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XPS 11 hit 84 dB, while the MacBook Air measured 73 dB, albeit from 23 inches (the longer distance we use for laptops).
Heat
Although Microsoft touts the improved efficiency of the Pro 3's fan, the tablet still runs on the hot side. After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the upper right back of the tablet measured 102 degrees, while the lower right registered 95 degrees. Likewise, the front of the tablet in the corresponding areas measured 101 degrees, and the heat was noticeable when we rested our palm there. Both of these temps are at or higher than our comfort threshold of 95 degrees.
After we played "Asphalt 8: Airborne" for about 10 minutes, the device's upper right hit 109 degrees, and the lower right measured 98 degrees. Fortunately, the left side was a bit cooler, at 84 and 85 degrees on the top and bottom, respectively.
Type Cover
To really turn the Pro 3 into a laptop replacement, you'll need a keyboard, which is where the Type Cover comes in. Unfortunately, this accessory costs an additional $130. While our review keyboard came in blue, you can also order it in black, red or purple.
Microsoft made a few modifications to the Type Cover from the previous generation. Most notably, a magnet that runs the length of the cover above the keyboard attaches to the lower bezel of the Surface Pro 3 so that it creates a more secure connection when resting in your lap. Indeed, the whole rig felt comfortable and secure, but still not as good as a traditional clamshell. For one, we had to keep our legs closer together to accommodate the Pro 3's kickstand.
The top row has Windows 8-specific keys, such as Settings, Search and Share. Two buttons let you raise and lower the brightness of the backlit keyboard, but we wish there were buttons to control screen brightness as well. Also, while there's a button to mute the Pro 3, you have to reach up to the tablet itself to control the volume.
Although it's been improved, typing on the Type Cover still remains less satisfying than on most notebook keyboards. Its keys have 1mm of travel, less than most laptops, and require 50 grams of force. When combined with the flexibility of the keyboard as a whole -- especially when it was on our lap, and not flush with a hard surface -- we had to press more forcefully than we'd like.
Using the KeyHero Typing test, we averaged between 47 and 55 words per minute with a 97 percent accuracy rate, below our typical average of 60 wpm. We used the keyboard to write several sections of this review, but it was much slower going than on a 13-inch MacBook Air, where we hit 61 wpm with 98 percent accuracy.
The improved 3.5 x 1.7-inch touchpad works well for its size. We were able to perform two-finger scroll and Windows 8 gestures easily, and the integrated left and right mouse buttons were snappy.
Stylus
One of the major differences in philosophy between Apple and Microsoft with regards to touch has been the integration of a stylus. But while Microsoft firmly believes the pen is mightier than the finger, the company needs to go further to make the stylus an essential part of the Pro 3.
As we mentioned earlier, unless you purchase the Type Cover, there's no place to stow the stylus on the tablet. Also, there's no way to know which apps in the Microsoft Store support pen input.
The metal stylus, which is 0.37 inches in diameter, feels more premium than the plastic offering that comes with the Surface Pro 2, and was more comfortable to hold. Our writing appeared on screen instantaneously in OneNote. To make it easier for users to quickly start jotting notes, pressing the purple button on the top of the stylus automatically opens OneNote. However, the Pro 3 must be turned on first. A future update will allow you to double-click the top button to capture a screenshot.
Although its stylus feels much less substantial in-hand, you can do more via pen input on the Samsung's Note Pro 12.2. For instance, Samsung's Air View lets you preview things such as email just by hovering the stylus over a particular object on the screen.
We are encouraged that Microsoft is working with third-party developers to beef up its pen offerings. These include The New York Times crossword puzzle and Final Draft, a screenwriting program.
Cameras
Both the front and the back cameras on the Surface Pro 3 have 5-MP sensors, and took good, but not great photos. Using the rear camera, the pinks and purples of flowers were fairly vivid, but the camera tended to blow out whites, and images as a whole were washed out.
Selfies taken indoors with the front camera fared better, but still not as well as those you can get from the MacBook Air's webcam. Colors, such as our skin tones and dark blue shirt, were accurate, but we noticed a lot of visual noise in darker areas, and the edges of objects were pixelated.
Performance
It's too bad that Microsoft's built-in camera app remains woefully inadequate. You can't change the resolution of either sensor, nor can you select the area of the image you want to focus on. When we tried to take a picture of some flowers in the foreground, the camera would only focus on the background.
The 1.9-GHz Intel Core i5-4300U processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD in our Surface Pro 3 provided strong performance, whether we were writing this review, watching movies or playing games. "Minion Rush" loaded in just 7 seconds, and we were able to smoothly zoom around the various racetracks in "Asphalt 8."
On Geekbench 3, the Pro 3 scored 5,665. By comparison, the 13-inch MacBook Air, which has a 1.5-GHz Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM, scored 5,393. The Dell XPS 11's 1.9-GHz Intel Core i5-4210Y processor with 4GB of RAM scored 3,658, while the iPad Air notched 2,694. Lastly, the Galaxy Note 12.2's 1.9-GHz octa-core Exynos 5 processor and 3GB of RAM notched 2,595.
The Pro 3's 256GB SSD was able to boot Windows 8.1 in 17 seconds, which is about 5 seconds slower than the average (12 seconds) and the XPS 11's time (11 seconds). The MacBook Air took 14 seconds to boot into OS X Mavericks.
MORE: Top 10 Tablets Available Now
On our file transfer test, the Pro 3 duplicated 4.97GB of multimedia files in 35 seconds, a rate of 145.4 MBps. The MacBook Air was faster, at 190.3 MBps, as was the XPS 11 (196 MBps).
The Pro 3 matched 20,000 names and addresses in OpenOffice in 4 minutes and 43 seconds. However, the MacBook Air was a minute faster, at 3:46, while the XPS 11 took a much longer 7:13.
Graphics
While it's nice that the Surface Pro 3's display has a high resolution, the integrated Intel HD Graphics GPU somewhat limits what you can do.
At a resolution of 1366 x 768, the Pro 3 managed just 13 fps with effects on ultra in "World of Warcraft." That's on a par with the XPS 11 (12 fps) but lower than the category average of 17 fps. At 1280 x 800, the MacBook Air more than doubled the Pro 3, averaging 28 fps.
We were able to average a playable 36 fps at 1080p, but when we set the Pro 3's resolution to its native 2160 x 1440 and set effects to autodetect, the tablet eked out just 20 fps.
On the synthetic 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme test, the Pro 3's score of 20,845 bested that of the XPS 11 (13,325) as well as the category average of 19,780. On Ice Storm Unlimited, the Pro 3 scored 33,614, crushing the Galaxy Note Pro (13,732), iPad Air (14,850) and the category average (9,235).
Battery Life
On the Laptop Battery Test (Web surfing via Wi-Fi with the brightness at 150 nits), the Surface Pro 3 lasted 7 hours and 27 minutes. That's about 15 minutes less than our ultraportable laptop average of 7:45 and about half an hour less than the tablet average of 8:02. By comparison, the Note Pro 12.2 lasted 9:32 at 150 nits (28 percent brightness), and the MacBook Air lasted 12:20, albeit at 100 nits.
When we re-tested the Pro 3, this time with the brightess at 100 nits, the tablet lasted 7:42, on a par with the ultraportable average.
MORE: 10 Tablets with the Longest Battery Life
On our older battery test, where we set the brightness to 40 percent, the XPS 11 lasted 8:44, and the iPad Air lasted 11:51.
Software
The Surface Pro 3 ships with Microsoft Windows 8.1, which brings a number of improvements over Windows 8. For starters, there's a power button on the top right of the Start screen -- no more swiping in from the Charms menu. We wish, though, that there were a persistent battery life indicator.
MORE: Top 25 Windows 8 Apps
On the desktop, pressing and holding on the Windows button in the lower left brings up a menu where you can more easily access the Control Panel and other system functions. It's still not nearly as robust as the Start Menu in Windows 7, though; we suggest downloading a free Start Menu replacement app.
Otherwise, the Pro 3 is free from bloatware, which is quite refreshing.
Configurations
Our $1,299 review unit of the Surface Pro 3 has an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The least expensive Surface Pro 3 configuration costs $799, and has an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a paltry 64GB SSD; considering that Windows takes up about 20GB, that will leave you with around 40GB of space for your content and apps.
A $999 configuration has an Intel Core i5 processor and a 128GB SSD; we suspect this may be the most popular version.
For $1,549, you can step up to an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. For an exorbitant $1,949, you can boost the hard drive size to 512GB.
None of the configurations comes with the Touch Cover keyboard. You'll have to spend another $129 to get that essential accessory. If you lose the stylus, a replacement will cost $49.
Verdict
At the announcement of the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft called out the 13-inch MacBook Air, saying that Apple's notebook was heavier and had less versatility and features than the new Surface Pro. Microsoft is correct, in those respects. The Pro 3 is lighter, has a higher-resolution touch screen and comes with an active stylus. But there's a reason most people continue to carry separate laptops and tablets.
The keyboard on the Air and on most Ultrabooks is superior to that on the Surface Pro 3, and those devices tend to last longer on a charge. Also, considering that you need to spend extra for the Pro 3's keyboard, a similarly configured MacBook Air is also $130 cheaper. Can a tablet replace a laptop? Yes, but the new Surface feels more like 1 + 1 = 1.5 than a 2-in-1.The big economic debate of the moment is whether the Fed and its peers have made a terrible mistake by focusing on staving off financial crisis while more or less ignoring the rise of inflation. “Inflation is rising and it seems the world’s central banks have critically misjudged the situation,” says Wolfgang Munchau in the FT. I’ve heard even more apocalyptic views from some serious people in the last couple of weeks.
As it happens, I don’t agree. And I thought it’s worth spelling out why — especially because many if not most of the participants in this debate don’t explain their premises very clearly.
So: when is it appropriate to get very concerned about inflation, and when is it OK to assume that a rise in prices is a temporary shock that will pass? The answer is that inflation becomes a big problem if it becomes “embedded” in the economy, which makes it hard to restore more or less stable prices. But how does inflation get embedded?
Well, I’m basically a believer in a “staggered price-setting” story, which explains how we can have what is often called an inflationary spiral, but would better be described as inflationary leapfrogging — a process in which inflation can feed on itself.
Imagine that there are two entrepreneurs, Harry and Louise, both of whom change prices only at fairly long intervals — say, once a year. Other things equal, Harry want his average price over the next year to be about the same as Louise’s; Louise wants her average price to be about the same as Harry’s. But their price setting takes place on different dates. (This is a metaphor for the real economy, in which people setting prices have to think about the prices of many competitors and suppliers that will prevail until they revise the price again.)
In this situation, inflation can feed on itself: Harry raises his price above Louise’s, because he expects her to raise her price in the future, and she does the same thing when it’s her turn. It looks like this, with Harry in red and Louise in blue:
Once expectations of inflation get embedded like this, it’s hard to get price stability back. In practice, what happens is that central banks deliberately cause a recession. This makes Harry shave his price increases a bit, and then Louise does the same, and over time both start to notice that the other’s price increase keeps falling short of expectations, and eventually inflationary momentum gets wrung out of the system — but at a high cost. In the 1980s, it took double-digit unemployment to get rid of the embedded inflation from the 1970s.
But how is this relevant to current events? Well, the problem of embedded inflation applies only to prices that are set at fairly long intervals — especially to wages, which are usually set only once a year. There’s no comparable problem with commodities like wheat or oil, where the price changes minute by minute, and goes down as easily as it goes up. It may sound perverse, but embedded, hard-to-reverse inflation is only a problem for parts of the economy with relatively sticky prices.
So to get a sense of whether embedded inflation is becoming a problem, you have to purge the highly volatile prices — basically, commodities — from the picture. That’s why the Fed focuses on “core” inflation that excludes food and energy: it’s not a nefarious scheme to ignore the real hardships people face, it’s an attempt to figure out if inflation is getting built into the system.
In the 70s, it was: core inflation quickly shot up after the energy and food price spikes. But this time that’s not happening at all: the rise in inflation is all commodities, with no sign that expectations of inflation are getting embedded in price-setting through the rest of the economy.
In short, this doesn’t look at all like the 70s. Inflation is nasty, but it’s not getting a grip in a way that will cause it to persist if and when oil and food top out. And it would be a big mistake if the Fed lets fear of inflation distract it from the urgent task of heading off a financial meltdown.New York state only recently opened its roads up to self-driving vehicles, joining California, Arizona and Pennsylvania in allowing tests of the technology. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in May that the DMV had begun taking applications for said tests on New York's roads and GM is the first in line. In order to be approved, companies like GM will have to cover each vehicle with a $5 million insurance policy, reimburse state police for any costs that come with overseeing the tests and keep a person in the driver's seat at all times. There are also some limitations on where the tests can take place -- they can't be conducted near a school or a construction zone, for example.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said in a statement, "New York is the ultimate proving ground for autonomous vehicle technology. We have a streetscape that is unrivaled in its scale and complexity, and so it's fitting that General Motors and Cruise Automation are finally bringing this technology here for testing and development."
GM's and Cruise Automation's tests will be performed with an engineer behind the wheel and a second person in the passenger seat in a geofenced area of Manhattan. They're expected to begin in early 2018.
Update: According to Recode, General Motors will have a handful of semi-driverless Chevy Bolts running around a five-square-mile area in lower Manhattan for at least a year.WarriorPublications.wordpress.com
Since its inception, the RCMP has played an important role in colonization as well as the repression of social movements. It was first established as the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1873 to extend government control over the North West Territories (Saskatchewan & Manitoba). This followed the 1870 Red River Rebellion by Metis in present-day Manitoba.
The NWMP were modelled after the Royal Irish Constabulary, a colonial police force used by the British for counter-insurgency in Ireland. The British based other police forces in India and Africa on the RIC as well (the RIC were renamed the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1920 and gained a notorious reputation as an instrument of British rule). Like the RIC, the
‘Mounties’ were organized as a paramilitary force, with military ranks, organization, weapons, and uniforms. They would be later recognized as a Dragoon regiment and permitted to carry a flag with their ‘battle honours’ on it.
In 1874, the NWMP carried out a gruelling westward trek across the prairies to establish a series of forts, as far west as Edmonton & Calgary by 1875. Dubbed the ‘Long March’ (sounds like Maoism), this story quickly became part of the force’s mythology, an inspiring example of courage & determination against overwhelming odds. Some participants, however, described it as disorganized, badly planned, and narrowly avoiding disaster. The column became lost, suffered starvation, harsh thunderstorms, and infestations of mosquitos.
Another part of the RCMP’s mythology is that the NWMP was deployed to stop evil American whiskey traders crossing the border, and to protect Native peoples from their depredations. A May 1873 attack by US traders on a group of Crees, dubbed the Cypress Hills Massacre, was used as a pretext to officially organize the NWMP in August of that year.
This official history, however, fails to account for the ongoing genocidal war the US was then waging against the Plains tribes, including the extermination of the Buffalo. Canada had just formed as a nation-state in 1867 with the British North America Act and was no longer a British colony. Although British military forces remained in the country, Canada had little military capacity to wage a similar scale of warfare against Indigenous nations on the Prairies. Yet, the decimation of the Buffalo herds that crossed into the US, as well as disease epidemics, were severely weakening the once-powerful Plains tribes on the Canadian side of the border.
Although Canada could not afford to mobilize a large military force, it could organize a paramilitary police force to establish lines of communicaiton throughout the region. When necessary, a larger militia force could also be deployed (as would occur in 1885). At this time, the government sought to impose control over the region in preparation for further colonial expansion, including a cross-country railroad system and greater agricultural settlements. All of this required security & stabililty (colonial law and order). In particular, Native peoples were to be coerced into submission, exploiting the effects of the US’ genocidal war against the Plains Natives. According to an account written by RCMP historians,
“When the Mounted Police first arrived in the West, their goal was to police the process of settling the Indians on the reserves. That accomplished, the Force was tasked with patrolling the line of construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway to protect the project from disruption.”
(Red Coats on the Prairies, p. 14)
On the prairies, the NWMP were closely involved in the making of treaties, including the 1877 Treaty No. 6 (covering the northern Prairies, including Cree, Anicinabe, and Assiniboine), as well as Treaty No. 7 (covering the southwest, including the Blackfoot, Bloods, and Peigans). These treaties gained the legal surrender of vast tracts of land, in exchange for reserves and annuities (annual gifts of food, equipment, and cash). In many areas, villages were on the brink of starvation, conditions which persisted for many more years.
Through the 1876 Indian Act, Natives came under the imposed jurisdiction of the federal government and were to be confined to reservations and forced to accept band councils. The NWMP enforced these and other provisions of the Indian Act, including the pass system (required to travel on and off reserve), as well as the suppression of warrior societies and spiritual ceremonies (such as the Sundance and give-aways). It was common for the police to imprison Natives that violated these provisions for several months and force them to carry out hard labour, with older persons frequently dying within months of their release. The NWMP (and later RCMP) were also used to force Native children into Residential Schools, even though it was clear many were dying from disease and abuse.
In 1885, the NWMP were used to repress the North West Rebellion of Cree & Metis warriors (inc. Louis Riel, Poundmaker & Big Bear). After being forced to retreat and watch as Hudson’s Bay Company posts were looted, Indian Agents, militia, & settlers killed, the NWMP were reinforced by some 5,000 militia. They were transported by the CPR railroad and provisioned by the HBC, during their campaign.
Ten years later, small-scale conflicts continued, often arising from the living conditions on reserves. Almighty Voice, a Cree warrior, shot and killed three NWMP officers after being arrested for allegedly killing a settler’s cow. He escaped and found sanctuary in various villages. The police hunted him for two years, and he was killed in a shootout in 1897 when the police opened fire with a 7 pound cannon.
In 1897, a regional newspaper commented that, “It is only the presence of large numbers of police in the country which keep the Indians in order… They remain submissive simply because they have the sense enough to know that in the presence of a large armed force, any other attitude would be disastrous to them.”
(Macleod Gazette, June 4, 1897, quoted in Red Coats on the Prairies, p. 70)
In 1900-02, NWMP officers were given leave to serve in the Second Boer War in S. Africa, fighting for the British Empire (and were later honoured with the attachment of ‘Royal’ to their title). Two units, the Canadian Mounted Rifles and Lord Strathcona’s Horse, were staffed primarily by serving or former officers of the NWMP. Their primary task was counter-insurgency.
During World War 1, a squadron of officers served in Western Europe battlefields, and in 1918 another squadron was deployed to Siberia as part of a Western expeditionary force against the Russian Revolution. In 1919, the NWMP participated in the attack on the Winnipeg General Strike, opening fire and killing two workers, wounding dozens of others. In 1920, the NWMP was merged with the Dominion Police to create the RCMP. In 1924, the RCMP were used to impose a band council on the Six Nations reserve in southern Ontario, which had resisted the Indian Act since its inception. During the inter-war years, the RCMP conducted repression of workers, the Communist Party & immigrants (i.e., Chinese & Ukranian). In 1935, they attacked the On-to-Ottawa Trek in Regina, which ended in a riot, with one cop and one protester being killed.
During the 1950s, the RCMP continued its repression of social movements under the pretext of the ‘Cold War’ and anti-communism. During the 1960s and ’70s it was especially active in countering social movements in Quebec, eventually leading to the disbandment of the SS in 1984 after its campaign of illegal burglaries, wiretaps, and even arson, were revealed.
During Native blockades of the 1970s and up until today, with the exception of Ontario & Quebec, it is the RCMP that is most often tasked with their repression. In some cases this involves symbolic arrests during acts of ‘civil disobedience’, but at others it can involve violent assaults and the use of heavily-armed Emergency Response Teams (ERT).
In 1988, over 200 RCMP invaded the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake during a raid against ‘illegal’ tobacco smuggling. During solidarity actions with the 1990 Oka Crisis, St’at’imc railway blockaders in Seton Portage, BC, were attacked by RCMP batons and dogs. Months later, over 60 road-blockers at Mt. Currie were violently arrested by a large force of RCMP. At Oka itself, the RCMP reinforced the Quebec Provincial Police (SQ).
In 1995, over 450 RCMP, including numerous ERTs, laid siege to a Native Sundance camp in the southern-interior region of BC (Gustafsen Lake/TsPeten). Police fired thousands of rounds, detonated an explosive charge as a defender’s vehicle drove over it, and used 9 Bison APC’s supplied by the military. It was the largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history.
In 1997, the RCMP were tasked with providing security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vancouver. They carried out a widespread campaign of surveillance & harassment against social movements, ending in an unprovoked attack on student protesters during the summit itself. Scores were pepper-sprayed, batoned, and arrested, some for simply holding signs against APEC.
In 1998, RCMP on the Tsuu-T’ina reserve in Alberta shot & killed Connie Jacobs and her 9-year old son Ty, after the distraught mother attempted to prevent the seizure of her children by arming herself with a shotgun.
In 2000, the RCMP along with officers from the Department of Fisheries & Oceans, conducted harassment, surveillance and assaults against Miqm’ak lobster fishermen in Burnt Church, New Brunswick.
In 2001, the RCMP were tasked with security for the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Prior to the protests, officers conducted widespread surveillance & harassment of social movements for several months. During the protests in April, the RCMP & SQ riot squads fired thousands of rounds of tear gas, and hundreds of rubber bullets, over the course of two days.
In 2002, the RCMP shared information with US authorities that resulted in the imprisonment & torture of Maher Arar in Syria for over a year (a case of rendition). Years later, the head RCMP commissioner was forced to resign after the role of the RCMP was revealed.
In 2002-03, the RCMP along with ERT were involved in a series of raids on Indigenous warriors on southern Vancouver Island, Neskonlith, and Bella Coola, BC.
The reputation of the RCMP, once a ‘proud’ national symbol of Canada, has continued to decline over the last decade with more controversies, including killings & assaults. One of the more recent & well known of these being the murder of Polish citizen Robert Dziekanski, who died after he was tasered & assaulted by RCMP at Vancouver International Airport.
Red Coats on the Prairies: the Northwest Mounted Police 1886-1900, by William Beahen & Stan Horrall & Centrax Books, Print West Publication Services, Regina, Saskatchewan 1998
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AdvertisementsSo as the title implies we're dropping a permanent 25% discount on all store items. Our way of saying thanks for many years of patronage here at WWG! Thanks so much everyone and have a great holiday!
WorldWorksGames delves into the world of crumbling tombs and occult mystery with Pharaoh's Descent! Explore twisting passages of forgotten crypts, ruined temples, mighty mastabas and even build towering pyramids of any size! From fantasy necropolises to pulp adventures to ancient alien landing sites, there's something in Pharaoh's Descent for you!
Product Update
Deadfall: Building Essentials Updated
A roofing part in Deadfall: Building Essentials was missing. We've fixed that and updated the file. If you bought this product before today, hit My Collection and download the updated set.
Note: Don't worry about the download counter. It's not a lifetime limit--if you run out of downloads, the button automatically changes to a "Request Reset" button, and we'll take care of you shortly after you click on it.
Happy holidays to everyone!I am a really good liar. Once upon a time I got everything I ever dreamt of by lying. All I had to do was lie to myself and everyone else around me about who I really was.
Here's who I really was: a dyslexic girl raised by a single mom in squalid conditions. We're talking cardboard-for-walls, tarps-for-a-roof, and road-kill-for-dinner squalid. I still struggle to own that part of my life.
In my early twenties, long before I'd had the chance to tackle my shame around the poverty I grew up in, I met my Prince Charming: intelligent, handsome, upper middle-class. He even chewed with his mouth closed.
I instantly adored him and set out to make him love me (even though I couldn't see how he might love someone like me). I became The Perfect Girlfriend, determined that he should never meet the real me.
The lying was subtle at first. I read the books that he liked. I cancelled my Columbia House membership and started listening to public radio. We spent every holiday with his family, because he was uncomfortable in my mom's half-built house.
And it worked! I married Mr. Perfect from the good family. We went to all the best parties. We holidayed in exotic locales. We hobnobbed with famous athletes. This was happily-ever-after, right?
There was just one teeny, tiny spanner in my works. I had assumed that getting that ring on my finger would prove I belonged in his ideal world. I thought I would feel better about myself. But there I was, and I still felt worthless.
Soon after the wedding, I saw my life stretching in front of me perpetually playing Mrs. Perfect. The prospect should have thrilled me. But instead I felt dead inside.
To avoid going home after work, I began spending every evening at the gym with my girlfriend. I would collapse on the stretching mats and just cry. After awhile it occurred to me that maybe I wasn't the problem; maybe it was the pretending that was making me feel worthless.
I couldn't imagine being the real me, because the real me didn't want this life I'd hustled so hard for. Although the prospect terrified me, the only comfort I could find was the thought of getting out.
I had to stop lying.
So one night I took my new husband out for a pint and told him the truth for the very first time: I didn't want to be his wife. I didn't want our life. It wasn't me. I wasn't me.
And then it was all kittens and rainbows, right?
Not exactly.
I told the truth and my perfect life imploded. I walked away with nothing but a mountain of wedding debt and some very posh flatware. I moved to a tiny apartment on the cheap side of town and took in a flea-bitten tomcat (my ex hated cats).
I endured days of intense loneliness and nights wracked with doubt. But to my immense surprise, despite all I'd given up, I still felt happier than I ever had. I could breathe. For the first time in my life I felt comfortable in my own skin. I was home. I was me.
This is what I learned about telling the truth:
You deserve your truth.
First tell yourself the truth. Write it down. When you see it in black and white, it feels solid and strong. It becomes a foundation, a place of support.
Print this out and write your truth here:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
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Your body knows your truth.
In a culture obsessed with the mind, we undervalue the wisdom of our bodies. Research has shown that the body is a powerful lie detector. It's so simple that I almost missed the signs. Every moment I spent in my mother-in-law's house I felt sick to my stomach. My body was telling me to stop pretending.
Write down something that makes you feel sick:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
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When I finally told my husband that I didn't want to be his wife, I literally felt a weight lift off of my chest. My body was saying, "Yes!"
Write down something that makes you feel free:
____________________________________________________________
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These are your signals. Learn to read them. It might be scary, but what feels lightest and freest in your body will always be the truth.
Your truth-telling doesn't have to be perfect.
Truth doesn't have to be eloquent or exacting or beautiful. It only has to be true. Truth has a resonance that makes up for any lack of style. Sometimes you may be tempted to slip back into lying, and that's okay. Set a course for the truth. Keep putting yourself back on course and keep telling the truth.
You are gonna get a reaction.
When you tell the truth, some people genuinely aren't going to like it. Be prepared for their reaction. Trust your instincts. You probably already know what kind of a reaction to expect. Use those instincts to make a plan and get the support you need, instead of using them to scare yourself into staying silent.
You are going to be uncomfortable and you are going to be fine.
As a life coach I've seen clients make major life decisions without a backwards glance, while others had never-ending second thoughts. It can feel really uncomfortable to stand in your truth. Surrender to that discomfort. Allow it. Resistance only prolongs the agony. The quickest way out is through.
You are enough.
The most damaging lie I ever told was the one I told myself: "You're not good enough." That lie, which so many of us tell ourselves, keeps us caged, miserable, and desperate for approval. You don't need to be anyone other than who you are. You are enough.Last month it was revealed that Justice League would be undergoing some additional photography ahead of its release this November, with Joss Whedon taking over the reins from Zack Snyder owing to the passing of Snyder’s daughter.
Well, according to Batman-on-Film, cameras are now once again rolling on the DC blockbuster, although apparently these “are not your your ‘standard’ pick-ups” and are actually described as “significant” reshoots and that the movie “is going to be changed tremendously after this new round of filming”. If rumours are to be believed, these reshoots will take place throughout all of June and July, and possibly into August as well.
As previously announced, Whedon has written the additional scenes per Zack Snyder’s instruction, and will be “adhering to the style and tone and the template that Zack set”, rather than putting his own stamp on the material.
Meanwhile, in casting news, Wonder Woman star Robin Wright has revealed that she’ll be joining co-star Connie Neilsen in the film as they reprise the roles of General Antiope and Queen Hippolyta, with Wright stating to the Los Angeles Times that: “[You’ll see] more of the story, you get some of the history.”
SEE ALSO: Justice League producer discusses Joss Whedon’s involvement
SEE ALSO: Superman joins the team on Justice League theater concession merchandise
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League will reunite Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta and Robin Wright as General Antiope alongside J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) as Commissioner Gordon, Amber Heard (The Danish Girl) as Mera, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Vulko, Kiersey Clemons (Dope) as Iris West, Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones) as Steppenwolf, and Julian Lewis Jones (Stella) and Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones) in as-yet-unrevealed roles.| by Jack Landau |
In the weeks leading up to yesterday's big announcement that the city-building arm of Google parent company Alphabet—known as Sidewalk Labs—would be partnering with Waterfront Toronto on a new high-tech neighbourhood called Sidewalk Toronto, the news had become an open secret in development and media circles. When the story was leaked and published in The Globe and Mail earlier in the month, questions started to percolate regarding what types of innovative technologies might be harnessed, and how they could affect everyday life for residents and workers within "the first neighbourhood built from the internet up."
A notional map of |
win over Rotherham United at the weekend.
Undeterred, Cardiff continued to pluck away as they sought the opening goal.
Bradley Johnson, one of three changes to the starting XI, got himself in the way of a Peter Whittingham volley, but at the other end, Derby crafted their own chances.
Will Hughes saw a shot blocked by Craig Noone after being picked out, cleverly, by Cyrus Christie on the edge of the box, whilst Ince and Matěj Vydra both forced Ben Amos into saves in quick succession.
Over the course of the first half very little separated the two sides and the half time score reflected that, but with 10 minutes remaining, it took a fine instinctive save from Carson to deny Sean Morrison, the Cardiff captain, to ensure that was the case.
The second half was different, however, as Derby returned for the second half on the front foot and created a couple of openings before they eventually took the lead.
It was a case of third time lucky for Ince in Wales. The wideman was denied twice by Amos in the early stages – the second particularly a standout effort as Ince bent a shot towards the far corner, but he was thwarted by the former Manchester United goalkeeper.
He was not to be denied shortly after, though, as he scored his first goal of the season by, firstly, gathering a pass from Hughes to deceive his nearest marker and create space, before finishing a low effort beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Trollope’s side came close to notching an instant equaliser, but Morrison, again causing problems in the area, saw his looping header drop just wide of Carson’s far post, whilst Stuart O’Keefe, two minutes later, directed a free kick wide of goal too.
A battle ensued as Derby dealt with the intermittent Cardiff threats as they sought a way back into the contest, but with 10 minutes remaining, the visitors scored a crucial second goal to wrap up all the points in the Welsh Capital.
Introduced as a substitute, Blackman was on the scoresheet four minutes later as Jacob Butterfield fed a delightful pass to him in the penalty area. He had the beating of Connolly and after he was hauled down by Cardiff’s last defender, it left Geoff Eltringham no choice but to award the Rams a spot kick.
Blackman assumed responsibility and dispatched it easily to score his first competitive goal for Derby and with it, put the icing on the cake on what is a big win for the Rams as they ended six-game winless run in the league.
Cardiff City: Amos, Morrison (C), Richards, Whittingham, Ralls (Harris, 59), Immers (Manga, 85), Noone, John, Connolly, Lambert (Zohore, 13), O’Keefe
Substitutes not used: Wilson, Kennedy, Huws, Ajayi
Derby County: Carson, Christie, Keogh (C), Pearce, Lowe; Johnson, Butterfield, Hughes; Ince (Russell, 84), Anya (Weimann, 90), Vydra (Blackman, 76)
Substitutes not used: Mitchell, Bent, Baird, WilsonThe U.S. Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, the future USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), departed the Austal shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, May 8, and headed to her commissioning site in Galveston, Texas.
The ship’s commissioning is scheduled for June 10, after which she will begin her transit to her eventual homeport of San Diego.
As part of her sail around, Gabrielle Giffords will conduct regularly scheduled equipment and systems checks, training, visit several ports and transit through the Panama Canal.
“We are making the most of our sail around,” said Cmdr. Keith Woodley, commanding officer and a native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. “During the transit to San Diego we will be conducting routine maintenance checks and training. We will also begin our Combat Ship Systems Qualification Trials events which are designed to test the ship’s ability to track and disable high-speed maneuvering surface targets and defeat long range anti-shipping air threats.”
Gabrielle Giffords is the ninth littoral combat ship delivered to the Navy and the fifth LCS of the Independence variant.“When it comes to mealtime, the better you plan, the better you do,” says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life. Rather than leaving your nutrition up to chance, practice these weekly rituals to lose your gut and add calorie-torching muscle.
These nine essential tips will make it easy to maintain a healthy diet even on the most stressful day of the week:
1. Plan Your Weekly Meals Ahead of Time
If you fail to plan, plan to fail. Preparation is the key to success when trying to achieve your fitness goals. Plan what you will eat as well as when you will eat it to see the best results with your weight loss efforts. "Plan what you'll eat as well as what time you'll eat it," says Trisha B. Stavinoha, RD, CSCS, a registered dietician and strength coach in the U.S. Army.
The fewer food choices you have on any given day, the better you will eat. "Research shows that people who eat the same breakfast every day, oatmeal and two eggs for example, tend to be healthy for life. Namely because they have removed the possibility of splurging on unhealthy food," says Wansink. Packing pre-planned meals for work is key in cutting out the opportunity to choose something unhealthy.
2. Make a Grocery List and Stick to It
Let's say you plan to eat five daily meals Monday through Saturday. If you’re running to the store once per week, you’ll need to pick up around 30 servings of lean protein, like eggs, chicken and tilapia. You'll also need about twice that amount of lower-starch carbs, like green beans, broccoli and spinach, plus some high-star carbs, like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and sweet potatoes.
"You shop smarter by planning ahead and limiting the variety of items that come in a box," says Stavinoha. You can shop even smarter by sticking to the fresh sections of the grocery stores where products are fresh and free of many additives that you will find in the other sections. The key is to invest in fresh, quality ingredients that you will use to prepare your food for the week.
3. Prepare Food Once or Twice a Week
If you plan on cooking only once a week, you'll cook all of your weekly meals over a few hours on Sunday afternoon. If you prefer to break it up into two sessions, try dividing the work between Sundays and Wednesdays.
Cooking all of your meals in one, possibly two sessions will save you a lot of time each week. You will use all of the same utensils to chop and prepare your ingredients which will results in doing dishes only once per week. You cant beat that!
Knowing how to prep is the first step to weight loss success. Generally speaking, to gain muscle without adding body fat or drop fat without losing too much muscle, you must determine your daily calorie needs. Then, cook your food according to what you’ll need each day and how much you plan to exercise.
4. Have Quality Containers
If you want a kitchen that encourages fat loss and muscle gain, you need to pre-portion and package all of your meals for the week. That way, you'll always have a healthy option and no excuse for turning to larger portion sizes or something fattening. "An empty kitchen is problematic because, when you get hungry, you don't have any healthy options," says Wansink.
Stock up on quality containers! Another helpful tip will be to label all of your containers. You can use your own labeling system such as labeling all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners differently. The key here is to stay organized when preparing your meals, which will make it easier to stay focused during the busy week ahead!
5. Organize Your Fridge
Move all of your healthy and prepared food to the front of your fridge! "Seeing healthy food primes you to make good choices, in the same way seeing unhealthy food encourages you to make bad choices," says Dr. Wansink.
Ethylene gas is a naturally occurring plant hormone that speeds up the ripening process. To increase the shelf life of your produce and save money on grocery bills, separate ethylene-producers (like avocadoes, ripe bananas and tomatoes) from the veggies that are spoiled by the gas (broccoli, spinach and sweet potatoes).Barack Obama urged Americans to defend democracy in a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago in which he appeared to use the rise of Adolf Hitler as a warning against the rise of bigotry and nativism under President Donald Trump.
Although he did not refer to Mr Trump by name, it brought accusations that a former president was comparing the current president with one of the most reviled leaders in history.
In the speech on Tuesday, Mr Obama told his audience that the danger was of “grow[ing] complacent”, according to Crain’s Chicago Business newspaper.
“We have to tend to this garden of democracy or else things could fall apart quickly,” he said during a question and answer session.
Despite the democracy of the Weimar Republic, he added, Adolf Hitler rose to power.
Obama went on an unhinged rant comparing Trump to Hitler and implied that Americans should vote Dem. or millions of people would be killed.
Bizarre remarks were made during an Economic Club of Chicago event on Tuesday night but have been largely ignored by the mainstream media.
— Katarina-Bot-Covfefe (@Welly_World) December 7, 2017
"Sixty million people died.... So, you've got to pay attention. And vote," he said, referring to the death toll from the Second World War.
