gare de Strasbourg, the city's main station in the city centre, eastward to Offenburg and Karlsruhe in Germany, westward to Metz and Paris, and southward to Basel. Strasbourg's links with the rest of France have improved due to its recent connection to the TGV network, with the first phase of the TGV Est (Paris–Strasbourg) in 2007, the TGV Rhin-Rhône (Strasbourg-Lyon) in 2012, and the second phase of the TGV Est in July 2016.
Strasbourg also has its own airport, serving major domestic destinations as well as international destinations in Europe and northern Africa. The airport is linked to the Gare de Strasbourg by a frequent train service.[48][49]
City transportation in Strasbourg includes the futurist-looking Strasbourg tramway that opened in 1994 and is operated by the regional transit company Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS), consisting of 6 lines with a total length of 55.8 km (34.7 mi). The CTS also operates a comprehensive bus network throughout the city that is integrated with the trams. With more than 500 km (311 mi) of bicycle paths, biking in the city is convenient and the CTS operates a cheap bike-sharing scheme named Vélhop'. The CTS, and its predecessors, also operated a previous generation of tram system between 1878 and 1960, complemented by trolleybus routes between 1939 and 1962.
Being a city on the Ill and close to the Rhine, Strasbourg has always been an important centre of fluvial navigation, as is attested by archeological findings. In 1682 the Canal de la Bruche was added to the river navigations, initially to provide transport for sandstone from quarries in the Vosges for use in the fortification of the city. That canal has since closed, but the subsequent Canal du Rhone au Rhine, Canal de la Marne au Rhin and Grand Canal d'Alsace are still in use, as is the important activity of the Port autonome de Strasbourg. Water tourism inside the city proper attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists yearly.
The tram system that now criss-crosses the historic city centre complements walking and biking in it. The centre has been transformed into a pedestrian priority zone that enables and invites walking and biking by making these active modes of transport comfortable, safe and enjoyable. These attributes are accomplished by applying the principle of "filtered permeability" to the existing irregular network of streets. It means that the network adaptations favour active transportation and, selectively, "filter out" the car by reducing the number of streets that run through the centre. While certain streets are discontinuous for cars, they connect to a network of pedestrian and bike paths which permeate the entire centre. In addition, these paths go through public squares and open spaces increasing the enjoyment of the trip. This logic of filtering a mode of transport is fully expressed in a comprehensive model for laying out neighbourhoods and districts – the Fused Grid.
At present the A35 autoroute, which parallels the Rhine between Karlsruhe and Basel, and the A4 autoroute, which links Paris with Strasbourg, penetrate close to the centre of the city. The Grand contournement ouest (GCO) project, programmed since 1999, plans to construct a 24-kilometre-long (15 mi) highway connection between the junctions of the A4 and the A35 autoroutes in the north and of the A35 and A352 autoroutes in the south. This routes well to the west of the city and is meant to divest a significant portion of motorized traffic from the unité urbaine.[50]
Strasbourg Public Transportation Statistics [ edit ]
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Strasbourg, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 52 min. 7% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 9 min, while 11% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 3.9 km (2.4 mi), while 0% travel for over 12 km (7.5 mi) in a single direction.[51]
European role [ edit ]
Institutions [ edit ]
Strasbourg is the seat of over twenty international institutions,[52] most famously of the Council of Europe and of the European Parliament, of which it is the official seat. Strasbourg is considered the legislative and democratic capital of the European Union, while Brussels is considered the executive and administrative capital and Luxembourg the judiciary and financial capital.[53]
Strasbourg is the seat of the following organisations, among others:
Eurodistrict [ edit ]
France and Germany have created a Eurodistrict straddling the Rhine, combining the Greater Strasbourg and the Ortenau district of Baden-Württemberg, with some common administration. It was established in 2005 and is fully functional since 2010.
Sports [ edit ]
Sporting teams from Strasbourg are the Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace (football), Strasbourg IG (basketball) and the Étoile Noire (ice hockey).[54] The women's tennis Internationaux de Strasbourg is one of the most important French tournaments of its kind outside Roland-Garros. In 1922, Strasbourg was the venue for the XVI Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. which saw Fiat battle Bugatti, Ballot, Rolland Pilain, and Britain's Aston Martin and Sunbeam.
Honours [ edit ]
Honours associated with the city of Strasbourg.
The Medal of Honor Strasbourg
Sakharov Prize seated in Strasbourg
City of Strasbourg Silver (gilt) Medal, a former medal with City Coat of Arms and Ten Arms of the Cities of the Dekapolis[55]
Notable people [ edit ]
In chronological order, notable people born in Strasbourg include: Eric of Friuli, Johannes Tauler, Sebastian Brant, Jean Baptiste Kléber, Louis Ramond de Carbonnières, François Christophe Kellermann, Marie Tussaud, Ludwig I of Bavaria, Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, Louis-Frédéric Schützenberger, Gustave Doré, Émile Waldteufel, René Beeh, Jean/Hans Arp, Charles Münch, Hans Bethe, Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont, Marcel Marceau, Tomi Ungerer, Arsène Wenger, Petit and Matt Pokora.
In chronological order, notable residents of Strasbourg include: Johannes Gutenberg, Hans Baldung, Martin Bucer, John Calvin, Joachim Meyer, Johann Carolus, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz, Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, Georg Büchner, Louis Pasteur, Ferdinand Braun, Albrecht Kossel, Georg Simmel, Albert Schweitzer, Otto Klemperer, Marc Bloch, Alberto Fujimori, Marjane Satrapi, Paul Ricoeur and Jean-Marie Lehn.
Twin towns and sister cities [ edit ]
Strasbourg is twinned with:[56]
Strasbourg has cooperative agreements with:
Jacmel, Haiti, since 1996 (Coopération décentralisée)
Veliky Novgorod, Russia, since 1997 (Coopération décentralisée)
Fes, Morocco (Coopération décentralisée)
Douala, Cameroon (Coopération décentralisée)
Bamako, Mali (Coopération décentralisée)
In popular culture [ edit ]
In film [ edit ]
The opening scenes of the 1977 Ridley Scott film The Duellists take place in Strasbourg in 1800.
take place in Strasbourg in 1800. The 2007 film In the City of Sylvia is set in Strasbourg.
is set in Strasbourg. Early February 2011, principal photography for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) moved for two days to Strasbourg. Shooting took place on, around, and inside the Strasbourg Cathedral. The opening scene of the movie covers an assassination-bombing in the city.
In literature [ edit ]
In music [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]The Detroit Lions have lost eight straight playoff games, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the longest active streak in the league.
The Lions last playoff victory happened Jan. 5, 1992, against the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.
How long ago was that? The Ravens, Texans, Jaguars and Panthers did not exist, the Titans were still the Houston Oilers and there were two teams in Los Angeles -- the Rams and Raiders.
Barry Sanders, in his fourth of 10 NFL seasons, rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown in the Lions' last playoff victory, a 38-6 win over the Cowboys at the Pontiac Silverdome on Jan. 5, 1992. Betsy Peabody Rowe/Getty Images
And Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford? He was 3 years old.
The Lions have lost playoff games under four head coaches (Wayne Fontes lost four, Bobby Ross lost two and Jim Schwartz and Jim Caldwell lost one each). They have lost with five different starting quarterbacks (Erik Kramer, Dave Krieg, Scott Mitchell, Gus Frerotte and Stafford have lost two playoff gamed apiece). And they have failed to win in eight stadiums, three of which no longer exist (RFK Stadium, Pontiac Silverdome, Lambeau Field, Veterans Stadium, Houlihan’s Stadium, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Superdome and AT&T Stadium).
Three presidents -- Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- have not seen the Lions win a playoff game during their time in office.
But that could all end Saturday with a win against the Seattle Seahawks.Those who fish all their lives develop a knack for the sport.
A feel for the lay of the lake…how to place the bait just right on the bottom.
Ray Groff of Fond du Lac has been fishing all his life but when he pulled up anchor on a recent windy day off the shores of Lake Winnebago this seasoned enthusiast was taken aback.
“It was around 11 a.m. on Sept. 4 and as soon as I saw the barrel I knew what it was,” he said.
There — hooked on the end of his anchor — was a flintlock musket, rusted and weathered by the passage of time.
“This is crazy. It’s like one of those tall fish tales,” he thought as he held the ancient musket in hand and turned his 14-foot Lakeland fishing boat toward shore near Clarence’s harbor.
The 47-inch heavy iron barrel was coated with zebra mussels and a large portion of the wooden stock was missing — eaten way after centuries of resting at the bottom of the big lake.
A piece of flint was still lodged in the corroded firing mechanism of the old muzzle loader. It was frozen in a half-cocked position.
Groff estimates the old firearm dates back to the late 1700s/early 1800s. From what he can tell, it matches flintlocks he found online from that era.
Area historyThe life-long Fond du Lac resident wonders who could have owned the musket and how it got lost. Maybe a trapper was out hunting, or a Native American from a tribe who lived in the region.
The Winnebago Indians were the major tribe to occupy the Fond du Lac area, according to the Fond du Lac Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. They controlled all of the streams and rivers flowing into the lake. Their homes were dome-shaped wigwams, made from basswood saplings, and covered with woven mats.
In 1801, two Frenchmen, Augustine Grignon and Michael Brisbois, built a trading post along the Fond du Lac River. They ran a thrivingbusiness with the Indians along the rivers and the lakeshore.
Whoever lost it could have been in a canoe in summer or maybe on the ice in winter and fallen through, Groff speculates.
Catch of a lifetimeHe calls it the catch of a lifetime. Groff began his fishing career as a young boy, riding his bicycle from home to Lakeside Park every day to catch fish — perch to be exact. He still lives in his childhood home on Wilson Avenue.
“I love being out in the middle of the lake — nobody bugging me,” he said.
His buddies tell him that he’s so good at the sport he could “catch (expletive deleted) fish out of a toilet.”
“I just got it down to a fine art,” he said. “For 40 years I’ve been fishing the south end of Lake Winnebago because I don’t need to go much further. I catch all the fish I want there.”
When his wife Nancy Groff saw the rifle he brought home as his catch of the day, she just shook her head.
“She used to come with me fishing, but one day she was trolling andreading a book and she ran over my line. She never went fishing again,” he said.
Other than putting some kind of sealant on the gun, Groff said he plans to display it in its current condition — just the way it came out of the lake.
“I’m not going to start messing around with it,” he said.
The rifle will be mounted on the wall near his other prize catch — a 44-inch northern.
“But the flintlock beats that by a long-shot,” he said.
Sharon Roznik may be reached at sroznik@fdlreporter.com or (920) 907-7936.
via Fond du Lac fisherman snags catch of a lifetime: Lake Winnebago gives up old flintlock musket | Appleton Post-Crescent | postcrescent.com.Being an introvert at university can be difficult. Student socialising is geared towards extroverts, with orientation camps, intro meetings, and Friday nights out all leading to social anxiety. University of Copenhagen student Camilla Lærke Lærkesen has five tips for other introverts such as herself.
Camilla is a self-confessed introvert at the University of Copenhagen who recently outed herself in a featured comment to clear up misconceptions about introverts.
In this opinion piece Camilla told the story how she is the “kind of person who goes to a party and hides in the bathroom. The kind of person who goes to bed early on the university’s intro party.”
“I never thought I’d be a good spokesperson” says Camilla, who nevertheless gives out some helpful advice to those who consider themselves introverts
1. Accept yourself as you are
I know it sounds cliché, but it is often extroverted types who will dominate a situation or encounter, so an introvert needs to explain and defend their need to recharge alone. You are an introvert, and that’s okay.
2. Choose someone to confide in
“You don’t have to declare “I’m an introvert” to everyone. Be open to a few people when at a party that you’re not up for a crazy table dance in the middle of a Friday night out. That way you can escape the guilt that comes with telling white lies. ”
3. Walk into large events with a friend
“If you are attending a large event and feel intimidated by the number of people, take a friend so you have someone to talk to and don’t have to enter alone.”
4. Make a promise to yourself
“For example, I have a rule that I never leave an event with a bad experience. I will allow myself to go home early, but I always have to leave on a good note, like a nice conversation. That way I don’t go home feeling bad or awkward. ”
5. Get inspired by literature
“In Danish I recommend Anna Skyggebjergs book ’Introvert’ or Susain Cain’s book ’Quiet’, both hold up a useful mirror from which to reflect on being an introvert.”
How to cope as an introvert at university. Any recommendations to add to Camilla’s? Write in the comment field below.
universitypost@adm.ku.dk
Like us on Facebook for features, guides and tips on upcoming events. Follow us on Twitter for links to other Copenhagen academia news stories. Sign up for the University Post weekly newsletter here, and then follow the University Post on Instagram here.Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel used his opening monologue Thursday to once again lambast supporters of the Graham-Cassidy health care bill -- and at one point called a Republican senator from Louisiana an "inbred."
The host of ABC's “Jimmy Kimmel Live” has emerged as a strong celebrity advocate for universal health care since his infant son had to undergo open-heart surgery in April.
Kimmel made an announcement about his son during a memorable monologue at the time and has taken up the cause ever since. Part of his goal is for every child in the U.S. to have the same access to care that his son received.
Kimmel said Thursday that ObamaCare opponents drag characters “out of the swamp.” Then he introduced a clip of U.S. Sen. John Neely Kennedy, R-La., appearing on Fox News Channel earlier in the day.
The clip shows Kennedy saying the biggest opponents of the new bill were Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Kimmel. The senator said he thought Kimmel was “a funny guy,” but would not be mistaken for a health care expert.
“I wouldn’t take advice from Charlie Sheen, either,” Kennedy said.
Kimmel's audience moaned and there were some scattered laughs.
Then Kimmel said he had no intention of pretending to be a healthcare expert. But he asked why Republicans seemed to ignore the opinons of the American Medical Association and other organizations that oppose the Graham-Cassidy plan.
“But I understand the gist of what he’s saying,” Kimmel said of Kennedy's remarks. “I should not be the guy you go to for information about health care, and if these guys — like inbred John Kennedy — would tell the truth for a change, I wouldn’t have to.”
The legislation by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana would repeal central elements of former President Barack Obama's signature health care law. States would receive block grants instead.
Cassidy told Fox News on Thursday that his “life’s work” was to take care of those with pre-existing conditions -- and said the bill would take care of them.
Republicans must vote on the bill by the end of next week or lose access to special budget rules that prevent Democrats from filibustering.
David Popp, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the intention was to bring the bill to the floor by next week. It was unclear if Republicans had enough votes for passage.
President Trump said on Twitter that the developing plan was “GREAT!” and “Ends Ocare!”
No Democrat was on record as supporting the bill.
Thursday marked the third time this week that Kimmel used his late-night platform to talk healthcare. The host seemed particularly annoyed with Cassidy, whom he said had lied to his face about making sure any healthcare bill he supported would pass “the Jimmy Kimmel test.”
Kimmel’s monologues the previous two days were pointed and sharp; but Thursday's appeared to drift to pot shots at Trump.
Kimmel said Trump “hates” ObamaCare simply because of it invoked the former president’s name. Kimmel said Trump would sign anything to get Obama’s name off the bill, including sign “copies of the Quran in the Barnes & Noble in Fallujah.”
He said Trump doesn’t know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid and he “barely knows the difference between Melania and Ivanka.”Now that Belle de Jour has been unmasked, the niche for anonymous prostitute/blogger is wide open. Helping to fill it is Las Vegas Courtesan, who has strong opinions on condoms, manners, and healthcare reform.
Advertisement
According to Richard Abowitz's profile in The Daily Beast, the Courtesan is nearly 29 and has been blogging since 2006, but recently enjoyed a popularity boost when she started her Twitter feed. Some fellow sex workers are worried her blog [NSFW] will bring them unwanted attention, and casino security guards say they read it to see how call girls get past their defenses — and, of course, for entertainment. If anything, Las Vegas Courtesan's popularity shows that America's appetite for the private musings of prostitutes is almost as great as its desire for their services.
What's most interesting about the Courtesan's blog is its combination of mystery and demystification. Its author regularly post erotic photos of herself — a nipple, a thong — in which her face is cropped out or obscured. In these she's every bit the unattainable sex goddess, offering you a tiny glimpse of her body and her life. And yet, she also posts workmanlike descriptions of her trips to Costco (to buy condoms in bulk, natch), and servicey pieces about how to greet an escort without raising suspicion. Her blog works the job-like-any-other angle while remaining unabashedly sexual. Abowitz notices this dichotomy, and seems into it. He writes, "For the best-known unknown hooker in Vegas, Cali's life is almost shockingly prosaic. Today, a Sunday afternoon, is the day she runs errands." And,
Like a doctor, today she is on call. Sunday is her favorite day to work. "For a lot of people, it's their last day in Vegas," she says. "They are going to blow the rest |
A Lack of Funding — and Concern In May 2009, when the Video Gaming Act came up for a final vote, not a single member of the state Senate spoke about the social costs of gambling. In the House, according to transcripts, only one lawmaker, Rosemary Mulligan, a Republican from Park Ridge, questioned what Illinois would do to combat gambling addiction. “Video gaming is one of the most addictive forms of gaming,” said Mulligan, who died in 2014. “So, I would like to see [the law] fund something that has long been underfunded in Illinois.” That didn’t happen. In 2016, Illinois ranked 28th out of 40 states nationally in per capita funding for addiction services, according to the most recent survey from the National Council on Problem Gambling, a nonprofit that advocates for problem gamblers but says it takes no position on legalized gambling. That’s because legislators structured the Video Gaming Act and the finances behind it with little concern for the potential consequences. The law called for the state’s share of video gambling revenues to cover borrowing costs for building projects. Licensing and administrative fees would pay for regulating the industry and confronting social costs, such as addiction. In 2017, for instance, video gambling players lost $1.2 billion, according to state reports. The state’s take was about $300 million. Cities and towns that are home to video gambling received about $60 million. Terminal operators and establishments took in $840 million. The sponsors of the Video Gaming Act estimated licensing and administrative fees would reach $6 million a year and promised 25 percent, or $1.5 million of that, would be set aside for addiction services. Yet those licensing and administrative fees have never amounted to more than $4.2 million. As a result, the legislature has never appropriated more than $1.03 million. At the same time, the agency tasked with issuing grants for treatment, outreach and training for clinicians, the Illinois Department of Human Services, has struggled to spend the money that is appropriated each year. In 2012, for instance, DHS spent 83 percent of the funds appropriated for gambling addiction, according to DHS financial reports and figures from the comptroller’s office. By 2017, the percentage had dropped to 63 percent. DHS officials say providers have had trouble getting gambling addicts to seek treatment and that there are not enough clinicians in the state who specialize in gambling addiction. They point out that providers often don’t spend all the money they’re awarded in contracts. In 2017, for example, DHS awarded $794,000 in contracts but providers spent just $600,000. “It has been challenging for our gambling disorder providers to bill for the full amounts of their IDHS contracts that support these services,” DHS said in a written statement to ProPublica Illinois. “While there are many people who have serious problems with gambling, only a small percentage actually seek treatment.” DHS, the statement said, “is committed to supporting community outreach and education to battle the stigma associated with addiction and encourage more people to begin the path to recovery.” Yet between 2012 and 2017, DHS spending for gambling addiction declined 20 percent, from $807,000 to $646,000, even as the number of video gambling machines grew dramatically around the state and appropriations increased slightly. The number of people receiving services also dropped by 37 percent, from 6,773 to 4,274 during that time. DHS officials said some of the decline in patient numbers may be attributed to gambling addicts being treated for accompanying alcohol or drug abuse, and included in those numbers instead. Service providers say few problem gamblers know where to turn because the state doesn’t do enough to build awareness. They say they need more billboards, TV and radio ads and sophisticated social media campaigns to educate the public about how to identify the warning signs of problem gambling. “That’s why we don’t get people in for treatment until they’ve lost their home or their job or their family — or they’re suicidal,” said Pindiur, of the Way Back Inn. DHS officials said the stigma around gambling addiction is greater than substance abuse, since there are fewer outward signs of trouble and many people still doubt that gambling addiction is a real disease. That’s one reason the agency has begun to focus more on outreach and awareness, the officials said. In 2017, DHS used more than 40 percent of the money it spent, or about $300,000, on outreach and awareness, compared with 25 percent in 2009. DHS officials said they are planning a push in March to coincide with Problem Gambling Awareness Month, which will include a new website, as well as mailers, flyers and posters distributed around the state. A lack of clinicians certified to treat gambling addiction has also made it hard to tackle the problem, according to DHS. While private therapists can help addicts, some experts say many private therapists aren’t trained to properly assess and treat people with gambling issues. With few options, gamblers seeking help often attend one of the state’s more than 60 Gamblers Anonymous meetings each week. Researchers say studies haven’t been done to evaluate the 12-step program’s effectiveness, and Gamblers Anonymous officials said they haven’t studied the issue either. Although many people who attend the meetings say they believe the program helps them, a majority of those meetings are held in and around Chicago, leaving gambling addicts outside the metropolitan area with fewer options. “Patients have nowhere to go. They don’t know who to call,” said Dr. Donald Black, of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa and a prominent gambling researcher who has studied addiction in Illinois. “The central theme around video gambling is no one cares.” A Possible Measure for Prevention One measure has proved somewhat effective at helping problem gamblers: a registry, called a self-exclusion list, that allows people to bar themselves from gambling. Illinois has had one in place since 2002 for the state’s 10 casinos. But the state has yet to implement one for video gambling. Illinois Gaming Board officials acknowledge the technology to create a self-exclusion list exists but said that implementing it across the state’s 6,800 video gambling locations poses a huge hurdle and would likely lead to steep revenue declines. A 2015 gaming board memo that examines self-exclusion programs around the world suggests the impact on revenue is among the biggest obstacles. “One might argue,” the memo says, “that the most binary of approaches has emerged: a forced choice between profit and social responsibility.” A 2016 gaming board memo acknowledges video gambling “will result in numerous additional problem and compulsive gamblers.” The challenges of implementing a self-exclusion list for video gambling, the memo says, include “a lack of political fortitude on the part of elected officials facing growing budget deficits.” Any effort by the gaming board to implement a self-exclusion list would require approval from the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR. For years, gambling interests have lobbied successfully to thwart the board’s proposed rules on a range of issues. Because any self-exclusion list would probably cut into revenue, the industry would likely oppose it. Board chairman Donald Tracy, a Springfield attorney, said he doesn’t believe the threat to revenue alone has scuttled the program. “It’s an indirect factor only in the sense that we’re realists,” he said. “We have experienced pushback from the legislature and JCAR and the industry when we try to do something that people are opposed to.” As of November, more than 13,000 people, including some 9,000 Illinois residents, had put themselves on the state’s self-exclusion list for casinos. Of those, nearly 38 percent, or about 5,700, say video gambling was why they applied to be placed on the list, according to gaming board statistics. Self-exclusion lists are easier to enforce at casinos because there are only 10, gaming board officials said. If people on the list are caught gambling, they must forfeit winnings, which are donated to nonprofits that tackle gambling addiction. They can also be charged with trespassing. Other countries have established self-exclusion lists for video gambling. Sweden, for instance, requires anyone who wants to play video slot and poker machines outside of casinos to register and receive a player card or government-issued ID, which must be swiped at each device before a bet can be placed. It’s not clear how the registration has affected addiction rates in Sweden, but it has led to a 30 percent drop in revenue there, according to research cited in the 2015 gaming board memo. The gaming board has taken what Tracy called a “baby step” toward addressing video gambling addiction. In February 2018, the board created a registry that sends “regular e-mails providing information on problem gambling and containing links to problem gambling prevention and treatment resources” in the state. As of this month, 40 people had signed up for the registry, according to the gaming board. “This is probably one of those initiatives that hasn’t been given the priority that perhaps it needs,” Tracy said. “We need to get back on track and become more focused on this issue.” Illinois legislators could require the board to implement a self-exclusion list — and provide funding to study the issue — but have made no move to do so. Gamblers on the casino self-exclusion lists and clinicians said the lack of one for video gambling has added obstacles to their recovery. “The people we work with who have developed problems with video gambling have asked for a self-exclusion program for video gambling and expressed confusion why there isn’t one,” said Elizabeth Thielen, senior director of NICASA Behavioral Health Services, a nonprofit that treats about 40 gambling addicts a year at its northern Illinois locations. Another option to combat problem gambling is to add technology to the machines to control play. Some provinces in Canada have installed tracking devices on video slot and poker games to limit the time and money spent on each machine. In Illinois, gaming board officials said they believe these measures are ineffective, since players can simply move to other machines or locations. Teenagers are among a growing population of problem gamblers, according to treatment providers. Some video gambling machines are located in places where no one checks that players are at least 21, the legal age for gambling in Illinois. The legislature has failed to enact basic measures other states follow to help prevent underage gamblers from using the machines, such as requiring a manager on duty to check identification or keeping machines out of view of those under 21. The gaming board only began enforcing the ban on underage video gambling in September 2015, three years after the games went live, according to a review of meeting minutes. Tracy said the board takes the issue of underage gambling seriously, levying fines of up to $5,000 on locations caught in the board’s underage sting operations. “[Underage gambling] is a gigantic problem here because we have 6,800 locations,” said Tracy, who took over the board in February 2015. “If we were dealing with like 30 or 40 of them, it sure would be a lot easier to devise a solution. We need to do more, and I think that is one area that has suffered from a lack of resources.” A 42-year-old Gamblers Anonymous member named Leon, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said he realized he was a problem gambler when he lost money he had set aside to pay his mortgage and had to tell his husband. He said he is on the state’s casino self-exclusion list but wishes he could place himself on a list for video gambling. “Those little gambling establishments are [on] every corner now, in every restaurant, every gas station,” he said after attending a Gamblers Anonymous meeting in Downers Grove. When he called a video gambling company to ask about a self-exclusion list, he was told he should just keep away from establishments with the machines, he said. “I’m like, ‘Lady, tell a heroin addict not to put needles in his arm,’” he said. “They don’t get it.” His Most Difficult Addiction Sitting in his recliner on a brisk, sunny autumn afternoon, his pudgy dog Nikki snoring on the carpet beside him, Orville Dash said he had managed to stay away from the machines for three or four months. It wasn’t because he’d kicked his addiction. He suffers from macular degeneration, lung cancer and Parkinson’s disease, he said; he’d become wobbly on his feet and recently had fallen, cracking two ribs. Only his ailments were keeping him home. A recovering alcoholic and former longtime smoker, Dash said he entered a treatment program for alcohol abuse while at Caterpillar in the 1970s. There, he learned about the 12-step program, which he has used in his efforts to quit gambling. In 2016, as he began to confront his addiction, Dash wrote himself a letter as part of his recovery effort. “I have a history of addictive behaviors, including alcohol, smoking and most recently playing slot machines,” he wrote. “I have been sober for 30 years, smoke-free for 14, and am just entering the effort to overcome a gambling addiction. I have some confidence I can overcome this addiction. But it is beyond a doubt the most difficult of the issues I’ve faced.” Two years later, as he reviewed the calculations showing how much he had lost, his confidence had waned. He struggled to understand why he kept returning to video slots. Despite his statistical training, he couldn’t contain the irrational hope that he would beat the odds and come out ahead. “I knew better than that, but I did it anyway.” This story is the second in an ongoing series,
This story is the second in an ongoing series, “The Bad Bet: How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost,” that investigates video gambling in Illinois. Read Part 1 of the series.
Thousands of New Yorkers with severe mental illnesses won the chance to live independently in supported housing, following a 2014 federal court order. Frontline and ProPublica investigate what’s happened to people moved from adult homes into apartments and find more than two dozen cases in which the system failed, sometimes with deadly consequences. Get Our Top Investigations Subscribe to the Big Story newsletter. Our joint reporting has shown how the government wasn’t tracking outcomes as some of the most vulnerable residents languished without the necessary support. We told the story of Nestor Bunch, whose road to independence was paved with hunger, violence and death. In response to the reporting, a federal judge ordered an independent assessment of the state’s incident reporting system, and the nation’s largest mental health organization urged more supported housing reforms. Tune into the premiere on PBS on Feb. 26 at 10 p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central and online at pbs.org/frontline. Sign up to be notified when the story and documentary are online.
The pitches to the health insurance brokers are tantalizing. “Set sail for Bermuda,” says insurance giant Cigna, offering top-selling brokers five days at one of the island’s luxury resorts. Health Net of California’s pitch is not subtle: A smiling woman in a business suit rides a giant $100 bill like it’s a surfboard. “Sell more, enroll more, get paid more!” In some cases, its ad says, a broker can “power up” the bonus to $150,000 per employer group. Not to be outdone, New York’s EmblemHealth promises top-selling brokers “the chance of a lifetime”: going to bat against the retired legendary New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera. In another offer, the company, which bills itself as the state’s largest nonprofit plan, focuses on cash: “The more subscribers you enroll … the bigger the payout.” Bonuses, it says, top out at $100,000 per group, and “there’s no limit to the number of bonuses you can earn. Such incentives sound like typical business tactics, until you understand who ends up paying for them: the employers who sign up with the insurers — and, of course, their employees. Human resource directors often rely on independent health insurance brokers to guide them through the thicket of costly and confusing benefit options offered by insurance companies. But what many don’t fully realize is how the health insurance industry steers the process through lucrative financial incentives and commissions. Those enticements, critics say, don’t reward brokers for finding their clients the most cost-effective options. Here’s how it typically works: Insurers pay brokers a commission for the employers they sign up. That fee is usually a healthy 3 to 6 percent of the total premium. That could be about $50,000 a year on the premiums of a company with 100 people, payable for as long as the plan is in place. That’s $50,000 a year for a single client. And as the client pays more in premiums, the broker’s commission increases. Commissions can be even higher, up to 40 or 50 percent of the premium, on supplemental plans that employers can buy to cover employees’ dental costs, cancer care or long-term hospitalization. Those commissions come from the insurers. But the cost is built into the premiums the employer and employees pay for the benefit plan. Now, layer on top of that the additional bonuses that brokers can earn from some insurers. The offers, some marked “confidential,” are easy to find on the websites of insurance companies and broker agencies. But many brokers say the bonuses are not disclosed to employers unless they ask. These bonuses, too, are indirectly included in the overall cost of health plans. These industry payments can’t help but influence which plans brokers highlight for employers, said Eric Campbell, director of research at the University of Colorado Center for Bioethics and Humanities. “It’s a classic conflict of interest,” Campbell said. Stay Informed Get ProPublica’s Daily Digest. There’s “a large body of virtually irrefutable evidence,” Campbell said, that shows drug company payments to doctors influence the way they prescribe. “Denying this effect is like denying that gravity exists.” And there’s no reason, he said, to think brokers are any different. Critics say the setup is akin to a single real estate agent representing both the buyer and seller in a home sale. A buyer would not expect the seller’s agent to negotiate the lowest price or highlight all the clauses and fine print that add unnecessary costs. “If you want to draw a straight conclusion: It has been in the best interest of a broker, from a financial point of view, to keep that premium moving up,” said Jeffrey Hogan, a regional manager in Connecticut for a national insurance brokerage and one of a band of outliers in the industry pushing for changes in the way brokers are paid. As the average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance premiums has tripled in the past two decades, to almost $20,000 for a family of four, a small, but growing, contingent of brokers are questioning their role in the rise in costs. They’ve started negotiating flat fees paid directly by the employers. The fee may be a similar amount to the commission they could have earned, but since it doesn’t come from the insurer, Hogan said, it “eliminates the conflict of interest” and frees brokers to consider unorthodox plans tailored to individual employers’ needs. Any bonuses could also be paid directly by the employer. Brokers provide a variety of services to employers. They present them with benefits options, enroll them in plans and help them with claims and payment issues. Insurance industry payments to brokers are not illegal and have been accepted as a cost of doing business for generations. When brokers are paid directly by employers, the results can be mutually beneficial. In 2017, David Contorno, the broker for Palmer Johnson Power Systems, a heavy-equipment distribution company in Madison, Wisconsin, saved the firm so much money while also improving coverage that Palmer Johnson took all 120 employees on an all-expenses paid trip to Vail, Colorado, where they rode four-wheelers and went whitewater rafting. In 2018, the company saved money again and rewarded each employee with a health care “dividend” of about $700. Benefits broker David Contorno, pictured here in his Mooresville, North Carolina office, changed his payment structure so he gets paid by the employers he advises, not insurance companies. (Travis Dove for ProPublica) Contorno is not being altruistic. He earned a flat fee, plus a bonus based on how much the plan saved, with the total equal to roughly what would have made otherwise. Craig Parsons, who owns Palmer Johnson, said the new payment arrangement puts pressure on the broker to prevent overspending. His previous broker, he said, didn’t have any real incentive to help him reduce costs. “We didn’t have an advocate,” he said. “We didn’t have someone truly watching out for our best interests.” (The former broker acknowledged there were some issues, but said it had provided a valuable service.) Working for Employers, Not Insurers Contorno is part of a group called the Health Rosetta, which certifies brokers who agree to follow certain best practices related to health benefits, including eliminating any hidden agreements that raise the cost of employee benefits. To be certified, brokers (who refer to themselves as “benefits advisers”) must disclose all their direct and indirect sources of income — bonuses, commissions, consulting fees, for example — and who pays them to the employers they advise. Dave Chase, a Washington businessman, created Rosetta in 2016 after working with tech health startups and launching Microsoft’s services to the health industry. He said he saw an opportunity to transform the health care industry by changing the way employers buy benefits. He said brokers have the most underestimated role in the health care system. “The good ones are worth their weight in gold,” Chase said. “But most of the benefit brokers are pitching themselves as buyer’s agents, but they are paid like a seller’s agent.” There are only 110 Rosetta certified brokers in an industry of more than 100,000, although others who follow a similar philosophy consider themselves part of the movement. From the employer’s point of view, one big advantage of working with brokers like those certified by Rosetta, is transparency. Currently, there’s no industry standard for how brokers must disclose their payments from insurance companies, so many employers may have no idea how much brokers are making from their business, said Marcy Buckner, vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Health Underwriters, the trade group for health benefits brokers. And thus, she said, employers have no clear sense of the conflicts of interest that may color their broker’s advice to them. Buckner’s group encourages brokers to bill employers for their commissions directly to eliminate any conflict of interest, but, she said, it’s challenging to shift the culture. Nevertheless, Buckner said she doesn’t think payments from insurers undermine the work done by brokers, who must act in their clients’ best interests or risk losing them. “They want to have these clients for a really long term,” Buckner said. Industrywide, transparency is not the standard. ProPublica sent a list of questions to 10 of the largest broker agencies, some worth $1 billion or more, including Marsh & McLennan, Aon and Willis Towers Watson, asking if they took bonuses and commissions from insurance companies, and whether they disclosed them to their clients. Four firms declined to answer; the others never responded despite repeated requests. Insurers also don’t seem to have a problem with the payments. In 2017, Health Care Service Corporation, which oversees Blue Cross Blue Shield plans serving 15 million members in five states, disclosed in its corporate filings that it spent $816 million on broker bonuses and commissions, about 3 percent of its revenue that year. A company spokeswoman acknowledged in an email that employers are actually the ones who pay those fees; the money is just passed through the insurer. “We do not believe there is a conflict of interest,” she said. In one email to a broker reviewed by ProPublica, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina called the bonuses it offered — up to $110,000 for bringing in a group of more than 1,000 — the “cherry on top.” The company told ProPublica that such bonuses are standard and that it always encourages brokers to “match their clients with the best product for them.” Cathryn Donaldson, spokeswoman for the trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans, said in an email that brokers are incentivized “above all else” to serve their clients. “Guiding employees to a plan that offers quality, affordable care will help establish their business and reputation in the industry,” she said. Some insurer’s pitches, however, clearly reward brokers’ devotion to them, not necessarily their clients. “To thank you for your loyalty to Humana, we want to extend our thanks with a bonus,” says one brochure pitched to brokers online. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey offered brokers a bonus as “a way to express our appreciation for your support.” Empire Blue Cross told brokers it would deliver new bonuses “for bringing in large group business... and for keeping it with us.” Delta Dental of California’s pitches appears to go one step further, rewarding brokers as “key members of our Small Business Program team.” ProPublica reached out to all the insurers named in this story, and many didn’t respond. Cigna said in a statement that it offers affordable, high-quality benefit plans and doesn’t see a problem with providing incentives to brokers. Delta Dental emphasized in an email it follows applicable laws and regulations. And Horizon Blue Cross said its gives employers the option of how to pay brokers and discloses all compensation. The effect of such financial incentives is troubling, said Michael Thompson, president of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, which represents groups of employers who provide benefits. He said brokers don’t typically undermine their clients in a blatant way, but their own financial interests can create a “cozy relationship” that may make them wary of “stirring the pot.” Employers should know how their brokers are paid, but health care is complex, so they are often not even aware of what they should ask, Thompson said. Employers rely on brokers to be a “trusted adviser,” he added. “Sometimes that trust is warranted and sometimes it’s not.” Bad Faith Tactics When officials in Morris County, New Jersey, sought a new broker to manage the county’s benefits, they specified that applicants could not take insurance company payouts related to their business. Instead, the county would pay the broker directly to ensure an unbiased search for the best benefits. The county hired Frenkel Benefits, a New York City broker, in February 2015. Now, the county is suing the firm in Superior Court of New Jersey, accusing it of double-dipping. In addition to the fees from the county, the broker is accused of collecting a $235,000 commission in 2016 from the insurance giant Cigna. The broker got an additional $19,206 the next year, the lawsuit claims. To get the commission, one of the agency’s brokers allegedly certified, falsely, that the county would be told about the payment, the suit said. The county claims it was never notified and never approved the commission. The suit also alleges the broker “purposefully concealed” the costs of switching the county’s health coverage to Cigna, which included administrative fees of $800,000. In an interview, John Bowens, the county’s attorney, said the county had tried to guard against the broker being swayed by a large commission from an insurer. The brokers at Frenkel did not respond to requests for comment. The firm has not filed a response to the claims in the lawsuit. Steven Weisman, one of attorneys representing Frenkel, declined to comment. Sometimes employers don’t find out their broker didn’t get them the best deal until they switch to another broker. Josh Butler, a broker in Amarillo, Texas, who is also certified by Rosetta, recently took on a company of about 200 employees that had been signed up for a plan that had high out-of-pocket costs. The previous broker had enrolled the company in a supplemental plan that paid workers $1,000 if they were admitted to the hospital to help pay for uncovered costs. But Butler said the premiums for this coverage cost about $100,000 a year, and only nine employees had used it. That would make it much cheaper to pay for the benefit without insurance. Butler suspects the previous broker encouraged the hospital benefits because they came with a sizable commission. He sells the same type of policies for the same insurer, so he knows the plan came with a 40 percent commission in the first year. That means about $40,000 of the employer’s premium went into the broker’s pocket. Butler and other brokers said the insurance companies offer huge commissions to promote lucrative supplemental plans like dental, vision and disability. The total commissions on a supplemental cancer plan one insurer offered come to 57 percent, Butler said. These massive year-one commissions lead some unscrupulous brokers to “churn” their supplemental benefits, Butler said, convincing employers to jump between insurers every year for the same type of benefits. The insurers don’t mind, Butler said, because the employers end up paying the tab. Brokers may also “product dump,” Butler said, which means pushing employers to sign employees up for multiple types of voluntary supplemental coverage, which brings them a hefty commission on each product. Carl Schuessler, a broker in Atlanta who is certified by the Rosetta group, said he likes to help employers find out how much profit insurers are making on their premiums. Some states require insurers to provide the information, so when he took over the account for The Gasparilla Inn, an island resort on the Gulf Coast of Florida, he obtained the report for the company’s recent three years of coverage with UnitedHealthcare. He learned that the insurer had only paid out in claims about 65 percent of what the Inn had paid in premiums. But in those same years the insurer had increased the Inn’s premiums, said Glenn Price, its chief financial officer. “It’s tough to swallow” increases to our premium when the insurer is making healthy profits, Price said. UnitedHealthcare declined to comment. Schuessler, who is paid by the Inn, helped it transition to a self-funded plan, meaning the company bears the cost of the health care bills. Price said the Inn went from spending about $1 million a year to about $700,000, with lower costs and better benefits for employees, and no increases in three years. A Need for Regulation Despite the important function of brokers as middlemen, there’s been scant examination of their role in the marketplace. Don Reiman, head of a Boise, Idaho, broker agency and a financial planner, said the federal government should require health benefit brokers to adhere to the same regulation he sees in the finance arena. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, better known as ERISA, requires retirement plan advisers to disclose to employers all compensation that’s related to their plans, exposing potential conflicts. The Department of Labor requires certain employers that provide health benefits to file documents every year about their plans, including payments to brokers. The department posts the information on its website. But the data is notoriously messy. After a 2012 report found 23 percent of the forms contained errors, there was a proposal to revamp the data collection in 2016. It is unclear if that work was done, but ProPublica tried to analyze the data and found it incomplete or inaccurate. The data shortcomings mean employers have no real ability to compare payments to brokers. About five years ago, Contorno, one of the leaders in the Rosetta movement, was blithely happy with the status quo: He had his favored insurers and could usually find traditional plans that appeared to fit his clients’ needs. Today, he regrets his role in driving up employers’ health costs. One of his LinkedIn posts compares the industry’s acceptance of control by insurance companies to Stockholm Syndrome, the feelings of trust a hostage would have toward a captor. Contorno began advising Palmer Johnson in 2016. When he took over, the company had a self-funded plan and its claims were reviewed by an administrator owned by its broker, Iowa-based Cottingham & Butler. Contorno brought in an independent claims administrator who closely scrutinized the claims and provided detailed cost information. The switch led to significant savings, said Parsons, the company owner. “It opened our eyes to what a good claims review process can mean to us,” he said. Brad Plummer, senior vice president for employee benefits for Cottingham & Butler, acknowledged “things didn’t go swimmingly” with the claims company. But overall his company provided valuable service to Palmer Johnson, he said. Contorno also provided resources to help Palmer Johnson employees find high-quality, low-cost providers, and the company waived any out-of-pocket expense as an incentive to get employees to see those medical providers. If a patient needed an out-of-network procedure, the price was negotiated up front to avoid massive surprise bills to the plan or the patient. The company also contracted with a vendor for drug coverage that does not use the secret rebates and hidden pricing schemes that are common in the industry. Palmer Johnson’s yearly health care costs per employee dropped by more than 25 percent, from about $11,252 in 2015 to $8,288 in 2018. That’s lower than they’d been in 2011, Contorno said. “Now that my compensation is fully tied to meeting the clients’ goals, that is my sole objective,” he said. “Your broker works for whoever is cutting them the check.”
Over the years, a gang database maintained by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office grew to include more than 25,000 names, as well as countless errors. Now it’s on the verge of being dismantled. The sheriff’s office would be prohibited from using or sharing its Regional Gang Intelligence Database — and required to ultimately destroy it — under a new ordinance set to be enacted by the county board Thursday. The new law will also ban the sheriff’s office from feeding information into any other gang database maintained by outside agencies. And within 90 days, county officials will be required to hold a public hearing on how the regional gang database has been used. Dive Deeper Into Our Reporting Our newsletter is written by a ProPublica Illinois reporter every week Crafted during weeks of negotiations between county commissioners and the office of Sheriff Tom Dart, the ordinance passed the county board’s Criminal Justice Committee unanimously Wednesday afternoon. Since the committee is made up of all 17 members of the county board, the measure is almost certain to be approved at the full board meeting Thursday. “The terms ‘gang association’ or ‘gang membership’ have become a form of criminalizing mostly young people of color,” county Commissioner Alma Anaya, the measure’s chief sponsor, said during Wednesday’s committee meeting. “The passage of the ordinance will be a major step forward for Cook County. We will serve as a national model.” One commissioner after another echoed those sentiments. But several also noted that questions remain, even at the county level. Among them: how the database was built and used, and whether to inform people who were included in it. An earlier draft of the ordinance would have required the sheriff’s office to send written notifications to those individuals. But that language was removed amid concerns from the sheriff and some commissioners that it could expose the county to lawsuits. The earlier draft also would have placed restrictions on gang affiliation data compiled by officials at the county jail. The sheriff’s office would have been responsible for an annual report detailing the race, age and gender of everyone it records as a gang member as well as the reasons why. The new ordinance does not apply to the gang data from the jail. Still, on Wednesday community and legal groups welcomed the county’s proposed reforms. Erasing gang databases altogether remains their goal, said Reyna Wences, an organizer with Chicago-based Organized Communities Against Deportations. “But definitely, looking for ways to change the way they’re operated right now is a good first step.” Under the county law, the sheriff’s office would “enact the final destruction” of the regional gang database once it gets permission from a commission that oversees state public records laws. The ordinance doesn’t provide a timetable. The sheriff’s office is just one of several area law enforcement agencies to maintain databases tracking the alleged gang affiliations of thousands of people who have been arrested or stopped. The Chicago Police Department’s database had more than 128,000 people on it as of last year, while the state police maintain one with about 90,000 names. Last July, the sheriff’s office released a partial copy of its regional gang database after I submitted an open-records request. As I reported, the data included about 25,000 entries, including hundreds of people listed as dead and others with no gang affiliation, though that was supposedly why they were in the system. More than 350 police departments and other outside agencies had access to the information, yet people in the database were not offered an opportunity to address or correct it. Soon after, Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia approached the sheriff’s office for more information. When he left the board for a seat in Congress, Anaya, his successor, continued the discussions. Aides to Dart announced last month that they had disabled the database and locked hard drives with the information in a safe. But Anaya pushed for permanent regulations, and negotiations went on for weeks. Commissioner Stanley Moore, chair of the Criminal Justice Committee, said dozens of drafts of the ordinance were passed back and forth before everyone reached an agreement. Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who helped lead the negotiations, said Wednesday that the ordinance is “phenomenal” for the county but not the final word: “Hopefully we will learn at the public hearing if we need to modify this in some way to protect people’s rights.”
(Read in English.) En su cruzada para construir un muro en la frontera, el Presidente Trump ha venido alertando sobre el robo de empleos a trabajadores estadounidenses, de barrios residenciales aterrorizados por criminales extranjeros, y de caravanas de migrantes en camino hacia el norte a la desesperada. Últimamente, sin embargo, ha encontrado un nuevo blanco preferido en los “coyotes despiadados” y “carteles crueles” que trafican con migrantes a los Estados Unidos. “La tolerancia con la inmigración ilegal no es compasiva — es en realidad muy cruel,” Trump dijo en su discurso sobre el Estado de la Unión. “Los traficantes usan niños migrantes como peones humanos para explotar nuestras leyes y ganar acceso a nuestro país.” Stay Informed Get ProPublica’s Daily Digest. Empero las políticas inmigratorias de “tolerancia cero” de Trump han hecho los esfuerzos históricamente débiles de Estados Unidos contra el tráfico de migrantes aún más débiles. Durante los dos últimos años, mientras las redes de tráfico han prosperado, el Department of Homeland Security (Departamento de Seguridad Interior, o DHS por sus siglas en inglés) ha transferido dinero y personal de investigaciones más complejas para apoyar el acérrimo empuje de la administración para arrestar, encarcelar y deportar a los inmigrantes ilegales. Cientos de investigadores han sido temporalmente reasignados a tareas policiales de inmigración de bajo nivel como inspeccionar negocios para detectar trabajadores indocumentados o buscar extranjeros con visados vencidos. Los viajes de |
Wentworthville.
Other youths in cars were seen driving through the area, laughing at the damage caused.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said police dispersed a number of young people "who were all over" Wentworthville, including near the train station.
Last night, revellers flooded Facebook with messages about the "round six" party a free house party in Wentworthville.
One user, near Westmead, said: "Multiple windows smashed, 2 flipped cars and crazy fights, and the nights just started."
Police arrested three juvenile males who were taken to Parramatta Police Station.
A 17-year-old was charged with affray, offensive conduct and breach of bail.
The second teen, aged 16, was charged with affray, offensive behaviour, resist arrest and breach of bail.
The third male, also aged 16, was released pending further inquiries.
The two juveniles were refused bail and are expected to appear at Parramatta Children’s Court today.
Originally published as Facebook party 'out of control'Type the word “gay” into YouTube and user MarkE Miller’s video “Asking Guys if I’m Gay” is the second video with more than 240,000 views. Type in the word “kissing,” and his video “Awkward Kissing” is the fifth video with more than 660,000 views.
Mark Miller, a Ball State senior telecommunications major, has gained more than 80,000 subscribers since he posted “Awkward Kissing” in August.
Sitting behind the corner desk in his bedroom, the YouTube user holds up his Canon PowerShot outstretched in front of him and presses record.
YouTube user name – MarkE Miller Subscribers: 93,404 Top Videos: “Awkward Kissing” – 669,912 views “Boyfriend Tag” – 267,331 views “Bloopers: Awkward Kissing” – 260,053 views View his channel here.
“Good morning, everybody,” he said quickly to the camera. “It’s going be a great day and do you know why?
“Because every day is a great day.”
He was recording the intro to his 45th YouTube video titled “My BestFriend,” a video that gained more than 51,000 views in five days.
Miller posted his first YouTube video Nov. 15, 2012, called “My Coming Out Story.” In the video, he shared one of the most intimate times of his life with the Internet. Almost instantly, he became obsessed.
“I didn’t think I was going to make videos after that,” he said. “I watched other coming out stories on YouTube, and it normalized homosexuality for me. So once I had a story to share, I posted it to share with people who it might help.”
After that, he started posting videos weekly — vlogs, or video blogs. This is a type of video where people document their day-to-day lives through videos, sharing funny, sad or even boring moments with viewers.
Miller decided early on that simply sitting in front of the camera and talking wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to show people what he was doing, rather than just telling them. With his GoPro camera, he gives viewers an inside look into the life of a Ball State student.
For the first nine months, he would gain a few followers here and there, but he continued to post videos even when doubts crept into his mind. Six months ago, he considered stopping.
“I think that artists think that their work doesn’t get the recognition they think it deserves because of the time and effort they put into it, and I felt the same with my videos,” Miller said. “They are my babies, and I wanted to show my work to new people. Luckily, I didn’t stop.”
After Miller posted the video “Awkward Kissing” with his boyfriend Ethan Hethcote, an Indiana University student, his YouTube account blew up. He gained more than 80,000 subscribers and thousands of views on every video.
Viewers see the couple kiss each other and swap food from mouth to mouth, yawning and laughing. Almost instantly, the video made its way to Tumblr and his fan base grew.
“It’s weird seeing gifs of me and Ethan kissing on Tumblr,” Miller said. “It’s cool and flattering, but I’m still not used to it.”
When his subscribers and views began to shoot up, he opted to sign up to start making money from his videos. YouTube’s monetary system is set up so the number of views will determine the pay out. For example, 1,550 views will generate $1.50.
A few weeks ago, a fan from Brazil who was visiting North Carolina drove roughly nine hours to hang out with Miller in Bracken Library for a couple of hours. It was the first time someone drove out of their way to see him, but not the first time he has been approached on campus by fans.
Ross Hilleary, a senior urban planning and development major, saw the gifs of Miller on Tumblr and searched him out. Now, he said he watches his weekly videos almost religiously.
“He’s relatable,” Hilleary said. “He’s from Indiana, he’s our age, he goes to our school and he’s a positive influence on showing what it’s like to be gay, in college and in love. It’s great seeing him and his boyfriend grow.”
When Miller started dating Hethcote at the end of last semester, he quickly introduced him to his YouTube viewers in the video “The Perks of Being a Facebook Stalker.” He said he realized his videos get more views when they feature Hethcote.
His videos have documented the relationship from its earliest stages and continue to show how it develops over time. Lucky for Miller, his boyfriend doesn’t have a problem with having a very public relationship.
“We make sure that we put out there what we want people to see, but we still keep the more intimate parts to ourselves,” Hethcote said. “It hasn’t caused any problems between us. It’s just a part of him and I’ve accepted it.”
Miller plans to graduate in May and to move to Bloomington, Ind., to be closer to Hethcote. He said he has no plans to stop making videos, and he hopes to continue making money. He eventually wants it to be his main source of income.
“I don’t do it for the money, it’s just an added bonus,” Miller said. “I want to share my story with those who need someone to look up to. Being gay and young is hard, and I want to show people that it doesn’t have to be.”Ten channels including Sky Atlantic, with shows such as Game of Thrones and Mad Men, offered without a pay-TV subscription
Sky's on-demand service, Now TV, is to offer 10 entertainment channels including Sky1 and Sky Atlantic for the first time to viewers without a pay-TV subscription in a move aimed at rebuffing the challenge of online rivals such as Netflix.
This is the first time the channels will be made available to viewers without a satellite dish, the channels will be available to watch live and on-demand for an initial price of £4.99 a month on a pay-as-you-go basis.
It is a substantial expansion of the Now TV offer which was previously restricted to sports and movies, available to buy on a day or month-long pass.
The new offering will also include entire box sets of hit shows such as HBO's Game of Thrones, Mad Men and The Wire and Sky's Mad Dogs and An Idiot Abroad.
In a thinly-veiled reference to Netflix, which is largely an archive service, albeit a large one, Sky's announcement on Tuesday said: "Unlike some other streaming services, the Now TV entertainment month pass offers premiere episodes of the very latest series."
Along with Sky1 and Sky Atlantic, the 10 entertainment channels in the package also include Sky Living, Sky Arts 1, Discovery, MTV, Comedy Central, Gold, Disney and Fox.
Gidon Katz, director of Now TV, said: "Millions of people can now go online to watch some of the best entertainment channels, including Sky1, Sky Atlantic and Comedy Central. Now TV offers pay-as-you-go access to brand new episodes of home-grown British shows and the biggest and best US series for anyone with broadband."
Netflix, which garnered critical acclaim with its Kevin Spacey drama remake House of Cards, announced earlier this month that it had 40 million subscribers worldwide, up more than 10 million in the last year, with revenues of $1.1bn and net profit of £32m.
Sky's month-long pass is available via Sky's Now TV box as well as other platforms including the PlayStation 3, Roku streaming player, Macs and PCs.
It will be rolled out in the coming months on iPhone, iPads, selected Android smartphones and elsewhere. Subscribers will be able to register on a maximum of four devices.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@theguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.Confusion surrounds the legal judgement threatening Massimo Cellino’s ownership of Leeds United after it emerged that the Football League has made no formal request for a court in Cagliari to release the document.
The YEP understands that the governing body is yet to ask for details of the verdict from Cellino’s tax conviction in March, despite Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey describing a delay in publishing it as “exceptionally disappointing” and “a cloud hanging over” Leeds.
Cellino’s 75 per cent takeover of United - completed on April 7 - was initially blocked by the Football League after a judge in Sardinia, Dr Sandra Lepore, found him guilty of failing to pay import duty on a private yacht.
The 58-year-old appealed against his failure of the League’s Owners and Directors Test and won on the basis that his offence in Italy could not be classed as dishonest and in breach of Football League rules without Lepore’s written judgement.
Lepore convicted Cellino on March 17 and was due to give her considered reasoning within 90 days, a date which fell midway through June. The judgement has not been forthcoming and Harvey said: “We have Italian lawyers monitoring it for us and we’ve been told it will come out when it comes out.”
Speaking at the Soccerex convention in Manchester on Tuesday, Harvey confirmed that the League would look to bar Cellino from owning Leeds and acting as a club director if Lepore ruled that his failure to pay tax was deliberate and dishonest. His comments angered United and cast fresh doubt over Cellino’s future at Elland Road.
Italian legal sources say that at this stage of the process, only parties directly involved in the Sardinian case are entitled to copies of Lepore’s verdict. The court would consider requests from third parties but has not received any from the Football League.
The League has made no comment but it is thought that its test places the onus on owners and directors to inform the governing body of changes to their status as fit and proper, rather than leaving the League to investigate itself.
Sources close to Cellino say he is unaware of the judgement’s whereabouts and would fight a second attempt by the League to ban him from owning Leeds.Hear the one about the Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia that nobody noticed?
No, this is not a joke. It is a real situation—and a cautionary example of what happens when Western governments and their media are more favorable to some “revolutions” than others.
With the Syrian regime, long out of favor with the West, we heard about the uprising from the beginning. The drumbeat has grown dramatically, along with Western condemnations and moves to isolate the regime for its crackdown on dissent.
In the case of Libya, run by the fiercely independent and eccentric Qaddafi, much of the world’s press credulously rushed to print every rumor about regime excesses, many of them never verified and seemingly untrue. (For more on that, see this and this and this.) The press portrayed the rebels as heroes, and featured almost daily coverage. As NATO launched a creeping intervention which ended with wall to wall bombing, the media accepted its claim that the intervention was to stop Qaddafi from harming or further oppressing his people.
The media quickly took to—and stayed with— the uprising in Egypt, one of the poorest countries in the region, where the West lost an ally but quickly found a new collaborator in a similarly-inclined military junta.
In the case of the mother of all petro-allies, Saudi Arabia, however, protests have been met with near silence by the media and no expressions of sympathy for the dissenters by Western governments.
THE SAUDI STRUGGLE
Here’s the background: On November 21, government troops opened fire on demonstrators in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, killing at least four and injuring more. Given the general paucity of demonstrations in a country where dissent is dealt with fiercely, the unrest and violence seemed a highly newsworthy development.
The next day, the Middle-East-based Al Jazeera English, the “best” Western source of news from the region, punted. Instead of getting direct eyewitness accounts that might anger the Saudi leadership (close allies of the Emir of Qatar, who owns Al Jazeera), the network used an old trick. It quoted a Western news agency, the French outfit Agence France Press, which merely reported the Saudi government’s version of events. (For more on blatant inconsistencies in how Al Jazeera covers different uprisings in the region, see this WhoWhatWhy article)
Two days after Al Jazeera, the Associated Press had its own report, also based on the Saudi spokesman. The article did note “a series of clashes between police and protesters in the country’s Shiite-dominated eastern region, starting in the spring.” It noted:
The Interior Ministry previously blamed what it described as “seditious” residents, saying they attacked security forces with guns and firebombs with the backing of a foreign enemy — an apparent reference to Shiite power Iran. The ministry statement Thursday said the deaths in the new unrest were the result of exchanges of fire since Monday with “unknown criminals,” who it said fired on security checkpoints and vehicles from houses and alleyways.
The purported context comes in the final paragraph:
There is a long history of discord between the kingdom’s Sunni rulers and the Shiite minority concentrated in the east, Saudi Arabia’s key oil-producing region. Shiites make up 10 percent of the kingdom’s 23 million citizens and complain of discrimination, saying they are barred from key positions in the military and government and are not given a proportionate share of the country’s wealth.
The salient point in Saudi Arabia, however, is not really ethnic discrimination, which exists throughout the world. It is the story of the avarice and brutality through which one extended family dominates a country.
In Libya, the uprising was dominated by a distinct tribal opposition, yet it was quickly characterized as representing broad national sentiment, with a kind of nobility and inevitability. Not so (up to now) with reporting on the Saudi protests. In truth, dissatisfaction with the Saudi royal family is hardly limited to the Shiites, and the levels of anger are probably as great and perhaps greater than that felt by the average Libyan toward Qaddafi.
ANOTHER VIEW
Those wanting a closer look at what is going on in Saudi Arabia can go to the site Liveleak, where there’s highly disturbing video accompanied by this text: “Qatif—Firing live bullets at the demonstrators November 21, 2011: Video shows the brutal style Saudi security forces in dealing with the demonstrators by firing live bullets.” Another source is a blog called “Angry Arab News Service,” which features video in which a large and vocal group in Qatif are apparently chanting “Death to the House of Saud”:
That kind of material seems to warrant worldwide attention. And with that, we might reasonably expect the protests to grow. But the coverage has not come, nor the greater uprising.
NEW YORK TIMES
Who’s to blame? Everyone, really. But based on its claim to be the gold standard, we focus on the New York Times. According to a search of the database Nexis-Lexis, the Times ran nothing at all on Qatif until Sunday November 27, when it featured a survey of turmoil throughout the region. A reference to Qatif was buried deep toward the end of the piece, where it would go almost unnoticed.
Yet the Times should have realized that it was looking at a pattern. After all, the paper did cover a previous incident in Qatif—back in March. It was a single article, with a Beirut dateline.
Saudi police officers opened fire at a protest march in a restive, oil-rich province on Thursday, wounding at least three people, according to witnesses and a Saudi government official.
[Snip]
Witnesses described the small protest march in the eastern city of Qatif as peaceful, but an Interior Ministry spokesman said demonstrators had attacked the police before the officers began firing, Reuters reported.
[Snip]
The clash with protesters in Qatif, located in a heavily Shiite region, underscored longstanding tensions in Saudi society: there is a sense among the Shiite minority that it is discriminated against by a government practicing a zealous form of Sunni orthodoxy.
No emphasis on the self-dealing, greed and barbarity that characterize the Saudi dictatorship. Ironically, that was when demonstrations in Libya were all over the news, with constant emphasis on Qaddafi’s infamy. Here are some New York Times headlines from Libya in the Spring:
Photographs Offer Graphic Evidence of Abuses Under Qaddafi
Time’s Up, Qaddafi (an opinion piece)
Libyan Rebels Complain of Deadly Delays Under NATO’s Command
Rape Victim Describes Her Ordeal
Qaddafi Forces Said to Lay Land Mines at City
THE REAL STORY
So, what’s the real story in Saudi Arabia? December brought a report from the human rights group Amnesty International, covered as follows by BBC:
Saudi Arabia accused of repression after Arab Spring Amnesty International has accused Saudi Arabia of reacting to the Arab Spring by launching a wave of repression. In a report, the human rights group said hundreds of people had been arrested, many of them without charge or trial. Prominent reformists had been given long sentences following trials Amnesty called “grossly unfair”. So far unrest has largely been confined to the Shia minority in the east of the country. ….In its 73-page report published on Thursday, Amnesty accuses the Saudi authorities of arresting hundreds of people for demanding political and social reforms or for calling for the release of relatives detained without charge or trial. The report says that sinceFebruary, when sporadic demonstrations began – in defiance of a permanent national ban on protests – the Saudi government has carried out a crackdown…. Since March, more than 300 people who took part in peaceful protests in Qatif, Ahsa and Awwamiya in the east have been detained, Amnesty says. Most have been released, often after promising not to protest again. Many face travel bans. Last week 16 men, including nine prominent reformists, were given sentences ranging from five to 30 years in prison. Amnesty said they were blindfolded and handcuffed during their trial, while their lawyer was not allowed to enter the court for the first three sessions. “Peaceful protesters and supporters of political reform in the country have been targeted for arrest in an attempt to stamp out the kinds of call for reform that have echoed across the region,” said Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director, Philip Luther. [Snip] Amnesty says that the government continues to detain thousands of people on terrorism-related grounds. Torture and other ill-treatment in detention are widespread, it says – an allegation Saudi Arabia has always denied. [snip] Amnesty says the government has drafted an anti-terror law that would effectively criminalise dissent as a “terrorist crime” and allow extended detention without charge or trial. Questioning the integrity of the king would carry a minimum prison sentence of 10 years, according to Amnesty. [snip] “Rather than deal with legitimate demands, the government is taking the easy route and blaming everything on a conspiracy by the Iranians,” said the activist, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions.
The takeaway from the Amnesty report is that demonstrators have been active in Saudi Arabia just as long as in Libya and elsewhere, and as consistently—and, as elsewhere, have been dealt with harshly by their government. Somehow, though, this is not deemed a sufficiently important story to cover.
Could it have something to do with Saudi Arabia’s indispensability as an ally and supplier of oil? In which case, traditional news reporting standards do not apply?
And did anyone ask the US government, so quick to condemn Qaddafi for his crackdown on demonstrators, if it had any reaction to the Saudi crackdown on demonstrators? Doesn’t look like it.
Meanwhile, what of this scapegoating of Iran for what seems to be authentic Saudi dissent? How does this dovetail with the overall western effort to characterize Iran as behind every nefarious act, even the ludicrous-sounding plot announced months ago by the White House, in which the Iranians were purportedly trying to recruit Mexican drug gangs to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US?
What of the buildup to an attack on Iran, through the rightwing government of Israeli prime minister Netanyahu— decried even by the heads of Israel’s own intelligence agencies as unjustified and dangerous?
How much of this larger play is about keeping the Saudi royal family in power, and taking care of the Western oil industry, and the “western way of life”?
Consider Libya vs Saudi Arabia. Two oil producers, one unpredictable and unreliable, one tight with the West. Heavy coverage of dissent in one, almost none in the other.
SAUDIS AREN’T WAITING
Saudis know better than to wait for the establishment media to get into the act. One outlier that tends to be ahead of the pack, McClatchy Newspapers, just ran a piece on how Saudi dissidents are turning to YouTube to get their message out. Though Saudi Arabia’s high standard of living is a chestnut in media coverage, the dissidents highlight the disparities in the Kingdom in a homemade video:
One Saudi man he interviews has 11 children to feed and a net monthly income of $1,200, half of which goes to rent. The family has enough money left over only for flour and one meal a day. The imam at the local mosque reveals that in order to raise money for the household, the parents are sending out young sons to sell drugs, and the women engage in prostitution. [snip] While the film doesn’t explicitly explain the “Monopoly” of its title, a leading Saudi human rights activist said in an interview that it comes down to one thing: “All the land is owned de facto and de jure by the royal family.”
The article notes that uprising hasn’t begun yet—in part because of apathy.
But how much is apathy, and how much is Saudis realizing that no one will come to their aid if they risk throwing off their shackles? They cannot count on the handy boost the West gave to revolutions in nearby countries. Nor can they count on the Western media, which brays about its independence and initiative, but, increasingly, shows neither where the West’s precious oil supplies are involved.
Research Assistance: Myron Bretholz
# #
(From http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/11/chants-death-to-house-of-saud-in-qatif.html)
Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Please help us do more. Make a tax-deductible contribution now.
Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary. Related printTakkas has already served 10 months of his 15-month sentence
The second football official sentenced as part of the Fifa corruption scandal says he "hopes the sport learns from this case".
Costas Takkas, former general secretary of the Cayman Islands Football Association, was sentenced to 15 months in prison by a US judge on Tuesday.
The British citizen pleaded guilty to a part in a money-laundering conspiracy, after receiving and transmitting millions of dollars in bribes.
"I should have known better," he said.
"I feel big remorse. It's not in my nature to cause anybody harm. I love football."
Takkas, who was born in Cyprus, was one of several Fifa officials first arrested in Zurich in May 2015 at the request of US authorities.
The 61-year-old was detained in Switzerland while awaiting extradition to the US and has already served 10 months in custody.
He was also ordered to pay $3m restitution, shared with former Fifa vice-president Jeffrey Webb, who pleaded guilty to several charges in November 2015.
Since May 2015, federal prosecutors have indicted about 40 sports and football executives linked to football in the Americas.
Hector Trujillo, a former judge in Guatemala, last month became the first person to be sentenced in the investigation after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy.So within hours of each other, both Maxis and Digi released their unity videos in celebration of Merdeka 2014. We know this cos they both kinda sent their individual links to us (you can see we actually posted the DiGi one on our FB page first). Of course, they both have the usual messages about unity and how we’re all family. But er…
Maxis’ tagline: It’s ok. We’re family
And DIGI’s? We are Family
Full disclosure: Maxis is a CILISOS advertiser, and DiGi isn’t. That’s why you see in the featured image, Maxis’ picture is like 7.24% bigger. YEAH.
AND OMAIGERD, we really like both of them!
They both play off similar themes of familiarity, and cross-cultural love, except Maxis has a white dude in theirs. But hey, maybe this is a way of saying that despite all our differences, tensions, and competition…we really ARE all family (especially since ed’s sis used to work at DiGi, and now she’s at MAXIS). And that’s not such a bad thing right?
Er… right?
UPDATE: YES RIGHT! FB love updates from both parties below
(@Celcom: come join also! Then we can reenact this one… which is one of our all time favourites)
UPDATE: Maxis has brought its campaign one step further with these AWESOME cards. Each one has a different name to call your loved one, depending on their race.
Damn cute lor. Know anyone who looks like this? Drop us an email [email protected] Send your own here, or click on any of the images above.
UPDATE: CILISOS Freelance developer and overall nerdball Michael Kwan has a problem with our math. As you know, our editor’s specialty is not MATH.
Things are looking up, Malaysia… Happy Merdeka!NPR's Head Of News Placed On Leave After Past Harassment Allegations Surface
NPR has placed its senior vice president for news, Michael Oreskes, on leave after fielding accusations that he sexually harassed two women seeking career opportunities nearly two decades ago, when he worked at The New York Times.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Chuck Zoeller/AP Chuck Zoeller/AP
The allegations from the two women were first reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday afternoon. They included similar accounts of unwanted and unexpected kisses during business meetings.
Meanwhile, a current NPR employee is going public with her account of filing a formal complaint with the network's human resources division in October 2015. Rebecca Hersher says she considers the incident less severe but nevertheless felt it crossed a line and made her uncomfortable. At the time a 26-year-old assistant producer on Weekend All Things Considered, she said Oreskes hijacked a career counseling session into a three-hour-long dinner that delved into deeply personal territory.
Oreskes did not respond to multiple efforts to reach him for comment. NPR executives say that they cannot address individual personnel matters but that they take concerns of sexual harassment or other inappropriate workplace behavior seriously.
According to The Washington Post, there were two separate complaints about Oreskes from his tenure as Washington bureau chief at The New York Times nearly 20 years ago. Both women tell similar stories: After meeting Oreskes and discussing their job prospects, they said he unexpectedly kissed them on the lips and stuck his tongue in their mouths. The Post did not disclose their names, stating they spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to damage future employment prospects. The women also shared their allegations with NPR management in mid-October.
After joining NPR in the spring of 2015, Oreskes encouraged staffers to reach out to him to discuss their careers during his visit to NPR West in Culver City, Calif. At the time Hersher had been working a series of temporary assignments for NPR, and she took him up on his offer during a subsequent visit to Washington. An afternoon meeting was pushed off into evening and an invitation to dinner at a seafood restaurant near Union Station.
Hersher, now a reporter and producer on NPR's science desk, says she wanted to tell him about her belief that she would need to leave NPR to transform from a producer to a reporter. Her dinner with Oreskes became increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation veered into personal matters involving relationships and sex. At one point, she says, he referred to a former flame as his first "sex girlfriend."
Hersher says the conversation made her uncomfortable.
"From my point of view, every little thing that he or I said pointed to the relative difference in power," she said. "Like he's the one with the power. He's the one who gets to decide what we talk about — and I am trying to keep up."
Hersher said he gave her what seemed like a nonromantic hug at the train station afterward, and that he did not otherwise touch her or suggest any physical involvement.
Still, Hersher said Tuesday, the entire evening felt as though it devalued her as a professional. She suddenly questioned why a senior executive would care about her career.
"I went to the train station, and I called my best friend; I cried on the phone to her," Hersher says. "I went home and then I cried to my boyfriend. It undercut my confidence in a way that was surprising to me."
Hersher reported the incident to NPR's human resources division. The network formally rebuked Oreskes and informed other top network executives. Hersher said she felt satisfied with the company's response and that she experienced no retribution.
Two colleagues at NPR confirmed that Hersher told them of the incident at the time. I did considerable reporting on the episode in spring 2016. At that time, Hersher was not willing to go on the record for a news story, and I was unable to confirm a pattern of behavior by Oreskes. The incident did not involve anything physical, and there was no force, retribution or request for a romantic involvement, and Hersher said she believed the network had held Oreskes appropriately accountable.
At the time, this reporter and editors of that story — who did not include Oreskes or anyone who reported directly to him — concluded that the incident on its own did not rise to the level of national news.
The new allegations concerning Oreskes' tenure at The Times changed the equation.
In a note to staff on Tuesday, NPR CEO Jarl Mohn encouraged employees to come forward if they have been harassed.
"We take these kinds of allegations very seriously," Mohn wrote. "If a concern is raised, we review the matter promptly. We take all appropriate steps to assure a safe, comfortable, and productive work environment for everyone at NPR.... This is our NPR. And I will stand up for it, and every one of you."Workers at Orbital Sciences Corp. in Gilbert prepare the Landsat8 earth-imaging satellite. (Photo: Courtesy of Orbital Sciences Corp.) Story Highlights A $470 million NASA satellite program has been awarded to Orbital ATK in Gilbert
The company will build up to three satellites to improve accuracy of weather forecasts
The first satellite, JPSS-2, is scheduled to be ready by 2020
Next-generation weather satellites designed to monitor Earth's climate and weather patterns for the U.S. government will be the latest in an array of spacecraft to be built at a high-tech manufacturing center in Gilbert.
Orbital ATK, based in Virginia with Arizona facilities in Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa, recently landed a contract worth up to $470 million to design and build the Joint Polar Satellite System for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Weather Service.
Data and images from the weather satellites are expected to boost the timeliness and accuracy of public warnings and weather forecasts, reducing potential loss of life and property, according to NASA.
Once in orbit, the JPSS satellites will circle the globe from pole to pole, crossing the equator 14 times every day. They're designed to help improve forecasts three to seven days ahead of a severe weather event, according to NOAA.
The satellites will measure conditions like atmospheric temperature and moisture, hurricane intensity, rainfall, fog, volcanic ash, smoke plumes from wildfires, snow cover, surface temperatures and ozone.
The first JPSS satellite is already in development by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. and is scheduled to launch in 2017. Orbital's 135,000-square-foot satellite factory in Gilbert will build the program's second satellite, with options for two more.
Orbital's JPSS-2 satellite is scheduled to be completed by 2020, while the next two spacecraft will likely come in 2024 and 2028. Each satellite has a life of at least seven years in orbit, according to Orbital ATK.
While the weather satellites are funded by the U.S. government, the data is shared freely with domestic and international partners, including 88 nations and the European Commission, according to NOAA.
Orbital's factory near McQueen and Elliot roads in Gilbert has built two other high-profile NASA satellites in the last few years, including the world's first devoted solely to monitoring carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere.
NEWSLETTERS Get the AZ Memo newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Get the pulse of Arizona -- Local news, in-depth state coverage and what it all means for you Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-332-6733. Delivery: Mon-Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for AZ Memo Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
The $470 million Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 uses three spectrometers to take a new snapshot of Earth every 16 days, allowing researchers to produce detailed maps of greenhouse-gas emissions, a major contributor to global climate change. The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on July 2, 2014.
Landsat 8, a 20-foot-tall satellite built in Gilbert for the U.S. Geological Survey, snaps images of Earth's surface using multiple spectrums to track environmental trends like shrinking glaciers, crop production, water use and deforestation. The satellite settled into orbit in February 2013.
Orbital ATK is a new company formed by the merger of Orbital Sciences, which has owned the Gilbert facility since 2010, and Alliant Techsystems.
Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/1Ce4l2kVideo footage appears to show Mexican national Antonio Zambrano-Montes running away from Pasco police with his hands raised before he is fatally shot
Mexico condemns 'disproportionate' use of force by US police in Pasco shooting
The Mexican foreign affairs ministry has condemned the fatal police shooting of a 35-year-old Mexican national in Pasco, Washington, marking an extraordinary escalation in criticism surrounding the local police.
Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an orchard worker who had been living in Pasco for 10 years, was shot dead on Tuesday. Purported video footage of the incident later uploaded to YouTube appears to show Zambrano-Montes running away from three police officers with his hands momentarily raised before he is shot down in a volley of bullets. Zambrano-Montes has been described as homeless in a number of local news reports.
Police say he had been throwing rocks at vehicles and officers on a busy intersection and “low level” force had failed to subdue him.
The Mexican foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday evening it had written to the district attorney and chief of police requesting an “exhaustive investigation to determine responsibility for the deeply regrettable incident”.
“The government of Mexico deeply condemns incidents in which force is used in a disproportionate manner, even more so when that use of force leads to loss of life,” the ministry said in a statement.
“These unfortunate events cause damage to the community and erode trust in the authorities.”
The Mexican consulate in Seattle is now in contact with members of Zambrano-Montes’ family and have offered them legal assistance, the statement added.
A spokesman for Pasco City said a response to the request was being prepared. The incident is now being investigated by a Tri-City Special Investigation Unit (SIU), with the Franklin County Coroner indicating to the Seattle Times he may be prepared to instigate an inquest into the shooting.
Around 100 local community and family members protested outside the Pasco City Hall on Wednesday night, and solidarity groups on Facebook indicate another protest is scheduled for Saturday. Local police have urged for calm.
The incident marks the fourth fatal police shooting in Pasco over the past year and the third at the hands of Pasco police. In July, Pasco police shot and killed 34-year-old Brad Jensen after he refused to drop a knife and indicated he wanted to “suicide by cop”, according to a statement by Pasco police. In September, Pasco police shot and killed 25-year-old Matthew Stoddard, after he had fled from police and was later discovered with a firearm, which he refused to drop, according to a statement from Pasco police.
A spokesman for Pasco City said the third fatal incident occurred at the hands of Benton County police, despite being in Pasco City.
Census data from 2010 indicates the city of Pasco, made up of 67,000 inhabitants is 55% Hispanic. The local police force is made up of 67 patrol officers and detectives, 22% of whom are Hispanic, with a majority of white officers.
Pasco police have named the three patrol officers involved in the Zambrano-Montes shooting as Ryan Flanagan, Adam Wright and Adrian Alaniz.
Flanagan, a nine-year patrol veteran, had previously been named in a 2012 civil lawsuit lodged by a 30-year-old woman, Maria Davila-Marquez, a monolingual Spanish speaker.
Davila-Marquez’s lawyer Vito de la Cruz told the Guardian Flanagan had acted in an “outrageous and excessive” manner, when pulling his client over in a case of mistaken identity as she walked to collect her children |
radio hosts have taken the opportunity to excoriate the "elite media bubble."
John DePetro, a talk radio host from Spicer's native Rhode Island, said he gives Spicer "tremendous credit" for the experiment but couldn't help but to laugh at himself. "They kept my face up on the screen the entire time Sean answered my question. I was thinking that to those in the White House press corps it might have seemed a little bit of Wizard of Oz," he said.
Elizabeth Crisp, a reporter for the Baton Rouge Advocate, pressed Spicer on the administration's policies on long-term disaster recovery. She said she didn't get a satisfactory answer, but thought the experience was worthwhile.
"It was a chance to bring attention to an issue of importance to Louisiana, which is still recovering from Katrina more than a decade after the storm," she said.
"I think the Skype seat is a great concept and offers a chance for reporters like myself outside of DC to ask the administration about topics that probably would not be addressed otherwise. I still would like to hear about their approach to disaster recovery," she said.
Spicer's short tenure as press secretary has been marked by the sort of short, combative exchanges with reporters that have become lampooned on Saturday Night Live and made him a household name. But he's also been responsible for more structural changes to a staple of the Washington news cycle — the daily question-and-answer session with reporters from the White House.
Even as he's given local reporters access to a national television venue via a video feed, he's closed off many briefings to video cameras – a move condemned by Washington-based television reporters.
Appearing on a radio show hosted by conservative Laura Ingraham this month, Spicer said he was trying to prevent showboating by correspondents who “want to become YouTube stars and ask some snarky question that's been asked eight times.”
Spicer sees no contradiction between promoting Skype questions while discouraging would-be YouTube stars. In fact, he said, he sees no reason why Skype seats couldn't also be included in the increasingly frequent off-camera briefings. "We could," he said. "I hadn't really thought about it, but we could potentially do some stuff like that."
Spicer's mission to encourage friendly questions is not unprecedented. White House press secretaries long ago figured out how to deflect tough questions by calling on reporters in the room that they knew would likely change the subject — often members of the foreign press, who are less interested in domestic political controversies.
Franklin Roosevelt used to invite reporters in for Oval Office chats, hoping middle-class correspondents would be more sympathetic to his New Deal policies than the wealthy owners of their newspapers. John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were skilled at using television to their advantage, bypassing print reporters. Bill Clinton appeared on late night television, and Barack Obama gave interviews to YouTube personalities who asked about the proper way for dogs to wear pants.
But press secretaries have traditionally catered almost exclusively to the Washington-based reporters who cover the White House full time.
Bringing in Skype reporters may be an attempt to "limit the traditional White House press corps from dominating the discussion," said Jeffrey Cohen, a Fordham University professor who studies presidential communication strategies.
"He can't get around the White House press corps unless they shut down the briefings altogether, and they've already been clamping down," he said.
"It's exploiting a brand-new technology — or at least, one not used by the previous administration," he said. "On that level, it’s a lot like Trump's use of Twitter."
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2tQCBspES News Email Enter your email address Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in or register with your social account
Ken Livingstone today said he will threaten Labour with a judicial review if he is expelled from the party for breaking its rules.
The former mayor of London said taking the party to court was the “obvious” next step if his membership is revoked for remarks he made about Hitler. He told the Standard that he has received 10,000 comments from people supporting him since he was suspended 11 months ago after a series of TV and radio interviews.
And he added: “The obvious thing would be a judicial review because that would be heard in public and that would be the best way of clearing the air of these lies and smears. This isn’t North Korea, we are supposed to be an open democracy.”
On the second day of his party disciplinary hearing in Westminster — which is held in private — he is expected to use historical analysis to explain his previous remarks. He denies he is anti-Semitic and said he has been falsely accused of claiming that Hitler was a Zionist.
Last night Mr Livingstone, 71, told reporters: “I simply said, back in 1933 Hitler’s government signed a deal with the Zionist movement, which would mean that Germany’s Jewish community were moved to what is now Israel.”
He added: “You had, right up until the start of the Second World War, real collaboration.”
Labour’s general secretary, Iain McNicol, has said the case against him was not about historical facts but that his remarks showed a lack of awareness or concern for the Jewish community’s sensitivity on the matter. He accused Mr Livingstone of conduct that is “grossly detrimental to the Labour party.”
Jeremy Newmark, chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, said: “He just seems to be digging a deeper hole. At his own expulsion hearing he can’t show any sign of apology. We have been very clear that we feel there should be no future for Ken in the Labour party. He’s demonstrated constantly that he thinks it’s okay to sprinkle the language of Hitler around like political confetti.”
Mr Livingstone will find out if he has been expelled tonight. A judicial review would assess the lawfulness of the decision.Story highlights Bandits made off with more than $4 million in gold during the Sunday night heist
The truck was stuck on an interstate during a trip up north to Massachusetts
(CNN) An armored truck carrying several million dollars worth of gold was robbed while it was stranded on Interstate 95 in Wilson County, North Carolina.
According to the Wilson County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to an armed robbery of more than $4 million in gold, just before 7 p.m. ET Sunday. The armored truck was paused after experiencing mechanical issues during a trip from Miami to Massachusetts.
The two guards, employed by Transvalue Inc., were forced to the ground and robbed at gunpoint by three men driving a white van. The guards' hands were then bound behind their backs before they were instructed to walk into a nearby wooded area, the sheriff's office said.
"Transvalue Inc. deeply regrets the events that transpired yesterday evening," Chief Executive Officer Jay Rodriguez said in a statement to CNN. "We are pleased that our crew was not harmed. At this time we are working with the authorities to try and resolve this matter."
The FBI has also been notified, according to Public Affairs Special Agent Shelley Lynch. The FBI is "coordinating with our law enforcement partners to determine whether a federal crime has been committed".
Read MoreVulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.
–Brené Brown
*
I was on fire again. Staring at Seth, watching him sleep.
I wished I could sleep, too.
No chance of that. My own brain was screaming at full volume.
He’d come home from seeing Megan late, crashed. Not up for conversation. I’d stirred, pawed at him in the familiar way that meant I wanted to get it on.
“I’m exhausted, Page, and I already came once tonight.”
Then he was out like a light.
I lay still for a bit, feeling the lump rising in my throat, before turning over and studying his face. He looked so serene. He was happy.
Do I make him that happy? I wondered. This is how it begins. This is how he leaves you for her. The panic rose and started to corkscrew throughout my body.
I knew I could wake him, let him know how disappointed I was that we hadn’t had a chance to reconnect, how much I missed him. Between his nights at Megan’s and my work schedule, we’d been like trains in the night for days, weeks.
Instead, I slipped out of bed quietly, walked to the living room, and placed my head on the cold glass of the sliding door.
“I’m the worst poly person in the world,” I said to myself as I cried, pressing my head harder on the glass. “Megan and Seth don’t get jealous like I do. What the fuck is wrong with me?”
I could see the light go on in a distant apartment, far across the complex. Two shadowy figures moving behind a curtain.
I walked to the bathroom, splashed some water on my face. Made a promise to myself that I would talk to Seth the next day about my disappointment, how much I missed him. Even as I made the promise, I knew I’d break it.
Here we were, all of us committing adultery as casually as we’d shop for groceries, and the biggest taboo of all was admitting that we ever got jealous.
*
It really is okay to not feel okay.
Stop it. Stop saying you “shouldn’t” feel that way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeling jealous.
Jealousy is a kind of fear, a fear of losing what you have to someone else. Fear is hard wired right in the limbic system, in the amygdala. Jealous feelings can be relearned with time, patience, and persistence, but the feelings themselves are reflexive, and it’s no reflection on you when they happen. It doesn’t make you weak.
*
When I formed the triad with Seth and Megan in 2009, I experienced far more jealousy than either of them. I felt like there was something wrong with me.
Even when I was totally falling apart, I generally behaved very, very well.
I judged me for those feelings, too.
I judged myself for my fear.
*
When people get jealous, they often become ashamed of the jealousy, which is a secondary trauma loop, where you’re beating yourself up over and over again, punishing yourself for feeling (pretty normal) negative feelings.
Shame is the real killer. Not the fear, the anxiety, the jealousy. But shame. In basic survival terms, if the tribe rejects you, you die. Exile was death to our ancestors. Shame is a sense that you are unacceptable, that you don’t belong. And your brain feels like it’s life or death.
The worst part is that feeling bad about feeling bad? It’s especially true for really good people.
It’s not the feeling itself but our shame about the feeling – just like it’s never the mistake that gets you, it’s the cover-up.
And while you can cover up those unacceptable feelings, by not sharing them, there’s one person you’ll never hide them from: Yourself.
So no cover-up, okay? Stick to acknowledgement. And self-forgiveness. Got it? Go.
*
These days I try to do better. I bring those feelings into the light of day, when it’s emotionally safe to do so. For me, when I’ve stabilized a bit and have time to reflect on what happened, I “fess up” about it to my partner and talk about it as a thing that I overcame. That way, they get to know that I’m human and feel things, but I don’t rain on anyone’s parade. Plus, it’s like a victory story of triumph over darkness, and we can both say “woo!” about it.
So go ahead. Be jealous. But be kind, to yourself, to others.
And whatever you do, don’t be ashamed.Jerusalem: Israel's defense minister appears to have confirmed that his country's intelligence was leaked by President Donald Trump during a meeting with Russian officials this month.
When asked about the affair in a radio interview, Avigdor Lieberman said Israel made a "specific correction" in its dealings with the US.
It was the first comment by a senior Israeli official on the matter. US officials have said Trump shared Israeli intelligence in a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
"Everything we needed to clarify with our friends in the United States was done," Lieberman said in an Army Radio interview. "We made clarifications."
He provided no further details, but touted "unprecedented" intelligence cooperation with Washington.
The scandal, which broke a week before Trump traveled to Israel as part of his first trip overseas in office, threatened to derail the visit. Trump said while visiting Israel this week that he didn't mention Israel by name in the meeting.
"I never mentioned the word or the name Israel," Trump told reporters in a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in Jerusalem. He appeared to inadvertently confirm that he shared classified Israeli intelligence with Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak on 10 May.
Last week, Israeli officials downplayed the damage caused by the president's disclosure of classified intelligence with senior Russian officials. Lieberman tweeted at the time that intelligence sharing with the US remained strong.
Some former Israeli officials, however, expressed concern that the incident might cause a "loss of faith" between the two allies and reluctance by Israel to share information with the new administration.
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.The reality of extraterrestrial contact with human civilization is becoming more clear by the month as streams of information about the extraterrestrial presence and past influence hits. While some of us still have our doubts about ET contact, many are starting to realize the truth that has been talked about for centuries. One big story involves the Mexican government who has released documents and images of objects found on the site of Calakmul, Mexico which help prove the reality of ET contact.
Thanks for this release can be given to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) who found these fascinating disks in Mexico. This new discovery strikes a hefty blow to the secrecy that has been purposely created surrounding the true history of our earth. The disks are of Mayan creation and were found about 80 years ago according to the INAH. These amazing archaeological pieces have been presented before and will be the subject of a documentary produced by Raul Julia-Levy and directed by Juan Carlos Rulfo, the winner of the 2006 Sundance festival with his film ” In The Pit.” The documentary is currently titled”Revelations of the Mayans 2012 and beyond.”
“Mexico will release codices, artifacts and significant documents with evidence of Mayan and extraterrestrial contact, and all of their information will be corroborated by archaeologists,” he said. “The Mexican government is not making this statement on their own – everything we say, we’re going to back it up.”
The Mexican government is releasing these state-held secrets that have been protected for about 80 years. Although photographs of the disks were first presented by Klaus Dona and Dr. Nassim Haramein during a conference held in Saarbrücken, Germany in June 2011.
Ancient Mayan disks describing extraterrestrial contact.
Above is an image of the disks in question. Various areas have been numbered so we can discuss each image depicted.
1) Is believe to be the earth and its atmosphere. This is depicted by two rings.
2/3) It is believed to be a comet or asteroid moving in towards earth.
4) Is believed to be a specially designed spacecraft to hit or deflect the comet.
5) Believed to be an astronaut controlling the craft.
6) Believed to be an intelligently controlled spacecraft.
Luis Augusto García Rosado is the highest ranking government official in Mexico that has gone on record about extraterrestrials. Rosado has spoken of contact “between the Mayans and extraterrestrials, supported by translations of certain codices, which the government has kept secure in underground vaults for some time.” He has also mentioned “landing pads in the jungle that are 3,000 years old.”
No further information about the documentary has been given. It’s IMDB page does exist but there is currently no release date. Possibly one of the biggest reasons behind the documentary seeming to have fallen apart is the fact that the producers seem to be fighting over contracts for the film. One would think that with information this important, something like fame, money and credit wouldn’t be a deciding factor for releasing the film.
Sources:
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/guatemala-cooperate-doc-about-mayans-and-aliens-31162?page=0,
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/arbitrator-rules-mayan-prophesy-filmmaker-409710
Source: Collective EvolutionGoldman Sachs sent out a memo recently that bans high-ranking employees from donating to the Trump-Pence campaign.
CNBC reported:
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has banned its high-ranking employees from contributing money to certain campaigns including that of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to a report in Politico.
The online politics magazine said Tuesday that Goldman Sachs had expanded its political restrictions to partners of the firm. It cited an email that was set out last week by the bank telling its employees about its rules on political activities…
…The email cited by Politico does not mention Trump’s name but the business magazine Fortune said it had obtained a copy of the memo in which Goldman “specifically mentions the Trump-Pence campaign as an example of one Goldman partners can no longer support.”
“Among the type of donations that are banned, according to the memo, are, ‘Any federal candidate who is a sitting state or local official (e.g., governor running for president or vice president, such as the Trump/Pence ticket, or mayor running for Congress), including their Political Action Committees (PACs)’,” Fortune added it its report Tuesday.HANSEN & FRIENDS: New Album Info Revealed
Kai Hansen, earMUSIC and Wacken Foundation announce the release of "XXX", the first solo album by Kai Hansen, one of the most influential guitarists and singers to emerge from Germany during the first part of the '80s. First with ground-breaking band HELLOWEEN (of which Hansen is one of the founding members) and later with GAMMA RAY, one of the bands that contributed to define the genre Power Metal, bringing it to generation of devoted fans worldwide since its first album.
"XXX" is, in pure Hansen tongue-in-cheek style, a reference to over 30 years of involvement in the world of heavy Rock, as explained with the album's sub-title, Three Decades In Metal. The album will be released in September 2016 on earMUSIC with further news to be shared soon.
"XXX" tracklisting:
01. "Born Free"
02. "Enemies Of Fun" (featuring Ralf Scheepers & Piet Sielck)
03. "Contract Sun" (featuring Dee Snider & Steve McT as The Manger)
04. "Making Headlines" (featuring Tobias Sammet)
05. "Stranger In Time" (featuring Michael Kiske, Frank Beck, Tobias Sammet & Roland Grapow - guitar solo)
06. "Fire And Ice" (featuring Clementine Delauney, Marcus Bischoff, Richard Sjunnesson & Michael Weikath - guitar solo)
07. "Left Behind" (featuring Alexander Dietz & Clementine Delauney)
08. "All Or Nothing" (featuring Clémentine Delauney)
09. "Burning Bridges" (featuring Eike Freese)
10. "Follow The Sun" (featuring Hansi Kirsch & Tim Hansen - guitar solo)
Source: www.ear-MUSIC.Net
Written by Maria VoutiriadouSNc Channels:
Search
About Salem-News.com
Oct-17-2007 07:15 TweetFollow @OregonNews Republican Sex Scandals Dwarf Those of Democrats The sexual antics of President Bill Clinton have been a dangerous tool in the Republican campaign arsenal, used to the fullest possible extent, but what have they been up to all these years?
Photo courtesy: fruitfly.files.wordpress.com
(SALEM, Ore.) - "He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones." It seems that old adage may be lost on the confused mass that we call modern society. The Grand Old Party, once known for controversial abolitionists, has become the moral party of today, or so their elected leaders will tell you. As we evolve as a nation, too many people seem to be clinging to ideologies that make little sense, fighting against a woman's right to abortion while demanding that schools not teach children sex education or instruct them in the deadly virus, AIDS. It creates a vicious circle when we fight ourselves, and deny education to those who need it most. Our nation spent more tax money conducting Ken Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, than they did in the investigation of the September 11th 2001 attacks on the United States. Many Americans fail to see the logic behind this. Now Oregon's Governor stands at risk, as a right wing radio pundit named Lars Larson levels an accusation against Kulongoski that could mean he could not be a lawyer in Oregon again. Larson says that Kulongoski had the goods on Goldschmidt years ago. Sources are reporting that he could have known about what has become known as the Goldschmidt scandal, as early as 1994. Kulongoski walked angrily out of a press conference Tuesday, after a TV reporter asked him about the former governor's involvement with the teenage babysitter. Perhaps the Governor is guilty of having known something he didn't tell. He stated that he is not, but if he is, he may lose his right to have a license to practice law. That would be a real burn if you were Ted Kulongoski, and quite a feather in the cap of Lars Larson, no doubt about it. As Lars Larson is totally political in his pursuits and ambitions, we thought it would be interesting to offer perspective by determining just how many Republican lawmakers and officials have endured similar scrutiny in recent years for sexual perversions, extramarital affairs, etc. It is a hard number to pinpoint, it just depends on the number of years you account for. As a subject, it was important enough to see an impeachment of former President Bill Clinton, so fair seems fair. Then we ran into a problem with the idea of naming these scandals and their Republican perpetrators; there are so many they would hardly fit on the page. Using data from "Moral Values," these citations are otherwise attributed to the original agencies. Here is a partial list of names of serious problems related to GOP movers and shakers. Randal David Ankeney is the Republican activist who was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a child with force. He was charged with six counts related to getting a 13-year-old girl stoned on pot and then having sex with her. Ankeny has also been accused of sexually assaulting another girl. Source: Denver ABC Article Jim Bakker is the infamous televangelist who worked with Pat Robertson at Robertson's Christian Broadcasting network. Sources at the time, and then later Jim himself, confirmed that he committed adultery with Jessica Hahn, and then used charitable donations to pay her hush money. Fellow televangelists have stated in the past that they believe he's gay. Bakker was indicted on 23 federal charges of fraud, tax evasion, and racketeering. Bob Barr is the Republican Congressman from Georgia who sponsored the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, saying "The flames of hedonism, the flames of narcissism, the flames of self-centered morality are licking at the very foundation of our society, the family unit." He was married three times, and paid for his second wife's abortion (she also suspected he was cheating on her). he failed to pay child support to the children of his first two wives and while married to his third and present wife and was photographed licking whipped cream off of strippers at his inaugural party. Parker J. Bena was a Republican activist and a key player in the campaign to elect George W. Bush as President. Bena was charged and later pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and lying to the FBI. Bena reportedly told the feds that he had received an unsolicited e-mail containing pictures of children (some as young as three years old) performing various sexual acts, but agents learned that he had in fact voluntarily entered a number of child pornography websites and downloaded the images himself. This is said to have involved acts with children as young as 3 years old, on his home computer. Parker J. Bena was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000. Source: DemocracyUnderground.com Louis Beres is a past chairman of the Christian Coalition of Oregon. Three of his family members accuse him of molesting them as children, when they were pre-teens. In an Editor and Publisher article, in August 2006, Beres confessed to the accusations facing him. The Portland Mercury John Bolton, President George W. Bush's highly contested appointee ambassador to United Nations is suspected of forcing his former wife to be involved in unsavory group sex acts. Corroborated allegations that Mr. Bolton's first wife, Christina Bolton, was forced to engage in group sex have not been refuted by the State Department despite inquires posed by Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt concerning the allegations. Mr. Flynt has obtained information from numerous sources that Mr. Bolton participated in paid visits to Plato's Retreat, the popular swingers club that operated in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jim Bunn Congressman of Oregon: Many attribute the success Jim Bunn experienced in great part to support from the Christian Coalition. Congressman Jim Bunn won his congressional seat, and then sources say that he immediately ditched his wife, the mother of his five children, and married a staffer. Jim Bunn is said to have put his new wife on the state payroll for the unheard-of salary of $97,500, thereby becoming one of the biggest waste and spend conservatives from the state of Oregon. Source: Conservative Babylon President of the United States George W. Bush, was accused in a criminal complaint and lawsuit of raping Margie Schoedinger, who later died in a questionable case of suicide. Bush was also accused by Tammy Phillips, a former stripper, who was quoted in the National Enquirer in 2000 saying she had an affair with Bush that had ended in 1999. Another serious question involves statements from the wife of Red Blount, whom Bush campaigned for, while possibly A.W.O.L from the Air National Guard at age 26. She stated that he was "all over their 14 year old daughter." Multiple Sources Neil Bush, brother or G. W. Bush, in a March 2003 divorce deposition, admitted repeatedly having sex with strange women who just showed up at his room while on an Asian business trip. Overshadowing the sex scandal at the time was a business scandal. Neal Bush keeps a low profile and is not seen in public very often. He also has questionable ties to the security of the World Trade Towers in the September 11th 2001 attacks on the United States. Source: Washington Post article Ken Calvert, Congressman (R-California), has been called the champion of the Christian Coalition and its "family values." But in reality, Ken Calvert was sued as an alimony "deadbeat dad" by his ex-wife who said, "We can't forgive what occurred between the President and Lewinsky." In 1993, Calvert was caught by police officers receiving oral sex from a prostitute. He attempted to flee the scene but apparently couldn't move fast enough to get away from police, and was arrested.
Helen Chenoweth, Congresswoman (R-Id.). In 1995, Chenoweth had denied having an affair when asked about it by The Spokane Spokesman-Review. In 1998 she called (in a campaign ad) for Bill Clinton's resignation saying, "I believe that personal conduct and integrity do matter". Days later she admitted to a six-year adulterous affair with a married associate, but now she claims a pardon from a higher authority: "I've asked for God's forgiveness, and I've received it," she revealed. Mark Foley, Republican Representative, Florida Sixteenth Congressional District. Resigned after trying to solicit sex from male congressional pages via an instant messenger program. The conversations included his asking a sixteen-year-old "stud" whether his penis was erect and requesting that he take out and measure his penis. The cover-up involved Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner, Ohio Eighth Congressional District and Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Illinois Fourteenth District. Newt Gingrich, well established crusader against legislation that assists women and the poor, has married three times while spouting Christian values the entire time. Newt Gingrich's campaign worker Anne Manning, admitted that she gave Newt oral sex while he was still married to his first wife, essentially placing Newt in the exact same position President Clinton had to endure when Gingrich and his cronies maintained their pressure over the Lewinski incident. Gingrish informed one wife he was filing for divorce while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer treatments. Salon article Philip Giordano, the former Republican mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut was sentenced by a state court to serve 37 years for forcing two little girls to perform acts of oral sex on him in his Waterbury City Hall office. While investigating municipal corruption, the FBI discovered phone records and pictures of Giordano with a prostitute named Guitana Jones, as well as with her 10-year-old niece and her 8-year-old daughter. 37-years is a very long prison sentence, many said at the time that it still wasn't enough. Source: NBC Article/Newsday Article Rudy Giuliani, New York Mayor and Republican Presidential Candidate, is reported as having had an adulterous affair that failed to stay out of the public light. Groups also cite Giuliani for pocketing an $80,000 fee for speaking at a charity benefit for tsunami aid which raised only $60,000 for the victims themselves. Critics of Giuliani say there will be more revelations about his character and past as his presidential aspirations gain momentum. Matthew Glavin, president and CEO of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, was a big player in the Clinton Impeachment proceedings, and he has spearheaded a good number of anti-homosexual jihads. He has been arrested multiple times for public indecency, sources report, one time it was for fondling the crotch of the police officer who was arresting him at a national park. Opponents say his actions were treated "with kid gloves" and therefore inadequate. Neal Horsley is a political figure of the far right, and the author of a website devoted to his advocacy of militant pro-life, secessionist, and anti-gay views. He has called for the arrest of all homosexuals. He admitted on the Fox News Radio's The Alan Colmes Show, that he's had sex with mules. He put photographs on his Web site of naked men engaging in homosexual acts and a nude woman engaging in bestiality amid shots of grotesquely maimed fetuses. Drug dealer convicted of possession of hashish with intent to sell. He calls for "the establishment of a new government, one that can obey God's plan for government." Lewis "Scooter" Libby is the former Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney who was convicted but recently exempted from having to serve his sentence by the President. In 1996, "Scooter" Libby published a novel containing bizarre sexual content, including bestiality and pedophilia. Other high level White House officials were said to have been involved in the book that Libby published. Rush Limbaugh is the infamous talk show pundit and advocate of moral values who has been divorced three times. A staunch anti-drug crusader, Limbaugh is in reality, a 30-pill a day drug addict. He also takes questionable trips to locations where many western men travel to buy sex under shady circumstances. It was a return from one of those possibly sordid journeys when one of his drug arrests occurred. Limbaugh was returning from the Dominican Republic. The Rush Limbaugh sex tourism story could seriously lead to his downfall if any of the allegations were founded. "Turnabout is most certainly fair play," is how one news agency worded it. Then there is the report of Rush’s use of Viagra while he was single. Sources: correntewire.com/The Smoking Gun.com Jeff Miller, (R-Cleveland), Senate Republican Caucus Chairman in Tennessee and the sponsor of Tennessee’s Marriage Protection act. He was divorced in April 2005 because of an affair he was having with an office aid. Miller described the Tennessee Marriage Protection Act as a means of preserving the sanctity of marriage. He opposed an amendment, however, which stated that “Adultery is deemed to be a threat to the institution of marriage and contrary to public policy in Tennessee.” Joseph M. McDade, 75, was issued a summons on a charge of exposure of his sexual organs, a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The longtime Pennsylvania Republican congressman who served for 36 years in the House and now works for a Washington lobbying firm, has been accused of exposing his private parts to two women at a beach resort on Sanibel Island. Source: DKOS diary Bill O'Reilly is the highly controversial right-wing conservative talk show host on Fox News known for the "O'Reilly factor" and the "no spin zone." O'Reilly is highly contested over his ability to polarize people along political lines. Bill O'Reilly has been sued for sexual harassment by his producer. The female Fox News producer named Andrea Mackris filed a lawsuit claiming that he subjected her to repeated instances of sexual harassment and spoke often, and explicitly, to her about phone sex, vibrators, threesomes, masturbation, the loss of his virginity, and sexual fantasies. He settled with the producer for an undisclosed amount of money. Bob Packwood, Senator (R-Ore.) resigned in 1995 under a threat of public senate hearings related to 10 female ex-staffers accusing him of sexual harassment. A pro-choice Republican who often rallied for women's rights, Packwood let down generations of supporters, and is a good example of the complexity of human nature, since he supported legislation to protect women’s rights during his 25 years in office while simultaneously making unwanted sexual advances toward many different women. In the end, 19 women testified to outrageous behavior which was mostly carried out when Packwood was drunk. The most damaging was the charge of a former staff woman who was only 17 years old at the time. Packwood might still have survived the challenge had he responded with his former talent for compromise, but he was defiant and confrontational, trying to bully his way through the situation and alienating even his friends, it is reported. George Roche III, carried on a 19 year affair with his son's wife, while serving as president of Hillsdale College, which "emphasizes the importance of the common moral truths that bind all Americans, while recognizing the importance of religion for the maintenance of a free society." The scandal broke out in 1999 when the wife of George Roche IV, Lissa Jackson Roche, claimed to have had an affair spanning 19 years with her husband's father. Shortly after, she was found dead in the college's arboretum with a handgun, and the death was ruled a suicide. Following his resignation in November 1999, Roche left public life and moved to Colorado. Joe Scarborough, former Republican Congressman, is currently a conservative talk show host. He resigned his congressional seat abruptly to spend more time with his family, amidst allegations of an affair. His intern, Lori Klausutis, was soon after found dead in his office. The medical examiner, who had his license revoked in Missouri for falsifying information in an autopsy report, and suspended in Florida for six years, ruled the case an accident, after giving conflicting information about her injuries. He said he lied about them because "The last thing we wanted was 40 questions about a head injury." Ed Schrock was a two-term Republican Congressman, with a 92% approval rating from the Christian Coalition. Co-sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, consistently opposed gay rights. Married, with wife and kids, he withdrew his candidacy for a third term after tapes of him soliciting gay sex were circulated. The Virginia Pilot reported in October 2000 that Schrock favored ending the Clinton administration's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military, BlogActive noted. "He supports asking enlistees whether they have had homosexual experiences in an effort to try to keep gays from serving. 'You're in the showers with them, you're in the bunk room with them, you're in staterooms with them,' Schrock said." Dr. Laura Schlessinger, right wing conservative radio host, is known for promoting family values. She is estranged from her mother, opposes birth control, has had her tubes tied. She espouses saving oneself for marriage, and admits to having had sex before she was married. She opposes adultery, but has committed adultery while she was married, and has slept with a married man. She opposes divorce, but she is divorced and remarried, and has posed for nude photos which are available online. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the hit Hollywood movie actor turned politician and California Republican governor, has admitted during a Oui interview, having sex with a 16-year old when he was 28. Today men who commit similar acts in Oregon are branded sex offenders and placed in correctional facilities. At the time of the Oui story, Schwarzenegger, then 29, was appearing in "Pumping Iron," a documentary on the bodybuilding circuit. In the Q&A with Manso from Oui Magazine, today's California Governor spoke about his sex life then, his drug usage, and his belief that men "shouldn't feel like fags just because they want to have nice-looking bodies." Source: Oui Jean Schmidt is a Republican legislator from Ohio. Though not herself implicated, she employed a campaign manager named Joe Brauns in her 2005 election who once wrote an article condemning gay men for running sex ad profiles, and who was then accused of running his own sex profile on Collarme, an S&M sex site. The profile called for "submissives" to wear only a collar and handcuffs and to have hot wax dripped on them. Source: DKOS Diary Jimmy Swaggart, televangelist, exposed in 1986 fellow Assemblies of God minister Marvin Gorman, who was having an affair with one of his parishioners. The following year, Swaggart then exposed Jim Bakker's sexual indiscretions and soon after appeared on the Larry King Show stating that Bakker was a "cancer in the body of Christ." As a retaliatory move, Marvin Gorman hired a private-detective to follow Swaggart. During |
be no leakage, no matter how rough you are. The guns don't need any fiddling to get them to accept a new magazine; you can slam it right in there like you are in an action movie.
In practice, the system works very well. The magazines hold a decent amount of water, aren't very heavy, and you can strap a bunch of them to your belt using the clip on the side. The practical uses of a discrete container of water that can be easily replaced in a water-battle are easy to see, but it's also just plain fun to go dry, grab another magazine, slam it in, and keep firing.
While there are multiple water guns that use this new magazine system, we had a chance to play with the Thunderstorm, which retails for $15, takes four AA batteries, and turned out to be a wonderful toy. The battery-powered nature of the gun means that you don't have to pump, and the water comes out in one steady, strong stream. You can get good distance, soak someone very efficiently at short-to-medium ranges, and at that price, you can afford to get two for dual-wielding.
Keep in mind that when you first begin to fire it takes a second for the water to stream out; it's not instantaneous as with a classical Super Soaker. This is more than made up for by the fact that the stream is continuous until you take your finger off the trigger.
The extra magazines carry a retail price of $4, and it's a good idea to stock up if you want to instill fear in the hearts of all who attempt to douse you on the field of watery battle. There is nothing like being attacked by a man wearing a bandolier covered in extra water cartridges for his fully-automatic, battery-powered water gun. It's a look that says you can't be bargained with. You can't be reasoned with. You don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And you absolutely will not stop, ever, until the other person is completely soaked.Share. Post-apocalyptic undersea adventure will utilize game engine. Post-apocalyptic undersea adventure will utilize game engine.
Director Shane Acker (9) has teamed with Brown Bag Films to create an animated movie called Deep, an undersea adventure set in a post-apocalyptic Earth. The company describes the project as "an animated film unlike any other … using new technologies that result in high-quality production value at a fraction of the time and cost."
Those new technologies, according to a Brown Bag press release, come from video game developer Valve, the producers of Half Life and Portal. The Deep team has already been working with Valve, using tools based on the developer’s Source game engine. "The tools enable flexible cinematography and editing, a simplified character animation process and economical lighting, sound and visual effects," reads the release. "Render time is cut to nearly nil, enabling rapid revisions to animation, which brings dramatic savings in time and money over traditional production."
Since Deep will be produced as a film, but via a game engine, it means that the material can "easily translate" to a game format. And, in fact, the Deep team has already started work on a playable level to be distributed via Steam, Valve’s online game distribution network, with plans to make more content including "opportunities for user-created content in the Deep universe."
No word yet on how or when the movie version of Deep will be distributed.LOCKN' Daily Schedule 2016
Nothing is really more spiritual than the first time listening through Terrapin, and that's just how the gooball melts. I gotta say though, I felt that same hopeful way when I found out about the Grateful Dead reunion shows last year with Trey, and hands-down am even more excited about this upcoming LOCKN'. The festival where all the bands combine, and they melt into a dream. Where the best musicians bring out the best fans and we all celebrate life for a few days.
And, I think that's just what co-founders Dave Frey and Pete Shapiro aim to do: bring everyone together to hear, feel and experience amazing music, while cultivating community in a beautiful, natural space. Set by a backdrop of the Blue Ridge mountains of Arrington, VA, (just outside Charlottesville) and a soundtrack uniquely founded on collaboration by some of the best live musicians in psychedelic, jam, and improv rock, LOCKN' will surely be a tasty slice of Utopia.
To iron out the details that matter in life (all things rock n' roll), I called Pete Shapiro on a palpably humid, Gold-Bond-level Wednesday in Chicago. The second day of the Mann run for him, and me just coming off a few days at Wrigley and Deer Creek, it's a miracle we got so much accomplished.
On the topic of community, Shapiro confirmed there will be just one, big stage this year, instead of the two stage model previously employed. Labeled as a "Turntable Stage," it will rotate 360* and offer space to two bands at a time; one in front, facing the crowd, and one in back, setting up for the next set. When the next show begins, the stage will rotate 180* and present us with the next act. For example as Ween ends, we'll have a short break, then be presented with the foursome from Vermont. There has been a lot of buzz about Ween opening up for Phish, with lots of phans hoping for a dual-band-mashup of "Roses Are Free." I think even though there will still be small set-breaks in between bands, the potential for collaboration is really heightened by having one, single performance platform.
In the moment it will probably seem really natural and effortless to us in the crowd, despite all the work that goes into that illusion behind the scenes. And trippy... it will definitely be pretty trippy. Just think, day-two-festival-brain + Gordo's mischievious non-grin as the first thing you see, totally locked in, and spinning around on a stage to perform in front of you, possibly wielding his drill... ya. Just picture that. I'm so into that. I think the intention is to try something new, and keep everyone focused on one stage to avoid competition of any kind.
"This whole thing is kind of like a good jam. We evolve, and build, and change a little. This year we're gonna try this out. We're hoping it will be a fluid experience for everyone," Shapiro explained. "Sure there will be little pauses, but also, hopefully it will be a little easier for everyone to see. We hope people like it, and we're really excited about it. We're always trying to tweak things just a little bit to make it better and different. Just like a good jam."
When asked about worries of a technical nature, Shapiro didn't seem phased.
"We have a great team. That isn't even an issue," he said. "We just figured with these big headliners, we want people to be able to see. Especially Phish, you know? We think this will help with sight-lines, and allow people to kind of... set up shop for the day as well, knowing that they'll be able to see the stage for the band(s) they came to see. No one has to be on the other side of the field, or anything like that. We think it will be great."
I also had to ask him about the rainbow, obviously. If you didn't know, Pete also put on the GD50 shows last summer for the Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary. The Grateful Dead's "Core Four," Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart, played alongside former GD keys colleague Bruce Hornsby, Furthur keys player Jeff Chimenti, and everyone's favorite Phish frontman, Trey Anastasio on some damn good guitar. Under the moniker Fare Thee Well, the shows ran two nights in Santa Clara, CA, near the Dead's west-coast home of San Francisco, then moved to the midwest to play three nights over July 4th at the locale of the Dead's final show with Jerry Garcia: Chicago's Soldier Field. The first night of Santa Clara, as the show ended, a GIANT rainbow appeared. Since then, everyone's been asking Pete if he paid for the rainbow.
"Was it man-made?" I asked. He again stated to me:
“It was man-made. And the man that made it was Jerry Garcia.”
It's fair to say that Jerry has been overseeing this all, really. Since the GD50 shows, Pete says one of the coolest and most powerful things has been all the Dead-related cultural fringe that has since emerged and decorated the modern world.
"All the cool stuff that was going on in Chicago was all you guys," Shapiro said. "The people who love the Dead. There were shows at every Chicago venue of bands playing Dead music, artists sold their grateful art outside the shows,...everyone kind of created new life out of it. It just is such a big community, full of great people. Bringing everyone together is what we're gonna do again at LOCKN'. That, along with the integration of Trey, Phish, and the Dead world...it's just never been done at a festival like this. That whole thing from last summer's gonna happen again, a year later. Phish is headlining two nights, and are surrounded by tons of Dead music. In fact, this will be the first time since Fare Thee Well that members from Phish will play with members from the Dead, and we're really excited about that too."
One of the biggest and most recent additions to LOCKN's already stacked lineup is assuredly Phil & Friends. As his touring days are behind him, it is a rarity to see Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead, bass) on the East Coast. He'll be playing two shows, with two different lineups:
SATURDAY AUGUST 27: Phil Lesh & Friends
Featuring Jon Fishman, Page McConnell, Joe Russo & The Infamous Stringdusters
SUNDAY AUGUST 28: Phil Lesh & Friends
Featuring Chris Robinson Brotherhood with special guest sit-in by Gary Clark Jr
Um.... what? Pretty cool to homage the Grateful Dead's two-drummer setup with the two best drummers in improv-rock today. Cannot freaking wait to hear Page bust out that clavinet and bring some of that nasty funk into our LIVES alongside Phil, yo. I can feel the Scarlet> Fire now and it feels really, really explosive; just bursting w energy. Not to mention that they're all joined by one of the few bluegrass additions to the weekend: the Infamous Stringdusters. Local to Charlottesville, VA, these guys can really pick, and will add a special element to some of the softer tunes. Perhaps we'll hear a nice, "Shady Grove," since it would sound ridiculously awesome with a full-blown string band.
Last time I saw Joe Russo play drums at LOCKN' (Furthur 2013), he spun me out hard and long, straight out of the show out into some sort of campground-scenario during a drums segment in the "Weather Report Suite." We realized when we heard Phil giving his Donor Rap that the show wasn't over and ran back for the encore, cracking up the whole way. Honestly, LOCKN' is the best, and that's one reason: nothing is too far away, even if you're on Mars. But ya... that was just all just Russo's super-powers alone. Can't wait to see what the addition of Henrietta "Jon Fishman" The Wolfman, brings. I'm also really, really excited to see Russo rejoin with Lesh as well, who played together for about five years in Furthur, and have had only a few one-off appearances together since the band disassociated in 2014. Really getting the band back together here, if even for the first time.
ALERT: This lineup and this festival are pretty much a dreams-come-true-level situation, folks. Just a reminder.
When Shapiro mentioned he was in the crowd for Phil & Friends 4/16/99, I really hoped for some semblance of a late-90's Phil & Friends daydream lineup, but never imagined it would be this flush across the board. Like a psychedelic rock fantasy coming true, with Saturday's lineup being more jam-band-y, and Sunday more rock n' roll with a touch of the blues, it is going to straight-up, rule. Sunday should be perfectly-placed, as Chris Robinson Brotherhood plays a full set prior to Phil & Friends. It should be very-much noted that Neal Casal, guitarist who spearheaded the GD50 setbreak music and associated band, Circles Around the Sun, is in Chris Robinson Brotherhood, has played with Phil & Friends before, and will also be performing the first ever live show at LOCKN. Late-night following a huge, full day of music capped by Ween>PHish> JRAD... I'm not quite sure if anything else fits as well. It is really cool to see an conceptual idea manifest into light and melody, and this is really one glaring example of that. Instrumental interludes aren't for everyone, but to me, they're basically everything. Having said that, the Phil & Friends lineups are also pretty all-inclusive, covering the gamut of all musical stylings present at LOCKN'. Community, man. Really keeping with the theme.
Given his relationship with Phil, from those aforementioned-daydream-years with Phil & Friends, and with Shapiro through GD50, it's like dude, "What about Trey?" We are one Trey away from Phil & Phriends, really. As Phish bookends the weekend with shows on Friday & Sunday nights, maybe we will see some more surprise guests when the time comes in the form of a Big Red or a Cactus, or even both.
While I did directly ask about it, I did not get a direct response. "A lot of special guests and intricacies are being finalized behind the scenes still," Shapiro said. I creepily paused for too long to be comfortable hoping he would spill his guts, but the guy is a pro. We'll just have to see what happens in a couple weeks in Arrington.
It should be noted that this whole LOCKN' thing, the GD50 thing, the branding at Garcia's at the Cap...none of this is contrived, really. It's all been a natural, organic uprising of hardworking heads who want to deliver the music and the good times to the people. I kind of love that. It shows in the vibe of the place, and how experienced it feels to be there. Everyone that works on this festival go way back it seems, and are all a big family. And they're all Dead to the core. I had a ton of questions about the Jerry Forest that has expanded to what used to be called the Triangle Stage for the first year or two of LOCKN', and how it will go down.
The guy they're calling the DJ, I'm gonna call him the curator. His name is Brett Fairbrother. The dude is an en-cy-clo-pedia of Jerry knowledge and I only got to talk to him for like an hour, but you just know, you know? Wait til you go to his party.
It's gonna be a 40 x 40 dance party tent nestled in a wooded, red cedar grove, illuminated and playing Jerry Garcia's music at all times. Not the Grateful Dead's music; but all of Jerry's other workings: Jerry Garcia Band, of course, but also depending on the mood or time of day, Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia, The Pizza Tapes with David Grisman, Side Trips, Legion of Mary, Old and in the Way, New Riders of the Purple Sage, acoustic, electric, solo, you name it, he did it. That's why I think Brett is more of a curator; there is so much at play across a four-day festival and when you are in charge of the music, you really set the tone. To be able to thumb through a catalog that vast, and pinpoint the exact version of a song that you even know exists in the first place, is impressive.
"This didn't just start with LOCKN' or GD50," Fairbrother explained. "No, no. This goes way back."
He explained that it stemmed from an infamous Brad Sands party. Phish's then-manager Sands was the first curator/dj, and over the years it became kind of a tradition. Because everyone listens to the Grateful Dead, but why leave out all the other Jerry goodness that can be consumed?
"After a massive Phish show, there's not a ton you can really just... listen to, you know? It became a thing. And it's fun for me, I love it, and Pete's always been a fan. We saw 4/16/99 together, you know."
And it's all coming together and making sense. This is seriously a big, happy, family. He explained that his team at Garcia's Forest will be a a lot of folks from Garcia's at the Cap. I also asked how he knows what to play, and if he would compare what he is offering to a grandiose-sized trip tent? A place to chill after the shows end, or to come down? He laughed a bit, but not in a rude way. It just seemed to resonate.
"It is truly a big dance party. You should check E-tree. There is an 8-disk set on there called The Garcia Disks with the collection from the first party! I kinda have based everything off of that, but it's been a part of my blood so long...I'm not sure how to explain it. Some stuff is obvious, though, like...am I going to drop a 6/30/85 "Shakedown" at 3PM when people are laying around? Hell no!"
Now I was laughing.
"Honestly, we'll be going 24/7 for the most part, give or take a few breaks here or there for people working to get a breather." Before I could ask about the Shakedown comment, he added, "We won't ever really play the Dead over there, but the occasional huge jam might be placed at the right time. The party really gets started at midnight over by us. After the mainstage shows end, the whole forest around the tent is going to be lit up too."
Illuminated by artist S. Jeremy Peters, as SJP Productions, the Jerry Garcia forest will look something like this:
In past years, this area has been called the Triangle Stage, but will be taking on new form this time around. According to Stef May, Coordinator of the Jerry Forest, and Marketing Manager at Garcia's at the Cap, there is going to be vending over there, as well as bathrooms.
"We want it to feel like an extension of the main area, but we know it's not the closest walk," May said. It isn't that far.. maybe 15-20 minutes to walk it, but after four days... I can see what she's saying. "We wanted to make it as comfortable as possible, and make it inviting to come spend some time over there." She also added that there will be tons of Garcia swag, including old photos and other relics, hung up decorating the inside of the tent. Sounds like my kinda party. Now we'll just have to see if Brett lives up to his nickname.
"They used to call me DJ Candyman," Fairbrother said. "That might have come from Cypress." While at Cypress, Fairbrother's photo was taken during 2001 as he faced the wrong way of the stage to watch the sun come up. "People were telling me to turn around, but I knew I was looking the right way," he said. After the show ended, they raged Jerry's music and the rest is pretty much history.
Before any of this information even came to light, the lineup for LOCKN' this year was already stacked, but man, with these additions... it's really unbelievable. Kudos and major thank you's to Dave Frey, Pete Shapiro, all the bands, Brett Fairbrother, Stef May, and all the folks on the LOCKN' team who make this possible for all of us.
Tickets are on sale here for LOCKN' and you can see a detailed map here. See you in just over a month!The mainstream media is refusing to cover news regarding the radical group Disrupt J20’s plan to commit violence and acts of domestic terrorism at both the inauguration and Deploraball, says Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe.
“They do not want to report on the fact that people are going to cause havoc and violence on Thursday and Friday,” O’Keefe said on The Alex Jones Show Tuesday. “It’s criminal what the media is doing.”
Instead of investigating the videos released by Project Veritas, the mainstream media is running with the notion that O’Keefe was inciting them and the video showing the Disrupt J20 group plotting violence is actually an elaborate “prank.”
“It’s not just a prank, this butyric acid is a flammable material, it could burn your lungs, it could cause a stampede out of the National Press Club,” O’Keefe said. “It’s considered terrorism.”
“And if this stuff actually happens, the media is now complicit,” he pointed out. “It’s criminal for them to try and turn it around on the person who is exposing the violence.”
The Disrupt J20 group responded to the undercover video by saying they were just “punking” O’Keefe in an effort to downplay the severity of the footage.
“It’s a laughable, kind of cover-your-ass excuse, trying to say this was all a joke,” O’Keefe said. “When in fact, the FBI has their name and number.”
“It’s kind of ironic that the anti-fascists are gassing people,” he added.
Because the mainstream media is refusing to do honest reporting on Disrupt J20, which could result in people being hurt, they have now become the number one target, says O’Keefe.
“The good news is we’re going to keep dripping out information and they can do all the damage control, and we’re releasing more videotape exposing them doing damage control,” he said.
“This is how you have to fight these people.”
Project Veritas will be releasing Part 2 of its three part undercover exposé on Tuesday.
Watch: James O’Keefe outlined Project Veritas’ latest investigative efforts on the Tuesday, January 17 edition of the Alex Jones Show.Speak Up! A response to this article can be found here.
Perhaps no other video game character is as iconic as Gordon Freeman, the protagonist of Valve’s Half-Life series. This undoubtedly has a great deal to do with the popularity of the series, which has repeatedly set industry benchmarks for A.I, engine scaling, plot, and level design. It also probably has a lot to do with who Freeman is. Unlike the vast majority of action-game heroes, Gordon is no rough-talking, burly, freight-engine of a man. Instead, he is an every-man nerd, a scientist who has yet to make a name for himself and instead appears to be cutting his chops as a manual laborer for advanced physics experiments. He has no war-wounds. Instead of a cigar jutting from his face, a pair of generic black glasses adorn him. Because of this, he is a much closer reflection of the kind of person who is going to be controlling him through his inter-dimensional adventures. He is what most every gamer has fantasized about, at one point or another – an average Joe, apparently unremarkable, who suddenly finds himself in a terrifying and baffling situation. And rather than cower like the other scientists, he rises to the task, becoming a living legend.
Yet he has never spoken a word. Dialog has never been a weak point of the Half-Life series, which had excellent voice acting even back in the Quake-powered days of the original, but Gordon Freeman has remained stubbornly tight-lipped about his experiences. He has remained invisible, as well; throughout all of the Half-Life series, never once has the game-play shifted away from his perspective, and never once has a rendered cinematic cut in to glorify his exploits. Despite his iconic image, it is one that is rarely reinforced in the game itself.
This silence has been a source of controversy at least since Half-Life 2, and perhaps earlier. Some gamers have found it hard to believe that the scientist-turned-slaughterhouse could keep his quiet during so much turmoil. Never once has an Oh-**** escaped his lips, not even when a swarm of ant-lions come boiling from the ground. His refusal to speak has also forced Valve to use some interesting tricks when other characters interact with him. They often appear knowing, make jokes that Freeman is a man of few words, or speak generically. These tricks work more often than not, but they can lead to strange and awkward sequences, such as those where Eli makes hints about setting up Gordon and Alyx.
Even so, my opinion on Freeman’s silence is this – it is absolutely brilliant.
Developing the main character in a first-person has always been an odd dance. After all, as a first-person game, the perspective of the main character is ostensibly the perspective of the player. The main character is the player’s window into the world, and since the main character is controlled by the player, it can be reasonably assumed that the main character doesn’t exist without the player. Most games greet this problem with one of two answers. One is to move the story forward through third-person cinematics and scripted sequences. This approach can be seen as recently as Crysis Warhead, and while it allows for the creation of a very identifiable character, it tends to significantly disrupt the flow of game-play, creating a experience which feels more like an inter-weaving of a movie and a game than a seamless whole. Alternatively, many games have taken to keeping the player in a first-person perspective throughout, but taking control over the character’s actions during critical points of the story and interjecting spoken lines which are triggered automatically. This provides seamless game-play, but it creates the feeling that the player is only partially in control, that there is really two minds behind the same set of eyes.
Valve’s approach avoids these pitfalls. The conflict between movie and game is never an issue, since the entire series is devoid of cinematics. And by keeping Freeman quiet, Valve also creates one of the most personal first-person games in existence. Rarely does the player ever find their control lost, and when they do, it is because Freeman also is physically restrained. As a result, the player becomes Freeman; everything that he does occurs because of the player.
Sure, the silence initially feels odd. But I never found it a problem, largely because in the absence of Freeman providing speech for me, I provided the speech for him. This doesn’t mean I was talking at my monitor or TV (for the most part…) but these imagined responses defiantly exist whenever I play a Half-Life game. Freeman doesn’t need to say anything when a head-crab pops out of some dark space, trying to make savage love to his cranium. I’m already there. He doesn’t need to tell Barney to watch out. I’m already doing it for him. There is no separation between the player and the character the player inhabits. Freeman becomes an every-man not just because of his image, but also because whenever we play the game, he is precisely what we make of him. Those of us who tend to leap and scream when things come from dark corners find that our Freeman does the same, while those of us who prefer to remain smooth and confident find our Freemans are similarly stern. One of the most hilarious examples of this I read during a forum debate about Freeman’s silence was from a player who said he made Freeman run around in circles and curse at Eli or Alyx whenever the other characters asked him to do something dangerous. The image still makes me grin, but there is truth in jest.
While the title of this article is “Keep Freeman Quiet,” I’m also making a more general appeal here, as I hope that we will see more games take this approach in the future. I doubt that Valve is suddenly going to change their approach in what may be the last Episode of the Half-Life series, but I don’t recall any other game that has tried to replicate Valve’s success. More often than not, games are instead trying to play off the fact that while games allow the player to control the game to a degree, they are ultimately linear experiences that force the player to make assumptions. Bioshock is a good example of this, as is the older Shadow of the Colossus. But I think Freeman represents another direction we can take in games, one which may allow an experience which, while linear, allows the player to create their own in-game personality and make their own judgements about in-game events. It will be interesting to see Valve continues this tradition once the Half-Life series ends. In the meantime, Freeman will remain one of my favorite characters. After all, he is exactly who I want him to be.Police are calling the Confederation Bridge the pipeline for drugs to P.E.I. when they presented to a legislative committee Tuesday.
The PEI Association of Chiefs of Police are asking for better access to video camera technology to watch the traffic on the bridge so they can crack down on criminals using the bridge.
"It's no secret, certainly to law enforcement, that the Confederation Bridge is the pipeline of drugs to our province, we have to use technology more effectively," said Brad MacConnell, deputy chief of Charlottetown Police Services.
"We know that large quantities of drugs and other illegal commodities come over the bridge."
MacConnell was presenting to the committee on behalf of the police association.
Brad MacConnell, Deputy Chief of Charlottetown Police Services says police need access to video cameras on the Confederation Bridge to help stop illegal drugs from being brought to P.E.I. (Laura Meader/CBC News)
Video could identify persons of interest
MacConnell said spending money on police watching the bridge doesn't make sense when cameras could allow police to identify suspect vehicles.
In his presentation to a legislative committee he said most of the drugs on the Island can be traced back to organized crime in Quebec who often use rental vehicles. The top three drugs being brought in are marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine pills.
"There are license plate recognition cameras at the Confederation Bridge now that are used for tourism related things," said MacConnell. "Police need access to these."
Evidence put on display from an RCMP drug bust. (CBC News)
Fighting crime early
MacConnell said police do use bridge footage now but largely after a crime has happened. He said if police were alerted right away when vehicles of interest cross the bridge it would help fight crime.
"When we have real time information coming into us, alerting us of potential persons of interest … it is a huge strategic advantage to us," he said.
MacConnell told the committee there was one group police identified as crossing the bridge every four days with large quantities of drugs.
"That was alarming to us, that's only one group." he said. "Many different people traffic drugs into the island."
The legislative committee is expected to submit its findings from the police presentation and submit a report to the P.E.I. Legislature.Violence is never pretty, but the implements of destruction themselves can possess their own twisted allure. Much like the Gun Reclamation Project rehabilitates firearms into jewelry, Israeli designer Adi Zaffran Weisler refashions spent bullets into one-of-a-kind rings. Dug up from various firing ranges, the misshaped bullets resemble organically formed jewels, forged from metal, fire, and gunpowder.
A NEW TRAJECTORY
When you separate a bullet from its original context, it becomes a wholly different object—one that can be admired for its beauty rather than its intent to annihilate. The distorted hunks of metal, according to Weisler, can be recast as “bejeweled objects” that can hold their own aesthetically. “Every bullet,” he adds, “retains memories and traces of the journey it underwent, from the moment it was fired until it was picked up.”
When you separate a bullet from its original context, it becomes something you can admire for its beauty.
Currently a student at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, Weisler has several design projects on his docket. Still, the refashioned rings are by far his most provocative work. They’re not available in stores just yet, but we’re hoping Weisler will roll something out in the coming months.
+ Bullet Rings
+ Adi Zaffran Weisler
[Via Dezeen]The hardware wars continue. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is almost out, and a live game stream from Games Radar confirms that the game runs at 1080p and an unlocked average of 60 FPS on Sony's PS4. Because this is the internet, this automatically raises the question: what about the Xbox One?
Blog "Rocket Chainsaw" claims to have insider information that the Xbox One does indeed run down at an average 30 FPS, and while that's totally unconfirmed, some of the noncommital language in this statement provided to IGN makes me think it's true.
"Both platforms offer the same outstanding Tomb Raider experience. Delivering the core Tomb Raider gameplay at native 1080p and running at 30fps was always our primary goal given the type of experience Tomb Raider is and the exploration we want players to do. Anything beyond 30fps for this version is gravy."
This can be taken as proof that the Xbox One is a little less powerful than the PS4 -- theoretically, we now have the same game, running at the same resolution, but one machine is capable of pushing it to a higher frame rate.
If anyone has read my writing on Xbox One vs. PS4 tech recently, you know that this is the part when I say I don't care. I'm often called an Xbox One apologist because I don't value large numbers as much as other people. I want to be clear that that isn't what I'm saying here -- I prefer that my console have sufficient power to allow developers free rein with aesthetic choices -- but the idea that 60 FPS is automatically better is misguided.
"Anything running above that is just gravy."
That's just the wrong way of looking at your in game visuals. Even though this is the world of tech and we always like numbers to be bigger, frame rate should be a choice, not a constant upward movement. Lower frame rates can help a game achieve a deeper, more cinematic effect, and for games that rely on visual more than twitch controls, this is sometimes the right choice.Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Ky. said Tuesday that he was “open” to finding a way to keep guns from terrorists, but that he suspected the measure Democrats are pushing is”politically motivated.” (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the GOP is “open” to passing a law to keep guns out of terrorists’ hands, but he isn’t about to swallow the measure Democrats are pushing.
“Nobody wants terrorists to have firearms,” McConnell said in comments to reporters on Tuesday, in which he said he and other Republicans were “open to serious suggestions from the experts as to what we might be able to do to be helpful.”
But the Senate leader all but dismissed a measure from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to let the attorney general deny firearms to suspected terrorists, noting that the GOP suspects the amendment “is basically a politically-motivated effort.”
Democrats are aiming to present that measure as an amendment to an appropriations bill on the floor this week.
[After Orlando shooting, senators target terror watch lists]
But Senate GOP leaders are calling for everyone to cool their heels until lawmakers receive an official briefing about what happened in Orlando, and how Congress can prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
The Senate meets Wednesday with FBI director James Comey and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who were briefing members of the House on the Orlando attack Tuesday afternoon.
“If we want to engage in a serious legislative effort we’re going to talk to the experts about what we can do to be helpful,” McConnell said.
Late last year, the Senate rejected Feinstein’s measure in the wake of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooting. Republicans opposed it, arguing the government had made too many mistakes attempting to identify suspected terrorists on its official watch lists to trust that individuals wrongly on the list wouldn’t be denied their Second Amendment rights. The Feinstein proposal failed on a 45 to 54 vote, when just one Republican — Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois — voted to support it.
At the time, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) presented an alternative, which would have given the attorney general or relevant U.S. attorney a 72-hour period to delay the sale of a firearm or explosive to a suspected terrorist and prove to a judge there was probable cause to turn that delay into a permanent ban. It also failed, after all Democrats but Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Joe Manchin (D-WVa.) voted against it.
According to an aide, the GOP is thinking about raising Cornyn’s amendment again as an alternative to Feinstein’s should it come to a vote on the floor. But no final decisions have been made.
Other Republican senators signaled Tuesday they might be ready to consider a gun ban for suspected terrorists, though they described something that falls short of Feinstein’s measure.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters he was “willing to work with my colleagues to say that if you’re being investigated by the FBI because of your actions, that that’s enough to get you into a system” that would make it so such people “can’t buy a gun that day.”
“I just want to make sure that if you’re on by mistake, there’s some due process for the person trying to buy a gun,” Graham said.
Democrats argue there would be ample recourse for anyone mistakenly barred from procuring a gun under Feinstein’s proposal, as people prohibited from obtaining a firearm could file suit against the government if necessary.
Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated which Democrats voted in favor of Cornyn’s amendment last December. Sens. Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Joe Manchin (WVa.) voted for it; Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) voted against it.Balancing a job, workouts, laundry, bills, and a social life makes it easy to let lots of stuff pile up—constantly. And we hear you: Whether it's our inbox, desk, closet, or well, pretty much anything (and anywhere), the clutter can start to feel overwhelming. But we've got your back. We combed through the greatest and latest organization advice to find the easiest and most effective mess-mastering tips so you can control the chaos—once and for all.
First, clean out the pantry. And we’re not just talking stale cereal—toss those grimy Tupperware containers and cloudy water bottles too.
Store supplies close to where you use them. Translation: Keep plates and cups close to the dishwasher/s |
other hand, can be reassured that Draper will never be allowed to mess with their feet.
An end to his BACP membership would require only minimal adjustments to a professional website in which Draper is opaque about his therapeutic approach. "The kind of therapy I practise rests on the interaction between two people as it unfolds in the therapy room," he says, mysteriously. "I urge you to take that difficult first step and bring whatever is on your mind directly to me."
Well, Derek, what's on my mind is this: does anyone with a problem deserve to have you, after your second public disgrace, as their psychotherapist? Is there no presumption, in your line of therapy, of an enhanced degree of self-knowledge on the part of the healer? I notice that even though you have apologised to Labour supporters for "juvenile" emails, presumably written by your inner child, there has been, as yet, no similar courtesy to fellow practitioners of your day job.
Admittedly, to listen to some of his colleagues, the inherent unpredictability of an hour with Draper would be part of the attraction of a therapeutic process that lies beyond definition, let alone questions of qualifications, conduct or humdrum notions of "feeling better". A government project to bring all psychotherapists and counsellors under statutory regulation has recently inspired an argument about the nature of talking treatments that is as revealing as it is bitter, even by the impressive attritional standards of the psychotherapeutic community.
Negotiations between psychotherapists and their designated regulator, the Health Professions Council, had no sooner begun last year than anti-regulator Denis Postle compared participating clinicians to Nazi collaborators in Vichy France. A pained Mark Seale, chief executive of HPC, said he did not expect a spokesman claiming to represent "a caring profession" to resort to "offensive and demeaning propaganda". The therapist retorted that "caring profession" had nothing to do with it. "My occupation is personal and professional development, with a special emphasis on group process."
Anyway, so far as an outsider can understand it, the camps are currently divided into 1) an alliance of psychotherapists who accept, grudgingly, the argument for protecting vulnerable patients; and 2) an alliance of psychotherapists who believe it is not in the nature of talking treatments to be susceptible to state-imposed regulation. "Psychotherapy and counselling," says the anti-alliance, "though usually helpful, are inherently 'risky'; they cannot be made to conform to safety-first culture."
It seems unlikely, then, that any of Draper's clients will be able to get their money back on the grounds of proven non-empathy, even if it was Mrs George Osborne and not them he had hoped to pass off as loopy. But - see the sun bursting through - his untouchability as a psychotherapist provides one of the clearest arguments possible for the proper regulation of talking treatments. And that is absolutely totally brilliant, Derek.A Chinese Type 093 'Shang' class submarine, possibly the same boat to have docked in Karachi
A Chinese nuclear submarine docked in a Karachi harbour in May 2016 photographed on Google Earth.
The P8-I is a US-made maritime surveillance aircraft
A Chinese Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine which docked at the Karachi harbour in May took aboard Pakistani naval officers and sailors to give them a first-hand glimpse of how the submarine works. This was not a simple case of access being given to a close military ally.The Indian Navy is convinced that it is a matter of time before Islamabad leases a Chinese nuclear submarine. The Pakistan Navy personnel who were on the submarine may be part of their first team to train on Chinese nuclear submarines, it is believed.On Friday, NDTV broadcast images of an advanced 'Shang' class nuclear submarine which was placed, through a satellite image, at Karachi last year. The images were first spotted by a satellite imagery expert (@rajfortyseven) who posts on Twitter.Displacing 7,000 tonnes when it operates underwater, and armed with six torpedo tubes, the Shang class submarine is part of the latest generation of nuclear attack submarines designed and commissioned by China. The submarine also has the ability to fire cruise missiles - including the Babur missile that Pakistan yesterday claimed to test-fire off its coast, a claim that has been disregarded by the Indian Navy.Pakistan's acquisition of a 'Shang' class submarine will have an impact on the naval balance in the Indian Ocean, which is currently skewed heavily in favour of the Indian Navy.India's navy is significantly larger and more capable than its regional rival.Unlike conventional diesel electric submarines that Pakistan has been operating for decades, a nuclear attack submarine has practically unlimited endurance. Its nuclear reactor is unlikely to require refueling during the life of the submarine, which means the 'Shang' can theoretically operate indefinitely under water. Even though realistically, it will be limited by the amount of food and supplies it can carry for its crew.The mechanical reliability of key systems also limits the submarine.The Pakistani acquisition of a 'Shang' class submarine is meant to counter the Indian Navy's 'Akula-2' class nuclear attack submarines which New Delhi has been leasing from Russia.Considered among the most powerful submarines of its class, the Akula-2 - named INS Chakra - has been leased for 10 years and will be returned to Russia within four years, by which time the Navy will have acquired a second submarine of the same class. The terms were recently worked out between the two countries.Now for the first time, details are emerging on how the Indian Navy has been able to track the movement of Chinese submarines, which first started operating in the Indian Ocean in 2013, a clear signal of how Beijing intends to expand its strategic reach to include areas of the Indian Ocean which New Delhi has typically considered its own backyard.The Chinese 'Shang' class submarine, which docked in Karachi, entered the Indian Ocean through the Malacca straits off Singapore between April 19 and 20. Picked up almost immediately by the Indian Navy's US-made Boeing P8-I maritime surveillance aircraft, the submarine - accompanied by a large 10,000 ton fleet support and replenishment tanker - was constantly tracked on its way to Karachi.The P8-Is dropped sonobuoys across the projected route of the submarine. Sonobuoys - small listening devices that transmit the sound of submarines to reconnaissance aircraft operating overhead - are key to detecting submarines.Interspersed with the 'passive' sonobuoys deployed by the P8-Is, were 'active' sonobuoys which ping the ocean with sound waves reflecting off the submarine surface.Using a combination of both sensors, the Navy's P8-Is were able to force the Chinese submarine into making evasive maneuvers.The exact location of the submarine was also passed on to India's own submarines, which were also monitoring the movement of the 'Shang'.The 'Shang' entered the Karachi harbour on May 19, its exact location constantly plotted by the Indian Navy's assets, which have determined that the sound radiated by the Shang class is higher than the considerably quieter new generation American or Russian submarines, which are tougher to detect.The 'Shang' and its support ship spent seven days in Karachi, leaving on May 26. It was during this period that Pakistani Navy sailors and officers were allowed access to one of the Chinese Navy's most sensitive assets.It's still unclear if the 'Shang' returned to Karachi to disembark the Pakistani Naval personnel or whether they were transferred to another vessel as the submarine proceeded south along the Indian peninsula before setting course for the Malacca straits.On June 14, the 'Shang' submarine exited the Indian Ocean region.Senior Navy officers have pointed out that the deployment of Chinese Navy submarines in the Indian Ocean coincides with active efforts to establish a ring of ports to strategically encircle India.On Sunday, the Maldives leased China an island for 50 years at just 3 million dollars.Earlier, China had also invested heavily in the Ihaven atoll in the Maldives chain, which lies just south of the southernmost Indian island in the Arabian Sea, the Minicoy Islands.Located on a key East-West shipping route, Ihaven could give the Chinese the possibility of berthing naval ships and submarines very close to the Indian mainland.As significantly, China has secured an 80% share of the Hambantota deep sea port in Sri Lanka as well as land for a new industrial zone in the area. According to the plan, land in this area will be ceded to Beijing for the next 99 years in exchange for $1.1 billion towards debt relief.Pakistan and China, meanwhile, continue to work closely on developing the strategically located Gwadar port, central to the $46 billion China-Pacific Economic Corridor (CPEC) that is under development. China also continues to expand its naval base in Djibouti situated in the Horn of Africa. In August last year, Pakistan State Radio announced a deal to acquire eight Chinese conventional diesel-electric powered submarines and Bangladesh has just received two submarines for the first time from China.Immigration, Search, and Redistribution: A Quantitative Assessment of Native Welfare
NBER Working Paper No. 20131
Issued in May 2014
NBER Program(s):, Labor Studies, Public Economics
We study the effects of immigration on native welfare in a general equilibrium model featuring two skill types, search frictions, wage bargaining, and a redistributive welfare state. Our quantitative analysis suggests that, in all 20 countries studied, immigration attenuates the effects of search frictions. These gains tend to outweigh the welfare costs of redistribution. Immigration has increased native welfare in almost all countries. Both high-skilled and low-skilled natives benefit in two thirds of countries, contrary to what models without search frictions predict. Median total gains from migration are 1.19% and 1.00% for high and low skilled natives, respectively.
Acknowledgments
Machine-readable bibliographic record - MARC, RIS, BibTeX
Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w20131
Published: Michele Battisti & Gabriel Felbermayr & Giovanni Peri & Panu Poutvaara, 2018. "Immigration, Search and Redistribution: A Quantitative Assessment of Native Welfare," Journal of the European Economic Association, vol 16(4), pages 1137-1188. citation courtesy of
Users who downloaded this paper also downloaded* these:Is there lead in your lipstick? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an analysis of the lead content in 400 lip products and the answer is a resounding yes. But does that mean we should throw out all of our tubes? Well, that’s a little more complicated.
While only two lipsticks tested contained more lead than California’s recommended limit of 5 parts-per-million and none exceed Canada’s recommendation of 10 parts-per-million, there is certainly still cause for concern. According to the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics,
“Many experts agree that there is no safe blood level of lead for children and pregnant women. Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language and behavioral problems such as lowered IQ, reduced school performance and increased aggression. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, because lead easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain where it can interfere with normal development.”
While health experts, including an advisory committee to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, agree that lead exposure is a serious problem, the FDA does not believe lipsticks are unsafe. The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics has cried foul to this statement, pointing out that “[the FDA] conducted a formal safety assessment of lead in lipstick” and thus can’t really safe for sure if they are safe or not.
Currently, the FDA does not regulate the the amount of lead in cosmetics. They are, however, considering implementing regulations.
So what lipsticks have the least and most amount of lead? The results aren’t divided along price or supposed “quality” lines. Interestingly, the cheapest lipstick the FDA analyzed had the lowest amount of lead.
Below are the 10 lipsticks with least amount of lead and the 10 lipsticks with the most. If you don’t see your brand, click here for the full list 0f 400.
Lipsticks with the Least Lead
1.Wet’n’ Wild Mega Mixers Lipbalm in Bahama Mama 0.026
2. L’Oréal Colour Juice in Cherry On Top 0.026
3. Clinique Almost in Black Honey 0.026
4. Lori Anne Mood in Blue 0.03
5. M.A.C. Satin in M.A.C. Red 0.03
6. Estée Lauder Pure Color in Pink Parfait 0.04
7. Lori Anne Mood in Yellow 0.05
8. M.A.C. Matte in Lady Danger 0.05
9. Iman Cosmetics Luxury Moisturizing in Image Red 0.05
10. Fashion Fair Lipstick in Earth Red 0.05
Also Check Out: True Beauty: Cosmetics Companies Ban Chemicals, Disclose Ingredients
Lipsticks with the Most Lead
1. Maybelline Color Sensational in Pink Petal 7.19
2. L’Oréal Colour Riche in Volcanic 7.00
3. NARS Semi-Matte in Red Lizard 4.93
4. Cover Girl Queen Collection Vibrant Hues Color in Ruby Remix 4.92
5. NARS Semi-Matte in Funny Face 4.89
6. L’Oréal Colour Riche in Tickled Pink 4.45
7. L’Oréal Intensely Moisturizing Lipcolor in Heroic 4.41
8. Cover Girl Continuous Color in Warm Brick 4.28
9. Maybelline Color Sensational in Mauve Me 4.23
10. Stargazer Lipstick in C 4.12
Related:
Non-Toxic Nail Polish
Top 12 Ingredients to Avoid in Personal Care Products
All Natural Lip Balm“You either give me the bodies of my two brothers so I can bury them, or tell me they’re alive, so I can hug them” screams a mother in her mid-forties as she searches for her two brothers in Shejaiya, east of Gaza city during an12-hour humanitarian ceasefire.
She’s not alone in her desperate search for loved ones — the search takes hours amidst the clinging smell of death and burnt flesh that fills the ruins and rubble of what were recently family homes. During the ceasefire, 155 bodies have been found across Gaza strip on Saturday, deaths which resulted from the last Israeli bombings.
Ahmed Al-Hassan, 32, is one among many at Shejaiya neighbourhood searching for lost relatives. He is searching for uncles he lost contact with over two weeks ago.
Al-Hassan was here a month ago, but nothing he sees looks anything like what he remembers before Israel’s missiles started falling.
“I can’t tell which part used to be the street and which the house was,” he says while carefully stepping through the huge pile of rubble, to see if he can find anyone, dead or alive.
Rescue teams are using masks, but nonetheless the smell is very strong. Ambulance emergency crews have been shot at, as Israel had barred them from entering this area. Seven medics have been killed, while many others were injured. Some are among the bodies still lying here days later and others were carried to the hospital morgues in bags as body parts collected from the street where they were struck by Israeli missiles.
Al-Hassan continues treading slowly through what’s left of homes destroyed by Israel’s F16’s, drones or tank shells and mortars, “This is a tragedy of the century, and the world is letting Israel get away with it” he says, while removing a destroyed copy of the Holy Quran from the ruins of the houses.
“See, even holy sites and mosques are bombed… here look, this is where I used to pray when visiting my grandmother, I recognize this” he adds, his eyes tired and his face covered in dust as he keeps searching through the destruction for anything else he recognizes.
He is able to identify a mosaic piece from the mosque.
He can’t find the stone pillar in the middle of his uncles’ home, the tiny garden in its entrance, nor or the silver-colored door he remembers from childhood. Only two things remain; ruins of demolished homes and smell of death that goes with it. He continues the search for the corpses, in line with the Islamic tradition that requires the dead to be buried quickly as a way of honouring them. That part is shared with believers in the Jewish faith too.
“But they won’t allow Gaza that human and spiritual dignity” says Al-Hassan. “God created human beings to be treated equally with dignity. But in Gaza, even our dead lose their dignity and respect, humiliated by the Israeli occupiers” he adds.
Still confused and trying to visualize the plan of the house mentally, and link it with the rubble around him, he says, “I think that was where my children used to be. It was full of love and beautiful memories”.
Al-Hassan will have to adapt to the new reality—but he is saddened every time the rescue teams shout out that they have found more bodies, some of whom he recognizes as his grandmother's neighbours. The smells around Al Hassan get stronger.
Key to ruins
When the humanitarian ceasefire was announced, Haider Abu Hussein, 34, took the key to his house with him, as he left the park where he had taken shelter to go and find clothes for his children. But he could not find the house.
“We had to make holes in the walls of our home so as to escape through them and get to the side street” he says, explaining the miracle of how he is still alive when so many of his neighbours are dead and buried under the rubble. His face becomes tense as he smells the dead bodies around.
Abu Hussein’s family had to split up: some to the park and others to the UNRWA school or to relatives. He is one of 170,000 people forced to flee their homes by Israel’s strikes. A baby in the park cries for food breast and the need to be in clean clothes, but Abu Hussein can’t offer anything —as all his house's contents have been destroyed and burned.
Walking along Nazaz Street in Gaza City, people know the 12-hour ceasefire is crucial in finding relatives and grabbing as many supplies as they can to take before Israel attacks again.
The ceasefire has exposed the extent of the destruction wrought by Israel’s 19-day offensive. The heaviest bombardment being here in Shejaiya, when Israeli strikes killed and wounded hundreds.
As ambulance and rescue teams continue their recovery work, friends, neighbours, and colleagues of the victims use this 12 hour window to look for who they can find. Over 150 bodies found, bringing the Gaza death toll to 1,015.
When Abu Hussein gets to what he thinks was his home, he stands in shock.
He says this this is a man-made Israeli hurricane. He received no warning call or “roof knock’ from Israel before the bombing. It just came.
Now, dead bodies are under the building and health officials are calling for top-priority clean up, so as to avoid making a humanitarian crisis and human catastrophe become worse.
However, for Abu Hussein there is not much left, not an ID he can use to prove he once lived here once.
This is the immediate reality he cannot change — his legacy is a home reduced to rubble and his family homeless. Many others around him have to face the same horror and deal with it in the best way they can.
“There are the mattresses my children used to sleep on”, say a neighbor of Abu Hussein.
“But every time we Palestinians are killed, we pick up ourselves, under Israel’s occupation and carry on as best we can. This time, our resistance is stronger and we have to rely on it, instead of relying on lame world leaders”.
Many people are crying around him, while others collapse after seeing bodies pulled gently out of the rubble, pulverized beyond recognition.
A neighbour of Abu Hussien says: “homes can be rebuilt, if Israel allows construction materials through to Gaza”. He doesn’t expect this to happen.
“If we could turn the bones of our bodies into bridges to our freedom, we would do that to escape this ominous Israeli siege”.Former bassist has recently started new label Card Gang Music
Andy Nicholson has said that his new record label has been set-up to help talented new artists from the Sheffield area, but did not rule out working with his former Arctic Monkeys bandmates in the future.
Nicholson is behind new label Card Gang Music, a collective of Sheffield-based musicians led by Nicholson alongside Jamie Shield, a producer who has recently worked with George The Poet among others.
The first release on the label will come from Sticky Blood, a collaboration between Nicholson and Shield. However, the pair did not meet through the Sheffield music scene and actually became friends in a more unusual manner.
“It was a passion for fly fishing. In the last two years ago I have got into fly fishing and we met at a place in Sheffield called Damflask Reservoir,” Nicholson told NME. “We managed to hit it off outside the reservoir fishing and just got the feel.”
Card Gang’s first release will be Sticky Blood’s ‘I.D.’ EP on August 14. Hear new song ‘Professional’, featuring vocalist Hekky, below.
Nicholson says the label will be a home to eclectic new music, promising “electronic to rock to, whatever, bhangra”. However, it is labels with a history in electronic music which inspire him the most. “Warp and XL Recordings. Those are the two main labels who we think rep good music, that let artists do whatever the fuck they want.”
Sharethrough (Mobile)
Speaking to NME about his new venture, Nicholson also explained what he meant when he launched the label and criticised the “trust fund kids pretending to be A&R at major labels”.
“There’s always good working class bands coming through, it’s just whether they’re represented,” he said, denying the suggestion that it is harder than ever for bands from working class backgrounds to get a break in the music industry. “If there’s a posh kid making wicked music I will still sign them much as a kid working in a supermarket.”
As for Nicholson’s former bandmates, he maintains that they are all still “very close friends” and adds that the door to his Sheffield studio is “always open” should Alex Turner, Jamie Cook or Matt Helders want to record new music.
Asked if he had plans to work with his former bandmates on something unexpected, Nicholson added cryptically: “Watch this space.”
Nicholson left Arctic Monkeys in 2006 after the release of debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not’. He was replaced by Nick O’Malley who remains in the band today.
In 2008 he formed the band Mongrel with Jon McClure of Reverend And The Makers. He went on to play bass with ex-Milburn frontman Joe Carnall’s band The Book Club in 2009 before leaving to join Reverend And The Makers until 2010.
https://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=4048037785001Snow Pick May Signal Less Insular White House
By Jim VandeHei and Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 27, 2006
President Bush's decision to hire conservative commentator Tony Snow as his chief spokesman reflects a consensus among the president and his top advisers that his White House operation has been too insular and needs to be more aggressive in engaging with the news media and other Washington constituencies, according to Bush aides and outside advisers.
Snow, who in his roles as a pundit on Fox News and elsewhere has rapped Bush on several occasions, joined the White House only after extracting a promise that he would become an adviser to the president on day-to-day strategy. If Bush and his team follow through on that commitment, the former columnist will be the first outsider to become part of Bush's revamped inner circle.
"We want fresh thinking, to charge the batteries, and passionate participation," said Dan Bartlett, a top Bush adviser. "There is a lot of value added in Tony coming on board and helping us internally with his own views and ideas. It fits into the mold."
Bush aides said at least one more well-known Republican will join the White House as early as next week as part of a shake-up also aimed at improving the president's lower-than-ever approval ratings and limiting GOP losses in congressional elections this fall.
The emerging team -- which includes Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten, budget chief Rob Portman and now Snow -- has the task of salvaging Bush's floundering second-term agenda and repairing relations with Congress, the media and an increasingly skeptical public. But it is unclear whether Bush, who has resisted change and outside advice in the past, will adjust his style and policies enough to satisfy Republicans on Capitol Hill who have said his White House operation needs a major overhaul.
White House aides are hoping Bush will get what they call the "Bolten bounce" in light of recent political progress in Iraq, his new plan to hold down gasoline prices and progress on an overhaul of immigration laws. Even the Snow news, however, served as a metaphor for the long roster of Bush's troubles: A few hours after the president hoped to make a splash by announcing the new hire, sources close to Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove leaked word that Rove would testify again in the CIA leak case.
White House aides said there is now broad agreement that the first-term strategy of largely ignoring the mainstream Washington media was a mistake. At the beginning, the Bush White House pioneered a strategy of circumventing Washington and communicating directly with what it considered more friendly regional and local media outlets and niche publications that served as a pipeline to supporters. The strategy worked well for a long while, but aides said it eventually undercut their credibility with reporters and impeded the administration's ability to receive fair treatment from the media when Bush's popularity began to fade.
Mark McKinnon, a Bush political adviser, predicted that Snow's long experience in Washington would give him more credibility with the White House press corps.
A variety of Bush advisers suggested that the president is not interested in altering his major decisions or philosophy, but that he recognizes he needs to do a better job communicating in Washington and beyond.
"The president's message and vision are firmly in place and are not going to change," McKinnon said. "But it still helps to have a new messenger. It helps to wipe the slate clean."
Snow, 50, worked most recently as a commentator for Fox News and as host of his own radio talk show. He was a director of speechwriting for President George H.W. Bush and has worked as a USA Today columnist, editorial page editor of the Washington Times, deputy editorial page editor of the Detroit News and frequent substitute for radio host Rush Limbaugh.
Snow is an outspoken Republican, but he has not hesitated to pound Bush in writing and on air for his handling of the budget, as well as immigration and other domestic policies. He even poked fun at Bush's speaking style, saying in 2000 that he sometimes sounds like "a soul tortured with Tourette's."
Bush said Snow's selection is proof that he is open to dissenting opinions. "For those of you who have read his columns and listened to his radio show, he sometimes has disagreed with me," Bush said. "I asked him about those comments, and he said, 'You should have heard what I said about the other guy.' " Snow's first assignment will be to improve relations with the media, which have deteriorated over the past five years during disputes over access to Bush and senior officials and the accuracy of information released from the White House. Many reporters viewed outgoing White House press secretary Scott McClellan as out of the loop on many of the big policy and political debates.
"I know there is a perception that we disdain the media as a whole," Bartlett said. "I do not believe that. There have been some issues that strained the relationship, particularly when it comes at a time of war." He said the Snow pick was part of an effort to "improve our relationship with the press."
Snow will begin working at the White House on Monday and will hold his first on-air news conference by the end of next week or the following Monday. Bush hopes Snow can do for media relations what he anticipates Portman will do for congressional relations. Portman, a former GOP House leader who has close ties to many senior members, will be responsible for not only overseeing the budget but also providing insight into winning over lawmakers and better navigating Congress.
"Tony Snow should provide a smooth presence at the podium," said Martha Joynt Kumar, a Towson University professor who studies presidential communication. "But the problems that presidents have are political problems and policy problems, not press problems. But it is often the press problems that get addressed."
© 2006 The Washington Post CompanyFollowed by two security golf carts driven by watchful drivers, an old white-and-brown conversion van slowly rolled through Carlyn Estates Mobile Home Park delivering donated boxes of food Tuesday to 26 residents.
There was tension in the air at the mobile home park at 5611 Bayshore Road, Palmetto, because many Carlyn residents have already received rule violation notices from the park owner threatening eviction for accepting donated food deliveries.
The rule violation notices accused residents of operating a commercial food bank at the park, but Kristen Theisen of Meals on Wheels PLUS, publicly said it was not possible because there is only one commercial food bank in Manatee County and Meals on Wheels PLUS runs it.
A two-hour negotiation before the deliveries between
Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald
Sonya Sonju, mother of park owner Tonia Sonju, and Christie Castro, president of the Manatee County Senior Advocacy Council, helped sort out the issue.
It boiled down to a personal problem between the park owner and a resident driving the food van. It was resolved by using a new team of volunteers, Castro said.
"As long as that one individual is not driving the van the residents will be able to get the food delivered to their doors from now on," Castro said. "The reason for the golf carts tonight is that the owner just wants to make a list of all the residents getting the food."
Castro would not name the person feuding with the owner, but residents said it is Tim McCoyle, former president of the Carlyn Estates Homeowners Association.
Go to Bradenton.com for the full story.“Never turn your back on family, even when they hurt you. Never let life get the better of you. And if you remember nothing else, remember to find time to eat together as a family. Even when times are rough; especially when times are rough. There’s no lack of painful things in this world, but hunger and loneliness must surely be two of the worst. Thanks to you, my precious family, I didn’t know a moment of either of those the last ninety years.”
– Sakae Jinnouchi, Summer Wars
The Toonami Trending Rundown for December 6-7, 2014. The 2nd annual month of movies is now underway, and we kick things off with the long awaited airing of Hellsing Ultimate IX in addition to an encore showing of the acclaimed film Summer Wars.
The bad news however is due to some other big events throughout the night such as UFC 181 and the finale to the college football regular season among others, only one show, Summer Wars managed to trend on Twitter. The good news is that Summer Wars trended throughout the duration of the block, meaning that it trended during both east coast and west coast airings. We also got a special character trend with Love Machine as he wreaked havoc on the Oz servers. In addition, Toonami also trended on Facebook.
Tune in next week as Toonami showcases the Hellsing Ultimate finale to go along with the presentation of The Sacred Star of Milos. Till then, congratulations to the LA Galaxy on winning the MLS Cup, and see you again next week for another round of the better cartoon show.
Legend: The number next to the listed trend represents the highest it trended on the list (not counting the promoted trend), judging only by the images placed in the rundown. For the mobile app trends, the listed number of tweets are also sorely based on the highest number shown based on the images on the rundown.
United States Trends:
#SummerWars (Also during the west coast airing) [#1]
Love Machine (From Summer Wars) [#7]
Worldwide Trends:
#SummerWars/Summer Wars (Also during the west coast airing) [#2]
Love Machine (From Summer Wars) [#3]
Tumblr Trends:
#toonami
Notes and Other Statistics:
#SummerWars: @WhoTrendedIT reported that @MikeMcFarlandVA and @FUNimation started the trend.
Special thanks to @Brezerkfury, @Yoohoo_Dude, and others I forgot to mention for spotting some of the trends on this list.
Challenge Accepted. Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.In her recent address at the Jackson Hole monetary policy conference, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates by the end of the year. Markets reacted favorably to Yellen’s suggested rate increase. This is surprising, as, except for one small increase last year, the Federal Reserve has not followed through on the numerous suggestions of rate increases that Yellen and other Fed officials have made over the past several years.
Much more significant than Yellen’s latest suggestion of a rate increase was her call for the Fed to think outside the box in developing responses to the next financial crisis. One of the outside the box ideas suggested by Yellen is increasing the Fed’s ability to intervene in markets by purchasing assets of private companies. Yellen also mentioned that the Fed could modify its inflation target.
Increasing the Federal Reserve’s ability to purchase private assets will negatively impact economic growth and consumers’ well-being. This is because the Fed will use this power to keep failing companies alive, thus preventing the companies’ assets from being used to produce a good or service more highly valued by consumers.
Investors may seek out companies whose assets have been purchased by the Federal Reserve, since it is likely that Congress and federal regulators would treat these companies as “too big to fail.” Federal Reserve ownership of private companies could also strengthen the movement to force businesses to base their decisions on political, rather than economic, considerations.
Yellen’s suggestion of modifying the Fed’s inflation target means that the Fed would increase the inflation tax just when Americans are trying to cope with a major recession or even a depression. The inflation tax is the most insidious of all taxes because it is both hidden and regressive.
The failure of the Federal Reserve’s eight-year spree of money creation via quantitative easing and historically low interest rates to reflate the bubble economy suggests that the fiat currency system may soon be coming to an end. Yellen’s outside the box proposals will only hasten that collapse.
The collapse of the fiat system will not only cause a major economic crisis, but also the collapse of the welfare-warfare state. Yet, Congress not only refuses to consider meaningful spending cuts, it will not even pass legislation to audit the Fed.
Passing Audit the Fed would allow the American people to know the full truth about the Federal Reserve’s conduct of monetary policy, including the complete details of the Fed’s plans to respond to the next economic crash. An audit will also likely uncover some very interesting details regarding the Federal Reserve’s dealings with foreign central banks.
The large number of Americans embracing authoritarianism — whether of the left or right wing variety — is a sign of mass discontent with the current system. There is a great danger that, as the economic situation worsens, there will be an increase in violence and growing restrictions on liberty. However, public discontent also presents a great opportunity for those who understand free-market economics to show our fellow citizens that our problems are not caused by immigrants, imports, or the one percent, but by the Federal Reserve.
Politicians will never restore sound money or limited government unless forced to do so by either an economic crisis or a shift in public option. It is up to us who know the truth to make sure the welfare-warfare state and the system of fiat money ends because the people have demanded it, not because a crisis left Congress with no other choice.
This article first appeared at RonPaulInstitute.org.Buy Photo Jerry VeHaun, emergency services director, stands in the County Home Cemetery, a potter's field, where the bodies of those buried in the original pauper's cemetery, where Erwin High School now stands, were moved. (Photo: Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com)Buy Photo
The contrast is as striking as life and death.
Down the hill, on the other side of the building, school children run and play and shout on the playground, burning off energy between classes. Their voices carry easily to the small, fenced cemetery where the remains of more than 600 people are interred, a quiet clearing in the trees noticeable as a cemetery only because of the small depressions in the ground where the simple wooden caskets have disintegrated.
This is Buncombe's "County Home Cemetery," also called the "Potter's Field" or "Pauper's Cemetery," a 1.18-acre parcel largely forgotten and overgrown until earlier this year. The cemetery was relocated in 1973 to this spot, just above where Eblen Intermediate School now stands off Lee's Creek Road, to make way for the new Erwin High School,
"I don't think it's ever been cleaned up since the 1970s when they moved it over here," said Jerry VeHaun, director of emergency services for Buncombe County and a certified mortician. "They moved it all over here in (1973), and that's probably when they stopped caring for it."
While most of the human remains were moved — one count puts it at 613 people, another at 604 — hundreds were not moved and remain underground on the Erwin High School property, near the football field and stadium concession stand. That creepy twist of history, driven by a lack of funding for a full relocation, has led to a robust legend that the school is haunted.
Buncombe County spent about $15,000 this year to bush hog the current cemetery, remove trees and brush and erect a six-foot fence around the perimeter, as well as a white wooden sign at the entrance that explains the history.
VeHaun sort of inherited the project on behalf of the county, but Belinda Shelton, who's worked in the scanning department at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office for the past 17 years, really got the ball rolling. A request came in last spring from a person trying to locate the remains of a loved one, and that began Shelton's sleuthing.
A forgotten place
Even the location of the current cemetery had become a mystery after four decades. When the cemetery was relocated, the land, part of the 200-acre County Farm, was a rolling hill |
art" from The Simpsons, "Stewie" from Family Guy and "Tina" from Bob's Burgers.MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to have a low-key celebration of the 31st anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution has nothing to do with his alliance with the Marcoses who were ousted in the 1986 revolt, Palace officials said Tuesday.
"The simplicity does not in any way mean we are giving less significance to the EDSA People Power Revolution... It is more of a time to reflect that is why we are doing this as simple as possible, senior deputy executive secretary Menardo Guevarra said.
The president has allowed the burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery last year. Duterte has yet to confirm if he will attend the EDSA Anniversary celebrations, to be held in Camp Aguinaldo on February 24.
The government is also doing away with the usual program and "Salubungan" at the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City to give Filipinos more time to reflect about the causes and effects of the historic revolution.
"The theme this year is, "A day of reflection." That is exactly why there is no pump to this year's celebration. It is a time to settle down, to quiet a bit, and think of what has happened over the past 30 years," Guevarra told Palace reporters.
Former president Fidel V. Ramos, who was a key personality in the EDSA revolution, will join the celebration.
Former president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, son of EDSA icons Ninoy and Cory Aquino, has yet to reply to the invitation to attend this year's anniversary, officials said.Thanks to the government's spending cuts, you may have a smaller chance of being audited this year.
The cuts, known as the sequester, will wipe $600 million from the IRS's budget this year, forcing the agency's nearly 100,000 employees to be furloughed without pay for up to seven days.
Five furlough days have been identified so far -- beginning on May 24 and they will be spread out among separate pay periods, according to the National Treasury Employees Union.
Not only will these furloughs shrink paychecks for IRS workers, but they will also make it harder for taxpayers to receive the assistance they need and enforcement efforts will be significantly reduced as well, IRS Acting Commissioner Steve Miller said in congressional testimony earlier this month.
Related: Spending cuts -- Reality of furloughs hits home
"[W]ithout a change in the current budget environment, the American people will see erosion in our ability to serve them, and the Federal government will see fewer receipts from our enforcement activities," he said.
Translation for taxpayers: you're less likely to be audited, said Mark W. Everson, vice chairman of tax service firm alliantgroup and former head of the IRS.
"Of course this has an impact on the number of audits," said Everson. "If you have someone working on 20 audits, if they're not working as many days it's going to take longer to finish those and they're not starting new ones."
Related: How to survive a tax audit
The irony is that by limiting audits, the sequestration is limiting the revenue that flows into the government's coffers, he said.
Audits have already been on the decline due to budget cuts at the IRS over the last few years. Last year, for example, the number of audits dropped by 5% to about 1.5 million.
Your odds of being audited still rise significantly with the more income you have, however. While the overall chance of being audited is 1%, those odds jump to 18% for people with income of $5 million or more and 27% for taxpayers earning $10 million or more.
Related: 12 tax audit red flags
And if you do get audited, don't think the IRS is going to be lax just because it's squeezed on resources.
"The [IRS] won't start [as many] new audits, but I think it will be equally rigorous in the ones it conducts, so don't think that they won't be as thorough as they once were," said Everson.Today, one year ago, a young man set off a bomb in the middle of a city, then drove to a near-by island, calmly crossed the water, and started shooting dozens of teenagers.
Today, a couple of days ago, a young man went to a movie premiere, equipped with ammunition he had acquired for months, and started shooting dozens of viewers of all ages.
Today, almost a year and a half ago, a young man went to a local constituents meeting and started shooting the Representative as well as dozens of bystanders.
This list could go on for pages. The Washington Post has a timeline with some of the deadliest mass shootings around the world. What they all have in common is the mostly public setting, the victims who were often unrelated and didn’t even know the perpetrators, and of course the perpetrators themselves who are almost always young-ish males.
What does that tell us? At first glance, not much. Other than the fact that they were males, the killers don’t seem to have much in common. They come from different social and ethnic backgrounds and have different political and religious convictions. All of this matters and may have influenced their motivations to a larger or lesser extent.
But there are also women who are fundamentalist religious zealots or political radicals with a disdain for fellow human life, who have a mental illness that isn’t treated properly or who live in impoverished conditions. These women may become violent and are certainly capable of destructive behaviour, but they rarely go on killing sprees. It takes a special kind of hatred of society and the people belonging to it, to come up with such a devious plan and to execute it.
When violence erupts at such a scale, motivations always come into focus. Why would anyone do this? I am certainly not someone to start blaming specific violent movies or computers games, which sounds like a simple answer to a complex problem. But cultural representations are, of course, by-products of wider social phenomena (I wouldn’t be a cultural studies major if I thought otherwise), and I am not telling any secrets when I claim that men are traditionally much more socialized (also, but not exclusively, through media and culture) to be aggressive and to react violently to situations that impact them negatively. That is still true today, perhaps a little less so, but I am not too hopeful that there will be a drastic change in this behaviour in the near future.
The violence, however, only explains the way in which action is taken, not the motivation. And I think simply arguing that men are more violent and if something triggers their “darker side” that violence is released, is not very helpful.
I would like to argue that one of the main reasons that influence this level of cruelty, pointlessness and contempt for human life is the experience of the loss of privilege and the resentment that goes with it.
First of all, it takes a very strong belief system regarding the world and how it should be. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that. I think many people have very strong convictions that influence their lifestyle and behaviour; it would be terrible if it was otherwise. And it is also quite natural to feel anger upon the realisation that one’s particular world view (be it a political or religious one, for example a patriarchal or anti-liberal one) is not supported by a large fraction of society. I myself experience this anger daily in response to sexist and racist political decisions, news articles or comments.
However, there is an enormous difference between where my anger stems from and the case I am making here, and this may have a direct effect on the response. I think that the negative emotions involved grow much stronger much faster, if this opposing fraction of society threatens one’s priviliged position within these belief-structures – i.e. the position of a man dominating over women, the entitlement to certain advantages or a certain lifestyle – and when this entitlement is disappointed, resentment and anger ensues and the will to retaliate, to “take back” the entitlement with any means possible, leads to the only conclusion: the use of force. You can see this sort of rhethoric used on particular websites of the men’s rights movement and right-wing blogs.
Now I don’t mean to say that anyone who feels this particular kind of anger is a mass murderer or terrorist in the making, but the tendency towards violence is unmistakable. Sometimes this anger is directed at particular people (for example the wife) or groups in the form of hate crimes, but in the most extreme cases the rage can be developed against a diffuse enemy that cannot clearly be defined (because that enemy doesn’t exist), so the violence is directed at a general mass, an anonymous crowd as a stand-in for society in general, and that is when the number of deaths only matters insofar that the more die the stronger the message: I hate you. All of you.
I believe that the above mentioned killers’ sense of purpose and the sensationalism of their crimes attest to that as well, as a means of forcing the attention they feel entitled to.
I am not pretending that any of these thoughts are based on empirical evidence, simply qualitative sociological observations that can be easily contested. But whenever I read about these disgusting incidents (and I’ve had to read about a lot in my short life) I cannot help but feel confirmed in my observations. Anders Behring Breivik was just a textbook example, as he made it easy for everyone to reconstruct his convictions and motivations. Most killers remain silent (or are silenced), leaving room for interpretations such as my own. If they were to talk, would I want to know what they thought? Would I want to know that essentially they support some of the same beliefs that I am confronted with day after day in newspaper comments, on the street, even in my personal environment?
UPDATE: Turns out Hugo Schwyzer had pretty much the same idea as me.
AdvertisementsImage copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Dershowitz and Prince Andrew are two of three well-known men named in court documents
Lawyers representing a woman who has alleged Prince Andrew and law professor Alan Dershowitz had sex with her when she was a minor are suing Mr Dershowitz for defamation.
The lawyers accuse Mr Dershowitz of mounting a media assault on their reputation and character.
The development comes a day after he began legal proceedings to clear his name.
Both Buckingham Palace and Mr Dershowitz deny the claims.
On Monday, Mr Dershowitz filed papers at a court in Florida, where the case is being heard, to contest what he described as "absolutely outrageous claims".
The former Harvard law professor has asked for his name to be removed from documents which accuse him and Prince Andrew of having sexual relations with Virginia Roberts, known in court as Jane Doe #3, who was under the age of consent in the US at the time of the alleged incidents.
In media interviews, Mr Dershowitz accused Ms Roberts' lawyers, Paul Cassell and Bradley Edwards, of "unethical" behaviour warranting disbarment.
The pair said their reputations had been damaged by such comments and that they were seeking damages.
Image copyright Other Image caption Screen grab of court documents filed by Mr Dershowitz
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Buckingham Palace has issued two statements to deny the claims made about Prince Andrew
In response, Mr Dershowitz said he was "thrilled" to be sued as it would give him an opportunity to disprove the two.
'Resilient'
The allegations against Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz emerged in evidence submitted to a US court in a case involving financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Two women, referred to as Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2, are suing the US government. They argue that it failed to protect their rights when it entered a plea deal with Epstein, who spent time in jail in 2008-9 for a sex offence with a minor.
Two more - Virginia Roberts and a woman known as Jane Doe #4 - now want to join the case.
Documents filed in a Florida court last week allege that Ms Roberts was sexually trafficked by Epstein, who forced her to make herself available for sex to "politically connected and financially powerful people".
Image copyright News Syndication Image caption Prince Andrew has been criticised for his former friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (right)
Ms Roberts claims she was forced to have sex with the prince on three occasions - in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein - between 1999 and 2002, when she was under age according to US law.
Epstein and Prince Andrew were formerly friends and the pair were photographed meeting in December 2010, after the tycoon had served his prison sentence.
The prince later had to apologise for his friendship and stepped down as the UK's special representative for trade and investment.
Buckingham Palace has said the sex claims against the duke lack "any foundation".
It is likely the 54-year-old's first public appearance will be at a reception at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland later this month.
A royal aide has said the prince will "move on and push ahead" with his work, describing him as "resilient".
BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman says there is no constitutional bar on the prince suing and it would not be unprecedented as other members of the Royal family have done so, though generally not for libel.poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201704/3321/1155968404_5395993351001_5395991464001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Kellyanne Conway strays from media critique to praise some print reporters
Kellyanne Conway briefly strayed from the White House's long-standing critiques of the media Wednesday to deliver a rare bit of praise to certain print outlets for what she called improving coverage, bristling especially at the characterization that the president dislikes a top New York Times reporter.
Speaking at the Newseum to Hollywood Reporter columnist Michael Wolff, Conway said she gives the media an “incomplete” grade for their coverage of President Donald Trump's administration thus far, saying it's too early to judge. It was likely a more generous grade than several of her White House colleagues would offer.
Story Continued Below
And though she repeated her complaints from the campaign trail about bias in journalists’ Twitter feeds, Conway said she had noticed some print reporters have changed they way they’ve covered President Trump versus candidate Trump.
"There are some print journalists particularly who have taken the time to try to get to know this president and how he operates and who he is and some of the senior administration officials, and they’re doing much better, in my view, of covering the White House,” Conway said.
Conway seemed to hint that at least one of those journalists was the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman. When Wolff said Trump had told him he dislikes the reporter, Conway said that was “not true” and defended Haberman, who recently interviewed the president in the Oval Office.
"She's a very hardworking, honest journalist who happens to be a very good person,” Conway said, clearly frustrated.
Morning Media Your guide to the media circus — weekday mornings, 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.
But Conway also criticized most of the media, especially television, for its herd mentality. The press corps all tend to ask the same questions, Conway complained.
"They judge [the president] according to their predisposed beliefs about what motivates him, what his personality is, how he makes decisions, what’s important to him thematically and issues-wise, and I just think a lot of the right questions aren’t being asked. The comfort in sameness has an effect where people are afraid to go first,” Conway said.
Conway also said she disagreed with some of the language used toward reporters by her colleagues, notably White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who declared the media the “opposition party."
"I do want to say that some of the words being used to describe [the press], which you are repeating, I have not used. I think it’s very important in a healthy democracy to have a free and a fair press,” Conway told Wolff. "Part of that democracy too though is to have a presidency, no matter who the occupant is, shown respect and shown an openness to really cover all the items that he has put forth and his considerable accomplishment in the first 80-some days that have really gone uncovered.”
Asked if there was a disconnect between a White House that has been openly hostile toward the media — but still seems eager to talk to reporters — Conway seemed to jab at some of her colleagues.
"I have noticed if you’re someone who says they never talk to the media, you’re really free to talk to the media as much as you want," she said. "Because no one would suspect you’re talking to the media, which is fascinating.”An interesting pattern has emerged among the federal judges charged with reviewing the habeas petitions of Gitmo detainees. Chisun Lee of ProPublica explains :
A close examination of the decisions shows that some of the fears about sending terrorism cases to civilian courts have not been realized. The judges haven’t been particularly hard on the government, holding it to a low standard of proof: If more than half the evidence tips in the government’s favor, then the detainee stays put — a far lower bar than “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The judges have also admitted hearsay evidence, and they’ve sealed courtrooms to protect government secrecy. Yet despite these allowances, the government has not fared well. Twenty-six detainees have won their lawsuits, known as habeas petitions, while five have lost. So far, the Obama administration has filed just one appeal.
Despite the Lindsey Graham and friends’ shrieking hysteria to the contrary, the picture that has emerged from these habeas hearings is one of scanty to non-existent evidence for many of these low-level detentions. And, worse, a reluctance to admit any wrong judgment on the part of intelligence agencies and the US government.
In short, we’d rather keep an innocent person locked up indefinitely than admit we’d done so.
Presumably the public admission would carry with it some level of public scrutiny and political price. But I’m no longer certain given the public’s decided indifference.
It’s as though the nation has decided collective amnesia about what we allowed in all of our names is the prudent option. Justice, be damned.
This is all of a piece: decisions in direct contradiction to the established precedents, treaty obligations and the rule of law, all pushing a warped theory of executive dominance in pursuit of a unilateral stranglehold on power within the governmental framework. The OLC opinions which issued forth laying the groundwork for these theories were no accident.
Sadly, the absence of clear guidance, action or transparency from either Congress or the White House to re-establish legal framework on these issues is a policy choice as well.
Inaction on the rule of law speaks volumes.
Dawn Johnsen’s nomination to head OLC has been languishing for more than 6 months (subs. req.). Why? Because it can.
Because the WH and Democratic leadership have calculated that the interests of the public are in other, more politically advantageous directions at the moment. And, thus, the price for allowing her nomination to languish is minimal and can be borne until they get around to it... after the August Congressional vacation.
You see, the rule of law isn’t worth spending political capital.
And in the full light of Beltway day, where political power is the end all, be all of everyone’s existence? That may make sense in some warped, weighing out the "what gets me the most political bang for my buck" cynical calculation.
But in the broader scheme of things in terms of constitutional duty and adherence to the oath of office and the very foundations of government on which this nation was built?
Right now, there are those in Congress pushing additional powers to the executive in direct contradiction of civil liberties concerns on a wide range of issues. And the debate has been long on "booga booga scary terrorists" and short on facts on why additional powers make us safer while taking away even more of our rights.
Expansion of domestic surveillance by the NSA with no proof whatsoever that you get any useful information from it? Sure! Pour more hay on that needle and send the FBI out for pizza! Woot!
Continuing questions about torture and evidence and who knew what when? Pshaw!
Preventative detention? That’s just another way to say " L’etat? C’est moi! "
Absence of action is also a policy choice. And a cowardly one at that. Dawn Johnsen will get no recess appointment to OLC, according to Roll Call. But Congress sure as hell gets their August vacay.
Meanwhile, reforms and the rule of law still sit on the backburner. Huzzah.Updated on April 23 at 3:30am EDT
Southern Chile’s Calbuco volcano unexpectedly erupted for the first time in more than 40 years on April 22, and then blew again early on April 23. Authorities evacuated residents in a 20 km (12 mile) radius, as a rising plume of ash threatened to wreak a path of destruction through nearby homes and forest.
Reuters/Rafael Arenas Calbuco as viewed from Puerto Montt, April 22, 2015.
Chile’s National Geological and Mineral Service issued a “red alert” about the eruption at about 6:30pm local time on April 22. Hours later, the agency warned on Twitter that a flow of lava could be imminent:
A first eruption on the evening of April 22 caused a several-kilometer-high ash plume that potentially poses a grave danger. “The main risk is that it collapses, falls due to gravity because of its own weight and causes a pyroclastic flow,” vulcanologist Gabriel Orozco told local television, according to Reuters. A pyroclastic flow, Reuters notes, is “a superheated current of gas and rock that can destroy nearly everything in its path and travel at speeds upwards of 200 to 300 kilometers per hour (125 to 185mph).”
A second eruption, which began at 1:00 am on April 23 was even more powerful, the geological service said (link in Spanish). Nearly three hours later, the second eruption was still going on, the service Tweeted, saying “There is no third eruptive pulse. The second is not over.”
About 5,000 people have been evacuated so far, the AFP reports. Puerto Montt, population 212,000, and Puerto Varas, population 41,000, the nearest sizable towns, are about 30 kilometers away. Schools and flights to a nearby airport have been canceled and emergency services are headed to the region, the AP reported.
Nearby Chileans filmed the volcano’s original eruption:
And photographed it spreading across the sky:
Located about 600 miles south of Santiago, Calbuco, a 6,500 foot high mountain, appeared as a snow-filled crater on Google Earth earlier this year:
Here’s how it looked after the first explosion:
Reuters/Carlos Gutierrez The Calbuco volcano, seen from Puerto Varas.
And hours later:August 06, 2013 Severe Thunderstorms Across Central Europe on Sunday
By By Evan Duffey, Meteorologist August 06, 2013, 6:27:59 AM EDT
A strong cold front will trigger strong-to-severe thunderstorms across central Europe Sunday through Sunday night.
The several-day stretch of pleasant summertime weather across eastern Germany, western Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and southern Poland will be interrupted by the front, whose risks will range from blinding downpours to isolated tornadoes.
Cities most under the gun for the severe weather include Munich and Frankfurt, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Vienna, Austria; and Wroclaw, Poland.
Fresh in the mind of Prague's residents is the powerful thunderstorm that passed through on July 29th; the violent storm damaged property, resulted in power outages and even injured residents. It also provided Prague with 40 percent of its monthly rainfall in just a few hours.
Residents and tourists alike should be prepared to take cover when storms threaten on Sunday, especially since frequent lightning, damaging winds, small hail and even a tornado is possible. Localized incidents of flash flooding are also possible, particularly in low-lying and poor drainage areas.
After the storms pass, it will be noticeably less humid and cooler across much of the region. The next threat for showers and thunderstorms will be later in the week when another cold front approaches from the west.
The thumbnail photo is courtesy of Photos.com and Jens Wassermann
Report a TypoWASHINGTON — Buffcoat and Beaver? As if the popular MTV series "Beavis and Butt-head" had not been maligned enough recently, a U.S. senator on Wednesday mangled the show's name during a packed Senate hearing.
Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, was arguing that television broadcasters had to be pressured to curb violent or otherwise offensive shows when he said:
"We've got this--what is it--Buffcoat and Beaver or Beaver and something else.... I haven't seen it, I don't watch it, but whatever it is, it was at 7 o'clock (p.m.)--Buffcoat--and they put it on now at 10:30, I think."
The MTV cartoon series has come under criticism recently after charges that Beavis and Butt-head's habit of lighting fires caused a 5-year-old fan to set a fire that killed his 2-year-old sister.JERICHO, Ark. -- It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn't hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps. The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court. Payne ended up in the hospital, but his shooting last week brought to a boil simmering tensions between residents of this tiny former cotton city and their police force. Drivers quickly learn to slow to a crawl along the gravel roads and the two-lane highway that run through Jericho, but they say sometimes that isn't enough to fend off the city ticketing machine. "You can't even get them to answer a call because normally they're writing tickets," said Thomas Martin, chief investigator for the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department. "They're not providing a service to the citizens." Now the police chief has disbanded his force "until things calm down," a judge has voided all outstanding police-issued citations and sheriff's deputies are asking where all the money from the tickets went. With 174 residents, the city can keep seven police officers on its rolls but missed payments on police and fire department vehicles and saw its last business close its doors a few weeks ago. "You can't even buy a loaf of bread, but we've got seven police officers," said former resident Larry Harris, who left town because he said the police harassment became unbearable. Sheriff's deputies patrolled Jericho until the 1990s, when the city received grant money to start its own police force, Martin said. Police often camped out in the department's two cruisers along the highway that runs through town, waiting for drivers who failed to slow down when they reached the 45 mph zone ringing Jericho. Residents say the ticketing got out of hand. "When I first moved out here, they wrote me a ticket for going 58 mph in my driveway," 75-year-old retiree Albert Beebe said. The frequent ticketing apparently led to the vandalization of the cruisers, and the department took to parking the cars overnight at the sheriff's department eight miles away. It was anger over traffic tickets that brought Payne to city hall last week, said his lawyer, Randy Fishman. After Payne failed to get a traffic ticket dismissed on Aug. 27, police gave Payne or his son another ticket that day. Payne, 39, returned to court to vent his anger to Judge Tonya Alexander, Fishman said. It's unclear exactly what happened next, but Martin said an argument between Payne and the seven police officers who attended the hearing apparently escalated to a scuffle, ending when an officer shot Payne from behind. Doctors in Memphis, Tenn., removed a.40-caliber bullet from Payne's hip bone, Martin said. Another officer suffered a grazing wound to his finger from the bullet. Martin declined to name the officer who shot Payne. It's unclear if the officer has been disciplined. Prosecutor Lindsey Fairley said Thursday that he didn't plan to file any felony charges against the officer or Payne. Fairley, reached at his home, said Payne could face a misdemeanor charge stemming from the scuffle, but that would be up to the city's judge. He said he didn't remember the name of the officer who fired the shot. Payne remains in good condition at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. He referred questions to his lawyer. "I know that he was unarmed and I know he was shot," Fishman said. "None of that sounds too good for the city to me." After the shooting, Martin said police chief Willie Frazier told the sheriff's department he was disbanding the police force "until things calm down." The sheriff's department has been patrolling the town in the meantime. A call to a city hall number listed as Frazier's went to a fax machine. Frazier did not respond to a written request for comment sent to his office. Alexander, the judge, has voided all the tickets written by the department both inside the city and others written outside of its jurisdiction -- citations that the department apparently had no power to write. Alexander, who works as a lawyer in West Memphis, resigned as Jericho's judge in the aftermath of the shooting, Fairley said. She did not return calls for comment. Meanwhile, sheriff's deputies want to know where the money from the traffic fines went. Martin said that it appeared the $150 tickets weren't enough to protect the city's finances. Sheriff's deputies once had to repossess one of the town's police cruisers for failure to pay on a lease, and the state Forestry Commission recently repossessed one of the city's fire trucks because of nonpayment. City hall has been shuttered since the shooting, and any records of how the money was spent are apparently locked inside. No one answered when a reporter knocked on the door on Tuesday. Mayor Helen Adams declined to speak about the shooting when approached outside her home, saying she had just returned from a doctor's appointment and couldn't talk. "We'll get with you after all this comes through," Adams said Tuesday before shutting the door. A white Ford Crown Victoria sat in her driveway with "public property" license plates. A sales brochure advertising police equipment sat in the back seat of the car. --The Associated PressU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that as the U.S. they want Syria to be a united state and that they do not support a seperate Kurdish initiative.
After meeting off-and-on with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for nearly 10 hours in Geneva on Friday, Kerry stated that the U.S. and Russia "achieved clarity" on a path to restore a truce in Syria but details remain to be worked out.
He added that the "vast majority" of technical discussions on steps to reinstate a ceasefire and improve humanitarian access had been completed in Syria. Kerry says experts will remain in Geneva with an eye toward finalizing the unresolved steps in the coming days.
Lavrov echoed that, saying "we still need to finalize a few issues" and pointed to the need to separate fighters from the al-Nusra Front, which has ties to al-Qaida, from U.S.-backed fighters who hold parts of northwest Syria.
Lavrov insisted that a resumption of U.N.-mediated talks between the Syrian government and the U.S.-backed opposition that were suspended in April should help reduce hostilities that have flared in recent months. He also hailed an improved atmosphere between Moscow and Washington.
"We have continued our efforts to reduce the areas where we lack understanding and trust, which is an achievement," Lavrov said. "The mutual trust is growing with every meeting."
Friday's meeting came a month after the two men met in Moscow and agreed on a number of unspecified actions to get the all-but-ignored truce back in force. However, as in Moscow, neither Kerry nor Lavrov would describe them in detail.
"We are close," Kerry said. "But we are not going to rush to an agreement until it satisfies fully the needs of the Syrian people."
In a nod to previous failed attempts to resurrect the cessation of hostilities, Kerry stressed the importance of keeping the details secret.
"We do not want to make an announcement... that is not enforceable, that doesn't have details worked out, that winds up in the place that the last two announcements have wound up," Kerry said. "Until we have, neither of us are prepared to make an announcement that is predicated for failure. We don't want a deal for the sake of the deal, we want a deal that is effective."
And, underscoring deep differences over developments on the ground, Kerry noted that Russia disputes the U.S. "narrative" of recent attacks on heavily populated areas being conducted by Syrian forces, Russia itself and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia. Russia maintains the attacks it has been involved in have targeted legitimate terrorist targets, while the U.S. says they have hit moderate opposition forces.
Expectations had been low for the talks, particularly given how efforts to forge a new U.S.-Russia understanding have fallen short virtually every month for the past five years.
At the same time, the Obama administration is not of one mind regarding the Russians. The Pentagon has publicly complained about getting drawn into greater cooperation with Russia even though it has been forced recently to expand communication with Moscow. Last week, the U.S. had to call for Russian help when Syrian warplanes struck an area not far from where U.S. troops were operating.
U.S. officials say it is imperative that Russia use its influence with Syria's Bashar Assad to halt all attacks on moderate opposition forces, open humanitarian aid corridors, and concentrate any offensive action on Daesh and other extremists not covered by what has become a largely ignored truce. For their part, U.S. officials say they are willing to press rebels groups they support harder on separating themselves from Daesh and al-Nusra, which despite a recent name change is still viewed as al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria.
Those goals are not new, but recent developments have made achieving them even more urgent and important, according to U.S. officials. Recent developments include military operations around the city of Aleppo, the entry of Turkey into the ground war, Turkish hostility toward U.S.-backed Kurdish rebel groups and the presence of American military advisers in widening conflict zones.
Meanwhile, in a blow to the opposition, rebel forces and civilians in the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya were to be evacuated on Friday after agreeing to surrender the town late Thursday after four years of grueling bombardment and a crippling siege that left the sprawling area in ruins. The surrender of Daraya, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against Bashar Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power.
Referring to Daraya, Lavrov said: "This is an example I think will get some following." He said the Russian military's reconciliation center in Syria has received a request from another area to organize a similar operation — with Russian mediation.By of the
Capturing the income tax paid by National Basketball Association players and team employees could support approximately $150 million in state general obligation bonding, according to a new Legislative Fiscal Bureau report.
The report, which was requested by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), is an attempt to quantify whether capturing such income taxes — often called a jock tax — would be enough to support general obligation bonds that could be used to finance and build a new multipurpose arena in downtown Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had previously reported that the amount of taxes captured for NBA athletes was $10.7 million in tax year 2012. What is new is that, assuming a flat, 20-year repayment structure on the bonds, $10.7 million in annual revenue could support $150 million in state general obligation bonding.
"The total 20-year cost to repay the $150 million in general obligation debt would be $214 million, which includes $64 million in interest costs," the report states.
The income taxes from the athletes' salaries also would be expected to increase in the ensuing years. The NBA has signed lucrative new television deals that are expected to benefit both individual teams and increase the salary cap.
In a statement, Vos said the report outlines "one viable option that the Legislature could consider."
"One fact that hasn't changed is that any option that includes taxpayer resources will be a tough sell in the conservative Assembly Republican caucus," he said. "I continue to hear from members and my own constituents who are hard-pressed to giving away precious taxpayer dollars with so many demands on our resources."
Rep. Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna), who was elected this week to serve as majority leader beginning in January, expressed skepticism in an interview for using existing state money for a Bucks arena.
He noted Miller Park and Lambeau Field were funded with sales taxes generated in their areas.
"Why do the Bucks deserve something so completely different?" he asked. "I'd rather see something done locally to keep the Bucks there."
Wisconsin taxpayers who live far from southeastern Wisconsin won't want to pay for an arena "when they're never going to go to a Bucks game," he said. Lawmakers from both parties who represent areas outside southeastern Wisconsin are likely to oppose using state money to pay for an arena, he said.
He downplayed the notion of using the income taxes paid by basketball players for the arena, saying those are general state taxes used for an array of programs.
He acknowledged the state would lose that revenue if the Bucks leave Wisconsin, but added the state would also lose it if it were used to pay for an arena because it would be dedicated to paying off bonds for 20 years.
He said any public financing deal for a Bucks arena should include a claw-back provision so the public gets its principal back if the team is sold at a profit. He said the value of the Milwaukee Brewers went up significantly because of its new stadium, but the public did not get any of its money back when that team was sold.
In a statement, he added: "In this case, the new Bucks owners are asking the entire state to pick up a portion of the tab. This is a vast departure from the way we have operated in similar circumstances in the past. Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature who live well outside of the Milwaukee area would have an extremely difficult time explaining to our constituents why they should give their hard-earned tax dollars to billionaire owners of a sports franchise when they will likely never even attend one of their games."
Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), elected this month to the Senate, said in a statement that state taxpayers have little interest in paying for capital costs for a new arena.
"The Bucks are apparently a profitable venture since they sold for $550 million. There are legitimate economic reasons to believe that a privately |
say, the wealthy in New York, California and other relatively high tax states will raise much more objection to state income taxes when they are paying 100 cents on every dollar rather than 60 cents on every dollar of the tax. A likely outcome will be lower state taxes on the wealthy and higher taxes and/or reduced services for everyone else.
The picture looks even less appealing when we consider that contributions to charity are likely to be excluded from the cap. This means that if a wealthy person feels bad about homelessness so that she contributes $100,000 to a charity to shelter the homeless, the federal government will pick up $40,000 of this tab. However, if she and others in the state consider sheltering the homeless to be an obligation of government that should not depend on the kindness of the wealthy, the taxes to cover the cost will be fully borne out of their own pocket.
It’s hard to see the rationale for this asymmetry, but wait: it gets worse. Suppose our rich person gives $100,000 to an opera that he and his rich friends patronize. The federal government will pick up $40,000 of that contribution, but zero for the state government’s efforts to shelter the homeless. Suppose that our rich person decides that his friend should get a $1 million annual salary to run the opera. Well, the feds are on the hook for 40 percent of his friend’s salary, but still not contributing to the state’s efforts to shelter the homeless.
The point here should be clear. The effort to cap deductions is not actually about making the rich pay higher taxes; it is about putting pressure on state governments to cut back their services. President Obama proposed limiting deductions to a 28 percent rate regardless of individuals’ tax rate. This policy makes sense as a way of getting more tax revenue from those who can most afford to pay it. Capping the deduction does not. There is a reason that Republicans support it.Click here for all of GamesBeat’s 2015 Game Developers Conference coverage.
The 2015 Game Developers Conference (GDC) drew a record-setting 26,000 game industry professionals last week to San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center.
That’s a good turnout that shows that the game industry remains in a healthy state, even as it becomes a hodge-podge of indies and big companies developers, mobile developers and console game creators, and PC makers and virtual reality advocates. The industry was able to celebrate its new frontiers and deal with controversies such as Gamergate that have plagued it over the past year.
This year’s event drew a lot of interest for virtual reality and augmented reality systems, such as the Vive platform from Valve and HTC as well as the OSVR from Razer, the Oculus Rift from Facebook’s Oculus VR, Sony’s Project Morpheus headset, and Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality system. Altogether, GDC had more than 650 sessions.
Image Credit: Gavin Greene/GamesBeat
The 29th annual show featured the debut of the e-sports and community management summits. It also featured numerous talks on gamer culture and the GamerGate controversy. The event highlighted Zoe Quinn’s efforts to help those hit with Internet harassment, tales of female game pioneers in a male-dominated industry, and Intel’s plan to double the number of women in games in the next decade. The GDC also featured big parties staged by companies trying to recruit game developers. The big soirees were staged by just about every major company, ranging from Microsoft to newcomer FunPlus of China.
“As with every year, GDC offered a glimpse into the future of gaming, but still honored the history of the industry. This year’s success is a testament to the hard work of the staff, volunteers, speakers, indies and students who maintained a fun and safe environment for everyone at the show. As the conference enters its 30th year, we reflect on the tremendous growth in the medium of video games, and we’re thankful for the friendly faces, engrossing debates and friendly discussions we’ve had along the way,” said Meggan Scavio, general manager of the GDC, in a statement. “After all the software and hardware demos, networking over drinks, and lively sessions, it’s good to meet with the people who bring life to the most popular form of entertainment in the 21st century, and to discuss how to make these amazing games even better in the years to come.”
The expo floor seemed smaller than usual, but it still featured more than 350 companies in the industry, including Sony, Google, Qualcomm, Oculus, Valve, and Microsoft. Nintendo was notably absent. Outer Wilds from Team Outer Wilds won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize award of $30,000 at the Independent Games Festival. Outer Wilds also got the award for Excellence in Design. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor from Warner Bros. took home the Game of the Year prize at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
Here’s our own photo gallery from GDC. The UBM Tech Game Network’s GDC Vault website (www.gdcvault.com) will offer access to select GDC 2014 material within the next few weeks.Eventually, and sadly, all of us find, or will find, ourselves losing our grip on what’s current and contemporary. We’ll accept Bono for his humanitarian work, we’ll listen to James Blunt because of his computer cracks and the forgiving fitting of Marks & Spencer will slowly engorge our filled-out figures. It happened to Homer Simpson, and even though that episode aired twenty years ago, while the bands and cultures it parodied are no longer current, the underlying message still remains incredibly potent – cool doesn’t stay.
Abe Simpson produces the most telling, and accurate, line in Homerpalooza, an episode that captures a specific moment of pop culture before it rapidly transcended. “I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was,” he scoffs. “It’ll happen to you.” He’s pointing his despondent digit at a young Homer, but really that finger can be placed upon any one of us – down the line, we all become Grandpa and, eventually, Homer; I envision in ten years’ time, when I’m driving my kids to school, I’ll be babbling boisterously about the “good old-fashioned sludge of Peace and Superfood, which paved the way for Catfish & the Bottlemen, which I believe was a kind of hovercraft.”
Homerpalooza serves as a time capsule, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it slice of a part of the ‘90s that seems laughable now. The show recognises this, too, and instead of casting a heartfelt haze over a carefree culture, they instead satirise and gleefully acknowledge that this specific timeframe will be left in a bargain bin, along with copies of Reality Bites and Come On Feel the Lemonheads. In short, the show’s creators had to parody the “it” Abe lambasts, for that “it” was changing far too frequently to accurately homage. By 1996, the real Lollapalooza festival was being headlined by Metallica; by the turn of the millennium, it had died. The fickle aura of youth had breezed by.
“They changed what it was” is the episode’s motif, and becomes more prevalent now as the bands the show spotlights – Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and Cypress Hill, to be precise – are no longer the key cultural forces they were (although their influence has had more longevity). Heck, Billy Corgan’s most prominent recent promo work involved an article in a cat fancy magazine and Corgan looking petrified on some sort of children’s fairground ride.
The episode has occasionally been criticised for being too gimmicky and of-its-time, but in truth the show has a strong core before the festival comes in. Homer’s new-found role as the school runner (or driver) throws into sharp focus how his rock and roll beliefs are now dated and formulaic, casting a low thrum over our central character. His bedside confessions to Marge about his superannuated state feel true and troubled, the kind of self-admittance that many people would have had to have faced when they saw vinyl records on sale in Tesco. The Dazed and Confused skit, where Homer tries to board the ‘second-base mobile’, also provides a comical glimpse of a self-anointed cool Homer.
When the show introduces Homer to a young festival crowd, his hearty but ham-fisted attempts at appearing relevant hit him almost as hard as Peter Frampton’s inflatable pig. However, the episode later provides us with an interesting theory – does Homer actually want to be cool? Or is he just on a frivolous chase of critical clout? For when Homer finally does get acclaim for being the festival’s human cannonball, he soon realises maybe he was content enough being with his family and eating a club sandwich. There have been times where I myself have longed for the acclaim, no matter how fair the weather, for my music or even these blogs. But when I sometimes get that, I realise I’d much rather be a wallflower. The grass isn’t always greener, especially when roadies are gobbing on it.
While newer episodes of The Simpsons would see flat readings delivered completely straight, here such wooden words embellish the so-so nature of alternative rock (Kim Gordon isn’t likely to be winning an Emmy any time soon, put it that way). Elsewhere, I like how Homer forms a believable friendship with The Smashing Pumpkins (Billy Corgan serving as a credible comic foil), Cypress Hill’s surprisingly tuneful classical rendition of ‘Insane in the Brain’ and Sonic Youth’s theme tune. However, the surprising star turn here has to be Frampton, who’s obviously a really good sport to play such a curmudegonly, crusty version of himself.
Homerpalooza’s longevity stems from, ironically, representing such a disposable, transitory period of cultural history in a satirical way that’ll confuse and irritate future generations, while bewildering the ones that lived through it. They may have changed what ‘it’ was, but they never changed what ‘it’ meant.
AdvertisementsBy: Charlie Hoyle
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Two Palestinian teenagers have made history by becoming the first amputees from the Arab world to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
On Jan. 23, Mutussam Abu Karsh, 16, from Gaza and Yasmeen Najjar, 17, from the Nablus village of Burin completed a demanding eight-day journey to the peak of Africa's highest mountain.
The Climb of Hope was organized by the Ramallah-based
to raise awareness of the plight of children injured in conflict zones in the Middle East, and to raise money to provide medical care to Syrian children wounded in the country's ongoing war.
Traveling in a group of 12 led by Suzanne al-Houby, the first Arab woman to climb Mount Everest, Mutassam and Yasmeen braved extreme weather conditions to climb 5,895 meters to reach the Uhuru Peak, which in Swahili means freedom.
"I am proud we were the first to carry the Palestinian flag to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to help other children, and I want to show that we can do anything despite our injuries," Mutassam said after the climb.
"It's the first time that I have felt truly free, no walls, no borders, no checkpoints and soldiers."
In 2006, Mutassam lost his left leg and part of his hand after an Israeli tank shell exploded while he was playing football in the northern Gaza Strip.
Following treatment by the PCRF in the United States and Dubai, he was fitted with an artificial leg below the knee and had reconstructive surgery on his hand.
Yasmeen, 17, had her leg amputated at the age of three after being struck by an Israeli army vehicle while playing outside her home in the Nablus village of Burin.
She had to cross several Israeli military checkpoints to reach the nearest hospital and by the time she arrived her leg could not be saved.
PCRF provided treatment for her in 2005 in the United States, and again in Dubai and Jerusalem.
"The most beautiful moment was when we reached the peak. It was a very exciting moment, I enjoyed it a lot, it was unforgettable," she said in a video after completing the trek.
"I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro because I want to inspire other young Arabs to think that no matter what happens, you can do anything you want in your life."
The climb raised over $120,000 through corporate and individual sponsors, which will go toward treating injured Syrian children as healthcare facilities continue to deteriorate under the strain of war, PCRF president Steve Sosebee, who also participated in the climb, told Ma'an.
"They (Mutussam and Yasmeen) represent the true spirit of kids in the region who have had to overcome physical, political or economic circumstances to live a normal life," he told Ma'an.
"When both kids had a taste of freedom in Africa it empowered them to use this experience to overcome their disabilities."Halfway through an eight-minute Brad Wall tribute video the Saskatchewan Party made for their fall convention, up came a string of scenes from the Roughriders’ 2013 Grey Cup celebrations. The premier had zero role in that victory, other than occasionally as a cheerleader, but the relevance was clear. Nothing says sheer Saskatchewan pride better than evoking its beloved CFL team, and nothing says Brad Wall more than evoking sheer Saskatchewan pride.
He’s led Saskatchewan for a (mostly) booming decade, and like the small-town, silver-tongued economic development official from Speedy Creek (a.k.a. Swift Current, Sask.) that he used to be, Wall always had an indicator or homily to drive home that message—median income up 37 per cent over his decade in power; a population closing in on 1.2 million after long stagnating at the million mark; parents no longer buying their kids luggage as a high-school graduation gift.
This sometimes fierce rhetoric gave Saskatchewan an outsized voice in the national conversation, and brought the province something seldom associated with it: swagger. On Jan. 27, he will stroll away from all that, while the conservative Saskatchewan Party figures out who gets to try doing the impossible. “Nobody’s going to fill his shoes. Nobody’s going to replace Brad Wall,” says Ken Cheveldayoff, one of the candidates vying to do just that. “But somebody has to take the torch from him and carry it and make it shine bright again.”
The race to the next Saskatchewan premier has been a tepid affair—Wall’s party had 9,500 members when he announced his resignation in August, and not even the most Wallian optimists inside the party expect a dramatic surge in interest for January’s vote. Variations of the word “continue” keep emerging in debates and remarks among the four provincial cabinet ministers and one senior bureaucrat in the contest—some tweaks, perhaps, some renewal, but no dramatic shift. Months in, no heir apparent has emerged. The group of contenders seems less likely to yield a Saskatchewan political giant like Wall, Allan Blakeney or Tommy Douglas than an unheralded figure like Woodrow Lloyd.
Don’t feel bad if you had to look him up. Lloyd took over from Douglas, the socialist titan and five-term premier who fathered medicare. Lloyd’s government was defeated in the following election. Potential peril for Wall’s successor owes not only to a charisma shortage but the challenges left behind for the next premier—Wall’s popularity descended back to earth this year after price dives in the three commodities that defined his province’s boom (oil, potash and uranium), while his deficit-fighting budget featured an off-putting mix of tax hikes and spending cuts. “It doesn’t take a lot for people to feel like government isn’t listening,” cautions June Draude, one of Wall’s former cabinet ministers.
The next premier also inherits the stench of a questionable Regina land deal involving Wall’s former chief of staff and a former top minister—a file now under investigation by the RCMP. Wall had briefly turned Saskatchewan into a one-party state, winning five times more seats than the opposition over the past two elections, but polls this year have repeatedly shown a much tighter race between the Saskatchewan Party and the NDP, which selects a new leader of its own in March. Wall’s party lost two urban seats to the NDP in 2017 by-elections, and while areas outside Saskatoon and Regina remain conservative strongholds, the next premier risks getting wiped out in the big cities in the 2020 general election, says Jim Farney, a political scientist at the University of Regina.
Wall will be remembered for his oratory, optimism and changing how Saskatchewanians think about their province, but given the struggles of his would-be successors to inspire and connect with the public, says Farney, “it might be a short legacy.”
Another future issue on the other side of the Wall has gotten less notice: while Indigenous people accounted for nearly a quarter of that population growth in the past decade, his government has made fewer strides toward reconciliation than other Western provinces. And the party’s white rural base won’t propel it as a leadership ballot issue.
It’s not known publicly what Wall, 52, will do in political retirement. Corporate boards will surely covet a business-friendly ex-premier, and he’s long dreamed of being an ambassador. This much is clear: when Brad Wall steps down, the stature of his party and province will descend as well.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said a land deal under police investigation was in Saskatoon. It was in Regina.
MORE ABOUT SASKATCHEWAN:The former solicitor general Vera Baird warned the case put Britain back "probably about 30 years".
Mr Wright said the subject was of "concern" and suggested the law and guidance around the admission of a complainant's sexual history in criminal trials could be reformed.
Speaking in Attorney General Questions in the Commons, Mr Wright said: "There is concern here and we need to accept that that concern is sensible and deal with it. I think what we need to look at is a number of things.
"We need to understand more about the decision in this particular case, we need to understand whether a change in the law is appropriate, and if not whether it is sensible to look at the guidance that is given to judges about when this evidence is admissible and the guidance that judges give to juries about how that evidence should be used.
"I think we need to do all of those things before we are in a position to understand what, if any, changes are needed."Health Police and Concern Trolls
No one gets bombarded by the health police more than fat people. As a “death fat” this is something I can’t avoid, no mater how hard I try. I get concern trolls on my blogs and websites, anywhere I post pictures of myself or even anywhere I just dare to talk about needing to treat fat people like, you know, people. I get it when I dare go out in public. I get it when I go out and try (often in vein) to find clothes that fit me, when I got to the movies, when I go to the park, when I go grocery shopping, when I just go to get my mail. Fat hate and fat phobia is all over the news, tv shows, movies, billboard ads, radio ads, and just about anywhere I go online. As if the ads aren’t enough strangers glare at me, stare at me, take my picture (particularly if I dare to eat in public), give me unsolicited advice, and just yell fat shaming shit at me from their vehicles. I get it all the time, there is no safe place for me away from health police and concern trolls.
Even here, my tiny little corner of the internet. My itty bitty little space away from fat hate and fat phobic asshats, they still come at me. They still find me and fill my inbox with hate. They still throw their shit at me like deranged little monkeys.
And this is why I’m not nice anymore. Nice left the building, along with most of my sanity, you weight bigot fuckers have ripped it from my hands and stomp it into the mud. You concern trolls and health police don’t get any nice from me. Not anymore. Because my entire life you’ve bullied, harassed, humiliated, mocked, and dehumanized me. And I’m done with it. The gloves have come off. Consider this the line in the sand and no mercy will be shown to you fuckwits who dare to cross it. You’ve backed me into a corner and you’re about to see just how fucking vicious desperation gets.Tablet Top Ten: An entirely subjective list, presented in no particular order, of our 10 favorite articles from Tablet’s Arts & Culture and News & Politics sections in 2017. “Favorite” here means somewhere at the nexus of these pieces’ intrinsic merits and the measurable ways that readers engaged with them. If you caught them when they came out, they bear re-reading. If you missed them, you’re in for a treat. Today, two luminaries, reassessed: Sabine Spielrein and John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Lady Adele Meyer.
***
In August 2012, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, a protest took place critiquing a plaque that memorialized the 27,000 “citizens” who were systematically shot in a two-day massacre by the Nazis during World War II. Russian officials had removed the original plaque, which had honored the mostly Jewish victims, and replaced it with a revisionist plaque honoring only “citizens.” The precious Jewish souls, the doctors, lawyers, poets, scientists, librarians; all the parents, children, and grandparents, murdered specifically on account of their ancestry—were gone, literally overnight. Among them was Dr. Sabina Spielrein, the pioneer psychoanalyst, a member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, the first child psychoanalyst in the world, (yes, even before Anna Freud), and the founder of Moscow’s Psychoanalytic Clinic.
Spielrein’s murder, and the enforced anonymity of her fate, were called to my attention by Angela Sells, in her new and impressive book: Sabina Spielrein: The Woman and the Myth. Sells quotes Rabbi Shimon Samuels, who “termed this removal of Jewish heritage (in Rostov-on-Don) a memoricide. Stripping the plaque, and by extension, its occupants, of Jewish roots, seems a deliberate attempt to suppress the historical horror that occurred at the site in order to avoid the discomfort of others.” What the Russian government did by removing the plaque, arguably to avoid “ethnic tensions” was, in a way, Sells argues, also done to Spielrein’s work, first by her psychoanalytic colleagues and then by their followers down to the present day.
Like Spielrein, her subject and fore-mother, Sells’ scholarship is stunningly diverse. She draws upon poetry, literature, mythology, psychoanalytic theory, opera, politics, history, as well as on Spielrein’s diaries, letters, and articles, often untranslated or still buried in private collections and archives. Sells’ analysis touches upon the nature of anti-Semitism—the particular way in which Jews, both women and men, were viewed by Christians, both theologically and in psychoanalytic circles in 20th-century Europe. Sells also draws upon postmodern feminist literature which has only recently explored the themes about which Spielrein was prescient.
Spielrein’s story is a case history of pathological patriarchy, anti-Semitism, Stalinism, Nazism, and genocide. It is also the story of an incredible pioneering thinker whose ideas were freely “borrowed” by the Great Men of Psychoanalysis whose followers conspired in defaming and demonizing Spielrein’s character and all traces of her subsequent 30-year history of intellectual and clinical work. To the extent to which Spielrein’s work was also feminist and female-centered, (or female-embodied), it constituted the forced disappearance of feminist knowledge which, as Australian scholar Dale Spender has so ably shown, has happened generation after generation, century after century. As a result, each feminist wave must continue reinventing the wheel of knowledge; few have broad shoulders upon which to stand.
To cite a personal example: In 1970, I demanded “$1 million in reparations on behalf of women who had been misdiagnosed and mistreated” at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Nervous laughter followed, after which the muttering rose to a minor roar, I intuited: “This woman”—that would be me—“is suffering from a case of penis envy.” Yet Spielrein, a psychoanalytic pioneer whose name, work, and history I’d known nothing about—none of my many learned professors or psychoanalytic supervisors had ever mentioned her name—had attacked this concept more than half a century before my speech.
At the time, in 1970, I laughed in disbelief at the accusation/diagnosis from the audience—and began writing Women and Madness on the plane home from Miami. It would become a best seller. It even had a chapter that was hailed by other feminists as a “pioneering” exposé of sex between patient and therapist. Yet I had no idea that Spielrein’s analyst, Carl Gustav Jung, had deflowered her when she was one of his hospitalized patients and most needed his help.
This “affair”—this crime—was wrongfully immortalized on screen in David Cronenberg’s 2011 film A Dangerous Method. Keira Knightley plays Spielrein, Michael Fassbender plays Jung, and Viggo Mortensen plays Freud. The film does not convey the fact that Spielrein is a lot more than a “crazy” patient, nor do a number of plays about her, nor do ever so many learned treatises that all reduce the then-19-year-old to a permanent 19-year-old—or, as Sells phrases it, to an “ever-patient,” an “uber” patient, one who is continually and retroactively diagnosed, demonized, and diminished as “schizophrenic.”
According to Sells—and I agree with her analysis—in addition to her sister’s death, Spielrein was most probably a victim of childhood sexual abuse at her father’s hands. In Sells’ view, Sabina was hospitalized because of this abuse. According to Sells (and Spielrein), her breakdown was a“reaction to her father’s abuse which began at age 4.”
“In a 1909 letter to her mother [Spelrein writes]: ‘I fell in love with a psychopath [Jung], and is it necessary to explain why? I have never seen my father as normal.’ Spielrein further says to her mother that she and Jung ‘acted’ at times as caretakers for each other and that Jung’s behavior of raging, weeping, and jubilant prostration mimicked her own experience of her parents: ‘Remember how dear daddy was apologizing to you exactly in the same manner!’ Her equation of Jung to her father perhaps belies a subtle allusion to her experience of the affair as a form of continued abuse.”
According to Sells, in a private interview, Spielrein described what Jung, her treating physician, did to her as “rape.” In 1910, Spielrein writes: “Good God, if only he [Jung] had an inkling of how much I have suffered on his account and still suffer! … I am ashamed that I have wasted so much time. Courage. Ah, yes—courage.”
***
In 1972, I published Women and Madness. It had one chapter about sex between patient and therapist. Both clinicians and reviewers challenged the information I presented: “These women are making it up. They are mentally ill. How can you believe them?” And: “If anything happened they themselves wanted it to happen, they seduced their therapists and now when things have not turned out their way, they are crying ‘Foul.’ ”
This is exactly what clinicians used to say when female patients alleged incest; exactly what everyone used to say when women alleged rape or sexual harassment. Although I had done interviews and tried to research this subject, I am struck by how little I really knew about the history of this sordid subject among psychoanalysts and their patients.
I did not know how hard Spielrein fought against concepts such as penis envy back in 1912 and that she — not Jung, not Freud — was the one who first proposed the existence of mythic archetypes in the human unconscious and the existence of a death wish which, as she understood it, was about death and rebirth. Spielrein also began to chart the psychological relationship between mothers and daughters, the nature of female sexuality, and the origin of human speech.
Imagine if such work had never been disappeared. Imagine if Spielrein’s brief stint as a patient had not been used forever after to denigrate her as a “crazy” woman who fell in love with her psychoanalyst and “forced” him to cure her via a dangerous method known as the “love cure.”
Sounds shady, doesn’t it? There she was, a 19-year-old probable incest victim, (who was therefore often retroactively diagnosed as a “borderline personality” or as “schizophrenic”), who had experienced a “breakdown” of some kind in response to years of childhood abuse coupled with the recent death of her younger sister—and there he was, at the famed Burgholzli Clinic, the Aryan God-in-formation, who abused his power over Sabina when she was at her most vulnerable. (Granted, Jung himself was only 27 at the time but the power difference between them was real and significant.)
Jung’s was a criminal and extremely unethical act; perhaps it was the act of a selfish sociopath, who took advantage of what psychoanalysts have termed “transference.” Who but a sociopath would propose an openly polygamous union and living arrangement that would include his wife? Sabina wisely, sanely, turned him down. However, this in-patient’s (mis)treatment ended in eight months.
Sells stresses that Spielrein was pronounced “cured,” by none other than Eugen Bleuler. Although her on-and-off-again relationship with Jung continued for some time, both on an outpatient basis and then as a doctoral student, Spielrein put this “love cure”/affair/victimization entirely behind her and went on to obtain a doctorate in psychiatry. Her dissertation adviser was Jung, of course.
Apparently, Jung had a “thing” for Jewish girls. In 1910, Spielrein writes in her diary that “he [Jung] would love a black-complexioned Jewish girl,” and that as much as he wished to remain “close to his religion and culture,” he desired “liberation from his paternal responsibilities in an unbelieving Jewess.”
As Spielrein suspected and as Jung admitted to Freud, “The Jewess [has] popped up in another form, in the shape of my patient [Spielrein].” According to Sells, Jung had had a previous relationship with another Jewish woman. Spielrein intuited that she may be Jung’s “psycho-sexual replacement.”
Taking his eroticized anti-Semitism to a whole new level, Jung confronts Spielrein about why the Jews are marginalized: “… (the Jew) is the murderer of his own prophets, even of his Messiah.”
Here’s how Spielrein responds: “… You accuse us Jews, along with Freud, of viewing our deepest spiritual life as infantile wish fulfillment. To this, I must reply that there is hardly a nation so inclined to see mysticism and the promise of fate (faith?) in the world as the Jewish people.”
Freud relayed to Spielrein: “We are and remain Jews. The others will only exploit us and will never understand or appreciate us.”
***
Jung’s contemporaries refused to blame him, although Freud did. As recently as 2010, John Haule excused Jung’s transgression by invoking John Kerr to normalize it: “Jung was scarcely the only person to become involved with a patient. Gross’ exploits were legendary, Stekel had long enjoyed a reputation as a ‘seducer.’ Jones was paying blackmail money to a former patient, while noted colleague Otto Rank famously began an affair with his patient, Anaïs Nin.” Sells cites my own work on this issue to bolster her argument and I am grateful to her.
Yet Spielrein’s importance is hardly that of a patient, or an “Ever Patient.” She is a psychoanalytic pioneer, whose original ideas were “borrowed” by Jung and Freud, both with and without credit; and whose original ideas about female sexuality, death-and-rebirth, child psychology, and the importance of the mother-daughter relationship were utterly forgotten. As Sells ably demonstrates, Spielrein shifted rapidly away from Jung as a “love interest” as she began to worry about the possibility that he will “steal ideas from the research he has been reading.” Her fears were well-founded.
Spielrein writes:
I must admit that I greatly fear that my friend [Jung], who planned to mention my idea (of archetypes in our collective unconscious, about death-rebirth) in his article in July, saying that I have rights of priority, may simply borrow the whole development of the idea, because he now wants to refer to it as early as January. … How could I esteem a person who stole my ideas, who was not my friend but a petty, scheming rival? … I love him and I hate him.
Freud was careful to credit Spielrein for her idea about the death instinct. Amazingly, the subsequent editors of Freud’s works then systematically dropped Freud’s own crediting of Spielrein. And, in 1912, when members of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society (VPS) discussed this idea, they had to be reminded by Spielrein, who was present and a member, “that this was an idea of hers ‘now in print,’ asserting intellectual ownership on the concept that she previously brought to the VPS in 1911.”
Spielrein dared to disagree with Freud and early on, introduced the concept of “female psychology as existing outside of an unrelated to penis envy.” He said, “No.” And the discussion apparently moved on.
In her lifetime, Spielrein was forced to endure groups of hostile and powerful men in both Vienna and Moscow, who were offended, mortified, by her ideas about female polymorphous eroticism, childhood sexuality, and penis envy. As Sells writes: “As the only woman in the room, Spielrein put forth images and ideas of an embodied eroticism at a time when women’s sexuality was labeled [by Freud] the ‘dark continent’ of psychology, and female orgasms were categorized into two groups: clitoral, or ‘infantile,’ and vaginal, or ‘mature.’ The clitoris itself was equated with an ‘amputated penis,’ its stimulation considered a form of penis envy, and lest a woman achieve satisfaction through ‘penetration,’ she was often diagnosed with a case of frigidity or hysteria. Contrarily, right or wrong, Spielrein here attempts to give voice to the ‘special’ nature of women’s arousal without degrading its manifestation or filtering it through a range of neuroses.”
Spielrein could not earn a living in Vienna, Zurich, or Geneva because she was a woman. In 1923, she was forced to return to Moscow where Stalin allowed her to found the first Psychoanalytic Clinic; she flourished there until the late 1920s when Stalin shut her down because psychoanalytic ideas were “too Jewish.”
Spielrein left Moscow and returned to her hometown where she continued seeing patients quietly. (It was dangerous to do so and the Moscow Psychoanalytic Society had already disbanded). Inevitably, she became impoverished. In rapid-fire order, she lost her three brothers whom Stalin had executed in the Gulag, then her husband, and finally her parents.
Without access to the kind of colleagues, admirers, or students who’d rescued Freud at the last moment (he’d refused to leave Vienna), or who’d rescued major Orthodox Torah scholars—Spielrein was trapped, with neither family nor powerful friends abroad. In 1942, the Nazis murdered her and her two daughters, together with 27,000 other Jews in a two-day massacre in Rostov-on-Don.
Unbelievably, according to Sells, (and she documents this), because Spielrein wrote about the Death Instinct (which she viewed as a theme of death and rebirth), some psychoanalytic scholars have even tried to blame her for her murder at Nazi hands! She wanted it, she invited it, she refused to flee from it … yes, 6 million Jews all wanted to be murdered—and Spielrein is also the Jewish Seductress who tempted and seduced Jung.
It is unbearable that Spielrein’s work was taken and used without crediting her; that her character was defamed by the Great Men who used her ideas without crediting her; and that she was unable to earn a living in Austria and in Switzerland because she was a woman; unable to continue her groundbreaking work in Moscow because she was a Jew; and was, eventually, in 1942, murdered by the Nazis.
In a heroic act of resistance against “memoricide,” Sells has begun Spielrein’s long-overdue resurrection. Angela Sells’ book is a major, perhaps a definitive, feminist contribution to the literature. Someone should make a movie about the real Sabina Spielrein.
***
Like this article? Sign up for our Daily Digest to get Tablet Magazine’s new content in your inbox each morning.
Phyllis Chesler is the author of 18 books including the landmark feminist classics Women and Madness (1972), Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman (2002), and An American Bride in Kabul (2013), which won a National Jewish Book Award. Her new memoir is titled A Politically Incorrect Feminist. She is a founding member of the Original Women of the Wall.In “No Silver Bullet”, Fred Brooks makes an important distinction between accidental complexity and essential complexity. Essential complexity is complexity resulting from the problem domain. For example, a developer building an SMTP client needs to deal with all of the nitty-gritty details of RFC 5321 – there is no way to avoid it and come out with a working SMTP client. On the other hand, accidental complexity is complexity arising from problems we create for ourselves.
As engineers, we need to be very careful not to burden ourselves with accidental complexity arising from our choices. Language choice is a perfect example of the type of decision we can make to reduce accidental complexity. Would you write a web application in assembly? How about C? Of course not! Higher level languages offer us faster and more expressive means of |
, provide free learning resources, teach kids, help build the foundations of digital making in schools, and much more.
Let’s do a bit of spot-the-difference.
There are some other telltale signs: have a close look at the area around the logo on the white lid.
The underside’s a bit off as well:
Please let us know if you find any of these fake cases in the wild. (Some resellers will be carrying fake cases but advertising them with pictures of the real thing, so check your case when it’s in your hands.) And be extra-vigilant, if you’re buying somewhere like eBay, to make sure that you’re purchasing the real thing. We also make a black and grey version of the case, although the pink and white is much more popular. We haven’t seen these cloned yet, but if you spot one we’d like to know about it, as we can then discuss them with the resellers. It’s more than possible that retailers won’t realise they’re buying fakes, but it damages our reputation when something shonky comes on the market and it looks like we’ve made it. It damages the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s pockets too, which means we can’t do the important work in education we were set up to do.EUCLID, Ohio - Amazon plans to bring a second fulfillment center - and 1,000 additional jobs - to Northeast Ohio, replacing another dead shopping mall with an e-commerce hub.
The Seattle-based company finalized a lease Wednesday on a planned 650,000-square-foot building in Euclid, on the site of the empty Euclid Square Mall. The deal coalesced barely a month after Amazon committed to its first such local project, an even larger facility set to open next year in North Randall, where Randall Park Mall once stood.
Editorial: Note to Cleveland team seeking Amazon HQ: Drop everything, offer Burke airport
In its quest to deliver products to customers faster, Amazon is bulking up its presence in Ohio and other states. Two fulfillment centers opened in the Columbus area last year, about 20 miles apart - roughly the driving distance between Euclid and North Randall. And the company recently confirmed plans for a project in Monroe, between Dayton and Cincinnati.
"Our growth in Ohio is the result of an outstanding workforce and incredible customers," Sanjay Shah, Amazon's vice president of customer fulfillment for North America, said in an emailed statement. "We are proud to be adding 1,000 new jobs to the more than 6,000 Amazonians already working in the state."
In both North Randall and Euclid, workers will gather small items such as books, electronics, games and toys, pack them into boxes and ship them off. Schematics for the buildings show raised storage platforms where robots will ferry items to and from shelves. The jobs will be full-time positions, with immediate access to health care and retirement benefits and, later on, educational opportunities largely paid for by the company.
Amazon typically starts hiring six to 10 weeks before a fulfillment center opens. Postings on the Glassdoor jobs website indicate that average hourly pay for fulfillment center associates across the country is just under $12.50.
A spokeswoman wouldn't put a firm timeline on the Euclid project, beyond saying it will be finished in 2019. In an application for property-tax abatement filed with the city this week, the company said the building will be complete during the second quarter of that year.
For Euclid, the development solves the puzzle of what to do with a dead mall, the type of sprawling, complicated property that can become a lingering eyesore. Euclid Square Mall opened in 1977 on a former industrial site. It struggled from the late 1990s until last year, when the city forced a closure due to safety concerns.
"The economic impact for us will be significant," Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail said. "One thousand jobs will truly help our economic base, in terms of our ability to provide key services to our residents. And we're hoping that it continues to spur and attract additional development. We're seeing some really great things happen along that industrial corridor."
Landing Amazon wasn't a fait accompli, even after the publicly traded company inked its deal in North Randall. The local fulfillment-center projects were on parallel tracks, working their way through a cloaked process shepherded by public officials, the chamber of commerce, the state and Team NEO, a regional economic-development organization. And until a lease was signed, nobody was talking.
Seefried Industrial Properties, the Atlanta-based developer behind the North Randall project, has agreements to buy 68 acres spanning Euclid Square Mall and vacant buildings on its fringes from multiple owners. Demolition will start this year, followed by construction in the spring. Euclid City Council recently approved a zoning change from retail to industry.
The Euclid fulfillment center will include 53 truck docks and surface parking for 200 trailers and nearly 1,800 cars. With 1.7 million square feet of floor space spread across three levels, the building will be larger than the mall it supplants. And it will be three-quarters of the size of Amazon's North Randall warehouse.
"The big win here is we do not have to create any substantial new infrastructure," said Vince Adamus, vice president of real estate and business development at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the regional chamber. "Whether you're looking at underground infrastructure or road systems, it's all in place.... And this is really saving us, as a region."
Cuyahoga County could assist with modest street work, such as driveways, turn lanes, road re-striping and installation of new traffic lights. Cuyahoga County Council approved a similar package this week for North Randall. But that's a relatively small investment compared with the costs of building highways ramps and new streets to serve an undeveloped site.
"Over the last two years, we've been laser-focused on creating jobs," Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said in an emailed statement. "So it's very exciting to support a second Amazon distribution center, creating another 1,000 jobs for residents in the county - in addition to the 2,000 jobs at the Randall Park Mall site."
The Euclid building will qualify for 100 percent property-tax abatement for 15 years, under a program that dates back to the 1970s. With abatement, a property owner doesn't pay taxes on the improvements, though the underlying land still generates tax revenues. The value of the abatement isn't clear yet.
Adamus predicted that the project cost will surpass $175 million, including land sales, demolition, construction, equipment and improvements to streets or utilities. "No matter how you look at this, it's a pretty substantial investment," he said.
The state has chipped in to land other Amazon deals. But the Euclid project hasn't appeared yet on an Ohio Tax Credit Authority Agenda. That board met Monday and isn't scheduled to convene again until late October. A spokesman for JobsOhio, a statewide, nonprofit economic-development corporation, wouldn't talk about tax credits or other potential incentives.
"We're working with the company on that, and once a final agreement is executed, we'll make it public," said Matt Englehart, the spokesman.
Amazon shrouds its real estate dealings in secrecy, with the exception of the company's recent headline-generating announcement that it plans to establish a second headquarters somewhere in North America. Cleveland is among scads of cities racing to meet an Oct. 19 deadline to submit a proposal for that project.
Ted Griffith, JobsOhio's managing director for information technology, logistics and distribution, didn't bite in response to a question about whether the state's recent dealings with Amazon might give major Ohio cities a leg up in the headquarters hunt. But relationships don't hurt.
Griffith said the fulfillment-center deals - and other recent e-commerce and logistics projects - speak not only to Ohio's prime location but also to its workforce quality. John Minor, JobsOhio's president and chief executive officer, echoed that belief in a written statement. "Amazon," he said, "continues to demonstrate confidence in Ohio's communities and people by growing throughout the state."There is so much wrongdoing going on at Pima Community College that it makes your head spin.
Keep in mind that if Terri Bennett’s charges are true, employees of PCC did not just violate her civil rights—as if that weren’t bad enough—but they committed crimes.
In 2001, I pioneered the method of approaching educational institutions as crime scenes, and things have only gotten worse since then. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Things will only begin to improve in higher ed, when school officials are perp walked in handcuffs in front of TV cameras, and charged for the crimes they’ve been routinely committing for generations.
I hear you: I’m not holding my breath, either.
Now, let’s look at the case of Pima Community College: What are the odds that the Hispanic students who refuse to speak a word of English know English? In what language are they being tested? How are they being graded? How could they possibly do their jobs correctly? They’ll kill people.
They remind me of the Richmond, California high school honor roll student, with a 3.84 grade point average, Liliana Valenzuela, about whom I wrote in The State of White America – 2007. Miss Valenzuela, a then 18-year-old mother of a three-year-old child in California’s most violent city, couldn’t speak a word of English, and had failed the California High School Exit Exam (CHSEE), yet she thought she was entitled to graduate from high school and go on to nursing school. Passing the CHSEE was a diploma requirement which was enforced for the first time in 2006, to keep people like Valenzuela from graduating.
Valenzuela sued the State of California. Initially, a leftwing judge ruled in her favor and against the CHSEE requirement, but he was fortunately overruled by a higher court. It sounds like Pima Community College should be called Liliana Valenzuela Community College.
About 20 years ago at New Jersey’s Hudson Community College, an elegant Cuban lady of a certain age, whom I had never previously met and whom I would never meet again, approached me one afternoon on my way to the building where I taught. She was concerned about the Economics course she was taking. The class was being given in an English-Spanish mishmash; each concept would be identified in one language, and the content given in the other. She asked me for guidance on what language the test would be given in; I was apologetic but dumbfounded.
Why did the elegant lady feel comfortable approaching a complete stranger with her concerns? That wasn’t the only time that sort of thing happened to me at HCC. I used to unintentionally make a radical statement every day at work: I wore a suit and tie.If you know the name of the app you'd like to download... press one. If you're still using Google TV... press two. [Beep] Yes, that venerable service, Moviefone has been ported to Google TV. Why Google TV? Because it was there, and Moviefone has long since evolved beyond the phone line.
The Google TV version has a different UI than the regular Android app cousin, but that makes sense. The Google TV version is more of a lean back experience. There are bigger thumbnails and navigation more suited to a remote control. Otherwise it's the same basic premise -- It gives you show times, reviews, and clips, but it's on Google TV now.
The app is free, but Google TV devices aren't exactly flying off the shelves right now. Take a look if you are one of the few and proud.During the Friday night Rising Stars Challenge game, TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager spoke with the Thunder’s Kevin Durant. There was a one-on-one battle between Dion Waiters and Tim Hardaway Jr. going on in the game, and KD said he’d like to go one-on-one for a few minutes during Sunday’s main event. Sager asked if that someone was LeBron James? “Probably, yeah, Durantula answered with a smirk.
.@KDTrey5 is clearly ready for #NBAAllStar. Who does he want to go 1-on-1 with on Sunday? – http://t.co/fHCtAIb0IW — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 15, 2014
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Adam Silver popped a bottle of his finest bubbly when he heard Durant’s comments. If our flight gets delayed again (shakes fist at the sky), we’re hitchhiking down to New Orleans.
Will KD or ‘Bron get the better of a one-on-one battle on Sunday?
Follow Spencer on Twitter at @SpencerTyrel.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.Seemingly wounded by Mitt Romney’s critiques of his business acumen, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump put some of his Trump products on display for a national TV audience in what was supposed to be a victory press conference.
Trump spoke from the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida after he was projected to win primaries in Michigan and Mississippi on Tuesday.
Romney questioned the success of Trump’s businesses in a speech last week. But Trump rejected that notion, bringing his own steaks, water, and wine to his press conference in an attempt to prove himself.
“I have very successful companies,” Trump said, knocking Romney’s critiques. “He really shouldn’t have done it. It wasn’t becoming.”
He brought Trump magazines — one of which he tossed to the crowd, “Here take one,” he said.
He brought Trump steaks: “And if you want to take one we’ll charge 50 bucks a steak,” he said.
He also brought wine which came from “the largest winery on the East Coast.”
Here’s a picture of his booth:Intelligentsia's founder, Doug Zell, told us in 2009 that "LA got a later start in terms of the very best coffee can offer, but they seem to be embracing it with the religious zeal of a convert." The conversion didn't happen overnight, but the good word has finally spread.
Coffee aficionados are no longer confined to Espresso Profeta, Caffe Luxxe or Conservatory for Coffee for a decent cup of joe. Over the last two years, "third-wave coffee shops" have opened their doors.
These specialty coffee shops brew small-batch coffee beans, train their baristas in the art of pulling an espresso shot and serve espresso drinks the way they were meant to be enjoyed (read: no 31 ounce coffee monsters here).
Continue Reading
Those who fret at the mere thought of Starbucks buying Peet's need not worry: You can only go up from here. Here are 10 specialty coffee shops (plus two honorable mentions), heading west to east, where you can get a damn good cup of coffee.
[Update: An earlier version of this post stated that LA Mill serves Intelligentsia coffee. That is incorrect. The Silver Lake coffee shop roasts and serves its own beans. And they are very good.]
1. Espresso Cielo: Sure, the stretch of Main Street between Santa Monica and Venice has a few coffee shops (Urth, Peet's-potentially-Starbucks), but keep going towards Venice until you happen upon this blue tinged-shop. It's French by way of Canada. Serving coffee in distinctly blue cups, Espresso Cielo offers coffee from Vancouver's 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, one of the very few cafes outside of Canada to do so.
3101 Main Street, Santa Monica; (310) 314-9999; http://www.espressocielo.com.
2. Balconi Coffee Company: When Cafe Balcony lost its lease in a tucked-away spot at Centinela and Rochester in 2009, broken-hearted lovers of siphon-brewed coffee cried coffee-stained tears. Ray Sato re-opened his coffee shop earlier this year in this new location at Olympic and Sawtelle, much to the relief of his fans. Sato plans to offer a few beans at a time. On a recent visit, he was brewing beans from local roaster Cafecito Organico. Word to the wise: Sato wants to focus on the social aspect of coffee culture, so there is no wifi here. Take that as your sign to disconnect and re-connect.
11301 W. Olympic Blvd #124, Los Angeles; (310) 906-0267; http://www.balconicoffeecompany.com.
3. Coffee Commissary: Coffee Commissary's décor is minimalist, allowing you to focus on the coffee. And what great coffee: one of the few places in LA that offers Portland's Coava Coffee Roasters, the shop also offers coffee from Sightglass Coffee and Victrola Coffee Roasters. Coffee Commissary is located right next to soon-to-open butcher shop Lindy & Grundy, so it'll likely become a two-shop stop when you visit.
801 N. Fairfax Ave., #106, Los Angeles; (323) 782-1465; http://coffeecommissary.com.
4. Farmers' Markets: If you can find Starbucks at Vons, it's only fitting that you can find an artisan coffee stand at your local farmers' market. DripBar is a simple stand: two girls, a coffee cart, a few bags of San Francisco's Blue Bottle Coffee beans and a few Hario V60 cones for pour-overs. Find them at the farmers' market on Crenshaw, in Los Feliz and on the USC campus. Longshot Coffee was started by Mark Baird, who wanted to introduce us to the art of Australian espresso. He primarily caters to Hollywood sets and events, but starting April 7, you'll be able to find Longshot at the Yamashiro Farmers' Market in Hollywood.
5. Cafecito Organico: Cafecito Organico is one of the few coffee shops in LA to source and roast its own coffee. Its beans are carefully selected from sources who engage in sustainable, fair practices. Cafecito has two locations; the second one, on Heliotrope between Scoops and The Bicycle Kitchen, is the more coffee shop-py shop of the two, with plenty of seating. In both locations, the baristas can wax poetic about how South American coffee differs from, say, Indonesian coffee.
534 N. Hoover St., Los Angeles, (213) 537-8367.
710 N. Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, (213) 305-4484. http://www.cafecitoorganico.com.
The counter at Spring for Coffee T. Nguyen
6. Spring for Coffee : To say that Spring for Coffee is small is a bit of an understatement. It's all of 200 square feet, a tenth of the size of the 2,000 square feet CoffeeBar just a few doors away. Where CoffeeBar's generous space invites you to stay, Spring for Coffee understands that you're busy and need to go. Each cup is individually crafted, and you have your pick of coffee, including beans from Portland's Stumptown Coffee Roasters and San Francisco's Ritual Coffee Roasters.
548 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles; (213) 228-0041; http://www.springforcoffee.com.
7. CoffeeBar: CoffeeBar is Intelligentsia without the pretension, Seattle without the rain (present weather excepted). This is is truly a coffee bar: the shop judiciously features multiple roasters so that on any given day, you can have your pick of specialty beans on tap. Recently, the shop had beans from Noble Coffee Roasters, Verve Coffee Roasters and Four Barrel Coffee. Oh, and CoffeeBar happens to have a very rare Slayer espresso machine, an $18,000 beast that, in the hands of the right barista, may give you the best shot of espresso you've ever had.
600 S. Spring St., Los Angeles; http://www.coffeebarla.com.
8. Intelligentsia: With the exception of the aforementioned Espresso Profeta, Caffe Luxxe, and Conservatory for Coffee way over on the Westside, Los Angeles was arguably a coffee wasteland until Chicago's Intelligentsia rolled into Silver Lake. The shop also has locations in Pasadena and Venice. For those who can't make it out to any location (or for those whose conversion is so recent they prefer not to deal with Intelligentsia's often holier-than-thou vibe), The Fix in Echo Park and Paper or Plastik in the Mid-City area all brew Intelligentsia beans.
3922 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, (323) 663-6173.
1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 399-1233.
55 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 578-1270.
http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com.
9. Cognoscenti Coffee: When Yeekai Lim left his pop-up coffee stand at Blue Dot Acai & Yogurt in Eagle Rock and set up shop inside Proof Bakery in Atwater Village, most of his loyal customers followed him -- with good reason. An architect-turned-barista, Lim is almost obsessive about details. Ask for a cortado and talk to him about how he decided which milk to use for his drinks. Cognoscenti brews beans from San Francisco's Four Barrel Coffee.
3156 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles; (323) 664-8633; http://www.twitter.com/cogcoffee.
10. Cafe de Leche: Cafe de Leche is either the harbinger of gentrification or a much needed artisan coffee shop in Highland Park. Brewing beans from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, the shop offers the staples (lattes, macchiatos) as well as neighborhood specials like the horchata con espresso.
5000 York Boulevard, Los Angeles; (323) 551-6828; http://www.cafedeleche.net.
Honorable mentions
Bru Coffee Bar : The coffee shop formerly known as Psychobabble in Los Feliz brews beans from Ritual Coffee Roasters on its La Marzocco machine. The shop is still young, the shots are a bit uneven and the latte art needs work, but give it a few months and it will likely be a contender.
1866 Vermont Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 664-7500; http://brucoffeebar.com.
Gelato Bar: While not strictly focused on coffee (it's called Gelato Bar for a reason), this shop belonging to Gail Silverton (sister of Nancy) acquired a Synesso Cyncra espresso machine in 2009 and procured beans from Sonoma County's Ecco Caffe. The baristas do a fine job with the machine and the coffee. The highlight is when Gail's son, Nik Krankl, is in town and pops up behind the counter. Krankl is an award-winning barista, most recently competing in the Southwest Regional Barista Championship. Keep an eye on Gelato Bar's Facebook page for updates on Krankl's guest shifts.
4342 1/2 Tujunga Ave., Studio City; (818) 487-1717; http://gelatobar-la.com.Iran’s supreme leader warned Wednesday that his regime would retaliate if the United States extends sanctions against Tehran for another decade – putting pressure on the White House as Congress is primed to pass the measure with a probable veto-proof majority.
In remarks to commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a 10-year renewal of U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s energy, banking and defense sectors, which the House approved this month, would violate the nuclear deal struck between Iran and world powers last year.
“The current U.S. government has breached the nuclear deal in many occasions,” Khamenei said, according to remarks published on his website. “The latest is extension of sanctions for 10 years, that if it happens, would surely be against JCPOA, and the Islamic Republic would definitely react to it.”
Khamenei’s statement capped a string of remarks by senior Iranian officials in recent days, all of them warning that Iran will retaliate in some fashion if sanctions are extended and that such a move could spell the end of the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, addressed U.S. officials directly on Tuesday night, saying, “If you extend the sanctions, this will mean kicking the JCPOA away, and we will confront it through implementing powerful technical packages,” he said, according to state-run television.
The warnings put President Barack Obama in a tough spot as Congress prepares to pass the 10-year extension of sanctions that lawmakers in both parties have long been clamoring for.
The House passed the measure by a vote of 419 to 1. The Senate is expected to follow suit next month.
Congressional leaders are also pledging to expand on those sanctions next year with a broader spectrum of punitive measures, including sanctions to address Iran’s recent spate of ballistic missile tests, as well as cyberthreats and cyberespionage activities.
But the White House has resisted the changes – and has not indicated yet whether it will sign off on even the renewal of existing sanctions, which would otherwise expire at the end of the year.
The White House has long argued that the extension of the Iran Sanctions Act is not necessary, as the president has the authority to sanction Iran without the assistance of Congress.
“If Congress wants to put more (sanctions) on the table, then we’ll take a look at what they propose,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Tuesday. “We certainly are not going to, however, sign a piece of legislation that would undermine the ability of the international community to continue to successfully implement the international agreement.”NON SERVIAM – I WILL NOT SERVE YOU
“Worse than enslavement is getting used to it…”
Life in the modern civilized world comprises false representations, false patterns, and false formalities. Formalities that determine our upbringing within a family, our education, our professional career, our relationships, our emotions, our smiles or tears. Patterns that castrate the scope of our perception so that our thoughts are directed onto a moving walkway going only one direction. Representations that disguise the system’s functions and pathogenies so that we see life unfold only on stage, and never wonder what’s hidden backstage. So, the thousands of suicides of desperate debtors is just another statistic among the unpleasant consequences of the economic crisis, the impoverishment of the so-called third world is just an unfortunate fact, and its wounds will heal by charity organizations, the countless dead of modern crusades, the unfortunate victims of the absurdity of war, and the convict slaves in American prisons are simply antisocial elements that provide social services to Democracy.
Prison itself is exile from life; a non-place and non-time behind the screen of a decent society, to make the ugliness that bothers the eyes of reputable citizens unseeable. Prisons are a proof of the perverse intelligence of authoritarian minds. They’re built onto walls echoing the screaming and weeping of thousands of people who’ve learned to sleep with anguish and despair. Prison is the country of captivity, the country where one learns to kneel before the “Forbidden”, a landfill for the disposal of human waste, an industrial dump where the social machine’s hazardous waste ends up. For most people, however, for all those who never learned to doubt, to question, to look beyond the obvious, prison is a security wall necessary to protect their peaceful and quiet life.
It’s certainly hypocritical on the part of a society to display the supremacy of its democratic civilization, its humanitarian values and social sensitivities so vulgarly, when those deemed unfit to exist within the same society are piled up in souls’ warehouses. But it’s infinitely more hypocritical, and infuriating at the same time, to turn these imprisoned existences, these living dead, into a marketable value through a modern and sophisticated slave trade.
Yet this is the reality for nearly 2.5 million inmates in US prisons, whom the modern Empire has turned into slaves. These prisoners-slaves are the lowest caste of social margins. They don’t only experience the cruelty of captivity, but are condemned to lose their human beingness altogether; to become slaves in the modern galleys of American hellholes to the financial benefit of privatized prisons and multinationals that, using part of this dirty money, support election campaigns of various politicians who promise order and security to their voters. In turn, the voters—predefined coefficients in a rigged equation—fulfill their role, and the solution is always obedience. That’s exactly why the happiest slaves are the greatest enemies of freedom.
But there are other slaves who aren’t so happy. They are the “fallen angels” in a society whose authoritarian perversion treats humans as cogs. But these human cogs are slowly turning against this very society. Throughout the US and the prisons in that territory, an increasingly growing whisper starts to spread. On September 9th, this whisper is transformed into an angry cry of freedom, screaming in the face of the almighty corrections system the ancient cry of rebellion: “Non serviam – I will not serve.”
September 9th is a landmark day for inmates in American prisons because 45 years ago, on September 9th 1971, the fire of Attica prison was lit. Nearly 1,500 prisoners rioted, took jailers hostage, and put forward a series of radical demands. Power replied with zero tolerance: four days later, on September 13th 1971, New York state troops stormed and retook the prison. The crackdown took a heavy toll, killing almost 40 (about 30 inmates and 10 hostages) and wounding 89 others. Because of this exact symbolic character, September 9th is a landmark day for the new coordinated prisoner mobilization, too.
Struggles as this one, despite their intermediary nature, are qualitatively upgraded—compared, for example, to strictly personal claims or unionist demands. Because this particular struggle concerns the total abolition of an institution that’s a pillar of repression and economy, social control and the security doctrine policy. Moreover, prisoners are waging a struggle under extreme and multifaceted oppression, so even calling it an intermediate struggle is something that may not eventually apply to the situation. Because forced labor in prisons is an institution that serves the system in many parallel ways. This is precisely the institution that defines a gray-zone status of millions of slaves for a limited or lifetime tenure. The fact that these are humans designated criminals one way or another, legitimizes this gray zone in the eyes of the rest of society, that don’t care to express some moral or values-related objection and, worse still, benefit from its existence. A struggle for the abolition and the denial of such an institution, a fight which also includes a form of sabotage against the interests served by this very institution, is nothing but a barricade of the most basic dignity against the cruelest face of Power. Certainly, this struggle alone will not determine the entirety of the repression policies that domination may adopt. Regardless of its outcome though, this struggle can be a civil disobedience beacon against the system, and the fact that this beacon will owe its strength to all the damned, the outcast, the socially disinherited—who nowadays receive “revolutionary” anathemas on some occasions—has its own special meaning.
Of course, we don’t seek to make any idealization or embellishment of the entirety of prisoners. Being exiled in the country of captivity for several years already, we’ve seen the composition of a prison population up close, and we don’t harbor any illusion whatsoever that they’re deterministically some kind of revolutionary subjects. In most cases, in fact, an abyss of values separates us from other inmates because of their choices or contradictions over the course of their lives. However, being captives ourselves, we cannot but feel the agony of all those prisoners in the US.
Beyond all this, it’s also a lucid political composure that allows us to put aside any differences we feel we may have with the subject of detainees, as these differences are not enough to make us stand indifferent and unmoved in front of the size, the moral implications, the stakes, the historical and political legacy of such a struggle. In other words, our solidarity reflexes haven’t been activated by emotional and experiential criteria only, but also originate in a political consistency. For all these reasons, we feel the need to express our support to the concerted campaign that began inside the US prisons from September 9th onward, during which prisoners deny the role of the slave imposed upon them by the democratic society, and factually demonstrate defiance and disobedience. And, as has been said: “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty.”
The internationalization of this struggle through call outs of prisoners themselves, who ask support from every solidarity initiative, enhances the dynamics of international solidarity in total, making it, even coincidentally, another piece in the mosaic of international solidarity calls such as June 11th or the International Solidarity Week every August. But, for us, it’s not about limiting solidarity to dates marked on the calendar; instead, it’s about highlighting the beauty and authenticity of an informal anarchist coordination. That’s why we’ve endorsed the proposal of ABC Anarchist Solidarity Cell, to coordinate solidarity gestures on an International Solidarity Day (October 1st), as we believe their call out contributes to this direction.
Finally, we want to send our warm greetings to all anarchists and all politicized prisoners willing to be part of this struggle, regardless of their reasons for doing so.
PS: Words are sometimes not enough to capture all the intensity of one’s emotions in certain circumstances. The truth is we were struck at the news that the filth of the Italian counter-terrorism unit (DIGOS) launched yet another anti-anarchist attack against comrades in Italy, under the imaginative name “Scripta Manent” (written words remain). Raids, house searches, persecutions, suspect lists, arrests, pretrial detentions…
Once again the target of repression is the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI), but now they remembered to dig up cases concerning the placement of explosive devices back in 2006 and 2007. Anna Beniamino, Marco Bisesti, Emiliano Danilo Cremonese, Valentina Speziale and Alessandro Mercogliano passed the prison threshold, while a new detention order was issued against our incarcerated brothers Alfredo Cospito and Nicola Gai, members of FAI’s Olga Cell (that claimed responsibility for the shooting of Roberto Adinolfi, the chief executive of Ansaldo Nucleare). In a separate investigation, during a house search where police found an electrician’s manual and some batteries, another comrade, Daniele Cortelli, who’s active in Croce Nera Anarchica (Italian Anarchist Black Cross), was charged with possessing materials for potential manufacture of explosive devices, and then sent to custody, too. We may be familiar with the notion of captivity, but we will never be able to accept the bad news of comrades’ arrest, no matter how far they are, without feeling tightness in our heart. Our thoughts are with them and everyone else who’ve abruptly entered into a new chapter in their life—the prison chapter.
Finally, we send our warmest salute to our brother Alfredo Cospito. On August 30th 2016, with complete disregard for any consequences, he smashed the glass partition window of the visitations room in the security wing of Ferrara prison in solidarity with the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire in Greece, after the 115-year prison sentence that was recently imposed on all of its imprisoned members.
Comrade, your act brightened our hearts and filled us with emotion. Such fraternal gestures prove the real beauty of authentic anarchist solidarity. We wish you strength to go through whatever might come next.
The Conspiracy of Cells of Fire members:
Haris Hadtzimihelakis
Theofilos Mavropoulos
Damianos Bolano
Panagiotis Argirou
Giorgos Nikolopoulos
Michalis Nikolopoulos
September 12th 2016
Korydallos prison (Athens, Greece)
(via Contra Info)Environment Minister Alan Kelly has given Irish Water consent to borrow a further €550m from commercial banks - but is refusing to say what interest rate the utility company is being charged because it is "commercially sensitive".
Environment Minister Alan Kelly has given Irish Water consent to borrow a further €550m from commercial banks - but is refusing to say what interest rate the utility company is being charged because it is "commercially sensitive".
This year's additional loans will bring Irish Water's borrowing so far to €850m to establish the company, meet initial running costs and invest in water services, including the installation of water meters.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the commercial bankers behind the €550m loans were AIB, Barclays, BNP Paribas, BOI, Danske, HSBC, Ulster, Royal Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Canada.
At the time, informed market sources were reported to have said that the company was likely to have secured the financing at "very competitive rates" of less than 1.75pc.
However, since then the Government has altered the financial model behind Irish Water with a result that the interest rate is now likely to be significantly higher.
The issue has emerged at a time when serious questions have been raised over Irish Water's potential income stream following the disclosure last week that just 46pc of households have paid water charges in the first three months of the year.
Irish Water, which began billing people for water in January, has confirmed that it has collected €30.5m when it has been estimated it had hoped to collect €66.8m in the period concerned.
Mr Kelly has said he is "very, very satisfied" and "very happy" at the rate of water charge payment and a spokeswoman for Irish Water said it "represents a solid start" for the company.
However, anti-water charge campaigners were buoyed by the information and intend to renew their campaign against the charge and company.
Earlier this year, Mr Kelly gave approval for Irish Water to "enter into a number of committed facilities" with commercial banks totalling €550m.
In a letter to Fianna Fail's environment spokesman Barry Cowen last week, sent shortly before the Dail adjourned for summer, Mr Kelly said the interest rate was "commercially sensitive" as Irish Water was currently in negotiations to take on "further debt facilities." Such further borrowings are expected to take the Irish Water total debts to over €1bn.
In his letter to Mr Cowen, Mr Kelly confirmed that Irish Water had been given approval to borrow €250m in 2013, which was subsequently increased to €300m in 2014. That total €300m loan facility was between Irish Water and the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF).
In a Dail exchange with Mr Cowen last month, Mr Kelly was unable to confirm the interest rate on those €300m loans, |
forth the modern concept of a paradigm shift, dramatic change doesn’t happen when people in a field come up with new answers. Rather, the shift occurs because people are drawn to new examples — newly noticed phenomena — that lead them to ask new questions.
Illustration by John Hersey
So if we want to know where management thinking is going, perhaps it is most useful to look for the questions that people are not quite yet asking. Some of them may be surfacing now, seemingly out of nowhere. They may seem impractical or irrelevant. They may come from out of left field (or distant center or right field, for that matter). But sooner or later, they will likely strike us as the self-evident questions that we should have been asking all along.
As editor-in-chief of strategy+business since 2005, it has been my job — and pleasure — to forage for those kinds of inquiries. Here are four significant questions I think may preoccupy the person (or computer) who holds this post 20 years hence:
· How do organizational habits and individual habits affect each other? Cognitive neuroscience is leading us to understand that people are shaped by what they do every day; in fact, patterns of thinking literally reinforce neural patterns in the physical brain. This means that the daily predispositions of a leader, and the processes and practices built into the design of the back office and the assembly line, probably affect one other. But what is that effect, how can we quantify it, and how can we more precisely and beneficially adjust it to achieve better goals? I suspect part of the answer lies in the way that diverse professionals interact in large enterprises. An engineer, seeking to put the pieces of a technology together, develops very different cognitive habits than a financier, who is oriented toward tracking and deploying capital; and they too are different from line leaders engaged in mobilizing and motivating highly skilled people. When these cultures mix at different levels of the enterprise, including the top level, what kinds of practices become collective habits, ingrained in everyone’s brain — and what practices fall by the wayside? Can that be predicted?
· What is the nature and value of organizational maturity? The dangers of bureaucratic ossification are well known, and experts like Geoffrey West (and Arie de Geus before him) have documented the relatively short life span of the typical enterprise. Cities live for centuries; most businesses fail or are bought after 40 or 50 years. Today, many of the businesses we most admire (or fear, depending on your perspective) tend to be startups that have grown from a garage into gargantuan market caps in a decade or less. But that rate of “Godzilla-style” growth, as Kenichi Ohmae once dubbed it, also makes them prone to crash and burn. How then does a company reach the level of maturity that allows it to continue to grow and thrive, innovating and employing people indefinitely? Or, taking a shareholder’s perspective, is maturity unnecessary in companies? Would we be better off with untrammeled creative destruction, with each new Godzilla rapidly replacing the ones that came before? How would we know in advance which type of management, adolescent or mature, is better for a company?
Would we be better off with untrammeled creative destruction, with each new Godzilla rapidly replacing the ones that came before?
· How do flows of capital and management prowess affect each other — in a way we can reliably understand? For instance, we should be looking into the effect that truly fungible capital has on the ways that investment takes place, on the returns it generates, and on the ways it affects business. Digital currencies like bitcoin and practices like day trading have shown that capital is no longer bound to the community where it is generated. And even before those developments, there was a molten pool of hot money moving rapidly around the world, flooding into whichever region seemed to offer the prospect for rapid returns. As soon as hot money arrives, however, it competes with itself. The prospect for returns rapidly diminishes, and the quick-moving cash often leaves devastation in its wake. The constantly changing dynamics between investment and enterprise weren’t well understood before. How will they evolve now?
· What is the ideal form of regulation? Ten years ago, in these pages, pollster Daniel Yankelovich argued that rules alone would not curb corporate behavior. It would take norms. Now, however, it’s clear that norms are not enough. In companies that bend the rules to their short-term gain and long-term detriment — whether the rule-bending surrounds measuring emissions, or setting LIBOR, or underwriting mortgages — there is usually a norm at play: Don’t send bad news up the hierarchy. Don’t walk into the offices of important people and tell them that what they want to happen will not happen. Short-term fears and concerns (including but not limited to stock price rises) trump long-term value creation. We don’t understand the interaction of rules and norms well enough — not well enough to design regulatory regimes that truly engender good behavior without hobbling innovation. Not yet, anyway.
Having better answers to these questions would enable more profitable, sustainable, and socially useful business activity. But other unvoiced questions will shape the direction of management thinking. And we’ll do our best to cover them, as cogently and creatively as we can, in the next 20 years of strategy+business.It's amazing to think Edson Barboza is a UFC veteran of six years. Before his recent run, the Brazilian had been penned by many as a guy who always delivered exciting fights, but not someone who could consistently beat the best of the best in the UFC's lightweight division.That all seems to have changed now. Barboza's recent run of three wins out of his last four has given him a legitimate chance of being considered for a lightweight title shot. With victories against Paul Felder, Anthony Pettis and last night Gilbert Melendez on his recent record, who could possibly deny him?Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his win against Melendez last night, Barboza was glad to have gotten through a tough battle. He's fully in the belief that his time is now."That was a dangerous 15 minutes," Barboza told UFC.com. "I tried to keep my hands up, and my corner said to be ready for 15 minutes, because he can be very dangerous. If I gave him one opportunity he could have finished the fight."I have a couple of guys ahead of me in the rankings but I feel now is the time. I'm ready to get this belt and I'm ready to fight five rounds. That was my fourth co-main event—please give me the chance to fight five rounds. I am ready for this."Should he go on to fight for the title, it would mean he would have to face his Blackzilians teammate Eddie Alvarez for the belt if he remains the champion. The Brazilian seemingly wasn't letting that occupy his mind last evening."I don't think about this," Barboza said. "Eddie is my friend you know. We were asked to fight one another a few years ago, but I said no and he said no. I think right now, I am really close to him, and he's helped me a lot for this fight. He's fought with Gilbert; he's fought with Pettis. He's my friend, you know. I really hope the fight is never going to happen, because I like him—he's my friend."'Zootopia': A Nimble Tale Of Animal Instincts And Smart Bunnies
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios Courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios
The wild and furry landscape of Zootopia, Disney's new self-contained world of talking animals, is a remarkable place. In this land, mammals have evolved beyond their traditional predator/prey relationship to form a fully functioning society. Their capital city, Zootropolis, is an intricate network of a dozen ecosystems, from a rainforest to a frozen tundra, and residents of all sizes and species are integrated into daily life. This, as our intrepid bunny hero Officer Judy Hopps constantly asserts, is a place "where anyone can be anything."
And Zootopia is a movie that can be anything, whether that's a succession of adorable rabbit jokes, a buddy-cop (bunny-cop?) flick for the tots, or—this is the big surprise—a remarkably prescient allegory of our time that comments on prejudice, urbanism, tokenism, politics and the role of the police in today's society. It's got the cuteness and childlike creativity you expect from Disney, while the story has some real bite for the adults. And if you needed more convincing, Shakira voices a Shakira-like pop star named "Gazelle," who is a gazelle, and whose backup dancers are shirtless tigers.
Even with three directors and more "screenplay" and "story" credits than you can shake a carrot at, the film doesn't feel cobbled together from spare parts. Instead, it tells a clear and engaging narrative about Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), an idealistic but naive newcomer to Zootropolis who fulfills a lifelong dream to become the first "bunny officer" on the police force. Leaving behind her mom, dad and 275 brothers and sisters in Bunny Borough, Hopps arrives in town with open arms, but receives only big-city dream busting: a bullheaded police chief (Idris Elba, as an actual bull) who has her write parking tickets all day; unconscious bigotry from co-workers who demean her as "cute"; and the run-around from a con artist fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), whose schemes remain one step ahead of the law.
But Hopps stamps her feet and declares, "I'm not just a token bunny," and suddenly we see the true promise of Zootopia. It may be approximately the 321st Disney movie about talking animals, but the film is exhilaratingly fresh: an irreverent product of our current era and an unmistakable satire of race relations. Dig the way Hopps condescends to her new fox friend by calling him "articulate," or the speculation that the mayor of Zootropolis (a lion voiced, naturally, by J.K. Simmons) hired a woolly assistant because he "needed the sheep vote." Over the course of investigating a missing otter, Hopps and Wilde—at first a reluctant partner, but later revealing a softer side—uncover a vast government conspiracy to pit predator against prey once more, by using the tried-and-true weapon of prejudice. Years of harmony between rival species are suddenly under threat, thanks to rushed assumptions about "biology."
This makes the film sound about as heavy as an elephant-sized popsicle, which couldn't be further from the truth. Zootopia nimbly turns its subject matter into a great deal of fun, with riffs about animal "nudists" and a goofy Godfather parody featuring a Marlon Brando shrew. The colors are bright, the animation is crisp and the design elements of Zootropolis itself are clever and future-perfect, everything we wanted from that other recent big-budget attempted Disney utopia, Tomorrowland.
It wasn't until late in Zootopia's development that Disney elected to make Hopps the focus of the story over Wilde, but it was a wise decision: her spunky farm-girl personality is a throughline we readily identify with, as with Rey in the new Star Wars. Hopefully the merchandising team will make some toys featuring their heroine this time around. And with any luck, soon Hopps can get busy investigating the other great mysteries of Zootropolis, such as what happened to all the non-mammalians, and what the heck do predators eat if not their natural prey?
If Zootopia becomes fortunate enough to fall into Frozen-style heavy rotation for kids of a certain age, its messages of rejecting prejudice and embracing the complicated nature of multiculturalism could do some good for the world. Just be prepared for the invasion of a new "Let it Go"-style earworm, courtesy of Shak— er, Gazelle.The European Union has made its Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-EU) a permanent institution. The announcement was made on Twitter by EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes and came before even the existing pilot project's staff were informed. The emergency response team handles the network security of all EU institutions including the European Court of Justice and the European Central Bank.
The CERT has repeatedly been called to action, for example when hackers launched attacks on EU web sites during a dispute around the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and after break-ins by data-hungry Chinese hackers. According to Antony Gravili, the spokesperson of the responsible EU Commissioner, Maroš � efčovič, the greatest threat to EU networks comes from hackers who steal information on a commercial basis. Their methods and tools are a challenge to all major organisations worldwide, said Gravili, adding that the international cooperation between CERTs is, therefore, crucial and that CERT-EU will play a major contributing role.
However, CERT-EU is currently offering a rather limited service: "Opening times: 09:00-17:00, Mondays to Fridays", says the official information brochure. Apparently, incoming emails are only monitored by a duty officer during these times. Furthermore, two of the previous ten staff are leaving the team, including the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) expert. When asked about the staff members who are leaving, Gravili promised that there will be replacements. In terms of the "opening times", the spokesperson didn't want to commit, simply saying that "CERT-EU will expand its resources based on requirements".
(djwm)Japan -- Proper DNA inheritance is essential for healthy cell growth and division. The same goes for the genetic material found in chloroplasts: the energy centers of all plant cells.
Chloroplast genomes -- likely vestiges of ancestral bacteria -- are organized into DNA-protein complexes called nucleoids. While significant work has been done to understand the dynamics of DNA in the nuclei of plant cells, little is known about the dynamics of chloroplast nucleoids.
Now Yusuke Kobayashi and Yoshiki Nishimura of Kyoto University, Osami Misumi of Yamaguchi University, and other collaborators have isolated and characterized a protein in chloroplasts that is essential for proper nucleoid segregation. Their findings were published recently in the journal Science.
"To understand the dynamics of chloroplast nucleoids, we focused on their behavior during chloroplast division in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii," explains Nishimura.
"We screened about 6,000 specimens with random mutations in their DNA and then isolated the ones with defective nucleoid segregation."
One of these mutants was found to have a defect in a gene the team calls moc1, for "Monokaryotic Chloroplast 1". The chloroplasts in this mutant possessed only a single nucleoid, and showed unequal segregation during chloroplast division. A homologous moc1 gene was then found in a land plant commonly used for research, Arabidopsis thaliana. When mutated, the researchers discovered that these organisms exhibit growth defects and abnormal nucleoid segregation.
After extensive analysis of this new gene, the team discovered that moc1 functions as a chloroplast-specific 'Holliday junction resolvase', which Nishimura continues, "is very important in untangling a DNA structure called Holliday junctions. These genes have never been found in chloroplasts, until now."
Continuing with their study, the researchers successfully visualized the activity of moc1 on Holliday junctions through the use of high-speed atomic force microscopy and DNA origami technology. They observed moc1 binding to the core of Holliday junctions and cutting them symmetrically.
The team's discovery improves understanding of the highly complex structures maintaining chloroplast DNA, whose proper functioning is essential for good cell health.
###
The paper "Holliday-junction resolvases mediate chloroplast nucleoid segregation" appeared 12 May 2017 in Science, with doi: 10.1126/science.aan0038Stepping up its battle against much-reviled (but effective) ‘clickbait’ headlines in its newsfeed, Facebook has instituted an algorithm that weeds out the worst
Facebook wants to stop clickbait. (And you won't believe how they're doing it)
Facebook is escalating its war on “clickbait” headlines by instituting a new system on its newsfeed that will weed out misleading and exaggerated headlines the same way that email spam filters weed out fantastic offers to help Nigerian princes recover their lost fortunes.
The tweaks to the algorithm, announced today in a blog post, will de-prioritize posts with headlines that “withhold information required to understand what the content of the article is and headlines that exaggerate the article to create misleading expectations”.
The blog post listed three examples of clickbait headlines: “When She Looked Under Her Couch Cushions And Saw THIS… I Was SHOCKED!”; “He Put Garlic In His Shoes Before Going To Bed And What Happens Next Is Hard To Believe”; and “The Dog Barked At The Deliveryman And His Reaction Was Priceless.”
The changes mark the second attempt by the social network to crack down on the much-reviled but nevertheless effective strategies publishers employ to coax readers to click on their content.
Facebook's dominance in journalism could be bad news for us all Read more
In August 2014, Facebook announced changes to its newsfeed that took into account the amount of time people spent on an article, penalizing publishers who used the Upworthy-style “curiosity gap” to garner clicks.
“If [users] click through to a link and then come straight back to Facebook, it suggests that they didn’t find something they wanted,” the company said then.
The new update is based on publishers’ behavior, rather than the users.
Facebook analyzed tens of thousands of headlines, deeming as “clickbait” those that intentionally withhold important information and those that use exaggeration to mislead the reader.
Publishers who “consistently” post content with clickbait headlines will be penalized with lower placement in the newsfeed. If publishers stop using clickbait headlines, they will no longer be negatively impacted by the changes.
Facebook’s announcement was immediately the subject of headlines – many of them jokingly clickbait-y – by the digital publishers that rely on the social media for a significant proportion of their traffic.One of these symbols I drew on my arm is a lie. With Those We Love Alive tells you to draw icons on your body to represent key choices and reactions, see, which is a lark until you realise you’re marking and changing yourself in response to cruel and oppressive things. One icon represents something I like to think about myself, but know isn’t true. I stared at that lie a lot the next day.
With Those We Love Alive is a free Twine game by Porpentine, a moving visit to a mundanely monstrous world. Her writing is so carefully measured, vivid yet small bursts, and a soundtrack by Brenda Neotenomie wraps the world around you. It is a beautiful and terrible game.
In a world filled with dead people, you’re pressed into the service of a Empress who’s literally monstrous. Her introduction, rising from black waters – “Her larval skin floats across the lake like the carcass of a pale leviathan” – sets the tone for a world where things are nightmarish but no one bats an eyelid. Horrors, violence, and death are everyday.
You stay at her palace, tasked with crafting weapons and ornaments, but have freedom to explore the grounds and the city beyond. With a handful of words, Porpentine creates space for a world that’s wild and fantastical yet broken and defeated. It’s exciting to explore at first, watching life go by at the canal, wandering streets, visiting temples, and walking the palace gardens, but soon you’ve seen it all. Then you’re just there, isolated and alone, waiting for something to happen. The game runs on a day cycle, see, advancing when you sleep.
Days go by and you start barely getting out of bed because everything else seems pointless. New places open up, you sample lurid dream drugs, and you get to see more of the world from afar, but the novelty wears off. It’s a sad world where people cling to whatever they can or simply give up.
You’re waiting for someone to make a demand of you, to ask for your attention, your presence, or your skills. You can express yourself a little with the weapons you create for the Empress, choosing the materials – angel leather, blood-watered wood and other spooky materials – then inscribing and wrapping them, but they end up unused on the wall of her throne room. You start to sleep again. And then Things happen. I won’t spoil it, but the mundanity is broken, and you find hope of being who you want to be.
It’s a game about how we create ourselves in the space we’re allowed by society, and how we respond to its demands and the many forms of violence that surround us. It’s about the roles we have to play, and the choices other people make for us. It’s about complicity and complacency. It’s about abandoning hope and finding it. It’s about the routines and demands of bodies. It’s about being so, so tired. (A trans allegory runs through it all, but it feels weird to explicitly state that.) And, at key points, we have to draw our reaction to these things somewhere on our body with an icon of our own creation. By the end, we’re marked with the decisions we’ve made. It’s a fun excuse to draw spooky sigils on yourself, but feeling the pen tip pressing to your flesh and later seeing your identity on you is powerful. I stared a lot at the lie I tell myself about the kind of person I am, about how good I think I am and how good I wish I were.
I found it awfully moving. Porpentine’s careful language and the melancholy soundtrack invited me to fill in the rest of its world with mine. I can close my eyes and see the canal and the rat kids scratching for lungfish, snatches of London, Paris, and, curiously, Dark Souls.
Here’s how my arm ended up. I ran out of space and moved onto my palm then my fingers:
[Porpentine used to have a column on RPS. It was really good.]Lesser-paid special constables — not just police officers — should be permitted to direct traffic, and Toronto council should ask the province to make the legislative changes necessary to permit it, city staff say in a new report. “City staff suggest that police powers should not be a prerequisite for directing traffic, and that other persons with appropriate training could fulfill the function safely and in a more cost-effective manner,” says the report.
The province sees no legislative barriers to using civilians to direct traffic, says a report on Toronto's paid-duty program. ( Carlos Osorio / Toronto Star )
That’s one of several recommendations in the report on the city’s cops-for-hire paid-duty program. It is on the agenda of next Monday’s executive committee meeting. The province has already indicated “they see no legislative barriers” to the use of special constables,” the report states. But reform in Toronto’s costly use of paid-duty officers is a long time coming.
Article Continued Below
For years, along with calls to rein in the $1-billion-plus police budget, critics have questioned why highly paid and trained officers should receive extra money to guard construction sites, Blue Jays’ games, movie sets or special events when they’re off duty. There is always pushback from the Toronto Police Association. “The reason you have police officers is because they’re trained professionals, you have a police officer presence; risk, as far as insurance coverage, you have a professional out there,” TPA president Mike McCormack said Monday. McCormack said the recommendations are a “smokescreen to get at on-duty policing and create two-tier policing.” Indeed, for cash-strapped municipalities, there is a growing appetite for a two-tiered model. The Durham Regional Police Services Board recently wrote to the province asking it to allow more police work to be outsourced to civilians.
Related: Police to publicly report paid-duty earnings to Sunshine List In 2011, Toronto police rejected then city auditor general Jeff Griffiths’ advice to consider creating a separate traffic authority, similar to what exists in Vancouver. There, cheaper special constables perform authorized duties, primarily directing traffic at special events.
Article Continued Below
Retired from city hall, Griffiths is now a member of the task force that is supposed to transform the Toronto Police Service — and cut its ballooning cost, driven upward mostly by salaries and benefits. Last year, Toronto Police added 500 more names to the provincial “sunshine list,” racking up 4,645 officers who earned more than $100,000 in 2015. In the past, the police union, which sets paid-duty rates — $68 an hour for a minimum of three hours — has cited the Highway Traffic Act as the reason only sworn officers can direct traffic. But the new report says city staff have received a legal opinion that the HTA “may not be an impediment” and special constables could be appointed “with the authority to direct traffic in temporary situations under the HTA.” Last year, a total of 3,132 officers received $25.5 million from paid-duty work, $1.49 million coming from the budgets of city divisions and agencies, such as Toronto Water, Transportation Services, Toronto Transit Commission and Economic Development and Culture. However, the cost to taxpayers could also be higher, because “the TPS (Toronto Police Service) collects limited information about the paid-duty requestors,” some of whom might neglect to mention they are working for the city, the report says.As my colleague Olga Khazan has written, a subsequent analysis by the Commonwealth Fund found that things like heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory disease were contributing to some of the increased mortality among middle-aged Americans. There are now 30 million Americans living with diabetes, more than three times the number living with the disease in the early 1990s. And a recent study has suggested that diabetes might be more of a factor in American mortality than was previously thought—perhaps the third leading cause of death in America, after cancer and heart disease. (Diabetes is prone to under-counting because the official cause of death is often something else.) Obesity and diabetes have been shown to disproportionately affect people with a high-school education or less—the same group who are disappearing from the labor force.
“Obesity and diabetes are disabling, and they are one explanation for reduced labor-force participation,” Andrew Stokes, a Boston University professor and one of the authors of the diabetes study, told me.
Indeed, of the half a dozen men (and one woman) in North Carolina I talked to who had dropped out of the labor force, many told me of physical challenges that have made it difficult to work a regular job. Charles Lucas, 52, said that he had worked in fast food for a decade until his body got to a place where he could no longer stand. He’s had a few heart attacks, he told me, wheezing as he stood in line to apply for disability benefits. He’s been rejected for disability before. “I don’t know what I could do anymore” for work, he told me. He lives with his father, who gets Social Security.
John Crain, 43, used to work in construction, until alcoholism, divorce, and a death in his family led him to drop out of the workforce. Crain, who is currently homeless, is trying to get his life back together, but spends most of his days holding a sign by the side of the road asking for money. (He makes about $50 a day, he said.)
What is making men sicker than they used to be? I had thought it might be that the difficult jobs worked by Americans over their lifetimes might have worn them down physically, especially after I talked to Sandra White, 49. She could barely walk, and has had multiple surgeries on her back. She spent most of her life waiting tables and doing cleaning jobs on construction sites. The work has impacted her body, she told me. “It’s strenuous work, and it took a toll on my back,” she said.
But Krueger says that jobs are less physically demanding than they used to be, and so it doesn’t make sense that jobs would now be exacting a worse toll. What’s more, he said, workplaces have gotten safer over time, so Americans should be experiencing fewer work-related ailments.
What’s changed may be how people have reacted to pain, he said. Before, they worked through it. Now, they go to their doctors and get on pain medications. Doctors may be prescribing these pain medications too frequently: Recent studies have shown that doctors who prescribe opioids are more likely to have patients that use the drugs chronically.This year could be worst ever for melt as data shows average sea ice extent for last month was more than half a million square kilometres smaller than the previous record of May 2012
Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest ever May extent, prompting fears that this year could beat 2012 for the record of worst ever summer sea ice melt.
Data published by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) this week showed average sea ice extent for last month was more than 500,000 sq km (193,000 sq miles) smaller than May 2012.
The extent of sea ice in the Arctic is one of the key indicators of global warming, and the new findings have been greeted with concern by scientists. Although it is too early to say whether this summer’s ice extent will be the lowest recorded, if current projections follow the course of previous years then it will be at least one of the lowest ever.
Snow cover in the northern hemisphere was the lowest in 50 years in April, the NSIDC said, and Antarctic sea ice was below average for the time of year.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Monthly May Arctic sea ice extent for 1979 to 2016 shows a decline of 2.6% per decade. Photograph: NSIDC
Warm air from Siberia and northern Europe were blamed for the decline in Arctic sea ice, which is consistent with predictions of climate change. The Arctic has warmed much faster than other regions, and the loss of sea ice is viewed as a measure of how much we are affecting the world’s climate.
Melting sea ice does not raise sea levels, because the ice is floating, but has a strong effect on the earth’s albedo – the reflectivity of the poles and other snow and ice covered areas. Ice and snow reflect some of the sun’s heat back into space, but when they retreat the dark areas remaining absorb more heat. This exacerbates existing warming effects, such as the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
In addition, melting sea ice in the Arctic is often a good indicator that land ice and snow – such as that which covers Greenland – is also melting, and land-based ice does contribute to sea level rises.
The NSIDC cautioned that current sea ice estimates were “tentative”, but added that they were “supported by other data sources”. The extent of sea ice will be closely watched this summer, as the lowest point of the year comes in September as the Arctic summer draws to a close.
Jonathan Bamber, professor of physical geography at Bristol University, told the Guardian: “We have already seen an unusually early start to melting around the margins of Greenland in 2016 and the new findings from NSIDC of exceptionally low sea ice extent for May and the lowest northern hemisphere snow cover for 50 years is in line with the longer term decadal trends for the Arctic as a whole. The region is undergoing warming at around twice the global average, and the ice is responding accordingly.”
Temperatures in the Arctic last winter were up to 10C above the average for 1981 to 2010, said Chris Rapley, professor of climate science at University College London. He also highlighted the reduction in thickness of the ice, which is another key indicator of climate change.
“The impacts on the Arctic ocean and land systems are transformational, creating huge problems for [people who live there] who on the basis of their traditional knowledge confirm that the climate system has already shifted well outside the bounds they have previously experienced. The situation is [also] changing the circulation patterns and behaviours of the atmosphere and oceans,” he said
The reduced extent of this summer’s ice is also a hangover from last winter, when sea ice was unusually slow to form because of higher temperatures in the surrounding oceans, according to Dr Finlo Cottier, senior lecturer in polar oceanography at the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
“This [slow formation of winter ice] leads to thinner ice that can break up more easily,” said Cottier. “The results also highlight the increasing significance of wind in deforming and breaking the sea ice cover.”
Sea ice extent in the last winter was at its smallest extent for winter since records began in 1979, data published in March showed.
Research by the campaigning group Greenpeace, published this week, suggests that melting ice in the Arctic may also alter weather patterns in the northern hemisphere, contributing to wetter summers in some areas and colder, stormy winters.How long does it take for a startup to go from $100 million to $0? If you are Secret, the anonymous social networking app, the answer is 10 months.
Co-founder David Byttow announced in a blog post Wednesday that he was shutting down the 16-month-old company because "Secret does not represent the vision I had when starting the company." The news comes 10 months after the company raised $25 million from marquee investors at a valuation of $100 million. In all, Secret raised $35 million from the likes of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures, Google Ventures and Repoint Ventures.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
"This has been the hardest decision of my life and one that saddens me deeply," Byttow wrote.
Not all money is lost. In the blog post, Byttow said he would spend the next two weeks winding down the company "gracefully." He said Secret still has a significant amount of capital which he and the board decided to return to investors rather than to use to attempt a "pivot."
"Innovation requires failure, and I believe in failing fast in order to go on and make only new and different mistakes," he wrote. Byttow promised to eventually publish postmortems "so that others can learn from the unique mistakes and challenges we faced and the wisdom gained from such an incredible 16 months."
Not all the money Secret raised went into building the company. In an unusual move, Byttow and co-founder Chrys Bader, sold part of their stake in the company for $6 million last year. According to The New York Times, Byttow used some of the money to buy a Ferrari, which he, apparently, no longer owns.Today we announce that DOTA 2 player Aui_2000 aka Kurtis Ling has been released from our organisation. Kurtis and Team Dignitas Ltd have agreed a mutual financial settlement in order to release Aui_200 from his existing contract with our team. We wish him well and good luck in his future professional gaming exploits.
"I entered the DotA2 scene with team potm bottom in March of 2012. We had a very good run through that summer and as a result we had a few sponsorship offers. We declined them all because we wanted to wait for a sponsor that was right for us--one that would work with us and help us succeed. Then we made contact with Team dignitas. We were all relatively new to the DotA2 scene and none of us had ever even been to a LAN. Team dignitas held our hand, invited us into their family, and helped us a grow as a team--I do not think I could have asked for a better first sponsor experience. Unfortunately the time to depart has come. I would like to thank Team dignitas for taking us in and in particular our manager dignitas.monolith and the sponsors who made it possible to attend lans and play professional. Thank you to all the fans who supported us on the dignitas dota2 team."
Kurtis Ling aka Aui_2000Native American leaders vowed on Saturday to protest through the winter against a North Dakota oil pipeline they say threatens water resources and sacred lands and are weighing lawsuits over police treatment of arrested protesters.
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II said he and other tribal leaders were working on providing food, heat and shelter for protesters opposed to the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline.
“We’re just working through some technical details as far as where the land is, and the type of land that can be used for some permanent structures,” Archambault, who was flanked by Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier, told reporters in Mandan, North Dakota.
At least 10 shelters were being readied on tribal land against temperatures that can fall below -35 Fahrenheit (-37 Celsius) for days at time, he said.
“Let’s reroute the pipeline. It doesn’t have to put our water at risk,” said Archambault, who was flanked by Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier.
Opponents of the pipeline scheduled an afternoon rally at the state capitol in Bismarck against the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) pipeline being built by companies led by Energy Transfer Partners LP. It would offer the fastest route to bring Bakken shale oil from North Dakota to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.
The project has drawn opposition from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, as well as environmental activists, who say it threatens water supplies as well as sacred tribal sites. More than 400 protesters have been arrested since Aug. 10.
Archambault said his tribe may pursue a class action over police tactics on Thursday. Officers in riot gear swept through a protester camp on private land using pepper spray, bean bag rounds and an audio cannon against demonstrators who refused to leave. At least 142 people were arrested on Thursday and Friday.
The Morton County Sheriff’s Department has said some protesters set fire to roadblocks and threw rocks, bottles and homemade gasoline bombs at officers.
Frazier said elderly women had been pepper-sprayed and some detainees had been held in dog kennels.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Donnell Preskey said the state Department of Corrections had inspected and approved the holding area for those arrested.
Detainees had been sent to jails around the state, and many had been released after promising to appear in court, she said. Preskey said the protest site was quiet on Saturday.
The U.S. government in September halted construction on part of the pipeline. The affected area includes land under Lake Oahe, a reservoir on the Missouri River where the line was supposed to cross.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is deciding whether to grant the pipeline company an easement to build under the lake. Two-thirds of tribal members at the Standing Rock Reservation are jobless and average yearly income is $4,421, according to North Plains Reservation Aid, a charity.
Opposition to the pipeline has been backed by celebrities and actors, including Mark Ruffalo, Shailene Woodley, Susan |
.
To see what you can specify, see the documentation here.
One note to make is, if you specify readOnly: true, this actually prevents our previously mentioned setter from ever being created. It does, however, create a private _setFoo method so we can set the value internally still.
To gain two-way binding
To support two-way binding, our element must pass our property down to the child in curly brackets.
Additionally, the child must set notify: true on their receiving property and must not set readOnly: true.
The combination of these conditions means that the child can fire change events upwards and the parent can send changes downwards.
Of course, if the child specifies readOnly: true, the parent is unable to pass changes downwards to it. Similarly, if the child specifies notify: false, it won’t pass changes upwards to the parent.
Types
If you specify a type, it is essentially used for attribute (de)serialisation.
What I mean by this is, if you have a property set to a literal value, Polymer will try to deserialise it into your specified type. Similarly, if your property uses reflectToAttribute: true, it will use your type to serialise before setting the attribute.
<my-element foo= "5" ></my-element>
So in this example, with a type Number, Polymer will deserialise getAttribute('foo') into a number and set the property foo to the result.
Property changes
Now, the very interesting stuff, how we actually propagate changes.
Using this example:
<div> {{foo}} </div>
Let’s say we set el.foo = 10. If you remember from earlier, a setter exists for foo. Therefore, setting the value to 10 here will have called it and done the usual dirty checking to see if the value changed.
If the value did change, Polymer will then iterate over the property effects (our instructions from before) and find any which are associated to foo. When it finds any such effects, it will execute the instructions they define.
In our case, it will update the DOM such that the contents of our child <div> become 10.
Change notification
To get a little more into the internals of this, lets see how this works behind the scenes.
Each element holds a _nodes array, pretty much a collection of any children which have property bindings in them. Each property effect defines an index for the _nodes array, so we know which child node our effect is associated with.
When we change foo, Polymer iterates through our effects and checks if the associated node ( _nodes[effect.index] ) has a _notifyPath method.
If the associated child does have a _notifyPath, it is a Polymer element. Polymer calls this method to repeat this same process in the child element until we eventually reach the bottom of the tree where there are no more bound children.
Additionally, if our foo defines notify: true in the properties object, Polymer will fire a foo-changed event.
Any parent nodes listening for this event will then set their associated property with the new value.
One-way bindings and references
One important note is that one-way bindings are one-way in terms of notification, not necessarily in terms of value.
A one-way binding simply does not fire (or listen for) the foo-changed event. Of course, by reference the value can still have changed.
For example:
<element-a> <element-b bar= "[[foo]]" ></element-b> </element-a>
Where element-a defines foo as { "a": 5 }.
If element-b changes foo.a = 6, element-a will not be notified. However, element-a has the same foo object as element-b (by reference), so both have the new value (if you access el.foo.a on each, it will be 6 ).
Finish off
This has been a pretty long post, hopefully it helps explain some of the internals of Polymer’s data binding in a simple way.
After having spent my time in Angular, React and other frameworks so much, I have definitely started to prefer the Polymer library. The thought of observing objects, polling for changes and so on, feels dirty when presented with this simple notification system.Iran is showcasing hundreds of ancient artifacts, which were repatriated from Western countries over the past two and a half years, on the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
All of the artifacts, some dating back 3,500 years, were brought home from collections and museums in the US, Italy, Belgium and the UK.
The 558 artifacts are being displayed at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran in an exhibition that opened on Monday. They include stitching needles and engraved coins which were formerly on display at the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute.
The deputy director of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran, Mohammad Hassan Talebian, said that a thawing of relations between Iran and Western countries following the implementation of the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement with world powers had facilitated the return of the artifacts.
"The atmosphere after the nuclear deal was very important…It made it easy to bring back all these objects home," he said.John schools are education programs for men arrested for buying sex, and are located in over 70 cities (and serve over 145 cities and counties) in the U.S. The schools can be structured as a sentencing option and mandatory participation can be combined with other criminal sanctions, or may be offered as a diversion option, resulting in reduced penalties or dismissed charges. John schools can be one-day classes or designed as multiple-session counseling programs. The programs are financed by the fees or fines that the arrested johns must pay (typically, about $400) for soliciting sex. The fees or fines usually cover all program costs, and often produce excess revenue used to fund survivor recovery programs. In addition to on-site classroom participation, widely available versions of john schools can be accessed from any location as online courses or as a recorded presentation.
A typical curriculum includes these topics:
Health consequences
Impact on communities
Impact on survivors (testimony from women who have been trafficked or prostituted)
Victimization risks and impact on johns
Legal consequences
Other topics presented in john schools include:
Male development, decision making, and responsibility
Developing and maintaining healthy relationships
Anger management
Sex trafficking
Dynamics of pimping
Sex addiction
Impact on spouses and children
Links and distinctions between prostitution and human trafficking
Variations on the one-time classroom model include:
Overview of John School Programs in the U.S.
John School Overview from National Assessment (PDF, 183 KB)
To find U.S. sites which have employed this tactic, visit our locations page.
To help start, improve or sustain a john school, access the resources provided below. Some materials are also available in Spanish.This afternoon, Julian Falconer gave a talk at the Empire Club of Canada titled “The Politics of Punishment: Depoliticizing Justice Reform.” He focused primarily on the Harper government’s “tough on crime” agenda, and made some most interesting observations.
Canada spends $3.5 billion per year on crime. It costs $108,000 per year to incarcerate one inmate. Stephen Harper is proposing $5 billion in “tough on crime” spending, with none of the increase earmarked for crime prevention.
There is a systemic dilemma: in politics, proponents of judicial reform are forcibly grouped into one of two camps; Falconer referred to this division as “hug-a-thug vs. Law and Order.” If a politician questions the “tough on crime” approach, they are instantly categorized as weak, as someone who would embrace the criminal threatening your family.
Falconer compared Harper’s agenda to similar “tough on crime” agendas implemented decades ago in both California and New York State (largely part of the War on Drugs). Incarceration rates were dramatically increased, and today California houses 170,000 prisoners.
The American experiment has failed. While incarceration rates increased dramatically in the US compared to Canada, the crime rates of both countries remained similar. The US now has a financially unsustainable prison population, and nothing to show for it. Arnold Schwarzenegger has abandoned the “tough on crime” approach in favour of funding schools.
Studies have shown that incarceration raises an individual’s disposition toward crime. Incarceration disproportionately affects native communities, the poor, the mentally ill, and other disadvantaged groups. Yet instead of seeking to remedy the causes of crime, instead of seeking to ameliorate the conditions of these groups, we have the newly-minted Senator Bob Runciman crowing,
This despite the fact that crime rates have been dropping for years. This despite empirical evidence that tough-on-crime has failed in the US. The politicization of dialogue creates the false illusion of irreconcilable extremes. The reality should not be “hug-a-thug vs. Law and Order” – there is a solution that rests without the extremes.Cold Turkey turns to Russia and Iran
Petri Mäkelä Blocked Unblock Follow Following Aug 28, 2016
Last weeks biggest news story was the Turkish invasion of the northern Syria. Turkish mechanized forces crossed the border together with Islamist militia fighters supplied with Turkish uniforms, weapons and training. Turkish government has openly stated that the operation “Euphrates Shield” is intended to, and this is a direct quote, “sterilize the northern Syria of all terrorist forces”. So the Turkish forces are fighting against both ISIS and YPG. Presumably they will also attack the SDF and it’s Arab troops fighting under the command of the Kurdish YPG.
Norther Syria around the city of Jarablus, that has been targeted by the Turkish operation, has been held by the Islamic State for years. Turkish intervention coincides with the YPG/SDF:s advance into the region. Most western analysts and writers (myself included) have been following a narrative that Turkish government is more worried about democratic Kurds than it is of the genocidal ISIS.
After discussions with Turkish politicians and academics I have noticed a vastly different narrative. It follows the official stance labeling all armed groups in Syria, besides the Russian backed Syrian army and Russian expeditionary force, as terrorists. This narrative explains the timing of the Turkish intervention with the need for an approval from Moscow. Fear of a all out war between Russia and Turkey has postponed the operation until the relationship between Ankara and Moscow improved suddenly after the failed coup attempt in Turkey. Same individuals are also stressing how important Russia is to Turkish economy and how there is a long a prosperous history between the two nations. Narrative happily omits the numerous bloody wars fought between the nations.
There seems to be a hint of truth in this narrative. Turkey has been eager to “sterilize” the border region from the successful Kurdish forces and their de-facto autonomous nation-state. Russian expeditionary operation that has been aimed safeguarding the Russian geopolitical assets in the region, has made a direct air operation in Syrian airspace tricky for Turkish air force. From the Turkish perspective developing closer relations to Moscow has been strongly discouraged by the USA and NATO. Western powers are strongly opposing the Russia geopolitical advance, due to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the eastern Ukraine.
The coup attempt allowed Turkish leadership to distance itself from the USA and negotiate directly with Moscow. It is now evident that a deal has been made between Presidents Putin and Erdogan. What we know is that Turkish military has been given a free reign over the border regions between Syria and Turkey.
We do not know what Russia is gaining from this deal. It does benefit from the Turkish presence in the northern Syria. But it would be highly unlikely that Putin wouldn’t have demanded other favors from Erdogan and the AK-party. That those concessions might be? Stalling new NATO membership applications? Closing the Bosporus and the Dardanelles on Russian demand? Blocking Turkish airspace and bases from NATO forces? All of these options could give an edge to any future Russian operation against for example Ukraine or Georgia.
Tehran has clearly aligned itself with Moscow and now Ankara. Iranian troops have contributed greatly to the Syrian war, fighting alongside Syrian army and the Russian expeditionary force. Now Iranian ayatollahs have allowed Russian strategic bombers to conduct operations from Iranian airbases. This basing allows Russian air force to engage NATO assets far in the Indian ocean and to close of the Gulf.
Operation that can easily be overlooked as a border skirmish and a nuance of a complex civil-war can also be a important indicator of rapid and fundamental changes in the geopolitical situation of the world that, if not countered accordingly can lead to a disaster for the western world.The Klingons are back on Star Trek: Discovery — and they're more scary and interesting than ever.
They've come a long way over the years. On the original series, they were mostly scheming, villainous foils to the Enterprise crew. In the early movies, their forehead ridges and warrior aesthetic were further developed.
Then, on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, we got an in-depth look into their history, religion, and social hierarchies.
So when I heard they'd appear in 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, I got excited. How would the alien race evolve in the J.J. Abrams era? Turns out, they wouldn't: they got a new look, but were mostly there to mindlessly shoot at the Enterprise crew and Benedict Cumberbatch.
That brings us back to Star Trek: Discovery, co-created by Alex Kurtzman, one of the writers of Star Trek Into Darkness.
Once again, the Klingons got a visual makeover. But would the writers add complexity and nuance to their characters as well?
The answer is a resounding yes.
While we learned a lot about the Klingons on The Next Generation, it all felt a bit sanitized. Before their alliance with the Federation, they murdered innocents to bring glory to their authoritarian empire — but we didn't really learn why.
Their bloody past was always attributed to their general warrior-ness. That's just what Klingons do — they conquer things! Because, of, um, honor, and because they wanted to get into Sto'Vo'Kor.
But obviously, they were capable of making treaties and living in relative peace, so something must have fueled their thirst for conquest.
Star Trek: Discovery delves into the dark heart of Klingon warrior culture.
We learn the great Klingon houses have been divided, squabbling among themselves. Then comes a charismatic leader, T'Kuvma, who rallies the Klingons together around a common enemy: the Federation, a cesspool of multiculturalism that threatens Klingon identity and purity.
Here, the allegories are obvious — so obvious that CBS felt the need to deny the Klingons were based on Trump supporters.
Their slogan, "Remain Klingon," has hints of "Make America Great Again," or even the white supremacist chant heard on the streets of Charlottesville, "You will not replace us."
In the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, you see a split leadership gradually give in to T'Kuvma's fervent Klingon supremacist views. He's an outsider, not born of a noble house, who embraces other Klingon outcasts — the perfect populist to rally Klingons who are feeling impotent as their increasingly irrelevant empire loses ground to the progressive Federation while the Klingon elite bicker among themselves.
Too often, in the Star Trek universe, alien societies are painted with broad brushes: the Borg are Communists, Ferengi are ruthless capitalists, Cardassians are fascists, and the Klingons insatiable warriors. Yes, we're shown glimpses of dissent and social change. But how these societies tumbled toward their destructive nadirs isn't fully explored.
On Discovery, we see a more complex picture of Klingon society, struggling with a changing universe and giving into its most violent and racist impulses.
It'll be interesting to see how the Klingons grapple with what they've become over the course of the show. Even if it feels a little too real, given current events, I'll be watching to see how their story unfolds.Millions of citizens watched mesmerized as the media prepared to announce 'the lucky ones' who had won the almost half billion dollars in prize money for the Powerball lottery jackpot this August.
The winners?
Well...its complicated.
There were three winners.
One was in Minnesota, one was in Egg Harbor, New Jersey and a third was in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Now traditionally, a lottery has only ONE winner.
In this sense, Powerball has literally bent that law of physics...and lotteries.
But the complications don't end there.
The New Jersey winner was not actually one person...but sixteen different people.
You see, all these people pitched into a giant 'pot' to win the Powerball (have you ever tried to start a lottery 'pot' at work lately?)
But in Powerball World, 'Pots' happen all the time – yeah, everybody trusts one somebody to take their money and buy tons of Powerball tickets with it (I wonder if they even ask for receipts?).
And what is a Powerball win without a sense of mystery?
The Third Powerball winner (also from New Jersey) has yet to be revealed (and is not likely to ever be revealed). Which is not rare because many Powerball winners remain anonymous (lending an air of absolute zero sense confirmation and legitimacy before the general public).
So there you have it.
One man, an electrical engineer named Paul White, won in Minnesota. One mystery winner won in New Brunswick New Jersey and 16 different people won in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
Does it seem strange to anyone that 17 of the 18 Powerball winners come from the Soprano's back yard?
But yeah, that isn't something that is discussed openly in civilized lottery circles – that the lottery is run by the MAFIA.
Surprised?
Well, yeah, just like Las Vegas is run by the mafia.
But for some reason, the ownership of Vegas is common knowledge while the ownership of Powerball is a big mystery.
Well guess what.
The same outfit that has run gambling throughout US history – the Mob – runs Powerball! (a gigantic gambling operation if there ever was one).
And it's making billions...for somebody.
With all that nonchalant acceptance and trust in Powerball, you might assume Powerball is a publicly run service run by the government.
Alas, the real movers, shakers and owners of Powerball remain as big a mystery as all the anonymous mystery winners that keep winning all their jackpots.
Which is easily explainable because you CANNOT find ANY article asserting that Powerball is a fraud on the Internet.
What are the odds of that?
You'd think one of the thousands of paranoid, schizophrenic conspiracy theorists who plague the Internet – just one – would write ONE article saying that Powerball is a scam.
No such thing, says Google. Obviously, NOT ONE person or sore lottery loser has written something saying Powerball is a scam.
True, there are articles about scammers misrepresenting Powerball, or somehow scamming Powerball customers, but NOT ONE about the untouchable Powerball itself being a fraud.
Is that a miracle or what.
The Internet, that has a crazy article on just about anything (including that Earth is flat) somehow lacks any articles saying that Powerball is phony.
If that isn't a Goo-Miracle, I don't know what is.
And the PowerWeirdness doesn't end there.
Most of the winners seem to be geriatric cases who are about to kick the bucket (who knows what happens to their 'winnings' after that).
The jackpots are impossibly huge (now reaching half a billion dollars). It takes a gigantic lie to bring in the masses, I guess.
In spite of the humongous jackpots, the average winner manages to lose all the money within 4 years.
Listen, if you gave me $400 million dollars to mis-spend on purpose in four years, I couldn't do it even if I tried! (that's misspending at a rate of $275,000 per day!).
Have you ever heard of any of the 'winners' actually grabbing that half billion and actually starting a business with it?
Nope.
Have you ever heard of any retiring into a life of wealth and luxury and then passing it on to their sons and daughters?
I sure haven't.
No sir, all the winners always seem to end up in broke-ville after a few years, many of them as dirt poor as they were before winning the lottery.
So the half billion dollar question is: what do they manage to do with all the money?
My opinion?
They give it all back to the mob, who actually run Powerball.
I still remember the story of a major jackpot winner who managed to run back to Atlantic City, New Jersey (of all places) so he could blow his entire winnings on casino investments...which, of course, went bad, causing him to lose all his winnings immediately.
The story is as old as J.P. Morgan, the capitalist powerhouse of America during the early 20th century, who died, it turned out, almost penniless. Of course, the truth was ol' J.P. Had no wealth of his own, but was merely a caretaker of Rothschild money.
Just like the Powerball winners are caretakers of Mob money (which they have to give back through the appropriate money-laundering channels).
This is the way I imagine things to really work:
The Powerball jackpot is pumped up to amazing heights by the phenomenon of no one ever being able to guess the right lottery numbers (another lottery first made possible by the fact that powerball numbers are chosen by a computer – the same computer that accepts the numbers you register when you buy a lottery ticket). The Powerball computer then proceeds to choose the number combination no one has selected. Please note that the numbered-balls-inside-an- air machine is a simulation device representing the numbers the computer has already chosen – notice they have done away with this fraudulent simulation as of late.
With the jackpot being jacked up to dizzying heights using this method, the Powerball jackpot becomes front-page news, drawing in millions and millions of lottery buyers (each buying dozens of tickets).
This represents a money making bonanza for the Powerball gang.
The illusion continues with no one being able to score the correct numbers as the jackpot continues to grow, along with the frenzy.
Meanwhile the mob contacts the designated 'winners.'
These are people with somehow connected or indebted to the mob (this is why there are so many New Jersey, Florida and Illinois winners).
The trained 'winner' is offered a carrot and stick deal he cannot refuse (especially if he owes the Mafia some money): you will win the Powerball and then you will invest (or mal-invest) all the money within four years in the manner we prescribe. In return, you will get to keep a cool million. Talk and you, along with all your loved ones will die. Appropriate accountants, lawyers and financial advisors recommended by the mob will be assigned to you to handle your money.
The appropriate winners are then announced and filmed for all the gullible to see (while the fate of previous winners are conveniently forgotten).
To top it all off, you know what?
The Powerball lottery is NOT even run from inside the United States.
It’s run from Italy (birthplace of the Mafia)... through an Italian lotto company called G-Tech...headquartered in Rome!
US law has no jurisdiction, regulatory or audit powers over the running of Powerball because it is run by a foreign company on foreign soil.
Meanwhile in Italy, Powerball is presented as a foreign operation which does not concern the government of Italy, who is told to send their investigators to the United States themselves.Whiterocks, 15th Felsite, year 17.
Little Sazir Dotshot has been a punching bag for a pair of giant zombies for over two weeks now.
He had somehow managed to sneak outside during a very careful hauling operation in a far corner of the map, and inevitably attracted unwanted attention from local roaming megabeast undead. I resigned to seeing him becoming another corpse among the dozens littering the non-reanimating areas around Whiterocks, but then something completely unexpected happened: He survived. And kept on surviving.
It looked like the attacks just glanced away or passed right through, unless a blow connected hard enough to send him flying several blocks away. Sometimes a limb would bend, but Sazir was still completely unharmed. Stunned, yes, and scared and exhausted, but it seems he is invulnerable to attacks from the Giant and Ettin zombies tormenting him. He does seem to get thirsty and hungry, though.
Of course I tried to find out what superpower could make him withstand the undead onslaught, but he seems to be quite normal child, except... he is negative one hundred eighty-two days old. His birth date is in the future, in Timber this year. Now there's something I have never seen in DF.
I have so many questions now. Was he always like that or did a zombie punch him so hard his birthday was propelled away by the force of the blow? Is he invulnerable because he doesn't actually exist yet? What happens when his birthday rolls around? Most importantly, how do I save him before he dies of thirst (if he does)?
EDIT: After nearly a month of pummelling, a lucky kick propelled Sazir away from the zombies and landed him right next to an entrance, allowing him to escape to safety. He is now well fed and boozed and is currently getting a new set of clothes to replace those torn to shreds during his rough handling. I'm curious to see what happens in 28th Timber when he's supposed to be "born."A degradable nanoscale shell to carry proteins to cancer cells and stunt the growth of tumors without damaging healthy cells has been developed by a team led by researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Tiny shells (about 100 nanometers in length, roughly half the size of the smallest bacterium) are composed of a water-soluble polymer that safely delivers a protein complex to the nucleus of cancer cells to induce their death. The shells degrade harmlessly in non-cancerous cells.
The process does not present the risk of genetic mutation posed by gene therapies for cancer, or the risk to healthy cells caused by chemotherapy, which does not effectively discriminate between healthy and cancerous cells, said Yi Tang, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.
“This approach is potentially a new way to treat cancer,” said Tang. “It is a difficult problem to deliver the protein if we don’t use this vehicle. This is a unique way to treat cancer cells and leave healthy cells untouched.”
The cell-destroying material, apoptin, is a protein complex derived from an anemia virus in birds. This protein cargo accumulates in the nucleus of cancer cells and signals to the cell to undergo apoptosis (programmed self-destruction).
The polymer shells are developed under mild physiological conditions so as not to alter the chemical structure of the proteins or cause them to clump, preserving their effectiveness on the cancer cells.
Tests done on human breast cancer cell lines in laboratory mice showed significant reduction in tumor growth.
Tang’s group continues to research ways of more precisely targeting tumors, prolonging the circulation time of the capsules, and delivering other highly sought-after proteins to cancer cells.
The research was funded by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and a breast cancer research grant from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.Egypt opened its borders with the Gaza Strip for the first time in months Saturday, allowing Palestinians to enter and leave the isolated coastal strip.
The Rafah border crossing will operate for six hours a day for the coming three days and 15,000 people Palestinians have applied to exit to Egypt, said Maher Abu Sabha, head of the Gaza side of the crossing. He said those were humanitarian cases and included medical patients, students and Arab residents whose residency permits were about to expire. However, he said only 1,500 of those were actually expected to pass through.
Rafah is Gaza's only gateway to the outside world with no Israeli control. Egypt has kept it mostly closed since the militant Hamas group seized control of the coastal strip in 2007. The closure worsened after Egypt's military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, in 2013. Hamas is an offshoot of the Brotherhood.
Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing in both directions only five days this year. Last month, it allowed the return of Palestinians stranded in Egypt.
Outside the crossing, hundreds of Palestinians struggled for a chance to ride one of the buses that would go inside the crossing. One hopeful traveler, Khaled Abu Okal, 27, was a doctoral student at a university in Malaysia who came to visit his family after last summer's war and has been unable to leave since.
"If I cannot make it through this time, I will lose just another (academic) year," Okal said. "I already lost one."
Outside the hall, a woman and her children sat in the dirt with tears in their eyes. Mother Youssra Abu Qouta said she wants to take her two daughters, ages 9 and 11, for treatment in an Egyptian hospital.
Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy
"I come here every time the crossing opens, but no luck," she said. "We are thrown here like dogs."
The opening of the crossing is seen as a humanitarian gesture by Egypt ahead of the Muslim's holy fasting month of Ramadan.IMF director Strauss-Kahn under investigation Agence France-Presse
Published: Saturday October 18, 2008
Print This Email This WASHINGTON (AFP) The International Monetary Fund has launched an investigation of its director, Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, for abuse of power while involved in a relationship with a subordinate, an IMF official said Saturday.
The probe was set in motion at the intitiative of a long-serving member of the institution's governing board, Shakour Shaalan of Egypt.
Shaalan "has asked external counsel to conduct an independent investigation and determine the validity of the allegations," an IMF spokesman told AFP.
"All allegations -- particularly those involving senior management -- are taken extremely seriously," he added.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP had been retained by the IMF to conduct the investigation expected to be completed by the end of the month.
According to the report, the investigation focuses on the former French finance minister's relationship with Hungarian-born Piroska Nagy, a married former senior official in the IMF's Africa department.
The two are said to have exchanged emails about a possible intimate relationship, which apparently began early this year during a conference in Europe, according to The Journal.
The IMF and Strauss-Kahn have been in the spotlight in the past weeks as governments grapple with the extent of the worst global financial meltdown since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In an interview published Friday, the IMF chief said the fund was ready to help developing economies stung by financial turmoil.
In a statement, Strauss-Kahn said: "The IMF is examining an incident which occured in my private life in January 2008.
"I have cooperated and am continuing to cooperate with outside counsel to the Fund concerning this matter," he said.
"At no time did I abuse my position as the Fund's managing director."Talk about corporate-based school reform. New high-stakes standardized tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards are featuring plugs for commercial products. And the companies didn’t have to pay a penny.
Yes, New York state students who this past week took Pearson-designed exams were just treated to plugs for LEGO, Mug Root Beer and more products from at least half a dozen companies, according to the New York Post.
One teacher who administered the test was quoted as saying:
I’ve been giving this test for eight years and have never seen the test drop trademarked names in passages — let alone note the trademark at the bottom of the page.
Students said the product plugs sometimes had nothing to do with the question, the Post said. Marco Salas, an eighth-grader at the Forest Hills middle school, was quoted as saying:
For the root beer, they show you a waitress cleaning a table and the root beer fell on the floor and she forgets to clean it up. Underneath, they gave you the definition that it is a soda and then the trademark.
The new Common Core-aligned tests were originally trumpeted as a major improvement over earlier exams in their ability to assess student learning, but they haven’t been the “game-changer” Education Secretary Arne Duncan had promised. Here’s why.
Pearson, the company that designs the tests for the New York State Education Department, says that the brand names in the tests they designed are “part of previously published passages due to choices made by authors.” Here the company’s statement about it:A Scottish woman and her French scientist husband have decided to quit the UK because of Brexit after his application for permanent residency was rejected by the Home Office, despite him working in the country for more than 20 years.
Emma Pollet said the family had not taken the decision lightly, but were not confident their rights would be protected after Britain left the EU.
She accused Theresa May of “completely ignoring” the plight of the British citizens suffering as a result of the Brexit vote and said she could not risk staying in the UK because she had no faith in the prime minister ensuring that she, her husband and their son, aged two and a half, could live together in the UK.
“I don’t trust the government at all, they have not shown me any positive signs they will sort this out. Theresa May before the referendum was pro-remain and now, all of a sudden, she’s the worst nightmare for remainers.
“To use their phrase, I have to take back control of my life. I can’t leave my family’s life in the hands of the government,” said Pollet.
“The most important thing is not the permanent residency card, but my family. We don’t know what the government is going to do post-Brexit and we don’t want to risk the family being split up.”
Although few expect EU citizens who have been long-term residents in the UK to face any issues in remaining once Brexit negotiations are complete, the Pollets’ story nevertheless highlights the fear among Britons who have found their lives directly affected by the referendum result because of their relationships. There are no statistics recording how many Britons are married to people from continental Europe, but anectdotal evidence would suggest the numbers are substantial.
“There are already reports of non-EU nationals who have been deported despite being married to British citizens due to changes in circumstances beyond their control. We do not wish to live our lives worrying that if our circumstances change in the future, my husband’s right to live here may be removed,” said Pollet.
Their decision to move to Scandinavia, where Bruno Pollet’s specialism in renewable energy can be harnessed, comes as the House of Lords prepares to vote on an amendment to the article 50 white paper giving unilateral rights to EU citizens in the UK.
Article 50 bill: Lords 'highly likely' to pass amendment on EU citizens Read more
Bruno Pollet came to Britain in 1991 as part of an Erasmus programme when he was studying in Grenoble. He ended up staying, and married Emma six years ago.
Now a visiting professor of energy and environment at Ulster University and a researcher for a power company in Swansea, he told the Guardian last October that he felt like a second-class citizen, but had decided that in order to protect his family’s right to remain in the country he was reluctantly going to complete the 85-page application form for permanent residency.
He felt confident he would succeed in getting the residency card as he was scrupulous about paperwork and also had gone to the trouble of obtaining 100 pages of HMRC records of tax paid in the UK since he worked in a pub as a student.
On 4 February he received a letter from the Home Office telling him his application was rejected.
May has consistently said she wanted to resolve the issue of EU citizens settled in the country as early as possible, but she has said she cannot do so until the other 27 countries in the EU reciprocate for British citizens living in the EU.
Emma Pollet said this was not good enough. “I don’t think Theresa May actually cares about the citizens of this country who are married to EU citizens. She specifically mentions her desire to protect EU citizens in the UK and British in the EU, but she has completely ignored another group of British citizens in Britain married to EU citizens.
“She’s an intelligent person, she can’t just have ignored us, she’s just deliberately chosen to do this and use us as bargaining chips, too. I don’t have any faith there will be any change at all.
“We could stay and fight, but the question is whether you want to wait around and do that or pick up the pieces and say, ‘This country will appreciate our contribution, let’s go there.’ We are now very much looking forward to a new life in a country where family is of utmost importance.”
The Home Office told her husband its decision was because during his 25 years in the UK he had spent three years in South Africa, as part of his professional development as a scientist.
They told him he qualified for permanent residency before he went to South Africa in 2012, but because he had stayed there for three years he was unable to show that he had “continuously resided in the United Kingdom without an absence exceeding two years since your qualification for permanent residence”.
'How do I protect my family?': EU citizens in Britain contemplate their futures Read more
The permanent residency card was designed for non-EU citizens coming to the UK to live and is not required by law for any EU citizen living in the country.
However, in the absence of any guarantees from the government, many EU citizens have seen it as a route to establish their legal right to remain in the country post-Brexit.
The couple knows they can appeal against the Home Office decision, but as a family they have decided they have a more secure future in Europe.
“They took the decision regardless of [me] being married to a British woman and having a British kid. That they will not even accept that as a factor, that’s quite worrying,” said Bruno Pollet.
The 85-page permanent residency application form has been heavily criticised as not fit for purpose, with some Europeans rejected because of some bureaucratic mix-up that meant they were sent letters asking them to “prepare to leave” the country.
More than a quarter of EU citizens are having their applications for permanent residency in the UK rejected since the UK voted to leave the EU, according to new analysis of the government’s migration data.(Photo: Whitney Hughes / National Guard; Edited: JR / TO)Interviews with survivors, relatives of the civilians massacred in Panjwai on March 11, and with other local residents add new evidence suggesting that the massacre was linked to the response by the US Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit to a roadside bomb that had blown up a US troop carrier three days earlier.
Sgt. Robert Bales, who has been accused of the massacre, was in charge of security for the SOF base at Camp Belambay, and evidence now suggests he may have decided on the killing after |
, guest-focused technology and distinctive luxury, thePeninsula Hong Kong taps into the ultra-posh vibe pulsing through the Bondseries. Despite its cutting-edge status,the hotel is a thriving emblem of Hong Kong’s colonial heritage, with afternoontea being served in the lobby between 2 and 6 pm – a traditional accent Mr.Bond would certainly appreciate. Plus the hotel’s Rolls Royce fleet featured inthe movie is indeed at your service. Spacious, exquisite suites with majesticVictoria Harbor views, marble-clad bathrooms and corner bathtubs overlookingthe city are only some of the luxuries than the Peninsula Hong Kong unfolds tohelp you get into 007’s shoes. And if you really want to get a taste of life spystyle, request the hotel’s private helicopter to take you from the airport to the rooftoplanding pad.
Rate for Grand Deluxe Harbor View Room: approx. $1000
Check Rates and Availability
HotelCala di Vo
lpe, Sardinia – “The Spy Who Loved Me”
HotelCala di Volpe is truly one of a kind and you’ll have to pay through the nosefor this uniqueness. But if you’re planning to anchor in the Costa Smeralda, money is clearly noobject, so why not make the best of your stay. The fabulous design inspired by old fishing villages, with handcrafted furniture, archways, porticoes and turrets, stained glass, white stuccoand terracotta shades, but at the same time with a modern feel and focus on exquisitecomfort, is worth even inconsiderate spending. And if you add the luxury of theglittering Mediterranean backdrop, any remnants of remorse are gone. Not much has changed since 1977 when the whitewashed piano bar served as007’s suite. Today the hotel is still a playground for the bold and thebeautiful – football players, supermodels and Hollywood crème de la crème.
Deluxe suite with private terrace: € 810
Check Rates and Availability
Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, India- “Octopussy”
Justone glance at the stupendous Taj Lake Palace is enough to understand why the Bond production crew decided touse it as the headquarters of a villain. The luxurious hotel appears tofloat on the surface of Lake Pichola like an enormous water lily that temptswith its beauty but at the same time disheartens with its inaccessibility.Inside, classic Indian architecture, stained glass windows, antique wooden decorations,suites with breathtaking mountain views and exclusive butler service are all set to giveyou not only a taste of life Bond style, but also some truly royal pampering befittinga maharaja.
Luxury twin room: approx. $650
Check Rates and Availability
Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico,Mexico City, Mexico – “Licence to Kill”
Bond’s on a heart-throbbing mission again – a personalvendetta outside MI6’s authority. Devoid of his 00 status and his license tokill, he sets off on the hunt for a merciless drug baron, plays on both sides of the law,survives a ferocious boat chase and a hectic confrontation in the desert, stealsan airplane and rejects the advances of a beautiful woman. Quite a lot for oneman. In the meantime, he manages to drop by the exuberant Gran Hotel Ciudad deMexico, whose stained glass Tiffany roof makes the building a true pearl ofMexican architecture and perfectly taps into Bond’s luxurious taste.
Economy Queen Room: $180
Check Rates and Availability
One&Only Ocean Club, Bahamas – “CasinoRoyale”
In an attempt to shatter an internationalterrorist organization, 007 heads to the Bahamas and to the heavenly One&Only Ocean Club, thus following the crew’stradition of only using the biggest, best and most spectacular locales forfilming. This luxurious resort with 105 spacious rooms, apartments and villasstretching along the coast is a perfect setting for a romantic stay (hopefullya little more successful than Bond’s, who is forced to leave his adorablecompanion with champagne and caviar, yet alone). Bond’s sea-view villa isavailable for rent on the One&Only Ocean Club website. The three beachfrontthree- and four-bedroom villas are among the hardest accommodations to reservebut make a great option for well-off families, at minimum $7,950 per night(excluding taxes and gratuities).
Luxury Beachfront Room: approx. $1000
Check rates and availability
Hotel Cipriani, Venice, Italy- “Casino Royale”
Tricky enough, the Venice hotel interiors wereshot in Prague, but Bond and his ladyfriend do moor their boat outside theindecently lavish Hotel Cipriani. This is not a place you come to on a tightbudget, that’s for sure, and you may need to get a serious loan or mortgageyour property to enjoy some of its decadent treats (such as 24-carat-gold facialor a drink of Champagne, wild berries and gold leaf). Venice itself is splendidenough but a stay at the Cipriani skyrockets the Venetian experience to a wholenew level. A proud declaration you find on the hotel’s website says: “If Venice is a theatre, the Hotel Cipriani is the Royal Box”. Enjoy the show!
Lagoon View Junior Suite: approx. €2,000
Check rates and availability
Çırağan Palace Kempinski, Istanbul, Turkey- “Skyfall”
Once anOttoman palace, today ÇırağanSarayı is a five-star hotel that prvides setting for the latest James Bondflick as well as a photocall and press conference to mark the filming of Skyfall. Thecrew has done a fabulous job and Mr. Bond wouldn’t have chosen better himself. A heated infinity pool, superb spatreatments, a boutique shopping arcade, 24-hour personalized butler service andtransfers by limousine, boat or helicopter on request – Ciragan PalaceKempinski is the quintessence of five star pampering. Add the glamorouslocation on the European shores of the Bosphorus and you’ve got the vacation toremember for a lifetime. If you happen to have spare €30,000.00, make sure you request the Sultan Suite.
Studio Suite with Bosforus View: approx. €1000
Check rates and availability
Four Seasons Canary Wharf, London, Great Britain – “Skyfall”
WhenDaniel Craig takes a dip in a rooftop pool before his mission in Shanghai, he’sactually swimming in the infinity pool of Four Seasons Canary Wharf. How canthat be? After all, the camera clearly gave a bird’s eye view of the Chinese metropolis. Infact, the windows were blacked out forfilming, with Shanghai inserted digitally afterward. The crew stayed at thehote
l for 3 days, taking advantage of the brilliant five-star guest service. Mostof the 142 elegant guest rooms and suites feature large bay windows with plushleather seats so you can endlessly enjoy the marvelous views of the RiverThames and the city beyond.
Best Available Rate: £445
Check rates and availabilityLANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 18: Linebacker Brian Orakpo #98 of the Washington Redskins celebrates after defeating the Arizona Cardinals at FedExField on September 18, 2011 in Landover, Maryland. The Washington Redskins won, 22-21. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) File photo of Brian Orakpo. (Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The Washington Redskins will have to approach acquisitions with care as they enter the second offseason of their two-year, $36 million cap reduction imposed by the league.
This means they’ll have to be graceful about who to sign, who to let go, and which vacancies to leave up to the draft to fill.
“I think Lorenzo is back and I think they’ll make an attempt to keep Rob Jackson,” Jason La Canfora told 106.7 The Fan’s Lavar and Dukes Wednesday. “He proved himself to be valuable. I think the big offseason thing will be Orakpo and I do think they’ll make every effort to get him signed long-term.”
La Canfora said Washington realized the value of Orakpo without him in the lineup the majority of 2012, after he went down with a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 2.
“I think his absence this year really showed up and I think they know that Kerrigan needs somebody on the other end to help anchor for him,” La Canfora said.
In his second year, Kerrigan still managed 8.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, but often struggled to break free from double-teams that would usually be directed toward Orakpo.
“The greatest thing they have going for them is that their best player and clearly one of the best young players in the NFL is set to make $1.4 million next year,” he said.
Listen to the full interview below.Mount Allison University has come up with some funding to ensure students who have women and gender studies as their declared minor will be able to continue their studies next year.
The future of the program at the Sackville-based university, however, remains unclear.
The administration has committed $12,000, which is enough to hire a part-time person to teach two courses in 2016-17, acting program director Lisa Dawn Hamilton told CBC News late Friday afternoon.
Students may also be able to take courses offered by other programs, which could count toward their minor, said Hamilton.
"But they [the administration] haven't guaranteed that," she said. "They'll be assessing it on a case by case basis," with any alternate courses having to be pre-approved.
The funding news comes after about 50 students held a silent protest outside the Board of Regents meeting on Friday morning, alleging program budget cuts indicate gender-bias on the part of the administration.
"I think it's really reflective of some blatant misogyny going on, and sexism, which is really unfortunate, but I really don't think that that aspect can be discounted," student organizer Katharyn Stevenson had said.
Katharyn Stevenson, a third-year student in women's and gender studies, says the questions around the future of the program are a symptom of a larger problem within the administration. (Submitted by Katharyn Stevenson) Mount Allison's vice-president Gloria Jollymore described the allegations as being "of great concern."
"That's a really serious comment and we take it very seriously," Jollymore told CBC News. "I guess where we are is — we really need to understand what's behind that, what's at the foundation of that — that our student feels that way, or believes that to be true. So that's the first thing about it, is our need to understand it."
Questions about the future of the program were raised earlier this week when Hamilton sent an email to students explaining that the budget had been cut for the coming year and none of the core courses in the program would be offered in 2016-17.
Jollymore says there were a lot of budget unknowns until Tuesday and the academic program planning process remains ongoing.
"Until that process comes to an end, we don't know where things will finally end up, but obviously the program head needs to be able to plan for next year," she said.
So the dean confirmed two stipends for the women and gender studies, said Jollymore. "That means a staff person to teach two core courses. Whether we can do better than that, we don't know yet."
Asked whether having two core courses instead of four will be enough to enable the program to continue as a minor, Jollymore said: "We're still working on that."
I think this issue … is a symptom of a larger problem going on with the university and the administration and how they choose to make decisions. - Katharyn Stevenson, student
"What we need to make sure we can do first is make sure any student who is currently declared a minor in women and gender studies, that they're able to complete their minor and graduate with that minor. That's what we're focussed on first and foremost and my understanding is that yes, we've secured that ground," she said.
On Tuesday, Jollymore had issued a release saying the university has not announced any intention to cut the program.
"Mount Allison has not initiated any type of formal review of this program or any other," the statement said.
Stevenson, a third-year student whose minor is in women and gender studies, says the administration may not want to come out and say it, but it is clear to students that the program won't continue.
"I would definitely argue that it's a question of semantics," Stevenson said of the release.
"We know what's going on, it's just a question of how you want to spin it. Whether they want to call it cutting the program or not, that's what's happening here."
Stevenson, who hopes to save the program, said she was pleased with the turnout at the protest and considered it a success.
"We basically filled the atrium of our student centre and made ourselves and our presence known as the people went into the meeting this morning," she said.
Symptom of larger problem
The women's and gender studies program began at Mount Allison in 1999 and has currently has 44 students.
Stevenson says courses are popular and often have wait-lists, so "starving" the program of funding doesn't make sense to her.
"I think this issue … is a symptom of a larger problem going on with the university and the administration and how they choose to make decisions."
She says this is not an isolated incident and that since the three-week faculty strike in 2014 there has been a lot of student protest and upset with the administration.
"That started with the tuition rebate issue after the strike, leading into a lot of the issues surrounding sexual assault and the sexual assault policy here at Mount Allison, also there's been little to no progress made with the creation of our indigenous studies minor," she said.
She says the fact that the women's and gender studies is not a priority for the administration shows a gender bias at Mount Allison.
"I think that speaks to a larger devaluing of women and gender studies knowledge because I don't think that it's any secret that feminism, in a larger context, is often viewed quite poorly," she said.
"It's kind of a larger display of institutional sexism. It's also a larger display of a political attack … on women and gender studies and trying to show that it's not important and people don't care about it which is very much not true."× This page contains archived content and is no longer being updated. At the time of publication, it represented the best available science.
In the northwest Pacific Ocean, the Oyashio Current flows down out of the Arctic, past Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula. Around the latitude of Hokkaido, Japan, it begins to veer eastward and converges with the warmer Kuroshio Current, flowing into the area from the south.
This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite from May 21, 2009, illustrates how the convergence of these two currents affects phytoplankton (the microscopic plant-like creatures that form the base of the marine food web).
When two currents with different temperatures and densities (cold, Arctic water is saltier and denser than subtropical waters) collide, they create eddies. Phytoplankton growing in the surface waters become concentrated along the boundaries of these eddies, tracing out the motions of the water. The swirls of color visible in the waters southeast of Hokkaido (upper left), show where different kinds of phytoplankton are using chlorophyll and other pigments to capture sunlight and produce food. The bright blues just offshore of Hokkaido may be churned up sediment, rather than phytoplankton.
During the spring bloom season, nutrients are abundant in the surface waters. (The water has been “resting” all winter, when light levels were too low—and storms were too frequent—to support phytoplankton growth). But as the phytoplankton deplete the available nutrients, the bloom will taper off. At this stage, the eddies in the convergence zone can give a boost of nutrients at the surface because they don’t just circulate the surface water; they also produce upwelling. The upwelling can draw nutrient-rich water up from deeper in the ocean, allowing smaller blooms to occur later in the growing season.
The washed out appearance of the image at lower left is from sunglint—the (blurred) mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water. At upper right, a plume of haze, perhaps smoke from fires in Mongolia and Russia, cuts across the scene.
NASA image by Norman Kuring, MODIS Ocean Color Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.The midterm elections of 2018 are still more than 16 months away, but that won’t deter political observers from viewing the results of Tuesday's special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District as a harbinger for Democrats’ chances of retaking a majority of seats in the House of Representatives next year. (The U.S. Senate, at least in the real world, is likely out of reach.) While it's silly to think that an off-year June election can accurately predict much of anything about the political future, the Georgia race might serve as a useful gauge for the temperature of the Democratic Party in the Trump era.
In the latest congressional race to garner outsized attention since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel have together spent more than $50 million in their quest to fill the seat left vacant by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. If Ossoff is able to win this seat, Democrats will seek to replicate his success in the 2018 midterms. An Ossoff victory would be the first significant Democratic electoral success since Trump took office. A loss, on the other hand — no matter how close the results — could leave many individuals in the party demoralized.
Advertisement:
In this district in the affluent suburbs of northern Atlanta, Trump’s election has shocked many and galvanized some disaffected voters into action. A newfound community of Democratic and liberal activists has appeared in what seemed to be a Republican stronghold.
Ossoff effectively avoided Democratic opposition in his primary race and he nearly won the district's open primary on April 18, receiving a little less than half the vote. The 30-year-old former documentary filmmaker and congressional national security aide hopes to capitalize on the changing demographics of a district that has been held by Republicans for decades and once was the home of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Even though Tom Price won his re-election campaign by close to 30 percentage points over token Democratic opposition last fall, Hillary Clinton came within a single percentage point of taking the district from Trump.
Atlanta has seen a population boom over the last decade. The 6th District now has the second-largest population of master’s degree holders in any in the country. The son of an Australian mother and a Jewish father, Ossoff has explicitly targeted the growing population of immigrants and college-educated millennials, and has campaigned on an endorsement from Khizr Khan, the Muslim Gold Star father who became a sensation at last summer's Democratic convention.
But even with his focus on youth and diversity, Ossoff is clearly going after moderate Republicans with nonideological rhetoric like “local accountability,” “fresh leadership” and the importance of a balanced budget. He rarely mentions Trump and has shied away from any talk of impeaching the president. He has resisted progressive priorities such as single-payer health care, low-cost college tuition and a $15 minimum wage, sticking to a script much closer to Hillary Clinton's wing of the Democratic Party than the activist base that powered Sen. Bernie Sanders’ insurgent presidential campaign.
That hasn't stopped Ossoff's opponent, former Georgia secretary of state Karen Handel, from labeling him as “dangerously liberal” on her website or accusing him of “lying his Ossoff” about his national security credentials.
Advertisement:
A Handel victory on Tuesday could further widen the split between warring Democratic factions. A small group of Senate Republicans is currently working behind closed doors to reach a final agreement on repealing the Affordable Care Act. A Republican win tonight would likely embolden them to embrace the embattled American Health Care Act, otherwise known as Trumpcare. Democrats, in turn, may feel less energized to challenge the bill.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Republican Congressional Committee and President Trump himself have all worked to raise money for Handel’s campaign.
More than two-thirds of Ossoff's donations have come from small-dollar donors, according to his campaign. Handel has used that fact to attack him as an inauthentic “outsider,” arguing that much of that money is from outside the district. On the other hand, Ossoff has received money from three times as many donors within the state of Georgia as Handel has.
After a surge of early optimism, Democrats are starting to tamp down expectations, while Republicans are increasingly optimistic. According to a poll by a GOP firm released on Monday, Handel now leads Ossoff by 2 percentage points, while earlier polls showed the Democrat to be ahead by as much as 6 percentage points.
Advertisement:
“From the start, the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] understood that winning the Georgia 6th special election would be a monumental task," wrote the committee's executive director, Dan Sena, in a memo circulated with donors and friendly groups last week, as reported by Politico. "Simply put, virtually every structural advantage benefits Republicans in a special election in this traditionally conservative district.”
That said, high early voter turnout has rendered Tuesday night’s result impossible to predict. Regardless of who prevails in Alpharetta, all prognostications about next year's election based on this result should be taken with a grain of salt. As the Cook Political Report has noted, 71 congressional districts currently held by Republicans are expected to be more competitive in the 2018 midterms than Georgia’s 6th.Frugal living does not mean shopping in thrift stores and having soup every night for dinner. Being frugal simply means being deliberate in how you spend money, not impulsive. There are many ways to be frugal but the key to making frugal lifestyle changes permanent is to find ways to save money that will work for you.
Some Frugal Lifestyle Choices
Automate paying your bills. By automating your bills you will ensure bills are paid on time avoiding late fees and negatively impacting your credit rating.
Automate your savings. By paying yourself first you ensure that your savings goals are taken care of before discretionary spending. Even if it is simply setting up a monthly transfer from your checking account to your savings account you are more likely to spend less simply because it is more difficult to access your money.
Eat out one time less per week. By eating out one time less per week you can save $25-$100+ per month. Saving $25 per week can add up to over $1200 per year for a typical employee.
Get rid of the land line. Cutting the land line results in immediate savings however there are some downsides such as some 911 services may have trouble locating you in an emergency.
Adjust payroll withholdings. Receive tax refund over $1000 last year? Adjust withholdings and use the savings to fund a wealth building account.
Obtain your credit report from annualcreditreport.com and check for errors. Pay bills on-time and manage your credit properly for preferred credit terms and lower interest rates.
Sign up for monthly equalizer payments with your utility. This will even out your monthly utility payments over 12 months and if possible take the difference between your old bill and new bill and put the difference in savings.
Use price comparison websites. Price comparison sites such as Pricegrabber.com and BookingBuddy.com allow you to search for the best prices from the comforts of your home.
Use personal finance software and apps. Apps such as Mint or PageOnce help you to stay on top of your finances and limit chances of overspending. If you have current checking account and budget information available on your SmartPhone, you are more likely to not overspend.
Shop for a new car in November & December or better yet buy a quality used car and use the savings to fund your wealth building accounts.
Increase deductibles on Insurance. By increasing your deductible to $500 or $1000 you can lower your monthly premium. This strategy is not recommended for those with less than stellar driving records or those that do not have the cash to cover the deductible.
Perform preventative maintenance on home and automobiles. By performing schedules maintenance on your vehicle you will extend it's life and reduce the likelihood for major repairs. The same is true for maintaining a home. Replace air filters to lessen the strain on the a/c blower and extend it's life.
Cancel a magazine subscription and take your child to your local public library instead. While your child is looking for a book to checkout you can read a magazine for free.
Use Small Savings to Fund Wealth Building Accounts
By making small changes in spending habits you can end up with enough money to fund what I call a wealth building account. Wealth building accounts are accounts that are designed to grow your money and are typically online savings accounts but can be real property such as real estate or collectible automobiles.
Once you have a 3-6 month emergency savings account funded you can take your additional monthly savings and use it to fund a variety of wealth building accounts such as:
Pay down credit card debt
Max out your 401k Contribution
Start a 529 College Savings Account
Open a Roth IRA
Invest in Real Estate
Buy a Classic Automobile
The key to making a frugal lifestyle work for you is to make small changes and then leverage these savings into real wealth building opportunities.
What ways have you taken small savings and used them to build wealth?Strategic pricing helps your brand and helps you to make more money. Issuing a price is like handing out a business card—it’s a great branding tool, but be careful about what it says to your market. Beginning relationships with customers at a high price makes the statement: “we’re good at what we do and we know it.” Fighting with a competitor over a low price says “I’m uncertain about my abilities, so I’ll take what I can get.” Failing to use a considered pricing policy will leave you treading water in a sea of design mediocrity, allowing you to just stay afloat while you sell commodities. Blah.
Article Continues Below
Share this on
Translations Italian
Here’s how to become strategic about your pricing:
1. Price by the service, not by the hour. Though very normal for the creative professions, one of the most non-strategic things you can do is to charge by the hour. Why do you charge by the hour? You may have read about charging by the hour in a book, seen your previous firm do it, or heard a friend say that’s how you were supposed to do it. Charging by the hour is non-strategic on many levels:
a) When you charge by the hour, you and your client begin your relationship with diametrically opposed desires. You want to bill more hours, they want you to bill fewer hours. That is a sucky place to start a relationship.
b) Billing by the hour does not consider outcomes for the client. When clients come to you, they want some kind of result from your work. They want to invest in your abilities to bring clarity to chaos and deliver effective messages. When you deliver a bill based upon your arbitrary internal costs, it may not translate into specific desired outcomes for the client. Always consider the value of the outcome to your client when you set pricing.
c) Billing by the hour does not allow you any creativity in billing. Always try to tie your up-front fee to what the client values. And when you discover their value triggers, then you can get creative to make more money. For example, you can ask a client “what is the greatest outcome you can imagine from my work with your company?” Maybe they’ll say “I want your work to be so effective that we sell 15 to 20 percent more products compared to this same time last year.” Now you can attach your price to their outcomes. So you might say, “My base price is $50,000, but if you sell between 15 and 20 percent more products than this time last year, then I will receive a bonus payment of 5 percent on your additional sales.” This links what you get paid directly to outcomes. And the clients won’t mind paying if you helped them sell more stuff. Everybody’s happy!
2. Slow down your sales process. Slow down how, when, and who you take on as clients. You need time to determine a client’s needs before you price their projects. You must know what outcomes they desire. Diving into a project with a minimalist contract that speaks to your hourly rate will not let you know when your client is truly ecstatic about your work. And the only reason to serve clients is to bring great value to them and make them extremely happy!
Clients often self-diagnose their problems. But they can be wrong. You are the expert. That’s why they’re hiring you. Slow down your process and warn potential clients that you are not the “emergency” designer. Clients that are in a hurry are problem clients. Slowing down allows you to not only be creative in pricing, but also allows you the time to determine what the client really needs. Slowing down helps the client to get their needs met, while you get paid what you’re worth.
3. Inject value into your client’s experience with your service. You simply have to charge more. That is a totally strategic move, and one you can’t do unless you have the guts to do it. But you can’t charge more for crap. It’s a little known secret that you can charge not only for your creative work, but for the client experience around the work you deliver. In essence, you can price things that have nothing to do with design, but have everything to do with the experience your client encountered throughout the process of engaging with you on their project.
Clients will pay more for your work when you deliver the end result with some well-designed client experiences wrapped around the whole process. This injects value, and when you inject value, you can price your services higher. Strategy in pricing means creating something creatively that you can charge more for.
Establish a client intake process
For example, imagine your client intake process is a four-step process. First, determine the purpose behind your client’s needs. Ask them questions about their purpose for wanting your services. Ask them how the purpose could change. Second, investigate the expected result. How will you know when you’re done? Investigate your client’s ability to bring this project to an end. Is this the type of client that will never be satisfied? After applying this process for some time, you’ll be able to tell if a client is not tracking with you. Scope discussions could be added to this phase of your new client intake process. Third, conduct value discussions. Value discussions should be about identifying what the client truly values and how you will price the things the client values. In this part of your new client intake process, you can address how you want the client to interact with you and find out how the client wants you to interact with them. Do they like to meet face-to-face or is a digital relationship okay? These value discussions will directly influence your price. Finally, create engagement. This is where you determine your price, and offer three price options for the client to choose from, based on scope. I typically offer three options. I will typically include things in my top package that the client didn’t ask for because they didn’t know they could ask for it. The engagement process is also where you request an agreement to be signed and get your first down payment on the work.
Change your thinking, charge what you’re worth
These processes are easier for the more experienced creative professional. But how do you implement pricing strategy when you are a fairly new creative? I see the answer as part retraining your brain and part raw guts. When I coach creatives, I walk them through specific ways to simply step up their price with each new engagement that they get. Creatives must not be afraid to charge what they think they’re worth. At its core, this technique takes guts. But the more we work through these exercises, the more comfortable the creative is at going higher and higher with their price until they are comfortable where they are supposed to be.
The more heady answer to implementing strategy for an inexperienced creative is to retrain your thinking. Explore your beliefs about creative services, where you developed your beliefs, what you think the world thinks of creative professionals, what true value you bring to your client, etc. This applies not only to creative professionals, but to most kinds of professional. When pressed, my clients will often come to the conclusion, “but I don’t think I have that much to offer my clients.” This thinking needs to stop. Your services are valuable; and your pricing should reflect that.
Strategic pricing is hard and good work to undertake in your profession. The sooner you get started, the quicker you will learn what it means to be strategic not only in pricing but in so many other important tasks your clients hire you to do.
Here are three things you can do now to get started on your journey toward strategic pricing:
Develop your new client intake process, similar to the example above. Add the various steps that you feel are valuable and walk your clients through it BEFORE you begin your work.
Begin offering three options to all of your work. And always include things in your options the client did NOT ask for. When you start selling things your client didn’t ask for, you will be surprised at how many clients choose the higher options. You will make more money and the client will get more of what they want.
Test your pricing, but don’t benchmark! To know what your market will bear, begin pricing higher than you have been in the past just to test your market. And avoid benchmarking—which is the process of looking at what your market or direct competitors price their services at. Remember, your competition may be pricing non-strategically as well. Don’t follow the blind. Strategic pricers don’t follow, they lead!
In summary, we should strategically charge clients for what we do by pricing our services (not our hours). Take new clients slowly, show them your intent to take care of them and give them a wonderful experience. Deeply consider where you have developed your thinking on the creative profession and its worth, and then step out with some guts to charge your clients for your true value. Strategic pricing comes with practice, and your skill will grow over time. Pricing is a learned discipline that anyone can learn. Start practicing! Do your clients a favor, charge them what you’re worth. You will both be happy as a result.
Follow-up This Web Business III: Selecting Professionals In part Three of his series on running your own web agency, Scott Kramer shares tips on hiring the right accountants, attorneys,... Further reading about Process Designing Contracts for the XXI Century A design contract is like a business card—it comes from the same desk, and bears the same creative mark. But it’s also the… Becoming Better Communicators As designers, we already know how to communicate with users in a language they understand. Yet, we often don’t do this when…
Get our latest articles in your inbox. Sign up for email alerts.The most noteworthy play of Sunday night’s Patriots-Colts game was Indy’s trick play that never should have been snapped, but it’s also worth taking a second to marvel at Jamie Collins clearing the Colts’ line to block an extra point attempt. He timed his leap with the snap perfectly, and used his leg to deflect the kick.
Watching the highlight will require you to go to YouTube, so don’t yell at us. It’s not our fault:
Collins, an outside linebacker for the Patriots, is listed at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, but moves like a much smaller man. He’s quick enough to play in coverage for New England, like he did at Southern Miss, but the best example of his rare abilities is this video of Collins messing around in a yard and doing eight back handsprings in a row, with a backflip as the finale:
The thumps on the grass remind you that a man that size should not move that easily.UNNOW: Known otherwise for causing traffic bottleneck, the New Sabzi Mandi along the Unnao-Kanpur bypass has only a handful of takers these days. As wasted fruits and vegetables fill the area and raise a stink, estimates show that at least 60-70% of the produce is going waste because supply chain has been disrupted by cashlessness. It is the same situation at most mandis that come under Uttar Pradesh State Agricultural Produce Markets Board.On Wednesday morning, potato buyer and whole seller Mohammad Salim ordered throwing 25 sacks into the garbage dump. A single sack contains 1 quintal potatoes. “An average of 20-25 sacks are going waste since demonetisation was announced,” said the businessman.His son Mohammad Shaan said wastage over the month was to the tune of Rs 3.5 lakh. “We would have sold the produce to retailers at an estimated rate of Rs 5 per kg which means Rs 12,500 for 25 quintals. If the average for 28 days of demonetization period is calculated, our loss stands at Rs 3.5 lakh,” he said.But Salim is not the only one to have run into losses. The mandi comprises 50 buyers and at least 500 farmers in the vicinity. “Cash and change crunch has upset business across levels. Over 60-70% of the produce is wasted for lack of demand. If this goes on, the mandi will have to close down,” said Arvind Shukla, vice-president of the mandi’s vegetable and fruit whole sellers association.General secretary Irshad Hussain added, “Many farmers are not able to bring their produce to us because they have no money for transport. Some of the growers are dumping their produce either for peanuts at the local level or leaving it to fate. Even those who can manage are not able to get the cost of ferrying goods as prices have nose-dived.”Explaining the price factor, Saroj Pal, a dealer in tomatoes said, “In October, a crate of tomatoes (25kg) sold at Rs 700 but a farmer gets only Rs 100 for the same now. Clearly, the rates have come down seven times."Cauliflower, the cash crop of the past two seasons is making farmers regret. “A single bud is fetching just 1 rupee instead of Rs 6-8 each last season,” said Dharmu Lodhi, a farmer from Bangermau.Wastage at the fruit sellers’ end was estimated to be around 40-50%. Tanveer Ahmed, who dealt with exotic fruits like kiwis, kinnows and grapes said, “We dealt with these fruits on a daily basis but there have been just one or two business days in the week. The stock is going waste on a daily basis.”Tomato farmer from Rajpur (MP), Angad Singh said “Will Modiji pay for our losses?” Nizam Bhai pyazwale said |
ed compartment without being groped is close to impossible. November 29, 2017 at 6:30 am Hide Replies 15 "Many people do go back, and many people are not able to make deep emotional connections with Americans, and they know that their privileged position in India will get them access to five star health care because the public healthcare in India is infinitely more shitty then in the US" No it isn't infinitely more shitty. It is a more virtuous and honorable system where you get what you pay for. And the poor can't freeride "That still leaves huge numbers of people who are happy to live with their in-laws, happy to cover themselves up, and are not interested in getting shitfaced in a bar" It is a virtuous thing to take care of aged in-laws. India is a more virtuous place than immoral US where you have a very evil Social security set up where I need to pay for the security and care of aged people I dont give a shit for. In India, kids take care of parents. Not strangers. We are more virtuous. And yes, decent people do not mind covering themselves up unless the occasion calls for not covering up (eg - beach or a picnic). India isn't US where every other woman dresses up like a pornstar. "But a lot of people prefer the American culture and freedoms" I call it American license and vice. "Taking public transportation in a non-gendered compartment without being groped is close to impossible." You may get groped once in a blue moon in India. But in US, besides being groped you also get ruined by nasty boyfriends in the dating market. November 29, 2017 at 6:43 am Hide Replies 16 "Sure, many Indian women (and men) stay on in US after grad school, largely because this is a stinking rich country where their earning potential is practically double what it would be in India". OK but how come few well-qualified Indians would like to become a citizen of Saudi Arabia or Kuwait? Work for some years there to earn a lot of money, yes. But not many would do anything to become a citizen of such very rich nations. Obviously when it comes to western nations money is a major factor but not the only one as shrikanthk suggests. The fact is, these nations at present have a superior civilization and a superior culture and it is this that Indians find appealing. Many Indians settled in the US keep running down American culture but in their heart of hearts they know they are being hypocritical.