Critics of Mr Trump accuse him of fuelling nationalist and nativist feelings across the US and of stoking anti-Muslim rhetoric.
However, Mr Obama’s comments were seized on by the president’s supporters. Some said they were “unpatriotic” or pointed out that Mr Trump was promising to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, suggesting comparisons with a Nazi leader who ordered the Holocaust were nonsensical.
Adolf Hitler More
Michael Johns, a Tea Party founder, described the comments as "absurd".
"It's unfortunate that a former president, who is no doubt an intelligent man, would make that mistake. Hitler killed six million innocent civilians; Donald Trump has created over one million jobs and killed absolutely no-one.
"There is no equivalence."
He added that the words were symptomatic of America's growing political divide and the difficulty of communicating across party lines.
Jesse Watters, a political commentator, said on Fox News: "I thought Obama was better than this. To compare his successor to Adolf Hitler... horrible. It’s demeaning and beneath him.”
President Donald Trump Credit: AFP MoreAt International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor or ITER, the world’s largest refrigerator being made by India. (Photo Courtesy: ITER)
In southern France, more than 20 billion dollars are being spent on trying to make a first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor, a special steel cauldron where top scientists from countries including India hope to generate clean nuclear energy by fusing atoms, a process similar to what happens on the sun.This is till date world's largest scientific project ever to be undertaken. The reactor will weigh about 23,000 tons - as much as three Eiffel Towers. Some 80,000 kilometres of special super conducting wires will be used.The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) brings together India, China, South Korea, USA, Japan, Russia and the European Union as scientists see if they can jointly harness the power of the Sun by literally confining it in a steel bottle. The head of ITER, Dr. Osamu Motojima, points out that together these entities "represent half the world's population and account for two-third of the global economic might."Nuclear plants today generate power by splitting the atoms and in doing so they produce large quantities of radioactive waste that can be dangerous for hundreds of years and has to be handled with extreme care. In contrast, 'fusion energy' generates power by joining two atoms into one; the usual raw material is hydrogen; and the waste generated will largely be either helium, a benign noble gas, or water.That's why fusion energy is sometimes referred to as 'evergreen atomic energy'. According to Dr. Ravi Grover, head of the Indian delegation at ITER, 'fusion is inherently safe, there is no danger of an uncontrolled chain reaction and fears of a nuclear explosion are negligible, producing almost no long lived radioactive waste'.Within the massive steel frame, gas will be heated to over 150 million degrees and it will be confined to a limited space. Using giant magnets, some atoms will then be forced to fuse together releasing huge amounts of heat which can then be directed to run turbines to generate electricity. In the first instance, it is hoped the fusion reactor will produce ten times more energy than what is used to initiate the reaction estimated to produce the equivalent of 500 MW of power.For half a century, scientists have dreamt about accomplishing this feat, but it was only in 2006 when progress was made with the formation of the ITER.Earlier this month, 800 top scientists from more than 35 countries gathered to take stock of fusion energy at the International Conference on Thermonuclear Fusion Energy in the picturesque town of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The mood was generally upbeat but there are worries that cost and time over-runs could spiral out of control in this mammoth exercise. Motojima admits there have been 'delays' and hopes that by next year, his team will be able to give a firm timeline for the completion of the ITER project.The delay has already spooked the USA which is threatening to pull out of the global project, on being asked by NDTV, Motojima said 'I have the confidence that the US will never drop out of ITER' since according to him 'the fusion reactor has already passed the point of no-return.'India is providing a tenth of the components for the massive nuclear complex unfolding at Cadarache in France. New Delhi is contributing what would, when completed in 2021, be the world's largest refrigerator. The cryostat acts like a thermos flask but operates at some of the coldest temperatures ever seen in the universe, working at minus 269 degrees Celsius. This is used to keep the special super conducting magnets at the cold temperature at which they need to operate; the entire fusion system would collapse if it can't be kept cold.India is also expected to contribute about 9,000 cores over the next decade to the project, thus paying for a little under 10% of the total cost.Ratan K. Sinha, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Mumbai says 'participation of India in the ITER project, with its immense scientific talent and industrial competence, has provided an opportunity to India to master cutting edge technologies. Once the proof is established that mankind can harness the power of the Sun, India could well build its own fusion reactors after 2050.So I was in my optometrist’s office for a routine eye exam a few years back. As he’s looking in my eyes, he tells me that he sees a bit of bleeding in the blood vessels in my eyes. I’m like, OK, give me something to deal with that and let’s get on with getting some new contacts. Instead he goes on to tell me that this is very worrying. He tells me that it could be a temporal brain hemorrhage, me going blind, diabetes, or some other horrible thing. At that point, I’m kinda rooting for diabetes.
Now this is very uncomfortable for me, life’s going pretty well, I have a job that I like, I travel around a bit, get free vacations, and make good money. I can’t see because my contacts are out and my eyes are dilated. It’s at this point I realize the trade-offs that I’ve made for this job and the way of life that goes with it.
As a financial management consultant, I traveled up and down the west coast, helping companies create financial system and process to provide management with the information and tools to make better decisions. I was on the road full time every week, but I earned a bunch of air miles and hotel points which let me vacation in Hawaii for free every 8 or 9 months. But I ate out about 20 times a week. I exercised at the hotels, but not as much as I should. My salary had a travel premium built into it, travel is hard, you’re away from friends and family, and I lived out of a suitcase. I didn’t have to pay for anything during the week, so I was saving a bunch of money. However, my health was being affected much more than I knew.
Little did I know (and in retrospect I certainly should have known) that my lifestyle wasn’t particularly healthy. I didn’t think I was doing too bad, I had a glass of wine with dinner, I ate at nice restaurants, had good food, but there is a lot of tasty but bad for you food in restaurants. I was not only trading my time for a salary like most do, but because of my life on the road, I was also trading my health for cash. I then decided that I’d get a new job closer to home without travel. I knew I’d take a salary hit, but it was worth it.
To shorten a long story, I was asked by the consulting company I was working for at the time if Christmas and New Years were important to me, and if I’d mind working during on those days and the week in-between. Since I basically had a local job lined up, I gave my notice right then. I started working in the nice safe banking industry, albeit with a 20% pay cut. After financial Armageddon and a brief time on unemployment and a nice severance package, I had a new job at 15% less than I was making just before. So a fairly drastic cut in pay, but I had an easier commute, a bus instead of an airplane, I was able to see my friends and family, I was able to eat better and lost 35 pounds. My blood sugars basically returned to almost what a normal non-diabetic would have.
It was a conscience choice to change both my lifestyle and career path. Some people love to travel and can do it forever, some people burn out after a year or two. The benefits are nice. First class upgrades all the time, no fees, premium salary, eating at nice restaurants. But do realize you are making trade-off all the time, and your employment is not different. Start making choices that lead you to live the life you want, have a plan and execute on that plan to achieve your desires.
Think about the trade-offs you make in everyday life. It’s not just your time for pay. What are you trading for the convenience of that microwave burrito? What about for missing you child’s soccer game? Understand that through hard work and dedication, that you can have a job that pays you well over $100,000 or even $200,000. The question is: are you willing to put in 16 hour days for years on end? Are you willing to sacrifice your health, social life, and family relations to attain that? Some people are, some aren’t. I’m making no judgment as to what is right. Simply understand the trade-offs your making, weigh them, and compare them to your desired lifestyle. As for me, hurray for diabetes.
Readers, what trade-offs are you making? What are you willing to give up and what do you want to gain? How are the trade-offs you’re making furthering your life goals, and will you enjoy them when you achieve them or are they for someone else?HBO Slammed for Allegedly Airing Child Pornography on 'Angry Boys'
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HBO's comedy series "Angry Boys" has sparked public outrage after episode 12 featured a scene that critics say promotes child pornography.
The Australian "mockumentary," which is aired by HBO, showed a young girl drinking out of a pink phallic-shaped cup and Dan Gainor of the Culture and Media Institute blasted the cable network for airing the lewd scene, according to Radar Online.
"HBO's new show Angry Boys includes one episode so foul that they have a little girl drinking from a giant cup made from a replica penis. Oral sex 'humor' involving a young child shows precisely where the left's mind is really at," Gainor, a conservative writer, told Radar.
"It's difficult to imagine that HBO would go any lower," he added.
The controversial show is created by award winning comedian Chris Lilley, who- in conjunction with producing and directing the show- also plays six characters in the program, including an African American rapper, which some viewers say could be construed as racism.
"It's barely OK for me to be dressed up as a black guy. But part of me kind of enjoys provoking people," Lilley told the Los Angeles Times.
Critics from the Culture and Media Institute have accused the show of promoting the sexualization of children after the controversial scene in episode 12.
"The incident is meant to be comedic. But showing a young girl sucking on a penis in a comedic fashion is akin to showing child pornography," critics Paul Wilson, Joe and Betty Anderlik wrote on the Culture and Media Institute website.
"Promoting child pornography in a comedic way is much more shocking and outrageous than funny," the website states.
"Angry Boys" follows the complex lives of S.mouse!, an African American rapper; Jen Okazaki, an overbearing Japanese mother; Blake Oakfield, a champion surfer; Ruth "Gran" Sims, a prison guard at a juvenile correctional facility; and her grandchildren, South Australian twins Daniel and Nathan Sims.
The show first premiered in the U.S. in early 2012, and is filmed in Australia, Los Angeles and Tokyo.The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution condemning female genital mutilation. This is a procedure in which a young girl's clitoris and labia are removed, in the belief that this will reduce libido and keep a woman "chaste". It is the first time the practice has been denounced at such a high level.
More than 140 million women worldwide have been subjected to this procedure, which – although outlawed in most countries – is still regarded as a 'traditional practice' in many African and Middle Eastern nations.
More than 110 countries, including more than 50 African nations, co-sponsored the resolution in the General Assembly's rights committee, which called on states to "complement punitive measures with awareness-raising and educational activities" to eliminate female genital mutilation. About three million women and girls each year are said to be forced to undergo the procedure.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been illegal in the UK since 1985 and the law was updated in 2003. Despite this, some British girls of Muslim parents are still being sent back to the countries of their parents' origin for this abusive procedure to be done. Many believe it is even performed secretly in this country.
"We will continue to spare no efforts with a final objective: ending female genital mutilations in one generation. Today, this goal appears closer than ever," said Cesare Ragaglini, UN ambassador for Italy, which has played a leading role in international efforts to eradicate the practice.
He called the UN resolution a "powerful tool" against widespread resistance because it would take condemnation and calls for new measures to another level. "It is up to us now to exploit it in a more effective way," Ragaglini said.It’s one thing to hear about the severity of the drought out West, but images of Lake Mead, on the Colorado River, show an unprecedented drop in its water level and hammer home the severity of the drought.
Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, is filled to only 40 percent of capacity. The 14-year drought in the area surrounding the Colorado River basin has resulted in an astounding 150-foot drop in water levels.
The bleached “bathtub ring” visible on the banks of Lake Mead towers more than a hundred feet over passing pleasure boats. “To see it in person is simply jaw-dropping, ” said photographer Justin Sullivan, who captured these powerful images.
Sullivan traveled throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona, covering the effects of the severe drought that grips parts of the western United States.
The forecast for this summer remains ominous as a below-average snowmelt from the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah is expected to result in a low flow of water through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, said Sullivan.
The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states, including California, which is in the midst of its fourth year of severe drought.
Several of the lake’s marinas have either relocated or closed, leaving docks that can accommodate nearly 300 boats sitting on dry, cracked earth. A hotel near the lake has closed and been abandoned, its empty swimming pool looking over the dry lakebed.
High winds kick up mini dust storms on the barren Boulder Beach and a fine dust covers cars driving down dirt roads that were once underwater. (David Handschuh/Yahoo News)
Photographs by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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For a very limited time, you can get a free copy of the critically acclaimed Titanfall 2 when you purchase PUBG on Newegg (via Wario64). The battle royale game costs its normal early access price of $30, making this an enticing deal as you can get another great shooter for no additional charge. However, the offer will only be available for a few more hours and expires later today, December 21, so you'd better act fast if you hope to take advantage of it.
PUBG made its Xbox One debut last week, on December 12. It recently received its first update on the console, which addressed a number of bugs and made "first pass" improvements to the game's visuals and performance. PUBG is also one of the many titles that are enhanced on Xbox One X. If you're interested in picking up the new console, you can get a free copy of PUBG with a new Xbox One X for a limited time through the holidays.
Titanfall 2, meanwhile, released for Xbox One (as well as PS4 and PC) back in 2016. It was published by EA, which recently acquired the game's developer, Respawn, and confirmed that a new Titanfall title is in development. GameSpot awarded Titanfall 2 a 9/10 and called it "a fluid shooter" and "a spectacular game." You can learn more about it in our Titanfall 2 review.
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.WASHINGTON—Saying it was a simple but effective measure to reduce potentially deadly incidents, a study published Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 90 percent of bike accidents could be prevented by buying a car like a normal person. “Our data confirm that the vast majority of cyclist injuries can be avoided simply by driving an automobile instead of biking around like some weirdo,” said lead researcher Dr. Laura Gafferty, adding that while bicycle riding was perfectly acceptable for children under 12, it was not recommended for any actual grown-up who wasn’t competing in the Tour de France or similar event where it wasn’t completely ridiculous. “Regular people drive cars because it’s the normal and not the abnormal thing to do. If every cyclist purchased and operated a car like you’re supposed to as an adult, bike fatalities would drop an estimated 40 percent within six months alone.” Gafferty went on to say that people who biked for exercise should consider driving to a gym and using a stationary bike facing a wall of televisions like everyone else.
AdvertisementEditor’s Note: In the spirit of the University of Texas’ friendly rivalry with the University of Oklahoma, the editorial boards of The Daily Texan and The Oklahoma Daily have exchanged editorials. The Red River Rivalry, played every October in the neutral meeting ground of Dallas, is a time-honored tradition that brings out both the best and, some would say, worst in Texas and Oklahoma football fans. In anticipation of Saturday’s game, both editorials are running in Austin and Norman today.
Hey Texas, how’s it going?
We just want to say before we get into this, from the bottom of our hearts — thank you. Really. Your ultimate fail of a season is providing us so much entertainment. Whether it’s watching you cheat your way through the Iowa State game or trying to understand your strange belief that you can actually win the Big 12, you never cease to amaze us.
But really, we have to give it up to you. You’ve beaten two of the worst teams in the Big 12. That’s an accomplishment. It takes work to be as bad as you guys have been this season. And for once, hard work in Texas is paying off!
It’s almost as impressive as your ability to dwindle all the talent around you.
We never have seen anything like it. First, you consistently get top-five recruiting classes and end up with disappointing seasons. Then you recruit the past two Heisman Trophy winners as defensive backs. Technically, you didn’t even offer Johnny Manziel a scholarship.
We’re starting a slow clap for you as we speak.
At least your charity commitment to the McCoy family is almost through, though. Are the McCoys holding Bill Powers’ family hostage or something? You don’t have to answer that out loud, just blink once for yes and twice for no.
And who names their sons Colt and Case, anyway? That’s just mean. It’s bad enough that Colt’s NFL career never took off. At least Case can keep the family business alive stepping in for David Ash. The McCoy parents must be so proud with both their sons being career backups.
But hey, Mack Brown is trying really, really hard. It’s got to be difficult trying to manage a failing football program and a failing television network. Come on, who doesn’t love watching replays of their team losing two non-conference games?
We applaud you for scheduling a tough nonconference schedule. Here at Oklahoma, we know the importance of good scheduling. We played the most difficult non-conference schedule in the nation. But the real difference between OU and Texas? We win games.
We sincerely hope you never, ever fire Brown. He is the best thing that ever happened to Oklahoma. He got to Austin in 1998, one year before Bob Stoops came to Oklahoma. In those 14 years, Texas has won two Big 12 titles.
Oklahoma has won eight.
We know you’re supposed to be a “smart” school, but with the downward turn your football program has taken in the past few years, you’ll excuse us for thinking you might need a little help.
Math might be a little hard for you right now, so we’ll break it down for you. The only way you could surpass Oklahoma's seven national championships would be if you doubled your own. It’s all right. If it weren’t for bad teams like you, good programs like ours wouldn’t have anyone to entertain us when we’re bored.
There are a lot of things we could have made fun of in this year’s editorial, like your cheerleaders’ strange outfits, or how we’re disappointed your state hasn’t made good on its promise to secede.
Maybe the money spent on your failing football program would be better spent on driver’s education classes for all your residents. We’re not sure if you know this, but there’s a difference between tractors and your giant gas-guzzling SUVs you insist on driving everywhere.
And wasn’t it Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who basically caused the government shutdown? We don’t know whether to make fun of him for reading “Green Eggs and Ham” during his “filibuster” or make fun of you guys down there for electing him. Either way, you have to be so proud.
We just wanted to say buck up, there’s always next season. We’ll still beat you then, but maybe you won’t embarrass yourself at all your other games.
Dream big, champ.
Here at Oklahoma, we’re doing really well. We’re at a strong 5-0, the coaches have voted us in the top 10 and we’re strong contenders for the Big 12 title.
This is how we handle rebuilding years here. You know, they call it a rebuilding “year” for a reason. But I guess not everyone can be like us; some have to have rebuilding “years,” or “decades.”
That can be expected when you’re … slower.
In light of your current situation, we understand it may be difficult for you to think of things about OU to make fun of in your editorial. Thus, we’ve compiled a list of topics about OU that are fair game:
· Mike Stoops’ luscious blond hair
· Stoops’ love of Jamba Juice in post-game press conferences
· We’re in the same state as OSU
It’s not much, but it might help you out a bit. We’re sure whatever you come up with will be swell, though. Go get ‘em, tiger!
In closing, we would like to say thanks again for some truly great memories over the last three years. We will never forget the 146 points you’ve let us score in three games or what a half empty Cotton Bowl looks like.
Our last meeting left Big Tex burning down out of embarrassment. Hopefully the “new and improved” Big Tex will be better at handling the loss.
Truly, we owe it all to you.
Editor's Note: An original version of this editorial contained an error in the number of National Championships won by Oklahoma. The error has since been corrected.Review by Sir Ian Wood calls for new focus on maximising potential of UK Continental Shelf waters.
©:STV
Changes to the way the oil and gas sector operates could produce at least three to four billion additional barrels of oil over the next 20 years, a report claims.
A review of the industry, by Sir Ian Wood, the recently retired chair of the Wood Group, called for a new focus on maximising the potential of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) waters around the UK.
The interim report recommends a new regulator for the industry, saying the current one is "no longer adequate" to meet the challenges of managing an "increasingly complex" sector.
Implementing the recommendations has the potential to produce "at least" the equivalent of an extra three to four billion barrels of oil from the UKCS, the report claims.
This would be worth approximately £20bn to the UK economy, the report says.
It highlights the "substantial contribution" the oil and gas industry makes to the economy, employment and energy security — with the sector said to support 450,000 jobs across the UK both directly and indirectly.
The equivalent of 41bn barrels of oil have already been produced from the UKCS, with an estimated equivalent of 12 to 24bn barrels still to come.
"Ultimate recovery is in a large part dependent on how well the UK manages the development of remaining reserves," the report insists.
The sector faces a number of challenges in the future, with any newly discovered oil and gas fields generally smaller and harder to exploit, while some of the operating equipment is more than 30 years old and is now at or beyond the end of its original intended lifespan.
Production has fallen by 38% in the last three years, resulting in £6bn less in tax receipts for the Treasury, while a decline in exploration led to the equivalent of less than 50m barrels of oil being discovered last year.
"It is essential for the future growth and prosperity of the UK that the recovery from both existing fields and new discoveries is maximised," the report says.
"To achieve this goal, there now needs to be a radical step up in how government exercises stewardship of the UKCS."
There is a "lack of focus on maximising economic recovery for the UK" because operators have pursued individual commercial objections in isolation, with only a limited shared commitment to maximising recovery across parts of the UKCS, according to the report.
It also claims that the current regulator, part of the UK Government's Department of Energy and Climate Change, is "significantly under-resourced and far too thinly spread to respond effectively to many of the demands of managing an increasingly complex business and operating environment".
The creation of a new arms-length regulatory body is recommended. This should, as a priority, work with the industry to develop strategies for exploration, technology including enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture and storage, and decommissioning.
The UK Government and the industry have also been urged to develop and commit to a strategy of maximising economic recovery from the UKCS.
"The UKCS should be an attractive destination for investment, with significant opportunities still to be developed," the report says.
But "changes need to be made urgently to meet the Government's objective of maximising economic recovery from the UKCS, ensure the long-term health of the UKCS and reverse recent declines in performance".
All future licences for oil and gas developments should include a clause "making clear that in all areas of development and operation, the licence holder must act in such a way that would be consistent with the principle of maximising economic recovery", according to the report.
The UK Government charged Sir Ian in June with looking at how best to ensure the longevity of the UK oil and gas industry.
Commenting on the interim report, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: "Our offshore oil and gas fields are one of Britain's great natural assets, and I'm determined that they should stay that way. They are good for our energy security because if we improve what we're recovering domestically, we reduce our reliance on foreign imports.
"They are good for the economy, supporting jobs and thriving communities. And they are extremely good value for taxpayers.
"There are people who would try to talk down their untapped potential but today's report shows that with strong, co-ordinated stewardship by the UK Government, working in partnership with world-class operators, we can boost future returns by at least £200bn, and potentially much more.
"This report has given Government and industry alike plenty to think about, and I'm looking forward to receiving Sir Ian's report and setting out our plans to make the most of our offshore oil and gas fields in the new year."
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said the Scottish Government is "fully behind Sir Ian Wood's |
out my ENO Vs. Neolite Trek hammock comparison review here!
When you get into the ENO SingleNest, the fabric has a luxurious feeling to it, but without losing its toughness or strength. The highly breathable woven nylon is reinforced with triple interlocking stitching and holds a maximum capacity of 400 lbs. While this is no way near the lightest travel hammock on the market, it is perfect for backpackers who love to lounge around during the day as well as go camping.
How much is it?
Hennesy Hammock Ultralite Backpacker Classic
Weight: 1 lbs 15 oz / 879 g
Size: 9 ft 10 in x 4 ft 10 in
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, aluminum wiregate carabiners, Spectra suspension ropes, webbing straps, 20D no-see-um bug netting, 30D silnylon ripstop rain tarp and guy lines.
The Hennessy Hammock Ultralite Backpacker Classic is the all in one camping system for long distance walkers and adventurous backpackers. The Ultralite Backpacker hammock is the perfect alternative to a tent, packing down to a tiny 4 x 6 x 9 inch pouch you don’t have to worry about fitting it in your bag. The 200 lb weight limit is ok for most people but might put some of the bigger people off, check out the Jungle Safari Range for a higher weight limit of 350 lbs.
Built to withstand extreme conditions and perform over long periods of time, Hennesy Hammocks are renowned for making high-quality products for professional outdoors people. You can choose between a zip or classic bug netting design as well as upgrade your rain tarp to a larger size which I did and am glad about. There isn’t much bad to say about this hammock, ticking all the boxes for lightweight backpackers on a mission.
How much is it?
View our full Hennesy Hammocks Ultralite Asym Review
Hummingbird Single Ultralight Plus Hammock
Weight: 7.6 oz / 210 g
Size: 9 ft 8 in x 5 ft 3 in
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, ultra-light soft link carabiners
The Hummingbird Single Ultralight Plus Hammock is the larger version of the even lighter original Hummingbird Single Hammock. The extra space in the Ultralight Plus equates to an additional 20 inches lengthways and 14 inches across, which is better for big people and makes it easier to find that sweet spot. Designed to meet FFA Certified parachute rigging standards, the parachute-inspired design will hold 350 lbs and claims to weigh 30% less than any other hammock on the market.
The super comfortable and breathable material is all made in the USA and put together by hand in Denver, Colorado using IV certified webbing lock stitching. I really like the soft link carabiners as they do the job just fine and weigh far less than the metal alternative. Hummingbird Ultralight Tree straps are sold separately and are worth getting if your goal is to be as lightweight as possible.
How much is it?
Grand Trunk Nano 7 Hammock
Weight: 6.7 oz / 189 g
Size: 9 x 4 feet
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, ultra-light Mad Rock carabiners
The Grand Trunk Nano 7 is one of the most lightweight travel hammocks in the world, weighing a mere 6.7 oz and packing down to the size of a large orange. Incredibly compact and weighing next to nothing, you can keep this is the deepest corner of your backpack and forget it is even there (until you need it). The ripstop nylon is triple stitched along the seams giving it a maximum weight capacity of 300 lbs, impressive for the lightweight materials.
One of the smallest hammocks on the list but once you get over the initial shock of sleeping closer to the edge, the benefits far out-way the negatives. An easy hammock to take anywhere and quite often the hammock I carry on most day hikes, but not a hammock I would rely on for heavy use in rugged conditions.
How much is it?
Warbonnet Blackbird Single Layer 1.1 Hammock
Weight: 1 lb 2 oz / 510 g
Size: 10 ft x 5 ft 3 in
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, sewn-in mosquito netting, elastic side guy lines, choice of webbing suspension or ‘whoopies’ with tree straps
A real favorite among wilderness campers and bushcraft communities and is no doubt one of the best backpacking hammocks, the Warbonnet Blackbird has some great features but a hefty price tag of nearly $250 with shipping. The innovative foot box design gives you some extra leg space at the bottom and the storage shelf is a great idea for keeping a few personal items at hand. The single layer 70D fabric has a maximum capacity of 200 lbs while the double layered fabric offers, you guessed it, 400 lbs.
Only available through Warbonnet’s website, you can customize each order by fabric, suspension straps, and single or double layered base. I like the Warbonnet range of hammocks as they are comfortable and very customer orientated as a company, just a shame about the price and postage costs.
Eagles Nest Outfitters Sub 7 Hammock
Weight: 6.5 oz / 184 g
Size: 8 ft 9 in x 3ft 9 in
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, aluminum wiregate carabiners
The ENO Sub7 Hammock is the lightest backpacking hammock on this list and unfortunately, it is also the tightest fit. For taller people, this hammock is probably going to be too small to stretch out in but for everyone else this hammock is great for backpacking. Due to the lightweight materials and construction, I do fear that it wouldn’t take much pressure to damage the fabric and create a big rip. The smallest hammock on the list is also the least comfortable, without hardly any extra space to stretch out it can be frustrating after a long day of hiking.
Crafted from breathable and quick drying, high-tenacity 70D nylon taffeta, the ENO Sub7 will support up to 300 lbs and the stronger-than-steel Dyneema line gives you extra piece of mind at high capacity. Compressing down to the size of a softball and weighing under 200 grams, the ENO Sub7 is so portable that there are no excuses not to have it with you all the time, even if you don’t use it!
How much is it?
Fox Outfitters Neolite Trek Parachute Hammock
Weight: 13 oz / 370 g
Size: 9 ft 10 in x 4 ft 7 in
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, steel carabiners, extra tough 5 ft 6 inch nautical grade suspension ropes with tree friendly rope sleeves
The Fox Outfitters Neolite Trek Hammock feels slightly tougher than the ultra lightweight hammocks further up this list and has a higher maximum capacity of 400 lbs. Super strong woven nylon is used to keep the Neolite Trek breathable, fast drying, and protected against brambles and thorns. Because of the hard wearing tendencies, I tend to trust this hammock more than ultra lightweight options for extended trips and cross country hikes where the hammock is ging to see more action. Super easy to set up and pack away, the Neolite Trek is a firm favorite for backpacking hikers who need a hammock they can rely on.
How much is it?
Grand Trunk Single Parachute Nylon Hammock
Weight: 15.9 oz / 450 g
Size: 10 ft 6 in x 5 ft
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, aluminum wiregate carabiners
The Grand Trunk Single is a hammock I used for a long time before trying out any others, and I never had any complaints. It is made from mildew-resistant, high-strength parachute nylon and has triple-stitched seams to support a maximum load of up to 400 lbs. Super soft fabric keeps you cool in the heat and the storage pouch on the side makes a great place to keep your personal items whilst having a snooze. A great value for money option that offers everything a hammock should offer without any of the cheap thrills. Comfortable, spacious and well made, the Grand Trunk Single Hammock is a great entry level hammock for any backpacking trip.
How much is it?
Hennesy Hammock Expedition Asym
Weight: 2 lbs 12 oz / 1,247 g
Size: 9 ft 10 in x 4 ft 10 in
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, aluminum wiregate carabiners, polyester suspension ropes, webbing straps, 30D no-see-um bug netting, 70D polyurethane coated ripstop polyester rain tarp and guy lines.
The Hennessy Hammock Expedition Hammock is arguably one of the best and most specialized suspended shelter systems available on the market. With everything included you have got everything you need to go on a long distance expedition through unknown terrain. If you can’t find a hanging point to set up your hammock rig then you can easily make a bivvy type shelter on the ground using a single attachment point. The hammock material is 210D Oxford nylon which comes with a surprisingly low maximum capacity of 250 lbs.
I really like the whole design of this hammock system and it always keeps me dry and comfortable in all kinds of stormy conditions but it is a little heavy for some backpacking trips. That being said, I can’t argue with the convenience of an all in one system that will protect you from insects, wind and rain, even in places like the Amazon jungle. With the 4 season insulation upgrade the Hennessy Hammock Expedition range are the Best Backpacking Hammocks for extreme exploration.
How much is it?
Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter Pro Hammock
Weight: 28 oz / 795 g
Size: 10 ft 6 in x 5 ft
Includes: Hammock, storage bag, aluminum wiregate carabiners
The Skeeter Beeter Pro Hammock is another great entry level hammock from Grand Trunk but this time with sewn-in mosquito netting and double sided zippers for daytime use. Lightweight and triple stitched reinforcements give the hammock great strength and support for heavy duty people. Made from 100% parachute nylon, there is nothing special about any of the materials used on this hammock but the build quality is very good and so it performs very well. For the price, you really can’t go wrong and with the addition of a rain tarp, not included, you are ready to go!
How much is it?
**Another great hammock company is the UK brand DD Hammocks who have a wide range of hammocks and rain tarps on their website.
Traveling is awesome but can often mean sleeping in some crazy places, getting one of these Top 10 Best Backpacking Hammocks will mean you never have to sleep on the floor again!Long before parenthood was a noun, let alone a TV show, it was still, and always, the subject of debate and the source of drama. Rules versus instincts; permissiveness versus prohibitions: it's never mattered the decade; there have always been passionate conflicts, opposing advice, and bizarre approaches. One of them seemed so bizarre that I felt compelled to write a novel about it. (The novel's just out, and it's called "The Irresistible Henry House.")
Starting in the early 20th century, home economics programs around the country used real babies to teach mothering skills to college students. The students were called "practice mothers," and the babies were called "practice babies." They were usually provided by local orphanages and loaned to the home-ec programs for a year or more.
At Cornell, for example, starting in 1919, Practice, 126 was a required course for a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. Half a dozen or more students worked rotating shifts of five weeks each, weighing and measuring, feeding and changing, taking the baby out for walks, and losing sleep when he cried at night. Supplied by state child welfare groups and leased by contract, babies arrived at the campus as infants, and were eventually returned to their orphanages for adoption. Like any other proud parents, the practice mothers filled scrapbooks with photographs of the baby's milestones. But the pages might be labeled in a half-dozen different handwriting styles. No one mother could hold the pen, or the baby, most of the time.
I found pages from some of those scrapbooks online a few years ago while I was doing research for a book of women's letters. I had surfed my way to a Cornell Website called "What Was Home Economics?", and I discovered this face:
Wouldn't you have clicked on the link? I did, and when I did, I learned that the baby was called Bobby Domecon (pronounced "Dough-me-con," a mash-up of "Domestic" and "Economics"). Bobby was only the second infant to come to the Cornell practice house. Like others who would follow him, he lived in a strange, artificial world: a nondescript apartment in which there were no favorite books on the bookshelves and no favorite clothes in the closet, and a baby in the nursery who could not have a favorite grown-up.
There seem to have been no objections. The early part of the century was a time when virtually anything could be was ratified by research. If transportation, communication, and health could all be improved by science, why couldn't motherhood? According to one 1952 estimate, there were 41 practice-baby programs around the country, including those at Eastern Illinois State Teacher's College, Oregon State University, Iowa State University, East Tennessee State University, and Montana State College. Often given up because of societal or economic pressures, orphans frequently came to the practice house ill, and invariably left healthy. It took quite a while before anyone wondered what damage, perhaps less physical than psychological, might be inflicted by this system of being passed around like a cheese plate.
In 1954, officials of the Child Welfare services department at the Illinois Department of Public Welfare became concerned. At Eastern Illinois State College, a woman named Ruth Schmalhausen insisted that the program she ran, which at her college involved a dozen women taking 10-day stints as mother, was good for both the students and their tiny, diapered teacher. But the superintendent of the Child Welfare Department would have none of that. According to a story in Time Magazine:
Superintendent Harenski...thinks otherwise. 'It is not a normal setting,' said he. 'There are just too many persons involved in the handling of that child.' Other officials seemed to agree. 'Imagine,' cried Mrs. Babette Penner, director of the Women's Services Division of United Charities, "what anxieties there are in a child who is given a bottle in twelve or more pairs of arms.Subject: [ruby-dev:46258] [ANN] 2.0.0 feature freeze
From: Yusuke Endoh <mame@ g e p
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:39:27 +0900
Japanese later; 日本語は後で Hi all -- Today, I'd like to declare "feature freeze" according to the schedule [1]. 2.0.0 will NOT include any feature that is not accepted yet by matz at this time. [1] http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-core/40301 Sorry for no prior announce of this. If you, especially committers, have any significant problem, please let me know by next Sunday. In addition, I'm planning to release "feature preview" at the end of the month. Please tell me your opinion, ASAP. I've heard that trunk is so stable according to rubyci [2]. Let me know any feature that is already accepted by matz but not implemented yet. [2] http://rubyci.org/ We envision the first official release of 2.0 at Feb. 24, 2013, but the concrete plan is not decided yet. I'll announce it later on. The possible next milestone is "code freeze". I guess it will be near the end of the year. Be prepared. Thanks, みなさん、 本日、スケジュール [1] 通りに "feature freeze" を宣言したいと思います。 現時点で matz が承諾してない機能は 2.0.0 には含まれません。 [1] http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-core/40301 事前に連絡できなくてすみません。もし重大な問題があれば (特にコミッタの 方) 、次の日曜日までにご連絡ください。 また、月末に "feature preview" をリリースしたいと思っています。意見が あればなるべく早めにください。rubyci [2] によると trunk は結構安定して いると聞いています。matz に承認されてるけど未実装な機能があったら連絡 ください。 [2] http://rubyci.org/ 2013 年 2 月 24 日に 2.0 の公式リリースを目指していますが、具体的な プランは決っていません。後日連絡します。 ただし、おそらく次のマイルストーンは "code freeze" です。年末くらいに なると思いますので、その心づもりでいてください。 よろしくお願いいたします。 -- Yusuke Endoh <mame / tsg.ne.jp>P.J. Fleck took the head coaching job at Minnesota just three days ago, and he is wasting no time showing his support for the Gophers’ other athletic programs. During halftime of the Gophers’ basketball game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, Fleck joined the legendary Red Panda for quite the show.
"Why'd you get into journalism, Chad?"
To take videos of PJ Fleck throwing bowls to the Red Panda. pic.twitter.com/rH6wV1NOpf — Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) January 9, 2017
Here is another angle.
Combining the most exciting, young head coach in college football with the most entertaining halftime performer is very hard to beat and pretty dang cool.
Here are some more shots of their fun performance.
Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck addressed the crowd & helped the half time entertainment act Red Panda. Gophers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes. pic.twitter.com/wENe9edE7y — Carlos Gonzalez (@CarlosGphoto) January 9, 2017Crown Royal, the whisky-maker from the small Manitoba community of Gimli, has won a world title and been labeled a "masterpiece."
The Crown Royal factories are located in Gimli, Man. (CBC) Its Northern Harvest Rye has been named the 2016 World Whisky of the Year, marking the first time a Canadian whisky has received the honour.
Renowned British whisky writer Jim Murray announced the designation on Friday, giving Northern Harvest Rye a record-tying 97.5 out of 100 points in his 13th annual Whisky Bible.
"To say this is a masterpiece is barely doing it justice," Murray said in a news release, adding that it takes rye to "new heights of beauty and complexity."
The choice has stunned some people, according to an article in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, but Murray's not surprised. Similar ripples were made when the 2015 title went to a Japanese single malt.