This may change in the future and Indian culture may become superior to western culture but that time is not yet. November 29, 2017 at 6:52 am Hide Replies 17 Ofcourse the privileged would prefer a culture that tolerates vice and license more. Who wouldn't. We all like candies. But that doesn't make candies healthy or desirable. Virtue is hard. No wonder it is also less attractive. And your comparison with Saudi isn't apposite. Those are downright unlivable places where Indians don't even have the same rights as the local Muslims. I don't need lectures on Western civilization. I have grown up reading Dickens and Wodehouse, watching Hitchcock and Ford, discussing Hume and Hamilton. I understand western civilization better than most westerners. That doesn't take away the fact that it is a Faustian civilization, as Spengler rightly pointed out. It has made a pact with the devil. It is a civilization less concerned with virtue and more concerned with pleasure. And that will be its undoing in the long run. November 29, 2017 at 9:29 am Hide Replies 18 "No it isn’t infinitely more shitty. It is a more virtuous and honorable system where you get what you pay for. And the poor can’t freeride" India is a more virtuous place than immoral US where you have a very evil Social security set up where I need to pay for the security and care of aged people I dont give a shit for. India isn’t US where every other woman dresses up like a pornstar. I call it American license and vice. You may get groped once in a blue moon in India. But in US, besides being groped you also get ruined by nasty boyfriends in the dating market." Dude...what just happened??? Leaving aside issues of morality, virtue, and vice, if you don't think Indian public hospitals are shit, just go today outside AIIMS (India's best public hospital) and look at the poor patients sleeping on the footpath. Or if you're not in Delhi then just google "patients outside AIIMS on footpath" and look at the google images or read the first few links. Secondly, if you think women in Delhi buses get groped once in a blue moon then we have a permanent blue moon situation going on. I don't think you've ever talked to a woman who has taken a bus in Delhi. Finally, every other woman in the US dresses like a pornstar?? Hmm, you need to update your porn choices from the 1800s to modern times. All this vitriol and morality, seems very personal. Someone must've really hurt your feelings when you were in the US. November 29, 2017 at 9:37 am Hide Replies 19 Nothing personal. I just refuse to argue with the people here using western yardsticks and assumptions. I have my own yardsticks. Indian ones. Maybe I stretched things a bit with the pornstar comment. But even that is not as much of an exaggeration as claiming that most Indians pass bowels in public, which is commonly accepted wisdom on India here in Marginal Revolution threads. November 29, 2017 at 9:39 am Hide Replies 20 And AIIMS treatment is perfectly fine given the prices you pay there. You get what you pay for. If you need 5-star treatment, please cough up 5 star prices. As Milton Friedman said, there is no such thing as a free lunch. November 29, 2017 at 9:46 am Hide Replies 21 "Secondly, if you think women in Delhi buses get groped once in a blue moon then we have a permanent blue moon situation going on. I don’t think you’ve ever talked to a woman who has taken a bus in Delhi" The parents of Delhi girls must let their girls go a bit ant atleast let these precious damsels travel in public buses, so the public knows they exist and aren't aliens. Hah. Heck,...how can groping happen when women don't even travel in buses to know. I've lived in Delhi for 8 years, and never witnessed an indiscretion. In contrast, I have personally been accosted and even spat on in 5th avenue, 42nd street in NYC (broad daylight mind you)
November 28, 2017 at 5:09 am Hide Replies 24
So the claim is that sexual harassment is so bad it is keeping women out of the work force? Interesting claim. I think that would need quite strong proof even though I am inclined to believe it.
I am mildly reminded of a Richard Prior joke that there were no Black astronauts because while they could handle being launched into outer space, the bus trip down through Alabama had them worried.
Mind you, I am also reminded of the famous Gandhi quote:
Interviewer: Mr. Gandhi, what do you think about Western civilization?
Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea.
November 28, 2017 at 9:52 am Hide Replies 25 Gandhi, an English barrister, who spent over a decade of his life in South Africa and England, a fan of the Bible, John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, among others, definitely knew more about Western civilization, than many on this thread. November 29, 2017 at 7:00 am Hide Replies 26 " It [ western civilization]has made a pact with the devil. It is a civilization less concerned with virtue and more concerned with pleasure. And that will be its undoing in the long run."
shrikanthk, are you saying is there is nothing positive about western culture? And Indian culture is totally spotless and full of virtue? November 29, 2017 at 7:05 am Hide Replies 27 Haha. When did I say that. I am offering a corrective here to the "pursuit of happiness" narrative which is totally unchallenged and slavishly celebrated. November 29, 2017 at 1:06 pm Hide Replies 28 The people who celebrated the "pursuit of happiness" were thinking of the Aristotelian definition of happiness, not the Hugh Hefner definition.
November 28, 2017 at 10:02 am Hide Replies 26 Did you ever go to see one of Richard Prior's shows when he was in Cleveland or Cincinnati? November 28, 2017 at 10:40 am Hide Replies 27 No, but a friend of mine saw one of Paul McCartney's shows when he visited Brazil. November 28, 2017 at 11:43 am Hide Replies 28 You have Brazilian friends? That explains your obsession with their country. I hope their kids don't get eaten by the lions. November 28, 2017 at 11:44 am Hide Replies 29 All my friends are Brazilian (except for a few other kinds of Latin Americans) because I am Brazilian. And there are lions whatsoever eating children in Brazil. It is a complete non-issue. November 28, 2017 at 11:55 am Hide Replies 30 Seriously, do you think Dayton's basketball team is going to improve this year? November 28, 2017 at 1:00 pm Hide Replies 31 Nothing will ever get better in your Ohio, much less baseball!! It is a very stupid game, its only role is making watching the paint dry seem funny by way of comparison. November 28, 2017 at 12:10 pm Hide Replies 28 Milwaukee. This guy is Zanesville to the core. An awkward geek can survive in Cleveland or Cincinnati without recourse to online Walter Mittying- but you get into those Lutheran Great Lakes States and they will eat you alive if you are an awkward nerd. November 28, 2017 at 12:57 pm Hide Replies 29 1) I do not live in Milwaukee, Zanesville or any American county, state, Commonwealth or unincorporated territory.
2) I neither Walter Mitty nor have any need of doing so. I have a rich and and satisfying life.
3) I am not a nerd and have never being.
4) I am not awkward, quite the opposite indeed.
November 28, 2017 at 7:30 am Hide Replies 37
Well. It is interesting that most indicators of sexual harassment in india are far lower (ie better) in urban India as compared to say US.
The thing with many Indian women is a very low tolerance threshold where even a mild complimebmnt on one's looks qualifies as "harassment". And also the parents of indian women are often ultra conservative (not a bad thing ) and are willing to make that extra effort to pamper their daughters.
This isnt a reaction to the threat of sexual harassment. Rather it is indicative of the cloistered upbringing of indian youngsters ( particularly women)
November 28, 2017 at 9:07 am Hide Replies 38 Well, if you can cure the patient's (the country's) fever, feel free to break the thermometer. Let's be blunt: the Indian regime is a savage, radical one, it is an outpost of tyranny in no way different from Pakistan or Red China.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/world/asia/for-rape-victims-in-india-police-are-often-part-of-the-problem.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/world/asia/murder-small-town-india.html
November 28, 2017 at 9:08 am Hide Replies 39 Well, if you can not cure the patient's (the country's) fever, feel free to break the thermometer. Let's be blunt: the Indian regime is a savage, radical one, it is an outpost of tyranny in no way different from Pakistan or Red China.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/world/asia/for-rape-victims-in-india-police-are-often-part-of-the-problem.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/19/world/asia/murder-small-town-india.html
November 28, 2017 at 7:39 am Hide Replies 40
This resembles the on-going concern over sexual predation on campus, the "rape culture", as if women that don't attend college are exempt from consideration. It's interesting that the study focuses on the travel risks of female college students as opposed to all students, females in general, male students, or the population in general. Maybe female students are more important than others.
November 28, 2017 at 7:56 am Hide Replies 41
Rape rates per 100,000 population
India : 1.8
USA : 27.3
Sweden : 63.5
But yes, India is still "unsafe" for women. It is common to apply a different yardstick for India. After all we don't share one of the three desert religions. So our numbers are to be trusted less than those of the Abrahamic brethren.
November 28, 2017 at 9:13 am Hide Replies 42 Interesting statistics and thanks for supplying them! "After all we don’t share one of the three desert religions. So our numbers are to be trusted less than those of the Abrahamic brethren." But this is a ridiculous comment. Do you think anybody on this board thinks uses a different yardstick when comparing rape in Japan or Taiwan versus the West? The comparisons have nothing to do with the religious aspects. It's a first world point of view about third world countries and is certainly prone to misconceptions. November 28, 2017 at 11:39 am Hide Replies 43 @JWatts : frankly I don't see TC writing about any country as negatively as he writes on India. e.g., search his posts on Pakistan - https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Amarginalrevolution.com+pakistan&oq=site%3Amarginalrevolution.com+pakistan You are surprised at shrikanthk's comment because you don't have that bias against Indians in yourself, but I think there are sections of the American academia that do. November 28, 2017 at 11:52 am Hide Replies 44 Yes, And that bias definitely stems from a bias against Hinduism. Fact. Tyler himself has acknowledged his partiality for Islamic theology on more than one occasion on his blog. As well as his soft spot for Christianity, For instance - his disdain for Edward GIbbon's thesis that Christianity hurt European civilization in the 1st millennium CE. Deep down this bias stems from a belief in Judeo Christian (and Islamic) cultural superiority and a contempt for cultures outside that tradition. Sam Haysom November 28, 2017 at 12:22 pm Hide Replies 45 November 29, 2017 at 3:31 pm Hide Replies 46 Yes, And that bias definitely stems from a bias against Hinduism. Fact. Yikes. What an absurd persecution complex you have
November 28, 2017 at 10:37 am Hide Replies 43 "It is common to apply a different yardstick for India. After all we don’t share one of the three desert religions. So our numbers are to be trusted less than those of the Abrahamic brethren." Also, India is madly corrupt.
November 28, 2017 at 11:00 am Hide Replies 44 @shrikanthk: Though we must factor in the higher rates of reporting rapes (and a "lower" threshold for what constitutes rape) in the Western countries, I can believe that rape rates in India are significantly lower, though perhaps not by the magnitude suggested by the above numbers. I would guess that the rates of low-scale harassment are much higher in India (what we euphemistically call "eve-teasing"), at least for single unchaperoned women. You can see groups of young men hanging aimlessly around staring at women in our cities (much more true in the north), especially those who dress in any non-traditional way (and far from "slutty".) This probably deters Indian women from putting themselves out in the public in many ways (not as much as in Islamic countries though), leading to fewer situations in which rape, or even sex, can occur. November 28, 2017 at 11:34 am Hide Replies 45 @Kris: I agree, and as a related point: a lot of the rapes in the US are date-rapes, which would be rarer in India simply because people don't date as much. In this respect, I used to think that India would gradually become more like the US, but with feminism leaning more and more puritanical it looks like US may become more like India :P November 28, 2017 at 11:47 am Hide Replies 46 I never cease to be amazed at the ease with which educated Indians buy the "underreporting" argument - though there is no objective basis for that belief - except for a deep seated aversion to India. Sure, I don't deny some underreporting. But underreporting that explains a difference of 15X? No way. I think it is very hard for the westerners as well as "westernized" Indians to digest the plain truth that Indians are indeed more virtuous in their dealings with women than most countries in the world. November 28, 2017 at 11:51 am Hide Replies 47 I don't claim that it explains a difference of 15X. November 28, 2017 at 12:31 pm Hide Replies 48 I know you didn't. Just referring to the defensive tendency of Indians to buy the "underreporting" line as if it is axiomatic. The reality is that Indian women have it very very good! This is the only country on earth possibly, where a young widow, will probably be taken care of by her in-laws as long as they are alive, without any monetary consideration! A land where Dharma indeed rules in the hearts of men. I can't imagine that sort of a thing happening in most other societies.
y81 November 28, 2017 at 11:19 am Hide Replies 45 November 28, 2017 at 4:37 pm Hide Replies 46 The stats are NOT believable. You don't report a rape in a country where you don't trust that the police will believe you. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/world/asia/29iht-letter29.html November 29, 2017 at 12:00 am Hide Replies 47 Haha. Big Hollywood stars sexually abuse women around them and the victims don't speak up for decades. How's that for under reporting?
raj November 28, 2017 at 11:20 am Hide Replies 46 Indian rape victims are much less likely to report than Americans or Swedes. Swedish and American police are much more likely to take a report seriously. India doesn't recognize marital rape. Sweden recognizes many nonviolent and nonpenetrative acts as rape. You are the one applying different yardsticks. November 28, 2017 at 12:16 pm Hide Replies 47 Sure, that's because Sweden is a deeply immoral country that is sold to the feminist lobby November 28, 2017 at 1:03 pm Hide Replies 48 As opposed to http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/world/asia/for-rape-victims-in-india-police-are-often-part-of-the-problem.html
November 28, 2017 at 2:41 pm Hide Replies 47 Not only that. A significant percentage of rape cases before the courts is actually parental criminalization of consensual relationships. Here is the link. The author is an avowed feminist.
http://www.thehindu.com/data/the-many-shades-of-rape-cases-in-delhi/article6261042.ece November 28, 2017 at 2:57 pm Hide Replies 48 Blah / Kris - This is interesting. Vishwas's link shows that the "rape definition" thresholds aren't that high in India as people are apt to think. And under-reporting is also probably exaggerated as a factor. November 28, 2017 at 4:39 pm Hide Replies 49 The cops in India are much quicker to blame the victim than they are in Sweden. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/indian-women-aint-no-cinderella-selfies-after-midnight-support-stalking-victim-case-politician-a7883841.html You'd have to be crazy to think Sweden has 50 times the rape rate of India. November 28, 2017 at 4:55 pm Hide Replies 50 Nobody is saying 50. We are just saying India has a lower rape rate than Sweden. Nobody disputes that, regardless of the under-reporting that might exist. And there are MANY MANY false rape cases in India as well. Indian women are no angels. They can be nasty. November 29, 2017 at 2:34 am Hide Replies 51 Does shrikanthk have a number more exact than "MANY MANY" for false rape claims, and some sort of citation to back it up? I'm curious, because as many already-mentioned problems there are for rape statistics, I'd imagine there would be quite a few for the "false" ones. For example: Are they false, or just not proven to be true to the satisfaction of a jury or judge? There's a difference. November 29, 2017 at 11:11 am Hide Replies 52 I suggest you read Vishwas's link. November 28, 2017 at 8:59 pm Hide Replies 49 Very good point. November 29, 2017 at 6:32 am Hide Replies 50 shrikanthk, even 20 years ago many victims of rape in India used to hesitate reporting it because instead of ostracizing the criminal it is the women who used to get ostracized. These days more victims of rape are bold enough to complain. Sadly even today I know many well-educated people who view these victims with suspicion and this puts off many women. So perhaps we really don't know how many rape cases go unreported. November 29, 2017 at 6:37 am Hide Replies 51 There are also many women who do file false cases. And women hesitate in the US too. It's interesting we are discussing this in US where I find so many women opening up against celebrities years after the alleged incident. I see there is a lot of self-flagellation among NRIs, on this thread.
November 28, 2017 at 4:35 pm Hide Replies 48 That statistic is garbage because women in India do not report sex crimes. They're afraid to report these crimes because the police blame the victim. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/08/india-rape-victims-face-barriers-justice Sweden has a weaker definition of rape than the United States so the data give the illusion that Sweden is less safe than the US as it relates to sex crimes. November 28, 2017 at 4:54 pm Hide Replies 49 Ofcourse. The Swedes are angels and the Indians demons. Feel free to nurse your hunches. The data be damned. It's all contaminated by "underreporting". Hah. How on earth can the compatriots of Ingmar Bergman be more likely to rape and molest than those dark skinned, idol worshipping Indians? How? Surely the methodology is wrong. Surely there is underreporting. Surely! November 29, 2017 at 6:55 am Hide Replies 50 shrikanthk, first let me clarify that I am not an NRI. I could have been if I wanted to but decided to remain an Indian citizen and live in India. many call me a fool for this. I think the hesitation to report rape and sexual harassment in India should not be underplayed. merely because it is less than in Sweden does not in any way make what happens in India less horrendous.
November 28, 2017 at 7:58 am Hide Replies 71
And US has a lot of work to do on ensuring safety for women. The rape rates in US are about 16 times the rates in Canada, your somewhat similarly wealthy neighbor.
November 28, 2017 at 12:16 pm Hide Replies 72 Sweet maybe you guys can stop immigrating here since things are so bad.
November 28, 2017 at 8:03 am Hide Replies 73
" it could help explain the puzzle of low female labor force participation in India"
Well, it is perhaps low because Indian women have better husbands? Who are less likely to desert or divorce them. And less likely to smoke weed or have painkillers? Ever thought of that?
Those who really wish to work do manage to work in India. And Indian labor participation rates are way higher than those of Pakistan and several very wealthy muslim countries of the middle east.
November 28, 2017 at 12:18 pm Hide Replies 74 What thin skin you have for a mid caste. All this play acting as a Brahmin is making you soft. November 29, 2017 at 1:35 am Hide Replies 75 I can attest for a fact that shrikanth is a Brahmin. What exactly is source of this idea you keep hinting at that these commentators are not Brahmin?
November 28, 2017 at 8:18 am Hide Replies 76
"I assemble a unique dataset that combines information on 4,000 students at the University of Delhi "
And since when did University of Delhi become representative of India? The Delhi elite are particularly noted for their extravagance and lavish upbringing of their kids (especially girl children). It is hardly representative of puritanical, austere India which is the opposite of Delhi in every respect.
November 28, 2017 at 8:24 am Hide Replies 77
If you have a lot to say, put it in one post. No need to clutter up the board with multiple top level posts.
November 28, 2017 at 9:26 am Hide Replies 78
Wow, the bot-to-human ratio of commentators is pretty lopsided here!
November 28, 2017 at 12:30 pm Hide Replies 79 You should try to become a bot, since you are dimmer than them.
November 28, 2017 at 10:46 am Hide Replies 80
So how does this analogise to the US, e.g. in terms of the impact of public safety (or lack thereof) in urban neighbourhoods in the US? I still remember the sob stories about how closing failing Chicago public schools meant that children would now have to walk a longer, more dangerous route to school, so they just wouldn't go. The point of the stories was that failing schools ought to be kept open, but the lesson I took away was that public safety in Chicago (at least) is in a terrible state.
Do we, perhaps, undercount the adverse economic impact of public disorder?
November 28, 2017 at 11:41 am Hide Replies 81
So the dataset it based on surveys from Delhi University students -- there are sometime like 30 colleges involved.
I have to wonder how much of this is just traffic; in the absence of getting into Lady Ram you're going to pick something closer to it doesn't take you 4+ hours to get to work.
I wasn't aware there was that much a gender gap in Delhi in terms of the workforce -- in particular for college grads.
November 28, 2017 at 1:00 pm Hide Replies 82
I too find this hard to believe. Crime is not especially high in Delhi relative to an American city. There are cultural issues and some fear with women walking around at night but I don't see that would explain the results. See some of the surveys on crime by the IDFC Institute here (I had a small role in the study)
http://www.idfcinstitute.org/knowledge/publications/reports/safety-trends-and-reporting-of-crime-satarc/
November 28, 2017 at 5:02 pm Hide Replies 83 "not especially high" It's actually lower than that of most American cities. Here's a link - http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-has-lower-crime-rate-than-new-york-says-study/ I moved from Delhi to New York City a couple of years ago. And I find the latter far less safe. In the past 2 years, I have been spat on as well as manhandled by beggars on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight. The sort of incident that I couldn't imagine happening to me in my wildest dreams back in Delhi. And Delhi is an outlier, in that it is the least safe of all Indian cities. A city like Bombay has a fraction of Delhi's crime rate.
November 28, 2017 at 3:44 pm Hide Replies 84
"This is the only country on earth possibly, where a young widow, will probably be taken care of by her in-laws as long as they are alive, without any monetary consideration!"
Assuming they don't set her on fire....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_burning
November 28, 2017 at 6:12 pm Hide Replies 85
I remember when I first read Rooftop Dwellers by Anita Desai in college. I was struck by how different my life was from Tara and Moyna. As I reflect on the story, I notice more similarities than differences. Every woman makes a calculation before she leaves her home. We are taught to guard ourselves and blamed when we fail to do so. This is true in America, as well as India.
Discrimination, segregation, and harassment harm society at large as much as they harm the victim. How much potential has been wasted by these patriarchal policies? Just remember, fresh eyes bring new perspectives to old problems.
November 29, 2017 at 12:34 am Hide Replies 86
1.No boy or girl in Delhi ( or in India ) takes a bad college instead of a good one.
2. It's not clear from the paper which are the 22 colleges that were chosen.
3. From methodology point of view, it's not enough to rank colleges merely on the basis of their cut off for admissions. a more sensible approach would be segregate these colleges in groups with ratings such as "excellent", " Very good " etc. and only when a female student gives up a higher rating college for a lower one, should we see it as an act of compromising college quality due to safety concerns. It's a no-brainer that when the differences between colleges are negligible, ( say one with cut off 90% and another with 91% but not perceived to be very different in terms of job placements etc. ) then student will choose colleges located closer to home. These choices are reflecting indifference rather than any preference.
November 29, 2017 at 9:27 am Hide Replies 87 This is an excellent comment. Suppose your No 1 college has a cutoff of 98.1% and the No 6 college has a cutoff of 97.1%, that is no big deal. It hardly reflects on the colleges. Another point to consider is the type of education. Getting to study History in LSR is infinitely easier than studying Economics
Comments for this post are closed
CONTACT US
OUR WEB PAGES
BOOKS
Tyler Cowen & Alexander Tabarrok
SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL
Enter your email address to subscribe to updates.
Marginal Revolution UniversityThe Strike Gold
$330.00
With this new Type II jacket Strike Gold have produced a 15oz unsanforized denim made of pure indigo warp threads and a light gray weft thread. The denim is very interesting because they used a super short slub cotton for the weft threads. This is a cotton staple so short we believe it's shorter than the sugar cane fibers used in Sugar Cane's famed Okinawa and Hawaii jeans, except those use a slub fiber (sugar cane) in the warp and weft of the denim. Using a cotton staple this short is tricky when producing a fabric that should be rugged and somewhat heavy in weight because the yarns need to be spun at a far slower pace and therefore increasing the risk of the shuttle yarn (aka, the weft thread) snapping far more often than it already does. The slow spinning of the thread should not be confused with the tension or speed of a loom, spinning of yarns is a process which happens far before any loom is involved in making a fabric.
All this work results in a denim that looks like no denim we've seen before. The process used gives the denim an extremely uneven texture, but not necessarily slubby looking. Our best description is that at a 45 degree angle it can be compared closely to a vintage hand-woven Persian rug, but not so much that most people wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference outside of the deeper color. The fabric looks like an indigo colored denim but has a deeper blue hue from the weft threads peaking through the indigo warp threads. It's a denim like this which reminds us that we haven't seen it all, yet.
They've upped the weight to 15oz and it comes in loomstate form, due to the abrasive nature of the denim when raw the jacket will age faster than most jackets and yield a high contrast fade with normal wear.
Disclaimer: These jackets are made of raw unsanforized denim. When washed/soaked they will approximately 2" in the chest measurement, they will also shrink about.7" in sleeve length and 1" in body length.SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Philippine markets have been heavily sold down since July, primarily for economic reasons, not the festering row between new President Rodrigo Duterte and traditional ally the United States over his war on drugs, money managers say.
Applicants look at job offers displayed on a glass window of a recruitment agency in Manila in this October 9, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo/File Photo
A slowdown in remittances from Filipinos working overseas, which have historically been a big driver of growth in the Southeast Asian nation, is a cause of concern.
For bond investors, a bigger concern is the heavy correlation between Philippine bonds and U.S. Treasuries, and the potential for Philippine bond prices to drop as market participants prepare for the Federal Reserve to raise its near-zero rates.
“Everybody’s pointing to Duterte,” said Erwin Balita, a fund manager at BPI Asset Management in Manila. “But for me, it’s really the fundamentals of the country. The drop in remittances is a big game changer,” he said. BPI manages around 700 billion pesos ($14.5 billion) in the Philippines.
The stock market.PSI, one of Asia's outperformers in 2015, has fallen 4 percent since late July. In the same period, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan index.MIAPJ0000PUS has risen 5.3 percent.
The peso has borne the brunt of the exodus of foreign investment and is down 5 percent against the dollar since July. It is down 2.4 percent this year, making it the worst performing currency in the region after the yuan.
Yields on 15-year dollar bonds issued by the Philippine government, one of the most liquid on the market, have risen 17 basis points since July.
The Philippines is one of Asia’s most active issuers of U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. With Asia’s second-highest growth rate, it has been a haven for yield-hunting foreign investors over the past couple of years.
Yet, those bonds have been volatile in recent weeks.
“People think that Treasury rates are going to go up and that is the reason why the role of Philippine bonds being a Treasury proxy is negatively affected,” said Arthur Lau, a fixed income portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments.
PineBridge, which has $42 billion of Asian assets under management, has been neutral to underweight on Philippine assets across its funds this year.
ADDITIONAL FACTOR
The low yields and already tight spreads on Philippine bonds would leave holders vulnerable to a rise in dollar yields, and the selling showed investors were protecting themselves against a possible Fed rate rise, Lau said.
Duterte’s rhetoric was an additional factor, he said.
“People are somewhat concerned about the near-term political environment,” Lau said, adding the market was reacting defensively for both fundamental and technical reasons. “That is why we see the underperformance.”
Duterte took power on June 30 and his focus on building new infrastructure won him plaudits from business leaders. Even his war on drugs and crime was seen as a positive at the time. [nL3N1B105Y]
But over 3,400 people have been killed by police and suspected vigilantes since then and Duterte has insulted U.S. President Barack Obama, the United Nations and the European Union for questioning his campaign. The new president has also courted Russia and China and said he would end joint military exercises with the United States.
For now, U.S. officials say they are doing their best to ignore Duterte’s hostile rhetoric and taking comfort in the fact that he has yet to translate his words into less military cooperation. [nL3N1CA1LP]
Prashant Singh, a Singapore-based senior portfolio manager at fund manager Neuberger Berman, said the peso’s decline was due to a sharp fall in the Philippines current account surplus in the past few months and the possibility that Duterte’s proposals on improving investment and infrastructure could lead to more imports.
But he added: “The geopolitics is not helping the peso at the margin,” referring to the Duterte administration. Neuberger Berman switched to being underweight on the peso two months ago.
The Philippines’ current account surplus in the second quarter shrank to $65 million from $3.2 billion in the year-ago period, mainly owing to a rise in imports and flat remittances.
Remittances from millions of Filipinos working overseas have traditionally funded the private consumption that drives three-fourths of the Philippine economy. However, flows until July totaled just $15.32 billion, up only three percent against the year-ago period, because of the slow global economy and a depreciation in currencies of host countries.
Philippine presidential candidate and Davao city mayor Rodrigo 'Digong' Duterte kisses the Philippine flag during |
3.3% over an un-rated building. Most notably, was that an ENERGY STAR certified building can sell for up to 16% more than a comparable unrated building.
Reducing energy use, by upgrading equipment or making simple scheduling adjustments, have a direct impact on a building’s net operating income. An increase in net income will, in turn, raise the building’s overall worth, since investors value assets based on future income.
Are you a building owner who has gained from the multiple benefits of energy efficiency? share your story in the comments!
7. What can I do to reduce exposure to volatile energy prices?
For the past few years, paying utility bills has been a burden for tenants in Spain. Unfortunately, 2017 was no different. The price of electricity in Spain exceeded a record level – 100 euros per megawatt-hour! Just recently, on the 25th May, once again Spain made the headlines with energy prices double those of France or Germany, and generally the most expensive in Europe, during 48 hours. It’s not only Spain though; energy prices are volatile across the world. So how can you reduce your risk to outrageous energy bills?
At a time where Australian electricity prices doubled since the carbon tax was abandoned, a Queensland high school proactively reduced its energy costs. Beenleigh High School saved $10,000 by switching off lights and air conditioners in unused parts of the school. Furthermore, the school had a massive lighting upgrade which saved them $20,500 annually in operating costs!
Australia is also subject to extreme heat during the summer which require air conditioning systems to cool down school rooms. Even so, Beenleigh High School avoided the purchase of seven air conditioning systems, deferring $28,000 in capital expenditure! How? By installing a heat reflective roof coating onto the four school buildings.
The results of an energy audit showed the air conditioning systems (66%), lighting (23%) and hot water systems (6%) were the major contributors to the school’s rising energy bills.
Do you work at a school? Do you need help financing an EE project? Get it touch with us here!
8. Did you know you can increase your competitive advantage with Energy Efficiency?
Besides the multiple benefits of energy efficiency mentioned above, EE also uses improved technology which optimises operations, processes and resource use. Even sectors as vast and intricate as transport can capitalise on the competitive advantages that accrue from EE, including winning and retaining clients.
For instance, Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a publicly listed company that owns and operates 28 product and chemical tankers. Since 2010, they have applied a series of efficiency technologies to their tanker vessels and built their reputation as a sustainable leader in the shipping industry. Now, both newly built and existing vessels are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies which make them more marketable in the shipping market as they use less fuel.
They are less expensive to operate, more tradeable and therefore more profitable. In the shipping industry, charterers are more than willing to pay for cost-effective ships. Ardmore is already recouping its energy efficiency investment through higher rates. In the landscape of business, an increase in cash flow is a substantial gain in competitive advantage!
Do you have an EE project you would like to showcase? Make sure to share your success story with us in the comments!
9. Scale up your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with energy efficiency!
Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming a vital pillar for business growth and as part of those corporate programs, Energy efficiency is a key sustainability feature that needs to be embraced and communicated to all stakeholders.
One of the most innovative and efficient ways to engage stakeholders around energy efficiency measures is to invite them to participate in the financing of those investments. This is is exactly what crowdlending platforms like ECrowd! enables:
Transforming the financing of energy efficiency investments into a positive communication and social engagement campaign
A boost of productivity, improvement of work conditions, staff retention and recruitment, reduced operations and maintenance costs, an increase of asset value, reduced dependence on energy price volatility, gain of competitive advantage and, last but not least, enhanced Corporate social responsibility…those are just some of the multiple benefits of energy efficiency above and beyond energy-related cost savings.
Still, many companies find it difficult to start energy efficiency investments. Finance is the #1 reason why company owners don’t approve energy efficiency projects. ECrowd!‘s mission is to fill this gap and make financing energy efficiency investments accessible, simple, fast and efficient. Thanks to the crowdlending model, financing of positive impact investments does not have to be a barrier to starting benefiting from the multiple benefits of energy efficiency.
Tags: clean energy projectsAt the kind of journalism conferences that I attend, Aron Pilhofer, who had key roles in the digital operations of The New York Times and The Guardian in recent years, has been asking a very good question: What if news organizations optimized every part of the operation for trust? Not for speed, traffic, profits, headlines or prizes… but for trust. What would that even look like?
My answer: It would look a lot like De Correspondent.
Launched in 2013 in The Netherlands, De Correspondent is funded solely by its members: 56,000 of them, who pay about $63 a year because they believe in the kind of journalism that is done by its 21 full-time correspondents and 75 freelancers. The leaders of the site announced today that they will soon expand to the U.S. and set up shop in New York. (See Ken Doctor’s post on Nieman Lab for the details on that.)
It was also announced today that I am going to help them. With $515,000 from the Knight Foundation and the Democracy Fund, I am launching at NYU a research project that is designed to benefit American news organizations that have a membership strategy while improving the odds that The Correspondent will succeed in its move across The Atlantic. I have further agreed to become The Correspondent’s first “ambassador” in the U.S. market. That means I will help introduce its model to others who might be able to assist — including possible funders. (Are you one?
As you might have sensed, I believe in what these young Dutch journalists are doing. I think they have a strong sense of how to build a sustainable newsroom. But what really impressed me is what I said before: the way they optimize for trust. In this piece I will:
unfold what I mean by “optimized for trust”
describe the research plan for the new Membership Puzzle Project, funded by Knight and Democracy Fund
explain why I am supporting The Correspondent’s move to the U.S. and lending my name to their efforts.
Part One: Optimizing for trust
Why do I say that a news organization optimized for trust would look a lot like The Correspondent? There are four main reasons.
Reason 1. No ads. No targeting. Have you ever heard this maxim? “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” Its lessons can be overdrawn, and some think it silly, but this phrase captures something about commercial media properties. You cannot trust them to be wholly on the side of their publics because they have another class of customers to worry about: the advertisers. Even if they are run with integrity and would never cave to an advertiser’s demands, a range of subtler distortions can creep in. Obvious example: clickbait. Less obvious: Pools of available ad money (food, real estate, cars) tend to spring up as editorial products (Grub Street, Curbed, Jalopnik).
There’s nothing inherently corrupt about this. It’s a system that can subsidize a lot of good work. And every subsidy system has drawbacks, including membership. But if you’re doing public service journalism and trying to optimize for trust, it helps immensely to be free from the business of buying and selling people’s attention. The Correspondent got that right away. That is why it is ad-free and has no commercial sponsors.
“The Correspondent does not have to think about target groups or tailor its content to please, for instance, well-heeled readers between the ages of 25 and 40,” the founders told me. “The site sees its readers as curiosity-driven individuals who cannot be reduced to demographics. This principle is also the basis for our data minimization privacy policy.” Its key tenets:
We only collect data required by law or necessary for the proper functioning of our platform.
We do not sell this information to third parties.
The purpose of any data collection must be clearly explained to our members.
Members should, where possible, have control over their data.
Of course, terms like “where possible” leave a lot of room for interpretation. Because it still relies on third-party services like YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud, The Correspondent cannot say to its members: “You will never be tracked.” But it can say: These are the services we use and why. This is what we are doing to minimize the problem. It can level with people, as it does here and here. (Google translations to English here and here.)
Reason 2. Freedom from the 24-hour news cycle. The Correspondent calls itself an “antidote to the daily news grind.” When you’re not straining to find a unique angle into a story that the entire press pack is chewing on, it’s easier to avoid clickbait headlines, which undo trust. Not chasing today’s splashy story can hurt your traffic, but when you’re not selling traffic (because you don’t have advertisers), the pain is minimized.
The other risk is to relevance: If you’re not covering the stories that everyone is hearing about ad nauseam, will you begin to sound inessential and out of touch? The Correspondent has an answer to that: “Not the weather, but the climate.” It’s a phrase the editors use to keep themselves on track. It means: Ignore the daily blips, focus on the underlying patterns. “Not the weather, but the climate” is just a slogan. You have to execute on it, and that is always hard. But it is the right slogan when you’re trying to optimize for trust. And if you can execute on it, you won’t seem out of touch at all. You will feel more essential. (To get a feel for The Correspondent’s brand of journalism, go here and here.)
Reason 3. Writers at the center with room to run. In the era of print journalism, the term in use was “writer’s paper.” (The Village Voice in its golden age of the 1960s and ’70s was called a writer’s paper.) That means a newsroom where the editorial initiative — the ideas for what to cover — come from the people whose names are on the articles. They are given lots of room to run. The implied contrast is with an “editor’s paper” (Time magazine during its classic period) where the writers have less room to run.
It has no print product, but The Correspondent is a writer’s paper. Its 21 full-time correspondents are encouraged to define their own beats and pick subjects they are passionate about, driven to understand. (Here’s a list of what their writers cover.) The approach is similar to the “obsessions” model developed by Quartz. At The Correspondent, there is no requirement that journalists take the view from nowhere, but they are also not on anyone’s team.
No party line. No forced objectivity. The writers can come to conclusions and show conviction, but they have to be evidence-based in the extreme. If the evidence obliges them to, they will alter their convictions and share that new perspective with readers. Correspondents never do he said/she said journalism; rather they do “I said then, I say now” journalism.
In my view, this is the right way to optimize for trust in the writers.
Reason 4: Journalist as discussion leader. In exchange for the freedom they are allowed in defining their beats and reporting on their passions, correspondents are required to invest in rich interactions with readers. They do not have a choice. It is part of the job. This step is crucial to The Correspondent’s trust model — and its economy. The editors call it “journalist as conversation leader.” It starts with a feature of the site. You can follow individual writers — the ones whose projects you care most about.
Expectations are that writers will continuously share what they are working on with the people who follow them and read their stuff. They will pose questions and post callouts as they launch new projects: what they want to find out, the expertise they are going to need to do this right, any sort of help they want from readers. Sometimes readers are the project. Writers also manage the discussion threads — which are not called comments but contributions — in order to highlight the best additions and pull useful material into the next iteration of an ongoing story. All of the correspondents have weekly email newsletters that update their followers on what the writers are working on. (Here’s an example from clean tech and mobility correspondent Thalia Verkade.)
Fahrenthold explains what he’s doing as he does it. He lets the ultimate readers of his work see how painstakingly it is put together. He lets those who might have knowledge help him. People who follow along can see how much goes into one of his stories, which means they are more likely to trust it. (And to mistrust Trump’s attacks on it…See how that works?) He’s also human, humble, approachable, and very, very determined. He never goes beyond the facts, but he calls bullshit when he has the facts. So impressive are the results that people tell me all the time that Fahrenthold by himself got them to subscribe. He is not “solving,” but he’s certainly helping with the trust problem.
These requirements resemble the approach taken by The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold during the 2016 campaign. As I wrote in December
Fahrenhold came to this style on his own, and was widely praised for it. Journalists at The Correspondent are required to operate this way. And it pays off. Here’s a callout to readers (and people the readers might know): “Dear Shell employees: Let’s talk.” And here’s what resulted from it: ‘Shell knew’: oil giant’s 1991 film warned of climate change danger. Impressive. And here, readers explain in their own words why they contribute knowledge to The Correspondent.
In 1999, my friend Dan Gillmor, then working as Silicon Valley columnist for the San Jose Mercury news but early to blogging, came to an important realization: “My readers know more than I do.” It took 15 years, but a news company finally baked into its business model Gillmor’s profound insight into what journalism could be in the internet age. This is from an excellent article in The Drum about The Correspondent’s rise, which quotes cofounder and current publisher Ernst-Jan Pfauth:
De Correspondent’s philosophy is that 100 physician readers know more than one healthcare reporter. So when that healthcare reporter is prepping a story, they announce to readers what they’re planning to write and ask those with first-hand knowledge of the issues — from doctors to patients — to volunteer their experiences. “By doing this we get better informed stories because we have more sources from a wider range of people,” Pfauth tells The Drum. “It’s not just opinion makers or spokespersons, we get people from the floor. And, of course, there are business advantages because we turn those readers into more loyal readers. When they participate that leads to a stronger bond between the journalist and the reader.”
Right! And that is how you maximize trust — and produce quality journalism — through genuine reader engagement.
Notice how all the pieces fit together: When you don’t have advertisers, there’s nothing you have to cover because it brings traffic or offers the right environment for ads. Release from the 24-hour news cycle — coupled with dropping the advertisers — lets you grant your writers more creative freedom. This in turns helps attract talent. Requiring the talent to interact with the readers and draw knowledge from them not only improves the journalism by broadening its base, it also binds the readers to the writers and gives them a stake in the final product because they joined in its formation. They are thus more likely to share it with others — and more likely to renew their membership.
Here I have to explain something about how The Correspondent’s “pay” model works. If you go to the homepage and try to access its contents, you will be asked to join and pay the membership fee. But that is the one and only incarnation of any pay “wall.” On the web or via email, any link you come across to an article in The Correspondent is always free to access. Members can share links with their networks without limit, and those links will always work. No one ever gets a notice like: You have accessed 9 of the 10 free articles you are entitled to this month… Members don’t pay to be members because they’re getting exclusive access to something the rest of the public is denied. That’s not how it works. That’s how Politico Pro works. That’s how The Information works. The Correspondent wants its work to spread freely. It also wants you to become a member. It refuses to grant any contradiction between the two.
Again, I think this is the right way to maximize trust in a “readers pay the freight” model.
Part Two: The Membership Puzzle Project
As I have tried to make clear, I think The Correspondent has a good model. But so far, it has only proven itself in the Dutch market (17 million people). The American market (325 million) is different: far bigger and vastly more competitive. It would be foolish to assume that The Correspondent could simply transplant itself and thrive in the United States. Member-funded journalism has a long history here, most obviously in public radio but not only there. And there are membership organizations in fields other than journalism that might have good insights.
At the same time, The Correspondent knows things that local, nonprofit and specialized news sites in the U.S. can benefit from as they turn to readers to support them. Knowledge ought to flow in both directions. From American sites to The Correspondent, and from The Correspondent to American journalism as the Dutch site brings its model to the U.S. This is where the Membership Puzzle Project begins work. It is designed to answer three questions:
What can American journalism learn from The Correspondent’s success in developing a membership model for the support of public service journalism?
As it expands to New York and the American market, what does The Correspondent need to know about how membership has worked — and not worked — in the U.S.?
If readers are going to support public service journalism by giving money directly to it, what does the social contract between them and the journalists have to look like? What are best practices for keeping that relationship strong and alive?
Here’s how the project will try to answer these questions:
Find out how membership has worked — and where it has failed — for news organizations in the U.S that have tried it, which means traveling to key sites, interviewing knowledgeable participants, compiling documents and statistical measures of success, and piecing together a portrait of best practice that focuses on lessons learned.
Using similar methods, research The Correspondent’s experience with membership since 2013 and distill the lessons of it for American journalism.
Organize in-person events among those with knowledge and experience to lend so they can pool what they know and learn from each other.
Share the results of this work in a series of published reports and articles that make the findings available to the journalism community and other researchers, focusing especially on the social contract that has to exist between journalists and readers if readers are going to the work directly.
Part Three: Why I’m supporting The Correspondent
Because I think they know what they’re doing. Because they have the right priorities. Because American journalism needs to open itself to influence from abroad. Because the production of public interest news cannot be successful without the reproduction of trust in the people who are authoring that news. Because Aron Pilhofer asked a really smart question: What if news organizations optimized every part of the operation for trust? Because Trump is manufacturing mistrust at a faster rate than journalists can adapt their methods for inspiring public confidence in what they do. Because we don’t have a lot of time, people. Because readers, viewers, and listeners, waking up to the urgency of the moment, are ready to support real journalism with real money, but only if the social contract changes. Because what good is an academic reputation if you aren’t prepared to spend it on something you really believe in?Warlords of Draenor alpha invites have gone out to a small number of individuals for our first phase of external testing, historically dubbed “Friends & Family” for its limited scope of availability to Blizzard employees’ friends and family, as well as some streamers, press outlets, and fansites. Alpha testers are free to share screenshots and videos, stream content, publicly discuss their experiences in the alpha, and offer their feedback in the Alpha Feedback forum This initial wave is extremely limited, and we’ll be sending additional invites as testing progresses. In the meantime, we recommend visiting your favorite fansites for information and updates, Twitch to watch streams, and the front page here at WorldofWarcraft.com for continuing content updates. You can also check out the full alpha patch notes right here Please be aware that no keys are available for the Warlords of Draenor alpha, so be on guard for potential scams using invites as a lure. You can always check to see if you’ve been invited by logging into your Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net and viewing your available game licenses. You’ll never need to click on a link in an email to redeem a testing invite for Warlords of Draenor. Visit our security site for information on how to identify and avoid scams intended to steal your account information.If you’re interested in participating in future testing phases, you can opt in here to World of Warcraft and other Blizzard game-testing opportunities. Additional invite opportunities will be announced as they become available, and we recommend checking back regularly for updates.[edit] Worth noting that the keys given out at PAX East are for a future phase of Beta testing and are not yet active. We'll announce which phase they're active and redeemable for when that phase arrives.It’s so rare to get truly candid thoughts from an actor about a film of theirs. Performers hit the promotional circuit to support a film's opening, say a lot of publicist-approved things, and that's usually that. Commentary tracks - when anyone bothers anymore - are often done immediately after the film has wrapped, allowing no time for thoughtful reflection or emotional fermentation. What movie stars genuinely think of their work is, these days, more often than not a closely guarded secret.
That’s what makes 1973's Roger Moore as James Bond 007 such a fascinating, jaw-dropping, and at times fucking surreal read.
A daily journal of the actor’s experience making Live and Let Die, this Amazon Marketplace find is a delightfully candid glimpse into not only the making of that film, but into its star’s head. Moore's very un-self-conscious observations, often only tangentially related to the production, reveal so much more than I was expecting. That it was published to coincide with the release of the film is mind-blowing, as Moore just types and types unflattering details about the producers, shooting conditions, and even his own personal peccadilloes.
But don’t take my word for it. Enjoy these 007 choice excerpts that take you inside the mind of Moore.
001: James Bond Vs Harry Saltzman. One popular theme of Moore's is consistently fucking with Bond producer Harry Saltzman, usually over money (kind of hilarious, especially when/until you realize that the financially beleaguered Saltzman would be forced to sell his 50% stake in Bond to MGM two years later):
002: Manners Maketh The Man. Not content to razz Saltzman over financial matters, Moore seems to spend a great deal of time watching on in horror as his producer mistreats restaurant servers:
003: Moore Abhors Gabors. Once in a while Moore trades in his MI6 credentials to become a culture critic:
004: Roger Moore, Multi-tasker. Here he talks about how much he loves co-star David Hedison while displaying a subtle technique for maintaining his alpha status:
005: Bond. Woke Bond. Here he waves quite the progressive flag while simultaneously not missing an opportunity to show producer Saltzman being kind of terrible:
006: This Time, It's Personal. Moore is unafraid to show himself in less-than-ideal situations. He reacts to some devastating news in a rather emotional fashion, and please, please do not forget his birthday when he hasn't had his laxative cereal:
007: Oswald Did Not Act Alone. Moore claims to have some inside info on the JFK assassination, nbd:
In short, this is the best $5.25 I’ve ever spent. We’re so conditioned to see this kind of candor in a tell-all published years later, it’s nothing short of amazing that Moore’s unfiltered account of shooting mishaps, penny-pinching producers, and his own persnickety behavior was published as a TIE-IN for the movie’s release. What a strange moment in time.
You can find used copies for anywhere from $10 to $50 on Amazon or eBay (sometimes under the title of Roger Moore’s James Bond Diary). If you’re a fan of the 007 franchise, behind-the-scenes filmmaking stories, or Alan Partridge-type personas, this book is for you.
Big thanks to fellow Bond fan Matt Lynch for discovering this book last month and putting it on my radar.The Sûreté du Québec announced Saturday it has arrested a 57-year-old man linked to the traffic jam on Highway 13 on Tuesday that kept hundreds of drivers stuck for hours in a snowstorm.
The SQ said the driver, who has not yet been named, was arrested at his home Saturday morning. He was one of two truck drivers who the SQ says refused to cooperate with towing on the highway. It’s that decision that the police force blames, at least in part, for the crisis that led to about 300 vehicles getting stuck. The last ones were removed from the highway almost 18 hours later.
The SQ says it is still trying to identify the second truck driver involved.
The Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales will decide what charges to lay, but the SQ said they could include mischief and nuisance. The SQ said the driver was also subject to an Ontario arrest warrant, and would be handed over to Kingston police.
In a statement, the Teamsters union, which represents 4,000 truck drivers, said the two drivers were themselves victims of the “incompetence” of the Transport Department and should not have to pay for a highway that is insufficiently plowed.
The provincial police force has since relieved of their duties two officers who were in charge of the operations on Highway 13, including one who was relieved on Sunday. The captain and lieutenant — the SQ did not release their names — have been reassigned to administrative duties.
An internal investigation by the SQ continues, and the force says other disciplinary measures could be taken once that is complete.
The officers, a lieutenant and a captain, have been reassigned to administrative work while the SQ continues its investigation.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated how long vehicles were trapped on Highway 13 on Tuesday night.GREENPOINT — Bikers pedaling from Brooklyn to Queens may soon get a roomier route — if the city deems a new bike lane fit for the Pulaski Bridge.
The Department of Transportation will announce whether an added bike lane is feasible for the drawbridge this March, said local officials who have pushed for the path.
"They're looking into other examples of drawbridges with bike lanes," said Edward Baker, media coordinator for local Assemblyman Joseph Lentol. "I think they know it's necessary, but they need to find out if it's logistically possible."
The cyclist-only lane would replace one of the three southbound car lanes on the bridge, Baker said, noting that bikers and pedestrians currently share a narrow space to cross the bridge. Cyclists and pedestrians have been fighting for space on the bridge for years, as the transportation blog Streetsblog has reported.
A representative for the Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Chart via.
In 2012, the Conservative government introduced legislation that allowed employers to pay foreign workers 15% less than their Canadian counterparts. These rules applied explicitly to workers who came to Canada as a part of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), here to work on a short term basis with no path to permanent residency or citizenship.This legislation was remarkable in that it skipped the usual left-wing arguments for immigration and multiculturalism as a humane form of nation-building and jumped immediately into the right-wing scenario of immigrants arriving in Canada to work for less money than their domestic counterparts. Only in Canada, where it's commonly believed that immigration is necessary for economic sustainability, could a right-wing government implement an immigration policy that plays directly into the fears of reactionary conservative paranoia.
Even a cursory glance at statistics on the predatory employment policies migrant workers face are alarming: According to a Citizen and Immigration study conducted by the government in 2011, 22 percent of temporary foreign workers were paid less than minimum wage, 25 percent did not receive pay information that showed a record of deductions or hours worked, and 39 percent of workers who worked overtime hours never received overtime pay. Another 32 percent received overtime pay "rarely" or "sometimes."
Officially, the TFWP is meant to fill holes in Canada's labour market, providing workers for industries in which Canadians themselves were unwilling to work. In every case, the employer of a foreign worker must provide evidence that there were no Canadian workers available for a given position by requesting a Labour Market Opinion from the government. For a brief time the government actually gave employers a monetary incentive to bypass Canadians and hire cheaply from the international labour market, so it's hard to believe that any business involved in the program was actually encouraged to try to find Canadian job candidates. In order to further understand this policy and the reasons behind it, I talked to Jeffrey Reitz, a Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto who has written extensively on Canadian Immigration policy: "There's been a lot of criticism about it and it's difficult to understand how the government is not undercutting Canadian workers when the plan is exclusively allowing them to pay less."
Cut to April 2013: The CBC reports that the Royal Bank of Canada laid off dozens of workers and replaced them with temporary workers from India. In British Columbia, a Chinese mining company advertised for jobs that required the knowledge of Mandarin. When they couldn't find enough Mandarin speakers in Western Canada (big surprise), they brought in 201 temporary workers from China. "What's been done has been to use the extensiveness of advertising as the evidence and so the employers put forward that they've advertised here and there and all the normal places and haven't had any applicants," said Reitz. "But even that, it's very difficult to know whether they've actually done that or what's the credibility of the information submitted, so it's a very murky area."
After a series of controversies, the Conservatives were forced to create new rules for the program which came into effect this year, including a $275 employer fee for a permit, the right for government officials to conduct workplace inspections, and the cancellation of both the two-tier wage system and the accelerated labour market opinion, which allowed for a sped up process to bring in workers. But at this point, Conservative reforms are like poorly applied band-aids on self-inflicted wounds. Since taking office, the TFWP has tripled in size, even growing during the recession. In 2011, nearly half a million temporary foreign workers came to Canada while the Conservative government cut down on family reunification visas and made it harder for refugees to get healthcare.
Photo via.
There are now more temporary workers coming to Canada every year than permanent workers. Many of them come to Canada with little understanding of their rights, leaving them vulnerable to workplace abuse. Even though government officials can now legally inspect workplaces to prevent abuse, the new regulations that went into effect at the beginning this year have also dropped the ban on providing temporary foreign workers to employers with criminal convictions in human trafficking, sexually assaulting an employee, or causing the death of an employee. A shift in policy like that can only raise questions the safety of these low paid workers and whether or not the government is encouraging work environments that are up to Canadian standards.
"When the government puts out the figures on the number of temporary foreign workers being brought into the country, what are the skill levels of those workers?" said Reitz. "In many cases, they'll emphasize that many of them are high skill. But exactly what the skill breakdown is, is not something for which, as far as I'm aware, reliable statistics are available." While government officials might emphasize the presence of high skilled workers, many can be found in low skill environments, including the oil, agriculture, and construction industries. The CBC even interviewed a McDonald's franchise owner in Fernie, BC who used the program to staff his fast food restaurant.
This is the dark side of Canadian immigration policy. Workers from the developing world are brought to Canada to work for low wages on a temporary basis while immigrants that could set up roots in this country are discouraged. With the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the Conservative government is facilitating the worst practises of economic globalization. We're used to the idea of outsourcing work to another country, but the Conservatives have allowed international outsourcing to occur within our own borders, forcing Canadian workers to compete with an international labour pool that has a far lower standard of living, causing "downward pressure" on wages and discouraging employers from providing training or incentives to hire.
Canada is unique in the world in that our citizens broadly recognize that immigration is necessary for our economic survival. The Conservatives have abused that broad support of immigration. They've used it to implement a policy that licks the boots of its corporate donors, providing them with cheap temporary labour, rather than a policy that would help build the country and give immigrants a chance at a better life.
@alanjonesxxxvThey started gathering before dawn, before the mist and fog had unwrapped itself from around the Washington Memorial.
They had arrived in planes and and trains and buses, packed themselves into cars and jumped onto the highway, and when they reached the nation’s capital they smilingly squeezed themselves and their banners into subway carriages, or else made their way on foot.
Organisers of the Women’s March on Washington had hoped that up to 200,000 people would come. In the end, officials estimated that 500,000 or more showed up – far larger than the crowds who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration the day before, and so big that officials were obliged to change the route and rule out a march towards the White House.
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.
Over the decades, the National Mall has been home to some extraordinary scenes, from Martin Luther King’s “Dream speech” in 1963, Louis Farrakhan’s Million Man March in 1995, through to the jam-packed celebratory scenes following the swearing-in of Barack Obama in January 2009.
On Saturday, the sight was no less startling, as hundreds of thousands of men and women, many of them wearing pink, pointed-eared “pussyhats” came together in an act of defiance and unity.
The messages they wanted to express and the placards they bore varied. But one common theme of the protest was that Mr Trump’s agenda would not go unchallenged for the next four years, especially when it related to women.
“We march today for the moral core of this nation, against which our new president is waging a war,” said actress America Ferrera.
“Our dignity, our character, our rights have all been under attack, and a platform of hate and division assumed power yesterday. But the president is not America. We are America, and we are here to stay.”
The march in Washington was one of hundreds taking place across the country and around the world. Demonstrators gathered in every US state, in London, Paris and Sydney. There were even a small group of marchers in Paradise Bay, a corner of Antarctica.
In all, the number of “sister” marches was expected to top 600. Organisers said that up to three million people would be involved globally.
After several hours of speeches, and as movement in the Mall began to get difficult, the marchers set off. People clapped and cheered as they made their way west, heading for Independence Avenue.
Francis Clark, 50, a speech therapist from New York, said she did not feel she had a choice but to attend.
“People’s voices are not rising, those in power are not listening,” she said. “The first thing that Mr Trump did was to end the mortgage premium cuts, making it harder for someone to own a home. It’s betrayal from day one.”
Michelle Fortin had come from British Columbia, Canada. She was anxious about what Mr Trump would do to push back LGBT rights, reproductive rights and fail to fund education.
She said there was nothing about his proposals or personality that she liked. “The only good thing is that he has emboldened us to get busy,” she said.
The marchers were young and old, black and white, people of different religions and sexual orientation. Many mothers had come with their daughters. Frequently, three women together indicated a grandmother-mother–daughter combination.
And their chants varied constantly. “Black Lives Matter”, “We want a leader, not a creepy tweeter”, and the call-and-response of “Tell me what democracy looks like – this is what democracy looks like”.
Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump 1/32 London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty 2/32 Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA 3/32 Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images 4/32 London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images 5/32 Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images 6/32 Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images 7/32 Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images 8/32 Bangkok American expats and travellers gather |
anyone else that comes close.”
Biggest Recipients
According to Ethics Commission filings since the start of 2015, the average member of the current 145-member Legislature has accepted more than $4,600 from industry-connected donors.
The average Republican took in about $5,400 from oil and gas donors, which represents about 6 percent of their total. The average Democrat took in just under $2,000, or about 3 percent of their contributions.
With both parties, leaders received higher amounts than rank-and-file members.
With McCall and Schulz leading revenue negotiations, Democrats have accused Republicans of catering to the industry’s wishes.
Inman, for instance, said Gov. Mary Fallin, McCall and Schulz consulted by phone with Devon Energy co-founder Larry Nichols during a recent budget negotiation meeting with Democrats.
“I know the public supports at least going to a 5 percent gross production tax,” Inman said. “But the one entity standing in the way is the oil and gas industry.”
Democrats initially sought increasing the rate from 2 percent to 5 percent for new and existing wells, but after tedious negotiations said they would settle for a 5 percent rate on wells drilled after July 1.
GOP lawmakers responded by offering 4 percent for new wells. But neither side was willing to budge.
In the end, Republicans decided to back a proposal that wouldn’t need Democrats’ votes: increasing the rate from 1 percent to 4 percent for horizontal wells drilled between 2011 and 2015. The 4-percent rate lasts for a well’s first four years before rising to 7 percent.
The change is expected to raise about $95 million next year. Democrats argued this wasn’t enough to address future budget shortfalls because it would generate less money in 2019 and no money afterward.
McCall and Schulz said they have an ideological objection to raising the gross production rate too sharply, and add they have not been swayed by the industry’s campaign dollars.
Meanwhile, McCall said he feared that accepting the Democrats’ 5-percent compromise would lead to the “same type of massive layoffs” that oil and gas experienced 18 months ago when prices plummeted.
“We’re in a very fragile economic situation and we don’t want to discourage investment and job growth in the state of Oklahoma,” he said.
Industry insiders agree.
“When a rig is running, it produces other tax revenue streams, like sales tax, labor income tax, because we’re hiring,” said Donelle Harder, Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association vice president of communications. “So the best opportunity for the state to get more money right now is through the act of drilling.”
Democrats say the argument doesn’t hold up.
Inman said companies will still make a significant profit with a higher tax rate. He pointed to recent comments from Warwick Energy CEO Kate Richard, who said the state’s two major oil plays are so rich in oil that they can generate returns of up to 60 percent at just $40 to $50 per barrel, where prices have been this month.
“And (oil and gas companies) can’t afford to give up 3 percent to help a public school child?” Inman asked. “I’m not buying it.”
What Campaign Donations Mean
Whether campaign donations directly affect a lawmaker’s actions is a matter of debate.
Harder said it is doubtful a lawmaker will ultimately vote a certain way just because they received money from the industry.
She noted many legislators received industry donations but still voted to increase gross production taxes.
“If that money (since then) was influential, I strongly believe these legislators would understand that the industry’s been down and out, trying to figure out a new way to operate in the current commodity price environment,” she said. “Now that we’re creating jobs again, to change the tax rate right now doesn’t make good policy sense.”
Top 5 Recipients in the State House
Representative Total Donations Energy Donations Percent Energy Number Energy Charles McCall (R-Atoka) $211,951 $33,751 15.9 21 Weldon Watson (R-Tulsa) $62,446 $17,001 27.2 16 Zack Taylor (R-Seminole) $81,463 $15,575 19.1 25 Todd Thomsen (R-Ada) $84,125 $15,550 18.5 22 Mike Sanders (R-Kingfisher) $163,984 $13,751 8.4 13
Cantrell, the former petroleum association board member who is chairman of the oil and gas company Cantrell Investments LLC, said the industry’s influence expands beyond just donations to candidate committees.
“It’s not just funding the individual campaigns,” he said. “It’s funding the political action committees, so you’ve got to look at that, too.”
In addition to the $683,000 that oil and gas companies spent directly on lawmakers’ campaigns, they also donated tens of thousands to PACs that support Republican or Democratic lawmakers.
Donations included $50,500 to the Senate Majority Fund, $14,750 to the Republican State House Committee and $27,500 to the Oklahoma State Republican Senatorial Committee. Meanwhile, just $7,500 went to the Democrats of the Oklahoma State Senate.
Inman said the oil industry lobby hasn’t reached out to him because they already know where he stands. Instead, they’ve applied that pressure to McCall and Schulz to not alter the tax, he said.
Inman received 14 energy-related donations totaling $11,500 from 2015 to 2017. He said he doesn’t believe campaign contributions sway votes in general, but they do come into play during elections.
“I don’t know that members in either party really make voting decisions based on who contributed to them,” Inman said. “But I think there is fear, especially upon the Republican majority, that if they stand up, (companies) may spend tens of thousands of dollars to oppose them.”
Rep. Weldon Watson, R-Tulsa, chair of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said it’s no surprise Republicans receive more than Democrats since the GOP has traditionally advocated for deregulation and pro-business policies.
But Watson, a former oil and gas executive who oversaw his company’s PAC spending before he was elected to the Legislature in 2007, said companies look at various factors when deciding where and how much to spend.
In addition to things such as voting records and party affiliation, he said, spending money on incumbents is a priority because they are likely to win re-election.
But he said the donations don’t guarantee a a candidate will vote the industry’s way. Watson said he is proof of this.
He accepted a greater share of oil and gas donations – 26 percent of his total – than any other legislator. But he said he is prepared to vote for a gross production tax increase.
“I am a very big supporter of energy, and I do believe a low GPT is an incentive,” he said. “However, I’m in favor of raising a GPT.”
Lobbying Efforts
Campaign contributions aren’t the only way the industry leverages its deep pockets to influence the Legislature.
Oil and gas companies and their associations hired at least 49 lobbyists this legislative session, Oklahoma Ethics Commission filings show.
“The reality is they do have a lot of presence at the Capitol,” said Rep. Todd Thomsen, R-Ada. “And when you have a lot of presence, it means your message is being told a lot.”
The Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association was active on social media, in some cases targeting individual lawmakers such as House Budget Chairwoman Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, who had said she was open to a production tax increase. Some lawmakers called the campaign a bullying tactic.
The group also led a lobbying effort that brought dozens of energy employees to the Capitol on the second-to-last week of the session.
Brought in on a 56-passenger charter bus equipped with reclining seats, Wi-Fi and personal temperature controls, they crowded a fourth-floor hallway holding signs reading “Don’t kill Oklahoma jobs” and “I am Oklahoma oil and gas” to make their case against a gross production increase.
The other major oil and gas group, the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association, launched an advertising campaign encouraging people to contact lawmakers who support increasing the gross production tax. It spent more than $166,700 on about 890 TV advertising spots in May, Federal Communication Commission records show. It also purchased online ads.
Rep. Marcus McEntire, R-Duncan, was among the lawmakers targeted.
McIntyre said he was surprised to see an ad urging voters in his district, “Tell Rep. Marcus McEntire ‘NO!’” on increasing taxes on the oil and gas industry.
McIntyre, a first-year legislator, said he thought the ads were a bullying tactic. While he is open to a gross production tax increase, he said he hadn’t publicly stated his position at the time.
Harder, of the Oil and Gas Association, said the group’s online ads spurred about 6,000 emails to lawmakers.
“I think ‘bullied’ is a pretty harsh term,” she said. In McIntyre’s case, the purpose was to make sure his constituents knew about the issue “and he had shown an interest in increasing those taxes.”
McIntyre said he doesn’t worry about the fallout of his support of increasing the production tax, but in general he knows the risks.
“I think people do understand oil and gas is very well-funded,” he said. “And if (a lawmaker) were to repeatedly vote against big oil’s interests, I’m sure big oil could find a candidate to run against them or fund a negative campaign ad against them during their primary.”
Correction: In a previous version of the table for top five House recipients, Rep. Scott Biggs’ total in energy donations was incorrectly overstated by $1,000.I was at a dinner party recently where a woman accused me of being anti-feminist. I was really taken aback; I’m a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst and parent guidance expert who has been in private practice for over 25 years. I’m a working mother. As someone who believes in the equality of women and men, I’ve always thought of myself as a feminist. When I asked why, she told me that criticizing daycare and advocating for women to stay with their children as long as possible before they turn 3, which I do in my new book, was anti-feminist.
I don’t agree. I strongly believe that women and men should have equal opportunities and choices and receive equal pay for equal work. I’m thrilled that a woman can have a career and support herself; that she can choose not to marry or to have children; and that a man is not considered less masculine if he wants to stay home and care for the kids. I also believe that both women and men, whether they work or not, should put their children first in every way. Yes, I may be child-centric, but that doesn’t make me anti-equality.
The feminists of the 1970s were committed to giving women choices: to choose a more career-oriented life and have the same opportunities, salaries and power in the workplace as men. Their work and the work of those who followed has freed women to be independent, to fight abuse and to feel empowered in a world where they have often felt disenfranchised. Some of these early feminist leaders chose professional ambition over having children. That was their choice, and I respect it.
But having choices means not that we should, but that we can, if we want to. Many mothers must work to support their families. But the lines about what we need and what we want have in some cases become blurred. Instead of valuing and prioritizing relationships with our children, many women race back to work too soon — and those who don’t are sometimes judged for putting their families first.
The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now
People can do many things at once, but they cannot do them well all at the same time. Young women who have been pushed their entire lives to achieve at a high level tell me that they’re afraid that if they step off the corporate ladder in order to care for children, they’ll never climb back to the same level. Unfortunately, that’s sometimes true — and it’s a symptom of the sexism that persists in our culture. You may never become a chief executive if you choose to make your family your first priority, and that’s a loss. But sacrificing the chance to create a close relationship with your children is a loss, too.
I would never want to go back to a place where women didn’t have the choice to live the lives they want for themselves. But I dream of a society where women aren’t asked to put their careers before all else at the risk of stunting their own potential, and where mothers can structure their lives to be with their children when they’re needed most.
Erica Komisar is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst and parent guidance expert who has been in private practice in New York City for the past 25 years. Her book, Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters, was recently published by TarcherPerigee.
Contact us at editors@time.com.[van id=”van/ns-acc/2016/08/26/RE-06FR_CNNA-ST1-100000000381794e”]
Stephens County, OK (KFOR) — A Stephens County deputy was fired after his K9 officer died while in his care.
The incident came to light August and, since then, the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office has conducted an investigation and terminated Matthew Peck.
The investigation has been turned over to the district attorney to decide if felony animal cruelty charges will be formally filed.
“We were shocked, and we’re saddened,” said Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney. “This is a loss of one of our deputies or K9 deputies.”
K9 Deputy Bak was just 2 years old when he joined the force, but his name will be joining those of four other fallen deputies on a monument outside the Stephens County Courthouse.
“The handler has the utmost responsibility to make sure that that dog is well taken care of,” McKinney said.
Peck has been Bak’s partner for four years until sources said he left the dog inside his deputy cruiser during his days off work.
Sources said he did not discover the animal until days later when he was back on duty.
He smelled the dead animal while on his way to court one morning.
Sources said Bak was left inside the deputy’s car for 36 hours.
“A tremendous amount of work goes into the dogs and not only with their dogs but with their handlers. Those two become partners,” McKinney said. “We will replace Bak and remember him, but we’ll continue.”
NewsChannel 4 contacted Peck’s attorney, but he declined to comment on the case.A significant number of Islamic State group fighters have withdrawn from northern Iraqi cities, after government forces launched a major ground and air offensive, officials in Tikrit and Mosul said.
"We are hearing reports that fighters are retreating but it is expected to be a fierce battle," Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghdad, said on Wednesday.
"But this is battle likely to last days," our correspondent said.
Sources told Al Jazeera that security forces had entered the outskirts of Tikrit and were backed by air, mortar and artillery fires targeting several positions in Tikrit, which has been under Islamic State control for months.
It was not clear if the air strikes were carried out by US or Iraqi jets, however US aircraft have been dropping leaflets warning residents of the impending bombing of Islamic State sites.
Our correspondent cautioned it would be "incredibly difficult" for the government forces to drive out the Sunni armed group from cities that are also dominated by Sunnis.
"I would not claim victory quite so fast, if I were the Iraqi government. They are simply not ready," Arraf said.
Earlier, government forces led by Kurdish fighters and backed by Shia armed volunteers regained control of the towns of Sulaiman Bek and Amerli, driving out the rebel Sunni fighters and liberating the towns under siege for weeks.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, who reached Sulaiman Bek, described it as a "ghost town".
However, as aid trickles, people are worried that many Islamic State fighters may have "blended back into the surrounding communities," Turton said.
The Islamic State has declared a "caliphate" in regions under its control in Iraq and Syria, and has engaged in mass killings as it swept through swathes of territories north of Baghdad in June.What exactly are normal stools?
Researchers at the Bristol Royal Infirmary—a hospital in Bristol, England—developed a visual guide for stools. It is called the Bristol Stool Form Scale, or BSF scale for short. It helps skittish patients and doctors to distinguish normal stools from abnormal without getting embarrassed over personal details.
Transcript
The normality of ones' stools is determined by comparing them to the Bristol Stool Form scale, or the BSF scale for short. The 'Bristol' in the BSF refers to the Bristol Royal Infirmary — a hospital in Bristol, England -- from where this scale originated.
It is a self-diagnostic chart designed to help skittish patients discuss this delicate subject with their doctors without getting embarrassed. This is, essentially, what the Brits call getting the “royal treatment…”
You just look at the picture, point to what approximates the content of your toilet bowl, and your doctor tells you whether your type is good or bad…
Type 4 and 5 are considered “normal”. I provide a detailed explanation, and what to do to get your own type in order on this page.
Also, if you are a parent or a guardian of a young child, use this chart to fix minor problems well before they become a major headache for you and a source of life-long trouble for your child.
Good luck!
Bristol stool form scale
You just look at a simple chart, point to what approximates the content of your toilet bowl, and your doctor (or this page) tells you whether the form is right or wrong.
» Type 1: Separate hard lumps, like nuts
Typical for acute dysbacteriosis. These stools lack a normal amorphous quality, because bacteria are missing and there is nothing to retain water. The lumps are hard and abrasive, the typical diameter ranges from 1 to 2 cm (0.4–0.8”), and they‘re painful to pass, because the lumps are hard and scratchy. There is a high likelihood of anorectal bleeding from mechanical laceration of the anal canal. Typical for post-antibiotic treatments and for people attempting fiber-free (low-carb) diets. Flatulence isn‘t likely, because fermentation of fiber isn‘t taking place.
» Type 2: Sausage-like but lumpy
Represents a combination of Type 1 stools impacted into a single mass and lumped together by fiber components and some bacteria. Typical for organic constipation. The diameter is 3 to 4 cm (1.2–1.6”). This type is the most destructive by far because its size is near or exceeds the maximum opening of the anal canal‘s aperture (3.5 cm). It‘s bound to cause extreme straining during elimination, and most likely to cause anal canal laceration, hemorrhoidal prolapse, or diverticulosis. To attain this form, the stools must be in the colon for at least several weeks instead of the normal 72 hours. Anorectal pain, hemorrhoidal disease, anal fissures, withholding or delaying of defecation, and a history of chronic constipation are the most likely causes. Minor flatulence is probable. A person experiencing these stools is most likely to suffer from irritable bowel syndrome because of continuous pressure of large stools on the intestinal walls. The possibility of obstruction of the small intestine is high, because the large intestine is filled to capacity with stools. Adding supplemental fiber to expel these stools is dangerous, because the expanded fiber has no place to go, and may cause hernia, obstruction, or perforation of the small and large intestine alike.
» Type 3: Like a sausage but with cracks in the surface
This form has all of the characteristics of Type 2 stools, but the transit time is faster, between one and two weeks. Typical for latent constipation. The diameter is 2 to 3.5 cm (0.8–1.4”). Irritable bowel syndrome is likely. Flatulence is minor, because of dysbacteriosis. The fact that it hasn‘t become as enlarged as Type 2 suggests that the defecations are regular. Straining is required. All of the adverse effects typical for Type 2 stools are likely for type 3, especially the rapid deterioration of hemorrhoidal disease.
» Type 4: Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
This form is normal for someone defecating once daily. The diameter is 1 to 2 cm (0.4–0.8”). The larger diameter suggests a longer transit time or a large amount of dietary fiber in the diet.
» Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges
I consider this form ideal. It is typical for a person who has stools twice or three times daily, after major meals. The diameter is 1 to 1.5 cm (0.4–0.6”).
» Type 6: Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
This form is close to the margins of comfort in several respects. First, it may be difficult to control the urge, especially when you don‘t have immediate access to a bathroom. Second, it is a rather messy affair to manage with toilet paper alone, unless you have access to a flexible shower or bidet. Otherwise, I consider it borderline normal. These kind of stools may suggest a slightly hyperactive colon (fast motility), excess dietary potassium, or sudden dehydration or spike in blood pressure related to stress (both cause the rapid release of water and potassium from blood plasma into the intestinal cavity). It can also indicate a hypersensitive personality prone to stress, too many spices, drinking water with a high mineral content, or the use of osmotic (mineral salts) laxatives.
» Type 7: Watery, no solid pieces
This, of course, is diarrhea, a subject outside the scope of this chapter with just one important and notable exception—so-called paradoxical diarrhea. It‘s typical for people (especially young children and infirm or convalescing adults) affected by fecal impaction—a condition that follows or accompanies type 1 stools. During paradoxical diarrhea the liquid contents of the small intestine (up to 1.5–2 liters/quarts daily) have no place to go but down, because the large intestine is stuffed with impacted stools throughout its entire length. Some water gets absorbed, the rest accumulates in the rectum. The reason this type of diarrhea is called paradoxical is not because its nature isn‘t known or understood, but because being severely constipated and experiencing diarrhea all at once, is, indeed, a paradoxical situation. Unfortunately, it‘s all too common.
Interestingly, the interpretations and explanations of the BSF scale that accompany the original chart differ from my analysis. To this I can only say: thanks for great pictures, but, no thanks for the rest...
How to interpret BSF scale
To avoid referencing non-descriptive numbers, I use the following definitions: types 1, 2 and 3 = hard or impacted stools. Type 4 and 5 = normal or optimal. Type 6 = loose stool, subnormal, or suboptimal, and type 7 = diarrhea.
In such cases as acute hemorrhoidal disease, anal fissure, or the inability to attain unassisted stools, loose stools (type 6) are acceptable. It‘s a messy experience, but which would you rather have — a bucketful of blood, pain, and a wound that won‘t heal, or a little lukewarm douche afterwards?
Please keep me informed about new developments on your site: My first name: My email: Your privacy is paramount! We will not share your email with anyone.
To restore and maintain normal stools (from type 4 to 6), the colon and rectum must first be free from hard stools (from type 1 to 3). In our case, the opposite of “hard” isn‘t “soft,” but difficult (not easy) or irregular.
As you can see from the illustration (and, perhaps, already know firsthand) “hard” stools can be “small,” “regular,” and “large.” Equally important, a “small” stool for one person can be “large” for another, because the perception of size isn‘t determined by a caliper, but by the aperture of one‘s anal canal. If the anal canal is constrained by enlarged internal hemorrhoids, even “small” stools, such as type 4, may be “difficult” to pass. Don‘t fall into this trap. The rule is: If stools are hard as in difficult, or not easy, or irregular, they are HARD, period!
Unless your stools are type 4 to 6 (normal), they are impacted. Impacted stools can be small, large, hard, soft, dry, moist—it doesn‘t matter. What “impacted” means is that they had a chance to pile up and compress in the large intestine. Despite all of the nonsense you‘ve been hearing about “formed” stools, if yours are “formed,” they are impacted.
If we didn‘t have the Bristol Stool Form scale illustration in front of us, and you asked me what are normal stools, I would answer: normal stools are not noticeable during defecation!
Again, for someone with an intact anal canal, this may consist of formed stools as in type 4. For someone with hemorrhoidal disease, this may only be loose stools as in type 5 or 6. In other words, the normality differs from person to person, depending on the degree of prior damage. It‘s pretty much similar to defining pornography in the context of free speech: I can‘t tell you what pornography is, but I can tell when I see it. Similarly, I can‘t tell you what normal stools are, but you can tell when you don‘t have them.
As you can see from the BSF scale, normal stools don‘t have to be round. After all, your anal canal isn‘t really round (when shut, it‘s actually flat), particularly if you already have enlarged internal hemorrhoids. So a flat shape is okay. In fact, when stools are already round as in type 4, it means you already have a slight degree of impaction. Otherwise their shape would be flattened up while passing through the anal canal.
Flat stools scare doctors a great deal because type 2, 3 and, to a lesser extent, type 4 may indicate the presence of a colorectal tumor. But that's because few doctors have ever observed normal (type 5) stools themselves.
Here is what's actually happening: think of the colon as a round mold. Then, it‘s easy to imagine why a tumor may change impacted stools from the round shape to a flat shape. This rare occurrence doesn‘t apply to type 5 stools, because their shape is formed primarily by the shape of the anal canal, not the colon‘s “mold.”
To rule out a tumor scare — don‘t panic! Withhold your stools for few days to give them the opportunity to get molded. Observe their shape, and calm yourself down and your doctor.
Let's summarize:
Abnormal stools are any stools that require straining and/or you feel pressure from stools passing through the anal canal.
Abnormal stools may be small or large size-wise, depending on fiber consumption, and frequency of defecation.
Normal stools can be loose or slightly formed (Such as BSF type 5).
Normal stools (between BSF type 4 and 6) aren‘t perfectly round.
Normal stools for one person may be abnormal for another. The degree of normality is determined by the anatomy of the anal canal.
Normal stools require zero effort and zero straining for elimination.
Normal stools pass through the anal canal without any perception of pressure.
Of course, once you have damage to the anal canal, achieving absolute “normality” may be hard. So you may have to accept a small degree of “abnormality” such as type 6 stools. This is no different from accepting gray hair, wrinkles, dental implants, and so on.
You may also have to live with the fact that after a certain degree of prior damage, caused by fiber, you won‘t be able to attain “unassisted” defecation and “normal” stools because of irreversible nerve damage, stretching of the large intestine, significantly enlarged hemorrhoids, and similar factors. I‘ll teach you how to overcome this problem as well without fiber and laxatives.
In fact, if I didn‘t know how to attain this seemingly impossible goal, I wouldn‘t be touching this subject or this site. I only got into this game when I was assured of a winning hand.
Reader's testimonial “Although I have been using your products for only two days, I can say with no hesitation that your products work. I am amazed they are working so quickly.
Thank you again for creating a truly wonderful product. I hope that you are able to spread the truth far and wide and that hundreds of thousands of people achieve better health because of your outstanding work. One person truly can make a difference.” L.C., USA (via e-mail)
What is latent constipation?
A generation or so ago the term “costivity” was broadly used to describe hard stools and straining, while the term “constipation” was used to describe “irregularity,” meaning “a failure to move the bowels daily.”
Since then, the terms costivity and constipation have blended into one, while the “failure to move the bowels for three consecutive days” has become the 'official' definition of clinical constipation.
On the other hand, painful and bloody stools within these three days has become a mere irregularity, or a doctor-speak for “don't bore me with your problems until the fourth day.”
In practical terms, this means that the definition of “constipation” has become too vague and unspecific — a situation akin to doctors not knowing the location of your heart or liver. Indeed, how can you get proper treatment, when constipation for you means “pain while moving the bowels,”, while it may mean the “failure to move the bowels for three consecutive days” for your doctor!
For this and other practical reasons I reclassified constipation (see Fiber Menace, p.p. 97-128 for more details) into three distinct stages: functional (reversible), latent (hidden), and organic (irreversible):
Functional constipation. This condition commonly follows a stressful event, surgery, colonoscopy, diarrhea, temporary incapacity, food poisoning, treatment with antibiotics, the side effects of new medication — the circumstances that damage intestinal flora, interfere with intestinal peristalsis, or both. A person becomes irregular, stools correspond to the BSF scale type 1 to 3, and straining is required to move the bowels. The person resorts to fiber or laxatives for help.
Latent constipation. If the intestinal flora, stools, and peristalsis aren't properly restored following adverse event(s), functional constipation eventually turns into the latent form (i.e. hidden), because fiber‘s or the laxative's effects on stools create the impression of normality and regularity. The stools become larger, heavier, and harder, usually the BSF type 3, straining more intense, but for as long as you keep moving your bowels every so often, and without too much pain, there is still an impression of regularity. This is, by far, the most dangerous form of constipation because of what happens next...
Organic constipation. As time goes by, large and hard stools — between type 2 and 3 — keep enlarging internal hemorrhoids and stretching out the colon. This, in turn, reduces the diameter of the anal canal even more, causes near complete anorectal nerve damage, and slows down or cancels out completely the propulsion of stools alongside the colon (motility). At this juncture, the person no longer senses a defecation urge, and becomes dependent on intense straining and/or laxatives to complete a bowel movement. If you don't use 'hard' laxatives, you fail to move the bowels even with a good helping of fiber. That is, in fact, what most people mean nowadays when they say: “I have been diagnosed with constipation.”
So, as you can see, you can indeed use fiber to coax your bowels into regularity for a good while, but at the expense of enlarged stools. At some point in that 'while,' you'll also end up with damaged bowels, and a life-long dependence on more and more fiber, and 'hard' laxatives
How long that 'while' may last depends on how early you get started with this crazy therapy. If you are in your teens today, you'll pay the price in your early forties, if you are in your early forties, damnation will come by your early fifties. If you are a woman, things will go downhill even faster for reasons explained on this page: Why Women Get Constipated More Often Than Men?
How to overcome constipation by “normalizing” stools
Constipation rarely happens out of the blue in otherwise healthy adults. It is usually preceded by decades of semi-regular stools that are either too large, or too hard, or both. These abnormal stools cause gradual nerve damage and enlargement of the colon, rectum, and hemorrhoidal pads until one day the bowels refuse to move as was meant by nature — once or twice daily, usually after a meal, and with zero effort or notice. Therefore, it's best to recognize and eliminate abnormal stools long before they bite you in the butt, literally and figuratively.
To attain small stools and effortless bowel movements immediately— use the Colorectal Recovery Program. The duration depends on the degree of acquired colorectal damage. The goal is to eliminate straining, reduce pressure on internal hemorrhoids, and restore anorectal sensitivity.
For a comprehensive, life-long recovery, start from this section: No Downside, Just Upside-down.
You may also find relief by reviewing the answers to the following questions:
Of course, you may opt to do nothing, continue to strain and use fiber and/or laxatives, and we'll meet again several years from now, except the next time around it will be even more difficult, involved, and expensive to return to normality. That's, unfortunately, the nature of the beast — as the years pass, colorectal disorders related to abnormal stools become more severe, and the damage— irreversible!
Strange, but true — the content of your toilet bowl predicts your future with more certainty than a crystal ball. With that in mind, read up, look down, and stay well!Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson looks like Cliff Clavin, who is upside down in this picture because we are unhappy with him. This is galling.
Yahoo, which, thanks to poor product launches and minimal innovation, has been unable to grow its revenues for quite some time now, has suddenly found a new line of business: patent trolling.
According to the New York Times, Yahoo claims Facebook is infringing on 10 to 20 of Yahoo's patents over technologies that include "advertising, the personalization of Web sites, social networking and messaging."
Yahoo execs met with Facebook execs today to break the bad news - and ask for a liscening fee.
In a statement given to the Times, Yahoo said:
"Yahoo has a responsibility to its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders to protect its intellectual property. We must insist that Facebook either enter into a licensing agreement or we will be compelled to move forward unilaterally to protect our rights."
Oh please.
What Yahoo owes its shareholders is focus - preferably on its media business.
What Yahoo owes its employees is a place they can be proud to work for - not some shakedown factory.
When new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson took over, he said he would diversify revenues and put Yahoo into new businesses. Who knew he meant something so sleazy.
Yahoo has as much claim to the invention of social networking as we do, which is to say none.
Who knew Thompson would make us miss Jerry Yang. For all his faults, he'd never do something like this.The Gospel of Luke includes many parables, including one about a Pharisee and a tax collector. A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral lesson, and a Pharisee was a member of a Jewish sect known for its strict observance of religious ceremonies and practices and adherence to oral laws and traditions. It’s a short but very important read from Luke 18:
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’
This weekend, BuzzFeed posted a video called “I’m Christian, But I’m Not…,” in which five women and one man said they were Christians but they weren’t, you know, like all the other men and women who are Christians. They cheerfully reminded God and others that they weren’t homophobic or closeminded, or uneducated, or judgmental, or placing themselves on pedestals. Featured respondents proudly announced they fasted twice a week were “queer” or “feminist!” or listened to Beyonce. One said she wished people knew that “Just because we prescribe [sic] to a faith that has some really terrible people in it doesn’t make all of us terrible,” followed by someone saying that “love is the most important thing.”
It was easily the most unintentionally hilarious, if shockingly bigoted, BuzzFeed video ever produced.
Here are just a few of the problems with it.
1) No Mention of Jesus
Michael Wear, a former Obama and White House staffer, tweeted on Friday (before the video came out, if you can believe it):
The christianity of too many millennials is built around proving what type of Christian we are not. This is not edifying.
Michael Wear (@MichaelRWear) September 4, 2015
When you build your faith around what type of Christian you’re not, your faith is not built around Christ. Below is the |
funds to purchase private insurance, a shift likely to raise both taxpayers’ costs and poor patients’ copayments.
Catfood isn’t an adequate comparison for this scam. Cat insurance is a better deal because it is targeted to people with middle to high incomes who can shop for options and for the most part, won’t buy a bad policy out of desperation (there are lots of consumer sites comparing pet policies, so a minimal level of research will screen out overpriced products). Obamacare, by contrast, is all about enriching entrenched interests. And the worst is that it offers the poor and uninsured the promise of a better deal when it instead serves them up to the very same insurance industry that helped get us in this cost mess in the first place. While this is yet another face of the “Change you can believe in” con, it’s particularly despicable for treating the health of low income Americans as another looting opportunity.Well, Pat Robertson is at it again, this week. On Monday’s episode of The 700 Club, a viewer posed a question about miracles. Rightwingwatch.org uploaded a video clip of the episode, and I still haven’t decided which was worse: the question, or Robertson’s response.
Caller: “Why do amazing miracles (people raised from the dead, blind eyes open, lame people walking) happen with great frequency in places like Africa, and not here in the USA?”
Now, my first instinct is to wonder if this guy is for real. I’m not completely convinced that this wasn’t a masterfully executed exercise in trolling, especially considering that Monday was April Fool’s Day. For now, though, let’s ignore the ridiculousness of the suggestion that Africa, many parts of which are poverty stricken, riddled with conflict and facing an AIDS crisis, is a continent that has been blessed with an abundance of miracles, and take a look at Robertson’s response:
Robertson: “Because those people overseas didn’t go to Ivy League schools.”
If you’re waiting for the punchline, there isn’t one. Robertson was dead serious. He continued:
Robertson:“Well, we are so sophisticated, we think we’ve got everything figured out, we know about evolution, we know about Darwin, we know about all these things that says God isn’t real, we know about all this stuff. In many schools, in the more advanced schools, we have been inundated with skepticism and secularism.”
There you have it. The age old attack on science and skepticism that religion has been forced to keep up over the ages, as science has consistently shown it to be false. Because, when the answer to a question isn’t what you want people to believe it is, the only way to keep them from finding out is to convince them that it’s a bad thing to ask the question, in the first place. Here’s a tip, folks: any time that someone uses the term “skepticism” with a negative connotation, your bullshit-o-meter should be setting off an alarm.
Robertson wasn’t about to stop at vilifying science and critical thinking, though. He went on to glorify the more widespread blind faith and unquestioning acceptance of those in less developed countries, saying that:
“Overseas, they’re simple, humble. You tell ‘em God loves ‘em and they say, ‘Okay, he loves me.’ You say God will do miracles and they say, ‘Okay, we believe him.’ And that’s what God’s looking for. That’s why they have miracles.”
So, a famous televangelist tells people that science and skepticism are bad, and blind faith is good. Pretty much par for the course, right? Well, I suppose, but that’s exactly why it raises my ire so much. When charlatans like this man are able to dupe millions of viewers with their science denying, ignorance glorifying nonsense, its effect is the retardation of the social and intellectual evolution of our species. He and people like him should be exposed at every turn as the harmful frauds that they are, until the large scale promotion of ignorance is no longer considered just an everyday occurrence, but an offensive act of harm against humanity.
-J.C.
Here is the video clip of the episode, courtesy of rightwingwatch.org:
AdvertisementsAn episode that could very well be the series finale, as it brings us all the way up to the beginning of the Thomas Harris novels (excluding Hannibal Rising). The Italy portion of this season comes to a close, as does Mason Verger’s story line. This episode brings us some of the most bizarre and upsetting imagery of the series, which says a lot. All in all a superb episode of television that doesn’t pull a single punch in wrapping up its ongoing stories.
All on this episode of Eat The Rudecast, a podcast about NBC’s Hannibal, and the works of Thomas Harris.
The Francis Bacon painting we spoke about in the episode, entitled Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Subscribe via iTunes • Find more Swingset.FM PodcastsImage copyright Thinkstock Image caption There are hundreds of publishing companies in the UK
Amazon is facing a battle with UK publishers as it seeks to secure more advantageous terms in its latest round of contract negotiations.
The web giant wants the right to print books itself if publishers fail to provide adequate stock, and wants publishers to match any pricing deals it offers to other distributers.
One mid-sized firm accused Amazon of "bullying," and warned that the company was destroying the industry.
Amazon has not commented on the issue.
Trade magazine the Bookseller was first to report that Amazon had introduced a number of new clauses in its recent contract proposals to independent UK publishers.
'Print-on-demand'
Among these were the right for Amazon to print its own copies of a book if a publisher runs out of stock.
The Seattle-based company would do this using its "print-on-demand" equipment, and would require publishers to hand over electronic versions of their titles.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in the US in 1994
The process, which can print books more quickly than a traditional press, is generally thought to offer an inferior product.
Publishers are concerned that if Amazon used this method to print books, customers would blame them, and not the tech firm, for the quality.
Another clause, known in the industry as a "most favoured nation" (MFN) proposal, asks publishers not to offer promotions to distributors without also offering them to Amazon.
This would include selling books at a discount on the publishers' own websites.
It also demands that publishers inform Amazon before offering e-book deals to other clients, and give the tech firm the same terms.
Unprecedented
The BBC spoke to independent UK publishing companies who were alarmed at the proposals.
One representative of a mid-sized firm said Amazon had become "increasingly ruthless" in its negotiations, while another accused Amazon of "bullying".
Image caption A trade association in Germany reported Amazon to the competition authorities
One boss added that they believed the MFN clause would cause Amazon to fall foul of competition rules, and should be of concern to regulators.
Publishers also told the BBC that Amazon generally prefers verbal agreements, and rarely documents its negotiations, but had done so in the latest round of talks, with one "mid-tier" firm saying this was the first time it had received correspondence outlining such terms.
One independent publisher, which releases between 80 and 100 titles each year, said it had been approached by Amazon in the past with the above clauses.
'Ryanair moment'
A senior manager told the BBC that if asked to agree to the terms, the firm's answer would be a "simple and monosyllabic no".
They also warned that Amazon was reaching a "Ryanair moment", when customers and suppliers would become uncomfortable with the way that the company operates.
The BBC also approached several of the larger publishers, including Hachette, Penguin Random House and Harper Collins, all of whom refused to provide comment.
Image caption Traditional bookstores have found it difficult to compete with online retailers
The Bookseller's editor, Philip Jones, told the BBC that if Amazon's terms were agreed, it would be a "form of assisted suicide for the industry".
But he added that the negotiations might be a "tactic" by Amazon, and could be dropped before a final deal is struck.
The BBC understands that similar terms were proposed in the past - although without the current forcefulness - but later abandoned by Amazon.
The negotiation process generally takes many months.
Competition investigations
The tech firm is currently involved in a high profile spat with publishers Hachette in the US. The two companies are locked in discussions about how to share profits on e-books - a dispute which has led to price increases and a block on pre-orders of Hachette books.
In a separate development, a German trade association has brought a complaint against Amazon to the country's competition authorities, claiming the firm abused its market dominance.
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that the French government, in a bid to support the country's small bookshops, has adopted a bill that will prevent Amazon and other online retailers from offering free deliveries of discounted books.
The EU commission confirmed to the BBC that it was monitoring the UK book industry. The EU has investigated MFN clauses in the past, but has never ruled them illegal.
But Mr Jones also emphasised the positive role Amazon has played in the bookselling industry.
"The worst thing that could happen [to book publishers] would be for Amazon to go away," he said.
"The second worst thing would be for it to become more dominant."I have quoted several times in this blog from William deBuys’ wonderful book, The Walk, so I thought we should feature something from him on a Wisdom Wednesday. Much from this author has moved me, so you’ll be hearing more about his words and their effect on me, I’m sure. For this first piece, I’ve chosen a passage describing his feelings about the New Mexico sky. I am coming to realize that, like the mountains, the sky anchors me to this place. When I feel lost or scared, no matter how intense my mood, it is this sky that has the power to call me back—the sky and these peaks—they are inseparable in their support of my artist soul. Here’s how deBuys puts it:
“Beyond and above the hills spreads the blue and empty sky of New Mexico, the words of which name enchant me beyond reason, suggesting not only a particular home and geography but an existence and history shared with others, a notion of belonging in time and place, the essence of community. I believe it was Willa Cather who said—and I quote approximately—that elsewhere the land has the sky for its ceiling, but here in New Mexico the sky has the land for its floor.
Another writer, Ross Calvin, captured the essence of the matter in the title of his book Sky Determines. It is a sky that has shaped land and people not by what it gives but by what it does not have and therefore must withhold: water. Lacking a haze of moisture, it is a giant, deep, and expansive sky, a sky so thin and light that distant objects—the far horizon of blue mountains, a high-flying jet, or cranes passing overhead—seem nearer than they are. It is a sky so weightless and pure that one is tempted to believe it places no burden on the heads and minds beneath it, a sky under which it seems possible that thoughts might come more freely and less constrained than in other places. It is a sky of double lightness, of both illumination and weightlessness.
At no time do you sense this more than on a moonless night, gazing from this very window, or better, stepping onto the shallow porch of this two-room, mud-brick cabin to see the stars… At night the blackness of our sky is truly black, the stars stunningly bright. Across the center of the heavens the Milky Way spreads like a smear of butterfat, shining so intensely that there seems to be no dark between the stars.”
I have found myself, often, compelled to leave the light and walls of my home on dark nights to go stand on my land in the stars. The sky is so all encompassing, so near, it’s like being of the stars—of the heavens. And no matter the state of things in the world, in my life, everything comes back to balance in the perspective of the unending cosmos and my place in the family of things.
Love to you all,
JeaneThe departure from the long-term averages for October easily eclipsed the 0.34 degree anomaly set only a year earlier, the JMA said. (See chart below). Record temperatures for another month - this time October. Credit:Tony Derix/BoM Scientists say El Ninos add about 0.1 to 0.2 degrees to global temperatures. This boost is coming on top of background warming of about 0.9 degrees over the past century, increasing the likelihood that heat records will continue to fall. The Japanese record reading is likely to be matched by other agencies in coming days. It suggests 2015 - already the warmest by far for the first nine months - will easily top 2014 as the hottest year since reliable data has been collected.
The latest global temperature results also come as leaders and delegates prepare to meet in Paris this month to hammer out a new treaty to combat climate change by curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The summit is expected to proceed despite last Friday's terrorist attacks that killed at least 129 people in the French capital. Australian heatwaves October was hot in many parts of the world, including in Australia, where the national reading was the most abnormally warm period for any month monitored since the Bureau of Meteorology was formed in 1910. Maximum temperatures averaged 3.44 degrees above the long-run average, the bureau said. Almost all of southern Australia recorded its hottest October, driven higher by a big heatwave across the region. (See chart below.)
Some early-season heat records may also be challenged this week, as searing inland temperatures move eastwards. Sydney, for instance, is forecast to reach 39 degrees on Friday with western regions such as Penrith and Richmond looking at tops of 41 degrees. Readings in the low to mid-40s over coming days are expected in a region stretching from South Australia to the western areas of NSW, Queensland and Victoria. Even the Top End is expecting extreme heatwave conditions for most of the coming week. 100 quadrillion kilojoules Driving global temperatures higher this year is the big El Nino event in the Pacific. During such years, wind patterns shift, allowing unusual heat to beat up in the central and eastern equatorial areas.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said a six million-square kilometre region on the Pacific, dubbed Nino3.4, had warmed by more than 2 degrees. (See chart below.) The heat required to warm just the top two metres of that region by that amount would require 100 quadrillion kilojoules, NOAA's Emily Becker said in a website post. That's 100 followed by 15 zeros. That tally is about equal to the total energy consumed each year in the US, she said. The current El Nino continues to strengthen and is expected to peak either late this year or early next year, according to NOAA in a separate report on Monday. The view is similar to one released by the Bureau of Meteorology last week. The event is likely to break up by late autumn or early winter in the southern hemisphere although there are some signs it may linger longer than expected because of exceptionally warm conditions in the northern Pacific.
The El Nino current ranks as the second strongest on record according to data going back to 1950, NOAA said:"Those same trucks could be used to bring ship-to-home orders to a store close to their final destination, where a participating associate can sign up to deliver them to the customer's house." The idea is to cut costs on the expensive 'last-mile of deliveries', when packages are driven to customers' homes. Credit:Bloomberg The company began testing the package-delivery program a month ago in three stores – two in New Jersey, one in north-west Arkansas – but did not offer details on when, or where, it would expand across the United States. Employees would be paid extra, and offered overtime pay as necessary to make the deliveries, Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala said Thursday. "Walmart is uniquely qualified, uniquely positioned, to be able to offer this," he said, adding that 90 per cent of Americans lived within 16 kilometres of a Walmart store.
"There is really strong overlap between where are associates are already heading after work and where those packages need to go." The company is billing the program as a way for employees to earn extra money, although there were few details on how they would be paid. Mr Jariwala declined to clarify whether employees would be paid based on distance, time, number of deliveries or a combination of those things. Mr Jariwala said Walmart employees had delivered hundreds of packages over the last month, fulfilling orders placed on Jet.com, which Walmart acquired last year, as well as Walmart's own website. The announcement comes as Walmart doubles down on its online business, where sales grew 63 per cent in the first quarter of this year. The company - long the country's largest retailer - has taken aggressive steps in the past year, beginning with its $US3.3 billion purchase of Jet.com to compete with Amazon.com, which currently accounts for about 33 per cent of the country's online sales. (Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, owns The Washington Post.)
Walmart has also been rapidly expanding its grocery pick-up program, in which shoppers retrieve online orders in the parking lots of a nearby store. More recently, the company has begun offering discounts on certain digital purchases if customers opt to pick them up in-store. In that model, Walmart uses its own trucking fleet to deliver packages to stores, tapping into an existing transportation network. A year ago, Walmart announced it would partner with ride-sharing services like Uber, Lyft and Deliv to deliver groceries in Phoenix, Denver and Miami. Those efforts were ongoing, Mr Jariwala said. Walmart's move comes as Amazon continues to build up its transportation and logistics firepower to support speedy delivery. Amazon.com has leased a fleet of 40 cargo jets to bolster its supply chain, and has developed an Amazon-branded trucking fleet. The Seattle-based company has also created Amazon Flex, an on-demand network of drivers, in which the model is similar to Uber or Lyft.
The program was voluntary for Walmart employees, Mr Jariwala said, adding that they could sign up for up to 10 deliveries a day using a company app. They could also set size and weight limits on packages. If there were not enough employees to deliver packages, Jariwala said carriers like UPS and FedEx would fill in. Loading "This is completely an opt-in program," he said. "This is not something associates are required to do. They are, first and foremost, always going to finish their shift." The Washington PostIntroducing the Woot 27" Club
Our VIP section is only viewable on giant screens
Today we're introducing a new section to Woot.com that's full of cool new features and unbelievable deals; it's about ten inches that way ---> on your screen.
Oh, you can't see what's over there? That's a shame, and it must mean you're viewing this on a screen smaller than this refurbished 27" HP LED monitor. You see, all the cool new stuff on Woot.com is positioned such that it can only be viewed on an enormous 27" screen. Sucks for you.
If only you had a 27" screen you'd be able to see all the awesome stuff happening just over there --->. We hired Mumford and Sons to play a live streaming concert, but get this: They're playing hit Disney songs from the 90s! Pretty great, right 27"ers?
Don't feel bad if you can't experience the new Woot, there's still plenty of -- sorry, we got distracted by the squirrel trying to hide nuts all over our new site. You see, we hired the actual squirrel from that viral video to perform on our site, and (if you can't see it right now) trust us: It's even funnier than the original.
Don't believe us that there's an entirely new site available only to people who own this HP 27" screen? There's only one way to call our bluff…
Back to topGETTY A 15-year-old refugee has died in hospital after being attacked by fellow migrants
The boy sustained serious head injuries after reportedly being set upon by the gaggle of migrants in the Blumenthal district of Bremen. The youngster was rushed to the Silvesternacht hospital where he was put into an artificial coma. The boy has since died from his injuries.
German police released very few details of the attack on Friday in a bid to not affect the criminal investigation. But German media has claimed that the attackers were refugees, although this has not yet been confirmed by police. It remains unclear as to how many people attacked the young Syrian boy.
GETTY The migrant crisis has embroiled Europe in the past few years
Bremen police press office refused to answer any more details about the killing on Saturday. Prosecutors in the city said the investigation was a high priority and that the force would be releasing more details about the attack in the coming week. The tragic incident is the latest in a string of migrant-related crimes in Germany.
In December, failed asylum seeker Anis Amri ploughed a lorry into a bustling Berlin Christmas market which killed 12 people and injured dozens more. Angela Merkel has come under pressure for her open door immigration policy which has allowed more than one million migrants to enter Germany.
Angela Merkel in pictures Tue, August 8, 2017 Angela Merkel has served as German Chancellor since 2005 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000. We take a look at her political career in pictures. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 83 Angela Merkel through the years
GETTY Horst Seehofer has said he may challenge Angela MerkelThere is a mid 19th century report of a very large "black" Persian lion seen by the archaeologist Sir Henry Layard; he described it as "very dark brown in colour, in parts almost black." Lions are no longer found in that region. This may have been related to the Barbary lion (now extinct in the wild) which is larger than African lions and famed for their extensive black manes stretching from chest to groin.
A partly black lion was born at Glasgow (Scotland) zoo, but was infertile. His colour was probably due to somatic mosaicism (abnormal skin cells). The lion had a pitch black patch extending the length of the inside front leg and across the chest. Somatic mosaicism causes some patches of skin to develop abnormal pigmentation. This anomaly also occurs in domestic cats and accounts for some of the few fertile tortoiseshell male cats.
Called "Ranger" (he was sponsored by Glasgow Rangers Football Club), he was born at Glasgow Zoo in about 1975, the offspring of some lions acquired from Manchester's Belle Vue Zoo. At birth, the lion exhibited a melanistic patch which stretched from his right paw, all the way up the inside of his leg and across his chest. It was believed to be the first time melanism, even partial melanism, had been recorded in the African lion (apart from anecdotal cases). Ranger, frequently mated but failed to impregnate a proven fertile female. Zoo staff believed he had a chromosome abnormality. Ranger was put to sleep in 1997 and sent for post mortem at Glasgow Vet School...
Black lions, chocolate brown lions and reddish brown lions have been reported. A very dark brown, almost black lion was reported in Persia (Iran) and a black lioness was reported in the African bush (Okovango). There have even been reports of whole prides of dark brown or black lions; prides comprise closely related lionesses therefore this could be a familial trait. Genetically, lions are spotted cats (residual spots can be seen on tawny lions on the limbs and sometimes on the body) and it's possible that excessively spotted cubs (abundism) might grow into adults with a sooty cast on the fur...
Many reports of black lions (and other black big cats) are due to observation in either poor light or with strong sunlight behind the cat.
A picture of a black lion has recently been circulating online. Black lions are not biologically impossible. In fact, there have been scattered reports of black lions over the centuries. However, the lion in this picture is actually a white lion colored black through photo manipulation.The original image of a white lion was posted at cutehomepets.com. It was then transformed into a black lion by "PAulie-SVK" and posted at deviantart.com earlier this year. From there it spread to Facebook, reddit, etc. Messybeast.com offers some interesting info on the science and history of black lions:CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Davidson's first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament and Cinderella run will continue as the Wildcats captured the Chapel Hill Regional championship with a 2-1 victory over No. 2 national seed North Carolina on Sunday at Boshamer Stadium.
Davidson (35-24), which began playing baseball 115 years ago, advances to next weekend's Super Regional, where it will face the winner of the Houston Regional (Texas A&M or Houston).
CELEBRATE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER CELEBRATED BEFORE!!
Davidson is heading to Super Regionals for the FIRST TIME EVER! #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/InhMJpl5al — NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 5, 2017
Just the second No. 4 seed to sweep a regional and sixth ever to move on, the Wildcats advanced to the regional final with an 8-4 win over the host Tar Heels on Friday, followed by a 2-1 decision against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night.
Davidson, the 2017 Atlantic 10 tournament champions, is the third league (VCU – 2015; Richmond – 2002) member to play in the Round of 16 since 1999.
For the second straight night, the Wildcats came out on the better end of a pitcher's duel, as Josh Hudson tossed seven innings, allowing just one run while striking out six.
Senior Will Robertson, a third-team All-American selection by Collegiate Baseball, broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth with an RBI single that plated freshman Brett Centracchio and sophomore Max Bazin, who both reached with hits of their own.
RELATED: Davidson coach Dick Cooke's journey to the tourney
The Tar Heels (49-14), who eliminated Florida Gulf Coast earlier in the day, answered with their only run of the game in the home half with a solo shot from Michael Busch.
BRACKET: 2017 interactive NCAA tournament bracket
Davidson's ace Durin O'Linger, who recorded the win in Friday's opener, threw the final two frames to pick up the second save of his career.
Along with extending his program-record on-base streak to 54 games, Robertson made headlines for his defense in the bottom of the ninth, when he threw out Brandon Riley at home for the second out. Riley slid around the original tag from Jake Sidwell but missed the plate, allowing the Wildcat catcher to get him on the second attempt at the dish to keep the lead intact.
Bottom 9... Up 1... Single to RF...
Enter Will Robertson. Guns the tying run at the PLATE! #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/PG2koPpXYD — NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 5, 2017
With two away and runners at the corners, O'Linger got Busch to groundout to first baseman Brian Fortier to secure the title.
Winners of six straight and 10 of their last 11, the Wildcats never trailed throughout their NCAA Regional debut.At last, a mainstream politician has commented intelligently on the migrant crisis, and predictably the measured remarks of Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond have drawn outrage from the usual suspects, including Amnesty International.
Although Mr Hammond spoke only about Europe maintaining its (relatively) high standard of living in the face of this enormous influx, he might have added our identity is under threat, but that would have been a bit too honest. So what did he say?
Simply that because of the substantially lower standard of living of Africans in general, there will always be those who seek a higher one by emigration. The population of Africa is now well over one billion, and clearly any mass migration will impact drastically on the lifestyles and standard of living of Europeans.
He might have added that anti-Imperialist propaganda to the contrary, black Africa especially has been a constant drain on Europe for the entire Twentieth Century and still is today. Back in the 1980s a group of idealistic musicians came together to form Band Aid which aimed not only to relieve the rampant famine of the time but to raise awareness of the problems faced by the Dark Continent. And what has been the result? The bottom line is that the saintly behaviour of Bob Geldorf in particular has drawn as much contempt as admiration by African commentators, and the starving babies are still there.
Europe must close its doors and button down its hatches, even if this seems ruthless at the time. The alternative is to allow in not only millions but tens of millions of economic migrants disguised as asylum seekers, which would kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Anyone who thinks otherwise should remember what Sophie Morgan saw in Ghana, people who may be physically in the Twenty-First Century but are still living in a Mediaeval world in many ways.
There remains though the plight of those in war torn regions, especially Syria. While we should continue to provide humanitarian aid for genuine victims of war, we should make it clear that this aid is not a right, and just as importantly the West will not fight their battles for them. At the end of the day there has to be some sort of accommodation between the warring factions. We should cut off all military aid and allow Africans, Arabs, Moslems and others to sort out their own problems, and to sink or swim of their own accord.The study that paved the way for prescribing the antidepressant Paxil to millions of adolescents was seriously flawed, marked by what appear to be attempts to play down harms such as an increase in suicidal behavior by younger people who tested the drug, according to a reanalysis released Wednesday.
Using 77,000 pages of previously unavailable documents, a team of researchers concluded that paroxetine, marketed as Paxil by drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, was no more effective than a placebo and considerably more dangerous than the original study indicated.
Similar criticism of what is known as “Study 329” began within a year of its publication in 2001, but Wednesday’s reappraisal in The BMJ, a medical journal, may be the most thorough yet.
In 2003 and 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued warnings about an increase in suicidal thinking among some children and adolescents who took drugs in the class of antidepressants known as “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.” Those included Paxil and Zoloft.
Paxil still can be prescribed to young people, but in late 2004, the FDA ordered manufacturers to include a “black box” warning on their labels about increased suicidal thinking among some youths who took the medication, and in 2007 the agency expanded the warning to include people under 25. In 2012, GlaxoSmithKline (formerly SmithKline Beecham) pleaded guilty and paid a $3 billion fine for illegally marketing Paxil and other drugs.
The team that published Wednesday’s study, led by Jon Jureidini, a professor at the University of Adelaide in Australia, went back to the raw data and found that Study 329 contained numerous transcription errors and other problems that violated the company’s own protocols for statistical analysis.
In some cases, the researchers said, it was difficult to tell what led to the mistakes.
But in one aspect — the coding of adverse events — they said the mistakes were so egregious it was difficult to see how they could have occurred unintentionally.
“It’s hard to think there wasn’t some mischief being done,” Jureidini said in a conference call with reporters Monday.
The lead author of Study 329, Martin Keller, retired from Brown University in 2012. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
[Government warnings about anti-depressants may have led to suicides]
The original study reported five instances of children becoming suicidal out of 93 in the study. Jureidini said a review found that the number was actually at least 12, a high rate. The discrepancy was caused by, among other things, the miscoding of a serious suicide attempt as “emotional lability,” a temporary condition that involves uncontrollable episodes of crying.
David Healy, a co-author of the new paper and a researcher at the School of Medical Sciences at Bangor University in Wales, said the suicide problem should have been obvious to anyone reviewing the data.
“It doesn’t take expertise to find these,” he said, adding, “It really takes extraordinary expertise to avoid being able to find them.”
GlaxoSmithKline issued a statement Wednesday saying the company was “able to help this team to carry out its reanalysis by providing access to the detailed data from the original trial. This reflects our commitment to data transparency — we publish the results of all our studies regardless of whether they are positive or negative.”
The company also said that “the findings from this team’s analysis appear to be in line with the longstanding view that there is an increased risk of suicidality in pediatric and adolescent patients given antidepressants like paroxetine. This is widely known and clear warnings have been in place on the product label for more than a decade. As such we don’t believe this reanalysis affects patient safety.”
The reanalysis was the first in a program by The BMJ to encourage a second look at abandoned or misreported studies to ensure that doctors have accurate information. In an article that accompanied the study, the journal again highlighted the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s failure to retract the study, which it originally published in its journal. The article also noted Brown University’s public silence on the validity of the research.
Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, said by e-mail that “although we don’t typically advocate for or against retraction, I’d say it would be consistent with how we’ve seen [guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics] interpreted in the past to retract this paper for unreliability.”
The child and adolescent psychiatry organization released a statement Wednesday saying that “the scientific process builds on itself over time through a cycle of new research, analysis, and dissemination. This process stimulates debate and moves the field forward toward a better understanding of critical issues.”
Brown released a previously issued statement saying that it could not comment on individual cases but has “procedures and policies in place that allow for a full and impartial review of relevant information in response to any substantive concerns that are brought to its attention.”Dave Bautista has starred in two billion-dollar franchises, but he still operates very much like a Hollywood outsider. Rather than making the move to Malibu or the Palisades, he has kept his full-time residence in Tampa, and despite the allure of leaning out in order to get more “serious” roles, Bautista continues to train like a complete badass.
“I like going to the gym,” Bautista says. “I like working out. There was a period where I tried slimming down, but I felt horrible, and it wasn’t a good place for me mentally either. If I can’t get a role because I’m big and muscular, then I don’t want the fucking role.”
Not only that, but even after three decades of training, Bautista is looking to push himself harder than ever before. In order to do this, he has enlisted the help of trainer Jon Bennett from Mi40 Gym, who’s helping create a whole new killer workout program from the ground up for the former WWE star.
Legendary WWE wrestler turned Hollywood star is preparing for his next movie appearance here at the #mi40gym with our resident execution expert @hypertrophycoach with joes attention to detail and @davebautista work ethic i can't wait to see what these two come up with. Awesome opportunities here at @mi40_gym A post shared by Muscle Intelligence-Mi40 Gym (@mi40_gym) on Mar 14, 2017 at 9:01am PDT
Bautista sat down at the Ritz Carlton Central Park, his massive frame dwarfing the café’s chairs, to discuss his fitness beliefs, what it’s like to lift Daniel Craig, life on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy, and the time Chris Pratt challenged him to a wrestling match.
The fans love this sequel. Did you have a favorite scene to shoot?
I would have to say the scene where we are all gathered around the campfire, because we all got to actually hang out. So it was just a few days of bullshitting, and learning more about each other.
There are some great scenes between you and Chris Pratt. How has it been to get to know him?
I love that dude on so many levels. I was crying like a little baby when he got his star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. I just respect him so much in how he is living the dream, but taking it in stride. I mean just a couple years ago he was just the funny chubby guy on television. He lost a little weight and now he’s the biggest movie star in the world. I mean, how is that for motivation toward self-improvement?
He trains pretty hard too, and is a CrossFit guy. Do you guys get to work out together?
You know we talk about working out so often, but we are never on the same page about it. He likes to put together a really diverse program, with like 20 different exercises. I personally like going in chunks that are very targeted and specific. On top of that I will have days where I just want to grapple, or box, or other cardio. Chris was an accomplished wrestler back in high school and is a big MMA fan, so we usually talk about that.
Given your wrestling background, you guys ever thrown down?
He called me out one night, during filming the first Guardians, and he sent me this long text in the middle of the night. It started off telling me how much he loved and admired me, and how he consider me a friend. Then out of nowhere it started talking about how he thought he could take me in a wrestling match, because of his wrestling background. He said, “Let’s get together and have a match. Just you and me, nobody has to know.” I saw him the next day and I asked him about it. He was like, “What text?” Apparently he had been drinking that night and didn’t remember sending it at all. We both started laughing. He felt so bad.
Do you make sure to get into the gym during filming too?
For Guardians we had trailers. The stunt guys |
are true). The monetization of the air we breathe can be defeated in the minds of the general public for this reason. But with the oceans, legitimate pollution is occurring. This gives World Bank a much more tangible argument for supranational regulation in the name of environmentalism. What people must realize, though, is that this regulation will have no effect on the deterioration of the seas. In fact, it will likely hasten their destruction. The international nature of how the oceans are utilized also opens the globalization door to World Bank. When a supranational entity is given de facto governance over a region that is used by all sovereign countries, it gives that entity the ability to interfere in the decision making processes of those nations without any input or respect to the people who live within them. For Americans, this means being susceptible to laws created by men far outside our borders who we cannot vote in, vote out, or chase down with our pitchforks when the voting is rigged. This has always been the goal of globalists; to create the most dominant and unaccountable ruling body in history, while at the same time convincing the masses that we cannot live without it. At bottom, centralization is the foundation for the collectivist fallacy; that there is a “greater good” that must be maintained by the establishment. This process makes the establishment indispensable in the minds of the public. The elites in power today have chosen environmental dogma as their version of the “greater good”, because the “end of the world as we know” can be used to rationalize almost any brand of despotic behavior, from food and water rationing as a method for social conditioning, to population control or even depletion in the name of “saving the planet”. Always beware the true motivations of any governing institution that seeks to assert itself as the purveyor of all that is “best” for the people. Such groups are rarely if ever what they seem… Brandon Smith is the founder of Alt-Market is an organization designed to help you find like-minded activists and preppers in your local area so that you can network and construct communities for mutual aid and defense. Join Alt-Market.com today and learn what it means to step away from the system and build something better or contribute to their Safe Haven Project. You can contact Brandon Smith at: [email protected] var linkwithin_site_id = 557381; linkwithin_text=’Related Articles:’CHICAGO - Josh Harding had a horrendous view of the Wild's first line Sunday night.
That's because Devin Setoguchi, Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley barely spent any time in the defensive zone during a 5-4 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.
"I thought they dominated tonight," Harding said. "They hemmed it down in their zone, got chances and just pestered them all night."
In addition to the shootout winner, Setoguchi scored a goal and had two assists for his eighth career three-point night. Heatley had a goal and an assist, and Koivu set up two goals, including Clayton Stoner's first in more than a year, and won 18 faceoffs.
Honestly, the trio was so good, it made one wonder what could have been if Setoguchi had not missed 12 games earlier this season because of a knee injury and Koivu had not missed 23 games in the second half because of a shoulder injury.
The Wild has won three in a row for the first time since winning seven in a row from Nov. 28 to Dec. 10.
"Every time you look back on a season, you think, 'What could have?'" Setoguchi said. "Obviously, it's disappointing. It's just the way hockey is. You can't control it, but it would have been nice if we spent a full year healthy."
Heatley said though the Wild can't look back and "just have to realize we know how to play together and we have to do it the next three games and into next year. We've had some good stretches and good runs together, and we'd like to keep it going for a full year."
With both teams playing the second half of back-to-back games and coach Mike Yeo taxing the Koivu line, as well as the Darroll Powe-Kyle Brodziak-Cal Clutterbuck line, to get away from matchups, it was a grueling game. Defenseman Tom Gilbert played nearly 32 minutes
After Brodziak gave the Wild a 4-2 second-period lead, Patrick Kane scored twice to force overtime, the last coming on a late third-period power play after Dave Bolland tripped mighty easily on a Koivu reach.
But the Wild prevailed in an intense game that started with an incredible war of words in the first period between Heatley and minor league fighter Brandon Bollig.
"He was chirping about [me] slashing Kane or something," Heatley said. "The guy's trying to earn a spot on the team. I think it did fire us up and get us going. I think after that there were two or three fights and a lot of scrums in front of the net. Guys hung in and battled for each other."
Stoner fought Bollig, and soon after, Heatley set up Setoguchi's game-opening goal. Patrick Sharp answered 34 seconds later, but then Heatley buried a tic-tac-toe on a power play between Setoguchi and Koivu.
Setoguchi, who has 19 goals, was tremendous, and Yeo raved about his game, saying, "That might be his best game he's played in a Minnesota Wild jersey.... He's really elevated his game.
"It's been a trying season for him, but it's encouraging seeing the way he's going right now. Not only the way he's creating chances and using his speed, but there seems to be a real purpose in his battle level."
Yeo added, "I don't think we win that game without Mikko in the lineup."
And one wonders how many more the Wild would have won if his second half hadn't been destroyed by injury.
• Defenseman Steve Kampfer injured a knee in Saturday's victory over Los Angeles and is week-to-week, Yeo said. That puts his ability to play for Houston during the AHL playoffs in question. Kampfer had three points and was minus-7 in 13 games.
• Center Cody Almond was recalled and played against the Blackhawks after Warren Peters sustained a pinched nerve Saturday. After being examined Sunday, Peters will meet the Wild in Nashville, Yeo said. Almond played a strong game and got into a fight.
• Defenseman Marco Scandella (upper body) returned to the lineup.Spy shots of the 2018 Jeep Wrangler hint at the possibility of a fascinating new retractable roof, according to sources in the know. Although the pictures are a little blurry and distant, you can see some intriguing switches on the roof that may hint at power options. The roof also appears to be a little bulkier than previous models.
Latches on the ceiling of the cabin indicate that the 2018 Jeep Wrangler seems to have a multi-faceted roof like the Freedom Top and possibly the Renegade’s MySky roof (depicted in the video below). Based on the photos, the top of this Jeep could use both a manually-operated and powered roof retraction system. Even though reliable sources on the JL Wrangler Forums have suggested that the hypothesis regarding a power roof isn’t far off, we can’t confirm this to be the case. For all The Drive knows, the switches seen in spy shots could be for auxiliary lighting.
If Jeep opts to go with a power roof, the Wrangler's weight and cost will definitely increase. That being said, it is rare to find a Jeep Wrangler on the road without some sort of modification (which of course cost money), so we don’t expect a little uptick in price to really affect sales.Nature Exposed
1. Giraffe Is Kosher
Jews everywhere rejoice – you can eat giraffe. Well, not really since giraffe is an endangered species but, would that not have been the case, you would be allowed to eat giraffe meat and drink giraffe milk and still keep kosher.
According to Jewish law, kosher animals are grazers with cloven hooves who chew the cud. The giraffe looked like a good candidate, but it wasn’t confirmed until a few years ago when Israeli vets treated a female giraffe and submitted her milk samples for kosher certification.
2. Okapi Can Communicate through Infrasound
Most people know the okapi as the strange zebra/giraffe combo found throughout Central Africa. This bizarre-looking mammal, indeed a relative of the giraffe, can communicate using infrasound. These infrasonic calls, reaching as low as 14Hz, are well below the range of human hearing and are thought to be used to maintain contact between mother and infant.
3. Cat Videos Are Good for Your Health
Millions of people will now have a valid reason for spending hours on the internet looking at cute cat videos – it’s good for them. At least, that’s what one study from Indiana University concluded earlier this year. Almost 7,000 people took part in the research and their moods were monitored before and after watching cat videos. The beloved internet pastime provided people with energy boosts and reduced negative emotions like sadness and anxiety.
On the other hand, the test subjects also reported that the joy they got from watching the videos outweighed their guilt from procrastinating. While this is good for their morale, it’s not ideal for people trying to get stuff done. It’s not good for employers, either, as many subjects admitted to watching cat videos at work.
4. Penguins Can’t Taste Fish
A new study suggests that penguins are physically incapable of tasting fish and have been that way for millions of years. We’re familiar with the five basic flavors available to most vertebrates – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. Most birds don’t have the sweet sense and penguins appear to only be able to taste sour and salty. The lack of umami is a particular problem for them since it means they can’t enjoy the savory taste of all that fish they love to eat.
5. Black Lemurs Get High on Millipede Poison
Most animals know to avoid millipedes as they usually possess very potent poisons. The black lemurs of Madagascar, however, can’t get enough of them. And the weird part is that the lemurs don’t even eat them. They bite the millipedes gently in order to make them spray a toxic substance that contains, among other things, cyanide. The poison acts as a narcotic and induces the lemurs into a euphoric state. There’s also a practical side to the behavior – lemurs rub the poison on their fur to repel insects.
6. Sea Otters Have the Densest Fur of Any Animal
The southern sea otter, in particular, has roughly one million hairs per square inch. A full grown adult male can be covered in over 800 million hairs. The dense fur acts as great insulation and allows the otter to thrive in cold waters.
7. Dragonflies Are Nature’s Best Hunters
We’re going strictly by success rate here. Nature documentaries might portray lions as efficient and calculated predators that work well as a team but, truth is that, 3 out of 4 times, those lions go back empty-handed (or pawed). In fact, most mammal predators have a hunting success rate that rarely crosses over 50%. By comparison, dragonflies capture their targets a whopping 95% of the time which makes them the most successful hunters that nature has to offer.
8. Hinnies Are Offspring of Horses and Donkeys
Most of us have heard of mules – they are the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse bred only in captivity. People find them useful because they are tougher and longer-lived than horses but more athletic and less stubborn than donkeys. However, there is another type of offspring called a hinny and, despite what some believe, it’s not the female mule. Quite the opposite – it’s the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey.
9. Arctic Tern Makes the Longest Migration in the World
Every year, this little bird travels between Greenland and Antarctica. The arctic tern also takes a zig-zag route which means that it can cover around 44,000 miles in a single trip. One individual bird that was wearing a tracker logged in a 56,000-mile flight. Considering that the arctic tern lives for 30 years on average, that means that one bird can travel roughly 1.5 million miles during its lifetime.
10. Rusty-Spotted Cat Is the Smallest Wild Cat Species in the World
Typically, the rusty-spotted cat reaches between 13 and 19 inches in length and weighs up to 3.5 lbs. It is usually regarded as the smallest wild cat species in the world, although it’s in close competition with the black-footed cat. The black-footed cat is shorter, on average, but a full grown adult male can weigh over 5 lbs.A van driver has died in an accident at Calais after migrants dragged tree trunks onto the A16 motorway in a bid to slow traffic and break into vehicles bound for Britain.
At just before 4am on Tuesday, two trucks were forced to suddenly brake so as to avoid the tree trunks placed by migrants to block the road.
A third van, coming up from behind, was unable to stop in time and crashed into the other vehicles. According to Franceinfo the Renault Master — which was registered in Poland — caught fire, and its driver died in the accident.
Local media reports the death of the driver is the first at Calais caused by the actions of migrants determined to break into Britain. The identity of the deceased is not yet known at this stage, “given the state of the body”, said a spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture.
Nine Eritreans were arrested on suspicion of having placed tree trunks on the road, and are being held in police custody.
Dangerous roadblocks were being set up by migrants on an almost nightly basis before the Calais “Jungle” camp was dismantled in October last year. But the practice has started up again, and violence begun to escalate once more since May as migrants from Africa and Asia have started to return to the French port.
Breitbart London has often reported on the violent acts the Calais migrants have been willing to stoop to when trying to slow lorries so they can be boarded for Britain. In one case a driver was nearly killed when a wooden stake was hurled through his cab window, as his truck was “mobbed”.
Dozens of major public figures in France have called on President Emmanuel Macron to “end violence against migrants” at Calais, claiming that police “mistreatment” of the group of illegal, mainly Eritrean and Sudanese, illegals is “intolerable”.
Published Friday, the letter signed by 65 people including filmmakers, actors, NGO workers, and influential politicians including left wing firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, demands better treatment for migrants in Calais.
“For several years now, thousands of migrants have been travelling to Calais, hoping to reach Great Britain for a better life,” write the signatories. They state they are “ashamed” by authorities’ efforts to deter migrants, who the letter claims “fled their countries, their relatives, their families, travelled thousands of kilometres, escaped the worst: hunger, thirst, repression, slavery, and death”, to reach Britain.
The letter hails the work of “charities” and NGOs, who have been accused of luring migrants back to the French port town from which they are banned with food, water, and sleeping bags.
Lamenting that “migrants tell us they are being deprived of sleep, and beaten up and gassed by police”, the signatories tell the French president he has “the power to make these injustices stop within the hour”.
“Better still, you have the power to put in place the compassionate and dignified migration policies that have been requested by more than 200 organisations,” they plead with Macron, claiming it is impossible to stop migrants gathering in Calais.
“While there is a desire on the part of authorities to stop seeing migrants around the town, there is a much greater force on the part of these migrants who wish to build a better life for themselves and their families.
“No government will ever succeed, by any measure including death, hunger and repression, in preventing people from moving to where life is softer and more sweet,” the letter tells Macron.Florida Gators recruiting is doing well and this week’s recruiting mailbag had a lot of great questions about how prospects view the Florida Gators after their loss to Alabama.
As you have noticed Gator Country and Andrew Spivey have mixed things up and we have taken our Florida Gators recruiting mailbag to podcast form, as well as continuing the written version of the mailbag.
Make sure to listen as Andrew answer’s everyone’s questions from this mailbag and don’t forget to get your questions in every week so he can answer your question next time on all things Florida Gators recruiting.
Here’s the written version of this week’s Florida Gators recruiting mailbag:
67viking: In the event Jacob Eason was to flip to UF, hasn’t Isaac Nauta stated that they would like to play together? Is Eason the type of player who would recruit for his school? Seems like it would be in his best interest to get as many good players to commit with him.
AS: Right now I’m going to say that I don’t think Nauta goes to Florida even if Eason does. Eason is a player that will attract other players to Florida and recruit for them. Eason would be a big splash for the Gators.
Lemonhope: Who are the top priorities for this class? Who are the coaches pushing for most? Who are coaches starting to recruit now that they hadn’t been before due to coaching changes and uncertainty? Any five stars?
AS: Florida is hard after several guys but I would say Mack Wilson, Nate Craig-Myers, and Jacob Eason are the top priorities. Eddy Pineiro is also another top priority.
Sammage: What are your thoughts on Mack Wilson? Is he playing a game by keeping us #1 while clearly being interested in Kirby Smart, or is it the other way around? Just seems like a song I’ve heard before where kids were 100% Gators… oops, there goes the FSU hat on his head.
AS: I don’t think Mack Wilson is trolling anyone at all. I know he has a close relationship with Kirby Smart and that will make Georgia tough to beat, but he also likes Florida a lot. Official visits will be huge in January for Wilson.
MrB-Gator: Any Juco offensive line possibilities in this class?
AS: Mike Summers visited Malcolm Pridgeon on Tuesday but right now he’s a long shot, so I’m going to say that I don’t think Florida gets any JUCO offensive linemen this year.
Hoganmac97: Any updates with Terrance Davis and any chance with Marlon Davidson?
AS: Terrance Davis says he’s going to visit Florida in January and if he does that Florida has a shot, but right now I’m saying he stays close to home or goes to Michigan. Marlon Davidson sticks with Auburn in my opinion.
TheGator: Do you expect Eason to make it to Athens this weekend?
AS: Yes, from everything I’ve heard, I expect him to visit Georgia this coming weekend.
TheGator: Ben Davis, Marlon Davidson, and Mack Wilson. What are our chances of landing each of these guys?
AS: Ben Davis is going to Alabama or Georgia but his dad is former Crimson Tide player so I don’t see him going anywhere else besides Alabama.
Wilbur11: How many defensive ends will we take? How many defensive tackles will we take?
AS: I know that Florida would love to have four defensive ends in the class and 1-2 defensive tackles in the class to help keep the depth on the line of scrimmage up for the coming years.
Gatorgolfer1: What recruit are the coaches most excited about? Whether they’re committed already or not. Who do they think has the most upside? Example Antonio Callaway last year, they knew he was a diamond in the rough.
Do you see them or any recruit making an immediate impact on the field as a freshman?
AS: I think Chauncey Gardner is a guy they expect to play next year as well as Mark Thompson and some of the receivers like Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond and Nate Craig-Myers are guys that they would hope can play next year. As far as under the radar guys go, Lamical Perine and Aaron Robinson are two of those guys that Florida feels great about.
Trina_dc: Assuming Franks sticks with Florida, is he still wanting to play baseball as well? I thought he was told by LSU he could play both, would Florida let him if he wanted to?
AS: I haven’t heard anything about this but it will be tough for Franks to play baseball and go through spring practice but if he wants to do it then I’m sure Jim McElwain will try to work with him on that.
90gator: Florida surprised many by starting out the season 6-0 and then struggled down the stretch due to QB play etc…How, has this positively or negatively impacted recruiting? By position?
AS: All positive from what I’ve heard because nobody expected them to be as good as they were and the Gators coaching staff showed what they can do with a quarterback under center so things were a success this year.
Okcgator: How do you feel about our chances with the pair from American Heritage? Are we still looking good with Nick Eubanks after the FSU/Bama games?
AS: I think Florida is in great shape for Nick Eubanks and Brian Burns, but it will be interesting to see what Mark Richt does at Miami and if he’s able to make any head way with those two. I think Florida leads for both as of now though.
Jmike131014: Still Feel good about McArthur Burnett, Jeremiah Moon, Aaron Robinson and Isaiah Johnson being in the class at this time?
AS: Yes, I still feel good about those guys. South Carolina is recruiting Burnett hard right now, but his family loves Florida. Moon is being courted by Mississippi State hard right now but his relationship with Geoff Collins is good. Robinson and Johnson are taking visits but I feel great about them as well.
Jhenderson: On a more serious note, which DT prospects do the staff now dial up the heat on, now that Dexter Lawrence is completely off the board? Any potential JUCO guys out there, a la Jarran Reed?
AS: I expect North Carolina State defensive tackle commit Ben Frazier to get recruited hard now but there are not really any JUCO guys that Florida is interested in.
Haljordan: Where do we sit with Nate Craig-Meyers?
AS: Florida is still in good shape here but Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss are all pushing for him but the Gators have done a great job here so far.
Goosegator: At 25 commitments, and a projected class of 28, even if we have some de-commitments, how do we make room for the potential 8-10 more commits that we are courting/leaning Florida’s way?
AS: I think Florida goes over 28 this year and some guys will leave the class and that will help things out. We won’t know a true number until we see how many guys early enroll at Florida in January.
Wuerffel5220: Is Tre Nixon waiting for more publicity to announce? Seems like he’s been a UF lock for awhile now
AS: I wish I could answer this question but I really don’t know what he’s waiting on because he has told people around him for weeks that he was ready to make his decision but just hasn’t. I expect that to come before Christmas, but who really knows.
Kpr1386: What is your estimate on the number of current commits who will NOT sign with UF, the number of uncommitted prospects that will sign with UF and the number of prospects committed to other schools that will flip to UF?
AS: I think you will see four guys out of this class that don’t end up at Florida come February. I’m not sure on a total number of flips at this point but it will be a few from what I’ve heard.
Swampie: Where do you think our next commitments come from? With the season over I’d expect some EEs to sign their grants. So perhaps some of those guys will be next commits, some who’ve committed and a couple who haven’t. We can still take as many as 32 if we get the proper amount of EE right? Is that number seven or eight? Thanks Andrew.
AS: Florida can really take 12 early enrollees but only seven can count back to last year but I think the next commit could be either at quarterback if Jacob Eason flips or maybe linebacker. Someone could always pop up but there are several guys on official visits this weekend that it could come from, so it’s tough to say for sure.
Okcgator: Have we tried getting into the game with LB Ben Davis? Seems like he is pretty tight with guys like Mack Wilson and Marlon Davidson. Doesn’t seem like he has any interest but I’m just curious.
AS: He’s Alabama’s to lose right now but Georgia is trying to get in the mix as well with Kirby Smart there. I doubt Florida gets into the game much here.
Hbgator: Can scholarships left over from last count towards the EE’s this year. What is the grand total of EE’s we can sign?
AS: Yes they can count back seven to last year and they can take 12 early enrollees in January.
Macbgator: Other than Eddy Pineiro, who are we recruiting as kickers in this class?
AS: Florida as several guys on the board that they’re monitoring but they’re waiting on Pineiro to decide first.
Captainjoe24: On a serious note, if we were to get Eason, does that open the door for other recruits that we possibly were on the outside looking in on prior to a Commitment from the QB? Specifically WR and OLine?
AS: If Eason commits then players will be excited for sure, but we will have to wait and see if they gain any new names because of it or not. I expect new names will pop up though.“Half a calamity is better than a whole one” - Lawrence of Arabia [Mar. 3rd, 2008|05:03 pm] Mildred
The DA has dropped all charges.
Cat is coming home. No criminal record, his name cleared, and he's a free man. A poor man, but free! We expecting him on a plane back to London within twenty-four hours.
The BBC went to Dubai to cover this story, and interviewed key officials in the case. The reporter and our attorney are saying that damage control is underway: many prisoners are about to be released, and they're promising reforms which could reduce these sorts of arrests happening to future travelers. Not holding my breath, but if this does transpire, then we've basically achieved everything we set out to do from the beginning, and that's a fair bit of awesome.
It's all a bit sudden, and I'm still trying to get my head around it.
You guys have a fucking lot to be proud of. The media attention we've drawn from our collective efforts has resulted in not only Cat's release, but that of other prisoners and the subsequent changes that are under review. That's a pretty serious accomplishment. Today you can look in the mirror and know you've made the world a better place, and I sincerely hope karma gives you the reach-around for your efforts. You guys rock.
I never thought I'd see the day where I said the internet restored my faith in humanity. This is the geek equivalent of an 80's movie ending. Who's throwing the prom, then?Welcome to The Albatross Brand.
Stretch Goal: At $40,000 we'll be able to offer our Postal Bag in BLACK!
If you'd like a mixture of products or multiple pieces not shown at a specific reward level, just add the appropriate amount to your pledge using these prices. We will get your specific color choice and product assortment in our final survey when the campaign has ended.
Card Sleeve $12 / Card Wallet $24 / Belt $29
Anchor Hook $36 / Bifold $39 / Long Wallet $69
Postal Bag $239
It’s easy to make high quality leather products. It’s difficult to make them affordable.
The Albatross Brand is a collaborative effort between a maker and industry insider to produce high quality, beautifully designed carry goods at the most affordable price possible.
Albatross Leather Goods Feature:
Hand selected hides featuring full grain vegetable tanned leather produced from North American Steerhide. Your choice of Natural or Black English Bridle
or Die cut parts to ensure perfect form and function every time
3 cord polyester stitching sewn on Campbell sewing machines
Sanded, beveled, burnished, and wax sealed edges
Solid brass Military Grade hardware (where applicable)
Hand set solid copper rivets (where applicable)
Solid Brass zippers and snaps (where applicable)
3 Generation guarantee
Stories are expensive, so we’ll save the tales of grandeur. Our project started after a few glasses of bourbon in 2013. We were both frustrated that the budget friendly leather goods market was one of deceptive advertising, inflated pricing, and cut corners. We knew that with our combined experience in the industry, we could make a better product for a lower price. So over the next two years, that’s exactly what we did.
How?
- We stripped away all of the non-essentials of a company and focused on one thing alone: the product.
- We threw out the traditional wholesale retail approach, committing to deliver our product directly to our customers and save you 60% of the normal retail pricing.
- We did everything ourselves,from designing the wallets and hand sewing bag samples to drawing the logo and taking the pictures. We used our combined 20 years of experience sourcing leather, working in tanneries, constructing and hand sewing carry goods to find special producers making amazing materials at good prices. Then we lined up artisans from around the world to make our products because we wanted the best craftsmanship available. We've hired 4th generation leather artisans in Southern Mexico, Amish leather workers in the US, and European engineers to bring our products to life.
- Lastly, we tested....and tested, and refined, and tested some more. We've had almost 100 samples in constant use for over 18 months now. From fishing boats and skate parks to offices, hospitals, and college dorms, our products don't just survive everyday life...they thrive in it.
You can have any color you want, as long as it's black (or natural!)
The magic of high quality full grain leather is that it ages in reverse, looking better over time. We use only hand selected vegetable tanned hides, and we've chosen to offer two colors: Black and Natural. Our black leather is drum dyed all the way through, so the color will never fade. Our natural leather is never exposed to dyes or oils, so it arrives to you totally bare. You get to choose just how to treat it yourself. It will tan like human skin, and continue to develop patina as you use it. Over time this leather will become a deep golden brown and tell it's own story. Check out our samples below, a small selection of what we've used over the past 2 years of testing.
Better with age: Our natural vegetable tanned leather new (underneath) and used (on top)
Evolution Process: New (left), sun tanned (center), used almost 2 years (right)
Last, and most important, we wanted to guarantee our customers that the products they receive are heirloom quality. So to show you we're serious, we're going to support all Albatross Brand Leather Goods against production defects for 3 generations...until your grandkids own them!
OUR PRODUCTS
More/Larger Pictures HERE!
The LIMITED EDITION Kickstarter belt (we will not be offering belts after this campaign). 1 1/4" wide, 10-11oz leather, solid brass buckle and rivets, your choice of size from 26-44"
The Anchor Hook. A Stainless Steel key chain that hooks onto your belt, and features a full size bottle opener and custom shackle.
The Card Sleeve. A simple sleeve that holds 4-6 cards. 4" x 2.5" x 1/8" thick
The Card Case. 3 pockets hold 8-10 cards, with an ID slot on the back. 4" x 2.75" x 3/16" thick
The Bifold. 8 card slots (2 hidden) and a bill slot hold plenty of cards & cash. 4.25" x 3.5" x 1/2" thick when closed.
The Long Wallet. 8 card slots (one hidden), two bill/receipt slots, and a large zip pouch. 8" x 3.75" x 1/2" thick when closed.
The Postal Bag. A reproduction of a 1940's mail carrier, sized for modern life. One large center section and a split divider with added carry handle. 16" x 12" x 5" when empty.
So What Makes Us Different?
Our Leather: Almost every wallet we found in this price range uses nice leather in visible areas, but hides cheap leather and pig skin on the inside structure to save money. Some use oil tanned leathers that were dyed to hide bug bites and scars. These cheap leathers make up the structure of the wallet (where the strength should be), and we think that's bogus. Albatross Brand Goods are constructed with 100% full grain vegetable tanned leather, and we're so confident in our hand selected hides that we offer all of our goods undyed so you can see the quality first hand.
Our Threads: Machine sewn leather wallets usually feature single cord stitching, because that's all standard sewing machines can handle. We chose a cut shop that is equipped and experienced with very specialized leather-specific Campbell sewing machines, and we chose a polyester thread that is actually 3 strands of traditional thread spun together to guarantee strength.
Our Hardware: Traditionally, carry goods in this price range feature plated hardware made from cheaper base metals. Over extended periods, this plating can wear off and the metal underneath can rust. We know our leather will outlast almost any plating job, so we chose to use only solid, rust-proof (and in many cases, military spec) metals. As a result, our hardware will age gracefully to match the leather our products are made from.
Our Finishing: One of the most time consuming parts of production is finishing the piece after it's been sewn together. It's also where most corners are cut. Because vegetable tanned leather is a natural material, the edges need to be sealed to prevent moisture. Some wallets are left unfinished to save money, resulting in edges that fray and split. Some are painted to seal the edges, but over time this paint flakes off. We chose to use only natural waxes, oils, and heat in a 5 step process to finish our edges, which results in a properly sealed seam that withstands any abuse you can throw at it and protects the leather from moisture.QAYYARAH, Iraq – Hussein Zyab, a young man, has lost seven of his close relatives to ISIS militants in Qayyarah, a liberated town south of Mosul where he is now leading a group of locals going door to door to homes they accuse of being ISIS members or their collaborators. Their demand is leave the town or face state or tribal laws.
“This is the home of Qasim’s brother. Do you testify that he was with ISIS?” a man asks tens of locals gathered in front of a house, a video recorded by Zyab shows.
It is from a demonstration they held several days ago.
They have compiled a list of names of ISIS members which includes any family whom they accuse of having cooperated with ISIS, or if one of their family members used to be with ISIS.
They ask such families to leave the town.
“[I lost] five cousins, and two nephews, a total of seven martyrs,” Hussein Zyab told Rudaw to justify his actions.
He is more determined than anyone else to oust ISIS families.
“No woman, child or elderly will be hurt. None of them would be hurt, and their properties will not be confiscated,” Zyab said, “No one’s house will be burnt, or destroyed. We just ask them to sign [a paper] to leave here at the earliest time. If they refuse to do so, we have the laws of the land, and the tribal laws. We first file a complaint against them.”
According to unofficial data obtained by Rudaw, the ISIS victims include approximately 2,000 people. This is despite the casualties occurred during the liberation of the town.
The local government supports the demands of the victims to ISIS crimes.
“Their demands are in fact legitimate,” Khalid al-Jabouri, a town official said, “Some have lost their son because of ISIS, some two and some an entire family. That is why it is their right to ask to oust these [ISIS] families. As the City Council of Qayyarah we ask the Nineveh governor and the parliament to take a final decision in this regard.”
The oil-rich town of Qayyarah, about 60 km south of Mosul, is otherwise known for the oil wells that were set ablaze by the retreating ISIS militants last year. It took the Iraqi authorities months to extinguish the fire in April.Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team will wear a commemorative patch on their jersey during the 2015-16 season in honor of recently passed President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Flip Saunders.
The patch will be worn for the first time on Monday, November 2, as the Timberwolves open the home portion of the 2015-16 season against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center. The team will wear the patch for all home and road games for the balance of the season beginning on November 2.
In addition, the team announced it plans to wear a specially designed shooting shirt (warm-up shirt) during all games through the month of November. The shirt, which says “WE”, symbolizes the togetherness of the team and its commitment to unity over individualism. The shirt is gray with black lettering, with the name “Flip” across the heart side of the shirt.
On Monday, the NBA Coaches Association announced that all the league’s coaches will wear a “Flip” lapel pin during all games this season as a way to honor Saunders.
There will also be a pregame tribute to Saunders prior to the Timberwolves’ home |
files sold by Argentinian police officers to Hungarian historian Ladislas Farago in the 1970s, but those files are widely held to be fakes. In 1998, DNA tests showed that bones recovered in Berlin were Bormann’s, confirming reports that Hitler’s secretary had been killed while fleeing the bunker on 2 May 1945.
In an interview with the Guardian, Schavelzon admitted that evidence linking the Teyú Cuaré ruins to a supposed Nazi safe haven plan is slim.
“There is no documentation, but we found German coins from the war period in the foundations,” he said.
But does a handful of old German coins provide sufficient proof of a secret Nazi hideaway plan in northern Argentina?
“That was just speculation on my part,” Schavelzon said. “The press picked it up and magnified it.”
And the discovery of second world war-era German coins in Misiones seems less surprising when you consider that Argentina has long been a destination for European immigrants, and that the country’s population includes about 3 million people of German descent.
One of the largest and oldest German communities is in the northern province of Misiones, founded by a large influx of German immigrants who arrived in the early 20th century.
Argentina did, of course, give refuge to some of the worst Nazi criminals, including Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the Holocaust.
Thousands of former SS officers and former Nazi party members were welcomed with open arms by Argentina’s then-president Juan Perón, who sent secret missions to Europe to rescue them from Allied justice between 1945 and 1950.
But they settled in comfortable suburban homes outside Buenos Aires, like the cozy chalet Eichmann lived in with his family at 4261 Chacabuco Street in the middle-class northern suburb of Olivos, where many other Nazi officers also settled.
Not in the steamy, damp, pre-Amazon jungles of northern Argentina.
Uki Goñi is the author of The Real Odessa: Smuggling the Nazis to Perón’s Argentina.This is the first in a series of posts in which we go into more detail about some of the concepts that F1000Research is based on. In this first instalment, we look at open access. What is open access exactly? And what are some common misconceptions about open access?
A short history of open access
Open access as we know it was defined in a meeting in Budapest in 2001. This meeting produced the Budapest Open Access Initiative: a statement of principles about open access publishing.
The resulting document, published in 2002, described the opportunities that the internet could provide in opening up scientific literature: “…lay the foundation for uniting humanity in a common intellectual conversation and quest for knowledge.” Despite this occasional lofty wording, the document is very clear on the definition of open access:
“By “open access” to this literature, we mean its free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. The only constraint on reproduction and distribution, and the only role for copyright in this domain, should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited.”
At this point there were not yet many open access publishers, although researchers could make their manuscripts available by self-archiving. Within the life sciences, BioMed Central was the first open access publisher to launch in 2000. (It was founded by Vitek Tracz, who more recently founded F1000Research.) The Public Library of Science announced their intent to publish shortly after, in 2001.
Open access today
Since these early open access publishers, many others have followed suit, and open access is more popular than ever. In August 2013, the European Commission announced that “open access is reaching the tipping point, with around 50% of scientific papers published in 2011 now available for free.” The European Union’s research framework Horizon 2020 requires all research they fund to be made available via open access. Similar requirements are made by large funding agencies around the world, such as the Wellcome Trust in the UK and the National Institutes of Health in the USA.
Green and Gold open access
But how can researchers comply with these funder regulations? There are currently two possible open access routes: Green and Gold.
Green Open Access is archiving of accepted manuscripts in accessible repositories, for example in their institutional repository or in PubMed Central. While this allows researchers to publish in any journal they want and deposit later, the system has some limitations: Some journals only allow the archiving of a final accepted manuscript, not of the published and formatted paper. Some journals open up access to all their archived articles after a certain time period, but in other cases authors will have to remember to deposit their own paper, which can be a time consuming process.
Gold Open Access is publisher-mediated open access. The benefit of this is that the article is immediately made open access, and authors don’t have to take any extra steps, but there can be a cost associated with it. Usually the entire journal will be available as an open access journal, but some journals operate a hybrid model, where researchers can pay to publish an open access article in an otherwise non-open-access journal.
Three misconceptions about open access
As the above summary illustrates, open access has a distinct definition, but can be applied in different ways. That can lead to some confusion, and there are a few misconceptions about open access floating around, such as the following.
1. Open access just means “free to read”
Not exactly. Although the basic idea of open access is indeed to give everyone access to the contents of a research paper, the term “open access” implies more than just making the content free. It also requires making the material available for others to re-use, and allowing content mining (e.g. for meta-analysis).
Usually, open access articles are accompanied by a Creative Commons licence that describes the details of what can be done with the content of the paper. Most of these licences require giving credit to the authors, who generally retain copyright. (See more about Creative Commons licences in the “further reading” section below).
2. Gold Open Access means “author pays”
No, it just means that it’s publisher-mediated open access. Because the publisher does not rely on subscription fees from readers and libraries for those articles, they cover their costs in other ways. Some smaller journals can be funded entirely by institutes or societies. Larger open access publishers often use article processing charges (APCs), which allow them to scale their business model once they start receiving more submissions. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) lists which model each journal uses.
Although APCs are applied on a per-article basis, in reality many authors do not pay these fees out of pocket. Funders and institutes who require open access publication often support authors and cover the cost, and many publishers will waive APCs for low income countries via the HINARI programme or on a case-by-case basis for specific situations of economic difficulty.
3. Open access implies bad quality
No. Whether an article is free to access or hiding behind a paywall says nothing about the quality of the research itself or about the peer review carried out on the paper.
This misconception comes from the fact that there is indeed a small group of so-called “predatory” publishers who are charging researchers to publish articles in their journals for the sole purpose of making money, without considering the scientific quality and often without even inviting peer reviewers to look at the papers. On the surface, this charge for publication may resemble the APC model used by many open access journals, but it is different. Reliable journals use APCs to cover the cost of managing the editorial and peer review process, and to develop new features to support their authors and readers, whereas “predatory” journals don’t invest in these processes.
But how can you distinguish a good journal from a bad one? First of all, you can check if you know people who have published in this journal, or members of the editorial board. Has the journal attended or sponsored conferences or supported other initiatives? Is the journal a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)? Is the journal included in scholarly databases such as PubMed? So far, that all applies equally to both open access and subscription journals. For open access journals, there is even an extra level of scrutiny: The Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) regularly re-reviews its members, and publishers must comply to very strict guidelines to remain a member, so you can check their member list. The DOAJ has also recently tightened their criteria for inclusion, and has removed several journals that do not fit these criteria. Their member list is easy to search, and provides detailed information about each publication.
Finally, if a journal has a transparent peer review model, where names of reviewers and/or content of referee reports or editorial decision letters are made public, you can see for yourself what the peer review process looks like and make an informed decision about the journal.
References:
European Commission press release about open access: Open access to research publications reaching ‘tipping point’ (21 August 2013)
Budapest Open Access Initiative (February 14, 2002).
Wellcome Trust open access policy
NIH public access policy
New DOAJ criteria: Press release (March 19, 2014) The new application form for journals’ inclusion in DOAJ has been released.
DOAJ removed members after they showed to not carry out proper editorial practices (copy of entry on no longer available DOAJ news site)
OASPA re-reviews members. “OASPA’s second statement following the article in Science entitled “Who’s Afraid of Peer Review?””
Library image from KTH Biblioteket via Flickr.
Further reading:
More about different types of Creative Commons licences for open access publishing:
Interview with Vitek Tracz in Science.The seer of science publishing. Interview by Tania Rabesandratana, 4 October 2013, Science 342 (6154), 66-67
The state of open access. Series of interviews by Richard Poynder with people involved in open access publishing.
Open Access: Yes you can. Stephen Curry shows how easy it is to publish open access.Hillary Clinton is almost certain to launch a bid for the presidency. But at least for now, she's determined to keep the public guessing about her stance on NSA spying. As Edward Snowden's revelations forced the issue to the fore of national debate, she kept mum, even as other prospective candidates staked out positions.
On Tuesday, the technology journalist Kara Swisher raised the subject of surveillance while questioning the former Secretary of State. "Would you throttle back the NSA in the ways that President Obama has promised but that haven't come to pass?" she asked. Clinton's successfully evasive answer unfolded as follows:
Clinton: Well, I think the NSA needs to be more transparent about what it is doing, sharing with the American people, which it wasn't. And I think a lot of the reaction about the NSA, people felt betrayed. They felt, wait, you didn't tell us you were doing this. And all of a sudden now, we're reading about it on the front page... So when you say, "Would you throttle it back?" Well, the NSA has to act lawfully. And we as a country have to decide what the rules are. And then we have to make it absolutely clear that we're going to hold them accountable. What we had because of post-9/11 legislation was a lot more flexibility than I think people really understood, and was not explained to them. I voted against the FISA Amendments in 2008 because I didn't think they went far enough to kind of hold us accountable in the Congress for what was going on. Swisher: By flexibility you mean too much spying power, really. Clinton: Well yeah but how much is too much? And how much is not enough? That's the hard part. I think if Americans felt like, number one, you're not going after my personal information, the content of my personal information. But I do want you to get the bad guys, because I don't want them to use social media, to use communications devices invented right here to plot against us. So let's draw the line. And I think it's hard if everybody's in their corner. So I resist saying it has to be this or that. I want us to come to a better balance.
This will not do. The answer elides the fact that Clinton has not been a passive actor in surveillance policy. "What the rules are" is something that she was responsible for helping to decide. She served in the United States Senate from 2001 to 2009. She cast votes that enabled the very NSA spying that many now regard as a betrayal. And she knew all about what the NSA wasn't telling the public. To say now that the NSA should've been more transparent raises this question: Why wasn't Clinton among the Democrats working for more transparency?
Clinton may resist "saying" that surveillance policy "has to be this or that," but it must be something specific. "Let's draw the line" and "I want us to come to a better balance" are shameless weasel phrases when you're vying to call the shots. What is being balanced in her view? What should the NSA have revealed earlier? How much transparency should it provide going forward? What does the law require of the NSA? Since 9/11, when has the NSA transgressed against the law as Clinton sees it? Those questions hint at the many ways that her position is evasive. So long as no one else contests her party's nomination, she can get away with it.A 76-year-old Hamilton man has been arrested after allegedly asking a young boy to engage in sexual activity inside a YMCA change room.
Police say on March 7, a young boy was approached by a man inside a YMCA change room at 79 James St. South in Hamilton.
The boy, who is under the age of 16, was asked by a man if he wanted to engage in sexual activity.
The alleged incident happened between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
The YMCA immediately suspended the male’s membership when the incident was reported to police.
Bonar Hunter, 76, was arrested on March 22 and is charged with invitation to sexual touching.
The Hamilton Police Service believes that there may be more victims who have had contact with Bonar Hunter. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Harold Harris at 905-540-6253.The most iconic photo of the Ferguson, Mo., protests, if not the entire Black Lives Matter movement, is of Edward Crawford defiantly throwing a tear gas canister back at riot police. And now he’s dead.
Advertisement
Crawford was found shot to death Thursday night in his car, just like activist Darren Seals in 2016 and protester DeAndre Joshua the night of the Ferguson verdict in 2014. The latter two had gunshot wounds to the head and their cars were lit on fire. Crawford, it is believed by police, shot himself in the back seat of his car either in an attempted suicide or by accident.
Given the justifiable lack of trust between local activists, black residents and the police, however, questions remain about this story. In order to bring justice to Crawford, his family and the entire Black Lives Movement, it’s about time we started asking tough questions about their deaths.
Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal broke the news on Twitter this morning that Crawford had been killed. What was striking is not just the anguish in her tweets but also the details she provides.
Advertisement
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch initially noted only that Crawford died of gunshot wounds. It now says that the death was reported to the medical examiner’s office as a suicide, but the medical examiner hasn’t issued an official cause of death yet, pending an autopsy. The Dispatch’s report conveniently leaves out that Crawford’s death is strikingly similar to that of Seals and Joshua, whose deaths were so similar that even the St. Louis Police Department thought they were linked by the same killer.
Advertisement
Chappelle-Nadal, who represents Ferguson and is a firebrand for the Black Lives Matter movement, has been following the tragic story as it happened and has expressed doubts about the cause of Crawford’s death.
“I found out this morning another young man from my district died in the same fashion as two or three other people who were active in Ferguson,” she said in a speech on the Missouri Senate floor today around 9:15 a.m. CDT. “The people who were murdered at this point, they were all people who have been seen prominently in the media.”
Chappelle-Nadal noted to The Root that there are a number of militia groups in Missouri, and anyone seeking to strike a symbolic blow against the Black Lives Matter movement could easily be behind these actions.
Advertisement
“He gave us the reason to say, ‘Fight back, fight back, fight back,’” she said this morning. “No matter if it was a suicide, a mistake or a murder. He’s gone. This is somebody who represents the movement. This is another prominent person from the Ferguson movement.”
As the day goes on and more details trickle out, it doesn’t make it any easier to determine the cause of Crawford’s death, which opens the door to fear, speculation and, potentially, belief that it’s a conspiracy. Why would Crawford, a father of four who, according to his family, appeared to be in high spirits after getting a new job, just kill himself in his car? Moreover, the latest reports are that Crawford was in the back seat and two women were in the front. Suicides are usually committed alone, away from anyone who could possibly prevent the suicidal person from going through with the process. Who were the two women, and what are their full statements about the death?
It is possible to believe that Crawford’s death was just an accident. It is possible to believe that he decided to take his own life in full view of other people in the car. It is also possible, in a town where police claimed that 19-year-old Michael Brown punched out a cop and then charged into a hail of bullets from 30 feet away in broad daylight, that police could be completely lying to cover up some more nefarious cause of death. There is a long history in America of the police jumping to the conclusion that everything, from shootings to hangings of black people, is a suicide so as not to tug too hard on the strings of violent white supremacy that hold communities together.
Advertisement
We are in an era where the White House considers Black Lives Matter to be a terrorist organization. Deliberate attacks against black people who are fighting for justice—whether the Rev. Clementa Pinckney of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., or half a dozen other activists killed by white nationalists in the last decade—are not far-fetched. Regardless of the eventual conclusions about Edward Crawford, St. Louis police have still suggested that the deaths of Joshua and Seals were likely homicides.
School, the post office and the mall will still be open on Crawford’s birthday, and he won’t get a special on PBS narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, but like many forgotten martyrs of the movement, he was a human being, too. Crawford was a dedicated activist for people on the ground who needed someone to stand up for them. Let’s hope that in investigating his death, the local community in Ferguson will fight for him in death as hard as he fought for them in life.By common consent, Margaret Beckett worked hard to produce a balanced account of Labour’s defeat, successfully avoiding ‘handing victory’ to any of the party’s warring factions. But in one respect, Beckett’s report describes an election that is a far cry from what actually happened.
Although she recognises the scale of the defeat in Scotland (and Labour’s modest seat and vote gains in England), she doesn’t spell out that the political contests in those nations were very different. The battle with the SNP in Scotland had very little in common with English Labour’s confrontation with the Tories: the issues, the language, the imagery and the framing were all quite distinct. To read the report, you could be forgiven for thinking that Scotland was just a region of the UK where Labour did particularly badly.
Labour in Scotland didn’t just lose to any old political party; it lost to one that successfully framed its politics in the language of popular nationalism. It’s a mistake to lump popular nationalism together with all other forms of populism. Nationalism can be populist in irresponsibly evoking simplistic and emotive solutions to complex problems, but it is not necessarily so. Nationalism can be a way of expressing a common sense of identity, direction and purpose. We might disagree with what they say, but that’s what the SNP appears to have achieved.
The costs of ignoring popular nationalism are clear from the report’s conclusion about Labour’s future direction. It calls for “A vision for Britain” and continues “we must set out a vision for the country’s future, which shows both what the country needs and what we will contribute to its achievement”. For all those who either don’t see their country as Britain, or only partly as Britain, there is something missing here. Such old fashioned language betrays a deep seated hope that some form of ‘normal politics’ will soon reassert itself and we can go back to ignoring identity and nation and deal solely with the whole. It’s not going to happen. Either Labour learns to talk for Scotland (as well as for Britain) or we will continue to lose in that nation.
Maybe the report tacitly assumes that Labour’s Scottish battle is something separate. Certainly the analysis of the campaign issues are largely focussed on the arguments in England. But here, too, the report misses the emerging importance of distinct English themes in the 2015 campaign.
Most obviously, fears of the SNP ‘propping up a Labour government’ dominated the last two weeks of the campaign. The report rightly concludes that the impact on the result is controversial. It may not have swung millions of votes but almost certainly persuaded sufficient anti-Labour UKIP and LibDem voters to go Tory to keep Labour out. This helped to defeat both Labour and LibDem candidates. The media obsession with the maths of a hung parliament saved the Tories from scrutiny and obscured the Labour and LibDem messages, but no one can say the SNP wasn’t a real talking point on the doorstep.
The precise circumstances of the ’SNP threat’ are unlikely to reoccur, but, the election confirmed the emergence of large groups of English voters who now see elections in terms of ‘what is in the English interest’. The idea that there is an English interest, distinct from and possibly threatened by the interests of other parts of the UK is new. This feels like another genie that is not going back into the bottle any time soon. Studies after the election, including the British Election Survey, reveal sharp differences between the voting patterns of voters who identify as English and those who identify as British: the ‘English’ are more likely to vote to the right and more likely to be anti-EU. Put this together with the upward rise in English identity, and it’s clear Labour has a problem. Either the party finds a way to address and express the English national interest or it will risk losing the ear of a substantial section of the electorate.
Significantly, the Beckett report concludes that ‘no one envisaged’ Cameron’s call for English Votes for English laws’. Yet it was both predictable and predicted (including by myself); it was in the Tory manifesto, big hitters like Kenneth Clarke had come into line, and crucial ground work had been done by the Mackay Commission. The leadership did not want to envisage it because they did not recognise its potency, just as they signed up to ‘the Vow’ blithely ignoring the resentment this would fuel amongst English voters.
Across western Europe, once great social democratic parties are losing ground in the face of popular nationalist forces of right, left and centre. Labour needs to sense the mood before it goes the same way.A friend of mine recently returned to the gym after spending more than a year away, and upon catching up with me, remarked that I had changed since he’d last seen me. He meant this entirely as a compliment, adding that I’d become totally focused and that he was proud of what I was doing. On the other hand, I also recently reunited with some other friends, who I hadn’t seen since before I started my fighting career. They also said that I had changed, but to them, it was a negative thing. Perhaps this contrast was because those friends were outside the world of Muay Thai, and therefore the thing that had come to consume my life was totally alien to them; perhaps it was because I genuinely had changed as a person and in doing so, had drifted apart from previous relationships. Either way, it sparked some self-reflection. Growth and change over time is inevitable in most cases, but I do wonder how much of it results directly from fighting.
One personality flaw that I’ve always been very aware of is my inability to deal with confrontation. I’ve always had a tendency to be a bit of a ‘doormat’. Since I was a child, I’ve always avoided confrontation of any kind, which meant letting people ‘walk over’ me rather than voicing my opinion in times of dispute. This has always been the case, even on occasions when it would have been totally reasonable for me to say something. One particularly amusing, albeit slightly absurd, example of this is one of my childhood birthdays. I have a twin sister, and we used to take it in turns each year to decide what to do for our birthday parties. One year (I think we were about 7), it was my turn to choose, and I wanted to go to an indoor playground called ‘Jimmy G’s’, which had a reputation for being pretty much the best place ever, but I had yet to go. My sister, who is the polar opposite of me, cried persistently because she wanted to have a tea party. My parents gave in and decided to flip a coin to show her that it was fair. I even won the coin toss, but my sister continued to cry. So, I eventually gave in as well and begrudgingly agreed to have a tea party instead, putting off Jimmy G’s until the following year. This wouldn’t be so bad by itself, if it wasn’t for the fact that Jimmy G’s then closed before our next birthday, and I never got the chance to go. Now, that’s a fairly ridiculous example, but I continued to be that way even in adult life, in situations where the consequences were much more significant than a disappointing birthday party. Whether it was in relationships, friendships, professional situations or even interactions with total strangers, I’ve never been able to stand up for myself.
Since verbal assertiveness is not something that I have ever managed to quite grasp, it will come as no surprise to hear that having a physical fight was something that I’d never even come close to before I started Muay Thai. It certainly is strange that while I may get into a ring and have a fight with another person, if anyone did something to annoy or upset me outside of the ring, I would have a hard time bringing myself to tell them about it. However, fighting itself is enough of a challenge alone for me, and as I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve always felt that I lack that ‘killer instinct’ that you would assume comes naturally to a fighter. Both of these things are consistent struggles for me, and aspects of myself that I am constantly striving to improve, and they seem to go hand in hand. The action of being forced to physically stand up for myself seems to aid my mental strength outside of the ring, and the progress that I continue to see in both of these areas as I keep fighting is just one measure of how Muay Thai has helped me to grow. I’ve become much more confident, and instead of allowing myself to be a pushover, have taken action to rid myself of any adverse relationships and connections, shedding those that I believed to be detrimental to my happiness. In doing so, I’ve become more focused, empowered and content.
Another change that I’ve noticed is that I’ve become more introverted than I used to be. I look forward to spending time by myself to recharge and reflect, and if I spend too long without ‘me time’, it sometimes causes me to shut down, or even become stressed and irritated. Sometimes, I prefer to observe and people-watch rather than involve myself in a crowd. This, coupled with the fact that I’m not so outspoken at times, sometimes leads people to believe that I’m in a bad mood, when in fact, I’m just quietly content (please see this excellent video on ‘Bitchy Resting Face’, the story of my life). This doesn’t mean that I’m shy or a hermit, it’s just the way I work these days. It shows even in little things, like my daily run. I need to run alone. I’ll run with a partner if they offer, but for me, running is my time to zone out and reflect on my training. These aspects of my personality have always been present, but I’ve noticed that they’ve become more prominent over time.
I am unsure how much change I can attribute to Muay Thai alone, as travelling, living in another country and having so many new experiences will undoubtedly have some effect on a person, but I am certain that Muay Thai and fighting has been a major factor for me. Of course, a conscious effort to contribute to self-development is a driving force in my personal growth, but how much of that would be possible if I hadn’t discovered Muay Thai? Even if it wasn’t fighting, but my work, or a totally unrelated venture, gaining skills and seeing visible progression in something is bound to improve a person’s self-confidence. The realisation of one’s ability to do something is quite empowering.
The above photo is of a wall that I came across in Chiang Mai in 2010, when I’d just started travelling and training. I usually have an irrational hatred for cheesy, motivational quotes and pictures, and I am the first one to complain when I see them in my Facebook news feed. However, this one seemed relevant at the time, so I made an exception (although I’m still very aware of how lame it is). It’s strange to see where life has taken me since then. At that time, I had just graduated and set off on a backpacking trip by myself, and was experiencing Muay Thai for the first time by spending a month training in Thailand before heading off to other countries. At that stage, I didn’t even think that I wanted to fight, so I certainly couldn’t have predicted that doing so would become such a big part of my life.
Since I’ve started fighting, my lifestyle has changed drastically. At times, I have felt that it has caused me to become somewhat alienated from other people. There is no doubt that living the life of a fighter requires me to spend a lot of time on my own. I live at the gym, training for six days a week, as well as working six days a week, and my day off is usually spent training. This leaves no time for a social life. Instead of spending my free time socialising, any time during which I’m not training or working, I’m eating, resting or writing. Before a recent trip home for my last fight, when packing my suitcase I discovered that my shoes that I would usually wear for going out were literally covered in cobwebs and dust. Then, I realised that it had been almost a year since I’d last been on a night out, the last one being for my birthday. Every time I’d had a holiday or time off work, I’d used it either for a fight, or to train for a fight. Now, it sounds like I’m complaining, but I genuinely love what I do, and it doesn’t make me sad at all. In fact, it makes me proud. I don’t think I’m missing out by not going out. I rarely drink, I’m not much of a party person at all, and I prefer to spend my time being productive and focusing on the things I want to do. I have no idea how long I will be in Thailand, so it seems simple to me that I should make the most of my time here by doing exactly what I came here to do: to train and fight. It is a difficult lifestyle to maintain at times, and it’s certainly not without its rough patches, but I’m trying to challenge myself in order not only to achieve something, but to grow as a person. Settling down, doing a 9-5 and ‘living for the weekend’ is all well and good for people who are content in doing so, but at this stage in my life, I’m looking to do something different. It’s difficult to achieve extraordinary things by living an ordinary life. That being said, while I wouldn’t change my current lifestyle for the world, I sometimes wonder how it might have contributed to any of those changes that my friends pointed out. At times, I have doubted myself, wondering if it had resulted in any adverse effect on my personality, but now that I’m much more self-assured, I see them more as developments which are directing me towards the person I want to be. I’m now totally confident that I’m in the right place, doing the right things, paving the way for even more positive things in the future.
The consensus seems to be that Muay Thai helps people to improve their confidence, and I imagine that this is the main change (aside from anything physical, of course) that a person might notice. However, there are countless stories of people who’ve used Muay Thai as a tool to help them turn their whole lives around. For some, it’s a drastic change, and for others it’s very subtle, but no matter where on the spectrum it falls, it makes a difference. I’d be very interested to hear from anyone who’d like to share their thoughts or experiences on any changes or developments that they’ve noticed in themselves as a result of Muay Thai or fighting. I know I’m not the only one!
AdvertisementsAn independent inquiry into UK Sharia courts ordered by Home Secretary Theresa May will get underway in the new year and report in 2016, it has been confirmed today.
The probe follows growing concern about how the courts operate a parallel justice system which works against women in Muslim communities.
Speaking at the Home Affairs Select Committee last week Mrs May said she was aware of concerns and promised a review to MPs.
Home Secretary Theresa May, pictured at the committee hearing, has promised an inquiry into the operation of Sharia courts, which will now get underway in the new year
She told the committee: 'I am very aware that there is concern about how Sharia courts are operating in some circumstances in the UK.
'That is why we will be doing a review.'
The independent reviewer is yet to be appointed as work continues to establish the inquiry.
Minister for Countering Extremism Lord Ahmad said today: 'The Government is committed to an independent review to understand the extent to which Sharia may be being misused, or applied in a way which is incompatible with the law in the UK.
'This review will be formally established shortly and we expect an initial report to be issued to the Home Secretary in 2016.'
Sharia courts in the UK have no power over criminal matters but can get involved in religious marriages.
Legal separations still have to be done by official courts but Sharia councils are thought to have ordered settlements between couples who were never formally married.
Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz welcomed news of the inquiry, insisting it had to establish the extent of Sharia courts in the UK
Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, told MailOnline the inquiry's establishment was'very welcome'.
He said: 'We need to be aware of what the terms of reference are and, indeed, where the practice of Sharia courts is taking place.
'We know anecdotally the courts exist but I represent a constituency of many different faiths and no one has ever come to me and said that it's happening in Leicester.
'We have one law in this country and that is the law of the land, as established by Parliament. If there is any alternative method of justice that has to be looked at.'
Mr Vaz said his committee would be eager to assist in setting the inquiry terms of reference and urged a speedy appointment of the independent reviewer.
A petition calling for the banning of Sharia courts in the UK was delivered to Downing Street last month.
After delivering the petition, Maryam Namazie of the One Law for All campaign said: 'By allowing religious courts to operate, we are saying that Muslim or Jewish women do not have the same rights as others in this country.
'This is unacceptable.'Yesterday on Twitter, I was sent this tweet:
@1966_lee @godless_mom another lost soul who have no joy, must laugh at Christianity to feel good about themselves. Very sad — mardy (@mardybp) September 23, 2015
Aside from the fact that she has a very loose grasp of the English language, and aside from the fact that she asserts pointing out the possibility that Jesus is fictional is “laughing” at Christianity, Mardy says in no uncertain terms that atheists are joyless.
This is a sentiment I’ve heard more than once, and I’ve never quite understood it. As someone who has had a life filled with joy and lacking religious belief since day one, it’s completely absurd to me. I think, for some religious people who say this, that they are just trying to make us feel small; that they don’t really believe that we can’t feel joy. For others, however, I get the sense that they truly believe we live without joy.
Either way, most religious people I’ve had the opportunity to get to know, are miserable (not all). Now, I realize that the small group of religious people I’ve gotten to know is hardly representative of an entire demographic… I get this. However, there are some things we don’t need stats to know when it comes to how atheists experience joy. We know that religion comes with dogma. We know that religion is prescriptive and requires certain behaviours. We know that those behaviours are promoted with the use of threats.