The Gimli distillery began producing Crown Royal whisky in 1939. (CBC) "Last year people were shocked when I gave Yamazaki the award – until they tasted it. Then they saw it was not the affront to scotch they first thought and something truly extraordinary," Murray said.
This is the second consecutive year that Scotland has missed out in a top five placing in the Whisky Bible, said Murray, who tasted more than 1,000 new whiskies before choosing the Northern Harvest Rye, which sells for $32.99 for 750 ml in Manitoba.
"This year, doubtless there will be many more eyebrows raised because rarely is Canada mentioned when it come to the world's top whiskies," he said. "But, again, I have no doubt people finding the bottling I tasted will be blown away with this whisky's uncompromising and unique beauty."
The distillery in Gimli, a community of just over 1,900 on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, began producing Crown Royal whisky in 1939 — the year of the royal visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth — and it was only available in Canada until 1964.
Northern Harvest Rye came out this year.
"We couldn't be more proud," said Alistair Kidd of Diageo Canada, which bought the Crown Royal line from Seagram in 2000.
"Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye showcases the rye whisky that is integral to making Canadian whisky unique, and is a testament to the incredible distilling and blending that takes place in Gimli."
Jim Murray's 2016 World Whiskies of the Year
Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye
Pikesville Straight Rye
Midleton Dair Ghaelach
William Larue Weller Bourbon
Suntory Yamazaki Mizunara
"To be honest, I had been considering actually demoting Canadian whisky from having its own chapter in the Bible. The quality of Canadian has been disappointing me for some time with too many non-whisky products, like fruit juice or wine, being added to give a softer flavour," said Murray.
"Then Crown Royal Northern Harvest pops up out of nowhere and changes the game. I think other distillers out there have to have a close look at this and see if they can at least have a go at reaching where this new bar has been set."
Manitoba Liquor Mart employees at many of the stores reported being sold out of the award-winning drink as of Friday night.PHOENIX -- Jury selection in the aggravated assault trial of NBA twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris concluded Wednesday after the eight-member panel was chosen.
Opening statements will be delivered Monday for what is expected to be a 10-day trial.
The Morris brothers were indicted by an Arizona grand jury in 2015. They are accused of helping three other people beat 36-year-old Erik Hood outside a Phoenix recreation center. Markieff Morris, left, and twin brother Marcus Morris were members of the Phoenix Suns when they were charged with assault in 2015. Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports
Two of the other co-defendants pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated assault charges.
Police say Hood was leaving a high school basketball game when he was approached by a friend of the Morris brothers. Hood told Phoenix police the man was speaking to him when he was punched in the back of the head.
Hood ran to his car but fell down before five men, including the Morris twins, punched and kicked him repeatedly, authorities say. All five left in a Rolls Royce Phantom.
Hood told police he sustained a fractured nose, abrasions and a large bump on his head.
Police say it is alleged that Hood was assaulted for sending an inappropriate text message to the Morris brothers' mother.
Hood is an acquaintance of the Morris brothers and reportedly had a falling-out with them in 2010.
The NBA players could face a maximum of nearly four years in prison if they are found guilty.
The 6-foot-9 twins became teammates in 2013 when Marcus was traded to the Suns.
Both were later traded to other teams.The High today dismissed a plea of an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) seeking a ban or change in the name of the controversial movie 'Aligarh', a film based on the gay AMU professor.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, rejected the plea saying that "no public interest is involved in this petition so it should be dismissed at the threshold itself."
"This is a personal grievance. We do not find a public interest, so we are not inclined to entertain this writ petition," the bench added.
The petition, filed by a Delhi-based lawyer Mohammad Ahsan Khan, had stated that the and reviews of the movie, published in print and social media, was lowering the image of AMU and Aligarh City among the residents.
He also argued that contents and name of the movie are not only defamatory to the students who have passed from Aligarh Muslim University but the same hurts feelings of the citizens of Aligarh and therefore the certification granted to the film is assailed.
The latest Bollywood flick directed by Hansal Mehta is based on the life of AMU professor Ramchandra Siras who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation. He later died in mysterious circumstances.
'Aligarh', starring Manoj Bajpayee, which released last week, focuses on the plight of the LGBT community.March 03, 2017 10:01 IST
‘When it vanishes as a national force (meaning when it can no longer get sufficient votes to hold onto its symbol, the hand), it will not have been the first large Indian party to die,’ says Aakar Patel.
How do political parties die?
It is interesting to look at this as we observe the long and slow death of the Congress. India's oldest party was formed 132 years ago and has been out of power for only three years.
But it is clear that as a national force it is comatose if not dead. Its brand is severely damaged and carries very little that is positive. And it has no real political message for its small base of voters.
When it vanishes as a national force (meaning when it can no longer get sufficient votes to hold onto its symbol, the hand), it will not have been the first large Indian party to die.
The All India Muslim League died because it ran out a reason to exist. The party was set up in the early 20th century to secure the political rights of Muslims and to engage with the colonial power.
It tried and failed to negotiate an arrangement to share power with the Congress (which was seen by many Muslims as a Hindu party, just as the BJP is seen today).
The partition of India came because of the failure to reach an agreement and in India the Muslim League more or less vanished. It went because the party's brand was associated with Partition.
For many years a single MP represented the party under the Indian Union Muslim League name. Though he was repeatedly elected from Kerala, this man, GM Banatwala, was a Gujarati.
In Pakistan, the Muslim League held power for a decade after Partition under various prime ministers. The party's primary platform, the two-nation theory, did not remain relevant in a mostly Muslim nation.
Its two biggest leaders died soon after the creation of the country. Governor General Jinnah died of tuberculosis on September 11, 1948, and prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan was murdered at a public event on October 16, 1951.
When General Ayub Khan seized power a few years later, the party Jinnah had led split and formed the Convention Muslim League. This was the first of many versions of the party in Pakistan. This tradition of the party breaking and reforming itself in support of a military ruler continued over the decades.
General Zia ul Haq's prime minister Muhammad Khan Junejo formed the Muslim League (J) and General Musharraf was supported by the Muslim League (Q). The party in power today, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) was also formed in the period of Zia.
In India, the Congress remained more or less unified at the national level. The one big split in it happened after Lal Bahadur Shastri died and Indira Gandhi took power. The old men who were Nehru's colleagues formed their own Congress but Indira was strong and captured the organisation because of her charisma and popularity.
The Janata Party which defeated Indira Gandhi was a patchwork coalition of regional parties. The Janata Party was socialist and anti-Congress in its ideology.
It was formed during the Emergency and lost relevance soon after. Its constituents tried to keep the anti Congressism alive through the Janata Dal but that was an insufficient glue and it fractured into south and north versions of the party.
Lal Krishna Advani changed Indian politics with the Ram Janambhoomi movement. The anti Congress impulse of the Janata Party's fragments became an anti Hindutva impulse. This was because they feared the BJP and what it stood for and by now, under Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress stopped standing for anything much.
It did not have any real ideology and this continued under P V Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
The Congress has lost power in Delhi because it has been squeezed out of states. Its decade in power from 2004-2014 hid some facts.
In large parts of north India it is in permanent opposition. It has not won an election in Gujarat for three decades. In many other large states, where the BJP is either ruling or in opposition, the Congress is fourth or fifth, meaning it is irrelevant.
In the south, it is losing ground to the BJP faster than it thinks and Hindutva continues its patient and relentless march in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Competent Congress leaders in the regions long ago saw the death coming. Some of them successfully captured the party organisation, like Mamata Banerjee in Bengal. Others like Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra were less successful. But even he has no reason to merge his party back into the Congress because the brand is tainted.
As was observed earlier, it does not stand for anything. Reports say the recent hammering the Congress got in Maharashtra's local elections came after candidates got no financial support from the party.
This is a dangerous sign but it is unlikely to be heeded. The party will bumble along because being family-owned, there is no accountability.
It is possible that the Congress may be revived under another leader. But Rahul Gandhi is not an old man. He has a few more decades of activity ahead of him. This will work to the disadvantage of his party as it fades nationally into irrelevance.
Aakar Patel is Executive Director, Amnesty International India. The views expressed here are his own.
You can read Aakar's earlier columns here.
Image: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi at an election rally. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan says his team will use purple and teal as its primary colors when it changes its name to the Hornets next season.
Those are the same colors players wore when the Hornets were in Charlotte from 1988-2002, before the franchise moved to New Orleans.
The new color scheme will be accented by secondary colors of black, gray and light blue.
The Hornets name became available when New Orleans became the Pelicans this season.
Jordan said in a release Sunday that "it was important to us to acknowledge the heritage of the Charlotte Hornets when bringing the name back to the market" and "the purple and teal color scheme was instantly recognizable as being associated with the original Hornets."
On Monday, the organization will begin a three-week campaign focused on "painting the city" with the return of the purple and teal colors to Charlotte.Ann Romney gave a wonderfully delusional interview on Radio Iowa today on behalf of her husband's campaign, which, as we all know, is going super well right now. Thankfully, Ann was able to do her part to contribute. To her husband's detractors within the Republican party, she had this to say:
"Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring," she said.
Just stop, you guys. No, really. This is harder than it looks. Also, "Get in the ring" - just look at those fighting words! She went on:
"This is hard and, you know, it's an important thing that we're doing right now and it's an important election and it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt's qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country."
Yes, Republicans everywhere consider themselves very lucky to have someone as clearly competent as Romney for their candidate now.
In a speech earlier in the day, she had another good line:
"The real measure of a person is not how much money we make, but how we live our lives," she said.
Which is true, although perhaps not the best point to make if your favorite hobby is training dressage horses and your husband is in the midst of a scandal because he made obtuse, condescending, factually incorrect and needlessly divisive statements at a closed-door fundraiser set up by sex party-throwing hedge fund manager.
[Image via AP]The film contends that several powerful business executives; Vicente Fox, then the president; and Mr. Calderón waged a negative campaign against the leftist candidate, despite restrictions in Mexican law on mudslinging and on campaigning by current officeholders. In advertisements on television, radio and the Internet, they asserted that Mr. López Obrador was a potential left-wing authoritarian who would destroy the economy. Some spots suggested he was like the autocratic president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez.
The large number of people going to see the film — more than 300,000 in the first two weeks — showed that the controversy has not been put to rest and that a good part of the population still feels something went awry in the balloting.
The film has stirred up deep emotions. Standing ovations and shouting matches were not uncommon in the 230 theaters where it is showing. On Nov. 24, a dispute broke out between employees of a Cinemex theater in Mexico City and the audience when one of the reels broke 20 minutes into the film. The audience accused employees of censoring the film. The employees shouted insults at the audience and chanted, “Calderón! Calderón!”
“I am very surprised and happy,” Mr. Mandoki said in a recent interview. “At a premiere, people often stand at the end, but here, in all the theaters, the people not only applaud but they stay until the credits are over.”
So far, Mr. López Obrador’s supporters have made up the bulk of the people going to the film. For many of them it has only confirmed what they felt in their gut last year.
“I always have thought there was fraud,” said Sandra Quiñones, a 36-year-old city employee, who saw the film in Mexico City. “I would have thought that as a documentary it was boring. But, no, on the contrary, the truth is you come out angry, the great anger of knowing they stole the presidency.”
Others with different political leanings remain in quiet thought long after the film has ended. “I voted for Calderón,” said Araceli Pliego, 23, a student, as she left a Mexico City theater. “At the time, I liked his proposal and I still say he’s not bad as a governor, but after seeing the film, I have a lot of doubts about what happened last year.”
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The film does not present new evidence of fraud. But it does assemble for the first time a chronology of all the factors leading to Mr. López Obrador’s defeat. It also shows how election officials rigidly interpreted the law to prevent a wider recount.
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The spine of the film is a long interview with Mr. López Obrador in which he contends that an oligarchy of business leaders that has ruled Mexico for generations did everything possible to keep him out of office. He also admitted, for the first time, that he had misjudged the power of the negative advertising against him. Mr. Calderón declined to be interviewed by the filmmakers.
The film also presents images suggesting dirty tricks. At some polling places, ballot boxes were apparently opened illegally; at others, more ballots were apparently cast than there were voters on the lists.
The film falls short, however, of demonstrating that the problems were extensive enough to nullify the results. The courts found the irregularities cut both ways and were not numerous enough to change the outcome.
“It’s a partial vision of the events that happened in 2006,” Gonzalo Altamirano, an official in Mr. Calderón’s party, told the newspaper Reforma. “It’s a repetition of the arguments that the candidate, López Obrador, used at the time.”
Mr. Mandoki said he had seldom had such trouble getting a film distributed. According to Mr. Mandoki and Mr. Arreola, the head of the Warner Brothers subsidiary in Mexico, Juan Manuel Borbolla, agreed in mid-June to distribute the film and said his bosses in Hollywood were enthusiastically on board.
But Warner Brothers pulled out in late August, and Mr. Mandoki and Mr. Arreola say the decision was political. They say Mr. Borbolla told them that he had been warned he would make enemies at Televisa, the dominant Mexican television network, if he distributed the film. Televisa owns Videocine-Distribucion, the company with which Warner Brothers has a distribution partnership in Mexico.
Televisa officials denied that they exerted pressure on Warner Brothers to drop the film, other than to warn that the documentary would not make a profit. (It has grossed about $1 million at the box office, the producers say.)
Mr. Borbolla has insisted politics played no role in the decision. “I decided not to distribute the film because it was not good business, because in Mexico, documentaries don’t sell,” he said at a news conference in September. A spokeswoman for Warner Brothers Entertainment in California, Andrea Marozas, said in a telephone interview that officials at the company’s headquarters had determined that the film would simply not be profitable.
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In the end, none of the major distributors in Mexico would handle the film, the producers said. Mr. Mandoki and Mr. Arreola turned to a small company, Decine S.A. de C.V., which agreed to help the producers distribute the film for a fee, as long |
ikers4Trump) August 15, 2016
What more is there to say? The next 4 years are going to be surreal.Beating Borders: The Bane of Responsive Layout
Responsive design often requires setting your widths using percentages. This is easy enough to accomplish, that is until you start throwing borders into the mix. If your columns and total width are set using percentages, a static border size wreaks havoc on your layout.
Today we’re going to look at a couple of different ways to beat this problem. You’ll learn how to create a completely fluid layout that doesn’t mind extra borders or padding one bit.
Responsive Design Is Easy… In Theory
Responsive design is currently our best answer for serving up optimized content to the wealth of different devices and screen sizes that access the web today. With a few basic media queries we can quickly and easily take a static design and turn it into something that evolves based on the user’s unique needs. How amazing is that?
“Real world coding has a way of surprising you”
In theory, this looks nice and simple to me. I’ve spent a lot of time both reading and writing about responsive design, so I know both the theory and the practices well enough that I should never encounter any major hurdles. However, real world coding has a way of surprising you. No matter how prepared you think you are, when it comes time to actually bring your project to life, some major hurdles are bound to present themselves. Especially when you’re approaching complex layouts in CSS.
There are a million issues that arise in situations like this but today I want to focus on one that specifically threw me a curve ball: borders. When designing responsive layouts these seemingly innocent touches can have the effect of ruining everything!
Responsive Math
When coding a full on responsive site, one highly recommended practice is to use percentage based widths on your content. Sure, you can combine media queries with static widths, but then your layout isn’t nearly as adaptive as it could be. If that’s the ultimate goal, why not go all the way?
Combining multiple column layouts with percentage based widths involves a little bit of math, but it’s actually super basic and can be handled by anyone with basic addition and multiplication skills (we performed this next bit in our responsive thumbnail gallery tutorial).
Let’s say we want a five column layout. The first thing I like to do is think about margins. If we want 4% margins between our columns, 4% times 5 columns equals 20% of our width being reserved for margins. Then we subtract 20% from the total width (100%) to come up with 80% left for the actual columns. 80% divided by five columns equals a 16% width on each column. Here’s a graphic to make everything a little clearer:
Putting this math to good use in our CSS would look something like the following. Pretty easy right?
.column { width: 16%; margin: 0 2% 0 2%; /*2% right +2% left = 4% margin*/ } 1 2 3 4. column { width : 16 % ; margin : 0 2 % 0 2 % ; /*2% right +2% left = 4% margin*/ }
The Border Problem
Not so fast. Let’s say we want to add a border to our design. How do we do that? Normally we would simply add a border to the column class, but we’ve already accounted for 100% of the width in the layout above. Adding border completely screws up our layout. Here we have five columns distributed via the CSS above:
And here’s what happens when we add a border of say, 2px to a column:
The solution of course would be to account for the border in our previous math, but how do we go about this? It turns out, we can’t set the border size as a percent, only a static value. This is problematic because if we use percents for everything else, the amount of space that we leave for the border will be a varying value, meaning it will change as the page width changes. This makes it nigh upon impossible to decide on a width for our borders! So what do we do? Should we give up and scrap the border idea?
CSS Outline to The Rescue
Obviously, what we need is a way to apply a border to a column without screwing with its width. As any good CSS trickster knows, there is in fact a property that does just that: outline. Using the following code, we can leave our math exactly as we figured before and still come away a border-like effect that doesn’t break our layout.
.column { width: 16%; float: left; margin: 0 2% 0 2%; background: #03a8d2; outline: 2px solid black; } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. column { width : 16 % ; float : left ; margin : 0 2 % 0 2 % ; background : #03a8d2; outline : 2px solid black ; }
This works great for our test, the columns flow nicely and fit perfectly in the space provided despite the outline:
Headaches
We found our solution, let’s pat ourselves on the back and call it a day! Unfortunately, there’s always a caveat. In this case, there are several.
Browser Compatibility
The first issue that arises with using the CSS outline property is of course browser compatibility. To be fair, the situation here could be worse. We’ve got great support across the board in modern browsers: Safari, Chrome, Opera, even IE! Unfortunately, IE support only goes back to IE8 with IE6 and 7 having zero support.
Many developers have only recently decided that they can scrap IE6 support so I know many won’t be willing to do the same for IE7 just yet. However, the good news is that this is purely a subtle aesthetic touch and it’s definitely not going to ruin my day if everyone sees the outline except IE7 users.
Firefox Box-Shadow Problem
Even though Firefox fully supports the CSS outline property, you have to be really careful how you use it. Specifically, you’ll run into problems if you combine an outline with a box-shadow. To see what I mean by this, here’s an outline and a box-shadow rendered in Safari (the good way):
Now here’s the exact same code rendered in Firefox (the messed up way):
As you can see, for some crazy reason, Firefox places the outline outside of the shadow rather than on the true edge of our column. This results in unacceptable ugliness!
All Or Nothing
One final thing to remember about CSS outlines: you can’t apply them selectively. With borders, you can use border-right, border-top, etc. but with an outline you’re forced to accept the idea that it will be uniform all the way around the edge of your object.
Another Solution: box-sizing
The CSS outline has a lot of baggage! It solves our problem but comes with a pretty hefty set of instructions that you might not care for. If only there a way to use the far superior border property but adjust the CSS box model to our own devices. Well you’re in luck, because there is in fact just such a property: box-sizing.
This magical property allows us to tweak that ever confusing box model. The default value of box sizing is “content-box”, which is essentially the box model that we know and love. The width and height values determine the size of the content and any padding or borders are drawn outside of that and therefore add to the width. So a 200px wide div with a 2px border technically eats up 204px of space.
border-box
The other possible value for box-sizing is “border-box”, which actually places any padding and borders inside of the specified height and width. This means that a 200px wide div with a 2px border is still only 200px! Here’s what this looks like if we apply it to our columns:
.column { width: 16%; float: left; margin: 0 2% 0 2%; background: #03a8d2; border: 2px solid black; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. column { width : 16 % ; float : left ; margin : 0 2 % 0 2 % ; background : #03a8d2; border : 2px solid black ; - webkit - box - sizing : border - box ; - moz - box - sizing : border - box ; box - sizing : border - box ; }
With this code, our columns are flowing perfectly despite having borders applied:
We can even take this a step further and add some padding to the equation without screwing anything up. As long as you have the box-sizing property set to border-box, no additional math is necessary. Add all of the borders and padding that you like and everything still works:
.column { width: 16%; float: left; margin: 0 2% 0 2%; background: #03a8d2; border: 2px solid black; padding: 15px; font-size: 13px; -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. column { width : 16 % ; float : left ; margin : 0 2 % 0 2 % ; background : #03a8d2; border : 2px solid black ; padding : 15px ; font - size : 13px ; - webkit - box - sizing : border - box ; - moz - box - sizing : border - box ; box - sizing : border - box ; }
Browser Compatibility
Interestingly enough, browser compatibility here is the same as with outline, meaning this works on pretty much everything but IE6 and IE7. Your main concern here though is that, unlike with outline, the layout will in fact fail in browsers that don’t support this property.
Which Method Is Best?
The outline property is definitely the simpler fix, it works in a lot of situations and if it fails, nothing bad happens to your layout. However, I think that the box-sizing method just feels so much better. I can combine it with a shadow without any serious problems, browser support is actually not bad and I can still enjoy all the goodness of borders. The fact that padding can also be thrown into the mix is icing on the cake and brings this way ahead of the competition in my mind. If you’re worried about IE7, you can always whip up a quick conditional stylesheet that solves the problem.
Demo
If you want to see box-sizing in action, cruise over to Dabblet to see the live demo of the example above.
Conclusion
Outline and box-sizing represent two possible solutions to our problem of combining borders with percent based widths in CSS layouts. Neither solution is perfect, but as long as you know what you’re doing, both can be used to successfully solve your layout woes.
Now that you’ve seen my solutions for this problem, it’s time for you to chime in. How do you handle the problem of borders in responsive layouts? Do you have a different solution not listed above?The following operations order issued in September 2012 by the New York Police Department and is considered a model for police agencies around the country in crafting their own policies for using social media in investigations. The PDF was constructed from the only publicly available images of the document and, consequently, is of low resolution.
Data contained within social network sites may assist law enforcement in gathering timely information in furtherance of crime prevention, preservation of public order, and the investigation of criminal activity, including suspected terrorist activity. These guidelines are promulgated, in part, to instill the proper balance between the investigative potential of social network sites and privacy expectations.
Therefore, effective immediately, when a member of the service requires the use of social network websites to conduct investigations or research, the following procedure will be complied with:
I. Purpose
To conduct social network-based investigations and research.
II. Scope
Data contained on the Internet within social network sites may assist law enforcement in gathering timely information in furtherance of crime prevention, including the preservation of public order and the investigation of criminal activity, including suspected terrorist activity. To effectively fulfill these duties, it may be necessary for members of the service to access social network sites using an online alias. No prior authorization is ever required for information contained on publicly available internet sources.
III. Definitions
Exigent Circumstances—For the purpose of this procedure, circumstances requiring action before authorization can be obtained, in order to protect life or substantial property interest; to apprehend or identify a fleeing offender; to prevent the hiding, destruction or alteration of evidence; or to avoid other serious impairment or hindrance of an investigation.
Online Alias—An online identity encompassing identifiers, such as name and date of birth, differing from the user’s actual name, date of birth, or other identifiers.
Online Alias Access—Internet-based searches involving the search and acquisition of information from sites that require an email address, password, or other identifiers for which an online alias is utilized.
Public Domain Data—Information accessible through the Internet for which no password, email address, or other identifier is necessary to acquire access to view or collect such information.
Social Network Site—Online platform where users can create profiles, share information, or socialize with others using a range of technologies.
Procedure
When a member of the service requires access to a social network website for investigative or research purposes:
Member of the Service
1. Confer with supervisor, if access to public domain data requires the use of an online alias/online alias access.
a. No conferral or authorization is required for general research, topical information or other general uses that do not require the acquisition of an online alias/online alias access.
If application for online alias does not involve suspected terrorist activity:
Supervisor
2. Evaluate request to determine whether an online alias would serve an investigative purpose, and if so, prepare Typed Letterhead requesting an online alias to bureau chief/deputy commissioner concerned.
3. Include on Typed Letterhead:
a. Purpose for the request (i.e., type of investigation, etc.)
b. Tax registry number of requesting member
c. Username (online alias)
d. Identifiers and pedigree to be utilized for the online alias, such as email address, username and date of birth.
e. Do not include password(s) for online alias and ensure password(s) are secured at all times.
f. Indicate whether there is a need to requisition a Department laptop with aircard.
4. Review photograph to be used in conjunction with online alias, if applicable.
a. Consider the purpose for which the photograph is being used and the source of the photograph.
b. Attach a copy of the approved photograph and indicate on Typed Letterhead how photograph was obtained.
5. Forward request to commanding officer for review.
Commanding Officer
6. Review request(s) and consider the purpose and whether granting approval would serve an investigative purpose.
7. Endorse request(s) indicating APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL within one day of original request and if APPROVED, immediately forward approval to bureau chief/deputy commissioner concerned, through channels, for informational purposes.
8. File copies of requests in command.
Member of the Service
9. Maintain record of online alias in case records management systems or appropriate Department records.
Bureau Chief/Deputy Commissioner
10. Maintain folder for each APPROVED online alias.
a. Designate an administrator for the online alias.
If application for online alias involves suspected terrorist activity:
Supervisor
11. Immediately contact Intelligence Division, Operations Desk supervisor and provide details regarding proposed investigation.
Intelligence Division, Operations Desk Supervisor
12. Determine if investigation should be conducted by the Intelligence Division and proceed accordingly.
13. Notify requesting supervisor to proceed with investigation if it has been determined that the investigation will not be conducted by the Intelligence Division.
Supervisor
14. Comply with steps “2” through “10”, as appropriate, if investigation will not be conducted by the Intelligence Division.
When exigent circumstances exist that would warrant the immediate use of an online alias:
Supervisor
15. Confer with Intelligence Division, Operations Desk supervisor, if there is concern that the investigation may involve suspected terrorist activity.
a. Comply with instructions from Intelligence Division, Operations Desk supervisor.
16. Confer with commanding officer/executive officer, if investigation does not involve suspected terrorist activity.
17. Instruct member of the service to proceed with investigation upon receiving APPROVAL from commanding officer/executive officer.
a. Comply with steps “2” through “10”, as appropriate, and include in Typed Letterhead, the circumstances that led to the determination of exigent circumstances.
Additional Data
Legal Considerations
During the course of an investigation, a member of service may need access to information regarding online accounts maintained by service providers. The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) governs seizures of electronic evidence. Some information may be obtained with a subpoena; other information requires a special court order; and still other information requires a search warrant. Pertinent sections of the ECPA are as follows:
a. A subpoena is generally deemed sufficient to obtain information such as user information and payment records.
b. Electronic communications, such as email content, in electronic storage for 180 days or less may be obtained only after the issuance of a search warrant, and delayed notification to the subscriber or customer may be ordered if specifically requested in the search warrant application.
c. Electronic communications in electronic storage for more than 180 days may be obtained with a subpoena signed by a judge; however, notice must be provided to the subscriber or customer unless the electronic communications are obtained after the issuance of a search warrant allowing for delayed notification.
d. In anticipation of the issuance of a search warrant, a member of the service may send a request known as a “preservation letter” to an electronic service provider requesting the preservation of electronic records for 90 days, and extend the request for an additional 90 day period.
Note that particular service providers are known to ignore non-disclosure orders (i.e., some service providers will disclose the existence of a search warrant or subpoenas to a subject subscriber or customer.) In general, members of the service should consult with the Legal Bureau before seeking electronic communication through a search warrant or otherwise.
Data obtained through a grand jury subpoena or court order cannot be shared with other law enforcement agencies unless otherwise authorized.
Operational Considerations
When a member of the service accesses any social media site using a Department network connection, there is a risk that the Department can be identified as the user of the social media. Given this possibility of identification during an investigation, members of the service should be aware that Department issued laptops with aircards have been configured to avoid detection and are available from the Management Information Systems Division (MISD). A confidential Internet connection (e.g., Department laptop with aircard) will aid in maintaining confidentiality during an investigation. Members who require a laptop with aircard to complete the investigation shall contact MISD Help Desk, upon APPROVAL of investigation, and provide required information.
In addition to using a Department laptop with aircard, members of the service are urged to take the following precautionary measures:
a. Avoid the use of a username or password that can be traced back to the member of the service or the Department;
b. Exercise caution when clicking on links in tweets, posts, and online advertisements;
c. Delete “spam” email without opening the email; and
d. Never open attachments to email unless the sender is known to the member of the service.
Furthermore, recognizing the ease with which information can be gathered from minimal effort from an Internet search, the Department advises members against the use of personal, family, or other non-Department Internet accounts or ISP access for Department business. Such access creates the possibility that the member’s identity may be exposed to others through simple search and counter-surveillance techniques.
Department Policy
The “Handschu Consent Decree” and “Guidelines for Investigations Involving Political Activity” (see Appendix “A” and “B” of Interim Order 58, series 2004, “Revision to Patrol Guide 212-72, ‘Guidelines for Uniformed Members of the Service Conducting Investigations of Unlawful Political Activities’”) require that any investigation, including investigations on social networks, by the New York City Police Department involving political activity shall be initiated by and conducted only under the supervision of the Intelligence Division. Accordingly, members of the service shall not conduct investigations on social networks involving political activity without the express written approval of the Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence. Any member of the service who is uncertain whether a particular investigation constitutes an “investigation involving political activity” shall consult with the Legal Bureau.
Members of the service who have created and used online aliases prior to the promulgation of this procedure must submit a request to continue utilizing the alias in accordance with this procedure.
Related Procedures
• Citywide Intelligence Reporting System (P.G. 212-12)
• Guidelines for Uniformed Members of the Service Conducting Investigations of Unlawful Political Activities (Interim Order 58, series 2004)
Forms and Reports
Typed Letterhead
3. Commanding officers will ensure that the contents of this Order are brought to the attention of members of their commands.
By Direction Of The Police Commissioner
Distribution
All CommandsWhat's new in this version
A new update! We have fixed the issue with desktop backgrounds and made a new more intuitive how to menu. We have also added full desktop controls so that you desktop users can get in on the action! Brace will now also prompt you to claim your spot on the leader board with your name rather than just anonymous, so that you have something to brag about. Stay tuned for the next release later next week, we have big plans for Brace! We're only just getting started. By default Brace will submit anonymous high scores to our online leader board. If you'd like to make your claim to fame, make sure you disable Anonymous High Scores in the options, we will then use your windows profile name to let the world know how good you are! This game is currently in public beta, it was developed by a team of final year Software Engineering students at The University of Melbourne as part of the Apps@Melbourne Initiative. More features will be added with time.31 Oct 2016
The Andrews Labor Government and the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) have unveiled the latest campaign to reduce motorcyclist deaths and injuries as figures show rider fatalities have nearly doubled in 2016.
The campaign is part of Victoria’s response to rising motorcyclist fatalities, with 45 riders killed so far this year, up from 25 at the same time last year.
It is designed to reduce collisions between motorcycles and other vehicles – which account for more than half of rider fatalities.
A television advertisement depicts the moments after a motorcycle collides with a right-turning vehicle after the driver fails to see the rider.
Under the tagline ‘Driver think rider. Rider think driver’, the campaign encourages riders and drivers to share responsibility for keeping each other safe.
It comes after Victoria Police increased its focus on rider behaviour in response to the rise in rider deaths.
The Labor Government and the TAC also recently announced $12 million for extra shifts for Victoria Police which will see more marked police cars patrolling the state’s roads and highways, targeting speed and drink driving – especially on rural roads, where the majority of the deaths have occurred.
The campaign will launch on Victorian television screens, radios and billboards today and will run throughout November, ahead of summer when the number of riders out on the state’s roads increases sharply.
https://www.tac.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/video_file/0003/207633/Driver-think-rider-rider-think-driver-web.mp4 https://www.tac.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0008/207683/MOTORCYCLES_380x214_TAC_Web_For_Video.jpeg https://www.tac.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0006/207735/161027_Motorbike_30.srt https://www.tac.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0009/207684/TAC-Looking-Out-V3-Mix02.wav YouTube Version Audio description file Show video transcript We open on a tight shot of a woman behind the wheel as she calmly looks around. The camera is filming her in super slow motion. She looks left and right. As she does this, we hear a man’s voice say: On the road we are all good at looking out for the things that could hurt us. We then see her expression turn into one of complete shock. Her hands slowly start to shake as they come to her face and she begins to scream a silent scream. We then hear a voice say: But we’re not as good at looking out for the things that we could hurt. We slowly pull a little wider to see people gathering around something beside her car. Through the group of people, we see a motorcycle on its side. We then see the words,Driver think rider. Rider think driver. and finish on the TAC and Towards Zero logos.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan
“We can’t accept any deaths on our roads, but to have had 45 riders die already this year is an absolute tragedy.”
“Riders will come off second best in a collision with another vehicle so it is critical that drivers are always on the lookout for motorcycles, and riders can help by ensuring they are visible to drivers.”
Quotes attributable to the Transport Accident Commission CEO Joe Calafiore
“We are instinctively good at looking out for things that could hurt us but those instincts aren’t as strong when it comes to looking for things that we could hurt.”
“We are asking every road user – whether you’re on two wheels or four – to do everything possible to look out for each other on the roads.”Software and network systems engineers proficient in the numerous and varied facets of designing, construction and operation of distributed computing-communications networks are in increasingly high demand across the global energy and power sector as deployment and use of distributed energy resources (DERs), smart grid infrastructure and consumer demand response management (DRM) continues to rise. Blockchain-based, peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading stands out among the many and various specializations fundamental to or revolving around applications of distributed computing across the energy and power sector.
The extraordinary rise in the monetary value of Bitcoins, whether in terms of US or Australian dollars, euros, Chinese renminbi or Japanese yen, has been a primary factor attracting interest, and investment, in Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain P2P electronic trading and transaction management platform. That list includes some high-profile, government-sponsored blockchain-based digital energy trading pilot tests and proof-of-concept trials.
The IOTA Foundation is taking the concept of blockchain P2P trading and transactive energy concepts a big step further with its IOTA Tangle platform. I interviewed IOTA Foundation Member and chairman of E7 Ventures David A. Cohen for Solar Magazine in order to gain and share insights regarding IOTA Tangle advantages and benefits as they relate to distributed, P2P energy sharing and trading systems. We delve further into this topic in this first of a two-part series here on Energy Central.
Moving Beyond Blockchain
There’s a lot more to blockchain than the creation and trading of virtual cryptocurrencies. High-profile public-private blockchain development projects to trade national currencies, stocks, bonds and energy have emerged. In addition, multinational corporations and banks are evaluating use of blockchain platforms in a bid to remove the middleman, streamline processes and sharply reduce the costs associated with financing international trade, managing the flow of goods moving through far-flung logistics and supply chain networks, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
At least two major obstacles stand in the way of much wider, broad-based commercial use of blockchain trading/transaction platforms, however: system scalability and transaction processing speed. The IOTA Foundation believes it has a solution with IOTA Tangle, a highly secure, fast and efficient P2P network platform that also offers the ultimate economic benefit: zero transaction fees.
The IOTA Foundation set a record for market capitalization on the Bitfinex crpytocurrency exchange June 13. Some USD 0.5 million worth of IOTA tokens were traded in the second public allotment, lifting the cryptocurrency's market cap to more than USD 1.5 billion.
Much more than a measure and store of monetary value, the digital tokens authenticate the identity of their owners, opening network gateways for individuals, groups and organizations to enter into, monitor and account for online transactions with one another directly, without any intermediaries, and at no cost, IOTA Foundation asserts.
IOTA Tangle
Underlying IOTA tokens is the Tangle, a “blockless” P2P digital transaction networking platform IOTA Foundation says creates seamless, fast, virtually “frictionless” and impregnable electronic trading and transaction management platforms open to as many, or as few, participants as adopters care to include.
An early pioneer and widely recognized expert when it comes to distributed computing, communications and smart energy systems, I caught up with David A. Cohen last week. During our interview, he explained how IOTA and the Tangle can be applied to great value and society-wide benefit by dramatically improving the reach, as well as the efficiency and scalability, of direct P2P exchanges and sharing of distributed energy resources as compared to blockchain-based solutions.
Cohen pointed out that IOTA Tangle can add substantial impetus to the trends of energy decentralization, “digitization” and “decarbonization – the three principal factors Frost & Sullivan recently singled out as driving global deployment and use of cost-competive, environmentally friendly zero and low-carbon energy resources, both on and off the grid.
Overcoming Obstacles of Blockchain Speed, Scalability and Cost
Bitcoin and other blockchain-based trading systems process P2P transactions sequentially. Achieving what’s known as “system consensus” unlocks the door to the processing of “blocks” of transactions, as well as the creation a digital instrument that measures and conveys transactions’ monetary value. Bitcoin uses a so-called “proof of work” methodology that awards the right to process a block of transactions to a special class of Bitcoin “miners” that compete for those rights by solving compute-intensive cryptography problems.
Achieving P2P system consensus based on blockchain’s “proof of work” protocol and mining for the right to process transaction blocks not only takes time, it requires a lot in the way of energy and computing power. That can slow transaction processing speeds and distributed ledger updating down to a point where they do not meet the transaction processing and record-keeping needs of high-frequency, high-volume electronic trading exchanges that exist in major financial markets, or those that are expected to emerge in a highly decentralized energy system.
Also of major import, it means that blockchain P2P transaction processing costs do not scale as processing transaction volumes achieve economies of scale, Cohen highlighted. It also poses problems when seeking to scale blockchain-based trading platforms and networks up to such levels.
According to Cohen: “IOTA provides a robust infrastructure that can integrate both centralized and emerging decentralized power systems with Internet of Things (IoT) networks to be safely aggregated into diverse transactive energy business models. As well, IOTA is the only technology that will support peer-to-peer energy sharing and transactive energy with zero transaction fees”
Read part two here.Cooper charged over bringing game into disrepute
Updated
Outspoken Australian fly half Quade Cooper has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute for his critical comments of the Wallabies and coach Robbie Deans.
The disgruntled star made headlines last month when he lashed out at the Wallabies set-up, saying the environment within the Australian team was "destroying" him.
The Queensland Reds playmaker, currently sidelined with a knee injury, reiterated his grievances on Fox Sports' The Rugby Club less than a week after first making his feelings known via social media.
Cooper is due to appear at a code-of-conduct hearing on Wednesday in Sydney.
An Australian Rugby Union spokesman said Saturday the ARU would not be making any official comment at this stage.
In interviews Cooper, 24, had expressed frustration about the defensive style of play favoured by Deans and said that he did not want to be involved with the Wallabies under the current regime.
"I'm just trying here to be the best that I can be and that's why I said I didn't want to be involved in that kind of environment," Cooper said in a televised interview last month.
"For me to continue to improve as a player and as a person you want to be involved in the best possible environment and I feel that environment is sort of destroying me as a person and as a player."
ARU chief John O'Neill said at the time that the ARU was "utterly confused" by Cooper's outburst.
ABC/AFP
Topics: sport, rugby-union, brisbane-4000, qld, australia
First postedRight before the puck dropped on the 2017-18 campaign, the Calgary Flames threw a late-game plot twist into the off-season, inking future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr to a one-year deal.
Now a couple weeks into his tenure in Alberta, the aura of Jagr’s illustrious, nearly three-decades-long career is already rubbing off on some of the Flames’ young guns.
That’s according to star defenceman Dougie Hamilton, who’s suiting up alongside Jagr for the second time in his young career, the two having shared a brief stint in Boston at the tail end of the 2012-13 season.
“He’s been great with the young guys,” Hamilton said to NHLPA.com’s Chris Lomon on Thursday. “We didn’t really know what to expect coming in. He’s been awesome with the young guys, teaching us different things. That’s been great for us. You watch him, learn from him and you ask him questions.
“He’s probably one of the smartest guys in the hockey world. It’s a great tool for the young guys to use.”
The knowledge imparted by the veteran goes beyond the purely technical, however, as Hamilton noted that there’s plenty to learn simply from Jagr’s unmatched love for the game – a love that’s allowed Jagr to jump off the bench into the chaos of an NHL tilt a total of 1,714 times.
“One of the biggest things I took from him when we played together in Boston is his passion for the game,” Hamilton said. “You could just see that his life revolves around hockey and he’s always thinking about it. You saw how he was always looking to get better and finding ways to achieve that – fixing his equipment, things like that. You could see that passion for hockey. I really appreciated seeing that. And he’s still the same way. He loves hockey. You can take away a lot from that.”
But serving as a mentor for the Calgary’s young guns isn’t the sole reason the Flames are handing Jagr $1 million (plus another potential $1 million in bonuses) this season. He’s also expected to perform, something Hamilton said shouldn’t be an issue given the skill still present in the 45-year-old’s game.
“Just having played against him in the past, you realize how good he is and some of the things he does,” Hamilton said. “You know why he’s had such an amazing career. He’s tough to get off the puck, tough to defend, he’s a big body and he has that ability to still make big plays. I experienced that in the last couple of practices.”
Though Jagr has just one point through his three appearances in a Flames sweater so far, the longtime NHLer has continued to grow his role with his new club, moving up from the third line to a spot on the top unit with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Netflix is rapidly expanding its international service, with plans to launch in 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean later this year.
The new markets -- which include Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean -- will give those members access to Netflix content in Spanish, Portuguese or English. They'll be able to watch "American, local and global TV," Netflix said Tuesday.
The new markets will be streaming-only -- which is Netflix's plan for all international markets, a company spokesman said.
Netflix (NFLX) launched its instant streaming service in the U.S. in 2007, eight years after it launched its DVDs-by-mail service. U.S. Netflix customers can buy a streaming-only subscription for $7.99 per month, or mix streaming and mailed DVDs under plans starting at $9.99 per month.
Netflix made its first international foray in Canada late last year. The company has said for months that it was planning to soon launch in two more international markets.
The Canadian market has been somewhat slow going. In Netflix's first-quarter earnings report, it said it ended the period with about 800,000 Canadian subscribers -- the low end of company forecasts. Netflix said it expects to have 1 million subscribers by the end of the summer.
Canadian telecoms' severe bandwidth caps make streaming video very expensive in the nation.
Netflix had previously said it expected $50 million in operating losses in the second half of the year in the international sector. But in its first-quarter report, it upped that forecast $50 to $70 million in losses -- "which we are comfortable with given the size of the opportunity."We're watching the final ever episodes of True Blood with Alan Ball at the helm right now — Ball is stepping away for next season. And soon enough, we'll get to see what Community looks like without Dan Harmon as showrunner. In other words, the televisual sky is falling!
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But actually, plenty of TV shows have lost their original showrunner and kept on trucking. With mixed results, admittedly. Here are 10 science fiction and fantasy shows that survived a change at the top.
1) Almost every Star Trek show
Gene Roddenberry famously stepped away from being involved with his creation for a while during the second season — and more or less left altogether for the third season, after the show was given the "death slot." His replacement, Fred Freiberger, is frequently blamed for some of the show's most embarrassing excesses in its final season — including "The Way to Eden" (above), which started out as D.C. Fontana's story about Dr. McCoy's daughter. Meanwhile, Roddenberry also stepped back from Star Trek: The Next Generation after he became ill. Later, Michael Piller co-created Deep Space Nine, but left after the first couple of seasons. And Enterprise lost original showrunners Rick Berman and Brannon Braga in its final season, to be replaced with Manny Coto, whose focus on the show's mythos made many fans happier than previous seasons had.
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2) Doctor Who
Everybody knows that Doctor Who's amazing longevity is due to its ability to replace its lead actor — but what if the show had fallen apart when David Whitaker left as original script editor? Whitaker was responsible, as much as anybody, for setting the show's tone of exploration and scientific adventure, and |
ell the unrest inside, learning that the antidote does not work. Outside, Robin's contact with one of the rioters leads to him being infected.
Detective Comics #696
Nightwing rushes Robin to the Batcave and puts him under Alfred's care. The state governor, fed up with Krol's inaction, declares martial law and sends in the National Guard. Batman re-captures Ivy and escapes Babylon Towers with her and Gordon, before the mob burns it to the ground.
The Batman Chronicles #4
Batman learns of a secret government entity that might be able to provide a cure for the plague, but Hitman kills its agent first. Huntress tries to find one of her students who lost his entire family to the plague, and finds him already dying of it. Delirious from fever, Tim Drake dreams of a life in which his mother is still alive, and his parents and girlfriend know about him being Robin.
Catwoman #32
Catwoman picks up the trail of the third and last survivor from the Greenland outbreak, finding her in Florida and taking her back to Gotham City. She is disappointed to find Babylon Towers has burned to the ground, meaning there is no one left alive to pay the bounty - and even more disappointed when Batman informs her that no cure can be synthesized from any of the survivors' blood.
Azrael #16
Seeing the plague virus through the microscope, Azrael realizes he has seen it before, meaning it was engineered and unleashed by the Order of St. Dumas. Searching through the texts Brian took from the Order, Lilhy is able to translate the formula for the antidote. Azrael rushes it to Gotham City, evading assassins sent by the Order to stop him, and delivers the formula to a hospital.
Robin #28
Nightwing returns to the Batcave and finds Tim cured. Batman reminds them that they still have to restore order in the city, even after Marion Grange replaces Armand Krol and reinstates Gordon as Police Commissioner. Despite almost dying from the plague, Robin joins Batman and Nightwing in aiding the police against a local gang, trying to hold an infected family for ransom by blocking off the medical authorities. This display of resolve pierces Catwoman's normal cynicism, and she lends a hand as well, after which Tim returns home.
Collected Editions [ edit ]
A trade paperback collecting all the issues involved in the crossover apart from The Batman Chronicles #4 was published in 1996. In 2016, the story was collected again in an edition that did include this issue, along with Robin #29 and #30 and Catwoman #33, #34 and #35.[2]The North American distribution company New Video Group is listing on its website that it will release the Digimon Adventure 02 television anime series on DVD on March 26, 2013. The second season takes place four years after the end of the first season and features a new group of heroes.
The listing notes that, similar to the first season, the entire second season will be available in an eight-disc set with the English language track only. The set will include all 50 episodes and will retail for US$79.95.
New Video Group's release will mark the first time the series is being released on DVD in North America. Twentieth Century Fox and Buena Vista Home Entertainment both previously released part of the series on VHS in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Crunchyroll is currently streaming the entire series. The series premiered on TV in Japan and in the United States in 2000.
New Video Group previously released the first season on DVD on October 9.
Saban Brands announced in September that it has acquired the Digimon anime franchise outside of Asia, and it is working with MarVista Entertainment to distribute the series outside of Asia.
Thanks to Mark Alv for the news tip.P Subramanian, trauma and orthopaedic specialist registrar 1, S Kantharuban, core surgical trainee, Oxford Deanery 2, V Subramanian, foundation year trainee, Mersey Deanery 3, S A G Willis-Owen, postdoctoral research scientist 4, C A Willis-Owen, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon 5 1North East Thames London Orthopaedic Rotation, Whipps Cross Hospital, Leytonstone, London W11 1NR, UK 2Milton Keynes Hospital, Eaglestone, Milton Keynes MK6 5LD, UK 3Southport General Hospital, Southport PR8 6PN, UK 4National Heart and Lung Institute, London SW3 6LY 5Queen Mary’s Hospital, Kent DA14 6LT, UK Correspondence to: P Subramanian drpad{at}hotmail.com Accepted 28 October 2011
Abstract Objective To compare the intelligence and grip strength of orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists. Design Multicentre prospective comparative study. Setting Three UK district general hospitals in 2011. Participants 36 male orthopaedic surgeons and 40 male anaesthetists at consultant or specialist registrar grade. Main outcome measures Intelligence test score and dominant hand grip strength. Results Orthopaedic surgeons had a statistically significantly greater mean grip strength (47.25 (SD 6.95) kg) than anaesthetists (43.83 (7.57) kg). The mean intelligence test score of orthopaedic surgeons was also statistically significantly greater at 105.19 (10.85) compared with 98.38 (14.45) for anaesthetists. Conclusions Male orthopaedic surgeons have greater intelligence and grip strength than their male anaesthetic colleagues, who should find new ways to make fun of their orthopaedic friends.
Introduction A humorous anaesthetic colleague recently repeated the following popular saying while an operating table was being repaired with a mallet: “typical orthopaedic surgeon—as strong as an ox but half as bright.” Making fun of orthopaedic surgeons is a popular pastime in operating theatres throughout the country. This pursuit has recently spread to the internet; a humorous animation entitled “orthopedia vs anesthesia” had received more than half a million hits at the time of writing.1 Several comparisons of orthopaedic surgeons to primates have been published, and the medical literature contains suggestions that orthopaedic surgery requires brute force and ignorance.2 3 4 The stereotypical image of the strong but stupid orthopaedic surgeon has not been subject to scientific scrutiny. Previous studies have shown that the average hand size of orthopaedic surgeons is larger than that of general surgeons.2 3 However, a search of the worldwide scientific literature found no studies assessing the strength or intelligence of orthopaedic surgeons. In the absence of a cohort of willing oxen as a control group, and given that the phrase is popular with anaesthetists, we designed this study to compare the mean grip strength of the dominant hand and the intelligence test score of orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists.⇓ Clive Featherstone
Methods We compared the strength and intelligence of orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists in three district general hospitals during a two week period in 2011. We included consultant and registrar grades, as these grades indicate commitment to the chosen specialty. We invited all doctors who were present in the hospital during any day of the two week period to participate. We excluded doctors on leave for the whole period and those who chose not to take part. Because of a lack of female orthopaedic surgeons in all three hospitals, we restricted the study to men. We measured intelligence by using a surrogate for the widely accepted intelligence quotient (IQ). By definition, the median IQ of the general population is 100 and the standard deviation is 15. We used the Mensa Brain Test version 1.1.0 (Barnstorm Entertainment Group) to measure intelligence. This is a standardised test that uses questions taken from official Mensa IQ tests and is endorsed by Mensa (a worldwide organisation for people with an IQ in the top 2%). The test consisted of 20 multiple choice questions with a 20 minute time limit and negative marking for incorrect answers. Participants used a hand held touch screen computer (iPhone 4) to complete the test. Five trial questions allowed participants to become familiar with the question format and test apparatus. Help was available as needed, so that difficulty understanding the test apparatus did not influence participants’ results. Participants completed the test in a distraction-free environment. The test yielded scores in a similar format to a formal IQ test, designed to have a median value of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. We measured strength by using the surrogate of grip strength of the dominant hand. We chose this on grounds of acceptance for participants, portability, and validity. We used a calibrated Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer (Sammons Preston Rolyan, Chicago, IL, USA). Participants sat in a straight backed chair with the shoulder adducted and neutrally rotated, elbows flexed at 90°, the forearm in a neutral position, and the wrist at 0° extension with 0° of ulnar deviation. We recorded the best of three attempts from the dominant hand. We collected data in an Excel spreadsheet (version 12.2.9) and analysed them with Stata/SE 10.0 for Unix. We examined strength and IQ for normality by testing for skewness and kurtosis. Variables that deviated significantly from a normal distribution were subject to a transformation before further analysis. We formally tested the association between specialty and IQ and between specialty and grip strength by using linear regression models with robust sandwich estimation of the variance (allowing for clustering by hospital). These models incorporated multiple predictors (including specialty, age, handedness, and grade). We then used Wald tests to assess the significance of individual parameters of the model. We based sample size calculations on a type I error of 0.05, a type II error of 0.2, a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. For an effect size of a 10 point difference in IQ, we needed 36 participants in each group.
Results Thirty six male orthopaedic surgeons were available to take part. Forty male and six female anaesthetists took part. Sex is a significant confounding factor of grip strength.5 The paucity of female orthopaedic surgeons meant that we could make no meaningful comparison of women, so we excluded these data from analysis, leaving 36 in the orthopaedic group and 40 in the anaesthetist group. Table 1⇓ shows the demographics and measured parameters of each group. Figure 1⇓ shows the results of measured parameters graphically in the form of a scatter plot. Table 1 Participants’ demographics, intelligence, and grip strength View this table: Fig 1 Scatter plot of grip strength against intelligence score, by specialty Intelligence did not deviate significantly from a normal distribution (P=0.1444). Strength, however, did deviate (P=0.0094), and this deviation seemed to be largely driven through skew (P=0.007) as opposed to kurtosis (P=0.062). We therefore log transformed grip strength data before regression analysis. We examined the association between specialty and IQ and between specialty and grip strength by using linear regression models with robust sandwich estimation of the variance (allowing for clustering by hospital). These models incorporated various putative predictors available at the time of analysis (specialty, age, handedness, and grade). Specialty showed a significant relation with both intelligence (F=18.95, df=1,2; P=0.0489) and log(grip strength) (F=35.02, df=1,2; P=0.0274) (table 2⇓). Specifically, orthopaedic surgeons had a higher mean intelligence score (105.19 v 98.38) (fig 2⇓) and a higher mean grip strength (47.25 v 43.83 kg) (fig 3⇓). Table 2 Statistical relation between speciality and both strength and intelligence, as tested by linear regression View this table: Fig 2 Box plot of grip strength (kg) by specialty (data shown before transformation for ease of interpretation). Upper and lower whiskers represent 1.5 times and −1.5 times interquartile range; upper and lower hinges represent 25% and 75% quartiles; middle represents median or 50% quartile Fig 3 Box plot of intelligence test score by specialty. Upper and lower whiskers represent 1.5 times and −1.5 times interquartile range; upper and lower hinges represent 25% and 75% quartiles; middle represents median or 50% quartile
Discussion This study is the first of its kind to provide evidence for the perpetual banter between orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists. We have shown a small but statistically significant difference in both grip strength and intelligence score between the two groups, with higher results for orthopaedic surgeons. The intelligence scores were lower than anticipated for IQ in the medical profession. This is likely to be a reflection of the way in which intelligence was tested, and the scores derived from the rather difficult Mensa brain test may not be directly comparable to IQ scores. We selected the abbreviated Mensa test carried out by touch screen for speed and convenience. Full formal IQ testing is more time consuming and cumbersome and would have affected doctors’ willingness to participate in this study. The difference in intelligence scores between groups was unexpected. We had predicted that the anaesthetist group might outperform the orthopaedic group, as intellectually challenging activities such as crosswords and Sudoku are popular among anaesthetists. Neither activity has been found to be linked to IQ, however, and the IQ test probably assesses more complex facets of intelligence than those exercised by popular puzzles.6 Human muscle strength can be measured in many ways, and the appropriateness of testing particular muscles is debatable. Dominant hand grip strength is just one facet of overall human strength, but it is well validated, reproducible, easy, and convenient to measure.7 Orthopaedic surgery can be a physical occupation requiring a strong grip on hand operated instruments, so high grip strength is perhaps not surprising. However, many facets of anaesthesia also require a strong grip, such as manipulating a laryngoscope or maintaining a seal with a facemask. If we had assessed other medical specialties, the difference may have been more pronounced. Limitations This work has several limitations. The male preponderance in orthopaedic surgery meant that we were unable to recruit any female orthopaedic surgeons in the three hospitals included in this study, so our findings apply only to men. In the most recent manpower censuses, 94.8% of orthopaedic consultants in the United Kingdom were male compared with 71.2% of anaesthetists, so our sample is relevant to most of the population.8 9 We chose the measures for both strength and intelligence testing as a compromise between validity, cost, and convenience. A full formal IQ test lasting up to two hours per assessment and whole body isokinetic strength testing machines were outside the scope of this study. The three district general hospitals chosen for the study may not be representative of the whole population, and repetition including more centres with a mix of teaching, district general, and private hospitals would be desirable. Our selection criteria could have introduced bias, as doctors who were on leave for the whole two week period were not sampled and nor were those who declined to participate. People who had insight into their weaknesses may have been under-represented, thereby increasing the mean score in that group. Interestingly, no orthopaedic surgeons and two anaesthetists declined to participate. Conclusion The stereotypical image of male orthopaedic surgeons as strong but stupid is unjustified in comparison with their male anaesthetist counterparts. The comedic repertoire of the average anaesthetist needs to be revised in the light of these data. However, we would recommend caution in making fun of orthopaedic surgeons, as unwary anaesthetists may find themselves on the receiving end of a sharp and quick witted retort from their intellectually sharper friends or may be greeted with a crushing handshake at their next encounter. What is already known on this topic A stereotypical impression of orthopaedic surgeons exists, in which they are perceived to have a lower intelligence and greater strength than average for the medical profession
This is often the subject of light hearted humour, particularly in jokes with anaesthetists What this study adds Male orthopaedic surgeons had a higher mean intelligence and grip strength compared with male anaesthetists
Revision of the typical comedic repertoire regarding orthopaedic surgeons is recommended
Notes Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d7506
Footnotes Contributors: PS participated in data collection and interpretation and wrote the paper. SK and VS participated in data collection and interpretation and helped to write the paper. SAGW-O helped with data analysis and interpretation and helped to write the paper. CAW-O participated in data interpretation and helped to write the paper. CAW-O and PS developed the idea for the study and are the guarantors.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: All authors have completed the Unified Competing Interest form at http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf (available on request from the corresponding author) and declare: no support from any organisation for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. CAW-O works as an independent consultant for Corin Group, a manufacturer of orthopaedic implants.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.Machine Robo is back! Check out a gallery of images from the C3 Honk Kong Anime and Manga Fair!
The images of Action Toys’ display (via Loopaza Mega Store on Facebook) show off several of the upcoming Machine Robo figures. These characters, of course, will be more familiar to American fans under their imported name… the GoBots! Of course, with Hasbro now owning the rights to Tonka’s GoBots trademarks, these updated figures likely won’t be released under those names, but when has that ever stopped fans from renaming the figures themselves? What really matters here is that these are highly-detailed, articulated updates of the classic Machine Robo figures, and will look perfect alongside your Classics/Generations Transformers toys.
Excited for new GoBots? You can join our discussion on these figures HERE in the Allspark Forums! Don’t have an Allspark account? Click HERE to make one!
Like this: Like Loading...US investors are among a wide range of foreigners who have snapped up New Zealand dairy properties in recent years.
United States investors bought the most New Zealand dairy land in 2013 and 2014, with Chinese buyers lagging well behind.
US investors bought 15,404 ha in five separate transactions, spending $78.9 million.
But for the two years, the Overseas Investment Office gave approval for only one Chinese purchase, by Synlait Farms (now called Purata) which bought 11 freehold farms totalling 3305 hectares.
The total amount bought by buyers of all nationalities over the two years was 28,312 ha, at a cost of $297m.
However, for a number of the transactions, the amount spent was confidential.
Consulting company KPMG prepared the analysis. Partner Justin Ensor admitted the two year snapshot did not provide a complete picture, although it showed there was a good spread of countries in the market.
There were buyers from 12 countries, and one category described as "various overseas" which did not identify any country.
"There is a widespread perception that it's a thin market – comprised of Chinese and Hong Kong investors - who are buying New Zealand dairy land. In reality, though, the market has a broad base of investors," Ensor said.
By land area, the biggest investors after the US and China were Sweden, New Zealand (local companies with foreign partners), the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland and Italy.
Americans were the biggest spenders on dairy land at $78.9 million for the two years, followed by Chinese who spent $63m.
Next were New Zealand buyers ($32.7m) and UK ($32.1m).
Ensor said the motivation behind doing the analysis was because a European investor had informed KPMG that he felt if he bought dairy land "the only exit was to Chinese or Hong Kong investors".
The number of different nationalities involved in buying showed this was not the case, Ensor said.Why Indie Horror Films Are Doing Better Than Ever
READ MORE: Is ‘It Follows’ Paving the Way to a New Era for Indie Genre Films?
A pair of influential figures in the genre film community were wandering the streets of Montreal one night, unpacking a day of outlandish movies that didn’t exist yet.
“I really liked the body-swapping project,” said one. “Wait,” said the other, “Weren’t there two of those?” Then they shifted gears to talk about “elegant cyberpunk” and other pressing matters.
So went the chatter last weekend at the Fantasia International Film Festival, which hosted the third edition of The Frontiers International Co-Production Market, the festival’s globe-spanning market for genre films. Though the festival, currently wrapping its 19th edition, runs long — three weeks, from July 14 – August 5 — Frontiers stuffs a whole lot of frenzied activity into one dense weekend.
Distributors and sales agents flock to Quebec from around the world for early looks at works in progress, featuring ghoulish concepts aimed squarely at the people who like that sort of thing. It’s a refreshing juxtaposition to the wheeling and dealing of cookie-cutter drek that dominates most marketplaces.
Why It Works
Unlike Cannes, where posters for tons of junky knock-off projects line the marketplace and obscure the vague sense of quality lurking within, the projects that come to Fantasia speak to a precise sensibility — the desire to support outré cinema of all stripes.
Genre fans tend to stick together — and so do their festivals. From mainstays like Fantasia, Sitges in Spain and Austin’s Fantastic Fest to relative newcomers like the Stanley Film Festival in Estes Park, Colorado, celebrations of creepy and sometimes depraved cinema attract a tight-knit band of filmmakers, programmers, distributors and others who have managed to translate their passion into a career. Fantasia’s Frontiers marketplace gives them an organized framework for doing that.
“Every genre festival wants a market,” said Peter Van Steenberg, an agent at ICM Partners who attended this year. “It’s a niche community. So the vibe is kind of like, ‘Hey, my buddy made a movie, and I want to help him sell it.'”
Already, those efforts have started to pay off. Last year, the triumph of the marketplace was a “post-apocalytpic BMX action splatter comedy” called “Turbo Kid,” which later premiered at Sundance’s midnight section and opens theatrically later this summer. At Frontiers, the three directors of “Turbo Kid” received a hero’s welcome, workshopping their experience in the weekend’s only panel discussion — but they were also there to pitch a new project.
In a year when the psychological horror-thriller “It Follows” garnered well over $14 million at the box office and the supernatural thriller “The Witch” won Best Director at Sundance, it would appear that high quality genre filmmaking is healthier than ever before. Still, the Frontiers crowd was a select bunch: The festival invited 20 projects, for which representatives prepared eight minute pitch sessions that ran all day long.
Already, it seemed as though another lively, outrageous project had inherited the “Turbo Kid” legacy: “El Gigante,” the feature-length debut of Mexican-Canadian filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero, signed with major Canadian sales company Raven Banner at the start of Frontiers — the first time such a deal materialized during the market. It’s easy to see what Raven Banner found appealing about the project, which purports to be the world’s first “luchagore” film: It’s the grisly tale of a Mexican wrestler with a thirst for blood.
Whether or not “El Gigante” could stand out at markets designed for broader interests, the precise expectations at Fantasia certainly didn’t hurt. “It’s a smaller market, so people get to know each other,” said Lindsay Peters, Frontiers’ Market and Industry Director. “But they also take it seriously. It fits with the Fantasia mentality. We’re making it more about the community and less about the competition. I mean, people want to see these projects get made.”
Guerrero’s film, which was based off a crowd-pleasing and utterly gory short film playing at this year’s festival, already has built-in appeal — who wouldn’t crack a smile at the luchagore concept? — which helped it close a deal fast. “Even with its low budget, it has a visceral quality to it,” said Raven Banner’s James Fler, in a conversation at one of Frontiers’ daily happy hour gatherings after closing the deal. “We know the marketplaces from Cannes on down. We know the buyers and we know that this will be well-received.”
Just as Hollywood has turned to international box office figures to quantify its successes, so too have smaller titles sought global appeal. The films pitching to sales agents and distributors at Frontiers speak to that underlying goal, perhaps none more so than “El Gigante.” “Every territory has its own market,” said Fler. “I don’t know how to get butts in seats in Japan. But if I have enough hooks to make the Japanese buyers interested, then we can let them do their job. At the end of the day, genre product still is the best-selling product. What’s funny here might not be funny in Asia — but scary is scary.”
Previewing the Next Hits
The next morning, the Frontiers crowd fought through hangovers from their antics at the Irish Embassy Pub & Grill, where diehards gather late each night. By 10:30 a.m., a crowd had assembled in a modestly-sized screening room to preview four works in progress at various stages of production. The range of options was notably comprised only of American projects, an unseemly contrast to the international selection of Fantasia’s programming, but it nevertheless illustrated the scope of possibilities being produced for today’s robust genre audience.
The project that had most buyers intrigued went first: “78/52,” a measured breakdown of the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” explored through the perspectives of various filmmakers and experts from seemingly every angle possible. With subjects including Peter Bogdonavich, master editor Walter Murch and Elijah Wood’s Spectrevision production team, “78/52” (whose title refers to the 52 cuts and 78 set ups from the scene in question) was positioned by the film’s producer as the “first-ever feature on a single scene.”
The director, Alexandre O. Phillipe, has a track record with genre-focused non-fiction work (he previously made the aptly-titled “Doc of the Dead”), and this time seemed to be banking on the recent popularity of “Room 237” and “Jodoworsky’s Dune” to deliver another complex look at cinema designed for people passionate about it. The material displayed in the presentation showed just how broad a perspective the filmmaker took, from analyzing the use of sound in the shower scene by stabbing 27 varieties of melons to animating Saul Bass’ original storyboards.
While “78/52” illustrated the appeal of genre movie obsession, the other projects showed it in practice. “Bad Blood” showcased an elegantly-shot story about a patently absurd concept: “It started out as a werewolf movie, but it turned into a were-frog movie,” the film’s director explained, then went on to share footage of exactly that. Shot with bright colors and a noir-like atmosphere, the fragments of movie on display came across as an impressive attempt to make outrageous concepts into a palatable, even shocking allegory for substance abuse.
Citing “Frankenhooker” and Stuart Gordon’s “Re-animator” as influences, the director stated his preference for “the kind of movies that reach beyond the low expectations they invite. Show it to your mom and she won’t get it. But you might leave the theater with a greater impression of what you saw.”
Distributors were looking to capitalize on that elusive appeal. “On paper, a lot of this stuff sounds nuts,” said Oscilloscope Laboratories’ Aaron Katz. “But then you see what people have to offer and a lot of it actually looks great.”
Finding Audiences
The mentality that Fantasia represents for the international genre film community is embodied by the festival’s programming director Mitch Davis, an affable, broad-shouldered cinephile with flowing black hair that runs past his shoulders. By the time he sat down with Indiewire at a Frontiers happy hour, his reputation preceded him through his hollering intros to enthusiastic crowds before the festival’s biggest screenings. (One audience member described Davis’ presentations as “part rock concert, part performance art.”) Known for sleeping well past noon during each day of the three-week festival, only to spend the next several hours cavorting with the festival scene, Davis had a surprisingly gentle manner as he recounted Fantasia’s history.
Launched in 1996 by Pierre Corbeil, Fantasia was initially designed as a one-time showcase for 35 movies from the so-called Asian New Wave. But the turnout at the Imperial Theater was so impressive that it quickly became something more. “It was crazy huge to a degree that astonished everyone,” Davis said.
For Davis, who had been writing for fanzines and developing some projects of his own, it opened the door to an underrepresented sensibility. “As a guy who grew up loving so many unconventional films that weren’t released in this part of the world, I would always have these VHS bootlegs, but couldn’t get my friends to sit down and watch them,” he said. “But here we saw hundreds of young people lining up to see films shot in a language they didn’t speak, from a culture they didn’t immediately identify with. It flew in the face of what so many distributors think about what young moviegoers like. It was life-affirming.”
These days, thanks to ample support from video game giant Ubisoft as well as the Canadian government, Fantasia looms large in the genre film space. For Davis, it provides not only a meeting ground for tastemakers in the genre world but the opportunity to expand its reach. “There’s real curiosity and interest,” he said. “The challenge is making people aware of these films.”
Thus, Davis throws his weight into his introductions, ensuring each screening is a night to remember. “To see the films with no industry connections come to life in front of an audience — you’re watching a filmmaker’s life change in real time,” he said.
That seemed to be the case on Saturday, when the short film “El Gigante” premiered in front of several hundred people on Saturday night. Though it was booked ahead of the feature-length Finnish B-movie “Bunny the Killer Thing,” there was no doubt about the real star attraction as “El Gigante” director Guerrero took the stage and her producers celebrated their robust plans for a feature. The short didn’t disappoint: Based on the novel “Muerte con Carne” (“Death With Meat”), the unsettling spectacle found a terrified Mexican man essentially selling himself off to be murdered by the titular luchador for a hungry, demented family.
Equal parts “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “We Are What We Are,” the story centered around a horrific showdown that didn’t hold back, followed by a grotesque culinary punchline. There was just enough there to pick up on potent themes involving crime, stereotyping and poverty south of the border without negating the underlying thrills. At the end, the crowd erupted in a thunderous applause as Davis returned to the front of the room.
“How fucking amazing is it that in a short time, the world will get an ‘El Gigante’ fucking feature film?” he roared, and the room erupted in boisterous approval. It was clear at that moment that “El Gigante” would have no problem finding an audience, because it already had one.
READ MORE: Here’s How the Stanley Film Festival Immerses Audiences in Horror
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.You may know all about self-driving cars and even welcome their arrival, but what if you could actually make one on your own?
Thanks to famed hacker Geohot (née George Hotz) and his startup Comma.ai, you're already more than halfway there.
In a move sure to inspire tinkerers everywhere, the crew at Comma.ai has released their self-driving software for free on Github. Called openpilot, the code allows anyone with the know-how to use it to create a semi-autonomous vehicle.
Openpilot's abilities are about on par with Tesla's Autopilot when it launched, the company says, though also adds that it's better than what other car makers are putting on the market.
There are some limitations, however. At the moment, openpilot only performs the Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist System functions found in two cars: the Acura ILX 2016 with AcuraWatch Plus and Honda Civic 2016 Touring Edition.
Cell phone smarts
You'll also need a bit of hardware called the Comma neo to get your openpilot-powered self-driving car up and running. Of course, you'll have to build this yourself.
Comma.ai did release instructions on how to build the Comma NEOS, which utilizes a OnePlus 3 smartphone and runs a stripped down version of Android called NEOS.
Build your own Comma neo
The company is quick to stress safety, noting drivers must always be able to take over control of a vehicle and that proper laws and regulations must be followed at all times.
The last bit is interesting considering open sourcing the code actually skirts regulators, who previously gave Geohot trouble when he came close to releasing a self-driving car product just a short time ago.
The openpilot code and Comma neo guide aren't products for sale, however, and making them available to anyone could lead to faster acceleration of self-driving car technology.
That, or the creation of a radical fleet of autonomous Honda Civics.
We kid, of course.HELENA, Mont. (Oct. 1, 2015) – Today, a law that will heavily diminish the impact of federal programs militarizing local police in Montana went into effect.
Introduced by Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer (R-Superior), House Bill 330 (HB330) bans state or local law enforcement from receiving significant classes of military equipment from the Pentagon’s “1033 Program.” It passed by a 46-1 vote in the state Senate and by a 79-20 vote in the state House. Gov. Steve Bullock signed the bill into law in April.
Schwaderer told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle he was a surprised Bullock signed the bill. He said he feared the governor would cave in to law enforcement lobbyists who opposed the legislation and veto the bill.
“I’m incredibly pleased. In the latter part of the session you see so much partisanship so it’s heartening to see that both Democrats and Republicans could get behind it. It’s no lightweight bill. It substantially changes policy in a way that strengthens the civil liberties of Montanans.”
The new law prohibits state or local law enforcement agencies from receiving armored drones, weaponized, or both; aircraft that are combat configured or combat coded; grenades or similar explosives and grenade launchers; silencers; and “militarized armored vehicles” from federal military surplus programs.
But, as The Guardian reported last fall, handouts of such equipment from the Pentagon aren’t the only way the federal government militarizes local police. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants used to purchase such equipment amount to three times the value of the equipment given away by the Pentagon.
HB330 closes this loophole by banning law enforcement agencies from purchasing such military equipment with federal grants. They could continue to purchase them, but would have to use state or local funds, and the agencies would have to give public notice within 14 days of a request for any such local purchase.
“This foundation sets a massive precedent in Montana and the country as to what kind of society we want to have,” Schwaderer said of his bill. “If you get to the point where you need a grenade launcher, we’ve got the National Guard.”
Last March, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill into law that, while not as comprehensive as the Montana bill, prohibits receipt of equipment from the 1033 program without an express authorization from the local governing body. This made his state the first to take a step towards stopping the federal militarization of police.
“By making it a local decision, the New Jersey law is a great first step, but the Montana law takes things to the next level,” Tenth Amendment Center national communications director Mike Maharrey said. “It closes loopholes and covers almost all the bases. The next step would be to expand the equipment banned, and we’re hopeful that good people in Montana will work on that next session.”
FEDERAL SURPLUS AND GRANT MONEY
Through the federal 1033 Program, local police departments procure military grade weapons, including automatic assault rifles, body armor and mine resistant armored vehicles – essentially unarmed tanks. Police departments can even get their hands on military helicopters and other aircraft.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) runs the “Homeland Security Grant Program,” which in 2013 gave more than $900 million in counterterrorism funds to state and local police. According to a 2012 Senate report, this money has been used to purchase tactical vehicles, drones, and even tanks with little obvious benefit to public safety. And, according to ProPublica, “In 1994, the Justice Department and the Pentagon funded a five-year program to adapt military security and surveillance technology for local police departments that they would otherwise not be able to afford.”