We also know, that atheists are free from all of that. We don’t do dogma, we don’t take kindly to threats from a sky-daddy. We don’t believe in eternal punishment or infinite reward. We are free to explore what it means to be us without the pressure to fall in line.
Here are seven ways atheists are free to feel joy, without the burden of dogmatic shame or guilt.
1. Sex! We are not afraid of going heels-to-Jesus! We celebrate the four-legged foxtrot like it’s an olympic event. If an atheist feels shame for hiding the bishop, it’s only because he has residual bullshit carried over from when he was religious. It’s okay for women to fuck as much as they like, and it’s perfectly okay for men to nail men and women to bang women. |
season averaging 24.9/7.2/5.1; he shot over 50 percent from the field and was voted in as a starter for the CBA All-Star team after picking up 2.2million votes- the most for any player that season. While his supporting cast was lacking in every conceivable way, McGrady’s skills were clearly still such that he could produce big numbers in China; he flirted with triple doubles on several occasions. On his individual production alone, McGrady had a pretty fine season in Qingdao. His body language and sour affect, though, spoke with sullen eloquence of how badly he was looking forward to the earliest possible flight home.
***
If things were better for Arenas in Shanghai, it was mostly by default. The American missed almost all of the Sharks first fifteen games as the team went 4-11. Before Arenas returned, Shanghai’s iconic Chinese star Liu Wei went down with an injury. He’d miss much of the second half of the season. The team was in freefall.
What usually follows, followed. The famously fickle Shanghai fans stopped showing up leaving the vocal hardcore fans who would gather behind both baskets during home games and had paid increased season ticket prices during the brief period of post-Arenas euphoria wanted blood. There was also talk of mutiny in the dressing room among some of Chinese players whilst elements of the local press also began to turn against the head coach, Daniel Panaggio. At one point, the largest Sharks supporters group began chanting at games for the American to be sacked and replaced with Bob Donewald, the former coach of the Chinese national team.
In round seventeen, Beijing flew in to play their hated rivals and destroyed Shanghai, 101-88 in front of a half-empty arena. Stephon Marbury gleefully ran up the score on his way to thirty-eight points; the dejected Sharks team couldn’t wait to get off the floor. Panaggio, despite being one of the key reasons his team had made the playoffs the previous season, was fired the following day. His final act as Sharks’ coach would be conceding that the signing of Arenas was a gamble that had gone disastrously wrong during the postgame press conference.
In handing the reins to a relatively inexperienced interim coach, Wang Qun, Shanghai basically waved the white flag on a terrible season with half the schedule to play. By the time Arenas returned in early January, expectations were minimal. With nothing to lose, Wang tasked Agent Zero with the sole mission of putting up thirty-plus points a game. It worked; Arenas reveled in his unflickering green light and Sharks’ fans, starved of any entertaining hoops to that point, lapped it up. In his most notable game, Arenas came off the bench to score 37 points in thirty-four minutes against the Xingjiang Tigers, one of best teams in China; the Sharks won 107-104. Shanghai, despite a record that placed it squarely in the league’s bottom five, was suddenly and bizarrely the place to be in Chinese hoops, just had Washington had been during Arenas’ giddy zenith.
Just as D.C. had, Shanghai fell hard for Arenas, who, for his part, seemed as outwardly happy as he had at any time since his gun- and idiocy-aided fall from grace in States. He was a popular sight at various Western drinking holes, and bought 800 tickets to a game against the Dongguan Leopards (close to a fifth of the arena’s total capacity) for his Weibo followers as a way of apologizing for his injury problems. Several of the Sharks’ Chinese recruits would attempt to beat Arenas on Call Of Dutyonly to have to go through with a forfeit of the American’s choosing when they inevitably lost. Many of the younger local roster plainly couldn’t believe they were suiting up with a player they’d grown up watching on TV.
Gilbert Arenas is still Gilbert Arenas, which is to say that he was volatile and reliably scattered brained, both of which made him an obvious delight for journalists. After one practice, he gleefully named and shamed the team’s worst NBA2K players to a press pack that were used to overseas players being withdrawn-unto-sullen and cautious. When asked if there were any Chinese players he liked, Arenas replied there was several, but that he couldn't remember any of their names. He also incorrectly misquoted his own medical treatment, telling journalists he'd recently gone to the US to get 'Genocline' shots; he meant Regenocline, the same thing Kobe got on his 2011 trip to Germany. There was a lengthy delay in reporting the full story until Chinese journalists realized the mistake.
It was fun, but it wasn’t quite working. The team that had been extravagantly hyped four months earlier had stuttered to a 10-22 record, the worst finish for Shanghai since the CBA adapted a thirty-two game regular season. Arenas, for all his brief magic, only played fourteen games, and was really only fit for ten of them. His figures for the season- 20.4 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 3.2 assists per game- are the signs of what might have been; he could and should have been good for thirty points a game during the regular season but fate had other ideas. Indeed, injured once again, he was there to applaud the home crowd during the final fixture of the season, an appropriately desultory 99-77 blowout to the Liaoning Jaquars. As Arenas stood in the center circle in street clothes, the mournful look of a man who wished he could have done more was impossible to hide.
***
Qingdao were within two games of the playoffs last year and twelve months and the addition of one multiple-time NBA All-Star later, they finished as the worst team in the league. Shanghai finished its season in the basement, too, and minus a successful head coach, who had to be canned to pacify the team’s fans during the extended injury suffered by the team’s own imported ex-All-Star.
What happens next is not quite clear, although China and T-Mac are almost certainly done. Some NBA players can make a lucrative and happy living in the CBA—Arenas may still be one of them—but it didn’t much help for McGrady to be the most popular and recognizable black athlete in China; he clearly didn’t enjoy having his only secure and private space be a hotel room stranded within a second-tier Chinese city.
It’s easy to imagine that the T-Mac experiment might have been successful in a bigger city with more western culture and better teammates. But those cities weren't available, and it’s hard to think of where McGrady might fit in China even if he wanted to go back. Beijing isn't big enough for both T-Mac and Marbury, Guangdong wouldn't take a chance with someone so combustible and Shanghai seems unlikely due to the ill-defined but palpable cracks in McGrady's relationship with Yao.
Arenas, on the other hand still has unfinished business and in his final interview before leaving Shanghai, he admitted that he wanted to come back to the CBA, ideally with the Sharks. In China, Arenas knows that he is still a big deal and a player that fans from other teams want to see; he relishes that as much in Shanghai as he ever did in Washington. There is, too, the erasure of his painful past: Javaris Crittenton’s name never comes up, for one thing, and Arenas bluntly stated in a recent interview with a Shanghai ex-pat magazinethat he doesn't want to return to the NBA. He likes the CBA's thirty-two game regular season, and given that he is still receiving the money from his amnestied Orlando Magic contract, Arenas can afford to be a star attraction in a smaller market. Whether a team would take him on next season after the chaos his arrival inadvertently wrought this year remains to be seen.
When they first arrived, one Chinese newspaper referred to Arenas and McGrady as 'great generals.' It’s a title that sounds more than a little over the top to western ears, but given the nuanced nature of Mandarin it spoke volumes about the level of respect accorded to both. To outsiders, the CBA might seem like an elephant graveyard, a place where chuckers and tweeners go to limp through a lucrative zombie period before returning home to get fat and take up golf.
But there was a sense that McGrady and Arenas, while certainly both in the go-abroad-for-playing-time stages of their respective careers, were working on something different. There was a great deal of hope among Chinese fans that McGrady and Arenas would open a new era in the game; to see it all end badly, and indeed as a reflection of the league’s longstanding shortcomings, has been a tough blow for Chinese basketball fans.
This isn't to say that CBA teams would hesitate to sign another ailing former great from the NBA. Were, say, Vince Carter to announce his interest in coming to China, a dozen teams would be open their checkbooks and pester his agent immediately. But with each passing season in which the CBA gets access to NBA talent, Chinese fans are coming to understand how radically different basketball is between countries, and how much off-court comfort matters. This, more than anything having to do with the games or teams, is why the CBA has so humbled many of the NBA supermen who came to China, only to struggle amid everyday injuries, homesickness and extreme cultural displacement. J.R. Smith, K-Mart et al came for the money and were unsuccessful; Arenas and McGrady were meant to be different and weren't.
What started with the Birdman’s arrival in 1999 will almost certainly continue in 2013. More NBA players will inevitably look to China for employment, and teams will be eager to pay them. But, in one of the world’s most lucrative but unpredictable leagues, simply buying a premium imported talent doesn’t guarantee anything. Agent Zero will be back for another try if his legs will hold up; Tracy McGrady will ultimately leave as a fallen icon. These are bigger names than most, but in a sense they’re just names on a long list of American stars who have tried and failed to make a home in what remains one of the most impenetrable frontiers of world basketball.
Gilbert Arenas newspaper image swiped from the great Truth About It.Microsoft: 60% of Wii Fit Purchases Go Unplayed
"We've seen some research that says 60 percent of people who bought a Wii Fit play it once and don't play it again. So we have to get the balance right, because what we are doing is bringing new consumers into the market for the first time in their lives sometimes—and we have to treat them with respect," Gosen told attendees.
The executive later expanded on his comments, telling Develop that "what Nintendo have done with the Wii is truly fantastic—there is no question about it. But I think sometimes there is a thin line between gimmick and great gameplay."
The runaway success of Nintendo's motion-centric Wii console has prompted many software and hardware developers to look into motion-sensing control schemes. Earlier this year, rumors that Microsoft was planning a Wii Remote-like peripheral of its own were heavily circulated, though the device did not appear at following trade shows.
Gosen added in his keynote address that new user interfaces were important to the industry, but stressed that peripherals had to be designed with utility and longevity in mind.
"At the end of the day that comes back down to creativity... They are not good if they are gimmicks. There is a challenge for us to make sure that all new user interfaces are deep and are rewarding to the end user," he stated.
E3 2008 didn't pass without a new peripheral announcement from Microsoft, however. At the conference the company officially unveiled Lips, a karaoke-dancing hybrid title which comes packed with a pair of light-equipped, motion-sensitive wireless microphones. Gosen believes that the title fills a vacant niche.
"If you look a what people don't like about existing karaoke games it's that you've got wired microphones which look like they've come out of a toy shop and a fairly restricted song base," he said.
Developed in cooperation with Elite Beat Agents (NDS) developer iNiS, Lips is expected to hit retailers this coming holiday. Wii Fit, meanwhile, has sold more than five million copies worldwide since its debut earlier this year.Elon Musk wants us to build human colonies on Mars. Jeff Bezos has a slightly more measured take.
Onstage at the Code Conference on Tuesday, the Amazon founder and CEO said that we have to start bringing parts of the industrial economy to space in order "to save Earth."
"Let me assure you, this is the best planet. We need to protect it, and the way we will is by going out into space," he told Recode Editor at large Walt Mossberg. "You don't want to live in a retrograde world where we have to freeze population growth."
Bezos says tasks that require lots of energy shouldn't be handled on Earth. Instead, we should perform them in space, and that will happen within the next few hundred years.
"Energy is limited here. In at least a few hundred years... all of our heavy industry will be moved off-planet," Bezos added. "Earth will be zoned residential and light industrial. You shouldn't be doing heavy energy on earth. We can build gigantic chip factories in space."
Solar energy, for instance, is more practical for factories in space, he said.
"We don't have to actually build them here," he said. "The Earth shades itself, [whereas] in space you can get solar power 24/7.... The problem with other planets... people will visit Mars, and we will settle Mars, and people should because it's cool, but for heavy industry, I would actually put it in space."
No word yet, however, on when Bezos plans to move Amazon fulfillment warehouses beyond the surly bonds of Earth.
Our signature events sell out quickly. Sign up for our mailing list.A Yemeni man inspects a destroyed house after an alleged airstrike by the Saudi-led military coalition on a funeral reception on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Feb. 16, 2017. (Yahya Arhab/European Pressphoto Agency)
The State Department has approved a resumption of weapons sales that critics have linked to Saudi Arabia’s bombing of civilians in Yemen, a potential sign of reinvigorated U.S. support for the kingdom’s involvement in its neighbor’s ongoing civil war.
The proposal from the State Department would reverse a decision made late in the Obama administration to suspend the sale of precision guided munitions to Riyadh, which leads a mostly Arab coalition conducting airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s approval this week of the measure, which officials say needs White House backing to go into effect, provides an early indication of the new administration’s more Saudi-friendly approach to the conflict in Yemen and a sign of its more hawkish stance on Iran.
It also signals a break with an approach the previous administration hoped would limit civilian deaths in a conflict that has pushed Yemen to the brink of widespread famine but that Persian Gulf ally Saudi Arabia has cast as a battle against the spread of Iranian influence across the Middle East.
The move takes place as the Trump administration considers its approach to the Yemeni war, which has pitted U.S.- and Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi against an alliance of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Shiite Houthi rebels. Officials in Riyadh allege that the Houthis have received substantial support from Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival, Iran.
While the U.S. military has provided support to the Saudi-led air campaign since 2015, including aerial refueling for Saudi jets and a U.S. advisory mission in the Saudi operations headquarters, the Obama administration sought to scale back that support last year amid alleged Saudi strikes on civilian targets.
Despite Saudi hopes that the conflict would quickly restore Hadi to power, it is now approaching its third year. As of January, the conflict had led to the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.
“It has become a quagmire in which we were deeply involved but had very little influence,” said Tom Malinowski, who served as the top human rights official at the State Department under President Barack Obama. “That was not a good deal for the United States.”
Pressure increased on the Obama administration in October, when Saudi jets attacked a Yemeni funeral hall, killing more than 100 people. At the end of a review prompted by that strike, the Obama White House made the decision to halt the planned sale of roughly $390 million worth of precision munitions guidance systems to the kingdom.
[With some changes, U.S. maintains military aid to Saudi Arabia despite rebukes over Yemen carnage]
At the same time, officials reaffirmed other kinds of military support, part of a carrot-and-stick approach reflecting U.S. eagerness to smooth things over with a crucial Middle Eastern ally that was sharply critical of Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.
Now, President Trump, who has also voiced opposition to the nuclear deal, has an opportunity to recalibrate that support and reset ties with Riyadh.
An ongoing Yemen policy review is also a chance for Trump to demonstrate a tougher approach to Iran and its activities throughout the Middle East. Trump and some of his top advisers, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have called Tehran a chief threat to American security.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the Trump administration hopes to roll back Iranian influence in large part in Yemen.
“We’ll be looking for ways to blunt Iranian malign influence in the region. And we’ll be looking for all the tools that the U.S. government has,” the official said. “In that context, I think you have to look at Yemen.”
Trump has already supported the expansion of a separate military campaign in Yemen, one that U.S. forces are now waging against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a potent militant group that has grown stronger amid Yemen’s instability.
It is not yet known how the new administration will approach the beleaguered Yemen peace process, one that Tillerson’s predecessor, John F. Kerry, tried unsuccessfully to push toward a Saudi-Houthi deal.
“If the United States still hopes to help broker a nonmilitary end to the conflict, it is critical that it draws bright distinctions between our counter-AQAP efforts in southern Yemen, the delivery of new [arms], and the coalition’s efforts in Yemen,” said Eric Pelofsky, who served as senior director for North Africa and Yemen in the Obama White House, cautioning that the precision weapons and the expanding counterterrorism effort could be conflated with actions by the Saudi-led coalition the United States may or may not support.
Gerald M. Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, said that allowing Saudi Arabia to purchase the precision weapons would make sense. “My own view is that we should be able to sell these,” said Feierstein, who now directs the Center for Gulf Affairs at the Middle East Institute.
Feierstein and other advocates of the sale argue that precision munitions are preferable to unguided or “dumb” bombs and are less likely to cause civilian casualties when used properly.
“We should provide more help, more support, to get them to stop doing stupid things,” Feierstein said. “We should not cut off all the tools that would enable them to do this the right way.”
[Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children are nearing starvation]
U.S. officials disagree over whether the weapons and greater hands-on support for the Saudi air campaign would result in diminished danger to civilians, arguing that the larger problem has been Riyadh’s choice of targets.
“Urging the Saudis to end the war while continuing to provide the weapons they’re using is like trying to persuade a friend not to rob a bank while driving his getaway car,” Malinowski said.
The decision last year to suspend the sale of the weapons did not mean that Saudi Arabia, which officials said has a stockpile of those arms, was forced to switch immediately to unguided munitions.
A spokesman for the Saudi military coalition did not respond to a request for comment.
If the White House gives its blessing to the new State Department position, the administration would then notify Congress about its intent to move forward with the sale. It could encounter resistance on Capitol Hill.
“If you are interested in radicalizing the Yemeni population against the United States and pushing them into al-Qaeda’s arms, then continue to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “The Saudis are deliberately going after civilian targets.”
Last fall, Murphy was the co-sponsor of a measure that would have blocked a separate sale of Abrams main battle tanks to Saudi Arabia. While the measure did not pass, it was a rare public sign of frustration with an allied nation that has been an important customer for U.S. defense companies.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), another critic of U.S. policy on Yemen, said that a proposed sale without proof of altered conditions in the protracted conflict would face “vociferous, bipartisan opposition in Congress.”
Greg Jaffe and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.No, the Bucs did not land the next Reggie White in free agency. No, they did not bolster their receiving corps, which needs fresh blood.
But other than that, it seems the Bucs have done alright for themselves in free agency.
That’s the word from good guy Peter Schrager of FOX Sports. One of the most plugged-in NFL writers, Schrager looks at the moves (and non-moves) of Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and nods approval.
@PSchrags: Sign Ayers, Smith, Grimes, Sweezy … Bring back Martin and Conte… Hold on to Glennon… Good little off season in Tampa Bay thus far.
And really, free agency really isn’t finished. It’s now a buyer’s market. Guys still holding their hats in their hands looking for work have no leverage.
Also keep in mind that two of the better starters the Bucs had last year, Joe Hawley and Gosder Cherilus, weren’t signed until after training camp began.
Oh, and there is this thing in a month called the draft.Video: Instant justice? Porta-potty tipped over w/ man inside after he exposed himself to others this AM LiveOnK2 pic.twitter.com/931BnzRrsz
PORTLAND, Ore., June 5 (UPI) -- Police in Oregon said a homeless man allegedly masturbating in a portable toilet with the door open had to be rescued after witnesses reached their tipping point.
Portland Police said the 48-year-old man was freed from the overturned portable toilet Thursday morning at the Eastbank Esplanade after witnesses said they became fed up with the man opening the door and flashing his genitals while pleasuring himself inside the toilet.
"[He] was flashing us over and over again and we asked him multiple times and told him to stop and he wouldn't," a witness told KATU-TV. "Our friend thought it would be funny to get up and jump behind the porta-potty and kick it."
Police said the man, who was trapped when the commode tipped over door-side down, was covered in feces after his rescue.
They said the man was not arrested or cited.
"Physically, he's fine but he had a crappy day," said Willie Halliburton of the Portland Police. "Fortunately for him, he had some clothing he could change into and clean himself up later on. It worked out okay."
Police said they recommend witnesses to similar incidents call 911 rather than taking justice into their own hands.Hello folks! My name is Devin Townsend. I am a Canadian musician and I have had the great fortune of being allowed to make musical statements for the past 20 years that are based on a pure love of music.
The musical landscape has changed in so many ways over the years, but I’ve managed to keep doing my own thing throughout, happily and productively and I really owe it all to the support of the audience.
Pledge campaigns have been something I approached with caution, why? I hated to think of it being a system that allows musicians to just profit off their audience without any real agenda. What I’ve realized though, over watching the platform rise, is that it’s less about soaking your audience and is truly about being a real new model for musical interaction that benefits both parties in a way that prior systems could never do.
Last year, we did a project called ‘The Retinal Circus’ in London and through immense amounts of work from our management and unbelievable support from the people who helped us make it and people who listen to this music, we were able to pull off an almost unbelievable feat and make a literal circus and massively involved Blu-ray box set with little more than the spirit of those involved to propel it.
It started me thinking…
My goals are pretty simple, and have been since the start: I want to make uncompromising music, and have it accompanied by a visual representation and ultimately a live show that is unlike anything before us in terms of scale and creative freedom.
Ultimately, the audience, the labels, the artists, musicians and performers that help make these visions come to life are together in this. It’s a ‘common goal’ in my mind that we can strive to make things that are awesome, funny, serious, uncompromising and ultimately a compliment to daily life for all of us, the likes of which the standard ‘music industry’ would never ever ever allow.
I’m using the ‘Casualties Of Cool’ project as the umbrella for this Pledge drive. The term ‘Casualties Of Cool’ pretty accurately sums up what this endeavour stands for as well, people strive so hard to ‘fit in’ that ultimately they lose themselves in the process. Let me tell you about this project:
Casualties Of Cool has been something I’ve been working on for years, a real passion project. Not since Ocean Machine (my first record) have I had the opportunity to do music for the sheer sake of the love of it. It represents a fair bit to me. I have collaborated with some amazing people on it, Che Aimee (singer on my album Ki) Morgan Ågren (Drummer extraordinaire from Thordendal, Zappa, Laswell etc) Jessica Cope (brilliant animator,) Jørgen Munkeby, Kat Epple, The Swedish Sångkraft choir, a string section… a ton of brilliant artists.
It’s not a metal album, nor is it meant to be a statement about my interest in metal. It’s a side project from my work with DTP, Ziltoid and my touring band. I love that music, and always will…this is something different. This is something that I would write late at night while working on other projects as sort of a ’release’…a way to make music for myself, without pressure from ANYONE to do things a certain way. It’s an independent release, and it’s dark, quiet, and special. The project has been extensive, and in the coming weeks I will fill you in on the multitudes of things done over the course of its creation, and the truly awesome items that we have found a way to offer and represent the final music and visuals.
However, more even to the point: If we did manage to reach our goal for casualties, which allows us to cover what we’ve put into the project so far and release it commercially (it is independent, there are no labels for this project) ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDS get put directly into this massive next project we have been meticulously planning: Z2… movies, comic, albums and an absurdly over the top live show. Basically, Casualties Of Cool is the umbrella I’m using to make a lot of dreams happen creatively.
It’s hard for me to overestimate the amount that I am overwhelmed, every day, by what the audience that has chosen to follow us on this path has allowed me to do. Throughout it all, there has always been the omnipresent threat of ‘doing what is considered correct’ in order to fit in to it all… but even if I could give in to that, the audience would surely see through it in a second and that knowledge has been amongst my greatest artistic lessons learned.
When you Pledge, we have weekly videos, interviews, live footage of in studio performances that will be available to Pledgers exclusively. Also, we have many limited edition products we’ve made available for the album, including vinyl, regular and digipak versions of the disk as well as digital downloads. But perhaps even more fun, is some of the offers we’ve made available such as Skype vocal lessons with me, hand drawn pictures, mp3 phone messages from me and Ziltoid =) and a ton of other really personalized stuff that I think bridges the gap between what I do and you guys. I think it could be a lot of fun and we’re taking this very seriously! If you pledge and you’re a fan of this music, it could be a one-off opportunity to get your hands on some really cool exclusive stuff.
So let’s see what we can do? I promise you I will use whatever money we raise to make as many of these visions I have, deemed ‘commercially nonviable’ by a dying industry a full, unrelenting reality.
You have my word, my love and my total, absolute respect.
What we are trying to prove with this pledge campaign, beyond raising funds, is to make a statement to the industry at large that we have a killer fanbase, an army of folks that prove the worth of this type of thinking that will tell the industry it is a force to consider. I know we can do it.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to play for you. I feel gratitude beyond words…no bull.
Devin TownsendSouth Africa on the brink: Robbers pepper-spray baby By By Katerina Nikolas Mar 8, 2013 in World Durban - Gun-toting robbers pepper-sprayed a four-month-old baby in the latest South African violent atrocity to draw international attention. Graca Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela, has warned the country is "teetering on the brink" of "something very dangerous." After pepper spraying the family dog and the baby, robbers pointed a gun at the baby's three-year-old sister. Naudé said "The baby was screaming with pain and he could not breathe. By this time two more suspects appeared. One of them cocked the gun and placed it to my husband’s head. He too was repeatedly pepper-sprayed." The incident is the the latest in a stream of violent crimes which have catapulted South Africa into the headlines. The murder and torture of Speaking at the funeral of The The level of anger and aggression is rising. This is an expression of deeper trouble from the past that has not been addressed. We have to be more cautious about how we deal with a society that is bleeding and breathing pain.” As Machel said the “increasing institutionalisation of violence” was creating a police force “actively aggressive towards a defenceless public," "Crime is out of control. It is getting worse and worse every day." ( News 24 ) The words of Pam Naudé whose Durban home was invaded by violent gun wielding robbers who sprayed her four-month-old grandchild with pepper spray.After pepper spraying the family dog and the baby, robbers pointed a gun at the baby's three-year-old sister. Naudé said "The baby was screaming with pain and he could not breathe. By this time two more suspects appeared. One of them cocked the gun and placed it to my husband’s head. He too was repeatedly pepper-sprayed."The incident is the the latest in a stream of violent crimes which have catapulted South Africa into the headlines. The murder and torture of white farmers is on-going and police brutality is growing.Speaking at the funeral of murdered Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia, who was found dead in a police cell after being dragged along by a police van in a public place, Graca Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela, addressed the issue of extreme levels of violence in the country.The Telegraph reported Machel said: "South Africa is an angry nation. We are on the precipice of something very dangerous with the potential of not being able to stop the fall.The level of anger and aggression is rising. This is an expression of deeper trouble from the past that has not been addressed. We have to be more cautious about how we deal with a society that is bleeding and breathing pain.”As Machel said the “increasing institutionalisation of violence” was creating a police force “actively aggressive towards a defenceless public," SABC reported mourners at Macia's funeral booed police officers out of the memorial service. Eight police officers were suspended following the outrage over Macia's death. More about baby peppersprayed, Graca Machel, Mido Macia, violent crime South Africa, South Africa police More news from baby peppersprayed Graca Machel Mido Macia violent crime South... South Africa policeThis article is a submission from someone who we hope will be a permanent addition to our staff, Overman. He’s been playing, like he will mention shortly in his article, for almost a decade, weaving in and out of corps before settling in his curent residence with V0LTA. Let’s see what he has to say about Drilling Platforms and POSes and the requirements of them in terms of creating content.
I have been playing EVE a long time.
I warmly remember Megathron dominance and RR-Sniper fleets. And I also reluctantly recall when mining was the career path of choice for vast riches and when every warp landed 15km away from the target. However, for over 10 years I’ve come to fondly associate POSes with content. POSes have undeniably created a large part of the content in EVE, whether it was in 2009 when Goons were bashing POSes 24/7 in the grind for Delve/Querious or now in 2016 when opposing forces are constantly battling to keep or capture money moons. Yes, they are bitch to maintain and were an even worse headache before fuel blocks and yes, they could be exploited and horribly annoying to setup.
But I do get a little nostalgic with all the changes on the horizon. The vision CCP has been building is exciting as we progress towards the new POS-free New Eden. However, there is a growing sense of anxiety building as we leave something so familiar to embark into this brave new world. CCP Seagull has done a phenomenal job communicating her vision for EVE and CCP, in general, has been immensely helpful with responding to community feedback and addressing concerns. With that said, even after Engineering Complexes are released, Drilling Platforms (“Platforms”) is the one structure they must get right from the start.
As CCP have detailed, the roles for POSes and Outposts have been diversified across a variety of new structures. Most structures are dockable for at least some ships, tethering provides the safety-net that were once reserved for POSes, Citadels provide the firepower and Engineering Complexes provide most of the industrial needs of both POSes and stations (outposts). This is hardly exhaustive, but it is clear that the roles have shifted. We as players are no longer relegated to simply planting a flag in Dotlan or conquering a station that never goes away. Instead, we’re creating a new dynamic for each system.
For instance, Horde established numerous citadels for a variety of purposes routes throughout their region. This is great for PVPers and Industrialists alike to be able to form a connection with their space and identify it as their home. These new structures allow that to happen for Lowsec as well (leaving FW issues aside for now). Further, the risk of loss with these structures harkens back to what EVE is really about.
EVE has always been a game where most of the fun exists due to the necessity of having a winner and a loser. This was evident during CCP Rise’s presentation (ed: Eve Vegas) where playing EVE with a risk of loss made the experience that much more engrossing and intense. Defending and losing these structures will hopefully create a larger sense of scale for this risk of loss that encompasses not only individuals, but entire corporations and alliances.
Much of that zero-sum conflict within EVE centers on the POS. What CCP haven’t addressed is how they intend to translate the opportunities for conflict inherent in our POSes’ paradigm with that of Platforms. This is what we do know:
“Drilling Platforms focus on resource harvesting, mainly with reprocessing, moon harvesting, reactions, mining, gas harvesting, or new harvesting mechanics.” – CCP Ytterbium
and
“Service module possibilities: Reprocessing, moon harvesting, reactions, mining, gas harvesting. We also are considering new harvesting gameplay mechanics. We could for instance have pollution gas clouds form around drilling structures that see high activity, or seed small planetoids in specific asteroid belts and scan-able sites which require a drilling platform to break it down in smaller harvestable rocks.
Rigs possibilities: Anything that improves reprocessing, moon harvesting, reaction, tractor beam range effectiveness.”
At this point the community can only speculate how CCP will cultivate their place within EVE. The CSM minutes provided no new details and neither did EVE Vegas. As an example for how things may play out, imagine them as structures that are anchored near moons much like POS currently or POCOs with planets. If this is how Platforms evolve, let’s hope that CCP throws out the reinforcement windows and vulnerability timers for them.
Citadels are a pain [..] to siege.
Currently, Citadels are a pain in the ass to siege. At least the grind makes sense with Fortizars and Keepstars (if not Astrahuses) due to the reliance alliances and corporations are going to have on these structures when Outposts are eventually removed from Null-sec. The degree of planning and commitment required to kill these structures should match the Risk of Loss of the defenders. For Citadels/EC, the current mechanics are at the very least balanced for L and XL size structures. However, with the exception of the occasional WH corps that still live out of a POS alone, there aren’t vast alliance level risks that affect line members with POSes. Thus, it stands to reason that the structures created to replace the harvesting aspects of POSes should only require a commensurate level of planning and commitment from parties willing to attack them.
Vulnerability windows and multiple reinforcements on Platforms would be a mistake. The Risk of Loss is substantially limited compared to either a Citadel where hundreds of player’s assets are pooled together or an EC with a titan in build. For instance, Platforms/POS can be re-taken, but the potential loss of assets in a Keepstar is massive. The effort to kill a Drilling Platform should not be the same as a Citadel/EC when the potential for fun and Risk of Loss to the adversary is less. Grinding through Platform timers just doesn’t sound like fun.
Currently, corporations are notified when valuable POS moons are under attack and they have an |
forwards, without no-trade clauses in their contracts, that the Red Wings have are Zetterberg, Filppula, Franzen, and Helm.
Zetterberg, the new captain, is not going anywhere. Helm, who is the face of Detroit’s bottom-six, is also not likely to be moved. And most teams are unlikely to be willing to take on Franzen’s massive contract that goes until 2020 and takes him to the age of 40.
That leaves Filppula.
Filppula is also the only one of that bunch who will become a UFA this summer. A summer in which the wings will also need to re-sign and give raises to Howard, Smith, White, Nyquist, Lashoff, and possibly others. Filppula may just simply be the odd-man-out.
Filppula is also the type of player that the Red Wings already have an abundance of.
He’s a natural center and a top-six playmaker. Yet, the Red Wings already have two of those in their top-six in Datsyuk and Zetterberg. And Datsyuk and Zetterberg are quite a bit better than Filppula. What the Red Wings do need is more top-six capable power forwards like Franzen, and top-six capable snipers like Brunner. So Filppula may be the odd-man-out in that regard as well.
Why The Red Wings Won’t Trade Filppula
Simply put, It’s not the Red Wings style. Detroit likes to hang onto their talent that they’ve drafted and developed. And unlike guys the Red Wings have let walk, like Jiri Hudler, Filppula seems to epitomize a modern day Red Wings forward.
Filppula is disciplined, poised, plays a fantastic two-way game, and plays that puck-possession style through passing and puck control that the Red Wings love.
He’s the kind of hard-working and classy player that any team would kill to have. So it would not be surprising if the Red Wings elect to keep him.
What the Red Wings would probably rather do is trade away their high draft picks, along with a few bottom-sixers to clear roster spots. It just depends on how many high draft picks the Red Wings are willing to move. Quincey, an average defensemen that the Red Wings already have enough of, cost them a first-round pick last year. If Detroit decide’s to move multiple high-round picks for big player it could severely hurt them down the road in years to come.
Think Filppula will or will not be traded? Think someone else will be traded? Let us know below.Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" Wednesday that President Trump was "determined to pursue" common ground with Russia, but noted that he had no plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
WHITE HOUSE STAFF TOLD TO SAVE RUSSIA-RELATED MATERIALS
"We made a strong commitment to NATO," Pence said, referencing Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. "We also made it very clear that... we’re going to hold Russia accountable for ending violence in Eastern Ukraine, but in the same breath, our president continues to believe that if there’s a way that we can find common ground with Russia, particularly in the fight against ISIS, he’s determined to pursue that."
The vice president also reaffirmed Trump's determination to "end illegal immigration and bring sanctuary cities to an end."
"I know the president is going to evaluate every option we have in terms of the authority of the federal government to end a practice that is really … not contributing to the well-being of the nation or the safety and security of our people," Pence told host Bill O'Reilly.
Pence did not specify whether Trump's hard-line immigration policies would exempt children who were brought into the U.S. illegally, saying the adminstration was currently focused on deporting criminal illegal aliens.
"We’ll see about some of these other issues and the remaining population," Pence said. "But we’re going to enforce the law, uphold the rule of law and [Trump]’s going to continue the vigorous efforts to do that."City takes legal action to clean Makiki property neglected for years Copyright by KHON - All rights reserved Video
The city is taking action against a neglected property in Makiki.
Outside, old cars and piles of trash cover the yard.
Neighbors say they've been tolerant of the property for years, but patience is running out. They say it's not just an eyesore, but a health and safety hazard.
"We do what we can to try and keep it clean, as I'm doing today. I try to keep the mosquitoes down. I'm spraying," said neighbor Wade Reeves. "It's pretty hard. It's pretty disgusting. There's a lot of cats, rats, everything runs around."
"The cats keep the rats in check, lately, I've noticed, but some of the rats are bigger than the cats. It's really dangerous," said Makiki neighborhood board member Paul Klink. "They have to close their doors because cats and rats are running into their homes."
The home has been on the city's radar for over a decade. The city started fining the homeowner back in 2007. The daily $50 fines totaled $155,400.
Then a law that passed in 2015 gave the city power to clean "neglected properties" and bill the homeowner for the costs. The city issued an updated violation that year, after the new law took effect.
The owner was fined an initial $250, then racked up $250 in daily fines up until this month, to the tune of $95,750.
After repeated attempts to work with the owner, the city says it is taking matters into its own hands by resorting to legal action.
The city said in a statement: "Because none of the fines have been paid, we've asked our attorneys to take legal action that would allow the city to abate the unsafe and unsanitary conditions on the property."
This would be the second time the city has cleaned up a home. In 2015, a judge approved the city's court order to clean up a Kaimuki home that was neglected for years.
Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi says the sooner the city takes action, the better.
"In the Kaimuki home, it was over $120,000. They actually paid it back," she said. "In this case, I'm sure if that's what's holding him up, I'm sure payment can be worked out, but anything to get this over with.
"It's really unfair that this sits here," Kobayashi added. "I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I were living next door. Those people are really upset."Pew Research Center
A substantial Pew survey of global opinion released on Monday revealed, among other indicators, how majorities in countries across Asia fear the outbreak of conflict as a result of China's contentious border spats. Beijing's many territorial disputes with its neighbors -- ranging from islands near Japan, shoals in the South China Sea and rugged Himalayan highlands along its vast land border with India -- have flared alongside its own military expansion. As China's economy booms, other Asian nations are growing increasingly wary of its intentions and capabilities.
"In all 11 Asian nations polled, roughly half or more say they are concerned that territorial disputes between China and its neighbors will lead to a military conflict," read a Pew statement.
Pew data also shows how, despite its bad publicity for National Security Agency spying and the use of drones, the United States is still seen in a more favorable light than China by much of the world.
This is in part a consequence of the durability of the American brand, despite the perceived heavy-handedness of its foreign policy, as well as genuine concerns about what the world would look like if China is able to rival the United States' superpower status. There's an emerging global consensus, according to Pew, that China could surpass the United States as an economic power.
Pew also provided a breakdown of who various Asian publics consider their friend and foe. It shows clearly the hardening of the post-World War II consensus in the Pacific, where a host of Asian democracies now appear to be looking for a renewal of the Pax Americana in the face of provocations from China, including numerous maritime standoffs with Chinese vessels. One prominent exception is Pakistan, where public opinion regards China favorably and the United States (and neighbor India) much less so. This is despite China's conspicuous crackdown on Muslims in the far-western region of Xinjiang, on the other side of the border with Pakistan.
You can read the full report here.Even I known the basic plot of the case – as nearly any Barcelona citizen, with a minimum of interest in the history of the anecdotic facts of its own city – it hasn’t until I read about the publishing of two new books about, I didn’t go a bit further for knowing and thinking about it. I don’t want to read those books – even if they are masterpieces of historical investigation – because I had far enough with what I read at the net tonight: I am sure it will be a great pleasure for the most refined lovers of gore stories, which is not my case. What fascinated – and freaked me up – more it has been how this case talks about the darker side of our society and even ourselves.
But who was Enriqueta Martí i Ripollés, really?
This woman was a looking good young girl when she came to Barcelona at the late 19th decades. She start working as servant in several bourgeois houses. Soon she realized he would earn a lot more money taking profit at her beauty and sweetness working as prostitute. After a time doing this job she learnt a lot about some of the darker and rotten wishes some humans have and, after saving enough money to rent a nice apartment, she decided to open her own brothel in 1909. But not a normal one: Enriqueta Martí used her sweetness and sneaky abilities to kidnap kids – from five to fifteen years old! - and use them as prostitutes for some of the richest and fully depravated men of Barcelona.
1909 was a shocking year for Barcelona. The city suffered the social rebellion called ‘La Setmana Tràgica’ (The Tragic Week) along which about forty churches were burnt. Enriqueta Martí brothel was discovered by the police as well. But some hidden hand, from a mysterious ‘one’, who had a high influence, helped her to get out the jail. Since then, she started an even more terrible business, in a new place, in the middle of the Raval quarter, a very poor zone of the city. I must to say, to be honest, that then the analphabetic population died because illness and misery.
The new business consisted in to kidnap children from three to twelve years old. Once she got them, she used some for depravation, as she did before the arrest. But now, she decided to select some of them for being killed for taking out their fat, blood and bones to create her own elixirs and ‘facial crèmes’. With that final product, she provided a selected group of distinguished ladies from the high society of Barcelona. Those ladies known very well from where all those products came, but they considered poor children nothing more than a piece of rubbish. Then, it was extended the superstition that the blood of young kids were good for long life, and their fat great for conserving a young skin.
During the day, Enriqueta were dressed in very poor style. It was the best way for avoiding to be suspicious when she were looking for the best kid to kidnap. She ever went where kids looked more abandoned, waiting for the bread queue in front the nuns monasteries and other places like that. At the fall of night, she usually went out home dressed as she was a marquis, wearing the most expensive jewellery even. Then she went to El Liceu (the glamourish Opera Palace in Barcelona) when she enjoyed the plays or attended the call of some well connected new owner. In fact, it seems El Liceu was her main field of operations. Some people from the high society were their best clients there: the gentlemen for the children prostitution and the women for the cosmetic products.
The disappeared children were always kids from the most miserable families. The fact that somebody were kidnapping them, for some mysterious reasons, started to be obvious. Even without having the mass media of nowadays, rumours spread rapidly between the population. Although, the Barcelona mayor did not take the rumours about kidnapped children seriously at all. In fact, late in 1911 the mayor of Barcelona issued a statement saying that there was no basis to the rumours which had been circulating in the city. He officially stated that children were not being kidnapped and murdered. Unfortunately for everybody, at that time the rumours were painfuly true.
Thanks to a nosy neighbour, the truth was discovered and it went further than never nobody could imagine. The police still rescued a poor seven years old girl, still alive, who lived in a true regime of slavery. Sadly, they weren’t in time to save the last dead victim of the woman, Pepito, a boy of seven, killed just some few days before. Enriqueta had several apartments along all the city. In one of them, she killed and made her horrible works with the bodies. In another one, she lived with the kids. In the last one – a very luxurious place, indeed – she had the brothel, where rich important people of the politic, business and even art world, enjoyed degenerated orgiastic ceremonies of blood and sex. The police (poor guys, imagine their nausea) found pieces of at least ten bodies, perfectly prepared in what was a true factory for cosmetic products.
In 1912, Enriqueta Martí, at the age of 43 years old and still being a nice looking woman, got in to the jail. At that time it still existed the death penalty in my country, but the inspector of police took that case as something personal. He wanted to pull out the yarn until know all the truth about the list of the rich clients of Enriqueta. The newspapers of the time started a series of chronicles about the case, that were first page not only in Catalonia but in all Spain for weeks. But the judgements seemed never arrive. In fact, It seems that Enriqueta said: “My clients maybe were monsters but not me.” And this is for me one of the keys of all that terrible story. To say the truth – even what the women did makes me vomit, don’t get me wrong, please! – I quite agree with her. She was not a psychotic killer as el Sacamantecas, Jack the Ripper or even fiction ones as Hannibal Lecter or Norman Bates, but a normal woman – a very intelligent one – who just had no moral prejudice and, in the coldest way you can imagine, she worked straight, thinking only in her own benefits. For her, all she made was just “her business” and nothing else more.
But once again, the clients had to be a lot more powerful than the police and the journalists imagined. Never nobody could discover who were in that mysterious list. Enriqueta tried to kill herself two times. She finally were lynched by her own comrades at the jail.
Oof, end of story! (I feel exhausted after to write it. I only copied and pasted a little bit from a page I found at the net in the paragraph when I talk bout the rumours. Anyway, this is a bitch of story!) Since I read it all (and with even a lot more details I expressly missed, all them going into the straight morbid world) I thought a lot – who can’t stay without think about, after to know it? – and yes, it was obvious that the first thing what atonished me the most was how the Barcelona bourgeois could be so hypocrite and rotten. It seems that all that people were known for their charity activities and such kind of things as well. But then, after thinking a littel bit more, I thought in our own hypocrisy. In some way, we do a little bit like that, while we shut up the mouth.
Before to go to the bed (and to have terrible nightmares) I was talking with a friend about it and he said some very wise words: ”People does what they can do. If society allows you to buy slaves, people buy slaves. That’s all.” It is so true! We do what we are used to, and lot of times without asking from where it comes or where it goes our decision. If TV programs are a shit, we watch them. If they are great we watch them too. Why not? If some day, somebody else decide to make a TV program in which the audience can “enjoy” the image of a sort of Enriqueta torturing a kid, this program will be a big success. It is so easy to go into the degenerated side of life! For anyone of us, but for the society as a whole as well. So it’s so difficult to built anything, it's also very easy to destroy. We need thousands of years to build a civilization and just a bombing race falling from the air to delete it. We become used to the best and the worst very easily. The new generations are used t seeing women having more rights than in the past and racism is looked now as a bad thing. But to be used to the contrary it's too so easy! Each time a politic decision stoles us a right, there is a generation who protest against it. But the next generation, who never lived enjoying that right, why they should the need to miss it? We dont't miss what we ignore even its existence.
The history of the humanity is full of things that will remain lost forever. And all those things were the most important ones for a lot of generations. The past of time made become all those things useless and even forgotten. To kill poor kids and use thier fat for ‘facial crème’ is horrible to our eyes, but there are not a few amount of other shit in what we are doing in the world. In fact, thousands of kids are dying of misery, working even 18 hours per day, to make the cheapest products we buy. We, the poor people, are who buy them the most, even. It's easy to point our finger to that Barcelona high society, but we do something which isn’t so far. Just because it is not so obvious (we don’t go to El Liceu's best seats, we don’t have a Rolls Royce, blah, blah, blah) but we survive thanks to the injustice that exists in our world. We buy a toy for our kids by Christmas and that can be a great illusion for all the family. How nice Christmas are for all of us and how nice are our traditions! But behind each toy, behind even a cheap fifty leaves notebook, there exists the horror, the exploitation, the human pain and the blood.
It is horrible.
That kid is the only survivor, Tereseta Guitart with her parents, brother and the police who rescued her.When it comes to choosing the mound of bleached wheat flour and salted beef that most suits their lifestyle, the deciding factor for 21st-century youth is, unquestionably, whether that meat-pile is “on trend.” Today’s savvy millennials want a haystack of saturated fats that speaks to them, in their own language—and as food technology is still years away from perfecting fried, edible hashtags, restaurants such as McDonald’s and Taco Bell that want to be perceived as “hip” for some reason have had to focus on rebranding. After all, without these chains convincing younger customers of their coolness, they’d be left with only their billions of other consumers worldwide who patronize them anyway.
So rather than face being a totally uncool, multibillion-dollar melted cheese monopoly, McDonald’s gave Ronald McDonald some cargo pants and put him on Twitter. It’s an update that follows in the footsteps of Chuck E. Cheese’s transformation into a pop-punk pizza rat, and the Cheerios bee’s makeover into the reason your dad knows the word “swag,” and heralds the McDonald’s spokesclown embarking on a new social media campaign meant to promote the idea of “fun.” And in order to show that clowns can sometimes be fun, the company has replaced Ronald’s stuffy old bright yellow jumpsuit with cargo pants, a utility vest, and a striped rugby shirt—the sort of carefree yet functional wardrobe you’d maybe see on a Gap model or sexless aunt.
Advertisement
Of course, as today’s hip fashion is marked by a sense of ironically detached eccentricity, Ronald also sometimes sports a “whimsical new red blazer” and bowtie—a Wes Anderson-inspired ensemble that McDonald’s says is “reserved for special occasions,” such as talking about hamburgers. Presumably it was determined a handlebar mustache simply didn’t “read” against the face paint.
Advertisement
Finally, in a statement that manages to capture the palpable desperation behind all modern rebranding efforts in just four short words, the McDonald’s press release quotes Ronald as saying, “Selfies… here I come!”
Meanwhile, Taco Bell has faced its own questions about how to change its brand perception as a place for cut-rate Mexican cuisine—an accurate image which has so far yielded them untold profits, but zero flattering Instagram photos. So no doubt after abandoning its usual strategy of arranging its tortillas and beans in a slightly different way (“Maybe this time we put a burrito inside the taco shell?” asked one desperate developer), the company has instead decided to fulfill the prophecies of Demolition Man and launch the upscale “fast-casual” U.S. Taco Co. And Urban Taproom.
Like its faux-industrial, New American gastropub name suggests, U.S. Taco Co. will stuff its tortillas with a more food truck-inspired, “fusion” range of ingredients. This includes tacos like the “Winner Winner,” a fried chicken breast topped with South of the Border (or “SOB”) gravy and roasted corn pico de gallo. Or the “One Percenter,” which is lobster poached in garlic butter with red cabbage slaw. Or the “Brotherly Love,” U.S. Taco’s “nod to the Philly Cheesesteak,” with roasted poblano queso and absolutely nothing to do with Philadelphia.
Advertisement
These tacos are accompanied by steak fries blanketed with “habanero dust,” and milkshakes swirled with craft beers then served in Mason jars—the only acceptable drinking vessel of today’s trendsetters. In keeping with the sense of heritage at play, you eat these things with your hands. Your hands are coated with skin, just like laborers wore at the turn of the century.
To announce the launch of U.S. Taco Co., Taco Bell’s CEO Greg Creed released a statement in which he visibly strained to avoid saying the word “hipster”:
Creed said U.S. Taco Co. was born of a segmentation study conducted on Taco Bell that revealed a fairly large demographic that was not likely to use quick-service restaurants at all. Rather than spend millions trying to lure those potential diners into Taco Bell, Creed’s team decided to design a new concept that would appeal to that demographic, which includes an eclectic mix of generally higher-income foodies who are “edgy in how they live their lives but not necessarily in how they eat,” he said.
Advertisement
For now, the U.S. Taco Co. And Urban Taproom And Restoration Fart Bistro is a concept limited solely to one test location, set to open in Huntington Beach, California. There the edginess of eating tacos filled with things that aren’t typically inside tacos will be underscored by a décor featuring a “a prominent skull logo that will serve as a ‘beacon’ of sorts.” (“That skull and its connotations really speak to the edginess with which I live my life,” these higher-income foodies will say. “Its reminder of the ever-looming specter of death compels me to live every day like it’s my last by eating a $4 Taco Bell taco.”)
From there the hope is that—like Ronald McDonald’s social media world tour—U.S. Taco Co. could quickly move to other cities, at last bringing some edginess to your town. In the meantime, you’ll just have to try to enjoy your fast food some other way, such as eating it quickly and not really thinking about it.Dan Johnson (Photo: Candidate)
Louisville's chamber of commerce has banned longtime Metro Councilman Dan Johnson from attending its events over remarks a female staff member found offensive.
"We had an incident at one of our events, we've dealt with it privately, and he's no longer welcome," said Alison Brotzge-Elder, a Greater Louisville Inc. spokeswoman.
The incident occurred in a social setting during a recent GLI-led trip to Austin, Texas, attended by Mayor Greg Fischer and his team, several council members and Louisville business leaders. Multiple sources said the incident involved a female GLI staffer.
Johnson, D-21st District, issued an apology late Wednesday afternoon that said he will honor GLI's request to not attend their events.
“It is certainly not in my character to be offensive, so I do apologize if I came across that way in Austin. GLI has not contacted me personally about any incident during the Austin trip. At the time, I was not aware that my words were offensive to anyone. I wish someone had brought this to my attention a month ago so I could have apologized."
As the regional chamber, GLI hosts more than 70 events across 15 counties each year including luncheons and different networking programs. Brotzge-Elder declined to say what Johnson said to the staffer to cause the ban other than to say he behaved unprofessionally.
"Protecting and respecting our staff's privacy has been our main concern," she said later Wednesday.
► READ MORE: 8 historic buildings eyed for wrecking
► READ MORE: Clerk must grant license for prison marriage
► READ MORE: 4 arrested after meetup for date turns violent
Council President David Yates, who also attended the Austin event, said in a statement that he was made aware of the incident by GLI officials and had conveyed the chamber's wishes to Johnson.
"Although Councilman Johnson maintained that he did not believe that his words warranted such action he agreed to avoid any and all future GLI functions," said Yates, D-25th. "Neither GLI nor the individual has requested any further action from myself or the Metro Council, but has adamantly requested that this issue remain private.”
Other council members who attended the Austin trip said they did not witness Johnson behaving inappropriately, but they said city and business leaders who know about the incident need to be more forthcoming.
NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Breaking news alerts Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-866-2211. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Breaking News Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
"If there's some behavior that occurred that puts anyone else at risk to being exposed to certain behavior, if it was inappropriate, that should indeed require disclosure," Councilwoman Angela Leet said. "Our safety is important, too."
Former Council President David Tandy said he didn't hear about any incident during the Austin trip but that he is curious to learn why GLI took the step to ban Johnson. "If there is an action that requires the council as a whole to respond then all the facts have to be laid out before we can take an appropriate action," said Tandy, D-4th.
"Whatever (President) Yates knows, he needs to share with us," said Councilwoman Julie Denton, R-19th, who also joined the Louisville delegation to Austin.
A spokeswoman for Louisville Forward — the city's economic development arm — which was also represented at GLI's trip to Austin, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johnson, who represents parts of the Iroquois, Beechmont and other neighborhoods in southern Louisville, has been in public office for more than two decades. He was first elected as a member of the old Board of Aldermen and later as a charter member of Metro Council. In May, he lost a Democratic primary bid for the state House to political newcomer McKenzie Cantrell.
► READ MORE: Milkwood has dishes to dream over | Review
► READ MORE: Is U of L’s banner year at risk?
► READ MORE: Double hand transplant performed in Louisville
In recent years, Johnson has been at the center of numerous controversies. In 2012, he was accused by Yates of trying to purchase the Colonial Gardens property and profit from its redevelopment. Johnson declined to say at the time if he made an offer to buy the historic site.
Two years later, Johnson was sued in two separate cases for writing bad checks to pay off personal loans. Those suits were later settled out of court. He had also written two bad checks in an attempt to pay an overdue bill on his city-issued cell phone but eventually paid the city back.
And last year, Johnson went on Facebook and accused Tandy of threatening to assault him over additional security at City Hall. Johnson never filed a police report against Tandy and later said it was a misunderstanding.
Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at (502) 582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.com.
Read or Share this story: http://cjky.it/2esDnzYIt appears the LocalBitcoins team has taken an interesting decision affecting Bitcoin Cash. Although it was apparent the company would support BCH trading, that will not be the case. Instead, the platform will not allow trading of this currency. Said decisions as made due to various reasons, according to the company. Moreover, the company will not support future airdrops, including SegWit2x. An intriguing decision that will create some bad blood regardless.
LocalBitcoins is a major platform in the world of cryptocurrency. It allows peer-to-peer trading between Bitcoin users all over the world. Many people had expected the company would support Bitcoin Cash in the future as well. In fact, it appears that was the plan all along, but something has changed in the meantime. According to the new blog post, there is no plan to support Bitcoin Cash whatsoever. To many people, this will come as a big surprise.
No BCash for LocalBitcoins Users
After all, it seems a lot of companies are finally enabling BCH support lately. More exchanges, wallets, and other service providers have enabled BCash support as of late. LocalBitcoins would have been a major addition to that list, but the company isn’t having any of it. Adding an altcoin sharing address space with Bitcoin would potentially cause major issues for platform users. After all, users can still send BCH to BTC addresses and vice versa. An issue that needs to be addressed quickly, mind you.
The company will provide compensation for whoever held Bitcoin in LocalBitcoins at the time of the hard fork. All BCash held by the company will be credited to customer accounts accordingly. However, the BCash in question is converted to Bitcoin. THis BTC balance has been credited to user accounts accordingly. It is a smart decision, although a lot of people would prefer the BCH balance. Then again, they were warned not to keep Bitcoin on the platform during this “split”.
Additionally, there is a processing fee for this additional conversion. Said fee is capped at 0.0002 BTC. Anyon account eligible for a payment smaller than that will not be compensated whatsoever. No further cryptocurrency airdrops will be supported by the company, which is an interesting decision. This also means SegWit2x will receive no support, assuming it happens in the first place. An interesting stance by LocalBitcoins, but one a lot of companies may very well adopt moving forward.
Header image courtesy of ShutterstockThe sometimes "heavy-handed" use of benefit sanctions has been partly blamed for the rise of food banks. But what does that mean for the young people at the sharp end?
"I'd love to be able to afford some vegetables, I really would," says 19-year-old Yasmin.
"Being a qualified cook, I'd love to make myself a nice risotto or something. But I'm not rich; I'm not posh. I can't afford nice food."
For the past year Yasmin has been living at the YMCA in Burton upon Trent.
She is one of an estimated four million people in food poverty - without enough money to make healthy eating choices.
'It's horrible'
The reality - particularly for poorer women - is perfectly illustrated by what she says next.
"I've gained loads of weight since I've lived in the YMCA," she says.
Sometimes she goes without. But when does eat, "it's just stuff like rice and cheap, stodgy stuff - you can't afford to eat nicely".
It's a familiar story among the hostel's young residents.
"You're so hungry," says Matt, 25. "But you're that sick of it you can't even put it to your mouth. It's horrible."
I'm going without money at the moment - no electric, no food Matt, 25
The aspiring electrician's prospects had been looking up. He was on a college course but was instructed by the job centre to take a two-week placement at Boots. By the time the placement was over, he had fallen behind and couldn't meet the college's required 97% attendance rate.
And then he had his jobseeker's allowance stopped.
Matt and the other residents of the YMCA say that going door-to-door with their CVs, or ringing around employers no longer seems to satisfy officials at the job centre.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) sanctions regime, made tougher in 2012, means that those out of work can have their payments withdrawn for between a week and three years if they are deemed not to have been doing enough to find a job.
Matt says that when he told the job centre about his job-searching efforts the response he got was like: "Handing your CV in, the searches you've done here - that's not applying for work. So bye-bye, see you later.
"I'm going without money at the moment - no electric, no food."
The DWP did not comment on the specifics of Matt's case but says sanctions are used only "as a last resort in a tiny minority of cases".
So far this year the average number of JSA sanctions being issued a month is 63,300 - down from more than 75,500 a month in 2013.
The department says it makes clear to jobseekers the conditions of receiving their benefits.
"If they fail to meet those conditions it's only fair that there should be consequences," a spokesman for the department told the BBC.
Nine out of 10 YMCAs are now referring those they support, like Matt, to food banks.
The charity says 79% of the referrals of young people were "as a direct result of delays in receiving benefit payments and punitive sanctions".
Image caption Mark grew up in care and says he has only lived with his mum for five years of his life
Those statistics will come as no surprise to those in the hostel in Burton.
Mark was left penniless and moved into the YMCA after he lost his job fitting Toyota car seats at the town's automotive factory.
He was sanctioned for not "actively seeking work" - although his support worker says he did everything the DWP asked of him - and is now waiting for average temperatures to drop to freezing or below for seven days, at which point he will qualify for a cold weather payment of £25 a week.
"When you're used to a regular weekly income from a job and that changes and you've got nothing it's hard.
"I like the working life," he says. "I don't want to be on jobseeker's."
A qualified caterer, Mark is now relying on the other struggling residents to make him meals and on food parcels from social services after maxing out on visits to the YMCA's own food bank.
Those supporting Mark at the hostel say the stress navigating the job centre system caused his hair to fall out.
Image caption The YMCA food bank in Burton is feeding more than 100 families a month
Press officer Suzi Browne says young people have told the charity's researchers they accept there have to be consequences if the rules are broken.
But Nick Clements, housing manager at the Burton facility, says it's a media myth that those struggling are "scroungers".
"It's not true," he says. "They're desperate for work."
Half an hour away, two of the day's first visitors to Coalville's New Life Church sit chatting to a volunteer.
They were sent here by the Citizens' Advice Bureau for a food parcel. But that's about all the unlikely friends have in common. Their names have been changed.
John is sharp, articulate, a budding writer and used to have a good job at a local bookies.
Image caption A volunteer at the Trussell Trust food bank in Coalville
Now he surfs from sofa to sofa and steals fresh fruit and vegetables to complement the dried, tinned and processed contents of a food parcel.
"I was 21 and thought, 'I'm an assistant manager, I'll just walk into another job'," he says. "Obviously that didn't happen."
He ended up in a nearby hostel for young, single homeless people where he met Sarah.
Before that, he admits, he "probably wouldn't have even dreamed of speaking to someone like Sarah".
But now, here they are, waiting together while church volunteers gather them three days' worth of emergency food each.
'No money for six weeks'
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The UN's Prof Oliver De Schutter warned the UK against relying on food banks to feed the poor
Having left home at 17 and being separated from her baby boy when he was six months old, Sarah suffers with depression and suicidal thoughts.
She says she often goes a couple of days without a meal and last ate on Tuesday. It's now Friday.
Sarah says her benefits were stopped because she only completed five "job searches" instead of the required six - which she says is "ridiculous".
"But I don't agree with you, Sarah," John jumps in. "They say to you 'you need to apply for six jobs', you know that, and you know you're going to have no money for six weeks."
He exceeds the job centre's requirements, he says, applying for up to 20 jobs a week.
The pair leave with a tin each of beans, vegetables, meat and fish, some pasta, cereal and two tins of soup.
Image caption Coalville volunteer Richard Stroud calculates how much has been donated to the food bank
That is what the Trussell Trust says people need for three days of "nutritionally balanced, non-perishable" food.
There has been a well-documented explosion in the number of people receiving these emergency rations via food banks organised by the charity.
Between 2011 and 2014, the number of people receiving Trussell Trust food parcels jumped from 128,697 to 913,138 |
Kaman still struggles with. In a playoff series, O'Neal has far greater value than someone like Claver.
Why O'Neal would do it: The Blazers are a contender and he spent the first four years of his career in Portland, so O'Neal knows what Portland has to offer his family. He has been clear on his Twitter account that he will only return to the game if he and his family are comfortable with the situation. He lives in Dallas, where he is training, but said his decision will not be based on relationships with a city or organization.
Why O'Neal would not do it: If the lure of staying in his hometown of Dallas is too much. A story out of Dallas on Sunday indicated the Mavericks were "confident" they will sign the 36-year-old.
Andray Blatche, free agent
Contract status: Playing for Xingjiiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association. Opted out of his contract with Brooklyn last season.
Who would Portland give up: Probably Claver. Because he is a free agent, and Portland has NBA maximum players, Blazers would have to waive a player to sign him.
Why Portland would do it: Blatche is a proven NBA scorer and is a big body.
Why Blatche would do it: This could be his last chance to get back into the NBA, and Portland presents the chance to win immediately.
Potential roadblocks: Blatche has a reputation for having a poor work ethic and a loose lifestyle off the court, which would be in stark contrast to the professional culture established in Portland. He won't be free from his Chinese team until the season ends in late February or early March.
Brandon Bass, Boston Celtics
Contract status: $6.95 million this season.
Who would Portland would give up: Robinson and Wright and a draft pick.
Why Portland would do it: Bass is an active, big body with nine years of experience.
Why Boston would do it: Celtics have shown an interest in acquiring draft picks.
Potential roadblocks: Bass is undersized, and is not a particularly good passer.
Contract status: $4.0 million this season, $4 million next season.
Who would Portland give up: Wright and Claver.
Why Portland would do it: An effective defensive big man.
Why would Indiana do it: Two expiring contracts.
Potential roadblocks: Mahinmi had a torn plantar fascia that kept him out for a month this season although he has played in the last seven games. The four million the Pacers would save in salary next season is probably not worth giving up a backup center.
-- Jason Quick | jquick@oregonian.com | @jwquickDozens of ex-residents of the Irish Catholic children’s home Termonbacca have recently come forward with accounts of sexual and physical abuse that they say occurred there decades ago.
Some of them reported slave-like conditions for the kids, referring to nuns kicking or caning residents considered not to be enthusiastic enough about scrubbing floors. One witness testified that a nun hit him so hard and so often in the head when he was a child that he suffered permanent hearing loss. Another was told that he was the son of the devil because his mother was unmarried when she got pregnant.
The witnesses claim that the nuns were rarely shy about meting out punishment.
Among the chronicled misdeeds:
Humiliating children for bed wetting, forcing them to stand with the sheets on their heads and beating them as punishment.
Forced farm labouring or working in the laundry instead of going to school.
Removal of Christmas presents and other personal items.
Calling children by numbers rather than names.
Leaving youngsters hungry through inadequate food or alternately force feeding.
Some people who contacted the inquiry claimed when they were ill they were forced to eat their own vomit.
Inadequate staffing and supervision and lack of medical attention.
The treatment the young residents endured is remarkably similar to the horrors visited upon teenagers in the Magdalene Laundries, homes for Ireland’s “wayward girls.”
With regards to Termonbacca, a man who is a southpaw told the inquiry panel that’s looking into the abuse
… “I remember, when I was about five years old, being constantly beaten by one particular nun, to get me to stop writing with my left hand.”
The home was run by the Sisters of Nazareth. Last month, a lawyer for the order issued an apology on behalf of the nuns. It read:
“[The sisters] recognize the hurt that’s been caused to some children in their care. They apologize unreservedly for any abuse suffered by children in their care. They go forward hoping that lessons will be learned, not just by them in the provision of care, but also by carers generally in society and in wider society at large.”
More than 400 people have contacted the committee claiming to have suffered abuse. The inquiry, which also spans one dozen other Catholic homes for children, continues.
(Image via Shutterstock)Update (January 2018
Allah sent ATS to save our daughter: De-radicalised Pune girl's family
When the Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad (ATS) marched into the home of a 17-year-old Pune girl suspected of being an Islamic State recruit, she knew exactly why they were there. 'Mein ISIS ko dawat deti hoon roz' (I give daily invitations to ISIS) was her brazen response when the officers asked her whether she knew why they were looking for her. For her family though, the revelation was a bolt from the blue.
“We could not digest it at first, when the police entered our home and explained why they had come. We had no clue that she was under such negative influence. We are Muslim, but we hold progressive beliefs. We had educated my niece in a good convent school; she is a good student,” said the girl's uncle.
True, over the past few months, they had watched her undergo a radical change – she had stopped wearing jeans and other Western attire that she used to adore earlier, and refused to step out of the house without a burkha. Her ideas about Islam had grown orthodox, which became evident in the many debates she began to hold about the religion. They had assumed this was all part of a teenager's exploration of faith. They never imagined that she had been brainwashed and recruited by extremists from the ISIS terror outfit.
It was particularly shocking since she hails from a well-educated family that doted on her. “She is a star student who scored 90% in Std X, and dreamed of studying Medicine or Engineering. Right now she is studying Science in Std XI at a junior college in Pune,” said another family member.
“An ATS officer said, “The girl had been trained to stay calm and not fear cops. She spilled the beans when we took her to our office with the consent of her mother and other relatives. It became clear that she had been brainwashed over four months. It was her curiosity about ISIS that had landed her in trouble,” said an ATS officer.
He added, “The girl became curious about ISIS after she saw a documentary film about them. She started surfing the Internet and soon came into contact with ISIS agents on Facebook. She connected with them through Facebook, Twitter and other social media and messaging platforms. She became more active after her mother recently gave her a smart phone.”
The bait
With her father out of station, it was the girl's mother who took most of the responsibility for her upbringing. “ISIS had lured her by promising to sponsor her education in medicine. She was innocent, and thought that if her fees were covered by them, she would not be a burden on her mother, who works day and night for her. The ISIS agents claimed that as a doctor she could help victimised people in Syria,” said an official.
The ATS officers and the girl's family worked along with Muslim clerics and scholars to clear her questions about Islam and 'de-radicalise' her. “Allah sent the ATS as our messiah, to save our daughter from evil ideology. This is a second life for her. We will try to forget all that has happened as a bad dream, and try to teach her that Islam is about harmony. We hope that in the future, our girl will make the country proud,” said the family members.
Through Facebook, the girl had come into contact with suspected ISIS agent Mohammad Sirajuddin, who is an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) manager in Rajasthan. He was arrested in Jaipur on December 5. After scrutinising his laptops, the cops got on the trail of the girl in Pune and went to question her, accompanied by women officers. They are now also going through all her contacts to see what other ISIS links may be found.
Not off the hook
Officials from the ATS said they would continue to investigate the case and then take a decision on the teenager's fate. “Even if the girl is a minor, she is 17 years old. We are deeply scrutinizing her chats, her contacts and her recent activity. If anything comes up, we will definitely register a case against the girl and arrest her. We have not given her a clean chit yet,” said a top officer. Meanwhile, the girl will continue to be counselled by Muslim scholars, as well as a psychiatrist, said the police.
Cops appeal to parents
Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhanupratap Barge, in-charge of the ATS unit in Pune, said, “We appeal to parents to keep an eye on their children. They should observe their ward and try to talk to them. If they are not able to communicate with them, parents can approach us, and we will help them. We are also thankful that the girl's family was very co-operative, which helped us to pull her out within 10 days.”
Expertspeak
Dr Kersi Chavda, Consulting psychiatrist, Hinduja Hospital
It might seem unusual that a youngster from a fairly liberal atmosphere lands up being radicalised. Perhaps, the person felt there was something missing in her life and getting into a religious movement answered the missing link
Anti-Terrorism Squad questions Pune girl allegedly 'radicalised' by ISIS sympathisers
December 18, 2015, 10.36 am IST
Pune: A 16-year-old Muslim girl, who was reportedly radicalised by her ISIS contacts abroad and brain-washed to go to Syria, has been questioned by sleuths of the Pune Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and sent for a de-radicalisation programme, an ATS officer said in Pune.
According to the officer, the girl is a convent educated class XI student, and is studying in a city college. "The girl was interrogated by the ATS last week after monitoring her movements for many days on getting information about her. It confirmed her initiation by the ISIS."
"The interrogation of the girl revealed that she was ready to go to any extent to carry out the ISIS directive," Pune ATS officer Bhanupratap Barge told PTI.
The girl is now undergoing a de-radicalisation programme with the help of her family members and community religious leaders, who are fully cooperating with us, he added.
According to the ATS, the minor girl allegedly got attracted to the ISIS ideology after watching a documentary on television and subsequently started regularly monitoring news on Al Jazeera channel. "Later, she used the internet to get in touch with ISIS contacts and got in touch with about 200 young people from different countries. Her interrogation revealed that she was told to come to Syria for medical education and for further initiation," Mr Barge said. He said that the girl, had recently changed her lifestyle and started wearing burqa, giving up jeans she used to wear before her exposure to the ISIS contacts.
"Even her family members noticed the change in her and felt disturbed," the ATS inspector said.
Mr Barge said the de-radicalisation programme of the ATS with the help of community clergy and family members was "working" for the girl with encouraging results.
Pune has been on the terrorist radar and had witnessed bomb blasts including the German Bakery blast that killed 17 people including many foreigners in 2010.
‘IS man’ posted item on surveillance: Chargesheet
The 17-year-old Pune girl – who had been radicalised online – had earned the moniker ‘Radical Gun’. She had brainwashed four others as well. A top ATS officer said, “She was only identified as Radical Gun on the Internet and with a group promoting ISIS propaganda. In just four months, she was radicalised in such a way that she later started radicalising other youths. She would teach and convert people. All the contacts in her group are on the radar, several of who are from Maharashtra.” She is currently being de-radicalised by the ATS and Islamic clerics.
Sirajuddin, an Indian Oil Corporation officer who has been detained in Jaipur. He allegedly radicalized the Pune girl and has been produced in a Jaipur court., an Indian Oil Corporation officer who has been detained in Jaipur. He allegedly radicalized the Pune girl and has been produced in a Jaipur court. There is no'solid evidence' against him even though it was through his laptop that the Pune girl came to the attention of the authorities.
The National Investigation Agency probing the alleged ISIS module in India has managed to get a plethora of information from the chat transcripts. Among the many transcripts being scrutinised by the NIA, one read, " Good News, Ashok Singhal is dead."Sirajuddin one of the main members of this alleged module was the most vocal on the chats. He would communicate with several members and even had spoken about the establishment of a Caliphate in Kashmir. He felt that the ISIS should launch its movement in Kashmir.The chats do indicate that there was a clear amount of hatred that these members had for India. They felt that India must be rid of the Constitution and must be governed by the Caliphate.They would discuss every issue in India. On November 17, 2005 following the death of VHP leader, Ashok Singhal, there were celebrations online.Sirajuddin who conveyed the news regarding the death of Singhal posted online, " Good News, Ashok Singhal is dead." NIA officials say that there were constant attempts to communalise the youth they were trying to draw towards them.He would boast that he had nearly 300 members with him. He also speaks about roping in more women into their fold.Sirajuddin, had several times indicated that he wanted to go to Syria and train. However he was clear that after the training he wanted to return to India and launch the movement in a big way from Kashmir.In one of the chats, he says that Kashmir should not be governed by Pakistan. It should be under the Caliphate and he had even prepared a special currency for the state.Days before his arrest late last year, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) employee Mohammad Sirajuddin, accused of being an “Islamic State (IS) member”, had shared a news item on social media saying 150 youths were under surveillance of Indian investigating agencies for leanings towards IS, and allegedly posted guidelines regarding online “security”.This is part of the 2,500-page chargesheet filed by the NIA recently in a Jaipur court against the former IOCL assistant marketing manager, that essentially talks about Sirajuddin’s activities on social media.Sirajuddin shared the item on surveillance on November 19, 2015, and was arrested from Jaipur on December 10 by the Rajasthan ATS, for allegedly propagating IS ideology and inciting others to become its members. A resident of Gulbarga, Karnataka, and a father of two, Sirajuddin, while sharing the said news, had commented, “You are under surveillance! Be careful Indian brothers.”Next day, on November 20, says the NIA chargesheet, he circulated six-point guidelines for “online security”. He also allegedly “guided” a contact to use virtual private network (VPN), “that will hide ur IP address and misguide if anyone searches for it to track u online (sic)”.Other charges against Sirajuddin, who is lodged in Central Jail, Jaipur, include that in his conversations with his wife on WhatsApp, he “revealed” his intentions to make his son a mujahid to “go to heaven through his deeds, join IS with or without his family”. The chargesheet talks about the 33-year-old’s interactions on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, SMS, his Call Detail Records, as well as alleged “radical” documents downloaded by him.According to the charge-sheet, Sirajuddin was in touch with several “radical” persons in various countries, including “IS operatives”, on social media. And that in a conversation with Abu Munafil Mufanil, an alleged IS operative, he had discussed plans to join the outfit, the route he should take, the cost of air journey from India to the Libyan capital of Tripoli.Sirajuddin’s lawyer Paker Farooq says his interactions were “merely an exchange of views”. Denying the allegations, Sirajuddin’s wife Yasmeen Tarannum said, “He wanted to know about IS and may have downloaded something, but that is all. He is very humble and never even had an argument with anyone. How can they say he wanted to hurt anyone? They claim he was on the same WhatsApp group as some people in other countries? How does that make him an IS member?” She added that conversations, including between Sirajuddin and her, had been presented in a misleading manner.Asserting that Sirajuddin was innocent, his father Mohammad Sarwar said, “We have hopes the court will deliver justice.” 5/6 ) The National Investigation Agency on Saturday filed a chargesheet in a Jaipur court against 33-year-old Mohammed Sirajuddin for allegedly propagating Islamic State (IS) ideology and inciting others to become members of the banned organisation.A resident of Gulbarga, Karnataka, Sirajuddin was working as an assistant manager with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) in Jaipur and lived with his wife and two children, when he was arrested by the Rajasthan ATS on December 10 last year.As per NIA officials, “Investigation conducted has brought on record evidences of his incriminating chats, posts, videos, images and comments on Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram and Twitter (which were) shared and circulated in groups and channels on various social networking sites. Investigation has also established his association with ISIS operatives from various countries who were actively propagating, promoting and inciting people online to join ISIS.”The chargesheet was filed under IPC section 120B (criminal conspiracy) as well as sections 13 (punishment for unlawful activities), 18 (punishment for terrorist conspiracy, etc.), 38 (membership of terrorist organisation) and 39 (offences relating to the support given to a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.NIA public prosecutor Ashwini Sharma said, “Sirajuddin was preparing to go to Tripoli, in Libya, and his passport was ready. He was active on the internet and communicated with people in various countries, including Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria.”While Sirajuddin was not produced in court, his lawyer Paker Farooq opposed the charges and said, “From the start, we have been stating that he has only exchanged his views on WhatsApp which is neither an offence nor a crime. Similarly, if you download material from the internet while surfing, it is not a crime.”Referring to the nearly 2,500-page chargesheet, Farooq told The Sunday Express, “Our major concern is that the ATS had seized a laptop and a mobile phone from Sirajuddin on December 6 last year but arrested him on December 10. What was added or altered (in the laptop and the mobile phone), will be known only once we get through the chargesheet.” Official records show one laptop (Apple MacBook), one dual SIM mobile, two SIMs and a Secure Digital (SD) card was seized from Sirajuddin at the time of his arrest. Sirajuddin’s brother Mohammad Riyaz said, “We have full faith in the judiciary and are hopeful that justice will be delivered and his name will be cleared.”The ATS had launched a campaign to help de-radicalise youth who have fallen prey to ISIS handlers and recruiters online. The campaign has so far helped rescue 25 youth from across the state, and Islamic clerics and scholars are aiding the ATS in this initiative. While screening the social media groups, the ATS discovered a 17-year-old girl from Pune, nicknamed Radical Gun, who was being coaxed to fly to Syria and attend to wounded soldiers. The teenager had a 90% score in her SSC and was pursuing medicine when she was roped in by the social media handlers.Another youth that the ATS rescued was a Hindu engineering student, who had converted to Islam and had been teaching Arabic at Madrassas across Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The boy is now helping the ATS sift through jihadi material that is printed in Urdu and Arabic and circulated across social media.The 17-year-old girl is a lone child from an affluent family in Pune. "Between April and August 2015, I was waiting for college to resume and whiling time online. I came across the ISIS and my curiosity got the better of me," the girl said."I started reading up on why people were supporting ISIS. The information that I found was about the Dos and Don'ts about Islam. But later, as I moved to Facebook, I became a part of the ISIS web group. I shed my western attire and began wearing the burkha," she added."The group members kept egging me on, as I was the youngest in the group. I was online 24/7 posting and preaching."This was when the group urged her and offered to sponsor her medical education, so that she could attend to the wounded soldiers involved in the war in Syria."Cops landed at my house and I was scared that I would be arrested. However, I am thankful to the ATS for rescuing me from the dark side of the ISIS. They helped me with sessions where Islamic scholars revealed the truth to me," the 17-year-old added."This is really a new life for me. And now I have promised the ATS that I will help them in de-radicalising youth and be part of the initiative."The ATS initiative has so far been able to rescue about 25 youth. ACP Bhanupratap Barge said, "During the interrogation of the suspects we came to know that youngsters are brained washed and are often not aware of what they are doing. In our interaction sessions with students we share information about terror outfits, sleeper cells, their funding and operational methods. We have more than 12,000 volunteers from different colleges, who share and pass on information about suspicious movement in their area and also about missing youngsters."Help the ATS: If you spot any suspicious activity, you can share the info by dropping a mail at ig.ats@mahapolice.gov.in or call on 022 23087336 26/12 ) A new twist has emerged in the Anti-Terrorism Squad’s (ATS) investigations into the case of the missing Malwani men. The ATS suspects that the 17-year-old Pune girl — named ‘Radical Gun’ in jihadi chat rooms — was in touch with one of the Malwani four, and could have been instrumental in radicalising him. An ATS officer said, “Sirajuddin had given her a list of a few people. We even went through an online list of the girl’s group. We were shocked to find a name resembling that of one of the Malwani four, Wajid Sheikh. We suspect that it is the same Wajid who went missing, and was traced by our ATS team in Pune. We are currently verifying this, but both Wajid and girl are tough nuts to crack.”The officer added, “Sirajuddin had tasked the girl with radicalising others. He had one lakh followers on Facebook. The girl was promised that she would go to Syria by 2017, where she could pursue medical studies and help ISIS. She was very good in putting forward the ideology, and had radicalised several youths.”“We are trying to solve the mystery behind the Pune angle. She was part of a highly complex network of ISIS sympathisers,” said the officer. Currently, the girl is being de-radicalised by her parents and Muslim clerics. She is being taught the actual meaning of jihad and Islam.Labour leader takes post-holiday road show to Bristol and Swindon, drawing crowds as he challenges Theresa May to call election
For the first time in three summers he is not fighting for the party leadership, and he has just been through a gruelling general election. But Jeremy Corbyn was campaigning again on Friday, and is planning to continue doing so for the rest of the summer to capitalise on Theresa May’s political travails.
The Labour leader spent the second day of his post-holiday political tour in Bristol and Swindon, trips theoretically focused on NHS policy but also intended to remind voters of his desire to oust May if given another chance.
On Friday morning he addressed a 500-strong crowd at a sports centre in Filton, north of Bristol, where organisers were doing a brisk trade in Corbyn-themed mugs and T-shirts. They said the event was oversubscribed by Labour members despite it being a working day in August.
Among those attending was Jessica Harding-Smith, a teaching assistant who had quit Labour in protest over the Iraq war but rejoined last year, with her husband, Barnaby, a teacher who is leaving the profession owing to what he says is the pressure of cuts, and two of their four children.
Corbyn’s message on spreading the benefits of economic prosperity was a potent one, she said: “My husband and I, we’re both educated, we both have good jobs, and we’re struggling.
“We’ve just applied for our first credit card, today, because we can’t manage on our wages and we’re already thinking about how to afford Christmas.”
While their accompanying children, Fred, 11, and Rowan, eight, had been warned by their mother that Corbyn was “not very polished” as an orator, his wide-ranging speech – focused on austerity, stagnating wages and the NHS – won loud applause, albeit from a faithful crowd.
Corbyn, while hailing Labour’s better-than-expected performance in June, said he lamented that the party had lost and wanted another election “as soon as possible”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jeremy Corbyn talking with health charity volunteers in a garden centre cafe in Swindon. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
“If Theresa May is back from her holiday yet, perhaps she’s listening,” he said. “It would be a really good idea to have another walk, have an epiphany moment while you’re walking and come along with a proposal to dissolve parliament and have another election. We’re ready for it at any time.”
One source of dissent remains Brexit. Corbyn faced a small protest by pro-EU Labour members outside the venue, waving EU flags, and he did not mention Brexit at all until the very end of his half-hour speech.
But speaking to reporters afterwards, he denied wanting to avoid the subject: “Not at all. I got to it at the appropriate part of the speech, when I’m talking about the economy and the future relationship with the world. I talk abut it every day, all around the country.”
Later in the day Corbyn spent well over an hour talking to volunteers from health charities at a cafe at a garden centre in Swindon.
As with Corbyn’s visit to Cornwall on Thursday, both Filton and Swindon are areas where the Conservatives held local seats in June, but with reduced majorities. Similar incursions into Tory marginals are planned next week in the north-west of England, with trips to SNP-held seats the week after.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jeremy Corbyn meets the media after speaking to 500 supporters at a sports centre in Filton, near Bristol. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
Corbyn told the Guardian he hoped to use the tour as much to listen to people’s ideas and concerns as to make speeches.
“Yes, I’m spending the summer campaigning around the country, but everywhere I go I make sure I have time to meet and listen to different people and different groups, and I learn a lot by that,” he said.
“It does mean that when we’re writing policy documents you think, hang on, this isn’t practical, it wouldn’t work. Let’s do something else.
“Our next election manifesto will be more detailed because we’ll have more time to prepare it, but it will be a reflection of the wishes and aspirations of a lot of people who you’ve never heard of, all around the country.”With all this talk of walls and allegations of sexual assault, not to mention speculation on Russian election interference and the potential banning of Muslim immigrants, the fate of arts funding in the future Trumpscape has (understandably) not been at the top of anyone’s worry list.
But as the worry list expands, it is a question that warrants due consideration. It would come as no surprise to see national arts projects and funding cut and curbed. I wrote this opening a few days ago, and though I’d like to claim some sort of prescience, I have none. But as fate would have it, this concern was highlighted just after I filed this column, and I had to revisit the issue, as word got out about Donald Trump’s radical budget cut plan. It has the admirable goal of reducing federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years. That part sounds OK, but the question is, just what is being cut and at what cost?
Advertisement:
I’d intended to write on what arts funding and more broadly federal funding for the humanities would look like (theoretically) under the new administration. Turns out it looks like, well, an empty hole. As reported initially by The Hill, the budget plan removes entirely the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. A former aide to Republican Senator Rand Paul, Brian Darling, said that “targeting waste like the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be a good first step in showing that the Trump Administration is serious about radically reforming the federal budget.”
Ouch. Some might say that it’s a good first step in showing that the Trump administration is part of a long tradition that hails back to the Vandal tribe sweeping into Rome in A.D. 455 to strip it of its culture and leave a smoldering (but “radically reformed”) ruin in its wake.
But it is not only a Trump-y phenomenon to dismiss the value of art and its study, with the consideration that it feels “soft” or not ends driven. Certain U.K. politicians tried to dispose of art history as a field of study late last year, deeming it of no particular use. The uproar was such that the subject was “saved” in national curricula (as we examined last week).
It is easy to see something similar happening in the U.S. Not that art and art history would disappear altogether. It would always be present in private schools and colleges and available to the affluent and those in metropolitan areas. But it might cease to be an option for anyone studying in a governmentally funded institution or living in rural communities — or simply without the means to afford it once art becomes a luxury.
A few years back a colleague of mine got a nasty surprise while running Scotland Yard’s arts and antiques unit, which is responsible for investigating art crime in London. During a debate in the British House of Lords, there was a misunderstanding to the effect that this police unit was receiving private funds and therefore no longer needed government support. It was not. Oops. State funding was cut and the unit was left with nothing. This was fairly swiftly corrected, but it is indicative of a problem.
At least in Western countries, there’s a tendency to feel that art should be privately funded. There’s a twofold rationale to this: First, at least in the U.S., it is almost entirely privately funded and has been that way for a long time, so there’s that habit in place. Second, there’s the notion that art might be very nice for some people, but it’s not important enough to receive government funding (or at least not very much of it). That line of thinking seems to even extend to police units that deal with art.
Advertisement:
The idea that arts funding in America should be largely funded by private philanthropy is nothing new. Almost all arts funding in the U.S. comes from private sources, ranging from individual patrons to organizations like United States Artists, which has issued more than $20 million in unrestricted grants (usually valued at $50,000 apiece) to creators in all genres, from writers and musicians and to dancers and craftspeople.
“Lack of government support for artists made it far more challenging to work outside of urban centers, make non-commercial work, and create work about the lives and stories of undocumented Americans, queer people, people of color [and indigenous] makers,” said Meg Leary, director of programs at United States Artists. (Her organization was founded 10 years ago in response to the removal of National Endowment for the Arts’ funding for individual visual and performing artists.)
“There is no lack of material for artists to grapple with," Ed Winstead of the Cultural Counsel said, adding, "There is a lack of resources. The National Endowment for the Arts has played an increasingly marginal role in supporting artists, especially those not working with major institutions in urban areas,” Winstead said. The funding is limited and those who get it seems likewise.
According to the NEA, for performing arts funding in the U.S. from 2006 to 2010, almost 45 percent came from donations (with 41.5 percent of that derived from private sources and only 3.3 percent from state or federal governmental ones). The rest was derived from generated income or interest on endowments. That amounts to about 97 percent private funding or generated income. Corporate donations to the arts dropped steadily and dramatically from 2007 to 2010, whereas funding from foundations sharply increased in 2008 (during the heart of the recession) in direct response to the lack of funding elsewhere. Then that funding returned to its previous level and is slowly declining.
Advertisement:
In sharp contrast to the U.S., European nations tend to fund the arts almost entirely through government funding. Ninety nine percent of arts funding in Slovenia, for instance, comes from the government. The resources that governments dedicate to the arts, which are often the first to be cut when budgets need tightening, seem to constantly get lower. This means that less art is produced, and fewer artists can create.
The nature of the American economy, particularly with tax breaks for the wealthy who support nonprofits and the arts, is set up to promote private philanthropy, and enough Americans have enough surplus wealth to keep the arts afloat. This is not the case in many European countries, let alone elsewhere in the world. In Slovenia, for instance, there is no tangible tax benefit for donating money to charities.
In December 2015, the U.S. Congress increased NEA funding from $146 million to $148 million. Americans were polled by Americans for the Arts at that time, and 55 percent of those surveyed supported an increase in arts funding, to $1 per capita. The funding increase that year, of $2 million, came out to be just $0.46 per capita. Such an increase was more academic than game changing, throwing a bone in the right direction, but a very small bone. Still, one wonders what the numbers would look like now.
Advertisement:
Leary noted that the current, polarized cultural climate is reminiscent of the culture wars "that spurred the creation of this organization and it was makes our work just as vital and relevant today," adding, "The vision of United States Artists is to not prioritize one type of creative output, maker, or aesthetic over another.” Leary is right in saying that artists and creators in any field “are all working toward the common cause of sharing a vital piece of themselves with others. I don’t think there is a more powerful tool we can use as a model to heal the rifts we face as a country.”
A lot of folks, when they think of visual art, imagine market-focused works that are made to sell. Members of the general public feel distanced from a lot of contemporary art because they feel like they don’t get it. (Often they don't make an effort to do so, dismissing nonformal art at first glance.) This is also true because the amount of money that top-tier artworks sell for makes them seem kooky dooks, outrageous to your average Joe (and to me, too).
These ideas twist together and lead people to believe the following erroneous thoughts: Art isn’t for most people. It sells for crazy money and therefore the field is largely self-funded. Art is for a moneyed elite and therefore should be paid for by this audience not by taxpayers. And art doesn’t really “do” anything and therefore should be considered a hobby or lark, not something that helps a nation and its people.
Advertisement:
Art and the art world are admittedly not very good at making their case to the everyman. Those in the high-end art community (within the museum and academic spheres and within the trade) tend to give off a vibe of enjoying the sense that they are part of an elite club to which not everyone is invited. So aside from artists, collectors and art history professors with Salon columns, who loves art?
The organization Americans for the Arts offers some encouraging statistics, based on 3,000 people polled. But while its polling sample was multiracial, it’s hard to imagine that it crossed broad socioeconomic brackets. I like the sound of statistics like 87 percent of those polled believed arts are important to quality of life and that 82 percent said arts are important to the local economy.
But I wonder how many Trump voters made up the 73 percent who said that the arts are “a positive experience in a troubled world” or the 63 percent who said that the arts “lift me up beyond everyday experiences.” I agree with these sentiments, but then of course, I would: I come from a Caucasian, middle-class family in a New England coastal city with university professor parents. I have multiple postgraduate degrees and I’m an art historian.
To be fair, arts funding could be diversified. It tends to go to people already with a high profile and based in urban centers — arguably those who need it less than others. I don’t feel the need (or have the energy) to argue how important the arts are. To some readers, I’d be preaching to the converted. For others, whatever examples I present would be insufficient to change inert minds. But it seems certain that those in power in the U.S. these days are less than sensitive to the value of fine art, in any form. I would love to be proved wrong, but it appears that art will need to rely on private support more than ever.
Advertisement:
Stacy Switzer, executive director of the Los Angeles-based philanthropic research group, Fathomers, agreed. “So much is unpredictable in this moment, but I believe that, in times of crisis, people step up |
thought I might finally put up the few pics of how my Binding of Isaac cosplay was made
I found the largest blowup ball I could, covered that in chickenwire and ziptied it all together. There are so many holes in that ball now. Also I have learnt that 2 cans of expanding foam don’t go very far.
Had to move the head out of the craft room, if I hadn’t at that point I would have never gotten it out the door hahaha.
Took about two weeks (and 7 cans on foam) to build up the outer layer. Foam is fun to work with and lighter than some other materials but hot as balls to be inside (because it insulates duuuh)
Then can the exhausting task of sawing the foam down and into a semi smooth ball shape. Obviously snipping off the zipties aswell. I don’t think my garage will ever truely be free of the offcuts, no matter how much I sweep.
I wasn’t too worried about it being flat because it was going to get covered in soft padding anyway and that would smooth it out a lot.
First attempt at sizing the face and I don’t know what about the first one went wrong but I just didn’t like it.
So obviously tried again on the other side and got it much nicer.
Don’t have a pic of cutting out the holes, but it involved a lot of me stabbing the beachball underneath (poor thing) and snipping out the chicken wire frame.
Originally I had planned to screw metal plates into the head and attach a shoulder harness but when I tried it on somehow it managed to fit snuggly around my hips and held itself up.
Next was covering the whole thing with padding. That was easy enough. Used bonding spray to hold it in place. I bought gloves and everything so I wouldnt get glue and fluff all over my hands…… didn’t use them. Cause that’s how I roll.
When going to Spotlight/Fabric stores.
Try explaining to Retail staff that you are looking for a ‘Sunburnt, newborn baby colour" Ended up finding some nice felt type fabric that was great.
At this point (Just days before the convention) The power went out in my suburb. So no sewing machine for me. I litteraly just drapped the fabric over the head and hand stitched the fabric together because there was no alternative. On the plus side it looks like he has crude stitched in his skin. Everything pulled relatively tight and came out pretty smooth.
Sometimes he is just nice to hug.
Tried to pin the fabric to the inside of his eyes and mouth with thumbtacks and safety pins. They couldn’t reach through the padding well and when they did, didn’t stay in the foam. So I craft glued it to the best of my abilities (still no gloves)
Next I got some random left over black fabric and sewed it into the eyesockets. Then carefully layed down the patern for the tear tracks with stickytape then covered the rest of the head in garbage bags for safety. I didn’t have much of a choice in blue’s or I would have had it a couple of shades lighter. Used the whole can of spray paint, did layers hours apart. was trying to get a plastic sheen going but didnt have enough paint.
Then a miracle happened. at 6am on the saturday of the convention, the power came back on. WOOHOO. So got the hot glue gun out and went around the eyes to keep everything in place.
Sewed in the mouth and painted the white of the teeth and eyespots.
Not sure if my pride then came from doing a good job or cause I was so damn tired.
An hour before the con and only half of the body had been done. having been up most of the night manually turning the sewing machine and hand stitching then that got too much. and because I don’t trust my own handstitching there are rows of staples holding some of it together.
The legs and arms at both just two tubes attached to a sack stuffed with padding. It was all threaded around an old belt to keep it up. The top of the legs came up to about my knees and the whole body only came up my waist, the rest was head. Lucky I am relatively short or it might not have turned out proportioned quite as well.
All in all it was a blast. I was so happy people liked it so much. It was so gosh darn hot in the head though. I couldn’t be in it for more than about 15 mins without needing water and a break to pat myself dry. Other than that it was pretty comfy, especially the bottom half. Big ole thanks to my friends for being my seeing eye humans. Not a lot of visuals in that head but they were awesome enough to walk me around and make sure I didn’t run into things.
Sunday was slightly more fun because we decided to randomly add props to it during the day <3 Left everyone guessing what upgrades we had aquired.
Also, a lot of people assumed I was shorter. When people went to hug me around the 'chest’ area…. there were a lot of awkward butt touches i’ll tell you. And children! I kept running into them because I couldn’t see them XD.Fashion
Why celebs are still copying Liz Hurley’s dress 20 years later
When model-actress Emily Ratajkowski paraded in a plunge-neck Julien Macdonald slither of a dress at the Harper’s Bazaar Icons party earlier this month, headlines were all but guaranteed. After all, the “Blurred Lines” babe was wearing a variation on Gianni Versace’s safety-pin gown, the most scene-stealing dress in red carpet history.
Borrowing heavily from the legendary creation, Ratajkowski’s frock worked its magic: Within five days, media outlets from Vanity Fair to the Huffington Post devoted coverage to the 25-year-old’s risqué choice. And in doing so, they underlined the lasting influence of That Dress, a design so seminal that it catapulted an unknown Elizabeth Hurley to stardom at the “Four Weddings and a Funeral” premiere in 1994.
Today, elements of the sliced-and-diced dress remain all over the runways, the red carpet and social media, as designers and celebrities continue to return to the daring silhouette when they need to stage a moment.
Miranda Kerr wore an homage by Emilio Pucci — possibly even more revealing than Hurley’s Versace, as it moved the gold closures to the posterior — to a Golden Globes party in 2014, mere months after her splashy split with Orlando Bloom (who just happened to be at the same bash). Miley Cyrus took the Hurley plunge in a design by Alexandre Vauthier at the 2015 Grammys. This past February, for her first red carpet with music-star boyfriend the Weeknd, model Bella Hadid chose a Vauthier version that winked at the original’s revealing leg slits and rib-baring cleavage.
And leave it to Lady Gaga to snub the imitations and go straight to the original: In 2012, she stepped out in none other than Hurley’s actual Versace gown while in Italy — birthplace of the paparazzi.
“All great fashion moments are the right woman in the right dress at the right time.” - Author Hal Rubenstein
“All great fashion moments are the right woman in the right dress at the right time,” says Hal Rubenstein, author of “100 Unforgettable Dresses,” which begins with a chapter on the Versace number. “It helped Elizabeth Hurley become world famous and gave Gianni Versace a persona on the red carpet as your go-to sexy guy.”
The career-defining shots of Hurley, upstaging then-boyfriend Hugh Grant with her look-at-me décolletage, demonstrated the marketing potential of the red carpet.
“Celebrities and stylists became much more savvy about how they can use fashion choices... to send messages or to promote products,” says Tom Fitzgerald of the fashion-blogging duo Tom & Lorenzo. “It’s not that Liz Hurley created the modern red carpet, but she definitely was one of the first to show what you could do with it.”
At the base of the hoopla was a marvel of engineering. Slit high on the thigh and with a V-shaped bodice carved to display maximum cleavage, the punk-but-seductive column somehow kept Hurley’s curves covered without the help of double-sided tape.
Its devastating glamour lies in the “combination of strategic nudity and the fierceness of the safety pins,” says Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. “It’s this promise of imminent striptease that makes this dress look so incredibly sexy.”
View Gallery
Almost overnight, dress-copycat brand ABS knocked off the style for the mass market, producing a $140 short pink version that enraged Versace, while high-end designers were inspired by the original’s audacity. Take the Armani sheath that Julia Louis-Dreyfus wore to the Emmys just a year later — its precarious bodice is almost identical to the Versace’s.
Even now, the provocative sheath is regularly voted one of the all-time best red -carpet dresses. It’s toured museums and was a major draw at the Costume Institute’s “Punk: Chaos to Couture” exhibit in 2013. Italian designer Riccardo Tisci was so bowled over when he saw the dress displayed in the Met that he took a picture of himself next to it and sent the snap to his mother. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a big moment,’ ” he told the Telegraph newspaper.
That Dress is aging well. “All these years later, it still looks really sexy and really cool,” says Steele. “It looks completely new.”It was at times like these that the Liberal Democrats used to come in handy. They were the political gaffer tape of David Cameron’s first term – never a permanent solution to anything, but a versatile way of holding together things that seemed otherwise certain to splay apart. Surprisingly durable too, until they came unstuck.
David Cameron to visit Port Talbot steelworks Read more
When Tory MPs were cross with Cameron for failing to do their bidding, the prime minister would blame Nick Clegg. He claimed to keep a “little black book” of policies sacrificed for the sake of coalition but ripe for rehabilitation. Help me win a majority, he told the restive troops, and you will see my true blue colours unfurl.
So how is that working out? Unshackled from coalition, Cameron and George Osborne are now at liberty to find extra billions of budget savings from the benefits bill. Except in so doing, they managed to provoke conscientious rebellion on the Tory benches over tax credits, and drive Iain Duncan Smith into self-certified compassionate exile from the cabinet.
Spared the impediment of Cleggery, Downing Street can roll out the next phase of health service modernisation, starting with a “truly seven-day NHS” as advertised in the Conservative manifesto. Except that it has blundered into a war of attrition with junior doctors over weekend working that will burn through any reserves of public confidence in Tory handling of health matters long before it yields a dividend in more flexible surgery hours.
With the tedious tag-along party expelled from Whitehall, the government can finish its schools revolution, compelling stragglers and naysayers who still lurk under local authority governance to embrace their brave new future in chains of academies. Except the rank and file are not alight with revolutionary fervour. Conservative councillors and MPs are in revolt; whips say a bill that enforces non-voluntary academisation would be mauled in parliament. Nicky Morgan insists the plan will go ahead, but in the emollient tones of a minister in tactical retreat.
Oh, for a division of Lib Dems! They could be relied on to march through the aye lobby, given a concession or two
On every front where Cameron once imagined advance towards a legacy of domestic reform – refashioning the state so it matches the challenges and fiscal constraints of the times – he is bogged down. The message is garbled, the purpose obscure, the legislative path blocked. Oh, for a division of disciplined Lib Dems! They could be relied on to march through the aye lobby, given a policy concession or two, a social mobility taskforce, a ride in a ministerial car, a bunch of grapes.
Senior Tories believe that parts of their manifesto were written to be dispensable in negotiations to renew coalition. Some also predicted that a slender majority would poison the chalice of victory, transferring parliamentary leverage over Cameron from biddable liberals to irreconcilable Eurosceptics; from newbie ministers, desperate to look responsible in government, to professional rebels.
That doesn’t mean a Lib Dem presence in government would have averted the present shambles. Labour always depicted Clegg’s role as something between a hostage and an accomplice. Lib Dems led cheers for Osborne’s benefit-stripping budgets, mangled but did not thwart Andrew Lansley’s health bill, tweaked but did not scupper Michael Gove’s education reforms. The riposte is that deeper, crueller cuts were averted, that greater licence for private-sector profiteering from public services was vetoed, that good deeds were done in the shadow of austerity in areas such as nursery care and infrastructure spending. Besides, the proof of a Lib Dem moderating influence is conveyed in the pungency of undiluted Conservative rule.
The audit of minor Cleggite achievements is pretty niche politics these days. The Lib Dems were handed no gratitude by voters last May, and precious little is in the post now. One way to see that fate is as a just penalty for collaboration with the wicked Tories. That judgment flows from a presumption that Cameron, Osborne, Hunt, Morgan and the rest are hellbent on destruction of the public realm because they are ideologically hostile to the idea of properly funded, state-run services. Their so-called reforms are presented as asset-stripping, with a barely hidden agenda of handing schools and hospitals over to corporate interests. That radicalised account of Tory motives, broadly endorsed by the Labour leadership, has helped ramp up the junior doctors’ dispute from a generic haggle over pay and conditions into a beacon of wider resistance against the government.
The radicalisation is reciprocal. Ministers become blind to reasonable grievance among public sector workers. They see trade unions as reactionary guardians of a mediocre and financially unsustainable status quo, at best. At worst they are presumed to be hotbeds of saboteur militancy, incapable of constructive dialogue. Each side serves up rhetorical excesses that can be seized upon by the other side to prolong a cycle of intransigence.
If patients come to harm in this NHS strike, it will be on Jeremy Hunt’s head | Henry Marsh Read more
There is no happy outcome from polarisation of this kind. It guarantees that the question of what works best for the people who use public services is submerged beneath the question of who has won in a battle between ministers and public servants. It kills reasoned argument. What data there is on the allegedly lethal effects of weekend NHS understaffing, or on the relative performance of academies and local authority schools, has already been tortured into confessing support for both sides of the argument. The politics of confrontation is grinding compromise into dust.
It was the prospect of constructive engagement across partisan lines that once made coalition seem exotic and, to a non-tribal audience, appealing. This is not meant as some floral tribute at the Lib Dems’ electoral graveside. They swapped the moral high ground of opposition for the mucky trenches of power, traded away too much of what they had stood for, and were buried.
So it goes. Yet they did, briefly, represent an ethos of civilised collaboration. Coalition required a modicum of generosity in imagining that political rivals might have a point, or that their motives might not be entirely vicious, or even just that there were individuals in other parties with whom constructive business could be done. It didn’t last. That spirit expired last summer. Cameron won his majority; Labour chose a path of no compromise. Two tribes in perpetual antagonism. That is what matters, apparently. What a shame it doesn’t work.On April 21, 1944, French women were granted the right to vote after fighting for suffrage since the French Revolution. This Sunday is the beginning of an election that might take France the closest to fascism that it’s been since 1944, and much has been made of the fact that the one who could usher in this change is a woman: Front National candidate Marion Anne Perrine Le Pen, AKA Marine—the same name of a shade of blue found in the French flag.
Marine Le Pen’s candidacy does seem historic on its face. If elected, she would be the country’s first woman president and the second woman in modern times to wield executive power after Prime Minister Edith Cresson, who held the office for a mere ten months in 1991 and ‘92. Le Pen will almost definitely become the second woman to make it to the runoff of a presidential election after Ségolène Royal in 2007.
Le Pen took the same road to power as other prominent female politicians in male-chauvinist countries, like Indira Gandhi and Simiravo Bandaranaike: nepotism. (Apropos of nothing, both Gandhi and Bandaranaike were authoritarians who curtailed civil liberties and cracked down on ethnic or religious minorities.) Unlike most women entering politics, Le Pen didn’t have to work twice as hard to be seen as half as legitimate because her last name meant she deserved to be there.
In other words, just because Le Pen is a woman with power in a society where machismo reigns supreme doesn’t mean she’s winning victories for women. If her success is representative of anything, it’s the gains of a superficial kind of women’s empowerment through entrepreneurship and other individual success stories. Even Madame Figaro, the glossy ladies’ auxiliary of the bourgeois conservative paper Le Figaro, has hopped on the Lean In trend, running profiles of successful businesswomen. But the glass ceiling isn’t the most pressing concern for most French women. They face job precarity, unemployment, and a devastating lack of social mobility, and as women they also have to walk an impossible tightrope of feminine behavior that manifests even in the idealized French girl dress code—the stylish uniform that’s attractive, but not sexy; primped, but not “vulgar”; and never, ever too loud. Women who are not feminine enough are treated like they don’t exist—or they’re outright seen as disgusting—but those who are too feminine are reduced to their appearance, like MP Cécile Duflot who was catcalled in Parliament while wearing a dress. Those who are too gentle are unserious (i.e. Ségolène Royal), but let them become a little opinionated and they’re “aggressive” (novelist Christine Angot, who read conservative politician François Fillon for filth on live TV only for the exchange to be described as her losing her temper).
Feminism isn’t posited as the solution to this situation outside of activist circles. Ironically, in the country that produced some of feminism’s most important theorists—from Olympe de Gouges to Simone de Beauvoir, Julia Kristeva, Hélène Cixous, and Christine Delphy—feminism is still a bit taboo, viewed by many as an American import. And even Kristeva herself sees American-style identity politics as a form of “totalitarianism” of the collective over the individual.
Advertisement
All this is to say that being a woman cannot possibly have helped Marine Le Pen. And in fact, she hasn’t tried to make her gender work for her. It’s almost the exact opposite: She has managed to keep her gender from being a liability.
Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
Le Pen’s deep voice allows her to downplay her femininity, as do her vocal inflections that sound like everyone’s narrow-minded, small-town, red-wine-drinking great-uncle who’s loud and wrong at the family reunion... or like her father. (These inflections also seem affected—I doubt she spoke the same way as a lawyer arguing before the High Court of Paris.) She’s also kept her partner and children out of the public eye, which has given the public fewer opportunities to see her as a wife or a mother and thereby a potential sex object or caregiver. And of course, her harsh politics are an infallible shield against accusations of feminine softness.
Advertisement
Her persona aside, the “Marine 2017” campaign team is almost all male (out of 34 members, only four are women and one is her niece). Would a male candidate with a similar team be criticized as sexist, and does Le Pen’s womanhood give her a free pass? I doubt it, though I’m sure everyone would have a lot to say about a woman candidate with 30 women on her 34-person team. But even the elder Le Pen, Jean-Marie, who was condemned countless times in court for hate speech and chastised by public opinion even more often, has not caught any major criticism for his sexism. (He was convicted of assaulting a woman politician in 1997, but his ascension in politics continued apace until 2015, when his daughter ousted him from the Front National.) Jean-Marie’s misogyny was well within the accepted spectrum of ideas. Now that Marine has walked back the party’s anti-choice position (and its plan to incentivize French women to stay at home and increase the native-born birth rate), she’s definitely unassailable.
As for Le Pen’s policies, since she embraces the traditional welfare state, her policies will incidentally help women... unless they are immigrant women trying to get housing, a job, or healthcare under a regime that would legally mandate prioritizing French citizens. Or French Guyanese women fighting for reparations for the mainland’s neo-colonial destruction of the Guyanese economy (good luck with that because Marine loves colonialism). Or Muslim women, who will be even more scrutinized by the surveillance state even as they’re targeted by violent racists—can anyone imagine Marine Le Pen denouncing a hate crime against a hijabi woman?
Le Pen also plans to implement a zero-tolerance criminal justice policy that will hit working-class women and women of color hard, whether they further swell the ranks of the disproportionately poor and brown prison population or see their families torn apart by incarceration. Marine Le Pen’s project for France isn’t for women like me, a dual citizen of France and a non-European country. Under her presidency, my dual citizenship could not stand: I would have to give up my American citizenship and apply for a green card in the country where I was born, or give up my French citizenship and apply for a visa to visit my friends and family.
Advertisement
But in a country where feminism is a dirty word, why would a woman candidate even want to run on a feminist platform? Le Pen only ever uses her status as a woman to discuss the one topic that seems to bring French men to care about women’s rights: the debate on whether Muslims should be allowed to exist in France. She’s not alone in selectively playing the woman card. The only time Minister of Women’s Rights Laurence Rossignol is ever invited on TV is to denounce the burqini and to dismiss Muslim women who willingly wear headscarves by comparing those women to “Negroes [sic] who accepted slavery.” And if I had a euro for every time a French man denigrated Islam in the name of women’s rights in one breath and was nauseatingly sexist in the next, I wouldn’t need the welfare state.
So what’s a Frenchwoman to do? When I look at the stakes, not voting seems irresponsible. But I also know that if Marine loses, the political establishment will congratulate itself for putting up a “republican front” against an unacceptable candidate even as they recuperate her ideas. Voting seems like just another of the shitty choices of womanhood: damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Emily Lever is a French-American writer. She has had enough of the Le Pen family since the age of nine.Two Roads Brewing was founded in 2012 in in Stratford, Connecticut. They make such decently-rated beers as Ol’Factory Pils, Road 2 Ruin Double IPA, and Workers Comp Saison. While not a microbrewery by any means, the company has been a relatively modest operation. But due to the success of its beers, which it distributes widely, the company has decided to expand.
Two Roads is spending $2.4 million to buy new equipment and upgrade its facilities. This growth will allow the company to increase its brewing capacity to 176,000 barrels. That is pretty big by any standards. The company is buying top-of-the-line equipment from Rolec, the industry standard for high-quality brewing equipment.
This expansion is a result of the popularity of the company’s beers, which consistently receive good and very-good ratings. One such beer is Two Roads Road 2 Ruin Double IPA (8.0% ABV). The brewery describes it thus:
A big, hoppy IPA with plenty of bite! Our assertive, hop-centric Double IPA has a lean malt backdrop and is brewed with four American hop varieties – Summit, Palisade, Cascade and Magnum. Piney, citrus, floral, not-for-the-timid!
As an India Pale Ale, this beer would have been top-fermented and warm-fermented. The Double in name indicates twice the amount of hops as a regular IPA.
Everything On Tap Review: Two Roads Road 2 Ruin Double IPA:
Bottle: The bottle is of medium-brown glass. The label is rectangular. The logo has a blue border with a large, oval logo featuring an image of the brewery, two crossed arms and hands pointing in opposite directions, with blue-on-yellow, and white, lettering.
Pour: The color is a nice, cloudy orange with hints of bright gold. The head is over two fingers thick and off-white. It is creamy and bubbly, and it dissipates slowly, leaving thick lacing.
Aroma: The nose is immediately caressed with several elements of hops: pine, citrus, and grass, with a pleasant bitterness. This is followed by sweet malted grains and very faint tropical fruit.
Flavor: The flavor is that of a standard IPA (in a good way). It begins with malted, lightly-roasted grains and some tropical fruit, and then continues to bitter, grassy, piney, citrus hops, finishing tart and crisp. It is a good, solid IPA, although for a double, I would still like even more hops. One thing I do really like is the definite presence of ethyl alcohol on the palate. Some people do not like this in a beer, but I actually do.
Mouthfeel: A medium body with medium carbonation is just perfect for an IPA, and this does not disappoint.
Structure: The structure is round, stable, and solid. This beer would be very good at room temperature.
Food Pairing: As a good, solid, classic IPA, I would pair this with spicy Indian or Southeast Asian food; spicy Louisiana seafood; or gamy meat such as wild boar.
Overall Rating Out Of 5 Possible Beer Mugs:Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lily just got FDA approval on a chemical that would enable clinicians to detect a biological marker for Alzheimer’s disease. They can detect the marker now, but currently quantifying it can only be performed during autopsy. Detecting it early, during a person’s lifetime has the potential to not only identify people at risk for Alzheimer’s before they show symptoms, but it could help researchers searching for a cure.
The chemical, called florbetapir or its brand name Amyvid, binds to the protein, beta-amyloid, thought to be a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The drug, which is radioactive, is injected into patients which are then imaged with a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan that detects the radioactive signal. A positive scan means there are at least a moderate amount of amyloid plaques, the aggregates of amyloid protein thought to disrupt neuronal function and lead to cognitive decline and dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Right now Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed by individual physicians who detect cognitive and behavioral changes in the patient. But by the time behavioral changes are evident, scientists think, the disease is already very advanced. They think that the disease actually begins years before symptoms start to show. If there was a way to detect the disease, such as a PET scan that detects an increase in amyloid protein, doctors could identify high risk patients years before they begin to show symptoms.
Unfortunately, that won’t help the patients very much as there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But the real strength of the test rests in its ability to differentiate Alzheimer’s patients who have amyloid with those who do not.
Between 10 and 20 percent of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease do not show abnormal levels of amyloid at autopsy. The cause of the disease may be different in these patients than in the patients with elevated levels of amyloid, and thus different treatments may be required. Conducting separate studies on these two groups could be a better way to finding a cure.
Researchers also estimate that in some communities a third of patients with mild symptoms but nonetheless have Alzheimer’s disease go undiagnosed. If these patients also show increased levels of amyloid doctors may be quicker to the diagnosis.
Research seeking treatment for Alzheimer’s also stands to benefit from detecting amyloid earlier. Nowadays people have to already show signs of cognitive decline to qualify for clinical trials. The problem is, the damage is already done by the time outward symptoms begin to show. If it turns out that the amount of amyloid increases appreciably before they show cognitive decline, these people at risk to develop Alzheimer’s could be enrolled in clinical trials earlier. And clinical trials aside, just correlating the timing of amyloid increase to the onset of behavioral symptoms could help researchers understand how the two are related.
Amyvid adds to the recent growth of the Alzheimer’s diagnosis toolkit. Tests, shown to be extremely accurate in differentiating Alzheimer’s and normal individuals, are already commercially available to measure amyloid from spinal fluid. A bit less traumatic than a spinal tap, a blood test was developed last year that correctly identified over 80 percent of Alzheimer’s patients based on the levels of nine hormones and proteins including amyloid. And GE Healthcare is currently developing another PET approach that uses a different tracer to bind amyloid, [(18)F] Flutemetamol. Phase III trials for the drug are underway.
Eli Lily said Amyvid will be available this June in “limited quantities.” Side effects from the drug include headache, fatigue, muscle pain, and nausea.
Alzheimer’s disease affects 54 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the US. It is a devastating disease, not only for the victims, but their friends and family. Last year unpaid caregivers gave an estimated 17.4 billion hours towards caring for Alzheimer’s patients.
A point that is unfailingly raised in discussions about diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease is the fact that there is no cure. The few drugs that doctors prescribe are only meant to treat symptoms by improving cognitive function or decreasing anxiety. There’s a lot of people who don’t want to know if they’re at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease if they know it can’t be reversed. Fair enough. But whether or not you want to know right now, when there is a cure for Alzheimer’s, it’ll be nice to know we have tools to detect it and detect it early.
[image credits: Alzheimer’s Association and modified from Journal of The American Medical Association]
images 1 and 2: JAMA
image 3: Alzheimer’s
video: Alzheimer’s by the numbersToronto Wolfpack have confirmed the signing of Bradford forward Adam Sidlow for the 2017 season.
The 29-year-old made over 150 Super League appearances during his time at Salford Red Devils and Bradford before staying with the Bulls during their two-year stint in the Championship.
“The whole situation with Bradford is terrible,” Rowley said.
“Nevertheless, life goes on. It’s like asking how long you should grieve before moving on. But these players are desperate to make sure they’re getting paid a wage.
“Adam is someone I’d tried to sign previously. I’ve long been an admirer of him as someone who can stick with us for a few years as we look to progress through the ranks. I think he is a brilliant signing for us.”
Meanwhile, the Wolfpack will not have Toby Everett or Jerome Veve in their squad for the League 1 campaign.
Everett, who was on loan from London, has returned to the Broncos after discovering he needs a six-month rehabilitation to deal with a knee injury, while Veve, who joined from Gold Coast Titans, has left for personal reasons.Sweden honors Turkish immigrants
Zülfü Livaneli, who has a background related to Sweden, is among the invitees at the reception which will be held today to mark Sweden’s National Day.
Swedish minister to open honorary consulate in tiny Anatolian town Sweden’s integration minister will pay a visit to Turkey later this month during which he will also inaugurate an honorary consulate in Kulu, a small town in Central Anatolia where almost every resident has a relative in Sweden, most of whom are Swedish nationals as well.
Erik Ullenhag is expected to arrive in Turkey on June 26 and the inauguration will take place on June 27. Residents of Kulu are no stranger to hosting senior Swedish officials. Having been the main source of migration from Turkey to Sweden since the 1960s, Kulu hosted a Swedish prime minister as well in the past. In April 2009, the prime minister of Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt, visited the town.
The Honorary Consulate in Kulu will also serve as an early celebration of upcoming 50th anniversary of labor migration from Turkey to the Scandinavian country in 2016. The senior-level visits not only display Sweden’s appreciation of the contribution of immigrants, but also underline the importance of bilateral relations. Erik Ullenhag is expected to arrive in Turkey on June 26 and the inauguration will take place on June 27. Residents of Kulu are no stranger to hosting senior Swedish officials. Having been the main source of migration from Turkey to Sweden since the 1960s, Kulu hosted a Swedish prime minister as well in the past. In April 2009, the prime minister of Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt, visited the town.The Honorary Consulate in Kulu will also serve as an early celebration of upcoming 50th anniversary of labor migration from Turkey to the Scandinavian country in 2016. The senior-level visits not only display Sweden’s appreciation of the contribution of immigrants, but also underline the importance of bilateral relations.
The Swedish Embassy in Ankara is marking 50 years of migration from Turkey to the Nordic state, organizing events for National Day celebrations centered on the theme of “Beauties and Benefits of Migration.”İshak Alaton, Zülfü Livaneli and Miss Turkey 2014 Amina Gülşe, who all have a background related to Sweden, are among the invitees at the reception which will be held today to mark Sweden’s National Day.“Identities and culture is not something finalized,” said Ambassador Lars Wahlund, who noted the importance of the contributions that immigrants have made to the country.“Also in the aftermath of the European Parliament elections, it is important to also send a message that there are of course challenges about migration – we are not denying that – but there are also huge benefits. Take Sweden, migration has energized Sweden, think Swedish food which was extremely dull and boring 50 years ago,” Wahlund added in an interview with Hürriyet Daily News earlier this week.Noting that this is not the case today, the ambassador said multicultural influences had resulted in enriching Swedish cuisine.Some 22 percent of the population in Sweden is either born outside of Sweden or has parents who were born outside of the country.The National Day reception is an early celebration for the upcoming 50th anniversary of migration from Turkey which will be marked next year.Sweden does not register the ethnic or religious origins of its citizens, but it is estimated that there are 150,000 Swedish citizens with roots from Turkey in the country.Three of them, Swedish-Turkish jazz musicians İlhan Erşahin, Dilara Sakpınar and Mehmet İkiz, will perform at the reception.Having served in the Balkans, Wahlund is familiar with the popularity of the concept of nationalism, but argued that the ideology actually belongs to the 19th century and “the romantic period.”“You get almost the perception that Adam and Eve were the purest Serbs or Albanians or Croats and that everything that happened there after them are delusions. I am not saying everyone thinks so, but it is sort of a general concept,” Wahlund said.“I think it is the opposite which is the more accurate description that all cultures and all ethnicities are the results of interactions. And all cultures and ethnicities are changing. Being a Swede today did not mean the same thing 50 years ago and will not be the same 50 years later,” he said, while emphasizing how the multicultural and multiethnic structure of Turkey was actually a richness and source of strength for Turkey too.Putting the final touches to his messages blessing the richness that interaction brought to his country, Wahlund recalled lines from Esaias Tegnér (1782-1846), a Swedish teacher, bishop and popular poet of the period: “All culture stands on foreign ground/ In the end – only barbarity is truly local.”Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Nov. 28, 2017, 10:58 PM GMT / Updated Nov. 29, 2017, 2:12 PM GMT By Alex Johnson and Tracy Connor
The man believed to be responsible for a series of shootings deaths in Tampa, Florida was detained Tuesday and police plan to charge him with four counts of first-degree murder, authorities said.
Acting on a tip about someone with a gun, officers found the man, identified as Howell E. Donaldson III, 24, at a McDonald's in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood, Police Chief Brian Dugan told reporters.
"Tonight, goodness has won," Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said. "Tonight in the battle between darkness and light, light has won."
Dugan gave no further information about Donaldson, including his hometown, saying charging documents were still being drafted. But he said he believed Donaldson may have worked at the restaurant at some point.
Florida records indicated that Donaldson has no criminal past beyond a handful of traffic citations. He was arrested in New York City in May 2014 but details about the case were not immediately available.
Donaldson graduated St. John's University in Queens, New York last January. He first enrolled in the school in 2011 and was a walk-on member of the school's basketball team during the 2011-12 season, the school's spokesman said.
Peabo Johnson, an employee of the McDonald's, told |
eyes. I had one friend even ask me, "What are you running away from?"
Well, are you running away from something?
I don't know. I mean, yeah. It makes me doubt myself for sure sometimes. It makes me feel bad about what I want, I feel guilty sometimes, like, why don't I just want the normal things like everyone else? Is something wrong with me? But ultimately, if I look deep down, yeah, I think I was running away from that boring conventional life I was living on the East Coast before. I just have a lot of fear inside me about quickly slipping back into that rhythm if I let myself. At the same time though, I'm not saying there is anything inherently bad about that sort of traditional lifestyle. It works for most people, but I guess it just doesn't feel right for me.
How is being a digital nomad different than a permanent vacation?
I travel more slowly. Instead of staying a week or two somewhere, I'll stay a month or two. I'll hang around the places locals do, enjoy the local hole-in-the-wall restaurants, go to the grocery store, and see the sights on my own when I want, instead of racing through with a group of tourists. Instead of eating at all of the top restaurants, I like to just take my time and have a nice meal at home like a local would. It really helps me get a better feel for a culture and an area than if I were to treat it like any other vacation.
Do you think that throws you off, though? If every time you go to a new place you have to reset your entire way of life, that could get really hectic.
I have a routine that I stick to every morning, which helps. I wake up pretty early once my sleep schedule [acclimates to] the timezone, have my green tea, check my email, maybe go for a walk or get in a quick workout, that sort of thing.
So instead of having a consistent place to call home, you rely on your consistent routine to make wherever you are feel like home.
Exactly!
Looking for travel recs? Check out The VICE Guide to Europe.
Does it ever feel weird to be constantly on the move? I mean, do you have friends?
It really helps with how big the digital nomad community has gotten these days. We've got websites, subreddits, Facebook groups, Twitter, and so much more out there for people to connect on. If I'm going to Switzerland, I'll pop into a group and ask if anyone has any friends or family there. We meet up and it immediately gives me a friend or familiar face in an otherwise new area.
What about family? How do your parents feel about your volatile lifestyle?
At first, my father was very concerned and worried. But then after I started traveling alone and, more importantly, actually coming back safely, he realized I might know a bit about what I'm doing. When I told them about my decision to sell everything and fully commit to this lifestyle, they immediately asked me if I was crazy. But after we talked about it, they were OK with it. Deep down they want me to be happy. If I found a way to do what I truly wanted to do, chase my dreams, and be happy, then that's all they wanted. It sounds cliché, but it's the truth. I have wonderful parents.
What's dating like as a nomad? I mean, is it even possible?
All of these dating apps out there now like Tinder make it so much easier to date if you want to. As a digital nomad, there is a very skewered male to female ratio. Making friends and going out to have a good time is extremely easy for me, but finding something more long-term is obviously a struggle. Do I care enough about this person to lay down roots and stay in one place for a while? Do they care enough about me to warrant me staying? There are just a lot of factors at play.
Truong at the top of the Sathorn Unique skyscraper in Bangkok, Thailand
How do you choose where to stay?
I use Airbnb—that website is seriously a godsend like no other. Usually people on there love to rent out their places for several weeks or a couple of months at a time and I get a better deal that way. There's even a subletting section on the site as well. I have used Craigslist before too, subleasing places the traditional way, that sort of thing. In fact, one big trend that's getting more popular now are what's called "co-working houses" and it's just a big group of nomads getting together in a house—with WiFi of course, that's a necessity—and sometimes people even set up retreats for communal living arrangements for big groups. WiFi is such a huge deal for nomads and that's where resources like NomadList come in handy because we can rate things like the internet, cost of living, weather, safety, nightlife scene, and a lot more.
Can't leave your desk job? Try a virtual reality vacation.
Have you ever had negative experiences traveling?
Well, I will say that all of the traveling I've done, as a woman, has really opened my eyes to how women are treated in a lot of other countries. For example, as an Asian woman visiting Thailand, I was able to sort of blend in myself. Most people that talked to me or watched my mannerisms could probably tell that I wasn't a native from Thailand at all, but at first glance maybe you couldn't tell. So on many occasions I've ended up on the receiving end of ill treatment from a lot of tourists, or visiting Americans or Europeans, that assume I'm a local—being ignored, talked down to, disregarded, and just generally not treated like an equal person. It hurts, to put things simply. No one should ever be treated like that but it happens every day around the world.
One moment in particular sticks out in my mind still to this day. I was with a group of fellow nomads, clearly in a social meetup. And a guy in the group just assumed I was a local server girl or something at the place that we were meeting up at. What really got to me isn't that I was mistaken for a local, that's fine, but it was the way he treated me because of who he thought I was. Not that I was being ignored, but that no one should be treated like that.
FYI: You Can Hire a Personal Instagram Photographer to Travel with You
I noticed a lot of veteran nomads on the subreddit were extremely skeptical and borderline judgmental of "new" nomads. It's almost like they don't believe they are "real" or "serious" enough about it. Do you have any insight into why people could treat newcomers like that?
Yeah, I think if you are an aspiring nomad and you ask for all this advice and guidance, it just seems like in most cases those people never even actually end up taking the advice. And people just get so sick of giving the same advice over and over and then they don't even care. It's like, why even put forth the effort if they don't even care? This is our passion and our way of life, so don't trivialize it by treating it like your cool new hobby. It's not a fun little vacation, or a side hobby. It's a serious commitment.
A lot of digital nomads like to talk about their lives like it's just one nonstop, super-long vacation. Is that really what it's like?
Traveling so much makes me happy and it's my passion, but it's not like I'm always on the beach or anything like that. A lot of work goes into this and it takes dedication, discipline, and above all else, the ability to motivate yourself. I work a lot sometimes and that's just how it is. And there are a lot of times where I really just feel lonely. I miss my family. I miss my friends. When I get food poisoning or something and am sick at home but still have all of this work to do and I wish my mom could take care of me but she's on the other side of the planet—yeah, I get homesick.
I've had those low moments where I'm laying in my bed at night crying and thinking, "If I died right here in this bed right now, no one would know or care!" You totally get those moments. This is not all sunshine and butterflies. But loneliness is just a symptom of what's ailing you on the inside. If I go back home to treat my loneliness, it might help for a while, but ultimately I'll still feel lonely inside. The most important thing, I think, is finding what truly makes you happy and doing that until you can't anymore. That's my secret.
Follow David Jagneaux on Twitter.std::bind in C++11 can be thought of as a general-purpose function adaptor. It takes a callable object and generates a new callable that “adapts” the parameter list of the original object.
So generally,
auto newCallable = bind(callable, arg_list)
So delving into an example, suppose we have a function template like this:
typedef std::function<void(void* one, void* two)> thread_pipe_func_t;
and a function which uses this function typedef to pass a function object in.
void *thread_pipe_spawn(void* lala, thread_pipe_func_t func);
and then you have a function that doesn’t quite “fit”, but you would like to be passed into thread_pipe_spawn.
void recorder_thread(void* one, void* two, int someInt) { // some stuff }
You can do this:
namespace ph = std::placeholders; thread_pipe_spawn(in, std::bind(recorder_thread, ph::_1, ph::_2, 5))
Jam that recorder_thread in for good!
Bear in mind that the extra variable being bound must be copy-able, as std::bind makes a copy of the bound variable. So if you want to bind a struct. Be sure to bind the pointer to the struct object, not the struct object itself.
ph::_1 and ph::_2 are placeholders. This means that the two variables passed into recorder_thread function, void* one and void* two are translated into the thread_pipe_func_t ‘s definition of void* one and void* two.
This can be used also to bind C++ member functions to functions which expect a C-style functions. (typically callbacks)
MainClass test = new MainClass(); CallbackHolder someclass = new CallbackHolder(); someclass.setCallback(std::bind(&MainClass::wanttocallthiscallback, test, ph::_1));
where definition of the class someclass is :
class CallbackHolder { // -- blah blah typedef std::function<void(int in)> callback_signature_t; void set(callback_signature_t cb) { m_callback = cb; } }
Hope this is useful to you!
AdvertisementsMiniaturized Nuclear Power Plant? U.S. Reviewing Proposed Design
Enlarge this image toggle caption NuScale NuScale
Nuclear power plants are typically hulking structures made using billions of dollars of concrete and steel. But one company thinks that by going smaller, they could actually make nuclear power more affordable.
NuScale Power based in Portland, Ore., has submitted a design for what it describes as a "modular" nuclear power plant. Each module is a self-contained 50-megawatt nuclear reactor loaded with standard uranium reactor fuel. Modules would be assembled at a factory-like facility and then delivered to power utilities and other clients.
toggle caption NuScale
"Miniature" in nuclear terms is still pretty big. The modules are small enough to fit on flat-bed trucks, but they would stand nearly nine stories tall. Moreover, a power plant would probably require several modules hooked together like giant batteries. Of course, they'd need to be operated by professional nuclear engineers.
But the design — a radical departure from other nuclear plants — would also have advantages.
Each module uses less uranium fuel, making a large-scale meltdown far less likely. The fuel would be housed in a special containment vessel that would be submerged in a pool of water, an added safety feature. And rather than using pumps of the sort that failed during the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the reactor would circulate the water using natural convection. The company maintains the design is simpler and safer than existing reactors.
NuScale formally completed its design submission to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday. The 12,000-page application will now undergo a lengthy review by the NRC, which must approve the design before construction can begin.
NuScale says its mass-produced reactor modules will be simpler and more affordable to build than a big plant. Placing several modules in a single location will provide the same power output as a commercial reactor, says Mike McGough, the company's chief commercial officer. NuScale is already partnering with a consortium of Utah utilities to build a 12-module power plant on land in Idaho owned by the U.S. Department of Energy. (The DOE is a partner in the NuScale project.)
The company believes that 570-MW project can be completed for less than $3 billion. By comparison, a new 1,150-MW reactor at Watts Bar in Tennessee cost around $4.7 billion and began operation in 2016 after years of delays.
McGough says the company envisions the modules also could be used in other ways. For example, he says, they could be installed near wind turbines as backup when the wind isn't blowing. Or they could be used by the military to power bases that need electricity even if the grid goes down. About a dozen clients in the U.S. and abroad are looking at the technology, he says.
But not everyone is convinced smaller is better.
Ed Lyman, an analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, says the electricity generated by a smaller reactor is more expensive than that generated by a larger one. Companies such as NuScale hope to offset the higher costs by saving on the cost of construction, but Lyman isn't convinced. He worries savings will come at the cost of safety.
He says NuScale wants to do things like reduce the size and strength of the reactor containment building and the number of personnel needed to operate the plant. "NuScale is proposing major reductions in all of these areas relative to current NRC requirements for large reactors, based on the assertion that the reactor will be safer," he says.
"We've eliminated a number of systems that are not required to protect the core of our plant," McGough acknowledges. But he says that's because the small, modular designs are inherently safer than large reactors. He believes the NRC review will clearly show that the modular designs can meet or exceed existing safety standards.
The NRC will take its time to make sure the design meets its safety standard. McGough says the review will take over three years. If it wins approval, NuScale hopes to switch on its first plant by 2026.Today, CNN and Anthony Bourdain jumped on the Facebook Live train and it was a full 10 minutes of marvelous off-the-cuff and yet ad hoc entertainment. After an awkward introduction, Bourdain jumps right into his first question: Have you ever prepared a meal under the influence of LSD? "Yes, I have... it was a restaurant situation, all of us in the crew were, well, high on acid, and you have never seen such heavily garnished plates in your life."
Viewer Karen Wade asks, "Are you going to torture Anderson [Cooper] with food again?" Bourdain, notably excited, says yes. "One of my principle pleasures in life is torturing Anderson Cooper... he has the most amazing apartment in the history of apartments, well it's a house really, and an amazing kitchen, and he's never cooked in it. So just about anything I feed him makes him giggle with discomfort... so it's really one of my great joys, feeding Anderson all of the spicy, squiggly bits."
Another viewer asks if Bourdain has been able to meet with Jason Rezaian and Yeganeh Salehi, the Iranian journalists who were recently released from captivity. "Yes, I got together with Jason... it was one of the happiest moments in my life for quite some time."
Related to the subject of Bourdain's new project, a massive food hall in NYC, a fan asks "Can street vendors save the restaurant business?" Bourdain: "I don't know... I like the idea of food trucks as an entry point for people who might not otherwise have the startup capital to open a brick and mortar restaurant... but as an entrepreneurial effort, benefits and insurance is not something you can reasonably hope for..."
On the worst thing he's ever tasted: "I don't know, the rotten shark in Iceland... but what do you mean by worst? Like morally reprehensible worst?... A chicken McNugget is not the worst thing I've ever tasted... but I would feel kind of irresponsible feeding it to my daughter. It's not true to say there are parts of dead clowns in chicken McNuggets but I may or may not have told my daughter that."
What does his daughter love to eat? "Veal milanese or schnitzel, she likes any pasta dish that I make. I make a decent meatball... she likes my mashed potatoes very much. Oh! My teddy bear pancakes are unparalleled!"
Bourdain notes that he's only been ill three times in 16 years of traveling around the world eating street food, "with no hygiene regulations."
On what he's listening to these days: "I'm listening to a lot of Bad Weather and the Kills, I'm crazy about the new Iggy Pop album. I'm a big Brian Jones Massacre fan. Get the Iggy album... By the way, I was out with the band a couple weeks ago. You know your life has gone really wrong when Iggy Pop leaves the party before you."
Watch the full question and answer session, here. Don't miss Bourdain's tips for novice travelers and advice for how to find those magical, serendipitous moments while abroad.Article SummaryX
To make char cloth, start by cleaning out a metal tin, and punching a hole the size of a pen tip through the lid. Then, cut an old, white, cotton t-shirt into 2-inch squares. Next, put the squares in the tin, and put the tin on a well-ventilated heat source, like a camp stove or a grill, since this process can generate toxic, foul-smelling smoke. Leave the tin on the heat until it stops smoking, then remove it and let it cool. When it’s cool enough to open the lid, check to see if the cloth is completely black, which means it’s done. If it’s not, put the tin back on the heat. For tips on how to make char cloth from denim, cheesecloth, or cotton balls, scroll down!Persuading someone to do what you want isn't easy, but writer Daniel Pink points out that the real trick is to get someone to articulate their own reasons for doing something. One way to do that is to ask a couple of irrational questions.
Advertisement
Using the example of getting a teenage daughter to clean her room, Pink suggests starting by asking the person to talk about where they are on a scale of 1 to 10. For example, you could ask your daughter, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you to clean your room?" Once she responds, you can follow up with, "Why didn't you pick a lower number?" When she's forced to defend her position, she'll likely find that cleaning the room isn't that big of a deal.
Hopefully, you'll ferret out the daughter's reasons for doing (or not doing) something and convince them to do what you want. Pink notes that people tend to believe their own reasons for doing something more than yours, so your job is more about helping them convince themselves to do something than for you to convince them of anything.
Obviously Pink's exact rhetoric doesn't work in every situation or on every person, but the real trick here is to figure out what another person's motivations are. Once you have that, you can work with them to come up with an actual solution.
Advertisement
How to Persuade Others with the Right Questions: Jedi Mind Tricks from Daniel Pink | YouTube via Swiss MissWe’ve been very lucky this last month to join the excellent journalists and editors at GlobalPost on their journey to document the conflict in the Middle East. Several months ago, GlobalPost reached out to us for help with several new long narratives they had in the works. The first narrative, which focuses on the state of Syrian refugees, is now live. In this blog post, we want to share with you all how interactive pieces like this come to life here at the Bocoup Data Visualization Team headquarters, and what we learned about technology and process along the way.
You can read the GlobalPost piece here.
Choosing a question
When we started our work with GlobalPost staff, the story was still evolving. Stories like this aren’t written in a corner office—they are written on the go, often under challenging and uncertain conditions, so we needed to work with small bits as they came in. We knew this first story would be about Syrian refugees, and we wanted to explore visually their migration out of Syria to try and answer, “Where are Syrian refugees going, how many of them are there and who is helping them along the way?”
Finding Data (is Hard)
We found a dataset of the number of refugees leaving Syria and their destination countries on the UNHCR website. The more sources we scoped, the harder it became to reconcile some of these numbers and the discrepancies among the different sources. Tracking refugee numbers in times of conflict is a challenging task for a host of contextual reasons. We had to cross-reference several datasets to verify our numbers were in agreement with each other.
We also made use of a dataset cataloguing refugee camps by the Humanitarian Information Unit at the US State Department. We explored using additional datasets such as country populations from the World Bank.
Lastly, we needed data for our maps. We sourced our collection of raster images as well as country, road, and city shapefiles from Natural Earth and our shaded relief from the USGS GMTED2010 tool.
Data Processing
Even though we found structured data to represent the measures we were looking for, there were plenty of small challenges along the way that threw off our calculations:
We had counts for individual years, and we were unable to confirm whether or not they were cumulative. We ended up reading several reports from other organizations from the recent few years to derive the answer ourselves, and as it turns out, the numbers were indeed cumulative.
Our data had several fields containing simply an ‘*’ character instead of a number. We were able to find a note indicating the data was being removed to protect certain refugee populations, but we weren’t sure how to count them. In the end, we used zeroes instead because we were looking for aggregate values and the results we were getting were consistent enough with reports we saw.
One of the data sources we wanted to pull in was global indicators, such as Gross Domestic Product per Capita (GDP PCAP). We wanted to know whether the high number of refugees in some of these neighboring countries was impacting economic and social measures such as unemployment or gross domestic product per capita. Unfortunately, refugees are tracked differently in different countries, and those that aren’t officially registered as asylum seekers may or may not be considered in the calculations of global indicators. As a result, a lot of these global indicators simply weren’t factoring in the condition and impact of refugees and portrayed a very different picture from what the media was reporting.
Our data often had small inconsistencies that threw off our calculations, such as duplicate rows or countries spliting their data across multiple rows. It required some manual verification to ensure we weren’t counting things twice while ignoring other important numbers.
Analyzing the data
In determining the right visualization technique, we spent some time trying to understand the patterns in our data. A few themes emerged quickly:
Even though our data went back to the 1960s, the conflict we were tracking really started in 2011. There was a sharp increase in refugees in 2011, and the numbers have been growing since.
The majority of the refugees, some 93%, were migrating to the neighboring countries. By comparison, the rest of the world was taking in much smaller numbers of refugees.
Prototyping
To find the right visual method for representing this data, we spent a lot of time building prototypes and iterating on the visualizations. We knew we wanted to use a map if possible, so our initial attempts included trying out different approaches:
Trying out a choropleth
Clearly, this particular approach wasn’t going to work. We knew from our analysis that the majority of countries took a much smaller number of refugees than Syria’s neighboring countries by orders of magnitude. This comparison of countries was somewhat unfair given distance is often a substantial barrier for travel in addition to strict regulations in countries such as the US.
What about time?
We were then curious about the temporal aspects of this conflict and wondered whether a zoomed in version of this map across the last 4 years of data we had would make more sense:
Even though this form certainly showed the changing numbers, it didn’t do an excellent job helping us visualize the change itself. Yes, Turkey took in the highest number of refugees and thus became redder, but by how much? And what was the change in the other countries? The change in other countries was challenging to perceive because of Turkey’s much larger intake of refugees over time. We knew this wasn’t going to work either.
Breaking out of the mold
We thought about breaking out the traditional map structure to see if an animated grid could offer an interesting interaction model. We wanted people to engage with this data and thought a more unique take would pique people’s interest:
As it turns out, it’s really hard to tell what countries look like when you take them out of context. As we explored this interface more, we realized we had no idea how to identify countries well. The large difference in size made our grid challenging to explore or to label easily, and in the end, we felt a little lost. Even though it was fun to rearrange the map in this way, it took away from the seriousness of this data and replaced it with confusion, which wasn’t what we were going for.
Trying out the slippy map
We wondered if exploring the data across all countries would be interesting even if the numbers were low by comparison, so we decided to try creating a full slippy map to show all the data for all the countries. We went for a very traditional approach here just to see if it clicked. We created a mapbox-based map and added a step-by-step guide through some interesting data points.
Despite this format being very common, we weren’t comfortable with the results. Aside from jumping around the map in a way that broke up the story’s continuity, the additional data wasn’t interesting to explore. We decided the narrative was getting lost in all of this interaction that wasn’t contributing to its telling.
Refocusing
We took a bit of a pause after this last experiment to think about the maps that have captured our attention as of late. Maps that are beautiful, show a lot of data, but are generally static. We owe a lot of inspiration to The New York Times for making these and to Gabriel Florit who helped steer us in the right direction through his work and open source contributions.
Making beautiful AND interactive maps
We knew we wanted to make an interactive visualization to show our data, and we wanted to do the following:
Focus on the story Hyper-focus on the regions relevant for the story Use beautiful maps Use small animations in the service of the story but not go overboard
Paring down our objectives in this way allowed us to focus on the maps we wanted to create and the data we had.
Next steps
Next came the really hard part of pulling these final maps together. In part 2 of this series, we will discuss the technical implementation of the maps we made. In the meanwhile, you can see the interactive maps live here, and if you’re really anxious to see the code before then, you can find it here too.
Stay tuned for Part 2!South Korean Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said on Monday that the deployment of the U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery should happen as soon as possible, arguing the consequences of a nuclear-armed North Korea would be “horrible and beyond imagination.”
Hwang presided over a National Security Council (NSC) meeting at South Korea’s Blue House at 0900 KST (1900 EST) a few hours after North Korea test-fired four ballistic missiles at 0736 KST, the Blue House said in a written statement.
The North’s ballistic missile launches came 22 days after the North launched a new type of solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) named “Pukguksong-2” on February 12, at Panghyon in North Pyongan Province.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s launching of ballistic missiles once again today, despite repeated warnings from the Republic of Korea and the international society,” Hwang said, speaking to the Standing Committee of the NSC.
“This is an act of outright defiance to the international society and serious provocation.”
Hwang described the North’s nuclear and missile provocations as “real and imminent threats to the lives and safety” of South Korean citizens.
“In view of the brutality and recklessness of the North Korean regime, as seen in the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the consequences of a nuclear-armed North Korea will be appalling beyond imagination,” Hwang reportedly told his top aides.
Hwang called on the South Korean military to maintain its readiness to “sternly punish” North Korea for its provocation.
“In particular, by thoroughly carrying out the ongoing ROK-U.S. joint military exercise, we should deter further provocation from North Korea and give assurance to the people of the national security,” Hwang said, referring to Foal Eagle, the ROK-U.S. annual combined Field Training Exercise (FTX) which began on March 1.
The South and the U.S. are planning to hold the joint military exercise Key Resolve, which South Korea’s military claims is one of the largest ever, this month.
Approximately 17,000 U.S. forces participated with ROK forces in Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercise training in March 2016.
South Korea’s Acting President also said the country would “firmly deal with any kind of threats without wavering.”
“Furthermore, we should secure defense system against nuclear and missile threats from North Korea through early deployment of the THAAD by the USFK,” Hwang said. “At the same time, actively seeking ways to effectively strengthen the extended deterrence of the U.S. for the purpose of enhancing deterrence capabilities against the North.”
Meanwhile, South Korean National Security Adviser Kim Kwan-jin and his counterpart General Herbert Raymond McMaster spoke over the phone for 15 minutes at 1045 KST, the ROK presidential office said in a written statement.
“The two condemned the repeated launches of ballistic missiles by North Korea and agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation for strong and effective sanctions and pressure against the North,” the Blue House said.
“[Both] also agreed to hold more in-depth discussions regarding ways to respond to North Korean nuclear and missile threats when Director Kim visits the U.S.”
Japan’s Kyodo News Agency also reported on Saturday that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would visit China, Japan, and South Korea within the month.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Monday that North Korea fired four projectiles from near the Tongchang-ri region in North Pyongan Province into the waters off its east coast, but added that there are slight differences between the timing of the launches.
JCS said the four projectiles traveled around 1,000km on average, reaching a maximum altitude of around 260km.
North Korea used the same location, the site of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, to launch the “Kwangmyongsong-4” long-range rocket on February 7, 2016, ostensibly to put a satellite into space.
Despite growing speculation that the North may have launched an Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), South Korea’s JCS dismissed the claim during the regular press briefing held on 1030 KST (0130 GMT).
“The U.S. and the South are currently in the process of conducting a detailed analysis,” Roh Jae-cheon, head of public affairs for the JCS, told reporters when asked if there was any possibility that an ICBM had been launched. “It seems that there is a slim chance but the more detailed analysis is needed.”
Featured Image: Prime Minister’s Office, Published on September 14, 2016A federal appeals court revived a defamation suit filed against Rolling Stone magazine yesterday. The ruling in the suit, based on a discredited campus rape story published in 2014, comes at a particularly bad time: Just Sunday, founder Jann Wenner and his company, Wenner Media, announced plans to sell Rolling Stone.
Suitors who might have been interested in the counter-culture mag will now likely wait and see what happens. Rolling Stone has already settled a different suit based on the same article. That case went to a $3 million verdict in Virginia but later was settled for $1.65 million.
The article, “A Rape on Campus,” was written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely for the magazine three years ago. The lengthy piece sought to expose the fraternity culture on the University of Virginia campus, and in particular at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
The story focused on a student identified as “Jackie,” and it followed her experiences at the fraternity, including the depiction of a brutal gang rape, allegedly performed by Phi Kappa Psi members in their house.
Once it was published in October 2014, the story’s credibility was immediately attacked for a number of reasons.
There were problems with some of the facts. Journalistic ethicists noted that the reporter failed to corroborate Jackie’s story, and Rolling Stone opted, in violation of a number of journalistic ethics codes, not to contact Phi Kappa Psi or its members for comment or the opportunity to provide information. The piece, which ran over 9,000 words, was essentially a one-source story at its center.
Rolling Stone, after fits and starts in attempting to explain its position, officially retracted the article in April 2015.
But that didn’t stop the lawsuits.
University of Virginia Dean Nicole Eramo filed a defamation claim against the magazine, winning a $1 million verdict against Rolling Stone and $2 million against Erdely. On appeal, the case settled for $1.65 million.
But a different suit was filed in New York federal court by some of the Phi Kappa Psi brothers.
A district judge dismissed the suit, finding that “the article's details about the attackers are too vague and remote from the plaintiffs' circumstances to be 'of and concerning' them."
But the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had a different view, in a decision handed down Tuesday.
The court said the case presented a “close call.” But it reversed the district court judge's ruling, concluding that the pleadings provided enough to go forward on the statements “of or concerning” two of the plaintiffs.
One of the plaintiffs, George Elias, alleged that he was known to live on the second floor of the fraternity house, where the alleged rape occurred, and that he had the only bedroom large enough to fit the description of where it supposedly happened.
Another, Ross Fowler, was the rush chair for Phi Kappa Psi, and the article suggested the alleged rape may have been part of an initiation. Fowler was also a swimmer, and Jackie reported meeting one of the brothers at the UVA pool.
Having met the procedural thresholds, the plaintiffs can go forward, the court said. "At this stage of the litigation, plaintiffs need only plead sufficient facts to make it plausible — not probable or even reasonably likely — that a reader familiar with each plaintiff would identify him as the subject of the statements at issue,” the court said.
The case will now presumably head into the fact-gathering and deposition-taking discovery phase.
How the litigation might affect the sale of Rolling Stone remains unknown at this point.
Wenner founded Rolling Stone in San Francisco in 1967, the year of the Summer of Love. John Lennon’s picture graced the first cover. The magazine gave a voice to hippies at the epicenter of the social change of the 1960s. It also covered music that hadn’t been covered, at least not well or with a knowing eye.
Rolling Stone was a prime example of the “New Journalism” of the era; Hunter S. Thompson, king of the gonzo journalists, was a regular contributor.
Over the years, Rolling Stone was a touchpoint and a must-read for fans of popular music and culture. Artists and celebrities acquired a certain panache by being included (Dr. Hook's 1973 hit, "Cover of the Rolling Stone," had a tongue-in-cheek quality, but its message rang true).
Wenner Media, run by the 71-year-old Wenner and his 27-year-old son, Gus, acquired and sold a number of media properties in recent years. US Weekly and Men’s Journal were both cut loose this spring.
Wenner sold a 49% stake in the magazine to a Singapore-based music-tech company, BandLab Technologies, in 2016. Now father and son are seeking to get Wenner Media out of the print business altogether.
Years ago, Wenner apparently boasted that he had received a $500 million offer for Rolling Stone. But that was when print publications were still strong.
Wenner’s remaining 51% of Rolling Stone is likely worth far less.
And with pending defamation claims now back on track for litigation, discount that figure even more.Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images
No. 3 Stanford plays No. 6 Oregon Saturday night in Palo Alto, Calif. This week, The Quad will feature fans’ views of a game that has national title implications. This post is by Dick Benster, a 1975 Stanford graduate. And as always, we want to hear what you think.
What the 2011 Stanford-Oregon football game means to a Stanford fan depends a great deal on one’s investment in the team and the resulting degree of suffering, which in our case is proportional to the time passed since admission. A member of the Stanford class of 1975, I began watching the 1970-71 team as a high school senior and Stanford wannabe and delighting in the (then) Indians’ defeat of No. 1 Ohio State in the 1971 Rose Bowl.
The next year, a ragtag yet formidable team filled with as many characters as the Stanford band endured incomprehensible loses to Duke, 9-3 and San Jose State, 13-12, but ended up defending its Rose Bowl bouquet over highly favored Michigan by the same 13-12 score as the San Jose game. The contest unfolded as a defensive slugfest with a thrilling last-minute field goal by the talented but unpredictable Rod Garcia, the same kicker who had missed five field goals earlier in the season in the Divine Intervention loss to San Jose State. There was quaking concern in the Stanford section before the Rose Bowl kick split the uprights, and we openly speculated on what kind of pregame rituals Garcia participated in.
In |
Sydney Morning Herald also recorded double digit print sales declines with the weekday edition shedding 19,823 sales year on year, to record a 14.00 per cent decline. The Saturday edition recorded 5.6 per cent declines while the Sun-Herald fell past the milestone of 250,000 editions to sell an average of 246,635 editions last quarter, a decline of 10.70 per cent.
In digital the SMH appears to be seeing some growth going from 127.2 per cent in the quarter the paywall was introduced in September 2013 to 22.3 per cent in December, 5.37 per cent in March and 7.88 per cent in June.
The company’s national daily paper The Australian Financial Review also recorded declines of 7.6 per cent in its weekday circulation while the troubled weekend edition of the financial newspaper reigned in the previous quarter’s losses of 23.1 per cent to fall by a more modest 3.7 per cent. Fairfax does not release digital subscription numbers for the AFR.com.
News Corp’s national broadsheet The Australian recorded a year on year decline of 5.8 per cent in its weekday edition with sales falling to 109,902. While the Weekend Australian had 232,243 copies down 8.9 per cent.
The Australian’s website last quarter recorded 4.37 per cent quarter on quarter growth for the paywall, with the newspaper now reporting 64,821 paying digital subscribers. In the last 12 months the newspaper has posted relatively sedate digital growth of 4.8 per cent for September, 2.3 per cent for December and 8.42 per cent in March 2014, although it has doubled the price of a digital subscription from $3 to $6 per week this year.
In the News Corp tabloid stable, The Herald Sun posted near 10 per cent declines in print sales with the weekday down to 376,342, a fall of 9.5 per cent. The Saturday edition was down 9.6 per cent to 376,643 editions while the Sunday Herald Sun sold an average of 438,290 editions, which represents a decline of 9.80 per cent.
News Corp refuses to release digital subscriber numbers for any of its tabloids beyond early-adopter The Herald Sun, which has now passed 50,000 digital subscribers but last month posted 5.06 per cent quarter on quarter growth. The newspaper this quarter came off the pre AFL season growth of the last quarter which saw it surge 19.9 per cent on the back of the coverage of the code.
A spokesman for News Corp last night declined to comment on its reasons for not publishing the digital subscriber numbers for other titles such as The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and Adelaide Advertiser.
In April the publisher claimed it had passed the 200,000 digital subscription mark and defended its decision not to audit the titles saying: “We previously made the decision to audit The Australian and Herald Sun digital subs. The market was different then to now. It doesn’t give us any competitive advantage to announce the breakdown of the numbers at this time.”
In the weekday print market editor Chris Dore’s Courier Mail was the stand-out performer last quarter with declines of only 2.4 per cent in print. The result was in stark contrast to the rest of the News Corp stable with titles like Sydney’s Daily Telegraph which lost 29,993 copies to fall 9.7 per cent and The Adelaide Advertiser which fell 9.4 per cent, shedding 14,600 copies year on year.
The West Australian lost 8 per cent of its sales posting 164,107 copies in the quarter, while the Canberra Times fell 8.1 per cent to 24,040 weekday editions. The NT News also fell 10.3 per cent to 14,803 copies while Tasmania’s Mercury is down 7.4 per cent to 34,637.
In the Saturday papers, The Sydney Morning Herald’s Saturday edition was the best performer limiting its decline to only 5.7 per cent, with 220,227 editions still being sold each week. The Canberra Times and The NT News posted the largest declines of 15.7 per cent and 13.5 per cent respectively while many of the other News Corp Saturday papers such as Telegraph, Courier Mail, Advertiser and Mercury posted sales declines between seven and nine per cent.
The West Australian shed 6.9 per cent of its Saturday print sales to record an average of 270,541 edition. Schwartz Media’s The Saturday Paper, which launched in March, did not participate in the audit and said it will not do so until the new year when its allocations have stabilised.
In the lucrative Sunday newspaper market there were again major declines in sales for both Sydney newspapers with The Sunday Telegraph passing 500,000 copies but now outselling its and its long troubled rival two to one with the Sun-Herald passing the 250,000 mark to record 246,635 editions a 9.8 per cent decline. The Sunday edition of The Canberra Times fell 13.7 per cent to 22,567 editions while over in Western Australia the Sunday Times fell from 250,290 to 218,001 editions, a decline of 12.90 per cent.
In Brisbane and Adelaide the respective Sunday Mails both fell 8.3 per cent, with the Queensland Sunday newspaper now selling 381,111 editions and its South Australian sister selling 225,513 editions.
Both News Corp and Fairfax Media were asked to comment on their respective declines in print circulations. A Fairfax spokeswoman said that publisher was focused on ensuring its print circulation was profitable.
“The decline in our print circulation is the continuation of Fairfax Media’s strategy to drive profitable circulation. As per today’s full year results announcement, the contribution of digital subscriptions together with our focus on profitable print circulation saw underlying circulation revenue increase 11.4 per cent. for the year,” she said.
“Our print circulation is more profitable than ever. Combined with our fiercely independent journalism and content, the print editions of our mastheads continue to contribute to the growth and engagement of our audience.
“It’s important to also note that circulation data only shows part of the picture of the reach of our print and digital mastheads, with readership numbers showing the true strength of Fairfax Media publications in cross platform audience readership and reach.”
In a statement, News Corp CEO Julian Clarke refused to be drawn on the across the board declines in print sales noting only the record sales for The Australian when you combined its print and digital subscribers to achieve total masthead sales.
“The ABC data shows that The Australian has recorded 169,929 total paid masthead sales (M-F) – that’s more than at any time in its 50 year history,” said Clarke.
The News Corp boss also focused on one year old readership survey EMMA, which is funded by the newspaper industry. “The recently released EMMA data shows that our total audiences are up and that we now offer advertisers bigger audiences than ever before,” he said.
“The total audience of the Daily Telegraph has increased 8.3 per cent, the Courier Mail has increased 15.6 per cent, the Herald Sun has increased 5.7 per cent while the Adelaide Advertiser has increased 23.7 per cent, year on year.
“The EMMA data clearly demonstrates that Australians now receive their news from multiple platforms and that they move between platforms throughout the week and even on the same day.
“The advantage of the EMMA data is that it captures how Australians actually receive their news across all our platforms, while the ABC data only captures a part of this story, predominately print circulation levels.”
As Mumbrella revealed on Monday, media buyers have questioned a number of “inconsistencies” in the EMMA data with a number of titles such as The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Courier Mail and Canberra Times all claiming significant increases in print readership despite sometimes double digit declines in sales.
The research company behind the readership survey IPSOS claimed the increases were down to consumer sharing newspapers more, a factor often referred to as the “pass-on” rate.
Nic ChristensenBox Score | USATSI Photo Gallery
Gamecock Stat Leaders Points: A'ja Wilson (31) Rebounds: A'ja Wilson (12) Assists: Cuevas-Moore, Herbert Harrigan (2) Steals: Harris, Wilson (3)
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 3/3 South Carolina earned its second win over a top-15 opponent in five days, defeating No. 14/15 Texas 76-67 Thursday night at the Frank Erwin Center behind a career-high 31 points from junior A'ja Wilson. The forward's dominant performance included her first double-double of the season, as she grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with a team-high four blocks. The Gamecocks moved to 6-0 with the victory, while the Longhorns dropped to 2-3 on the season.
Wilson, who finished the game 12-of-18 from the floor, delivered on the offensive end all night and tallied nine points in the fourth quarter to deny any chance of a Texas comeback. After the Longhorns cut the Gamecock lead to 57-53, Wilson again provided a response with a minute gone in the final period. Her rebound off a missed shot by Carolina senior center Alaina Coates led to a crucial 3-point play after she converted the put-back while being fouled. The scoring play made it 60-53, and her 10th field goal of the night kept the Gamecocks in front at 62-57 with 6:43 left to play. Wilson continued to score at will down the stretch, and another put-back basket extended the lead to 68-61 and put the junior over the 30-point mark in a game for the first time in her career.
With Texas still in striking range, Wilson made her presence felt on the defensive end with a block on a Longhorn layup attempt with just over three minutes to play. A layup and two free throws from Carolina freshman guard Tyasha Harris made it 72-63 and officially put the game out of reach. Coates also played big down the stretch, coming down with five rebounds over the final 10 minutes. She finished with seven boards, and her sixth rebound of the night gave her 1,000 for her career.
Paced by Wilson, the Gamecocks shook off a slow start and cut the Texas lead to just one midway through the first quarter. The Hopkins, S.C., native opened the scoring for Carolina with a jumper in the paint, and she converted a 3-point play after receiving an entry pass from junior guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore to make it 9-8 Texas with 4:20 left in the period. The teams traded baskets over the next minute, and the Gamecocks responded to another Texas field goal with back-to-back buckets from Wilson to even the score at 14. The forward knocked down a jumper from the left side before another nice pass from Cuevas-Moore led to a layup in transition by the junior. Wilson tallied 10 first-quarter points, and Carolina headed to the first break trailing 16-14 after Texas guard Lashann Higgs connected on a jumper at the buzzer.
Four-straight points from Cuevas-Moore helped the Gamecocks even the score at 18 early in the second quarter, and another jumper by Wilson gave Carolina its first lead of the night at 20-18. The Longhorns answered back with a 7-1 run to make it 25-21 before Carolina freshman forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan's put-back basket and two free throws from Wilson again pulled the Gamecocks even. Wilson's stellar first half continued with key plays on both ends of the court. She knocked down a jumper falling away to give Carolina a 29-27 lead, and her steal down low 36 seconds later led to two free throws by Harris after she was fouled going the other way. The two points from the line made it 33-27, and Carolina took a 33-30 advantage into the locker room. Wilson and Cuevas-Moore accounted for 25 points in the opening half for the Gamecocks, who closed the second period on a 12-5 run.
Gamecock junior guard Kaela Davis provided the scoring out of the break with a pair of 3-pointers during a back-and-forth pace in the early stages of the third quarter. Her first field goal from beyond the arc put Carolina in front 37-34, and another 3-pointer made it 40-35 with just under six minutes left in the period. The Longhorns and Gamecocks continued to trade baskets, and Texas responded to another Wilson layup with a bucket down low by center Kelsey Lang to even the score at 44. Carolina junior guard Allisha Gray's layup gave the Gamecocks a 49-47 lead, and free throw shooting dictated the remainder of the quarter. Two free throws from Harris pushed the advantage to 51-47, and Coates knocked down a pair from the line to make it 53-47 after the Longhorns missed two shots from the charity stripe on the other end. Coates returned to the line with less than a second left in the quarter after grabbing a rebound and forcing a foul on her jump shot attempt. She knocked down both free throw shots to give Carolina a 55-49 cushion heading into the last period.
Davis totaled 12 points and Harris chipped in 10 to join Wilson in double figures. Carolina shot 42.3 percent for the game and held a 34-30 advantage in points in the paint. The Gamecocks finished the contest with 30 made free throws and score 14 points off 17 Texas turnovers.
GAMECHANGER
Junior forward A'ja Wilson's put-back basket with 4:41 left in the game pushed Carolina's lead to 68-61, and the Longhorns did not get any closer the rest of the way. Wilson finished the night with a team-best five offensive rebounds.
KEY STAT
The Gamecocks again made a point to get to the free throw line. Carolina shot 30-of-40 from the line, attempting at least 30 free throw attempts for the fourth time this season.
NOTABLES
Junior forward A'ja Wilson's performance marked the second time a Gamecock totaled 30 or more points this season. Junior guard Kaela Davis tallied 37 points in Carolina's 92-80 season-opening win over No. 7/6 Ohio State.
Wilson's 12 rebounds Thursday were a season high, and her effort against the Longhorns gave the junior her 20th career double-double.
Senior center Alaina Coates is the third Gamecock to total 1,000 rebounds for her career. All seven of her rebounds against Texas came in the second half.
With 10 points, guard Tyasha Harris became the second Carolina freshman to reach double figures in a game this season. Freshman forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan has totaled at least 10 points twice this year.
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks are back in action this weekend on Sun., Dec. 4, when they battle Duke on the road at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. The contest tips off at 2 p.m. ET, and it can be seen on ACC Network Extra through an online stream.Terahertz rays — radiation between microwaves and infrared rays on the electromagnetic spectrum — are a promising means of detecting explosives, but they’ve proven hard to generate cost effectively. So far, solid-state lasers — the cheap, miniature type of laser found in CD players — have been unable to produce terahertz rays unless they’re supercooled, which makes them impractical for mass deployment.
Some researchers had even begun to suspect that a room-temperature, solid-state terahertz laser was physically impossible. The performance of experimental terahertz lasers built in the lab has suggested a linear correlation between operating temperature and frequency, in which halving the frequency requires roughly halving the temperature. This led some scientists to speculate that frequency and temperature are linked by some fundamental physical law, a strict proportionality that couldn’t be violated.
That hypothesis, however, turns out to be wrong. In the latest issue of the journal Nature Physics, a group of researchers at MIT and Sandia National Laboratories report a solid-state terahertz laser that operates at nearly twice the temperature that that putative proportionality would have predicted. That temperature is still too low to be practical for airport scanners or devices in a bomb squad’s tool kit, but it suggests that the quest for room-temperature terahertz lasers shouldn’t be called off just yet.
“There are many naysayers saying that they can never be made operational at room temperature.” says Qing Hu, “We break this psychological, empirical barrier by a factor of two. No one will say that it’s a barrier anymore.”
Energy gap
Solid-state lasers are made from semiconductors, materials such as gallium arsenide that can act as either conductors or insulators. Applying a voltage to the semiconductor causes its electrons to jump into a higher-energy state, and when the electrons fall back into their original state, they release their excess energy as photons, or particles of light.
At low frequencies, however, the gaps between an electron’s energy states become smaller, which makes it harder to coax electrons into exactly the right state for photon emission. Lower temperatures, in turn, allow for more precise control of the electrons’ energy levels.
“In physics, there’s a standard way of thinking, that temperature equals energy, and if you want to go to smaller energies, and see quantum effects, you better go to smaller temperatures,” says Benjamin Williams, director of UCLA’s Terahertz Devices and Intersubband Nanostructures Laboratory, who wasn’t involved in the research. “And that’s the type of thinking that informs this idea about this limit.”
To address the problem of shrinking gaps between energy states at low frequencies, Hu, together with Sushil Kumar, a postdoc in his lab, Ivan Chan, a graduate student in the lab, and Sandia’s John Reno built a laser in which the applied voltage causes electrons to jump into an even higher-energy state than usual. Through a phenomenon called “scattering,” the electrons then release some of that energy as physical vibration rather than as light. They remain in an excited state, however, and release most of their remaining energy as photons.
The new laser is built from the same materials used in existing terahertz lasers, gallium arsenide and aluminum gallium arsenide, which are deposited in alternating layers. Each loss of energy occurs in a different layer, and the thickness of the layer determines how much energy the electron loses.
Intents and practices
“This design technique circumvents one of the problems that have been limiting the temperature,” Williams says. “Going to this new design path may give lots of benefits that will take us higher and higher in temperature. Does this result say that we’re right around the corner from getting to room temperature? Probably not. But it points a possible path, and it raises a lot of hope.”
A decade ago, it was widely believed that terahertz rays could provide a safer, more useful replacement for X-rays during airport security screening: Not only can they penetrate clothing, but, unlike X-rays, they also interact with a wide range of chemical compounds in distinctive and detectable ways. Hu says, however, that the frequencies of terahertz rays that are good for identifying chemicals can’t penetrate materials even as thick as a suitcase wall, and they don’t reflect well off of human flesh, so even after penetrating clothing, they might never reach a detector. They could, however, detect traces of explosives — a few molecules of a chemical wafting from a shoe bomb, for instance, or clinging to the side of an abandoned vehicle — with extraordinary sensitivity. Hu believes that, when room-temperature terahertz lasers are ultimately developed, they will thus be used in conjunction with other existing and emerging technologies. “There is no single silver bullet,” he says. “There have to be as many modalities as possible to cross-correlate, in order to increase sensitivity and, more importantly, to reduce false alarms.”© Reuters. Bitcoin Prices Extend Breathtaking Rally Above $20,000
Investing.com - The price of the digital currency Bitcoin soared to another record high on Sunday, zooming above the $20,000-level, despite worries about a dangerous bubble and questions about the cryptocurrency's real value.
, which trades 24 hours a day and seven days a week, climbed as high as $20,029 on the China-based OKCoin exchange, the most in its nine-year history.
That said, there are often significant price differentials on different bitcoin exchanges, but most showed the cryptocurrency well above the $19,000-mark and flirting with the $20K-level.
At current prices, Bitcoin has a total market capitalization of around $330 billion.
Bitcoin investors expect futures volumes to perk up when CME Group (NASDAQ: ), the world's largest derivatives exchange operator, launches its own contract to wager on the cryptocurrency.
The second U.S. bitcoin futures launch is seen as another step towards big institutional investors warming up to a volatile asset that had until recently been accessible only via largely unregulated markets.
Last week, the Chicago-based CBOE Global Markets was the first to launch trading in futures of the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin, which started 2017 at about $1,000, has risen almost 2,000% so far this year, prompting analysts to warn of a growing asset bubble.
Besides Bitcoin, there are that have enjoyed a remarkable run-up in prices so far this year, such as,,,, and.The Time Weaver Chapter 1 - Once Upon a Time
Krycin and Merek stood atop the battlements, surveying the land before them. The smell of death hung in the air. Rank upon rank of the Dark Lord's vicious army waited outside the city walls. They wore black armor, and were equipped with an array of spears, swords, and pole-arms. Each soldier carried a shield with the Dark Lord's symbol emblazoned on it in red: a lily with a snake wrapped around the stem. Shouts from soldiers stationed on the city walls rose up to their heights but became mere background noise as they mingled and lost all definition. Buildings set ablaze by the Dark Lord's wizards billowed with smoke, filling the air with ash and the acrid taste of burnt wood. Constructed of dense gray granite, the castle held firm against any magic cast at it. "So this is it then, our last stand," Merek said, turning to Krycin. His ancient face was lined with concern.
"It was good knowing you old friend," Krycin said. He looked as if he faced the gallows, but Merek sensed something more in his voice. He wasn't ready to give up just yet.
The Dark Lord Gladius paraded in front of his army on a giant black war horse. His battle cries goaded his troops into a frenzy. Their shouts and howls reverberated off the stone walls and shook the Findoor people to the bone. Krycin took a step toward the front of the battlements and paused, as though he might jump. Merek approached him and asked, "You're not going to do anything stupid are you?"
A glimmer danced in Krycin's eyes, a light in the darkness that surrounded them, and he smiled. "You know me..."
"That's what I'm afraid of." The old wizard watched Krycin take one final step to the edge of the wall and hesitate. Clothed in loose-fitting black pants and an off-white tunic, Krycin looked more like a commoner than a powerful wizard or warrior. Tilting his head to the sky, he inhaled a deep breath and held it for a long moment before letting it go.
Merek watched his friend at the edge of the wall. "Come, Krycin, let's convene with the commanders and come up with a plan. Gladius has us outnumbered and cornered, but we aren't beaten just yet." Merek's gray robes fluttered in a light breeze. A deep hood covered most of his silver hair, and the sleeves extended to the middle of his hands. Every edge of his robe was embroidered with a gold trim that gleamed in even the dimmest light.
"I'm afraid that for the first time since I've known you," Krycin said, turning to face Merek, "you might be wrong. When Gladius took our King, he took our heart and soul. The soldiers fight with little spirit, and our resources are dwindling fast. With all supply shipments cut off, we must act now, or there will be nothing left to save."
Krycin's words stung in the old wizard's ears. "You know you can't face Gladius alone," Merek said. He took a step closer to Krycin, raising his voice, "He's already taken so many of your kind. What makes you think that you will fare any better? Give us just a little more time, and we will find a way to destroy him and his army."
"Time? What would ever make you think that we had any more time? When Gladius marched from the Badlands with his army, then we had time. When he traveled across the Losteron Plains, then we had time. We had time when he killed our King, and when he destroyed so many of my people. But now? Now we don't have time." His voice grew in volume with each sentence, and by the time he finished all the commanders could hear the exchange between the two men.
Merek opened his mouth to provide a rebuttal, but before he could, Krycin turned and stepped off the edge of the battlements. He drifted down like a feather, the magical power of air keeping him from falling to his death. Dust stirred into small clouds around him as he landed just outside the castle walls. With the city between himself and Gladius, he took off running. A few quick strides later he was lost among the buildings that surrounded the castle.
Shaking his head at the display, Merek shouted orders to provide cover fire for Krycin. A small contingent of archers and shield bearers marched out onto the city walls to stave off enemy troops and provide an opening when Krycin emerged.
Krycin thundered through the city, moving past buildings so fast he couldn't tell a tavern from a smithy. The smell of burnt wood strengthened as he approached the city walls where some buildings still burned. Despite the continued onslaught of enemies, the front gates, reinforced by the power of earth, held fast.
As he made his approach, Krycin lifted his hand and summoned the power of time and space. He charged at the front gate at top speed, but the gate showed no sign of opening. Krycin continued on without a worry. Just before he struck the solid wood obstruction, he let loose the magical energy he had summoned, and disappeared, reappearing on the other side of the gate.
Scanning the battle field, Krycin spotted Gladius. He held his hand out to the side, as if holding a weapon, and summoned the powers of light and life. A sword of pure light materialized in his hand. The sword shone so bright that those looking on shielded their eyes to avoid being blinded. From the hilt of the sword, streamers of light spread up his arm and over his body. As the light encased him, it solidified into crystal creating a complete suit of armor around him. Krycin let out a battle cry and ran toward Gladius, who ignored the blinding light of his sword.
Gladius dismounted his warhorse and readied his own weapon, a sword forged of black steel that erupted into flames the moment it was drawn. The air around Gladius wavered in the heat, the interlocking plates of his black armor making him look more like a construct than a man. In his off-hand he held a large black shield that matched those of his army. Krycin saw his eyes glowing red with magic but did not stop his advance.
An instant after both men drew their weapons, they clashed together in an explosion of power. Their swords collided, raining sparks down onto the field. The blades sang as they separated and Krycin drew his sword back to swing again. His second attack connected with Gladius's shield, leaving a giant gash through the center of the emblem.
Gladius returned the attack and shoved Krycin back. With all his might, he swung the blazing sword in an overhead stroke. It crashed down on Krycin, who wielded no shield. Calling upon the power of time and space again, Krycin blinked out of existence and reappeared behind Gladius. The blade continued through empty air, causing Gladius to stumble forward. Catching himself with one foot, he used the momentum to swing his sword around the other way in a spin that would have impressed even the most seasoned gladiator.
The move caught Krycin off his guard, leaving him flat-footed to bear the full force of the attack. The black sword roared through the air and struck his left shoulder. The crystal plates gave out and shattered, allowing the sword to bite into his flesh. It seared through muscle and tendons, stopping when it struck bone. Krycin cried out, but choked back the pain and lashed upward with his sword. Having Gladius's weapon mired in his shoulder gave him the advantage he needed. His sword flashed up in an arc and caught Gladius's left arm as he tried to steady himself. The pure light of the sword penetrated his armor and separated his arm from his body at the elbow. The black shield pulled the severed arm to the ground with an ominous thud.
Gladius howled with rage and struggled to free his sword from Krycin's shoulder. "You've already lost," Gladius said as he heaved at the blade, pulling Krycin with it. "Even if you kill me, my army will wash over this land and annihilate your people. All of Galadir will tremble at their might."
Krycin dropped his sword and reached up to grab the black sword that sizzled and smoked, still cooking his flesh. The pain was almost unbearable, but he gained a good grip on the blade and looked into Gladius's eyes. Through clenched teeth he said, "What makes you think I'm going to kill you?"
A look of confusion washed over Gladius's face, and changed to terror as Krycin called upon the power of his people, the element of time and space. He drew the energy not from the world around him, but from Gladius, using the sword as a conduit. A torrent of magical energy poured from Gladius, robbing him of his strength and of all the power taken from Krycin's people. As Krycin harnessed it, his eyes blazed with inner light and the black sword glowed white-hot, fusing it with both men's armor. With a semi-permanent connection made between them, Gladius became the broken levy holding back the ocean. The magic flowed through him, and Krycin received the flood.
No matter how Gladius tried, he couldn't remove his hand from the sword. Smoke rose from his eyes, nose and mouth as the flow of magic heated his body, cooking him from the inside out. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as his super-heated armor blistered and charred his skin. Still he screamed with an inhuman strength, dropping to his knees.
The flow of energy stopped and a hush fell over the battlefield. Krycin stood like a beacon, his entire body blazing with light, and stared down at his opponent. Gladius met Krycin's gaze, his eyes filled with hatred. A light breeze blew, cooling the surface of his armor. Krycin spoke, his voice strong and clear, "Goodbye Gladius."
Merek watched as Krycin's body erupted like a volcano, unleashing a wave of energy over the entire battlefield. Most of Gladius's army was caught in the white dome, but those unlucky enough to be near the edges were disintegrated, their bodies dissolving into dust. A shock wave traveled out from the energy curtain that knocked any remaining troops off their feet and shook the castle walls. Merek held the edge of the wall to remain on his feet. The energy bubble extended out from Krycin and spared nobody in its path. Panicked troops made feeble attempts to run, but only the farthest troops stood a chance of avoiding it. Merek could see nothing inside the crackling shell until it stopped growing.
For the seconds it remained, vague shadows moved around inside it. Merek could hear his own heart beat, then it wavered and shrank down to where Krycin had stood and dispersed. All that remained on the battlefield were a few scattered soldiers scrambling for their lives, and empty grass where the black mass of the army had stood.
The land remained quiet only for a moment, both sides staring in disbelief at what they had just seen. Merek broke the silence and shouted out to the remaining Findoor troops, "Attack! Purge this land of their filth. Every one of them."
"And so, flags were raised for archers and infantry, and the front gates of the city were opened. The Findoor army swept the land and chased the remains of the Dark Lord's army back to the eastern Badlands from which they came.
"Merek ruled the Kingdom until the young prince came of age, and peace settled over the land. A peace that saw the Kingdom of Findoor thrive and grow into the greatest Kingdom Galadir had ever known."
Five-year-old Seth frowned and looked up into his father's eyes. "And what about Krycin? What happened to Krycin?"
"Neither Krycin, nor Gladius were ever seen or heard from again," Seth's father said, closing the cover of the old leather-bound book. "It's time for bed now."
Seth frowned and squirmed on his bed. "Aww, but Dad! Are you sure there isn't just one more story there? Krycin can't be gone." His eyes lit up at the prospect, but his father shook his head, dashing his hopes.
"That's all there is. Tomorrow we'll go out to the library and pick out a new book to read, okay?" He smiled at his son and tousled his hair.
"Tomorrow? But you'll work late again. And if you work late," Seth said, his lips curling into a pout, "we won't have time to go to the library, and then we won't have anything to read before bed."
"I know Seth, and I won't work late. I'll get home just in time, you'll see. Get some rest." He tucked Seth in and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight buddy."
"G'night Daddy." Seth sighed and nestled down into his blankets, ready to give sleep a go despite his racing thoughts.
Seth's eyes opened but he saw nothing. His room was dark, but a nagging feeling just below his belly told him that morning or not, he had to get up to pee or he would wet the bed. Not keen on the prospect of wet sheets and jammies, he pulled himself up and climbed down out of the large single bed. A faint line of light under his door showed him the way out of his room. He squinted in the bright hallway, the light blinding him until his eyes adjusted. When he could see again, he heard voices at the other end of the hall and forgot about his mission. His parents were having some kind of conversation and his mother's voice was getting loud. He walked down the hallway toward the kitchen, passing by the bathroom door as he went. Why is Mommy yelling, he thought as he walked, Mommy never yells.
When he was around the corner from the kitchen, he was able to make out the words and what he heard made him freeze in his tracks. "Why does it have to be tonight?" his mother shouted at his father.
"I've been discovered. It's not safe for me to stay here. You knew this day would come," Seth's father said in a very matter-of-fact way.
"That doesn't make it easier, and you know it."
"Five years ago, when we came here, we discussed this, and I told you then that this was only temporary. I can't let him find you, and he's so close."
"I just wish there was another way, I don't think I can do this without you." She was crying now and Seth could hear her sobs. It pulled at his heart and made him want to cry as well.
"If he comes, use the book, and utterly destroy him. Come now, I have precious little time to waste." Footsteps approached the kitchen door where Seth stood off to the left, and then his father appeared before him. "Seth, what are you doing out of bed?"
Seth thought for a second, then remembered, "Oh! I have to pee!" He turned and ran back down the hall to the bathroom door. When he finished, his father took him back to bed and tucked him in, kissed him goodnight, and then left the room, closing his door behind him. As Seth drifted off to sleep, the last remnants of his parent's argument escaped his memory.Makepeace Island, Virgin tycoon Richard Branson's getaway off the Sunshine Coast, has now been opened to the luxury resort hire market.
It costs $7,900 a night for a party of eight guests and up to $16,890 a night in peak season for up to 22 guests. It’s a bit cheaper than Branson’s Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, which costs $US53,000 ($A49,380) per night to hire.
Once a muddy patch of land floating on the Noosa River, the 9.2-hectare heart-shaped island has been transformed into an ultra-luxurious Balinese-style retreat with 11 bedrooms.
Sir Richard, along with Virgin Blue executives Brett Godfrey and former colleague Rob Sherrard, bought it for $2.86 million in 2007.
On its purchase Sir Richard said he had purchased it as a present to his employees.
"It's incredible when you think of the achievement that all of the staff have done down here. Airfares have halved and hundreds and thousands of more people are travelling," he said.
"None of that could have been possible had it not been for our magnificent staff.
"As a thank you, we have bought a beautiful island off Noosa for the staff to use with their friends to come and party," Sir Richard said.
But the initial plans to develop it as a luxury staff resort failed to gain Noosa Council approval. In 2008 work finally began to renovate the old timber cottage on Noosa's only privately owned island.
The subtropical island, six kilometres upstream from the coast, originally featured a classic 1911 Queenslander residence with corrugated iron roof dating back to the days when the island was known as Pig Island |
a 6/1 Runehammer can smash down a Sandstorm Titan. Starsteel Diasho is your primary weapon finisher, using its double attack to get extra value out of every buff you put on it. Finally, Stonescar Maul is an insurance policy, killing large units even when unbuffed and using overwhelm to push the last points of damage through when the board is not clear.
Icaria, the Liberator: The combination of Rise and Icaria has proved strong enough to spill over into multiple other decks. Icaria is one of the strongest finishers in the game, between her fifteen keywords and Warcry 5 making whatever’s on top of your deck enormous. I’m also contractually obliged to inform you that she, and not Siraf, is Best Girl. Some decks simply have no answer to Icaria and those that do generally can’t beat whatever her Warcry hit.
Smuggler’s Stash: The most soulcrushing payoff card to face, Smuggler’s Stash lets you bring back your buffed weapons for a second round. Because it lets you pick the best four cards out of your void, Smuggler’s Stash is actually more powerful than a 5 power draw 4. Strong enough to be worth splashing a whole faction for.
Means
Seek Power: At the end of the day, Armory is a three color deck with heavy influence requirements. Most of your weapons need FF, JJ, or both to function. Icaria needs FFFJJJ and Quarry means you want early Shadow influence. Seek Power helps solve all these problems at once while also keeping Armory’s effective power count high.
Torch: Some players have been on the anti-torch train in recent times, but there’s no better one power removal spell. It kills what you need to kill and even goes face when its your opponent you need to kill.
Quarry: Quarry is an extremely powerful effect for this deck, as Armory can effectively use all the parts of it. The cost reduction is extremely valuable as Armory plays a number of expensive cards, and anything that goes to the void can be brought back with Smuggler’s Stash. It digs for enablers and power in the early game or buffed weapons and removal in the late game. Not a card worth splashing a whole faction for, but a powerful one if you’re already in those colors.
Vanquish: Small units get chopped down by relic weapons or burned out by torch. For everything large, there’s Vanquish.
Harsh Rule: “In general, the strategy of any Armory deck is to keep your opponent’s board clear.” Few cards clear a board like Harsh Rule. Armory’s general indifference towards the survival of its units allows it to make excellent use of this card, wiping away opposing threats and bashing through for (hopefully lethal) damage.
Tech Cards
Furnace Mage: This particular build of Armory is light on tech cards, choosing to include only a single Furnace Mage. A silver bullet that can be grabbed by Rise, Furnace Mage breaks everything from opposing Relic Weapons to Permafrost to Deepforged Plate to Xenan Obelisk.
The Importance of Roles
Understanding the different roles that cards play in a deck is critical to understand both the decks strategy and its construction. These roles are valuable in determining how a deck plays, how to tweak it, and how to build whole new decks. When modifying decks, it’s critical to understand what cards are core to the strategy and which merely flesh it out. Removing cards that are core to the strategy can change the strategy or simply cripple it. Modifying payoff cards will often change the strategy of the deck, as you’re now building towards a different gameplan.
When building decks, its important to think about what role each card plays in a deck. In a synergistic deck like Armory, many cards play multiple roles. While this is useful, its merely one way to build a deck – a highly focused gameplan or a loose, flexible one can also work. However, you need to make sure that every card in the deck fits into one of these roles and builds towards your core strategy – if it doesn’t, that card probably doesn’t belong. An exception is when you’re intentionally diluting your deck with a backup strategy that wins in a different way. While this can be powerful, be very careful when employing this strategy. The card you’re including had best win the game on its own or serve some role towards the core strategy, otherwise the card likely requires too much support to be worth it.
Closing Thoughts: Tech Cards for Armory
Thanks for reading everyone! I know this article has been a long time coming, and I thank you for your patience. In my next column, we’ll use everything we discussed in this and previous articles to start looking at the deckbuilding process itself.
The Armory list we examined today is pretty focused and light on tech cards. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t leave you with at least a few choices to mull over. Copperhall Baliff is a good way to reduce your weakness to go wide strategies and rush decks. Valkyrie Enforcer provides some much-needed Silence. Statuary Maiden is your best bet against void recursion, I don’t think Steward of the Past is particularly splashable anymore. Obliterate is strong in the mirror, handles most midsized units, and closes out games. For the ambitious, Runic Revolver looks terrible but is extremely strong with attack buffs. If your curve feels small Sword of the Sky King is the biggest, most legendary weapon around (but it’s not usually necessary). Finally, if you really want to grind, Treasury Gate can provide some extra value with every weapon played. Hone is theoretically good but in practice has never been good for me. Maybe you can make it work?
Share this: Twitter
FacebookDuring his presidential campaign, 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 vowed to bring prosperity and safety back to America’s inner city communities. The media and political elites largely reacted by rolling their eyes and calling Trump a “racist” — God forbid a white, billionaire businessman even utter the words “inner city,” let alone claim that he has solutions to help the people who live in them.
ADVERTISEMENT
Yet the very pundits, analysts, and political experts who are quick to write off and label Trump still haven’t figured out why so many normal Americans have enthusiastically embraced our new president. No, the 66 million Americans who voted for Trump are not immigrant-hating white supremacists; they support Trump because he is a man of action who promises practical solutions to fix real problems, and then follows through on those promises.
And just as Trump delivered on his vows to withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, temporarily block immigration from jihadist conflict zones, and choose a constitutionalist conservative for the Supreme Court, lifting up the inner cities will be no exception.
In August on the campaign trail, Trump boldly pitched himself to urban black voters in Michigan. “You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed — what the hell do you have to lose?” Trump asked. The media, along with the nation’s leading Democrats, reacted with disgust.
Trump’s words may have sounded harsh, but they were true — and it’s about time a politician acknowledge the issues facing inner cities. The first step to solving a problem is to honestly identify the problem.
Through policies promoting job growth, law and order, and school choice, the Trump Administration will bring safety and prosperity to urban minority communities:
Job Growth
Non-white urban residents are disproportionately stricken by poverty and economic inequality. An alarming 38 percent of black children live in poverty — a significantly higher rate than that of all children in America. The black unemployment rate is twice as high as the rate for whites — and that doesn’t even take into account the workforce participation rate.
Pro-business policies that encourage corporations to grow operations here in the U.S. will create opportunities for workers in urban areas. Trump has promised to lower corporate taxes from 35 percent to 15 percent and implement tax holidays for inner city investment. And earlier this week he signed an executive order aimed at “cutting regulations massively for small business,” which requires government agencies to cut two regulations for every new one implemented.
Reducing burdensome taxation and regulation will allow corporations to flourish and, as a result, hire new employees.
Law and Order
Over the past several years, crime and gang violence has increasingly plagued urban areas. In January 2017 alone, 300 people were shot and 50 were killed in Chicago, a city whose majority population is non-white. In 2016, more than 2,200 people were shot in Chicago, 21 of them kids 13 and under.
Last year was Baltimore’s second-deadliest year on record; the town once called “Charm City” suffered 318 murders, mostly a result of gang warfare. Trump has zero tolerance for this carnage; he’s even threatened to “send in the feds” to Chicago if the city’s homicide rate doesn’t come down. His Administration will additionally empower law enforcement and promised to invest in training for operations to remove gang members, drug dealers, and cartels from neighborhoods.
A “no tolerance” stance towards gang violence and crime, coupled with the smart allocation of resources, will make our city communities safer for families and children.
School Choice
Stagnant public city schools are failing minority students – in urban districts across the nation, student performance is flat and minority students face major academic inequalities. The high school graduation rate among black students is significantly lower than that of white students, and that gap is only growing.
Minority students deserve access to better education, and increasing the number of urban charter schools may be the answer. New York City is already seeing positive results: During 2014, only 29 percent of students at public schools passed the state reading tests, while 64 percent of students at Success Academy — a large charter — passed the same tests.
When it came to state math tests, 35 percent of students at public schools passed compared to 94 percent of the students at Success. Amazingly, charter schools receive an average of $3,814 less in federal funding per student than public schools.
Former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaWith low birth rate, America needs future migrants 4 ways Hillary looms over the 2020 race Obama goes viral after sporting black bomber jacket with '44' on sleeve at basketball game MORE and other Democrats, who claim to be champions of the public school system, push for policies that deprive minority communities of school choice while sending their own children to private schools in limos. The days of forcing inner city youths into failing public schools are over: Trump has promised to expand school choice and “allow every disadvantaged child in America to attend the public, private, charter, magnet, religious, or home school of their choice.”
For far too long, Democrats have taken minority votes for granted while failing to offer policies that actually lift those communities up. On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton repeatedly said “words matter.” That’s true — words do matter — but actions matter more, and our inner cities deserve more than just lip service.
Trump has proven to the voters that he is a man of action who follows through on his promises. The nation’s leading journalists and analysts, who still haven’t realized this, are in for a surprise when they witness our cities become safer and more prosperous once again.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’s lawyers are escalating pressure to keep the billionaire’s taped testimony on Trump University private, according to a new report.
Trump’s attorneys argued in a court filing late Wednesday that publicly releasing the videos could impact the White House race, according to Politico.
ADVERTISEMENT
“If made public, these deposition videos will be widely disseminated in the media,” they wrote in a motion filed with U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in San Diego.
“Owing to the danger that a video may create in eliciting bias on the part of its viewer, the Court has a duty to prevent their disclosure because they can taint the jury pool. Undoubtedly, these videos will also be used by the media and others in connection with the presidential campaign.”
Wednesday’s filing lists Trump’s lawyers as Daniel M. Petrocelli, David Kirman and Jill Martin. Petrocelli and Kirman represent the O’Melveny & Myers law firm, while Martin is an in-house Trump lawyer.
Trump’s legal team said media scrutiny over the businessman’s Oval Office bid could undermine his odds for a fair trial.
“The need to prevent such ‘sensationalism’ is particularly acute here because of Mr. Trump’s unique circumstances in running for president of the United States,” their filing said.
Politico reported on Thursday that the filing cited multiple examples of courts keeping videotaped depositions involving sitting presidents private.
Examples include Paula Jones’s sexual harassment suit against former President Clinton, it added, and former President Reagan’s role in the criminal prosecution of national security adviser John Poindexter.
“These same cautions and concerns apply with full force here to a presidential candidate whose every move is being covered by the media,” their filing said of Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee.
Curiel is overseeing three lawsuits that allege Trump University defrauded students and saddled them with debt.
Trump has repeatedly touted positive reviews from other participants, saying courts will ultimately vindicate the for-profit real estate program.
He also inspired national outrage late last month for suggesting Curiel’s “Mexican heritage” may make the judge biased against him. Curiel was born in Indiana and is the son of Mexican immigrants.The Denver Broncos’ kicking combo has heard Justin Tucker’s claim that he could hit an 84-yard field goal in perfect conditions at Denver’s home stadium, and the duo wants the Ravens kicker to put up or shut up.
First there was Broncos kicker Brandon McManus, who offered to pay for Tucker’s travel expenses to see the boisterous Ravens kicker do what he says he can. Denver punter Britton Colquitt opted instead to just insult the Pro Bowl kicker.
"I looked at that and I laughed," Colquitt told Altitude Sports 950 AM, via NFL.com. "Let’s start here: Tucker loves Tucker. He loves himself so much, and I take it personally because Morgan Cox is (the Ravens’) long-snapper and he was my long snapper at Tennessee.
Article continues below...
"I also take it personally because I’m a holder. If I was a kicker, the last thing I’m going to do when I make a field is sprint as far away from my holder and snapper, as he loves to do and just does some kind of dance. That drives me crazy."
Colquitt wasn’t finished, wondering how Tucker can’t remember if he did hit it from 85 in practice.
'If the situation is prime then maybe 84.5 yards' @jtuck9 on the longest attempt he would be willing to try https://t.co/hIIMsXtrrp — GMFB (@gmfb) August 4, 2016
"Second of all, you don’t get on the air and say, ‘I think I kicked an 85-yarder that hit the crossbar,’" Colquitt added. "If you hit an 85-yarder and hit the crossbar, you remember. You don’t say, ‘I think.’ I’m pretty sure I remember him missing about 15 from 60."Ticket details have been announced for our Emirates FA Cup third round tie at home to Leicester City on Sunday, January 10, 2016.
Spurs v Leicester City
The Emirates FA Cup third round
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Kick-off 4pm
One Hotspur Platinum and Gold Members registered on the AutoCup Scheme are advised that payment for their ticket for the match against Leicester City will be taken during the afternoon of Friday, December 11.
Tickets will go on sale to One Hotspur Silver Members from 9.30am on Monday, December 14, until 5pm on Tuesday, December 15.
Tickets will then go on sale to all One Hotspur Bronze and Lilywhite Members from 9.30am on Wednesday, December 16.
All remaining tickets will go on general sale (subject to availability) at 9.30am on Monday, December 21.
Prices:
Tickets will be priced at £20 for adults during the season ticket holders’ and members’ sales phases.
All tickets purchased during the general sale phase will be priced at £25 for adults.
Concession tickets will be priced at the below rates throughout:
Over-65s: £10
Under-18s: £5
Family tickets (two adults and two juniors) will be priced at £40 during the members’ priority period and £50 during the general sale phase.
Loyalty Points: 3BlackBerry maker Research in Motion is giving Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis a $12 million going-away present. A company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday revealed Balsillie and Lazaridis will be getting $7.93-million and $3.96-million respectively after resigning as co-CEOs and co-chairs of the Waterloo-based firm.
BlackBerry-maker RIM reveals it paid former CEOs and co-chairs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis a combined $12 million. ( Richard Drew / AP )
Balsillie and Lazaridis stepped down in January, with the company naming Thorsten Heins as its new CEO and Barbara Stymiest as its new chair. Lazaridis remains the company’s vice chairman. Heins was paid roughly $10.2 million in fiscal 2012, including more than $9.5 million in stock-based compensation. In 2011, he got $1.9 million, including $825,000 in stock-based pay. According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the top 100 best paid CEOs in Canada earned an average of $8.38 million in total compensation in 2010, the most recent year for which the CCPA has compiled data. Top of the list was former Magna CEO Frank Stronach, who received a total of $61.8 million.
Article Continued Below
Related: RIM hires law firm for restructuring advice Related:Jim Balsillie’s legacy The company also revealed it will nominate former Goldman Sachs executive Timothy Dattels to the board of directors at its upcoming annual general meeting, which takes place July 10th. Dattels is currently a senior partner at Texas-based TPG Capital, a private equity firm specialized in leveraged buyouts and which invests in distressed companies. That makes him a “solid hire” for RIM’s board, suggested Jefferies and Co. analyst Peter Misek, but doesn’t mean the TPG is looking at buying into the company.
“I think RIM would be a massive challenge for any private equity investment,” said Misek, pointing to Elevation Partners’ massive investment in former tech darling Palm. While Elevation may have in fact ended up making a small amount on its investment, it was only after Hewlett-Packard bought Palm at what most observers believe was a wildly overvalued price. “They almost lost their shirts and were bailed out by a stupid decision by HP. That will scare folks,” said Misek.
Article Continued Below
Activist investor Vic Alboini, whose Jaguar Financial pushed for the departure of Lazaridis and Balsillie, said Dattels alone isn’t enough of a change to RIM’s board. “We were looking for there to be three new directors,” said Alboini, who nonetheless sees value in Dattels’s hiring. “Any change on the board that brings experience from outside Toronto is a good thing. He certainly has the type of experience you want when the company’s undergoing a strategic review,” said Alboini. Dattels would replace Antonio Viana-Baptista, who’s quitting. RIM spokesman Nick Manning said Dattels would not be available for comment. At Goldman Sachs, Dattels was a managing director, and ran the company’s Asian investment banking operations, excluding Japan. He’s currently a senior partner at Texas-based TPG Capital, a private equity firm specialized in leveraged buyouts and which invests in distressed companies. Heins revealed last month that RIM likely had an operating loss in the quarter which ended in May. Quarterly earnings will be revealed June 28th. He also said RIM had hired a pair of investment banks to explore strategic options.Even the most die-hard New Yorker has their gripes with different aspects of city life, and in a new video produced by Wired, two architects share what they would change about NYC. Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects and Vishaan Chakrabarti of Partnership for Architecture and Urbanism (and late of SHoP) revealed what they think are some of the largest problems with New York City's infrastructure, and how they would fix those issues. Some of the big ones: the abundance of cars on city streets (both would outlaw private vehicles), the dearth of larger parks, and the destruction of Penn Station, which Chakrabarti called "the beginning of [New York City's] disinvestment in infrastructure." (He wants to tear down Madison Square Garden, replace it with a better stadium, and rebuild an airier train station that can accommodate Penn's current crush of humanity.) Pasquarelli, meanwhile, lamented the fact that a new bridge hasn't been erected since 1964, calling it "an embarrassment." You can check out the full video below, along with a second one that compares New York City's infrastructure to that of other cities.
· Two Architects Give NYC a Makeover [Wired/The Scene]
Is NYC Really the Greatest City in the World? [Wired/The Scene]
· Vishaan Chakrabarti Exits SHoP Architects to Start New Firm [Curbed]
· All SHoP Architects Coverage [Curbed]In celebration of Imagine FX Magazine‘s 150th issue in July, ArtStation collaborated with them to bring you an awesome 20 page supplement to be included with that week’s issue and is now available for download online for free!
Download PDF
If you’re new to ArtStation or an aspiring artist and not quite sure how to get started, consider this a summary of what you need to know to get the most out of your account and create a portfolio to land you your dream job.
“What I love about ArtStation is the huge number of fantastic artists that showcase their art within its online pages. It’s my first port of call when I’m on the lookout for new talent to feature in Imagine FX.” – Claire Howlett, Editor of Imagine FX
Did you know that as an added Partner Perk, ArtStation Pro members can enjoy content from the world’s best-selling magazine for digital artists and 3D artists with 50% off their subscription to Imagine FX or 3D World? Find out more here.Today's high priests of economic foofoo actively promote a narrative: that our mainstream economic understanding is the culmination of decades of steady improvement and research. Earlier times, particularly the pre-Keynesian times before 1950, are regarded as a dark age of superstition and fallacy.
This is a narrative that seems plausible, because it applies to technology. There's no question that electronics, materials science, manufacturing and so forth have made steady progress, which, over decades, have amounted to almost unbelievable advancements.
However, this narrative does not apply to economic understanding at all. We actually live in a dark age of economic understanding right now -- a time of superstition and fallacy. Most of today's prominent economic ideas are really just warmed-over versions of Mercantilism, the patterns of British economic thinking dating from about 1600 to their culmination in the writings of James Denham Steuart in the 1760s. Adam Smith's great triumph, in the 1770s, was to finally flush away the last vestiges of Mercantilism from British economic debate.
All of today's premier economic policies, notably monetary manipulation and floating fiat currencies, attempts to "manage the economy" via government deficit spending, and the never-ending concern over "imbalances" in trade, are straight-up Mercantilism.
We really won't make much progress in our economic understanding until this is recognized. The entirety of today's Mercantilist agenda should be discarded; first, at an intellectual level, and then at the level of public policy. Britain did this, and went from an economic backwater overshadowed by tiny Holland, to the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and the center of the largest empire of the nineteenth century.
The trend towards Mercantilism was actually led by politicians and governments. In dealing with the Great Depression of the 1930s, they did what governments often do in crisis -- devalued the currency, and spent a lot of money. Not a lot of economic understanding is needed for this. Politicians do this in much the way that dogs bark and fish swim.
Economists were actually late to the party. The significance of Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money of 1936 was not that it showed a new way -- by that time, world governments had been busily implementing Mercantilist policies for over six years. Rather, it showed economists how they could update their blather to the new political realities, so that they could reclaim their prized sinecures as elaborate justifiers for what politicians wanted to do anyway. Keynes' book is essentially unreadable; the title alone tells you where Keynes intended to get his employment from.
Keynes himself understood what he had done. An entire chapter of the General Theory (chapter 23, Notes on Mercantilism...) is dedicated to cheering the return of the Mercantilist agenda.
"[the Mercantilists] were emphatic that an unduly high rate of interest was the main obstacle to the growth of wealth... and several of them made it clear that their preoccupation with increasing the quantity of money was due to their desire to diminish the rate of interest."
Does that sum up the past several years of Bernanke and Quantitative Easing?
Murray Rothbard wrote extensively and wonderfully on this topic, especially in his fantastic book Economic Thought Before Adam Smith. This used to be a little-known text buried in university libraries, but it is now available for free in eBook form from mises.org.
One of Rothbard's points is that Mercantilism reflected big government; the Classical or "laissez-faire" view reflected small government. Today's Mercantilism is a reflection of the expansion of the U.S. government, from 7% of GDP in 1900 to about 40% today. This brief excerpt is also from mises.org:
"As the economic aspect of state absolutism, mercantilism was of necessity a system of state-building, of big government, of heavy royal expenditure, of high taxes, of (especially after the late 17th century) inflation and deficit finance, of war, imperialism, and the aggrandizing of the nation-state. In short, a politicoeconomic system very like that of the present day."
That sounds a little familiar...
Here's Rothbard, talking about Mercantilism in 1963:
"Mercantilism has had a 'good press' in recent decades, in contrast to 19th-century opinion. In the days of Adam Smith and the classical economists, mercantilism was properly regarded as a blend of economic fallacy and state creation of special privilege. But in our century, the general view of mercantilism has changed drastically. Keynesians hail mercantilists as prefiguring their own economic insights; Marxists, constitutionally unable to distinguish between free enterprise and special privilege, hail mercantilism as a "progressive" step in the historical development of capitalism; socialists and interventionists salute mercantilism as anticipating modern state building and central planning. Mercantilism, which reached its height in the Europe of the 17th and 18th centuries, was a system of statism which employed economic fallacy to build up a structure of imperial state power, as well as special subsidy and monopolistic privilege to individuals or groups favored by the state."
It appears to me that we are in a crisis period, which may last until 2020 or so. This crisis era should clear out the old forms and allow for the creation of new forms. It is too early to do much now. Rather, today is a time to get things clear, in your head, about what the next era should look like.
The crisis of the Great Depression and World War II resulted in the transition from small government to big government worldwide. The transition from Classical to Mercantilist economic thinking was just one aspect of this.
Ideally, the next era will be a time of smaller government and a return to Classical economic understanding -- what I call 21st Century Capitalism. Abandoning contemporary Mercantilism, in all its forms, is one step on that path.Real Housewives Star Peter Thomas Sued For $225K!
Peter Thomas always seems to be in trouble!
According to legal docs, a man named Brandon Link is suing Peter for $225k in damages for his alleged role in a February 2016 bar fight. Mr. Link is the same guy who tried to pursue criminal charges against Thomas, a move that was shot down by a district attorney after they reviewed surveillance footage from the brawl.
Related: Cynthia Says She’s Not Attracted To Peter!
Similarly to most fights, Link and the reality star have varying accounts of what happened that night. While Brandon claims Peter verbally and physically assaulted him at Sports One Charlotte (P.T. owns the joint), footage shows B.L. acted aggressively and subsequently suffered a concussion after slipping on some ice outside.
Now Brandon is going on to claim that the famous husband doctored the surveillance tape to sway the case. It will be interesting to see if this theory holds up in court.
This is just one of the many blows Peter has suffered as of late — from divorce rumors to cheating allegations, it hasn’t been a good few years for the bar owner.
So, whose side are YOU on?
[Image via Bravo.]3 minutes
Life is too short and none of us want to waste our little time fighting with our loved ones. But, it is normal that we often get in conflicts with the ones we love the most. We don’t go fighting with strangers walking around the street. Do we?
If you ask me, conflicts occur when a person’s thoughts do not match with others or have different opinions on a particular matter. It is not always necessary that conflicts happen in major discussions, but it normally occurs in casual and small matters.
Sara and Rehman were a newly married couple. Although, it was an arranged marriage they had accepted each other quite well. However, it was not easy for them to agree on each of other’s opinion. Every effort they made to understand each other better would end up in a conflict of thoughts. Sara wanted to find a solution for this problem and here are some simple hacks I suggested:
7 Simple Ways to Resolve Conflicts in Personal Life:
1. Keep patience
Conflicts are very normal human instincts. Losing your cool over them will only worsen the situation. Keep yourself calm and focus on solving the differences. Remember: the person with whom you are fighting is your own self.
2. Be brave enough to confront
Confront the issues, bring a solution and move on in the right spirit. Deal with the issues rather running away from it. Don’t hold back the negativity, it will only burden you.
3. Forgive and let go
It’s human to make mistakes. Learn to forgive rather than holding grudges against each other. Reacting to our anger, our mind stops functioning and we give up to our temper.
4. Communication
Talking it out helps! Many misunderstandings are can come to an end through a proper and open discussion.
5. Self-introspection
Never blame, criticize or complain about your partner no matter what the problem is. Before you blame that person, keep a check on yourself. It completely depends on you, if you want to put an end to it or let it continue. Ask yourself how you went wrong and work on solving it.
6. Clear expectations
Don’t have many expectations from your partner, but try to understand what he or she expects from you.
7. Adjust and understand
It is not practical that everyone will agree on each and every opinion you have. So learn to adjust and understand others’ perspective. It’s completely okay to have different opinions on different topics.
Its been 6 months since Sara came to me with her problem and today, after following these simple hacks in her life, Sara is happy. Rehman and Sara have been with each other ever since and have learnt to be comfortable with each other’s opinions. More importantly they have learnt to accept each other’s differences. This makes them a happy couple.
It’s all in our mind and how we perceive a particular situation. It becomes important to put yourself in other person’s shoes before jumping to conclusions and this can not only avoid conflicts but also broaden your mindset.2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Grateful Dead and the band’s surviving members plan to mark the occasion by reuniting for a trio of shows at Chicago’s Soldier Field in July.
Taking place July 3rd – 5th, the shows will come nearly 20 years to the date of the band’s final performance with late singer Jerry Garcia, which also occurred at Soldier Field. In place of Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann have enlisted Phish frontman Trey Anastasio to lead the band. They’ll also be accompanied on piano by Bruce Hornsby.
(Read: Taping the Dead: The Origins of Live Recording Legend David Lemieux)
The Dead reportedly had several other opportunities on the table, including a $3 million offer from Bonnaroo to headline this year’s festival, but ultimately opted for the Chicago shows. The band says it’s unlikely they’ll embark on a tour: According to Weir, “These will be the last shows with the four of us together.”
A fan-club ticket pre-sale will take place February 12th and 13th with a public on-sale following on the 14th.
Below, watch footage of Grateful Dead performing at Soldier Field in 1995.The returning Jupp Heynckes has breathed new life into Bayern, but with their rivals spluttering, it is hard to judge by exactly how much
When Jupp Heynckes agreed to retake the position of head coach at Bayern Munich for the remainder of the season, it seemed impossible he could enhance his reputation. Just over three weeks later – five games, five wins, and only one goal (a penalty) conceded – and maybe he has begun to do just that, at the age of 72.
All is far happier in the house of Bayern, certainly, with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Leipzig taking the champions back to the top of the table, in combination with Dortmund’s loss at Hannover, before Der Klassiker at Westfalen next weekend. Bayern travel with a three-point lead, having trailed by five when Heynckes retook the reins.
That last point, really, is the only one from which there might be a small sense of, not exactly doubt, but a lack of fulfilment from the events of the last few weeks. That Bayern have improved significantly is clear; he has, as Franck Ribéry told Monday’s Kicker, “breathed new life into the team, and he welds us together”. It’s just that, with their rivals spluttering, we are struggling to judge by exactly how much.
Next Generation 2017: 60 of the best young talents in world football Read more
Saturday’s match was a case in point. It should have been the first of successive Bundesliga games to really test Bayern for the first time in a long time. It had been set up perfectly. When Leipzig and Bayern had met in the DfB Pokal at the Red Bull Arena in midweek, it had been a match that sizzled with intent. Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side took the lead even after going down to 10 men – and the feeling in the Leipzig camp was that Bayern had deliberately nibbled at Naby Keïta and looked for a reaction – before Thiago Alcântara’s equaliser signalled extra-time and eventually penalties, which Bayern edged.
That was only the half of it, though. Leipzig were furious with the referee Felix Zwayer for changing his mind after initially awarding them a first-half penalty for Arturo Vidal’s challenge on Emil Forsberg (who went on to score a later spot kick), to the extent that the sporting director Ralf Rangnick charged on the field at half-time armed with his own visual evidence on his phone, with no VAR in the Pokal. After the ensuing scuffle, even the sanguine Heynckes had his two cents. “After the games you lose,” he said, “you have to analyse what didn’t do well, which is far more productive.”
The level of needle, as well as the intensity of the game itself, piqued the anticipation for Saturday’s reunion, which is what made it such a disappointment that it was “done after 13 minutes”, as Hasenhüttl put it. That was when, after VAR review, Leipzig’s captain Willi Orban was sent off for deliberately denying a goalscoring opportunity in fouling Arjen Robben. The call was probably right, though the fact it was Leipzig’s third red card in four games against Bayern obviously nagged at the visitors.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Willi Orban, right, is shown a red card. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
It also killed the game, however bravely Leipzig fought on. When the opening goalscorer James Rodríguez – who was excellent throughout – said afterwards that the result “was never in doubt after we took the lead”, he wasn’t blustering. That’s not his style. It was just clear to all in the stands and on the pitch which way the wind was blowing.
It was a real shame, too, with Leipzig arriving full of confidence and seemingly well-tooled to properly examine Heynckes’ side. Instead, Hasenhüttl was forced to bring off Timo Werner and introduce the defender Ibrahima Konaté, giving the visitors a teenage central pair with which to keep out Bayern.
There were plenty of moments in which Bayern thrived – notably the second goal, expertly finished by Robert Lewandowski (who withdrew injured shortly afterwards, and misses the Champions League trip to Celtic) but created by an excellent Javi Martínez pass, with the Spaniard returned to |
or outrage a readership could always resort to tales of sexual minorities – and my anthology includes Henry Fielding’s scandalous lesbian story, “The Female Husband”, as well as Ada Leverson’s “Suggestion”, the drawling monologue of an unmistakably homosexual teenager from the 1890s. Members of sexual minorities, especially gay men and lesbian women, sometimes found their most compelling voices in short fiction – W Somerset Maugham, Sylvia Townsend Warner, GF Green, Rhys Davies, Francis King, Ali Smith and Angus Wilson follow close on each other’s heels in my anthology, and there are plenty more, such as EF Benson, EM Forster, CHB Kitchin, Jackie Kay and Ronald Firbank.
These voices were aided, perhaps, by a point that hadn’t occurred to me – the possibility of immediate topicality. Short stories could address urgent social issues, such as immigration, the sexual revolution in the 1960s, the New Woman in the 1890s, and what women in the 1920s were to do with their lives. They could make immediate use of developments in technology, including trains, the wireless and the internet. It could also address current events. This was a matter of practicality. A novel took time to write and produce; a short story could be written to order, and be in print the same week. Magazines were publishing short stories about life on the battlefield in September 1914. The first of Mollie Panter-Downes’s short stories about the second world war was published a week after war was declared. Literature could be engaged and argumentative, and relevant to the front pages. This is not the whole story, and the best short stories could be gloriously irrelevant – in fact, one of V.S.Pritchett’s greatest short stories, “When My Girl Comes Home” was turned down by the New Yorker on the grounds that its postwar setting was, in 1968, out of date. Nevertheless, much of the excitement of short fiction springs from a shared sense, by writers and the first readers, that this is engaging not just with a recent situation but an evolving one. When Alun Lewis’s superb “Private Jones” was first published in 1942, nobody knew how its hero’s story would end – what his nation’s immediate future held, indeed. The fervour of its closing pages is compelling when you realize that the first British readers would have had no idea what language their rulers would be speaking in a year’s time.
Topicality could be more cryptic than the direct description of current events. It was striking to see how a particular mood or subject started to possess the best short stories. A feeling of deliberate, cruel flippancy comes to the forefront soon after the end of the second world war, as in the work of Angus Wilson. There is a remarkable run of brilliant feminine two-handers in the 1920s and 1930s, not all of them written by women – AE Coppard, an underrated name, provides one of my anthology’s most dazzling in “Olive and Camilla”. As I read, I found I couldn’t escape the sense of growing hysteria in many of the most impressive short stories published before the first world war, often with a demonic edge. The sequence I found myself proposing, without immediately noticing, forms an appalling crescendo. The devil appears in Max Beerbohm, and his servants in MR James; a GK Chesterton story describes exhumation, madness, irrationality with a terrible justification; Saki tells, with every appearance of good humour, what it might be like to plan the murder of every Jew in a country town; and finally Kipling, on the verge of the outbreak of war, provides an incomparable story of the howling madness of crowds, culminating in the House of Commons plunging into hysteria. You can feel something going appallingly wrong, and the writers mapping it all out.
At the end of a systematic period of reading, I had amassed a pile of perhaps 300 short stories. After reading through the collected stories of all the established names, I had forced myself to pick one from each – incredibly hard in the case of varied and accomplished writers such as Elizabeth Taylor and VS Pritchett. Other well-established names I happily discarded altogether. It was amazing how some lazily acclaimed short story writers turned out to be mechanical in the highest degree when read in bulk. As well as those, I had gathered a very large number of short stories that had seemed interesting, startling, absorbing, or simply very beautifully done. It was an unexpected pile. The British short story, as far as I could see, was wildly experimental, predominantly extrovert, relished humour in the most surprising places, and was not very genteel at all. There were moods of trembling, withdrawn sensitivity and privation, but also passages of riot, violence, great stomping fury, hilarity and even hysteria. It came from writers you wouldn’t expect to be allowed to speak, and was often about people that hadn’t been permitted visibility.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in Strand magazine Vol 6.(1893). Photograph: Musuem of London Photograph: Musuem of London/Museum of London
Sometimes, talking to general readers, I was struck by their expectations of what short stories were. They seemed to be in two minds. Some appeared to expect the short story to be intimate, restrained, domestic and full of hints about emotional states running under the surface. It represented an idea of Anton Chekhov, Katherine Mansfield and Dubliners rather than the reality; nevertheless, that seemed to be the impression of the form. Others seemed to expect the short story to be an ingenious sort of puzzle, probably culminating in something called “a twist in the tail” – some kind of revelation that made nonsense of everything up to that point.
By contrast, my idea of the short story was closer to Bennett’s “The Matador of the Five Towns”, in which a visitor to Stoke-on-Trent is abandoned by his host and taken by an acquaintance, a doctor, to see the local newspaper offices, and then to a football match. The star footballer’s wife happens to be in labour; the doctor and the narrator are summoned to the pub that the footballer runs; a tragedy follows, marked by a conversation of truly Shakespearean irony and cruel pettiness. The story contains a huge social panorama, and is very informative about any number of things – how much footballers earn, how newspaper sellers pay for their copies, how pigeons carry the sports results, and so on. It is breathtakingly specific about the world it describes – at the football match, “the gentle, mannerly sound of hand-clapping was a kind of light froth on the surface of the billowy sea of heartfelt applause”.
What I looked for, and what I found in abundance, was a quality of energy. That doesn’t mean noisiness; some of the most compelling stories I found were nothing more than people talking quietly in a room, showing evidence of patient attention, and listening. Nothing much happens in EM Delafield’s “Holiday Group”. An impoverished but quite posh vicar decides, after a small legacy, to take a summer holiday for the first time in years. His wife, Julia, finds a boarding house prepared to take them and their three small children so late in the season – it is quite hard.
A novel took time; short stories could be written to order and address current events
The children behave pretty well and certainly enjoy themselves; Julia can’t stop herself from falling asleep far too early in the evening. At the end, the landlady attempts to overcharge them; they have a lengthy, unreported discussion, and the matter is resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. That’s it. Delafield places the quiet little family so exactly in their social context that we read the pianissimo story with total absorption. The final sentence is: “Her heart swelled with gratitude at the thought of her kind husband, her splendid children, and the wonderful holiday they had all had together.” It is absolutely not ironic. They have had a wonderful holiday, and we are completely glad on their behalf. The first time I read Delafield’s story, I was astonished to find that I had tears in my eyes at the end.
The energy in short stories may come from an understanding of scale. Many of the greatest examples appeared to have some subterranean understanding that they were going to be done within 8,000 words, and from that occasionally sprang a conscious strategy. A writer might decide, like Delafield or Whitaker, that this small space could beautifully reflect a quiet, overlooked moment in an undistinguished life. Or one might take advantage of the restrictions, and strain at the borders of the form in a magnificent story of a political tyranny. If you fill your few thousand words with crowds and violent action, with any number of characters and sweeping landscapes of humanity, then the form will feel pressed, urgent, overpowering – the opposite of leisurely. These stories remain closely observed and specific, like all the best writing, but the detail presses towards a delirious sense – as Vladimir Nabokov once observed with admiration about a John Cheever story – of slightly too much happening in it. But in truth writers can do anything they like with those few thousand words.
This immense variety and energy was created primarily by a conviction among editors that something interesting, unusual and new might find a readership. If it succeeded, the journal would take another story by the same writer, and nurture a particular talent. This process continued until very recently – Horizon encouraged the experimentalist Anna Kavan, and John O’London’s Weekly had a sort of relationship with a marvellous miniaturist, Malachi Whitaker. In time, a publisher might well take the view that the author merited a collection in hard covers. This might not be a very profitable venture in itself. Victor Gollancz, one of the most hardheaded of interwar publishers, took the view that a collection of short stories sold between a quarter and a sixth of an established author’s novels, with a rigid maximum of 4,000. Nevertheless, there was a periodical market, and a prestige market for collections which nurtured all sorts of writing.
It is fair to say that this very successful structure worked well until very recently. These days there are no outlets in the UK that will pay a writer of short stories in a way that will sustain a career. There are outlets that pay tiny amounts, and mass market publications occasionally take a short story from a very well‑established name, paying respectably. The structure of a number of well-paying, well-read journals that would adopt a writer of short stories and develop his or her career in tandem with an appreciative readership has more or less disappeared. The only chance for writers is to be taken up by an American magazine, such as the New Yorker, which has strongly supported the short story careers of Zadie Smith and Tessa Hadley. There is no British publication now that could have done anything comparable – even Granta’s interest in the British short story appears to lapse for years on end.
What has replaced it, and what is often acclaimed as heralding a renaissance in the British short story, is the establishment of any number of competitions. The fledgling writer of short stories no longer submits a piece to an editor who may pay for it; he or she puts it in for a competition. The two primary short story competitions in the UK are the BBC National short story competition and the Sunday Times short story competition. The first prize is £15,000 and £30,000 respectively, which is more than respectable. This benevolent support seems like a good idea. Yet the BBC has never been given to a writer from an ethnic minority. The Sunday Times has only rewarded Junot Diaz and Yiyun Li. Neither prize has ever shortlisted a gay male author, and between them, over the years, only three lesbian writers as far as I can see. This is not an unusual blind spot for literary prizes, including the supposedly “diverse” Man Booker prize. But it contrasts with the vivid and widely acclaimed contribution that sexual, social and ethnic minorities were free to make to the form within an apparently chaotic market economy, in a period when their lives might even be proscribed by law.
Whether or not the blind spots and prejudices of literary juries also result in a preference for what people ought to read over what they will read is an interesting question. It’s certainly true that, looking at recent competition entries, the emphasis changes sharply in comparison to the whole tradition. The British short story has always loved comedy, and its greatest practitioners greatly value humour, even in the most harrowing contexts. That is not something you can expect prize juries to reward, since it’s easier to be articulate about a serious topic than about serious literary expertise.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Zadie Smith, whose short story career has been strongly supported by magazines. Photograph: AGF/Rex Photograph: AGF s.r.l./REX/Rex
Some of the warmly humane masterpieces in my anthology include Kipling’s “The Village That Voted the Earth Was Flat”, both harrowing and profoundly interested in the terrible cruelty of comedy; brilliant exercises in comedy by Wilkie Collins, PG Wodehouse, Taylor and Elizabeth Bowen and a very characteristic story by Pritchett (for my money the greatest of all British short story writers) which tells a vividly realised episode from a tiny corner of what must be called the human comedy. I wouldn’t have thought any one of them would stand the smallest chance of winning a prize. Instead, they came into being because editors put their faith in them, and because people wanted to read them.
I made a point of telling almost everyone I met that I was working on an anthology of short stories. I wanted to hear what they had to say. Interestingly, the one question almost everybody asked me was this: “When does the short story begin?” It’s difficult to imagine a historian of drama or film being asked this, for different reasons – either a literary form seems contemporary with the human spirit, or to depend on a technological innovation. The short story is rather different, and the question is a good one.
Fiction on a small scale is, from one point of view, as old as the English language. You could claim that there are short stories of a certain sort in the King James Bible and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; that short Elizabethan prose romances are at the root of the form. That’s one way of looking at it. Another is to point out that the phrase “short story”, referring to the literary form, dates no further back than the last decades of the 19th century. Probably the truth lies somewhere in between.
Undoubted masterpieces were being written by Heinrich von Kleist in Germany by the beginning of the 19th century. American writers were seen to start a serious practice in the short story by the 1820s at the latest, for a particular reason – the American public preferred cheap, copyright-evading editions of English novels to indigenous products. In the 1830s, the flood of British imports drowned the American novel, and American writers such as Edgar Allan Poe found magazines the chief paying outlets for native fiction. In Britain, short fiction had maintained an interesting, minor presence for some decades.
If the short story format began at a certain point in history, might it – like the epic and the masque – have an end?
The explosion in the popularity of magazines created a hunger for short pieces, bringing news about worlds known and unknown; these started to come in the form of factual pieces, but also fictional explorations of the real world at hand, the remoter parts of the world, and fantastic and incredible worlds that never existed. When Chambers’s Journal first appeared in 1832, its editors promised its readers “lots of nice little stories about travellers in Asia and Africa”. They probably weren’t talking about fiction at that point, but, as one quickly sees, the rising public interest in news from abroad gave immense energy to short fiction. The answer, then, is that the short story as we know it evolved gradually between the 17th century and the middle of the 19th, and was at its peak after the founding of the Strand in 1891, and for decades afterwards.
But the regularity of the question made me wonder whether it was being asked, not about the beginning of a literary form, but about its end. If the short story could be said to begin at a certain point in history, might it – like the epic, the eclogue and the masque – have an end, too? Might that end be approaching?
I hope not. It may simply be that we haven’t fully explored the ways in which a short story might, these days, reach a paying audience. It could work financially for an established author to publish an individual short story as a cheap ebook, but, for a first-time author, publishing a short story as an ebook is simply dropping it into a hole.
Nevertheless, changes in publishing could herald a huge range of new possibilities for short fiction. I don’t think it’s been widely appreciated among authors or editors that, in a world where fiction was published only in virtual form, there would be no problems with length. You could publish Ernest Hemingway’s six-word short story and charge a penny, if you thought anyone would buy it; you could publish a novel of 2 million words without worrying about the costs of production or the discouraging difficulty of holding the thing. Moreover, the costs of production matter much less against the size of the eventual readership.
To cut a long story short Read more
What seems absolutely clear is that the establishment of a readership of whatever size is crucial. Ideally, it should be a paying one. Without that – if a literary form relies exclusively on awards handed out by professionals – the form has no future. At the end of the marvellous reading task I had set myself, I was thrilled by the exuberant, ceaselessly inventive body of work out there. I hope the anthology shows some of that quality, and hints at the way that the short story encompassed the human comedy. If it is given the chance to find an appreciative readership, there is no reason why its energy should be lost.
• Philip Hensher is the editor of The Penguin Book of the British Short Story Vols I &II (Penguin Classics). He will be talking with Tessa Hadley, Adam Mars-Jones and Shena Mackay on the future of the short story on 12 November at Waterstones Piccadilly, London W1J. The Penguin Book of the British Short Story: Volume I and Volume II (Penguin Classics, £25). To order a copy of either for £17.50, go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99.From CoinWeek reported by Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker ………
On February 13, 2014, the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Santa Monica-based Seacoast Coin, Inc., which is better known as the precious metals dealer Merit Gold and Silver.
Merit is one of the most prominent precious metals dealers in the industry, advertising gold and silver investment instruments on national TV and radio outlets, as well as online. The company is headed by Peter M. Epstein and Michael J. Getlin.
The complaint, case number SC122066 filed with the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, alleges that Merit engaged “in an aggressive, nationwide fraud scheme that has bilked consumers out of tens of millions of dollars.”
Attorneys for the city claim that Merit has, since at least September 26, 2009, operated a massive “bait and switch” scam, enticing customers–many of whom were senior citizens–to call to order gold and silver bullion at target=”_blank”>“1% over cost”, only to convince them to buy numismatic and semi-numismatic coins at a premium.
Some of the alleged sales methods are detailed in the filing; they include falsely stating that numismatic and semi-numismatic coins:
• are a better investment than bullion
• offer more privacy than bullion
• are not “reportable” on consumers’ taxes
• can’t be confiscated by the government, while bullion can be.
In addition, the complaint alleges that Merit intentionally confuses consumers “as to which products they are buying, so that many still believe they are paying only one percent over Merit’s cost when in fact they are paying more.”
Santa Monica city attorneys are seeking injunctive relief, fines, and restitution of all monies wrongfully obtained from customers. The case falls under California’s Unfair Competition Law, which protects consumers from false advertising, fraud, and other unlawful business practices.
The suit bears some resemblance to the 2011 lawsuit Santa Monica brought against another bullion dealer, Goldine International Inc., which settled in February 2012 and refunded up to $4.5 million back to customers. The city then went after a second gold dealer in 2012, Superior Gold Group, which was ultimately placed in receivership. Attorney Alan Radinsky, who is involved with the present litigation and was also involved in the two prior cases, spoke with us by telephone about the charges his office is making against Merit.
Radinsky said, “The biggest problems with the precious metals industry is that consumers do not know they are being tricked. The main consumer allegation against Merit is that the 1% is merely the bait. The business model is based on switching consumers from bullion to marked up numismatic and semi-numismatic coins. Merit’s business model is to aggressively disparage bullion in order to get the customer to buy their other coins instead.”
CoinWeek contacted Merit and spoke with Executive Vice President Mike Getlin about the allegations. Getlin defended Merit, saying that Radinsky and city attorneys have misrepresented the facts and acknowledged that the investigation into Merit’s business practices have been ongoing for more than a year. “We were open with them, “said Getlin, “we substantiated our marketing practices and cooperated fully.”
In separate remarks prepared by Getlin in response to the lawsuit, Merit claims that city attorneys Gary Rhoades and Adam Radinsky are representing as facts “several statements that they know to be false and or misleading.”
Getlin insists that Merit, contrary to claims cited in the complaint, does not and did not use dubious sales pitches (like the possibility of future gold seizures by the federal government) to sell its products. Getlin provided us with a company policy form that shows that Merit forbids the discussion of taxes, tax reporting, and the threat of government confiscation in order to sell its products and penalizes its sales advisors with forfeiture of commissions and possible termination for violating this policy. Members of their sales staff are required to sign and acknowledge this form.
Getlin also says that his firm did not use misleading tactics to upsell customers on non-bullion coins, pointing to an article Getlin wrote for the International Business Times, where he cautions precious metals buyers to be dubious of sales pitches that claim that government seizure of gold is likely or imminent. In the same piece, he argues that buying rare or semi-rare coins offers many advantages from “an investment standpoint.
Still, Getlin says that despite his personal feelings on the matter, Santa Monica’s charges are without merit, as the firm Merit has sold hundreds of millions of dollars in bullion at 1% over dealer cost.
CoinWeek will continue to follow the legal proceedings closely and provide updates when the situation warrants.As many players are aware, there are certain limits in place regarding how many WoW Tokens can be purchased per Battle.net account, both from the in-game Shop and through the Auction House. Today, we’d like to provide a quick update on the current limits to help you better plan your Token purchases.
A maximum of 10 Tokens per week may be purchased for real money from the in-game Shop, to be sold on the Auction House for gold.
may be purchased for real money from the in-game Shop, to be sold on the Auction House for gold. A maximum of 36 Tokens every 24 months may be purchased for gold via the Auction House, to be used for game time.
may be purchased for gold via the Auction House, to be used for game time. Players may only have one type of Token in their inventory at one time. If any character on a Battle.net account is currently holding a Token purchased from the in-game Shop, that player will not be able to purchase a Token from the Auction House. Likewise, if any character is holding a Token purchased from the Auction House, that player will not be able to purchase a Token from the in-game Shop.
in their inventory at one time. If any character on a Battle.net account is currently holding a Token purchased from the in-game Shop, that player will not be able to purchase a Token from the Auction House. Likewise, if any character is holding a Token purchased from the Auction House, that player will not be able to purchase a Token from the in-game Shop. Players may hold a maximum of 10 Tokens in their inventory at one time. This limit is shared across all characters on the Battle.net account.Share
Previous Next 1 of 31
Scale. This is how developer Hello Games has described the ludicrously ambitious No Man’s Sky. There are 18 quintillion planets to discover, and each is unique, generated by algorithms within the game. You’ll be able to pilot a spaceship down to each one and — if it doesn’t immediately kill you to do so — land on it and explore it.
Trailers for the game released so far reveal how fascinating these planets can be. They show worlds decked out with space dinosaurs and lizard-turtles, wandering through bright-red grass under blue-green skies. And then you hop in your ship, aim it at the sky, and seconds later blast into orbit, with freighters dropping out of lightspeed and fighters swooping in on attack runs.
No Man’s Sky‘s lofty, procedurally generated universe offers an unfathomable number of places to visit. Moment-to-moment, however, No Man’s Sky is much more down to earth. In fact, as Hello Games founder Sean Murray told Digital Trends during our first 30-minute hands-on time with the game at a Los Angeles PlayStation event, those great-looking trailer moments will be made all the more incredible once the player has earned them — by trudging around the same world for a few hours, or the same solar system, to construct the stuff needed to venture out into the universe.
Building that stuff, however, requires mining, gathering, and crafting.
The final frontier
No Man’s Sky players start on an unexplored planet, with a relatively simple and thin mandate: Head to the center of the universe. On the starting planet, the short-term goal is to survive and explore, and to gather the resources needed to build stuff that will take you further.
When you’re not looking at amazing vistas or using your binoculars to scan strange plants and animals — and name them when you’re the first player to have ever seen them — you’ll be smashing rocks with your gun, picking flowers, and generally amassing the various chemical elements you need to construct technologies you need to survive.
Each new place might give you the resources and items you need to build something new, allowing you incremental gains to travel farther, survive better, and see more. Murray said the game is balanced such that you can expect to spend your first two to three hours just on that first starting planet, finding what you need to leave it. The next two to three hours will be spent just in that first solar system, exploring it to find what you need to move on.
The demo we played was set at about five hours into the game, and started with us standing on an icy planet decked out in red coniferous trees. The primary hazard here is extreme cold, and before you get far, you’ll need to gather some items from the nearby terrain to fashion a module for keeping out the cold, at least temporarily.
It appears, at least in this grouping of small planets, that while you might be the first person here, you’re definitely not the first sentient being to find this place. Terrain and alien creatures are everywhere, but so is technology. Strange buildings adorn the landscape, sometimes circled by robotic drones; waypoint towers can be accessed to scan the area and flag resources or points of interest; pods give you respite from the elements and a place to save your game.
Recognizing that No Man’s Sky is a survival game — spread over a huge universe — is important to understanding it.
Finding protection against the elements is key to survival here. Technology provides most solutions; everything you carry, from upgrades for your running ability, to protection against toxic substances, to a jetpack, has to be built along the way as you discover it. One of the blueprints already available in the demo let us fashion a grenade that could carve chunks out of the ground, possibly exposing deep caves full of mineral resources and offering protection from the cold.
A cave might seem like a good place to lie low for a while, but you also have to worry about other hazards, like the creatures that might live inside them. Planets have predators, and the icy planet was home to a snow leopard-looking creature that would attack us, but was fairly easily scared off with a few laser bolts. During Murray’s brief presentation, he ran across carnivorous plants on another planet, making for a completely different, unknown threat.
Exploring strange new worlds
Then there were those buildings dotting the various planets in the demo. Some seem to be stations controlled by alien races; others are automated factories and facilities in service of strange robots that seem to span the galaxy.
Head inside one of these buildings and you can speak to its alien inhabitants, should someone be in there. But don’t expect to become lifelong friends, Murray said during an interview with Digital Trends.
“Purposely, we haven’t made it so there are huge numbers of races, there’s only a small number, and that’s because we want people to build a kind of relationship with them — not ‘get married, have kids,’” he said. “It’s important to us that you don’t build a connection to an individual NPC that you meet, but more to a specific race. Because we want you to explore, and we don’t want you to be like, ‘Well I can’t leave this bird man behind, because he’s looking for this specific technology and I don’t feel I can journey on until he’s completely satisfied, we’ve made friends now.’”
Interactions with aliens are quick conversations with multiple dialogue choices. Aliens will usually pose a question or make a statement in their native tongue. Learning those languages will take time as you find word-by-word translations throughout your travels. Answer a question correctly and an alien might give you a gift. Say the right things and you’ll gain “standing” with that particular race; offend an individual and you might lose face among his people.
When you’re not looking at amazing vistas, you’ll be smashing rocks, picking flowers, and amassing chemicals essential to survival.
The aliens that popped up in the hands-on demo seemed to be traders, although Murray said there are other races of different types. Some are militaristic, some are driven by commerce, some are explorers, and those different aspects will affect how players deal with them — but all those dealings will be conversations, it seems. Murray said that you might offend an alien’s honor, but he’ll never fight you to the death; instead, he’ll harm you by not selling you that thing you need.
Murray said there will be a lot to learn about these aliens, but mostly, it seems they’ll provide information and trading opportunities. To that end, you won’t happen across cities full of bird people — that’s contrary to the aesthetic and experience Murray and Hello Games want to create, which he described as being like Star Wars episodes IV, V, and VI: more of a Wild West, frontier vibe than one of futuristic cityscapes.
“If there were cities, people would want to kind of settle down, and we don’t want that,” Murray said. “We want people going out and exploring further.”
Seeking new life and new civilizations
The aliens you’ll likely interact with the most are robotic sentries on various planets. They’re self-replicating, autonomous, and apparently left behind by an ancient race of aliens with the intention of protecting the universe. As such, they act like its police force, and if you make them mad, they’ll come for you.
In the demo, Murray showed off a Grand Theft Auto-style “wanted level” that players can soup-up by doing things that are off-limits. Wantonly killing wildlife, for example, can trigger police drones to come after you. Shooting drones, attacking factories, and blowing up spaceships kicks up your wanted level and triggers ever-scarier robotic bad guys who come and try to bring you down.
There will be information to uncover about these drones for players who are interested, Murray said, that’ll shed light on the motivations of the race that created them, as well as what those robots are up to in the universe in the present. Mostly, they’re an antagonistic force that keeps players on their toes: Attack a freighter in your ship or blow open the door of a factory to loot it, and there will be consequences.
Apart from those drones and aliens with which to trade, though, No Man’s Sky will be a solitary experience, it seems. The procedurally generated universe of No Man’s Sky is a shared one, it’s true, and you might see names created by other players on things they’ve discovered. But you won’t see players themselves, apparently.
Hello Games is cagey on this point. For one thing, players start alone on distant planets in a huge universe, so the chances of ever running into anyone are slim anyway. As Murray has put it, No Man’s Sky is not a multiplayer game. One developer during the demo compared potential interactions with other players to those in Dark Souls — notes left behind for others to find, principally — or Journey, in which there are brief interactions with other players.
But both of those games include actually playing with other people, while No Man’s Sky’s website describes the experience as being “parallel” to those of others. In other words, it’s unclear just how interacting with other players might work. Since everyone is working their way toward the center of the universe, where the odds of intersecting are higher, and Murray has mentioned before that potential interactions with other players would be suitably momentous, it’s possible this is something the developers are being specifically unclear about to maintain a sense of mystery.
To boldly go
Thirty minutes is not enough time to really get a sense of No Man’s Sky, and trying to describe it becomes a conundrum. The mechanics of playing the game make it seem a lot like other contemporary titles: the exploration of Fallout 4, the crafting of Far Cry Primal, the emphasis on using everything you can just to stay alive of The Long Dark.
“Purposely, we haven’t made it so there are huge numbers of races, because we want people to build a relationship with them.”
From just those 30 minutes, No Man’s Sky would appear to be focused on gathering resources; building new upgrades to your ship, weapon, and suit; and wandering around until you get bored and fly away. You need a new hyperdrive, so you stop by a planet to gather metals to build it. You need fuel, so you shoot asteroids to gather some. You want to buy a new gun, so you talk to a nice alien and purchase one.
No Man’s Sky sports 18 quintillion planets, most of them dull, desolate, and dangerous. Those few in the demo — a sample size of three or four — were filled with animals that seem disinterested and aliens who mostly seem to run storefronts. During this tiny slice, an unavoidable question rises: Why? Why spend so much time visiting a near-infinite number of places? What’s out there that is compelling enough to engage in this search?
It’s an unfair question, to some degree. To be told would undermine the awe and excitement of the discovery in the first place, which is what Hello Games is trying to accomplish.
“The reality is, actually for some people discovering planets and things like that is an awesome thing,” Murray explained. “You’ve seen, if you watch some of our videos, there are awesome things to go out and find. There are a lot of possibilities in just amazing visuals and aesthetics that you can see — and for some people, that is enough. That is all they will ever want to do, is see the sunrise and the sunset or whatever.
“And there are other people for whom that’ll just be a kind of aesthetic glaze. They won’t care. Because all they care about when they land on a planet is ‘What resources are here? What can I mine? How can I use that to trade? How can I buy a bigger ship? Oh look, I’ve found a rich source of plutonium, and I don’t care that there’s a giant dinosaur standing in the way.”
Conclusion
Murray compared No Man’s Sky to survival simulators like The Long Dark or Rust, highly popular games in which the point is just the enjoyment of surviving for surviving’s sake. And it seems, from this 30-minute demo, that recognizing No Man’s Sky as a survival game — spread over a huge universe — is important to understanding it.
“What you were seeing [in the 30-minute demo] doesn’t quite get across the scale of experiences, as well,” he said. “You can say it about any game. Killed one guy in Call of Duty, why would I kill them all? Some of the favorite things I’ve seen are just people coming across massive battles between freighters or something like that, and joining in and having this real moment. They’ve gone through this experience of not seeing those things, landing on many barren planets, and then finding that one utopian planet. It makes it more meaningful, especially if they’ve had to battle for hours to get to that point.”
No Man’s Sky is set to release on June 21 for PlayStation 4.
Highs
18 quintillion procedurally generated planets to explore
This is a survival game
Great number of things to do
LowsUnder fire over his immigration policy and slowness to denounce the Ku Klux Klan, Donald Trump still goes into crucial primaries as clear frontrunner
Donald Trump appears poised for sweeping victories on Super Tuesday that would effectively anoint him the Republicans’ presumptive nominee, leaving the polarised conservative party in the throes of an existential crisis.
Trump rally turns violent: photographer thrown to ground amid protests Read more
As Republican primaries or caucuses open in 12 states, the New York billionaire appears well placed to sweep them all save Texas, where Ted Cruz looks set to win on home turf. On Monday one national CNN opinion poll of Republican voters put him at 49%, more than all his opponents combined.
The dawning reality of Trump – an entrepreneur and reality TV show host who began the campaign viewed by many as something of a joke – as the party favourite has left senior Republicans scrambling to either destroy or jump aboard his populist bandwagon.
Although New |
in after fish.[3][4][5][6][7] Lindnord named him Arthur after King Arthur of Britain.[5][8][9]
After the team raised money through a Twitter campaign,[6] received assistance from the Ecuadorian Minister for Social Affairs,[10] and obtained permission from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, Lindnord was able to bring Arthur back to Sweden.[1][4][11] Arthur required veterinary care for wounds that he had apparently had for several months and had to remain in quarantine for 120 days; in March 2015, after dental surgery, a "small operation"[12] and a press conference, he went to live with Lindnord and his family in Örnsköldsvik.[2][13][14][15][16][17][18] According to Lindnord, Arthur was seven years old when brought to Sweden.[10]
In May 2015 Arthur accompanied the team in the Wings For Life World Run in Kalmar.[19][20]
The team started a charity named Arthur's Foundation to help street dogs in Ecuador.[1][2][8][9][19][21] There are plans for a "Community Dog" project to provide food and veterinary care,[22] and Lindnord has co-written a book about Arthur, which was published in 2016.[9]
In late November 2014 Vicente Quiñónez of Quinindé told an Ecuadorian newspaper that Arthur was his dog, Barbuncho,[23][24][25] and by late December others had also claimed to be the dog's owner, but after a petition was started by Ecuadorians asking for his former owners to be punished for causing his wounds, all the claims were dropped.[8]Mahankali Anil was killed outside the temple he was marrying his bride at in Thimmapur, central India
A teenage bride watched in horror as her parents and relatives dragged the man she was marrying out of their wedding ceremony, slit his throat and crushed his head with a boulder.
Victim Mahankali Anil, 22, was killed in front of 18-year-old Hastapuram Mounika.
The couple had run away together, but her family rushed after them to confront Anil at the Hindu temple in Thimmapur, central India.
Water worker Anil had been dating Hastapuram for a year, but her parents had tried to keep the couple apart.
An earlier elopement had failed when her parents told police and priests their daughter was under 18 and a minor.
Hastapuram, who has since turned 18, had been sent away to study so she would not see Anil.
But when she returned, they restarted their romance and decided to run away again, reports local media.
When her parents realised she was about to wed Anil at the local Hindu temple, they rushed there to confront him.
The Sakshi Post reports that Anil had previously been reported for kidnapping Hastapuram, and the couple had sought police protection ahead of their nuptials.
Local Police Commissioner VB Kamalasan Reddy said: 'A number of suspects have been arrested.'(CNN) After President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to her as a "wacky Congresswoman," Rep. Frederica Wilson fired back on Sunday morning, saying that the ambush in Niger that left four US soldiers dead "is (Trump's) Benghazi" and demanding an apology to "the nation" from White House chief of staff John Kelly.
"Niger is @realDonaldTrump's Benghazi. He needs to own it," the Florida Democrat tweeted.
Wilson and Trump have traded barbs for nearly a week on the controversy stemming from the President's condolence call to Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of the soldiers killed in the ambush in Niger earlier this month.
Wilson, who is close to Johnson's family and was in the car when Trump's call came, claimed that Trump said Johnson "knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts." The family member who raised Johnson called Wilson's account of the call "very accurate," and the White House has not refuted that Trump spoke those words.
Trump said in an interview with Fox Business that he was "very surprised" to hear Wilson's account of the call, insisting the call was "a very nice call." He also said he mentioned Johnson's name during the phone conversation, which Wilson said he did not appear to remember during the call.
Read MoreKANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Six children were among seven civilians killed in a NATO airstrike in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Thursday.
The deaths occurred on Wednesday in the Zhare district of Kandahar Province, an area described by coalition forces as largely pacified in recent months, and two insurgents were also killed, the Afghan officials said.
A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt, said the authorities were aware of the strike and had sent a team to the district to investigate. He said the assistance force had not previously issued a news release on the deaths.
Zalmai Ayoubi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, said that a NATO reconnaissance aircraft spotted five militants planting mines in the village of Siacha, in the Zhare district, on Wednesday. The plane targeted the insurgents, killing two and wounding a third, and then pursued the other two suspects as they carried their wounded comrade away.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
“The plane chased them, the insurgents entered a street where children were playing and, as a result of its shooting, seven people have been killed, including six children, and two girls also have been injured,” Mr. Ayoubi said. The victims were members of two families.Off in one of the few remaining relatively primeval natural environments of the world — the Bili Forest of the far-northern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo — lives a band of very large chimpanzees that possess a number of very strange qualities and behaviors.
The local folk-stories of the surrounding region make note of massive ape-like creatures that kill and hunt lions, catch fish, and — the stories go — howl at the moon. With many local hunters mentioning an animal that looks something like a cross between a chimpanzee and a gorilla — an animal that apparently, according to the stories, is unaffected by poison darts, as the other apes are.
While you may be now making the assumption that such stories can’t possibly be true, you’d actually be wrong — a fair amount of research has gone into this subspecies of chimpanzee over the last few decades, and there is apparently quite a lot of truth to the stories.
One of the first researchers to get a close up view of the Bili Apes — pretty soon after a 5-year-long civil war ended in 2003 — was a speciality in primate behavior by the name of Shelly Williams. Williams described the experience thusly:
“We could hear them in the trees, about 10 meters away, and four suddenly came rushing through the brush towards me. If this had been a mock charge they would have been screaming to intimidate us. These guys were quiet, and they were huge. They were coming in for the kill – but as soon as they saw my face they stopped and disappeared.”
Sometime after that, in 2004, a man by the name of Cleve Hicks from the University of Amsterdam spent ~18 months in the region field-watching the Bili apes.
One of the most interesting things he saw in that period of time, followed on the tracking of loud calls coming from what sounded to be the same spot for a number of days. After investigation, it was clear what the calls were related to — he came dead-across a large male chimpanzee feasting gorily on a dead leopard.
According to Hicks, he can’t be completely sure that the animal was killed by the chimpanzee — but the event certainly does give a lot of credence to the folk-stories that mention them hunting and eating lions, doesn’t it?
Given the fact that during the very limited time that the researchers were able to observe that population (and usually only from a great distance) there was strong evidence that they killed a leopard, certainly does make you think. Maybe they do eat lions?
While it may not be something that many people in the modern world are aware of, chimpanzees are freakishly strong — much, much stronger than a human of the same size. While “strength” is something that can mean a lot of different things, I suppose, there is no doubt that chimpanzees possess a degree of physicality that is simply lacking in modern humans — as a notable primate biologist put it, they are very “explosive sprinters, climbers, and fighters”.
(As an anecdote, I recall hearing from someone that works with chimps a story about a large male putting deep dents into a very, very thick steel door (they have very dense bones).)
Anyways.. back to the Bili Apes.
At a later point in the research Hicks had a lucky-break when one of the trackers he was working with suggested a place for them to visit.
“We were told of this sort of fabled land out west by one of our trackers who goes out there to fish,” Hicks stated. “I call it the magic forest. It is a very special place.”
It was there that the researchers came across a large community of the apes that showed the same interest and “naivety” with regard to humans that some earlier reports had mentioned. The apes of this community (including the old males) would apparently “surround their human visitors and show curiosity towards them, but would not attack or become threatening.”
“What we have found is this completely new chimpanzee culture,” Hicks noted, when discussing the event in an interview back around the time that the work was done.
Of particular note with this community was the fact that they seemed to generally nest on the ground (very uncommon for chimps, but not for gorillas).
Colin Groves, a primate morphology researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra, noted: “The ground nests were very big and there was obviously something very unusual going on there. They are not unknown elsewhere but very unusual.”
“How can they get away with sleeping on the ground when there are lions, leopards, (and) golden cats around, as well as other dangerous animals like elephants and buffalo?” Hicks commented.
“I don’t like to paint them as being more aggressive, but maybe they prey on some of these predators and the predators kind of leave them alone.”
Also, interestingly, the community has what Hicks referred to as “smashing culture” — having found hundreds of large-snails and hard-shelled fruits that had been smashed open to get to the meat and fruit. Also, somewhat humorously, Hicks had seen some of the chimpanzees carrying whole termite-mounds to rocks where they could then be smashed/broken open. The remains of a large turtle that had, apparently, been smashed open by the chimps was also found by the researchers.
Another interesting behavior that was observed was the use of sticks for ant “fishing”, which is a relatively common technique for “normal” chimps — but, in this case, the tools used were up to 2.5 meters long. Much longer/bigger than the tools usually seen used.
Out of everything though, the curiosity and naivety about humans is perhaps one of the most interesting qualities of the Bili Apes.
Here’s a quote on that matter:
“Gorilla males will always charge when they encounter a hunter, but there were no stories like that” about the Bili apes, according to Ammann. Instead, they would come face-to-face with their human cousins, stare intently in half-recognition, then slide away quietly. Hicks’s group later confirmed and somewhat expanded those observations, saying that when they encountered a large group of Bili apes in the deep forests (far from the roads and villages), they not only approached the humans, but also would actually surround them with intent curiosity.
As you can probably guess, while that would certainly made for a fascinating experience, it also puts the Bilis at great danger to bush-meat hunters and poachers — which have until very recently not operated in the very remote region where the Bili Apes live.
“Things are not promising,” stated Karl Ammann, the wildlife photographer who’s been credited with sparking interest in the apes back in 1996. “The absence of a strong central government has resulted in most of the region becoming more independent and lawless. In conservation terms this is a disaster.”
Hicks has said much the same thing, noting that while the chimpanzees are an endangered species and fully protected in DRC law, “it is only a law on paper”.
Interestingly, Hicks has identified both the official security forces and various militia forces as the cause of much trouble, and corruption as well. Putting that thought quite bluntly when he stated: “I think the military are giving guns to the poachers.”
As of June 2007 illegal poachers have begun operating in the Bili Forest in notable numbers. Here are some figures worth reading related to that:
Over a 14-month period between September 2007 and November 2008, researcher Cleve Hicks and his Congolese assistants documented 34 chimpanzee orphans and 31 carcasses for sale in the nearby Buta – Aketi – Bambesa region (seven of the orphans have been confiscated and adopted).
Laura Darby and Adam Singh have seen another nine chimpanzee orphans and three carcasses in Aketi, Buta, and Bondo, since Hicks left in November. In addition, Hicks observed a large quantity of okapi and leopard skins along with elephant meat and ivory. It is likely that this exploding bushmeat trade is now making its way into the Bili region with the gold miners.
As with more or less all of the remaining megafauna animals of the world, the future existence of the Bili Apes is a very open question — this is almost entirely due to seemingly ever-expanding human settlements and industry/commercial-activity.
This baby/young chimpanzee in the image below isn’t a Bili — it’s a different subspecies — but I feel that it’s worth posting here. It really sums the whole thing up doesn’t it?
(Author’s note: Mr Hicks replied in the comments below and corrected me, the chimpanzee in the image is the same subspecies, and probably part of the same population as well. It was actually offered for sale to Mr Hicks by a government employee, apparently.)
On a lighter note, below are some videos (taken by camera-traps) showing the Bili Apes in their home range, coming to us via the Lukuru Foundation:
Mother & Adolescents (older adolescent in background)
Second Adolescent’s Tool-Use (after making tool in background of first video)
Old Males
Young-One Curious/Bemused(?) About/By Camera
Band of Males Patrolling
Image Credits: Bili; Dr Cleve Hicks; Screen CaptureWe now know what Tina Fey’s post-30 Rock TV show will be. Deadline reports that NBC is developing a new sitcom to be executive produced by Tina Fey and her 30 Rock co-showrunner Robert Carlock. The untitled project was written by Colleen McGuinness, another 30 Rock writer/producer, and it’s a workplace show that follows a young woman who finds a new home and family on Fire Island while trying to reconnect with her dad. Targeted for the 2014-2015 TV season, the show is the first project for Fey’s production company Little Stranger since she signed a four-year deal with Universal TV last year. There’s no word at this point on whether Tina Fey would act in the hypothetical show or not.
Fey first mentioned that she was working on finding a new show with Carlock and husband/producer Jeff Richmond in January. When asked if her next NBC show would be a part of the network’s move to make broader comedies, Fey responded, “You know what? They’re wrong, and I’m going to wait that out. What they want is hits, but no one knows what that is.” In addition to this new TV project, Fey is also developing a Mean Girls musical, producing the Paula Pell-written comedy The Nest, and acting in movies, like the upcoming Muppets Most Wanted. She’ll continue to develop shows for Universal, both written by her and other writers, under her deal with the company.What a wonderful moment finally in Europe, where Britain has just vetoed an attempt to have the Council of the European Union adopt the statement of the Paris peace conference on the Middle East. The Israeli daily Haaretz calls the move highly irregular, by which, wed like to think, the paper means unusual, rather than improper. Its very irregularity, in any event, underscores the sweetness of the moment.
Click Image to Enlarge British Foreign Office / Wikipedia BRITAIN STANDS UP: Just days after Boris Johnson, foreign secretary of Britain, visited Trump Tower, Britain has blocked the adoption by the European Council of the statement issued by the Paris parley on the Middle East. The statement was the latest attempt to hector Israel to be more forthcoming with enemies who don't recognize the right of the Jewish state to exist. We take it Britain's demarche to be a sign of the Trump effect.
It would be overly credulous to see the development as a sign that Whitehall has been suddenly flooded with the Light of Sinai. But it would not be inapt to see the development as a sign of the Trump effect. Two important Tories Boris Johnson, the foreign minister, and Michael Gove have been spotted in Trump Tower lately. And Prime Minister May clearly hopes for better relations with America as she seeks to find Britains independence.
There are those who will say that the veto by Britain strengthens the argument of those who have said all along that Britain should remain within the European Union. The line goes precisely that Britain would or could be a moderating influence on the continent. President Obama made that argument. It has always struck us as flimsy. Hopes that Europe will stand with Israel, history counsels, have always been wishful thinking.
In respect of the just-ended parley at Paris, Britains foreign office had already told the French it was opposed to holding such a conference in the first place, particularly at this juncture. It worried that the conference would harden positions. The Foreign Office statement voiced reservations over an international conference intended to advance peace between the parties that does not involve them. And which, it added, was taking place against the wishes of the Israelis.
One just didnt hear that kind of talk from Britain before it stood for its own independence. The Foreign Office statement also noted that the parley was taking place just days before the transition to a new American President when the U.S. will be the ultimate guarantor of any agreement. That kind of language is just music to the ears of those who have been revolted by the European shenanigans during the past generation.
What the Paris conference concluded, in a formal statement, was yet another plea for Israel to be more forthcoming in negotiations with the Palestinian Arabs. It was yet another plea for the fading idea of a two-state solution. That the European ilk would issue such a statement in the midst of what has amounted to a new intifada, with the Arabs running down Israelis with trucks and stabbing innocent Jews to death in the streets, is just shocking. Congratulations to Britain for exercising its veto.Detroit police are on the lookout for a suspect on the run, who is believed to be connected with the rape of a teen girl.
The girl’s mother came home early this morning to the house on Marlowe Street, finding her 35-year-old boyfriend — Kevin Price — and 15-year-old daughter in bed together. An argument started when Price woke up and the woman ran into another room to grab a knife. She stabbed Price several times and the commotion caused the family dog to attack Price as well, further injuring him.
Price was able to get out of the house and fled the area on foot.
When police interviewed the teen she suggested the sexual abuse had been going on for months.
Area hospitals have been alerted to the situation if Price attempts to seek treatment.The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) "found merit" in a number of labor-rights complaints against Wal-Mart brought by workers at stores across the country, an NLRB spokesman told Al Jazeera on Monday.
The NLRB's findings came amid labor disputes involving the world's largest retailer and before the traditional Black Friday kick-off to this year's holiday shopping season.
NLRB spokesman Gregory King told Al Jazeera that the board, which is charged with protecting employee rights, "found merit in some of the charges that have been brought to us but not in others."
The NLRB said it found that Wal-Mart unlawfully threatened employees with retaliation — including termination and surveillance — for participating in demonstrations at stores in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington.
In California, Florida, Missouri and Texas, employees faced pressure, discipline or termination "in anticipation of or in response to employees' other protected concerted activities," an NLRB statement said.
The NLRB also said it found Wal-Mart stores in Illinois and Texas did not interfere with employees' right to strike by ordering them off Wal-Mart property. And counter to employee accusations, the board said that California and Washington stores "did not unlawfully change work schedules, disparately apply their policies or otherwise coerce employees in retaliation for their exercise of statutory rights."
Wal-Mart faces legal action if it cannot settle with employees in cases in which the NLRB's investigation sided with the employees, King said.
He said the board "has authorized complaints that will be issued if a settlement (between Wal-Mart and employees) can't be reached within the next week or so."
"My understanding is that Wal-Mart's counsel has been informed of the (NLRB's) decision. They asked for an opportunity to speak to their client," King said. "We are anticipating that certainly within a week or two, there will be settlement discussions or we will file a complaint."
If Wal-Mart does not settle in the next two weeks, it faces not only legal action by the NLRB but also financial ramifications related to wrongful terminations.
Wal-Mart appeared poised to take on the NLRB.
"We're going to defend our company. We believe our actions did not violate the law," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan told Al Jazeera. "This is just a procedural step, and we will continue to pursue our options to defend the company because we believe our actions were legal and justified."
"The fact is we provide good jobs and unparalleled opportunities for our associates," she said, using the company's term for Wal-Mart staff.
Katherine Stone, a UCLA law professor specializing in labor and employment law, explained that while the NLRB cannot independently prosecute Wal-Mart, failing to settle may cost the retail giant in the long term.
"The NLRB is not a prosecutor in the criminal law. It maintains an adjudicatory section which processes what are called unfair labor practice charges," she said, explaining that Wal-Mart "could be subjected to an order to put people back to work and give back pay or face legal action."
"It's in Wal-Mart's best interest to resolve this so they don't have to pay too much back pay," Stone said.Earlier this week, the Smashing Pumpkins reissued their already-massive 1996 box set The Aeroplane Flies High in four separate remastered editions: A six-CD and single-DVD package, a five-LP vinyl collection, a deluxe digital version, and a standard digital release. The DVD contains footage of a July 4, 1997 concert the Pumpkins played in Belfort, France near the end of their Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness tour. As SPIN noted last week, the entire performance was screened during a recent interactive viewing party on Facebook, but fans who missed the stream can still catch one of the gig’s highlights right here at SPIN: A nearly nine-minute video of Billy Corgan and crew muscling through “The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right).” It’s a brutal track that finds the Pumpkins chasing one of Corgan’s heavy metal-minded fits of inspiration.Ray Brent Marsh, the operator of a northwest Georgia crematory where 334 corpses were discovered in 2002, was released from prison Wednesday.
Acting on a tip in February 2002, investigators discovered a ghastly scene of bodies buried, stacked and strewn about the Tri-State Crematory in the Noble community. The case made international news and inspired a film.
Marsh pleaded guilty to 787 counts of theft, abuse of a corpse, burial service fraud and making false statements. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2004. Marsh walked out of the Central State Prison in Bibb County on Wednesday, accompanied by his attorney, according to Channel 2 Action News.
The Tri-State Crematory was torn down in 2005 as part of a settlement with relatives of people sent there.SALISBURY, Md.– A petition is circulating to remove a historical marker of a Confederate general from downtown Salisbury.
The marker commemorates John Henry Winder, a general in the army of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Born in Somerset County in 1800, Winder commanded all of the military prison camps of the Confederacy. The marker stands outside the Old Wicomico County Courthouse.
James Yamakawa, leader of Showing Up for Racial Justice, or SURJ, created the petition. Yamakawa says the history of the land it stands on plays a significant role in why it must be removed.
Before the Old Wicomico County Courthouse existed, the Byrd Tavern was located in this area. The Byrd Tavern was known as a place where slaves were bought and sold. Also, in 1931, a young black man named Matthew Williams was lynched by a mob in a tree just outside of the courthouse.
Yamakawa says he believes the marker should be removed, not to erase history, but to respect the painful reminder of that area’s history.
“It’s more about the image,” Yamakwa said. “This is a sign for a Confederate general in charge of prisons for the Confederacy in shouting distance from a place where a man was lynched and a place where slaves were bought and sold. That says something."
Kisha Holcomb, a Salisbury resident, does not agree with those who want the sign removed.
"I don't know why they want to have it moved because that'd be like basically erasing history," she said.
In response to the petition imploring the marker’s removal, a counter petition has been created to keep the marker in its place.
Yamakawa says he will turn the petition over to the Wicomico County Council once it gets the signatures he feels are needed.Former Maryland state delegate Heather Mizeur (D) will not run for Senate in 2016, she announced Wednesday.
Mizeur, who made a stronger-than-expected showing in last year’s gubernatorial primary, wrote on her Facebook page that she was “not ready to embark so soon on another grueling statewide campaign for public office.”
The Takoma Park progressive came in third in the gubernatorial race, just behind then-Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler but far behind the Democratic nominee, then-Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown. Brown lost to Republican Larry Hogan.
“I am still rebuilding my capacity to give of myself in such a big way again,” Mizeur wrote. “Words cannot thank you enough for having such faith in me and I ask that you keep that fire ready for a future contest where we are both ready to jump in with all we have to give!”
She would have been Maryland’s first female governor and the first openly gay person elected governor of any state. In the Senate, however, that barrier was broken with the election of Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) in 2012.
[Pr. George’s Baker endorses Van Hollen over Edwards in Senate race]
Mizeur ran in 2014 on a platform of a living wage, mandated paid sick leave, free pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds, legalization of marijuana and higher taxes on the wealthiest residents so that 90 percent of taxpayers can pay less.
Coming into the race with far less name recognition than her rivals, she began to outpace Gansler in fundraising toward the end of the campaign. She used the state public financing system, which matches campaign donations of up to $250 for candidates who agree to keep their spending under roughly $2.5 million.
After winning the primary, Brown praised his former rival for having “galvanized a true progressive movement” in the state.
Mizeur on Wednesday called the field of potential candidates vying to replace retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D) “an embarrassment of riches” that would serve her supporters well.
U.S. Reps. Donna F. Edwards and Chris Van Hollen have both launched campaigns. Many more Democrats are considering joining them, including Reps. Elijah Cummings, John Delaney, John Sarbanes and C.A. Dutch Ruppersburger, as well as former lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.Pew has been making headlines with its recent study [PDF] on US income distributions, alarmingly titled "The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground."
Bemoaning the fate of the middle class is the favorite pastime of the political class, but Pew (and a chorus of commentators) missed the mark here.
Here's how Pew portrays the fate of the middle class:
This is all based on relative position — on the distance your household is from the median — not on absolute income. But even here you can see that, of the 11 percent who left the middle, most (7 percent) moved up, not down. That's not "losing ground."
When you look at actual incomes, rather than relative positions, you see how completely false this claim really is. Mark Perry crunched the Census data on family incomes, and it shows that the old middle is disappearing up:
The Financial Times animated this process with Pew's data to show both relative and absolute incomes over time. Watch as the middle shifts to the right — it quite literally gains ground!
Most households got richer, not poorer, and the distribution is even flatter in 2015 than the halcyon days of 1971.
Hat tip to the indispensable Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek and to Mark Perry at AEI.A frequent tactic of anti-abortion activists is to let women know the restrictions on their rights is to “help” them make better choices. There’s a long history in this approach, and one that is steeped in the belief that women are such inferior creatures that, like juveniles, only well-intentioned men can make certain decisions for them.
The latest incarnation of these “helping” strategy showed up in Minnesota, where a Brainerd-based nonprofit announced its plan to start stocking pregnancy kits at bars and restaurants so they can “help” expectant mothers avoid prenatal exposure to alcohol.
As of now the take-a-pregnancy-test-before-we’ll-serve-you-alcohol is purely voluntary and limited to Minnesota. But the group behind it has big plans. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
The nonprofit seeks to make pregnancy tests available “worldwide in locations where women can test before drinking alcohol rather than waiting until a month or two into the pregnancy,” according to executive director and founder Jody Crowe. He said he hopes eventually to install dispensers in women’s restrooms at bars, gas stations, shopping malls, fitness centers and other locations “to target those at high risk for unexpect[ed] pregnancies.”
If it truly is a crack at addressing the problem of fetal alcohol syndrome it certainly is an indirect way to target it. Crowe’s own conclusion that the demographic most likely to drink while pregnant consists of financially stable women, in urban areas, over age 30 which is why the pregnancy tests are appearing first in upscale bars and restaurants. But research on fetal alcohol syndrome rates show 3.0 per 1000 live births among Native Americans compared to a rate of 0.6 per 1000 live births among Blacks and 0.1 per 1000 live births among Whites. There’s nothing in Crowe’s “helping” that actually addresses the populations most at risk for drinking to the point of FAS. And that’s because it was never intended to.
Once the test, and expectations that women take them, are normalized, the voluntary nature goes away. We’re already prosecuting women for failed pregnancies and mental illness. Before long we’ll be “helping” them by monitoring their menstrual cycle and registering each pregnancy for state-monitoring.
Related Stories:
Is It Really Ok To Drink In Early Pregnancy?
What If We Just Stopped Judging Moms?
Photo from doviende via flickr.After a two-week investigation, secret indictments were returned against Carlisa Davis and her mother Lisa Davis.
The young mother is charged with two counts of child endangering, a third degree felony.
It was Feb. 2 when Carlisa Davis discovered her two children, ages 9 months and 21 months, unconscious on the kitchen floor at her home. She took both infants to St. Joseph Hospital where they were administered Narcan.
Prosecutors explained why the charge against the mother is a third degree felony.
"These charges mean that she violated the duty of care, protection and support, and that violation of duty resulted in serious physical harm to the kids," said Assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor, Diane Barber.
Barber said she could not divulge how investigators believe the children ingested heroin.
"The evidence doesn't indicate that anyone administered any sort of narcotic to the kids. I really don't want to get into specifics," Barber said.
Lisa Davis, the grandmother, is indicted on one count of permitting drug abuse. Prosecutors say she was aware of the drug activity inside the home and could face up to one year in prison. She was granted a pre-trial release.
The mother was returned to jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond. If convicted, she could face up to three years in prison on each count. Both woman have pre-trial hearings next week.
The investigation into the drug activity is on-going and additional arrests could be made. Authorities say the two children remain in the custody of Trumbull Children Services.The crazed Las Vegas shooter sent his Filipino-born girlfriend overseas in the days before he gunned down 58 people at a country music concert, getting her out of the way so as not to disrupt his murderous plans, the woman's sisters said Wednesday.
Marilou Danley’s sisters told local Australian TV station 7 News Sydney that gunman Stephen Paddock sent Danley to the Philippines before the shooting spree, and denied Danley had prior knowledge of the attack.
“She was sent away. She was away so that she will not be there to interfere with what he’s planning,” one of Danley's sisters said.
One of the unidentified women said Danley didn't even know she was headed overseas until Paddock bought a ticket.
"She didn’t even know that she was going to the Philippines, until Steve said 'Marilou, I found you a cheap ticket to the Philippines,'" she said.
Federal authorities met Danley at Los Angeles International Airport late Tuesday and said they would take a harder look at what she might have known leading up to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
"No one can put the puzzles together,” Danley’s sister said. “No one except Marilou. Because Steve is not here to talk anymore. Only Marilou can maybe help.”
In the hours after Paddock opened fire, a dragnet was launched for Danley and she was considered a "person of interest." But officials soon concluded she did not play a direct role in the attack and was out of the country when it occurred. They removed the "person of interest" designation, though authorities said they still wanted to talk to Danley.
As the investigation progressed, however, Danley was once again considered a "person of interest," leading many to wonder what she may have known about Paddock's deadly intentions and when she may have known it.
"[Danley] probably was even [more] shocked than us because she is … closer to him than us," one of Danley's sisters said. "To be able to find out [that] the person you love and live with can do such a thing. And you thought you knew the person yourself."
Danley, 62, was in the Philippines on Sunday when Paddock opened fire from his hotel room, killing 58 and injuring at least 515. Earlier it was believed Paddock killed 59, but a coroner clarified Tuesday that one of those counted among the dead had been Paddock himself.
An Australian citizen, Danley was born in the Philippines and lived in Mesquite, Nev. with Paddock.
Days before the shooting, Paddock transferred $100,000 to the Philippines, a U.S. official told the Associated Press. That official was briefed by law enforcement but not authorized to speak publicly because of the continuing investigation.
Investigators were still trying to trace the money and also looking into a least a dozen financial reports over the past several weeks that indicated Paddock gambled more than $10,000 per day, the official said.
Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said Tuesday he was “absolutely” confident authorities would determine what set off Paddock. He added authorities “anticipate some information from [Danley] shortly.”
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported Danley has worked as a high-limit hostess at the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa in Reno, Nev. The resort told the paper that Danley left her job years ago and it had no information on the gunman or his girlfriend.
The report said Danley was married to Geary Danley in Las Vegas in 1990. They divorced in 2015.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.With the clock running out on the Democratic majority in the House, "60 Minutes" took some time to look at what makes incoming Republican Speaker John Boehner tick.
Poised to become second in the order of Presidential succession, Boehner came from humble beginnings. The second oldest of twelve siblings, he grew up in a small home with a single bathroom and started working in a bar owned by his dad at around 10 years old.
Boehner met his wife, Deborah, while emptying her trash as he worked to pay for college. "He was a janitor on the night shift when I met him," she recalled.
Now, "I'm a regular guy with a big job," he told CBS's Lesley Stahl.
The interview spends some time examining "the sob heard 'round the world" from Boehner's speech after last month's midterm elections.
"I think you probably found out by now, I'm a pretty emotional guy," he reflected. "There's just some things that trigger real emotions. I was trying to talk about the fact that I've |
to read a proper, thoughtful argument on the ethics of organ donation, you may appreciate G R Dunstan’s article from the British Medical Bulletin 1997 (No 4) 921-939:
The ethics of transplantation can be expressed in certain requirements or duties. The first is medical integrity. Patients and the public must be able to trust their doctors not to sacrifice the interest of one to that of another, from whatever motive. Individuals may make that sacrifice, but not their doctors. The second requirement is scientific validity: the basic biology and technology must be sufficiently assured to offer a probability of beneficial outcome, case by case. The third is consent, based upon information adequately presented, weighed and understood, and unbought, unforced. Without this, the contract is unethical: the tension between self and other is skewed.
It says something about the view of Irish prolifers of Ireland’s doctors that they appear to believe that if abortion was legal in Ireland, doctors would instantly lose all ethics about organ donation.
The only reference I can find to the alleged Lebanese baby balls transplant is from 1976, in a pro-life journal. — Brian Whelan (@brianwhelanhack) January 20, 2013
By the way, you can register with the NHS as an organ donor here, and help the women who travel from Ireland to get an abortion by donating to the Abortion Support Network. If there was an honest ethical argument to be made for making woman who need abortions travel overseas from Ireland, it’s hard to see what it might be – given that even the supporters of the ban on legal abortion in Ireland aren’t making it.
AdvertisementsMany Americans are bundling up this week, as frigid temperatures mark the return of the polar vortex.
Scientists say that although many of us will feel the vortex’s chilly effects intensely this week, the phenomenon is actually a constant in our lives – the low pressure system swirls above the North Pole year-round. Come winter, it sends freezing air southward to us.
"The polar vortex doesn't come and go. It does weaken and strengthen, and that's how it fuels the weather around the world," according to NBC News meteorologist Sherri Pugh.
And contrary to popular belief, although the polar vortex does send wintry temperatures along, it does not impact the weather system. This means that unfortunately, you can’t blame the vortex if the predicted snow later this week makes driving difficult.
"It [the polar vortex] is actually in the stratosphere. Our weather happens in the lower level of the atmosphere, and this occurs just right above that lower level," said Ms. Pugh.
Although the term “polar vortex” entered popular parlance just a few years ago, the concept has been around since the mid-19th century. Recently, the same phenomenon that made the winter of 2014 a winter to remember also occurred in 1977, 1982, 1985, and 1995.
Nevertheless, this year’s polar vortex seems to be a bit early, and scientists have noted that climate change could be changing the vortex somewhat as time goes by.
"Global warming did not create polar vortexes, though the changing climate might be changing the nature of them," Weather Channel meteorologist Stu Ostro wrote in early 2014. "Nor did humans create the term this week... it's been an accepted scientific one for at least 75 years."
Some areas of the country will have it worse than others this week, with the mercury dropping in states like Michigan and Montana to temperatures as low as 30 to 40 degrees below zero.
Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy
In most places, however, the vortex will bring temperatures that are merely 20 to 30 degrees lower than usual.
In the Northeast, daily temperatures are expected to be in the teens, while in the upper Midwest and northern Plains states, temperatures will likely fall into the single digits. Of course, those temperatures don’t consider windchill, so residents can expect to feel even chillier than the thermometer might indicate.The Irish beef industry, and especially the suckler sector, is facing into one of the biggest unknowns it has ever witnessed.
Predictions can be made, but nobody knows what Brexit will mean for the Irish beef sector. However, one thing looks certain – farmers will continue to dig in deep to buy quality suckler cows.
This was particularly evident at a number of recent clearance sales, where cows with calves at foot edged toward and passed the €2,000 mark on many occasions.
A local farmer told me of a visit to a clearance sale of cows and calves in recent days.
The farmer had every intention of securing a number of herd replacements, only to find he had underestimated their worth by about €500-600/head.
Given the costs of keeping a suckler cow for a year, the farmer was forced to question ‘would they ever pay me back for buying them?’.
His answer was a definite no, but there were still plenty of other buyers who thought they could justify the outlay.
Balla Mart
Balla Mart held its weekly cattle sale on Saturday and light heifer prices climbed by €20-40/head due to export demand.
Store steers (up to 400kg) made an average price of €2.87/kg, steers weighing 400-500kg averaged €2.36/kg and the heavier lots (500kg+) sold for €2.24/kg.Just to keep you up to date on the playoff situation and the various public posturing surrounding negotiations: the SEC would like a four team playoff with the four best teams regardless of conference championships, the Big 12 would like the same, the Pac-12 has now proposed everything from the plus-one to four-team playoff, while the Big Ten Presidents actually suggested keeping the status quo in a call today.
Jim Delany then clarified this by savaging the subjective current status quo, then suggesting the four best teams should be in, and then setting himself on fire in a rich and flammable mixture of contradictions and potent bullshit. He is the Big Ten commissioner, and also your college football Troll King.
To completely clarify the picture as it stands now, we have created this compact and easy-to-understand guide to the negotiating table of college football's unfolding playoff discussion. Use well, and don't try to read the Big East entries or your eyes will explode with the force of a dying WAC.
You may notice the SEC only has Bear clones coaching 12 teams. Mizzou hasn't earned it yet, and there ain't no way Auburn's ever gettin' one, ever.G-Friend's SinB revealed the girl group cried while preparing choreography for their comeback.
On the July 13th broadcast of SBS Power FM's 'Kim Chang Ryul's Old School', the girls were asked if they went through a hard time for their first ever full-length album 'L.O.L'. SinB said, "We worried a lot because of our choreography. They told us we couldn't go home until we figured out our choreography before the music video filming."
She continued, "We were going to film our dance and send it in, but we had to film it again because a phone rang towards the end. That's when all the members started crying their eyes out. It was 5AM."
Umji also added, "We usually put all of our strength into the last filming, but we felt hopeless having to gather strength again for another time."
Wow! Such hard workers!Disney is in early discussions with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment about rebooting “Splash,” one of the production banner’s early classics. Channing Tatum and Jillian Bell are attached to star in the remake written by Maria Lewis-Ryan.
The original film follows a young man (played by Tom Hanks) who reunites with a mermaid (Daryl Hannah) who saved him from drowning as a boy. He falls in love with her, not knowing who/what she is. In this version, Tatum will actually play the mermaid who saves Bell as a girl only to reunite with her years later.
The 1984 romantic comedy marked the first major hit for Grazer and Howard, and essentially led to the launch of their Imagine Entertainment. Grazer and Howard will return to produce this reimagining along with Free Association’s Tatum, Reid Carolin, and Peter Kieran. Imagine’s Anna Culp will be the executive producer.
Tatum just wrapped production on “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and is about to start filming on “Logan Lucky.” He is repped by UTA and Management 360.
Bell can be seen next in DreamWorks’ “Office Christmas Party.” She is repped by UTA and 3 Arts Entertainment.
The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.B.C. Nurses' Union is sounding the alarm over nurse staffing hours and says the new health-care model is putting patients at risk on Vancouver Island.
The union fears more hospitals in B.C. will began using this new model — which they call a "cost-saving measure" — and it began binding arbitration over the issue on Wednesday with the Island Health Authority to stop it from being implemented elsewhere.
The new patient-care program employs more care aid workers to deal with the day-to-day needs of patients, such as bathing and getting out of bed. But nurses say there are overwhelmed with the volume of patients they are now responsible for.
The nurses' union president Gayle Duteil says nurses are now seeing upwards of eight patients, which is double what she says is the appropriate ratio.
Duteil warned that it's a matter of time before something goes wrong, such as "missed medications, missed doctor's orders, missed opportunity to assess the patient."
Nurse Kelley Charters says she has witnessed senior nurses break down from the stress of not being able to provide patient care. (Tina Lovgreen/CBC)
Nanaimo registered nurse Kelley Charters claims she has witnessed the decline in patient care first hand.
"It is not working. Nurses are routinely late with medications and treatments," she says. "They are unable to perform the critical knowledge-based assessments that are so important for patient safety."
Cutting cost not the goal, health authority says
However, the Island Health Authority insists patient care has not been compromised.
"We have been regularly monitoring 16 patient-care indicators that track patient-care outcomes and nothing in any of the indicators have shown any negative impact on patient care," said Suzanne Germain, Island Health Authority spokeswoman.
"This has never been about cutting costs. It has been about getting the right kind of care to the right patient at the right time," said Germain.
She says highly-trained nurses are in short supply and are being allocated to provide assessments of patients and develop care plans for those patients instead.Pack your bags, we're going back to Duckburg.
Yes, we're serious.
Disney Channel on Wednesday announced their plans to resurrect DuckTales, the beloved cartoon about Scrooge McDuck and his trio of grandnephews that originally aired back in the late '80s and early '90s.
Characters Scrooge, Donald Duck and rambunctious triplets Huey, Dewey and Louie are set to lead the new series, which will still be titled DuckTales and set to launch in 2017 on Disney XD.
And before you ask, yes, there are other characters also set to return, including butler Duckworth, inventor Gyro Gearloose, pilot Launchpad McQuack, Scrooge's archenemy Flintheart Glomgold, villainous Magica DeSpell & Poe, Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys (Burger Beagle, Bouncer Beagle), nanny Mrs. Beakley and Webby.
"DuckTales has a special place in Disney's TV animation history, it drew its inspiration from Disney Legend Carl Barks' comic books and through its storytelling and artistic showmanship, set an enduring standard for animated entertainment that connects with both kids and adults," Marc Buhaj, senior vice president of programming for Disney XD, said in a statement. "Our new series will bring that same energy and adventurous spirit to a new generation."
DuckTales, a four-time Emmy winner, originally aired 1987-90 and spawned a film, DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. But even as the years have passed, the series has enjoyed a continued awareness thanks to the Internet, where nostalgia for the series is strong.
Just last year, a remake of the series opening titles featuring real ducks amassed over 6 million views on YouTube.
The new series is one of 45 series and four movies Disney is set to present to advertisers in spring during the annual Upfronts presentation in New York City, when networks present their upcoming programming slates.
Now, say it with me: DuckTales — woo-ooo-ooh!During my recent visit to Copenhagen I attended a tripsitting workshop as part of a psychedelic conference. I’d never been to anything like this before so I was pretty curious to see what it would be like. And no, we didn’t look after or watch people tripping their nuts off, but it was pretty cool nonetheless. Here’s an overview.
The workshop was given in a seminar room at a building of Copenhagen’s Metropolitan University College – fittingly, a university of applied sciences. The workshop was full and there were 40 of us there, a mix of men and women from their 20s to their 60s. From appearances you’d never guess that this was a group of psychedelic enthusiasts.
I ended up sat next to the only other Brit in the room, who turned out to be Rosalind Watts – a clinical psychologist who’s part of the research team at Imperial College London and who worked on their groundbreaking psilocybin for depression study – she was also giving a presentation at the conference the next day. It’s good to know that those involved with research are topping up their knowledge and still seeking development – especially as it seems that the progress of the psychedelic movement will depend largely on the results of clinical trials in research settings.
Being in an atmosphere of like-minded people was great – the room was full of people who have an understanding of the potential of psychedelics and want to learn more. As it’s still a fringe movement I don’t often get these real-life interactions where I can freely talk about this kinda stuff so having that sense of community was the perfect backdrop for the workshop.
The workshop was led by Marc Aixalà, a Spanish engineer and psychologist who works as an integrative psychotherapist. Amongst his experience with psychedelics Marc has worked as a coordinator for Kosmicare – a company that provides emergency attention to people going through difficult drug-related experiences at large festivals. Throughout the workshop Marc told us some stories from his work to illustrate points and it was pretty clear that he has considerable experience in this area. I could totally see why he was asked to lead it.
The workshop was basically a presentation and while more interaction might’ve been good, a lot of ground was covered. To give you an idea, topics covered included: the effects of different psychedelic substances and the challenges of a sitter unique to each one; the differences between sitting roles- shaman, sitter, facilitator, guide and therapist; how to screen people for a psychedelic session and how to prepare for it; and how personality can affect reaction to the experience. And loads more, it was packed with useful information.
The small group size allowed for interaction amongst us and for Marc to stop for questions when people had them. Though there was definitely a level of professionalism from Marc and most attendees were clearly there to learn, the atmosphere was relaxed and there was room for some laughter.
It was the first time Marc had given this particular workshop and he’d prepared too much material to fit in to the allotted 4 hours so we ran over by about 40 minutes. I was actually really happy about this as I was learning a lot and had nowhere else to be that afternoon.
Overall it was excellent. It surpassed any expectations I had and I found the whole thing to be very mentally stimulating. It even answered a few questions I didn’t know I had. To finish, I’d like to share a few things that came through from the workshop.
1. Healing Happens Through Intensification
Psychedelics can facilitate healing by intensifying the emotions around whatever difficult issue is being – consciously or subconsciously – avoided. This intensification allows difficult and repressed emotions to be fully experienced and expressed, and in doing so to reach their natural conclusion. This can be understood in the processes by which psychological healing occurs – projection, transference, abreaction, and catharsis. In the context of a therapeutic trip, this means that someone experiencing difficult emotions or sensations should be encouraged to surrender to them, rather than resisting them.
2. People Heal Themselves
Noone can have an experience for anyone else. This is true of healing or perspective shifting experiences too. Each person must go through the process ultimately on their own and reach their own understanding, acceptance and resolution of any troubling issue. As such, a sitting role will usually be passive and supportive. Marc used a nice analogy for this: if you have a cut on your arm, you don’t actively go about healing it. You clean the wound, patch it up, and then allow the healing to take place. Likewise, a sitter’s job is to set and maintain the conditions conducive to the healing process – a safe environment that allows someone to heal themself.
3. Clearly Defined Boundaries Are Helpful
It is helpful to clearly define the ‘rules of the game’ ahead of a session: the level and type of interaction between the tripper and the sitter, who controls the choice and level of the music, what activities, if any, will be undertaken. Setting these boundaries in advance will encourage feelings of security and reassurance and help to create an emotionally safe space for the session.
4. The Approach Is More Important Than The Actions
A calm, centred, supportive approach is more important than what any guide or sitter can say or do. It’s not enough to remember certain actions or follow a set routine, care giving and support goes beyond this – effective sitting requires intuition, compassion and a level of self-awareness.
5. Qualities That Make A Good Sitter Aren’t Quantifiable
Trip-sitting isn’t a science – it’s a combination of an art and a science. Whilst a level of knowledge can be very helpful in some regards, the character and motivations of a sitter are more important. Marc made this point in a panel debate at the conference, explaining that he would much rather have a caring and honest carpenter looking after him than a fully-qualified psychologist who lacks these qualities.
This poses a predicament for the psychedelic movement. If we see these substances legalised for health care and therapy, there will be questions over who can, should, or is qualified to administer these substances and oversee sessions. Some professionals in the field have already stated their belief that psychedelics sessions should only be overseen by qualified medical professionals.
But if the most important qualities are unmeasurable, it would be very hard for any regulatory body to award suitable qualifications or grant licenses to administer psychedelics. In a society and culture that doesn’t like to believe in anything that it can’t touch, weigh, measure or quantify – this will be a tricky issue. This is something that should be considered moving forward.
Brain Scan Qualifications?
Final, crazy idea. Could licenses be awarded based on brain scans? There have been studies on monks using fMRI and EEG technology that show links between brain activity and these, as yet, unmeasurable qualities.
A qualification could be awarded based on the level of activity in your brain’s left pre-frontal cortex compared to the right – a high level means you have a reduced propensity to negativity. Or perhaps a ‘test’ could be that you are wired up and asked to meditate on compassion. Your level of gamma waves – linked to consciousness and attention – would determine your ‘score’. I expect monks would mostly be coming out with the top qualifications, but who wouldn’t want a wise buddhist sage as their psychedelic guide? I certainly wouldn’t mind.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
If you enjoyed this you might also wanna check out:
6 Steps For Helping A Friend Through A Bad Psychedelic Trip – Zendo Project
What It Really Means To Hold Space – Uplift Connect
What it means to “hold space” for people, plus eight tips on how to do it well
The Sweetness Of Holding Space For AnotherRIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Syria’s war escalated abruptly on Friday as government forces and their Russian allies launched ferocious aerial assaults on opposition-held areas of Aleppo amid threats of a big ground offensive, while efforts at the United Nations to revive a cease-fire appeared to collapse.
Repeated airstrikes that obliterated buildings and engulfed neighborhoods in flames killed about 100 people in Aleppo, the divided northern Syrian city that has epitomized the horrors of the war, turning the brief cease-fire of last week and hopes for humanitarian relief into faint memories. The bombings knocked out running water to an estimated two million people, the United Nations said.
“It is the worst day that we’ve had for a very long time,” said James Le Mesurier, the head of Mayday Rescue, which trains Syrian rescue workers. “They are calling it Dresden-esque.”Dubai’s economy is expected to expand further over the next two years after having outperformed global economic growth and defying downward trends that prevailed worldwide in 2016, said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of Economic Development Committee.
The results of Dubai Plan 2021 Annual Report ‘Dubai Pulse’ highlight that the economic performance of the emirate is better than other economies in the region, and that Dubai’s stable macroeconomic environment, its diversification and sustainability policies, growth strategies and infrastructure initiatives continue to fuel outstanding economic performance even when the global economy faces headwinds, Sheikh Ahmed, who is also the Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates Group, was quoted as saying by Wam news agency.
"Diversification, resilience and sustainability are enshrined in every project, policy and strategy that Dubai adopts, including, for example, the Dubai Plan 2021, Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, and Expo 2020. The oil sector now makes up for less than one percent of Dubai’s GDP, while varied initiatives have opened up unprecedented opportunities for global businesses in several non-oil sectors," added Sheikh Ahmed.
Opinion polls point to strong consumer confidence in Dubai's economy, with Dubai's Consumer Confidence Index reaching 138 points in 2016, similar to the previous year. About 80 per cent of the respondents rated Dubai's economy positively during the current period. This is also in line with the respondents' positive assessment of current job opportunities.
Sheikh Ahmed added: "Continuous improvements in the routes, capacity, frequency, quality of service, and competitiveness of air and sea access brought 15 million overnight visitors to Dubai during 2016, up 5 percent compared to 2015. This growth is especially good compared to the 4 percent growth in global tourism, and the decline of 4 percent in the Middle East tourism sector, according to the World Tourism Organization.
"Large investments in travel, tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors will continue to attract more visitors, in line with our strategy to welcome 20 million visitors by 2020," he said.
The GCC, India, UK and Germany, the traditional source markets, account for 40 percent of Dubai's total visitors. Average spending per visitor increased to Dh8,658 in 2016 from Dh8,252 in 2015. Total spending grew by 7.6 per cent reaching Dh126 billion, while the average length of stay per visitor was seven days.
He added: "Nearly 47 contracts worth over Dh11 billion are set to be awarded in 2017 for projects at the Expo 2020 site alone. The Public-Private Partnership Law passed in 2015 has further stimulated greater private sector involvement in Dubai’s construction market."
Trade accounted for 28 per cent of Dubai’s GDP in 2016 followed by Transportation and Storage at 12 percent and Financial Services at 11 percent. The local tourism sector grew by 11 percent in 2016, and is expected to record further growth in the coming years, growing at 5 percent and 5.1 percent in 2017 and 2018, respectively, Sheikh Ahmed explained.
The Real Estate sector is projected to grow by 4.3 percent and 3.8 percent respectively in 2017 and 2018, while the manufacturing sector is anticipated to grow by 3.3 per cent and 4.1 per cent this year and next, underpinned by the Dubai Industrial Strategy. "Dubai is playing a major and increasingly sophisticated role in regional and global value chains through transport, distribution, marketing services and R&D " added Sheikh Ahmed.
The Transportation Sector will also be a key driver for construction sector growth as large investment projects are moving forward, including the Etihad Rail project, the Dubai Metro extension project and the expansion of the container port in Jebel Ali capitalising on Dubai’s role as a major logistics hub between three continents and its geographical location that links major trade routes.
The UAE climbed 13 places in the World Bank Doing Business Report between 2014 and 2017 and now stands at 26 among 190 economies and 1st in the Arab region. The Global Entrepreneurship Index, which measures the health of the entrepreneurship ecosystems in 137 countries annually, placed the UAE 19th in the world and again, first in the Arab world.
Sami Al Qamzi, director general of Dubai Economy, said the stable, transparent and healthy macroeconomic environment, highly developed infrastructure and strong institutions continue to provide the bedrock for a higher, more diversified and sustainable growth path for Dubai.
"We are well under way to achieving the vision of Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, of transforming Dubai into a city of happy, creative and empowered people. We seek to reach the number one rank in Doing Business by 2021 and be in the top 10 most competitive countries in the world in the next four years," said Al Qamzi.
"We are applying an innovative vision and strategy - of facilitating business, improving service efficiencies, creating new investment opportunities, and encouraging entrepreneurship. Dubai is building strong foundations of a globally competitive and sustainable economy and society," added Al Qamzi.
While the domestic trade sector was the chief driver of the emirate’s impressive GDP growth in 2016, tourism, real estate and manufacturing will dominate economic activity in the years ahead, Al Qamzi said referring to the latest economic outlook published by Dubai Economy.
"The economy of Dubai grew by 2.85 percent in real terms in 2016 when global GDP growth stood at 2.4 percent only. More importantly, Dubai has emerged as a major player in the world economy and enjoys a stronger position as a global hub and one of the top five international centres for trade, transport, finance and tourism. Looking ahead, real economic growth in Dubai is expected to reach 3.1 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018, accelerating Dubai’s transformation into a knowledge economy," Al Qamzi concluded.Microsoft's Cortana assistant can now remember what books, TV shows, movies, recipes, and restaurants you like and don't want to forget. The company just introduced its new Cortana Collections feature, which essentially works like a Pinterest board built into your Windows 10 device.
Cortana pops up whenever a user is on a webpage that might have content worth saving, like on a page to buy a book. It'll ask the user to either create a list to save the content, add it to a favorites list, or dismiss the notification altogether. You can see how it works in this video from Microsoft:
Microsoft writes in its post announcing this feature, "Cortana is always learning, so the more you let Cortana help you, the more Cortana does for you." If you're comfortable having your built-in virtual assistant monitor everything you're looking at online, then sure, Cortana Collections seems like a legitimately useful feature. If not, then I'd stay away from Collections.Celebrate the New Year’s weekend with double the fun. Level up and power through the weekend with 2x EXP & Drop!
This event will stack with 2x EXP Coupons and 2x Drop Coupons, so you could earn 4x EXP and 4x Drop during the posted times!
Keep an eye on the top of your screen for the scrolling 2x EXP & Drop announcement or the left side of your screen for the 2x EXP & Drop icon.
This event is available in both Reboot and non-Reboot worlds.
Time:
Saturday, December 31, 2016
PST: 12:00 AM – 3:00 AM & 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM & 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
EST: 3:00 AM – 6:00 AM & 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM & 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM
CET: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM & 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM & 3:00 AM – 6:00 AM (Jan. 1)
AEDT: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM & 5:00 AM – 8:00 AM (Jan. 1) & 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Jan. 1)
Sunday, January 1, 2017
PST: 12:00 AM – 3:00 AM & 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM & 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
EST: 3:00 AM – 6:00 AM & 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM & 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM
CET: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM & 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM & 3:00 AM – 6:00 AM (Jan. 2)
AEDT: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM & 5:00 AM – 8:00 AM (Jan. 2) & 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Jan. 2)
Monday, January 2, 2017The European Union has been contemplating its future after the U.K leaves it. And one of its options could see the 27-country bloc stripped bare of its essentials and unable to guarantee all of its fundamental freedoms.
The scenario - one of a possible five unveiled Wednesday - is called "Nothing But The Single Market" and would mean that the EU as we know it would change dramatically and no longer guarantee all of four of its "fundamental" freedoms, including free movement of workers.
So instead of promoting economic and social welfare across Europe, the very thing that got the EU the Nobel prize for peace, the region would only focus on trade relations - which is the only aspect of the EU Prime Minister Theresa May appears to be interested in.
"In a scenario where the EU27 cannot agree to do more in many policy areas, it increasingly focuses on deepening certain key aspects of the single market. There is no shared resolve to work more together in areas such as migration, security or defense," the European Commission said.
"As a result, the EU27 does not step up its work in most policy domains. Cooperation on new issues of common concern is often managed bilaterally. The EU27 also significantly reduces regulatory burden by withdrawing two existing pieces of legislation for every new initiative proposed," the EC outlined in the white paper released Wednesday.
Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, said in an email that focusing solely on the single market could mean the collapse of the euro area.
"Stripping the EU to the basics of the Single Market could, according to the European Commission, mean that decision-making might be simpler to understand 'but the capacity to act collectively is limited'," Brzeski said.
"Consequently, the EU could also become a network of bilateral agreements and deals, which might 'widen the gap between expectations and delivery at all levels.' If the EU would be stripped to the basics of the Single Market, the entire euro zone could also be at risk."
Though the scenarios outlined by Brussels are weak on detail, one of the consequences of the single market scenario is that the EU budget would be refocused to finance essential functions solely related to the single market.
At the moment, the EU budget is used to support agriculture, fishing and environmental projects within the union, but also to provide humanitarian aid abroad and cover administrative expenditure of all the European institutions, pensions and European schools.
The other four scenarios are:
•carrying on – which would mean deepening of the single market and a pooling of military tools, but all the other areas would be nationally governed
•those who want more do more - some members could move ahead in certain areas without the need for an approval at 27
•doing less more efficiently – the EU would only focus on a small set of policies;
•doing much more together – further integration and work in as many policy areas as possible.
According to Brzeski, these five scenarios are a "rough sketch" and give "a vague assessment of possible negative and positive implications."
But it "is the first official step since the Brexit vote and should lead a new declaration of European leaders at the European Summit in Rome on 25 March… This Summit will give a first indication of how far European leaders could be willing to go with Europe after Brexit," he added.
Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.Thousands of protesters gathered in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, Saturday to celebrate the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and call for their own president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down.
The protesters began marching toward the Egyptian Embassy but were confronted and pushed back by a group of men armed with sticks. There were conflicting reports as to whether the armed men were police or government supporters.
Reports say the clashes came after armed men forced hundreds of protesters to stop a demonstration Friday night in Sana'a.
The gathering points for Saturday's protests were Sana'a University and the city's Tahrir Square, which bears the same name as the rallying point for the protests in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Yemen's ruling party has set up tents in Yemen's Tahrir, or "Liberation," Square to prevent anti-government protesters from taking over the area.
Like Mr. Mubarak, President Saleh has been in power for more than three decades -- since 1978. In an effort to quell unrest, he has promised to step down at the end of his term in 2013.
Yemen is also struggling with poverty and a resurgence of al-Qaida.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.The influence of the "trigger warnings" movement is now so pervasive that many law professors can't even teach a class on a delicate subject without facing an onslaught of requests from students for feelings accommodation.
Harvard Law School Professor Jeannie Suk sheds light on the difficulty of teaching students about rape law when the forecast for campus is always persistent offendedness:
Students seem more anxious about classroom discussion, and about approaching the law of sexual violence in particular, than they have ever been in my eight years as a law professor. Student organizations representing women’s interests now routinely advise students that they should not feel pressured to attend or participate in class sessions that focus on the law of sexual violence, and which might therefore be traumatic. These organizations also ask criminal-law teachers to warn their classes that the rape-law unit might “trigger” traumatic memories. Individual students often ask teachers not to include the law of rape on exams for fear that the material would cause them to perform less well. One teacher I know was recently asked by a student not to use the word “violate” in class—as in “Does this conduct violate the law?”—because the word was triggering. Some students have even suggested that rape law should not be taught because of its potential to cause distress.
Suk—who is one of the signatories on this statement of opposition to Harvard's illiberal sexual assault policy—goes on to note that the very real, terrible consequence of not teaching rape law will be the proliferation of lawyers ill-equipped to deal with such matters. Victims of sexual assault deserve competent legal representation; the legal system needs prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges who have vigorously studied the nuances of rape adjudication. Social progress on all these fronts will be rolled back if law professors stop educating students about rape. That would be a travesty of justice.
It's time to admit that appeasing students' seemingly unlimited senses of personal victimhood entitlement, unenlightened views about public discourse, and thinly-veiled laziness is not merely wrong, but actively dangerous. Colleges are supposed to prepare young people to succeed in the real world; they do students no favors by infantilizing them. But worse than that, by bending over backwards to satisfy the illiberal mob, colleges are doling out diplomas to people who are prepared for neither real life nor their eventual professions. Should medical colleges abdicate their responsibility to instruct students on how to administer a rape kit to a victim, or ask a victim difficult questions about her trauma, because that discussion is triggering to some of the students?
It would be better for professors to instruct students on how to confront their uncomfortable emotions and grow beyond them, but alas, that seems less and less common.
Related: College is bumper bowling, degrees are participant ribbons, etc.
Hat tip: Daily Caller News FoundationLorem Ipsum is commonly used to fill a UI prototype with random data. This can be useful for validating a design quickly, while not getting bogged down in the details of populating a database or objects with data. Microsoft uses this approach with its Windows Phone and Windows 8 app templates. Today, I am introducing a package that can help you go beyond Lorem Ipsum.
AngelaSmith
AngelaSmith is package that can fill your.NET objects with random, but meaningful data. Need a Person? She can give you one. Need a 1000? She can do that too. Here’s how it works:
Let’s assume we have the following class:
public class Person { public string FirstName { get; set; } public string LastName { get; set; } public string Email { get; set; } public string PhoneNumber { get; set; } public int Age { get; set; } }
To generate some random Person instances, do this:
Person person = Angie.Make<Person>(); List<Person> peeps = Angie.FastList<Person>(10);
Here is an example of what the populated Person objects look like:
How does she know? Well…Angie is pretty smart. She can inspect your object and make some intelligent guesses at what kind of data you would expect to see in those properties. Of course, Angie |
EU and Ukraine, and seems to be ready to accept part of Russian demands regarding Ukraine[2], including the most important one, namely a ‘federalisation of Ukraine’. This federalisation de facto means transforming Ukraine into a confederation of independent regions, and will offer Moscow direct influence on the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine, and indirectly on the whole country. Berlin is ready to help Kyiv conduct the reforms and will employ for this purpose the numerous forums of political and economic co-operation Germany has been developing in Ukraine since the mid 1990s. It is also prepared to help stabilise Ukraine’s financial situation, above all by taking action as part of the IMF and the EU. Such aid may be offered on condition that Ukraine commits to adopt a package of structural reforms. Germany has thus far backed the EU’s plan to grant immediate financial assistance to Ukraine and loans worth 15 billion euros in the coming years and also to open up the EU’s internal market for Ukrainian companies. Berlin has also suggested that funds offered to Ukraine as part of development aid could be increased by 20 million euros annually (33 million euros were offered as part of this aid in 2011).
The background of the German stance
The German stance on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is an effect of the changes which have been taking place on the German political scene over the past few years and in German public opinion regarding the country’s policy towards Russia. Two opposing approaches have been present in the debate on this issue. Supporters of the first approach cultivate the key guidelines of Germany’s Ostpolitik dating back to the 1970s (“change through rapprochement”), including its more recent variation, i.e. neue Ostpolitik and the Partnership for Modernisation (“change through integration”). They view Russia as the European Union’s key economic partner with whom it is necessary to co-operate in order to establish a stable European security order[3]. In their opinion, stability in Europe requires a strategic partnership with Russia, even if this involves making concessions, especially given the security challenges in the post-Soviet area, which is seen as Russia’s natural “sphere of influence.” To put co-operation of this kind with Russia into practice, political and economic relations should be institutionalised both at the bilateral level and as part of contacts between the EU and Russia. This is also expected to contribute to enhancing the global role of the European Union, and thus serve the political and economic interests of Germany, since it is a leading EU member state. According to this approach, the strong economisation of German-Russian relations is a positive factor, which will trigger the synergy effect – economic interests (enhancing energy co-operation and increasing the engagement of German companies on the Russian market) will build up the political interests, and thus both platforms of the strategic partnership – political and economic – will be reinforced.
The other approach is an effect of the frustration with the lack of success of the policy towards Russia as described above and is based on the conviction that the strength of this country should be measured by its destructive potential rather than its desire for constructive action. This approach has been formed as a consequence of events in Russia itself, i.e. Vladimir Putin’s return to power and his increasingly aggressive policy oriented towards Russia regaining its superpower status and rebuilding its area of influence – one proof of which is the annexation of Crimea – and suppression of any signs of civil society activity in Russia. Germany has made changes in its policy, i.e. a growing interest in and the development of closer political and economic co-operation with new regional powers, especially China, the establishment of partnerships based on raw material supplies, and – last but not least – Germany’s decision to undergo an energy transformation which is aimed at ensuring Germany’s independence from energy suppliers through the development of renewable energy sources (RES). All these taken together have all had an equally great impact on the formation of this viewpoint. Given this new context, those who view Russia from a more critical and demanding angle believe that it will remain an important strategic partner but will no longer be the only one in the economic and political co-operation of Germany besides the EU and the USA.
However, both of these factions have a few key features in common:
the unbreakable belief in the success of Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik, as part of which strong economic relations were established with Russia in the 1970s and 1980s, and which has been interpreted as a key strategy which enabled the reunification of Germany;
sticking to the key principle in German political culture, namely continuing dialogue and the search for consensus, especially with a strong partner;
viewing Berlin as a mediator and intermediary between Russia and the West;
not seeing Russia as a military threat to Europe;
advocating the broadest possible participation for Russia in debate and actions concerning the future of the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, which in fact means treating Russia as the only real partner in the areas of politics, security and economy in the CIS countries.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the growing pressure on Germany to take a clear stance on the Russian aggression in Crimea have fuelled the debate in politics and the media in Germany. As a consequence, the above mentioned divides have reappeared. Although these divides have been increasingly evident recently, they have been underplayed on purpose. One of the reasons for this was the fact that even though political relations between Berlin and Moscow had cooled significantly, trade and economic co-operation was still going well[4].
Most political parties (the CDU/CSU and the SPD from the government coalition and the Green Party from the opposition) have backed the actions taken in response to the present crisis by both Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier (he became the most popular politician in Germany during the crisis, overtaking Merkel). They are of the opinion that the West had to respond firmly to Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but they are sceptical about the possible imposition of heavy sanctions. A significant part of the German public also have a positive opinion about the foreign policy adopted by the grand coalition (67% of respondents) and more broadly also that of the West as a whole (60% of respondents).
The German government is united in its stance, regardless of the party its individual ministers belong to: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), Sigmar Gabriel (the minister for economy and deputy chancellor representing the SPD), the minister of foreign affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) and the minister of finance, Wolfgang Schäuble, (CDU) all want to continue dialogue with Russia while emphasising that Russia has much more to lose than Germany and the EU in both political and economic terms[5]. It is clear that the German government is determined to avoid a confrontation with Russia and is surprised that Russia has not taken a similar approach in return.
However, politicians are still divided in the debate concerning the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, and the differences between them are not precisely determined by their party membership. Appeals for treating the Russian moves with understanding have been heard among the Christian Democrats (e.g. Philipp Mißfelder and Peter Gauweiler), from the SPD (e.g. Gernot Erler, the German government’s Russian affairs coordinator and the former chancellors Gerhard Schroder and Helmut Schmidt), as well as among politicians of the Left Party (the largest opposition grouping in the Bundestag). Accepting and propagating Russian arguments, for example that Russia has been surrounded by the EU and NATO, that the West is co-responsible for the annexation of Crimea due to NATO enlargement and that Moscow’s actions need to be treated with understanding[6] are also widespread in part of the media and among experts and business circles in Germany (which are traditionally represented by the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations[7]). As a result, part of the German public tolerate Russia treating Ukraine, and especially Crimea, as its “sphere of influence” (54% of respondents). The fear of retaliation from Russia as a consequence of the possible imposition of sanctions by the West causes most respondents (58%) to reject this form of pressure on Moscow and to be opposed to the international isolation of Russia and to desire direct talks with Putin (82%; the surveys were conducted in March by the following research centres: Emnid, TNS and Infratest dimap). Furthermore, frequent references have been made in the German debate to the one hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, which is viewed in Germany as the main cause of the subsequent European tragedies of the 20th century (World War II and the division of Europe). This is used as an additional argument for the need to continue dialogue with Russia. This dialogue is expected to prevent military conflict between the West and Russia, which the pacifist German public is anxious about.
The possible economic consequences of a conflict with Russia. What does Germany fear?
In retaliation to possible sanctions, Moscow could use two channels of economic cooperation in an attempt to harm the German economy: trade and investments. However, it appears that Russia could sustain greater losses as a consequence. Trade with Russia is important for Germany because of its structure, and not its value. Germany has scarce natural resources and needs uninterrupted supplies due to its well-developed industry. Russia is above all a major supplier of fuels: natural gas, crude oil and coal. Supply cuts would cause shortages of these fuels in Germany, but Russia would also lose credibility.
The key suppliers of the most important fuels for Germany in 2013 (as percentage of total imports)
Crude oil Natural gas Hard coal Russia 35% Norway 12% United Kingdom 10% Nigeria 8% Kazakhstan 8% Libya 7% Russia 38% Holland 26% Norway 20% Russia 27% USA 22% Columbia 16% Poland 12% Australia 10%
Germany could react in different ways to raw material supply cuts, but Russian gas supplies would be the most difficult to substitute for. Germany decided to develop its gas storages already after the Ukrainian gas crisis in 2009. Its present reserves are sufficient to satisfy the country’s demand for gas for around two months. However, if Gazprom and BASF implement the deal as scheduled in mid 2014[8], the Russian side will gain control over 20% of the German gas storage facilities. Another problem is posed by the fact that Germany would find it difficult to diversify its gas supply sources, since it has no LNG terminal. Furthermore, gas supplies from Holland will be gradually reduced since its fields are approaching exhaustion. Germany hopes that development of renewable energy sources (RES) could contribute to a reduction of its gas imports[9]. Oil supply cuts would also be problematic, especially in eastern Germany, whose refineries (Schwedt – owned by a consortium formed by Shell, BP, Total, Eni and Rosneft; and Leuna – owned by Total) are totally reliant on supplies from Russia. Since they have been adapted to processing of Russian oil, a conflict with Russia might restrict their production capacity. When oil supplies were interrupted at the time of the Russian-Belarusian crises in 2007 and 2010, the output of the refineries fell, and it was only possible to bring part of the missing raw material from Russia by sea via the Rostock port. However, this route cannot compensate fully for the transport capacity of the oil pipelines running from Russia. If supplies from Russia were reduced, Germany could try to modernise its eastern refineries to make them able to process other brands of oil in addition to those from Russia, and to increase the production capacity of the refineries in the west of the country, which would supply fuel to eastern Germany. However, the necessary adjustments required to put such changes into place would be expensive and time-consuming. A cut in coal supplies would not cause any major problems, since the markets are currently oversupplied with coal.
Russia is not a key outlet for German goods; it is ranked 11th after such countries as China, Poland and Belgium, and is only slightly ahead of the Czech Republic. Therefore, losing the Russian market would not be painful for Germany, since it could be compensated by exports to other rapidly growing markets. German firms beyond any doubt would be able to recoup their losses in Russia by expanding to other emerging markets, where their position is already strong, such as China, Mexico, India, Brazil and Indonesia.
The two countries also have close capital links, which would also have to be restricted should economic sanctions be put in place. Capital flow from Germany to Russia is definitely more intense than in the reverse direction. In 2011, accumulated German investments in Russia reached 18 billion euros, while Russian investments in Germany were worth 3.2 billion euros. This means that Germany is an important source of funds for Russia, and German high-quality products contribute to the modernisation of the Russian economy. For Germany this means the possibility for 6,000 firms to do business and these employ, according to estimates, 300,000 people. Russian firms have a share in the German energy sector and also in shipyards, tourist services and chemical and fertiliser production. German banks, which have granted loans to Russian companies worth 16.8 billion euros, would also sustain losses.
The awareness of the above mentioned economic consequences in the case of a long-term deterioration of relations with Russia has given rise to active appeals from representatives of German heavy industry, especially from the energy, electrical engineering and machine-building sectors, to treat the stance taken by Moscow in the present conflict with understanding. Press and TV interviews given by the CEO of E.ON and representatives of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations opposing the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia and talks between the CEO of Siemens and Vladimir Putin[10] have in fact backed the Kremlin’s narrative. The hasty deal struck by Germany’s RWE and the Russian fund LetterOne[11] as part of which a company involved in oil and gas exploration was sold can also be interpreted as an attempt to soften the tension between Germany and Russia. However, the moment at which the transaction was effected is seen in Germany as being controversial.
German firms have already sustained losses as a consequence of the conflict. These losses are above all an effect of the significant weakening of the Russian currency, causing a serious fall in the value of income transferred from Russia to Germany. The media have also reported that many firms had withheld their decision to invest in Russia. Companies fear that sanctions could adversely affect their financial results and that this will be difficult to compensate given that the financial crisis is still ongoing in the EU. A deterioration of relations with Russia could also seriously undermine their negotiating position as part of the competition for contracts connected with the organisation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on Russia. Berlin does not want to restrict economic relations with Moscow precisely due to this resistance from a section of German business engaged in Russia; one exception was the decision to suspend the implementation of the contract by the weapons producer Rheinmetall AG covering the construction of a combat training centre in Mulino in Russia. The contract is worth 120 million euros. However, this decision has also been determined as “temporary”.
It is also worth emphasising that part of the economic elite are aware of the fact that Moscow’s violation of international law set a dangerous precedent which has adversely affected the investment climate in Central Europe, where Germany invests much more heavily than in Russia. The Russian economy’s co-dependence on exports of its raw materials to Europe is also well-known and has been emphasised in interviews given by the presidents of the Federation of German Industries and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce[12].
Forecasts
Unless the Russian-Ukrainian conflict worsens, the German government will continue its policy of reducing tension. In the German interpretation this means de facto, if not de jure, recognition of the annexation of Crimea and putting pressure both on President Putin to normalise relations with Ukraine as soon as possible and on the Ukrainian government to accept Russian demands. If the conflict escalates, external pressure will force Germany to take further steps against Russia, which would put both the economic interests of Germany and the future of building European security in co-operation with Russia at stake. Berlin can feel the effects of pressure from the USA and part of the EU’s member states to take more radical measures that would go beyond just strong rhetoric already at this stage of the conflict[13]. In the long term, Russia’s stance in the conflict with Ukraine will reinforce the viewpoint shared by some in the German government that the Kremlin’s ruling elite has a destructive power and is irrational, resulting in: (a) an accelerated process of diversification of investments and raw material imports coming into Germany, (b) an intensification of the internal dispute in Germany on its Russian policy, as a consequence of which the lack of a concept for this policy will become especially evident; and (c) even more caution in dealing with Russia, especially as regards the EU eastern neighbourhood policy. Although Ukraine’s accession to the EU is not on the agenda in German policy, fear of Russian actions could bring about a change in Germany’s approach to signing the economic part of the negotiated Accession Agreement with Ukraine and also with Moldova.
Co-operation: Kamil FrymarkSexual anorexia, a term made popular by sex addiction expert Dr. Patrick Carnes, is the compulsive avoidance of sex and sex-related matters.
In his book, Sexual Anorexia: Overcoming Sexual Self-Hatred, Carnes presents sexual anorexia as a form of sex addiction. The word anorexia means without appetite (anorexia being derived from the Greek word, orexis), so sexual anorexia refers to a lack of sexual appetite. What makes it a form of addiction is the compulsive avoidance of sex that sexual anorexics build their lives around. This can include:
Persistent fear of intimacy, sexual contact, sexual pleasure, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
Preoccupation, to the point of obsession, with sexual matters, including the sexuality, sexual intentions and sexual behaviors of others, and their own sexual adequacy
Negative, rigid, or judgmental attitudes about sex, body appearance and sexual activity
Shame and self-loathing over sexual experiences
Self-destructive behavior in order to avoid, limit, or stop sex
Who's at Risk
Sexual anorexia can affect men and women alike. According to Carnes, victims of past sexual abuse or sexual rejection are most often affected and are often unaware of the reason for their difficulties with sex.
Individuals with sexual anorexia may also have concurrent problems with other addictions, such as food addiction, substance addictions, and other obsessive or anxiety-driven problems.
People who strongly identify with cultural, social or religious groups that involve sexual oppression, repression or other negative approaches to sexuality may also be particularly vulnerable to developing the obsessive avoidance of sex that characterizes sexual anorexia.
Do Sexual Anorexics Ever Have Sex?
Sexual anorexics may be prone to occasional periods of sexual promiscuity, or "sleeping around," a bit like bulimics—people who periodically starve themselves of food, then binge and purge what they have eaten. For example, a sexual anorexic may abstain from sex except when he's intoxicated. In this case, the rigid boundaries around sexual expression crumble when inhibitions are lowered.
Despite their aversion to sex, sexual anorexics may be engaged in "sexual" relationships, including marriage, although the quality of the relationship is likely to be impaired by the sex avoidance of one or both partners. Ironically, a sexual anorexic may even form a relationship with an "acting out" sex addict, as one partner loses control over their sexuality while the other has excessive control. In a situation like this, one partner may be promiscuous, while the other abstains from sex.
Getting Help
Sexual anorexia is not an official diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association (APA)’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), but problems of avoidance of sex are well-recognized by sex therapists, couples counselors, and psychologists. If you or your partner are having difficulties with your feelings about sex or sexual expression, you may be able to get a referral to a sex therapist from your doctor.When filmmaker Robbie Bryan was writing his anime movie he envisioned a lead character who was unique and brave.
He envisioned a quirky teenage girl who had passion, and though she was the object of bullying, she had the strength to rise through it.
He envisioned a tough girl who would let nothing keep her from her dreams.
He envisioned Cassie England, 16, of Baton Rouge, La. He just didn't know she actually existed.
And though Cassie died a month ago from a rare and brutal skin disease, Bryan, who met her family a week after her death, is making her a key part of his upcoming film, "The Black Hat."
Cassie England suffered from a rare and extremely painful skin condition called recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Her father Logan England, 41, told the Daily news she was diagnosed with the condition at birth and it led to constant pain and illness throughout her life.
A character tributing Cassie England that will appear in Robbie Bryan’s ‘The Black Hat.’ (Courtesy of Robbie Bryan)
The genetic disease meant Cassie did not have a certain protein that would keep her skin together. It left her extremely vulnerable to skin infections and, oftentimes, portions of her skin would fall off.
By the third grade she had to be pulled out of public school because she kept getting sick, Logan said. A normal bath would take between four or five hours, as Logan said all of the bandages on her body had to be removed and then put back on.
Transforming into another world
Cassie's condition contributed to her life's passion — anime — a form of animation that originated in Japan. It often features characters with heroic superpowers.
Cassie's love of anime began when she was 7 years old and saw a program on the Cartoon Network, her father said.
An example of Cassie's artwork. She would often go to anime conventions and show it to professional artists. (Courtesy of Logan England)
"She fell in love with it instantly," he said. "The whole idea of magic and a fantasy realm where people could transform into something that could be stronger, where people were more resilient, and could draw strength and be something else really appealed to her."
Cassie got a pet kitten, Katherine, when she was 6 and would always dress as the animal for Halloween. Eventually when she was 10, Logan said her family gave her cat ears, which she wore all the time.
The collection reached 15 pairs, he said.
"She had surgery with her cat ears," he said. "She would tell the anesthesiologist 'I'm only doing this if I can wear my ears.'"
So it's no surprise Cassie created a fairy-cat anime character for herself named Mimi — off the Japanese word necomimi for cat ears.
Filmmaker Robbie Bryan, met Cassie England’s father and decided to include her in the film. He named a character after her. (Courtesy of Robbie Bryan)
"It was part-cat and part-butterfly fairy," Logan said.
She began to draw and would go to anime conventions and meet with the comic book artists to show them her artwork. She drew in the style of manga, which is found in Japanese comic books.
The artists would compliment her on her attention to detail and skill at shadowing, Logan said.
"She was always very encouraged," he said. "They told her to keep up the good work."
Cassie continued her passion even when it was incredibly painful.
Dandi, the main character in the film ‘The Black Hat,’ is very similar to the real life Cassie. (Courtesy of Robbie Bryan)
A loss of scar tissue meant for the past year and a half her fingers had curled down to her palms, so the only way she could hold a pencil would be between her thumb and rest of the hand.
But Cassie still kept drawing as much as she could.
"That was her dream," Logan said. "She understood people died with her condition, but she wanted to go to Tokyo for college and be a manga artist."
'A Merciful Death'
Cassie's birthday was Mar. 6, and she planned to go to Comic Con in nearby New Orleans with her family as her 17th birthday present.
Another look at Dandi, the lead character in Robbie Bryan’s ‘The Black Hat.’ (Courtesy of Robbie Bryan)
But she died on Jan. 10 as her body finally succumbed to the constant health problems.
The constant infections also caused damage to her organs and she would need blood transfusions, Logan said.
Though "tough as nails," her father said Cassie finally said she had enough with all the treatments. When the family recently got sick from an infection last month, Cassie fell ill and could not be revived.
"It was merciful death given her disease, to tell you the truth," he said. "It's a terrible disease. It would have only gotten worse. … (Her death) was quick, there was no pain and she was not aware of what was happening to her."
'Taken in by the Passion'
Cassie in character for a convention in New Orleans in 2012. (Courtesy of Logan England)
At the time, Bryan was casting his movie and raising money completely unaware of Cassie's plight. But soon he would know all about the girl with cat ears and decide to dedicate his project to her.
Bryan, of Scotch Plains, N.J., told The News he got started with this project three years ago when he was asked by a producer to write a script that would feature a teenage actress he wanted to star in his film.
The owner of Good to Be Seen Films began researching topics for a plot and discovered the science fiction world of anime.
He decided instead of rushing a script to move ahead on his idea by himself.
"I just said, 'I really think we can make something special,'" he said. "And interesting."
Cassie regularly wore cat ears, one of her favorite accessories. (Courtesy of Logan England)
He spent six months researching the culture and meeting with local groups who meet and discuss their love of the art form and then took another six months to write the project.
He was fascinated by the enthusiasm the people have and they demonstrated it by dressing up as characters and traveling hundreds of miles to conventions.
"I was so taken in by the passion," he said. "A lot of the people are shy, but in this world they can be more confident with themselves."
The film, which will include 11-minutes of anime, is currently undergoing a fund-raising campaign that ends next week and if they raise enough money they hope to start filming this summer. The film must raise about $300,000 by Feb. 22 to ensure the production will happen.
The film will star Jodelle Ferland as Dandi Chiapetta — a quirky teenage girl who is bullied for her love of anime. She wants to travel to an anime convention in Louisiana where a director will turn an amateur manga artist into an anime character. With her parents not onboard, Dandi will enlist the help of a grandfather she never met from a nursing home and take him with her on the trip so he can sign the permission slip.
Cassie England suffered from a rare skin disease known as recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.It caused her fingers to curl down to the rest of her palms. (Courtesy of Logan England)
Bryan said he is in talks with Harry Potter actor Michael Gambon will play the grandfather but a deal has not been finalized.
A Touching Story
Both Logan and Robbie were unaware they had a mutual friend who would soon connect them. She made a $500 donation for the film through the campaign for the right to name a character after Cassie. When she told the director Cassie's story, Bryan decided to make her an integral part of the movie.
"I was so amazingly touched by that story," he said.
Robbie was immediately put in touch with Logan and even though his daughter had just died, he wanted to help him with his movie as much as possible. Bryan met the family last weekend while scouting locations and last weekend they went to Comic Con together.
Cassie as a fairy for Halloween 2012. (Courtesy of Logan England)
Logan did everything he could to enlighten the director of his daughter's story.
"I said Logan your daughter died a week ago," Bryan said. "He was very steadfast. He said, 'All I do is pace up and down my house. This gives me something positive to honor this girl.'"
Bryan decided to name Dandi's best friend Cassie England. The character is a prom queen that struggles with maintaining her popularity and seeing her friend picked on, he said.
The director also said the film's artist will create a character in her likeness that will be shown at the end of movie.
"The idea of a movie of a girl who wanted to be a manga artist — it's kismet that Robbie came into our life," Logan said. "This is the kind of movie she would have loved. This is the perfect way to honor her memory."
Cassie as anime character Miku Hatsune ahead of New Orleans Comic Con in 2012. (Courtesy of Logan England)
'It's OK to be Yourself'
A major theme in the movie that Bryan wants to tell is overcoming bullying. In the film Dandi is often ostracized for what she does, but she fights to overcome her hurt feelings.
This was another reason Bryan felt Cassie's story connects with Dandi's.
"People made fun of how she looked, who she was, it fit so well into the movie," he said. "This girl was in so much pain, but she had so much joy. I was so moved by her courage."
Cassie was often the subject of taunts, Logan said.
People would stare at her in public or move their seats away so they wouldn't be close. Some parents would threaten to pull their kids out of her class because they thought she was contagious.
But anytime she met someone Cassie would not be afraid to express who she was. He said he hopes the film helps other kids be strong in the face of bullying.
"She would tell everybody, 'I'm liberal, I'm pro-gay rights, I believe in stem cell research,'" Logan said. "She was very self-assured and had a strong sense of self. She wanted everyone to have that (feeling) that it's OK to be yourself."
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter @joelzlandau
USING A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO.
Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing!Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders's LGBT rights history has been understandably put under the microscope during this campaign season. While Sanders may have opposed marriage equality in Vermont up until 2006, a decade earlier he was blasting anti-gay congressman Duke Cunningham on the floor of the U.S. House.
During a congressional speech, Cunningham referred to the "homos in the military," which really angered Sanders. It was unusually and not exactly politically safe at the time, but Sanders ripped apart Cunninghams' bigotry very publicly right after.
Slate has a delicious update to this story:
As the Huffington Post’s Zach Carter points out, there is one final postscript to this story. Sanders’ and Cunningham’s careers followed very different paths in the years after their fiery exchange. Sanders, of course, became a senator, then a highly competitive presidential candidate. Cunningham continued to make appallingly homophobic cracks; in 1998, he joked that a prostate exam was “just not natural, unless maybe you’re Barney Frank.” Eight years later, he was convicted of taking millions in bribes from defense contractors and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released to a halfway house in early 2013, then freed completely later that year. After gaining his liberty, Cunningham petitioned for a gun permit, but a judge denied his request, citing a federal law that forbade convicted felons from owning firearms. Cunningham had voted for the measure as a congressman.In Armenia, they are called heroes; in Azerbaijan, martyrs. One lived in a stone house with a dirt floor and no roof; the other in a mud hut with a dirt floor and a tarpaulin roof.
While the opposing forces hold seemingly irreconcilable positions on Karabakh’s fate, most of the soldiers who died in action during Armenia and Azerbaijan’s April 2-6 conflict had a common trait – they came from socially vulnerable families.
Long frustrated by alleged corruption within their respective armies, that fact agitates many ordinary Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Military service in both countries is obligatory for males once they turn 18. Most Armenians serve for two years; Azerbaijanis for 18 months.
Online and offline, a major complaint heard in both countries is the same – soldiers without influential connections or the ability to pay bribes are the ones who bear the brunt of combat. The sons of the wealthy or government officials are believed to be shielded from dangerous assignments.
There is only anecdotal evidence to back this impression. Given the natural sensitivities about security, information on the deployment of individuals and units is not publically available. Meanwhile, casualty lists that indicate slain soldiers’ ages, names and hometowns are released in Armenia, but not in Azerbaijan.
Nonetheless, the general public still suspects discrimination in assignments. And with cause, some analysts and activists believe.
Lists of the 97 Armenian and Karabakhi soldiers killed did not include the names of men known to be the sons of senior officials or wealthy businessmen, noted Armenian human-rights activist Artur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, which works with military abuse cases, and Edgar Khachatrian, the head of Peace Dialogue, which also deals with soldiers’ rights.
The Armenian Defense Ministry has refused to release demographic information about its conscript-based army, Sakunts added.
“On the grounds of confidentiality, there is no such mechanism to be able to control or find out how many children of state officials serve, who serves where, and so forth,” said Khachatrian. “But the study of fatalities shows that not a single official’s son died. According to our information, no son of an official serves on the frontline.”
Nor did sons of privilege seemingly feature in the official list of 31 Azerbaijani soldiers killed in combat. (Independent estimates put the number up to roughly three times higher.)
“Pictures, interviews with soldiers’ families show their social condition clearly,” said Cesur Sumerenli, chairperson of the Caspian Defense Studies Institute, a non-profit think-tank in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. “We investigate through media, social networks and the result is almost all of [the fatalities] are from poor and ordinary families. We did not see any minister’s [or] official’s son or relatives in the list [of those killed].”
The home villages listed for those killed in combat make that distinction plain.
For the past month, in the hamlet of Lachin, in Azerbaijan’s frontline region of Aghcebedi, blue-red-and-green national flags have hung over the entrance way to the house of 20-year-old soldier Ulvin Mammadov, who was killed by a mortar.
The mud hut has electricity, but no potable water. In this isolated area, salty soil prevents farming. Only cattle breeding provides an income. Unemployment is widespread.
Perhaps for that reason, Mammadov, raised in a family displaced amid the hottest phase of the Karabakh conflict, lasting from 1988-1994, opted to stay in the army once his 18-month-term of service ended. “His parents had [financial] difficulties raising him,” said Mammadov’s grandmother, Goyush Elvendova. “Our living conditions are obvious.”
As for all soldiers killed in the line of duty, the Azerbaijani government covered Mammadov’s funeral expenses. His family will receive the standard monthly pension of 185 manats ($121). Surviving family members of “national heroes” receive 200 manats ($133).
Some 400 kilometers to the east, in the western Armenian region of Aragatsotn, an Armenian family also struggles with loss amid grinding poverty.
The Sloians had to bury their own son twice – once for his body and then, five days later, when his severed head arrived.
Two months shy of discharge, 19-year-old Private Kyaram Sloian reportedly died when he stayed by an injured comrade during the Azerbaijani assault on the Karabakhi district of Martakert. He was killed and allegedly beheaded, though details remain unclear. Azerbaijan denies responsibility for the beheading.
The Armenian government paid 700,000 drams (about $1,463) for his funeral and another 1.4 million drams (roughly $2,925) for the tombstone. Surviving families receive a onetime payment of at least 3.7 million drams ($7,731).
Such assistance, including additional aid from private Armenian citizens, was welcome. None of the eight members of Sloian’s family has permanent work. The father, Kyalash, and a brother, Hamik, occasionally found work in Russia, but, now that the Russian economy is tanking, labor migration is no longer an option. The two now try to scratch out a livelihood from the land around their village.
In both Armenia and Azerbaijan, those who can shield their sons from frontline service often go to great lengths to do so.
One elderly woman in the Azerbaijani frontline region of Tartar told EurasiaNet.org that her family paid over 2,000 manats ($1,327) to an intermediary to ensure her grandson got a post at a “good” base, away from the frontline. She did not identify the middleman.
“We got a loan from the bank and now I pay 70 manats ($46.43) a month from my pension [in interest],” the woman, who requested anonymity, recounted.
In a bid “to stop complaints and prevent corruption,” the state conscription service claims it provides soldiers with “transparent” information online or via SMS about their assignments. Officials could not be reached for further comment.
In Armenia, bribery is believed to be prevalent as well. In the past, families tried to arrange matters before their sons were entered into a lottery used to determine assignments. Some simply left the country.
The government maintains that the lottery, which can be attended by family members, guarantees transparent and fair assignments. Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian denied on April 16 that only soldiers from impoverished families tend to be sent to the frontline.
“That does not exactly correspond to reality,” he told journalists from local media outlets. Ohanian claimed that his own son, whose name he did not give, is an officer who, like the sons of “many other high-ranking officials,” serves on the frontline.
“There are many sons of state officials who serve in the army,” he asserted. “I am not going to name them one by one now.”
Finance Minister Gagik Khachatrian also has claimed that his two sons “have always been on the frontline.”
One former military correspondent challenges these claims, however. Sons of senior officials may be registered as serving on the frontline, but “do not actually serve,” or, if they do, “have a privileged status on their military base,” alleged Zhanna Alexanian, who now runs the Reporters for Human Rights non-governmental organization.
In Azerbaijan, where heated protests erupted in 2013 over non-combat deaths of soldiers, many complain about a two-class system for soldiers, but few speak publicly |
make work.
15
Eden
Generations of WWE fans grew up with emcees like Tony Chimel and Howard Finkel who were undeniably talented, but looked kind of like your high school science teacher. So it’s hard not to envy the kids today who think of the megawatt smile and girl-next-door loveliness of someone like Eden when they think of ring announcers. If some of you are still pining for the powdered blue tuxedos and male pattern baldness of yesteryear, this talented Diva should make it easy to accept change.
Eden shares some healthy tips
14
Sunny
WWE Hall of Famer Sunny is considered to be the first modern-day WWE Diva. The gorgeous blond bombshell turned the heads of every red-blooded male in the WWE Universe and Superstar in the WWE locker room throughout the 1990s and remains one of the most memorable Divas ever to set foot inside the squared circle.
Check out classic photos of Sunny
The most downloaded woman on AOL in 1996, Sunny also won Slammy Awards for her girl-next-door good looks. The cunning manager wasn’t just another pretty face, however, as she led tag teams like The Bodydonnas and The Smoking Gunns to the World Tag Team Titles.
13
Edge
Edge has ruined lives, sent men packing and caused grown adults to cry in pain. No, it’s not by use of the Spear — it’s all because of Adam Copeland’s ability to break hearts.
See Edge and Christian reunite on Syfy's 'Haven'
Matt Hardy scratched and clawed his way back to the WWE just to gain a measure of retribution against The Rated-R Superstar for stealing his girlfriend, Lita. The extreme Diva wasn’t the only woman in WWE to be won over by Edge’s charms. The Ultimate Opportunist used the power of a wink and a smile to woo Vickie Guerrero who helped her beau rise to the top of SmackDown. The WWE Hall of Famer was never shy about flaunting his exploits with women, which only brought him further success.
12
Maryse
Maryse may have been arrogant and egotistical, but that didn’t stop every man in the WWE Universe from falling in love with her. Before becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion, the French-Canadian beauty was crowned Miss Hawaiian Tropic in 2003. She may have lost to Layla in the 2006 Diva Search, but Maryse did not stay away from WWE for very long as she introduced the season premiere of SmackDown in December 2006. She later appeared in a Timbaland music video before entering active competition. Although she retired in 2011, Maryse dropped jaws whenever she set foot in an arena and also proved her abilities inside the squared circle with two Divas Championships.
Check out photos from The Miz and Maryse's wedding
11
Brie Bella
First time we put this list together, we had The Bella Twins together as one entry. Fast-forward two years and it’s impossible to consider the sisters a single entity (any referee falling for Twin Magic at this point in the game should have his license revoked immediately).
Play two hand touch with the Bella Bowl
What’s more difficult than telling them apart, though, is picking a favorite. Do you prefer a crunchy, Earth goddess beauty like Brie? Or a commanding alpha female like Nikki? Whichever way you choose, you win.
10
Shawn Michaels
You don’t get christened The Heartbreak Kid by looking like Jonah Hill. Luckily for Shawn Michaels, by the time he shed his Midnight Rockers baby fat and embraced his signature leather chaps and dangling earrings, he looked like the front man of some dynamo hair metal band.
Watch the video for Shawn Michaels' 'Tell Me a Lie'
Emanating enough attitude and excess to put Motley Crue to shame, Michaels was well on his way to the top of sports-entertainment by the time Mr. Perfect nicknamed him HBK. Decades later, when he retired from the ring in 2010, the iconic Superstar was clearly no longer a kid. But his knack for breaking hearts never went away.
9
Nikki Bella
What gave Nikki the slight edge over her sister in this countdown? If anything it's been her recent run as Divas Champion, which has announced the buffer Bella as the alpha female of the Divas division. There’s just something about a powerful woman…
Watch Nikki Bella dominate Emma on SmackDown
8
Roman Reigns
Remember that early episode of "Total Divas" where Eva Marie and JoJo had a minor freak-out when they ran into Roman Reigns in the gym? Right then you could’ve tagged the 2015 Royal Rumble Match winner as WWE’s next big thing, because what other guy could intimidate a roomful of dudes while making Maxim models go weak in the knees just by showing up? Reigns is a rare breed, the kind of performer who can have a faceoff with Brock Lesnar or a walk-on as a reality show heartthrob and appear just as convincing in each. Believe that.
Hit the gym with Roman Reigns
7
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Entering the ring at a time when most Asian-Americans in sports-entertainment were positioned as deceitful foreigners, Ricky Steamboat emerged as one of wrestling’s most admirable good guys. The Dragon’s flawless technique and undeniable passion played their part in this distinction, but his perfect visage didn’t hurt.
Read the story of Steamboat's trilogy of matches with Ric Flair
To put it quite literally, Steamboat was a babyface. And the sight of this handsome, well-built kid from Honolulu getting stomped by nasty villains like Jake “The Snake” Roberts naturally played on the audience’s emotions. Sports-entertainment fans will never forget The Dragon fighting uphill battles against Ric Flair and Randy Savage, thanks in no small part to how good he looked doing it.
6
Eve
The striking Eve certainly added credence to the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Sure, the 2007 Diva Search winner was a bombshell, but she was also one of the most accomplished Divas in WWE history. Eve was a three-time WWE Divas Champion, a student of the legendary Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, a former member of the Los Angeles Clippers’ dance team and a graduate of USC with a degree in industrial and systems engineering. Make no mistake about it, Eve had the athleticism, killer body and serious smarts to put her in the running for the title of the most perfect WWE Diva. You just didn't turn your back on her.
Watch Eve's return to Raw
5
The Rock
Yes, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson mixed magnetic charisma with superhuman size in a way no other WWE Superstar had ever done. But believe this — Hollywood would never have come knocking if The Great One had a face like Gene Snitsky’s. Luckily, The Rock inherited camera-ready good looks and a smile that could power a small community, which made his transition from WWE icon to international movie star seem all the more obvious. Now viewed as a sex symbol around the globe, The People’s Champion has gone from being one of the best looking men in sports-entertainment, to one of the best looking men in all of entertainment. Smell what The Rock is cooking?
The Rock returns to Raw to diss Rusev
4
Trish Stratus
Arguably the greatest WWE Diva to step inside the squared circle, former fitness model Trish Stratus was certainly one of the most gorgeous individuals in WWE history. With a smile that could melt hearts, Trish was named WWE Babe of the Year three consecutive times before being declared Diva of the Decade and a WWE Hall of Famer.
See Trish in a wild brawl against Stephanie McMahon
Although her good looks often hid her competitive nature and resiliency, the tenacious competitor was a seven-time WWE Women’s Champion and even held the Hardcore Title. Trish retired from active competition in 2006, but she keeps herself in fighting shape through her Stratusphere yoga program. Since then, men everywhere have been practicing their downward dog pose.
3
Stacy Keibler
Who knew that a blonde and leggy Nitro Girl named Sky would one day become a gossip mag mainstay, attached to perhaps the biggest movie star on the planet?
More than a few WWE fans did. Although Stacy Keibler debuted in WWE with the villainous WCW/ECW Alliance, crowds couldn’t help but cheer the wholesome beauty. A third place finish on “Dancing with the Stars” helped land her roles in shows like “How I Met Your Mother” and on the covers of Maxim, Stuff and Men’s Fitness. And in 2011, she began dating George Clooney, one of the world’s preeminent show business personalities and philanthropists.
Stacy Keibler makes her presence felt on SmackDown
“Dancing with the Stars” judge Bruno Tonioli once nicknamed Stacy “The Weapon of Mass Seduction.” Who are we to disagree?
2
Randy Orton
As a third-generation competitor, Randy Orton was granted every advantage a Superstar could desire, but don’t think WWE’s Apex Predator couldn’t have done it on his own. Perhaps the most perfect specimen sports-entertainment has ever seen, Orton looked as though he was constructed in a laboratory by a team of scientists tasked with creating the perfect professional wrestler. Little surprise then that The Viper was winning World Heavyweight Championships before he was old enough to rent a car. The young Superstar’s brash confidence and unapologetic attitude did little to endear him to his peers in the locker room or the folks who signed his paychecks, but who could blame a guy that looked like this for being arrogant?
Watch Randy Orton in action at WrestleMania
1
Miss Elizabeth
In the 1980s, the standard of beauty in sports-entertainment was set by “The First Lady of Wrestling” herself: Miss Elizabeth.
It can be argued that every valet, manager and WWE Diva since the ’80s has looked to the soft-spoken beauty as the inspiration for their career paths. For the majority of her career, she stood by “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and she represented grace, class and dignity in the squared circle. Though she was no stranger to controversy herself — particularly when Savage suspected Hulk Hogan of courting her — she always remained loyal to “Macho Man,” even returning to his side when he was attacked by Sensational Sherri after his loss to Ultimate Warrior in a Retirement Match.
Watch the emotional reunion of Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage
Decades since she last appeared in WWE, Miss Elizabeth remains the definition of sports-entertainment elegance.TORONTO — Fraud and reduced public confidence in the electoral system could result if voter information cards are used as valid ID at the polls, lawyers for the federal government argued in court Friday.
The government is fighting an injunction request to suspend a key identification provision in its Fair Elections Act.
The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students are asking the court to restore the power of Canada’s chief electoral officer to recognize voter information cards as one form of valid ID — a power taken away in the act — in time for the fall election.
Government lawyer Christine Mohr said in court there is “a long history of concern” over the use of voter information cards. The Harper government made changes to voter identification laws last year. Questions over security, reliability and incidents of misuse and fraud prompted the changes, she said.
“The use of voter information cards could lead to inconsistent application of the (voting) laws,” Mohr told the judge.
She warned that ineligible voters could cast a ballot using the cards as one form of ID and the public’s confidence in the electoral system as a whole would be diminished.
The council and federation argued in court Thursday that there is little evidence of intentional voter fraud, but Mohr said that safeguards against ineligible voters casting a ballot are still required.
“Whether as a result of fraud or by mistake doesn’t matter, there is still an irregularity that affects the election result,” she said.
The potential damage from allowing voter information cards as valid ID is greater than any potential damage caused by not allowing people to use the cards, she said. Mohr told the court it’s important that the system is perceived to have safeguards against ineligible voters casting a ballot.
In 2011, 400,000 voters used the voter information card as valid ID as part of a pilot project, but Mohr says it’s unknown how many of those actually needed the card because they had no other option. If some of those who used the card had another option, then those voters will be able to cast a ballot in the next election, casting doubt on the estimate of tens of thousands, she said.
The government said the use of voter information cards as valid ID is not needed to ensure Canadians have the ability to vote. The cards may make it easier for some people to vote, but convenience is not the government’s duty, Mohr said.
Voters have the option to chose from dozens of different forms of identification, and those pieces of identification are easy to obtain, she said.
“There is no constitutional requirement for this particular document,” Mohr said.
She said that the 45 accepted forms of identification include many government-issued documents, such as a statement of benefits for employment insurance, the Canada Pension Plan or a tax assessment.
The advocacy groups raised concerns that it is difficult for certain groups, including students and the homeless, to get identification with a current address so they can vote where they live. Mohr told the court that students can use any documents issued by their academic institution, a lease or a tuition statement and those could have their current address.
“Updating an address is not particularly onerous,” Mohr said. “There’s no evidence it’s a barrier to voting.”
Before the Fair Elections Act was introduced the chief electoral officer announced his intention for the upcoming election to allow Canadians to use the voter identification cards as valid ID — along with one supporting document that wouldn’t have to contain an address. A factum prepared by Elections Canada and submitted to the court said if the injunction is granted Marc Maynard will authorize the use of voter information cards across Canada.About The Author Vitaly Friedman loves beautiful content and doesn’t like to give in easily. When he is not writing or speaking at a conference, he’s most probably running … More about Vitaly…
Beautiful High-Quality Free Fonts For Your Designs
Smashing Newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our editors’ picks twice a month. Your email Subscribe →
“fresh” high-quality free fonts and present them to you in a brief overview. The choice is enormous, so the time you need to find them is usually the time you should be investing in your current projects. We search for them and we find them, so you don’t have to. In this selection we’re glad to present you Chunk, Titilium, Amputa Bangiz, Serif Beta, Quatro, Rough Draft, Comfortaa and a couple of other high-quality free fonts. Please read the license agreements carefully before using the fonts — the license can change from time to time. * Every now and again we take a look around, selectand present them to you in a brief overview. The choice is enormous, so the time you need to find them is usually the time you should be investing in your current projects. We search for them and we find them, so you don’t have to. In this selection we’re glad to present you Chunk, Titilium, Amputa Bangiz, Serif Beta, Quatro, Rough Draft, Comfortaa and a couple of other high-quality free fonts. Pleasebefore using the fonts — the license can change from time to time. * 15 Beautiful High-Quality Free Fonts 40 Excellent Free Fonts For Professional Design * You can find over 80 more free fonts in our section Fonts
Every now and again we take a look around, select “fresh” high-quality free fonts and present them to you in a brief overview. The choice is enormous, so the time you need to find them is usually the time you should be investing in your current projects. We search for them and we find them, so you don’t have to.
In this selection we’re glad to present you Chunk, Titilium, Amputa Bangiz, Serif Beta, Quatro, Rough Draft, Comfortaa and a couple of other high-quality free fonts. Please read the license agreements carefully before using the fonts — the license can change from time to time.
Further Reading on SmashingMag:
Fresh High-Quality Free Fonts
Chunk Open Source Typeface [ Download the.zip-package ] Chunk is an ultra-bold slab serif typeface that is reminiscent of old American Western woodcuts, broadsides, and newspaper headlines. Used mainly for display, the fat block lettering is unreserved yet refined for contemporary use. OpenType. Designed by Meredith Mandel. (via Graham Smith).
Meet Smashing Book 6 — our brand new book focused on real challenges and real front-end solutions in the real world: from design systems and accessible single-page apps to CSS Custom Properties, CSS Grid, Service Workers, performance, AR/VR and responsive art direction. With Marcy Sutton, Yoav Weiss, Lyza D. Gardner, Laura Elizabeth and many others. Table of Contents →
Titilium [ Download the.zip-package ] A very legible, beautiful academic typeface that perfectly fits to every corporate identity design, magazines and headlines of corporate web-sites. The typeface is available in various weights: text version, title version, extra-black version and full-version.
Amputa Bangiz Standard TTF [ Download the.zip-package ] An original retro/grungy-font, designed by Quiccs and available for free download and use in private and commercial projects. Includes some basic non-alphanumeric characters as well.
Serif Beta [ specimen | Download the.zip-package ] Serif Beta is a very legible large serif family of free fonts, including 3 fontspacks with the optic weights 6, 12 und 72 (overall 14 weights). The family includes swash-glyphs and black-weights. Each font has 274 glyphs. Free for personal and commercial use, feedback is appreciated. (via dersven).
Quatro To receive a beta version of Quatro please email the author of the font (follow the link above) with the subject line Quatro. Please include your full name, where you work/title and a current email address and I will supply a compressed postscript typeface shortly there after.
Rough Draft Regular A legendary TrueType typeface by Harold Lohner. Contains 189 characters in 9 ranges. For $5 you can buy the complete set which includes separate Outline, Clean Fill, and Solid Fill fonts.
Comfortaa [ Download the.zip-package ] Comfortaa is a simple, modern, legible true type font with 466 different characters and symbols (incl. European accents). Available in three weights: Regular, Bold and Thin. The typeface has smooth, rounded edges, Absolutely free for personal and commercial projects. Designed by Johan Aakerlund from Denmark.
MOD™ font [ Download the.zip-package ]
Mod is an original, experimental font that is applicable for any type of graphic design – Web, print, motion graphics etc and perfect for T-shirts and other items like logos, pictograms. Designed by Svetoslav Simov from Sofia, Bulgaria.
Reminder (aka Featured in previous posts)
Droid Font Family Google’s Android project, an open platform for mobile devices, includes the Droid font family, which was designed to provide optimal quality and comfort on a mobile handset when rendered in application menus, web browsers and for other screen text.
The Droid family of fonts consists of Droid Sans, Droid Sans Mono and Droid Serif. Each contains extensive character set coverage including Western Europe, Eastern/Central Europe, Baltic, Cyrillic, Greek and Turkish support. Description with a specimen. You can find concrete instruction of how you can use the fonts in this article.
Nilland A beautiful slab-serif typeface, designed by Manfred Klein. The family consists of 6 weights, regular, bold, extra bold, black, small caps and small caps bold (link and images via DerSven.de).
Aller Sans [ Specimen | License | Download ] Dalton Maag design team designed a beautiful sans-serif Aller Sans, sponsored by Danish publishing company Aller (hence the name). The typeface was designed as part of the Danish School of Media and Journalisms new CI and is now available for free use and download (via).
M+ Outline These fonts are free software. Unlimited permission is granted to use, copy, and distribute it, with or without modification, either commercially and noncommercially. Designed by Morishita Coji. The fonts are regulary updated, work in progress. Caution: Japanese language.
Goudy Bookletter 1911 A serif old-style OpenType font. You need to scroll the frame to find the download link. [via derSven]
Andale Mono Andale Mono is a highly legible monospaced font which was originally distributed as part of the Internet Explorer 4.0 add-ons page as Monotype.com. It distinguishes well between the zero, and the O. You can find 4 further monospaced fonts in Hamish Macpherson’s article The Typography of Code.
Credits: Hamish Macpherson
Junction [ Download the.zip-package ]
Designed by Caroline Hadilaksono, Junction is a humanist sans-serif typeface. It has elegant, clearn and very sharp glyphs, but contains only 100 most common symbols. Like Gentium it perfectly fits to body copy, but can also show its strengths, balance and beauty in headlines. Here are some insights from the designer:
Vegur This humanist sans-serif family is available in OpenType-format in three weights: ExtraLight, Regular and Bold. The typeface can be perfectly used both in body copy and in headlines.
More free fonts!
For more free fonts, please consider visitiong our previous posts:
Further ResourcesDuring WWI (1914-1918), large numbers of women were recruited into jobs vacated by men who had gone to fight in the war. New jobs were also created as part of the war effort, for example in munitions factories. The high demand for weapons resulted in the munitions factories becoming the largest single employer of women during 1918. Though there was initial resistance to hiring women for what was seen as ‘men’s work’, the introduction of conscription in 1916 made the need for women workers urgent. Around this time, the government began coordinating the employment of women through campaigns and recruitment drives.
Examine Examine 20 mins Watch this women on the home front.html and this women at war.html Now answer the following questions: How many jobs can you identify women undertaking in the two video clips? What does "social revolution" mean? How did women's entry into the workplace during WW1contribute to the war effort? What was the main message in the government's propaganda film shown in 'Women at War'?
This led to women working in areas of work that were formerly reserved for men, for example as railway guards and ticket collectors, buses and tram conductors, postal workers, police, firefighters and as bank ‘tellers’ and clerks. Some women also worked heavy or precision machinery in engineering, led cart horses on farms, and worked in the civil service and factories. However, they received lower wages for doing the same work, and thus began some of the earliest demands for equal pay.