Local agencies almost never have the funds needed to purchase this kind of equipment, and federal money is the only way they can afford it. By banning purchases with federal funding, HB330 would effectively nullify the effect of such federal “grant” programs.
COMMAND AND CONTROL
“Arming ‘peace officers’ like they’re ready to occupy an enemy city is totally contrary to the society envisioned by the Founders,” said Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center. “They’ve turned ‘protect and serve’ into ‘command and control.’”
In the 1980s, the federal government began arming, funding and training local |
Federal and state environmental agencies have approved a $12 million Great Lakes Legacy Act cleanup of contaminated sediment at Muskegon Lake’s Division Street Outfall area starting in May.
The initial focus of the Muskegon Lake project involves the dredging and safe disposal of 41,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the bottom of the lake between Heritage Landing and Hartshorn Marina.
Much of this sediment contains elevated levels of mercury and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.
The project also includes placement of a 6- to 12-inch sand cover over 120,000 cubic yards of sediment with lower levels of contamination. Workers will also restore shoreline habitat, providing improved ecological conditions for fish and other aquatic life.
The federal government will contribute 65 percent of the cost, $7.8 million, through Great Lakes Legacy Act funding. Michigan will provide 35 percent, $4.2 million, through the Clean Michigan Initiative bond fund.
Muskegon Lake is among 30 Areas of Concern identified by the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes. In 2005 - 2006, a $10 million cleanup of contaminated sediment was completed at nearby Ruddiman Creek, which flows into Muskegon Lake. As the 30 AOC sites are cleaned up, they become eligible for “de-listing.”A 911 call about a student having a gun inside a Gresham-area school Thursday was a hoax, an official said.
Someone placed the call from an unidentifiable number and stated they had seen a student with a gun inside Sam Barlow High School, said Lt. Chad Gaidos, a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokesman. The caller provided a suspect description, Gaidos said, and deputies, Gresham police and school district employees searched for a student matching that description.
Deputies located, detained and interviewed the student, Gaidos said. They don't think there's a connection between the student and 911 call.
Deputies interviewed two other students in addition to the person of interest, Gaidos
Gaidos said there's no immediate threat to the school, which has been taken off a lockdown put in place Thursday morning. Deputies don't know who placed the 911 call, he said.
"This is not a joking matter. We don't train for these as if they are," Gaidos said, noting that deputies are going to respond to such reports as if they're real every time.
About 1,700 students in ninth through 12th grades attend the school, Gresham-Barlow School District spokeswoman Athena Vadnais said.
"Deputies will forward information to detectives for a follow up investigation," Gaidos said in a news release.
-- The Oregonian/OregonLiveImage copyright Getty Images
One in five Australians has suffered image-based abuse, according to the nation's most comprehensive study on "revenge porn".
The national survey of more than 4,200 people found that men and women were equally likely to be targeted.
A fifth had had nude or sexual images taken without their permission, while 11% said images of them had been distributed without consent.
The results showed abuse was even more rife than thought, researchers said.
Men were more likely to be perpetrators, while women held greater fears for their own safety, according to the study by RMIT University and Monash University.
Rapid change
The risk of victimisation was higher for minority groups including indigenous, disabled and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Australians.
The researchers recommended making image-based abuse a federal crime and creating a helpline similar to one established in the UK in 2015.
"Image-based abuse has emerged so rapidly as an issue that inevitably our laws and policies are struggling to catch up," said lead researcher Dr Nicola Henry.
"This is not just about'revenge porn' - images are being used to control, abuse and humiliate people in ways that go well beyond the'relationship gone sour' scenario."
Only two states - Victoria and South Australia - have specific laws against distributing images without consent.
Origins of the term "revenge porn"
Image copyright Urban Dictionary
Originally used in the early 1990s to refer to a sub-genre of movies featuring a revenge plot and gratuitous levels of violence, a close relation to "torture porn"
The current meaning was first defined by a user of urbandictionary.com in 2007. JonasOooohyeah defined it as: "Homemade porn uploaded by ex girlfriend or (usually) ex boyfriend after particularly vicious breakup as a means of humiliating the ex or just for own amusement"
By late 2008, the term was in use as the name of at least one website on an adult blog hosting service and in November of the same year, Details magazine published an article on revenge porn
It wasn't until three years later the media began to pay revenge porn serious attention, when, in December 2011, Facebook moved to prevent one website from providing links to the profiles of Facebook users alongside explicit photographs of them posted without their consent
Research by Jonathan Dent, an assistant editor for the Oxford English DictionaryYou must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters
— For all of his wins and championships, the Olympic gold medal, tactical innovations, social impact and fertile coaching tree, Dean Smith’s unselfishness defined his career to an enormous, but often overlooked, extent.
That aspect of his character first surfaced in 1972, when the University of North Carolina basketball coach left Tar Heel fans bewildered by announcing that he wanted junior star forward Robert McAdoo to turn pro rather than return for the 1972-73 season.
The 1971-72 Tar Heels had finished 26-5 but were upset by Florida State (not an ACC member at the time) in the NCAA Final Four semifinals.
Had McAdoo returned, Smith’s team would have been much better positioned to deal with David Thompson’s stunning impact on NC State, the ACC and the nation.
“What’s best for the players’ future has to come first,” Smith said of the way he dealt with McAdoo, who became the second overall pick the in ’72 NBA draft.
But if Smith was selfless in his handling of McAdoo, it was nothing compared to Smith’s shocking retirement on Oct. 9, 1997.
That startling decision equated to the ultimate professional sacrifice. Smith wanted longtime assistant Bill Guthridge (age 60 at the time) to be a head coach and enjoy the competitive and financial rewards of the job.
It was an admirable, honorable action for Smith to take and Guthridge went on to win 80 games in three seasons. But obviously, the better head coach -- one of four or so best head coaches of all time in his sport -- and the decision to retire was seriously flawed by emotion.
At age 66 and in sound health, Smith easily could have coached another five or more seasons and done so with the same recruiting success that allowed him to turn over a team with Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ed Cota and Shammond Williams to Guthridge.
That team reached the Final Four and almost reached the title game even though Jamison and Williams missed 22 field-goal attempts in a 65-59 semifinal loss to Utah.
Suggestion to Return Dismissed
When Guthridge retired after leading his third team to another Final Four, I interviewed Smith about the amazingly long and successful partnership the two coaches -- Smith a Kansas grad and Guthridge from Kansas State -- had enjoyed.
“Bill was a great coach, but he never got enough credit during most of those years. It’s not fair, but that’s just the way it is for assistant coaches,” Smith said.
“The people who knew him best weren’t surprised he went to two Final Fours in three seasons.”
Later during that conversation, I suggested to Smith that he still had a lot of quality coaching mileage left and that maybe he should consider returning for an encore. After waiting an uncharacteristically long time to respond, he smiled and thanked me.
“No, I couldn’t even consider that,” Smith said. “My time is in the past now and we have to move forward.”
But it really wasn’t and we both knew it.
When it was announced last week that Smith would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom award, I could not help but think back to that interview in 2000 while also thinking about what might have been.
Had Smith made the logical move and coached on until his 70th birthday -- the route likely to be taken by Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (66) and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (68) -- he would have finished with at least 1,000 wins and possibly two more national titles.
And had Smith gone until age 71 or 72, as did Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp, Carolina would have won another 50-60 games and the transition to Roy Williams might have happened seamlessly.
Smith is now 82 and with some health issues. He will certainly be remembered for what he did as opposed to what else he might have done. That said, it’s worth remembering that he told Williams just a few years ago that perhaps 66 was too early to retire, given his near flawless health at the time.
In retrospect, Smith’s premature exit was a mistake on all fronts. Guthridge was completely content in the role of a lifetime assistant and the Smith/Guthridge combo would have been weakened had Guthridge retired early.
But there’s also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. As a coach, he was stubbornly competitive.
When he reached the decision to step down during that summer of 1997, no one could have changed his mind, even if given the opportunity to do so.One of Donald Trump’s former girlfriends says her comments were distorted in a New York Times piece alleging that the presumptive Republican nominee has a history of making “unwelcome advances” to women.
“I did not have a negative experience with Donald Trump,” Rowanne Brewer Lane told “Fox & Friends” on Monday, two days after the piece — titled “Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private” — was published. “And I don’t appreciate them making it look like that.”
For its 5,000-word front-page story, the Times said, it interviewed dozens of women who had worked with or for Trump “in the worlds of real estate, modeling and pageants,” including “women who had dated him or interacted with him socially” and people “who had closely observed his conduct since his adolescence.”
Brewer Lane was quoted at the beginning of the article, which described her meeting him at a party at his Palm Beach, Fla., estate:
Donald was having a pool party at Mar-a-Lago. There were about 50 models and 30 men. There were girls in the pools, splashing around. For some reason Donald seemed a little smitten with me. He just started talking to me and nobody else. He suddenly took me by the hand, and he started to show me around the mansion. He asked me if I had a swimsuit with me. I said no. I hadn’t intended to swim. He took me into a room and opened drawers and asked me to put on a swimsuit.
“I went into the bathroom and tried one on,” Brewer Lane continued. “I came out, and he said, ‘Wow.’”
Trump, “then 44 and in the midst of his first divorce, decided to show her off to the crowd at Mar-a-Lago,” according to the Times.
“He brought me out to the pool and said, ‘That is a stunning Trump girl, isn’t it?’” Brewer Lane recounted to the Times.
Donald Trump poses for a photo with Miss USA competitors during a rehearsal in Las Vegas, June 15, 2013. (Photo: Miss Universe Organization/AP)
But Brewer Lane said that she was flattered by the gesture.
“It wasn’t creepy, it was actually polite,” Brewer Lane told Yahoo News on Monday. “I thought he was being, you know, considerate.”
“I’m actually surprised how big a deal is being made out of it,” she added. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
In an interview with “Fox & Friends” earlier Monday, Brewer Lane said that she “never felt demeaned in any way.”
“He was very gracious,” she said. “I saw him around all types of people, all types of women. He was very kind, thoughtful, generous. He was a gentleman.”
According to Brewer Lane, the Times assured her “that it would not be a hit piece and that my story would come across in the way I was telling it and accurately. It absolutely was not.”
“I made it clear many times that I had a very pleasant relationship with Donald,” she told CNN in yet another interview. “I never felt like I was being depicted as a piece of meat.”
Brewer Lane, who told CNN she has not spoken to Trump since 1991, said also said she wasn’t compelled to come forward by Trump or the campaign.
“I wanted to set the record straight,” she told Yahoo News. “Neither one of us did anything wrong. We didn’t do the improper reporting.”
On Sunday, Trump slammed the story as a “lame hit piece.” Following Brewer Lane’s Monday “Fox & Friends” appearance, Trump offered her story as proof that the Times “lied.”
Wow, Rowanne Brewer, the most prominently depicted woman in the failing @nytimes story yesterday, was on @foxandfriends saying Times lied — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2016
“Wow, Rowanne Brewer, the most prominently depicted woman in the failing @nytimes story yesterday, was on @foxandfriends saying Times lied,” he tweeted.
Continue readingImage caption Mario Monti said he would give up his own salary
Italy's new government has adopted a package of emergency austerity measures aimed at fending off bankruptcy and saving the euro from collapse.
Taxes on the assets of the wealthy will go up, as will pension ages. There will be a major drive to tackle tax evasion.
Prime Minister Mario Monti said the measures were necessary to "save Italy", and announced he would give up his own salary as part of the effort.
The plans must still be approved by the Italian parliament.
Mr Monti will outline the measures in full to lawmakers on Monday, but a few elements have already been announced.
Pension ages will rise to 62 for women and 66 for men, and most payments will be unlinked from inflation. The pension age for women will rise to 66 from 2018.
The minister in charge of pension reform broke down and cried as she tried to spell out the detail of the changes, says the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome.
In all, the austerity package is estimated to represent 20bn euros (£17bn; $26.8bn) of savings from now until 2014.
The measures were agreed at a cabinet meeting held 24 hours ahead of schedule because of the growing pressure on Italy's finances.
Decisive phase
Italy has recently been compelled to pay the kind of very high rates of interest that eventually forced Greece to call for an international bailout.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela is due to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris to outline joint proposals on closer ties between eurozone economies which they announced last week.
Eurozone leaders have warned the bloc is entering a decisive phase in its bid to resolve the debt crisis. They are due to meet on Thursday and Friday in Brussels to try to agree a broader rescue plan.
Mr Monti, a former EU commissioner, said there would be no room for error at the summit and that financial markets would punish inaction.
"The choice is between adopting tough austerity measures and starting the euro rescue, or Italy not being able to stand on its feet, and we risk the collapse of the euro," said Emma Marcegaglia, head of Italian employers' lobby Confindustria.A worker inspects solar panels at a solar farm in Dunhuang Thomson Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States confirmed steep import duties on solar products from China and Taiwan on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Department of Commerce.
Anti-dumping duties for Chinese goods were set as high was 165.04 percent as the U.S. arm of German solar manufacturer SolarWorld AG seeks to close a loophole which allowed Chinese producers to sidestep duties imposed in 2012.
Taiwanese producers face anti-dumping duties as high as 27.55 percent, according to the final Commerce decision. Producers in China also face separate anti-subsidy duties.
The duties, which will affect companies including China's Trina Solar Ltd and Suntech Power and Taiwan's Motech Industries Inc <6244.TWO>, must still be confirmed by the U.S. International Trade Commission.
The ITC will make its final decision by Jan. 29.
(Reporting by Krista Hughes)Family of long-range, wide-body jet airliners made primarily of composite materials
"A350" redirects here. For other uses, see A350 (disambiguation)
The Airbus A350 XWB is a family of long-range, twin-engine wide-body jet airliners developed by European aerospace manufacturer Airbus. The A350 is the first Airbus aircraft with both fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fibre reinforced polymer.[8] Its variants seat 280 to 366 passengers in typical three-class seating layouts.[9] The A350 is positioned to succeed the A340 and to compete with the Boeing 787 and 777.
The A350 was originally conceived in 2004 as a pairing of the A330's fuselage with new aerodynamics features and engines. In 2006, Airbus redesigned the aircraft in response to negative feedback from several major prospective customers, producing the "A350 XWB" (eXtra Wide Body). Development costs are estimated at €11 billion (US$15 billion or £9.5 billion). As of January 2019, Airbus had received 894 orders for A350s from 47 customers worldwide.[5] The prototype A350 first flew on 14 June 2013 from Toulouse, France. Type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency was received in September 2014 and certification from the Federal Aviation Administration two months later. On 15 January 2015, the A350-900 entered service with its launch operator Qatar Airways, and the A350-1000 on 24 February 2018 with the same airline.
Development [ edit ]
Early designs [ edit ]
Airbus initially rejected Boeing's claim that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner would be a serious threat to the Airbus A330, stating that the 787 was just a reaction to the A330 and that no response was needed. When airlines urged Airbus to provide a competitor, Airbus initially proposed the "A330-200Lite", a derivative of the A330 featuring improved aerodynamics and engines similar to those on the 787.[10] The company planned to announce this version at the 2004 Farnborough Airshow, but did not proceed.[10]
The initial A350 concept, based on the A330
On 16 September 2004, Airbus president and chief executive officer Noël Forgeard confirmed the consideration of a new project during a private meeting with prospective customers.[10] Forgeard did not give a project name, and he did not state whether it would be an entirely new design or a modification of an existing product. Airline dissatisfaction with this proposal motivated Airbus to commit €4 billion to a new airliner design.[10]
The original version of the A350 superficially resembled the A330 due to its common fuselage cross-section and assembly. A new wing, engines, and a horizontal stabiliser–to be coupled with new composite materials and production methods applied to the fuselage–would make the A350 an almost all-new aircraft.[10] On 10 December 2004, the boards of EADS and BAE Systems, then the shareholders of Airbus, gave Airbus an "authorisation to offer" (ATO) and formally named it the A350.[10][11][12]
On 13 June 2005 at the Paris Air Show, Middle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways announced that they had placed an order for 60 A350s. In September 2006 the airline signed a memorandum of understanding with General Electric to launch the GEnx-1A-72 engine for the aircraft.[13][14][15] Emirates sought a more improved design and decided against ordering the initial version of the A350.[16][17]
On 6 October 2005, the programme's industrial launch was announced with an estimated development cost of around €3.5 billion.[10] The A350 was initially planned to be a 250- to 300-seat twin-engine wide-body aircraft derived from the existing A330's design. Under this plan, the A350 would have modified wings and new engines while sharing the A330's fuselage cross-section. As a result of a controversial design, the fuselage was to consist primarily of aluminium-lithium rather than the carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) fuselage on the Boeing 787. The A350 would see entry in two versions: the A350-800 with a 8,800 nmi (16,300 km) range with a typical passenger capacity of 253 in a three-class configuration, and the A350-900 with 7,500 nmi (13,900 km) range and a 300-seat 3-class configuration. The A350 was designed to be a direct competitor to the Boeing 787-9 and 777-200ER.[10]
The A350 was publicly criticised by two of Airbus's largest customers, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). On 28 March 2006, ILFC President Steven F. Udvar-Házy urged Airbus to pursue a clean-sheet design or risk losing market share to Boeing and branded Airbus's strategy as "a Band-aid reaction to the 787", a sentiment echoed by GECAS president Henry Hubschman.[18][19] In April 2006, while reviewing bids for the Boeing 787 and A350, CEO of Singapore Airlines (SIA) Chew Choon Seng, commented that "having gone through the trouble of designing a new wing, tail, cockpit... [Airbus] should have gone the whole hog and designed a new fuselage."[20]
Airbus responded that they were considering A350 improvements to satisfy customer demands. Airbus's then-CEO Gustav Humbert stated, "Our strategy isn't driven by the needs of the next one or two campaigns, but rather by a long-term view of the market and our ability to deliver on our promises."[21][22] As major airlines such as Qantas and Singapore Airlines selected the 787 over the A350, Humbert tasked an engineering team to produce new alternative designs.[23][24] One such proposal, known internally as "1d", formed the basis of the A350 redesign.[24]
Redesign and launch [ edit ]
On 14 July 2006, during the Farnborough Airshow, the redesigned aircraft was designated "A350 XWB" (Xtra-Wide-Body).[25] Within four days, Singapore Airlines agreed to order 20 A350XWBs with options for another 20 A350XWBs.[26]
The proposed A350 was a new design, including a wider fuselage cross-section, allowing seating arrangements ranging from an eight-abreast low-density premium economy layout to a ten-abreast high-density seating configuration for a maximum seating capacity of 440–475 depending on variant.[27][28] The A330 and previous iterations of the A350 would only be able to accommodate a maximum of eight seats per row. The 787 is typically configured for nine seats per row.[29] The 777 accommodates nine or ten seats per row, with more than half of recent 777s being ten-abreast as the 777X will be.[30] The A350 cabin is 12.7 cm (5.0 in) wider at the eye level of a seated passenger than the 787's cabin,[31] and 28 cm (11 in) narrower than the Boeing 777's cabin. (See Wide-body aircraft for a comparison of cabin widths and seating.) All A350 passenger models have a range of at least 8,000 nmi (14,816 km). The redesigned composite fuselage provides higher cabin pressure and humidity, and lower maintenance costs.
On 1 December 2006, the Airbus board of directors approved the industrial launch of the A350-800, -900, and -1000 variants.[32] The delayed launch decision was a result of delays of the Airbus A380[33] and discussions on how to fund development. EADS CEO Thomas Enders stated that the A350 programme was not a certainty, citing EADS/Airbus's stretched resources.[34][35] However, it was decided programme costs are to be borne mainly from cash-flow. First delivery for the A350-900 was scheduled for mid-2013, with the -800 and -1000 following on 12 and 24 months later, respectively.[32] New technical details of the A350 XWB were revealed at a press conference in December 2006. John Leahy indicated existing A350 contracts were being re-negotiated due to price increases compared to the original A350s contracted. On 4 January 2007, Pegasus Aviation Finance Company placed the first firm order for the A350 XWB with an order for two aircraft.[36]
The design change imposed a two-year delay into the original timetable and increased development costs from US$5.3 billion (€5.5 billion) to approximately US$10 billion (€9.7 billion).[37][38] The total development cost for the A350 was estimated at US$15 billion by Reuters (€12 billion or £10 billion).[39] The original mid-2013 delivery date of the A350 changed, as a longer than anticipated development forced Airbus to delay the final assembly and first flight of the aircraft to the third quarter of 2012 and second quarter of 2013 respectively. As a result, the flight test schedule was compressed from the original 15 months to 12 months. A350 programme chief Didier Evrard stressed that delays only affected the A350-900 while the -800 and -1000 schedules remained unchanged.[40]
Design phase [ edit ]
A350 XWB new nose and general arrangement inside forward fuselage
Airbus suggested Boeing's use of composite materials for the 787 fuselage was premature, and that the new A350 XWB was to feature large carbon fibre panels for the main fuselage skin. After facing criticism for maintenance costs,[41] Airbus confirmed in early September 2007 the adoption of composite fuselage frames for the aircraft structure.[42][43] The composite frames would feature aluminium strips to ensure the electrical continuity of the fuselage (for dissipating lightning strikes).[44] Airbus used a full mock up fuselage to develop the wiring, a different approach from the A380, on which the wiring was all done on computers.[45]
In 2006, Airbus confirmed development of a full bleed air system on the A350, as opposed to the 787's bleedless configuration.[46][47][48] Rolls-Royce agreed with Airbus to supply a new variant of the Trent turbofan engine for the A350 XWB, named Trent XWB. In 2010, after low-speed wind tunnel tests, Airbus finalised the static thrust at sea level for all three proposed variants to the 330–420 kN (74,000–94,000 lbf) range.[49]
General Electric (GE) stated it would not offer the GP7000 engine on the aircraft, and that previous contracts for the GEnx on the original A350 did not apply to the XWB.[50] Engine Alliance partner Pratt & Whitney seemed to be at odds with GE on this, having publicly stating that it was looking at an advanced derivative of the GP7000.[51] In April 2007, Airbus former chief executive Louis Gallois held direct talks with GE management over developing a GEnx variant for the A350 XWB.[52][53] In June 2007, Airbus's chief operating officer John Leahy indicated that the A350 XWB would not feature the GEnx engine, saying that Airbus wanted GE to offer a more efficient version for the airliner.[54] Since then, the largest GE engines operators, which include Emirates, US Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and ILFC have selected the Trent XWB for their A350 orders. In May 2009, GE said that if it were to reach a deal with Airbus to offer the current 787-optimised GEnx for the A350, it would only power the -800 and -900 variants. GE believed it can offer a product that outperforms the Trent 1000 and Trent XWB, but was reluctant to support an aircraft competing directly with its GE90-115B-powered 777 variants.[55]
In January 2008, French-based Thales Group won a US$2.9 billion (€2 billion) 20-year contract to supply avionics and navigation equipment for the A350 XWB, beating Honeywell and Rockwell Collins.[56] US-based Rockwell Collins and Moog Inc. were chosen to supply the horizontal stabiliser actuator and primary flight control actuation, respectively. The flight management system incorporated several new safety features.[57] Regarding cabin ergonomics and entertainment, in 2006 Airbus signed a firm contract with BMW for development of an interior concept for the original A350.[58] On 4 February 2010, Airbus signed a contract with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to deliver in-flight entertainment and communication (IFEC) systems for the Airbus A350 XWB.[59]
Production [ edit ]
In 2008, Airbus planned to introduce new techniques and procedures to cut assembly time in half.[60] The A350 XWB production programme sees extensive international collaboration and investments in new facilities: Airbus constructed 10 new factories in Western Europe and the US, with extensions carried out on 3 further sites.[61]
Among the new buildings was a £570 million (US$760 million or €745 million) composite facility in Broughton, Wales, which would be responsible for the wings.[62] In June 2009, the National Assembly for Wales announced provision of a £28 million grant to provide a training centre, production jobs and money toward the new production centre.[63]
Airbus manufactured the first structural component in December 2009.[64] Production of the first fuselage barrel began in late 2010 at its production plant in Illescas, Spain.[65] Construction of the first A350-900 centre wingbox was set to start in August 2010.[66]
The new composite rudder plant in China opened in early 2011.[67] The forward fuselage of the first A350 was delivered to the final assembly plant in Toulouse on 29 December 2011.[68] Final assembly of the first A350 static test model was started on 5 April 2012.[69] Final assembly of the first prototype A350 was completed in December 2012.[70]
The production rate was expected to rise from three aircraft per month in early 2015 to five at the end of 2015, and would ramp to ten aircraft per month by 2018.[71] In 2015, 17 planes would be delivered and the initial dispatch reliability was 98%.[72] Airbus plans to increase its production rate from 10 monthly in 2018 to 13 monthly from 2019, while the Boeing 787 production will increase from 12 to 14 per month in 2019, and six A330 are produced monthly.[73] Around 90 deliveries are expected in 2018, with about 15% -1000s (≈14).[74]
Testing and certification [ edit ]
Prototype F-WXWB during first flight
The first Trent engine test was made on 14 June 2010.[75] The Trent XWB's flight test programme began use on the A380 development aircraft in early 2011, ahead of engine certification in late 2011. On 2 June 2013, the Trent XWB engines were powered up on the A350 for the first time. Airbus confirmed that the flight test programme would last 12 months and use five test aircraft.[76]
The A350's maiden flight took place on 14 June 2013 from the Toulouse–Blagnac Airport.[77] Airbus's chief test pilot said, "it just seemed really happy in the air...all the things we were testing had no major issues at all."[78] It flew for 4 hours, reaching Mach.8 at 25,000 feet after retracting the landing gear and starting a 2,500 h flight test campaign.[79] Development costs were estimated at €11 billion (US$15 billion or £9.5 billion) in June 2013.[6]
A350 XWB, F-WWCF, msn. 2, underwent two-and-a-half weeks of climatic tests in the unique McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in May 2014, and was subjected to multiple climatic and humidity settings from a high of 45 °C to as low as -40 °C.[80]
The A350 received type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 30 September 2014.[81] On 15 October 2014, EASA approved the A350-900 for ETOPS 370, allowing it to fly more than six hours on one engine and making it the first airliner to be approved for "ETOPS Beyond 180 minutes" before entry into service.[82] Later that month Airbus received regulatory approval for a Common Type Rating for pilot training between the A350 XWB and A330.[83] On 12 November 2014, the A350 received certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration.[84]
Introduction and early operations [ edit ]
Qatar Airways A350-941 (A7-ALA) after the first commercial flight to Frankfurt Airport
In June 2011, the A350-900 was scheduled to enter service in the first half of 2014, with the -800 to enter service in mid-2016, and the -1000 in 2017.[85] In July 2012, Airbus delayed the -900's introduction by three months to the second half of 2014.[86] The first delivery to launch customer Qatar Airways took place on 22 December 2014.[87] The first commercial flight was made on 15 January 2015 between Doha and Frankfurt.[3]
One year after introduction, the A350 fleet had accumulated 3,000 cycles and around 16,000 flight hours. Average daily usage by first customers was 11.4 hours with flights averaging 5.2 hours, which are under the aircraft's capabilities and reflect both short flights within the schedules of Qatar Airways and Vietnam Airlines, as well as flight-crew proficiency training that is typical of early use and is accomplished on short-haul flights. Finnair was operating the A350 at very high rates: 15 flight hours per day for Beijing, 18 hours for Shanghai, and more than 20 hours for Bangkok.[88] This may have accelerated its retirement of the Airbus A340.[88]
In service problems had included three areas. The onboard Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul network needed software improvements. Airbus issued service bulletins regarding onboard equipment and removed galley inserts (coffee makers, toaster ovens) because of leaks. Airbus had to address spurious overheating warnings in the bleed air system by retrofitting an original connector with a gold-plated connector. Airbus targeted a 98.5 percent dependability by the end of 2016 and to match the mature A330 reliability by early 2019.[88]
By the end of May 2016, the in-service fleet had flown 55,200 hours over 9,400 cycles at a 97.8 percent operational reliability on three months. The longest operated sector was Qatar Airways' Adelaide–Doha at 13.8 hours for 6,120 nmi (11,334 km). 45 percent of flights were under 3,000 nmi (5,556 km), 16 percent over 5,000 nmi (9,260 km), and 39 percent in between. The average flight was 6.8 hours, with the longest average being 9.6 hours by TAM Airlines and the shortest being 2.1 hours by Cathay Pacific's. Aircraft seat configuration ranged from 253 seats for Singapore Airlines to 348 seats for TAM Airlines, with a 30 to 46 seat business class and a 211 to 318 seat economy class, often including a premium economy.[89]
The first A350-1000 was assembled in 2016, for a first flight on 24 November and entry into service planned for mid-2017.[90]
In January 2017, two years after introduction, 62 aircraft were in service with 10 airlines. They had accumulated 25,000 flights over 154,000 hours with an average daily utilisation of 12.5 hours, and transported six million passengers with a 98.7 percent operational reliability.[91] Zodiac Aerospace had business class seats production difficulties in its Gainesville, Texas and Santa Maria, California factories. After a year, Cathay Pacific experienced cosmetic quality issues and upgraded or replaced the seats for the earliest cabins.[92]
In 2017, average test flights before delivery decreased to 4.1 from 12 in 2014, with an average delay down to 25 days from 68.[93] Its reliability was 97.2 percent in 2015, 98.3 percent in 2016, and 98.8 percent in June 2017, just behind its 99 percent target for 2017.[94]
In June 2017 after 30 months in commercial operation, 80 A350 were in service with 12 operators, the largest being Qatar Airways with 17 and 13 each at Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines (SIA).[95] The fleet average block time was 7.2 hours with 53 percent below 3,000 nmi (5,556 km), 16 percent over 5,000 nmi (9,260 km), and 31 percent in between. LATAM Airlines had the longest average sector at 10.7 hours, and Asiana had the shortest at 3.8 hours.[95] Singapore Airlines operated the longest leg, Singapore to San Francisco 7,340 nmi (13,594 km), and the shortest leg, Singapore to Kuala Lumpur 160 nmi (296 km).[95] In 2016, 49 were delivered and the monthly rate should grow to 10 by the end of 2018.[95] Seating varied from 253 for Singapore Airlines to 389 for Air Caraïbes, with most between 280 and 320.[95]
In October 2017, Airbus was testing extended sharklets, which could offer 100–140 nmi (185–259 km) extra range and reduce fuel burn by 1.4–1 |
federal authorities will go after anyone acting outside the law and called on self-defense group members to return to their villages.
The federal government has said the civilian vigilante groups are operating outside the law.
They carry high-caliber weapons that Mexico only allows for military use. But government forces have not moved against the groups and in some cases have appeared to be working in concert with the vigilantes.
Rumors circulate that some self-defence groups have been infiltrated by the New Generation cartel, which is reportedly fighting a turf war with the Knights Templar in Michoacan, a rich farming state that is a major producer of limes, avocados and mangos.
Some in the region say members of the Knights Templar have also tried to use self-defence groups as cover for illegal activities.GARFIELD — Two women were arrested Tuesday after allegedly beating a 15-year-old boy and threatening him with a machete, police said.
According to Capt. Darren Sucorowski of the Garfield police, the boy's mother contacted police at around 7:20 p.m. to report that her son had been assaulted, and that she was taking him to the hospital.
Officers met them at the hospital, where the boy told them that he had been at a 15-year-old female friend's home that afternoon when the girl's mother, 32-year-old Alexandra Vargas, came home unexpectedly.
He rushed to the bathroom to hide, Sucorowski said, but was confronted by Vargas, who began to strike him in his chest.
Vargas grabbed a machete and blocked the boy as he attempted to leave, before using it to smash his cell phone, police said.
With the boy still inside, Vargas contacted 30-year-old Shaina Carter of the Bronx, N.Y., who police described as her "companion." Carter arrived at the home a short time later, and began to assault the boy, eventually striking him several times with an unidentified metal object, according to Sucorowski.
After the assault, the women took the boy's shoes and ordered him to leave. He complied, and informed his mother what had happened when he arrived home.
Both Vargas and Carter were arrested and charged with child endangerment, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Carter was ordered held on $62,500 bond. Vargas, who was also charged with criminal restraint, was being held on $82,500 bond.It was the gallery’s day. At one end of an immensely expensive room in the Sydney legal district was a squad of lawyers briefed months ago for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
But in the gallery at the other end sat victims and the parents and friends of victims who have been on the case for nearly 20 years. For some it has become their life’s work. And they came from all points on Monday to see what they had managed at last: to put the Catholic Church in the dock.
They made their presence felt. They groaned. They protested. A handful walked out when Peter Gray SC, counsel for the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council, began by quoting the “ageless words” of St Mark: “Let the little children come to me.”
Gray laid on the apologies not with a trowel but a front-end loader. He called abuse by clergy and its concealment by the church unbearable, disgraceful, heartbreaking, shattering and devastating. He declared the royal commission, “a watershed in church history and indeed in Australian history”.
The gallery was unmoved. For 20 years the church has been saying sorry and promising to do better. Nothing to applaud here. Nor did the campaigners seem impressed by Gray’s fresh assurances the church would co-operate “fully, without reservation” with the commission.
Isn’t that called, obeying the law?
Various arms of the church have already handed over tens of thousands of documents to the commission. These give, for the first time, a picture of the workings of Towards Healing, the church’s machinery for dealing with most abuse victims.
Gail Furness, SC, counsel assisting the commission, told the hearing that Towards Healing has paid $43m to victims of abuse. The culprits were overwhelmingly not parish priests but members of religious orders.
Schools were the chief danger zone for children. Furness said: “The church authority with the largest number of complaints was the Christian Brothers, followed by the Marist Brothers and then the De La Salle Brothers.”
Their time will come. For the next few weeks Justice Peter McClellan, the former senator Andrew Murray and the psychiatrist Helen Milroy are focusing on the fate of four of the 1,700 men and women who have been through Towards Healing.
Francis Sullivan knows what’s coming. “Community disgust and outrage will again be unleashed,” the chief executive officer of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council warned an audience in Ballarat’s cathedral a few weeks ago. “Many people will be very angry and will ask ‘how could this happen?’ ”
That the church has plans to abandon the system will not save it from the evidence the commission is about to hear. The council has already conceded in its submission to the royal commission that Towards Healing is opaque in its workings; inconsistent in its outcomes; operates without central oversight; and might be seen as lacking independence as it investigates abuse.
“It is now clearer than ever that the time has come for the church to hand over the determination of victims’ compensation to an independent process,” Sullivan told his Ballarat audience. “We are recommending a national compensation scheme, independent of the church that would determine payments.”
Sullivan doesn’t mean the courts where the church and its insurers continue to play hardball with victims such as Joan Isaacs. She is the first of the four. We know her name and saw her face. Most of this week will be spent examining her case.
When she began to read her statement in a slightly faltering voice the feeling in the hearing room changed. The commissioners lowered their eyes; the lawyers were still; there was absolute silence.
“From 1967 to 1968, I was sexually abused by Father Francis Derriman who was a priest of the archdiocese of Brisbane and chaplain of Sacred Heart Sandgate for those two years. I was aged 14 to 15 at the time of the abuse...”
And when she finished half an hour later I heard something I have never heard before at a royal commission: applause. McClellan did nothing to reproach the gallery. The applause rolled on. Isaacs said very softly to the room: “Thank you.”Putin arrives in Voronezh 5 August 2014. Photo by Russian Presidential Press Service
President Vladimir Putin has fired 18 top law-enforcement officials in the Investigative Committee, Prosecutor General’s Office and the Interior Ministry.
His sudden and secretive action has sparked some theories that it is somehow related to Ukraine — either punishing those who are poorly performing with regard to the aggression against Ukraine, or punishing those involved in a possible plane-downing conspiracy so as to distance himself from it.
It is not likely directly related to Ukraine but is more about Putin reinforcing areas of domestic vulnerability to make him more efficient in general in pursuing both increased authoritarian rule at home and foreign adventures.
Here is the first “Decree on release from post of employees of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation” and the second “Decree on appointments, releases from posts and dismissal from military service of soldiers, officials and workers of some federal state organs”
Most of the dismissals — 11 of the 18 — were made from the Investigative Committee. The Investigative Committee, despite its name sounding like it is a subset of something else, is a relatively new creature in the Russian law-enforcement community, formed in 2011 at a time of great challenge to Putin by massive street demonstrations, to replace the former Prosecutor General’s investigating committee. It is now the leading investigative agency, increasingly taking over powers from the Interior Ministry or police, and might be better understood as more like the old Committee for State Security (KGB) in that it isn’t “just a committee.”