By 1917 munitions factories, which primarily employed women workers, produced 80% of the weapons and shells used by the British Army (Airth-Kindree, 1987). Known as ‘canaries’ because they had to handle TNT (the chemical compound trinitrotoluene that is used as an explosive agent in munitions) which caused their skin to turn yellow, these women risked their lives working with poisonous substances without adequate protective clothing or the required safety measures. Around 400 women died from overexposure to TNT during WWI.
Discuss Discuss 15 mins Watch this clip which depicts the experiences of women working in an ammunitions factory during World War I. women and the great war.html Now listen to this account Womens Munition Worker Account.htm Discuss the following: Why did "order" need to be kept in factories? Why were the women workers called "canaries"? What were the long term impacts of women's entry into the workplace during the World War I?
Women, wages and rights
Women munition workers sorting shells during the First World War Credit: TUC Collections, London Metropolitan University
Women’s employment rates increased during WWI, from 23.6% of the working age population in 1914 to between 37.7% and 46.7% in 1918 (Braybon 1989, p.49). It is difficult to get exact estimates because domestic workers were excluded from these figures and many women moved from domestic service into the jobs created due to the war effort. The employment of married women increased sharply – accounting for nearly 40% of all women workers by 1918 (Braybon, 1989: p. 49).
But because women were paid less than men, there was a worry that employers would continue to employ women in these jobs even when the men returned from the war. This did not happen; either the women were sacked to make way for the returning soldiers or women remained working alongside men but at lower wage rates. But even before the end of the war, many women refused to accept lower pay for what in most cases was the same work as had been done previously by men. The women workers on London buses and trams went on strike in 1918 to demand the same increase in pay (war bonus) as men. The strike spread to other towns in the South East and to the London Underground. This was the first equal pay strike in the UK which was initiated, led and ultimately won by women.
Following women’s demands for equal pay, a Committee was set up by the War Cabinet in 1917 to examine the question of women’s wages and released its final report after the war ended (Report of the War Cabinet Committee on Women in Industry, Cmd 135, 1919, p.2).
This report endorsed the principle of 'equal pay for equal work'. But their expectation was that due to their ‘lesser strength and special health problems’, women's 'output' would not be equal to that of men. Despite evidence that women had taken on what were considered men's jobs and performed them effectively during the war, this did not shift popular (and government) perception that women would be less productive than men. The unions received guarantees that where women had fully replaced skilled men they would be paid the same as the men - ie would receive equal pay. But it was made clear that these changes were for the duration of the war only and would be reversed when the war ended and the soldiers came back.
Compare Compare 30 mins Using images and documents contained in the 'gallery' and text contained within the 'Women, Wages and Rights' section. Create a 5-minute presentation which explores the issues surrounding 'Women, Wages and Rights' You should explore the following in your presentation: Introduce the topic of 'Women, Wages and Rights';
Give an argument for the equal pay of women workers;
Give an argument against the equal pay of women workers;
Which argument do you find more persuasive and why?
Outline the agreement reached on women's wages by government in 'equal pay for equal work';
Do you think the settlement was a fair one for women?
Conclude and give your opinion on the information contained in your presentation. What makes a strong presentation? Use evidence, statistics and quotes to support your arguments
Never have too much text on one slide
Get to the point and keep your points straightforward
Keep your presentation short, have no more than 3 slides in a 5 minute presentation
Use images to enhance your main points
Be careful with your choice of font, colour and layout
Have a title on each slide
Take time when you talk, be clear and make eye contact
Make sure you introduce your presentation, then when concluding link back to this introduction
The women conductors of the Metropolitan Electric Tramways Company pose for a studio portrait in 1917-18 Credit: TUC Collections, London Metropolitan University134 SHARES Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit
Today WorldViz has announced that it received a “multimillion” dollar Series A investment from Intel Capital, the investment arm of the famed chip manufacturer. The company wouldn’t specify the exact amount, but says that the money will be used to “advance the development and distribution of WorldViz’s virtual reality applications for the enterprise.”
As far as the startup world goes, WorldViz is a bit old for a Series A. Founded in 2002, the 13 year old company is well established in the professional VR space, and says they’ve deployed their VR technology to more than 1,500 companies, academic institutions, and government agencies, including Fortune 500s. Although VR has long existed in the enterprise space, it seems that the resurgence of consumer VR is opening doors across the entire ecosystem.
“Intel’s commitment to WorldViz is a strong statement that the enterprise virtual reality market is poised for rapid expansion and WorldViz is positioned to capture this growth,” said Andy Beall, CEO of WorldViz.
As the sole investor of the deal, it’s Intel’s policy not to specify the exact amount of an investment. When I asked WorldViz, they wouldn’t even narrow it down to millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions. However, in 2014 Intel Capital invested $359 million in 125 deals, averaging $2.87 million per investment, which leads me to believe that the deal doesn’t reach into the category of tens of hundreds of millions.
WorldViz designs and deploys custom VR systems for enterprise based on client needs. The systems are powered by their own Vizard VR toolkit which creates virtual scenes that can be viewed and controlled with more than 100 supported motion input devices, VR headsets, 3D displays, CAVEs, haptic devices, eye trackers, and more, including their own ‘Precision Position Tracking‘ system, capable of tracking users in a space more than 150 feet squared, according to the company. Among their 1,500 clients is Stanford, who WorldViz helped to deploy the Virtual Human Interaction Lab.
I spoke with WorldViz CEO Andy Beall who told me that the proliferation of consumer VR has benefits for the professional space as well.
“For the majority of our past customers, one of the things on the bill of materials [for clients wanting to deploy a VR system] would be a $40,000 headset,” Beall told me. “If you look at modern headsets, it’s a big plus… that’s one less barrier for entry for budget. There’s enough press right now that there’s some uncertainty among buyers about timing—’should I wait six months?’—[now] when you’re talking to a business person it’s easy to say, ‘buy the $300 headset today and get the next one in six months!'”
Added recently to the impressive list of hardware supported by the company’s Vizard software are well known consumer devices like the Oculus Rift VR headset and the Razer Hydra motion input controller. The company has a freely available Demo Pack which you can used to step into experiences created with their software, should you have a Rift handy.
WorldViz shows and experience combining a DIY wireless version of the Oculus Rift DK1 with motion input hardware.
Although their software supports consumer hardware, WorldViz plans to focus primarily on growth in the enterprise space where one of the key challenges is getting complex models and data into virtual reality.
“[Virtual reality is] a really fast changing field and that’s why for the first time we decided to consider funding; we need to strengthen and deepen our ties into business and solve the content workflow issues right now,” Beall told me. “Because really I think whoever nails that will be serving the customer needs the best and the fastest. The bottleneck for business users is getting their work into a virtual experience in hours instead of a months.”
And once the content is virtualized, the next major challenge is telling the computer which devices should be responsible for viewing and controlling it.
“Let’s say I want to have my viewpoint and I have two controllers and I want to see my hands, and it’s all different devices. Then I want to be able to fly around [the virtual space] and I want to be able to walk around the physical space, and have the cave update correctly for my perspective, but I also want to be able to navigate within the virtual space,” Beall said as he walked me through an example of how complicated control across a broad array of devices can become. “Now I may want to have my virtual viewpoint leave my physical viewpoint and follow an animation path. When you add all of those elements, it’s easy to hit a limitation or, if you’re trying to dive down to your underlying coding, to just get buried in the math. I think we’ve tackled this and accomplished it better than anyone has for the breath of devices we’re supporting,” he continued.
Even with enterprise as the focus, as consumer VR becomes easier to use for the everyday user the company is considering applying a bit of its expertise to such experiences.
“I think more and more people are going to want to sit down in SketchUp and create a model of their kitchen [for instance], so we’re toying with some ideas of making some viewers really easy to use and dangling those out for the consumer market to gain some visibility,” Beall said.
For Intel’s part, the investment in aligns with the company’s push toward ‘perceptual computing’, which aims to create more natural interactions between people and computers.
“Our investment in WorldViz is consistent with Intel’s strategy to advance natural computing experiences, including virtual reality technology,” said Gregory Bryant, vice president of Intel’s Client Computing Group and general manager of Desktop Client Platforms. “Enterprises have barely tapped the potential of virtual reality, and WorldViz has demonstrated both a technical and business vision to drive adoption of virtual reality in professional settings, anchored on Intel Architecture.”
Having hosted AltspaceVR at their CES 2015 booth and CCP’s Eve Valkyrie the year before that, Intel has been watching the growing virtual reality space closely over the last few years. It’s likely that this is just one of many VR investments to come from the company.Samsung's brand new Galaxy S7 boasts a bunch of new camera tweaks.
Although it has a 12-megapixel sensor -- less than the S6's 16 megapixels -- those pixels are physically larger to allow it to capture more light. It has a wider f/1.2 aperture too to let more light in -- both of which are designed to make it a formidable low-light shooter.
I've put the new Galaxy S7 against its older sibling, the Galaxy S6, and its great rival, Apple's iPhone 6S Plus. All shots are taken in fully automatic mode and at the full available resolution. (Note that the Galaxy S7 Edge has an identical camera to its smaller stablemate, so these examples just as well apply to the larger phone too.)
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
First up, this lovely daffodil, captured well by all three phones. The S7's HDR mode kicked in automatically on this shot, brightening up the darker background and the green leaves. The iPhone's shot is darker and with higher contrast overall. For a spring scene, I prefer the S7's brighter attempt. There's little difference between the S6 and the S7 -- despite the S7's lower resolution, there's no noticeable difference in clarity.
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The phones achieved similar results here, with the iPhone's shot being the darkest of the bunch. This sort of scene can easily fool a phone's camera, with the automatic settings choosing to expose for the bright sky behind the trees, and plunging the rest of the scene into darkness. This seems to be what's happened with the iPhone's shot.
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The grass in front of Hampstead Heath's Kenwood House is much darker on the S7 and S6, but the iPhone has managed to keep a more balanced exposure -- quite the opposite of what we saw in the previous two tests.
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
With high dynamic range (HDR) mode enabled on all three phones, results were better. The S7's shot was brighter, with an attractive exposure balance between the sky and the ground. The iPhone's HDR mode worked well too, although its shot lacks contrast when compared to the other two. You can boost this in editing of course, but straight out of the camera, I prefer the S7's attempt.
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
HDR has again helped the three devices balance the bright blue sky with the shadows on the buildings below. The images are very similar, with natural-looking colours and tons of detail across all three. I marginally prefer the iPhone's attempt as its HDR mode retained more contrast, producing a more realistic scene. This is again very different from the HDR results in the previous test.
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Low light is always a difficult for phone cameras, as their small image sensors can't take in as much light as the larger sensors you'll find on professional dSLRs. But with the S7's larger pixels and brighter aperture, it's well equipped to get good shots in dimly lit scenes.
Despite the S7's lower resolution, it's achieved a crisper shot than the Galaxy S6. The words on the books's pages suffer from less image noise on the S7, which is particularly noticeable at full screen. Both Galaxy phones have used a very warm white balance, however, giving an unnatural yellow hue to the scene. The iPhone's shot, while darker than the others, has more natural colours.
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The S7's shot is the brightest here, which is particularly noticeable on the tin of tomatoes in the centre -- the white text is satisfyingly crisp. On the bottle of Lea & Perrins sauce to the right though, things aren't as good. It's bright, sure, but there's much less detail. The iPhone's shot has more clarity in this portion of the image.
It's probably more useful to have a brighter image than an entirely crisp one -- you'll appreciate your shot of your pasta dinner being well lit more than having every single piece of farfalle in perfect focus.
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Enlarge Image Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Both |
: DADBryce Harper argues a call with home plate umpire Bob Davidson. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
In accordance with its policy to review every ejection, Major League Baseball today is reviewing the actions and words of both Bryce Harper and veteran umpire John Hirschbeck during the confrontation that ended with Harper tossed in the first inning Sunday.
Hirschbeck has come under scrutiny for what many believe to be an over-aggressive stance. Baseball has no precise threshold for when to discipline an umpire. They review incidents case-by-case and determine if the umpire crossed a line into unacceptable behavior.
Yesterday, Hirschbeck told a pool reporter he had “no recourse” but to throw out Harper after he raised his arms over his head, then “threw his bat” and “slammed his helmet down” after Hirschbeck yelled at him. One video clip, though, appears to show Harper dropping both pieces of equipment with little force, although Harper did glare at Hirschbeck as he did so.
Last week, umpire Tom Hallion received a fine for his role in a spat with David Price and other Tampa Bay Rays pitchers. Price alleged Hallion used an expletive toward him, and Hallion replied by calling Price “a liar.”
Harper steered clear of discussing his feelings toward Hirschbeck. He expressed happiness the Nationals had beaten the Pirates and said he did not want to “badmouth” anyone.
At the least, Harper could receive a nominal $1,000 fine for an equipment violation, which includes throwing bats and helmets. Hirschbeck said he pointed toward Harper in order to denote an equipment violation.The religious right isn’t having a good year: the new Republican National Committee roadmap almost entirely excludes religious issues, a majority of young conservatives support same-sex marriage, and hard-line libertarians are dominating the conservative agenda with small government policies.
As the Internet becomes the hub of political dialogue, religious issues are being drowned out by the most powerful voices on the web, which overwhelmingly support marriage equality and a woman’s right to choose.
One graph, below, on the lopsided nature of Twitter, shows how opponents of a same-sex marriage ruling in California were virtually non-existent on social media, even though they held the lion’s share of public opinion.
Three Internet principles, in particular, will continue to erode the religious right’s political power: the Internet culture’s embrace of free expression, libertarian social media prowess, and the need to recruit young talent.
The Internet Loves Love
As a technology built on free expression, the Internet tends to promote political issues that share its foundational values. Stories of positivity and social connection are more likely to be passed down from friend to friend; “when you share a story with your friends and peers, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer,” said University of Pennsylvania social psychologist, Jonah Berger, who studies the content of viral stories.
Indeed, a quick comparison of the Facebook fan count of similar pages reveals a struggling religious right. On both single-issue pages (the Defense of Marriage Act) and general marriage beliefs (Gay Marriage USA vs. The Family Research Council), pro same-sex marriage groups have between 3 and 30 times more supporters.
For Gay Marriage USA, engagement is through the roof. A picture of a rainbow-painted house across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church got 100 times more shares than the Family Research Council’s recent top update, a prayer request for the Supreme Court.
The religious right has struggled to spin their issues into affirmations. “Defense of marriage,” and “pro-life” still seem stuck with an anti-equality, anti-choice perception. Fewer netizens want to publicly engage with their views, and, as a result, they’re being erased from online discussions.
Libertarians Thrive In Chaos
The grassroots, small-government tea party movement — love ’em or hate ’em — is an inescapable political force. After taking down establishment Republican candidates, such as long-time moderate icon Richard Lugar, the GOP’s rhetoric took a sharp, fiscally thrifty turn. Indeed, the new official Republican roadmap almost entirely ignores the social issues once central to conservative politics. “The report didn’t mention religion much, if at all,” lamented Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, who worries the GOP is abandoning the religious right with its new direction.
The libertarian coup began on the web. Mark Meckler, one of the founders of the Tea Party movement, explains to me, “Because folks who participate tend to be so individualistic, what started to happen is, without anybody telling them, they immediately started to spawn hundreds and then ultimately thousands and then millions of web pages dedicated to tea party activity.”
That is, the very principles of get-off-my-lawn individuality that condemn government interference in citizens’ social lives also allow libertarian groups to thrive on the chaotic web. While Twitter and Facebook may not have much of an impact on general elections, the Internet is an extraordinary tool for disparate, latent interests to organize (especially during political primaries). It was outside the party machine, and its tenured religious partners, where tea partiers organized rallies and, eventually, selected their own candidates.
“It took the structure of the Internet, as the web existed, and it allowed us to create relationships and spread knowledge that would not have otherwise been possible,” concludes Meckler.
Sweet, Sweet Young Brains
Young citizens may not vote in consequential numbers, but they’re overwhelming the best hackers and online content producers. Apple, Google and Facebook have all taken a rare public position supporting gay marriage, largely due to pressure from their own young employees.
“By singling out a group for less favorable treatment, Proposition 8 impedes businesses from achieving the market’s ideal of efficient operations — particularly in recruiting, hiring and retaining talented people who are in the best position to operate at their highest capacity,” wrote a contingent of top tech companies in a brief to the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on a California law that banned same-sex marriage, Proposition 8.
The GOP, especially, has found it near impossible to recruit the best programmers. “It’s hard to side with a party that’s still trying to reach out to their base of creationists,” said Johnvey Hwang, a 34-year-old San Francisco software engineer who volunteered for President Obama in 2012.
Hwang was most likely referring to a string of viral anti-science videos that emerged out of Republican officials saying things like the theory of evolution are “lies straight from the bit of Hell.”
A Struggle For The Future
As the GOP struggles to regain its footing with bright young programmers and the growing libertarian grassroots movement, it’s no shock that they aren’t presenting themselves as a pro-traditional marriage, pro-choice, creationist party — even if the party elders hold those beliefs.
Most importantly, only issues that are discussed can be a public priority. And, since conservative social values are in a social media black hole, the Internet is erasing the religious right from the national discussion and, ultimately, politics.As proposed by Atheist Ireland, Evangelical Alliance Ireland (EAI) are urging for secular education in the country.
Evangelical Alliance Ireland (EAI), in reply to Dr. Ali Selim of Dublin’s Islamic Cultural Center, believe they prefer their children to be educated secularly rather than sit through religious activities which are contrary to their beliefs.
Dr. Selim prompted a debate for this matter after publishing his book “Islam and Education in Ireland,” which Atheist Ireland believes lacks integration and inclusivity in Statefunded Muslim schools. They are in favor of a secular education system with religion passed on through families, mosques and churches.
Nick Park, EAI’s executive director said: “evangelical Christians have often felt alienated by an educational system that they are expected to fund as taxpayers, but which has largely been run by branches of the Catholic Church. For example, the amount of time devoted to Catholic rites of passage such as First Communion creates a dilemma for evangelical parents.”
“Should we allow our children to sit through religious activities which are contrary to our beliefs? Or should we ask that our children be exempted? ” he added.
Photo Credits: WikimediaImage copyright Lul Kheire Image caption The group of walkers, including mother-of-three Lul Kheire (L), walked across Somalia
A young mother has helped inspire thousands by walking 250km (155 miles) through some of Somalia's most dangerous territory in a march for peace.
Lul Mohamed Kheire and 10 friends spent a week walking between Baidoa, in the east, and the capital Mogadishu in August.
The route brought them into areas where Islamist militants al-Shabab are known to live.
Despite the dangers, their belief in peace inspired others to join them.
"All the people think Somalia is not safe, there's no security - we wanted to show all the world there is peace in Somalia," Lul told the BBC's Newsday programme.
Lul and her 10 friends set out from Baidoa in August, walking for four to five hours each day under the blazing sun, planting trees where they stopped and relying on the kindness of villagers to give them a bed for the night.
The walk was even harder for Lul - she carried her youngest child for most of the journey, while keeping an eye on her older two. But, she said, the difficulty was worth it.
"It's heavy work but we want to show all the world there is peace - and if you want to show the world something, you have to do hard work," Lul said.
Image copyright Lul Kheire Image caption The marchers were joined by thousands of people
Somalia has been in an almost constant state of violent turmoil since 1991, dividing the country.
So the fact that members of the group, who ranged in age between about 23 and 35, each came from a different region was important for the activists.
"We were united," said Lul. "We wanted to do this walk to help unite the youth of Somalia in the same way."
More recently, the danger has come from Islamist militants al-Shabab, who have waged war against Somalia's government.
Huge swathes of land are considered no-go areas - including those surrounding both Baidoa and Mogadishu.
As a result, the residents of those cities are particularly vulnerable to deadly attacks.
Thirty people were killed in one day last February in two separate al-Shabab attacks on Baidoa. Among the dead were football fans, who had been watching a match between Arsenal and Manchester United when the a car bomb exploded.
In August, militants targeted a Mogadishu hotel, while a general and six of his bodyguards were killed in September near the defence ministry headquarters.
Yet the marchers, who started planning the trip at the start of August, were not scared.
"When we were doing this walk, we did not see any al-Shabab," Lul said. "Everyone was happy - we did not feel any fear."
She added: "We were not scared any more, because we have peace."
Image caption The marchers walked from Baidoa to Mogadishu
Their confidence was infectious - the first day, a few hundred people started to walk alongside the group.
By the time they reached Mogadishu a week later, there were thousands marching behind them.
"They ask us what we are doing, when we tell them it is a peace walk they like it and everyone join us," Lul explained.
"All of the people join us - men, women, children, all levels of society.
"It was like 2,500 people.
"When you are walking and having a lot of people around you, I don't know how to describe it, it is a great thing."
However, the group is not done yet - early next month, they will set off once more, this time to the Hiran area, hoping to inspire yet more people.On Sunday night, a woman reported to be radio shock jock Anthony Cumia’s girlfriend livestreamed a video from his home in which she said he had just physically assaulted her: “I got my hand broken, I’m waiting for police to come,” she said, showing the camera her bruises. Cumia has been criminally charged, and his fans are taking it real, real well.
The woman is Dani Golightly, 26, real name Danielle Brand, an aspiring comic and the daughter of Vinnie Brand, who owns the Stress Factory comedy club in New Jersey. Court records show that Cumia has been charged with two felonies against her: strangulation in the second degree and criminal mischief in the third degree, as well as two misdemeanors, preventing an emergency call and unlawful imprisonment. Strangulation is a class D violent felony offense, punishable by up to seven years in prison; the criminal mischief charge carries a possible prison sentence of up to four years.
Advertisement
Cumia, a known racist, sexist, and Islamophobe, has a loyal and unhinged Twitter following. After she livestreamed the incident, they’ve devoted themselves to telling Golightly that she’s a cunt liar who’s obviously faking it. A tiny, tiny sampling:
Advertisement
Advertisement
Golightly first appeared on Cumia’s previous show, the Opie & Anthony Show, in 2008, when she was 19:
Golightly shares some of Cumia’s nasty sense of humor, making jokes on Twitter about Muslims, “transsexuals,” and, a few days ago, a crack about domestic violence:
Advertisement
She’s complained previously about the oppression of straight white men.
Advertisement
A Page Six report today quoting a purported “insider” referred to her and Cumia’s relationship as “twisted” and said their fights frequently got “ugly.” She has previously uploaded videos of Cumia ranting at her, using racial slurs and accusing her of “giving away shit” from his house. She also expresses what sounds like weariness with how his fans receive her videos: “Right, well, you can I guess go on Reddit and Twitter and write about it, and ruin my life a little bit more than it was.”
Cumia is due back in court January 4. Usually a prolific tweeter of garbage, he’s been silent the past two days.
Advertisement
Contact the author at anna.merlan@jezebel.com.
Public PGP key
PGP fingerprint: 67B5 5767 9D6F 652E 8EFD 76F5 3CF0 DAF2 79E5 1FB6Day 2
Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Arjuna Ranatunga, Brian Lara. Need we say anything more
The social network model lacks the discipline to be able to lead movements effectively, cautions Malcolm Gladwell
Social media, the face of the Internet
Unlike actors who struggle to die on stage, we struggle to live. A window into the world of puppetry
What is wisdom? Spirituality in a wrap
Entrepreneurship is a relay race. Get some pointers from the gurus
Shiva is a cool dude, says Amish Tripathi. From one cool dude to another
I wish Bollywood women actors were better paid: She talked business and she looked it!
Day 1
'Democracy is like a banyan tree'. As usual Dr APJ Kalam came, spoke and conquered.
'Can we afford social security nets considering our implementation record'? Raghuram Rajan does what he does best; point out fault lines.
'War is not our state policy. We have gone to war only when we have been forced to'. The General in his labyrinth.
'Dynastic business families foster entrepreneurship'. Quite a novel take by Karan Adani.
Opportunistic spectrum access. Some Yoda-speak by the Murty son.
How do the biggest criminals get the biggest lawyers, wonders veteran Arun Shourie. We wonder the same too!Sixteen-year-old Kevin Hansen is set to take on both the RX Lites Cup and the RallyX Scandinavia series this season in his Peugeot 208 Lite, under the Peugeot Red Bull Hansen Junior Team banner.
Hansen is looking to take both titles with his RX Lites Cup season kicking off next weekend at Montalegre, Portugal, supporting the season-opening round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship season.
“My hopes for this season are quite high,” said the Red Bull Athlete. “I want to continue the great pace and podium streak that we had last year and I think that can bring us out on top, but it won’t be easy.
“There are a lot of good drivers in Lites. Pressure isn’t the right word, but for sure I think people are probably expecting me to win this year and my own goals are no lower than their expectations. In Portugal, we want a strong start to the year. Winning isn’t the priority, but good points are,”
Hansen has been busy preparing for the season ahead with a strict physical and mental fitness programme, “Preparations over the winter have gone great. The Sweden Junior Team has provided me with a fantastic workout schedule and mental training. I’m ready to do this. We want to win and I really feel that the car, team and myself have taken a huge step forward,”
For the season ahead Team Manager Graham Rodemark will overlook the teenagers progress; The pair are no strangers with Rodemark already having taken Hansen to the Junior Championship title in the MSA British Rallycross Championship in 2012, alongside his success in the JRX Cup the same year
“To have Graham with us this year is perfect,” said Hansen. “He is a very clever and strategic guy with a lot of experience. He and I work very well together.”
Along with Hansen Rodemark has worked with a number of top rallycross competitors including the likes of Kenneth Hansen, Martin Schanche and Liam Doran.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Kevin this season. We worked well together in the British Championship and had a lot of success,” said Rodemark.“I hope I can aid him in becoming a rounded competitor and together we can archive success this year. Portugal will be a really exciting event.”An Alabaster mom's invention -- a shopping cart designed for children with special needs -- enlightened officials for a leading retail industry manufacturer and opened their eyes to a new market.
Newton, N.C.-based Technibilt Ltd., part of a global shopping cart manufacturing conglomerate, will produce Caroline's Cart, designed by Drew Ann Long. The company held a national product launch today and is currently marketing the cart to its customers.
"When Drew came to us...we didn't realize the need was that great," David Orfinik, Technibilt's vice president of sales and marketing, said in an interview. "We realized that Caroline's Cart will revolutionize the way that families with a special needs child shop."
The cart levels the playing field for these families when it comes to shopping, he added.
It's difficult for parents of special needs children to maneuver a wheelchair and a shopping cart in the store aisles. Caroline's Cart has space for groceries, as well as a specially-designed seat. See photos of the cart.
Long's inspiration for the cart was her own daughter, Caroline, who has Rett syndrome, a nervous system disorder that means she can't walk, talk or use her hands.
Orfinik couldn't pinpoint the number of carts Technibilt plans to manufacture or the number of orders for them.
"We do have orders coming in from various customers around North America, and there's a lot we need to get to," he said. "We're going to have a full court press with our sales team and marketing team to make sure we reach every single retailer."
He declined to name the customers, as well as Technibilt's regular customers. But he said the company services some of the largest retailers in the country, including grocery and hardware stores.
Technibilit, part of the Wanzl Group of Germany, will use connections it already has with those companies to market Caroline's Cart, he said.
Customers who have already seen the cart also see the need for them.
"Questions that a lot of customers are asking themselves now are where should I put a cart, how many do I need, is it right for every store?" Orfinik said.
According to Easter Seals, one in every five households with children has a child with a special health care need. The Easter Seals' iconic lily logo will be stamped on the carts, a first for the organization.
Long led a grassroots effort to get the attention of a major manufacturer like Technibilt. Early versions of the cart, produced by a small manufacturer in Georgia, are now available at stores in 18 states.
Now, Long plans to start a nonprofit foundation to put Caroline's Cart in small, rural stores that can't afford to buy them. One cart costs about $800, according to Orfinik.
Long said she has been humbled by the journey.
"This was the right thing to do," she said. "Stores have to be accessible. They can no longer ignore this problem, period."I read a lot of book-related publications and blogs, and thus I have endured weeks of Hachette-versus-Amazon posts, as the publishing giant has wrangled with the online retail giant over the terms of their contract. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the writers and publications with ties to the “Big Five” in the publishing industry have sided with Hachette, whereas the commenters to the articles and the blogs (most of which are presumably customers of books) tend to wonder why a garden-variety dispute between two big companies over money is being billed as the downfall of civilization.
I ignored most of these articles until I read Steve Wasserman’s* op-ed in The Nation — which argues “the time has come for closer scrutiny and regulation of a company that, like Standard Oil a century ago, provides an indispensable service for a modern economy and a healthy culture” — and I just couldn’t take it anymore. For the sake of our “modern economy” and “healthy culture,” we must stop calling Amazon a “monopoly.”
Please don’t misunderstand: I believe in the vigorous enforcement of antitrust laws in all industries. I’ve written before about how the Supreme Court wrongly decided Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, which made it harder to begin antitrust cases of any sort, and wrongly decided Comcast v. Behrend, which made it harder to win antitrust claims on behalf of consumers. I wrote before that the Bush Administration’s policy was “that anti-monopoly law was so dead there was no point in the Justice Department even bothering to enforce it,” and I applauded when the Obama Administration rescinded that policy and took seriously the threat of monopolies.
But we can’t be cavalier about accusations of “monopoly” or “predatory pricing,” or we risk diluting the terms and losing sight of real antitrust violations. Amazon is neither a “monopoly” nor a “monopsony.”
A “monopoly” is when one supplier of a particular product or service is able to control the market. That does not remotely describe Amazon: the vast majority of books sold by Amazon are supplied by someone else, i.e., the publisher, and those same books are available elsewhere. As Hachette’s own statement on the Amazon dispute says:
HBG’s titles are widely and immediately available on barnesandnoble.com, powells.com, booksamillion.com, walmart.com, target.com, overstock.com, and in thousands of great chain and independent bookstores across the country.
It is rather hard to have a “monopoly” over sales of something when the exactly same product is also sold online, through the largest retailers in the country, and through “thousands” of independent stores.
A “monopsony” is when one buyer of a particular productive or service is able to control the market. (Consider, for example, if there were several commercial airplane manufacturers, but only one commercial airline.) “Monopsony” is potentially a better fit for Amazon than “monopoly,” because Amazon’s real pricing power is that it can push a hard bargain with publishers when it buys the ebooks, whereas with consumers Amazon sells the books at or below the prevailing market prices. And, indeed, publishers feel obligated to deal with Amazon given its position as the largest retailer of ebooks.
But the claim just doesn’t hold up. In a monopsony, the monopsonist refrains from buying to force the suppliers to start discounting against one another (because there are no other buyers), until they are no longer making a profit. That simply isn’t the case here. First, the publishers have total control over where they sell their ebooks, and they exercise that power: the “Big Five” chose to not participate in Amazon Unlimited. Second, the ebooks are available all over the place, like Walmart and Target. Apple, for example, has used the feud as an opportunity to discount Hachette’s books. There’s nothing wrong with Apple doing that: this is competitive capitalism working for the benefit of consumers, as it should.
Even if a company is not a monopolist or monopsonist, it can engage in predatory pricing — but Amazon didn’t. Wasserman claims, “the Obama Justice Department, seemingly mesmerized by visions of a digital utopia, is oddly blind to the threat to publishing posed by Amazon’s growing monopoly,” and concludes, “A serious Justice Department investigation is past due.” But the Justice Department already investigated Amazon as part of the Apple case, and they published the results two years ago.
Back in 2012, as part of the settlement with the Big Five publishers for their admitted collusion with Apple to raise prices, the Justice Department solicited public comment, receiving hundreds of comments, including from Barnes & Noble, the Authors Guild, and the American Booksellers Association. As the Justice Department summarized in its response to the comments, the most common complaint against Amazon is that it sometimes charges too little for ebooks, and that “that lower pricing will mean reduced profits for bookstores, authors, literary agents, and publishers, and an eventual reduction in quality, service, variety, and other benefits to consumers.”
In response, the Justice Department explained — I know this is a long blockquote, but it’s the root of the issue — on page 21-22:
The United States recognizes that many of the comments reflect a concern that a firm with the heft of Amazon may harm competition through sustained low or predatory pricing. In the course of its investigation, the United States examined complaints about Amazon’s alleged predatory practices and found persuasive evidence lacking. As is alleged in the Complaint, the United States concluded, based on its investigation and review of data from Amazon and others, that “[f]rom the time of its launch, Amazon’s e-book distribution business has been consistently profitable, even when substantially discounting some newly released and bestselling titles.” Compl. ¶ 30.
Some of the criticism directed at Amazon may be attributed to a misunderstanding of the legal standard for predatory pricing. Low prices, of course, are one of the principal goals of the antitrust laws. Cf. Atlantic Richfield Co. v. USA Petroleum Co., 495 U.S. 328, 340 (1990). This is because of the unmistakable benefit to consumers when firms cut prices. Id. “Loss leaders,” two-for-one specials, deep discounting, and other aggressive price strategies are common in many industries, including among booksellers. This is to be celebrated, not outlawed. Unlawful “predatory pricing,” therefore, is something more than prices that are “too low.” Antitrust law prohibits low prices only if the price is “below an appropriate measure of... cost,” and there exists “a dangerous probability” that the discounter will be able to drive out competition, raise prices, and thereby “recoup[] its investment in below-cost pricing.” Brooke Group v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp., 509 U.S. 209, 222-24 (1993). No objector to the proposed Final Judgment has supplied evidence that, in the dynamic and evolving e-book industry, Amazon threatens to drive out competition and obtain the monopoly pricing power which is the ultimate concern of predatory pricing law. The presence and continued investment by technology giants, multinational book publishers, and national retailers in e-books businesses renders such a prospect highly speculative. Of course, should Amazon or any other firm commit future antitrust violations, the United States (as well as private parties) will remain free to challenge that conduct.
This is basic antitrust law. Professor John Kirkwood recently agreed in his article, “Collusion to Control a Powerful Customer: Amazon, E-Books, and Antitrust Policy.” As he wrote, “considerable evidence suggests that Amazon was engaged in loss leading, not predatory pricing. … Amazon was almost certainly using loss leading not as a predatory device but as an efficient promotional tool, drawing consumers to its website to buy products they might not otherwise purchase.”
But sometimes an ounce of common sense is worth a pound of legal analysis. Consider this part of Onnesha Roychoudhuri’s article calling for increased regulation:
What’s a book lover to do? Hachette authors have taken the fight online, calling their readers to boycott Amazon. In spirit, I’m all for a boycott, but given Amazon’s size and ubiquity, we’re not going to buy our way out of this, and we shouldn’t. The idea that we can spend our way to a more just world reduces us in value to the money we’ve got in our wallets. Nor should the responsibility lie solely with us as consumers. And that’s where regulation comes in.
What sense does that make? If you don’t like how Amazon deals with ebook publishers, then stop buying ebooks from them! A boycott is exactly the right idea — vote with your wallets! Amazon is not Bell Telephone. Amazon is not Standard Oil. Amazon is not the Hollywood studio system.** If you don’t want to deal with them, you don’t have to; the fact that everyone, from publishers to consumers, continues to want to deal with Amazon is proof enough that they’re not abusing a monopoly position, they’re just doing a better job.
* Wasserman, says his bio, “served as editorial director of Times Books and publisher of Hill & Wang, an imprint of Farrar, Straus & Giroux. He is a past partner of the Kneerim & Williams Literary Agency and is currently editor at large for Yale University Press.”
** Wasserman gives one example of “precedent,” United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., which broke up Hollywood’s studio system. There, the Hollywood studios (i.e., the suppliers), conspired to preclude independent theaters from showing their films, thereby controlling the theater market. It is indeed precedent: it’s similar to what the ebook publishers did to Amazon by refusing to sell their books to it except on very specific terms.I was watching some coverage on the news this morning about the shooting in Orlando and they had an eyewitness on the phone. I thought it was kind of odd that as soon as this eyewitness said that someone was holding the emergency exit door shut from the outside the call was dropped. I mean im not much of a conspiracy believer but i found it strange the media is not mentioning this anywhere. They end up getting the witness back on the phone. He then says the person shutting the door was saying stay put. Which is even more odd. At first i thought "ok maybe an officer was holding the door closed and trying to calm people down". But then wouldnt the officer identify himself as law enforcement first? And wouldnt he be trying to get people out. Not leave them in the club with the gunman? Also if it was a club goer who was shutting the door wouldnt it make more sense to hold it shut from the inside to prevent the gunman from entering. And i would think most of the club goers would be busy running away from the club and gunfire where it is safe. Not busy shutting a door. What do you guys think? Maybe the shooter had some help? Sorry if my recording came out crappy. Had to do it off my phone.Of all the possible outcomes regarding the five-man staff, the upshot is a pleasant surprise despite the lofty expectations of the fans for the starters acquired by general manager Matt Klentak of the Philadelphia Phillies.
A Dose of Insight:
When you blame the messenger for negative developments, you don’t realize the fault may be your incorrect perception of reality.
Looking at the successful rotation arms from the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the faithful see many possibilities – in fact, more than enough – to slot behind Aaron Nola. Ergo, a competitive staff. But a GM eyeballs things differently: He views quantity, not quality.
In the front office of the Texas Rangers, they wanted an ace atop their rotation. And the only unavailable prospect in such deals is a future stud from the high minors who doesn’t raise even a single doubt.
Basically, the trades from rebuilding yielded flamethrowers Vince Velasquez, Nick Pivetta and Mark Appel, while the other picked-up hurlers don’t have a mid-90s fastball. They depend completely on control: 100 percent. However, a fireballer has the luxury of a 97-mph mistake.
In Double-A, the talent level for successful players is the same as the majors with some differences. One is many opponents will never reach Triple-A or the big leagues or be standouts if they do. Normally, Double-A starters hit their target 40 percent of the time, but they must improve to 70 percent accuracy against MLB competition. And management expects only one poor outing out of five according to Mackanin. But if they don’t achieve that standard, what word will you hear from the skipper? Inconsistent.
IN OTHER WORDS: “Consistency is something you can always improve on. You can be more consistent with your mental approach, the things you do physically on the mound. Instead of doing five good pitches an inning, try to make six. You can always do more of what you are doing well and try to be as consistent as you can be.” – Greg “The Professor” Maddux
If a hurler isn’t commanding his arsenal, he gets hit. For instance, Jacob deGrom has mid-90s smoke and other plus pitches, but the Phils knocked him out of a recent game in New York because he lacked control. Basically, a high-ERA starter can twirl a gem in one contest out of five, and the opposite is true of a deGrom. In other words, the finesse pitchers for Philly who have a shot are plentiful, but only one or two of them will make the rotation at its bottom.Don’t go chasin’ waterfalls – the future of in-app advertising is with Unified Auction.
Zynga goes exclusive with Unity
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with Zynga to be their exclusive provider of mobile game rewarded advertising. This partnership gives Zynga access to Unity’s world class advertising platform, which serves more than 25 billion ad requests per month to more than 1 billion unique players around the world. Over the coming months, Unity Ads will power rewarded advertising in Zynga’s free-to-play mobile games, increasing Zynga’s efficiency and innovation in the advertising business. You can read about the full details in the press release.
This partnership exemplifies Unity’s commitment to enable developer success by moving the mobile in-app ad marketplace from waterfall mediation of multiple software development kits (SDK’s) to a unified auction of all advertising demand. The result is driving optimal revenues while increasing game performance and studio efficiency.
Unity’s turnkey solution
The primary drivers of Zynga, a Made With Unity developer, to go exclusively with Unity Ads includes:
Unified Auction over Mediation Ease of Adoption for game studios – no sdk bloat Decisioning based on user data not only ad cpm
This results in an auction mechanic that will let a studio environment focus on building great content, not roadmapping ad tech.
Specifically, Made With Unity developers can activate advertising solutions directly from the Unity Engine with no SDK, rather than previously going through an advertising mediation layer which requires integrating multiple SDK’s. This allows game teams to focus on what matters most: creating fun and engaging social gaming experiences for their players around the world.
Unified Auction
If you’re selling your bicycle, do you want to take the price of the first guy in line or do you want everyone competing for it? It is the fundamental faith in mechanics of an auction that are driving Unity’s product to accelerate our unified auction capabilities to drive more value. Disrupting the status quo – Zynga is putting their faith in Unity to move their reward advertising mediation to unified auction mechanic, believing that all demand competing in a level playing field will drive higher returns.
For perspective on why Unified Auction over Mediation, let’s take a crash course in waterfall meditation. In typical mediation or waterfall methods in the market, a mediation SDK is tapped into several ad networks where each ad network has no insights into the total impression view.
The result of Ad Networks flying blind includes both the lower ad impression can often win in the waterfall, and hyper frequency of the same ad creative for users.
Highest Demand Wins
Let’s start with improving outcomes on a per impression basis. Unity is leveling the playing field and solving these challenges by providing a real-time, open auction that gives all advertisers the ability to bid freely. As a result, the highest bid wins for every single ad request, and that means MORE money in publishers’ pockets. Better yet, no redundancy of ads.
It is easy to see why the game ad space is full of users getting bombarded with the same ad – Ad Network 1 in waterfall has no idea what Ad Network 2 through 6 have shown that exact user, and therefore make a decision of what ad to serve solely on what is best for their ad network, not revenue outcome of the publisher or experience for the user.
Ease of Adoption
It goes without saying, integrating no SDK’s in your game from the current status quo of 5+ within Mediation will improve performance, and increase efficiency of game teams.
Mediation has simply translated to SDK bloat. ‘Nuff said!
Decisions Based on Data
Unity Analytics tracks 1.7B installs, 88K active games and 920M devices globally, while giving you fast, easy access to important information about your game. For Made With Unity developers like Zynga, Unity makes ad decision based on user data, not ecpm alone.
By using Unity Analytics data in conjunction with Unity’s advertising algorithm, precise targeting is delivered by better understanding the likelihood of an engaged user watching a rewarded video who will click to download versus someone who is a passive watcher. This will drive higher user retention and ad ecpm.
This approach will drive the highest revenue possible for publishers in this industry-first stepping stone into the future of rewarded advertising. If you want to learn more, please contact us.This is the cringeworthy moment Sylvia Jeffreys flirts with a man on the Today programme after he is caught throwing a fishing line into flood waters in Melbourne.
Today show host Sylvia Jeffreys appeared flushed and unable to retain her composure during the interview with the bemused Melbourne truck driver on Friday morning.
Going out live to the man who was caught fishing under York Street bridge on Thursday, the interview takes an awkward turn when Jeffre |
the Obama administration expects that when news stories about the documents are published it will "likely to provoke negative public reactions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. There will be significant, but less volatile, public and government reaction in the U.S. and Europe.
Editor's note: This report initially stated that AP reporter Matt Lee read Jacob Sullivan's BlackBerry. The email in which the assertion was made, however, was entirely satirical and we failed to point that out. We apologize to Lee.
Follow Jason Leopold on Twitter: @JasonLeopoldIn the real world there should never be an issue regarding consent and cookies, particularly chocolate chip. However, I have been informed that I need to inform you about cookies that may be involved somehow with this blog and with Blogger. I an in my mid sixties and don't really know what cookies are.... here is something from the notice I got:
Google uses of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies.
So be aware of that, and I am assuming implied consent because you know that and come back. Of course, you may choose not to come back. This is why I'm suggesting implied consent. I tried finding a proper code for announcing this and couldn't. I hope you come back, and I hope you occasionally have a real world cookie, especial on days that are raining... or sunny... or cloudy...Image copyright Getty Images
A gay man has lost a legal bid for his husband to be recognised with the same pension rights as a wife would have in a heterosexual relationship.
John Walker, 62, retired in 2003 before gay civil partnerships were introduced in the UK in 2005.
As a result his now husband will not receive a full spousal pension if he dies - which he claimed was unlawful.
The Court of Appeal rejected his appeal as his pension was accrued before civil partnerships were recognised in law.
Mr Walker, 62, retired from chemical group Innospec Ltd, based in Cheshire, after working there for 23 years - with a pension worth £85,000 a year.
He then entered a civil partnership in 2006 - which has since been converted into a marriage - having been in a relationship with his partner since 1983.
£41,000 a year
However, because he retired before laws banning discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation came into force, the most his husband could claim in the event of Mr Walker's death is about £500 a year.
Mr Walker claimed Innospec was failing to treat surviving same-sex spouses and civil partners as equal to surviving spouses in a heterosexual marriage.
His lawyers argued that if Mr Walker were to dissolve his same-sex marriage and instead marry a woman, she would be entitled to about £41,000 a year, after his death.
The Innospec pension scheme would only pay his husband about 1% of that amount, they said.
In 2012, an employment tribunal in Manchester ruled Innospec's scheme contravened European laws.
However, the company launched an appeal supported by the Department for Work and Pensions - and the decision was overturned by an Employment Appeal Tribunal last year.
The tribunal ruled that an exemption contained in the Equality Act 2010 meant pension rights accrued before civil partnerships became law in December 2005 did not have to be paid out in full to a civil partner.
'Hard to accept'
Mr Walker then asked judges in the Court of Appeal to rule that the appeal tribunal decision was flawed and breached his human rights.
He said it was contrary to EU laws setting out the framework for equal treatment in employment.
But three judges in the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled the claim failed because it applied to a period before gay civil partnerships were recognised by the law.
Speaking after the ruling, Mr Walker, who was represented in court by human rights group Liberty, said: "I paid exactly the same contributions as my heterosexual colleagues.
"Yet my husband - with whom I have lived for over 20 years - will be entitled to nothing from the company on my death."
He added: "How can this constitute anything other than the most flagrant discrimination?"
Giving his ruling, Lord Justice Underhill said: "I can understand that Mr Walker and his husband will find this conclusion hard to accept.
"But changes in social attitudes, and the legislation that embodies those changes, cannot fully undo the effects of the past."
The UK government has estimated that "full equalisation" of pension rights would cost about £3.3bn and have complex implications for pension schemes.Students at the University of California, San Diego are demanding that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) be banned in order to make UCSD a “sanctuary campus.”
Two student groups, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlan and Migrant Rights Awareness, declare in their list of demands that they “stand in solidarity against the xenophobia and racism perpetuated through the ‘chalkening’ incidents that occurred at the University of California, San Diego.”
“We demand that UC San Diego become a sanctuary campus immediately, banning all Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from collaborating with or operating within the university."
[RELATED: Schools nationwide spiral into mass hysteria over pro-Trump messages]
The document condemns the pro-Trump messages, saying that UCSD cannot advocate for “equitable education” when “disruptive incidents” such as the “chalkening” continue to occur.
“This event is not an isolated incident but rather is part of a widespread phenomenon that affects both potential and current students at institutions of higher education, at UCSD, and in other institutions across the nation,” the groups write. “As a community we demand from our institution that statements that incite violence or oppress students of color are no longer tolerated, but rather are accounted for.”
[RELATED: UCSD says term ‘minorities’ is offensive, tells students to say ‘people of color’]
Their very first demand calls for the complete removal of ICE from campus, along with a requirement that the UCSD police department sever all ties with the United States Border Patrol (USBP) and a prohibition against either agency participating in any career fair or job recruitment events hosted by the university.
“We demand that UC San Diego become a sanctuary campus immediately, banning all Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from collaborating with or operating within the university,” the groups state.
In addition, they demand that the UCSD police department be “trained on bias within their department, and within the university as a whole, including but is [sic] not limited to racist, homophobic, xenophobic, gendered, transphobic” trends.
The students also want the school take legal action against those responsible for the pro-Trump messages, demanding “educational as well as disciplinary consequences for the perpetrators of such actions,” even though the group also claims that it is “not the intention of this movement to condemn the ability to chalk these statements.”
[RELATED: Prosecutor drops vandalism charges against serial graffiti artist at UW]
The ultimatum then goes on to call for specialized housing for various ethnic groups on campus, imposing a Fall 2017 deadline for the creation of permanent campus housing communities for Muslims and “undocumented” students in addition to “Multicultural Housing, Black/African Diaspora Housing, [and] Raza Interest Housing.” Each community would receive support and input from a relevant student organization, and would technically be open to all students.
To support the effort, they are also asking for a 50 percent increase in funding for those communities, as well as full housing scholarships for at least 50 undocumented students starting in Fall 2017, with the number increasing annually to “meet demand.”
The students also want additional accommodations specifically for Muslim students, such as “the use of zabihah meat [slaughtered according to Islamic rites] by the spring 2017,” and “a remodeling of the bathrooms by each Contemplation Lounge to provide a space for Muslim students to make wudhu (ablution)” no later than Winter 2019.
According to The [UCSD] Guardian, administrators have not reached out to either of the student groups, and no meetings are scheduled to discuss the ultimatum, which does not outline any repercussions in the event that the university fails to implement any or all of its provisions.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @elias_atienza“Let economists and rulers invent political constitutions or salaried organizations, whereby the worker may be the friend of their master, the subject the brother of the potentate, we, “frightful Anarchists” as we are, know only one way of establishing peace and goodwill among women and men — the suppression of privilege and the recognition of right. Our ideal, as we have said, is that of the fraternal equity for which all yearn, but almost always as a dream; with us it takes form and becomes a concrete reality. It pleases us not to live if the enjoyments of life are to be for us alone; we protest against our good fortune if we may not share it with others; it is sweeter for us to wander with the wretched and the outcasts than to sit, crowned with roses, at the banquets of the rich. We are weary of these inequalities which make us the enemies of each other; we would put an end to the furies which are ever bringing people into hostile collision, and all of which arise from the bondage of the weak to the strong under the form of slavery, serfage, and service. After so much hatred we long to love each other, and for this reason are we enemies of private property and despisers of the law.”
Happy birthday Élisée Reclus, born 15th of March 1830General terms and conditions for using the site's services
Article 1 - Legal Information
Article 2 - Acceptance of the terms of use
Article 3 - Terms of use of the service
Article 4 - Contents of the site
Article 5 – Information technology and freedom
Article 6 - Access to the Service
Article 7 - Technical information
Article 8 - Modification of the Service and the Terms of Use
Article 9 - Warranties
Article 10 - Miscellaneous Clauses
Article 11 - Applicable Law
The I-Remember.fr site is the property of the Foundation for Medical Research [la Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale], whose registered office is located at :54, rue de Varenne 75335 Paris Cedex 07Tel: 00 33 (0) 1 44 39 75 75E-mail: infos@frm.orgThe objective of the Foundation for Medical Research, a recognised public interest foundation, is to promote research in life sciences and health relating to medicine, and coordinates the efforts made in this regard (hereinafter “the Foundation”).The director of publications for the I-Remember.fr site is Mr Denis Le Squer, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Medical Research.The Foundation’s internet tool was designed by the company CLM BBDO Paris, whose registered office is located at: 93, rue Nationale, 92100 Boulogne Billancourt.The I-Remember.fr website is hosted on servers by the company RUNISO.The I-Remember.fr site (hereinafter “the Service”) allows you to upload a photograph and to state in a few lines the memory that is associated with it.Any use of the Service supposes that the User undertakes to respect these terms of use (hereinafter the “Terms of Use”).The Foundation may, without being required to, remove, modify, block or monitor the Content or the accounts containing a content that it may deem, at its complete discretion, to be in violation of these Terms of Use.You acknowledge that the Foundation for Medical Research is not responsible for the behaviour of the users.If you access the I-Remember.fr site from a nation other than France, you also undertake to respect the local applicable law.3.1. You must be at least eighteen years of age to use the service.3.2. You are not authorised to publish, via the Service, scenes of partial or total nudity, nor photos or other content with a nature that is discriminatory, illicit, fraudulent, hateful, pornographic or sexually suggestive.3.3. You may not defame, persecute, intimidate, harass or threaten persons or entities, nor usurp their identity. Moreover, you may not publish private or confidential information via the Service (including, but not limited to, credit card details, social security numbers, identity card numbers, private telephone numbers and electronic addresses that belong to you or that belong to third parties).3.4. You are not authorised to use the Service for illicit or forbidden purposes. You agree that you will obey all laws, rules and regulations that apply to your use of the Service and of your Content, in particular copyrights.3.5. You are the sole person responsible for your behaviour and for all the data, texts, files, information, usernames, images, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, sounds, musical works, original creations, applications, links and other contents or media (hereinafter referred to collectively as the “Content”) that you submit, publish or post on or through the Service.3.6. You may not interfere with the functioning of the Service, the servers or networks connected to the Service, in particular by transmitting viruses, spy software, malware or any other code that is damaging or destructive. You may not inject content or code in the pages of I-Remember.fr, you may not modify them and you may not interfere with their functioning or their posting in the navigator or on the users’ peripheral devices.3.7. Any violation of these Terms of Use may entail, at the sole discretion of I-Remember.fr, the removal of your photo.3.8. You understand and accept the fact that the Foundation cannot be held responsible for the Content published on the Service and that you use the Service at your own risk.4.1 – Content published by internet usersThe Foundation does not claim to be the owner of the Content that you publish on or through the Service. Nevertheless, you hereby grant The Foundation a licence that is non-exclusive, free of charge, copyright free, transferable, sub-licensable and global for the use of the Content that you publish on or through the Service.You represent and guarantee that:(i) you are the owner of the Content that you publish on or through the Service, or that you are authorised to grant the rights and licences mentioned in these Terms of Use;(ii) the publication and the use of your Content on or through the Service does not infringe, divert or violate the rights of third parties, including but not limited to, the rights to respect of private life, publicity rights, copyrights, commercial trademarks and other intellectual property rights;(iii) you agree to pay all fees, copyrights and other sums owing in relation to the Content that you publish on or through the Service; and(iv) that you have the right and capacity to enter into these Terms of Use in your jurisdiction.You accept the fact that The Foundation is not responsible for the Content published on the Service and does not answer for it.The Foundation reserves the right to pre-select, monitor, edit or remove the Content. If your Content violates these Terms of use, you may be held legally responsible for the Content.4.2 – Use of the contentThe Foundation reserves the right to use the souvenirs collected on the site for an operation to be defined later. In the event of use of the content for other purposes than the site itself, the Foundation will contact the author of the photo to request the rights of use from him.4.3 – Intellectual property of the I-Remember.fr siteTrademarks and logos (semi-figurative trademarks) of the Foundation used on the site are registered trademarks. Any reproduction or representation, whole or partial, alone or integrated with other elements, without the prior, express and written authorisation of the Foundation is strictly forbidden.The general structure, software, texts, images, videos, sounds, know-how, animations, and more generally all the information and content included on the I-Remember.fr site are the property of the Foundation, or are subject to rights of use or operation. These items are subject to laws protecting copyrights.Any representation, modification, reproduction, adulteration, total or partial, of all or part of the site or of its content, by any procedure, and on any medium, would constitute counterfeiting sanctioned by Articles L.335-2 et seq. of the Intellectual Property Code.The Foundation reserves the right to remove immediately, and without prior formal notice, any content: message, text, image, graph that may violate the laws and regulations in effect, and in particular the regulations specified above.The data collected in the context of the I-Remember.fr site will be processed electronically.The information requested is necessary for processing participation in the Service. These data will be stored in the Foundation’s database, for information and commercial prospecting purposes by the user, subject to their prior consent.Personal data collected on the Site have been subject to a declaration to the CNIL (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés [French National Commission for Informatics and Liberties]). You have, in conformity with the “information technology and freedom” law of 6 January 1978, a right to access, to correct and to modify and remove data concerning you. You may exercise this right by contacting our webmaster by e-mail at the following address: cnil@frm.org or by letter.The I-Remember.fr Site is accessible free of charge to any person having internet access (computer and/or mobile phone). All the costs related to access to the Site, whether these are costs for materials, software or internet access, are exclusively at the expense of the internet user. He is the sole party responsible for the proper functioning of his computer equipment and Internet access.To benefit from the Services, the internet user must also have a valid e-mail address, either directly or through a service provider or a service provider having access to the Internet.The User, who accesses the Service, declares that he accepts the characteristics and limits of the internet and, in particular, he acknowledges that:• he is aware of the nature of the Internet network and, in particular, its technical performance and response times to consult, examine or transfer data and information;• data transmitted on the Internet is not necessarily protected, in particular against any fraudulent use;• the communication to a third party of his identifying data and, in a general manner, of any information considered confidential, is made at his own risk and peril;• it is incumbent upon him to take all appropriate measures to protect his own data and/or software from contamination by viruses, as the case may be, on the Internet network;• the data and/or information circulating on the internet may be regulated in terms of use or be protected by title and ownership.As a user of the I-Remember.fr site, you acknowledge that you:• have the necessary skills and means to access and use this site:o Browsers:• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11• Certain versions of Mozilla Firefox• Chrome version 20 and higher• have verified that your computer configuration does not contain any virus and that it is in perfect operating condition;• have been informed that the I-remember.fr site is accessible 24/7, except in cases of force majeure, problems with computer systems, technology or telecommunications networks. For maintenance purposes, the Foundation may interrupt access to the site, and will make every effort to alert the users in advance;• have been informed that the cost of access and browsing on the I-Remember.fr site is exclusively at your expense.The Service will change over time and the I-Remember.fr site may, as necessary, modify these Terms of Use.These modifications will be implemented without prior notification. Each time Users visit the site, they should refer to the most recent version of the Terms of Use, which are permanently available at the following address :The User acknowledges and expressly accepts the following points.The Service offered by the I-Remembr.fr [sic] site is for private use, response times, bandwidths and the rate of availability of the Service having been optimised to respond to such use. However, no guarantee is made in this regard.Taking into account the evolving nature of the Service, in particular the constraints of maintenance and technological development, the continuity of the Service is 99%. In the event of interruption of the Service, the I-Remember.fr site or the service provider that it has chosen for this purpose, will apply all reasonable means to remedy this as quickly as possible.Failure by the I-Remember.fr site to exercise its rights under this document shall not constitute a waiver of such rights.In the event that any of the clauses of these Terms of Use should be annulled by legal decision, this decision will not call into question the validity of the other clauses, which will continue to apply between the parties.The titles of the articles have only indicative value.Applicable law for these Terms of Use is French law.by Allison Keene
At Games Unlimited in Squirrel Hill, you can find Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, Dungeons and Dragons cards and even a Hebrew version of Banana Grams. What you won’t find is a video game.
Since he opened the store in 1976, Games Unlimited owner Bob Schwartz has survived the booms and depressions of the gaming industry and discovered the perfect recipe for keeping its doors open: no technology.
“The only screen we sell here is an Etch-a-Sketch,” says manager Kylie Prymus.
Games Unlimited boasts an impressive collection of board games, party games and puzzles from around the world. Prymus says the most popular sellers are EuroGames, which are complicated multi-player board games such as Settlers of Catan and Pandemic.
The small store is packed with rickety wood slat shelving Schwartz took from a failed business. The heavily scratched wood and glass display cases hail from a downtown jewelry store. None of the furniture has changed since 1976. It and Schwartz, the original owner, are fixtures in the store.
Schwartz and his business partners renovated the space themselves, which itself has quite a colorful past. The goal, Schwartz said, was to save as much money as possible for the fledgling business.
“We took a butcher shop, which was what this was, with blood and live chickens running around, and turned it into the store,” Schwartz said. “What I learned was that we had to do this cheap. Every penny has to go to the games.”
If the counters are a little scratched, the customers are too busy looking at the game selection to notice.
Pittsburgh natives Peggy and John Nikolajsk are surprised by the number of games packed into the small store. John doesn’t think it’s possible for a store to survive just selling games.
“I thought [Games Unlimited] would be video games,” John says. “I’m surprised it isn’t. I never thought of a store devoted to games – and games I never heard of.” He gestured at the bookshelf dividing the party games section of the store from the EuroGames, where Prymus is helping another customer find a birthday gift for his niece.
Prymus selects a board game off the shelf and offers it to the customer, leaving a box-shaped hole in the jigsaw puzzle of the stacked games. The customer smiles and heads towards the cash register.
“It’s like a candy store,” John says.
According to Prymus, who is set to take over ownership of the store next year, Games Unlimited used to sell video games very successfully, but fluctuations in the market forced them to abandon the product. Now, they specialize in board and party games only.
The last time Games Unlimited sold video games was in 1983, when Atari released the console game Extra Terrestrial. The game
sold so miserably that Schwartz said the entire video game industry nearly failed.
“When that cartridge came out, the whole industry went belly-up,” Schwartz said.
After facing severe financial trouble and closing down two stores, Schwartz decided to only sell board games. He believes this decision saved the business.
According to Peggy, a store devoted entirely to board games is an “old-fashioned idea,” but one that encourages conversation between the players. John agrees, adding that board games offer more opportunity for conversation than video games.
“Some of our best conversations with our grandson happen over meals and games,” John says. “I don’t see that happening with video games.”
For Prymus and Schwartz, gamers’ desire to socialize is what keeps their niche business successful. Customers come to Games Unlimited because they want to socialize with people who love games..
“They come here to find a game to play with friends,” Prymus says.
Prymus joined the game industry to turn a passion into a career. A former video game critic for Joystick Magazine and doctoral candidate at Duke University, Prymus specialized in the ethics of online communities, particularly video games.
Unable to find a teaching job and “after a few years of banging my head against the wall,” Prymus decided he needed a change.
He became Schwartz’s apprentice at Games Unlimited in 2011 and switched his interests from video games to board games. He says the drawback of video games is that they are not a social activity and require high skill levels.
“Nowadays, video games are so complicated. You can’t sit Grandma down on the couch and play,” Prymus says. “People want to sit in the same room. They want to play together.”
Having spent much of his college years in board game clubs and informal gaming nights, Schwartz is passionate about board games. When he graduated from Duquesne University in 1969 with a degree in business administration, however, he worked in the retail departments of Chrysler Motors and Gimbels Department Store.
After working for a decade in “a room with an adding machine,” Schwartz decided it was time to pursue his passion as a career. Games Unlimited allowed him and three friends from Duquesne, Fred Voelker, Tom Rogan and Frank Carrol, to turn games into a profession, Schwartz said.
“It was a feeling that we could do better in life and that it was time to do something we liked,” Schwartz says, smiling and shaking his head. “There was nothing like this; our parents told us we were crazy, and they still do.”
According to Prymus, Schwartz’s gamble affected the gaming industry both in Pittsburgh and nationally.
Schwartz consistently relays customer requests to manufacturers, facilitating new products and serving customers’ needs. One such product is large-piece puzzles for older customers that line the back wall of the store. According to Prymus, they didn’t exist before Schwartz called manufacturers and asked for them.
When Games Unlimited first opened, Schwartz said it was a leading player in the developing video game field, selling such industry legends as PacMan and the Atari game system.
Schwartz attributes Games Unlimited’s success over three decades in the fluctuating gaming industry to luck and good timing.
Schwartz’s first bestselling item was Dungeons and Dragons in 1978. A customer’s suggestion inspired Schwartz to carry the game two years before other mainstream game stores, a success that eventually led them to become a Dungeons and Dragons distributor.
He mirrored that success in later years with Trivial Pursuit and Rubik’s Cube, which he stocked before they became popular. Schwarz said at one point he was selling “100 [Rubik’s cubes] a day,” but he was unimpressed by his own success.
“It’s the luck factor of having products that people want,” Schwartz said, shrugging his shoulders. He adjusted his gray, frayed baseball cap and sat back on his wooden stool.
According to Prymus, Games Unlimited’s success is due entirely to Schwartz’s dedication and knowledge of the industry. He says Schwartz is a skilled veteran of the gaming business and responsible for its success in Pittsburgh.
“He single-handedly changed the industry,” Prymus says.StorEdge™ Products for On-grid Applications & Backup Power
SolarEdge’s StorEdge storage solution automatically provides homeowners with backup power in case of grid interruption, and allows home owners to maximize self-consumption and to increase energy independence.
The SolarEdge StoreEdge solution is compatible with the LG Chem RESU 10H battery, and is based on the following products:
StorEdge Single Phase Inverter
The SolarEdge single phase inverter,supporting on-grid applications and backup power, manages the battery and the system energy, in addition to its traditional functionality as a DC-optimized PV inverter.
Backup Power - inverter includes the hardware required for automatic backup power for backed-up loads in case of grid interruption
On-grid Applications - maximizes self-consumption through export limit feature and time of use shifts for reduced electric bills
Simple Design and Installation - single inverter for PV, on-grid storage, and backup power
Enhanced Safety - designed to eliminate high voltage and current during installation, maintenance, and firefighting
Full Visibility - built-in monitoring of battery status, PV production, remaining backup power, and self-consumption data
Easy Maintenance - remote access to inverter software
Download the StorEdge single phase inverter datasheet.
Energy Meter with Modbus Connection
The energy meter is used for battery integration and for production / consumption readings for export limitation.
Download the energy meter datasheet.Nicalis and FreakZone Games announce arcade-style side-scroller Knight Terrors for Switch
Due out via the Nintendo eShop on October 24.
Nicalis has announced Knight Terrors, a horror-themed arcade-style side-scroller developed in collaboration with FreakZone Games for Switch. It will launch via the Nintendo eShop in both North America and Europe on October 24.
Here’s an overview of the game, via Nicalis:
Knight Terrors depicts the horrifying adventures of a mysterious suit of armor known only as “The Knight.” Armed with a mighty sword and equipped with blood-red wings that allow flight, the Knight desperately races through the countryside in the darkest of the night, never stopping for any respite or consideration. He must face and vanquish a never-ending onslaught of bloodthirsty ghouls, flaming skulls and unspeakable horrors while jumping over spiked pits and flying through small gaps. If he takes three hits or allows three enemies to pass, it’s “Game Over.” Knight Terrors goes straight for the jugular, engaging players immediately with simple two-button controls, retina-searing sprite graphics and frantic neo-classical chiptunes. Special effects like screen shaking and time stopping magnify the impact of every enemy interaction. Once you’re hooked, the game keeps pulling you back in with earned power-ups, multiple unlockable game modes and high score tracking. What’s more, the procedurally generated levels ensure unlimited replayability—it’s a different game each and every time you play.
Watch the announcement trailer below. View a set of screenshots at the gallery.What does virtual reality do for a game that doesn’t need to be played in VR at all? That’s the question I’ve been asking about Chronos, one of the best games on the Oculus Rift. Chronos is a gorgeous third-person action game that fits well in the Rift, using VR to turn players’ worlds into a series of tiny imaginary landscapes. If a good game can eventually make you forget the outside world, Chronos is even more engrossing, focusing you entirely on a puzzle or boss fight. Still, mechanically, there’s not much reason for Chronos to be exclusive to the Rift. It doesn’t require you to convincingly inhabit another body, and it uses a standard Xbox gamepad, so you’re not playing with motion controls or getting up and walking around.
Spoilers for Chronos ahead.
Thematically, though, it’s the epitome of a genre that we’ll probably be seeing a lot in the coming years: the virtual reality game about virtual reality.
Saying something is "the Dark Souls of" any given category is a cliche, but Chronos self-consciously replicates, then builds on, the Souls formula. It’s a game about being killed and revived over and over in a hostile fantasy world, your progress measured in opening endless, looping shortcuts between its rare checkpoints. But where Dark Souls and its successor Bloodborne have a grim, cyclical lethargy about them, Chronos — as its name suggests — constantly reminds you of the ticking of the clock. Every time your character dies, they "age" by a year, their stiff video-game-character hair slowly graying and flinty face webbing with wrinkles.
It's a video game that's mastered psychological manipulation
Besides the cosmetic effects, aging in Chronos adds another dimension to the ordinary process of gaining experience and upgrading a character. As an 18-year-old, the strength and agility points that determine your weapon’s damage are dirt cheap, but their cost grows as you get older. Starting in middle age, it becomes more effective to focus on the "arcane" knowledge that powers special abilities, charged by attacking enemies and successfully dodging blows. Every decade gives you a choice of perks, like more health or added weapon damage.
While the perks will obviously give a quick boost to weaker players, the system theoretically influences you in more subtle ways too. The better you are at prolonging your youth, for example, you’ll be able to accumulate lots of brute force, while if you blaze through the years, the game forces you to get better by privileging the precise fighting that arcane knowledge requires. Practically, though, aging is mostly an elaborate and devastatingly effective form of psychological manipulation. There are few ultimate consequences, but the idea of wasting a year for every death in a boss fight still stings.
I'd rather have satisfying combat than a realistic body
In Chronos and other games, the novelty of feeling physically "present" with virtual reality has also created a new fascination with narrative coherence. Academic Jesper Juul has suggested that players will use a game’s mechanics to explain things that would be justified by story in a book or movie: instead of deciding that Donkey Kong’s world allows for reincarnation, we accept that Mario has three lives because the game would be too hard if he didn’t. But Chronos’ aging system is a great example of how the VR world likes to play with fictionally explaining elements of gameplay, even when they’re not directly related to VR — like the way that restarting after death in EVE: Valkyrie supposedly transplants a player’s literal consciousness to a new body, and the Adventure Time platformer pretends your disembodied point-of-view is an actual character stuck floating in the air.
But Chronos ultimately only makes sense if you allow for some incoherence. The fact that you age seems to suggest Chronos will have a totally different trajectory from normal role-playing games, starting players at their peak and (eventually) killing them for good. By the time I realized Chronos was handwaving away real physical degeneration and final death, I’d spent so much time worrying about it that I felt almost let down. Still, even though it would be fascinating to design a whole game around that concept, I’m glad this one doesn’t try — I’d much rather have a satisfying combat system than a realistic physical body.
Games are fascinated by the clumsy physicality of head-mounted displays
Chronos’ premise, similarly, is fun because it’s such a hodgepodge of influences and genres. In early previews, the game’s developers showed off a sword-and-sorcery hero’s journey with some slightly unusual artistic flourishes, but that’s only one flavor in a blend of post-apocalyptic survivalism, fantasy, alternate history, and — in by far its weirdest turn — totally non-cyberpunk virtual reality sci-fi. There are already plenty of non-VR games that pretend to be putting players in a simulated reality, but modern VR games in particular are fascinated by the clumsy physicality of head-mounted displays, and Chronos is a particularly striking example. It’s not totally original: midway through, I remember leaning back in my chair and whispering, "Ohhh, so it’s like Harsh Realm set inside Reign of Fire!" to no one in particular. But the fact that my closest reference points were an almost catastrophically unpopular '90s TV series and a moderately successful '00s B-movie should indicate that there’s still quite a lot of room for exploration.
What Chronos could really use is either a lighter or heavier narrative hand. While it includes some of the same environmental storytelling elements as Dark Souls, the game is much more overt about delivering a coherent plot. But this also sets expectations for a payout that never arrives — just when everything starts coming together, the game slams to a confusing, nihilistic halt that actually led me to email the developers and ask about a nonexistent "good ending." It’s a near-miss, because most of the game is great at offering just enough detail to feel both satisfying and mysterious. You don’t really need virtual reality to play Chronos — but it’s a familiar-feeling game that’s all the more interesting for having been steeped in VR’s conventions.Their victims, aged between 11 and 15, were groomed and plied with alcohol and hard drugs before being sexually assaulted and forced into prostitution. Girls who were seen as "out of control" youngsters were deliberately targeted.
Abuse sessions would go on for days and involve the use of knives, meat cleavers and baseball bats. One was even forced to undergo an illegal abortion at a backstreet clinic when she fell pregnant by one of her tormentors.
Two sets of brothers, Akhtar Dogar, 32, and Anjum Dogar, 31, and Mohammed Karrar, 38, and Bassam Karrar, 33, were convicted along with Kamar Jamil, 27, Assad Hussain, 32, and Zeeshan Ahmed, 27.
Fighting broke out in the dock at the Old Bailey after two other defendants - Mohammed Hussain and a man who cannot be named for legal reasons - were cleared.
The seven men found guilty of offences against the six girls were remanded in custody for sentencing next month.
Zeeshan Ahmed struck out at Mohammed Hussain after Hussain was cleared. He struggled as dock officers lifted him up and out of court.
Police missed several chances to catch gang members before they were finally arrested.
Some victims relived their ordeals during the five month trial, describing how they were groomed, beaten, betrayed and sold into prostitution around the country.
One was still so frightened of her attacker that she refused to give evidence for fear he would hurt her again.
It was only after she was given legal advice that Girl D agreed to tell her story on a videolink from another room in the building.
She had been raped and prostituted at 11 by a man who bought her little gifts and showed her the first affection she had known.
Another victim, Girl A, complained of her plight to police on two occasions but no one was charged.
A care home manager refused to pay her taxi fare when she returned after absconding. The then 14-year-old was driven back to Oxford to be raped.
The carer was later sacked and the privately-run home where girls were placed by Oxford County Council was closed down.
The girls had been put into care because their behaviour was out of control and for their own protection.
Time after time, they disappeared from children's homes and were caught with older men by police, but the exploitation continued.
Joanna Simons, the council's chief executive, apologised to the girls.
She said: "We are incredibly sorry we were not able to stop it any sooner.
"We were up against a gang of devious criminals. The girls thought they were their friends.
"I would like to pay tribute to the courage of the girls in giving |
Patrice Nganang, an author and Cameroon native, wrote an essay critical of the actions of that country’s president, media reports say.
UNITED NATIONS — A Stony Brook University professor has been detained in Cameroon after the publication of an essay he wrote criticized the reponse of President Paul Biya to demonstrations and pleas by the country’s English-speaking minority population for self-determination, according to media reports.
UNITED NATIONS — A Stony Brook University professor has been detained in Cameroon after the publication of an essay he wrote criticized the reponse of President Paul Biya to demonstrations and pleas by the country’s English-speaking minority population for self-determination, according to media reports.
Patrice Nganang, 47, an author who teaches in the university’s cultural studies and comparative literature department, was taken into custody by Cameroon authorities Wednesday while boarding a plane at the airport in Douala, said an online report in Vanguard, a Nigerian media outlet. He was headed for Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, media reports said.
Reuters reported that his attorney, Emmanuel Simh, and wife, Nyasha Bakare, said he was taken to the capital, Yaounde, and may be charged with “insulting the president” for his writing in a magazine and possibly a Facebook posting.
advertisement
U.S. officials said they are looking into the issue.
“We are aware of reports of the arrest of a U.S. citizen in Cameroon,” said a State Department official. “The Department of State takes its obligation to assist U.S. citizens abroad seriously. When we are notified of the arrest of a U.S. citizen, we immediately seek to visit him or her.”
They declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns.
Cameroonian officials in New York and Washington could not be reached for comment but Stony Brook officials also said they were monitoring the reports.
“Stony Brook University is aware of the situation and we are working around the clock with the appropriate authorities and elected U.S. representatives to help facilitate the safe return of Professor Nganang,” Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. said in a statement.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, based in Manhattan, said Cameroon in 2014 enacted an ”anti-terror” law that has been used to censor journalists reporting on unrest in the English-speaking regions, as Nganang did. The committee said 1,265 journalists have been killed worldwide since 1992, including one in Cameroon in 2010.
“The detention of Patrice Nganang is an outrage and Cameroonian authorities must immediately release him without charge and allow him to travel,” said CPJ Africa program coordinator Angela Quintal from South Africa. “Cameroon seems intent on violating the right to freedom of expression to silence critical voices, including in the press.”
advertisement
Farhan Haq, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said Thursday that he hoped Nganang is safe but did not say whether the UN itself was aware of the detention or whether it would intervene.
“Obviously everyone who is in Cameroon or traveling to Cameroon, if there are any problems that occur during their travels, that needs to be investigated thoroughly by the local authorities,” he said. “We certainly hope and expect that this particular person will be found, and we’re hopeful that nothing untoward has happened.”
The publication Vanguard said that Nganang, a native of Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, had published an opinion piece in French on the Jeune Afrique news website on Tuesday criticizing Biya, who has been in power since 1982.
Nganang, according to both media reports, wrote unfavorably of Biya’s handling of a yearlong crisis in the country’s English-speaking regions, where residents have said they want autonomy from the rest of the mostly French-speaking country of 25 million to escape decades of unfair treatment.
The unrest has caused waves of deadly violence, and tens of thousands of refugees have streamed into neighboring Nigeria amid government crackdowns on strikes and demonstrations by residents who feel they are victims of discrimination by the French-speaking population.
In his essay, Nganang said the problem would be solved only by a change in the country’s leadership.
“It will probably take another political regime to make the state understand that the machine gun cannot stem a movement,” he wrote, according to Vanguard. “Only change at the head of the state can settle the anglophone conflict in Cameroon.”
advertisement
Guterres in October, condemned an outbreak of violence in the English-speaking areas and urged all sides to show restraint. The secretary-general “remains deeply concerned about the situation in Cameroon and strongly condemns the acts of violence reported in the South-West and North-West regions of the country on 1 October, including reported loss of life,” read a statement from Guterres’ spokesman.
“He calls on the Cameroonian authorities to investigate these incidents and urges political leaders on both sides to appeal to their followers to refrain from any further acts of violence, and to unequivocally condemn all actions that undermine the peace, stability and unity of the country,” the statement continued.
Nganang has taught Topics in Contemporary African Cinema and Cultural Studies and Introduction to Cinema and Cultural Studies at Stony Brook University.
He was promoted to the rank of professor last year, according to a biography published by the university, which notes that Nganang is a scholar of literary and cultural theory and the author of 12 books.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of journalists killed in Cameroon. The Committee to Protect Journalists said 1,265 journalists have been killed worldwide since 1992, including one in Cameroon in 2010.Prof’s caring heart led this Bear from Syrian civil war to a Baylor degree
Amjad Dabi is one of the 2,500+ members of Baylor’s Class of 2017 who will take the symbolic walk from undergraduate to graduate this weekend during Baylor’s Spring Commencement ceremonies. For Dabi, who will receive his Bachelor’s of Music degree in piano pedagogy, that walk has been nearly eight years in the making, thousands of miles and a war-torn world away from where he began his collegiate journey.
Dabi is from Syria, a nation gripped in a devastating civil war for the last six years. Half a million Syrians have lost their lives in the war, and millions more have given up everything to flee the violence. For Amjad, the promise of a Baylor education, propelled by the kindness of people he barely knew, proved to be his ticket out.
Amjad’s journey to Baylor actually began before the war started, back in 2010. While studying music at a local conservatory, he met Dr. Bradley Bolen, a Baylor music professor who travels the world with “American Voices,” a cross-cultural nonprofit that provides support to music students around the world. Dabi appreciated Bolen’s encouragement to consider Baylor, but he was content with the path he was on; in addition to studying music, he was on his way to earning a degree in civil engineering. To leave would mean starting his education from scratch.
Then came the war. By 2012, Dabi’s hometown of Damascus was no longer safe; things got even worse when the Syrian economy collapsed and his parents’ life savings plummeted almost overnight. Bolen stayed in touch with Amjad, and when a car bomb exploded right outside his home later that year, he decided it was time to go.
Through the efforts of Bolen and American Voices, Dabi ended up in Thailand, where he took the SAT and prepared an application. In 2013, he received a full scholarship to Baylor. Bolen and others at Seventh & James Baptist Church worked out a free place for him to live, and so that fall, Dabi arrived at Baylor as a 23-year-old freshman.
Over the last four years, Amjad has thrived as a student. Dr. Bowen and other Baylor staff members and students served as surrogate parents and siblings, helping him whenever he had a need or felt the weight of the situation back home. “Syria is with me all the time,” he says. “I’m here, but I check the news three or four times a day. My family is still there, and channels of communication are not reliable. I hope I can take what I’ve learned to help them eventually.” When his worries for his homeland became too strong, he found refuge in recital halls and practice rooms, expressing on the piano what words sometimes could not. Music, he says, “is a good way to externalize whatever emotions you’re having. It helps you deal with and understand your own emotions.”
This weekend, eight years after his college career was interrupted by catastrophe, Amjad will receive his diploma. “To say I’m over the moon is putting it mildly,” he says. “It feels like a milestone I’ve achieved in my life. Circumstances outside our control happen. For me, this is a symbol of overcoming a lot of challenges.”
In addition to earning his piano pedagogy degree, he also entered the pre-med track at Baylor. This fall, he will go straight into Baylor’s Environmental Science Ph.D. program, where he’ll work in the lab of Dr. Erica Bruce studying the relationship between human health and environmental toxins. He hopes to help his family in the years ahead, either financially or bureaucratically. He’ll be able to in part because so many Baylor people helped him.
“The kindness of people really amazes you. So many people here at Baylor cared. It’s such a good remedy when you’ve seen the atrocious things people are capable of doing. To see kindness was a good perspective for me to be privy to. It’s been a lot of sweat and tears, and it motivates me that so many people have put their faith in me. People here funded my entire education. I want to show them it was a good investment.”
Sic ’em, Amjad!
(Photo via The Baylor Lariat)[Scene: The early 90s, in an office of a certain Silly Valley computer manufacturer]
“I’ve got a great idea.”
“Shoot.”
“You know how old programmers are usually overrun and crushed by the young turks? These kids are fresh out of college and can crank out C and C++ faster than us experienced old farts. I’m sick of that.”
“Me, too. That last intern who re-wrote the kernel page management…”
“Worst review of my life, yup. So, why don’t we design a new language, all whizzy and structured and garbage collected and stuff, and — get this — utterly isolated from the OS.”
“Like BASIC?”
“Right! So they can’t do anything real in it.”
“I get it. It’s a teaching language.”
“No, we sell it as if it was a real language, too. That way colleges are sure to teach it. And it’ll cripple our competitors once they latch onto it.”
“Neat.”
“Now the kids will come out of college knowing essentially nothing about processors, or memory systems, or I/O — hell, they’ll never even have heard of exclusive-OR — and they’ll go into companies thinking they know everything. And in ten or twenty years...”
“We keep the castle safe for us. They can’t touch the kernel. We give them a miserable excuse for a native call layer, use blocking I/O everywhere, and give them X-Windows style graphics for user interfaces. Yeah. I like it.”
“What should we call it?”Last week, we spoke to someone who wants to sell a bitcoin-enabled washing machine. The conversation started a little tongue-in-cheek. If nothing else, we thought, the story would at least make for a funny headline about money laundering. But it ended up raising an interesting question: Will bitcoin ever be laundromat-ready?
When we say ‘laundromat ready’ we’re not talking about just washing machines, but rather, any machine that takes small amounts of coin for an immediate product or service.
Bitcoin payments occur mainly online these days, and when a physical business such as a pub decides to take payments that way, it makes the headlines. Yet for the person on the street, being able to pay simply and easily in bitcoins every day, physical transactions will be a key part of market acceptance.
Morgan Rockwell, a ‘maker’ who likes to tinker with hardware, wants to accelerate the adoption of bitcoin by using it to replace not just medium-sized transactions, such as a bar tab, but those high-volume, low-value transactions normally fulfilled with small change.
Everything from vending machines to pool tables, gas pumps, and parking meters are on his list. “My intention is to replace the paper bill loader/feeder – the little machine that sucks in your dollar at he arcade, or the vending machine,” he says.
“I want a crypto version of that.”
Getting bitcoin adopted in this space would be ideal, says Vinny Lingham, CEO of Gyft. He has a lot of experience converting physical transactions to digital ones. In May, he began accepting bitcoin payments for his loyalty cards, which are accepted by popular retailers.
“People need to be comfortable having a small stash of bitcoins. What this is kind of fits that mould,” he says of the Bitwasher project. “Everyone should walk around with 1-2 bitcoins that they can use for small transactions only. If enough people are doing that, then the volality of currency goes down and the value of the currency increases.”
Rockwell’s ethos is an interesting mix of anti-large bank sentiment (he owns the domain uscryptobank.com and simply wants companies like J.P. Morgan to “go away”), and straightforward pragmatism. Removing physical cash from this class of transactions carries numerous benefits, he argues. It can reduce insurance burdens, by removing the amount of cash needed for storage on-site.
He is also interested in getting bitcoin into the broader business ecosystem. His company, Bitcoin Kinetics, hopes to launch turnkey businesses for people wanting to deal exclusively in bitcoins.
But for now, he’s focusing on replacing low-value physical transactions with bitcoins. His invention is a device that can be made to turn a machine on and off by accepting crypto currency payments. He has launched a BitcoinStarter campaign to put one inside a washing machine to make it take bitcoin payments. He’s calling it the Bitwasher.
The idea, he says, is to build a demonstration unit that he can then use to garner further interest in the project. But bitcoin-enabled washing machines are just an example of what he wants to accomplish. He would like to see many more high-volume, low-value physical transactions switch to bitcoin.
Getting bitcoin into that realm would be an uphill battle. Let’s start with the technical challenges. One of the biggest is that large numbers of small transactions could bloat the block chain.
“I’d have to make an off-chain payment server system,” Rockwell says, adding that he’d consolidate all bitcoin payments made for the day and then put it on the blockchain at the end.
Another potential problem is confirmation times. The bitcoin network takes 10 minutes on average to mine a transaction, confirming it in the block chain. In the past, designs for proposed bitcoin ATM machines included a 10 minute wait time when making a transaction. That won’t fly when plugging a parking meter or buying a Coke. Instead, laundromat-ready bitcoin transactions would have to rely on zero confirmation. This is common in the bitcoin world, though.
“There is the risk of an attack, but at that micropayment of a dollar, the risk is extremely low that someone will try to falsify payment,” Rockwell says.
Technical challenges like these could be overcome. But the biggest challenges are economic, and cultural. And Rockwell’s invention is far from scalable in its current form, built as it is on an Arduino (a hobbyist open source prototyping platform for electronics projects). He would have to miniaturise it on a circuit board, and get manufacturers to install it in their machines en masse. Or, more realistically, patent and license the technology.
But that’s not going to happen right now. Firstly, Rockwell isn’t applying for patents – he’s trying to raise 25 bitcoins to buy a nice-looking washing machine. Secondly, and more problematically, bitcoin faces a catch-22 situation.
“This will work when people have wallets with bitcoins. People don’t,” says Lingham. “We have hundreds of thousands of users. None of them know what the hell bitcoin is,” he continues. “The bitcoin community lives in its own bubble.”
Until customers use it, vending equipment manufacturers, arcade machine vendors and so on would have no reason to make the investment in building this into their equipment. But until they see a barcode on their local Coca Cola machine, people won’t bother using bitcoin. There’s an incredible inertia in metal money.
Moreover, there are well-established alternatives to physical transactions at this level anyway. Google Wallet in the US vies with initiatives like Visa Paywave and MasterCard PayPass for low-value contactless payments. Parking meters are already sewn up. Verrus is one company enabling cell phone-based payments for parking meters. Many municipalities will be far more comfortable working with established technologies like these, than with bitcoin, and for most of them, the work to install mobile parking meter payments has already been done.
The problem is that we’re putting the cart before the horse, Lingham argues. Most transactions still happen online. “What we need to do is to get people to start using bitcoin for microtransactions on the web.”
If you install a bitcoin-enabled washing machine in a laundromat in San Francisco, no one would use it, says the Gyft founder, who is also on the board of BitAngels, which invests in bitcoin-friendly projects.
Rockwell’s answer is to begin seeding friendly environments with these things. He said that he is talking to people on the Intel campus just down the road from his Portland home about installing bitcoin-enabled high-volume transaction devices on their premises. It does seem likely that if this kind of thing was going to make inroads anywhere, it would be in sympathetic tech campuses to begin with, in the same way that, for example, SIP gained traction as a Voice Over IP mechanism inside large companies who saw the value in it.
A laundromat-ready bitcoin would be a great thing for driving up cryptocurrency adoption, driving down volatility, and moving from a speculative economy to one where it is actually used in volume. But before we see this happen, there are several steps along the road first – and most of them will take place online.
(Update: Inspired by this, a bitcoin operated pool table has been created!)There are a lot of really, really terrible things you can do to dogs. Forget to feed them. Fail to walk them. Ignore them when they do that little please-let-me-out-to-pee dance. Leave the house to go to work and leave them staring out the window traumatized. Yeah, being a dick to your dog comes in many varieties, but let me tell you, this is nothing that is simulatenously more terrible and hilarious than putting your dog in some sort of clothing and forcing it to walk in front of other dogs. You may not be able to tell, but other dogs are laughing.
I was checking eBay for something and accidentally came across this book, which apparently not only presents incredibly ludicrous photos of a bunch of poor dogs in clothing, but also offers twenty patterns to MAKE the clothing you see in the photos. I genuinely cannot stop laughing. I think the Pomeranian with the scarf might be the best thing I've ever seen. Clearly he needs a scarf, as there's no way all that fur provides any warmth. I'm seriously considering buying this book, if only so I can leave it on the coffeetable and wait for guests to ask me what the f*ck it is when they come over to my house.
You are logged out. Login | Sign up
Click to open photo gallery:Kevin Winter / Getty Film Critic Roger Ebert
(2 of 5)
THE THUMB THING
I don't know how Roger feels about this, but it makes me uncomfortable to think that, of all the millions of words he has written and spoken, the one most associated with him is "thumb." As in his and his TV partners' shorthand for a favorable review, "two thumbs up!" This tactic is handy for branding the show, and an effective marketing tool (it's the words all movie publicists want to banner at the top of their ads), but as critical discourse the slogan has its limits. More Manichaean than the star rating system he and other newspaper critics use to gauge a picture's quality (which, in the 2- or 3-star range does account for the great gray middle most movies occupy), it restricts the critics' appraisal of a film to "I liked it" and "I didn't like it." To express special enthusiasm, the critics can say, "Two thumbs up! Way up!" or, I guess, "That was thumb movie!" It's a pity; the shadings of Roger's thoughts on a movie deserve a wider vocabulary, which of course he provides in his print reviews.
Of the four or five films up for review on his weekly TV show, he typically would give a thumbs up to two or three of them, making me wonder who in the civilian community has time to see all these movies. But as one of the few critics with a practical familiarity with filmmaking, Roger knows that the machinery of film production is so cumbersome, the pressure for commercial success so great and the odds against making anything good near-astronomical, that the best intentions often get dashed on the rocks of compromise. So he's nearly as sympathetic to the attempt to make a good film as to the achievement in bringing it off. He errs, if erring it is, on the side of generosity.
When he doesn't like a movie, he will often go out of his way to mention some attractive element amid the carnage, giving what amounts to a review that says, "Yes, but! Big but!" And when he decides that a movie rates a pan a "Bah, thumbug," if you will he tends to approach the task not with the hot rage of a jilted suitor, or the curled lip of contempt that is the occupational habit of other critics (this one included), but with the fretful brow of a knowing, caring family doctor. He diagnoses the symptoms, then calmly and compassionately explains the nature of your ailment.
That is, unless he doesn't. Roger's latest book is called Your Movie Sucks a collection of his thumbs-down reviews and the anecdote that inspired the title is worth recounting. In an Oscar preview story two years ago, Los Angeles Time writer Patrick Goldstein made a joke about Rob Schneider's Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, "a film that was sadly overlooked at Oscar time because apparently nobody had the foresight to invent a category for Best Running Penis Joke Delivered by a Third-Rate Comic." Schneider, in a response that ran as a trade paper ad, wrote: "Well, Mr. Goldstein, I decided to do some research to find out what awards you have won. I went online and found that you have won nothing. Absolutely nothing. No journalistic awards of any kind.... Maybe you didn't win a Pulitzer Prize because they haven't invented a category for Best Third-Rate, Unfunny Pompous Reporter Who's Never Been Acknowledged by His Peers...." Ebert's take on this exchange: "Schneider is correct, and Patrick Goldstein has not yet won a Pulitzer Prize.... As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks."
Even the butts of Roger's "buts" understand that there's nothing personal in his negative reviews as indicated by a comment Roger made last year on his website: "A bouquet arrives... A beautiful bouquet of flowers was delivered to the house the other day. A handwritten note paid compliments to my work and wished me a speedy recovery. Who was it from? A friend? A colleague? An old classmate? The card was signed, 'Your Least Favorite Movie Star, Rob Schneider.'"Story highlights Sergei Filin was attacked as he approached his home in Moscow on Thursday night
The unidentified assailant threw concentrated acid in his face, causing severe burns
Filin had suffered intimidation, including threatening phone calls, state media say
Doctors are fighting to save the sight of the artistic director of Russia's illustrious Bolshoi Ballet after a masked assailant threw acid in his face on a Moscow street, state media reported.
Sergei Filin, 43, was approaching his home around midnight Thursday when the unidentified attacker flung the concentrated acid at him, causing severe burns to his face, the state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Friday.
It could take Filin at least six months to recover from the third-degree burns to his face and eyes, RIA Novosti cited Yekaterina Novikova, a Bolshoi spokeswoman, as saying.
Filin took up the key role at the world-renowned ballet company in 2011, after three years directing Moscow's Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater.
There was "fierce rivalry" for the Bolshoi position at the time, according to RIA Novosti.
JUST WATCHED Acid attack shocks Russian ballet company Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Acid attack shocks Russian ballet company 01:56
The agency reported that Filin had suffered months of intimidation, including threatening phone calls and the slashing of his car tires. Shortly before the acid attack, somebody attempted to hack his Facebook page, it said.
"We don't know who would benefit from this," Novikova told RIA Novosti. "The police should investigate."Samuel James Ryce (September 26, 1985 – September 11, 1995) was a child who was abducted, raped and killed by Juan Carlos Chavez in Redland, Florida, United States. On Wednesday, February 12, 2014, Chavez was executed at Florida State Prison in North Florida.[1]
Ryce's murder [ edit ]
Juan Carlos Chavez (March 16, 1967 – February 12, 2014) was convicted of, and ultimately confessed to, Ryce's murder. On September 11, 1995, fifteen days before his 10th birthday, nine-year-old Ryce was riding the bus from school. He was dropped off, along with ten classmates, and had to walk less than a block to his home. According to his confession, Chavez blocked Ryce's path with his pickup truck and forced him at gunpoint into the truck. Chavez took Ryce to his trailer where he raped him. About four hours later, when he heard a helicopter hovering above, Ryce ran to the door and tried to open it only to be shot in the back by Chavez, who held the child until he took his last breath. Then, Chavez decapitated and dismembered him.
The child's decapitated and dismembered body was found three months later near Chavez's trailer.[2]
Capturing Juan Carlos Chavez [ edit ]
Juan Carlos Chavez was convicted of capital sexual battery, kidnapping, and first degree murder.
Chavez worked for the Scheinhaus family. He lived in a trailer on their property. Around the time of Ryce's disappearance, Scheinhaus reported several items missing from her home including a handgun and jewelry. Scheinhaus suspected Chavez, after consulting with a psychic, but had no evidence to support her suspicions. Aided by a locksmith, Scheinhaus entered Chavez's trailer. She found her handgun and young Ryce's bookbag. She reported her findings to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on December 5, 1995. Chavez was found a day later and taken in for questioning.
Being advised of his rights and after a 55-hour-long interrogation, Chavez openly admitted to abducting, raping and murdering Ryce. Chavez also led police to the boy's body, which was dismembered and hidden in cement in three plastic planters.
The murder case [ edit ]
In the fall of 1998, Juan Carlos Chavez was convicted of kidnapping, sexual battery, and capital murder. He was sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence on November 21, 2002.[3] In July 2004, Chavez filed a motion for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The motion was amended in May 2005, and was heard in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on January 9, 2007. The circuit court judge denied the motion on March 8, 2007. On May 23, 2007, Chavez appealed the denial to the Florida Supreme Court, filing a petition for habeas corpus at the same time. The court affirmed the circuit court's order and denied the petition on June 25, 2009. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. On April 17, 2012, Chavez filed a successor motion for post-conviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. The circuit court denied the motion on June 13, 2012. On July 20, 2012, Chavez appealed the denial to the Florida Supreme Court, which affirmed the denial on October 11, 2013.[4]
On January 2, 2014, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed Chavez' death warrant. Chavez, age 46, was executed by lethal injection on February 12, 2014, at 8:17 p.m. at the Florida State Prison in Starke, just over a month before his 47th birthday.[5]
The Jimmy Ryce Act [ edit ]
The Jimmy Ryce Act (Jimmy Ryce Involuntary Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators' Treatment And Care Act) was passed unanimously by the Florida legislature and was signed by Governor Lawton Chiles on May 19, 1998, becoming effective on January 1, 1999. The act calls for inmates with sex offense histories to be reviewed by the Florida Department of Corrections, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), and state attorneys to determine the level of risk for re-offense. Upon release from incarceration, these inmates may be subject to civil proceedings and commitment to a secure facility for treatment. That treatment center, located in Arcadia, was criticized because treatment is lacking (less than 5 hours per week), it lacks security (several incidents of murder on site, riots requiring hundreds of officers to quell) there is no method of restoring civil liberties (the program has no release stage) being underfunded, understaffed and located in an old condemned correctional facility.[citation needed] After running the center for 7 years, Liberty Healthcare was released by the state as the vendor, and GEO corp was retained. Unfortunately many of the issues regarding step-down programs, community placement or aftercare remain unresolved after nearly ten years.
In 2004, residents of the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC) in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) filed a civil rights suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, challenging the lack of sex offender and mental health treatment provided at FCCC in Arcadia, Florida. Plaintiffs were all involuntarily civilly confined at FCCC pursuant to the Sexually Violent Predator Act §§ 394.910, et seq. Fla. Stat. (2003). Plaintiffs alleged violations of their constitutional rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by the denial of effective sex offender treatment programs, lack of appropriate mental health care and the failure to accommodate inmates with disabilities. Plaintiffs requested certification as a class action and sought declaratory and injunctive relief. Defendants named in the Complaint were the DCF and the private corporation Liberty Behavioral Healthcare Corp. that operated the FCCC pursuant to a contract with the DCF. The court certified the case as a class action. After Liberty was replaced as the private contractor, it was dismissed from the lawsuit which proceeded against DCF. Over the next several years, the plaintiffs and defendants engaged in intensive discovery and pre-trial litigation. DCF and the new contractor, GEO Group, implemented significant changes in the sex offender and psychiatric treatment provided to residents. In the Fall of 2009, plaintiffs and defendants, through their respective attorneys, filed a joint motion to dismiss the suit in favor of a settlement agreement. Federal Court Justice Steele accepted the joint submission and dismissed the class action suit, with prejudice, in November 2009, the same year that Jimmy's mother died.
Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction and Team Hope [ edit ]
The family of Ryce created the Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction to offer assistance to law enforcement, including providing free bloodhounds for use in search and rescue. Ryce's mother, Claudine Dianne Ryce, was also a founder of Team Hope, a group of parents of abducted children who support parents and families facing child abduction.[6]
See also [ edit ]Friends question killing of boy who had fake rifle
Andy Lopez Andy Lopez Photo: Handout, Courtesy Bridgett Roque Photo: Handout, Courtesy Bridgett Roque Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close Friends question killing of boy who had fake rifle 1 / 25 Back to Gallery
A 13-year-old boy walks near his home with a toy rifle. Two sheriff's deputies roll up behind him in a squad car, spot the authentic-looking gun and confront him. As the boy turns, one of the officers fires several rounds, killing the boy.
The scenario unfolded in a quiet Sonoma County neighborhood near Santa Rosa, and it set off a storm of grief and anger Wednesday.
The boy's friends and relatives saw a needless killing by jumpy cops, while police investigating the incident sought to show how a gun that shot plastic pellets had been - in the heat of the moment - indistinguishable from a genuine AK-47 assault rifle.
The boy shot Tuesday afternoon was identified as Andy Lopez Cruz, who liked to play basketball and the trumpet. He died on Moorland Avenue, just west of Highway 101, one-third of a mile from his home.
At a news conference, Santa Rosa police officers involved in the investigation held up Andy's pellet gun alongside a real AK-47 assault rifle. Lt. Paul Henry said that after deputies pulled in behind the boy, one shouted for him to put the gun down, then fired several shots.
"One of the deputies described that as the subject was turning toward him the barrel of the assault rifle was rising up and turning in his direction," he said. "The deputy feared for his safety, the safety of his partner and the safety of the community members in the area."
'I don't think it was fair'
Friends and family members of the boy, though, said he would have simply put the gun down if given a chance.
The replica firearm belonged to a friend, they said, and Andy liked to join others in playing games with low-power air guns. They said the deputies should have recognized they were confronting a teenager - and that the gun wasn't real.
"It was tragic, what they did. I don't think it was fair. He was a good kid," said cousin Luis Lopez, 17.
Andy was walking home from school when he was shot, friends said. He had been an eighth-grader at Cook Middle School in Santa Rosa until this week, when he transferred to an alternative program at Lewis Opportunity School.
"He was a great boy, and I treated him like he was my son," family friend Alma Galvan said through tears after visiting Andy's family. "Why couldn't the police just shoot him in the hand or at least in the leg? Why did they have to kill him?"
Aubrey Martin, whose children knew Andy, wondered if the deputies were "trigger-happy." Her son, Gabriel Roque, said, "There's a difference between a cold-hearted killer walking down the street with a gun and a little kid walking down the street with a BB gun. There's something wrong."
Tributes to Andy grew at his former school and at the spot where he was shot. There, a memorial included stuffed animals, candles, flowers and a toy gun wrapped in a red bow.
Socorro Shiels, Santa Rosa schools superintendent, said of Andy: "His administrators and teachers will remember him as kind, intelligent and capable."
In his statement Wednesday, Sheriff Steve Freitas said that as the "father of two boys about this age, I can't begin to imagine the grief this family is going through. This is a tragedy on many levels."
Freitas added, "The public expects that the investigation will be thorough and transparent. As sheriff, I will do all in my power to see that expectation is satisfied. My hope is that we can work with the community to help prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future."
No orange tip on replica
Santa Rosa and Petaluma police are investigating the shooting, as is the county district attorney's office.
According to the account from Henry, the Santa Rosa lieutenant, the incident began about 3 p.m. when two deputies pulled behind Andy, who wore a blue hoodie and shorts and walked with a rifle in his left hand that had the same brown and black parts as a real AK-47.
Federal law requires replica guns to have an orange tip, but Andy's toy rifle didn't have one.
Witnesses heard a siren briefly, Henry said, as both deputies got out of the car and took cover behind open doors. Henry said witnesses heard a deputy shout twice, "Put the gun down," before Andy turned around and was shot.
Henry would not say how many times the deputy fired or how many times Andy was hit. The deputies handcuffed the boy, he said, and began "life-saving measures," but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The boy also had a plastic handgun in his waistband - this one translucent with an orange tip, Henry said.
The deputies were placed on routine paid leave, pending the investigation. Their names were not released.
An expert on police shootings said the incident underscores the challenges officers face when confronting people with guns that turn out to be fake. Geoffrey Alpert, a criminologist at the University of South Carolina, said officers often don't have time to determine whether a gun is real.
"As long as an armed person appears to be a threat, you don't have time to look to see if it's a toy," Alpert said. "If it looks real, you've got to believe it's real. A perceived threat trumps age; it trumps mental abilities."
Some legislators have sought to impose restrictions on replica guns in an effort to make sure police don't mistake them for real ones. California law requires "imitation weapons" to look like playthings by being brightly colored or transparent.
But a state senator's proposal in 2011 to extend that requirement to air guns failed after manufacturers and retailers opposed it. The proposal stemmed from an officer's shooting of a 13-year-old boy in Los Angeles who turned out to be carrying a pellet gun.Ruairí Arrieta-Kenna is an editorial intern at Politico Magazine.
In May, Politico compiled the most comprehensive list ever of the then likely GOP presidential nominee’s history of self-contradictions |
best of it, and continue to be useful in life'," Mr Bateman said.
He said any technique that might make dementia medication more effective would be welcomed.
"I'd be very pleased to try anything that could potentially improve the situation not just also for myself, but for the rest of the world who have Alzheimer's," he said.
"Let's help one another by doing what we can to bring on the cure."
Mr Bateman works for the Uniting Church, supervising 25 clergy members.
"They come to me regularly to share how they're going and I love and care for them and respond to them in the best ways I can," he said.
But he is concerned he may not be able to continue that role when his condition gets worse.
"I won't be able to connect with people as I am now," he said.
He is passionate about research into better treatments.
The new research has been published in the journal Brain.
Topics: alzheimers-and-dementia, brain-and-nervous-system, medical-research, pharmaceuticals, parkinson-s-disease, diseases-and-disorders, health, australia
First postedPamela R. Jeffries, whose research has focused on improving nursing education, will become the new dean of the School of Nursing. She is the second vice provost of Johns Hopkins University that was hired away to become a GW dean in two years.
GW is bringing on another administrator from Johns Hopkins University.
Pamela R. Jeffries, a nursing professor and the vice provost for digital initiatives at Johns Hopkins, will take over the School of Nursing on April 6. She’ll be the second dean to lead GW’s fastest-growing school.
She is also the third dean to be hired away from the U.S. News & World Report No. 12-ranked university about an hour north of D.C. since University President Steven Knapp came to GW from the same institution in 2007.
Jeffries said she’s excited to work with GW’s faculty and create a plan to keep moving the school forward as nursing education changes to include new technology and the health care industry grows.
“I believe I have a fabulous opportunity and look forward to a great experience following Jean Johnson, who established a strong foundation with faculty to develop an outstanding school of nursing in the nation’s capital,” she said.
The hire will keep GW’s number of female deans at three, and she will lead a predominantly female faculty in the School of Nursing.
Her research has focused on improving nursing education. She’s become known worldwide for introducing a new way of teaching called “simulations,” in which nursing students practice on mannequins instead of actual bodies, said Cynthia Foronda, an assistant professor of nursing at Johns Hopkins.
“She sees the big picture and attempts to create partnerships, linking schools and causing networking and connections that advance the profession,” Foronda said.
Jeffries has taught about leadership within the nursing profession, which Foronda said made her fit for a deanship. Being known around the world as a leader in nursing education could help her raise the 5-year-old nursing school’s profile, she said.
“What I really appreciate is that she’s willing to share and grow junior faculty,” Foronda said. “Not many people at that level will take the time to do that, but she is someone who will continuously make her time available for meetings or to have lunch.”
As a vice provost, Jeffries has led online learning at Johns Hopkins and worked to bring digital tools into classroom settings. She came into the position after the university launched massive open online courses in the nursing and public health schools.
Those skills could help GW’s many online nursing programs, which have helped keep enrollment on the rise while other schools have seen declines.
Jeffries will also be required to spend at least 40 percent of her time fundraising. The nursing school is aiming to bring in $8 million for the capital campaign to support areas like new professorships, academic programs and global partnerships.
The school’s faculty have stayed quiet about Jeffries’ impending arrival. Several faculty members did not return requests for comment about why they think she’ll be a good fit for GW.
Jessica Greene, the School of Nursing’s associate dean for research, said she was “thrilled” that Jeffries would join the school.
“In addition to being an expert in online education, a very well published academic and an experienced leader, she is smart, energetic and down to earth,” Greene said in an email.
Christine Pintz, the associate dean for graduate studies who chaired the search committee, declined to comment on the selection.
“Her expertise in simulation, online education and best practices in teaching will continue to foster the innovative and creative teaching and research that has distinguished GW’s nursing faculty,” she said in a University release.
The search committee formed last year, a few months after Johnson announced she planned to step down from the deanship at the end of the spring 2014 semester. Johnson stayed on another semester, and Mary Jean Schumann has served as the school’s interim leader since the first of this year.
This article appeared in the January 26, 2015 issue of the Hatchet.Advertisement
Most of you will have heard of Reddit (if you didn’t, see our Reddit ebook for beginners). In fact, most people on the Internet daily will regularly see articles and topics made popular by Reddit either directly or indirectly. Sometimes Reddit debates will even find their way into mainstream news. However you view Reddit, there’s no denying its popularity and influence on Internet culture. It’s definitely worthy of a little attention.
Now, if you’re already a Reddit regular you might be wondering if perhaps intervention is more appropriate than reading more about cool things happening on Reddit. I hear you! But it can’t be stopped. There are some great things going on at Reddit and they need to be shared.
Oh, whoops! Looks like you all went there at once.
1. Best Of Reddit
On a daily basis, you’ll see the best posts of Reddit on the front page. But that’s not where it stops. Every year, Reddit staff ask for submissions for the best of Reddit. This is where you’ll catch up on all the very best Reddit brought us during the year, including all the memes, innovations, novelty accounts, communities, feel-good stories and hilarious posts. Frankly, if you’re not forever alone and attached to your computer, you probably did miss a few of these.
Check out:
2. Subreddits
There are thousands of Subreddits on Reddit. These have their own sub-communities within Reddit and foster a great variety of opinions and voices. Most people find the Subreddits a little difficult to get into, since Reddit is basically a maze of links and you may never find what you’re really looking for. But, there’s one Redditor who thought they’d make things easier for us all. Whilst avoiding fetishes, bands, political parties and marijuana Subreddits, they created a list of over 800 Subreddits in a Google Document for us to enjoy. This incredible list will have you browsing your favourite topics in no time.
While you’re looking around, take the time to notice that some Subreddits have customised their style to suit their topic. Check out:
3. Reddit Memes
If you haven’t quite caught onto Reddit’s basic history and memes, there’s a great run-down on Encyclopedia Dramatica. It helps to explain some of what you see on Reddit. Keep in mind that a lot of the memes originated on 4Chan, too.
Check out Reddits home-grown 100 pushups meme. All it took was a rant about pushups and a few comments about McDonalds to get started “” then the thread just continues with the same pattern and different topics… Forever. Seriously, this thread started over two years ago and I don’t think it’s over yet. Keep clicking “Continue Thread” and you’ll see what I mean.
4. Incredible Generosity & Gift Exchanges
You may not believe it after viewing some of the comments, but a lot of Redditors are extremely kind and will help each other out of a fix if possible. Reddit has seen everything from ideas to help solve depression to suicide watch, organising a toy drive, getting someone a job or bailing them out of jail. These save lives!
There’s also many fantastic stories of spontaneous generosity offered on Reddit daily. One of the most memorable stories is Today you… Tomorrow Me which spawned its own pay-it-forward mentality Subreddit.
There’s also plenty of people trusting their fellow Redditors and joining in gift exchanges:
5. Innovation & Random Cool Stuff
Great things come out of Reddit and there’s no way I could possibly explain it all to you. However, I can point you in the direction of some of the best random things about Reddit:
More Reddit-Related Posts
As you can see, the world of Reddit is quite varied and interesting. There’s a real community building there and attempting to make good things happen in this world.
Do you use Reddit? If not, why not? If so, what are some of your favourite pages?OMG, we’re totes drowning in cute over here. We came up for air long enough to publish this, from Muni rider Jennifer.
Hey guys, just wanted to share a photo of my 3-year-old son. His love for SFs favorite municipal railway runs deep.
On weekends, we ride the train all around the city. He loves Muni. So naturally for Halloween he wanted to be a Muni train. I made him the T-Third because that’s what mama takes to work every day.
As for me? Sexy nurse? Sexy cop? Nah, not when my main man wants to be the third-busiest light-rail system in the country! Clipper Card it is.
He likes locomotives and steam engines too, but he doesn’t see those as often. You know, city kids. All about that Muni life.DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition Gameplay Shows Off Some The Changes
By Ishaan. January 22, 2015. 11:01am
Watch live video from CapcomUnity on Twitch
Capcom recently streamed an hour of gameplay footage from DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition. You can watch the footage from the stream above, and below are some notes we’ve compiled based on information that was shared during the stream. Some of it is well known by now, and some of it you may not have seen before.
General stuff:
No new story content, but there is one minor additional cutscene in the game.
60fps at 1080 on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Vergil’s Downfall DLC and pre-order items from the original game included.
All costumes unlocked from the start.
Bloody Palace Mode:
Enabling Turbo Mode increases game speed by 20%.
Enabling Must Style makes it so enemies only take damage once you have an S-Rank style ranking. You can stack Must Style on top of other difficulty modes.
Enabling Super Dante makes it so you have infinite Devil Trigger.
You can now disable the timer in Bloody Palace mode.
Hardcore Mode:
Hardcore Mode changes the style system. The ranking of your style becomes more stringent and makes it harder to get S or SSS. It’s available in both story mode and Bloody Palace mode.
In Hardcore Mode, Devil Trigger no longer launches enemies.
Hardcore Mode can be toggled on/off and stacked on top of other difficulty options.
Control/Combat stuff:
Lots of control customization; you can use custom layouts.
Manual lock-on feature is completely optional. You can turn it on/off in the controls menu. You can also switch it between holding and tapping the button.
Lock-on shows you an enemy’s life bar.
Angel Evade can now be done thrice in succession so it resembles Nero’s Table Hopper from DMC4. The timing isn’t as tight as the Table Hopper.
Colour-coded enemies have been tweaked. You don’t have to use a weapon of the appropriate colour any more in order to do damage, but at the same time you won’t do as much damage as with the appropriate weapon.
Stinger has its own input options. You can either have it be Forward, Forward, Attack or Lock On, Forward, Attack. Or you can have it be both.
DmC Devil May Cry will be released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on March 10th.…by Gordon Duff, VT Senior Editor
[ Editor’s Note : How did America learn about al Qaeda in Iraq or Saddam’s WMDs? They learned it from Rita Katz? Who found the bin Laden tapes and provided the proof for the 9/11 Commission? It was Rita Katz.
Who is Rita Katz? Rita Katz is a housewife from Brooklyn with absolutely no background in intelligence, no connections to anything other than the absolute luck of finding things on the internet that other people couldn’t.
Then again, everything she found ended up to be made up and 2 million people are dead.
How do we know 240,000 people died in Syria? The Syrian Human Rights Observatory tells us. How do we know about all the atrocities of the Damascus government? You guessed it, all of it comes from the SHRO?
Ever hear of a “barrel bomb?” The SHRO invented them?
Veterans Today has its own file on this group and why Reuters and the Associated Press and hundreds of major news outlets use information fabricated by a guy who lives over a noodle shop in the British Midlands, someone with no credibility, no personal history and no source of income.
Russia Today has taken a shot at looking into the SHRO, sending comedian Nimrod Kamer into the fray. Their approach is totally correct with one sad exception, the SHRO, as with Rita Katz, may be wrong about the number of dead but one thing is for certain, their role in the killings is clear as a bell…GD ]
______________________________
Who is behind Syrian Observatory for Human Rights? Nimrod Kamer investigates for RT
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has been the prime source for MSM-aired news from the Syrian battlefield. But how much does one truly know about this UK-based organization and its director? Journalist and prankster Nimrod Kamer went to find out.
The organization has been one of the sources for the mainstream media to build their reports on Syria since the start of the civil war four years ago. The organization claims to have a wide network of contacts in the region who feed their information to the head office, where it is processed and later posted on the website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Since the start of the Moscow anti-ISIS campaign Russia has started featuring in its reports as well – and it was quickly picked up by major Western media outlets. One of the latest wires from the Observatory that “Russian warplanes [killed] 30 civilians in Homs including women and children” quickly made it into major news sources. “To the degree people choose to believe social media, they can be my guest. But quite contrary to what [US Secretary of State John Kerry] has said, it is a notoriously unreliable tool upon which to base judgments,” former CIA officer, Ray McGovern told RT. ‘I am not a media organization’ – Rami Abdel Rahman RT decided to investigate who the man behind the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is and why the media outlet is so popular with MSM. Well-known journalist and prankster Nimrod Kamer took up the job. The two-bedroom Coventry home of Syrian immigrant Rami Abdel Rahman has been the organization’s base and the source of information for major mainstream media on anything Syria-related from the past four years, including the death toll. Nobody quite knows who Abdel Rahman has on the ground in Syria, but information just keeps flowing on and on, usually in a dramatic fashion and with little detail. LISTEN MORE: Kamer walked around the English city of Coventry, approaching people with questions on Abdel Rahman and how he could be located. No one seemed to have a clue they had the prime source of news from the Syrian frontline living right there in their quaint British neighborhood. Kamer had no luck catching the director at home. Calling him on the phone, he found out Abdel Rahman went out to a shop. The journalist went about explaining that he had hoped to catch the organization’s director to quiz him on his “media organization” – but that term was met with hostility on the part of Abdel Rahman. “I am not a media organization. I work from my home, my private home.” The director of the Observatory seemed very distressed, talking about the dangers of meeting up for daytime interviews because “they are trying to kill me.” It was difficult to identify who “they” were, but Abdel Rahman clearly wasn’t in the mood. He asked Kamer to send him his name and details, which Abdel Rahman would then send to the police. “When you run a media organization you should expect journalists to come and ask questions, especially if it’s such a shady and unsourced media organization… I had a great time.” LISTEN MORE:Real estate prices in the Fraser Valley have jumped significantly over the last year, making it a challenge to break into the market.
"It's a very difficult market for first-time home buyers," said Leo Ronse, a seasoned realtor with over two decades of experience in the Langley area.
"This is an ugly market," said Ronse, one where prices are high, inventory is low and multiple offers are common practice.
According to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. April saw the highest sales the region has experienced in the last 10 months.
The biggest price increases were for townhouses and apartments, the prices for those increased nearly 30 per cent since last year and over 3 per cent since last month.
So, we took a look at what you can buy in Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack if you have $250,000 and $500,000.
Langley
In Langley, a quarter million dollars will score you a decent apartment.
That's if you snag it in time.
An apartment in the City of Langley sold for $255,000 after it spent 12 days on the market. (MLS)
Asking price: $248, 800 | Sale price: $255,000
731 sq.ft. condo, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
This apartment on 201A Street was in the market for 12 days and sold with multiple offers, said realtor Jeremy Sutton, who sold the place to a first-time home buyer.
Even if you doubled your money and had a budget of half a million dollars, you'd be hard pressed to find a single detached home in Langley for that price.
A single family house sold for $400,000 in Aldergrove.
List price: $399,900 | Sale price: $400,000
1,742 sq.ft. single family house, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
"You're not going to find a house for $500,000 and if you do, they'll be in less than stellar neighbourhoods and will be in deplorable conditions," said Ronse.
A nice three bedroom, two bathroom townhouse goes for $500,000 in Langley.
This townhouse in Willoughby Heights in Langley sold for $30,100 over asking price. (MLS)
List price: $469,900 | Sale price: $500,000
1,550 square feet townhouse, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
"I'm not saying this is affordable, but it is an area that is a little better than the Vancouvers, Richmonds and the Burnabys," said Ted Schaffer, the mayor of the city of Langley.
Schaffer believes townhouses are the new reality for young families.
"We are looking at it as a place families can go, I think there are seven townhouse projects out of the 15 or 17 which are on the books right now," said Schaffer.
But for Sean Kane a townhouse doesn't cut it.
"They're not really that big enough I find for three kids and two adults," he said.
Kane has been looking in Langley for a few months and with his budget of $400,000, he's had no luck.
"It's frustrating," he said, "pretty much anything on MLS is sold or taken."
Once you find something, it's a race to put an offer in, he said.
"You don't even know if you're going to like it yet, you don't have time to compare it to other things," he said.
Realtor Michael O'Grady knows the pain all to well.
"We are having a lot of trouble finding places for clients," he said, adding that inventory is low in Langley because of the commute time to Annacis Island, Delta and Vancouver.
"People have decided that Aldergrove isn't that bad of a drive, and it has pushed out to Abbotsford now," he said.
Abbotsford
But even in Abbotsford buying a house for less than $500,000 is unlikely.
"They aren't going to be a homebuyer, they are going to be a townhome buyer," said Kevin Rolland, a realtor based out of Abbotsford.
"Townhouses are selling up into the $500,000's now. If I told someone that a year ago, they would've thought I was crazy," he said.
This townhouse in Abbotsford West sold for $529,900. (MLS)
List price: $524,900 | Sale price: $529,900
1,762 square foot brand-new townhouse, 3 bedrooms 4 baths
Rolland said Abbotsford is now seen as a good investment.
"A lot of people are buying investment condos because rents are so high," he said and with less than $250,000 you can purchase an 805 square foot apartment.
This apartment in Central Abbotsford sold for $247,250. (MLS)
List price: $235,500 | Sale price: $247,250
805 sq. ft apartment, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths
The vacancy rates in Abbotsford - Mission are the lowest in the country at 0.5 per cent.
Even a rancher home is advertised as an investment property, with a note that the family renting it for $1,700 a month would like to stay.
This rancher in East Abbotsford was advertised as an investment, with the request that the family who is renting it for $1,700 a month would like to stay. (MLS)
List price: $525,800 | Sale price: $520,000
930 square foot rancher, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath
Rolland said if people are looking to buy a nice house they'll have to head to Chilliwack.
Chilliwack
This is where $500,000 will buy you a house.
On the Sardis side, options range from a B.C. box house or a really nice townhouse.
On the Chilliwack side, $500,000 dollars will get you a bigger house.
This four bedroom bungalow sold in Chilliwack for under $500,000. (MLS)
List price: $449,300 | Sale price: $482,000
1,837 bungalow in Chilliwack, 4 bedroom, 2 bath
The more affordable option — $250,000 — will land you an apartment on the Sardis side or a single level townhouse or teardown in Chilliwack.
This penthouse condo in Sardis sold for $250,000. (MLS)
List price: $249,900 | Sale price: $250,000
1,093 sqare feet apartment in Sardis, 2 bedroom, 2 bath
This two storey framewood townhouse in Chilliwack sold for $4,900 under asking. (MLS)
List price: $249,900 | Sale price: $245,000
1,320 square foot townhouse in Chilliwack, 3 bedroom, 1 bath
But these listings are attracting multiple offers.
"They're asking me to door knock find properties that aren't on the market so they are not competing against other people," said realtor Aaron Tschritter.
"This is the first time that sales are down a little bit, not because people don't want to buy. It's just that there is nothing to buy," said Greg Nord-Leth, president of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board.
Nord-Leth believes part of the attraction is that Chilliwack is the Langley of 10 years ago. As Langley becomes more urban, people are opting for Chilliwack, he said, where they can get more for their money and get a calmer atmosphere.
He said the foreign buyers tax has also had rippling effects on the Chilliwack housing market.
"Foreign buyers were buying in Vancouver, Vancouver buyers were leaving and coming to Langley, and the people from Langley were coming to Chilliwack," said Nord-Leth.Warner Bros Studio Tour London to open Philosopher's Stone quest exhibit this summer Leading up to the 15th anniversary of the release of the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, this coming November, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will have a full display out of the series of events Harry, Ron and Hermione had to sort through to get the stone itself. The exhibit will run from Friday, July 22 - Monday, September 5, 2016.
Finding the Philosopher’s Stone - Special seven-week feature to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the first Harry Potter film
Friday 22nd July – Monday 5th September
This summer, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will celebrate the epic quest Harry, Ron and Hermione embarked upon to find and protect the Philosopher’s Stone. Filmmakers used a range of special and visual effects techniques to create the various obstacles the trio faced on their journey. Visitors will discover how giant chess pieces were made to move, Fluffy the three-headed dog (and his saliva) was brought to life and the deadly Devil’s Snare was taken from page to screen.
For the first time ever, there will be a moving display of the Devil’s Snare that the magical trio encountered in their hunt for the Philosopher’s Stone in Creature Effects. Visitors will have the chance to see and even touch the giant tentacles that have been specially created as they were in the films.
Head Propmaker Pierre Bohanna went through several processes to create the final version of the Philosopher’s Stone that can be seen on screen. When asked, J.K. Rowling said that the stone should look like an “uncut ruby”. A number of the early versions of the Philosopher’s Stone will be on display at the Tour and visitors will be able to see first-hand how it was created as expert prop makers demonstrate stages in the process.
During this special feature, film fans will be invited to learn how one of Ron Weasley’s favourite games, Wizard’s Chess, was brought to life on a large scale by Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson and his team. The giant chess pieces will move across a chequered board, as if by magic, on the Tour’s backlot.
In addition to this, vats of slimy Troll snot, buckets of dribbling drool (of the three-headed dog variety) and pools of silvery unicorn blood will be showcased in the Tour and visitors will get to see demonstrations showing exactly how the gunk and goo were created. They will also have the chance to celebrate the bravery of not only Harry, Ron and Hermione but also Neville Longbottom. His pyjamas will be displayed in the Gryffindor common room as they were when he was placed in a Full Body-Bind Curse by a young Hermione. Leading up to the 15th anniversary of the release of the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, this coming November, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter will have a full display out of the series of events Harry, Ron and Hermione had to sort through to get the stone itself. The exhibit will run from Friday, July 22 - Monday, September 5, 2016. TweetMEXICO CITY (AP) — A radio station in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua says one of its reporters has been shot dead outside his home.
Antena Radio in the state capital, also called Chihuahua, says Adrian Rodriguez was killed Saturday morning and prosecutors are investigating whether his work may have been a motive.
Antena Radio adds that Rodriguez spent more than 15 years at radio, print and online outlets. He joined Antena’s parent company GRD Multimedia in April to cover state and local government.
The Chihuahua state journalists’ union condemned Rodriguez’s murder and called for an exhaustive investigation.
Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least eight were killed in Mexico this year prior to Rodriguez’s death.This analysis contains spoilers for the new Ghost in the Shell movie. Proceed with caution!
Over the weekend, I dragged my best friend—a biracial Japanese dude I’ve known for over a decade—to watch the new Ghost in the Shell movie. Like Ars Technica’s Sam Machkovech, we weren’t impressed. To my surprise, though, I didn’t actually hate Scarlett Johansson's role in the movie.
Her casting as the Major has been controversial, in part due to concerns about "whitewashing" (using white actors to play non-white characters). Yet Mamoru Oshii, director of the original 1995 anime, was unexpectedly supportive of the decision. Maybe that's because Johansson doesn’t pretend to be Motoko Kusanagi, the boisterous lead character from the original. Johansson's new character, Mira Killian, comes across as pure automaton, a blank slate devoid of emotional ties.
But this blankness, which permeates the film, is a symptom of Ghost in the Shell's broader failure to understand its source material, and it's here that the film's deeper problems lie.
A missing philosophy
The new film's director, Rupert Sanders, said in an interview with Motherboard that he loved the original anime and wanted to “be part of the legacy of Ghost in the Shell... The world really blew my mind... It was this beautiful futuristic world that I had never really seen anywhere: crazy characters, sexualized, philosophized.”
Sanders describes his movie repeatedly as an “international” film, one he has updated with a more familiar plot, because “you can’t lead” with themes of dualism, reflections on technology, and “all those things that are Ghost in the Shell.” So what does he think the franchise’s most memorable moments are? He names them: “The water fight, exploding geisha heads, Major on the tank, Major jumping off the roof. Those things are iconic, and if they weren't in there, people would be upset, myself included.”
But I'm not sure Sanders understands how or why these moments became so iconic. His interpretation of the original film—which was slower, indeed almost glacial in places—centers on explosive energy and plumes of broken glass; it's Daft Punk gone the way of the Boondock Saints. Consequently, Sanders' rebooted version of Ghost in the Shell is a peculiar hodgepodge of original scenes and lines, sutured together without much rhythm. We get the hacked garbage collector without the poignancy of his subsequent revelations, while the water fight that Sanders mentions is almost caricatured. And Mira Killian has none of Motoko Kusanagi’s restraint as she beats her quarry without compassion.
As the action gets more frenetic, the thoughtful theme of humans merging with machines becomes blander. Kuze—another abductee crammed into a Caucasoid form—begs Major to merge with him. Why? We learn only that he was Motoko’s boyfriend in life. However, that romantic connection is never truly explored. It's as if the love story was included because that is just what you do in Hollywood. What could be more compelling than star-crossed love?
The 1995 Ghost in the Shell has a more complex understanding of why two entities might want to merge. In the climactic scene, the Puppet Master presents Kusanagi with a compelling proposition. All life seeks to multiply, it tells Kusanagi, and diversification is essential to ensure the survival of any lineage. So it seeks to merge with her—the flawed human and the flawed program—to create something bigger than them both. “To be human,” the Puppet Master tells Kusanagi, “is to continually change.”
There is irony to this line in the context of the new film. The new Ghost in the Shell movie embodies that idea of constant change, but its cross-pollination of Western sensibilities with the source material doesn't quite work. It clings to the stylings of the original franchise, lifting certain vignettes wholesale. But while the original anime was intrinsically Japanese, Sanders’ rendition is fundamentally American in ways that go beyond mere casting.
Both Motoko Kusanagi and Mira Killian repeatedly ask of the world, “Who am I?” But where the former searches for meaning in context of the greater whole, the latter faces inward, obsessed with the individual. Killian’s entire arc in the movie is classic Hollywood. She is indistinguishable from most other American action heroes rather than a metaphor for a larger concept. The political landscape of the movie is strictly incidental, a background for Killian’s personal struggles. Even the tragic twist introduced in the third act is simply fuel to propel her personal narrative.WHEN Clare champions Sixmilebridge were knocked out by Na Piarsaigh in the Munster club quarter-final last October it meant the end of a dream for another season.
But for Paidi Fitzpatrick, who captained his club to their 12th Clare championship in 2015, that loss to the eventual All-Ireland champions brought about the beginning of a new adventure.
We have seen the likes of Aidan O’Shea and Jackie Tyrrell try their hand at American sports in ‘The Toughest Trade’ but Fitzpatrick is doing it for real after signing his first contract as a professional lacrosse player.
The former Clare minor and U-21 decided to up sticks and move stateside after the club campaign ended. Fast-forward four months and he finds himself playing full-time lacrosse with the Longhorns – based in Austin, Texas.
He said: “It all happened very fast. It kind of happened by chance really.
“I came over and did a semester of college and then decided to play part-time while working in Austin.
“I gave it a go, they liked what they saw over the last few months, and I just got my first rookie contract the other day. I hadn’t really seen that coming at all.
“My team-mates and coaches are as surprised as I am that I’ve become accustomed to it without growing up with it.
“They would have all grown up with it and played it since an early age.”
Lacrosse is a full-contact sport with a small rubber ball and long-handled sticks that have a net attached.
The object is to work the ball into a small hockey-sized goal.
Fitzpatrick reckons there are similarities with hurling that have made it easy to adapt.
And having impressed in trials he hopes to make his competitive debut as the season gets up and running over the next month.
He added: “The hand-eye coordination is a big thing that I have from hurling and I suppose it’s a very rough-and-tumble contact sport as well.
“It’s fairly intense and the lads aren’t afraid to give stick. I gave a bit of stick to forwards playing as a back in hurling but you get plenty of it over here.
“There’s no going easy on the Irish guy – maybe when I had just started but not now.
“It’s about pushing now and trying to get into the team.
“You would have about 25/30 guys on the panel with 10 starters and rolling subs so I just have to get the head down and work towards that.”
Fitzpatrick lined out as a defender for the Sixmilebridge side that reached the 2013 Munster final and last year’s quarter-final.
He now finds himself trying to score goals rather than stop them in his new role.
Fitzpatrick said: “That is one of the other things people find so surprising.
“I’m playing as an attacker over here but I was a defender at home. In some ways I have a new-found sympathy for attackers in hurling.”
For Fitzpatrick and his Sixmilebridge team-mates defeat to Na Piarsaigh for the second time in three seasons was tough to swallow.
However he now sees it now as somewhat of a blessing in disguise.
The chance to experience a new culture while playing sport professionally was something he never dreamed of as a hurler.
He said: “People think of Texas as quite a conservative place but Austin is a bit less so than other places.
“It’s a really great city with a great mix of people and there’s a strong Irish community throughout Texas who have been great to me.
“I’m lucky here as well that the weather is nicer and the season is around April to August so it’s a relief not to be going through the muck of an Irish winter.
“The plan is to stick with this for the foreseeable future and see where it takes me.
“It’s kind of surreal but it’s been great so far – so it’s about cracking on now and seeing what happens.”In a few weeks, the Blackfoot Truckstop Diner will turn 60. That’s six decades of impeccable service and community involvement as well as hot turkey dinners and mile-high flapper pie. We spoke with the diner’s current manager and the founder’s daughter to learn more about this successful Calgary foodie venue.
Edna Taylor moved to Calgary in 1948 when she was only 15 years old. She came from a farming town close to Wimbourne and had followed in her big sister’s footsteps. They lived in an apartment together and they both took the bus to their jobs downtown – the two worked in a caf called The Wave Caf. And Edna worked hard. Regular customers knew her as eager and energetic and spunky. Just six years after moving to Calgary, this young woman opened her own a caf that was well ahead of its time.
In June 1956, this young, entrepreneurial woman opened the Blackfoot Truckstop Diner (then known as Royalite). It was the first truckstop in the city limits. It was one of the few cafs outside of the downtown core. And a few years after opening, it was the city’s first 24-hour diner.
While the Blackfoot Truckstop Diner has become a well-known Calgary institution, it hasn’t survived six decades just because of its shepherd’s pie and turkey dinners. Ask any regular customer or long-lasting staff member, and they would say that the diner’s ongoing success is due to Edna’s legacy.
Edna Taylor passed away in 2011. She wasn’t just Edna Taylor. She was the Queen of Pay-It-Forward. A woman with a passion for people (and thrift stores). One helluva lady.
Her legacy lives on in the Blackfoot Truckstop Diner. Roxanne Taylor, Edna’s daughter, and Tanyia Brown, the current manager, say that because of Edna, it will always |
left behind his wedding album, irreplaceable photos of his son and a desk he built in high school.
The sheriff’s office has provided an updated list of homes destroyed, so that residents can know their fates as soon as possible. But, next to Schmidt’s address on the list, there was nothing: No note that it was saved or gone.
“You don’t know if you should find a hotel for the night or try to rent a house for the summer,” he said.
Gov. John Hickenlooper tried to comfort fire victims at the Red Cross shelter set up at Palmer Ridge High School, but he acknowledged there was little comfort he could provide. He praised the work of firefighters.
“All you can do is fight,” Hickenlooper said. “You don’t give up.”
Emergency personnel, too, have been working nonstop, Maketa said Thursday. A day earlier, even Maketa went door-to-door telling people to evacuate. He knocked on Victoria and Graham Jeffs’ door around 6 p.m.
“I asked him if it was time to go, and he said yes,” Victoria Jeffs said. “I thought we would have more time.”
Officials’ concern that too many people would think the same thing seemed confirmed Thursday by the discovery of the two bodies in the fire.
The same person who talked to the victims at 5 p.m. Tuesday also talked to them 40 minutes earlier, Maketa said. In that call, the victims said they saw an orange glow off to the west. They were packing up.
“We were truly hoping we could get from day to day without coming across news like this,” Maketa said.
He said the victims lived down a narrow driveway in a heavily wooded area of Black Forest where the fire burned fiercely. But he wouldn’t say more.
Because of the deaths, the Black Forest fire is now a criminal investigation.
Staff writers Kieran Nicholson and John Ingold contributed to this report.Dumas Brothel Museum Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana’s Dumas Brothel is the only surviving, three-story Victorian brothel in the U.S. It is also the only three-floor brothel standing in the hub of Butte’s once booming red-light district. The second largest bordello in the West (San Francisco’s Barbary Coast owns that distinction), it was constructed in 1890 and operated illegally until 1982 – making it America’s largest and longest-running house of ill repute. The girls who worked at the Dumas and their clients, who partook in their earthly gratifications there, can be imagined by walking the halls of the Dumas Brothel Museum.
The Dumas Brothel experienced hard times in the early 1980s. It closed in 1982 because of community demands, primarily the consequence of a violent robbery on the premises. Thanks to its historical significance – it is believed that the Dumas is the sole surviving model of Victorian Brothel style architecture in the country – the building has until now escaped the wrecker’s ball. In fact, since the late 1990s it has served, on and off, as a museum. As you walk in and out of the equally sized and shaped rooms – some with beds still in them – you clearly understand what they were designed for.
The dark Dumas corridors have small cribs in the cellar, quite a few parlors, middle oval hallways comprised of guest rooms overlooking the first floor, as well as skylights above the innermost area. It is further believed to be linked to the core of Butte’s business district by underground corridors. During their hours above ground, some miners spent time in the two-story brothels that were common along the “Venus Alley” stretch of Mercury Street. Today, all have been demolished except the Dumas. The tales this building conveys, however unpleasant or sordid, are crucial to the cultural composition of Butte.
The Dumas Brothel is under the serious threat of demolition. That’s because the structure’s roof is failing, and underside masonry and brick-clad walls are collapsing. In certain areas the walls are also unraveling from the main structure. Butte historical coalitions believe the only way to save the Dumas Brothel is to pump a considerable amount of money into its renovation; they are seeking a new owner as well as grants for the current owner, who has no money to foot the restoration and maintenance costs.
The Dumas Brothel Museum, open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at unfixed, quite random times, is located at 45 Mercury Street in Butte. Make sure to call ahead to find out if the building is open. For more information call (406) 494-6908 or visit dumasbrothel.com.
The non-profit Butte CPR is energetically seeking monetary donations to save one of the most unique pieces of Butte’s past. To contribute, or for more information about contributing, contact Butte CPR, P.O. Box 164, Butte, Montana, 59870.DELONG: "Politically, what are the challenges because you're not going to have a lot of sympathetic ears up there until it [a terror attack] happens.
RUMSFELD: That's what I was just going to say. This President's pretty much a victim of success. We haven't had an attack in five years. The perception of the threat is so low in this society that it's not surprising that the behavior pattern reflects a low threat assessment. The same thing's in Europe, there's a low threat perception. The correction for that, I suppose, is an attack. And when that happens, then everyone gets energized for another [inaudible] and it's a shame we don't have the maturity to recognize the seriousness of the threats...the lethality, the carnage, that can be imposed on our society is so real and so present and so serious that you'd think we'd be able to understand it, but as a society, the longer you get away from 9/11, the less...the less..."
VIOLETPLANET SAYS: Notice the reverse psychology in his choice of words and phrasing. He uses negative words for positive actions and positive words for negative actions. He's one slick, sick mad-hatter.
CLICK HERE For Audio Tape Recording
-Paul Joseph Watson ( Rumsfeld "On Tape: Terror Attack Could Restore Neo-Con Agenda: Former Defense Secretary's Conversation with Military Analysts on Political Problems - "The Correction For That...Is An Attack," Prison Planet, 5.16.08. Image: Donald Rumsfeld Riding His Unicycle, 1970s). -Paul Joseph Watson ( Rumsfeld "On Tape: Terror Attack Could Restore Neo-Con Agenda: Former Defense Secretary's Conversation with Military Analysts on Political Problems - "The Correction For That...Is An Attack," Prison Planet, 5.16.08. Image: Donald Rumsfeld Riding His Unicycle, 1970s).A major study led by the University of Adelaide has found that women who have had one prior cesarean can lower the risk of death and serious complications for their next baby -- and themselves -- by electing to have another cesarean.
The study, known as the Birth After Caesarean (BAC) study, is the first of its kind in the world. It involves more than 2300 women and their babies and 14 Australian maternity hospitals. The results are published this week in the international journal, PLoS Medicine.
The study shows that infants born to women who had a planned elective repeat cesarean had a significantly lower risk of serious complications compared with infants born to mothers who had a vaginal birth following a prior cesarean -- the risk of death or serious complication for the baby is 2.4% for a planned vaginal birth, compared with 0.9% for a planned elective repeat cesarean.
The mothers of these babies were also themselves less likely to experience serious complications related to birth. For example, the risk of a major hemorrhage in the mother is 2.3% for a planned vaginal birth, compared with 0.8% for a planned elective repeat cesarean.
"Until now there has been a lack of high-quality evidence comparing the benefits and harms of the two planned modes of birth after previous cesarean," says the study's leader, Professor Caroline Crowther from the Australian Research Centre for the Health of Women and Babies (ARCH), part of the University of Adelaide's Robinson Institute.
"The information from this study will help women, clinicians and policy makers to develop health advice and make decisions about care for women who have had a previous cesarean.
"Both modes of birth have benefits and harms. However, it must be remembered that in Australia the risks for both mother and infant are very small for either mode of birth," Professor Crowther says.
Cesarean section is one of the most common operations performed on childbearing women, with rates continuing to rise worldwide. Repeat cesarean births are now common in many developed nations.
In Australia in 2008, more than 90,700 women gave birth by cesarean, accounting for more than 31% of all births. Of Australian women who had a previous cesarean section, 83.2% had a further cesarean for the birth of their next child. In South Australia alone, repeat cesarean births amount to 28% of the overall cesarean section rate.
"We hope that future research will follow up mothers and children involved in this study, so that we can assess any longer term effects of planned mode of birth after cesarean on later maternal health, and the children's growth and development," Professor Crowther says.
The BAC study is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Women's and Children's Hospital Research Foundation.
The study is coordinated by researchers from the University of Adelaide's Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Discipline of Public Health; Department of Neonatal Medicine at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide; and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, with collaboration from clinicians at the 14 participating maternity hospitals.We all encounter moments when we feel like asking players this question because one or more of them is trying to delegate or change the way we DM, or the way other characters play. For such issues there are a few references in the DM’s guide, entitled “Problem Players”, in 4E DM’s guide it’s on page 32, for 3.0 it’s “Keeping Game Balance” on page 10. But, for some extra tips and clarifications, I’m going to go through some ideas, personal experiences, and tips outside of the DM’s guide and inside so we can cover almost any aspect of “Problem Players.” Since every group has one, and every group knows who the problem player is; if you happen to think EVERYONE else is doing it wrong; chances are they think you are the problem player.
I don’t know all the rules, or I don’t agree with everything. What should I do?
Not knowing all the rules is okay, there are a lot of rules in DnD! The books specifically tell us that the main core rulebooks override any other rules if there is any question. A specific rule overrides a vague rule, unless the DM chooses a different route. The DM is ‘ultima Omega’ when you sit down at look to him to tell you the story, it’s his rules. When an author writes a book, you as a reader don’t go to the author and tell him that his race is wrong, and could not logically exist. The DM makes the ultimate decision, but as a DM you must also know when to admit you are wrong and to work with your players. The DM’s guides give us helpful tips on how to change rules, or that if there is an issue, to solve it temporarily and go in later after the sessions or at a good stopping point to discuss it. It also states that you can have one person looking up something while the game continues on; the most important thing here is to keep your players interested, keep them in the game. If people ‘get smart’ and tell you that you can’t change the rules since this is Dungeons and Dragons and you didn’t create it, tell them they are now playing “My Basement and Dragons” and to chill out and enjoy the story.
When we assume the role of “story teller”, the normal rules won’t always agree with your situation. I’ve found myself mixing rules because you enter a new world, a new place, and new mechanics. If you are in an upside down world where fish breathe out of water and humans have solar gills that collect sunlight in the day and store it at night in a sort of hibernation stasis where they don’t have to actually breathe, the rules might be slightly different in this world than in the PC’s normal book-crunching math-grinding logic-based generic fantasy world. The book constantly stresses imagination, “winging it”, creating stories, etc. This is not a damn video game! There is no set system of mechanics unless the DM states so, but the DM must also have a sense of order and neutrality. As DM you are a world, you are what works in the world, you must have a thousand faces with a thousand different histories and a million different rules. Plan to take time before the game to specify certain rules, in and out of game. These rules will determine how serious the game will be.
In my group, cell phones and texting is completely prohibited unless for emergency purposes, we like to get into the game. Laptops have been mostly banned due to the fact people will not focus on the game and will be playing with other things while the rest of us are trying to escape our monotonous lives. Explain to PC’s your rules, if they don’t like it they can sit out and wait for the next DM later on. We also have a sit-in rule. Since we run DnD a little different than the average Joe, new players just ‘sit in’ for their first session. If they like what they see they can join in the next game. Players need to have not only respect for their DM, but trust. They need to trust that the DM won’t frequently rule unjustly. If you are uncertain, roll a die to have an extremely neutral outcome and don’t let anyone sway you otherwise. Sometimes, when we are unsure if we want a player to do something we say “Call high or low”, and roll a D6 — thus if we roll high, and he said high, then it works within his favor. And sometimes, I must admit, we roll behind the screen and -lie-. Yes, I said it -lie-. Sometimes the players need to feel justification or like everything is randomized or neutral, and sometimes it can’t work that way. That’s the kind of attitude players need to accept, so rolling behind your screen while you are thinking or deciding, sometimes helps ease the players’ minds because they don’t think you are being unjust — since you rolled the dice, you must deciding based off of the numbers! Sometimes, that isn’t always the case. It’s useful to develop a subtle dice roll trick that you train in private so that you can control the result. It needs to be convincing since nobody will respect you as a DM if it looks like you’re rolling the dice to ‘rig’ the result, but it’s not hard to do and in a stressful situation you can do it quickly without anybody noticing.
Taking a player aside between sessions can also be very helpful, ask him what their problem is, and why they can’t cooperate or get along, ask them politely if there would be something that would allow them to quietly ‘pipe down’ while others are playing. See if you can make him or her happy so you don’t risk losing the player and avoid a bad climate in your group. Sometimes you encounter a player who hates roleplaying and is only there for level grinding, others only like roleplaying, and some like a good mix of both. Try to satisfy every need, and if someone is unhappy about a situation they are in tell them they don’t have to participate; they follow the group throughout the whole experience and don’t have to do a thing but quiet down, though perhaps in such a situation they are not rewarded any experience since they did not participate. Remind players that everything has a consequence. If a player refuses to participate with who you want to participate, let them get injured or die or whatever other unfortunate possibility you had planned. Do not be soft on them, they made their decision. Going too soft will open the doors to more abuse and the other players won’t respect you for ‘going soft’ on somebody who needs a kick in the rear. Too many people take the game play personally; it is supposed to be fun, but it is STILL A GAME. As the DM, it is YOUR game. Establish this criteria before the game begins.
Having conversations with the players on what they think is fair or not can also be healthy, though sometimes you completely disagree — this tends to happen. In such cases be respectful to everyone’s opinions and take into note if you are being fair or not. Sometimes it simply won’t be fair and you’ll just have to respectfully swallow it. It is a game.
I like to stick with the rules! I don’t like people deviating!
Fantastic, the rules are made for a reason and are there for mediating and ensuring a fair game. So, when you DM you let everyone know that if it’s in the book, it’s the way it is! But remember, when you are not DM it’s not your game and not your decision, you don’t make it more fun for anyone by complaining, you are just stalling the game and making it harder.
Sometimes, players who are complaining or throwing insults or constantly trying to control a situation don’t have control in their own lives so they seek it out in their gaming group. In these cases it’s good to give them some amount of special control or unique responsibility in the game to keep them from bursting out. Sometimes these players are just rude — and sometimes, they don’t realize what they are doing. Talk to them about it in private, always being considerate with your choice of words. If they still choose not to listen, subtle reminders during play or before the game about how this is your world, your rules. “My Basement and Dragons”. Remember?
There are some fun things we’ve included in our group at times, something similar to the “Swear jar”, but instead it was the “Throwing dice jar”. If ever a player threw dice, he’d have to put a quarter or some amount of change into the jar. (Of course, we usually ended up buying pizza with the change later on, but shhh..) Throwing dice is UNACCEPTABLE behavior and is just downright childish. If you are so angry you want to throw things, maybe you should be considerate enough to ask for a moment alone outside. If you notice someone acting this way, you could invite them to step outside for a few to ‘cool off’ or invite the entire group to ‘take five’ so you won’t have to single that person out.
I’ve tried everything! I’m to the point of giving up!
Ahh yes, sometimes we all must admit when a situation is helpless. And sometimes, it is hopeless. In this case, you NEED to stand up for your group and decide what is best for your game, sometimes we have personal ties to the person but as a DM you must stay neutral for your group. I’ve had this situation before where a member caused nothing but drama, we continued to confront him and tried various methods to make gaming better. It never ceased to be an issue, however, until finally we set a firm rule, one he disagreed so strongly against that he refused to show up and even cut the ties of friendship. This was hard, as I was helping another DM and this DM had been friends with him for nine years, and he allowed a game to interfere since he did not like the rules the DM set in place. He showed his ‘true colors’ and immaturity, and although it was no easy task to set and enforce a firm line, it had to be done for the sake of peace. This was no easy task and I’m not telling you to “break friendships” over the game, but sometimes it’s not the game that they have issues with. It’s often the people and the cooperation and the out-of-game experiences that they are fuming over. There comes a point where every DM must make a hard decision, and the other players are counting on you to make the right one. Staying neutral and logical is the best thing any DM can do when it comes to a troublesome player 99% of the time. Do not get emotionally involved in their temper tantrums or their head games — that’s all it is.
So, I hope this helps a little bit and remember there are even more tips and tricks in the DM’s guides specified before. Just remember you are the DM, you make the rules, you decide the end result; and remember to be fair, just, and work with your players, not against them. Clearly establish any additional rules before beginning the game, and if the entire group disagrees, perhaps you should reconsider what you are putting into play.
GD Star Rating
loading...#!/usr/bin/perl # # $Id: disp-quotes.cgi,v 1.1 2002/11/17 01:26:45 sulrich Exp $ # my %settings = ( # directory where you'll find the templates TEMPLATE_DIR => "/var/www/htdocs/dack.com/war/portfolio", # TEMPLATE_DIR => "c:\\dwnload\\dack", # the output for the getQuote.pl process that you're running from cron QUOTE_FILE => "/var/www/htdocs/dack.com/cgi-bin/stocks/quotes.txt", # QUOTE_FILE => "c:\\dwnload\\dack\\quotes.txt", # the original price of the stocks as of 11/22/2002 or whenever you want. QUOTE_ORIG_FILE => "/var/www/htdocs/dack.com/cgi-bin/stocks/start-quotes.txt", # QUOTE_ORIG_FILE => "c:\\dwnload\\dack\\tmpquotes.txt", # the color for the text when the stock price goes up POS_COLOR => "green", # the color for the text when the stock price goes down NEG_COLOR => "red", ); # path to the template which defines the layout for a single quote my $stock_line = &getTemplate("$settings{TEMPLATE_DIR}/stock-list.html"); #my $stock_line = &getTemplate("$settings{TEMPLATE_DIR}\\stock-list.html"); # path to the template which defines the layout for body of the quote # collection my $stock_body = &getTemplate("$settings{TEMPLATE_DIR}/stock-body.html"); #my $stock_body = &getTemplate("$settings{TEMPLATE_DIR}\\stock-body.html"); # no user serviceable parts below this line #--------------------------------------------------------------------- use Text::ParseWords; $b_vars{stock_list} = ""; $b_origvars{stock_list} = ""; %origvars = (); %sumvars = (); open(ORIGQUOTES, "$settings{QUOTE_ORIG_FILE}") || die "error opening: $settings{'QUOTE_ORIG_FILE'}"; while( ) { ( $origvars{symbol}, $origvars{last}, $origvars{date}, $origvars{time}, $origvars{delta}, $origvars{open}, $origvars{high}, $origvars{low}, # day low $origvars{vol}, # volumn )= quotewords(",", 0, $_); $origvars{delta} = sprintf("%.2f", $origvars{delta}); $origvars{last} = sprintf("%.2f", $origvars{last}); if($origvars{symbol}!~ /\^/) { if($origvars{symbol} =~ /BA/) { $mult = 2.94; } elsif ($origvars{symbol} =~ /NOC/) { $mult = 1.03/2; } elsif ($origvars{symbol} =~ /ATK/) { $mult = 1.69; } elsif ($origvars{symbol} =~ /RTN/) { $mult = 3.43; } elsif ($origvars{symbol} =~ /LMT/) { $mult = 1.92; } $b_vars{olddelta} += $origvars{delta} * $mult; $b_vars{old} += $origvars{last} * $mult; } else { if($origvars{symbol} =~ /\^DJI/) { $b_vars{djioriglast} = $origvars{last}; } elsif ($origvars{symbol} =~ /\^IXIC/) { $b_vars{nasdaqoriglast} = $origvars{last}; } elsif ($origvars{symbol} =~ /\^GSPC/) { $b_vars{snporiglast} = $origvars{last}; } } if ($origvars{delta} =~ /-/) { $origvars{'color'} = $settings{NEG_COLOR}; $origvars{$origvars{symbol}}{'color'} = $settings{NEG_COLOR}; } else { $origvars{'color'} = $settings{POS_COLOR}; $origvars{$origvars{symbol}}{'color'} = $settings{POS_COLOR}; } # make sure that we have a correctly formed in here if (($origvars{date} =~ /^\d/) && ($origvars{time} =~ /^\d/)) { $b_origvars{date} = $origvars{date}; $b_origvars{time} = $origvars{time}; } } close(ORIGQUOTES); open(QUOTES, "$settings{QUOTE_FILE}") || die "error opening: $settings{'QUOTE_FILE'}"; while( ) { my %vars = (); ( $vars{symbol}, $vars{last}, $vars{date}, $vars{time}, $vars{delta}, $vars{open}, $vars{high}, $vars{low}, # day low $vars{vol}, # volumn )= quotewords(",", 0, $_); if($vars{symbol}!~ /\^/) { if($vars{symbol} =~ /BA/) { $mult = 2.94; } elsif ($vars{symbol} =~ /NOC/) { $mult = 1.03/2; } elsif ($vars{symbol} =~ /ATK/) { $mult = 1.69; } elsif ($vars{symbol} =~ /RTN/) { $mult = 3.43; } elsif ($vars{symbol} =~ /LMT/) { $mult = 1.92; } $b_vars{newdelta} += $vars{delta} * $mult; $b_vars{new} += $vars{last} * $mult; } else { if($vars{symbol} =~ /\^DJI/) { $b_vars{djilast} = sprintf("%.2f", $vars{last}); $b_vars{djipwp} = ($vars{last} - $b_vars{djioriglast})/$b_vars{djioriglast} * 100; if($b_vars{djipwp} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{djipwp} = sprintf("- %.2f\%", abs($b_vars{djipwp})); } else { $b_vars{djipwp} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%", $b_vars{djipwp}); } if($vars{delta} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{djipercent} = sprintf("- %.2f\%",abs($vars{delta} / ($vars{last} - $vars{delta}) * 100)); $b_vars{djidelta} = sprintf("- %.2f", abs($vars{delta})); } else { $b_vars{djipercent} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%",$vars{delta} / ($vars{last} - $vars{delta}) * 100); $b_vars{djidelta} = sprintf("+ %.2f", $vars{delta}); } } elsif ($vars{symbol} =~ /\^IXIC/) { $b_vars{nasdaqlast} = sprintf("%.2f", $vars{last}); $b_vars{nasdaqpwp} = ($vars{last} - $b_vars{nasdaqoriglast})/$b_vars{nasdaqoriglast} * 100; if($b_vars{nasdaqpwp} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{nasdaqpwp} = sprintf("- %.2f\%", abs($b_vars{nasdaqpwp})); } else { $b_vars{nasdaqpwp} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%", $b_vars{nasdaqpwp}); } if ($vars{delta} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{nasdaqpercent} = sprintf("- %.2f\%",abs($vars{delta} / ($vars{last} - $vars{delta}) * 100)); $b_vars{nasdaqdelta} = sprintf("- %.2f", abs($vars{delta})); } else { $b_vars{nasdaqpercent} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%",$vars{delta} / ($vars{last} - $vars{delta}) * 100); $b_vars{nasdaqdelta} = sprintf("+ %.2f", $vars{delta}); } } elsif ($vars{symbol} =~ /\^GSPC/) { $b_vars{snplast} = sprintf("%.2f", $vars{last}); $b_vars{snppwp} = ($vars{last} - $b_vars{snporiglast})/$b_vars{snporiglast} * 100; if($b_vars{snppwp} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{snppwp} = sprintf("- %.2f\%", abs($b_vars{snppwp})); } else { $b_vars{snppwp} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%", $b_vars{snppwp}); } if ($vars{delta} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{snppercent} = sprintf("- %.2f\%",abs($vars{delta} / ($vars{last} - $vars{delta}) * 100)); $b_vars{snpdelta} = sprintf("- %.2f", abs($vars{delta})); $b_vars{snpdelta} = sprintf("- %.2f", abs($vars{delta})); } else { $b_vars{snppercent} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%",$vars{delta} / ($vars{last} - $vars{delta}) * 100); $b_vars{snpdelta} = sprintf("+ %.2f", $vars{delta}); } } } if ($vars{delta} =~ /-/) { $vars{'color'} = $settings{NEG_COLOR}; } else { $vars{'color'} = $settings{POS_COLOR}; } $b_vars{stock_list}.= &filterVars($stock_line, %vars); # make sure that we have a correctly formed in here if (($vars{date} =~ /^\d/) && ($vars{time} =~ /^\d/)) { $b_vars{date} = $vars{date}; $b_vars{time} = $vars{time}; } } close(QUOTES); if ($b_vars{newdelta} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{newpercent} = sprintf("- %.2f\%",abs($b_vars{newdelta} / $b_vars{new} * 100)); $b_vars{newdelta} = sprintf("- %.2f", abs($b_vars{newdelta})); } else { $b_vars{newpercent} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%",$b_vars{newdelta} / $b_vars{new} * 100); $b_vars{newdelta} = sprintf("+ %.2f", $b_vars{newdelta}); } $b_vars{pwpdelta} = ($b_vars{new} - $b_vars{old})/$b_vars{old} * 100; if($b_vars{pwpdelta} =~ /-/) { $b_vars{pwpdelta} = sprintf("- %.2f\%",abs($b_vars{pwpdelta})); } else { $b_vars{pwpdelta} = sprintf("+ %.2f\%",$b_vars{pwpdelta}); } $b_vars{new} = sprintf("%.2f", $b_vars{new}); $stock_body = &filterVars($stock_body, %b_vars); print "Content-Type: text/html
"; print $stock_body; #----------------------------------------------------------- # filterVars(Buffer, HashwRepVars) # # sub filterVars { my ($FilterStream, %SearchVars) = @_; $FilterStream =~ s/\/ my $Value = $SearchVars{$1}; if(!defined $Value) { #$Value = "\"; # leave it as is print STDERR "\
"; } $Value; /ge; return $FilterStream; } #----------------------------------------------------------- # getTemplate(Template) # # sub getTemplate { my $TemplateFile = $_[0]; my $Template = ""; open(TEMPLATE, $TemplateFile) || die ("Error Opening $TemplateFile"); while( ) { $Template.= $_; } close(TEMPLATE); return $Template; }
About the PWP:
The Perpetual War Portfolio is an evenly weighted basket of five stocks poised to succeed in the age of perpetual war. The stocks were selected on the basis of popular product lines, strong political connections and lobbying efforts, and paid-for access to key Congressional decision-makers.
News: The PWP was shown some love in a recent issue of the New York Post.Hello Rocksmith fans!
Surfs up again as we can see from today’s solved clue from RollingStone222!
Let’s check it out, shall we?
It’s a GIF! You know what that means
The pictures are hinting at Yoga Positions
Password: ParamahansaYogananda
A lot of people figured this one out!
Yup!
In case you never heard the song (seriously?)
This is the second Beach Boys song EVER licensed for a music game (I don’t care about Singstar, sorry).
What other three songs will join @TheBeachBoys? Here’s some ideas
What follows is speculation
Could this be the debut of Link Wray in Rocksmith? Could we get a second Death Grips song in the span of two months? I hope so!
@OsagaTheGreat is hoping for this Tarantino sampled Surf jam
@pcgamingisted is hoping for this 1963 classic
Is anyone familiar with The Emperors?
So there you have it, June will kick off with Surf Rock II, with @TheBeachBoys making their Rocksmith debut! Are you excited to hit the waves or would you rather stay dry. Let us know!Snow on roads and on sidewalks can teach us a lot about how we use our road ways. The popular urbanist hashtag #sneckdown always pops up on social media after a big snowstorm. A Sneckdown is essentially a neckdown or curb extension created by unplowed snow. It creates instant traffic calming, narrowing lanes, shortening pedestrian crossings, and slowing turning traffic.
It also shows how little space cars actually use. Even when snow is plowed, often you can see that the travel patters are much tighter and smaller than how we build out our roads. This is an important point considering that often people opposed to building more bike or pedestrian facilities on roadways point to scarcity of space.
When You Eliminate or Calm Traffic, Streets Become Places For People Again
One of my favorite outcomes of the blizzard was how many people I saw out walking both during and the days that followed. With cars still buried, side streets unplowed, and MTA service suspended if folks wanted to combat cabin fever they had to use their feet. With cars mostly off the road, folks felt free to walk in groups down the center of the street, people chatted with neighbors as they shoveled. All of sudden people were hanging out outside again--together.
While some businesses reported being negatively impacted by the snow, some other businesses hit record sales as folks looked to leave the house. It would be really interesting to look at sales numbers of those businesses in more dense walkable neighborhoods, versus those that require you to drive there. What implication does that have for our future zoning decisions? What really drives economic growth? Is it really the number of parking spaces, or is actually the number of people who can easily access the space?
We know that activating public spaces with people walking and biking can improve public safety. We also know that communities that make it easier and safer to bike and walk places have improved public health outcomes. But the solution--restricting or calming traffic is often met with opposition. In the snowy days following the blizzard when traffic was light, we got a glimpse of what could be.Fremantle’s record-breaking midfielder Lachie Neale has claimed his first Doig Medal in front of nearly 1000 guests at Crown Perth’s Grand Ballroom on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old had a standout season, breaking Matthew Boyd’s record for most disposals in a regular season, finishing with 737 from his 22 games in 2016.
Neale, who early this year signed a new three year deal keeping him at the club until the end of season 2019, accumulated more than 30 disposals on 16 occasions including collecting 40 touches in five games.
Neale, who hadn’t previously placed in the top five at Fremantle, said he was honoured to receive the award.
“To be amongst some of the names that have won this award in the past is truly humbling,” he said
Neale also collected the Players’ Award as well as the McDonald’s Fans’ Most Valuable Player award in a very successful night and said coach Ross Lyon was a big influence on his performances this season.
“Thankyou to Ross, we came through together and he has been a huge influence on me both on and off the field,” he said.
At the conclusion of every game this season five members of the Fremantle coaching staff, including senior coach Ross Lyon, allocate every player up to five votes, with top votes awarded for what is regarded as an elite performance.
Neale, who recently underwent surgery on his wrist and shoulder after the season ended, leapt to a 22-vote lead over eventual runner-up Stephen Hill after seven games.
Youth puts us in a strong position - Lyon
The gutsy midfielder polled votes in every game except round 14 against Collingwood.
Neale stretched that margin to 33 votes after 16 rounds before winning by 30 votes from fellow midfielder Hill.
Hill’s second place finish is his career best result at the Doig Medal, improving on his successive third placing’s in 2014 and 2015.
The battle between him and Michael Walters for second and third |
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋGovernment watchdog MHRA advises people not to use the tanning nasal spray, which was being sold illegally in the UK
Retailers of the tanning nasal spray Ubertan are under investigation by a government watchdog following an outcry over the product's potentially serious side effects.
The owners of ubertan.com – along with two other sellers – could now face a maximum two-year prison sentence following legal action by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Ubertan, which was being sold illegally in gyms and tanning salons, is no longer available after the MHRA recently forced the company to close its UK-based website.
Ubertan contains melanotan, a chemical that stimulates the production of melanin in skin cells making it darker. Reported side effects include nausea, migraines, dizziness, palpitations and enhanced libido.
The manufacture of products containing melanotan is not illegal but their sale and advertising is. Nonetheless, such products are freely available on the internet. An MHRA spokesman confirmed that it is now seeking to target "all melanotan products".
He added: "The MHRA continues to monitor retailers advertising and selling this unlicensed medicine and will take the appropriate action in order to safeguard public health.
"We have investigated nine different retailers of Ubertan, six of which have complied following urgent notices dispatched to them. We have three cases currently ongoing.
"We strongly advise people not to use this product. Ubertan or any other melanotan-containing product are unlicensed medicines, and as such the safety, quality and effectiveness has not been demonstrated and could have serious side effects."
Al Zabiela, 56, owner of Al'z Gym, Oldham, and wife Amanda, 42, have both used nasal sprays containing melanotan. When an Ubertan brochure arrived at Zabiela's premises six months ago, he asked his wife if she would like to try the product.
Zabiela said: "The leaflet was really professional. It didn't say too much, but it did say that the product was a collection of amino acids. It all seemed above board. But it didn't really work at all, so that was it. I daresay if it would have worked we would have been selling it now."
Amanda said: "I have used the [melanotan nasal sprays] a couple of times in the past six months. They stop you from burning when you go on holiday, and deepen your natural tan.
"It is down to the individual if they want to try it – it doesn't concern me."
Zabiela said the "vast majority" of his clients who use the sprays experience nausea and huge fluctuations in their sex drive.
"I have got some guys who use them without going in the sun – it makes you a really grey shade of brown and gives you rings under the eyes. But once you go in the sun, it's fantastic."
Candy Garvey, 38, manages the Tanning Room in Lees, Oldham. An Ubertan representative had tried to sell her the product.
"We said we weren't interested," she said. "My personal opinion is that it is not safe. If it is not tanning you on the outside, what is it doing to your insides?
"People go too far to get a tan. They need to think about the health implications of what they are doing and the long-term damage."
Dispensing assistant Mary Roach, 58, of Watersheddings, Oldham, said she uses sunbeds for health reasons.
"When I go on a sunbed, my skin produces melanin. And if I go abroad, as I am in the next few weeks, it stops me from burning. I only go under sunbeds for six minutes, and I always wear suncream.
"These products are totally misleading. They are used for totally cosmetic purposes."
The British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, an industry body, said Ubertan is not a product it covers in its insurance policy nor endorses in any way.
Dr Claire Knight, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "Using melanotan in the quest for a tan is risking your health. If your heart's set on getting a tan, then using fake tan is a safer way to do it."cdn.co
Nowadays even, there are many beloved male celebrities out there that have marvelous facial manes that we all want to emulate on our own faces. Well, there is definitely some good news for those of you that are asking these questions because there are several things that you can do to grow a full thick beard. Here are 6 secret tricks to grow your facial hair thicker, fuller and faster.
1
Let your facial hair grows unobstructed like wild Salmon spawning up a river
cntemai.com
Let it run wild on your face for one month for weeks of growth. One of the issue that a lot of guys have is that they start growing in the united and they shave it or share it or someone will notice be like hey, are you growing a beard like no I just forgot to shave like what you really you edged up me and tight underneath your next do not apologize. There is no apologizing in beard growth let it grow for a month. Everything that don't trim down and don't shape it. Let it rock!!
2
Focus on your diet
samaylive.com
Make sure that you're eating healthy get enough of omega three six and nine in order to give your body the essntial fat it need in order to do its thing but also make sure that you're taking your vitamin. The beard need nutrients if you're going to be growing a badass beard.
3
You need to wash and condition your beard just like your hair
esbjerg.com
Washing and conditioning your beard will helps to grow healthier faster same sort of thing with your beard. Twice a week use the beard wash in order to get down penetrate make sure that all the faults will stay open and the hair are clean then once they're cleaning you want to make sure that their condition remember that the goal is soft silky and supple one.
4
Training
toolsofmen.com
Even Though you may have some patchy or thin areas, as the beard gets longer you can train it to grow in a direction in order to camouflage the bald spot. Use a Thick Bristle Brush to comb your beard once or twice a day in the direction you want to grow your hair.
5
To get a soft beard, use high quality beard oil
theweddingseries.com
Utilizing a high quality beard oil once a day give you a shiny healthy looking to your beard and it also helps conditioning and making sure that it's not too dirty. If you're planning on growing a crappy beard, the one product that you need to invest in is an amazing beard oil.
6
Trim the the stray hair up high on your cheeks
suavegrooming.com
It actually bring it down to where majority of the density is. This is going to help make your beard look thicker.
Let us know What you ThinkOne could say without exaggeration that academic philosophers have neglected existentialism over the past several decades. No longer academically fashionable, it's not surprising that existentialism courses are offered rarely -- if ever in some departments -- at the graduate level. When one thus goes to teach such a course at the undergraduate level, it is likewise unsurprising that one finds very little quality secondary literature.[1] This latest volume in Cambridge University's growing list of 'companions' to figures associated with a philosophical movement and/or historical period contributes in an important way to correcting this deficiency and perhaps halting this cycle. Some remarks on the general content and structure of the volume will support these points.
An impressive list of highly respected commentators -- all of whom work within, or in dialogue with, the tradition in which academic philosophy has placed existentialism, namely, 'continental' philosophy -- present generally clear and thoughtful essays. Every piece is expository, introducing the target audience, "students" (14), to major existentialist "figures" (e.g., Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre), "concepts" (e.g., existence preceding essence, self, death, Angst, authenticity, commitment, ambiguity, identity), and related topics (e.g., literature, religion, politics, psychology). Perhaps more importantly -- and as a way to avoid redundancy with other 'companions' devoted to existentialist thinkers -- many of the contributions are also critical scholarly pieces that "performatively... demonstrate the vitality of existential thought" by examining issues in existentialism "philosophically pertinent" for contemporary philosophical research (14).
Part of what makes the work successful, moreover, is the way it overcomes the unique challenges that any companion to existentialism faces, namely, the fact that existentialism arguably was more a cultural or literary movement than a technical philosophical movement and seemingly everyone associated with it denied being an existentialist. Steven Crowell, however, applies an organizational principle to this companion that manages to overcome both challenges, capturing the broader reach of existentialism despite "restricting" itself -- or perhaps because it restricts itself -- "to philosophical existentialism" (15).
The bookends of the volume comprehensively present existentialism's historical and cultural dimensions. The first main section broadly situates the existentialist movement with two very fine essays, David Cooper's "Existentialism as a philosophical movement" and William McBride's "Existentialism as a cultural movement." The last main section of often exemplary essays details existentialism's relation to, and continuing influence on, related fields in Jeff Malpas's "Existential as Literature," Merold Westphal's "Existentialism and Religion," Robert Bernasconi's "Racism is a system: how existentialism became dialectical in Fanon and Sartre," and Matthew Ratcliff and Matthew Broome's "Existential phenomenology, psychiatric illness, and the death of possibilities."
The third main section, on "Major Existentialist Philosophers," is predominantly a series of couplets on the major philosophical figures in existentialism: Alastair Hannay, "Kierkegaard's single individual and the point of indirect communication" and Hubert Dreyfus, "'What monster then is man': Pascal and Kierkegaard on being a contradictory self and what to do about it"; Richard Schacht, "Nietzsche after the death of God" and Lawrence Hattab, "Nietzsche: selfhood, creativity, and philosophy"; William Blattner, "Heidegger: the existential analytic of Dasein" and Karsten Harries, "The antinomy of being: Heidegger's critique of humanism"; and Steven Crowell, "Sartre's existentialism and the nature of consciousness" and Thomas Flynn, "Political existentialism: the career of Sartre's political thought." There are also single essays on Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty: Kristina Arp's "Simone de Beauvoir's existentialism: freedom and ambiguity in the human world" and Taylor Carman's "Merleau-Ponty on body, flesh, and visibility." The essays in this section largely provide reliable introductions to a broad range of themes in the thinkers considered 'existentialist'. Moreover, most provide insightful introductions to the existential themes in each thinker's works. The strategy of including double entries on most of these thinkers creates the space to explore the peculiarity of existentialism generated by its inclusion of figures who deny being existentialists and/or are denied such inclusion, as well as to explore the richness of their thought for contemporary research.
The first of Crowell's two essays, "Existentialism and its legacy," deserves special attention, for it is less an introduction to existentialism than a thought-provoking'manifesto' on the vibrancy of this seemingly dormant philosophical movement. The motivating conception for the volume and Crowell's introduction is the "thesis that existential concepts and ideas have much to teach us as we pursue philosophy in a climate quite removed from the one in which they initially appeared" (4). Crowell is likely advancing more than the trivially true observation that our social-political climate is historically different from that of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His claim could be taken to imply something about the atmosphere surrounding the 'divide' in contemporary academic philosophy. That existentialist concepts continue to inform continental philosophy -- even if some would dispute such a claim -- would surprise no one, and Crowell interestingly evidences this point by turning to two thinkers who fall outside the existentialist movement in their early work only to return to existential themes in their late works, Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault (11-14). That one finds existentialist concepts -- as Crowell does, following John Haugeland -- in "philosophy of science and philosophy of mind" and "in dialogue with 'analytic' philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, John Searle, and John McDowell," however, likely will surprise many (5-6). But, as Crowell provocatively proposes, perhaps Thomas Kuhn's critique of positivism, which rendered "obsolete" the divide that placed value in the hands of 'existentialists' rather than fact-minded scientists, "opened space for a 'new existentialism'" (6-7).
If at this point one chafes at Crowell's proposal about a 'new existentialism', perhaps one will more easily accept his claim that existentialist concepts are prevalent today in moral psychology (7). To support this point, Crowell considers Bernard Williams's account of "tensions that exist between issues... in ethical inquiry and the 'impartial standpoint' demanded by traditional philosophical analysis,... between what is meaningful and what is rationally groundable," as one that can bring into relief in a different context "what is at stake in Heidegger's notion of authenticity or Camus's notion of the absurd" (7). Similar points are made about a range of 'analytic' philosophers: Harry Frankfurt's notion of care, Charles Taylor's notion of strong evaluation, Steven Darwall's revival of the second-person perspective, and Christine Korsgaard's concept of practical identity that "channels the existentialist idea of commitment" in her inquiry into the sources of normativity (7-11).
Whether one considers Crowell's assessment of the relation between analytic philosophy and existential themes an instance of the former coopting the latter; whether one considers Crowell's assessment evidence that analytic philosophy is beginning to outgrow its detached and abstracted mode of thinking and embrace a view of philosophy as a way of life rather than a science, it is indisputable that a such dialogue is underway. It may be a new existentialism, or a renewal of existentialism, or a renewal of analytical philosophy -- depending on one's commitments -- but in any event the dialogue speaks to existentialism being "as much a legacy as it is a history" (4). Many essays in the collection likewise are worthy of close reading by students and scholars alike, while only a very few should be approached critically. I shall review a selection of some of each in a way that complement's Crowell's detailed introductory overview.
Cooper's "Existentialism as a philosophical movement" is a clearly written introduction that effectively argues, "the denial that there was an existentialist family or movement is... implausible" (29). Cooper carefully presents and unravels the tensions and inconsistencies in existentialist doctrine across its representative figures; for example, Albert Camus's disagreement with Heidegger, Sartre, et al. about whether human beings are fundamentally estranged from a fundamentally absurd world (31). Casting out Camus and other literary figures from the existentialist movement enables Cooper to disabuse readers of certain stereotypical readings of existentialism (30-1). Existentialists do not advocate, he argues, a life uninformed by rational reflection. Indeed, we should reject the "popular picture of the existentialist hero [as] someone choosing or creating ex nihilo... " for one of "a person... resolutely prepared to stand back from his or her situation and commitments, calmly to consider these and the alternative to them, and only then to take a decision... for which responsibility is fully accepted" (30, 43-4).