It has been compared to the FBI — but that’s not correct, as it has far more powers and no ministerial or legislative oversight as the FBI does from the Department of Justice and Congress. Its chair, Aleksandr Bastrykin — infamous for making a direct death threat against an investigative journalist — reports directly to the president. It investigates the top cases of the country of political and economic interest to the leadership, and also the top cases of dissent, such as the Bolotnaya Square case in which demonstrators against Putin were sent to prison for many years.
So first, let’s be clear: none of these people are on the Magnitsky List of gross human rights offenders. And they don’t seem to be the villains of exposé blogs by Alexei Navalny or Boris Nemtsov or other opposition leaders ferreting out information about corruption among top officials with their fancy cars and real estate abroad. This needs more research, but these people don’t seem to be fired for corruption or abuse as we understand it.
Second, as Putin gave no explanation for these dismissals, there has been speculation particularly from Ukrainian sources that this mass purge may be related to either plans to invade Ukraine or even the conspiracy theory mounted recently by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) that MH17 was shot down by mistake not by rebels thinking it was a Ukrainian cargo plane (of the type they’d shot down before), but shot down by mistake by Russia — which had wanted to shoot down its own Aeroflot airliner as a “false-flag” operation to provide a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine. (For the record, the Russia’s State Civil Aviation Administration, which theoretically would have to be involved in such sabotage, is under the Ministry of Transport, which is separate from the Interior Ministry.)
While it’s always possible some of these colonels, lieutenants and generals in law-enforcement but not the army are indirectly related to the Ukraine operation or a plane conspiracy, a direct Ukraine-related explanation doesn’t seem likely for a number of reasons:
1. It’s not the Investigative Committee — which had the lion’s share of the dismissals — that is involved in clandestine warfare against Ukraine. To be sure, investigations have been opened at the IC related to Ukraine, notably the two Russian TV Zvezda journalists kidnapped in eastern Ukraine and tortured into confessions and then released, and the Ukrainian pilot who Russia claims illegally crossed the border and was allegedly involved in targeting a Russian journalist who was killed while embedded with rebels. But it’s not the center of anti-Ukraine operations.
2. Nor is the Interior Ministry and its many troops involved in Ukraine, as it was in the Chechen wars, although possibly one official fired from Rostov Region, bordering Ukraine, might have been related to Ukrainian events.
3. The agencies involved in Ukraine are the Defense Ministry, which has been documented by journalists as using the official military recruitment centers to find fighters for the separatist cause in Donbass, and the Armed Forces, whose numerous forces “training” near the border may also be implicated in supplying troops, vehicles and armaments directly across the border to the separatists. Of course there’s the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces (the GRU) and the Federal Security Service (FSB). No one from those agencies has been fired.
4. If the theory is that these people stood up to Putin’s plans for an invasion of Ukraine, and then were fired, they don’t seem either to be involved in Ukraine affairs in the first place, or in a position to make decisions that would make or break an invasion. On the other hand, the armed forces are institutions that have a certain history and code of honor, and it is possible that some dissented privately — we don’t see that any of these people dissented publicly — and were caught out. Yet it seems unlikely and inconsistent with KGB trade-craft that Putin would call attention to an impending Ukraine invasion — which he has sought to portray as a insurgency or a “humanitarian aid” problem — by firing people who might have protested against it or be involved in it.
5. The theory of the relationship of the firings to the Aeroflot conspiracy could go either way — either Putin is theoretically firing people involved in executing the shoot-down, so that he has plausible deniability of being related to it, or he is firing people who objected to the shoot-down or supplying of the rebels — but none of these people seem to be in decision-making positions to affect these events.
So let’s look at the regions and offices where these people come from, to see if we can “reverse engineer” a motive for their firing:
From the Investigative Committee, they are from the following federal districts: Urals (2), Central (2), Volga (2), North-West (2), Far-East, Southern, Siberia.
We will recall that there was recently an announcement in the Urals media that they had received a notice from state TV to prepare a time slot for an emergency presidential address — which then never came and was disavowed by Kremlin spokesman. Was Putin going to announce something about the Urals or other outlying regions where there might have been trouble or a need to crack down?
What is going on in these regions in some cases thousands of miles from the Kremlin? Just to name some of the regional problems for Putin:
1. A major insurgent and terrorist movement in Dagestan and to some extent still in Chechnya which absorbs the lion’s share of Russian law-enforcement and military attention; last year Russian forces killed more than 400 terrorist suspects and arrested thousands of people suspected of Islamism;
2. A small but vocal autonomy movement in Siberia;
3. A large ethnic Ukrainian population in the Far East unhappy about events in Ukraine;
4. Independent-minded political movements and NGOs in the Urals, i.e. the mayor of Ekaterinburg;
5. Coastal regions like Arkhangelsk and Murmansk and regions bordering foreign countries such as Republic of Karelia, which borders Finland, and Kaliningrad, the enclave in the Baltic with no land connection to the rest of Russia.
Looking at the people fired from the MVD and prosecutor’s offices, we see these are the areas of their responsibility:
1. Deputy chief of the Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry for Rostov Region, chief of the main investigative division;
2. Deputy head of the Main Directorate to Combat Extremism of the Interior Ministry;
3. Deputy commander of the forces of the Siberian Regional Command of the Interior Ministry Internal Troops for the Rear Guard;
4. Deputy head of the Federal Service for Control of Narcotics Trade for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region;
5. Head of the Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry for Chelyabinsk;
6. Deputy commander of the United Group of Forces for Counter-Terrorist Operations on the Territory of North Caucasus Region of the Interior Ministry Internal Troops;
7. Gen. Vladimir Rushaylo, Yeltsin’s interior minister, who was associated with the Chechen wars.
Thus the firing of a lot of deputies — and not chiefs — in agencies responsible for drugs, extremism and terrorism suggests that Putin wants to put in “his own” or “more loyal” people to better run the vertikal, or vertical chain of command, or they were performing poorly in their areas and not sufficiently arresting people suspected of drug dealing, leftist or rightist extremism or terrorism, particularly where there is already Islamist unrest, or near nuclear facilities as in Chelyabinsk or border areas. “Extremism” is everything from neo-communism and neo-Nazism to neo-liberalism and very broadly understood in Russia. The one official in this list possibly related to aggression against Ukraine is in Rostov Region; this area is not only a staging area for assistance to rebels across the border, but now has tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine, some of them rebels and their families.
So ultimately, the motivation for these dismissals doesn’t appear to be directly about Ukraine, but ultimately in the larger scheme it is about Ukraine — and other neighboring countries and the international community at large. Thus we still have grounds to worry: the purge appears to be about Putin consolidating further control over law-enforcement and investigative agencies to make sure that there are no vulnerabilities on his own flanks as he consolidates further authoritarian control at home and pursues adventures abroad.
That means no Siberian freedom movements that draw from the “Novorossiya” independence struggle that they should try this at home; no democratic experiments in the Urals; no lax drug officials at a time when Russia’s drug addiction problem is growing with more than 30,000 deaths a year; no communists or nationalists out in front of Putin’s own politics; and certainly no North Caucasus militants or insurgents who pose the Kremlin’s greatest challenge.
One Russian blogger thought this current purge was the “worst since Stalin” — but that’s certainly not the case as KGB Chairman Vitaly Fyodorchuk, after the death of Brezhnev in 1982, fired 160,000 officers in a massive purge of the Interior Ministry that helped maintain Party and KGB control.
More research is needed to see if any of these people are leaking anything or if any of them have anything in common. But it pays to look at Russia’s history for the last 100 years — it has never had a military ruler or suffered a military coup, or for that matter, a significant police rebellion (and these people with military rankings are in fact from law-enforcement, not the armed forces). That’s because its ruthless civilian leaders — sometimes from intelligence agencies like Putin — have always succeeded in trimming and thwarting any military or police ambitions — even by draconian means, as Stalin did, executing some of his top generals on the eve of the Nazi invasion. It’s always been the case that the Kremlin knocks heads among the various agencies it depends on for its ruthless rule to keep them off balance. That’s the most likely reason for why these 18 were singled out for a purge: for Putin to better maintain control of the vast Russian Federation.May 2 (UPI) -- A Georgia man trying to leave work for lunch found his path blocked by a pair of turkeys that refused to clear the way.
A video of the encounter, filmed Thursday in Alpharetta, shows two turkeys blocking the path of a man attempting to drive out of a parking lot.
The turkeys pay no attention to the honking of the man's horn, leading him to try reasoning with them.
"Excuse me, sir? I'd like to go get lunch now," the man says.
"Alright birds, you win," the man jokes, "Am I being detained?"
The man attempts to drive around the turkeys, but they follow his car and continue to block the path.
"I'm being held hostage!" the man says.
He attempts to reverse to get away from the turkeys, but they continue to obstruct the way out of the parking lot.
"Screw you, mother nature," the man says.The House Republican tax plan includes a $1.5 trillion corporate tax cut and a giant tax hike on graduate students.
Tamar Oostrom, who is currently earning her Ph.D. in economics at MIT, has been crunching the numbers to determine how the current House Republican bill would affect the taxes paid by graduate students.
"This bill would increase our tax by 300 or 400 percent. I think it's absolutely crazy," she tells NPR. "The past week this is what I've been talking about with other graduate students, with classmates. I think we're all shocked."
Grad students like Oostrom often afford advanced degrees by earning a tuition waiver. In these instances, graduate students will work for the university by teaching classes and/or conducting research in exchange for free tuition. According to the American Council on Education, roughly 145,000 graduate students receive this kind of tuition reduction.Trump Stands By NFL Comments, Insists He Wasn't Distracted From Hurricane Relief
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Trump defended his high-profile campaign against NFL players who kneel during the national anthem and insisted it hasn't distracted him from hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.
"To me, the NFL situation is a very important situation," Trump said Tuesday at a news conference. "I have plenty of time on my hands. All I do is work."
Trump complained about protesting football players at a campaign rally in Alabama on Friday. Since then, he has tweeted or retweeted on the subject more than 20 times.
Meanwhile, nearly 3.5 million American citizens in Puerto Rico continue to struggle in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which knocked out the island's electric grid.
"The governor of Puerto Rico is so thankful for the great job that we're doing," Trump said, pointing to efforts by FEMA and the military.
The president argued that it has been more difficult to deliver food, water and other supplies to Puerto Rico than it was to reach victims in Texas or Florida after earlier storms.
"It's on an island in the middle of an ocean," Trump said. "You can't just drive your trucks there from other states."
Trump said he plans to visit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands next Tuesday.
"The recovery process will be a very, very difficult one," Trump said. "We will get through this, and we will get through it together. We will be stronger. We will be bigger. We will be better."
Trump insisted that the government is "totally focused" on hurricane relief efforts, even as he devoted time and energy to halting the football protests — a campaign that drew widespread pushback from the NFL over the weekend.
"It doesn't take me long to put out a wrong and maybe we'll get it right," Trump said. "I think it's a very important thing for the NFL to not allow people to kneel during the playing of our national anthem."
The president spoke during a Rose Garden news conference following a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Asked about a controversial referendum Sunday on independence for the Spanish region of Catalonia, Trump said he hoped the country would remain united.
"I think it would be foolish not to," Trump said. "You're talking about staying with a truly great, beautiful and very historic country."In an announcement by Scott Stricklin today, Mississippi State Volleyball head coach Jenny Hazelwood will be reassigned to an administrative position within the Athletic Department. This comes after an abysmal 7-26 record this season, with only two conference victories over Tennessee (3-2) and LSU (3-2). For six years, Hazelwood led the Lady Bulldog squad to a 55-129 record and a 20-96 mark in SEC play. During her coaching career, Mississippi State Volleyball accomplished its first 12 win season since 2006. Included in those 12 victories was a 3-1 win over the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in Knoxville, a feat never accomplished after 1995. Also in 2013, the Lady Bulldogs attained 8 home victories, which is enough to rank as the second-most home victories in a single season.
Coach Hazelwood was not without talent during her coaching tenure in Starkville. During her six years, the Lady Bulldogs comprised of 2 AVCA All-Americans, 5 All-SEC players, a CoSIDA Academic All-American, 36 All-SEC Academic and All-SEC Freshman Academic members. This past season, freshman libero Payton Harris ranked 2nd in the country in digs and digs per set. Harris also set a school record for digs in a season, but finished second on the SEC single-season list.
Athletic Director Scott Stricklin announced that the search for a suitable replacement has begun immediately. No timeline has been set for the announcement of Jenny Hazelwood’s successor, but expectations are high as fans look to begin a good run by this mostly overlooked program. Fans can agree that this has not been the greatest of times for the Mississippi State volleyball program, but if the next season and next coach start off on a high note, then things could change dramatically inside the Newell-Grissom Building.With four goals in four consecutive games and five in his first eight NHL appearances, rookie Andrew Shaw has become a sensation both on the ice and in the imagination of Blackhawks fans. Their collective excitement finally spilled over in the second period of the Blackhawks' 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 18, spawning the #ShawFacts hashtag on Twitter.
Below are some of the best real-time offerings of the night:
@hawknut: Sharks have "Shaw Week" #ShawFacts
@Stephen__Nelson: Morgan Freeman asks Andrew Shaw to read him bedtime stories. #ShawFacts
@sledgehammah: Waldo tries to find Shaw. #ShawFacts
@HossIsBoss81: The shower sings to him. #ShawFacts
@PuckinHostile: Andrew Shaw was Luke's real father #ShawFacts
@hockeenight: Andrew Shaw puts Peggy on hold. #ShawFacts
@TheHecklerBlackhawks: Andrew Shaw kept the snow away from Chicago for as long as he could. But he's busy now. #ShawFacts
@TheHecklerBlackhawks: HD was invented because they knew he was coming. #ShawFacts
@AndrewBHDL: He's the fourth. Ringo is fifth. RT @Brett_Myhres: Andrew Shaw is the fifth Beatle. #ShawFacts
@Catch10110: The level after "black belt" is the "Shaw belt". Andrew Shaw is the only person in history to actually earn a Shaw belt. #ShawFacts
@SouthsideZo: When Shaw jumps into a lake he doesn't get wet the lake gets Shawed. #ShawFacts
@CoachQsMustache: True: He has no mustache. Also true: When he wants one he'll just rip it right off someone else. #Shawfacts
@One4theDagger: Andrew Shaw is at the end of every rainbow. #ShawFacts
@sonicsean89: Andrew Shaw was not born, he just decides when to exist #ShawFacts
@chiguy8307: The Egg McMuffin is the Andrew Shaw of breakfast sandwiches. #ShawFacts
@hossafy: He grew a playoff beard when the hawks were in the finals... In 92. #ShawFacts
@mokulling: Siri asks him for directions #ShawFacts
@RealScarlett01: Trump is Andrew Shaw's Apprentice #ShawFacts
@yazmataz17: Andrew Shaw used Wikipedia today #ShawFacts
Andrew Shaw chimed in after the game with a contribution of his own...
@shawz15er Andrew shaw loves chicago and doesn't want to leave
[UPDATED] Jan. 19, 10:50 a.m.
@writer0076 Andrew Shaw cannot hold on to a puck for too long because it will turn into a diamond #ShawFacts
@ekmcc24 The cowbell wants more Andrew Shaw. #ShawFacts
@KeyboardKeith66 the concept of the Chuck Norris joke was simply a trial run for #ShawFacts
@Nickbozich12 He wakes his alarm clock up. #ShawFacts
@dangitslexi Even mimes can't stop talking about him. #ShawFacts
@Schwarziest Puppies and kittens love videos of Andrew Shaw. #ShawFactsRoger Dubuis, a master watchmaker and the co-founder of the Swiss brand that bore his name, died on Oct. 14. He was 79.
The company announced his death in an email statement but did not disclose its cause.
“The death of our founder is a heavy loss for the entire watchmaking community,” the Roger Dubuis employees wrote in a separate joint statement. “His unique mastery of haute horlogerie, his avant-garde vision and his human values will remain deeply engraved in our hearts.”
Jean-Marc Pontroué, the company’s chief executive since 2011, said, “Roger was a charming and moving person, and an artist of technique and complications. His passing, after some 22 years with the company, is for us a moment of sadness and emotion.”
Mr. Dubuis retired from the company in 2005 but, at Mr. Pontroué’s urging, returned as a brand ambassador in 2011. “As an ambassador, Roger was there at product launches to meet with clients and retailers,” Mr. Pontroué said. “It is rare for any brand to have its founder present.”Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington last December. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
There’s a new strain of argument, born of the deep partisan rift in American politics, that assumes by default that every political move is spawned as part of a brilliant long-term strategy, no matter how fumbling it may seem in the moment.
It was relatively common during the 2016 presidential election for people to frame bizarre moves by then-candidate Trump as actually being long-term plays that his haters simply couldn’t understand. This is the “playing nth-dimensional chess” argument, and it’s burbling up now because of how deeply split Americans are on politics. If your opponents are always wrong and your side is always right, that means that moments when it seems like your side blundered must instead be a stellar move your opponents (and often you) can’t see.
So let’s get this out of the way in advance. On Tuesday night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wasn’t playing chess at any dimension when he moved to block a speech from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Or, if he was, his brilliant move was to slide the king into position to be checked by the Democrats’ queen.
McConnell’s job is to get Trump’s Cabinet picks confirmed as quickly — and with as little friction — as possible. That effort is going slowly but still making ground, given the scale of opposition Trump has faced during his first few weeks in office. The biggest fight McConnell’s seen so far was with the education secretary nomination of Betsy DeVos, who was approved by a narrow (but calculatedly narrow) margin earlier on Tuesday. Everyone else? Not that big a deal.
The nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be attorney general was similarly poised to glide toward approval, with some loud opposition but also with enough votes to carry the day. Like the teens in a horror movie, McConnell just needed to slip down a dark hallway without making a sound. But then he stumbled over a can.
You’re probably already aware of what happened, but here’s a synopsis. Warren began to read into the record a letter from Coretta Scott King, written in 1986 when Sessions was nominated to serve as a federal judge. “Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters,” King wrote. “For this reprehensible conduct, he should not be rewarded with a federal judgeship.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was stopped from speaking on the Senate floor about Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions on Feb. 7. "I am surprised that the words of Coretta Scott King are not suitable for debate in the United States Senate," Warren said. (Reuters)
McConnell interrupted Warren. Under Rule 19 of the Senate, he argued, Warren was prohibited from criticizing Sessions as she was doing. That rule stipulates that senators are not allowed to “impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.” In other words, solely because Sessions is a sitting senator, Warren can’t read a letter from someone else suggesting that his conduct or motives were not senatorial — even though the result of the debate would be that Sessions would no longer be a senator.
This move was a mistake.
It was a mistake because it was a male senator silencing a female senator which, however you may interpret that dynamic, overlaps significantly with the concerns of a segment of the American population that took to the streets on Jan. 21 by the millions to protest the administration.
It was a mistake because the words McConnell used were immediately seen as empowering by that group. “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted,” he said — unwittingly providing the perfect battle cry for that movement. Just as Kellyanne Conway handed the idea of “alternative facts” to Trump’s political opponents, McConnell has now provided “nevertheless, she persisted” to an already fired-up opposition.
It was a mistake, too, because of the moment he chose to intervene. Warren was reading a letter from the wife of the country’s most famous civil rights leader weeks after the public holiday celebrating his life and at the beginning of Black History Month. Those things are mostly subtextual, but one of the main lines of argument against Sessions’ nomination has been concerns over his history on issues of race. That nomination to the federal bench in the 1980s was derailed over those concerns; Warren was hoping to highlight them in her speech.
It was a mistake because McConnell’s interjection drew infinitely more attention to Warren’s remarks than they would otherwise have received. This is known as the Streisand Effect, after Barbra Streisand tried to get photos of her house in Malibu removed from a collection of images. The result of that effort was to spread the photos widely, both out of curiosity and out of defiance. That’s what McConnell has done: Far more people are now aware of King’s 1986 objections than otherwise would have been.
It was a mistake because drawing more attention to the racial politics at play will only serve to energize another part of the Democratic base: African Americans. Rev. William Barber, a vocal progressive leader from North Carolina, has already cited McConnell’s move as evidence that “we must deal with the issue of systemic racism in America.”
So what’s the argument that this wasn’t a mistake? That McConnell’s making some chess move that perhaps we can’t see?
He’s setting up Warren as the face of the opposition? Fine, but she already holds that position to a large degree. That the Republicans want to run against her in 2020 and this helps get her there? Okay, but there will be a lot of other opportunities to move her toward that goal without undercutting a critical vote for the administration.
It’s sort of amazing that we’ve gone from “members of Congress are bumbling dopes” to “my side is represented by Pattonesque geniuses and yours are extras from ‘Dumb and Dumber’” over the course of a decade or two. Neither of those views of Congress is correct, of course, but I think it’s generally far safer to assume that something that looks like a mistake was a mistake than to assume it was the lighting of a fuse on a years-long political bombshell.
McConnell’s job is to get Jeff Sessions to the Justice Department. If he chose to make that job harder in order to make it slightly more likely that Elizabeth Warren will run for president in three years, that doesn’t really seem like great chess playing either.Looking for news you can trust?
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Did a Navy SEAL kill Osama Bin Laden with a pork-coated bullet, thus denying him entrance to paradise? That’s the highly unlikely claim coming from a shady website selling gun lubricants that it guarantees to be “13% USDA liquefied pig fat.”
According to the purveyor of Silver Bullet Gun Oil, the product is “a HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Counter-Islamic terrorist force multiplier.” Here’s why:
When fired, BULLETS are coated with SILVER BULLET GUN OIL containing the PIG FAT. The PIG FAT is transferred to anything the BULLETS STRIKE. The coating of OIL CONTAINING PIG FAT effectively DENIES entry to Allah’s Paradise to any Islamo-Fascist terrorist KIA with a bullet coming from a firearm using SILVER BULLET GUN OIL in the barrel. SILVER BULLET GUN OIL uses the belief system of Allah’s Islamo-Fascist terrorists to put fear of death into them, a fear they haven’t had until NOW.
On his site, the anonymous figure behind Silver Bullet says his intentionally un-halal lube is quite popular among armed employees of the US government, stating that “Thousands of bottles of Silver Bullet Gun Oil have been distributed since July of 2004 by its creator to members of ALL U.S. Military branches.” He also claims that the gun oil is used in tank and helicopter weapon systems and that “a number” of air marshals use it as well. On a Marine message board, he asserts (along with some harsh racial epithets) that his gun oil is helping win the war on terror: “I’ve been putting out SBGO for 5 and 1/2 years. I pushed the Pork additive [13%] long enough for the rags to get the message, which according to those that are using it in their [area of operations] puts some real FEAR into these mutts.”
The Silver Bullet site includes photos of the oil “production line,” in which a masked man wearing a regulation Marine camouflage utility uniform (which are off-limits for civilians) loads boxes with bottles of oil, allegedly a shipment to Marines in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. Members of the military are allowed to procure their own weaponry accessories such as gun oil. But any downrange service members who use pork-laden lubricant could conceivably be in violation of General Order 1 (PDF), the war-zone code of conduct that prohibits “proselytizing” and disrespecting local customs.
Silver Bullet’s seller, who also goes by the handles Midnite Rider and “Warrior of YAHWEH,” claims to be a former Marine scout sniper. Otherwise, he doesn’t identify himself and has concealed the registration data for his website. Of course, none of his claims about his product or its widespread use can be verified. The assertion that bin Laden was killed by a weapon using Silver Bullet Gun Oil is made in this promotional video, posted on YouTube by a user known as WARRIOROFTHETRUEGOD:
At best, Silver Bullet Gun Oil seems like snake oil for Islamophobes. At worst, it’s putting forth an image of American soldiers as crusading anti-Muslim killers—a distortion that could incite violence as quickly as Terry Jones’ Koran-burning or the military gunsight company that hid biblical messages on its equipment. A spokesman for the Army’s weapons-procurement command told the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch blog that he was unfamiliar with Silver Bullet, “though he conceded that a soldier or Marine could theoretically purchase the oil on his or her own and use it on the battlefield.” The SPLC ordered some, and it came with a freebie: “a biography of a World War I American general who supposedly executed 49 Muslims in the Philippines with bullets soaked in pig’s blood.” That story has made the rounds on right-wing message boards since 9/11, and it’s been thoroughly debunked by scholars.
Silver Bullet |
the outside. You just put your head down, get with your group and treat your kids right and do the best you can. You can’t win the national championship on the first week. You have to help the team become the best team possible and see what happens. That is all we did in 2011. I wouldn’t say we got caught up in the noise, but I wasn’t equipped to manage it then. I feel much more equipped to manage it now because of that experience, and to help the players not get caught up in the things that just don’t matter. All that really matters is what we think about each other, how we work together and how we treat each other and are we working hard to get better every single day. That is all that really matters.
These players, a lot of the sophomores didn’t really have to deal with all of the noise of being at the pinnacle, because last year it wasn’t until the end of the year that they really took off. A lot of this is new for them as well.
It is easier for a coach to distance themselves from the rankings or whatnot, but how do you manage it for your players who are constantly bombarded with it from their friends, family, media, etc.?
The noise is definitely coming at them. We aren’t No. 1 right now, so that is good. We were one week, but we lost that pretty fast. Being No. 2 gives them a little of a chip, but it is just a popularity contest, right? It doesn’t mean anything. In the conversations with the players, it is pretty simple. The polls are for the media and for the fans and that is it. These players are smart enough to know that already, especially since when they won it last year, they were seventh or eighth in the polls going into it. Being on the other side of making a run and not being the No. 1 team, it is easy to see all that matters is where you end up in the final poll and the rest is a popularity contest.
Obviously you came into a great situation, losing only a couple of players from the 2016 national championship team.
It is a no win situation from a coaching standpoint… (laughing) I am not complaining about it, but if we don’t win, we aren’t doing as well as we did last year. Obviously, it is a great situation because we have a lot of talent and it is a fun group that knows how to win and how to compete. I agree with you, but if we do win it, it is what is expected. It is a lot more fun to come out of nowhere and be a dark horse like we were at Illinois. When you come to Stanford, you know that this is the expectation – for as long as you are the head coach here – to be in the mix and hope to have a shot to win it. I don’t that I am trying to get used to it – because I feel very used to it now since I don’t think about it too much – but we just keep moving forward and trying to be the best we can. It suits me more to not worry about that kind of stuff.
Your schedule wasn’t very welcoming to start the year. Not only did you have to prepare for the rigorous Pac-12 season, but you had to face Penn State twice and they handed you both of your losses on the season.
Russ (Rose) and I wanted to play. We already had the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, which was going to be played at Illinois. I knew that when I took the job here, but then we both had some scheduling issues, so we said what is wrong with playing two weekends in a row. I love playing Penn State. They expose weaknesses you didn’t know were weaknesses. They do a great job preparing for you, so you are going to learn a lot about your team when you play them. We lost both of them and that was disappointing. The first one we weren’t full strength and I think it would have helped both teams to have Merete Lutz in the lineup because I think they would have liked to play her too. The next week we had a shot but just couldn’t pull it off. I am disappointed that we lost those, but it was a net gain for us because we learned a lot, good and the bad about our team. I think it has helped us grow a lot, playing them twice. I knew that going in, that is one of the reasons I wanted to play them, because Russ and his team would expose a lot and challenge us and I knew that they would have a great team this year. I would have picked them to win it this year if I were voting in a poll because I think they have the most talent and are a great team. I am not surprised they are No. 1 right now because that is where I expected them to be.
After those Penn State losses, your team has found its way, staying atop the Pac-12, which is packed with parity this year.
We have been fortunate in a couple of those matches, in a couple of sets. Colorado had us, I think, and we got lucky to get out of that one. I think USC, if that went five at their place, who knows. We have been tested certainly and this team is pretty good in the moment when it matters at finding a way to win. I think that is one of the things that this sophomore class especially is known for, winning when it matters the most. It has been fun to see that tested in the Pac-12.
It took us a while to find our leadership with the loss of Inky (Ajanaku) and Ivana (Vanjak). Playing the Penn State match and losing that and trying to sort things out, we found where our leadership needs to come from and how it needs to come to the rest of the group. That stuff started to solidify with the way we have been tested in the Pac-12. It has been a fun little run, but we certainly have a long way to go. I think we will have more tests because teams are getting better. Washington is getting healthy, and USC has been up and down because of injuries, but when they are good, they are really good. So, we have a lot of battles and a lot of lessons moving forward, which I am really excited about. Everyone is going to get everyone’s best down the stretch.
Let’s talk about your team. You have a great situation height-wise and return several All-Americans, but are there some players that don’t get the notoriety that are guiding the team behind the scenes?
I think Kathryn Plummer is probably a player of the year candidate so a lot of people are talking about her. Merete Lutz is a three-time All-American, who is having a great year and has really improved even over last year. Morgan Hentz – I don’t know if there is a better libero in the country than her. She is special. She can make plays and her passing has improved. I think people know those three.
The players on our team that don’t get a lot of love are (Audriana) Fitzmorris and (Tami) Alade. I think they are number one and three in our conference in blocking and also hitting efficiency. They are both having great years. Fitzmorris doesn’t get love because she is kind of quiet and isn’t demonstrative, but just secretly makes plays that help you win. Whether it is setting a ball, handling a free ball, or hitting a great serve and getting an ace, she does a lot of things to help us win, and she is the glue to our team and keeps us steady. Then, Alade has really opened up a lot of things for us offensively and her improvement has just been outstanding. I think she is hitting.430 or.440 and putting up some incredible numbers basically hitting two different sets. She has worked through some stuff to have enough range to have a pretty special year.
Our middles and our libero set the defensive mentality and they have done a great job with that. We lead the league in opponent hitting efficiency and that is because of what they have done from a reading and blocking standpoint and what Morgan does in the backcourt, leading and directing. We try to funnel as many balls to her as possible.
We are lucky that we have a lot of talent and are a well-balanced team. What Kathryn Plummer does on offense is amazing, but one of the things that doesn’t get talked about as much is our defense. Opponent hitting efficiency is a really boring stat, but it is one of the things we have found that leads to winning. That is something we have had a great focus on and our middles set the tone in that.
Some of your players also crossover and play beach volleyball in the spring. Do you think that has helped sharpen their skills and made them better indoor players as well?
I think it gives them lots of opportunities to get a ton of reps, especially on the non-attacking and blocking skills. I am not sure it would make Tami Alade a better or quicker attacker or better at reading from the middle of the court, but… the opportunity to touch the ball and pass and set and be in uncomfortable positions and have to create offense and create swings, that helps everybody.
I think Kathryn Plummer’s move from setter to opposite to outside wouldn’t have been as smooth if she hadn’t had all of the hours logged playing beach. I think it certainly has helped us a lot. I am not sure there is a direct correlation but it has been good in our development, especially with players that didn’t get a lot of opportunities playing club to do anything but block and hit like most of our middles. We have been fortunate to have them involved in the program to get those opportunities.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.I think Russell Wilson has every chance to become the rookie starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks.
A lot of people think the job is Matt Flynn’s to lose. I understand that – Flynn was the high profile free agent quarterback until Peyton Manning gatecrashed the party. Instead of needy teams chasing Flynn, half the league was trying to get Peyton on a plane. After weeks of discussion about how much Flynn will earn on the open market and which teams would be interested, the phone didn’t ring. The market was ice cold. A few days went by and the Seattle Seahawks invited Flynn for a visit and work out.
It turns out the market remained cold and so the Seahawks agreed a modest deal. Flynn’s contract included a $6m signing bonus, with $10m in guarantees. In 2012 he received the $6m and will get a further $2m in base salary. It means he’ll be guaranteed just $2m next year, making him expendable if necessary. The bulk of their investment in Flynn was made the day he signed. From now on, his salary is modest. This team aren’t going to be dictated by money spent on a signing bonus when it comes to choosing a starter.
Flynn was one of the biggest names on the open market, largely due to his six-touchdown performance in week 17 against Detroit. But in raw terms his cap hit is similar to the two guys he’s trying to replace. Charlie Whitehurst’s salary was similar but he actually cost a 2011 third round pick and a significant fall in round two in 2010. Despite that commitment, Whitehurst never overtook Matt Hasselbeck or Tarvaris Jackson to top the depth chart. He never came close. If no guarantees were made to Whitehurst, what changes for Flynn?
The point I’m making here is – there’s no reason to believe this is Flynn’s job to lose. I see his signing as opportunistic on Seattle’s behalf, taking another chance on a guy who was available at the right price due to a weak market. But if Tarvaris Jackson or Russell Wilson performs better in camp, I have absolutely no doubt at all that Flynn will be the backup. Seattle has carried an expensive backup quarterback for the last two years, after all. They’re prepared to go with the right man, not the man who cost the most money.
“We feel like we have four quality guys to go compete.” That quote is from John Schneider yesterday when he spoke to Adam Schein. I firmly believe it’ll be the open competition discussed in that interview. Jackson vs Flynn vs Wilson vs Portis. And I believe the Seahawks want Wilson to win that battle.
Some further quotes from Seattle’s dynamic duo over the last few days…
John Schneider
“When you write a report on this guy, there’s nothing he can’t do. He’s just short. His personal character is ridiculous. He almost makes you feel bad when you talk to this guy, he’s got way better character than me. You just cant pass on this guy, did we have other guys who could have impacted our roster, sure. But he’s just so good. This is a guy we had to have.”
Pete Carroll
“More than anybody else that was alive in the draft, this guy gives you a chance to have a great player. It’s going to be really exciting to see what he can bring. All he’s ever done is be great.”
What you can’t see from these quotes, are the ear-to-ear grins Schneider and Carroll sport every time they’re asked about Wilson. It’s kind of in-between ‘proud father’ grin and ‘we know something you don’t’ grin. In both cases, that could be the case. Schneider and Carroll love this guy. They took him in the earliest round that was logical and didn’t risk him falling to round four. As Kip noted yesterday, “You don’t always have to take a top talent early if you know you don’t have to… there was no need to take Wilson earlier than this. John Schneider and Pete Carroll badly wanted Wilson, and got him at essentially the latest possible moment they could have.” At no point since they made the selection have they tried to control their excitement.
Is it an elaborate ruse to make the rest of the league believe Seattle has its QBOTF? You know, for draft leverage in 2013 when the likes of Matt Barkley enter the league? That sounds a bit too conspiracy theory-ish for my liking and I think there’s a genuine belief that Wilson can negate the need to attack the quarterback market next year.
There’s been no reference to patience with Wilson, just a lot of talk about how he’s beaten the odds. I get the feeling they truly believe Russell Wilson could be the quarterback not just for the future, but maybe even for now. After all, hasn’t Carroll talked about young quarterbacks starting early in the modern NFL? Has he not discussed his willingness to play young players, even at the most important position? Has he not backed that up by thrusting rookies into starting roles with some impressive results?
It could be argued that Wilson even has a slight edge, given the investment of a valuable third round pick in his services. That to me is more of a commitment than the salaries due to both Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Flynn in 2012.
If the Seahawks are as excited about Wilson as they suggest, I think they might as well start the guy. Hey, they’ve talked the pick up to the extreme so let’s see what he has. Rookies start early in this league, and had the Seahawks drafted Wilson in round one a lot of people would expect him to be the quarterback in 2012. I get the impression that Schneider and Carroll see Wilson as a round one talent who fell due to height anyway.
Wilson is familiar with the terminology having worked in both a west-coast system at NC State and a run-based offense in Wisconsin. Seattle uses a run-focused WCO. He’s shown he can adapt and succeed in moving schools and guiding his new team to the Rose Bowl.
But more than anything I just think the Seahawks need to know what they’ve got. Whether it’s Flynn, Wilson or Jackson starting next season, if the quarterback performance is still inadequate there’s going to be increasing pressure on the team to draft a quarterback in round one, even if it requires a Robert Griffin III style trade. If the Seahawks go 7-9 again next year with the quarterback again throwing more picks than touchdowns, it’ll be difficult to justify why the guy who couldn’t beat out the struggling 2012 starter is now the right man to lead the team. Fans and media will grow impatient as the next free agent or mid-round pick is trotted out as the starter.
And quite frankly it’s about time Seattle had some direction at the position. If they need to go big for a Matt Barkley or Logan Thomas next year, then let’s find out if that’s the case.
The teams run game and defense will help Seattle win another 7-8 games. The difference between sticking in that range and progressing to 9-12 wins will be improved quarterback play. So let’s see if Wilson is up to the job.
I know… it’s never ideal to start a rookie. Some would say it’s unfair. If the Seahawks wanted to groom a quarterback and start Flynn they should’ve drafted a different offensive player in round three and taken a quarterback later. Selecting Russell was a pro-active move. They say they had to have this guy. Let’s find out why.