McBride's essay on the cultural dimension of existentialism will resonate more with readers intent on preserving literary figures in the existentialist movement (51). He provides a clear account of the origin of the term (51), a helpful discussion of the post-war condition that made existentialism's emphasis on the "unconventional" attractive (55), and a valuable overview of the bifurcation of the movement into Christian and secular forms (52). Those interested in the fractured relations between Camus and Sartre and between Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty will find here, moreover, a useful narrative of the role communism played in these figures' political thought and action (56, 58-9). Readers of the volume will find three major strands of thought in McBride's essay -- literature, religion, and politics -- neatly and quite helpfully developed in the closing section of the work.
Jeff Malpas's very fine essay on existentialism as literature presents a sober yet convincing argument (against Cooper, perhaps) in favor of including literature in the movement of existentialism. Malpas distinguishes between the "existentialist and the existential," where the former denotes "an attitude or mood that... thematizes the problematic character of human existence in a world where there is no pre-given source of meaning... " and the latter denotes "that which pertains to existence." This distinction, in turn, enables one to argue, without reducing all literature to existentialist literature, that existential concerns are a part of literature (293). What follows is an impressively succinct yet illuminating overview of the most important works of Fydor Dostoyevsky, Camus, Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett, and Herman Hesse, as well as the literary works of Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Also useful for those new to existentialism or existential literature are the series of synoptic assessments of the relations between Dostoyevsky and Camus (298, 308); Kafka and Camus (298); Beckett and Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus (312); and Hesse and Dostoyevsky and Hesse and Sartre (313). Amidst this sparkling clear essay, Malpas develops in detail the driving insight of Camus's thought -- "the need for the renunciation of violence and the recognition of life as the only real value," our "being bound to the earth, to sea, and to sun, to a finite and fragile existence that always stands under the shadow of death and yet nevertheless allows of a certain happiness" -- showing that there is reason to philosophically situate Camus closer to the late Heidegger than to Sartre (309-10).
The voice and words of an author -- a philosopher -- who has devoted his (academic) life to thinking about, writing about, and living through existentialism and religion comes to us in Merold Westphal's contribution. With a passion reflecting this 'commitment', Westphal invites us in his introduction to recognize that existentialism has remained with us, philosophers, assuming we think existentialism and the history of philosophy correctly:
It is often said that existentialism has passed into the history of philosophy. But that is a problem only if we think of that history as a kind of museum in which we become antiquarians who observe animals no longer living or artifacts no longer useful. It has nothing to do with us. But if we have an existential spirit we will not read any of the history of philosophy that way. We will hear the texts of the great thinkers as voices that address us directly, offering interpretations of our being-in-the-world full of possibilities for our belief, our actions, and our affects or attitudes. It has everything to do with us... (322)
By detailing the thought of four thinkers who radically emphasize the self by way of radically different relations to religion -- Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Gabriel Marcel -- Westphal undertakes to convince the reader that "existentialism is about the urgency of deciding what to do with our lives... with my own life" (322-23). His essay constitutes a most reliable introduction not only to the thinkers examined, but also to their existentialist concepts and ideas.
While I cannot recount all of what is so valuable in this essay, the material on Kierkegaard traces some exceptionally complex concepts in the Kierkegaard's work in an exceptionally clear way. Westphal notes Kierkegaard's distinction between faith and religion -- where the latter denotes "three modes of being-in-the-world" -- and details the notions of the "aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious" attitudes as "different answers to the question, what makes the good life good?" (323). To shed light on this Kierkegaardian distinction, Westphal returns to the biblical context of the New Testament regarding faith as pistis, which, beyond the Platonic reduction of pistis to an inferior status as a "cognitive act of our sensible faculty," means "trust and obedience" as an "act of a whole person in relation to a personal God" (325). Rather than try to prove the reasonableness of faith -- and here Westphal provides a most convincing reading to a most perplexing claim in Fear and Trembling -- Kierkegaard "insists that faith goes against reason," is "absurd," because "that is how [faith] does and should look from the standpoint of the Enlightenment Project's interpretation(s) of human cognitive powers" (326-27). With this in mind, we can see why faith is a 'leap' that involves risk, passion, and urgency -- all of which entail a very personal commitment. Students and scholars alike will learn from the valuable insights in the following parts of this essay -- in particular, the account of Nietzsche's legacy in Sartre's atheistic existentialism (333, 336).
The remaining two essays in this section demonstrate the legacy of existentialism, its influence on varying fields of research, to different degrees of success. Bernasconi demonstrates the continued relevance and reach of existentialist ethics by presenting a persuasive account of the mutual influence between Sartre and Fanon. In the process of providing helpful introductions to Fanon's Black Skin, White Mask and its impact on Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason (353), Bernasconi establishes that it was not just that Fanon brought Sartre to the insight that racism is a system of thought, but also that the Fanon was an existentialist in his own right -- and perhaps "was... the better existentialist" (359).
Ratcliffe and Broome, in another vein, suggest that the existentialist account of interpersonal relations remains valuable for contemporary psychiatry's understanding of certain forms of illness, e.g., depression, schizophrenia (369, 372). It is a solid essay that is not without interest. Yet the authors pay only limited attention to Heidegger (375, 378-79) and Merleau-Ponty (375) beyond their introductory overview and thus focus too narrowly on Sartre's existentialism -- and indeed on standard accounts of Sartre on shame, the body, and the death of possibilities -- to persuade the reader of the full relevance of existentialism for contemporary psychiatry. Their broader strategy seems to be -- despite their testimony (364) -- one of opposing Sartre's thought to the "folk psychology" understandings of interpersonal relations, thereby establishing the former as a "plausible interpretive framework" with "appeal" (373-74). Without a substantive comparative analysis of the methodological merits of Sartre's phenomenological existentialism over contemporary psychiatry's approach for understanding fundamental issues regarding mental illness, however, it's difficult to appreciate the appeal.
Two essays in the second main section fail, for very different reasons, to satisfy the objectives of the volume. Carman's distinctively lucid prose and mastery of Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception are on display in his entry. The essay is a good introduction to the French phenomenologist of the body's major published text and theme. It even contains a lengthy discussion of Merleau-Ponty's Schneider that sets up a promising interpretation of the transition in Merleau-Ponty's thought from phenomenology to ontology, from Phenomenology of Perception to The Visible and the Invisible (276-80). Nevertheless, Carman does little to bring into relief just what is 'existentialist' about Merleau-Ponty's work. Indeed, I cannot find a single substantive mention of the word, 'existentialism,' in his entry.
Dreyfus' essay on Pascal and Kierkegaard I find rather disappointing. There likely is a good case to be made for Pascal as the harbinger of Christian existentialism, but after a brief, two-page overview of Pascal on the contradictory self as a synthesis of the Judeo-Christian tradition (98-9), no mention is made of him. Dreyfus suggests that Pascal can be seen as an anticipation of Kierkegaard, who is 'Pascalian' in that he likewise holds that the "self is a hopeless tension unable to resolve its internal contradictions" (101). Noting that this hopelessness generates a sickness in man that, according to Kierkegaard, paradoxically is "man's great advantage over the beast" insofar as man is "aware of this sickness," Dreyfus overlooks an opportunity to explain in more detail the relation between these thinkers on this score; this is especially striking since Pascal, with somewhat different objectives at stake, describes something like this 'promising' sickness when he notes, "the greatness of human beings consists in their ability to know their wretchedness."[2]
In attempting to explain the Kierkegaardian sense of commitment that overcomes this hopelessness or despair, Dreyfus appeals to Kierkegaard's notions in Fear and Trembling of the knight of infinite resignation and the knight of faith (as told through the narrative of the lad and the princess, whose love the lad never can have but to whom the lad nevertheless unconditionally commits his life). For Dreyfus, it is commitment itself that overcomes the despair generated by this synthetic tension that is the self, for "if you are unconditionally committed to a particular person or cause, that will be your identity forever, that is, for the rests of your life" (104-06). But this is an incorrect reading of Kierkegaard, for unconditional commitment alone is not faith and faith alone overcomes despair. The lad committed -- infinitely resigned -- to the idea of a princess with whom he never will have to relate in reality does not grapple with the temporal; i.e., the lad commits himself 'eternally' to the princess in a way that transforms his life, but this transformation shelters him from the temporal reality -- he will relate to this woman in ideality only -- because he makes, as Kierkegaard puts it, only a'single-movement'. Dreyfus's notion of unconditional commitment thus obscures the distinction between resignation and faith. The crucial distinction between these two characters, however, is that the lad'resigns' himself to never getting the princess' love in this life and this is precisely what distinguishes him from Abraham and his faith by which believes he will lose Isaac and yet get him back in this life, thus making a 'double-movement'.[3] It may be that the structure of commitment is what counts in one's life, and this may be good existentialism, but it is a rather misleading picture of Kierkegaard's thought.
The majority of the essays in this second major section fare much better than these. Of notable merit are Hannay's account of Kierkegaard's method of indirect communication and the singularity of the self, Crowell's discussion of the fundamentally existential underpinnings of Sartre's view of pre-reflective self-awareness or consciousness, and Flynn's even-handed account of the strengths and weaknesses of Sartre's political existentialism. Likewise useful are Schacht's account of how Nietzsche's attempt to overcome nihilism distinguishes his thought from existentialism (121-23) and how the latter's Dionysian sensibility contrasts with both Christian and secular existentialism (129-30, 132). And Hattab's entry on Nietzsche continues this theme of Nietzsche's ambiguous relation to existentialism while at the same time explaining how Nietzsche's "stylistic choices" become part of the existentialist legacy (18, 153-55). It must suffice to say that each essay will reward reading and reading again.
Both Heidegger entries not only provide exceptionally clear overviews of Heidegger's broader thought and its relation to existentialism, but each also offers the reader original insights into specific dimensions of Heidegger's thought. Blattner's essay is an exemplary instance of a contribution for a volume like this. He lucidly yet succinctly presents to those new to Heidegger a flawless primer on the basics of the existential themes in Being and Time, e.g., throwness, facticity (as it differs from the factual), death (as it differs from perishing), possibility, authenticity, understanding, disposedness, anxiety, care, conscience, resoluteness, and the social dimension of Dasein. Beyond these clear overviews and helpful distinctions, Blattner presents a compelling discussion of vulnerability as a feature of Dasein's life that can bring it to "live in a new way" (170). The vulnerability of 'that-for-the-sake-of-which' one lives one's life is not to be thought of as a condition that invites a careless preparedness to abandon our commitments because they are contingent and fragile. Rather, Blattner proposes that "to be aware of the vulnerability of one's deepest commitments and entanglements is to be prepared to struggle for them" (171) -- a point that perhaps the reader can productively bring to Dreyfus' essay. Elegantly developing this discussion of vulnerability into an illuminating way to understand Heidegger's notion of 'anticipatory resoluteness', Blattner explains this "resoluteness" as one "that has fully integrated the vulnerability of Dasein's world, commitments, entanglements, passions and attunements into the manner in which it is resolutely open to the current factical situation" (173).
Harries' entry is a fine introduction not only to Heidegger's "Letter on Humanism," but also to what Sartre meant by the description of existentialism as a humanism (186-88, 190). Moreover, Harries fashions his contribution in such a way that reveals Heidegger's turn (Kehre) as a deepening of the inquiry into the question of being (181), why Heidegger believed Sartre's existentialism was a humanism (to be rejected), and a subtle account of how Heidegger himself came to reject (the humanist elements of) national socialism (182-83). Beyond just a clear introduction to these complex and controversial issues, Harries neatly returns his discussion to an account of later Heidegger's thought as a modified Kantian humanism understood as a humanism that is a care for our humanity in the modern condition of our "homelessness" (196-97).
The closing word of this review is reserved for Arp's impassioned argument for the distinctiveness and originality of Beauvoir's existentialist thought. Though the volume does not include an essay devoted to the relation between feminism and existentialism (13-14), Arp's essay successfully demonstrates the existentialist elements of one of feminism's foundational figures. She introduces the reader with ease to Beauvoir's fundamental works -- "Pyrrus and Cineas," She came to Stay, The Ethics of Ambiguityand The Second Sex -- and the enduring importance of her work for existential ethics character formation (260-64). Arp explains clearly the notion of ambiguity and its importance for Beauvior's thought, and also establishes Beauvior's philosophical acumen precisely insofar as her deep understanding of Hegel's [master-slave] dialectic (267-69) rather than the supposed influence from Sartre enabled her to understand why it is that "one is not born, but becomes, woman" (265) -- and thus why Beauvoir controversially held women to be "complicit in their own oppression" (269).
With very few exceptions, the essays in this volume will admirably fill the existing gap in secondary literature on existentialism. They also very well might trigger a renaissance in contemporary philosophical research on existential concepts and themes -- in both analytic and continental philosophy.In the interview embedded below, American Atheists public relations director Dave Muscato attempted to explain to right-leaning radio host Steve Malzberg why the secularist group is fighting the placement of a Christian cross at a Princeton, NJ memorial site dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The memorial centers around a steel beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Center with a Christian cross cut out of it. As workers excavated the wreckage of the collapsed towers, they would stop to cut cross-shaped pieces of metal to give to the families of victims. Princeton city officials didn’t realize their piece of the twin towers would have a cross in it, but when it arrived, they chose to make it the centerpiece of the display.
American Atheists challenged the design of the memorial on the grounds that it is being constructed with public tax money on public land. Endorsement of Christianity by the Princeton city government, said Muscato, violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“We have an issue with that,” Muscato told Raw Story in an interview. “It’s unconstitutional on the grounds that you can’t display a religious symbol by itself on public land using public funds.”
American Atheists contacted the Princeton city government, including Fire Chief Roy James, who conceived and designed the monument. The letter to the mayor and city council called the Christian monument “offensive to the non-Christian people who died on that day” in 2001 and announced that American Atheists will sue the city government if the monument goes forward as currently planned.
The angry response was virtually immediate.
“We got a death threat,” Muscato said cheerfully, “and about 50 pieces of hate mail the day that the story broke. But the fact is that we would be saying exactly the same thing, regardless of whether this was a Star of David or a crescent symbol of Islam. We would be doing exactly the same thing if this was not a 9/11 memorial. The issue is that it’s unconstitutional. It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that it’s from 9/11.”
The group offered alternatives for the memorial committee, none of which have thus far been amenable to the city of Princeton.
“One is to hide the cross,” said Muscato. “They’re planning to put the beam up between these to limestone pillars. One thing that they could do would be to turn the beam sideways so that the cross is hidden and against one of the limestone pillars. They don’t want to do that, and that’s totally understandable.”
However, when American Atheists asked if the ground dedicated to the memorial could be made into free speech forum that would include a secular plaque dedicated to non-theists who died in the attacks, as well as symbols of other belief systems, the memorial committee refused that, too. Another alternative would be to relocate the installation to a non-public setting like the grounds of a church and fund the memorial privately.
The planned unveiling of the monument, scheduled to take place on the 12th anniversary of the attacks on Tuesday, has been indefinitely postponed.
In his interview with Malzberg, Muscato was berated by the talk show host for American Atheists’ president David Silverman calling the cross “grossly offensive.”
“Why would it be ‘grossly offensive’ to have a cross on a 9/11 memorial?” Malzberg demanded. “Why would that be offensive to you, I want to know this.”
“It’s grossly offensive to me also,” Muscato replied, “and the reason is because it purports to represent everybody who died, as though a Christian symbol can have that effect of representing everybody. That’s not appropriate. Not everybody who died that day was Christian. If I had died, I would certainly not want a Christian representing a memorial for me.”
“It’s not your grave, sir!” said Malzberg. “It’s not your grave!”
“Why is it your business to worry about whether or not somebody who perished,” Malzberg began, then changed course. “This isn’t about representing one person. This isn’t specific to anything! It’s a token, it’s a memorial, one of many that are throughout the nation!”
“We stick to the Constitution,” said Muscato.
“Oh, no, now you’re back to the Constitution!” yelled Malzberg.
“I don’t want my government putting up symbols of religion on government land,” Muscato said. “It’s not appropriate. It’s why we have the First Amendment.”
Watch the video, embedded below via YouTube:COVINGTON, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed a lawsuit filed by three atheist organizations that challenged tax provisions for churches and members of the clergy.
United States District Judge William O. Bertlesman, appointed by then-President Jimmy Carter, threw out the suit lodged by American Atheists, Atheists of Northern Indiana and Atheist Archives of Kentucky, declaring that they had no standing in the matter.
The groups had asserted that current tax law, which exempts churches from requesting tax exempt status, filing an annual Form 990 or paying income tax withholding and FICA taxes, among other benefits, is unconstitutional.
“Religious organizations and churches are treated differently from secular organizations,” American Atheists wrote in a outline of the lawsuit last year. “The exemptions are applied in a way that discriminates solely on the basis of whether an entity’s members express beliefs and practices accepted as religious. The IRS treats your organization better if you profess belief in a supernatural deity.”
“American Atheists and its co-plaintiffs are asking the Court to find that such disparity of treatment between religious and secular non-profit organizations is unconstitutional and require the IRS to make the tax-exempt filing process uniform for all nonprofit organizations,” it said.
But Bertlesman dismissed the suit on Monday, stating that the atheist groups lacked standing because they personally suffered no injury from the regulations and were never denied the benefits that they challenged. He pointed to circumstances where similar groups were granted the same benefits allotted to churches.
“Initially, the atheists’ complaint concedes that some atheist organizations have obtained classification as a religious organization or church under §501(c)(3). The Atheists also admit Plaintiff ‘Atheist Archives of Kentucky’s sincerely held beliefs would
allow it to be classified as a ‘religious organization’ because atheist philosophy concerns solely religious beliefs,'” Bertlesman wrote. “Moreover, the IRS cites to a number of |
the purpose of oldest pyramids, for example. Mainstream scientists, archaeologists, historians and anthropologists are often main obstacle for scientific progress.
Gap between physical and spiritual science is to be bridged if we want to get fully understanding of the past.
Twelve hundred ton stone block in Baalbeck (Lebanon) needs explanation. Who was able to shape, move and install four times bigger blocks than our, 21st century, capabilities? Yonaguni megalithic monuments (Japan) do belong to the previous cycle of humanity. They are undeniable proof, on the bottom of the Pacific floor, 80 meters below the ocean level, that advanced culture lived in the area more than 12.000 years ago before huge quantities of ice melted and caused Pacific level to rise for 80 meters. Machu Picchu (Peru) tells the story of four distinctive civilizations and different construction styles, first civilization being the most advanced. At the same time, all the history books make up story of Inkas being the builders of “royal retreat” in the recent times. New dating of Peruvian, Mexican, Chinese and Egyptian pyramids will take us back much before recognized history and known rulers.
Oldest Chinese and Egyptian pyramids are much superior to those made later as unsuccessful replicas. Older are built from granite and sandstone blocks, more recent ones are much smaller, built from bricks and mud. Traces of more advanced beings are everywhere around us. In the meantime, mainstream scientists try to fit those monuments into their time coordinates, falsifying the truth.
Two hundred Cahokia pyramids show astronomical knowledge of the builders who moved several million tons of construction materials and who knew the difference between cosmic and magnetic north. Mayan world is an example of the knowledge of the Universe. Our Solar system circles Milky Way and that 26-thousand years cycle (“long count calendar”) affect all living life on our Planet. Anasazies, ancestors of Pueblo Indians, didn’t need alphabet or physical communication means to recognize danger in different dimensions coming from the depth of the Universe.
As long as they stay within the box, mainstream archaeologists will never be able to explain tooling and logistic needed to build stone heads on Easter Islands, shape granite blocks of Akapana pyramid complex in Bolivia or create chambers of Giza pyramids.
The excavated paved terrace on the Bosnian Pyramid of the Moon.
Stone spheres of western Mexico, southern Costa Rica, Easter Island or twenty locations in remote Bosnia-Herzegovina, are obvious proof of understanding and manipulating of shapes and energy in the distant past.
On top of all that, discovery of the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids is telling us that we don’t know our Planet. We might go to the Moon (temporarily, until threaten), but we still need to explore our Mother Earth. More secrets wait to be uncovered and, with the ancient knowledge, help us reach our balance back.
In April 2005, I first traveled to the town of Visoko, 20 miles northwest from Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. My attention was caught by two regularly shaped hills, which I later named the Bosnian Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. For thousands of years locals have considered those hills to be natural phenomena because they were covered by soil and vegetation. However, when I first saw their triangular faces, obvious corners and orientation toward the cardinal points, I knew that they had to be constructed by a force other than nature. Since I had been investigating pyramids for decades, I knew that the pyramids found in China, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador had the same type of soil and vegetation coverage.
Ceramic sculpture “K-2” in underground labyrinth weigh 18,000 lbs.
In 2005, work has begun on this project and construction companies and geologists were paid (out of my pocket) to do core drilling and geomorphological analysis. We then announced to the world, at the press conference, that the first pyramids in Europe had been discovered.
Shortly thereafter we established the non-profit Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun Foundation and since that time the pyramid investigations in Bosnia have become the world’s largest interdisciplinary archaeological project. We have spent over 340,000 man-hours in archaeological excavation, sample testing and radiocarbon dating in the period from 2005 to 2011. We determined that the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids consists of five pyramids discovered to date which I named: The Bosnian Pyramids of the Sun, Moon, Dragon, Mother Earth and Love. The site also includes a tumulus complex and a huge underground labyrinth.
This discovery is historic and changes the knowledge of the early history of Europe for several reasons:
These are the first pyramids discovered in Europe
These are the first pyramids discovered in Europe The site includes the largest pyramid structure in the world—The Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun with its height of over 220 meters is much higher than the Great Pyramid of Egypt (147 meters).
The Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun has, according to the Bosnian Institute for Geodesy, the most precise orientation towards cosmic north with the error of 0 degrees, 0 minutes and 12 seconds.
The Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun is completely covered by rectangular concrete blocks. The properties of the concrete, including extreme hardness (up to 133 MPs) and low water absorption (around 1%), are, according to the scientific institutions in Bosnia, Italy and France, far superior to modern concrete materials.
The pyramids are covered by soil which is, according to the State Institute for Agro-pedology, approx. 12,000 years old. Radiocarbon dating from the paved terrace on Bosnian Pyramid of the Moon, performed by Institute of Physics of Silesian Institute of Technology from Gliwice (Poland) confirmed that terrace was built 10,350 years ago (+/- 50 years). These finding confirm that the Bosnian pyramids are also the oldest known pyramids on the planet.
Beneath the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids there is an extensive underground tunnel and chamber network which runs for a total of more than ten miles.
Ceramic sculptures have been discovered in the underground labyrinth with a mass of up to 20,000 pounds which makes them the largest found so far from the ancient world.
The Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun (Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina).
The list of the wonders in Bosnian archaeology does not end here. In the vicinity, we discovered the tallest tumulus in the World: 61 meter high. Its nearest competitor, Sillbury Hill in England is 60 meters high. The Bosnian tumulus consists of two-layer megalithic terraces, clay layers and artificial concrete layers.
A team of physicists detected an energy beam coming through the top of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun. The radius of the beam is 4.5 meters with a frequency of 28 kHz. The beam is continuous and its strength grows as it moves up and away from the pyramid. This phenomenon contradicts the known laws of physics and technology. This is the first proof of non-herzian technology on the Planet. It seems that the pyramid builders created a perpetual motion machine a long time ago and this “energy machine” is still working.
In the underground labyrinth, in 2010, we discovered three chambers and a small blue lake. Energy screening shows that the ionization level is 43 times higher than the average concentration outside which makes the underground chambers into “healing rooms”.
Further electromagnetic detection in 2011 confirmed that levels of negative radiation through the Hartman, Curry and Schneider grids are equal to zero in the tunnels. There was no technical radiation (from power lines and/or other technology) found in the tunnels and no cosmic radioactivity. Ceramic sculptures are positioned over the underground water flows and the negative energy is transformed into positive. All of these experiments point to the underground labyrinth as one of the most secure underground constructions in the world and this makes it an ideal place for the body’s rejuvenation and regeneration.
Two hundred years of Egyptology has not produced a satisfactory answer to the question of what the real purpose was for the oldest and most superior pyramids.
In only six years, our research in Bosnia has applied interdisciplinary scientific methods, to look at this complex through the physical, energetic and spiritual dimensions. We have had pioneering results which affects the entire sphere of knowledge and Pyramid Science. Our history is changing with each new discovery.
Perhaps by changing our beginnings or learning to better understand our beginnings we can also change our present and our future for the better.
Dr. Sam Semir Osmanagich is the Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the Professor of Anthropology at the American University in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
update february 13, 2012:
Dear All,
After downscaling the signal to 700 Hz and removing background noise we obtained a quiet amazing result. Please CLICK HERE to listen to the signal we found hidden inside the 28 kHz beam coming from the Pyramid of the Sun.
Sincerely,
Nenad M. DjurdjevicFSU DL Eddie Goldman will be back at practice Monday and could be ready to go for the Seminoles’ contest against Clemson on Saturday.
Goldman was one of three linemen who left FSU’s last game against The Citadel with lower-leg injuries. Coach Jimbo Fisher said that Goldman’s ankle is healed up and will be “full-go” in practice.
Nile Lawrence-Stample, FSU’s other starting interior lineman, and reserve Justin Shanks are still limited.
“I think Nile and them will be close, they’ll be doing some things, he and Shanks, but they’ll both be limited participation wise, I think,” Fisher said.
Fisher also said that starting cornerbacks P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby will be full participants in practice this week as well. Both have been hindered by hamstring injuries and Williams missed FSU’s last game against The Citadel.
--LB Ukeme Eligwe is questionable for Clemson.
The sophomore practiced for the first time last week since injuring his foot in the spring. Fisher said earlier this offseason that Eligwe’s target return date was against Clemson, but he does not want to rush the versatile end/linebacker back.
“We’re getting him back in, I don’t know if he’ll go this weekend, we’ll see how this week goes,” Fisher said.
Email Brendan at bsonnone@orlandosentinel.com. Follow Brendan's FSU coverage on Twitter at @OSFSUAs sleet began to fall on the funeral procession, an Irish tricolour at half-mast fluttered in the bitingly cold wind. Another was draped over Martin McGuinness’s coffin.
The mourners were passing down William Street, not far from where McGuinness grew up in the republican Bogside district. Once, these streets were some of the most dangerous in Ireland, echoing to the sound of gunfire and explosions. Today, there was only the sound of applause, as hundreds of people watched Gerry Adams help carry his old friend’s coffin home.
Helping Adams shoulder the coffin of his longtime ally, with whom he steered the Irish republican movement from “armed struggle” to democratic politics, was Michelle O’Neill, the leader of Sinn Féin and potentially the next deputy first minister of Northern Ireland.
Between them was Raymond McCartney, a Sinn Féin assemblyman and former hunger striker and member of the Provisional IRA. They walked past the iconic preserved gable wall known as “Free Derry Corner” – once a self-declared autonomous nationalist area and still featuring murals commemorating the events of the Troubles.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The funeral procession passes a mural in Bogside. Photograph: Paul Mcerlane/EPA
Derry is still bitterly divided. But in the Bogside where McGuinness was a teenager, he witnessed riots after civil rights marches, and then the slaughter of 14 civilians by British paratroopers in 1972. It was once the scene of many gun and bomb attacks he would have directed as Derry’s IRA commander. Today, the mood was different.
Some locals were preparing a traditional Irish wake in honour of the dead republican leader. At the Gasyard Centre, not far from the McGuinness family home in Westland Avenue, mountains of sandwiches were being prepared for the hundreds expected to pay their respects to his house.
Through tears, the centre manager, Linda McKinney, said the 66-year-old Sinn Féin peace process chief negotiator was “a gentleman” who “did so much for this area”.
Martin McGuinness – a timeline of his IRA and political life Read more
John Kelly, whose brother Michael was shot dead in the Bloody Sunday massacre, echoed that sentiment in the newly opened Museum of Free Derry nearby. “I have known him for a long time,” he said. “Yes, he was a member of the IRA, but he turned that around and became a man of peace.
“You can’t take that from him. He was a great friend of the Bloody Sunday family over the years and was there for us from day one. It is a great loss to Derry and Ireland.”
Yet despite McGuinness’s journey from IRA leader and vocal defender of its violent campaign to a politician who made peace with many of his former enemies in unionism, Derry remains split along sectarian lines.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest People watch as the coffin is carried to McGuinness’s home. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Beyond the city’s 17th-century walls is the last Ulster Protestant/loyalist enclave on the western bank of the Foyle river that bisects Derry. A mural on the Fountain estate reminds those living there that they are still surrounded. Echoing back to the 1688-89 blockade of then Protestant Derry by the forces of the Catholic King James II, it reads: “West Bank Loyalists Still Under Siege.”
That siege mentality was reflected in the fear of one woman in the Fountain who would speak about her feelings towards McGuinness only if she could remain anonymous. She recalled an IRA massacre in the same year as Bloody Sunday, when on 31 July 1972 three car bombs exploded in the centre of Claudy, a village outside the city in the County Derry countryside. The woman remembered one of the nine victims of the explosions, a child called Kathryn Eakin.
“Many people from this community have lost loved ones to the IRA,” she said. “Two friends of mine lost their little girl in the Claudy bomb. Her name was Kathryn. She was just eight years old.
“Both her parents died a few years ago and went to their graves without getting closure. The loss of their child destroyed them. A lot more people will never get closure now Martin McGuinness is dead, taking his secrets with him. They will find no comfort in his death.”
Others took a different view. A former Royal Ulster Constabulary officer, who served in Derry on and off between 1978 and 2003, acknowledged that McGuinness had moved from being the man who directed an organisation that tried to kill him several times to “grow into the role of statesman”.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Friends and family at the funeral procession. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP
Peter Sheridan, a Catholic police officer, rose through the RUC’s ranks and ended up as an assistant chief constable. He had to move his family from two different homes during his time in Derry after intelligence reports indicated the IRA was poised to assassinate him.
He was injured in an IRA gun and bomb attack that left two RUC colleagues and a prison officer dead at Magee College in 1987, when McGuinness sat on the Provisionals’ ruling army council.
But 25 years later, Sheridan, retired from policing and working as chief executive for the Co-Operation Ireland cross-border peace group, found himself in the same line-up as McGuinness while they waited to greet the Queen at a charity event in Belfast.
“I had already accepted that Martin McGuinness had moved on,” he said. “When I witnessed his historic handshake with the Queen I realised it was as much about reaching out the hand to the unionist community as doing so with her.”Peter Capaldi is set to return as the 12th incarnation of the Time Lord for the ninth series of Doctor Who.
“Yes, he’s confirmed”, showrunner Steven Moffat told The Hollywood Reporter after an event in London to mark the DVD release of the BBC sci-fi drama’s eighth series.
However, Moffat added that Jenna Coleman, who plays the Doctor’s companion Clara Oswald, has yet to confirm whether she will join the popular sci-fi drama for the next series.
Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent Without the ads – for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month
The actress has already fuelled rumours that she may be leaving, by refusing to comment on the speculation bar revealing that “there’s a big surprise coming”.
“We’ve all decided we don’t want anybody to know which way it’s going,” Coleman told Radio Times in September. “If you know I’m in the nest series, or if you know I’m off, you’ll know how the story ends.
“It’s must better that nobody knows which way it’s going to go so that’s where we’re trying to keep it at the moment.”
Coleman will definitely feature in the Doctor Who Christmas special, after a preview shown during Friday’s Children in Need saw her meeting with the Doctor for what might be final closure.
Shape Created with Sketch. Children in Need 2014 in pictures Show all 15 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Children in Need 2014 in pictures 1/15 Children in Need 2014 Nick Frost plays Santa Claus in the Doctor Who Christmas special BBC 2/15 Children in Need 2014 Sir Bruce Forsyth rejoins Tess Daly to host the Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need special BBC 3/15 Children in Need 2014 The Strictly Come Dancing judges take part in the Children in Need special BBC 4/15 Children in Need 2014 Team Glitter juniors Eliot and Mia and Team Sparkle juniors Daniel and Ella join Strictly Come Dancing professionals for a Children in Need special BBC 5/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry call on Lord Alan Sugar, Karren Brady and Nick Hewer in The Apprentice ballroom for Children in Need BBC 6/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry land on the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor for Children in Need BBC 7/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry and the Bake Off's Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry star in an exclusive cartoon made for Children in Need BBC 8/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry and Gary Lineker star in an exclusive cartoon made especially for BBC Children in Need 2014 BBC 9/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry stir up some trouble in the Queen Vic with Mick and Linda on Children in Need BBC 10/15 Children in Need 2014 Gareth Malone's All Star Choir who will sing the official Children in Need single BBC 11/15 Children in Need 2014 Play by ear: Gareth Malone (far right) with his All-Star Choir 12/15 Children in Need 2014 Pam St Clement, Gillian Taylforth, Hetti Bywater, Adam Woodyatt and Michelle Collins are returning to EastEnders for a special Children in Need sketch BBC 13/15 Children in Need 2014 Pat Evans/Butcher (Pam St Clement) returns to EastEnders for a Children in Need sketch BBC 14/15 Children in Need 2014 Dot Cotton, played by June Brown, takes part in the EastEnders charity calendar for BBC Children in Need BBC 15/15 Children in Need 2014 The hosts of this year's BBC Children in Need - Fearne Cotton, Rochelle Humes, Sir Terry Wogan, Nick Grimshaw and Tess Daly BBC 1/15 Children in Need 2014 Nick Frost plays Santa Claus in the Doctor Who Christmas special BBC 2/15 Children in Need 2014 Sir Bruce Forsyth rejoins Tess Daly to host the Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need special BBC 3/15 Children in Need 2014 The Strictly Come Dancing judges take part in the Children in Need special BBC 4/15 Children in Need 2014 Team Glitter juniors Eliot and Mia and Team Sparkle juniors Daniel and Ella join Strictly Come Dancing professionals for a Children in Need special BBC 5/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry call on Lord Alan Sugar, Karren Brady and Nick Hewer in The Apprentice ballroom for Children in Need BBC 6/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry land on the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor for Children in Need BBC 7/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry and the Bake Off's Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry star in an exclusive cartoon made for Children in Need BBC 8/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry and Gary Lineker star in an exclusive cartoon made especially for BBC Children in Need 2014 BBC 9/15 Children in Need 2014 Tom and Jerry stir up some trouble in the Queen Vic with Mick and Linda on Children in Need BBC 10/15 Children in Need 2014 Gareth Malone's All Star Choir who will sing the official Children in Need single BBC 11/15 Children in Need 2014 Play by ear: Gareth Malone (far right) with his All-Star Choir 12/15 Children in Need 2014 Pam St Clement, Gillian Taylforth, Hetti Bywater, Adam Woodyatt and Michelle Collins are returning to EastEnders for a special Children in Need sketch BBC 13/15 Children in Need 2014 Pat Evans/Butcher (Pam St Clement) returns to EastEnders for a Children in Need sketch BBC 14/15 Children in Need 2014 Dot Cotton, played by June Brown, takes part in the EastEnders charity calendar for BBC Children in Need BBC 15/15 Children in Need 2014 The hosts of this year's BBC Children in Need - Fearne Cotton, Rochelle Humes, Sir Terry Wogan, Nick Grimshaw and Tess Daly BBC
The series finale, which aired last Saturday to an audience of 5.45 million, saw Clara and the Doctor part with a goodbye hug, prompting many to believe that she would not be returning.
From battling Cybermen and Ice Warriors to helping save the Doctor’s home planet of Gallifrey, Coleman has had her share of dramatic adventures since joining the show in 2012 alongside Matt Smith.
Earlier this year, she told The Independent that she was “really happy” in the role of Clara. “It’s one of those jobs that will only happen once – the whole adventure that it brings,” she said. “The key is not to worry about the future and enjoy it.”by: Yuri Elkaim
s you probably know by now, bananas aren’t just for peeling and eating. They can be an amazing baking swap that also offer a long list of benefits for your body.
And in this banana bread recipe, they’re a standout in terms of taste and nutrition.
If you’re familiar with my work at all, you probably know that I’m all about the 80-20 rule when it comes to eating: 80 percent should be whole, plant-based foods (raw is awesome), with the other 20 percent being pretty much anything else you want.
Well, almost anything.
Because when it comes to that 20 percent, I’m not a fan of gluten, dairy, or sugar. Why? Because they don’t do your body any favors.
Which sounds like a real bummer, right? How are you supposed to enjoy comfort food favorites – like banana bread – without flour or sugar? For most people, cutting those three ingredients sounds like the death knell has come down on cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and quickbread (and that’s just the beginning).
Banana Bread Without Eggs
Guess what? If you get a little creative, you can still enjoy your favorites (with a few tweaks).
For instance, bananas can stand in as eggs or some of the flour in most baking recipes.
(Quick aside: one of the most exciting new gluten-free products on the market right now is Green Banana Flour. Used for hundreds of years to bake bread, cakes, and other starchy foods in Africa, banana flour is made of dried green bananas. It’s also an amazing resistant starch.)
But anyway, in this banana bread recipe we actually need the flavor of bananas, so we actually use ripe bananas. We also used a bit of gluten-free flour (Pamela’s brand flour, which is a combo of rice & tapicoa flours, was used in the test batches) to lend lightness to bread.
And because we used chia seeds and arrowroot powder as binders, we eliminated the need for eggs.
Banana Health Benefits
Whether you’re trying out banana flour for the first time or following my banana bread recipe below, your body will be glad you’re baking without white flour.
Although the final recipe tastes like the classic, you’re not just getting rid of gluten, you’re also getting some serious nutrients into your diet. Here are a few lesser-known facts about the health benefits of bananas.
Bananas:
Aid digestion. Full of pectin, bananas help with digestion, gently chelating toxins and heavy metals from the body.
Contain powerful prebiotics. Bananas help promote the growth of friendly bacteria in your gut.
Help you absorb nutrients. Bananas help produce digestive enzymes, which assist in absorbing nutrients.
Prevent acid reflux. Got GERD? Bananas are a natural antacid, and can provide measurable relief from acid reflux.
Boost your workouts. Eat two bananas before a strenuous workout for extra energy, and protection against muscle cramps
Lift your mood. Bananas help your body regulate blood sugar and battle stress.
Reduce swelling. Bananas can cut water retention, strengthen the nervous system, and help you lose weight because of their high vitamin B-6 levels.
Contain iron. Protect yourself from anemia, and strengthen your blood with added iron from bananas.
Help your heart. Banana intake has been linked to lower blood pressure and they can protect against heart attack and stroke.
Get Even More Healthy Treats!
Yes, you can satisfy your sweet tooth and still follow a healthy eating plan.
You’ll love these 8 energy-boosting desserts that are so tasty you’ll swear they’re bad for you.
Sound too good to be true? See for yourself! Download my Healthy Desserts eBook right now – for FREE! – by clicking the image below.Four-fifths of Scottish constituencies will be affected by a review of parliamentary boundaries, according to a new analysis.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell, the only Tory MP in Scotland, could lose his seat to the SNP, as could Ian Murray, the last Labour MP north of the Border.
Across the UK, up to 30 Labour seats may disappear as the number of MPs is cut from 650 to 600, according to the analysis by Tory peer Lord Hayward. Labour accused the government of “gerrymandering” to gain an electoral advantage by pushing ahead with the review, and the SNP said it was trying to “slash the number of Scottish MPs”.
Details of which constituencies will be redrawn are expected to be published by the Boundary Commission next month, with the review by 2018 ahead of the next scheduled general election in 2020.
Reviews are held periodically to keep the size of the electorate in each constituency roughly the same, although Labour claim the figures being used to do not take into account new voters registered during 2015.
The current review will require constituencies be within five per cent of having 74,769 registered voters. Only 11 of 59 Scottish constituencies are in that range. Scotland will lose six constituencies as part of the process.
’Like’ The Scotsman on Facebook for regular updates
DOWNLOAD THE SCOTSMAN APP ON ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAYFinancial institutions and governments are slowing realising the potential of blockchain technology to facilitate cheaper and faster local and global transactions. However, they remain wary of some of the features associated with the technology.
One of the main concerns relates to the privacy and semi-anonymity of Bitcoin. Several governments have expressed their stance against digital currencies as they can facilitate criminal activities and money laundering, and make tax collection much more difficult.
So, while governments wish to transform the financial system with blockchain, they want to remove privacy. This has led to the emergence of various concepts and implementations of blockchains without privacy, where all users are explicitly identified, and all transactions traceable by the government by design, reports Bitcoin Magazine.
GreenCoinX, the “identifiable digital currency”, highlights a statement of Bill Gates in a 2014 Bloomberg TV interview on its website:
“The customers we’re talking about aren’t trying to be anonymous, they’re willing to be known, so Bitcoin technology is key, and you can add to it or you could build a similar technology where there’s enough attribution where people feel comfortable that this is nothing to do with terrorism or any type of money laundering”
GreenCoinX, developed by GreenCoinX Inc., a Canada-based software development company, has digital identification built-in.
“Other cryptocurrencies are not identifiable and, therefore, those cryptocurrencies are not only susceptible to be used for illegal purposes, but are not easily taxable by governments,” state the developers. “These concerns make global acceptance of cryptocurrency transactions more difficult. GreenCoinX provides a solution by adding email and phone identification to all GreenCoinX transactions. Those intending illegal activities will likely not use GreenCoinX as they can be easily identified. Furthermore, global governments will be able to collect taxes based on GreenCoinX transactions with country-by-country rules for each type of transaction.”
GreenCoinX aims to resolve the “trust based concerns” with other virtual currencies. GreenCoinX Inc says that it is ready, willing and able to co-operate with all government entities in any jurisdiction worldwide to smoothly facilitate the collections of taxes related to transactions that use GreenCoinX.
Moving on, the GNU Taler project is a new electronic payment system under development at Inria. One of the key goals of Taler is to provide anonymity for citizens buying goods and services, while ensuring that the state can observe incoming transactions to ensure businesses engage only in legal activities and do not evade taxes (such as income tax, sales tax or value-added tax), it says in its website.
What distinguishes GNU Taler from GreenCoinX is that while it doesn’t protect the identity of the merchant, it does protect the identity of the customer. The identity of a customer won’t be revealed to the merchant, and the government won’t be able to learn how consumers spend their electronic money.
The report concluded stating “The GNU Taler project seems an interesting attempt to put together two conflicting requirements – anonymity for consumers and ability for the government to tax merchants. However, the government doesn’t want to know only how much a merchant earns, but also who buys what. Therefore, it seems likely that governments would prefer simpler systems with no privacy at all, such as GreenCoinX.”Just days after making grossly inappropriate comments about Jews in Israel, Hearst columnist Helen Thomas has retired.
It's time for Pat Buchanan to retire, too.
Despite a decades-long track record of offensive comments about … well, nearly everybody, Buchanan continues to write columns and appear as a commentator on MSNBC.
During his time in public life, Buchanan has defended Adolf Hitler -- repeatedly. He has peddled Holocaust denial claims and compared suspected Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk to Jesus Christ.
Buchanan has reminisced fondly about his childhood in segregated Washington, DC, and complained that "Old heroes like... Robert E. Lee are replaced by Dr. King." He wrote that "integration of blacks and whites" was likely to result in "perpetual friction, as the incapable are placed … side by side with the capable." Buchanan's anti-integration views were so hard-core, even Richard Nixon characterized Buchanan's them as "segregation forever." When 67 blacks were shot to death by South African police, Buchanan dismissed the massacre as "a few South African whites mistreating a couple of blacks." In 1989, Buchanan defended Bob Jones University's ban on interracial dating. 1989!
In 1983, Buchanan wrote that "homosexuals... have declared war on nature, and now nature is exacting an awful retribution." (During his 1992 presidential campaign, he stood by that view, insisting "AIDS is nature's retribution for violating the laws of nature.") He has compared gays to alcoholics.
He has accused David Duke of stealing his ideas, and he has appeared -- just two years ago -- as a guest on a "pro-White" radio show that was streamed live on a self-described "White Nationalist" web site.
Buchanan's comments have been denounced even by conservative leaders like William F. Buckley (who found it ""impossible to defend Pat Buchanan against the charge that what he did and said during the period under examination, the military build-up for the Gulf War, amounted to anti-Semitism,") Charles Krauthammer ("There's no doubt he makes subliminal appeals to prejudice") and then-RNC chairman Rich Bond (who said Buchanan was "heading toward a low-road message of anger, hate and race-baiting.").
It is important to remember that, although Pat Buchanan's nasty comments about a wide variety of minorities are very much of the past, they are not in the past. He has defended Hitler within the past year. His complaint that "Old heros like … Robert W. Lee are replaced by Dr. King" came within the past year. Just last month he was busy counting the Jews on the Supreme Court -- and concluding that there are too many. The month before that, he insisted that "both sides were right" during the Civil War.
The simple fact is that for decades Pat Buchanan has been losing the "culture war" he declared in his infamous 1992 GOP convention speech. During Buchanan's time in public life, America has become much more tolerant, even if he has not. His retirement is long overdue. He could take up a hobby, or maybe move to Florida: I hear he's surprisingly popular in Palm Beach.New Synopsis For ‘Justice League’ Revealed
We are still several months away from the upcoming Justice League film, which will unite some of the greatest heroes in the DC Universe. A new synopsis has surfaced which is slightly different from the first one that was released last year.
“In the wake of Clark Kent/Superman’s (Cavill) death at the hands of Doomsday in BvS, vigilante Bruce Wayne/Batman (Affleck) reevaluates his extreme methods and begins reaching out to extraordinary heroes to assemble a team of crime-fighters to defend earth from all kinds of threats. Together with Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gadot), Batman seeks out cybernetically enhanced former college football star Vic Stone/Cyborg (Fisher), speedster Barry Allen/The Flash (Miller) and Atlantean warrior king Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Momoa). They face off against Steppenwolf (Hinds), the herald and second-in-command to alien warlord Darkseld, who is charged by Darkseid with hunting down three artefacts hidden on earth.”
Zack Snyder’s Justice League, starring Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Amber Heard as Mera, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielson as Queen Hippolyta and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon, opens in theaters on Friday, November 17.
Are you excited for Justice League? What did you think of the new spot? Sound off in the comments below.
Source: Comicbook.comBandai Namco is known for poor translation, faulty mechanics, and absurd price to value relation. This game delivers an above average translation at the cost of DLC being almost non-existent. I purchased the game with season pass. I have gotten a few outfits and a bowling mode since release. The bowling mini-game is hardly a complex add-on. It is offline only and offers a single round or strike challenge. It would have been better sold as a specific addition. The game delivers what is to be expected of Tekken. The combos require a very specific timing or will fail. The AI is designed to take user input and respond to it before processing that into an outcome. This allows an unfair advantage to the AI, which does not rely on something that is already happening to attempt a counter. The story is mediocre, but fights are integrated well into it. The customization is extensive and (after a few hiccups) looks decent. This is about the only true strength of the game. When it released, many of the outfits would float or have awkward placement. It appears that some of this has been fixed, although a few weapons still seem more like they float near you at irregular angles. The VR mode is less a mode and more of a VR practice stage. You select a character and an opponent to fight in a single stage that is designed to look like an endless lake. There is little environment. Overall, it is what you expect. It is mostly about customizing characters and taking them online to play with friends. There isn't much else to do that will be entertaining for more than a few hours.
Read moreWELCOME TO THE NATIONAL SPECIAL NEEDS NETWORK, INC. Since 1995 “A CREATIVE AND VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO UNCERTAINTY” Let’s get to work on your Special Needs Trust today! (Excuse our appearance as we update our home on the internet)
Why A Special Needs Trust?
The whole notion of estate planning can be frightening for most families. Discussions about Wills, about “who gets what,” and about family members dying tend to put a real damper on Sunday dinners. Still, these conversations do take place, and they are moments when families come together to discover—often for the first time—what their priorities are.
Special Needs families in particular face additional concerns. Questions about medical and personal care, costs, and other issues steal the spotlight from great-grandma’s cameo, and the answers are not always easy to find. In today’s more mobile world, brothers and sisters may live thousands of miles apart, be only slightly familiar with the day-to-day needs of a sibling with a disability, and there may be nobody (other than an elderly parent; if then), who knows about the day programs he attends, the medical care she gets, and what an inheritance may do to the monthly check that comes. They may need a Special Needs Trust. Advance planning is critical.
There’s |
sound. They have a very calming sound to them. No matter the music I play they never seem to be harsh or too upfront. They have a very smooth signature to them. Seeing how they perform now I would gladly buy these again and will tell everyone about them.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Master splinter from Sounds Amazing The 230's sound great with movies or music. I highly recommend....!
Rated 5 out of 5 by RJAD from Exceptional clarity Bought these refurbished, but they were good as new (or better). You won't go better for the size and price.
Rated 5 out of 5 by ViRtUoZiTY from Hear The Truth! They're Towers in Bookshelves clothing! Near a Wall EQ'd just right! Thank You JBL!!!!!!!!!!Owl Pellets Are Not Waste!
My students need 8 sets of owl pellets and 25 real scientific forceps.
My Students
My 7th grade science classes are working hard to become real scientists. I teach in a diverse socioeconomic school. Our population cannot afford the purchase of the Owl Pellets and 25 science forceps for my science classes.
My students are doing "hands on-minds on" science related activities around life science.
The idea of dissecting an animal's excretion just thrills them! They cannot wait to use forceps to dissect an owl pellet and learn through discovery. The best way to learn and remember is through hands-on activities.
My Project
Barn Owl pellets and scientific forceps are wonderful tools for my 7th grade science classroom. Each student will have their own owl pellet to dissect. Using the forceps will help individuals find skeletal remains of small rodents, plant sections and other nondigestible items. Students will then be able to share and compare their findings. Each individual student will try and recreate a rodent's skeleton from the bones discovered in their owl pellet. Students will have many benefits from these mysterious fur balls such as: learning the concepts of natural history,ecology and predator/prey relationships. Using real science forceps to dissect makes the students learning authentic.
Your help will allow my students to learn through "hands on" discovery.
They will be able to dissect owl pellets using real tools and have a true science experience. They will learn that animal excretion is not all waste!Today's bombshell came when Trump Jr. himself shared emails sent prior to the meeting, in which he responds enthusiastically to the idea of a Russia-aided effort to help his father win. Trump Jr. has now defended himself in a Fox News interview.
We're into day four of the deepening controversy surrounding Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer, which took place after Trump Jr. was promised damaging information, via the Russian government, about Hillary Clinton.
Trump Jr. speaks
Key quotes from interview with Sean Hannity
"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently."
"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently." "For me this was opposition research, they had something you know maybe concrete evidence to all the stories I'd been hearing about, probably under reported for years not just during the campaign so I think I wanted to hear it out. But really it went nowhere and it was apparent that wasn't what the meeting was about."
"For me this was opposition research, they had something you know maybe concrete evidence to all the stories I'd been hearing about, probably under reported for years not just during the campaign so I think I wanted to hear it out. But really it went nowhere and it was apparent that wasn't what the meeting was about." "Someone sent me an email! I can't help what someone sends me. I read it, I responded accordingly, and if there was something interesting there, I think that's pretty common."
Key email excerpts
Email exchange from June 3, 2016
Rob Golstone: The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump—helped along by Aras and Emin.
Donald Trump Jr: "I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."
The White House reacts
Trump, supporting his son: "My son is a high-quality person, and I applaud his transparency."
"My son is a high-quality person, and I applaud his transparency." Mike Pence, distancing himself: statement says he's "not focused on stories about the campaign — especially those pertaining to the time before he joined the campaign."
statement says he's "not focused on stories about the campaign — especially those pertaining to the time before he joined the campaign." Sarah Sanders, denies it's collusion: As for whether there were other meetings with Russians, she says, none "that I'm aware of at this time."
Behind the scenes
Jonathan Swan reports that in private, sources inside the White House aren't even pretending it's ok: They know the Donald Trump Jr. emails that in private, sources inside the White House aren't even pretending it's ok: They know the Donald Trump Jr. emails that led to his Russia meeting are a terrible story, and mostly they're scrambling to find ways to deflect it and to turn this back against Hillary Clinton or the media.
M any of our White House sources are playing amateur detective, some with whackier theories than others, and some of which turn on people within the White House. Suspicion spread between people who worked in campaign and in White House, and while no one we've spoken to has any evidence to support their theories, it's not stopping them from speculating.
, some with whackier theories than others, and some of which turn on people within the White House. Suspicion spread between people who worked in campaign and in White House, and while no one we've spoken to has any evidence to support their theories, it's not stopping them from speculating. It's creating a very tense environment, and a number of administration officials can't believe the level of foolishness required for Don Jr. to not only do this but to have such a conversation over email.
Insights and observations
Jake Tapper, CNN: "On it's face, this email chain is proof of willingness expressed by Donald Trump Jr. to collude with Russia."
CNN: "On it's face, this email chain is proof of willingness expressed by Donald Trump Jr. to collude with Russia." Lawfare blog asks a key question: "Was this really a one-off meeting that didn't go anywhere, or was it an effort to sound out the people around the candidate to determine their willingness to accept Russian help before taking further steps?"
a key question: "Was this really a one-off meeting that didn't go anywhere, or was it an effort to sound out the people around the candidate to determine their willingness to accept Russian help before taking further steps?" Josh Barro, Business Insider: "If someone said offhand 'this is part of Russian gov efforts to help you' & you were unaware of such efforts wouldn't you say 'the what now?'"
Reactions
Former Clinton staffer, via NBC's Kristen Welker: "this is the SNL version of what we always suspected was going on."
, via NBC's Kristen Welker: "this is the SNL version of what we always suspected was going on." Sen. Tim Kaine: "We're now beyond obstruction of justice, in terms of what's being investigated, we're now moving into perjury, false statements and even into potentially treason."
"We're now beyond obstruction of justice, in terms of what's being investigated, we're now moving into perjury, false statements and even into potentially treason." Sen. Orrin Hatch: "He's the son of the president and frankly I think it's overblown."
"He's the son of the president and frankly I think it's overblown." Sen. Lindsey Graham: "Any time you're in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is no."
"Any time you're in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is no." Eric Trump: "This is the EXACT reason they viciously attack our family! They can't stand that we are extremely close and will ALWAYS support each other."
Timeline
May 26: Trump clinches the number of delegates needed to become the Republican nominee, though at the time there's talk of an effort to block him at the convention.
Trump clinches the number of delegates needed to become the Republican nominee, though at the time there's talk of an effort to block him at the convention. June 3: Publicist Rob Goldstone emails Trump Jr. saying the crown prosecutor of Russia wants to provide information that "would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father" as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." Trump Jr. replies, "I love it."
Publicist Rob Goldstone emails Trump Jr. saying the crown prosecutor of Russia wants to provide information that "would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father" as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." Trump Jr. replies, "I love it." June 9: The meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya takes place at Trump Tower. Trump Jr., Paul Manfort and Jared Kushner attend.
The meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya takes place at Trump Tower. Trump Jr., Paul Manfort and Jared Kushner attend. June 15: Internal DNC documents are released, after apparently being stolen by Russian hackers. Note: there's no indication the Trump campaign was involved in the release.
Flashback
FLASHBACK: Don Jr. July 24, 2016. On the Clinton campaign's claims that the Russians were helping Trump: "It's disg… https://t.co/7Gvxk4oUdh — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) 1499787270.0
Shifting explanations
Saturday: When the NY Times first reported on the meeting, Trump Jr. said it was a brief introductory meeting and the primary topic of discussion was the adoption of Russian children. He had previously said he hadn't met with anyone related to Russia on campaign business.
When the NY Times first reported on the meeting, Trump Jr. said it was a brief introductory meeting and the primary topic of discussion was the adoption of Russian children. He had previously said he hadn't met with anyone related to Russia on campaign business. Sunday: After the Times followed up with a report that Trump Jr had been promised "damaging information" on Clinton, Trump Jr. released a longer statement admitting that was the case, but claiming it "quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information. She then changed subjects and began discussing the adoption of Russian children."
After the Times followed up with a report that Trump Jr had been promised "damaging information" on Clinton, Trump Jr. released a longer statement admitting that was the case, but claiming it "quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information. She then changed subjects and began discussing the adoption of Russian children." Monday: It is reported that Trump Jr. has hired a lawyer. Later, that lawyer releases a statement saying Trump Jr.'s "takeaway" from the email was "someone had information potentially helpful to the campaign," implying that his takeaway was not that the information was coming from the Russian government.
It is reported that Trump Jr. has hired a lawyer. Later, that lawyer releases a statement saying Trump Jr.'s "takeaway" from the email was "someone had information potentially helpful to the campaign," implying that his takeaway was not that the information was coming from the Russian government. Tuesday: Trump Jr. releases the emails.
The cast of characters
Natalia Veselnitskaya, the lawyer at the Trump Tower meeting
Veselnitskaya is known for her lobbying against the Magnitsky Act, designed to seize the assets of and deny visas to suspected Russian human rights abusers. Veselnitskaya told the NYT that she "never acted on behalf of the Russian government," but her anti-Magnitsky campaign is a cause that's deeply personal for Vladimir Putin.
Rob Goldstone, the music publicist who linked up Trump Jr. and Veselnitskaya
Goldstone's social media pages show him interacting with President Trump as far back as 2013 — and include an Instagram of him wearing a shirt that simply says "Russia" just after Trump won the presidency in November.
Emin Agalarov, the Russian pop star who asked Goldstone to set up the meeting
Agalarov is a 37-year-old pop star who became close to Trump following the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow.
Aras Agalarov, Emin's father and a billionaire real estate mogul in Moscow
According to Forbes, the 2013 pageant was hosted at one of Agalarovs' properties — after Aras and Emin made a concerted effort to reach out to Trump. Aras' bigger goal was a licensing deal with Trump to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.Still moved to tears with Pats tribute; donation
The New England Patriots cheerleaders honored Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still (75) and his daughter, Leah who is fighting cancer, during their game at Gillette Stadium. (Photo: The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger)
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts - Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still was moved to tears on Sunday night while watching a video tribute of his daughter Leah and other children battling pediatric cancer that was played on the video board inside Gillette Stadium late in Sunday's Bengals-New England Patriots game.
Still said he was unaware the Patriots were going to do that, although he said he saw a tweet earlier Sunday from NBC's Hoda Kotb about a possible video being shown. Patriots cheerleaders also wore replica No. 75 Still jerseys.
"I saw something with Hoda who tweeted out something about them playing a video. I didn't really know what they was talking about," said Still. "It definitely was touching to see that up on the board with my daughter and all those other brave kids that are fighting cancer and seeing the cheerleaders taking off the jackets and all having the jersey it put it over the top. It's amazing."
Still said he had seen a preview of the video, but never the whole thing before.
"It's very emotional," said Still. "Every time I see a video like that and get a reminder of what my daughter is going through and what those other kids are going through it's definitely hard to fight back the tears."
Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still (75) wears "Leah Strong" on his eye black in honor of his daughter who is fighting cancer. The New England Patriots honored their family during the game at Gillette Stadium. (Photo: The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger)
Patriots owner Robert Kraft also donated $25,000 in Leah's name to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
""I didn't know he gave a donation," Still said. "That's great. It's great how everybody has been stepping up, not just from (Cincinnati), but across the country. It has just been amazing and great for the cancer community. We came here to play a football game with an opposing team, and I didn't expect them to show the support that they did today. It was amazing what they did today. It shows the fight is more than about football."
Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/1xggd3nMarketing for Speakers, Authors, Consultants & Experts
David Newman specializes in working with speakers, authors, consultants, and independent professionals who want to stop throwing money into a marketing black hole and attract, engage, and win more clients.
Is this YOU?
You feel that "old school" tactics (cold calling, ads and spam) are useless and "there MUST be a better way"...
that "old school" tactics (cold calling, ads and spam) are useless and You want to earn attention from prospects by positioning yourself as an authority with magnetic marketing strategies that pull (not push) buyers to you...
by positioning yourself as an authority with magnetic marketing strategies that pull (not push) buyers to you... You're already working hard but there's too much to do, never enough time, and sometimes you're not even sure where to begin when it comes to marketing...
but there's too much to do, never enough time, and sometimes you're not even sure where to begin when it comes to marketing... You're looking for faster, smarter, better ways to market and monetize your books, speeches, consulting, products, services, and programs
You're in the right place if you want to generate MORE leads, BETTER prospects, and BIGGER sales...
See what clients are saying >>>There was quite a bit of hand-wringing on Twitter over Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock’s decision to start enigmatic backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson in the second leg of pivotal back-to-back games this week. Jimmy Howard had played very well of late, and many fans wanted to ride the hot hand. Although the Red Wings secured the point necessary to clinch a 23rd consecutive playoff appearance, Gustavsson did not play very well at all. And although it might be tempting to argue that the Red Wings’ advancing to the playoffs proves that Babcock made the right decision, such an argument is made with the benefit of hindsight. Gustavsson looked uncomfortable for much of a game the Wings largely controlled, and nearly cost them the contest by letting a puck slip through him in the crease, resulting in an easy tap-in by the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jussi Jokinen. Despite this, I still contend that the correct decision was made.
A few weeks ago Babcock told a referee whose ability he was particularly displeased with to “do [his] job.” He often talks about his team and its players in a similarly blunt fashion. Babcock’s deployment of his goalies in the six-week stretch leading up to the Pittsburgh game reflected this attitude acutely. The Red Wings were “supposed” to beat the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Taking nothing for granted, he started Howard and fielded his strongest lineup possible in order to maximize the potential of gaining two very attainable points. The next night, in a game with a lower probability of getting a regulation win, he started Gustavsson. Why did he do that? Because if the team hadn’t gotten a point in Pittsburgh, they would still have had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth against a very beatable Carolina Hurricanes team. Having a rested Jimmy Howard would have given the Wings the best chance to win, and to clinch a playoff spot in what would have been an even more crucial matchup. The game log over the past few months shows a similar pattern of goalie usage, for the most part: Howard starting the leg of back-to-backs against teams the Red Wings are “supposed” to beat. Even if you disagree with this strategy, there is ample evidence it’s the way Babcock operates. I was not at all surprised that Gustavsson got the nod, and frankly I was hoping he would because I thought it meshed with Babcock’s philosophy, especially of late. I’m not a blind disciple of the Church of Babcock, but I tend to trust the all-time winningest coach in Detroit Red Wings history far more often than not. Gustavsson didn’t dazzle, but the team got the result it was looking for and we can all watch tonight’s game a little less frantically.Some 367,000 Minnesota seniors have a stake in a tax-cut debate going on at the Capitol this week.
The Republican-controlled House wants to phase out income taxes on all Social Security income. The Senate Democratic-Farmer-Labor majority opposes that tax break as a threat to the state’s future fiscal stability.
The outcome of that dispute rests in the hands of five senators and five House members who serve on a conference committee that is trying to split the difference between the $2.2 billion in tax cuts the House approved and the $268 million in tax relief offered by the Senate.
As they headed into negotiations Tuesday, both sides were adamant about their positions.
“Exempting Social Security income is a great benefit for our seniors on fixed incomes, not having to pay so much to government and being able to keep more money for themselves,” said House Tax Committee Chairman Greg Davids, R-Preston.
“Anytime we can reduce the tax burden on the middle class, especially fixed-income people, I think that’s the right thing to do. … It’s a top-tier issue for me.”
His Senate counterpart, Tax Committee Chairman Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, responded that, when fully implemented, eliminating taxes on Social Security income would cost the state treasury nearly $500 million a year. Not only would that make it harder to balance future state budgets, he said, but that large a price tag would threaten the state’s ability to increase funding for education and other government services.
After scrambling in recent years to erase budget deficits, “pay back shifts” and tuck away some money in a rainy-day budget reserve, Skoe said, “We’re not interested in anything that’s going to have a long-term negative (impact) on the state budget.”
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton shares that view. “We have significant concerns about the long-term costs” of exempting Social Security income from taxes, said state Revenue Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly.
Skoe also asserted it’s only fair that seniors help pay for schools and other services for their children and grandchildren. “We’re all in this together,” he said.
Davids sees it differently. “I think every Minnesotan pays more than their fair share, including seniors,” he said.
Minnesota is one of just seven states that tax Social Security income at the same level as the federal government, according to the nonpartisan Minnesota House Research Department. Thirty-eight states do not tax Social Security benefits.
Nine of them, including South Dakota, have no income tax, and 29 other states, Iowa and Wisconsin among them, exempt all Social Security income from taxation.
In Minnesota, low-income seniors are already exempt from paying taxes on Social Security benefits. Those with higher incomes pay at progressively higher rates.
A retired single person with a total income of less that $32,542 and a retired couple with income under $44,390 pay no taxes on their Social Security benefits, House Research reported.
A single retiree with an income between $32,542 and $41,542 would pay taxes on 50 percent of his or her Social Security benefits, as would a couple with an income between $44,390 and $56,390.
Retired filers earning more than those sums would pay taxes on 85 percent of their Social Security income.
Skoe said 15 percent of their income is exempt because the government assumes they paid taxes on that amount during their working years.
The debate over taxing Social Security benefits has been around for years, and if lawmakers don’t resolve it this year, it’s almost certain to resurface in the future.
Follow Bill Salisbury at twitter.com/bsalisbury.Copyright by WPRI - All rights reserved
Annie Shalvey; Reporting by Brian Yocono - PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Members of the Rhode Island State Police arrested three motorcycle club members this weekend - and officials say the situation is alarming.
According to police, the incident started as a routine traffic stop along Route 95 in West Greenwich. The three men, all from Philadelphia, found themselves behind bars on weapons charges, police said. The charges include carrying a pistol without a permit and possession of a handgun by a convicted violent criminal.
All three men belong to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, police said.
Major Joesph Philbin of the Rhode Island State Police said the club seems to be making an effort to establish a presence in New England.
"The outlaws are one the of biggest motorcycle clubs or gangs in the country, and the fact that they are establishing a presence in Rhode Island is alarming to us because sometimes they can bring forth some violence and criminal activity. I'm not saying all the time but sometimes they can," he told Eyewitness News.
Major Philbin said the club is considered to be a criminal enterprise, both on a local and federal level. Right now, they have a clubhouse in Woonsocket and according to their website, an effort is underway to create a group in Fall River.
Historically, New England is considered to belong to the Hell's Angels, officials say.
"The Hell's Angels have had a presence in RI as long as I've been on the state police, the last 20 to 25 years," Philbin said. "So the fact that the outlaws are trying to maintain or create a presence here could create a problem."
According to Philbin, the problem has the potential to become violent.
"Take what happened in Waco, Texas last year between the Banditos and Costics... Within a matter of minutes, there's nine people shot and killed out there," he said. "You don't want to see that happen here and you don't want any innocent bystanders caught up in the fight between the two clubs."
Major Philbin said he couldn't detail how the police are monitoring the movement and presence of the clubs.
Officials said two of the men arrested did make bail. The third man, identified as Thomas Severns, is being held without bail and is expected to be in court on Monday.A former member of the racist alt-right movement appears to have taken to the internet to apologise to Muslims for fuelling hate against them. Unless he's just trolling.
A self-confessed former member of the racist "alt-right" white supremacist movement has taken to the internet to apologise to Muslims for fuelling hate against them.
The Redditor, who has a long history of anti-Muslim posts under the screen-name 'puppyred', said on Wednesday that he had changed his mind on Islam after he read Quranic passages on tolerance and acceptance.
"Throughout more than 2 years, I genuinely believed that all Muslims were against western civilization. That they were all following an inherently violent ideology," the user posted in the /r/Islam Reddit community.
"I genuinely thought that refugees were Islamic soldiers should've been all deported since they came only to rape white women and to kill infidels. I genuinely thought that all this was due to the Quran,"
The user explained that he recently had a change of heart after a Muslim Redditor sent him a post explaining the Islamic rulings on freedom of beliefs and the prohibition of compulsion in religion.
"The post ended up proving to me how I was making false assumptions. It showed how ignorant I was. I realized how deluded I was… how I was fueling hate for no real reason," he added, before making an apology.
Islamophobic hate crimes spiked in the US [Twitter]
The alt-right is a loosely defined right-wing part of the internet that is rabidly anti-Muslim, anti-immigration, anti-feminist, anti-political correctness and rails against the political establishment.
The offshoot conservative movement, which embraces a mixture of populism, racism and white nationalism, has vehemently supported US president-elect Donald Trump.
During his campaign, Trump proposed a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the US and raised the possibility of creating a database to track Muslims living in the country.
The response on Reddit to the ex-racist's apology has been overwhelmingly positive.
"I really commend your honesty and courage. No easy task, especially online. You've set a really nice example for all of us," said one user, "Apology accepted. Mistakes happen, internal reflection really does make a huge difference," said another.
Islamophobic hate crimes spiked in the US after the launch of Trump's fiery election campaign.
Nearly 900 incidents of hate and intolerance were recorded across the country in the first ten days after Trump's election, many by assailants apparently emboldened by his victory, an advocacy group reported last week.
That said, there were those in the online community who reserved judgment, given the user's very recent history of posting memes mocking liberal attitudes towards minority groups, and referring to "Muslim rapists" and "Adolfela Merkel" and her "beloved refugees".
User 'PostFunktionalist' posted: "im pretty sure this account just got its password guessed, people typically don't go from "posting alt-right memes" to "wow perhaps I was wrong about my identity" in 2 days."
Also arousing suspicion was the fact that the original poster, a frequent contributor to groups such as'sjwhate' and 'whiterights' did not reply to any of the dozens of comments commending their change of heart.Some car manufacturers are delaying their rollouts of CarPlay, the software platform from Apple that synchronizes iPhones to vehicle infotainment systems.
At the same time, auto makers are queuing up Google's Android Auto for mirroring Android-based phones to radio systems. Android Auto is expected to outpace CarPlay in manufacturer deployments, according to research firm IHS.
Apple's website proclaims that CarPlay will be available in "select new cars in 2014." But, to date, no car manufacturer has rolled out the software, according to Filomena Berardi, a senior analyst at ABI Research.
It appears that CarPlay rollouts have been delayed by three of five leading automakers that had been expected to integrate the middleware into 2015 models that will come out this year.
Some of the basic apps available on Apple's CarPlay user interface. (Image: Apple)
Mercedes-Benz confirmed that it is delaying its CarPlay rollout until next year. Volvo, according to 9to5Mac, indicated that it, too, is delaying its rollout until 2015.
Likewise, Honda had planned a 2014 rollout but is now expected to put that move off until 2015, according to IHS.
A Honda spokesman said the company has yet to make any specific announcement as to the timing of the rollout or which models will get CarPlay. "Until we make a more formal announcement, I can't speculate on it," he said.
IHS analyst Colin Bird said CarPlay and Android Auto are relatively simple middleware applications that shouldn't present much of a challenge for automakers to integrate. "For Volvo, part of it seems to be either a miscommunication or a delay of the product CarPlay's being deployed on, which is the XC90 SUV," Bird said, adding that the new vehicle model is now due out in 2015 in North America.
In an email reply to Computerworld, a Volvo spokesman said the company will announce all details about its CarPlay plans at the world premiere of the new Volvo XC90, which will take place on Tuesday.
Hyundai is one automaker that still plans a 2014 deployment of CarPlay and Android Auto.
Android Auto's music player. (Image: Google)
"Right now, they're performing the final validation work as we speak," said Hyundai spokesman Miles Johnson. "We're still planning to have it in the 2015 model year for sure."
CarPlay -- which Apple calls "iOS in the car" -- and Android Auto will enable similar uncomplicated user interfaces on a vehicle's infotainment system, also known as the radio head unit. With the middleware in place, basic iPhone and Android apps, such as phone, music and maps, will appear as icons in the infotainment touchscreen display.
Two dozen manufacturers plan to implement CarPlay and/or Android Auto in new vehicles. They include Chrysler, Fiat, Maserati, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar/Land Rover, Toyota, Nissan, Ferrari and Volvo.
According to IHS, Android Auto will outpace CarPlay in deployments through the year 2020.
Both Android Auto and CarPlay are expected to be deployed in at least 100,000 vehicles this year, according to Bird. However, over the next six years, Android Auto will see a 179% annual growth rate, while Apple's CarPlay will see a 165% annual growth rate.
In 2020, Android Auto will be deployed in 40 million cars versus 37 million for CarPlay, Bird said.
Open-source middleware platforms, such as MirrorLink, OAA and GENIVI will account for a much smaller share of the smartphone/infotainment system integration market, according to IHS.
Unlike CarPlay and Android Auto, which enable integration only with iOS and Android devices, open-source platforms such as MirrorLink can handle multiple platforms, including Windows Phone and BlackBerry.
"For MirrorLink, we only see 3 million in 2016," Bird said. "That's just because of the popularity of iOS and Android."
Android Auto's navigation interface. (Image: Google)
As is the case with native vehicle infotainment apps, CarPlay and Android Auto apps can be controlled by voice, through a car's built-in touchscreen or by controls mounted on the steering wheel.
The middleware is part of the head-unit or infotainment system that interfaces to the middleware in Android or iPhone smartphones.
While some companies are pushing the envelope to release their middleware this year, others -- such as Toyota -- are targeting a 2015 release.
"So it just seems like part of it is different strategies... or just simple product delays," Bird said.As Mitt Romney’s refusal to release further tax returns becomes a central issue in the presidential race, a related question first raised in January remains stubbornly unanswered: How did Romney build such a massive individual retirement account?
The size of the GOP presidential candidate's IRA is "very unusual," said Rebecca Wilkins, senior counsel for federal tax policy at the nonprofit advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice. "The Romney campaign has not been that forthcoming."
According to Romney’s disclosure documents, the candidate has between $20.7 million and $101.6 million parked tax-free in his IRA -- a significant proportion of his total wealth, as noted by Mark Maremont in the Wall Street Journal.
It’s a whopping sum by most standards; according to the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute, the average IRA held $67,438 in 2010.
Since that figure was first reported, questions about Romney's IRA have continued to dog his campaign; a recent column by William Cohan in Bloomberg View and a thorough investigation of Romney's finances in Vanity Fair both cast a skeptical eye on the account.
There are limits to the amount of money individuals can contribute to their IRAs. Before Romney was elected Massachusetts governor, federal law capped annual pre-tax IRA contributions at $2,000 and annual 401(k) retirement contributions at $30,000 with a company match as the Journal notes. Cohan reported that Bain used what’s known as a SEP-IRA during Romney's time as head of Bain, which has a slightly higher yearly maximum contribution of $30,000.
Given these contribution limits, experts are scratching their heads about the rapid growth of the account in the decade since Romney officially left the private equity firm Bain Capital.
“It’s extremely unusual,” said George Yin, a professor of law and taxation at the University of Virginia and former chief of staff of the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation. “The IRA, since its inception, has had very clear limits on the amount that can be contributed each year. And it's way less than $100 million.”
The Romney campaign has offered little explanation; Andrea Saul, a Romney campaign spokesperson, did not respond to a request seeking comment for this story. In the Journal report, a Romney aide said the IRA accumulated 'through annual contributions, rollovers of sums in other retirement plans, and successful investments."
But there are a few specific theories that attempt to explain the account's growth.
The first is that Romney acquired stock from his Bain investments -- specifically high-risk, high-reward shares that had a low initial value (and thus didn’t violate the contribution limits) but paid off when the companies became more profitable. If he filled his IRA with these stocks, that could account for some of the exponential growth, as Cohan notes.
“Even though the contribution limits are small, if the stock growth is tremendous, you could possibly get up to something close to [$100 million],” said Yin, adding “though it still seems amazing to me.”
If that's the explanation, than Romney’s partners at Bain would likely have seen similar returns, and might even have similar amounts in their IRAs. “Why aren’t all the Bain partners coming forward and saying ‘yeah, we all have 100 million IRA’s too?” Cohan asked in an interview with The Huffington Post.
Another possible explanation, noted by Felix Salmon in a recent Reuters blog post, is that the growth is not from shares in Bain investments Romney shoved into his IRA, but rather shares in the private equity firm itself of which Romney was the sole shareholder until he left in 2002.
A sophisticated but legal method of shielding income from taxes, which involves investing an IRA in what is known as “blocker corporations,” as pointed out in Vanity Fair, may also have played a role.
By law, most investment income that flows into an IRA is tax-free with the notable exception of income that comes from running a business, said Ed Slott of Ed Slott and Co., a tax expert who specializes in IRAs. That income is subject to a special tax known as the Unrelated Business Income Tax.
But one way to avoid that tax is to set up a blocker corporation, an intermediary company that on paper own the companies. That allows income received from the investments to be counted as an investment dividend and thus avoids taxes.
“It’s an extraordinary maneuver,” said Slott.
If Romney's IRA does indeed use blocker corporations, it means “he created this buffer, this intermediary entity to turn what would be taxable income into tax-deferred income in the IRA,” Slott said. "That’s not what most people [are able to] do.”
There’s another big question that leaves experts scratching their heads: Why does Romney have all that money in a retirement account to begin with?
While IRAs are tax exempt now, by law Romney must begin withdrawing cash by age 70 and a half. When he does, “the withdrawal receives no special tax breaks. It is subject to ordinary income tax rates, which right now are as high as 35 percent,” said Slott.
“I think it is unusual to earn these profits in IRA accounts,” for precisely this reason, said Richard Bronstein, a tax lawyer at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. “It’s more common to earn this in taxable accounts, because capital gains rates are not really high.”
It the money came from his income as a private equity chief, it would be taxed at the current carried interest rate of 15 percent, rather than the income rate of up to 35 percent.
What’s more, said Bronstein, “if he has $100 million in his IRA, it’s not very accessible. You accumulate a fortune in a tax-exempt account, but you can’t use it to buy a boat or an elevator for your car.”
So far, Romney has said little publicly about his retirement account, leaving experts and the public with little information beyond speculation. “Nobody really knows what the explanation is,” said Sl |
check out his website (where I notice he’s offering some specials during March.) You can also reach him at (242) 365-4261 or info@abacoflyfish.com.
SaveAbout 1,200 people were killed by police officers in the U.S. in the 12 months that ended in May, according to a federal report released Thursday. That number is much larger than government counts of police killings for earlier years — and is much more in line with private estimates.
Criminal justice researchers have long argued that official counts of police killings, which rely on voluntary reports from local police departments, are woefully incomplete. Over the past decade, about half a dozen efforts by activists, volunteers and media organizations have sprung up in response to widespread outrage about high-profile killings by police officers to try to fill the breach using information from media reports and other sources. Their annual death toll estimates since 2013 have generally ranged from 1,100 to 1,400, more than twice as high as the counts from official government sources.
Thursday’s report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics is effectively an acknowledgment that the amateurs were right. It used media reports to fill in the gaps in data provided by law-enforcement agencies and reached a figure similar to those from the private groups.
The corroboration by BJS of other outfits’ numbers “speaks to the power of some of what we’ve been collecting and what so many others have been collecting — that it’s really been able to approximate those numbers,” said Samuel Sinyangwe, who leads one of the volunteer efforts, Mapping Police Violence, and co-founded Campaign Zero, a group that promotes policy ideas that it says can reduce the number of people killed by police officers. Sinyangwe said the new estimate from BJS “sounds correct.” Mapping Police Violence lists 1,198 people killed by police during the period covered by the BJS report; the Guardian, which has been counting police killings since last year, lists 1,127.
Sinyangwe and other activists worry, however, that the government’s new efforts to collect better data on police killings won’t continue under Donald Trump and his nominee for attorney general, Jeff Sessions. If the Senate confirms Sessions, “I am skeptical about whether they will move forward with this,” Sinyangwe said. Spokespeople for Trump and Sessions didn’t return emails seeking comment.
The inadequacy of official statistics on police violence has drawn national attention since Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, killed Michael Brown, a black man, in August 2014. Brown’s death and other high-profile police killings raised the profile of the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked a nationwide debate over police violence. But without reliable data, researchers couldn’t answer even basic questions about who was killed by police or whether the number of such deaths was rising or falling. FBI Director James Comey — whose agency, like BJS, is part of the Justice Department — last year called the lack of good data “ridiculous.”
Now the government is trying to improve its data. Last year, BJS researchers found that the agency’s existing methods of counting arrest-related deaths — basically, asking police departments to report totals — were probably missing about half of all cases. (Some researchers think even more were being missed.) Thursday’s report builds on that research by trying to find the deaths that were missing from official counts, using several methods.
First, researchers used automated searches to identify media articles and webpages that might contain information on arrest-related deaths — including shootings and other intentional killings (which BJS classifies as homicides), as well as suicides, accidents and deaths by natural cause. They then sorted those reports manually to find the ones to investigate further. Researchers also took advantage of the BJS’s existing contacts with the 18,000 local law-enforcement agencies around the country to go further than the nongovernmental efforts can. They contacted local law-enforcement agencies and medical examiners or coroners involved with deaths over a three-month period to confirm that the deaths happened and determine whether they should be counted; agencies and the researchers sometimes disagreed. (For example, some agencies resisted counting suicides or accidents that killed someone being pursued by police officers.)
The researchers also asked local agencies whether there had been any deaths that weren’t reflected in media accounts. That allowed them to estimate how many deaths their media-based counts were missing — information that BJS then applied to a full year of data to arrive at its annual death-toll estimate of 1,900, including 1,200 homicides. Deaths by suicide, accident and natural causes were more likely than homicides to get no media coverage.
“This hybrid approach was shown to, we think, really do a great job improving our coverage,” said Michael Planty, who co-wrote the report, is a deputy director at BJS and has been working for five years on measurement of arrest-related deaths. (The BJS counts deaths after arrests separately. In other reports released Thursday that were based on analyses that didn’t use new techniques, BJS reported that in 2014, 1,053 people died in local jails and 3,927 died in state and federal prisons — both figures higher than a year earlier.)
Using media accounts to supplement official reports has become a common research tactic in the grim accounting of terrorism, school shootings and police misconduct. Since 2009, the BJS has used what Planty called an “ad hoc” process of analyzing media accounts to improve its collection of police killings by identifying cases that agencies weren’t proactively reporting.
Speed-reading death reports and turning them into data is difficult and psychologically taxing work. The BJS contracted with RTI International, a nonprofit research organization based in North Carolina, to conduct much of the research. Between June and August 2015, a dozen RTI researchers read through and logged roughly 150,000 media reports that potentially contained information about a death. To try to reduce strain, “we limited folks to no more than 30 percent of their time a week,” said Duren Banks, a senior research criminologist at RTI and co-author of the new report. “It takes a little bit of a thick skin to read about this for hours on end.”
It also isn’t cheap. Even after researchers found ways to dramatically reduce the number of media articles that their algorithm flags, the work costs $40,000 a month, Planty said.
It’s not clear how the Justice Department will collect police-killings data in the future. The department hasn’t committed to adopting the methods described in the new report for its official statistics. (On Thursday afternoon, the department said it would release more information about its data-collection plans on Friday morning.) BJS has more work ahead of it, including reports planned for next year delving into the characteristics of people killed by police — other efforts have found that black Americans are killed at a rate much higher than their share of the population — and comparisons of its data with nongovernmental counts. The FBI is also mounting a parallel effort to get better data.
Activists worry that improving data on police killings, which has proceeded at a pace that many have found disappointing under President Obama, won’t be a priority in a Trump administration. This past summer, Trump blamed Black Lives Matter, without any evidence, for instigating killings of police officers, an issue he emphasized much more strongly in his campaign than killings by police officers. Planty, when asked whether he sensed that the change of administrations would affect BJS’s work in the area, said, “No.”
Even if BJS does proceed with more complete data collection, it won’t necessarily replace private estimates. Sinyangwe said he plans to continue his work regardless, because unlike BJS, which only aggregates deaths for statistical purposes, he and other independent counters provide details on individual deaths, allowing for more granular analysis.
D. Brian Burghart, who founded and runs another police killings database, Fatal Encounters, said the BJS effort was long overdue. He said he started his site because he “realized that the internet meant this information could no longer be hidden.” If the government improves the way it collects data, Burghart said, he would be happy to step aside after nearly five years.
“I want to be obsolete,” Burghart said. “This is the most boring, repetitive work that you can imagine. It’s horrible. I research violent deaths eight to 14 hours a day. So, yeah, it sucks. I’d be totally happy for [BJS] to do that.” He added, “I don’t know what’s taken them this long to get there, to be honest.”In this day and age, the public option seems long gone, but a group of 64 House Democrats have signed onto a letter calling for its revival. That such a group exists is not surprising in itself, but one of its members is: Rep. Scott Murphy (D-NY), a moderate Democrat from a traditionally conservative/moderate district in upstate New York, who came into Congress last year in a special election fraught with anti-AIG consternation and posed as a stimulus referendum.
Murphy actually voted against the House health care bill when it came up in November, though it wasn't because of the public option, according to a staffer: he liked parts of the bill, but felt it didn't do enough to reduce costs.
The new letter poses creating the public option though reconciliation (which only requires a simple majority) in the Senate as a trade-off that would get House Democrats to pass the Senate bill. The public option, considered out of the realm of possibility for some time--largely because there aren't 60 senators who support it--has consistently polled better on its own than health care bills in Congress.
Here's what Murphy said, e-mailed by his office, about his signing onto the letter:
"Our nation's health care system is broken. To have real reform we need to ensure three things; accessibility, accountability, and affordability. I support this letter because the public option would help achieve all three of these goals and help to keep costs down by giving the American public a competitive option to private insurers."
UPDATE: The letter, being led by Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME), now has 74 signers.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.GARDAÍ HAVE THIS evening released a statement urging anyone with evidence of wrongdoing within the force to come forward with the information.
The report into Mandatory Alcohol Testing (MAT), which was published earlier this month, found a discrepancy of over 1.4 million between the number of tests counted on the garda PULSE system and the number actually registered by the force’s Dräger breathalyser devices.
Earlier today, RTÉ interviewed a woman who claimed that she had witnessed a garda blowing into one of the alcometers in an attempt to seemingly falsify the figures.
Speaking on This Week show, she said: “The garda in question was sitting at a desk. I noticed the garda had an alcometer in his hand and was blowing full force into the alcometer. I also noticed that he had a bundle of tubes in the other hand and a blank form in front of him. And I straight away questioned him as to what he was doing.”
This evening, gardaí issued a statement calling for those with evidence to come forward and hand it over to Assistant Commissioner Michael O’Sullivan and the Policing Authority.
It read: “An Garda Síochána is determined to ensure that all the issues raised in relation to breath-tests are thoroughly addressed so they can’t happen again.
As part of this process, An Garda Síochána would once again urge anyone in the organisation – members and civilians – with information relating to breath tests issues or evidence of wrongdoing within An Garda Síochána to bring it forward to Assistant Commissioner O’Sullivan and the Policing Authority who are conducting their own examination into the breath-test issue. This follows comments by some Garda personnel to the media in recent days on such issues.
On Thursday, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) questioned why management required data on the number of negative breath tests at a time when resources were “scarce or diminishing”.
“This data was utilised as a crude measure of productivity – and fed into a culture of competition among senior ranks to improve their promotion chances,” the statement said.
The association went on to say that no one can “categorically say that it was our members falsifying data” and claimed it has numerous examples of supervisors and managers having input into the system.There is no great Pythagorean Theorem to drafting well. There is game tape, there are statistical measurables, and there are gut feelings. That’s more or less the holy trinity of draft prep, and it’s hardly a sure thing. You can hit on all three and miss badly, or connect on none and find a future starter.
To boot, each draft is its own breathing organism, wholly set apart from the one before it. Some years the pool is stocked to the gills with goalkeepers requiring hefty sifting. At others, scouting departments are forced to shift to deep wells of forwards, or wide midfielders. In many ways it’s a reactive game of meeting the frayed ends of need and availability.
And so we are met with the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, now just days away on Jan. 13 in Los Angeles. And without a consensus No. 1 (at least in my mind), this one should be of particular interest.
For teams looking to pair up need with draft strength, I’ve compiled my top five players at each position as the draft lumbers into view. Keep in mind I’m also doing a hefty bit of projection, so I’m attempting to match what I’ve seen from each player with how I expect them to grow in the coming years. That said, it’s as inexact as science gets. One of the true beauties of soccer is its willful defiance of our advancing statistical knowledge.
And yet the show must go on.
Goalkeeper
1. Alec Ferrell, Wake Forest: Hands down the most consistent keeper in college soccer in 2016, Ferrell has all the tools for a lengthy MLS career. If he can stay healthy, he’s an immediate backup option in an otherwise weak keeper draft.
2. Eric Klenofsky, Monmouth: Mid-major Monmouth had one of the better defenses in the nation in 2016, and Klenofsy’s routine acrobatics were at its molten core. Nobody here has his flair for the dramatic reaction save.
3. Robert Moewes, Duke (above): If teams are chasing a sturdy stand-up keeper, Moewes is the play. Not the most mobile but great against the run of play and one-on-ones. Could use more polish on aerials.
4. Jake McGuire, Tulsa: Has a prototypical 'keeper’s build at 6-foot-3, 180 pounds with a frame to pack on more muscle. Can get down and dig out balls well and moves surprisingly well for his size.
5. Stefan Cleveland, Louisville: Don’t doubt Louisville coach Ken Lolla’s bona fides in building up pros. Cleveland was outstanding for the Cardinals in 2016 and is maybe the best distribution 'keeper in the field.
Left back
1. Matej Dekovic, Charlotte (above): This isn’t a strong left back field (what’s new), but Dekovic is about as good as it gets here. Left-footed with lethal set piece delivery, the former 49er is no stranger to the overlap.
2. Suliman Dainkeh, Maryland: The talented Maryland defender might’ve started as a center back, but his shift to the left showed major promise. Fleet of foot enough to cause problems at the next level.
3. Iman Mafi, Clemson: A true sleeper. Mafi’s minutes were limited his senior year, but he’s a tornado on the sideline and is faster than anyone here. Questions about his passing persist, but he's good for a late-round flier.
4. Kwame Awuah, Connecticut: The book on Awuah is central defensive mid, but a shift to left back remains intriguing. He has the build and athleticism to put down a marker out wide.
5. Billy McConnell, Indiana: McConnell might’ve spend the majority of his time at Indiana at right back, but his versatility is a major plus. Can play on both ends, and even moonlight in the middle if needed.
Right back
1. Reagan Dunk, Denver (above): Anyone who watched Dunk break out in the 2016 College Cup knew then he’d be in the MLS SuperDraft discussion inside the top 10 or 15. The best pound-for-pound fullback in the draft and an all-around talent.
2. Chris Odoi-Atsem, Maryland: Another converted center back, Odoi-Atsem actually did play a fair bit of right back at Maryland. He’s set up to succeed there from the jump with his savvy soccer smarts and athleticism.
3. Aaron Jones, Clemson: Clemson likes to run its fullbacks high, and Jones was the beneficiary of that pro-level tactical nous. He’s also steady on ball and was one of the ACC’s most strident defenders in 2016.
4. Colton Storm, North Carolina: Storm is a highly rated prospect, but he played center back in college. His size (5-foot-10, 166 pounds) almost certainly necessitates a move outside. And he has the speed and agility to cope.
5. Michael DeGraffenriedt, Louisville: With the plethora of center back prospects, it would behoove DeGraffenriedt to bump outside. He has the passing ability and speed (and lack of size) to make it work.
Center back
1. Miles Robinson, Syracuse (above): There are a ton of good center backs in this draft, so it should doubly impress that Robinson is the no-doubt No. 1. The Generation adidas prospect has every tool to become a contributor for years.
2. Brandon Aubrey, Notre Dame: If Robinson is the best overall center back, Aubrey is the best senior. He won’t win a ton of foot races, but he’s so smart with his positioning he almost never needs to, either.
3. Francis de Vries, Saint Francis: Don’t let the small school affiliation fool you. The New Zealander is a stridently mobile center back with one of the most lethal set piece deliveries in the entire draft pool. Pass at your own risk.
4. Walker Hume, North Carolina: To look at Hume’s lumbering 6-foot-5 frame, you’d expect him to be a Tree Ent. He isn’t. Hume moves surprisingly well for a big man, and he’s unmatched in this draft on aerial balls.
5. Austin Ledbetter, SIUE: Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the former home of Matt Polster and Justin Bilyeu could produce another pass-versed center back. And here Ledbetter is, quietly edging onto the scene in the same way.
Central midfielder
1. Jackson Yueill, UCLA (above): Bar none the smoothest operator in the draft field, regardless of position. Yueill slithers through the lines like a boa constrictor, and his final ball is just as deadly. Need a creator? Yueill is your man.
2. Shamit Shome, FC Edmonton: If Shome was a sleeper before he signed his Canadian GA deal, he isn’t anymore. A possession-minded central midfielder, Shome is a perfect connector for a midfield looking for a conduit between lines.
3. Christian Thierjung, California: This might be the unsung midfielder of the draft. Cal was quiet nationally, which obscured another productive year for Thierjung, who can play as a box-to-box No. 8 or even flex out wide.
4. Julian Gressel, Providence: MLS front offices are often looking for versatility here, and Gressel provides it in spades. He filled in at forward this year, but he’s also a pass-first all-around mid with an eye for the build.
5. Tanner Thompson, Indiana: Steady, reliable, razor-sharp. Thompson doesn’t have the tricks his brother does (San Jose’s Tommy), but he’s better on possession, dogged in defense and projects as one of those typically reliable if unremarkable central mids.
Wide midfielder
1. Jacori Hayes, Wake Forest (above): There’s some conjecture about where Hayes fits best, and he actually played some defensive mid at this week’s combine. But it’d be wise to use the skittering 5-foot-7 technician as a collapsing wide player.
2. Zeiko Lewis, Boston College: As far as in-pinching wingers, they don’t come any better off the dribble here than Lewis. A dervish in space, Lewis is a nightmare to mark in open territory and has a keen eye for goal.
3. Chris Nanco, Syracuse: This is a surprisingly deep field in 2017, and Nanco embodies that best. Played mostly at forward in college, but projects well as a raiding winger in MLS. His speed and ability are unteachable assets.
4. Daniel Johnson, Louisville: Maybe not the flashiest option here, but Johnson showed well in college as an inverted winger on the left. For teams looking for IQ over flash and dazzle, this is a safe option later in the draft.
5. Napo Matsoso, Kentucky: Calling all souped-up speed attacks: Matsoso is your dude. At 5-foot-6 it’ll take some faith, but he finished with 20 assists in four years and probably projects as a bottle-rocket pinching midfielder for a team that plays at speed.
Forward
1. Abu Danladi, UCLA (above): No Ebobisse? Hear me out. I’ve beat the drum for Danladi’s higher upside for months, and while injury concerns persist, he’s still the most out-and-out talented forward on the board.
2. Jeremy Ebobisse, Duke: Athletic, surprisingly good in the air and comfortable with the ball at his feet. What’s not to like? There’s only one player I rate above Ebobisse in the entire draft pool, and he happens to share his position.
3. Brian Wright, Vermont: A galloping forward who manages to always find himself in the right place at the right time always has a crack at a pro career. Wright is a bull moose in the box and has the wheels to get into position.
4. David Goldsmith, Butler: Perhaps the biggest forward sleeper in the draft (at least before the Combine). Goldsmith isn’t the fastest player available, but he’s killer shadowing into the box on back shoulders.
5. Nick DePuy, UC Santa Barbara: If anyone has need of a stand-up No. 9 who’s comfortable bodying off defenders with his back to goal, DePuy should get some looks. Not always the cleanest with the ball at his feet, but he's lethal with good service.Michael Nadli was convicted of spousal abuse, served just eight days of his 45-day sentence, and was re-elected in the Northwest Territories' recent election. Photo via Facebook/Michael Nadli
It was a night of upheaval in Canada's great white north as voters across the Northwest Territories rejected the status quo by turfing an unprecedented number of incumbents in the 2015 territorial election.
Pundits who were betting heavily on the reelection of members who had served up to five terms were shocked after the final polls revealed that just seven out of a possible 19 MLAs will be returning to Yellowknife's legislative assembly.
At a time when the territory's economy is struggling and the prohibitively high cost of living is driving residents to move south, the list of casualties included the territory's finance minister, Michael Miltenberger, who had served five consecutive terms as an MLA, as well as its Industry, Tourism, and Investment Minister David Ramsay, who also served as justice minister.
Voters also chose not to reelect the speaker of the house, who was recently outed by a local media outlet for having his government credit card revoked after he racked up thousands of dollars' worth of unauthorized personal expenses.
Also booted out were two Yellowknife MLAs who pushed the boundaries of the Elections Act in an attempt to secure reelection.
But in an election which seemed to ride the crest of Justin Trudeau's wave of change at the federal level, the territory's smallest riding ended up maintaining the status quo by turning a blind eye to the glaring problem of domestic violence in Canada's north. The Deh Cho, a region with a population of about 1,300 people in the southwest of the territory, voted for an incumbent that was in jail for assaulting his wife less than a month before polls opened.
"That's the one that's pissing everyone off," Nancy MacNeil, a youth and women's outreach worker who works extensively with victim services and foster families, told VICE. "I wish I was shocked but I think that's very representative of the attitude that the Northwest Territories has towards domestic violence and inter-partner violence."
Read more: Inside Canada's Arctic Prison
Michael Nadli was re-elected to his Deh Cho riding after pleading guilty to breaking his wife's arm during a dispute in his hometown of Fort Providence last April. Nadli ended up being sentenced to 45 days on October 15 and was subsequently suspended from the legislative assembly. He should have been ineligible to run in the election, but he only ended up serving eight days of his sentence after he requested an early release.
"For corrections to let him go like that, that's just wrong," Alisa Praamsma, executive director of the Native Women's Association of the NWT, said. She pointed out that the NWT currently has rates of domestic violence in that are nine times higher than the rest of Canada.
"How on earth with that kind of charge can somebody run? What message does that send to victims of violence?"
Nadli did not respond to requests for comment.
When asked why Nadli was released early, Sue Glowach, senior communications advisor for the department of justice, said she was prohibited from speaking to specific cases for individuals.
However, she explained that under the NWT's corrections service regulations a person is eligible for a temporary absence/early release program after serving 1/6 of their sentence.
"Through the program the sentence doesn't end. Instead it is served in the community instead of a facility," she wrote in an email to VICE, adding that there are always conditions attached to early releases.
This was the second time Nadli was convicted of domestic abuse having been sentenced to six months probation for assaulting his wife in 2004, seven years before he first took office. While Deh Cho's 60 percent turnout was higher than the 44 percent average for the territory, and the race was tight—Nadli won by just 18 votes in a field of four candidates—MacNeil still said the fact he won sends a disparaging message to the territory.
"There's a hell of a lot talk about how we need to support victims of violence or people who are in violent relationships and want to change but when it comes right down to it, we don't seem to be willing to do anything to actually enforce that change," she told VICE.
"It's embarrassing but it's not only embarrassing, it's reinforcing."
An ice highway in NWT. Photo via Flickr user Ian Mackenzie
The fact that Nadli was re-elected points not just to the territory's complacency toward domestic violence, but also to the strange ways in which consensus government works, especially in a territory that only has a population of just over 40,000 people.
Unlike elected members of Canada's ten provincial governments and the Yukon, MLAs in the NWT and Nunavut and are voted in as independent candidates with no affiliation to a political party. As the federal election showed, parties were dropping candidates for anything from making prank calls to peeing in a cup.
If he had to plead his case with party apparatchiks, Nadli would have almost certainly been given his marching orders before he was able to submit his papers. Without that filter and with ridings having as few as 777 registered voters and no more than 2,492, candidates are often voted in on the basis of name recognition and family ties as much as their platforms.
"A lot of it has to do with families and traditional historical supporters," explained former premier Joe Handley during a CBC panel. "In Fort Providence a lot of people know Michael Nadli and they say let's give him another chance."
Trying to decipher the new government's stance on family violence could take a while. One of the more bizarre features of consensus government in the NWT is the fact that even though the last ballot has been counted, it will still be a few more weeks until a premier is chosen. That is because instead of being elected by the people, the premier is chosen in a unique process in which MLAs who are interested in the job put their name forward. Members then discuss the merits of each candidate before agreeing on a premier, who then chooses a cabinet of six ministers.
A waterfall near Fort Simpson, NWT. Photo via Flickr user Fort Simpson Chamber of Commerce
Dismay over the fact that the public has no say in who gets to be premier generated a lot of discussion in the lead up to the election with some people floating the idea that the position should be voted on independently by the public. While he admits the system isn't perfect, Handley said the government should focus on cost of living and the lagging economy.
"Really what we're doing is talking about moving deck chairs around while the ship is sinking," said Handley.
With so many fresh faces in the assembly and lots of experience out the door it will be curious to see who will take the lead in tackling the government's struggling economy. Even more intriguing will be who gets appointed to be the Status of Women Minister.
The last legislative assembly didn't have a single female member of cabinet, despite two female MLAs being elected. This time around there are two new women in office – Julie Green, who is a prominent LGBTQ activist and Caroline Cochrane-Johnson, who formerly served as the chief executive for the Centre for Northern Families. Without a premier having been selected, either Green or Cochrane-Johnson could send a message to the old boy's club by putting their names forward to run the government. Barring that, Praamsma suggested the next premier would be wise to choose either candidate as the Status of Women Minister.
"That would be a very good thing for women, victims of crime and native women in particular," said Praamsma.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Nadli, waiting to see if he tries to sweep his past under the rug or uses it to being a much needed process of healing for himself and the territory.
"People clearly believe him and we have to trust that there is a reason for that," MacNeil said. "He has a huge opportunity to become a leader and to become a role model and if he chooses to do so it will be a really impressive statement on a political level, on a personal level, and a human level."
Follow Cody Punter on Twitter.The whole world’s watching. Growing millions know. Israel’s a rogue terror state. It’s amoral, brutish, and ruthless. Arabs are murdered for not being Jews.
Gazans suffer most of all. Israel’s been terror-bombing them daily. Civilians are maliciously targeted.
Growing numbers are killed. Official totals way understate the toll. Many others are injured. Children are traumatized. Parents are frantic. How much more of this can people take?
Gazans dig through rubble for survivors. Others bury their dead. The mainstream media assault truth. They run cover for Israel’s worst crimes. Imagine supporting mass murder. Doing so makes them complicit.
A scurrilous New York Times editorial headlined “Hamas’s Illegitimacy,” saying:
“Hamas, which took control of Gaza in 2007 and is backed by Iran, is so consumed with hatred for Israel that it has repeatedly resorted to violence, no matter the cost to its own people.”
Fact check
Vicious lies like this demand condemnation. Setting the record straight is vital. Hamas is Palestine’s legitimate government.
In January 2006, Palestinians elected their officials overwhelmingly. Israel and Washington imposed a West Bank coup d’etat regime. It’s illegitimate. It’s also pro-Israeli.
Conflict followed. Hamas was wrongly blamed. Abbas serves illegitimately as president. Israel rigged his election. His term expired in January 2009.
He won’t step down or hold new elections. He’s a longtime Israeli collaborator. He sold out at Oslo. He spurns his own people. He replicates Quisling harshness. He’s an embarrassment to legitimate governance.
Hamas supports all Palestinians. It spurns violence. It responds defensively when attacked. It’s their right and obligation under international law. All governments bear full responsibility to protect their people.
So-called Gaza “militants” are freedom fighters. They heroically resist Israeli terror. Their souls aren’t for sale.
Times editors suppress truth and full disclosure. They support wealth, power and privilege. They defend wrong over right. They cheerlead imperial war.
They shame themselves in the process. They also betray their readers. Other mainstream media do the same thing.
Israeli crimes of war and against humanity are called self-defense.
Legitimate self-defense is called terrorism.
Israel planned Operation Pillar of Cloud months ago. All major military campaigns require detailed planning. Multiple provocations initiated conflict.
Israel deplores peace and stability. It lives by the sword. It’s a modern-day Sparta. It threatens the region and humanity. It’s leaders are war criminals.
They bear full responsibility for ongoing violence. All Gazans are victims. They’re not terrorists. Don’t expect Times editors to explain.
Zionist ideology is root cause for decades of conflict and violence. Palestine’s Nakba never ended. State terror is official Israeli policy.
Daily Palestinian life includes persecution, home demolitions, dispossessions, land theft, targeted assassinations, mass arrests, incarceration, torture, denial of virtually all rights, living in fear for what’s next, and suffering more when Israel wages war.
The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the longest unresolved one of our time. Nothing approaches it. It festers because of US/EU complicity. Western nations support Israel’s worst crimes. Palestinians struggle to survive against long odds.
Zionist ideology bears full responsibility. It’s corrosive, destructive, racist, extremist, undemocratic and hateful.
It claims Jewish supremacy, specialness and uniqueness as God’s “chosen people.”
It espouses violence. It deplores peaceful coexistence. It chooses confrontation over diplomacy. It believes in strength through militarism, intimidation, and naked aggression.
It’s repugnant, indefensible, destructive and malignant. It harms Jews and non-Jews alike. It’s the root cause of anti-Semitism. It’s a monster. It’s consuming its host and humanity.
Besieged Gazans are suffocated and murdered. Historian Ilan Pappe accused Israel of slow-motion genocide. So did Law Professor Francis Boyle, saying:
“What we’re seeing in Gaza now, is pretty much slow-motion genocide against the (1.7) million Palestinians who live in Gaza.”
“If you read the 1948 Genocide Convention, it clearly says that one instance of genocide is the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of a people in whole or in part.”
“And that’s exactly what has been done to Gaza, since the imposition of the blockade by Israel; then the massacre of 1,400 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were civilians, in Operation Cast Lead.”
“And that also raises the element in the Genocide Convention.”
In 1923, revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ve Jabotinsky said Jews had no choice. Arabs must make way for them. Tolerating and/or partnering with them is out of the question.
Eretz Israel belongs solely to Jews. Dispossess and disperse Palestinians. Remove them entirely. Reinvent them as nomadic savages.
Erect “an iron wall of (superior) Jewish military force.” Use it to dictate future events. Discourage Arab hope of prevailing.
Other likeminded Zionists advocated ethnic cleansing or extermination. Not one Arab village should remain. Remove their people by terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, dispossession, and mass murder.
Former IDF Chief of Staff Raphael Eitan (1978 – 1983) said:
“We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimeter of Eretz Israel.”
“Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours.”
In 1937, future Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion said:
“We must expel the Arabs and take their place and if we have to use force, to guarantee our own right to settle in those places – then we have force at our disposal.”
Zionist founder Theodore Herzl said Palestine is “our unforgettable historic homeland.” He called for establishing it by dispossessing indigenous Palestinians and replacing them with Jews.
In his book “Overcoming Zionism,” Joel Kovel wrote:
Zionism seeks “the restoration of tribalism in the guise of a modern, highly militarized and aggressive state.”
“(It) cut Jews off from (their) history and led to a fateful identity of interests with antisemitism (becoming) the only thing that united them.”
“(It) fell into the ways of imperialist expansion and militarism, and showed signs of the fascist malignancy.”
If you accept “the idea of a Jewish state,” you mix its twin notions of “particularism (and) exceptionalism.”
They’re “the actual bane of Judaism.” They give “racism an objective, enduring, institutionalized and obdurate character.”
Zionism turned Israel “into a machine for the manufacture of human rights abuses.”
Israel was born in blood. Mass extermination and ethnic cleansing established the Jewish state. At issue always was replacing Palestinians with Jews.
Hard-line militancy used violence to displace Arabs, gain power, keep it, and rule by strength, confrontation, intimidation, and violence.
Longstanding policies continue. State terror, naked aggression, and institutionalized violence are called self-defense. Civilians are legitimate targets. Freedom fighters are called terrorists. Rule of law principles don’t apply. Democratic values are mocked.
Israel claims the right to reign terror with impunity. It gets away with murder because world leaders condone and support it. Weapons and other aid are provided. So is diplomatic cover.
Peace process hypocrisy was stillborn from inception. Judaization through land confiscation, displacement, and settlements reflect official policy.
Arabs must be displaced and forcibly driven from all parts of Judea and Sumaria Israel wants. Jerusalem is claimed as Israel’s exclusive capital.
Palestinians are seen as existential threats. Israeli Arabs are called fifth-column ones. Conflict is a way of life. Institutionalized violence, racism, and repression define official policies.
Final solution plans call for dispossession and slow-motion genocide. Judaization and de-Arabization |
during the crucial early years, said later in his memoirs:
The US wished things to turn out as they did in East Timor and worked to bring this about. The Department of State desired that the UN prove utterly ineffective in whatever measures it undertook. This task was given to me and I carried it out with no inconsiderable success [TAPOL91].
Mr. Moynihan must be very proud of his handiwork.
3 --- American Awareness of the Massacre
Information about the massacre was certainly available to anyone who was interested. On February 15, 1976, the _New York Times_ reported that 60,000 people had been killed since the invasion [ChomskyHerman79].
On April 1, 1977, the _Melbourne Age_ quoted Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik, as saying:
50,000 people or perhaps 80,000 might have been killed during the war in Timor, but we saved 600,000 of them [ChomskyHerman79].
In March, 1977, Congressional hearings were held on ``allegations of genocide committed by the Indonesian forces against the population of East Timor.'' The best informed person to testify was James Dunn. He had been the Australian consul to East Timor between 1962 and 1964 and had led an aid mission in October and November of 1975. He reported:
According to accounts from Timorese refugees in Portugal..., information from Chinese refugees in Taiwan and Australia, and reports from within Indonesia itself, the move to annex this territory has been a brutal operation, marked by the wanton slaughter of possibly between 50,000 and 100,000 Timorese [ChomskyHerman79].
In his final statement, Chairman Donald Fraser observed:
U.S. arms were used in all that and continue to be used today. There is a degree of complicity here by the U.S. that I really find to be quite disturbing [ChomskyHerman79].
Of course, this was not sufficiently disturbing to actually stop the flow of arms.
4 --- American Military Assistance
The invading Indonesian army was 90% supplied with U.S. arms. Afterward, U.S. government representatives claimed that the United States had imposed a six-month arms ban in response to the invasion. They were lying.
As the U.S. Congress was told in its February, 1978, hearings, at least four separate offers of military equipment were made to the Indonesian government during the January-June 1976 ``administrative suspension''. This equipment consisted mainly of supplies and parts for OV-10 Broncos. These were planes specially designed for counterinsurgency operations against forces without effective anti-aircraft weapons. They were totally useless for defending Indonesia from a foreign enemy. The U.S. government, in fact, never informed Indonesia that it had ``suspended'' military aid [ChomskyHerman79].
No constraints were placed on the use of this equipment. Administration witness David Kenney stated in congressional hearings that ``as long as we are giving military assistance of any sort to Indonesia we are not telling where they will or will not use it. We have not done so far'' [Chomsky82]. From 1975 through 1979, the United States furnished over 250 million dollars of military assistance to Indonesia, mostly after the Carter Administration accelerated the arms flow [Sidel81; Chomsky82].
By late 1977, Indonesia was running out of military supplies. The Carter Administration increased the flow of military equipment. According to Ann Crittenden, writing in July 1977, ``the Carter Administration has requested a sizable increase in military assistance to Indonesia in the 1978 fiscal year'' [_New York Times_, July 17, 1977; ChomskyHerman79].
Vice President Mondale visited Jakarta in May 1977 to discuss ``Indonesia's requests for additional military and economic assistance.'' While there he discovered that the A-4 ground-attack bombers requested by Indonesia
... were indeed important to the Indonesians... Some hurried phone calls back to Washington and a few hours later, the Vice President was given the discretionary authority to grant the plane request if he felt adequate progress could be obtained on human rights. More talks with the Indonesians convinced him that this was the case. Shortly before he left, he announced the plane sale [New York Times, May 14, 1978; ChomskyHerman79].
On October 8, 1977, the _Australian_ reported that ``30,000 Indonesian troops are still roaming East Timor slaying men, women and children in an attempt to end the persistent but hopeless liberation war'' [ChomskyHerman79].
It should be noted that other Western nations, including Britain and France, also took advantage of Indonesia's increased demand for military supplies caused by its massacre in East Timor. These nations shipped arms to Indonesia during the massacre, albeit in much smaller quantities than the U.S.
5 --- The Massacre: 1977-1979
In the last months of 1977, Indonesia intensified its assault. This was made possible by the thoughtful American assistance.
After the invasion in December 1975, armed resistance prevented the Indonesian armed forces from gaining control over the country until 1979. Indonesia's campaign of encirclement and annihilation (1977-1979) achieved its goal due to substantial supplies from the US in 1976 and 1977 of OV10-Broncos, Lockheed C-130 transport planes, 45 Cadillac Cage V-150 commando armoured vehicles equipped with machine-guns, mortar and cannon launchers and a huge quantity of rifles, machine-gun, pistols and communications equipment. This enabled the invaders to devastate areas where the armed resistance and most of the population were holding out. There were huge casualties (an estimated 200,000 deaths in a population of 700,000), cause by heavy bombing and war-related famine and disease. This was followed by the enforced re-settlement of most surviving Timorese in strategic settlements under army control [TAPOL91].
Father Leoneto Vieira do Rego, a Portuguese priest who spent 3 years in the mountains of East Timor, before surrendering to Indonesia in January 1979, estimated that over 200,000 people had been killed during the first 4 years of the war [_Boston Globe_, January 20, 1980; Chomsky82]. He added that:
The second phase of the bombing was late 1977 to early 1979, with modern aircraft. This was the firebombing phase of the bombing. Even up to this time, people could still live. The genocide and starvation was the result of the full-scale incendiary bombing.
To the _Christian Science Monitor_ (Dec. 17, 1979), he said:
The Indonesians attacked relentlessly with infantry and with U.S.-supplied armed reconnaissance planes known as the OV-10 (Bronco) [Chomsky82].
FRETILIN charged that the U.S. did more than just provide material assistance. A _UPI_ report from Sydney (June 19, 1978) quoted a FRETILIN press release:
American military advisers and mercenaries fought alongside Indonesian soldiers against FRETILIN in two battles... In the meantime, American pilots are flying OV-10 Bronco aircraft for the Indonesian Air Force in bombing raids against the liberated areas under FRETILIN control [ChomskyHerman79].
... malnutrition and disease are still more widespread than in ravaged Cambodia, but the people of East Timor are slowly struggling back to life. Perhaps the most telling observation came from an official who had recently visited Cambodia. By the criteria of distended bellies, intestinal disease and brachial parameter... the East Timorese are in a worse state than the Khmers [Chomsky82].
6 --- The Massacre: 1980-today
Despite Indonesian repression, the Timorese never gave up:
By skilfully engaging in mobile guerrilla warfare, the resistance army, Falintil, has continued to fight, without any external material support. Army operations in 1981, 1983-1984, 1986-1987 and 1988 failed to defeat the guerrillas...
In October 1990, the Indonesian army launched a new offensive in an attempt to surround and capture Shanana [the Falintil leader]. Whereas previously, operations were focused on the eastern part of the country, the present offensive is centred on the districts of Ainaro and Same, southeast of Dili. As clashes and repression were reaching a new peak in Dili during October and November, troop reinforcements consisting of marines, aircraft, helicopters and para-commandos, were brought from the north and the south... Since November, in addition to the detention in Dili of many students who went into hiding following clashes in October, there have been waves of arrests in other districts east and south of Dili, including government officials and teachers in Liquica, suspected of being in contact with Falintil. Villagers in Suro and Suru Kraik, district of Ainaro, have been rounded up and tortured for celebrating the 15th anniversary of Falintil on 20 August... At the very time when the western powers launched all-out war against Kuwait's invader, the Indonesian invader was stepping up the war to crush armed and unarmed resistance in East Timor [TAPOL91].
remains concerned about a continuing pattern of serious violations described in its August 1990 statement, persistent reports of extrajudicial executions, the systematic use of torture against political detainees by members of the security forces, hundreds of unresolved cases of `disappearances' and the continuing imprisonment of at least 10 alleged supporters of Fretilin sentenced in trials which Amnesty International believes were not fair. Amnesty International is increasingly concerned about a pattern of short-term detention, ill-treatment and torture of alleged political opponents of Indonesian rule in East Timor which has gained additional momentum since August [TAPOL91].
On November of 1991, East Timor finally made it to the television screens of the West. The Indonesian government made the unfortunate error of performing one of their many slaughters in front of a video camera. Allan Nairn, an American reporter, was able to live to tell the tale:
Last Tuesday in the occupied nation of East Timor, I survived a massacre carried out with American arms. As a large, peaceful crowd stood outside a walled cemetery, the Indonesian army attacked them with M-16 rifles. Dozens upon dozens fell to the ground around me, as ranks of soldiers aimed and fired into the terrified, retreating people. It was a calculated mass murder, the latest of many in East Timor, where 200,000 people (a third of the population) have died from massacre and forced starvation since Indonesia invaded there in 1975... The marching had already ended and people were standing around when the army swept toward us from two directions. A troop truck full of helmeted men sealed off one escape route when a long, formed-up stream of soldiers brandishing their M-16s rounded the corner and opened fire upon the crowd. There was no provocation, no spontaneous flare-up, no threat to the soldiers or warning to disperse. The soldiers simply advanced upon the gasping Timorese and began firing in a coordinated way. The Timorese were paying the price for daring to engage in public speech. In the eyes of the Indonesian army, that is the crime of ``politik.'' That is the word the soldiers screamed as they kicked me in the back and gut and beat my head with swinging rifle butts. It is also what they shouted as they put both of us on the pavement and aimed their M-16s straight at our heads. The answer we shouted back -- and I think it is what saved us -- was the word ``America!'' We were citizens of the country that supplied those M-16s. Killing us might invite somewhat different results from killing the Timorese whom they were just at that moment executing just a few feet away from where we sat. For 16 years now, the mass killing of Timorese has simply been met by fresh renewals of U.S. military aid. After Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, Washington responded by doubling the weapons flow. Now, after the cemetery massacre, the people of East Timor are in especially urgent danger... The question before Washington is not whether it should restrain Indonesia, but whether it will continue to serve as a sponsor and knowing accomplice in what are unmistakably criminal acts. The United States should end all military aid and sales to Indonesia and, at the same time, let the U.N. enforce the law... Gunshot massacres with U.S. weapons by U.S. client states have happened many times in many places. But this is the first time that I am aware that the act was witnessed and survived by U.S. journalists. The lives of a great many gravely threatened Timorese now hang on how Americans will respond [Nairn91].
The U.S. administration defended its military aid to Indonesia Thursday, which has been threatened by Congress after protesters in East Timor were killed in a confrontation with the army. ``We think that a continued and well focused military assistance program for Indonesia can contribute to the professionalization of the Indonesian military,'' said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. A total of 2.3 million dollars has been budgeted for military aid for the 1991-1992 fiscal year, which began October 1. The money is only for training and education. ``These kinds of programs expose the trainee to democratic ideas and humanitarian standards,'' he said...
American help with the ``professionalization of the Indonesian military'' is certainly bringing dividends. According to the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign:
A reign of terror has eclipsed the occupied island. In particular the role of the hawkish Brig. General Theo Syafei, the new commander in Dili, shows how ``law and order'' is now being implemented in East Timor. Brig. General Theo Syafei has made it a matter of prestige and a personal crusade to maintain ``law and order'' in East Timor. Ever since becoming KOLAKOPS (the special operational command) commander, he has repeatedly made it clear that he will not pursue the soft approach of his predecessor. General Theo, an old Timor hand, has put the clock back to the late seventies and early eighties, when military rule was virtually absolute. The ``opening up'' of the last three years is now on the way out; every measure taken by General Theo reinforces this [TAPOL92].
Thus, as I have said, if something similar to the 12 November event were to happen under my leadership, the number of victims would probably be higher [TAPOL92].
The position and policy of ABRI [the Armed Forces] never change. Our mission is to bring stability in East Timor. In a technical sense our approaches are different. Pak Warouw had his love and caring approach. But as I see it, because of a different culture, his approach came to be seen as indecision. Some regard the soft approach as a weakness. I only want to stress the importance of restoring ABRI's credibility and to make sure that softness is by no means weakness. This is the position I want to put across. And indeed, this position has been accepted by many [TAPOL92].
Dili is dominated by fear, the streets devoid of activity throughout much of the day. On one recent morning, virtually everyone had a quick look about to see who else might be in the area before saying so much as good morning to a foreigner. At least 10,000 Indonesian troops remain in East Timor and Dili has the air of a city under siege. On a steamy morning earlier this month, 500 soldiers in 20 lorries stood in formation in a field in central Dili. All carried full packs and M16 assault rifles slung over their shoulders. Their commander addressed them loudly while he stood beneath a flagpole, the red-and-white of Indonesia lifted by a gentle breeze. Most East Timorese walking by did not even dare look. While none of the dozen or so soldiers at ease on the sides of the field cared to say where the men were going, several East Timorese said troops have been entering villages frequently of late. ``They go from house to house, warning people not to make trouble,'' said an elderly East Timorese as he sat beneath an enormous banyan tree on the edge of the crumbling broadwalk that fronts the harbour. ``The soldiers come and beat people up. Many are taken away for questioning and often disappear. The military has killed many in the last few months'' [TAPOL92].
I was skeptical of accounts of post-massacre killings before going to East Timor. I am much more inclined to believe them now. In a place where the only checks on the military are a relatively powerless governor and a beleaguered Catholic church, where fear prevented many witnesses from giving testimony to the National Commission of Inquiry and still prevents ordinary conversations on the street, I began to understand why we weren't getting proof [TAPOL92].
Notes
[Beit-Hallahmi87
Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, The Israeli Connection -- Who Israel Arms and Why, Pantheon Books, 1987.
[Blum86]
William Blum, The CIA: A Forgotten History, Zed Books Ltd., 1986.
[Chomsky82]
Noam Chomsky, Towards a New Cold War: Essays on the Current Crisis and How We Got Here, Pantheon Books, 1982.
[ChomskyHerman79]
Noam Chomsky, Edward S. Herman, The Political Economy of Human Rights: Volume 1 -- The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism, Black Rose Books, 1979.
[Dwyer91]
Jim Dwyer, ``Indonesia Scoring Big with U.S. $$$,'' New York Newsday, 22 November 1991.
[Nairn91]
Allan Nairn, ``A Narrow Escape from East Timor,'' U.S.A. Today, November 21, 1991.
[Sidel81]
Scott Sidel, ``The United States and Genocide in East Timor,'' Journal of Contemporary Asia, no. 1, 1981.
[TAPOL91]
TAPOL (the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign), Backgrounder on East Timor, 1991.
[TAPOL92]
TAPOL (the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign), East Timor in a State of Terror, Bulletin No. 110, April, 1992.
[WalshMunster80]
J. R. Walsh, G. J. Munster, Documents on Australian Defence and Foreign Policy, 1968-1975, Sydney, 1980.
[Webster90]
David Webster, ``Bishop of East Timor: Campaign of Terror Has Begun,'' Catholic New Times, Canada, November, 17, 1990.Ian Kerner, a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, blogs about sex on Thursdays on The Chart. Read more from him at his website, GoodInBed.
As a sexuality counselor and author, I’m often asked, “What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever dealt with?”
I wish I could tell them something really juicy, like naked clowns wrestling in Jell-O, for example, but the truth is that most sexual complaints tend to be rather common: sex ruts, mismatched libidos, erectile disorder and premature ejaculation in men, and orgasm problems and painful sex for women.
What people really want to know about are the unusual sexual fetishes of others (also known clinically as paraphilias), which affect a much smaller percentage of people.
Interestingly enough, most of those people happen to be men. That’s not to say that women lack their own unique turn-ons and turn-offs, their kinks and squicks (sexual repulsions), but when it comes to, say, having a favorite fantasy versus having an obsession in which all sexual pleasure is almost exclusively derived from a single object, body part or sex practice, more men seem to fall in the latter category.
In their compelling new book "A Billion Wicked Thoughts," (also discussed in this blog) neuroscientists Ogi Ogas, Ph.D. and Sai Gaddam, Ph.D., analyzed more than a billion Internet searches in order to learn about the differences between male and female sexual preferences, as well as what those differences tell us about how our brains are wired, and why, for example, men are more predisposed to have fetishes:
“The male sexual software is what a computer engineer would call an 'OR gate.' It is instantly aroused by any single cue. The male brain is turned on by deep décolletage or sashaying hips or the whisper of a sultry voice or two Applebee’s waitresses kissing. The female sexual brain is what a computer engineer would call an 'AND gate.' It requires input from multiple cues simultaneously to surpass a combined threshold of activation before arousal occurs. … Though for most men the OR gate can be triggered by any one of a variety of sexual cues, for some men one specific cue is essential. This necessary cue is a fetish.”
Although fetishes have been well-documented since the mid-19th century, and could easily fill an encyclopedia with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of entries (from agalmatophilia to zoophilia), the underlying mechanics of fetishes remain something of a mystery.
And while the American Psychiatry Association recognizes fetishes in its clinical bible, the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," there’s much professional dissent about how to treat fetishes and whether treatment can even be effective when a fetish is deeply ingrained in a person.
Freud believed (no surprise) that fetishes stem from issues such as a man’s universal fear of castration or his unconscious fear of his mother’s genitals, while many psychologists continue to believe that some sort of “sexual imprinting” must occur in the early childhood of the fetishist for sexual excitement and the fetish object to become so intricately enmeshed.
Today, fetishes are often treated with a combination of psychoanalysis (the search for deep unconscious meaning behind a fetish), cognitive behavior therapy (in which the fetishist’s thoughts are viewed as irrational ones that can be reversed with conscious mindfulness) and/or psychiatry, which seeks to alter the brain chemistry of the fetishist through drugs.
Even in our own expert-forum at Good in Bed, fetishes are a source of speculation. Recently, for example, a young woman complained of her boyfriend’s “freeze fetish” - his sexual propensity for immobility, statues and wax figures.
While her boyfriend didn’t seem to be exclusively turned on by the fetish, she nonetheless was confused and anxious. Our experts weighed in: “Fetishes don’t usually go away, but they can morph a little,” writes Dr. Madeleine Castellanos, author of "A Woman’s Guide to Men and Their Penis Problems."
“If people are disturbed by them, they could explore what the unconscious interpretation of the fetish is for them. Then they can experiment with another representation of that meaning that they can then assign erotic feelings.”
“The best way to treat fetishes is to identify the nonsexual meanings of the fetish and crack the erotic code by identifying what he is looking for unconsciously through the fetish,” adds psychotherapist Dr. Joe Kort. “Perhaps he was afraid of mannequins in retail stores or impressed with them or aroused by them as a child and now they have become part of this arousal template, or maybe he saw a movie or video about this as a child which caused it to become locked into his mind and now is eroticized. Whatever the case it could be helpful to understand the origins for both of you.”
Luckily, many people who would normally be distressed by a fetish are now finding like-minded peers via the Internet and/or some form of erotic stimulation (such as specialty porn) that caters to their specific interests.
Or they are fortunate enough to have sexual partners who, in the words of columnist Dan Savage, are sexually GGG (“good, giving and game”) and are willing to stretch their definition of the taboo and incorporate their partner’s fetish into their sex-play.
One single woman I know even joked that she’d love to meet a foot fetishist: At this point in her life, a good foot massage sounded better than sex. Perhaps the greatest goal for couples dealing with a partner who has a fetish is to decide how that fetish fits into their relationship.
“If a man is able to have healthy and hot sex with his partner and have his fetish fantasies without her and enjoy them,” asks Kort, "What’s wrong with that?”
Follow @CNNHealth on Twitter.Photo: Facebook/McDonald's Malaysia
Grandy’s
White Castle
Shakey’s Pizza
Hartz Chicken Buffet
McDota
If you grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, you’ll probably remember it as the era in which fast food outlets bagan making their appearance in Malaysia.In 1982, the first McDonald’s outlet opened up at the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Bukit Bintang. Its opening was met with lots of excitement and fanfare, as can be seen from pictures of the official opening.Those days, a visit to fast food restaurants were considered a real treat, and reserved for special occasions like birthdays and good exam grades. Today, fast food is viewed differently and many people see it as casual dining, dropping by during lunchtime or getting a quick takeaway on the way home.Some fast food brands, however, didn’t stand the test of time and only appeared for a limited period of time in the country. Most of these names started out in the Klang Valley and expanded outwards.Let’s see how many of these fast food brands you remember from your childhood:Grandy’s, also known as Grandy’s Country Cooking, is best remembered for its fried chicken. It was marketed as an American fast food chain and featured many typical southern favourites.Apart from the usual burgers, Grandy’s had a Country Fried Steak meal consisting of a slab of crispy boneless chicken, with sides of boiled corn and mashed potatoes. Many also remember their chicken porridge and refillable soft drinks. Another unique thing they had were cinnamon rolls.There was an outlet open at Subang Parade in the early 1990s, and another one at Ampang. Apparently there were plenty of outlets all over Malaysia, but they slowly disappeared as the new millennium came around.One of the lasting marks that Grandy’s left was probably their TV Commercial, which has been preserved on YouTube.You may be thinking “ Hey! I’ve heard of this name before in some movie”. You may be thinking about the show Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. The thing is, way before the movie was released, Malaysia had its own chain of White Castle restaurants, serving their signature sliders.(If you’re wondering what a slider is, it’s basically a really small burger and you’d have to eat a whole bunch to feel full.)There was definitely one in Jalan Raja Laut, at the intersection with Jalan Chow Kit, which is currently occupied by a KFC restaurant. Some also remember one opening at Aeon Taman Maluri.Those growing up in Malacca will remember that one outlet opened up along the same row as Great Wall shopping centre, near Soon Seng Plaza.There were some complaints that their burgers were too small and consumers seemed to prefer the standard palm-sized burgers all the other fast food places were offering, so this might have contributed to its decline.Shakey’s is one of the first foreign pizza brands to make it to Malaysian shores, and at one time in the early 1990s, there seemed to be one outlet everywhere you turned in the Klang Valley. The first Shakey’s outlet actually opened in 1978, way before Pizza Hut even showed up.Shakey’s pizzas were delicious and many mentioned that they were very generous with their toppings. They were also known for their pastas and fried chicken. However, one of their sides that was a fan favourite was their Mojos, which were deep fried potato discs.They survived quite long, but were bought over by another pizza chain. The last Shakey’s outlet closed in 2009.Hartz Chicken Buffet is an American brand. They introduced a new dining concept to Malaysian in the mid 1990s. When they started out, they offered a huge variety of dishes cooked according to authentic American Recipes. Basically, you pay a flat rate of about RM15 (when they first opened) and you could help yourself to all the chicken you wanted: fried, roasted, grilled and more.There were also a bunch of interesting side dishes, like mashed potatoes, pasta, fried potatoes, coleslaw, casseroles and salad. The highlight was definitely the dessert, where diners could choose from a whole lot of pies, cakes and ice cream.In Peninsular Malaysia, the menu changed somewhere after the early 2000s, and they included local dishes like fried rice, steamed veggies and white rice. However, the quality of food and service began to mysteriously decline after that, leading to them closing their last branch in Sunway Pyramid somewhere in 2013/2014.If you’re curious, there one last Hartz Chicken Buffet left standing in Kuching, which apparently still offers dishes straight from the US franchise without localisation.Before KFC ever made an appearance in Malaysia, locals would hang out at McDota for their fried chicken fix.Surprisingly though, McDota still has one outlet left, in Segamat, Johor.McDota is a home grown brand, and their menu offers all the basics of fast food like fries, fried chicken, nuggets and burgers. According to their website, they started operating in 1978 but failed to sustain their business, most probably due to heavy competition with several foreign brands trying to set up shop here during the same time.When they started out, their menu items were really simple. A McDota snack plate consisted of one piece of fried chicken, two buns and a drink.The fact that at least one branch survives in Segamat is a real testament to the brand’s tenacity to hold on throughout the changing decades. It should be noted that they’ve added some new items to their menu since the 80s, like rice and roasted chicken, so head on down to Segamat for a taste of nostalgia.Fast food brands come and go in Malaysia, but certain brands definitely make us more sentimental and nostalgic, especially if you have a pleasant memory related to it.Fast food in the 1980s and 90s also remind us of simpler times when people were more relaxed and there weren’t any internet or smart phones. Take the KFC menu from the 1980s for example, where you can still find beer and ice-cream jelly, and snack plates that cost only RM3.95. Take us back to those days, please!Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete has agreed to hold a fifth motion of no confidence in parliament against president Jacob Zuma.
Parliament will debate the motion on Tuesday, April 18, spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said.
The Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters and the United Democratic Movement all introduced formal applications to the speaker following the recent Cabinet reshuffle and subsequent downgrade by ratings agency Standard and Poor’s.
However despite strong opposition against the president following this past week’s events, analysts believe that Zuma still has the majority of support from within the ANC itself.
This was seemingly echoed by ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe backtracked on his opposition to president Zuma’s recent cabinet reshuffle, and endorsed the entire process on behalf of the party.
“The events that followed after the axing of finance minister Gordhan has caused concern and undue confusion,” Mantashe said.
“This was worsened by ANC officials who went public to the media, separate from the ANC, about their disagreements and to express this discomfort with the president to the media.”
Mantashe called this move by Zuma opponents – including himself – a “mistake” and said it would not happen again.
Read: Do not vote with conscience against Zuma, Mantashe warns ANC MPsHolding two puppets, donning tennis shoes, his characteristic sweater, a tie, and a trolley on its tail, this dino statue references the children television program host Mr Rogers, who worked many years in the public television station on whom property this statue is located. Titled "Fredosaurus Rex Friday XIII" and made by Karen Howell. Replicas can be purchased for $24.95 at ( visit link [from roadsideamerica website]An eight-foot-tall statue of a Tyrannosaurus rex dressed as Mr. Rogers has arrived at the Pittsburgh, PA television studio where Rogers taped his show for over 30 years.The statue, wearing slacks, a red cardigan, a rumpled shirt and necktie, and blue sneakers, is named "Fredosaurus Rex." Clutched in its claws are the puppets Henrietta Pussycat and King Friday XIII. A small trolley from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood can be seen driving up his tail.Fredosaurus is a rare example of something good coming out of the awful public art statue auction movement, where communities buy bulk statues of cows or clowns, give them to local artists for modification, then place them outside of area businesses. The statues -- those that survive, anyway -- are collected months later and auctioned off to support a local charity.Fredosaurus was a product of Pittsburgh's "Dinomite Days" several years ago, and stood in front of a downtown mall. It was then shipped to Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Fred Rogers' boyhood home. Now it will stand permanently outside of WQED. [12/31/2006]MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A shock state election result in Australia’s coal-rich Queensland state and heightened pressure to protect the Great Barrier Reef have thrown new doubts over plans by Indian firms to build two huge mines.
Billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Ahmedabad April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files
Queensland saw a voter backlash against the conservative government’s plan to sell A$37 billion ($29 billion) of assets to cut debt and fund coal infrastructure at the election. This included money for a rail line and port planned by India’s Adani Enterprises for what would be Australia’s biggest coal complex, in the Galilee Basin, a remote outback area.
In a policy reversal, the victorious Labor Party has ruled out asset sales or using taxpayer cash for a coal rail line or water pipe, and said it wouldn’t allow dredge spoil to be dumped in wetlands near Adani’s Abbot Point port, adding to costs.
“The prospects of public investment in the main part of the rail and port project have declined to zero,” said John Quiggin, an economics professor at the University of Queensland.
Tim Buckley of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which opposes new coal developments, estimated at least A$1 billion in subsidies had been taken off the table, though this is hard to independently verify as the government had never publicly said how much it was providing.
The Queensland Resources Council, an industry body, said the rail subsidy would have been about A$300 million.
A failure to launch the projects, already struggling to raise financing as coal prices languish, would hit plans to raise Australia’s coal exports by 70 percent to more than 300 million tonnes this decade. It would, however, be a win for environmentalists worried about damage to areas such as the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland’s coast and the impact on carbon emissions.
ADANI AND GVK
Adani’s Carmichael coal mine, rail and port project is one of two projects in the Galilee Basin owned by Indian firms. It is due to produce 60 million tonnes a year.
An Adani spokesman said a decision on whether to build the $7 billion mine, which it says would deliver 10,000 jobs and A$22 billion in taxes and royalties to Queensland, would be based on the project’s costs and not the poll result.
The other is the Alpha project, owned by the GVK conglomerate and Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, which with a nearby project aims to produce 62 million tonnes a year.
“We’ve based our planning on getting no government funding at all,” Josh Euler, a spokesman for the GVK Hancock joint venture, said.
REEF RULING LOOMS
While green groups have raised a string of legal challenges against the coal projects, they are stepping up their campaign ahead of a UNESCO decision on whether to put the Great Barrier Reef on its “in danger” list.
If UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in June deems the reef to be in trouble, that could result in big restrictions on ports and shipping in the area around the reef.
The government said that it should not be deemed in danger as no reef species have become extinct, and some, like humpback whales and loggerhead turtles, have recovered from big declines.
WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman disputes this and said claims by authorities to be doing enough to protect the reef were “undermined by the clear picture provided by the science”.
Faced with possible UNESCO action, the federal government reversed a decision to allow the dumping of sand, dredged from expanding Abbot Point port, near the Great Barrier Reef, so that it will now have to be dumped on land, a more expensive option.
To ease costs for Adani and GVK, the outgoing Liberal-National party had pledged to buy dredge spoil.
“We cannot afford to have the Great Barrier Reef put on the ‘in danger’ list,” Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche said.All the leaves are brown, and the budget is still red, even with Jerry Brown’s big income and sales tax hike the voters foolishly approved back in November. The latest entirely predictable piece of news was reported yesterday. The Wall Street Journal headline tells the story succinctly: “California Budget Hit By Facebook’s IPO.” Wait a moment: how exactly is a budget “hit” by the creation of massive new liquid wealth? It seems the state had counted upon getting $1.9 billion in capital gains taxes from Facebook’s debut as a publicly traded company, but since California has unfriended the entire business community it is not surprising that the take will only be about $1.3 billion. (Needless to say, you can’t run a budget on one-time IPOs anyway.)
Meanwhile, rumors are flying around Sacramento that Gov. Jerry Brown is about to go full Moonbeam on us again, and may call in his upcoming State of the State address for California to raise its current “renewable portfolio standard” for electricity from the current ridiculous target of 33 percent by the year 2020 to 40 percent. More: he might even call for banning any future construction of gas-fired power plants in the state. I guess Jerry thinks we can power the state on his recycled speeches. There’s certainly a lot of hot air in them.
Jerry Brown is also after the state’s colleges and universities to cut costs and lower tuition, as California’s budget woes have meant cuts for state aid to higher education, with more cuts ahead if the state’s fiscal picture doesn’t improve. |
among the migrants to be apostates whose conversion works against the Islamic supremacist plan of dawah and hijrah, so these trusted Muslim translators have no qualms about being deceitful in order to get Christians deported. Meanwhile, Muslim migrants are the ones raping women. They are the ones responsible for the crime surge in Europe, and remain a threat to homeland security through jihad attacks.
Reverend Martens’ call for Christian migrants to be housed separately from Muslims seems to be falling on deaf ears:
He called for Christian migrants to be housed separately to Muslims, and strongly criticised Catholic and mainline Protestant leaders who oppose this on the basis it may show the religions cannot exist peacefully.
Just as mainline churches largely ignore the extent of Christian persecution in Islamic states, they are apparently doing the same in their home country, by not speaking out in truth and justice and failing to protect peace-loving Christians:
In February we experienced how a group of almost 100 radical Muslim asylum applicants attacked six Christians so brutally in their residence that the police ended up having to use their dogs to protect the six Christians from a pogrom.”
“Muslim Translators Deliberately Misinterpreting Christians to Get Them Deported, Says Pastor”, by Nick Hallett, Breitbart, January 17, 2017:Gonna take this as a potential base for future drawings (don't worry, the hair being flipped to the left side is temporary, it is gonna be flipped to the right side; plus the muzzle line is not really needed,but it just looks a bit better with it right now,). Just like before it is somewhat based on Paychiri's Asriel design(oh and also,my thanks to her for pointing out a thing - Using IRL goats as a refference helps a damn ton ). This also might be the last one out of traditional sketches( can't tell for sure, either I use a sad pencil, or sad paper, or just i am sad myself or all of the three combined hue; either way I don't like how hard it is sometimes to correct a mistake), since I ordered a tablet (gonna get shipped around February though :ToastOverflow from RedditViewing the source behind the web archive from 2014 reveals something amazing.
This article is Part 1 of an ongoing series about the TRS scandal.
See also: Part 2.
Order of Battle
As you all are aware, Mike Enoch, now revealed to be actually Michael ‘Enoch’ Peinovich, is the founder of the website The Right Stuff, which opened in 2012 and hosts the popular and dubiously overwrought podcasts Fash the Nation and The Daily Shoah.
The Right Stuff has spent the entirety of the past four years serving up piping-hot reactionary narratives all of which just so happen to serve the geostrategic agenda of the architects of Russian foreign policy by carrying out Active Measures, American domestic honeypot agenda of the FBI, and the Israeli security agenda.
But if anyone had pointed that out before today, such a person would have been called ‘paranoid’ and even ‘insane’. After today however, such a person would simply be called ‘well informed’.
Note: The name ‘Pejnovic’ has a diaspora in 20 countries worldwide and has its highest concentration in Zagreb, Gospic and Klenovac, Croatia. It is found in small numbers in Peru, in the United States, and in the Russian Federation. ‘Peinovich’ is a Russian-Jewish variant that found its way into the diaspora of the United States and in Argentina.
The whole saga leading up to the revelation of Enoch’s real identity, started after Red Ice Radio hosted a show on 26 December 2016 in which Reactionary Jew was invited on as a guest and Lana Lokteff asked the audience to give them feedback on whether right-wing Jews have a place in the supposedly ethno-nationalist political scene that has recently been emerging in the west.
This question was of course met with outrage from various quarters as would be expected. But what was truly interesting was that many of the users and even some global moderators at The Right Stuff began to respond to that provocative question in the affirmative. That was met with deep suspicion by everyone, because it is suspicious.
The controversy and trolling then moved to 4chan /pol/, which is basically the wild west. People from The Right Stuff orchestrated a two week long posting and sliding campaign in which non-stop wall-to-wall pro-Israel propaganda posts and threads were created by them. 4chan /pol/ moderators then began banning all of the TRS people who were doing that, and the details of the bans were then taken back to the TRS forums and presented there.
This is just an example of some of the things that the TRS people were putting up:
TRS then proceeded to deny everything. They claimed that other groups were impersonating them. Some claimed that Hillary Clinton’s CTR was conducting pseudo-operations against them. Some claimed that EU Stratcom was targeting them. Some claimed that British intelligence was targeting them. Some claimed that ‘SJWs’ and Chicago Antifa were trolling them. They claimed that somehow Stormfront was trying to make them look bad. The claims were feverish and frenetic, bold and brash, and all diversionary nonsense.
Somewhere along the way, the TRS people decided that since they were trapped in that situation, the ultimate distraction would be to initiate a miniature Cyberwar against 8chan for no apparent reason. TRS decided to attempt a DDoS against 8chan. It failed. At this point, 8chan /baphomet/ became interested in the feud and many of its denizens informed TRS that they must stop their behaviour immediately, and that they must also apologise for the DDoS attacks and that they must apologise for making the pro-Israel posts, on air, or it would be war.
TRS basically then told 8chan /baphomet/ to “bring it on”.
8chan is however, an anonymous message board that sits on the edge of the Darknet. So they brought it, but no one really will ever know who ‘they’ are. TRS found itself being DDoS’d and this forced them to take shelter under Cloudflare. While the TRS staff were attending to that, they also found themselves being doxxed and the process was being crowdsourced on 8chan /baphomet/.
TRS then tried to go back to 4chan /pol/ and play the two sites against each other by claiming that 8chan /baphomet/ were actually the Antifa. Of course, TRS had just previously bombastically accused 4chan /pol/ of being the Hillary campaign on one hand and of being western intelligence on the other, so no one at 4chan was really in the mood for yet another round of that nonsense again. Furthermore, TRS had misunderstood the nature of anonymous message boards, supposing that there was a real dividing line between the ‘communities’ at 8chan and at 4chan. There is no such dividing line in actuality, because no one is seriously loyal to an anonymous message board. It’s just a vehicle through which various actors can drape themselves in a cloak of trendy anonymity. There is no ‘community’.
The Right Stuff subsequently found itself being Blown The Fuck Out by all of its adversaries, and all of their adversaries were able to maintain anonymity during the process.
Isn’t that marvellous?
Outcomes
It turns out that Michael ‘Enoch’ Peinovich is a Javascript Developer and a Public Relations Professional who has worked as a Front End Developer at BurrellesLuce, Time Inc, and Vook. He’s from New York. Vook was later rebranded as Pronoun, and is now a subsidiary of Holtzbrink Publishing Group.
Oh, and Peinovich is a Russian Jew married to a Jewish woman named Ames Friedman.
In 2010 he ran an Anarcho-capitalist blog called ‘Emptiness’, at which his wife made several comments with her real name.
In the same year, Peinovich also wrote an article for the Mises Institute.
On 03 July 2015, Peinovich appeared on Red Ice Radio, and actually mentioned that article which he had written for the Mises Institute, when he was explaining to them that he ‘used to be a libertarian’. He cryptically commented after the 13 minutes 25 seconds timestamp, “if you find it, ask if it’s me, and if you get it right, maybe I’ll tell you.”
At this point I don’t think anyone will need to be making any guesses about that anymore. On top of that, Peinovich earlier admitted to everything on the TRS forums before basically transforming himself into the ‘shut it down’ meme and shutting everything down:
There is no more speculation, there is only fact. Mike ‘Enoch’ Peinovich in fact admitted to what he has done.
Datamining concerns
Assuming that the entire TRS entity either originated as or became a full spectrum Information Operation, it means that all the usernames, email addresses, IP addresses, access logs, security questions, and password hashes that were submitted by people who—against all good advice—chose to actually register on the ridiculous TRS forum have a not-insignificant probability of falling into the hands of any number of adversaries who Peinovich may have allegiance to. FBI? Mossad? Who even knows at this point?
Does anyone really think this story is over? For some people, the problems may only just have begun.
Questions Remain
The remaining question would be, who knew about Michael ‘Enoch’ Peinovich’s Jewish identity before it was exposed today, when did they know, and if anyone did know, why wasn’t it exposed via normal channels much earlier?
A lot of people were in a position to have noticed the fact that Peinovich was in fact a Russian Jew orchestrating a massive disinformation campaign against everyone, one which may have influenced the outcome of the American election and created significant disruption in other English-speaking countries.
This is a partial list of the people who have directly interacted with Peinovich in some way over the past few years, and who one would think ordinarily should have detected that something was very wrong:
Richard Spencer
Greg Johnson
Kevin MacDonald
Colin Liddell
Jared Taylor
Andrew Anglin
Lana Lokteff
Henrik Palmgren
David Duke
Colin ‘Millenial Woes’ Robertson
Kyle Bristow
James Edwards
John Friend
Sam Dickson
Jack Donovan
William Regnery
Andrew ‘Weev’ Auernheimer
It’s truly astounding that supposedly none of those people noticed anything, despite them having either worked with him and having been in interviews with him, or them having called in to TRS during its radio shows. At one point, Peinovich was even brought into a live podcast during the NPI 2015 conference.
Of particular significance is Peinovich’s relationship to Kyle Bristow. Bristow is the Executive Director of Foundation for the Marketplace of Ideas, Inc., an Alt-Right organisation that advocates on behalf of Alt-Right figures and coordinates legal services for them. Peinovich joined its board of directors on 11 December 2016, joining five lawyers, and law student, and a journalist who were already on the board of directors there. I presume they too might like everyone to believe that they didn’t notice anything?
Another one of key significance is Peinovich’s connection to Andrew ‘Weev’ Auerenheimer. Weev is the person who basically did a significant amount of work on the TRS website in order to ‘secure’ it. At some point between 2014 and 2017, the Paypal donations on that site were deactivated and only the Bitcoin donations remained. If Weev was the one who implemented that change, did he not notice the email address linked to their Paypal account was a glaring giveaway about who Mike Enoch really is? But if he did notice the disturbing truth, why did he not alert anyone? Many people could speculate.
Here are some examples of obvious clues that they could have picked up on:
Just as large swathes of the American population were getting ready to give up on the system as it presently exists and to instead settle into total cynicism, along came the Trumpists and outlets like The Right Stuff, who managed to revitalise and rescue the ridiculous system yet again!
And also there was this extra incident here:
Fucking incredible. All of the anti-semitic rhetoric that was going on there basically was a cover for the fact that a whole Jewish operation was being conducted right under the noses of the supposedly ‘red pilled’ and ‘savvy’ generation of new American right-wing activists.
Over the coming days and weeks, I’m sure that all kinds of explanations will be forthcoming from all of those people. The question that needs to be asked over and over again, is this: Who knew about Peinovich’s Jewish identity before today, and if any of them did know, when precisely did they know, and why did they not reveal it as soon as they became aware of it?
Related Articles:A woman who sued presidential candidate Donald Trump for child rape four months ago scrapped a press conference where she was expected to speak about her lawsuit.
The woman cited threats after her lawyer, Lisa Bloom, announced the appearance in a press release.
She claims that a series of assaults occurred at parties hosted in New York in 1994 by Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile. She filed her suit in Manhattan Supreme Court in June.
Lisa Bloom is the daughter of Gloria Allred, a high-profile feminist lawyer. Allred has recently represented several of the women who after the relase of a tape of Trump making lewd comments came forward to accuse Trump of groping them.
BREAKING: woman who sued Donald Trump for child rape breaks her silence today. https://t.co/ecbzZ6jxSUpic.twitter.com/kdCRsG7wIm— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 2, 2016
The allegations are “categorically untrue, completely fabricated and politically motivated,” said Alan Garten, vice president and general counsel of the Trump Organization, according to the Daily News.
The Guardian newspaper investigated the lawsuits — another was filed and dismissed in Los Angeles — and published a report in July stating that Norm Lubow, a former producer on the Jerry Springer Show, was behind the lawsuits.
Lubow has a history of “making outlandish claims about celebrities,” the Guardian reported. He also seemed to publicize the lawsuits using a pseudonym — Al Taylor — who tried to sell a video of the woman for $1 million. Al Taylor threatened the Guardian when the publication with a lawsuit when its reporter asked why he was seeking payment for the video.
Contact Helen Chernikoff atchernikoff@forward.com or on Twitter @thesimplechild
This story "Woman Who Sued Donald Trump for Child Rape at Jeffrey Epstein Parties Scraps Press Conference" was written by Helen Chernikoff.The United Nations is sending inspectors into Syria to determine the extent of reported chemical weapons attacks, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Inspectors are headed there “as soon as possible” after talks last week between the government and the UN’s representative for disarmament affairs.
“On the basis of the information evaluated by the mission to date and further to the understanding reached with the government of Syria, the mission will travel to Syria as soon as possible to contemporaneously investigate three of the reported incidents, including Khan al-Asal,” a UN statement issued on Wednesday said.
“The Secretary-General remains mindful of other reported incidents and the mission will also continue to seek clarification from the member states concerned.”
Khan al-Asal has been the site of intense fighting between rebels and government forces defending President Bashar Assad, Al Jazeera reported.
Each side blames the other for a reported chemical weapons attack there that killed 30.
Fighting continued on Wednesday, with Al Jazeera reporting government forces lost 150 troops (including 50 captured soldiers later executed) over two days of bloodshed.
Rebels captured Khan al-Asal on July 22.
The Syrian civil war has killed more than 100,000 and displaced millions, according to CNN.
More from GlobalPost: The horrific chemical weapons attack that probably wasn’tThe last 30 years of research greatly contributed to shed light on the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variability in aging, although contrasting results have been reported, mainly due to bias regarding the population size and stratification, and to the use of analysis methods (haplogroup classification) that resulted to be not sufficiently adequate to grasp the complexity of the phenomenon.
A 5-years European study (the GEHA EU project) collected and analyzed data on mtDNA variability on an unprecedented number of long-living subjects (enriched for longevity genes) and a comparable number of controls (matched for gender and ethnicity) in Europe. This very large study allowed a reappraisal of the role of both the inherited and the somatic mtDNA variability in aging, as an association with longevity emerged only when mtDNA variants in OXPHOS complexes co-occurred. Moreover, the availability of data from both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes on a large number of subjects paves the way for an evaluation at a very large scale of the epistatic interactions at a higher level of complexity.
This scenario is expected to be even more clarified in the next future with the use of next generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, which are becoming applicable to evaluate mtDNA variability and, then, new mathematical/bioinformatic analysis methods are urgently needed. Recent advances of association studies on age-related diseases and mtDNA variability will also be discussed in this review, taking into account the bias hidden by population stratification. Finally, very recent findings in terms of mtDNA heteroplasmy (i.e. the coexistence of wild type and mutated copies of mtDNA) and aging as well as mitochondrial epigenetic mechanisms will also be discussed.Serie A: Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi faces several months out with fractured leg
Ogenyi Onazi: Suffered injury playing for Nigeria
Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi faces several months out with a fractured leg suffered in Nigeria's defeat to France at the World Cup on Monday.
The 21-year-old was stretchered off after a tackle from France's Blaise Matuidi during Nigeria's 2-0 defeat to Les Bleus in the last-16 tie in Brasilia.
Onazi was taken to a nearby hospital, and tests confirmed he has a fractured tibia and fibula in his left leg.
The Super Eagles star tweeted a photograph of his left leg in a cast and included a message that said: "Thanks to everyone for your prayers, will be fine by his grace.
"God Bless Nigeria."
Matuidi, the Paris St Germain midfielder who was only shown a yellow card for the tackle, has apologised to Onazi.
"I'm sorry," he said to L'Equipe. "I've not gone in to hurt him; I'm disappointed because I'm not a dirty player.
"I went into the (Nigeria) dressing room afterwards to apologise."
Onazi, who is under contract with Lazio until June 2016, made 29 Serie A appearances for the Biancoceleste in the 2013-2014 season.Corneal collagen cross linking (CXL) with ultraviolet (UV)-A light and riboflavin is a well-established treatment for corneal ecstasias and keratoconus. But are we using it to its full potential? This was the question pondered by Geneva and Lausanne-based researchers, who believe there are other conditions that might benefit from CXL, such as pellucid marginal degeneration and peripheral ulcers. However, these diseases require decentered, eccentric illumination profiles, meaning that partially irradiating the limbus with (potentially mutagenic) UV-A light is unavoidable. Corneal limbal stem cells are needed to repair the corneal epithelium following epi-off CXL, and damage affecting their regenerative capabilities would be detrimental to recovery. So the big question was, does UV-A light harm corneal stem cells? According to the researchers, no (1).
Enjoy our FREE content! Log in or register to read this article in full and gain access to The Ophthalmologist’s entire content archive. It’s FREE and always will be! Login if you already created an account Email Password Forgot your password? Keep me logged in Log in Or register now - it’s free and always will be! You will benefit from: Unlimited access to ALL articles
News, interviews & opinions from leading industry experts
Receive print (and PDF) copies of The Ophthalmologist magazine Register Or Login as a Guest or via Social Media Login as Guest
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
About the Author
Roisin McGuigan
I have an extensive academic background in the life sciences, having studied forensic biology and human medical genetics in my time at Strathclyde and Glasgow Universities. My research, data presentation and bioinformatics skills plus my ‘wet lab’ experience have been a superb grounding for my role as a deputy editor at Texere Publishing. The job allows me to utilize my hard-learned academic skills and experience in my current position within an exciting and contemporary publishing company.Comedy website “Funny or Die” will be bringing us another K-pop collaboration!
According to news sources, 4Minute‘s HyunA was in Los Angeles on March 11 to film for “Funny or Die.” She shared several photos on her Instagram account, including those with British singer Rita Ora. After the photos were posted, Cube Entertainment confirmed that the two will be working on a video for “Funny or Die.”
After filming, HyunA flew to Texas to rehearse for her performance later than night. HyunA, along with Jay Park, Nell, and others, will be performing for “K-Pop’s Night Out” as part of South by South West 2014 (SXSW 2014). You can check out the times and full list of performances here.
Last year, “Funny or Die” brought together Hollywood actress Anna Kendrick and girl group f(x) in a hilarious video. f(x) had also filmed in Los Angeles while they were in the United States to perform at SXSW 2013. Hopefully, we will be able to see what “Funny or Die” has in store for us, with HyunA and Rita Ora.Reader Tan Pin Ho wrote to askST, noting that in Singapore, "it is illegal to use our National Flag for any other purpose other than to represent the country or during a national celebration. People from many other countries print patterns of their national flags on their T-shirts, shorts, even their underwear.
"However, I am not so sure about our army fatigues. Can we use them for casual wear?
"Most of the people I asked said we are not allowed to wear any form of army fatigues unless we are on active military duty; but many were unsure."
Defence correspondent Jermyn Chow has the answer.
The SAF uniform should be worn only for military parades, training exercises, SAF operations and SAF-approved events or functions.
Under the Decorations and Uniforms Act, anyone who is caught for the unauthorised use of any part of the naval, military, air or police forces uniform, including badges and medals, can be convicted in the Magistrate's Court. If found guilty, you can be fined up to $400 or jailed up to three months.
But such convictions are almost unheard of.
In 2013, the Singapore Army came out to publicly denounce the use of its fatigues in a publicity stunt organised by The National Geographic Channel.
Aimed at promoting the second season of a documentary on National Service here, called Every Singaporean Son 2: The Making Of An Officer, actors dressed as soldiers marched and took commands from passers-by at Raffles Place.
The campaign caused a public furore. People found the stunt inappropriate and demeaning to Singaporean soldiers.
The Singapore Army said on Facebook at the time that it was "very disappointed" with the stunt, because it was "disrespectful of our soldiers, and undermines the dedication and commitment of all our soldiers who have served dutifully in the defence of our country".
It added that the army was not informed of the stunt or the use of its uniforms.
More askST stories here.Apple
Late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien took time out of his show Thursday to take a crack at Apple's latest video-editing software, which the company released on Tuesday.
"Apple just released a new version of their famous editing software Final Cut Pro, but apparently it's so different from the last version of Final Cut, video and film editors all over Hollywood are having a hard time adjusting to it," O'Brien said. "Well our editors here at 'Conan' are some of the best in the business. They actually like the new software, in fact they prepared this video statement voicing their support for the new Final Cut Pro."
What follows is a video that O'Brien's staff jokes was made with Final Cut Pro X. It contains numerous hiccups, from ill-timed cuts, to problems with audio and video synchronization and color matching, to media showing up as offline.
While the joke may be inside baseball to most viewers, it comes at a time when Apple is receiving considerable criticism about the software from longtime Final Cut Pro users due to some of the drastic changes made. Final Cut Pro X represents a complete rewrite, and rethink, of the platform used by what Apple says is about 2 million customers. As a result, many features available in legacy versions of the software have not made the transition, keeping some professional outfits from making the jump.
Final Cut Pro X currently sits as the second most popular paid application on Apple's Mac App Store, just behind the company's 99-cent FaceTime application. So far it's amassed more than 900 customer reviews, 421 of which are one star out of five. On Wednesday--the day after the software's release--some reviews briefly disappeared, returning a day later, prompting speculation that Apple was trying to shape perceptions.
You can catch the whole segment from O'Brien's show below:
(via @1001noisycamera)NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jacksonville Jaguars are having fun trying to run their way to an AFC South title.
Jones-Drew turned in the NFL's second-best rushing effort of the season with 186 yards on 31 carries, and Rashad Jennings and quarterback David Garrard each ran for a touchdown in the Jaguars' 17-6 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Houston's Arian Foster has the top rushing game this season with 231 yards against Indianapolis on Sept. 12.
"Obviously, Maurice Jones-Drew was special today, and we rode Maurice hard today," Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. "He had a superb game."
With their fourth win in five games, the Jaguars (7-5) took over first-place in the AFC South, a game ahead of the Colts (6-6), who lost to Dallas 38-35 in overtime.
Jones-Drew has run for at least 100 yards now in five straight games, but his latest may have been his easiest.
"I only had to make one guy miss most of the time, and the guys were doing a great job of keeping guys off me," Jones-Drew said. "That performance was a total team effort."
The Jaguars got a bit of revenge for a 30-3 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 18 by taking control on the ground from the start on a cold, windy day. They scored on their opening drive by running through and over the Titans to split the season series. Jennings scored on an 11-yard run to cap the 12-play, 77-yard drive.
"They are a physical team, and we had to be physical today," Jaguars center Brad Meester said. "We were able to run the ball and keep pounding it, and that was key for us."
Tennessee (5-7) started veteran Kerry Collins at quarterback with offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger in the press box calling plays days after starting chemotherapy for cancer but unable to avoid a fifth straight loss. The Titans have now gone 13 quarters without an offensive touchdown.HE may not have agreed to it, but Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade claims he isn’t upset at Jaeger O’Meara’s decision to request a trade to Hawthorn.
O’Meara has missed the past two seasons with knee problems since succumbing to a patella tendon injury in April 2015.
As a result, O’Meara hasn’t played in an Eade-coached Gold Coast team.
Asked if he was gutted by O’Meara’s trade request, Eade said: “No, I wasn’t because I haven’t coached him.
“He hasn’t played a game.”
Eade has backed the Suns to rebound from O’Meara’s looming exit despite comparing the young midfielder’s departure to Patrick Dangerfield leaving Adelaide and Hawthorn losing Leigh Matthews.
But Eade revealed he told O’Meara he didn’t agree with the move when the gun midfielder made his decision.
“He phoned me about it so I thought that was nice of him, very professional of him (but) I didn’t agree with his decision,” Eade told SEN radio this morning.
“I spoke to him about that but there is no sense being angry about it — it is just the way footy is.
“We are going to see more of it in this day and age of footy.”
media_camera O'Meara did not play a game under Eade. Picture: Mike Batterham
Eade was adamant the Gold Coast would recover from O’Meara’s departure.
“Adelaide lost Dangerfield and were a good chance to be top four this year — teams move on,” Eade said.
“Leigh Matthews, one of the greatest players of all time, left Hawthorn and next year we won a premiership (in 1986).
“Every club is greater than the individual — teams move on and they survive.”
Eade said the Suns were still trying to find the best deal with the Hawks for O’Meara.
“We will wait for Hawthorn to come back to us,” Eade said.
“But having said that we would want to be reasonably compensated.
“If we can come out in front in the deal then that’s fine, you move on. Nothing has eventuated at this stage. It is still a bit of shadow boxing.”
Fellow Suns midfielder Dion Prestia has requested a trade to Richmond.
Gold Coast has the means to fill spots left by O’Meara and Prestia in this year’s draft, in which they have plenty of picks including five of the top 25.
Originally published as Eade told O’Meara there’s no hard feelingsConsumers could save significant money on dental care by simply shopping around and asking about prices in their own communities, an analysis of health claims data shows.
Change: Healthcare, a company in Brentwood, Tenn., that helps employees of self-insured companies save money on medical care, based its analysis on more than 30,000 claims over 12 months from insurance carriers across the country.
The analysis found that the same routine dental exam for adults could cost as much as $240, or as low as $55, in the same geographic area (the review assessed cost variances within a 50-mile radius). Pediatric exams ranged from $180 to just $35.
An adult filling could cost as much as $360, or as little as $120.
In another, braces cost nearly $7,000 (including a previsit, braces application and follow-up visit), when another provider in the same community was charging $2,400.
The information is significant, said Howard McClure, chairman and chief executive of Change: Healthcare, because fewer than 60 percent of Americans have dental insurance, and even those who have coverage typically pay significant amounts out of pocket.
With more Americans now in so-called “consumer driven” plans with high deductibles, it makes sense to call around and, in essence, get several quotes. “People don’t understand there are variations in health care costs, and they’re sometimes wide,” he said.
Do you think it’s worth taking the time to call several dentists before making an appointment? And is cost your main criteria in choosing a dentist?Description
This premium wax vape pen has a dual purpose; hence the name DUO. It can be used for extracted herbal oil or wax with a simple change in the atomizer. Unlike other popular or generic “lipstick” style wax pens, the DUO wax pen uses atomizers that screw firmly in place and stay put when removing the cap for refilling. They also use a strong 3.7 volt battery that allows the user to get a very strong puff within just 2-3 seconds of beginning operation. When using the oil cartridge you can be sure that the puff will exceed the strength of any buttonless pen on the market. We do not include the dry herb atomizer since the Dryonic herbal vaporizer is the best choice for this.
Check on YouTube to find user reviews on how this premium wax pen performs over months of use, the fact is it outperforms in categories of battery life, operation time, cartridge leakage and can be used with any of our 510 empty cartridges and most store bought pre filled cartridges.
Package Includes:
The DUO Wax Pen includes with a all ceramic 510 wax atomizer for your wax and a.3ml oil cartridge along with an awesome application tool, 2 chargers and the instructions. It has 510 thread so your cartridges will not break as there are no snap on parts, simply unscrew the oil cartridge and switch out to the ceramic one for your wax. You can also use this battery with any 510 thread cartridge.Mitt Romney gave America a parting gift yesterday. It wasn’t his tax returns or the secret roadmap to make his tax cuts reduce the deficit.
In fact the Romney campaign’s economic advisor came out for raising taxes on the richest Americans after Romney’s landslide loss.
No, Willard Mitt Romney gave one final pathetic and whining kick in the teeth to the 47 percent of Americans he has nothing but disdain for.
On a conference call with donors Romney claimed that Obama won because he gave “gifts” to African Americans, Latinos and young voters.
Some donors invited on the call by the Romney campaign, likely furious at Romney for wasting their money and lying about the polling, recorded the call or shared access with reporters.
It was one final embarrassment for the worst candidate the GOP could have possibly nominated, as Rick Santorum put it.
Romney, blamed his loss on “gifts” to select groups, “especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people. In each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups,” according to the New York Times.
Romney compared his strategy to the Obama campaign, which he accused of “following the old playbook of giving a lot of stuff to groups that they hoped they could get to vote for them and be motivated to go out to the polls.” He added that, “in each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups.”
For young voters there was the extension of health coverage for children up to the age 26 on their parents’ insurance plans, forgiveness of college loan interest and, of course, free contraception.
At times Romney would emphasize his points by pointing out what were “big gifts” to constituencies.
He added that Obamacare’s coverage “in perpetuity” was another “gift” to people of low income that led to Romney’s defeat.
Specifically, according to the LA Times, Romney said: “With regards to African American voters, ‘Obamacare’ was a huge plus — and was highly motivational to African American voters. You can imagine for somebody making $25—, or $30—, or $35,000 a year, being told you’re now going to get free healthcare — particularly if you don’t have it, getting free healthcare worth, what, $10,000 a family, in perpetuity, I mean this is huge. Likewise with Hispanic voters, free healthcare was a big plus.”
Romney also asserted that: “With regards to Hispanic voters, the amnesty for the children of illegals — the so-called Dream Act kids — was a huge plus for that voting group. On the negative side, of course, they always characterized us as being anti-immigrant, being tough on illegal immigration, and so forth, so that was very effective with that group.”
He accused the president of spending “trillions of dollars” on these “gifts.”
Separately, in an actually on camera interview that was knowingly done with a reporter, Paul Ryan blamed the loss on “urban voters”.
He does have a point, right? How dare they vote? Who do they think they are, Americans?
It was unclear of Ryan was including his home town of Janesville, Wisconsin, which he lost twice on election night. That’s right, Paul Ryan’s hometown neighbors voted against him – TWICE! – in his House race and in the Presidential.
Of course Paul Ryan was not the only candidate to lose his home state. Mitt Romney managed to lose both of his home states – Massachusetts and Michigan.
On the donor call, Romney’s incompetent pollster, Neil Newhouse, who had Romney ahead and winning the election all along blamed hurricane Sandy for a sudden and dramatic shift in the polls. Of course those of us that live in what we like to call REALITY and not the world of Rush Limbaugh and FOX News know that all the polling was correct and that Obama had a sustained lead throughout the fall.
President Obama did not have a sudden multi-million vote swing because Americans had grown tired of him as president over a four year period but were suddenly inspired over a four day period because they had reminder that his administration, unlike the GOP administration that preceded him, was competent.
The fact is that Mitt Romney lost badly in a year that economic numbers dictate that he should have won. But Mitt Romney blew that opportunity for Republicans because of what Rick Santorum identified during the primaries: Mitt Romney was the worst candidate Republicans could have run against President Obama.
About Bill Buck
Bill Buck is a Democratic strategist, President of the Buck Communications Group, a media relations and new media strategies consulting business based in Washington, DC, and Managing Director of the online ad firm Influence DSP. He has over twenty years of international and national communications experience. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.By Gail Lynne Goodwin.
At the end of our path when we look back on life, we won’t remember the worry over the bills, the disappointment over not receiving the promotion, or the things that we might have judged as a “failure” in our life. What we will remember, are the moments that we loved, for love is truly the meaning of life.
At the core of every religion is one thing- love. When it comes down to it, love is the only thing that really matters. So, if we want to live a life that really matters, the most important question we can ask ourselves is…. “Am I being loving in this |
propaganda model to examine a number of key world events in recent history that have involved America in some way or another, including situations in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, of the KGB-Bulgarian plot to kill the Pope and of the Indochina wars. It is a truism, often issued with pride by the main media themselves, that the national news has a major impact on the national political agenda. What the main media emphasize is what politicians attend to. Whatever is not given steady emphasis in the news is more safely forgotten by those who make the laws and regulations. Consequently, the media race for quick and easy profits that pushed the real issues into the shadows has imposed a high cost on American voters: it becomes easier for politicians to distract the public with false or exaggerated issues. … Continuous repetition and emphasis create high priorities in the public mind and in government. It is in that power — to treat some subjects briefly and obscurely but others repetitively and in depth, or to take initiatives unrelated to external events — where ownership interests most effectively influence the news. — Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, (Beacon Press, 2000), pp. xxvii, 16 In this way then, as with other societies, the range of discourse can affect how much is discussed, what is discussed, and to what degree. It is not that there is absolutely no reporting on important issues. For example, the mainstream will report and criticize on issues. However, it is the assumptions that are not articulated that affect how much criticism there will be, or what the context of the reports will be and so on. In that respect, given that there is some critique, we may get the false sense of comfort in the system as working as claimed. Yet it is at the level of these assumptions where the range of discussions get affected. In fact, Noam Chomsky, in another book captures this aspect quite succinctly, while also hinting as to the reason why: The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum — even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate. (Emphasis Added) — Noam Chomsky, The Common Good, Odonian Press, 1998
STEALING AMERICA’S FREEDOMS LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT…
By Gordon Duff
It’s 2010 and a few members of congress have noted that we have a corruption problem in Afghanistan. Over a period of 9 years. $2.4 trillion dollars has been stolen with a dozen enquiries, dozens of reports, audits, all saying the same thing. The “war on terror” was more “pickpocketing” and not so much “Osama bin Waldo.” It’s 2010 and reports are trickling in that, just maybe, terrorist mastermind Osama has been dead for years and years. More reports tell us, finally, that he never ran a terror organization at all. For years, all those threats from a dead man. What a pack of fools we are.
Remember Pat Tillman, the brave soldier, great athlete and hero? The press told us he was killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Then the rumors came out that it was “friendly fire.” Now we know the truth or do we? There is a movie about Tillman coming out. How much will it tell? Tillman, not just an athlete but a very bright guy, had picked up on the fact that Afghanistan was a total scam and was talking about it. The administration ordered Tillman’s murder. Pat Tillman was executed. Enough high ranking members of the Bush administration and the military were involved in the cover up that, in any real democracy, not only jails would be filling but the execution dock as well. Murder is a capitol crime. Those involved in Tillman’s murder should be executed, no matter who they are. We are talking about every conspirator and members of the press who helped “spin” the tale.
Anybody know who Dr. David Kelly was? American papers said he killed himself because he was publicly attacked by Prime Minister Tony Blair who was upset because one of the world’s best known weapons scientists had gone to the press saying that Blair was a traitor for pushing the illegal invasion of Iraq. Kelly knew Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and was aware that Blair was lying to the public.
Dr. David Kelly was murdered. This was a government “hit.” The proof of the crime is beyond question. Now, years later, the British press is demanding arrests. If they get those responsible, chances are many will be the most powerful leaders of the last Administration. General Colin Powell went before the United Nations with a pack of humiliating lies, shaming himself and the United States. What could make a wonderful man like General Powell, a West Point graduate, lie like a dog? If you are waiting for a Sunday Morning talk show to have Powell on and ask him about this, you will die of old age first.
Our next joke is Iran. One of our writers, Bob Nichols, an expert on nuclear weapons design from one of those government top secret facilities, keeps telling me that Iran has no nuclear weapons program. He says the only way they could enrich uranium is using a laser system that has never been mentioned. There is absolutely no evidence they have one of those but there is vast evidence that they systems they do have could never make a nuke in a million years.
He also says the same about North Korea.
With America’s top secret nuke sniffers detecting that North Korea’s lone nuke was bought, not built, Nichol’s theory is proven correct. With Brits falling all over themselves with shipping receipts, loading crane designs and bomb cradle drawings on this North Korean rogue nuke, the picture is pretty clear.
Someone wanted North Korea to look like a nuclear threat when they really weren’t one. North Korea is a donkey driven third world rathole and no more than that. End of story.
Another major issue being buried by the news is that our terrorists we had been capturing for years have mostly turned out to be the wrong people. By mostly, 75% are proven the wrong people and maybe 75% of the other may be also.
This means that if we catch a thousand terrorists, 5 of them are real and the rest are jailed and tortured for years by mistake.
Funny thing, years ago we used to talk about reasons for terrorism. At first it was bin Laden after America because we had bases in Saudi Arabia and had “defamed” their religious shrines. This was all totally made up, never happened.
Now we make excuses because people fight back after we bomb or invade them. By these standards, we are terrorists and they are freedom fighters.
The only country that bin Laden or any of the others were angry at in the first place was Israel, not the United States. With only Muslims fighting beside our own troops, not one Israeli is helping defend America, we have to list America’s biggest ally as Pakistan. They are a nuclear power, have a competent million man army and take orders like “good little soldiers.”
Israel does little but get us into trouble and they don’t have a single man in the field anywhere Americans are fighting, not on our side anyway.
Another fun story the news has covered up is the fires in Russia. We are being told that the area around Chernobyl is burning and that some radiation is blowing across Europe. What we aren’t told is that the secret city of Mayak, an area with nuclear pollution a thousand times higher than Chernobyl, is on fire also. Waste from decades of building nuclear weapons covers miles of open area, radiation now moving into the atmosphere.
Reliable figures place the output as 4 times higher than the Chernobyl disaster. The Mayak facility, as Nichols tells me, is 15 times larger than Chernobyl and is putting 241 million lethal doses of radiation in the air.
He says that if you are in Europe, its time to “get out of Dodge.”
There are little stories that escape the press entirely. Perhaps “escape” and “little” are the wrong words. Does anyone remember Mike Connell? This was one of the GOP computer guru’s who helped develop the “backdoor” that reset the count on voting machines in 2000 and 2004. When he was caught and forced to testify, he asked to be put in witness protection.
He was refused.
He said that Karl Rove had threatened to have him murdered.
Soon afterward Connell died in a suspicious plane crash. The story was small and local. The accusations were that one man was murdered to shut him up and that two presidential elections were rigged. Though everything here was in local papers, not one news service carried this outside Northern Ohio.
Can we prove that George W. Bush was never legally president? Well, I suspect we can.
But, we can’t report this, can we? I keep being haunted by the aeronautical engineering figures that proved that a Boeing 757 can’t fly low enough to hit the Pentagon at 400 mph. Were I a member of the press, oops, I am it seems, the first thing I would have asked is if the “premise” was technically possible.
I would have done this long before I started looking for little green men with box cutters.
Then again, I keep seeing poor, sad Colin Powell, duped by fratboy Bush to sell his honor and credibility to a pack of gangsters.
This is the same press that follows protesters around, supporting their complaints about how the constitution is being trashed but nary a word when habeas corpus was suspended allowing indefinate detention of any person detained anywhere in the world not carrying an American passport on them, even inside the United States. Yes, this is exactly what was done, something 5 members of the Supreme Court seemed to relish in. Anyone you can lock up, you can kill or even throw into a gas chamber, even if it’s 6 million people. We learn from the best.
All rights in the constitution are built from the concept of habeas corpus. Funny, when tax cuts to billionaires are threatened, our press crowd jumps on the bus pretty quickly.
None of this would be possible without the scumbag press.
Source: http://thepeopleofpakistan.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/public-enemy-number-one-the-american-press/
Western media fraud in the Middle East
Too often, you consumers of mainstream media are victims of a fraud. You think you can trust the articles you read – why wouldn’t you? You think you can sift through the ideological bias and just get the facts. But you don’t know the ingredients that go into the product you buy. It is important to understand how knowledge about current events in the Middle East is produced before relying on it. Even when there are no apparent ideological biases, such as those one often sees when it comes to reporting about Israel, there are fundamental problems at the epistemological and methodological level. These create distortions, falsehoods and justify the narrative of those with power.
In discussing the manners in which the Western intelligentsia and media depict the Middle East, the French intellectual and scholar Francois Burgat complained that two main types of intellectuals tasked with explaining the “other” to Westerners dominate. Firstly, there is what he and Bourdieu, another philosopher, describe as the “negative intellectual” who aligns his beliefs and priorities with those of the state, and centres his perspective on serving the interests of power and gaining proximity to it. And secondly, there is what Burgat terms as “the facade intellectual”, whose role in society is to confirm Western audiences with their already-held notions, beliefs, preconceptions, and racisms regarding the “other”. Journalists writing for the mainstream media, as well as their local interlocutors, often fall into both categories.
A vast literature exists on the impossibility of journalism in its classic, liberal sense with all the familiar tropes on objectivity, neutrality, and “transmitting reality”. However, and perhaps out of a lack of an alternative source of legitimation, major mainstream media outlets in the West continue to grasp to these notions with ever more insistence. The Middle East is an exceptionally suitable place for the Western media to learn about itself and its future, because it is the scene where all pretentions of objectivity, neutrality towards power, and critical engagement have faltered spectacularly.
Framing the ‘other’
Journalists are the archetype of ideological tools who create culture and produce knowledge. Their function is to represent a class and perpetuate the dominant ideology instead of building a counter hegemonic and revolutionary ideology, or narrative, in this case. They are the organic intellectuals of the ruling class. Instead of being the voice of the people or the working class, journalists are too often the functional tools for a bourgeois ruling class. They produce and disseminate culture and meaning for the system and reproduce its values, allowing it to hegemonise the field of culture and since journalism today has a specific political economy, they are all products of the hegemonic discourse and the moneyed class.
The working class has no networks, that applies too to Hollywood and television entertainment and series; it is all the same intellectuals producing them. Even journalists with pretentions of being serious usually only serve elites and ignore social movements. Journalism tends to be state centric, focusing on elections, institutions, formal politics and overlooking politics of contention, informal politics, social movements.
Those with reputations as brave war reporters who hop around the world, parachuting into conflicts from Yemen to Afghanistan, typically only confirm Americans’ views of the world. Journalism simplifies, which means it de-historicises. Journalism in the Middle East is too often a violent act of representation. Western journalists take reality and amputate it, contort it, and fit it into a predetermined discourse or taxonomy.
The American media always want to fit events in the region into an American narrative. The recent assassination of Osama bin Laden was greeted with a collective shrug of the shoulder in the Middle East, where he had always been irrelevant, but for Americans and hence for the American media it was a historic and defining moment which changed everything. Too often contact with the West has defined events in the Middle East, but the so-called Arab Spring with its revolutions and upheavals evokes anxiety among white Americans. They are unsettled with the autogenetic liberation of brown people. However, the Arab Spring may represent a revolutionary transformation of the Arab world, a massive blow to Islamist politics and the renaissance of secular and leftist Arab nationalist politics.
But the American media has been obsessed with Islamists, looking for them behind every demonstration, and the uprisings have been often treated as if they were something threatening. And all too often, it just comes down to “what does this mean for Israel’s security?” The aspirations of hundreds of millions of freedom-seeking Arabs are subordinated to the security concerns of five million Jews who colonised Palestine.
There is a strong element of chauvinism and racism behind the reporting. Like American soldiers, American journalists like to use the occasional local word to show they have unlocked the mysteries of the culture. ‘Wasta’ is one such word. One American bureau chief in Iraq told me that Muqtada al-Sadr had a lot of wasta now so he could prevent a long American presence. ‘Inshallah’ is another such word. And in Afghanistan it’s ‘pushtunwali’, the secret to understanding Afghans. Islam is also treated like a code that can be unlocked, and then locals can be understood as if they are programmed only through Islam.
Arab culture and Islam are spoken of the way race was once spoken of in India and Africa, and it is difficult to portray Arabs and Muslims as the good guys unless they are “like us” as in Google executives and other elites who speak English, dress trendy and use Facebook. So they are made to represent the revolutions while the poor, the workers, the subalterns, the majority who don’t even have internet access let alone twitter accounts, are ignored. And in order to make the revolutions in Tunisia and especially Egypt seem non-threatening, the nonviolent tactics are emphasised while the many acts of violent resistance to regime oppression are completely ignored. This is not just the journalists’ fault. It is driven by American discourse which drives the editors back in New York and Washington.
I’ve spent most of the last eight years working in Iraq, and also in Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen and other countries in the Muslim world. So all my work has taken place in the shadow of the war on terror and has in fact been thanks to this war, even if I’ve laboured to disprove the underlying premises of this war. In a way my work has still served to support the narrative. I once asked my editor at The New York Times Magazine if I could write about a subject outside the Muslim world. He said even if I was fluent in Spanish and an expert on Latin America, I wouldn’t be published if it wasn’t about jihad.
Seclusion and narrow narratives
It is important to understand the environment journalists inhabit, the interlocutors, translators and fixers they rely on to filter and mediate for them and the nature in which they collect information, accounts and interviews. One of the popular myths about reporting in Iraq is that journalists stayed in the Green Zone, the walled off fortress neighbourhood that housed the American occupiers and now houses the Iraqi government along with some foreign embassies. This is not true. Throughout the occupation, almost no journalists actually inhabited the Green Zone. They stayed in green zones of their own creation, whether secure compounds or intellectual green zones, creating their own walls. The first green zone for journalists was the fortress around the Sheraton and Palestine hotels in Baghdad, which was initially guarded by American soldiers and later by Iraqi security guards. The New York Times soon constructed its own immense fortress, with guard dogs, guard towers, security guards, immense walls, vehicle searches – so too did the BBC, Associated Press, and others, then there were was the Hamra hotel compound where many bureaus moved until it was damaged in an explosion in 2010. CNN, Fox, Al Jazeera English had their own green zone, though freelancers like myself could rent rooms there. And there is one last green zone which is a large neighbourhood protected by Kurdish peshmerga, where middle class Iraqis and some news bureaus live.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with staying in a secure compound. Foreigners are often targeted in conflict zones and authoritarian countries. You want to go to sleep at night without wondering whether men will kick down your door and drag you away, or whether you should go to sleep with your clothes on so that if a car bomb hits you wont be caught sleeping naked under a pile of rubble. You want to eat decent food and have running water, constant electricity, internet access, conversations with colleagues. A journalist doesn’t have to live like an impoverished local. But the less local life you experience, the less you can do your job, and this is what readers need to understand. The average person anywhere in the world goes to work and comes back home. He knows little about people outside his social class, ethnic group, neighbourhood or city. As a journalist, you are making judgements on an entire country and interpreting it for others, but you don’t know the country because you don’t really live in it. You spend 20 hours a day in seclusion from the country. You have no basis for judgement because to you, Iraq is out there, the red zone, and the pace of filing can make this even harder.
Most mainstream journalists have since 2004 treated reporting in Iraq like a military operation: going out on limited missions with a lot of planning, an armoured car, a chase car for backup, in and out, do the interview and come back home to their own green zone. Or they would more often just make the trip to the actual Green Zone, where officials are easy to meet and interview, where you can enjoy a drink, socialise with diplomats and feel macho because you live in the red zone. But in their artificial green zone, they are still sheltered from life – from Iraqis and from violence.
They did not just hang out, sit in restaurants, in mosques and husseiniyas, in people’s homes, walk through slums, shop in local markets, walk around at night, sit in juice shops, sleep in normal people’s homes, visit villages, farms, and experience Iraq like an Iraqi, or as close as possible. This means they have no idea what life is like at night, what life is like in rural areas, what social trends are important, what songs are popular, what jokes are being told, what arguments take place on the street, how comfortable people feel, or what sorts of Iraqis go to bars at night. Hanging out is key. You just observe, letting events and people determine your reporting. They also did not investigate, pursue spontaneous leads, develop a network of trusted contacts and sources. Dwindling resources and interest meant bureaus had to shut down or reduce staff, and only occasionally parachute a journalist in to interview a few officials and go back home.
Finessing the social fabric
And since they don’t know Arabic, they literally cannot read the writing on the wall – the graffiti on the wall -whether it is for the mujahedin, for Muqtada Sadr, or for the football teams of Madrid or Barcelona. It means that if they talk to one man, the translator only tells them what he said and not what everybody around him was saying, they don’t hear the Sadrist songs supporting the Shia of Bahrain, or hear the taxi driver complaining about how things were better under Saddam, or discussing the attacks he saw in the morning, or the soldiers joking at a checkpoint, or the shopkeeper cursing the soldiers. In fact they don’t even take taxis or buses, so they miss a key opportunity to interact naturally with people. It means they can’t just relax in people’s homes and hear families discuss their concerns. They are never able to develop what Germans call fingerspitzengefuhl – that finger tip feeling, an intuitive sense of what is happening, what the trends and sentiments are, which one can only get by running one’s own fingers through the social fabric.
A student of the Arab world once commented that any self-appointed terrorism expert must first pass the Um Kulthum test – meaning, has he heard of Um Kulthum, the iconic Egyptian diva of Arab nationalism whose music and lyrics still resonate throughout the Middle East? If they hadn’t heard of her, then they obviously were not familiar with Arab culture. In Iraq an equivalent might be the Hawasim test. Saddam called the 1991 war on Iraq “Um al-Maarik”, or the mother of all battles. And he called the 2003 war on Iraq “Um al-Hawasim”, or the mother of all decisive moments. Soon, the looting that followed the invasion was called Hawasim by Iraqis, and the word became a common phrase, applied to cheap markets, to stolen goods, to cheap products. If you drive your car recklessly like you don’t care about it, another driver might shout at you, “what, is it hawasim?” If you don’t make an effort to familiarise yourself with these cultural phenomena, then just go back home.
Relying on a translator means you can only talk to one person at a time and you miss all the background noise. It means you have to depend on somebody from a certain social class, or sect, or political position, to filter and mediate the country for you. Maybe they are Sunni and have limited contacts outside their community. Maybe they are a Christian from east Beirut and know little about the Shia of south Lebanon or the Sunnis of the north. Maybe they’re urban and disdainful of those who are rural. In Iraq, maybe they are a middle class Shia from Baghdad or a former doctor or engineer who looks down upon the poor urban class who make up the Sadrists. And so in May 2003, when I was the first American journalist to interview Muqtada Sadr, my bureau chief at Time magazine was angry at me for wasting my time and sending it on to the editors in New York without asking him, because Muqtada was unimportant, lacking credentials. But in Iraq, social movements, street movements, militias, those with power on the ground, have been much more important than those in the establishment or politicians in the green zone, and it is events in the red zone which have shaped things.
You don’t understand a country by going on preplanned missions; you learn about it when unplanned things happen, when you visit a friend’s neighbourhood for fun and other neighbours come over. You learn about it by driving around in a normal car, not an armoured one with tinted windows. That’s when Iraqi soldiers and police ask you to hitch a ride and take them towards their home. A few months ago, soldiers at a checkpoint outside Ramadi asked me to give one of their colleagues a ride to Baghdad. He was from Basra. In addition to the conversation we struck up, what was most revealing was that a soldier outside Ramadi felt safe enough to ask a stranger for a ride, whereas before he would not have even carried his ID on him, and that a stranger agreed to take a member of the security forces. I’ve since given rides to other Iraqi soldiers and policemen.
Class politics
Over the last year, there have been a slew of articles about whether the Iraqi security forces are ready to handle security for themselves, but these have all been based on the statements of American or Iraqi officials. Journalists have not talked to Iraqi lieutenants, or colonels, or sergeants, they have not cultivated these sources or just befriended them, met them for drinks when they were on leave, sat with them in their homes with their families.
So the views of the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi soldiers and policemen who man checkpoints and go on raids, are not written about. Meeting with them also lets you understand the degree to which sectarianism has been reduced in the security forces, while corruption and abuses such as torture and extra judicial killings remain a problem. And just travelling around the country since 2009 would reveal that yes, Iraqi security forces can maintain the current level of security (or insecurity) because they have been doing it since then, manning checkpoints in the most remote villages, cultivating their own intelligence sources, and basically occupying Iraq. The degree to which Iraq remains heavily militarised has not been sufficiently conveyed, but since 2009 Iraqi security forces have been occupying Iraq, and the American presence has been largely irrelevant from a daily security point of view.
And then there are the little Abu Ghraibs. The big scandals like Abu Ghraib, or the “Kill Team” in Afghanistan, eventually make their way into the media where they can be dismissed as bad apples and exceptions, and the general oppression of the occupations can be ignored. But an occupation is a systematic and constant imposition of violence on an entire country. It’s 24 hours of arresting, beating, killing, humiliating and terrorising, and unless you have experienced it, it’s impossible to describe except by trying to list them until the reader gets numb. I was only embedded three times over eight years – twice in Iraq for ten days each, and once in Afghanistan for three weeks.
My first embed in Iraq was in October 2003, six months after I first arrived. I was in the Anbar province. I saw soldiers arresting hundreds of men, rounding up entire villages, all the so-called military aged men, hoping somebody would know something. I saw children screaming for their daddies while they watched them bloody and beaten and terrified, while soldiers laughed or smoked or high-fived or chewed tobacco and spit on the lawn, as lives were being destroyed. I know one of the men I saw arrested died from torture, and countless others ended up in Abu Ghraib. I saw old men pushed down on the ground violently. I saw innocent men beaten, arrested, mocked and humiliated. These are the little Abu Ghraibs that come with any occupation, even if it’s the Swedish girl scouts occupying a country.
Many journalists spent their entire careers embedded, months or even years, so multiply what I saw by hundreds, by thousands and tens of thousands of terrorised traumatised families, beatings, killings, children who lost their fathers and wet their beds every night, women who could not provide for their families, innocent people shot at checkpoints. Then there are the daily Abu Ghraibs you endure when you live in an occupied country, having to navigate a maze of immense concrete walls, of barbed wire, waiting at checkpoints, waiting for convoys to go by, waiting for military operations to end, waiting for the curfew to end, military vehicles running you off the road, fifty calibre machine guns pointed at you, M16s pointed at you, pistols pointed at you, large foreign soldiers shouting at you and ordering you around. Or maybe in Afghanistan, the military convoy runs over a water canal destroying the water supply to a village of 30 families who now have no way to live, or they arrest an innocent Afghan because he has Taliban music on his cell phone – like many Afghans do – and now he must make his way through the Afghan prison system.
But if you are white and identify with white American soldiers, then you ignore these things, they just don’t occur to you. And so they never occur to your readers. Likewise you never think of how your average Yemeni or Egyptian or Iraqi deals with their own security forces on a daily basis because you focus on the elite level of politics and security, and your cars don’t get stopped at checkpoints because you have the right badges. You don’t get detained by the police because you have the right badge. Until you get beaten up by regime thugs like Anderson Cooper, then you can become a hysterical opponent of Mubarak and crusader for justice. Television reporting is overprotective of the celebrity correspondent – they barely go out, they just embed -and they do their live shots on the street inside their safe compounds, while making the story more about the celebrity correspondent rather than the story. Then they show the “back story” about the journalist and his work rather than the story.
Robert Kaplan, a terrible writer and great supporter of imperialism, said one smart thing by accident when he criticised journalists for not being able to relate to American soldiers, because journalists represented an elite while soldiers come from rural areas, went to public schools, and come from the working class (we’re not supposed to use that word because everybody in America thinks they’re middle class). But equally they cannot relate easily to the working classes anywhere, and so they gravitate to the elites. Focusing on elites and officials is a problem in general, not just in Middle East coverage. An American official visiting the region warrants articles about the region, but it is not studied empirically in its own context. People in power lie, whether they are a general, a president or a militia commander. This is the first rule. But at best, journalists act as if only brown people in power lie, and so they rely on the official statements of white people, whether they are military officers or diplomats, as if they should be trusted. The latest example is the bin Laden killing, when most mainstream journalists lazily relied on US government “feeds”, and they were literally fed an official version that kept on changing, but this is business as usual.
The revolution must be televised
One reason for the failure of journalists to leave their green zones may be a combination of laziness and aversion to discomfort. But in Iraq, Afghanistan, other developing countries and areas of conflict in some countries, you have to leave your comfort zone. You might prefer an English-speaking whiskey-drinking politician over six hours of bouncing along dirt roads in the heat and dust in order to sit on the floor and eat dirty food and drink dirty water and know you’re going to get sick tomorrow, but the road to truth involves a certain amount of diarrhoea.
When there are no physical green zones, journalists will create them, as in Lebanon where they inhabit the green zones of Hamra, Gumayzeh, or Monot, which shelters journalists from the rest of the country, giving them just enough of the exotic so they can feel as if they live in the Orient, without having to visit Tripoli, Akkar, the Beqa, or the majority of Beirut or Lebanon where the poor live. Like other countries, Lebanon has a ready local fixer and translator mafia who can determine the price, and allow a journalist who parachutes in to meet a representative of all the political factions, drink wine with Walid Jumblat and look at his collection of unopened books (including one I wrote) and unread copies of the New York Review of Books while never having to walk through a Palestinian refugee camp, or Tariq al Jadida in Beirut or Bab al Tabaneh in Tripoli and see how most people live and what most people care about.
A green zone can be the capital city or a neighbourhood or a focus only on officials, as long as it shields you from the red zone of reality, or poverty, of class conflict, of challenges to your ideology or comfort. In Egypt, even before the revolution, Cairo got most of the media’s attention, but during the revolution journalists barely ventured outside Tahrir Square. Egypt is 86 million people – it’s not just Tahrir, it’s not just Cairo or Alexandria. Port Said and Suez were barely covered, even though Suez was such a key spark in the revolution. In Libya at first everything was new and everybody was an explorer and adventurer, but now the self-appointed opposition leadership is trying to manage the message so you can be lazy and just refer to their statements. Yemen was totally neglected, but when people came, it was almost always just to Sanaa. And Yemen’s capital has its own green zone in the Movenpic hotel, situated safely outside the city. Now Yemen is portrayed as if it were two rival camps demonstrating in Sanaa, even though the uprisings started long before (and were much more violent) in Taez, Aden, Saada and elsewhere. Yemen is viewed mostly through prism of the war on terror, through the American government’s prism, rather than the needs and views of the people.
But if you spend any time with the demonstrators, you realise how unimportant al-Qaeda and its ideology are in Yemen, so that they don’t even deserve an article. And you would do well to remember that even though the Yemeni franchise of al-Qaeda is portrayed as America’s greatest threat, AQAP’s record is little more than a failed underwear bomber and a failed printer cartridge bomb.
American reporting is problematic throughout the third world, but because the American military/industrial/financial/academic/media complex is so directly implicated in the Middle East, the consequences of such bad reporting are more significant. Journalists end up serving as propagandists justify the killing of innocent people instead of a voice for those innocent people.
There are many brave and dedicated journalists working in the Middle East whose work deserves attention and praise. Some even work for the mainstream media. Too often their independent voices are drowned out by the mass of writers who justify power instead of opposing it. Our job should not be about speaking truth to power. Those in power know the truth, they just don’t care. It’s about speaking truth to the people, to those not in power, in order to empower them.
This article is based on a speech given at a conference sponsored by Jadaliyya on teaching the Middle East at George Mason University.
Nir Rosen is an American journalist who writes on current and international affairs. He has contributed to The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, among others. His latest book is Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America’s Wars in the Muslim World.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.
How Media are Censored for the Corporate Cause and the Military Industrial Complex:
Propaganda to Gain Public Support to Get Away with Murder, and worse.
Officer Jack McLamb with Brent Johnson for The Voice of Freedom.
AdvertisementsCiting the deadly opioid crisis, Baltimore officials made it easier on Thursday to acquire an overdose-reversing drug over the counter, saying the antidote should be as prevalent as possible to prevent more deaths.
City Health Commissioner Leana Wen waived training requirements for acquiring and using naloxone, a fast-acting medication that’s become a vital and ubiquitous tool in fighting the nation’s heroin and prescription painkiller crisis.
Dr. Wen said the training only took a few minutes — naloxone can be administered as a nasal spray or injected into the muscle, like an EpiPen. But the associated paperwork was cumbersome, so she implemented a recent state law allowing her to scrap the training altogether.
“Any resident can go into any of our pharmacies in Baltimore City and immediately get the medication for saving someone’s life,” she said.
City residents on Medicaid can acquire two doses of naloxone for $1 — it’s free if they don’t have the money — while those on private insurance typically face co-pays of $10 to $40.
Baltimore estimates that 20,000 residents use heroin and thousands more abuse prescription opioids. There were 481 fatal overdoses in the city during the first nine months of 2016, according to preliminary data, and deaths related to fentanyl have risen twentyfold in recent years, the health department said.
The order brings Baltimore in line with a number of states that have granted over-the-counter access to the drug without training requirements, though who may acquire it varies from state to state. It also coincides with efforts at every level of government to respond to a devastating opioid epidemic that is killing more Americans than car crashes do in some places.
Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced $70 million in state grants to expand medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction and expand the use of overdose-reversing drugs.
Ohio, meanwhile, became the latest jurisdiction to take a hard line on opioid manufacturers, filing a lawsuit that said their marketing practices disregarded the risks of addiction and fueled the state’s epidemic as patients, once hooked, turned to cheaper alternatives such as heroin and synthetic opioids.
The defendant companies either declined to comment or said the litigation was misguided, saying they’ve complied with federal rules and have developed forms of their drugs that are less susceptible to abuse but still manage pain.
The state of Mississippi, city of Chicago and counties in New York, California and West Virginia have filed similar lawsuits against companies along the prescription opioid supply chain.
Congress last year tried to get its arms around the opioid crisis by approving $500 million each for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 to deliver much-needed treatment and expand the use of drugs such as naloxone, which is also known by the brand name Narcan.
Some critics say naloxone is a backstop that emboldens addicts to take risks and continue using.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a 2016 bill that would have allow pharmacists to distribute naloxone without a prescription to those at risk of an overdose. At the time, he said the drug “does not truly save lives; it merely extends them until the next overdose.”
Dr. Wen, meanwhile |
desirable to be combined with your spells. Since your totems are random, often times Shamans rely on a bit of good luck to get the right totem and has been labeled the most random class.
Below Average Cards 17.Forked Lightning Forked Lightning Cleave Forked Lightning
It should be noted that this card is a terrible play on turn one or two as you will be too overloaded to have any plays the turn after.
18. Windspeaker The other way to bestow a Windfury Windspeaker Windspeaker Fire Elemental
19. Bloodlust An iconic spell that has unfortunately not transitioned very well into Hearthstone. It pales in comparison to the popular Druid spell Savage Roar Force of Nature Bloodlust
With that condition in mind, we can compare Bloodlust Windfury Windfury Bloodlust
20. Ancestral Healing A free heal and Taunt on a minion sounds like a sweet deal. The problem is that there are few targets with high enough Health to make full use of the effect. At the end of the day, we only have 30 card slots and Ancestral Healing The Black Knight
Ancestral Healing Injured Blademaster Injured Blademaster Circle of Healing
21. Ancestral Spirit Pay two mana and you get your favorite minion back when it dies! With this card, you can make your own Cairne Bloodhoof Chillwind Yeti
If you are using the Ancestral Spirit
is another very mediocre spell. While it may sound good, the reality is that you are paying three mana to do two damage to two random targets: sounds like a worse. The only real saving grace for the card is that it only needs one mana up-front allowing you to play more cards in the same turn you castIt should be noted that this card is a terrible play on turn one or two as you will be too overloaded to have any plays the turn after.The other way to bestow abuff to a minion.is arguably weaker because you usually want to combo Windfury; and for two mana less, you can play more with it.is more powerful in a control Shaman build where you can slowly build advantages and bursting your opponent is not the win condition. Your ideal targets in such decks are yours.An iconic spell that has unfortunately not transitioned very well into Hearthstone. It pales in comparison to the popular Druid spellbecause it costs more and has a worse damage to mana ratio. Furthermore, without a spell like, it is incredibly difficult to win withalone: you need to gain control of the board before going for the kill.With that condition in mind, we can compareto. Both cards require you to be winning to make the full use of the card; however,can be used as part of a burst combo from the hand where asis clunkier.A free heal and Taunt on a minion sounds like a sweet deal. The problem is that there are few targets with high enough Health to make full use of the effect. At the end of the day, we only have 30 card slots andis too conditional to be worth one of them. It also turns your minion into a prime target forcan be played in combination withsimilar to the Priest combination ofand. This is still a very situational combination and in general, Shamans have better three mana plays.Pay two mana and you get your favorite minion back when it dies! With this card, you can make your ownwith a. While the effect is nice, the reality is that you are using two cards for an effect that works best on a strong vanilla card. Unfortunately, Shamans run very few of these cards and thus it becomes a too situational.If you are using the, try to use it as you trade to prevent your opponent casting a Silence effect onto your buffed minion.
Unplayable Cards 22. Frost Shock Frost Shock
23. Far Sight Three Mana to cycle a card and play your next card for three less. It sounded good until you stopped and realized you could just directly play that other card instead. The only time this actually gains you anything is when you have a card that has an effect when you play a spell such as Gadgetzan Auctioneer Wild Pyromancer
24. Dust Devil The Dream! Turn 1: Dust Devil Rockbiter Weapon Dust Devil
25. Totemic Might Totemic Might
has a nice Freeze effect, which in itself is a decent mechanic, but not enough to warrant a slot purely for the Freeze. The one damage is rather insignificant even when buffed with Spell Power.Three Mana to cycle a card and play your next card for three less. It sounded good until you stopped and realized you could just directly play that other card instead. The only time this actually gains you anything is when you have a card that has an effect when you play a spell such asorThe Dream! Turn 1:, Turn 2: Coin +for 12 damage. Realistically,is too fragile for his cost and is directly countered by three Hero Powers. Still we can dream.doesn't really help any situation. If you can have a board full of totems it still won't be that scary, nor will it be after being buffed with two health. Until Totems that can actually trade on their own come out, this card will unfortunately not see any constructed play.
Sample Decklists Armed with the knowledge of all of the Shaman Class cards, lets now shift our focus to Shaman decks. We'll be showcasing four decks here ranging from your first free deck to ultimate decks capable of bringing you to legend rank. As the metagame is consistently shifting, however, these decks are meant as a rough guide rather than something set in stone.
If we look at the core cards that are played in most Shaman decks, it becomes clear that Shamans have strong early game removal and board clears. They also possess extremely powerful tempo controlling cards such as Feral Spirit Fire Elemental Windfury
This leads decks to be built with early and mid game control whilst splashing in a few finishers to end the game. Aggressive Shaman decks have yet to be truly explored; however, they are still quite capable at creating a large board very fast and utilizing Bloodlust
Free Shaman
The Free Shaman deck is built with the best free cards available to Shamans. Though Shaman doesn't have the best array of free cards, they still have both their best cards, Fire Elemental Hex Fire Elemental
Card Note: Bloodlust
Bloodlust Bloodlust is a fun spell often used to finish your opponent off. Don't be afraid to useto bring your opponent down low if you have a large board and your opponent is capable of cleaning most of it up.
Budget Shaman
When we move from the Free to the Budget version, we can see that it resembles the Ultimate in many ways. While this deck utilizes a total of nine rares, five of them are neutral rares used in multiple decks. The only class specific rares needed are Feral Spirit Lightning Storm
Card Note: Windfury
Windfury Rockbiter Weapon Flametongue Totem Windfury is your finisher allowing you to amplify your damage significantly. It is ideally used in combination withs orfor huge damage bursts. Try to avoid playingunless your opponent has no answers for the minion you are casting it on as it is your only burst finisher. Ultimate Shamans
Ultimate Shaman 1
This is the Shaman deck that StrifeCro hit Legend Rank 1 with this season. In many regards it plays the same way as Budget Shaman deck; however, you have strong board clears with Wild Pyromancer Swipe
Card Note: Gadgetzan Auctioneer
This little fellow is included because you have six spells costing one mana. The other four spells cost less than three mana as well meaning that it is quite easy to activate the card draw ability of Gadgetzan Auctioneer This little fellow is included because you have six spells costing one mana. The other four spells cost less than three mana as well meaning that it is quite easy to activate the card draw ability ofin a single turn.
Ultimate Shaman 2
This is the most recent version of Chakki's Burst Shaman, used by Realz to sweep Kisstafer in Leeroy Jenkins Lava Burst
Card Note: Rockbiter Weapon
As this deck attempts to burst your opponent from the hand, it is more important to try and save Rockbiter Weapon Leeroy Jenkins Windfury As this deck attempts to burst your opponent from the hand, it is more important to try and saveto use it in combination withand
Armed with the knowledge of all of the Shaman Class cards, lets now shift our focus to Shaman decks. We'll be showcasing four decks here ranging from your first free deck to ultimate decks capable of bringing you to legend rank. As the metagame is consistently shifting, however, these decks are meant as a rough guide rather than something set in stone.If we look at the core cards that are played in most Shaman decks, it becomes clear that Shamans have strong early game removal and board clears. They also possess extremely powerful tempo controlling cards such ass and. With the burst damage that thebuff brings, Shamans also have very strong finishers.This leads decks to be built with early and mid game control whilst splashing in a few finishers to end the game. Aggressive Shaman decks have yet to be truly explored; however, they are still quite capable at creating a large board very fast and utilizingfor a large burst.The Free Shaman deck is built with the best free cards available to Shamans. Though Shaman doesn't have the best array of free cards, they still have both their best cards,and, available to them., especially, often provides great game changing swings. Your goal when playing this deck is to win board control and consistently chip away at your opponent until you completely dominate the board and win.When we move from the Free to the Budget version, we can see that it resembles the Ultimate in many ways. While this deck utilizes a total of nine rares, five of them are neutral rares used in multiple decks. The only class specific rares needed ares and. Unfortunately, there are no real replacement for either of these cards. As far as Budget decks go, this is one of the most effective and can easily get you to Legend.This is the Shaman deck that StrifeCro hit Legend Rank 1 with this season. In many regards it plays the same way as Budget Shaman deck; however, you have strong board clears withturning all your spells into pseudo-s. The goal of the deck is to survive the first few turns before the powerful Shaman cards kick in. It is crucial that you try to avoid overloading yourself unless absolutely necessary on turn five: turn six is your most crucial turn.This is the most recent version of Chakki's Burst Shaman, used by Realz to sweep Kisstafer in King of the Hills #10. In general, the core of this deck is similar to the previous Ultimate Shaman deck. The main difference is that with the inclusion ofand, your finishing burst from the hand is extremely high.May kicked off with two college shows. The first was a frat party at Hamilton College on 5/6/89. Despite being a frat gig, the band showcased a jazz-heavy show. After the opening "Golgi" they asked the crowd to come closer to the stage. To entice them, they played "YEM." When that didn't work, Trey tried to get them to imagine they were in the Bahamas and that there was a pool party right in front of the stage. The band played "Ya Mar" as Trey goaded them for standing on the side of the pool. Trey added a "Popeye" tease as he joined in. "Fluffhead" and "Alumni" passed relatively unnoticed before a particularly speedy version of Miles Davis' tune, "Donna Lee." The rest of the set included standard fare with the jazz theme extending during "Take the A-Train" and a really jazzy jam on "McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters" to close the recording.
The next day they ventured to another college, Dartmouth, where they played the Collins Center Cafeteria. They opened with "You Enjoy Myself" and didn't spare the ridiculous. In what I would consider one of their wackier "YEMs" to this point in their career, the vocal jam lead smoothly into "I Didn't Know" and made me wonder why they hadn't done it before. As "Mike's" began, I danced and worked on getting some orders ready in the warehouse (I do have a job after all). The whole "Mike's" trilogy was smoking, and the "Weekapaug" had extra gusto. Upon it's conclusion Trey transported everyone from "Weekapaug, RI" to Gamehenge. The creepy organ of "Esther" began and I found myself impressed with their ability to tell a tale, even if it was a twisted one. Page tickled the keys nicely during the interlude. "The Sloth" made me chuckle about how aggressive parts of the song were, but how mellow sloths are. I mean, they're sloths. Their use of dynamics to punctuate "Sloth" and begin "Possum" quietly was a sign of their progress. At first the band seemed to be focused on getting through the sections without making errors, now they were beginning to work on touch, feel, dynamics, mood, passion, emotion. Masters like David Gilmour relied more on touch than chops for the most part. Those influences were becoming more easily discernible. Listening to things chronologically really allowed me to hear how each show was gradually deepening their abilities. They were consistently working up new material and tightening up the existing material. They were incredibly talented from the get-go, but there really was a beautiful architecture to their progress from "really good" to "HOLY SHIT!" These shows were showing more of a band personality than before. The band was joking around more, taking even bigger chances, and occasionally touching on what I call the "soup." It occurred when the band would get into an improvisation that lacked any recognizable reference to the song from which it came. Every good Phish show I have seen had some sort of "soup" that could have been born from any song, could have given way to any song, and was largely spontaneously composed music of uncompromised creativity. But, you already knew that. So, the show continued with a replica "Bold as Love" before Trey returned us to Gamehenge. The crowd requested "The Tire Song" (Contact), which made the band chuckle, and Trey told the requestor they wouldn't be playing "The Tire Song" yet. "AC/DC Bag" was Trey dominant, and keeping with the Gamehenge theme they rolled into "Forbin's> Mockingbird." Both pieces were good but not perfect. "Bowie" ripped but abruptly cut off and really killed my buzz, brah. The ensuing "Donna Lee" was aggressively airy. "Suzy Greenburg" was lively, and then they dropped "The Tire Song." After "Contact" they hit Jimi's "Fire" and then there was "Hood." Always a favorite of mine, this "Hood" delivered and had me distracted from my job. Oh my, you can really feel good about Hood. The set continued with knockout punches, "Golgi", "Slave", and "Divided Sky."
"Who is it?" said Trey in a feminine voice... badum badum... "Who is it?" Ultimately the silly intro gave way to "Wilson" and set the tone for a fun show (5/9/89) with alternative lyrics, jokes, and overall tomfoolery. "Peaches" was straight forward before a "Ya Mar" where the sports car was a CRX. Also a moment of "Great great great great great great great Grandpa" in the lyrics and a quick "Popeye" tease by Trey. From the Bahamian flavor of "Ya Mar," they were off to Rhode Island for the "Mike's" trilogy. They came out swinging on the "Mike's" and I knew it was going to be a fun 15 minutes. After the awesomeness, Trey told everyone to pick up a copy of "Junta" (pronounced June-tuh) and to be "The first one on the block," unknowingly making a half reference to "Ocelot," a tune that wouldn't arrive for another 20 years. "Sloth" was the same as usual, but I was once again humored by the line "I'm so bad, (He's so nasty), ain't got no friends, (real outcast-y)." No surprises on "Possum" but a brief and familiar carnival tune tease. Trey was on his game throughout. "Divided Sky" was part beauty, part frenzy. Before "YEM" Trey reiterated that it was the tape release party and that copies of their first album were available at the soundboard. He also acknowledged it was Mike's birthday, though it was not. From there a zany "YEM" ensued that had some excellent bass work by Mike, and ultimately wound up in a vocal jam that resolved to a collective chant of "suckin' a bone"... weird. "La Grange" was typical but then the recording dropped a tune called "If I Don't Be There by Morning," before picking back up at "Slave to the Traffic Light." "Esther" and "Antelope" were entertaining, but nothing out of the ordinary. "I Didn't Know" had the adapted lyric, "Pardon me dogs" instead of Doug, and featured Sofi Dillof singing "Nowhere Fast> I've Turned Bad" in the middle. It wasn't what I expected. Sofi was way more "punk" than I anticipated and coming off of the trombone of Fishman's solo, I almost felt assaulted. It definitely gave the show a different flavor than most. I'm not versed enough in female punk singers, but it reminded me of someone... maybe Patti Smith? "The Lizards" wasn't anything wild, nor the "Bold as Love", but the "Harpua" was full of jokes. The "spastic dead-eyed hound" had inherited Marley's "twice shot ass" for the story this time, and touched on a tease I couldn't quite place but was tremendously familiar. The "Whipping Post" that closed the show was passionate per usual.
I was in the midst of listening to 5/13/89 from Hungry Charlie's in Syracuse when I heard that Harris Wittels had died of a suspected overdose. Harris was a writer and comedian most well known for Parks and Recreation, The Sarah Silverman Show, Eastbound and Down, as well as several podcasts. My favorite of those podcasts was called "Analyze Phish" and featured Harris and fellow funnyman Scott Aukerman talking about Harris' favorite band... The Phish from Vermont. Harris was tremendously funny, lovable, and insightful. I took a few days to listen to podcasts, read tweets, and generally appreciate Mr. Wittels' contributions to the world. Now I am getting back to Phish. It's what he would have wanted. Much love Wittels. Be careful out there people. If you need help, please get it.
So, 5/13/89 was the day after Syracuse's graduation, and our favorite quartet was there to help celebrate. The opening "AC/DC Bag" was dynamic, but generally basic. The following "Alumni" was dedicated to the recent grads and was also good, but not spectacular. "YEM" was good, and I am pretty sure I heard a super brief tease of "Unskinny Bop." "Golgi" went according to plan, and "La Grange" had balls. "Fluffhead" was solid as well, and "Possum" also hit the bar with an "Andy Griffith" theme in it. Nothing crazy in any of these, but steady quality work. "Foam" reminded me of "Harris' Foam Corner," a bit from the Comedy Death Ray podcast. "Walk Away" was standard and "Take the A-Train" teased the "Flintstones." The show kicked into high gear with "Split Open and Melt." "Melt" resolved to the paranoid hi-hat of "David Bowie" but before launching into the tune, they faked us out with brief phrases from "Satin Doll" and "Slave to the Traffic Light" before Trey gave the signature string scratch that began the song. Second set kicked off with "Suzy," which also had a quick "Flintstones" riff. Obviously the fellas were having fun with the idea of teasing songs during this show. A sign of things to come. "Suzy" eventually transitioned into "Bold as Love," and Trey did his best Hendrix. "The Lizards" was smooth and beautiful as always. "Hood" brought it's usual magic to the set. Having heard Fishman's comical take on "If I Only Had a Brain" before, I was bored with this idea and cover. "Contact" got the show back on track, and they rounded out the show with covers, "Fire" and "Whipping Post." Both were sharp.
On 5/20/89 the show started very similarly to the 5/13 show. "AC/DC Bag-> Alumni Blues", "YEM" to kick off the show made me think I had accidentally gone back to the last show. But, the recording was not as crisp as some of the others I've been listening to, and was it not for a few hot licks during the opening "AC/DC Bag," I may have been frustrated to listen. But Trey seemed to be on his game, and I figured I might as well try to enjoy it. During "Alumni" Page came alive and rained jazzy-tonk piano. Before "YEM" Trey apologized that the crowds trampolines were imaginary. He said that eventually they would like to play a gig where the whole venue is a trampoline and everyone can join them. Funnily enough, right when I thought the vocal jam in "YEM" was bordering on annoying, my UPS driver showed up to pick up packages. The look on his face was priceless. I just said, "yeah, I listen to some weird shit." "The Lizards" followed and was just as beautiful as ever. I don't know if I'll ever tire of it. "Wilson" included narration in which Trey called Wilson an asshole. Upon it's conclusion, Trey told tale of "the rhombus" before playing "Divided Sky." "I Didn't Know" contained a vacuum solo, and was actually one of the better ones I'd heard. "Possum" was fairly high energy. "Bold As Love" preceded "Mike's> Hydrogen> Weekapaug" establishing second set as a dance-party. "Foam" was one of my favorite tunes from this era, and was becoming more-so with each version. Though there was nothing particularly noteworthy, this version was solid, much like the rest of the show. "Contact" stated that "the tires were the things on the bus that made contact with the road." The "A Train" was good, "Bowie" better, and the show ended with "Golgi" before the encore, "Good Times, Bad Times."
5/21/89 was one of my first tapes, I remembered the address, 320 Spear Street. "Hood" to open the show? I was a fan. Phish came out swinging for the hometown house party, and it didn't take more than 5 minutes into the show before I was feeling good about Hood. Trey murdered his guitar and then resurrected it (he still had a whole show to play). Trey told the crowd that "Foam" was about Mike. "Contact" was topical because cars were about to be towed outside. "Mike's Song" was reworked to be "Molly's Song" and was dedicated to Molly. "Hydrogen" was gentle and melodic before an high-flying "Weekapaug." "Melt" was sharp, but "Dazed and Confused" stole it's thunder. The vocals were surprisingly good for a Zeppelin cover, though the playing was a tad sloppy. I didn't mind, and I was pretty sure the crowd didn't either. Trey admitted they needed a little work on that song, claiming it was a lot harder than it looked. "The Sloth" was typical, but the "YEM" was memorable as it resolved to a "Godzilla" vocal jam. "Ya Mar", "Bag", and "Divided Sky" rounded out the show. The 320 show was pivotal for me. As one of the early tapes I'd had as a kid, this reminded me of driving around the back roads near Hanover, PA in my 1989 Nissan Sentra Sport. Memories.
5/26 from The Valley Club Café in Rutland, VT kicked off with Hendrix' "Bold as Love." They hit "AC/DC Bag" before jumping into the "Mike's" suite. "Weekapaug" had some pepper. As a speedy version of "Sanity" kicked in, I was excited. Things were heating up. Nancy came out to sing "Halley's Comet" and I felt it was one of his better sit-ins. My recording abruptly dropped into "The Sloth" and I was pretty sure there were a few minutes missing in between. Either way, both were good. "YEM" seemed really lazy, but in a good way. It seemed to give everything more air. The quiet parts were crisp and breezy, the higher energy parts were still engaging, but not as aggressive as usual. It almost had the feeling that they were discussing the importance of letting the music breathe in their practice and this was an exercise in restraint. I really dug it. When the time came, Trey still knocked it out of the park with a screaming solo of Hendrix-esque proportions. Great way to close first set. The "Bowie" that kicked off second set was sung as "Lazy Lester" and Trey introduced several new instruments including new bass drum, toms, cymbals, and his guitar chord. He also introduced Mike and Fish with a French pronunciation of each name. From there, they hit on a newer tune, "Mango," to a nice reception. "Split Open and Melt" was solid, but the highlight of this show had to be the debut of "Bathtub Gin." Though largely in it's final form, there were some sections that were slightly different including the ending. Before "Antelope" Trey fessed up that he always wanted to be a professional hockey player and that being a musician wasn't very different. Then he dedicated "Antelope" to all the professional hockey players. "Golgi" was standard, but "Slave" was of diminished recording quality. I didn't care for it. "Funky Bitch" was typical, but then they busted out "Curtis Loew" for the first time in several shows. There was an "Andy Griffith" theme within. The set rounded out with "Possum" and was decent. The encore was short and sweet. My first time really hearing "The Practical Song" which had lyrics about buying peanut butter before it sold out like toilet paper did.
The next day, 5/27/89, the band was back at it, at Trinity College in Hartford. The "AC/DC Bag" didn't do anything for me, but it was ok. "Mike's> Hydrogen> Weekapaug" followed, and much like a Red Bull, injected vitality and energy into the set. "Funky Bitch" was standard as was "Fee." The "YEM" was particularly experimental for the time, opening with Trey playing a multitude of jazz chord variations before nailing the first break. I enjoyed the vocal jam, but it abruptly dropped into "Take the A Train," which was like pulling an unexpected U-turn at speed. "Fluffhead" was quality, though the jam had to take a second approach to land. The second "Bathtub Gin" hit next. It was already apparent they had a new fan favorite on their hands. "Good Times, Bad Times" closed the show and left the crowd wanting more.
5/28/14 was another party hosted by Ian McLean at Connie Condon's farm. The opener, "Divided Sky" had depth and set the tone for another rager. I really felt this was the era when things started to gel. With the 90's rapidly approaching, the musicianship was ascending as well. Most of first set was money. "Antelope", "Forbin's> Mockingbird", "Fee> Slave"... all tight. "Esther" was well executed. "Suzy" got the crowd locked in, and the "YEM" was my favorite one since I started this project. From the jump it had some pep, and seemed to touch on all the things that "YEM" has become from there. The first improvisation contained a perfect example of a "spontaneous composition" rather than just a jam. The "Boy, Man, God, Shit" section spawned ad libs of "crap" and eventually "poop." The "poop" vocal persisted through the rest of the song and into the vocal jam which was psychedelic, silly, and quite impressive. I doubted I would find another 80's "YEM" that compared. Give this one a listen for laughs and facemelts. At "YEM's" conclusion, Trey said they were taking a break to poop. Second set began with "Fire" by Hendrix. It wasn't the cleanest version I've heard, but it wasn't bad. "Mike's Song" started with a fury and speed that combined the energy of Grand Theft Auto with a methamphetamine binge. Fortunately it leveled off fairly quickly and sunk into it's normal pace. Mike teased the "HBO Theme." By the time they hit stride in Weekapaug, Trey yelled for Paul to turn up the hi-hat and snare in the monitors and "we'll take it to WEEKAPAUG!" before ripping into a soaring lead. Not the best I've heard, but it definitely built to a nice peak. "Bathtub Gin" followed, and though it was the 3rd one in as many dates, I understood why. With a new song like that, I would have played the shit out of it for a while. "Sanity" was speedy and a little bit more melodic than some others. Not sure why. Page dropped some really sweet organ on this one too. They hit requested tune, "Ride Captain Ride" and the Zappa classic, "Peaches En Regalia" before breaking down into "Take the A Train." The "A Train" had a brief phrase from "Dixie," and Trey got all jazzy with his chords. He took a moment to give Fishman well-deserved accolades. The intro to "Possum" contained references that the car that hit the possum was the same one from "Contact" (which followed). "Contact" faded into a brief "Auld Lang Syne" riff. Trey continued claiming that it was Christmas Eve. Ninja Mike and Magoo joined them for "Funky Breakdown> The Price of Love," which was cacophonous. They got back on track with "Funky Bitch" which had a nice jam. "Melt" and "Mango" followed and had me boogying around the warehouse. "Hood" was spectacular for the era. So good. What was it about Ian McLean's parties? Instead of a full "La Grange" they played an abstract jam that landed in "La Grange's" ending. "The Sloth" was short as there was a minor flub. Trey played it off saying that they were going to try to get some radio play and cut all their tunes to 3 minutes. On request, they played "Sneaking Sally" complete with vocal jam. "Ya Mar" brought the Bahamian rhythms before the encore of "Jesus Left Chicago." As I put May to rest, I was certain that the fuse was lit, and the big bang was coming.FBI Director Robert Muller said the bureau has opened a preliminary investigation into a major JPMorgan Chase trading loss.
"All I can say is that we have opened a preliminary investigation," Robert Mueller said in response to questions at an FBI oversight hearing on Capitol Hill.
The company had made a surprise announce that it has suffered trading losses of $2 billion since the start of April.
The loss, while massive on the face of it, is expected to be easily absorbed by JPMorgan, which is the nation's largest bank by assets. Even this quarter, the bank is expected to turn a multi-billion dollar profit.
The group that suffered the losses is part of the bank's so-called corporate unit, and had been making trades designed to hedge against risk, which is a fancy way of saying it operates as a kind of insurance agency, CNNMoney.com reported. When a big bet is made, the office tries to find ways to mitigate the risk to the bank should the bet go south.
Over the past few months, the unit has staked out a very large position in insurance-like bets called credit default swaps, the same type of instrument that caused so much havoc in 2008.
CEO Jamie Dimon, who on Monday a $23 million compensation package approved, told analysts and reporters the losses were caused by "errors," "sloppiness" and "bad judgment."
In the wake of the financial crisis, critics have made the case that the biggest banks are still so large, so complex, and their desire for profits so great that they remain a systemic risk to the global financial system.
Dimon, in full damage control mode, was forced to hold a hastily-arranged conference call to announce the loss, and followed that with an appearance on Meet the Press, where he admitted the company had made a mistake.
"This is a terrible mistake," Dimon said. "In this job, you hope they're small and few and far between. This one is far too big."
Read more on JPMorgan:
CNNMoney.com: How JPMorgan made its $2B blunder
CNNMoney.com: Betting against JPMorgan
Fortune: The hedge funds that are profiting off JPMorgan's bad tradeBen Davies knows how it feels to be down the pecking order under Mauricio Pochettino. But the Wales left-back is enjoying his longest spell in the Tottenham first team since joining from Swansea in July 2014, in the absence of Danny Rose through injury, and Davies believes he and Kieran Trippier are reaping the rewards from their spells as understudies.
Premier League 2017-18 fans’ previews, part 2: Manchester City to West Ham Read more
Pochettino expects to discover later on Monday the extent of the injury that forced Trippier off during the first half of their 2-0 win over Juventus on Saturday; the Spurs manager said the former Burnley defender had twisted his ankle after a challenge with Alex Sandro. The 26-year-old left Wembley on crutches and wearing a protective boot but Pochettino appeared upbeat about his chances of featuring against Newcastle on Sunday in their opening Premier League game of the season.
Following the sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City for a fee that could reach £50m and with Tottenham yet to make a signing since the end of last season, the injury could not have come in a worse position for Pochettino; he has only the England under-20 defender and near-namesake Kyle Walker-Peters to call on if Trippier is ruled out for a significant period. Walker-Peters impressed against the Serie A champions in the second half but has yet to make a senior appearance, meaning the club could decide to firm up interest in Hoffenheim’s Jeremy Toljan, who impressed for Germany at the European Under-21 Championship in June.
With Rose also not expected back from his long-term knee injury until at least the end of the month, Spurs face starting the season with Davies as their only fit senior full-back, an area of the team which excelled last season. “It’s going to be an opportunity for me to get some games and it’s all about trying to do well in those games, then we will see what happens,” said Davies, who admitted he and Trippier have had to be patient since arriving in north London.
“We’re definitely quite similar. We’ve been in and out of the team the time we’ve been here but in any club you’re going to have the rotation system with the amount of games you have. But when you get that jersey you’ve got to try to make the best of the opportunity.”
While Pochettino repeated that Spurs intend to add some new faces before the transfer window closes, the quality of the two goals against Juventus – scored by Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen – showed there remains plenty of talent at his disposal.
Premier League 2017-18 fans’ previews, part 1: Arsenal to Liverpool Read more
After a slow start to last season during which Spurs won only five of their first 11 matches and drew six, Davies believes they are in a strong position to improve this time around.
“It’s a definite confidence boost. It is only pre-season so we can’t look at it too much but overall we’re delighted with the performance and the result,” he said. “We’ve used the pre-season games just to build our fitness ready for the start of the season and this was definitely a confidence-booster to beat a world-class side like Juventus. Anybody would be happy with that.”
First up is the trip to face Newcastle at St James’ Park, where a 5-1 defeat on the final day of the 2015-16 season against a team that had already been relegated condemned Spurs to finishing third behind Arsenal.
“It was a strange game,” said Davies. “None of us as players wanted that to happen and we’re determined for it not to happen again. It’s a game that’s kind of been wiped from our minds and it’s going to be us going there looking to be better than them.
Nobody wants a result like that against anybody. We were a different team then and hopefully we’ve grown and we can show that next weekend.”Share:
Be a Brand Ambassador for Nintendo of Canada!
We are currently looking for brand ambassadors in the Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary areas to support our many activities throughout the summer. Your main responsibility is to share the Nintendo experience with many of our customers!
We are looking for energetic ambassadors who can represent our brand with enthusiasm and have good understanding of our products. You must be self-motivated, responsible and very comfortable interacting with kids and families.
CORE DUTIES:
Represent Nintendo in a professional manner at assigned events
Attend scheduled training sessions, events and perform outlined priorities
Keep current on Nintendo products and events
Provide feedback on daily interactions with customers
Timely submission of event reports
Address concerns and questions to your supervisor
COMPETENCIES:
Exceptional customer service skills and comfortable when speaking to kids/families.
Ability to gather customer insights and communicate |
in my book, The Leangains Method: The Art of Getting Ripped. Researched, Practiced, Perfected.
That doesn’t mean you have to buy my book to get results. However, I do suggest you displace BCAA in this guide with EAA; I’ve explained why in EAA or BCAA and Why? – Q&A #11
Intermittent fasting and Leangains
How does Leangains differentiate itself from some other intermittent fasting based diets? Here’s a brief primer.
The basics
In-depth coverage of my approach, and the benefits of intermittent fasting, can be read about here.
A much shorter summary can be found here.
Fasting and feeding
My general position on the fasted phase is that it should last through the night and during the morning hours. Ideally the fast should then be broken at noon or shortly thereafter if you arise at 6-7 AM like most people. Afternoons and evenings are usually spent in the fed state.
However, the fast could also also be broken later in the day depending on your personal preferences and daily routine. I personally tend to break the fast as late as 4-6 PM since I work well into the night and rise later than most people with normal jobs.
The recommendation for fasting through the earlier part of the day, as opposed to the latter part of the day, is for behavioral and social reasons. Most people simply find it easier to fast after awakening and prefer going to bed satiated. Afternoons and evenings are times to unwind and eat. For adherence reasons during dieting, I’ve also found that placing the feeding phase later in the day is ideal for most people.
The protocols
I work with four different protocols depending on when my clients train. Depending on setup, one, two, or three meals are eaten in the post-workout period.
Fasted training
Training is initiated on an empty stomach and after ingestion of 10 g BCAA or similar amino acid mixture. This “pre-workout” meal is not counted towards the feeding phase. Technically, training is not completely fasted – that would be detrimental. The pre-workout protein intake, with its stimulatory effect on protein synthesis and metabolism, is a crucial compromise to optimize results. The 8-hour feeding phase starts with the post-workout meal.
Sample setup
11.30-12 AM or 5-15 minutes pre-workout: 10 g BCAA
12-1 PM: Training
1 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal of the day).
4 PM: Second meal.
9 PM: Last meal before the fast.
Calories and carbs are tapered down throughout the day in the example above.
Early morning fasted training
Here’s a sample setup for a client that trains early in the morning and prefers the feeding phase at noon or later. Read this for details regarding this protocol.
6 AM: 5-15 minutes pre-workout: 10 g BCAA.
6-7 AM: Training.
8 AM: 10 g BCAA.
10 AM: 10 g BCAA
12-1 PM: The “real” post-workout meal (largest meal of the day). Start of the 8 hour feeding-window.
8-9 PM: Last meal before the fast.
For the sake of conveniency, I recommend getting BCAA in the form of powder and not tabs. Simply mix 30 g of BCAA powder in a shake and drink one third of it every other hour starting 5-15 minutes pre-workout. Tabs are cheaper, but much more of a hassle (you’re going to have to pop a lot of tabs). Check my supplements guide for specific brand recommendations.
One pre-workout meal
This is the most common setup for my younger clients that are still in college or have flexible working hours.
Sample setup
12-1 PM or around lunch/noon: Pre-workout meal. Approximately 20-25% of daily total calorie intake.
3-4 PM: Training should happen a few hours after the pre-workout meal.
4-5 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal).
8-9 PM: Last meal before the fast.
Two pre-workout meals
This is the usual protocol for people with normal working hours.
Sample setup
12-1 PM or around lunch/noon: Meal one. Approximately 20-25% of daily total calorie intake.
4-5 PM: Pre-workout meal. Roughly equal to the first meal.
8-9 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal).
Key points
No calories are to be ingested during the fasted phase, though coffee, calorie free sweeteners, diet soda and sugar free gum are ok (even though they might contain trace amount of calories). A tiny splash of milk in your coffee won’t affect anything either (½-1 teaspoon of milk per cup at the most – use sparingly and sensibly if you drink a lot of coffee). Neither will sugar free gum in moderation (~20 g).
The fast is the perfect time to be productive and get things done. Don’t sit around, get bored and brood about food.
Meal frequency during the feeding phase is irrelevant. However, most people, including me, prefer three meals.
The majority of your daily calorie intake is consumed in the post-workout period. Depending on setup, this means that approximately 95-99% (fasted training), 80% (one pre-workout meal) or 60% (two pre-workout meals) of your daily calorie intake is consumed after training.
The feeding window should be kept somewhat constant due to the hormonal entrainment of meal patterns. We tend to get hungry when we’re used to eating and maintaining a regular pattern makes diet adherence easier. If you’re used to breaking the fast at 12-2 PM and ending it at 8-10 PM, then try to maintain that pattern every day.
On rest days, meal one should ideally be the largest meal, as opposed to training days where the post-workout meal is the largest meal. A good rule of thumb is to make meal one on rest days at least 35-40% of your daily calorie intake. This meal should be very high in protein; some of my clients consume more than 100 g of protein in this meal.
When working with clients I am always open to compromising on the above rule. If your preference is to eat a larger meal in the evening instead of noon, or whenever you break the fast, it’s no great harm. Some people prefer to save the largest meal on rest days for dinner with their family instead of having a large lunch and that’s fine by me if it makes them enjoy and adhere to their diet better.
Macronutrients and calorie intakes are always cycled through the week. The specifics depends on the client’s ultimate goal: fat loss, muscle gain or bodyrecomposition. The details will be revealed in the book. Generally speaking, carbs and total calorie intake is highest on training days. On rest days, carbs are lower and fat is higher. Protein is kept high on all days.
Here are the supplements I recommend everyone to take on a daily basis: a multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D and extra calcium (unless dairy is consumed on a regular and daily basis).
For fasted training, BCAA or an essential amino acid mixture is highly recommended. However, if this feels like too much micromanaging or simply questionable from an economic standpoint, you could also make due with some whey protein. The importance of protein intake prior to fasted training is outlined in this and this post.
People sometimes ask me which protocol is best. I tend to look at things from a behavioral perspective first and foremost, so my reply to that is to choose the protocol best suited to your daily routine and training preferences. When dealing with clients I make the choice for them. If you work a 9-5 job and your only option is to train after work, training fasted is generally a bad idea and I always choose the one or two meals pre-workout protocol.
Even from a physiological perspective, each protocol has it’s own strengths and theoretical benefits. With “physiological perspective” I mean in terms of nutrient partitioning, fat loss and muscle growth. This deserves an article on it’s own. I have some interesting and compelling arguments that I think are very unique.
Below I’ll list some other resources that I think will give you an idea of what Leangains is all about.
Diet methodology
Calories, foods and macronutrient choices play an important role in the optimal diet. The following articles will give you an insight into my philosophy on this topic.
Scorch Through Your Fat Loss Plateau
Maintaining Low Body Fat
Intermittent Fasting, Set-Point and Leptin
Diet psychology
The right mental attitude is a crucial factor for a successful diet and training routine. This is an area that is all too often overlooked. I’ve explored this subject through many different perspectives.
The Secret Benefit of Being Lean
The Marshmallow Test
How to Look Awesome Every Day
How People Fail Their New Year’s Resolutions
Regarding comments
Commentators often ask me if this or that is fine or how they should optimize things. I simply don’t have time or energy for that any longer. Understand that a lot of factors need to be taken into consideration when determining calorie intake and macronutrient cycling; body weight, body fat, activity level, training routine, gender, insulin sensitivity and so forth. That’s why I have clients – optimizing a diet plan requires time and reflection, and being a perfectionist by nature I simply can’t “okay” something without having all the facts in front of me.At the height of the AIDS epidemic, California’s state government was unified in its response.
The state legislature decided in 1988 that somebody who donated blood while knowingly HIV-positive could be punished with up to six years in prison. Ten years later, it became a felony to have unprotected sex with the intent of transmitting HIV to a partner.
Now, in 2017, a group of Democratic state lawmakers say times have changed — not that those behaviors shouldn’t be illegal, but that HIV/AIDS shouldn’t be singled out. Under California’s newly introduced Senate Bill 239, intentionally transmitting any infectious or communicable disease, including HIV, would be a misdemeanor, not a felony.
“When you tell people that these laws single out HIV and only apply to people with HIV and not any other infectious disease, they pretty quickly see that it’s irrational and discriminatory,” state Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who introduced the bill last week, said in an interview.
The existing laws have had a limited, but nonetheless very real, effect. According to a 2015 study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, 800 people came into contact with the California criminal justice system between 1988 and 2014 “either under an HIV-specific law or under the misdemeanor exposure law as it related to a person’s HIV-positive status.” Of those, 95 percent engaged in sex work or were suspected of doing so.
Read more: FDA lifts ban on blood donations from gay men
Should the new bill become law, mandated criminal penalties for donating blood, organs, semen, or breast milk despite being HIV-positive would also be repealed. Existing law ensures all donors of any bodily substance are screened for HIV, hepatitis agents, or syphilis before any transfer occurs.
“I think some of it is based on homophobia,” said Rick Zbur, the executive director of Equality California, an LGBT civil rights organization supportive of the bill. “And these laws were based on fear of the disease. They were passed quickly, when there was very little known about the disease, and based on public fear that was occurring in the late ’80s at the height of the epidemic. This happened across the country.”
According to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBT-focused think tank, 38 states have HIV-specific laws like the ones SB239 would repeal, and in another six, people have been prosecuted for a crime based on their HIV status.
In deep-blue California, where Democrats hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers, it’s unclear if there will be opposition, and where it might come from.
Shaun Rundle, a legislative representative for the California Peace Officers Association, said the organization had not yet reviewed the bill in depth but would do so in the coming weeks. They would likely focus on any provisions that would require prior convictions, criminal charges, and arrest records to be expunged.
Read more: A new approach to reducing HIV infections shows promise
Wiener said no pushback has materialized yet, but he’s aware of the potentially tricky optics of relaxing penalties for intentional HIV transmission.
In 1998, the law increasing penalties for intentional transmission drew broad support. It passed 37-0, with three abstentions, in a Democratic-controlled state Senate, and 67-1, with 12 abstentions, in a Democratic-controlled state Assembly.
“People said, ‘There ought to be a law against this,’ and I agreed,” former state Senator Richard Rainey, the Republican who introduced the bill, told the Los Angeles Times in 2003. “The way I see it, these people are handing out potential death sentences.”
While perceptions may have changed, the thinking that unsafe behavior from HIV-positive individuals should lead to severe punishment is still one that could carry weight, a potential obstacle to the new bill’s passage.
“It’ll definitely require some education, and we’re prepared to do that,” Wiener said. “Not with everyone, though, because I’ve raised this bill with colleagues in both the Senate and the Assembly with brief descriptions and overviews, and I’ve gotten positive responses.”
Advocacy groups stress that the laws not only have a disproportionate effect on the LGBT community, but also “have a disparate impact on women and people of color,” Zbur said.
According to the Williams Institute study, less than 13 percent of HIV-positive Californians are women, but women account for 43 percent of criminal justice proceedings based on HIV-positive status.
African-Americans and Latinos were also disproportionately affected. They were subject to 67 percent of criminal proceedings, while making up 51 percent of California’s HIV-positive population. White males, who are 40 percent of HIV-positive Californians, accounted for only 16 percent of those who came into contact with criminal justice system.
Democrats’ attempts to pass such legislation on a national level have stalled, with California Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s bill dying in three House subcommittees and Delaware Senator Chris Coons’s bill never escaping the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Wiener said he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the odds for passing his state-level version. The bill will be taken up by the California Senate’s Rules Committee in March or April and potentially by the full body in June.Following last week’s news that Duncan Jones’ big screen adaptation of Warcraft has become the biggest video game movie of all-time, it has unlocked another achievement.
Warcraft never really found its feet domestically, and has dropped out of the Top 10 after just three weeks (earning around $2 million over the weekend), and its domestic total of $43 million is much lower than the likes of other adaptations like Silent Hill, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Mortal Kombat and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
However a fantastic campaign outside of the US has pushed Warcraft over the $400 million mark to $412 million. If you go by the industry rule-of-thumb (that a movie needs to do 2.5x its budget in order to turn a profit), Warcraft is now making money. Expect to hear news of a sequel soon.
SEE ALSO: Read our reviews of Warcraft here and here
Warcraft sees Duncan Jones (Moon) directing a cast that includes Robert Kazinsky (Pacific Rim) as Orgrim Doomhammer, Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger) as King Llane Wrynn, Travis Fimmel (Vikings) as Anduin Lothar, Ben Foster (Ain’t Them Body Saints) as Medivh, Ben Schnetzer (Pride) as Khadgar, Ruth Negga (World War Z), Clancy Brown (Starship Troopers) as Blackhand, Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Durotan, Daniel Wu (The Man with the Iron Fists) as Gul’Dan and Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) as Garona.The events surrounding Freddie Gray's death all but shattered what remained of Baltimore's confidence in its police department. The department's relationship with the community did not break down overnight. It eroded gradually, as a result of overzealous police tactics that left many residents feeling oppressed by those sworn to protect them. Before attending law school, I spent three years as a Baltimore patrol officer and saw the troubling effects of those practices firsthand. Why do officers use methods that alienate and offend the communities they serve? In large part, the answer is because the public majority pressures them to do so. Elected officials, supported by voters, require police to shoulder an impossible burden — they must not only respond to crimes as they occur but prevent crime from happening in the first place. But in an effort to prevent crime, the police employ aggressive tactics that may do more harm than good.
We can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the way that our demands shape officer actions. To meaningfully improve police/community relations, we have to change what we expect officers to do.
Most Baltimore residents, city politicians included, consider it normal to praise the police commissioner when the crime rate goes down and criticize him when it goes up. Subordinate police commanders, appointed by the commissioner, know that their job security depends upon their ability to prevent crime — especially violent crime. Absent considerable luck, however, it is impossible for cops to intercept criminals just before they strike. As a result, commanders pressure their officers to prevent violence indirectly, either by arresting potential perpetrators for gun or drug offenses, or by controlling the very movements of suspected criminals, such that they do not have the opportunity to do harm. Officers are told to generate enforcement statistics (primarily by making arrests) and to keep their designated patrol areas "under control." Constantly making arrests and controlling their assigned beats, however, requires officers to use precisely the tactics that so many Baltimore residents find offensive.
Finding guns and drugs is difficult work, and sometimes officers engage in practices that go beyond what the law allows. The most irresponsible officers stop and search people without any legal justification at all. Sometimes they target known gang members and drug dealers, but at other times they target whoever (in the officers' imperfect if not biased judgment) looks like they're "up to no good" — usually groups of younger men hanging out on the corners or walking down the street.
Other cops follow the letter of the law, but their tactics nonetheless strike many as unfair. For example, both the U.S. Supreme Court and Maryland courts have held that police have the authority to chase and briefly detain someone who flees upon sight of an officer in a high crime area. The police do this regularly, as they did in Freddie Gray's case. Another common practice is to approach pedestrians, pepper them with questions, and request consent to search. The courts deem these encounters consensual (and therefore legal) because the citizens are technically free to say "no" and leave. In reality, most people are intimidated and don't feel they have any choice but to let the officers search them.
Another common (and perfectly legal) tactic is to use minor traffic violations as a pretext for uncovering serious crime. There are so many traffic offenses on the books that officers have their pick of petty violations to use in order to stop any driver they deem suspicious. They can then peer into the cars and look for contraband or request consent to search. The cops get lucky occasionally, but mostly, the practice alarms and annoys innocent motorists and results in class and racial profiling.
When it comes to maintaining order, as a lieutenant once explained to me, police commanders believe that by keeping people from hanging around or congregating on the streets, they can quash squabbles and keep known enemies from crossing paths, thereby preventing violence. Cops are constantly pressured to "clear the corners." From their time in the academy, officers are told that when they order people hanging out on the corners to disperse, there must be consequences for non-compliance.
But standing on the corner isn't a crime, so cops get creative. Those who defy the police are often arrested for any crime the officers can find. Sometimes the arrests are for legitimate but petty offenses, such as public drinking. At other times, as the ongoing Department of Justice investigation will likely reveal, officers make arrests for minor offenses even though the elements of the crimes aren't really met. Charges for loitering, disorderly conduct and trespassing, for example, are sometimes immediately dismissed because prosecutors find that the defendants' conduct did not merit such charges.
While the public is right to demand accountability for individual officers who commit misconduct, we should be careful not to demonize these officers. The pressure that encourages cops to engage in these practices is constant, and civilians aren't the only ones who resent it. I remember, on one occasion, several of my colleagues bristling when a district commander instructed officers to stop "every person who is walking" in a particular high crime area. Another colleague was banished to an unfavorable detail because she went a whole month without arresting someone. And it is not lost on Baltimore police officers that their tactics disproportionately affect lower-income African-Americans. Police commanders' belief in violent crime prevention at all costs means that officers are deployed heavily — and told to be most aggressive — in the poor, black neighborhoods where crime rates are the highest.
We can do better, and almost everyone believes that we should. Many of Baltimore's rank-and-file officers are just as ready for change as the public is. We should start with the following reforms:Coaches and trainers strive to keep their players healthy so they can perform at their maximum potentials. Injury restrictions, or limits on athletes' physical activity due to illnesses or injuries, can keep athletes on the bench for a game or even an entire season. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found college football players are more likely to experience injuries during test weeks than during training camp. The effects of academic stress on injury occurrences are even more pronounced among starting players, the researchers found.
"Stress is systemic," said Bryan Mann, an assistant professor of physical therapy in the MU School of Health Professions and assistant director of strength and conditioning for Mizzou Athletics. "Everything players deal with on a daily basis creates stress. They don't have separate accounts to withdraw from for practice, school and relationships. Whenever there's stress, something's got to give. Otherwise, it's similar to when unexpected expenses arise at the same time and you're likely to overdraw your checking account. It's the same idea but on a physiological basis rather than a monetary one."
The researchers studied weekly injury reports for 101 student athletes on a Division 1 college football team during a 20-week season. Sixty different athletes had 86 injury restrictions during the season. The researchers found players were 3.19 times more likely to have an injury restriction during weeks when they had high academic stress, such as midterms or finals, than during weeks when they had low academic stress. When the researchers compared players' injury restrictions for weeks of high physical stress - such as training camp - and weeks of low academic stress, athletes were 2.84 times more likely to have injury restrictions.
"We know when there will be midterms or finals, and we can plan for these academic stressors and accommodate practices accordingly to minimize the risk of injuries," Mann said. "Some stressors we can't predict, but if we know about them, then there are things that we can do. Coaches should get to know the athletes and watch how their attitudes change. As attitudes change, it usually indicates that something else is going on in their lives. We've got to find those causes so we can be proactive and get the athletes counseling or find other ways to meet their needs."
At Mizzou, several resources exist to help student-athletes minimize stress and stay healthy. The Total Person Program encompasses academic support services, student-athlete development - through personal and social development programming, career counseling and community service - and sport and psychological counseling services. Additionally, the Athletic Performance Department provides student-athletes with guidance in strength and conditioning, sports nutrition and applied performance; student-athletes also receive comprehensive health care through MU's Sports Medicine department.
"Whereas the demands placed on the student-athletes are high, it is imperative that we provide services that focus on their health and well-being," said Bryan Maggard, the executive associate athletic director of Mizzou Athletics and director of the Total Person Program. "Our comprehensive services are geared to assist all students academically, socially and competitively."Sandown winners Garth Tander and Warren Luff have fired a warning shot at lapped drivers ahead of next month’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
After taking a hard earned victory, the duo did not hold back when asked of their view on the behaviour of the slower runners during the Pirtek Enduro Cup opener.
Tander took particular umbrage to drivers reacting slowly to blue flags, which are delivered under instruction from race control in the Supercars category.
While Sandown features ample room for overtaking, the 39-year-old fears the issue could be even worse at Bathurst.
“There were some very average performances by some of the lapped cars,” he said of Sunday’s race.
“I would have sent a lapped car off but I didn’t want to create a Safety Car.
“It was just ridiculous. Hopefully we can tune that up in the future.
“If you get stuck behind them across the top of the mountain and they’re wobbling around it can cost you a second.”
Co-driver Warren Luff echoed Tander’s thoughts, but said that the teams should play a greater role in warning their drivers that they are about to be lapped.
“All the teams have got the telemetry, they can see where you are on track,” said Luff.
“Yes, it’s the job of the officials to have the blue flags out, but it’s up to the teams as well.
“They know here their cars are on track, they know where they are in lap position, and when you’re about to go a lap down, or when you’re two or three laps down, get the hell out of the way.
“There was some pretty average driving out there. Thankfully it didn’t play a part in the final result, but some people, and some teams, need to do a better job of what they’re doing in the pits.”The Russian involvement in Edward Snowden’s leaks on the BND targeting European authorities and individuals at NSA’s request should be qualified as unsubstantiated rumors, August Hanning, former head of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), told Sputnik Friday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Last week, media reports emerged claiming that Germany’s intelligence BND believed Snowden was cooperating with the Kremlin and Russian intelligence services.
"There are no proof and no evidences. From my point of view, these are still rumors," Hanning said on the sidelines of the fifth Moscow Conference on International Security.
On Monday, Snowden’s lawyer Anatoly Kucherena denied corresponding media reports adding that Edward has never broken his principle of not cooperating with any governments or any structures of any states.
Hanning added that some aspects of Snowden’s leaks are "a bit confusing". "We have seen all these papers confirming NSA was spying on Germany, France, against our Chancellor but have not seen any information confirming spying on China or Russia and this is a little bit strange because, to my view, NSA was very busy towards Russia and China."
© AP Photo / dpa,Stephan Jansen Head of German Intel Agency Expected to Leave Office Amid NSA Spy Scandal
Former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, who made revelations about US global surveillance through leaking classified documents, was granted temporary asylum in Russia for one year in 2013 and later received a three-year residence permit. His whereabouts in Russia are a closely-guarded secret.
Snowden's data leaks could cost him as much as 30 years in prison in the United States, where he is wanted on charges of espionage and theft of government property.The airport of the future will be less like a sprawling bus depot and more like a large, sustainable park.
The number of passengers and aircraft are set to double by 2033, according to Jack Plunkett, CEO of Plunkett Research, a firm specializing in the travel industry. To adapt to the growing crowds, airports are changing, and a select few are prioritizing sustainability as part of the process.
"You could sum up the future of airports in one simple phrase, and that is: Much bigger, and much more efficient," said Plunkett.
Right now a new airport is being built in Mexico City, which is slated for completion by 2020 and will make traveling better for passengers and the environment.
The airport is expected to service 50 million people a year and the new design is all about energy efficiency. Gates will be within walking distance, and the roof is being built to incorporate solar technology. There will also be an on-site energy plant that will collect, treat and recycle rainwater.
Related: Supersonic jets can fly from New York to L.A. in 2.5 hours (or less)
Other areas of the world are also getting in on the sustainability game, and bringing travel into the 21st century.
"The Chinese have been staying well ahead of the curve," Plunkett said. "With the Olympics in Beijing and then Shanghai World Expo, they dramatically set the bar for airport development."
He pointed to Shanghai's maglev train, which uses magnetic levitation technology to take passengers from the outskirts of the city to the airport at a speed of about 250 miles per hour.
Related: Floating train could whisk you from D.C. to N.Y. in an hour
Foster + Partners, the design firm behind Mexico City's new airport, contributed to Beijing Capital International Airport's Terminal 3. The dragon-like design focused on efficiency, sustainability and natural light.
Skylights were built into the soaring roof to maximize morning sun, connections between terminals take two minutes in a train that travels at 80 miles per hour, and the heating and cooling system was built to minimize energy consumption.
There's also London's Terminal 2, which is the world's first BREEAM-certified airport (the U.K. equivalent of a LEED certification). It was awarded the distinction for its sustainable design and operation, which includes a reduction of CO2 emissions, water efficiency and lighting control system to keep energy use down.
The terminal is aiming to be recycling or composting 70% of its waste by 2020.
Some airports in America are also keeping a focus on sustainability.
The Chicago Department of Aviation, for example, is in its second season of employing a herd of goats, sheep, llamas and burros to graze on the nearly 8,000 acres of property at the O'Hare International Airport. Seen as an alternative to toxic herbicides, the herd is part of the airport's sustainable vegetation management initiative.
And Denver international Airport just added another solar array (like a huge solar panel), which it says will offset greenhouse gas emissions each year and can generate enough electricity to power about 500 homes.
The airport is thinking on the small-scale too, and installed water bottle filling stations so passengers can hydrate without generating waste.
In that first year, the stations filled the equivalent of 600,000 half-liter plastic bottles, helping to reduce waste into the future.Can you imagine this?
"It is just a few years from today and there has been a lot of positive changes for persons living with disabilities and their families in Canada. We have a new Canadian Disabilities Act. Our government has signed the UN Protocol to Safeguard the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Across the country, there have been sweeping changes to disability benefits so no one is forced into a life of poverty. The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) uptake is at an all time high. Individuals are selecting their own supports instead of relying on supports that suit bureaucratic needs and timetables. The annual disability pride parade attracts thousands of visitors to cities across the country every year. It is a new era for individuals with disabilities and their families."
This is not a pipe dream, but a list of concrete actionable items -- policy wins -- that the 'family arm' of the disability movement in Canada has been working toward for a very long time. The parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, cousins, caregivers, friends and neighbours who love and care for someone with a disability.
We, the disability family, have been an afterthought -- for governments, service agencies and organizations -- for far too long. Our opinions have been sidelined, our emotions trivialized, our needs prescribed and our resources shuttered. But we maintain this vision of a better future for our loved ones with a disability because we know it is achievable.
Being visionary is not new to us. Alone, or sometimes with other families, we work to solve problems for our loved ones with disabilities -- beyond the solutions that are often presented to us as the only choice. Disability families have seen beyond the four walls of institutional living. We have taken risks and invested in new ideas; we have created employment opportunities and built homes.
Here's how we can get to a positive vision of the future.
For a long time, organizations and agencies made decisions for our families based on what they had on offer -- but the tides have turned. Many have very little to offer by way of services or resources anyway, so they don't have permission to tell us what our choices are. We have needs, we will tell them what they are, and if services cannot be offered to meet our needs, we will purchase those services elsewhere or innovate for other solutions. How?
We would like to take control of the public funding allocated for our loved one's care and make individualized choices based on our loved one's needs. We will hire the right people for us and build a team around our family member with a disability. The bureaucratic one-size fits all solution no longer holds.
Good intentions and a charitable heart are not longer the only job requirements for those working in disability. The new requirements will include creativity and innovation in your work, delivering a high standard of work with dignity and respect.
Organizations and agencies will measure the outcomes and performance of their employees in tangible ways and report back to us on progress. Organizations and service agencies need to know we are your employers, you are accountable to us and you serve us, and not the other way around.
Poverty is not our baseline.
Just because our family member was born with or came into a disability does not mean they deserve to be poor. Social assistance is not a gift; it is an entitlement like Old Age Security or Child Benefits. Disability benefits mean a floor from which family members can build themselves up to a better place.
One day we will find a way to pool our collective billions in assets and resources and we will leverage it. Our financial decisions will shift the economy -- markets will watch us.
If you doubt this vision, I want to remind you that persons with disabilities and their families are the most creative and innovative people in our country. We craft, design and adapt daily. We are the ultimate life hackers.
We are fed up and tired but our vision is clear.
Our family members with disabilities will be included, have choices and have full economic citizenship. We, the families, will use our creativity, determination and love to change the culture of living with a disability in Canada.
Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on FacebookWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Sunday slapped new travel restrictions on citizens from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad, expanding to eight the list of countries covered by his original travel bans that have been derided by critics and challenged in court.
Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia were left on the list of affected countries in a new proclamation issued by the president. Restrictions on citizens from Sudan were lifted.
The measures help fulfill a campaign promise Trump made to tighten U.S. immigration procedures and align with his “America First” foreign policy vision. Unlike the president’s original bans, which had time limits, this one is open-ended.
“Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” the president said in a tweet shortly after the proclamation was released.
Iraqi citizens will not be subject to travel prohibitions but will face enhanced scrutiny or vetting.
The current ban, enacted in March, was set to expire on Sunday evening. The new restrictions are slated to take effect on Oct. 18 and resulted from a review after Trump’s original travel bans sparked international outrage and legal challenges.
The addition of North Korea and Venezuela broadens the restrictions from the original, mostly Muslim-majority list.
An administration official, briefing reporters on a conference call, acknowledged that the number of North Koreans now traveling to the United States was very low.
Rights group Amnesty International USA condemned the measures.
“Just because the original ban was especially outrageous does not mean we should stand for yet another version of government-sanctioned discrimination,” it said in a statement.
“It is senseless and cruel to ban whole nationalities of people who are often fleeing the very same violence that the U.S. government wishes to keep out. This must not be normalized.”
The American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement the addition of North Korea and Venezuela “doesn’t obfuscate the real fact that the administration’s order is still a Muslim ban.”
The White House portrayed the restrictions as consequences for countries that did not meet new requirements for vetting of immigrants and issuing of visas. Those requirements were shared in July with foreign governments, which had 50 days to make improvements if needed, the White House said.
A number of countries made improvements by enhancing the security of travel documents or the reporting of passports that were lost or stolen. Others did not, sparking the restrictions.
The announcement came as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments on Oct. 10 over the legality of Trump’s previous travel ban, including whether it discriminated against Muslims.
NORTH KOREA, VENEZUELA ADDED
Trump has threatened to “destroy” North Korea if it attacks the United States or its allies. Pyongyang earlier this month conducted its most powerful nuclear bomb test. The president has also directed harsh criticism at Venezuela, once hinting at
a potential military option to deal with Caracas.
But the officials described the addition of the two countries to Trump’s travel restrictions as the result of a purely objective review.
In the case of North Korea, where the suspension was sweeping and applied to both immigrants and non-immigrants, officials said it was hard for the United States to validate the identity of someone coming from North Korea or to find out if that person was a threat.
“North Korea, quite bluntly, does not cooperate whatsoever,” one official said.
The restrictions on Venezuela focused on Socialist government officials that the Trump administration blamed for the country’s slide into economic disarray, including officials from the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service and their immediate families.
Trump received a set of policy recommendations on Friday from acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke and was briefed on the matter by other administration officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a White House aide said.
The rollout on Sunday was decidedly more organized than Trump’s first stab at a travel ban, which was unveiled with little warning and sparked |
You now know how to host local fonts from both a premium font shop or move Google fonts to your own server and or CDN. So now you can go take a gander at all the beautiful fonts out there, without worrying as much about how they affect performance. They might just give your WordPress site the facelift it has been needing! And if you’re curious why we aren’t using local fonts, that is because we are working on a new website design, so we might be in the near future. Another great alternative to look into is system fonts.
We would love to hear what your setup is. Are you using a 3rd party service to load your web fonts and have you tried hosting local yet?Apple is fond of talking about its four platforms: iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. But not all four get equal attention. At the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Tim Cook and friends said relatively little about the next version of tvOS—in fact, pretty much the only relevant announcement was that Amazon would be bringing its Prime Video app to the platform at some undisclosed time in the future.
Those interested in the Apple TV have thus resorted to pulling meager information from the company’s tvOS 11 beta. And even what changes have been uncovered there have been pretty meager: home screen syncing, Night-Shift-esque automatic light/dark mode switching, and improvements to notifications. Meanwhile, even some of the major improvements promised by Apple during last year’s September event have yet to come to fruition: single sign-on, for example, continues to lack support from the major cable companies.
As the fourth-generation Apple TV approaches the two-year mark, perhaps it’s time for Apple to take another look at its set-top box.
Amazon
Not all apps are created equal
The big marketing push for the fourth-generation Apple TV was the proclamation that the future of TV was apps. Apple was both right and wrong in that estimation: yes, accessing content via apps is something that we’ve all gotten used to over the last several years. And picking a channel via an icon on a screen is at least marginally more intuitive than having to remember a number and plug that into your remote.
But where Apple missed the mark was on the potential of apps outside of consuming video content. There really hasn’t been a single non-video app on the Apple TV to hit it big. It turns out—surprise!—that what people want to do on their TV, primarily, is watch TV.
The one exception might be games, but even there, I don’t think there are many titles that have found blockbuster success on the Apple TV, especially with heavy competition from people playing games on their iOS devices or on dedicated game consoles.
The foundation of the idea was solid: after all, Apple has found great success in opening up its other platforms to apps. And it’s not that it did any harm in letting developers create apps for tvOS; maybe at some point in the future there will be a killer app. But for the moment, tvOS remains a niche platform.
Storage wars
But that assumption that apps would be a big thing on Apple TV also led Apple to make some other miscalculations. For example, the company continues to offer the Apple TV in two models: a 32GB model for $149 and a 64GB model for $199. The company seemed to think that it could offer the same differentiation between models as it did with the iPhone or the iPad. The company’s explainer says that you should choose the 64GB configuration if “you plan to download and use lots of apps and games,” but given how flat the app and game market fell, it’s become pretty clear that 32GB is more than enough for most people. (As it turns out, there’s actually no easy way to check your total storage on an Apple TV, but I went through and added up all my third-party apps and got...under 400MB. Or about half a gigabyte.)
The increase in flash storage on the device also helped raise the price well beyond the price of competing devices. The most current version of Amazon’s Fire TV goes for $90; Roku’s most expensive set-top box, which offers 4K and HDR, costs $110. Certainly, there are advantages to buying into Apple’s ecosystem, but as the owner of a still perfectly functional first-generation Fire TV, I’d have trouble articulating $60 worth of benefits.
That price difference was compounded by the other major “feature” of the fourth-generation Apple TV: the Siri Remote. As always with Apple, it’s hard to isolate just how much any particular components cost, but replacing a Siri Remote carries a hefty $79 price tag—and given that it’s easy to lose the slim remote in your couch cushions or break its glass touchscreen, that’s quite a possibility. And while the Siri Remote does have some good qualities—I like the multi-touch pad when it comes to scrubbing through videos—it’s just as often a frustration. I’ve ended up using my Harmony universal remote and rarely miss Apple’s own offering.
Single serving
So, where to go from here? I’m skeptical we’ll see any major changes to the Apple TV line this fall, but what I’m hoping for is this: a return to a lower cost Apple TV, somewhere in the $70-$99 range, with a modicum of storage, and perhaps a traditional remote with buttons. Instead of building Siri functionality into the remote, the Apple TV should have built-in mics that support “Hey Siri” (or, if you prefer to avoid collisions, “Hey Apple TV”). The Amazon Echo, Google Home, and yes, HomePod, have proved that both technology and people can handle this kind of functionality. If you prefer the Siri Remote, no problem: just buy it as an add-on.
Let’s be frank: the amazing success of iOS apps is not going to be repeated on the Apple TV. The fact that we already have portable powerful devices that we can take with us anywhere means that we don’t need that same functionality on a device tied to one room of our house. People don’t want to read Twitter on their TV, or make their shopping list, or even order pizza. What they do want is a smart, fast, high-quality way to watch video content.
Mono-tasking devices have fallen out of style, but I think there’s a strong argument for designing to a single goal when the context is limited, as it is with the TV. The model for the living room isn’t the do-everything nature of the iPhone or iPad, but the focus of the original iPod. Do one thing, but do it extremely well.The Trump administration warned Tuesday that the United States could pull out of the U.N. Human Rights Council unless the body ends what Washington calls the whitewashing of dictators’ abuses and unfair attacks on Israel.
President Trump’s U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, delivered the ultimatum in an unusual address in Geneva to the 47-member body.
“The United States is looking very carefully at this council and our participation in it. We see some areas for significant strengthening,” Haley told council members.
“Being a member of this council is a privilege, and no country who is a human rights violator should be allowed a seat at the table.”
The United States accuses the council of shielding the repressive regimes it should be condemning, allowing such regimes to join the body and then use it to thwart scrutiny. It is the same criticism that led former president George W. Bush to shun the council in 2006, a decision that President Barack Obama reversed in his first year in office.
President Trump’s U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, delivered the ultimatum in an unusual address in Geneva. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
Haley pointed to what she said are egregious human rights violations in Venezuela, a council member, and said if the country cannot change then it should step down from the council.
Haley outlined proposals for change in a separate address later Tuesday, delivered away from the council headquarters. She again accused Venezuela of masking starvation and repression at home with membership in the human rights body and added others to the list of those she said misuse positions on the council.
“Countries like Venezuela, Cuba, China, Burundi and Saudi Arabia occupy positions that obligate them to, in the words of the resolution that created the Human Rights Council, ‘uphold the highest standards’ of human rights,” Haley said in remarks at the Graduate Institute Geneva.
“They clearly do not uphold those highest standards.”
She did not mention U.S. ally Egypt, a council member accused of arbitrary detention, torture and other abuses.
“When the council fails to act properly — when it fails to act at all — it undermines its own credibility and the cause of human rights,” Haley said.
“It leaves the most vulnerable to suffer and die. It fuels the cynical belief that countries cannot put aside self-interest and cooperate on behalf of human dignity. It reinforces our growing suspicion that the Human Rights Council is not a good investment of our time, money and national prestige.”
The council risks becoming as discredited as its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission, Haley said.
That 60-year-old body was disbanded in 2006 as irredeemably tainted by its protection of abusers, and the Human Rights Council was formed as a fresh start.
“America does not seek to leave the Human Rights Council. We seek to reestablish the council’s legitimacy,” Haley said.
Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Human Rights Program, attended the council session.
“It’s hard to take Ambassador Haley seriously on U.S. support for human rights in light of Trump administration actions like the Muslim ban and immigration crackdowns,” he said in a statement. “Regardless of the party in power, the U.S. needs to lead by example and practice what it preaches on human rights.”
The United States is demanding changes to the way members of the council are chosen. Countries should have to compete for membership, thus making it much harder for human rights abusers to slip through, Haley argued.
The council must also stop singling out Israel for criticism, Haley said.
The former South Carolina governor, frequently mentioned as a future Republican presidential candidate, has focused heavily on what she calls mistreatment of Israel at the United Nations. The effort has endeared her to Israeli leaders and to conservative U.S. pro-Israel organizations. Haley will travel to Israel later this week.
“It’s hard to accept that this council has never considered a resolution on Venezuela, and yet it adopted five biased resolutions in March against a single country, Israel,” Haley said in her remarks before the council. “It is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias if it is to have any credibility.”
The council should immediately address worsening human rights conditions in Syria, Congo, Eritrea and Ukraine, Haley told the body.
Before she spoke, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein had criticized Israel for the 50-year occupation of land the Palestinians claim for a future state. He invoked the Holocaust while saying that Israel’s actions now are not comparable.
“The Holocaust was so monstrous and so mathematically planned and executed it has no parallel, no modern equal,” Zeid said. “Yet it is also undeniable that today, the Palestinian people mark a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force.”
In June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights in fighting with Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
In response, Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon criticized Zeid, a veteran Jordanian diplomat, and said Israel is “looking forward to working with the U.S. to enact real reforms and put an end to this most absurd chapter in the history of the U.N.”
“The connection between the commissioner and human rights has proven to be purely coincidental and it comes as no surprise that he chose to spread lies about Israel before he even mentioned the massacres in Syria,” Danon wrote in a statement issued in New York.
Haley is the first U.S. United Nations ambassador to address the council, and her address is part of a Trump administration campaign to demand chages to what Haley has called hidebound and biased U.N. bureaucracies.
A separate ambassador represents Washington at the council and at other U.N. bodies headquartered in Geneva, so Haley’s decision to make her case in person was intended to underscore U.S. frustration.
A U.S. withdrawal would have only symbolic effect, since the council has no enforcement powers, but would represent further U.S. disengagement from international organizations.
The ultimatum follows Trump’s announcement last week that the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate change accord and his refusal to specifically pledge allegiance to European defense at a NATO summit last month.
The debate over whether to remain a part of the U.N. Human Rights Council has parallels to the administration’s internal discussion about the 2015 Paris agreement, with some Trump advisers arguing that the United States can have more influence by remaining a member.
Haley had said last week that the Trump administration would decide on its council membership status after the council’s session concludes later this month.This article is about the professional soccer league in Australia. For the former North American league, see A-League (1995–2004)
The A-League is a professional men's soccer league run by Football Federation Australia (FFA). At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's primary competition for the sport. The A-League was established in 2004 as a successor to the National Soccer League (NSL) and competition commenced in August 2005. The league is currently contested by ten teams; nine based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. It is known as the Hyundai A-League (HAL) through a sponsorship arrangement with the Hyundai Motor Company.
Seasons run from October to May and include a 27-round regular season followed by a Finals Series playoff involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in a grand final match. The winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed the 'premier' while the winner of the grand final is the season's 'champion'. This differs from the other major football codes in Australia, where 'premier' refers to the winner of the grand final and the winner of the regular season is the'minor premier'.
Successful A-League clubs gain qualification into the continental competition, the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) also known as "AFC Champions League". Similar to the United States and Canada's Major League Soccer, as well as other professional sports leagues in Australia, Australia's A-League does not practice promotion and relegation.
Since the league's inaugural season, a total of six clubs have been crowned A-League Premiers and five clubs have been crowned A-League Champions. The current premier is Sydney FC, who finished first in the 2017–18 A-League. The current champions are Melbourne Victory, who won the 2018 A-League Grand Final, equaling the record of four domestic titles held by Marconi Stallions, South Melbourne, and Sydney City. The A-League does not recognize the history of its predecessor, the National Soccer League (NSL) which was the nations premier football competition from 1977 to 2004.
History [ edit ]
Origins [ edit ]
A national round-robin tournament existed in various forms prior to the formation of the A-League, with the most notable being the National Soccer League (NSL). The formation of the NSL came after Australia's qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which led to discussion of a national league, with 14 teams eventually chosen to participate in the inaugural season of the NSL in 1977.[1]
Under the guidance of the then-governing body, the Australian Soccer Federation (later Soccer Australia), the NSL flourished through the 1980s and early 1990s but then fell into decline with the increasing departure of Australian players to overseas leagues, a disastrous television deal with the Seven Network and the resulting lack of sponsorship.[2] Few clubs continued to grow with Sydney Olympic, Perth Glory, and the newly established Adelaide United the exception in a dying league.[3][4][5]
In April 2003, the Australian Federal Government initiated the Independent Soccer Review Committee to investigate the governance and management of the sport in Australia, including that of the NSL.[6] In December 2003, the Crawford Report found that the NSL was financially unviable, and in response the chairman of the sports new governing body, Frank Lowy of Football Federation Australia, announced that a task force would be formed to create a new national competition as a successor to the NSL which dissolved at the conclusion of the 2003–04 season after 27 years of operation.[7]
Foundations [ edit ]
The A-League was announced in April 2004, as a successor to the NSL.[7] Eight teams would be part of the new national competition, with one team from each city of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle, plus a New Zealand team and one from a remaining expressions of interest from either Melbourne or Sydney. The competition start date was set for August 2005.[8][9]
By June 2004, 20 submissions had been received and a month later 12 consortiums sent in their final bids for the eight spots. Three bids were received from Melbourne, two each from Sydney and Brisbane, one from each of the remaining preferred cities and a bid from the New South Wales Central Coast city of Gosford. Over the next three months, each bid was reviewed and on 1 November 2004, the eight successful bidders and the major sponsor were revealed, for what would be known as the Hyundai A-League, with the Hyundai Motor Company unveiled as the official naming rights sponsor for the league.[9]
The eight founding teams for the league were Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, New Zealand Knights, Perth Glory, Queensland Roar and Sydney FC, with three former NSL clubs taking part, those being Adelaide United, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory, as well as Queensland Roar and New Zealand Knights who were formed from NSL clubs Brisbane Lions and New Zealand Football Kingz. Each club was given a five-year exclusivity deal in its own market as part of the league's "one-city, one-team" policy. This was intended to allow clubs to grow and develop an identity in their respective region without local competition.[10]
On 26 August 2005, 16 months after the demise of the NSL, the inaugural season of the A-League began.[9]
Development [ edit ]
On 20 March 2007, it was announced that Wellington Phoenix would replace New Zealand Knights from the start of the 2007–08 season.[11] Both Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury joined the league in the 2009–10 season. On 12 June 2009, Melbourne Heart was awarded a licence to join the 2010–11 season.[12] On 1 March 2011 North Queensland Fury's A-League licence was revoked for financial reasons.[13] On 29 February 2012, Gold Coast United also had its licence revoked.[14][15] On 4 April 2012 it was announced that a new Western Sydney-based club, Western Sydney Wanderers, would join the league for the 2012–13 season.[16] In January 2014, Melbourne Heart was acquired by the City Football Group and was renamed Melbourne City ahead of the 2014–15 season.[17] In February 2018, officials announced that the league would expand to 12 teams for the 2019–20 season.[18] Later that year, the league announced that Western Melbourne FC would join the competition in 2019/20 and Southern Sydney/Macarthur would enter the following season (2020/21).[19]
Competition format [ edit ]
Regular season [ edit ]
The regular season runs mainly during the Australian summer, from early October to April of the following year. The competition consists of 27 rounds, with each team playing every other team three times. The teams allotted two home matches against an opponent in one season are allotted one home match against that opponent in the following season. Each match sees the winning team awarded three competition points, with one point each for a draw. The club at the top of this ladder is crowned A-League Premiers, and since the 2005–06 season has been entered into the AFC Champions League.[20][21] The Premier is presented with a trophy known as the Premier's Plate.[22]
At the completion of the regular season the top six placed teams on the league table progress to the finals series. The position of each team is determined by the highest number of points accumulated during the regular season. If two or more teams are level on points, the following criteria are applied in order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked:[23]
Highest goal difference; Highest number of goals scored; Highest number of points accumulated in matches between the teams concerned; Highest goal difference in matches between the teams concerned; Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned; Lowest number of red cards accumulated; Lowest number of yellow cards accumulated; Toss of a coin.[24]
Finals series [ edit ]
The top 6 clubs at the conclusion of the regular season progress to the finals series. The finals series culminates to the A-League Grand Final, where the winner is crowned A-League Champion and receives a place in the AFC Champions League. The club that wins the Grand Final is presented with the A-League Trophy.
The finals series consists of 6 teams who are placed by rank, as determined at the end of the regular season. The Finals Series runs over three weeks, with all games being sudden death, leading to a sudden-death Grand Final to decide the overall A-League competition. The first and second placed teams at the conclusion of the Regular Season are rewarded with a bye in the first week of the Finals Series and the advantage of hosting each of their semi-finals in the second week of the finals series. Further details can be found under the A-League Competition Rules
While deciding the A-League competition with a Finals Series is not consistent with overseas football competitions, it is consistent with the other major football codes in Australia and is also consistent with the A-League's predecessor, the National Soccer League (NSL).
Of the two Grand Finalists, the team that finished higher on the ladder at the conclusion of the Regular Season hosts the Grand Final. The only exception to this is if the FFA deems that team's home ground to be an inappropriate. For example, in 2008, Central Coast Mariners (as the higher-placed team) hosted the Grand Final against the Newcastle Jets at Sydney Football Stadium, due to FFA deciding that Central Coast Mariners home stadium, Central Coast Stadium with a capacity of 20,000, was too small for the event.[25]
Grand final host stadium
Continental qualification [ edit ]
In 2004–05 Australia was still a part of the Oceania Football Confederation and Sydney FC won the right to compete in the Oceania Club Championship after defeating the Central Coast Mariners in a qualifying tournament.
A-League clubs are eligible for participation in the AFC Champions League competition each season since the 2007 edition of the tournament.[26] Wellington Phoenix are not eligible to compete in the Asian Champions League, nor do they compete in the OFC Champions League. The only Australian side to win the Asian Champions League are the Western Sydney Wanderers FC.
Qualification is determined by league finishing positions and who wins the A-League Grand Final, and the amount of positions determined by the Asian Football Confederation club competition ranking. The ACL is split into West & East Asian halves until the Grand Final, and Australia has generally been 4th placed in East Asia and received two direct entry positions and one qualification play-off berth. It is unlikely the A-League will receive more than 3 positions until the competition expands beyond 10 teams. [27][28][29][30] [31]
Other competitions [ edit ]
Since 2014 clubs also compete in the annual FFA Cup knock-out tournament. Between 2005–2008 clubs participated in the A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup prior to each A-League regular season. In 2013 and 2014 an A-League All Stars Game was also played as a pre-season friendly game between the league's finest players and a high-profile international team.
All A-League clubs have teams in the National Youth League (NYL), which runs in conjunction with the A-League as a national youth developmental and reserve league. All players in the youth teams are between the ages of 16 and 21 as of the start of the calendar year for each new season, while four over-age players from each of the senior teams are also allowed to be selected. In addition, the W-League operates as the top division of women's league with affiliations to men's competition.[32]
Clubs [ edit ]
The A-League is currently contested by 10 teams: nine from Australia and one from New Zealand. A total of 13 teams have competed at some stage in the league's short history. Only four of these clubs – Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar (as Queensland Lions), Newcastle Jets, and Perth Glory – existed before the A-League was formed. Gold Coast United, New Zealand Knights and North Queensland Fury have formerly competed in the league.
Unlike most leagues from across the world, there is no system for promotion and relegation of teams. The A-League system thus shares some franchising elements with most other professional leagues in Australia, Major League Soccer and other major North American-based sports leagues.
Expansion [ edit ]
While making a relatively modest start to ensure future stability, both the FFA and the soccer media indicated significant interest in expanding the league. The eight foundation clubs had exclusivity clauses for their respective cities valid for five years, but this did not exclude teams from other areas joining the league.
Before the introduction of the A-League, FFA chairman Frank Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the league into other cities, mentioning Canberra, Hobart, Wollongong, Geelong, Bendigo, Cairns, Ballarat, Albury–Wodonga, Launceston, Christchurch, Auckland, Sunshine Coast and possibly Darwin and later Singapore.[34][35][36][37]
In February 2018, officials announced that the league would expand to 12 teams for the 2019–20 season.[18][38][39] In December 2018, the FFA announced they accepted the bids of Western United who will join the league in the 2019–20 season and of Macarthur South West United, who will join the league in the 2020–21 season.[40]
Rivalries [ edit ]
There are several key rivalries and local derbies that have formed in the A-League, including:
"Melbourne Derby" – Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory
The two Melbourne clubs first met on 8 October 2010 in a lively game at AAMI Park in front of 25,897 fans. Melbourne City (known at the time as Melbourne Heart) came out on top with a 2–1 victory. A significant narrative in derby history is the role of Melbourne Victory as a more successful club both on and off the field, having joined the A-League five years earlier than City. The rivalry is one of the most intense and well respected in the A-League, producing noticeable atmosphere and some of the largest attendances in the league.[41]
"The Original Derby" – Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
Contested the 2007 and 2009 A-League Grand Finals, in which Melbourne won 6–0 and 1–0 respectively. The rivalry stems from the traditional rivalry between sporting teams from Victoria and South Australia but was strengthened by incidents in the 2006–07 season, such as the confrontation between Melbourne Victory captain Kevin Muscat and then Adelaide United coach John Kosmina. The rivalry between both respective sets of fans remains strong.[citation needed]
"Sydney Derby" – Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers
The derby was contested for the first time in the 2012–13 season with the introduction of the second Sydney-based club, Western Sydney Wanderers, into the league. Sydney FC grabbed bragging rights by winning the first derby 1–0 at Parramatta Stadium, however Western Sydney Wanderers won the return match at Allianz Stadium 2–0. A Sydney Derby held early in the 2015 season broke the Allianz Stadium record for attendance during a regular season in any football code, dating back to the stadium's opening in 1988.[42] A match in 2016 between the two teams broke the record A-League crowd with 61,880 fans attending the match at ANZ Stadium. Sydney Derby is intensified by the geographic distinction between the two clubs within Sydney, as well as historical grievances related to the foundation of Sydney FC.
"The Big Blue" – Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
This match is so named because blue is the main colour of both teams' playing kits, and is also Australian slang for a fight or a contest.[43] The rivalry has emerged as a result of a number of spiteful encounters between the teams in recent years, and due to the longstanding rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. The teams have competed against each other in three grand finals; in 2010 & 2017, with Sydney winning 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on both occasions and in 2015, with Victory winning 3–0. In 2010, Sydney FC won the A-League Premiership on the final day of the season by defeating Victory 2–0. A Big Blue match is traditionally played on Australia Day each year.
"The F3 Derby" – Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
Named after the former name of the freeway that connects the cities of Newcastle and Gosford,[44] this match features the only two clubs in the A-League that are not based in state capital cities. The two teams' stadiums are just one hour apart, and the derby was intensified when they competed against each other for the premiership in the 2007–08 A-League season and eventually met in the Grand Final, which was won 1–0 by the Jets.
"The Distance Derby" – Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory
Named the distance derby due to these teams being the furthest away from each other, with Perth located on the west coast of Australia and Wellington located in New Zealand. Although not official recognised by most fans in the league, fans of both Wellington and Perth both like to recognise it as a derby, albeit, not the most important one. There most notable encounter was in the 2009–10 A-League season when they met in the 4v5 semi-final. Scores finished 1–1, thanks to goals from Chris Greenacre, and Scott Neville, before Wellington advanced 4–2 on penalties.
Organisation [ edit ]
Logo and trophies [ edit ]
The original Hyundai A-League logo (in use from 2004–17)
The A-League Trophy was designed to resemble a laurel wreath
The Premier's Plate is awarded to the highest finishing team in the regular season.
The current A-League logo was unveiled in January 2017 by Football Federation Australia. The logo formed part of a wider rebranding branding of the A-League and its subsidiary competitions, the W-League and Youth League. The logo design was "inspired by football’s three outstanding features – atmosphere, diversity and unity" and has colour alterations tailored to each of the 10 A-League clubs. The changes came into effect before the 2017/18 season.[45] The original A-League logo (see image to the right) was designed by Coast Design Sydney. It was the inaugural logo of the league. The two-toned ochre colours represented the sun, earth and desert while the 'glow' emanating from the centre of the logo depicted the playing season's spring and summer time span. The eight 'A' figures that made up the ball shape represented the eight foundation clubs of the league.[46]
The A-League has two trophies which are competed for during the season: the Premier's Plate and the A-League Trophy.[47] The Premier's Plate is awarded to the A-League Premiers, the regular season winners, and the A-League Trophy is awarded to the A-League Champions, the winner of the Grand Final. Both pieces of silverware were designed by Sydney design company D3 Design. The A-League Trophy is nicknamed the "Toilet Seat" due to its shape.[48][49][50] Where as the Premier's Plate follows a traditional trophy design, the A-League Trophy differs. In 2005, John O'Neill, FFA CEO commented during the unveiling of the A-League Trophy, "We have a new national league and we feel it is important to re-define the conventional view of a trophy to reflect this". Clive Solari of D3 Design explained the trophy's design, saying "We wanted our trophy concept to embody the historical significance of sport in a contemporary design. So we looked to history to see how great achievements have been rewarded across all types of games for thousands of years. The winners of the world's original sporting competition, the Olympic Games, were presented with a laurel wreath on their heads. We used this model as a basis for a unique, cutting-edge design – our trophy is a modern and versatile translation of the wreath. The winners can hold it above their heads as a symbol of success".[51]
Squad formation and salary cap [ edit ]
The A-League match-day squad includes the typical 11 players, and five substitutes of which one must be a goalkeeper. Prior to the 2013–14 season, just four substitutes including one goalkeeper were allowed to be named in the starting line-ups for the teams.[52]
An A-League squad must comprise a minimum of 20 players with a maximum of 26, subject to several limitations. Within the squad there can be a maximum of five "foreign" or "Visa" players, from outside Australia (and New Zealand, in the case of Wellington Phoenix), that hold a temporary working-visa. Three players in the squad must also be under 20 years of age. In addition to these three under 20 players, clubs are allowed to sign an additional three youth players onto full-time contracts at a lower pay rate than the rest of the squad.[53][54][55] The A-League had initially proposed that the quota of five visa players per A-League club be reduced to four in the 2015–16 season, with the limit of four possibly become "3+1", which means three imports from anywhere and one from Asia (following regulations in the AFC Champions League).[56] However, after opposition to the proposal by both players and managers, the move was placed on hold.[57]
Although A-League clubs have restricted salaries (salary cap), the league allows each club to have two "marquee" players whose salaries are exempt from the cap, plus a number of other 'exemptions' or 'allowances' to incentivise clubs to spend in specific areas. Guest players are also excluded for up to a maximum of 14 league matches.[58] From the formation of the league, clubs have been allowed to sign one international marquee player. From the 2008–09 season, A-League clubs have been permitted a junior marquee player; one that is under the age of 23. Now known as the 'Homegrown Player allowance', clubs can spend up to a collective $150,000 on 3 Australian players aged 23 or younger that have come through the club's youth system.[59] On 19 April 2010, the A-League announced that, in addition to the international marquee and junior marquee, clubs would be allowed an Australian marquee player from the 2010–11 season.[60] Notable marquee and guest players in the A-League have included Alessandro Del Piero, William Gallas, Dwight Yorke, Emile Heskey, Robbie Fowler, David Villa and former FIFA World Player of the Year Romário. Famous Australian Marquees include Harry Kewell, John Aloisi, Brett Emerton, Joshua Kennedy and Tim Cahill.
The A-League salary cap is $2.60 million for the 2015/16 Season. Clubs must spend at least the salary floor which is $2.275m (representing 87.5% of the Salary Cap). The salary cap applies to the 20 to 23 Players that clubs have registered to their A-League Player Roster. Unless specifically exempt, all payments and benefits provided by a Club to a Player are included in the club's salary cap.[59]
Commencing in the 2015–16 season, players who have played at their club for 5–10 years will be covered by a "loyalty player allowance", allowing up to $200,000 of their salary to be exempted from the cap. Additionally, clubs are now permitted a mature-age rookie whose wages are outside the salary cap.[58]
The 2016–17 season saw the introduction of a third 'Full Season Guest Marquee' spot, designed to attract high-profile players on short-term deals.[61]
A-League salaries and marquees Season Marquee player Australian marquee Junior marquee Mature-aged rookie Salary cap Minimum salary 2005–06 1 No No No $1,500,000[62] 2006–07 1 No No No $1,600,000[63] 2007–08 1 No No No $1,800,000[63] 2008–09 1 1 No No $1,900,000[64] 2009–10 1 1 No No $2,250,000[65] 2010–11 1 1 1 No $2,350,000[62] 2011–12 1 1 1 No $2,400,000[66] 2012–13 1 1 1 No $2,468,000[67] $48,000[68] 2013–14 1 1 1 No $2,500,000[67] $50,000[67] 2014–15 1 1 1 No $2,550,000[67] $51,000[69] 2015–16 2 1 1 $2,600,000[59] $55,000[59] 2016–17 3 1 1 $2,650,000[70] $55,715[70] 2017–18 2 1 1 $2,928,000[70] $61,287[70]
Stadiums [ edit ]
A-League games have been played in 33 stadiums since the inaugural season of the A-League in 2005. Hindmarsh Stadium, the home of Adelaide United, is currently the smallest used in the A-League, with a capacity of 16,500. Stadium Australia, the temporary home of the Western Sydney Wanderers, has the greatest seating capacity (83,500) of any stadium currently used by an A-League club; the largest permanent home stadium is Docklands Stadium, the home ground of Melbourne Victory FC, with a capacity of 56,347.
Since its formation, the A-League has been sponsored by an official naming rights partner.[9] In 2004, the Hyundai Motor Company was announced as the sponsor for the first three seasons of the league |
go through to gain control. One, because it’s the character that looks the most like me, and I like him. I love the idea of a
Hutt type of mafia, a very complex coup, you know? … I just love the character.”
But don’t expect Guillermo del Toro’s Jabba the Hutt epic to happen, its just an idea. He has not signed on for a movie or anything. The filmmaker warns:
“This is not real, this is me as a fat geek just geeking out and talking about it.”.. “this is not real. They’ll say ‘not another one.’ My IMDB page is made of headlines of a lot of stuff that I’ll never do.”
In another interview, Fandango asked if he would make a Star Wars movie, the Mexican filmmaker said:
“Well my dance card is a little full,” later adding. “I would love to, but I think there are a lot of things to get to first.”
And in an older interview, del Toro has revealed that he might have had an opportunity to direct Force Awakens, but his schedule wouldn’t even permit him to consider the possibility. The Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth director’s agent took a phone call gauging interest in directing Star Wars: Episode 7 before JJ Abrams signed on, but he turned down the opportunity because his schedule was already “busy enough.”
“We got one phone call to my agent saying, ‘Is Guillermo interested?’ And basically I have so much stuff already of my own, and I’m pursuing stuff that I’m generating already…,” the director told Indiewire. He later added: “It was just a phone call, it didn’t go past that, it was very nice to be asked, but believe it or not, I’m busy enough.”
I hope Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm are taking note. Even though this is nothing more than an idea, I’d love to see it happen. Although I’m not sure how excited Family-friendly Disney would be about making a dark gangster movie set in the Star Wars Universe. That said, they are already supposedly developing a movie about the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett, and he isn’t the nicest of characters (although we would suspect the movie probably retcon’s his origins a bit and makes him a more relatable character who somehow gets sucked into the hive and villainy).
You can watch both of the interviews embedded below:China's President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with Jang song-thaek, Chief of the Central Administrative Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, in Beijing, August 17, 2012. REUTERS/China Daily Jang's execution raises concern over future of NKorea's economic cooperation with ally China
BEIJING (AP) — The stunning execution of Kim Jong Un's powerful uncle strips China of its most important link to North Korea's leadership and deepens concerns over how the unruly neighbor will proceed on Beijing's key issues of nuclear disarmament and economic reform.
Facing heightened uncertainty, Beijing will likely avoid for now any response that might boost panic or paranoia in Pyongyang, where China is both valued and resented as a key backer of Kim's regime.
"It's like when you have a gas leak. You want to be very, very careful not to set off any sparks," said Jingdong Yuan, an expert on northeast Asian security at the University of Sydney.
At the same time, China is likely dusting off its contingency plans for instability or even a regime collapse that could see thousands of refugees swarming across its borders, put the North's nuclear facilities at risk, and prompt action by the U.S. and South Korean militaries, Yuan said.
"This is not a welcome development as far as China is concerned," said.
Long considered Kim's mentor and the country's No. 2, Jang Song Thaek formed a key conduit between Pyongyang and Beijing because of his association with the government of Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, along with his support for China-backed reforms to revive the North's moribund economy.
Jang met with top Chinese officials during their visits to Pyongyang, and in 2012, Jang traveled to China at the head of one of the largest North Korean delegations ever to visit the Chinese capital to discuss construction of special economic zones that Beijing hopes will ensure North Korea's stability.
His execution on a myriad of charges from treason to drug abuse further diminishes China's narrow influence on the government of the younger Kim. Despite being North Korea's only significant ally and a crucial source of trade and aid, Beijing has been unsuccessful in persuading North Korea to rejoin six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, while its overwhelming desire for stability along its northeastern border prevents it from getting overly tough on its neighbor.
Jang's China contacts weren't explicitly mentioned in the official litany of crimes against him, although he was accused of underselling North Korean mineral resources for which China is virtually the sole customer. His China ties also were implicitly criticized via a reference to corruption related a 2011 project in conjunction with China at the Rason special economic zone.
Jang, North Korea's official media said, "made no scruple of committing such act of treachery in May last as selling off the land of the Rason economic and trade zone to a foreign country for a period of five decades under the pretext of paying those debts."
Jang's execution comes at delicate time in bilateral relations. While Kim's father made a number of visits to China, the new leader has yet to travel outside North Korea and has repeatedly defied Beijing's calls not to launch missiles and stage nuclear tests. That has in turn spurred Beijing to make unusually bold criticism and sign on to tightened U.N. Security Council sanctions, arousing an angry response from Pyongyang.
The chill in relations was somewhat relieved following the visit by a top North Korean general to Beijing this summer, but diplomats say China remains committed to working closely with the international community on enforcing sanctions and coaxing Pyongyang back to nuclear talks.
Still, Jang's execution isn't expected to bring major, immediate changes in a relationship that has been remarkably consistent over the many decades since China sent troops to save the North Korean regime from extinction in the 1950-53 Korean War.
Wang Junsheng, a North Korea watcher at the government's Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said relations might even benefit since the move leaves Kim in a stronger position than ever to guide North Korea's ties Beijing, the strengthening of which benefits both sides.
"Kim has now finished consolidating his power and doesn't need to take drastic change in his foreign policy. Jang was merely a person who offered advice and implemented policy," Wang said.
China's response to Jang's dramatic purging has been extremely low-key, emphasizing that the issue is North Korea's internal affair and expressing its hopes for stability and economic development. Along with stifling panic, Beijing may be hoping that its non-intervention will spare some of Jang's pro-China associates from being targeted for removal under the North's policy of collective punishment.
As with South Korea, the U.S. and other interested parties, Beijing is struggling to analyze the current state of affairs in Pyongyang and ascertain Kim's positions on key topics.
While Kim has enunciated a policy of jointly pursuing nuclear weapons and development, it isn't clear whether he views economic reforms as strengthening his rule or undermining it by inviting unwelcome comparisons with foreign economies and by introducing foreign concepts and practices, said Shi Yuanhua, director of the Center for Korean Studies at the Fudan University.
"North Korea couldn't live without China, but cooperation in developing the special economic zones may be affected to some extent," Shi said.
Overall, Kim's attitude toward economic reform in cooperation with China remains a mixed bag, said Fang Xiuyu, a North Korea expert at Shanghai's Fudan University.
Even as Pyongyang was announcing Jang's purging, North Korean and Chinese representatives were signing contracts on cross-border high-speed rail and highway connections, Fang pointed out.
"I don't think North Korea's economic relations with China will be affected because of this particular incident, but all we can really do for now is speculate," she said.CLOSE Check out the highlights from Week 3 of the Amway Coaches Poll.
Ohio State and Curtis Samuel (4) made a huge impression on human and computer rankers alike this weekend. (Photo: Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports)
Alabama retained its season-long lead in the College Football Computer Composite rankings this week, but Ohio State's victory Saturday at Oklahoma cut into the Crimson Tide's lead by 80%.
After Week 2, Alabama was No. 1 in every one of the five computer formulas that fed the Bowl Championship Series standings and now combine for the CFCC. This week Alabama is No. 1 in three of them with Ohio State atop the other two.
Ohio State is alone in its ascendancy, however. Last week the Buckeyes' lead on No. 3 Clemson was about ⅓ of a ranking spot. This week the gap is the equivalent of 2⅓ spots.
Not surprisingly, Louisville was the biggest mover among top 25 teams, rising 13 spots to No. 7. Overall the biggest decliner was South Alabama, which dropped its second consecutive Sun Belt game Saturday after opening its season with a win at Mississippi State. The Jaguars fell 21 spots while the team that beat them, Louisiana-Lafayette, rose 21.
The College Football Computer Composite combines five of the computer formulas used in the former BCS standings to remove the human element from college football rankings. It is compiled by taking the geometric mean of rankings formulated by Richard Billingsley, Wes Colley, Ken Massey, Peter Wolfe and Jeff Sagarin.
Among the metrics feeding the CFCC are wins and losses, strength of schedule, home-field advantage, recency of game and, in Massey and Sagarin's case, margin of victory.
Updated CFCC rankings are published each week during the season on FootballFour.com and below. Week-by-week rankings for this season can be found here.Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is not only resonating with the public, he seems to be winning over House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi, of California, told reporters on Thursday that Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, is campaigning on issues that are also top priorities for House Democrats, including a plan to eliminate college tuition and raise the minimum wage.
"What he is proposing is what we have been talking about," Pelosi said. "Bigger paychecks, more affordability in education, many of the subjects that are our reason for being here in Congress."
Pelosi made the comments as Sanders' poll numbers continue to climb.
A new Quinnipiac University poll showed Sanders and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in a statistical tie in Iowa. Sanders garnered 41 percent of the vote, and Clinton was just behind him at 40 percent. Other polls show him closing in or surpassing Clinton.
Pelosi defended Clinton's decision to apologize for setting up a personal email server in her home during her tenure as secretary of state, and said she has "confidence" that Clinton never sent or received classified emails.
"I never doubted her on it but since it has become a fascination with the press, she would be smart to put it behind," she said.
Pelosi has not endorsed a candidate, but Sanders served with Pelosi in the House before winning a Senate seat and is more politically aligned with her liberal stance on spending and social welfare programs.
Pelosi told reporters she hasn't picked a favorite candidate, in part because the campaign for the Democratic nomination is in the early stages.
"It's fun to follow politics, but again I have confidence in Hillary Clinton and there are any number of great people in our party who could also run for president," she said.
Pelosi said Vice President Joe Biden has not talked to her about his potential bid for the White House. Biden plans to announce his decision in a matter of weeks.
"He's never spoken to me about it," Pelosi said "Isn't that interesting? And I speak to him quite a bit."For the first time in 40 years, Brown-Forman is selling entire barrels of its iconic Old Forester bourbon to customers who’d like to have, say, 220 bottles labeled as their very own.
Cost: $7,500.
Pricey, right? But divided by 220, that’s about $34 a bottle, which is a bit below shelf price for premium bourbon.
Still not in your budget?
“It doesn’t have to be one person, it can be a syndicate of friends if you like,” said master distiller Chris Morris, who oversees the company’s Woodford Reserve and Old Forester brands. One department of staffers at B-F is teaming up to buy its own, and the Kentucky Bourbon Society is discussing doing the same. “There is some buzz already about the program since word leaked out. So we’re already hearing from several retailers who want to buy one for their stores.”
Mac Brown, a B-F vice president, got the first one Thursday, and said he plans to give a good bit of his bottles away.
“This is really special, so sharing it will be a lot of fun,” said Brown.
When B-F last sold single barrels, it was done under the President’s Choice program, meaning those barrels were chosen for customers by then-B-F president George Garvin Brown, II.
Now, Morris chooses three barrels from a selection of 200 (about a day’s production when it’s distilling) in Old Forester’s 4- to 6-year-old inventory. He then lets customers taste each and make their own choice. (It also conducts a similar program for its Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey brand. Interested? Click here to see a video about it.)
Brown, his wife, Eileen, and their son, Chris, came to a chilly and serenely quiet warehouse in Shively to do their sampling.
“How do you find the gems, the really good barrels?” Chris Brown, Mac and Eileen Brown’s son, (who also works at Brown-Forman), asked Morris.
Mac Brown cut him off, joking, “This guy’s a big drinker!”
“I’m a big sipper,” Morris retorted.
When Chris Brown asked how many barrels Morris thinks he’s sampled in his career, Morris said, “That number’s like your weight and cholesterol: you don’t want to know.”
Morris started by leading the group through a tasting of three finished Old Forester products: 86 proof, 100 proof, and Birthday Bourbon (released annually on Sept. 2. George Garvin Brown’s birthday). The purpose of the exercise was to provide a broad understanding of its finished products, which are made from blends of many barrels, not just single barrels.
When the group tasted single barrel samples, they noticed remarkably different flavors and aromas.
Sample A was floral and fruity, Sample B bore hints of clove, anisette and cinnamon, and Sample C brought oak, vanilla and cinnamon to the nose.
“Combined, these barrels would make Old Forester, but separated, they are single barrels, one-offs, uniquely flavored,” Morris said. “That’s what we’re after with this.”
In addition to the private tasting, barrel customers are taken on tours of Brown-Forman’s headquarters and its cooperage.
If it’s not convenient for customers to travel to Brown-Forman for the tasting, the distillery will send them Morris’s chosen trio of samples, and he’ll lead them through a tele-tasting.
As the Brown family discussed its choices, they mostly were in agreement: They liked A for its lighter and more fragrant profile, but they also liked C for its spicy notes. Mac Brown was the first to stand up for C as his choice.
“When you’re sitting at home with a drink, you’ve got a glass full of ice and it’s filled with Old Forester, C will still be there at the end of the drink, as opposed to A, which might water down,” he said.
“So here’s the question,” Morris began, guiding the trio, “do you want something in the comfort zone or something that’s going to stand out?”
“Well, the one that stands out, of course,” Mac Brown said.
With his wife and son nodding in agreement, Chris Brown declared, “Sounds like we have a winner.”
(For what it’s worth, I chose A, but also liked C.)
According to Morris, the finished bourbon will be 90 proof, which was George Garvin Brown’s preferred ABV.
Joking throughout the tasting, Mac Brown pointed out the irony of the moment.
“George Garvin Brown started this company by being the first distiller in the nation to put bourbon in a bottle,” he said. “And now, here we are, 140 years later, selling bourbon from a barrel.”
To learn more about the Old Forester Single Barrel program, visit its website.The final details are being ironed out, but Rigondeaux has already accepted the fight.
Poonsawat, a rugged 31-year-old veteran and a former WBA 122-pound champion, will be a stiff test for Rigondeaux. He looked to be virtually unstoppable from September of 2006 to October of 2010, when Ryol Li Lee scored a major upset with a close twelve round decision victory. The Thai veteran has won seven fights since.
Sources from both sides have advised BoxingScene.com that a deal is very close for Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (48-2, 33KOs) to challenge WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux on December 15th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main event would feature another super bantamweight collision, with Nonito Donaire defending his IBF title against Mexican star Jorge Arce. HBO would televise both fights.
[QUOTE=IronDanHamza;12658499]At the age he's at, that's close to an impossible task IMO.[/QUOTE] Probably. I guess what I mean is, "with the time he has left."
[QUOTE=KnockUTheFukOut;12658446]:sad: I you consider this a step up in competition that is fine by me...[B]just don't ***** and make excuses if Rigondeaux blows him away and come back and say "Poonsawat Was A Bum"[/B] :no:[/QUOTE] Tall order. [QUOTE=IronDanHamza;12658478]No actual fans…
[QUOTE=CubanGuyNYC;12658493]Understood. The "Stans" can get under your skin, no matter what fighter they choose to back. Myself? [B]I'd like to see Rigo have himself an ATG career[/B]. If he doesn't, he doesn't; but I don't have any qualms acknowledging my…
[QUOTE=crold1;12658145]I've never disliked him. I had a beer bet with someone on whether he could win a title within like his first 18 months and he almost did (settling at interim). [B] I just find his Cult following, screaming duck…
[QUOTE=KnockUTheFukOut;12658446]:sad: [B]I you consider this a step up in competition that is fine by me...just don't ***** and make excuses if Rigondeaux blows him away and come back and say "Poonsawat Was A Bum"[/B] :no: He does come forward and…Solar panel installers claim that 2,000 jobs are at risk if the Coalition scraps or reduces the subsidy provided by the RET
The solar industry is launching a marginal seats campaign to “save” the renewable energy target (RET) that underpins its business, as fears grow the Abbott government intends to drastically reduce, or even abolish, the policy.
The Australian solar council is deeply concerned the government’s promised review of the target, which requires 45,000 gigawatts hours of power to be sourced from renewables by 2020 and provides a subsidy to people installing solar systems, could result in changes that would cripple its industry.
Chief executive, John Grimes, says 4,500 small solar-installing businesses – predominantly working in outer-urban and regional electorates – would be lobbying local members and asking their customers to do the same.
Grimes argues changes made by the former government had already pared back the effective subsidy offered by the RET for solar, and the existing benefit (about $1,000 for a household putting in a solar system worth $6,500) is already legislated to wind down over time.
In opposition, the Coalition was highly supportive of the solar industry and critical of constant changes to government incentives.
The environment minister, Greg Hunt, once jumped out of a plane to support a previous “save our solar” campaign on the grounds that Labor’s decision to means-test the then $8,000 subsidy were putting the industry into “freefall”.
Guardian Australia understands the RET review is now likely to be overseen by the prime minister’s department, rather than by industry minister Ian Macfarlane or Hunt.
Both Hunt and Macfarlane have said the Coalition will keep its election promise to retain the RET which underpins the business case for solar, wind farms and other forms of renewable power after the carbon tax was scrapped.
Details are expected by the end of the month, with the government struggling to get around the legislative requirement that the review be undertaken by the climate change authority, which it intends to abolish but has not yet been able to.
Before Christmas prime minister Tony Abbott said the RET may have outlived its usefulness and become a burden on business.
“We support sensible use of renewable energy, and as you know it was [the] former Howard government which initially gave us the RET and at the time it was important because we made very little use of renewable energy … but we have to accept that in the changed circumstances of today, the renewable energy target is causing pretty significant price pressure in the system and we ought to be an affordable energy superpower … cheap energy ought to be one of our comparative advantages,” he said.
His chief business adviser, Maurice Newman, has called for the renewable energy target to be scrapped and several Coalition backbenchers are also pushing for it to be axed.
Hunt has canvassed compromise options with industry including changing the existing target that 20% of energy come from renewable sources by 2020, to one requiring 25% from renewable sources by 2025. The plan would overcome the effect of falling electricity demand on the real impact of the RET.
Modelling released last week suggested abolishing the RET could cost 2,000 jobs in the solar panel industry.
The solar council is also planning a social media and email campaign and is calling for public donations to help “save solar”.Vintage 101: Post-Gush Power Nine
by Islandswamp // May 05, 2017 Tweet
vintage 101 Power Nine Challenge
Probing the Post-Gush Meta
This past weekend was the monthly Magic Online Power Nine Challenge. This also happened to be the first of these tournaments to occur in the wake of the latest changes to the Vintage restricted list. What did the format look like sans Gush and Gitaxian Probe? Let's dive in and take a look!
Power Nine Challenge Top 8 - 4.29.17 Workshops Jazza Mentor Tendrils Desolutionist Jeskai Mentor Unrestrictbrainstorm White Eldrazi Hitogoroshi80 Jeskai Mentor SMennen Punishing Oath Trakklo Ravager Shops Lexor19 Big Red Hate KeeperX
Workshops took down the event, and had two representatives in the Top Eight. Mentor is still being played, but only two out of the three decks featuring Mentor in the Top Eight were direct descendants of the Gush/Mentor archetype. The second place list was Dark Petition Tendrils featuring Monastery Mentor as an alternate win condition. Outside of those lists we had one Oath deck, one White Eldrazi, and even one home brew rogue deck featuring zero power nine cards (KeeperX's Stompy-like red deck).
$ 0.00 $ 0.00
I took a look at the results posted on The Mana Drain and the field seems pretty diverse compared to what it has been. Shops made up 12.7% of the field and had a slightly lower win percentage than it has had in some recent events. Big Blue and Oath took up 9.1% and 10.9% respectively, which isn't all that much lower than the numbers for Shops. If I had to guess I would say that is probably the reason that Workshops seemed less dominant.
Top 16
Making Top Eight of an event is great, but Magic is a high variance game, and it often doesn't take much to miss that mark. Let's take a look at the published lists that went 4-2 or better.
White Eldrazi Nocley White Eldrazi Andrea94 White Eldrazi cageykg Punishing Oath The Atog Lord Team Leovold Grischa__ Grixis Thieves eightfarms U/W Landstill mossdogtrainee Pitch Dredge Ravager101
Looking at the top sixteen decks shows us that White Eldrazi had three more strong finishes. The data from TMD says that White Eldrazi had the best win percentage against the field of any archetype at 61.8% (second highest was Workshops at 55.9%). It looks to me like the taxing decks are still very good, and White Eldrazi is doing especially well. My assumption as to why Shops seems to actually win more events than White Eldrazi is that the mana in Workshops is much better. White Eldrazi has colored spells, Cavern of Souls, and their namesake Eldrazi creatures that can be a drag if drawn in the wrong order.
Dredge only had one copy in the top portion of the field, and I suspect that is at least partly due to the Containment Priests in the main-deck of White Eldrazi. Usually Dredge comes and goes in the metagame, so the pendulum could swing back at any time.
$ 0.00 $ 0.00
I expected to see more Oath of Druids than just two, but Oath has never been a popular deck on Magic Online even when it's very good. The Auriok Salvagers Oath deck has been one of the better versions of the deck since Brian Kelly won the Vintage Championships with it, but the Magic Online interface makes that combo extremely slow and awkward to use. The two Oath decks were the Punishing/Grove builds popularized by KFChicken, and that particular build has a lot of tools to fight Eldrazi and Workshops.
First Place Shops
Tangle Wire is super expensive on Magic Online. Good thing this player didn't need any! Instead of those 'Wires Jazza had four Precursor Golems for an ultra-aggressive Shops deck. Golem puts nine power on the battlefield for only five mana, and it's spread out over three bodies so it's tough to block. I'm surprised that more people aren't trying Precursor Golems these days, but maybe it'll pick up in popularity due to Jazza's victory here.
$ 0.00 $ 0.00
Mentor Tendrils
Dark Petition Storm hasn't been very popular for a while, but it is very powerful nonetheless. Desolutionist played a Mentor/Storm hybrid to a second place finish, and the cards were chosen as a hedge against the expected metagame. Paradoxical Storm or Mentor has to contend with Null Rod and Stony Silence, which doesn't have nearly as much effect on a Dark Ritual-based combo deck like this. When your Storm plan is untenable, you've got Mentor to fall back on and vice versa. This is a really interesting strategy, and I'm glad to see it did well!
One Gush Mentor
Some folks are still playing Jeskai Gush Mentor even with their key card restricted. To deal with only one Gush these decks are typically running stuff like Mystical Tutor and Merchant Scroll to find Gush, and sometimes Jace, Vryn's Prodigy to replay their Gushes. These decks are still very strong even with only one Gush simply because they get to play every other restricted blue draw spell in the format, and I don't expect that this type of Mentor list will go away any time soon.
Punishing Oath
I definitely think that Oath of Druids is very well-positioned right now. Oath is great against the mana-taxing decks which are a big part of the format. One of Oath's problems from the previous meta was that Gush/Mentor could out-draw Oath with Gush and their other draw spells, and that could stop Oath from burping up their Griselbrand (or whatever) on turn two. Without Gush as a four-of it should be slightly easier for Oath to resolve and activate their namesake enchantment.
What makes Punishing Oath good is that it has a lot of answers to Containment Priest and Eldrazi Displacer. This helps make a previously poor matchup into a much better one. If White Eldrazi continues to be good I expect Punishing Oath to be successful. However, if combo decks make a resurgence I feel that Punishing Oath becomes a liability. I've played this deck a bit and my opinion is that the Punishing/Grove/Loam package is too slow and ineffective versus the fast combo of contemporary Vintage. Perhaps with tuning this situation could be different, but as it stands now Punishing Oath is best in a Shops/Eldrazi heavy meta.
Grixis Thieves
I mentioned Grixis Thieves as a deck that could make a comeback, and while it wasn't very popular in this event it did put one player into the top sixteen. Eightfarms missed Top Eight by one match win, and that suggests to me that this archetype still has gas in the tank.
$ 0.00 $ 0.00
As a side note I noticed that this list has one Gush in it, which I think is really cool. Unfortunately it looks as though eightfarms forgot the one mandatory Gitaxian Probe, but I'll excuse it this time.
Powerless Red Hate
KeeperX made Top Eight of this event without a single piece of the Power Nine in their deck! This deck would actually qualify for the budget category at Eternal Weekend, and if City of Traitors (and a few other cards) weren't so expensive online, it'd be budget on Magic Online too. I love seeing a deck like this do well because it helps to break stereotypes people have of Vintage.
Blood Moon isn't quite as devastating in Vintage as it is in other formats due to the prevalence of Moxen, but a turn one Moon still beats a lot of people. Trinisphere is restricted in Vintage, so instead of the four 'Spheres you'd see in the Legacy versions of this deck, there's Null Rod instead. With eight Moons, Trinisphere, and Null Rod, this deck is actually has a very strong prison theme going. I hope this finish inspires more people to try out the format.
Wrap-Up
I know it hasn't been that long yet, but I am very optimistic about how things are going in Vintage. Mentor is still a great deck, but it feels like there's a lot of other things people can play now. The results from the Power Nine event show a meta that looks much more balanced than before. I hope that things continue to go well, and I can't wait to see what decks crop up next.
That's all the time I have for this week. Special thanks to Diophan and ChubbyRain for collecting the Power Nine data. See you next time!
You can follow me @ Twitter.com/IslandswampHillary Clinton surrogate Sid Blumenthal personally pitched a reporter on the President Obama “birther” story when she was campaigning for president in 2008, a former Washington reporter said Thursday.
The Clinton campaign and the media have consistently refuted Trump’s claim Clinton started the birther movement, which Trump re-upped Friday when he said for the first publicly that he believes Obama was born in the United States. “Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy,” Trump said, drawing a slew of media fact checks almost immediately. “I finished it.”
But former McClatchy Washington Bureau Chief James Asher has backed up Trump’s version of events, saying he was personally pitched the story by a Clinton surrogate in 2008.
Clinton had tweeted: “President Obama’s successor cannot and will not be the man who led the racist birther movement. Period.”
And Asher replied: “@HillaryClinton So why did your man #sidblumenthal spread the #obama birther rumor to me in 2008, asking us to investigate? Remember?”
Blumenthal is a former aide to Clinton’s husband Bill Clinton and their long-time friend.
“#CNN says #Hillary team in 2008 never raised the #birther issue,” he said in another tweet Thursday night. “#SidBlumenthal, long-time #HRC buddy, told me in person #Obama born in #kenya.”
Nevertheless, as soon as Trump reiterated his criticism Clinton started the birther movement, the media started churning out fact checks.
“I covered it at the time,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said Friday, referring to the movement. “She and her campaign never, never started the birther issue.”
“Trump Drops False ‘Birther’ Theory, but Floats a New One: Clinton Started It,” blared a New York Times headline. And The Washington Post fact checker quickly spun up a piece declaring the claim “debunked.”
At one point the MSNBC chyron read: “Trump (falsely) claims Clinton started birther controversy.”
Follow Rachel on Twitter
Send tips to rachel@ dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.About
1/11/19 Message: Happy New Year. Share:
Poppy Seed Wash is a beverage, generically known as poppy seed tea. Each bottle contains 6 ounces of special, unwashed, unprocessed, organic poppy seeds sourced specifically for strength and great taste.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Preparation
1. Measure the quantity of seeds using the guide on the side of the bottle. 2. Add hot water. 3. Shake for one minute 4. Hold upside down over a cup, open cap and squeeze the tea out (The cap strains the seeds) 5. Tea is ready.
Learn more about PoppySeed Wash:
FAQs
Testimonials
New Seed as of 08/01/18 The best we have ever had!
10 Pack Poppy Seed Wash
20 Pack Poppy Seed Wash
30 Pack Poppy Seed Wash
60 Pack Poppy Seed Wash
5 Pounds of Poppy Seeds + Free Wash Bottle
10 Pounds of Poppy Seeds + 2 Free Wash Bottles
Quick Credit Card Checkout C lick credit card/debit after you click the buy now button to pay without a PayPal account.
Packages Ship Immediately Sent in discreet standard USPS packaging from "pswash" Packages arrive in 2-3 business days for US customers
If you have any trouble, Please Contact Us and we can help out or process your order over the phone.
(Nutrition Facts based on consuming the seeds and not the wash water / tea) *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.As Crayon Pop entered the airport from the plane, they began to motion pistol fire and do kicks in the air. It is certainly a strange behavior, but they had their reasons. They promised they would do so to their fans.
Crayon Pop was returning from the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA). They also went through a rushed schedule consisting of Hong Kong fan meetings and various promotional activities throughout Hong Kong. They entered Korea through Incheon International Airport.
As soon as the doors opened, Crayon Pop began to kick in the air and motion pistol firing. This was a routine that they performed with international sensation Ylvis of "The Fox" fame. The crowd of fans who were waiting for them erupted in laughter.
Chrome Entertainment explained that it was due to a promise Crayon Pop made to their fans.
What was the promise? Crayon Pop was asked what they would do if they won the Best New Artist award at MAMA, they will perform various dance moves at the airport. Of course, when they made this promise, they didn't think that they would win. They said, "We had no idea we would be keeping this promise, because we didn't think we'd win at all."
They continued, "Even though the promise was made more than 3 months ago, we wanted to keep our promise to our fans who supported us. We like to thank our fans again for their support that lead to our receiving of that award."
Crayon Pop's next agenda is less bizarre. They are releasing a Christmas album on November 26th.Patrick Kisnorbo: Released by Leeds
Despite also being released, Leigh Bromby will stay on at Elland Road in a coaching capacity while Davide Somma has been offered the chance to prove his fitness during the summer having struggled all season with a recurring knee injury.
Other victims of the end-of-season cull include loanee Habib Habibou and Academy players Monty Gimpel, Sanchez Payne, Patrick Antelmi and Jordan Snodin.
Kisnorbo will be remembered by Whites' fans for the role he played in their promotion from League One during the 2009/10 season while Rabchubka has spent the latter part of this season on loan at Accrington.
Having suffered a serious knee injury at Cardiff a year ago, Bromby has not played this season but his standing at the club has been recognised with an offer to stay on and coach the Academy side.December 13, 2012
RECENTLY, THE feminist website Jezebel.com ran an article titled "How Planned Parenthood's Political Team Aced the Elections." The reason for celebration was that "nearly 100 percent of its spending went towards races that ended with pro-choice politicians in power."
The secret to their success, according to the author of the article, was first of all, that the Republicans came out with so many vile statements and positions that Planned Parenthood's job amounted to simply drawing attention to them.
By this standard, it would seem that any candidate who did not make a horrible statement about rape or come out in favor of completely obliterating funding for Planned Parenthood was considered a "pro-choice" candidate. I'll come back to that.
The second factor in Planned Parenthood's success, according to Jezebel, was to water down the message: "Abortion access wasn't the most pressing issue for women voters this election season: reproductive health was." Leaving aside the fact that |
al sciences” category at Thomson Scientific. (For comparison, Food and Chemical Toxicology has an IF of just above 3, and a ranking of 27th.)
This is hardly the first time that the authors of a retracted paper have republished it. In a recent case, they did so in the same journal. But in a more typical case, they republished the work in another journal, with a lower IF.
The republished study was peer-reviewed, according to the press materials, and Seralini confirmed that it was in an email to Retraction Watch. But we were curious what “any kind of appraisal of the paper’s content should not be connoted” meant. We asked Seralini and the editor of Environmental Sciences Europe, Henner Hollert, but neither responded.
Seralini and his colleagues provide a timeline in the press materials of their version of events. One element in particular caught our eye:
Wallace Hayes wrote an article to defend his position that raises doubts about his understanding of the study and raw data. He mentions in his defense he was unable to conclude that “there was a clear link between GMO and cancer.” An obvious error of W. Hayes as the term “cancer” has never been mentioned in the paper of Séralini’s research team. And it does not affect any aspect of the research on Roundup.
Now, “tumor” and “cancer” are not necessarily the same thing. But the original paper certainly referred to tumors repeatedly, and Seralini, as Nature reported at the time,
…has promoted the cancer results as the study’s major finding, through a tightly orchestrated media offensive that began last month and included the release of a book and a film about the work.
Speaking of the book and film about Seralini’s work, the authors — who have lambasted their critics for failing to disclose potential conflicts of interest, including in a paper published alongside the new version – didn’t declare them as conflicts:
The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests, and that, in contrast with regulatory assessments for GMOs and pesticides, they are independent from companies developing these products.
Share this: Email
Facebook
TwitterINDYCAR begins 2017 with the latest installment of the “Heart of Racing” promotional campaign, known as “NEXT.”
So, what’s really next for U.S. open-wheel racing?
For starters, a busy month of January. From news items expected to be announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to heavy driver participation in the Race Of Champions (Jan. 21-22 in Miami) and the Rolex 24 (Jan. 28-29 in Daytona Beach), the action heats up fast and furious.
Following an assortment of team and manufacturer tests, Verizon IndyCar Series competitors will be on track Feb. 10-11 at Phoenix International Raceway for the year’s first official test. A month later is the season-opening race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
NEXT means a lot of things:
It’s the Next Season: Seventeen races, with 21 car-and-driver combinations currently confirmed. Simon Pagenaud will try to become the series’ first repeat champion since Dario Franchitti in 2011, and Alexander Rossi will seek to become the Indianapolis 500’s first back-to-back champion since Helio Castroneves in 2002.
It’s the Next Legend: Scott Dixon needs just two race wins to tie Michael Andretti for third place on the sport’s all-time list. Dixon has 40 with an average of 3.0 wins per season over the past 12 years. Picking a place where he notches that 43rd win is difficult since his past seven wins have come at seven different tracks, but Mid-Ohio on July 30 seems like a good spot; he has won there five times.
It’s the Next Generation: Ed Jones is currently the only rookie in the 2017 class, but there are plenty of “next” situations to watch. Like Josef Newgarden in his first season at Team Penske; A.J. Foyt tabbing Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly for a new-look combination; Sebastien Bourdais returning to Dale Coyne’s team with a strong engineering effort; JR Hildebrand back in the series as a full-timer (with Ed Carpenter Racing); Takuma Sato bringing his raw speed to Andretti Autosport; and Honda’s strengthened lineup with the signing of Chip Ganassi Racing.
It’s the Next Century: After 100 races, the Indianapolis 500 begins another chapter and there’s no reason to believe it won’t be thrilling. Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles has spoken of exceptionally high ticket renewal rates, which means another complete sellout is possible. The 500 was a hot ticket in 2016 and it looks to be again.
It’s the Next New Event: Gateway Motorsports Park isn’t exactly new to the Verizon IndyCar Series – the most recent of six Indy car races there was held in 2003 – but it’s unfamiliar to many race fans. It’s an oval sitting convenient to most Midwestern race fans (not much more than three hours west of Indianapolis). The night race is Aug. 26.
It’s the Next Technology: The Verizon IndyCar Series will use similar equipment in 2017, but the march is on to introduce a new aero kit look for 2018 this spring. The first step in the reveal process is this month and the goal is to have a car testing the new bodywork in June.
Curt Cavin recently became INDYCAR’s vice president of communications after 30 years covering Indy car racing for The Indianapolis Star.
In case you missed the New Year's Day release of INDYCAR NEXT, watch it here:Plot Edit
In a world where toys are living things but pretend to be lifeless when humans are present, a group of toys, owned by a boy named Andy Davis, are caught off-guard when Andy's birthday party is moved up a week, as his family (including his mother and infant sister Molly) is preparing to move the following week. Andy's toys – including Bo Peep the shepherdess, Mr. Potato Head, Rex the dinosaur, Hamm the piggy bank and Slinky Dog – fear they will be replaced by new toys from the birthday. A pull-string cowboy doll named Sheriff Woody – the toys' leader and Andy's favorite toy – sends out army men, led by Sergeant, to spy on the party and report the gift results to the others via baby monitors. The toys are relieved when the party appears to end with none of them being replaced by new toys, but then Andy receives a surprise gift – a Buzz Lightyear action figure, who thinks he is a real space ranger. Buzz impresses the other toys with his various features, and Andy begins to favor him, making Woody feel abandoned. As Andy prepares for a family outing at Pizza Planet, his mother allows him to bring one toy. Fearing Andy will choose Buzz, Woody attempts to trap him behind a desk, but ends up accidentally knocking him out of a window. The other toys, except Bo Peep and Slinky, rebel against Woody, believing he did harm to Buzz out of jealousy. Before they can exact revenge, Andy takes Woody and leaves for Pizza Planet. When the family stops for gas, Woody finds that Buzz has hitched a ride on their van. They have a fight, only to find the family has left without them. They manage to make their way to the restaurant by stowing away on a pizza delivery truck. Buzz, still thinking he is a real space ranger, despite Woody's attempts to convince him otherwise, gets them stuck in a crane game, where they are won by Andy's toy-abusing neighbor, a boy named Sid Phillips. Woody attempts to escape from Sid's house, but Buzz, finally realizing he is a toy after watching a Buzz Lightyear TV ad and trying and failing to fly out a window, sinks into despondency. Sid plans to launch Buzz on a fireworks rocket, but his plans are delayed by a thunderstorm. Woody tells Buzz about the joy he can bring to Andy as a toy, restoring his confidence. The next day, Woody and Sid's mutant creature toys rescue Buzz just as Sid is about to launch the rocket and scare Sid into no longer abusing toys, and he runs into his house screaming in horror. Woody and Buzz leave just as Andy and his family drive away toward their new home. The duo tries to make it to the moving truck, but Sid's dog, Scud, sees them and gives chase. Buzz gets left behind while saving Woody from Scud, and Woody tries rescuing him with Andy's radio-controlled car (RC). Thinking that Woody is trying to eliminate RC as well, the other toys attack and toss him off the truck. Having evaded Scud, Buzz and RC retrieve Woody and continue to chase the truck. Upon seeing Woody and Buzz together on RC, the other toys realize their mistake and try to help them get back aboard, but RC's batteries become depleted, stranding them. Woody ignites the rocket on Buzz's back and manages to throw RC into the truck before they soar into the air. Buzz opens his wings to free himself from the rocket before it explodes, gliding with Woody to land safely into a box in the van, right next to Andy. On Christmas Day, at their new house, Woody and Buzz stage another reconnaissance mission to prepare for the new toy arrivals. One of the toys is Mrs. Potato Head, much to Mr. Potato Head's delight. As Woody jokingly asks what might be worse than Buzz, they discover Andy's new gift is a puppy, and the two share a worried smile.
Voice cast Edit
Production Edit
Release Edit
Reception Edit
Impact and legacy Edit
Expanded franchise Edit
See also Edit
Notes Edit
References EditA Wolf by Any Other Name is a collaborative improvisational party game about magic school students in detention on the night of the full moon. Moonrise is inevitable, and that means trouble for everyone unless the werewolves in the room are able to collect the two ingredients to create the Romulus Lunar Shield potion.
If a lycan can create and quaff a successful Romulus potion before moonrise, they can resist the transformation. But the ingredients are scattered, and expensive. Some are expired or fraudulent. It's a race against the moon to save yourself and your friends from the danger and contagion of lycanthropy. Lycans not only can harm others and themselves, they can also be... gasp!... expelled!
Play A Wolf by Any Other Name at parties, conventions, or your own mini-LARP!
Number of participants: 1 facilitator/detention monitor and 6-25 players
Time to Play: Approximately 2 hours.
Space Needed: Enough room for every player to have a place to sit and study, plus extra corners to meet, perform rituals, get mauled by werewolves, etc. A normal classroom or rec room is perfect.
This is an improvisational roleplaying game. You will roleplay a character and interact with your fellow players to create an interesting story and a unique solution to the dilemma. The object of the game is to make a decision about what you -- personally or collectively -- will do at moonrise when one or more among you will turn into a ferocious beast.
With built-in conflict and surprises to discover, players will take on the persona of a student at a magical school. Some players will be lycans, while others will be loup-garou--a magical wolf-shifter not ruled by the moon or persecuted by society. The remaining players will be human mages with various views of lycanthropy.
Randomly draw your role as a lycan, loup-garou, or human at the start of the game.
The game designed to be flexible, playable with a few friends in your living room, with up to 25 people as a full larp experience, or anywhere in between. It's full adaptable: when the group is bigger, there are more lycans and loup-garoux (and potions) in the room.
It's also repeatable and different every time you play. Roles and inventory are randomized by card draw. You never know which character you'll play or what items you will get--you might have a Romulus Potion ingredient, or some other interesting item to sell, trade, or use in magical mayhem.
What have you brought with you? Will it be of any use?
There are two main rules for the game:
Improvise! You will encounter conflicts in this game and will need to create a solution out of the materials on hand. You've only got what you brought to detention: some pocket money, some items, and some potion ingredients. Of course, you also have MAGIC so strange things can happen. Use your imagination!
Consent! Any roleplay you undertake must be agreed upon by all participants involved. No one can force you to do or say anything you don’t want to do. The recipient of a magic spell decides what happens.
One hard mechanic: The success or failure of a Romulus Lunar Shield potion is determined by a random card draw. Just before moonrise, if you have obtained a Romulus Base and a Romulus Activator, take your potion component cards to the facilitator. Draw an Alchemy Outcome card to find out if your potion is a Success! Or a Failure! (due to expired or fraudulent components). Based on this outcome, you'll have some quick decisions to make -- or succumb to the transformation if that is your fate.
At 87 cards, the game has 4 decks: character, status, inventory, and alchemy outcome.
87 “A Wolf By Any Other Name” Cards, which are divided into 4 decks
27 Character Cards
25 Status Cards (15 Human, 6 Lycan, 4 Loup-Garou)
25 Inventory Cards (6 Romulus Base, 6 Romulus Activator, 13 Brought to Detention)
10 Alchemy Outcome Cards (5 Success!, 3 Expired, 2 Fraudulent)
PDF of "Ephemera" (handouts, notes, posters, official documents, etc.)
No one is exempt from Detention: all Houses, paths, heritages represented.
1. Characters (27)
This is a game for up to 25 people, but we've given you 27 characters to choose from so everyone always has a choice. These two-sided cards can be worn as name badges, and have the character name and public information about you on the front: your NWM House, your Path, your Heritage, and your Year. Characters are spread evenly among the 5 Houses of New World Magischola.
Sample Character Card - Front. Information public to other players. You choose your first name!
Reverse of Character Card. Information private to the player.
Characters are given a first initial and a last name. You can name your character any name and any gender you choose.
2. Status Cards
Every player takes a random card, which will indicate whether you are a human mage, a lycan, or a loup-garou. Each time you play the game, different characters will be lycans, loup-garou, and humans, so you never know who is who.
3. Inventory Cards
Every player takes an item card to pocket. You might get one-half of the Romulus Potion -- the one that lycans need to take prior to moonrise to avoid the change. You might get another item that you can choose to use or trade during the game.
Sample Inventory Card - Front & Back
4. Alchemy Outcome
Near the end of the game, those who have successfully retrieved both halves of the Romulus Potion -- an activator and a base -- will want to know if they have a working potion. You'll draw a card from this deck to see what your outcome will be.
The three results of a Romulus Potion
You can also play the game with WYSIWYG potion components made from kitchen ingredients to watch a working potion change color before your eyes. We'll tell you how in the rules booklet. Select the Deluxe Edition of the game to get the WYSIWYG components, like wolf mask, claws, and potion bottles, plus a full Compendium of Magical Creatures.
$5 Lycanthropy Research
Your support is deeply appreciated. You'll receive a PDF copy of the rules for Wolf, and have access to our updates!
$15 Digital Copy of Wolf by Any Other Name
You'll get a ready-to-print copy of all 87 cards in the game, and a digital copy of the rules.
In addition, you'll get a digital copy of the magical documents book, more than 20 pages of documents to use in the game: detention bingo, homework, lycanthropy research, court proceedings, and more. Pick and choose which documents to leave out for players to interact. Print the ones you wish to use.
We will also thank you on our website, memorializing your support!
$25 Print Edition of Wolf by Any Other Name
In addition to the digital edition and credit for your support, we'll send you the standard print edition of the game - 87 cards and the rulebook!
Plus, you'll get a digital copy of the magical documents book, more than 20 pages of documents to use in the game: detention bingo, homework, lycanthropy research, court proceedings, and more. Pick and choose which documents to leave out for players to interact. Print the ones you wish to use.
You'll be eligible for all stretch goals as well.
$35 Werewolf Wanted Print Edition of Wolf by Any Other Name
You'll get the standard print edition of the game -- 87 cards and the rulebook -- PLUS 10 Werewolf Most Wanted Posters printed on parchment and delivered in PDF. Enhance the game atmosphere and increase opportunities for roleplay with these lycans-at-large.
Also includes the digital version of the game. Plus, you'll get a digital copy of the magical documents book, more than 20 pages of documents to use in the game: detention bingo, homework, lycanthropy research, court proceedings, and more. Pick and choose which documents to leave out for players to interact. Print the ones you wish to use.
$90 Commissioned Drawing by Ashe Andrews-Preston
Ashe will draw your character in the style of the Magischola Path characters below, and deliver your full-color custom drawing to you digitally. This reward tier does not include a copy of A Wolf By Any Other Name, but you can add the digital edition for $15, the print edition for $25, the Werewolf Wanted edition for $35 or the deluxe edition for $100.
Marshal
$100 Deluxe Edition of Wolf by Any Other Name
In addition to the digital edition and credit for your support, we'll send you the standard print edition of the game - 87 cards and the rulebook!
We'll also include a werewolf half-mask and pair of werewolf claws, to use at moon rise, a copy of the Compendium of North American Cryptids & Magical Creatures, and a set of potion bottles. Plus, you'll get a physical copy of the magical documents book, more than 20 pages of documents to use in the game: detention bingo, homework, lycanthropy research, court proceedings, and more.
Pick and choose which documents to leave out for players to interact.
A werewolf mask, gloves, and a copy of Compendium of North American Cryptids & Magical Creatures is included in our Deluxe Edition!
$125 Your Character in the Game
Want everyone to play your character when they play Wolf? Add your character to the base game! Choose the name and first initial, heritage, year, house, path, and the personality and core beliefs.* You'll also get the Standard Print Edition of the game, all the digital rewards, and all the stretch goals. Add $10 to your pledge to get the Werewolf Wanted Edition.
Have your own character included in the game!
*We will approve all name requests to ensure they are legal and appropriate.
$250 Deluxe Your Character in the Game
Want everyone to play your character when they play Wolf? Add your character to the base game! Choose the name and first initial, heritage, year, house, path, and the personality and core beliefs.* You'll also get the Deluxe Edition of the game, all the digital rewards, and all the stretch goals.
*We will approve all name requests to ensure they are legal and appropriate.
$2000 Game with the Designers at Your Location
One of the designers of the game will fly to any location in the continental United States, with a premium copy of the game and all upgrades in tow. They'll bring some special surprises for everyone, and personally run A Wolf By Any Other Name for you and your party.
Imagine Wyn Diego or Dean D'Agostino as your Detention Monitor? Well, it's perhaps better than Dolores Umbridge?
Mutually Agreeable date and time. Reward covers facilitator's travel, time and meals, but they will accept some Shining Dionysian Elixir or Catsap if you're sharing.
A Wolf by Any Other Name is designed by Maury Brown and Ben Morrow, the creators of the blockbuster larp, New World Magischola. This is our fourth Kickstarter, and we are proud to be working with an amazing team to bring Wolf to life.
Maury Brown is the game designer. She is the creative mind between the lycanthropy and loup-garou distinction in the Magimundi, as well as the Romulus Potion and its effects. She's responsible for the design of the game and its literary title (she's an English professor, after all).
Ben Morrow is the game developer. He created the game's mechanics to make it expandable and replayable. He is the co-creator of New World Magischola, and a writer for the Compendium of North American Cryptids & Magical Creatures.
Jason Morningstar of Bully Pulpit games consulted on both the design and development of the game, and he did all the graphic design for the game. His amazing layout work gave the character cards their easy-to-use format, and made everything more magical.
Ffion Elinor Evans is the artist who drew all of our creatures and monsters. She is responsible for the werewolf and loup-garou art used in the game.
Lars Bundvad is the artist who designed and created the New World Magischola school crest, featured on the card backs.
We also want to thank Cheyenne & Fox Procenko for their help in marketing and running Wolf in Canada, Alex Roberts and Kristin Brumley for their help in promotion, and Shawn Roske and Eric Mersmann for their help with thematic development.
Thanks also to all the people who contributed items from Wizard School for the game's handouts, and to all of our enthusiastic playtesters at Metatopia, Arisia, Dreamation, and Intercon!
"Playing in A Wolf by Any Other Name is like being in the Breakfast Club with a potential horror ending. The game is fun, with a steady pacing, and interesting character options. The manner of play up until moonrise can greatly vary, but inevitably the moon will rise and those who are lycans will wolf out. How each group deals with it is the center of the drama. If you've never larped before this is a great start (very simple mechanics). If you are a veteran larper you will be sure to enjoy a quick and dirty prisoners dilemma." -- Fox Procenko, lighting designer, Nordic LARP enthusiast
"15 heart emojis... " -- Alex Roberts, Backstory
"When played under 12 people the game feels like Breakfast Club in Wizard school. When the numbers go beyond that, it becomes more political intrigue." -- Shawn Roske
"I had the fortune of being a lycan in my game, so my experience playing was one of fear and distrust, of being suspicious of those who proclaimed a desire to help, of actually finding those who were callously indifferent or outright hostile refreshing—at least I knew where they stood. Ultimately I found myself at a crossroads, competing with a dear friend over a precious resource, and when that happened, to my shame, my fear won. It was a lovely experience, and I look forward to playing and facilitating this game many times in the future." -- Eric Mersmann, writer, editor, larper
"This game will challenge what you think you know about larp, and if you don't know anything this is a great place to start. Be prepared to laugh with friends, conspire against injustice and hope to lend a hand to make this the best detention of your life. Or perhaps…the last detention of your life."
-- Jonaya Kemper, Games Studies Scholar
"As a disabled player, I appreciated how simply everything was handled: high tension, without having to glance at my character cards more than once or twice. I had a great time." -- Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, author, game designer
"It's a larp about teenage wizards that asks some very real questions about inclusion, discrimination, friendship, and trust. Are you willing to break the rules to help a friend? Are you willing to ask your friends to break rules to help you? You'll ask yourself that when you're playing this game."
-- Rebecca Slitt, Choice of Games
"This game provided me with the opportunity to step outside of my social comfort zone. I had a chance to turn from introvert to extrovert even if it was for just a few hours. Players were placed in a situation where it felt good to collaborate." -- Corrine Giordani, Arisia and Intercon playtester
"Sitting with the cool kids at the cafeteria, but then realizing that they really do have your back. Like high school, but with compassion and trust." -- Vivian Abraham, Arisia playtester
"Playing A Wolf by Any Other Name changed the way I conceived short larps. Hands down. Consensual magic, a rich world that encourages a wide range of storytelling styles, and the easy-to-understand nature of the game got rid of my nervousness and made me feel like I was strongly attached to everyone in just a few hours. Due to the way the game is made, you don’t need to know the in-depth history of the New World Magischola setting, and yet when you’re done, you’ll be filled with a range of emotions connected to it anyway." -- Jonaya Kemper, playtester, graduate student
You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with
sound 00:00 00:00 Amber speaks about her first introduction to Magischola while playing A Wolf by Any Other Name!
New World Magischola is a 4-day immersive wizard school experience for adults in the United States. It's also a hidden magical world for North America, a world of secrets for your imagination to play in.
A Wolf by Any Other Name is based in this world, but you don't need to know a lot about it to play. You've all been students, and you at least know about Detention if you have never attended. And you have enough cultural knowledge about werewolves and being a wizard to pull this off.
But for those of you who need more background, this is included as a quick starter for the core issue in the game:
There are two types of people who can shapeshift into wolves: Loup-garoux and lycans.
Loup-garoux are privileged wolf-shifters who retain a measure of humanity, even in wolf form. They can change at will.
Lycans must hide their identities as wolf-shifters, because society persecutes them. They change under a full moon and become aggressive.
Once shifted, however, the two “beasts” are nearly indistinguishable.
Loup-garoux are accepted as students and faculty in magical schools; lycans are not. Lycan attend anyway, at great risk, hiding their affliction.
The patented Romulus Lunar Shield potion allows lycans to “pass” as loup-garoux and to resist the transformation of the full moon. It is very expensive and hard to get. It requires 2 parts, and must be mixed just prior to consuming. If the activator is expired or fraudulent, it will not work.
Stretch Goals
At $2,000 we will double the items in the PDF Ephemera & Handouts, and include the Wizard Most Wanted posters. YOU DID IT! All backers will receive this upgrade!
At $2,500 we will upgrade the card stock for the cards to premium for greater durability. YOU DID IT! All backers at $25 level and above will receive this upgrade!
At $3,000 we will include a sheet of double-sided cardboard Leeuwendaalders. YOU DID IT! All backers at $25 and above will receive this upgrade!
At $3,500 we will create 5 Posters explaining each NWM House and its values. We will also create 6 Posters explaining the 6 NWM Paths (majors) and what they do. YOU DID IT! All backers will receive this upgrade!
At $4,000 we will add Illustrations to the House and Path Posters and to the Rules. Crest artwork by Lars Bundvad and Character Path artwork by Ashe-Andrews-Preston. YOU DID IT! All backers will receive this upgrade!
At $4,500 we will add custom Potions Labels to print and attach to your potions bottles. From famous Magimundi apothecaries. YOU DID IT! All backers will receive this upgrade!
At $5,500 we will add two pre-generated professor/detention monitor characters to the game, allowing the facilitator to pick up and play a ready-made role. YOU DID IT! All backers will receive this upgrade!
At $6,500 we will add a side-plot for the human mages to consider during the game. This is optional; the game can be played without it, but some people want extra intrigue, or something to add on replay!WARNING: UPSETTING CONTENT
A 15-YEAR-OLD boy was supposed to spend a hospital visit last February learning to take care of his month-old son, but yesterday in a Perth court the teenager admitted to killing his baby during that visit.
The teenager, now 16, appeared in Perth Children’s Court yesterday pleading guilty to the unlawful killing of his baby boy.
For the first time, the court heard disturbing details of the baby’s death.
The 15-year-old was left alone with the baby at Bunbury hospital for only 10 minutes while the baby’s mother was outside.
When the 16-year-old mother returned, the baby was limp, pale and not breathing, Nine News reported.
While the teenager initially told police he had “bumped” the infant, saying he heard a “pop” as the child heads hit door frame, state prosecutor Bruno Fiannaca told the court the explanation was found to be “implausible”.
The child’s injuries were found to be “consistent with blunt force trauma”, possibly by being stomped on as he lay on his side on the ground.
A surgeon who examined the baby said he had the worst head and brain injuries she had ever seen.
The man was initially charged with serious assault, but the charge was upgraded after the child died ten days later, News Corp reports.
At the time of the baby’s death, the teenage mother took to social media to express her grief after the baby boy died in her arms.
“Omg what do I do sitinq here so lost missing my son rip mummys boy love you to the moon nd bak,” (sic) she wrote.
“You Went In My Arms I loved Yhu So Much.” (sic)
Outside court yesterday, the baby’s mother told the West Australian: “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him”.
The young man cried in the dock while his case was read in court.
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month.A groundbreaking new survey of Stonehenge and its surrounds has revealed fifteen previously unknown Neolithic monuments underground, according to a new report released by the Smithsonian Institute. The results show that there is a lot more to Stonehenge than meets the eye.
It has long been known that Stonehenge was not just an isolated monument in an unspoilt landscape, but was part of a much bigger complex. This is evidenced by the scattering of mounds, ditches, burials, and other significant monuments, such as Woodhenge, Coneybury, the Cursus monument, and Amesbury Long Barrow, all within a short distance of the famous stone circle. Now a new research project using magnetic sensors to scan landmarks in Wiltshire have found even more evidence of human activity, which have lain hidden underground for thousands of years.
The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project used ground-penetrating radars and GPS-guided magnetometers to produce a 3D map of a four-square-mile area. Credit: Henrik Knudsen, with thanks to National Trust.
The Stonehenge Hidden Landscaped Project is a four-year collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Austria. The team has conducted the first detailed underground survey of the area surrounding Stonehenge, covering around four square miles (ten square kilometres). What they discovered was startling.
Using the latest in high-tech equipment, the team of experts detected evidence of ancient digging and buildings, including other henges, barrows, pits, and ditches, which are believed to harbour valuable information about the prehistoric site.
“This is among the most important landscapes, and probably the most studied landscape, in the world,” archaeologist Vince Gaffney of the University of Birmingham told the Smithsonian Magazine. “And the area has been absolutely transformed by this survey. It won’t be the same again.”
A full map of the The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project's findings is to be presented September 9 at the British Science Festival in Birmingham, England. Credit: David Preiss
One of the findings was the identification of a large gap in the Cursus monument, which is a 3 kilometre long and 100 metre wide ditch and earthworks in the near vicinity of Stonehenge. Dating back to around 3,500 BC, the Cursus barrier is roughly aligned east-west and is orientated toward the sunrise on the spring and autumn equinoxes. The discovery of a large break in the monument, suggests an area used by people to enter and exit the monument. While scientists are still unsure of the true purposes of the Stonehenge Cursus, Professor Gaffney believes it acted as a gateway for worshipers as well as a marker for the passage of the sun.
Another significant discovery was two pits at either end of the Cursus strip, located around 1 metre underground and measuring 4.5 metres in diameter. Professor Gaffney told Smithsonian that on the longest day of the year, the pits form a triangle with Stonehenge, marking sunrise and sunset. Gaffney speculates that the pits may have been used for ritual fires or as markers of some kind. Since the pits have only been identified using scanning technology, it is hoped that they will eventually be excavated, which will provide further clues as to their use and purpose.
Vince Gaffney (in a special effects scene in the film Stonehenge Empire) stands above the mysterious pit at the western end of the Cursus. Credit: October Films for Smithsonian Channel.
Previous studies of the Stonehenge environs have revealed that the landscape has been inhabited for some 10,000 years, meaning either the area was of considerable significance for thousands of years before Stonehenge and other monuments in the region were built, or Stonehenge is much older that currently believed.
Humans have marvelled at the majesty of Stonehenge for thousands of years, and archeologists, geologists, and astronomers have been studying it for decades, but the original purpose of the enigmatic stone circle has remained a mystery. It is known that the area was used for burials, that the stones are aligned in astronomically important ways, and that people travelled great distances to be there, but no one knows with certainty why.
As Ed Caesar from Smithsonian writes:
Those vast stones, standing in concentric rings in the middle of a basin on Salisbury Plain, carefully placed by who-knows-who thousands of years ago, must mean something. But nobody can tell us what. Not exactly. The clues that remain will always prove insufficient to our curiosity. Each archaeological advance yields more questions, and more theories to be tested. Our ignorance shrinks by fractions. What we know is always dwarfed by what we can never know.
However, as this latest research project has shown, Stonehenge has not yet given up all its secrets, and the development of technology in the field of archaeology may one day help to finally solve the mystery.
Featured image: An illustration of how Stonehenge and the surrounding landscape would have once looked by W. Robinson (1922). Image source.
By April HollowayHow to ace lunch interviews? You made it through your first interview! Your second interview is over lunch with your perspective new boss. It is at a great restaurant near their office and you have been there before. What do you need to know? What will the employer look for?
The Legend
Henry Ford invited job candidates to lunch with him. He would observe if the candidate would salt his food before tasting it. If he did, he would not hire him. If he tasted the food first, he was a person who evaluated situations before taking action. Henry Ford believed in testing his candidates and this was it. Many employers evaluate candidates during lunch interviews for things you never think of.
The Test
Are you ready for your test? You expect hard questions, but many employers want to see how you act in different situations such as a lunch interview. A lunch interview means you need to juggle a meal, good manners, answer questions while eating a meal, and still be persuasive. You still need to be aware of being observed while you answer or ask questions.
What is the test? You may not know, but employers are looking for certain traits. It could be character, integrity or certain personality! You cannot prepare for this part so just be natural. Would the employer do something to see how you would react? It is possible. It is more likely that during the meal, he may describe a scenario and ask for your opinion. Remember, they want to see ho w you think. There is no right or wrong answer or is there?
About five years ago I read about how CEOs evaluate candidates based on how they treat waiters in a restaurant. Some may call it the unwritten rule of lunch interviews. Would an employer be above staging something and seeing your reaction? You may never know if it was staged or not! Handling mistakes, poor service or an accident provides insight into the candidate. A person who is nice to the employer and rude to the waiter or to others is not a nice person.
Personal
This an interview and you should dress for it. That means the dark suit and good grooming. Do your research and have questions for the employer. Bring along your questions, a portfolio of your best work and anything else you think is important. Manners are important, but you need to juggle that |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.