Flynn knew he wasn’t being handed the starting job when he signed in Seattle. I have no idea if the interest from Miami would’ve ever resulted in a contract, but it looks to me like his best options were to come to Seattle and have a shot, or go to Miami to be the bridge to Ryan Tannehill or even be a backup-for-life in Green Bay. A 25-35% chance of being the answer in Seattle is possibly better than any chance he was going to get elsewhere.
The Seahawks need some long term planning at the position. They can’t change the quarterback every year. First Hasselbeck, then Whitehurst, then Jackson. Will it be Flynn this year and if he fails, Wilson next year? Having a revolving door at quarterback will hold this team back. Eventually, they need to commit.
Next years class could have the answer. Barkley, Thomas, Wilson, Bray. It still stands to reason that eventually Seattle might have to go big on a quarterback. If Flynn produces a performance comparable to Jackson, and Wilson doesn’t start as a rookie, there’s going to be some pressure to be proactive again but this time in round one… to get a quarterback that can give this regime a chance to deliver a consistent playoff challenger.
And next year might be a good year to focus on QB’s. Cleveland are seemingly committed to Brandon Weeden. Washington now have their quarterback and so does Miami. Denver drafted Brock Osweiler as a future starter when Peyton Manning retires. The number likely to target a first round quarterback is getting smaller. Of course, others will emerge – but there could be a window opening in 2013.
It’s another reason why Seattle has to be prepared next year. They need to know if the big move is necessary or if they’ve maybe already found the answer. They’ll only find out that answer by starting Russell Wilson. So why not?Summary
Develop a GC that handles memory allocation but does not implement any actual memory reclamation mechanism. Once the available Java heap is exhausted, the JVM will shut down.
Goals
Provide a completely passive GC implementation with a bounded allocation limit and the lowest latency overhead possible, at the expense of memory footprint and memory throughput. A successful implementation is an isolated code change, does not touch other GCs, and makes minimal changes in the rest of JVM.
Non-Goals
It is not a goal to introduce manual memory management features to Java language and/or JVM. It is not a goal to introduce new APIs to manage Java heap. It is not a goal to change or cleanup internal JVM interfaces to fit this GC.
Motivation
Java implementations are well known for a broad choice of highly configurable GC implementations. The variety of available collectors caters for different needs in the end, even if their configurability make their functionality intersect. It is sometimes easier to maintain a separate implementation, rather than piling on another configuration option on the existing GC implementation.
There are a few use cases where a trivial no-op GC proves useful:
Performance testing. Having a GC that does almost nothing is a useful tool to do differential performance analysis for other, real GCs. Having a no-op GC can help to filter out GC-induced performance artifacts, like GC workers scheduling, GC barriers costs, GC cycles triggered at unfortunate times, locality changes, etc. Moreover, there are latency artifacts that are not GC-induced (e.g. scheduling hiccups, compiler transition hiccups, etc), and removing the GC-induced artifacts help to contrast those. For example, having the no-op GC allows to estimate the natural "background" latency baseline for low-latency GC work.
Memory pressure testing. For Java code testing, a way to establish a threshold for allocated memory is useful to assert memory pressure invariants. Today, we have to pick up the allocation data from MXBeans, or even resort to parsing GC logs. Having a GC that accepts only the bounded number of allocations, and fails on heap exhaustion, simplifies testing. For example, knowing that test should allocate no more than 1 GB of memory, we can configure no-op GC with -Xmx1g, and let it crash with a heap dump if that constraint is violated.
VM interface testing. For VM development purposes, having a simple GC helps to understand the absolute minimum required from the VM-GC interface to have a functional allocator. For no-op GC, the interface should not have anything implemented, and good interface means Epsilon's BarrierSet would just use no-op barrier implementations from the default implementation. This serves as proof that the VM-GC interface is sane, which is important in lieu of JEP 304 ("Garbage Collector Interface").
Extremely short lived jobs. A short-lived job might rely on exiting quickly to free the resources (e.g. heap memory). In this case, accepting the GC cycle to futilely clean up the heap is a waste of time, because the heap would be freed on exit anyway. Note that the GC cycle might take a while, because it would depend on the amount of live data in the heap, which can be a lot.
Last-drop latency improvements. For ultra-latency-sensitive applications, where developers are conscious about memory allocations and know the application memory footprint exactly, or even have (almost) completely garbage-free applications, accepting the GC cycle might be a design issue. There are also cases when restarting the JVM -- letting load balancers figure out failover -- is sometimes a better recovery strategy than accepting a GC cycle. In those applications, long GC cycle may be considered the wrong thing to do, because that prolongs the detection of the failure, and ultimately delays recovery.
Last-drop throughput improvements. Even for non-allocating workloads, the choice of GC means choosing the set of GC barriers that the workload has to use, even if no GC cycle actually happens. All OpenJDK GCs are generational (with the notable exceptions of non-mainline Shenandoah and ZGC), and they emit at least one reference write barrier. Avoiding this barrier can bring the last bit of throughput improvement. There are locality caveats to this, see below.
Description
Epsilon GC looks and feels like any other OpenJDK GC, enabled with -XX:+UseEpsilonGC.
Epsilon GC works by implementing linear allocation in a single contiguous chunk of allocated memory. This allows for trivial lock-free TLAB (thread-local allocation buffer) issuance code in the GC, which can then reuse the lock-free within-TLAB allocation handled by existing VM code. Issuing TLABs also helps to keep the resident memory taken by a process bounded by what had been actually allocated. Humongous/out-of-TLAB allocations are handled by the same code, because there is little difference between allocating a TLAB and allocating large objects in this scheme.
The barrier set used by Epsilon is completely empty/no-op, because the GC does not do any GC cycles, and therefore does not care about the object graph, object marking, object copying, etc. Introducing a new barrier-set implementation is likely to be the most disruptive JVM change in this implementation.
Since the only important part of the runtime interface for Epsilon is that for issuing TLABs, its latency largely depends on the TLAB sizes issued. With arbitrarily large TLABs and arbitrarily large heap, the latency overhead can be described by an arbitrarily low positive value, hence the name. (Alternative origin story: "epsilon" frequently means "empty symbol", which is aligned with the no-op nature of this GC).
Once the Java heap is exhausted, no allocation is possible, no memory reclamation is possible, and therefore we have to fail. There are several options at that point; most are in line with what existing GCs do:
Throw an OutOfMemoryError with a descriptive message.
with a descriptive message. Perform a heap dump (enabled, as usual, with -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError )
) Fail the JVM hard and optionally perform an external action (through the usual -XX:OnOutOfMemoryError=... ), e.g., starting a debugger or notifying an external monitoring system about the failure.
There is nothing to be done on System.gc() call, because no memory reclamation code is implemented. The implementation may warn users that the attempt to force the GC was futile.
The prototype runs prove the concept by surviving small workloads and failing predictably on larger ones. The prototype implementation and some tests can be found in the sandbox repository:
$ hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk/sandbox sandbox $ hg up -r epsilon-gc-branch $ sh./configure $ make images
One can see the difference between the baseline and the patched runtime by using:
$ hg diff -r default:epsilon-gc-branch
Automatically generated webrev: https://builds.shipilev.net/patch-openjdk-epsilon-jdk/
Sample binary builds: https://builds.shipilev.net/openjdk-epsilon-jdk/
Or in Docker:
$ docker pull shipilev/openjdk-epsilon $ docker run -it --rm shipilev/openjdk-epsilon java -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+UseEpsilonGC -Xlog:gc -version [0.006s][info][gc] Initialized with 2009M heap, resizeable to up to 30718M heap with 128M steps [0.006s][info][gc] Using TLAB allocation; min: 2K, max: 4096K [0.006s][info][gc] Using Epsilon GC openjdk version "11-internal" 2018-03-20 OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11-internal+0-nightly-sobornost-builds.shipilev.net-epsilon-jdkX-b32) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11-internal+0-nightly-sobornost-builds.shipilev.net-epsilon-jdkX-b32, mixed mode) [0.071s][info][gc] Total allocated: 899 KB [0.071s][info][gc] Average allocation rate: 12600 KB/sec
Alternatives
Configure existing GCs to never do the cycle. For example, using Serial or Parallel GCs should fit the same latency profile, assuming we can configure their respective heuristics to never do GC cycles before they face complete heap exhaustion (i.e., by pre-sizing the heap, setting a very large young-generation size, disabling adaptive heuristics, etc.). This is hard to reliably guarantee with the multitude of GC options they provide, and on-going improvements to GCs that would force us to think twice about no-op paths.
Amend existing GCs to never do the cycle. We can make the special options in those GCs to make it more reliable, but that might be against those GCs design goals. For example, protecting most of the code-paths for those GCs with DoNotGC does not look significantly better than providing a separate standalone implementation.
Gut the existing GC implementation. The alternative would be to no-op out the existing GC implemenation to get the baseline implementation for testing. The problem with this is inconvenience: the developers would need to make sure such the implementation is still correct, that it provides enough performance to be a good baseline, that it is hooked up into the other runtime facilities (heap dumping, thread stack walking, MXBeans) to amend the differential analysis. The implementations for other platforms would require much more work. Having the ready-to-go no-op implementation in the mainline solves this inconvenience.
Gut the existing GC barrier set. There are no existing alternatives that disable all GC barriers, but we can stub out the barrier set for the existing GC. Unfortunately, it raises the same problems as above, and it is also compounded with the dire need to disable the GC after this gutting, because the basic invariants GC expects via barriers would not hold.
Further improvements in the Parallel, G1, and Shenandoah GCs may eventually achieve overheads sufficiently low that a no-op GC is no longer needed. If and when that happens, Epsilon would still be useful for memory pressure and performance testing.
Testing
Common GC tests would not be suitable for Epsilon GC, because most tests assume they can allocate an arbitrary amount of garbage. New tests would need to be developed to test that the GC indeed works well on low-allocating workloads, and that it fails on heap exhaustion in a predictable manner. New jtreg tests under hotspot/gc/epsilon would be enough to assert correctness.
One-off performance testing during the development would be enough to ensure the desired performance characteristics when running with interpreter, C1, and C2 compilers. On-going performance testing is not required since the implementation is intended never to change after the initial implementation, and its performance-sensitive paths are implicitly tested by other GCs.
Risks and Assumptions
Usefulness vs. maintenance costs. It can be argued that such an implementation is useless to have in the product, because no one needs it. Experience, however, tells that many players in the Java ecosystem already did this exercise by expunging GC from their custom-built JVMs. That means, having a standard no-op GC option would help that part of the ecosystem. Coupled with the low maintenance costs if the implementation proves trivial, this risk is minimal. We also think this risk is minimal if the feature remains available in non-product builds only, under a "develop" flag. Users and downstream distributions may change it to "product" or "experimental" to expose Epsilon to their applications.
Public expectations. Providing a garbage collector that does not in fact do garbage collection may be seen as the dangerous practice. Accidentally enabling Epsilon GC in production may lead to surprise JVM failures when the heap is exhausted. We think this risk is minimal if the feature remains unavailable by default in product builds, under either a "develop" or "experimental" option.
Locality considerations. Non-compacting GC implicitly means it maintains the object graph in its allocation order. This has impact on spatial locality, and regular applications may experience the throughput hit if allocations are random or generate lots of sparse garbage. While this may entail some throughput overhead, this is outside of GC control, and would affect most non-moving GCs. Locality-aware application coding would be required to mitigate this drawback, if locality proves to be a problem.
Implementation complexity. It might be the case that the implementation would need more changes in the shared code than anticipated, for example in compilers and platform-specific backends. Our prototype indicates these changes are isolated enough to be benign. If that proves to be a risk, it should be mitigated by JEP 304 ("Garbage Collector Interface").
Dependencies
This work may depend on JEP 304 ("Garbage Collector Interface") to minimize shared code changes. It is might not require that interface, however, if the shared code changes are minimal.Better Naito opens on January 28, 2019!
The Portland Bureau of Transportation and Portland Parks & Recreation are pleased to announce that Better Naito will open on January 28, 2019, to provide a safe and comfortable detour during the Eastbank Esplanade maintenance project. Better Naito provides the closest continuous connection between the Hawthorne and Steel bridges on the west side of the Willamette River.
This is the third year of the Council-approved, 5-year implementation of Better Naito. Like past years, PBOT will install plastic posts to delineate one northbound motor vehicle lane on Naito Parkway between SW Main Street and NW Couch Street. There will also be a designated passenger drop off zone on SW Taylor Street to better accommodate people being dropped off by personal vehicles, taxis, and rideshares.
Learn more about the Eastbank Esplanade closure at portlandoregon.gov/parks/eastbank
#BetterNaito: A New Way to the Waterfront
Since 2015, Better Naito has provided a protected space for pedestrians and cyclists traveling along Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park during its busiest season: summer. Every year the park hosts many of the region’s largest festivals, drawing almost 700,000 visitors between April and November, and over 15,000 people per day at its peak. Last year, cyclists took almost 400,000 one-way trips on Better Naito!
Prior to Better Naito, people were forced to walk in the bike lane, squeeze onto narrow dirt paths, or bike in a travel lane with motor vehicles. Initially established as a pilot project by Better Block PDX and a team of civil engineering students from Portland State University, Better Naito helped to manage the increased transportation demand from the seasonal influx of visitors.
By converting one northbound motor vehicle lane on Naito Parkway into a two-way cycle track and pedestrian walkway, Better Naito provides a safe space for people to travel to and access the exciting events at Waterfront Park. Moreover, the clear delineation improves travel time reliability and reduces conflicts between vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.
For additional information, please view Better Naito Frequently Asked Questions.
Share your experience with us:
Call: (503) 823-4321Ung Pirat, the youth organization of the Swedish Pirate Party received over 1.3 million Krona from the Swedish government yesterday. The money - government funding to political youth organizations - was heavily criticized by anti-piracy lobbyists.
Ung Pirat, or ‘Young Pirate’, is the youth organization associated with the Swedish pirate party. Yesterday it was a big day for the group, getting 1,325,744 Swedish Krona (Approx €121,900, or $161,700 US) from the national board for youth affairs. The amount is based on a membership count of around 1280 members, but with current membership of around 4,872, next years amount should be even greater.
The national board for youth affairs (Ungdomstyrelsen) awards money to organizations, in order to ensure that they have access in influence, to promote the next generation of politicians; indeed possibly the current generation. At least two of the board members of Ung Pirat are listed on the Pirate Party’s list of candidates for June’s EU elections.
Not everyone has been pleased about the government funding though, with the IFPI chief among them. IFPI’s Swedish director Lars Gustafsson wasn’t happy at all, saying “It is surprising. Ung Pirat works in principle to encourage something illegal. That they then receive money from a state institution is remarkable.”
This is of course, the same Gustafsson who last year urged ISPs to spy on its customers, which is of course completely illegal – not that hypocrisy from the IFPI is anything new. The board dismissed the complaints though, with Director-General Per Nilsson saying “It is our understanding that they want to change legislation around copyright issues and that is an opinion that they are entitled to.”
UP, at just over two years old, has seen a fantastic growth rate. It is now the third biggest political youth organization in Sweden, behind those of the Moderate and Social Democrat parties, and ahead of the Christian Democrats – all parties with representatives in the Swedish Parliament.
Per Nilsson recognized this as well, saying, “It is positive that the organization in a short time has managed to build a large nation-wide activities on issues involving many young people.” With this money and constantly growing support, it’s quite likely that come the next election, the Pirate Party will be voted into parliament.
“The growth of the Young Pirates in Sweden heralds the coming of a new dimension in European politics,” Ung Pirat’s Mattias Bjärnemalm told TorrentFreak, “The communication revolution has made the life of the younger generations into something altogether different from how their parents grew up, and now that cultural change will alter the very core today’s political landscape.” We wish them all the best of course.A year and a half after the Pakistani government said it would find out exactly what happened and who was responsible for failing to catch the most wanted man in the world – Osama bin Laden – hiding in plain sight in Pakistan, the only thing that has come from a formal investigation are rumors.
It generally takes Pakistan years to release findings from special commissions. At the most, reports may get leaked to the press, but that also often takes months. Though many were hoping the report results would bring to task the powerful military establishment often accused by the West of supporting extremists and their affiliates, in light of reported leaks that the commission will exonerate Pakistani authorities, analysts believe that the whole exercise may have been futile.
“In Pakistan, whenever the authorities want to hide something under the carpet and hoodwink the public, the government forms a commission. That is been the historic practice,” says Zaman Khan, spokesperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Mr. bin Laden had been living in the garrison neighborhood of Abbottabad, a city about 40 miles from the capital of Pakistan, for five years before he was killed in a raid by the US Navy SEALs in May 2011, prompting an investigation by the Pakistani government to ascertain facts regarding his presence there.
A formal commission was set up, and a report was slated to come out with the findings by the end of last year. However, it faced a 10-month delay because of lack of consensus among commission members, according to an official who worked on the report and asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The commission was initially a contentious issue between the government and the opposition, but later there was agreement in the Pakistani parliament to go ahead with investigations.
However, almost a year and a half later, no one in the government or the opposition seems interested in its outcome.
“It was not possible to retrace bin Laden’s steps since the commission had not come across any such proof of how he ended up in Abbottabad,” the official says, adding that the commission members want the report to be made public.
According to Mr. Zaman, the civil society and media have done all they can to pressure the government into punishing those behind the negligence or complicity of the US finding bin Laden in “our own backyard.”
“We as nongovernmental organization can have a moral voice to remind the government of its duties. Beyond that, we cannot do much because the government does not give a damn about us if it does not want to,” he says.
Whether it will ever be released remains to be seen. “I can only confirm that the |
years because he was able to adequately turn over his “inventory” (i.e. his stocks) fast enough. This isn’t to say that you have to look for activity, or actively trade—Schloss said he kept his stocks an average of 3-4 years. But it just means that he would not have produced anywhere near the results he did if he held his stocks “forever”, or for 10 years instead of 4, etc…
Walter Schloss was akin to the low margin grocery store that didn’t produce exciting margins on any one product, but collectively across the store it was able to effectively turn over the merchandise fast enough to make exceptional returns on the assets it employed.
Some other investors might be more akin to the higher margin, lower turnover businesses that might produce much lower asset and inventory turns, but still generates very attractive returns on capital because of its very high return on sales (profit margin). These investors hold stocks for longer periods of time, but find big winners that rise 3, 5, 10 times in value over many years. A business can produce incredible profitability on lower asset turnover if it can wring out a large amount of bottom line earning power from its top line revenue.
The Two Drivers of Profitability
Some people might be familiar with the simple math of this situation, but it might help to briefly illustrate this to show what ROA (Return on Assets) consists of:
The Return on Assets (ROA) is one measure of profitability and it is calculated simply by dividing net income into total assets. A lemonade stand that produces $20 of earnings and has $100 worth of assets (the stand, the small square of front lawn, the inventory of lemonade, etc…) is producing a 20% return on assets.
The two functions that determine ROA are:
Profit Margin (some accountants refer to this as “Return on Sales”). Profit margin is calculated as follows: Profit Margin = Net Income/Sales
(some accountants refer to this as “Return on Sales”). Profit margin is calculated as follows: Asset Turnover (the measure of how efficiently a business uses its assets—i.e. how much revenue can be generated from each $1 of assets). Asset turnover is calculated as follows: Asset Turnover = Sales/Assets
(the measure of how efficiently a business uses its assets—i.e. how much revenue can be generated from each $1 of assets). Asset turnover is calculated as follows:
So I hear a lot of people talking about the profit margins (big winners) but few investors talk much about asset turnover (how quickly you go from one investment to the next). And worse yet, when they do discuss turnover, it’s usually negative (most investors say lower turnover is better, which is not true—more on this shortly).
Higher Turnover Isn’t Necessary—But It Does Influence Returns
Now, it’s important to keep in mind the above equation—there are two drivers of profitability of a business:
Efficiency —how much revenue you can produce from your available resources (assets)
—how much revenue you can produce from your available resources (assets) Profitability—how much profit you earn for each $1 of sales
So, turnover (whether we’re talking about asset turnover in the context of a business, or portfolio turnover in the context of an investment account) is just one driver of the returns that the business (or portfolio) generates.
The other driver is how much money you make on each $1 of sale (or each $1 invested).
If your business begins to turn over its assets more slowly (i.e. it begins to generate less revenue per $1 of assets), then you’ll need to make up for that by earning a higher profit margin on each $1 of revenue if you are to maintain the same ROA.
Similarly, as an investor, if your portfolio turnover decreases (which is often the result of a longer time horizon), your profit margin (in the context of investing, the amount of money you make on each $1 invested) must increase if you are to maintain the same level of annual returns on your overall portfolio.
I think this is where there is somewhat of a disconnect in the value investing community—which often considers portfolio turnover to be a negative thing. In and of itself, turnover is not bad. In fact, generally speaking, the math tells us that it is one of two main drivers of investment performance. So it’s actually necessary!
Why Do Investors Think Portfolio Turnover is Bad?
I think the reason for this negative connotation is that portfolio turnover is often associated with excess, or inappropriately high levels of trading, which is often done for emotional reasons without regard for the fundamentals of the business.
But let’s assume you are a rational, disciplined value investor. If that’s you, then you should try to turn your portfolio (your assets) over as fast (as efficiently) as possible. The faster you can buy and sell 50 cent dollars, the higher your returns.
Again, simple math (this might be painfully obvious, but I’m still going to demonstrate):
Let’s say you buy a stock at $10 and you sell it at $20:
If it takes 5 years to get from $10 to $20, you’ll earn a 15% CAGR on that invested capital
If it takes 2 years to get from $10 to $20, you’ll earn a 41% CAGR on that invested capital
If it takes 1 year to get from $10 to $20, you’ll earn 100% CAGR on that invested capital
In this case, your “profit margin” is the same in each case: it’s 100% in all three examples (the stock doubled in all three cases). However, your CAGR increases as your asset turnover increases—in other words, the more opportunities like this you can find and the faster they play out, the higher your portfolio returns will be.
So that demonstrates the various CAGR’s on the same level of profit margin. This is the same basic math that you’d see if you compare two companies with a 10% net margin, but Company A turns over its assets twice as fast as company B, then Company A’s ROA will be twice as high.
Now let’s quickly look at the same level of asset turnover on different levels of profitability:
Let’s say each year on January 1st, you buy one stock, and each year on December 31st, you sell it to buy something else:
If the stock you bought goes up 15% over the course of the 1 year, obviously your CAGR is 15% on this 1 year investment
If your stock goes up 25%, your CAGR is 25%, etc…
In this example, your asset turnover is exactly the same (you turn over your assets once per year in this case), but your profit margins are different.
Obvious stuff, right?
I think so, but I consistently read a lot of people referring to portfolio turnover as a bad thing, which runs counter to the math behind these examples.
Buffett’s Returns and Peter Lynch’s Famous 10-Baggers
It’s clear to see with these simple examples that portfolio returns (ROA) is dependent on two drivers:
How much you make on each investment (profit margin)
How quickly you can turn over your assets (asset turnover)
Buffett’s transition that Klarman referred to above is one where he transitioned over the course of his career from a lower profit margin, higher turnover investor to a higher margin, lower turnover investor. In the 50’s and 60’s, Buffett made many more investments, and made much smaller profits on average (in other words, he bought stocks, sold them when they appreciated to buy still more undervalued stocks). In the 80’s and 90’s, he began making fewer investments (due to increasing capital levels), but his profit margins grew (he went from making 20%-50% gains in shorter time periods to making 1000%+ gains over many years).
Interestingly, Buffett’s results (on a percentage return basis) were much better when he had higher turnover (and lower average profit per investment) in the early years than they are now. In fact, Buffett said his best decade of returns was the 1950’s, when he was making 50% annual returns, and investing in a variety of bargains and special situation events.
This wasn’t necessarily intended or by design, it was simply that Buffett was “taking what the defense gave him”. As his capital grew, he had to look for larger investments and had to extend his time horizon.
If he were investing again with $1 million or so, he’d be making many more investments and his asset turnover would be much, much higher—there is absolutely no doubt about this.
He may have a few investments that become big winners, but there would be very few 10 baggers, and many, many smaller, faster gains.
One other point that runs counterintuitive to what most people think: Peter Lynch is famous for the term “10-baggers”—investment that rise 10 times in value. But in fact, when Lynch started running the Magellan fund and was producing incredible 50%+ returns in the early years, his turnover exceeded 300% every year for the first 4 years (in other words, the average length of time he held a stock was only 4 months). I think in reality, his fantastic track record is much more because of higher portfolio turnover and much less because of the famous “10-baggers” that he cites in One Up on Wall Street.
Certainly profit margins are just as important a driver to profitability (portfolio returns), but I think turnover is vastly misunderstood.
I think it’s important when listening to the great investors–even Buffett–to keep in mind this math when you hear ubiquitous investment advice and generally accepted wisdom regarding turnover, investment time frames and holding periods.Metro expanded its rail network in 2016, opening eagerly anticipated extensions of the Gold and Expo rail lines—but a surge in the number of people taking trains was not enough to overcome a sharp decline in bus ridership.
Bus ridership plunged nearly 9 percent, and systemwide, Metro tallied 25 million fewer rides last year than in 2015, a 6 percent drop, according to the Los Angeles Times.
As the Times reports, the decline in bus ridership is puzzling Metro officials, who offer a number of possible explanations. It’s possible, they say, that the drop in ridership is part of a nationwide trend that’s hit other cities, including New York.
Some riders may also be walking, biking, or using ridesharing apps such as Uber and Lyft more often, Conan Cheung tells the Times. Cheung, who is Metro’s executive officer for finance, also acknowledges that the bus system may need a major update—it’s been more than a decade since Metro gave its bus network a comprehensive overhaul.
Possibly as a result, Cheung says that the agency may be losing some of its core riders—those that rely on buses and trains as their primary mode of transportation. Such losses can have an outsize effect on Metro’s ridership data because such passengers generally take multiple trips per day.
After three years of relatively steady ridership numbers, the amount of people taking buses began declining in 2014—the same year that Metro raised prices for both buses and trains. Perhaps not so coincidentally, gas prices began falling nationwide around the same time.
As the Times suggests, a recent state law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses may have given some longtime riders the opportunity to drive instead. But the law went into effect in 2015, a year after ridership began to decline.
Regardless of the reasons, Metro has reason to be concerned about a dip in bus ridership. Though the city’s expanding network of train lines is drawing many new riders to the mass transit, buses still account for the lion’s share of the total number of miles covered by the system—and a great deal of Metro’s revenue.
A post on Metro’s blog, The Source, notes that the agency is taking steps to improve rider experience to draw more passengers. These include adding cars to light rail lines that are often crammed to capacity during peak hours.
The agency is also poised to rework its security arrangement, looping in local police departments as well as the Sheriff’s Department. As the Times points out, Metro surveys have shown that safety is one of the biggest issues preventing people from riding.Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
February 28, 2014 Email Steve Bottjer Twitter @BottjerRNO
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Wandrille Lefèvre
Born in Chartres, France, Wandrille Lefèvre is a 24 year old central defender with the Montreal Impact. As one of an impressive group of players to have graduated from the Montreal Impact Academy to the ranks of the professional squad, Lefèvre is expected to play an important role with an Impact squad that will kick off their 2014 MLS campaign on March 8th away to FC Dallas.
RedNation recently had the chance to catch up with Lefèvre to discuss his transition from playing as a midfielder to playing as a central defender, learning from Italian legend Alessandro Nesta and his experiences in the preseason playing under new Impact Head Coach Frank Klopas.
RedNation Online (RNO): Wandrille, you have been playing significant minutes as a central defender during Montreal’s preseason matches. How would you evaluate your performances in the preseason so far?
Wandrille Lefèvre: It’s has been going pretty well. Even though the last two results are not what we would expect, we are still growing as a group and especially growing defensively. The defensive aspect was probably one of our weaknesses last year, so we are trying to improve every day and in each game we play.
From a personal standpoint, it has been good. I’m doing well and getting more confident and I’m playing with players like Matteo (Ferrari) and Hassoun (Camara). They have confidence in me and I trust them. So it is going well.
RNO: Adjusting to a new Head Coach is a challenge for any player. What has been the biggest difference so far in terms of playing under Frank Klopas vs Marco Schällibaum?
Wandrille Lefèvre: I would say that the main difference is that we didn’t react much last year when we realized that we were allowing a lot of goals because we were still scoring a lot of goals. This year the goal is if we score one or two goals in a game, that it gives us a chance to win. We don’t want to win games by score lines like 3-2, 5-3 and 4-3. We want to win games 1-0 or 2-1, so we aren’t allowing more than one goal.
If we allow one goal, we want that to be our maximum. That is one of the goals that has been put in place by the coaching staff and we are trying to respect that. Like I said, we did not achieve that goal in the past two games, but we are still improving and we will be ready for the first game of the season.
RNO: You played as an attacking midfielder during your time with the Impact Academy and then signed with the Impact senior team as a defensive midfielder. Then last season you played the majority of your games as a central defender. How has the transition to central defense gone and has it been determined that centre back is your long-term role at the professional level?
Wandrille Lefèvre: Yes, I think (it has been determined that is my role). Last year when I signed with the club I was more of a holding midfielder. But I had a chance to help the team at the position of centre back because Nelsen Rivas was injured and even Nesta was injured a couple of times. Around the month of July, my coach and Nick De Santis came up to me and told me that they saw me in that position long-term. They asked me if I had a problem with that and I told them no.
To be honest, what is good for me is because the position is new I can see that I still have a lot to learn and I think I have a higher ceiling as a central defender (compared to playing as a holding midfielder or as an attacking midfielder).
RNO: Given your transition to central defense, how valuable was it to have a player such as Alessandro Nesta on the roster last season?
Wandrille Lefèvre: For sure it helped. He helped the players a lot because he is a really nice guy. He understood that it was a new position for me and he understood that he could play a role as a veteran because of his experience. He spoke to me a lot after the games I played and he was working with me every day and helping a lot. When you have a guy like Nesta, who can help you with that type of advice, for sure you are listening to him and trying to apply what he says on the field.
RNO: Montreal announced on Thursday that Nesta has joined the Impact technical staff as a consultant. Has there been any discussion of him still playing a role in working with you and the other young defenders on the Impact roster?
Wandrille Lefèvre: To be honest, I only learned of the news this morning. But what I can say for sure is that he will clearly bring added value to the team. Last year having Nesta playing on the field was a value for the team and for the young players to learn. Now having him watch the games from outside the pitch is for sure something that will be valuable to the team. We have to listen to what he is going to say and I hope we will have a lot of feedback from him.
RNO: You’ve been quoted as saying that Nesta spoke to you about how he travelled a similar path to becoming a central defender, starting out his career as a midfielder, but ultimately moving to the back line for various reasons. Do you think your approach to the central defender position and your skillset as a former midfielder make you a different player compared a defender who has been mostly groomed as a defender throughout his development?
Wandrille Lefèvre: Yes, I can see that angle. Like I have said when I have been asked that question, it helps especially with the ball. I was used to reacting quickly with the ball at my feet and playing both long and short balls to find space. For sure this is one of my strengths as a player. I want to use it as much as I can. For example, a player like Matteo will create an angle and is really ready to give me the ball, so I can really make a difference with strong first passes. He knows that it is one of my strengths. Defensively, it is different because you have to keep everything in front of you.
RNO: Your story is an interesting one in that just a few years ago you were in university and had basically given up on your dream of playing professional football. Given the manner in which things have played out and with your joining the professional ranks something that has now come to fruition, has it enhanced your determination to succeed and increased your passion for the game?
Wandrille Lefèvre: If you had told me 2-3 years ago that I would be getting as many minutes as I am in the preseason of a professional camp and that I might be ready to be in the position to start the season opener in Dallas, I would not have thought it was possible. I was so far from the pro level. It was very hard and I had to work on many aspects of my play on the pitch. I also wasn’t a full-time athlete and I had a lot of work to do improve my fitness. I also had to become a smarter player. I’m really happy and it is a dream that I am living now. I’m trying to enjoy every minute that I am living that dream.
RNO: Unlike other Impact Academy graduates such as Maxim Tissot, Karl Ouimette and Maxime Crépeau who spent all of their formative years in Canada, you grew up in France and moved to Montreal when you were 14 years old. What training did you receive in youth football in France and do you think your European background plays a role in how you might play and view the game differently compared to a Canadian player?
Wandrille Lefèvre: For sure it helped (growing up in France). But all of the Canadian guys were still watching a lot of games from Europe and loving the game and getting more and more interested in it. Just watching can help you a lot. So being in Europe can help, but it is also a case where just watching and being interested in what happens in the sport in both Europe and South America, you will get better just by watching those types of games and styles of play.
RNO: You hold a passport from France, but are a Canadian permanent resident. Any time a young player starts to rise to prominence as you have, the question of International football usually follows. Have you considered whether you might play for Canada at the International level should that opportunity arise?
Wandrille Lefèvre: To be honest, right now I have not really thought about it because my goal is to improve as a player for my club and my priority is the Montreal Impact. As you said, I am a permanent resident and not yet a Canadian and I feel more like a Montrealer than I do a Canadian. However, for sure, if it can happen one day, I will enjoy representing Canada because it is country that has given me a lot since I was 14 years old and I feel really comfortable with my life here. For sure I would be honoured to represent the country. However, right now the goals I have with my club are more important.
RNO: When you made your MLS debut, you came on in place of Alessandro Nesta and you’ve spoke of how special that occurrence was for you. Who were some of the players that you idolized growing up?
Wandrille Lefèvre: Because I wasn’t a central defender when I was young and because I was an offensive player and I am a French, I was dreaming of playing like Zinedine Zidane. In my opinion, he played soccer the right way and he came up big in important games. My player was and still is Zidane.Researchers have found that three sessions of the exercise a week can help fight off depression as it boosts levels of a chemical in the brain which is essential for a sound and relaxed mind.
Scientists found that the levels of the amino acid GABA are much higher in those that carry out yoga than those do the equivalent of a similarly strenuous exercise such as walking.
The chemical, GABA, is essential to the function of brain and central nervous system and which helps promote a state of calm within the body.
Low GABA levels are associated with depression and other widespread anxiety disorders.
Scientists from the Boston University School of Medicine, USA, spent 12 weeks monitoring two groups of healthy individuals, half of whom walked for three hours each week, while the other half spent the same time doing yoga.
Participants brains were scanned before and after the study using magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) imaging to measure GABA levels, while they were also asked questions about their psychological wellbeing throughout the study.
Those who did yoga reported lower levels of anxiety and increases in their mood than the walkers.
Professor Chris Streeter said yoga participants increased feeling of wellbeing was associated with GABA levels.
He said: "Over time, positive changes in these reports were associated with climbing GABA levels."
Prof Streeter called for further research into using yoga as a treatment for other forms of mental illness.
The research was published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
Katie Prior, of mental health charity Mind, welcomed the study.
She said: "Any kind of exercise is good for improving a person's mood and self esteem. It makes you feel good and look good, both of which help with mental wellbeing.
"Yoga is a relaxing, low impact activity for people who don't like the thought of walking or running.
"It can be done in the privacy of a person's own home, or people can join a class where they can meet others – this is a great way to meet people, especially for those who may suffer from isolation and loneliness."
The research is good news for yoga which along with pilates was criticised earlier this month for not pushing the body as hard as other exercises.
The University of Wisconsin said that it fell short of what was considered an all-round workout.
They found that while yoga did improve strength, endurance, balance and flexibility, they burned very few calories — suggesting they had not pushed their bodies hard enough to gain substantial aerobic improvements.
In fact, researchers found that a typical class used 144 calories in 55 minutes— the same amount burned during a slow walk.
Even power yoga, which requires participants to perform poses in quick succession, was found to burn only about 237 calories per class and to boost the heart rate to only 62 per cent of the maximum that constitutes a light aerobic workout.
A heart rate of 64-94 per cent maximum is the level needed to work the heart and lungs effectively.
On average, a 50-minute Pilates session burned 174 calories (beginner) and 254 (advanced) — half the amount you might burn on a run of similar duration.There are several options to put JMX data into Elasticsearch.
An alternative would be to directly poll the JMX data from the JVM
This way, every component has its own responsibility, there’s not much performance overhead and the metric-handling part can fail while the main app is still available.
Have a dedicated app poll the endpoint and send data to Elasticsearch
Have a feature expose JMX data on an HTTP endpoint using Jolokia
Let the application send metrics to the JVM - there’s the Spring Boot actuator for that, the overhead is pretty limited
Alternatively, one can hack his own micro-service architecture:
The most straightforward way is to use Logstash with the JMX plugin
Unfortunate setback
Any architect worth his salt (read lazy) should always consider the out-of-the-box option. The Logstash JMX plugin looks promising. After installing the plugin, the jmx input can be configured into the Logstash configuration file:
input { jmx { path => "/var/logstash/jmxconf" polling_frequency => 5 type => "jmx" } } output { stdout { codec => rubydebug } }
The plugin is designed to read JVM parameters (such as host and port), as well as the metrics to handle from JSON configuration files. In the above example, they will be watched in the /var/logstash/jmxconf folder. Moreover, they can be added, removed and updated on the fly.
Here’s an example of such configuration file:
{ "host" : "localhost", "port" : 1616, "alias" : "petclinic", "queries" : [ { "object_name" : "org.springframework.metrics:name=*,type=*,value=*", "object_alias" : "${type}.${name}.${value}" }] }
A MBean’s ObjectName can be determined from inside the jconsole:
The plugin allows wildcard in the metric’s name and usage of captured values in the alias. Also, by default, all attributes will be read (those can be restricted if necessary).
Note: when starting the business app, it’s highly recommended to set the JMX port through the com.sun.management.jmxremote.port system property.
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, running the above configuration fails with messages of this kind:
[WARN][logstash.inputs.jmx] Failed retrieving metrics for attribute Value on object blah blah blah [WARN][logstash.inputs.jmx] undefined method `event' for =<LogStash::Inputs::Jmx:0x70836e5d>John Weiland Homes reportedly wants to demolish several decades-old buildings in the Old Fourth Ward and put up townhomes —
and the locals aren't too happy about it. According to information distributed to residents by Kit Sutherland, president of the Old Fourth Ward Alliance, Weiland has proposed building 24 townhomes at 345 Glen Iris Drive, where that road intersects with Ralph McGill Boulevard. The site is home to several buildings, some dating back as far as 1929, that would all be demolished, but according to Sutherland, razing those structures would not be a popular option. "Many attendees" at the group's meeting last week, Sutherland wrote, "expressed concern over this proposal, indicating that they would prefer to see a mixed-use development that would retain the oldest buildings and add new development to the rest of the site."
Property records back up Sutherland's statement that Weiland doesn't yet own the 1.55-acre lot at the southeast corner of Glen Iris Drive and Ralph McGill Boulevard, just a few blocks from Historic Fourth Ward Park and Ponce City Market. "If public objections to their proposed project are substantial," Sutherland wrote, "the property owner might seek alternative development proposals."
In an email, Weiland spokeswoman Jennifer Nilsson said the company is still in the early stages of project planning and is "working actively to gather and review feedback from area residents as well as the city of Atlanta as a part of that process." No renderings or more specifics on the townhome proposal are available yet, Nilsson said.
The main building on the property — the large brick one that faces Glen Iris — was originally a factory for James G. Dodson's Ironized Yeast Company before it was bought by the Creomulsion Company, which still makes cough syrup. As Sutherland points out, the Old Fourth Ward master plan encourages historic rehabilitation and specifically recommends the site in question for mixed-use redevelopment. Weiland already has a foothold in the O4W with Highland Park, a cluster of townhomes right on the Beltline near Inman Park with prices now starting at $459,000.
Last November, the owner of the property in question — Harold Wyatt, of Wyatt Realty Company — told Curbed Atlanta the historic building was 100 percent leased by a tenant in the film industry and would remain so for the foreseeable future. Wyatt said the building was in "extremely poor" condition when he acquired it, and no changes were planned while the tenant was there.
According to Sutherland's email, the timeframe for O4W public comments on a "special administrative permit" applied for by Weiland ends today. Given the chance, what would you say?
— By Curbed Atlanta contributor Tyler Estep
· In O4W, Competition's Fierce For Beltline Townhomes [Curbed]The new Google keyboard in Android L brings the Material Design aesthetic to text input, but the APK pulled from L doesn't work quite right on other Android builds. It actually breaks the keyboard for most devices. No worries, though. An XDA user has tweaked it to work correctly on (probably) all Android 4.0 and higher devices. There is one method that requires root (it's actually a ZIP file) and one that might not work on all devices that's an APK.
If you haven't been keeping up on all the minutia, the new keyboard doesn't really do anything differently than the current version. It just looks different. At least, there's nothing new on the surface. It's possible Google has done something else behind the scenes, though.
If you want to give it a shot, grab this ZIP file courtesy of XDA user bejunk. Flash it through CWM or TWRP after removing the old Google Keybaord. Yes, you need root for this. Non-rooted users can try this APK from user asdfzz, which has been modded to work on other devices. It probably has more narrow compatibility, but it's easier. Maybe give this a shot first. In either case, you will have to go into the advanced keyboard settings and choose the Materials theme.
[XDA: 1, 2]From a San Francisco legend to a Chicago hole in the wall, and from an under-the-radar New York behemoth to a simple bean-and-cheese masterpiece in Yuma, Ariz., there are some soul-satisfying burritos to be found all across our country. So loosen your belt, because we’re taking you on a journey through the country’s 20 best.
America’s 20 Best Burritos (Slideshow)
When you think about it, the burrito might be the world’s most perfect food. Seriously, what’s not to like? A hefty flour tortilla, steamed and pliable, filled with beans, cheese, meat, and vegetables, customizable to the extreme. Want guacamole and Mexican crema? Sure. Just want veggies instead of meat? Sure, there are plenty of vegetarian options available. All the food groups are covered, and best of all, it’s handheld.
The answer might seem obvious, but before we can go any further, we need to ask ourselves what exactly a burrito is. It’s not just a hodgepodge of stuff wrapped up in a tortilla; that’s a wrap. And while there are plenty of fusion burritos out there, like the world-class ones served from Los Angeles’ Kogi BBQ truck or egg-filled breakfast burritos, those are rankings for another day. For our purposes, we’re talking about, well, what you probably picture when you think of a burrito: a tidy cylinder of joy tightly wrapped up in aluminum foil, filled to nearly bursting with the aforementioned Tex-Mex staples: your choice of rice, beans, cheese, meats like carnitas, barbacoa, and al pastor, vegetables, guacamole, crema, and maybe some hot sauce, all the flavors comingling to create a flavor bomb that’s customized precisely to your liking. Did we mention that a burrito just might be the perfect food? Before burritos found their way to the Mission District of San Francisco, they were little more than a flour tortilla rolled up around one or two ingredients, like beans or fish.
In order to compile our ranking, we looked at burritos from all across the country and applied several strict criteria: Are all the ingredients fresh? Is there a good selection of meats and add-ons? Can you customize your order, right down to the amount of crema squeezed on top? Is it renowned by critics and locals alike in its city? We’re not ranking the restaurants, we’re ranking the burritos themselves, but the restaurant needs to have that allure: when you drive by this place does your mouth immediately start to water, forcing you to impulsively pull over and, before you know it, you find yourself diving face-first into the burrito of your dreams? Yeah, those are the burritos we’re looking for.
Obviously, the top end of our list is California-heavy. Before burritos found their way to the Mission District of San Francisco, they were little more than a flour tortilla rolled up around one or two ingredients, like beans or fish. But the burrito ballooned once it made its way to the States, growing to massive proportions in San Francisco in the early 1960s, giving rise to the burritos we most recognize today and therefore some of the most definitive, "perfect" examples. Other regional varieties include a more minimalist meat-cheese-salsa variety in San Diego and one with refried beans, stewed beef, and shredded Cheddar in Los Angeles. Further afield, green chile has made its mark on the burrito in Santa Fe, N.M., and throughout the rest of the country the gospel has spread, resulting in unique and delicious burritos in just about every major city. And we found 20 of the best.
So without further ado, click here to learn about the top 20 burritos in America.
Dan Myers is the Eat/Dine Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow him on Twitter @sirmyers. Additional reporting by Tom Coughlan.The Austrian School of Economics derives its name from its Austrian founders and early supporters. Members of this school approach economics as an a priori system like logic or mathematics, not as an empirical science like physics. They strive to discover axioms of the science of human action (called "praxeology") and deduce further truths. Some of these axioms are:
humans act purposefully;
humans prefer more of a good to less;
humans prefer to receive a good sooner rather than later; and
each party to a trade expects to benefit from it.
There is much more. This wiki attempts to create an easily accessible and well documented overview of the Austrian School. Please help to make it grow.
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Probability Featured article:
A statement is probable if our knowledge about its content is deficient: we do not know everything needed for a definite decision between true and false. But, on the other hand, we do know something about it.
All human action has to deal with the uncertainty of the future. The distinction between "risk" and "uncertainty" has been developed by Frank Knight and deeper analyzed by Ludwig von Mises, who has shown that they can be subsumed under the more general categories of "class probability" and "case probability". Only class probability is subject to numerical expression and analysis.
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Talk and more...Southern Poverty Law Center credited rise in racist and far-right groups to Donald Trump’s ‘incendiary rhetoric’ and his senior staff of ‘anti-Muslim ideologues’
The number of organized anti-Muslim hate groups in America nearly tripled last year, from 34 to more than 100, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning non-profit that tracks extremist groups.
The center credited the “incendiary rhetoric” of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign with fueling the rise in anti-Muslim hate, along with anger over terror attacks like the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando last June.
Steve Bannon's Islamophobic film script just one example of anti-Muslim views Read more
Several senior White House officials, including Steve Bannon, Steven Miller, and Kellyanne Conway, are “serious anti-Muslim ideologues”, Mark Potok, the lead author of the annual hate group report, said Wednesday.
“It’s hardly like the departure of Michael Flynn is going to mitigate the really serious onslaught directed at American Muslims,” Potok said. The former national security adviser, who resigned Monday, had made several anti-Muslim statements, including a Twitter post suggesting that “fear of Muslims is rational”.
The new report found there are now more than |
to argue that the four-year agreement he signed with All-Star Boxing in 2008 was in English and – therefore – unclear to him as to the exact terms of the deal.
As Alvarez – who hails from Guadalajara, Mexico - only spoke and read in Spanish at the time, the insistence was that – sans sufficient translation – he believed he was signing a visa application to travel to and fight in the United States.
Alvarez and All-Star Boxing were together for nine fights from Sept. ’08 to Dec. ’09, with promoter Felix ‘Tutico’ Zabala, Jr. – who was not in a position to comment on the outcome of the case as this goes to publish – estimating $180,000 invested into the boxer’s career. Several fights included Golden Boy Promotions’ hand in such events, including their getting Alvarez on U.S. – Telefutura at first (now known as UniMas) before eventually showcasing him on HBO Latino and HBO’s flagship station.
“What the jury came back with and determined, was that Canelo had experienced (unjust) enrichment,” Friedman explained. “That is the reward that was issued.”
Golden Boy was the primary promoter for Alvarez’ career from 2010 onward, at which point All-Star Boxing first filed its lawsuit. The first court date was set for 2011, delayed several times through the years as Alvarez successfully argued on a number of occasions that in order to be present for the duration of the trial he would have to be on a down cycle from fighting and not entering training camp for his next event.
That moment finally came upon the start of trial on May 23. By then, Alvarez had already wrapped up his May 7 knockout win over Amir Khan and had placed talks on hold for a potential showdown with unbeaten middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin.
Alvarez even vacated his World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight belt – for which Golovkin was mandatory challenger – as per a pre-negotiations promise to not hold the title hostage given the 15-day deadline in place to come to terms for such a clash.
Whether he next faces Golovkin or any other boxer in or around the middleweight division, what is immediately on the collective minds of the Golden Boy staff is returning to in-ring action.
Alvarez has emerged as one of the sport’s leading superstars in recent years, more so upon the recent retirement of both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao within the last 12 months.
His first title win was preceded by the launch of this very court case, with All-Star Boxing announcing its intent to reclaim its fighter prior to Alvarez’ vacant WBC 154-pound title fight with Matthew Hatton in March ‘11. Alvarez won the fight by 6th round knockout, obtaining his first belt and in his debut as an HBO headliner.
It was a role he’d regularly enjoy with the exception of appearing on Pay-Per-View undercards headlined by Mayweather, until both boxers made their way to rival network Showtime. Alvarez’ first fight “across the street” came in Sept. ’12, knocking out Josesito Lopez in five rounds.
Seven months later, he became a unified titlist with a 12-round win over Austin Trout, leading to what would serve at the time as the most lucrative event in boxing history – as well as his lone loss in the ring.
Alvarez was soundly outboxed by Mayweather in their Sept. ’13 blockbuster event, but a night where both walked away with fistfuls of cash. The show set records for largest box office take and PPV revenue generated, though both marks since far and away surpassed by Mayweather’s winning performance over Pacquiao last May.
Still, the box office appeal enjoyed by Alvarez was introduced throughout the case, establishing the argument that Zabala helped lay the foundation for the star he has now become.
The red-headed Mexican soared to new heights upon his return to HBO. His first fight under a new network agreement – whose terms are undisclosed but believed to be at least five years – was a rousing 3rd round knockout of James Kirkland last May, a fight that played to 30,000 fans in attendance at Minute Maid Park in Houston, as well as more than 2 million viewers on HBO.
The latter tally was the most watched cable-TV boxing event since 2006, leading to his showdown with reigning World middleweight champ Miguel Cotto last November. Alvarez annexed the crown with a unanimous decision win, becoming the first-ever boxer from Mexico to claim the lineal middleweight crown.
The combined star power of Alvarez and Puerto Rico’s Cotto produced a PPV event that – according to recently reevaluated figures – have sold more than 930,000 units and more than $60 million in revenue.
Exact totals of his PPV-headlining knockout win over Khan last month at the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas have yet to be confirmed or formally revealed. Still, between PPV sales, box office gate, international rights and sponsorship, the event is believed to have generated upwards of $50 million in total revenue, further confirmation of his star power.
For now, it proved to work against him in the eyes of the jury in the Dade County court house. However the appeal process plays out, all parties involved get to go back to what they know and do best – boxing business.
Alvarez’ next planned ring appearance is set for September 17. Golden Boy has a tentative hold on the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, though that could change to the T-Mobile Arena – or even the Dallas Cowboys’ home, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – with the right opponent, namely a much desired showdown with Golovkin.
Meanwhile, All-Star Boxing will go all in for its summer season of Boxeo Telemundo, which is due to launch June 24 in Tampa, Florida.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2Despite the compelling subjective experience of executive self-control, we argue that “consciousness” contains no top-down control processes and that “consciousness” involves no executive, causal, or controlling relationship with any of the familiar psychological processes conventionally attributed to it. In our view, psychological processing and psychological products are not under the control of consciousness. In particular, we argue that all “contents of consciousness” are generated by and within non-conscious brain systems in the form of a continuous self-referential personal narrative that is not directed or influenced in any way by the “experience of consciousness.” This continuously updated personal narrative arises from selective “internal broadcasting” of outputs from non-conscious executive systems that have access to all forms of cognitive processing, sensory information, and motor control. The personal narrative provides information for storage in autobiographical memory and is underpinned by constructs of self and agency, also created in non-conscious systems. The experience of consciousness is a passive accompaniment to the non-conscious processes of internal broadcasting and the creation of the personal narrative. In this sense, personal awareness is analogous to the rainbow which accompanies physical processes in the atmosphere but exerts no influence over them. Though it is an end-product created by non-conscious executive systems, the personal narrative serves the powerful evolutionary function of enabling individuals to communicate (externally broadcast) the contents of internal broadcasting. This in turn allows recipients to generate potentially adaptive strategies, such as predicting the behavior of others and underlies the development of social and cultural structures, that promote species survival. Consequently, it is the capacity to communicate to others the contents of the personal narrative that confers an evolutionary advantage—not the experience of consciousness (personal awareness) itself.
Overview
Most of us believe that what we call “consciousness” is responsible for creating and controlling our mental processes and behavior. The traditional folk usage of the term “consciousness” arguably has two aspects: the experience of “consciousness” and the contents of “consciousness”, our thoughts, beliefs, sensations, percepts, intentions, sense of agency, memories, and emotions. Over the past 30 years, there has been a slow but growing consensus among some students of the cognitive sciences that many of the contents of “consciousness,” are formed backstage by fast, efficient non-conscious systems.
In our account, we take this argument to its logical conclusion and propose that “consciousness” although temporally congruent involves no executive, causal, or controlling relationship with any of the familiar psychological processes conventionally attributed to it. In particular, we argue that all “contents of consciousness” are generated by and within non-conscious brain systems in the form of a continuous self-referential personal narrative that is not directed or influenced in any way by the “experience of consciousness” (which we will refer to as “personal awareness”). In other words, all psychological processing and psychological products are the products of fast efficient non-conscious systems.
The misconception that has maintained the traditional conscious-executive account largely derives from the compelling, consistent temporal relationship between a psychological product, such as a thought, and conscious experience, resulting in the misattribution that the latter is causally responsible for the former. Perceiving such relationships as causal in physical and social contexts is of course helpful and important, allowing humans to interpret events in our environment, particularly when describing and understanding predictive and goal-directed actions (e.g., Blakemore et al., 2001; Woods et al., 2014). When we witness two billiard balls collide, we intuitively perceive one ball forcing the other to move in a designated direction despite simply observing a sequence of events. As Hood (2006) points out “humans are causal determinists; we cannot help but experience the world as a continuous sequence of events and outcomes.” Spatial continuity and temporal contiguity increase the likelihood that we will perceive causality (e.g., Woods et al., 2014). However, while two events can be temporally and spatially contiguous, we argue that personal awareness is qualitatively distinct and separate and as such does not exert any causal influence over the contents of the personal narrative (Halligan and Oakley, 2000; Blackmore, 2012, 2016). In other words, despite its intuitive attractiveness and folk acceptance, the ascription of executive functions or agency to “consciousness” either in part or as a whole, or to the “experience of consciousness,” we claim is a misconception.
Consequently, the focus of this paper is less concerned with explaining personal awareness, which we take as a given, but more with explaining the properties, functions, and adaptive significance of the non-consciously generated, self-referential psychological content of the personal narrative. This conceptual decoupling, we suggest, offers a more productive starting point and focus for cognitive science when exploring the origin and function of psychological processes, and the control over them which was previously attributed in large or small part to the presence of an executive “consciousness.” Moreover, we consider that it is the capacity to share the contents of the non-consciously generated personal narrative stream, rather than personal awareness per se, that confers an evolutionary advantage. The potential to share selective psychological content from the personal narrative, such as ideas and knowledge, underpins the development of socially adaptive strategies including understanding and predicting the behavior of others, and ultimately cultural evolution.
Notwithstanding the above, we have little option but to use in this article the terms “consciousness,” “experience of consciousness,” “conscious awareness,” and “contents of consciousness” (all with single quotation marks) when referring to the traditional hybrid construct that implies some functional dependency between personal awareness and the control of higher psychological processes. Ultimately by removing what we see as the mistaken attribution of executive control and agency to “conscious experience,” we hope to avoid the necessity of characterizing cognitive/psychological processes in terms of the traditional binary distinction of “conscious” vs. “unconscious.” With this in mind, we favor the use of “psychological,” as the more neutral term in relation to this distinction, in preference to “cognitive.” Similarly, we use the term “non-conscious” in preference to “unconscious,” to reflect our view that all psychological processing and processes, including those forming what we call the personal narrative, occur outside “conscious experience.” Seen in such a light, a major aspect of the “hard problem of consciousness” (the problem of trying to explain how phenomenal experiences can influence physical processes in the brain) can be avoided in that the “experience of consciousness” (personal awareness) we argue can be seen to be a real, but passive emergent property of psychological processing and not some executive process capable of animating and directing our mental states. In this respect, we favor Huxley's analogy which regarded “consciousness” as being like a steam whistle on a train—accompanying the work of the engine but having no intrinsic influence or control over it (Huxley, 1874). In summary, personal awareness is real, present, and contemporaneous with non-conscious products, but it is not causal and does not exert any influence on our psychological products. Our account does not aim to explain, the other feature of the “hard problem”—namely the question as to why we have subjective experience at all.
In addition to presenting our view of “consciousness” in more detail in this paper we will discuss some of its broader implications for cognitive neuroscience. We will also explore its relevance in relation to the social role of suggestion, its potential for understanding of processes underlying suggestion, dissociation, and related clinical conditions, as well as implications for the topics of free-will and personal responsibility. We start however, with a brief historical overview of ideas about “consciousness.”
The Rise and Fall of “Consciousness”
In 1976, Jaynes suggested that early in human evolutional history, the experience of “consciousness” was initially interpreted as external voices that commanded actions and framed perceptions and beliefs not that dissimilar from hallucinations and delusions experienced in schizophrenia. More recent folk accounts of psychological states however have accepted “consciousness” as arising from, and under the control of, the individual's “self” (Bargh and Morsella, 2008). However, as far back as the nineteenth century, the founding fathers of psychology observed that many of our mental experiences arise from processes that we are not consciously aware of (James, 1892; von Helmholtz, 1897; Wundt, 1902). The latter realization, derived in part from observation of phenomena observed in hypnosis (Bargh and Morsella, 2008), was incorporated into the writings of Charcot and Freud (Oakley, 2012). This was further reinforced by the observations of several influential psychologists at the beginning of the “cognitive revolution” (Miller, 1962) who noted that that even a cursory introspective examination of one's own “conscious awareness” quickly revealed that the products of thinking and perception were the result of non-conscious processes (Nisbett and Wilson, 1977; Halligan and Oakley, 2000).
Nevertheless over the past 60 years, cognitive psychology has retained a distinction between “automatic” mental processes—not involving “conscious awareness” and “controlled” processes that did (Miller, 1962; Nisbett and Wilson, 1977; Kihlstrom, 1987; Gazzaniga, 1988; Moscovitch and Umiltà, 1991; Halligan and Marshall, 1997; Velmans, 2000; Driver and Vuilleumier, 2001; Wegner, 2002; Pockett, 2004; Hassin et al., 2005; Frith, 2007, 2010; Earl, 2014; Frigato, 2014). The Global Workspace theory (Baars, 1988, 1997) likened “consciousness” to a working theater where psychological events created by non-conscious processes taking place behind the scenes, allowed some to enter onto the stage of “conscious awareness.”
This long standing and intuitive account of consciously mediated executive control has however been challenged, by a small but growing number of students of neuroscience (Gazzaniga, 1988, 2000; Haggard and Eimer, 1999; Halligan and Oakley, 2000; Velmans, 2000; Wegner, 2002; Gray, 2004; Pockett, 2004; Frith, 2007, 2010; Baumeister and Bargh, 2014; Frigato, 2014) who demonstrated the involvement of ever more sophisticated non-conscious systems involved in the execution and co-ordination of complex and interdependent psychological functions underlying thought, motivation, decision making, mathematical ability, and mental control in the pursuit of goals (Dijksterhuis and Aarts, 2010; Hassin, 2013).
Recognition of the pervasive adaptiveness of non-conscious systems increased further over the past 10 years (Bargh and Morsella, 2008) with non-conscious mechanisms being increasingly implicated in more complex phenomena, such as decision-making, face perception, conformity, and behavioral contagion (Hassin et al., 2005; Bargh et al., 2012), to the point where it was claimed that non-conscious systems could carry out all of the psychological activities traditionally assumed to depend on “consciousness” (Hassin, 2013). Consistent with the latter view, it has been argued that conscious control of behavior was purely illusory (Wegner, 2002). Not all researchers and theorists however agree and some form of executive role for “consciousness” systems continues to be retained or emphasized (Baumeister et al., 2011; Frith and Metzinger, 2016).
In parallel with these developments in cognitive psychology, compelling complementary evidence from cognitive neuropsychology has begun to highlight some of the fault lines between traditional accounts of “conscious” and “unconscious processes.” For example, patients with “blindsight” following damage to primary visual cortex show that actions can be guided by sensory information that they remain largely unaware of, challenging the common belief that perceptions must enter “conscious awareness” to affect or produce our actions (Weiskrantz, 1985). Similarly in cases of visual neglect where, patients can show impressive non-conscious processing for stimuli on the neglected side of their visual fields, including object identification despite lack of reported visual awareness (Marshall and Halligan, 1988; Driver and Mattingley, 1998).
Quantifying the Timing of “Conscious Awareness”
In the 1980's powerful evidence emerged where it was shown that our intentions to act (deliberately make a motor movement) occurred later than the ongoing preparatory brain activity (readiness potentials) in motor systems of the brain (Libet et al., 1983). This implied that awareness of the decision to move and preparation of that movement was produced by prior non-conscious processes with the experience of conscious intention coming too late to be the initiator of the motor act. Further evidence that timing of the readiness potential and experience of the intention to move was non-linear, suggested that the two were largely independent (Haggard and Eimer, 1999; Schlegel et al., 2013). Also, research using hypnotic suggestion to create self-initiated movements without the conscious experience of intention showed that unintended, “involuntary” movements were also preceded by readiness potentials (Schlegel et al., 2015) but that the estimated time of the movements obtained from the participant was more consistent with passive rather than with voluntary movements (Haggard et al., 2004; Lush et al., 2017).
Given the independence of readiness potentials and the experience of an intention to act, one possible conclusion is that the latter is not part of the stream of processing leading to a movement, but rather the result of a consistent (non conscious) post-hoc attribution of intentionality to any non-reflexive, self-generated action. EEG evidence investigating phantom limb movement also indicated that the experience of both positive and negative volition is generated by brain activity occurring before the movement itself (Walsh et al., 2015a).
Clearly there are processes involved in what are described by the individual as voluntary movements that are upstream of the readiness potentials, but there is no reason to assume that any of these processes are not also non-consciously produced. Overall, the evidence appears consistent with the view that preparation to move originates in non-conscious systems and that the awareness of the intention to move is experienced only if that preparation becomes part of an ongoing, non-consciously generated personal narrative.
Consistent with this is a review of evidence from studies of brain damage leading to spatial neglect, which has distinguished widespread areas of the brain capable of processing up to eight different aspects of spatial perception (such as image perception, spatial image positioning, and emotions related to the images) and two areas (anterior cingulate and precuneus-posterior cingulate) involved in access to “consciousness” (Frigato, 2014). This suggests that brain injury can damage aspects of perception or can interfere with “consciousness” associated access mechanisms, preventing the consciously correlated experience of certain types of percept whilst leaving access to these perceptual processes at a non-conscious level intact. Importantly, however, brain processes taking place in both the access areas and the perceptual areas can be regarded as non-conscious, with the “access areas” responsible for selectively forming the products of the perceptual processing areas into a personal narrative. It is only the personal narrative, we argue, that is accompanied by personal awareness.
Despite increasing, persuasive evidence from psychological and neuropsychological research over the past 30 years demonstrating the involvement of non-conscious processes in generating the “contents of consciousness,” there has been a widespread reluctance to draw the natural conclusion that both aspects of “consciousness” (experience and contents) depend on non-conscious mental processes. The intuitive preference for retaining a conscious-experience led model of mental processing is supported by long-standing beliefs, nurtured by daily experiences whereby “self” and “consciousness” are inextricably linked to all forms of perception and motor control.
However, we argue that attributing psychological/executive functions to “conscious experience” (personal awareness) contributes little to the explanatory account of the processes responsible for our ongoing stream of psychological states.
In particular, we include all contents of “consciousness” such as intentions, the perception of self, and the experience of executive control, as products of non-conscious processes. Non-conscious brain systems carry out all core biological processes and our account is consistent in suggesting that psychological functions, including those normally attributed to “consciousness” should be regarded as no different (Hassin, 2013). Non-conscious causation provides a more plausible (albeit non-intuitive) basis for explaining both what is conventionally considered to be “contents of consciousness” and the concurrent “experience of consciousness.” It is also consistent with the observation that, “in the rest of the natural sciences, especially neurobiology, the assumption of conscious primacy is not nearly as prevalent as in psychology. Complex and intelligent design in living things is not assumed to be driven by conscious processes on the part of the plant or animal, but instead by blindly adaptive processes that accrued through natural selection” (Bargh and Morsella, 2008, p. 8).
Also, in relation to social and cultural contexts, there is increasing evidence that non-conscious neural systems arrive pre-configured with developmentally receptive psychological tools designed to navigate social environments and challenges (Cosmides and Tooby, 2013). The ability to share the contents of our individual psychological states with others however confers a social benefit and a powerful evolutionary advantage (Jaynes, 1976; Humphrey, 1983; Barlow, 1987; Dunbar, 1998; Charlton, 2000; Velmans, 2000; Frith, 2007, 2010; Baumeister and Masicampo, 2010). In particular, we argue that it is precisely the capacity to communicate selectively the contents of our non-consciously generated personal narrative that confers an evolutionary advantage, and not the “experience of consciousness” per se.
Anthropomorphism and the Search for Meaning
Having hopefully displaced “consciousness” from it's traditional executive driving seat, our account naturally begs the question as to its purpose or function, in particular, why did consciousness arise in evolving organisms if it doesn't appear to do anything? To address this, a consideration of the functional explanations offered for other apparently evident but equally mysterious phenomena may be helpful.
Rainbows result from the bending of sunlight passing through raindrops, which act like prisms to create a distinctive arc of colors in the sky, with red on the outer part and violet on the inner section. Despite appearances, the rainbow does not occupy a particular place, its apparent position depends on the observer's location in relation of the sun. Nevertheless, like “conscious experience,” rainbows are subjectively “real” phenomena produced by physical processes. However, before the physical explanation was discovered, many different cultures felt compelled to attribute a range of different functions or purposes to the existence of the rainbow phenomenon. For example, a biblical version regards rainbows as a sign from God to never again flood the earth and kill every living thing (Genesis 9:8–15). In Graeco-Roman mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path between Earth and Heaven. In Chinese culture it was believed to be a slit in the sky sealed by a goddess using stones of five different colors. In Irish mythology, the point where the rainbow makes contact with the earth was said to indicate the elusive hiding place of a pot of treasure.
Most of these accounts can be seen as instances of a wider predisposition toward anthropomorphism, a predisposition to attribute intentions, beliefs, and characteristics to non-human and inanimate objects and events, which we would argue is deeply embedded in non-conscious psychological processes. Anthropomorphism itself can be seen as an example of a wider human “drive for causal understanding” (Gopnik, 2000) that can lead to confabulations and delusions in some neuropsychological conditions, and also in neurologically intact individuals (Coltheart, 2016), particularly given the apparent predisposition in humans toward abductive inference (Fodor, 2000). Gopnik (2000) suggests that “explanation may be understood as the distinctive phenomenological mark of the operation of a special representation system”. “designed by evolution to construct …. “causal maps”…abstract coherent, defensible representations of the causal structure of the world around us … “as” the phenomenological mark of the fulfillment of an evolutionarily determined drive”. The result is occasionally manifest in “magical, mythical, and religious explanations,” especially in situations where the alternative is having no explanation at all, but overall it is “consistent with the view that the [representational] system evolved because, in general, over the long run, and especially in childhood, it gives us veridical information about the causal structure of the world” (Gopnik, 2000, p. 315).
Rainbows and other celestial phenomena such as eclipses and the northern lights are indisputably as “real” as personal awareness. However, little is gained, by asking “what is the purpose or function of an eclipse or a rainbow?” Indeed, posing such a question assumes some hidden, significant explanation to be discovered. Importantly, in our view personal awareness, like rainbows and eclipses, is not a product of evolutionary selection processes and does not have a demonstrable evolutionary purpose in its own right. Rather it is the incidental accompaniment to the final stages of the information processes in the brain responsible for creating a personal narrative. In the same way that there is arguably no purpose to an eclipse or a rainbow, we suggest the same for personal awareness. Personal awareness just “is,” though as humans we feel compelled to “explain” it by attributing a functional capacity, purpose, or meaning to it and in so doing, we argue, has generated a host of misconceptions. In the case of “consciousness,” the exquisite temporal contiguity between personal awareness and the contents of the personal narrative have understandably and readily provided a reliable, intuitive and commonly unquestioned explanation for a compelling causal association between the two that remains particularly difficult to argue against.
The dangers of drawing such anthropomorphic attributions or explanations was nicely captured by Albert Einstein (quoted in Home and Robinson, 1995, p. 172): “If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord on the strength of a resolution taken once and for all”. We should be wary of making the same mistake with consciousness.
A similar misattribution surrounds the experience of a phantom limb following amputation, often associated with pain and still considered by many as counter-intuitive and anomalous (Halligan, 2002). Historically, in keeping with religious beliefs at the time, this common phenomenological experience was initially explained as being the product of a miraculous form of limb restoration (Halligan, 2002). This explanation also avoided the necessity to challenge the compelling folk account that it was not possible to feel a body part that was no longer physically present. The source of this misconception was nicely addressed by Melzack (Melzack, 1992; Saadah and Melzack, 1994) who points out “Phantoms become comprehensible once we recognize that the brain generates the experience of the body. Sensory inputs merely modulate that experience; they do not directly cause it. p. 126” (Melzack, 1992).
The Oakley-Halligan Account
A key feature of our account (some of which has been anticipated by others) is that it does not set out to offer an explanation for the subjective “experience of consciousness” but rather to highlight what we consider to be the fundamental misconception rooted in everyday experience and embedded in the powerful folk-view of the nature of “consciousness.” Central to our view, developed over many years (Oakley, 1985, 1999a,b, 2001; Oakley and Eames, 1985; Halligan and Oakley, 2000; Brown and Oakley, 2004), is the simple proposition that all neuropsychological processing takes place independently of the experience of “consciousness.” This is not to deny the powerful and ubiquitous existence of “conscious experience” but rather to claim that all executive psychological processes irrespective of how quickly and intuitively causally they might appear, actually reflect background neuropsychological activity that takes place in non-conscious systems. As noted earlier, to avoid unwanted associations embedded in traditional accounts of “consciousness” we have choosen to use the terms “personal narrative” and personal “awareness” in our account in place of “contents of consciousness” and “experience of consciousness.”
In our view (summarized in Figure 1), it is more parsimonious to conclude that personal awareness is a phenomenal accompaniment of a continuously updated, and individually-oriented Personal Narrative, produced and coordinated by extensive non-conscious systems forming a Central Executive Structure (CES) (Halligan and Oakley, 2000). This personal narrative represents a small, and selective fraction of the total products of psychological activity taking place in the brain and available to the CES.
FIGURE 1
Figure 1. The Oakley-Halligan model. The schematic diagram shows all current CES functions and other psychological activities as non-conscious processes and their products. The most task-relevant of these psychological products are selected by a Central Executive Structure (CES) to create an ongoing personal narrative via the process of Internal Broadcasting. This personal narrative is passively accompanied by personal awareness - a by-product of Internal Broadcasting. Some components of this narrative are selected by the CES for further transmission (External Broadcasting) via spoken or written language, music, and art to other individuals. The recipients in turn transmit (internally then externally) their own narrative information, which may contain, or be influenced by, the narrative information they have received. The CES also selects some contents of the current personal narrative for storage in autobiographical memory. The contents of external broadcasts contribute (via Cultural Broadcasting) to an autonomous pool of images, ideas, facts, customs, and beliefs contained in folklore, books, artworks, and electronic storage systems (identified as “Culture” in the Figure) that is accessible to others in the extended social group but is not necessarily dependent on direct interpersonal contact. The availability of culturally based resources is a major adaptive advantage to the social group and ultimately to the species as a whole. The CES has access to self- and other-generated externally broadcast content as well as to cultural information and resources, all of which have the potential to provide information that supports the adaptedness of the individual and to be reflected in the contents of their personal narrative. As a passive phenomenon, personal awareness exerts no influence over the CES, the contents of the personal narrative or on the processes of External and Cultural Broadcasting. In the Figure non-conscious process are identified in green and personal awareness (subjective experience) in blue.
The Personal narrative (PN) has compelling real-world face validity—particularly when linked to the notions of “self” and “personhood.” While previously attributed to “consciousness”—given its temporal association with the same—in our account PN is not produced or in any way constrained by conscious experience. Contents of the PN are however experienced by us as embodied individuals. All psychological products of mind are housed within a corporeal framework which ensures that the PN provides meaning for what is happening and preparedness for all embodied action options (movements, gestures, verbalizations, actions) that from a subjective perpective are purely private and publicly inaccessible. This sense of embodiment and meaning is critical to the non-conscious nature of the contents of the PN and forms the gravitational focus of a “psychological self” located within a “bodily self.”
We describe the process of generating this personal narrative as Internal Broadcasting. This process, which we previously referred to as “outing” (Halligan and Oakley, 2000) is similar to other accounts which suggest that there is a special brain function, a form of “interpreter” (Gazzaniga, 1985), which constructs a meaningful account of our non-consciously generated behavior and provides an ongoing explanation for it through a process of “narratization” (Jaynes, 1976). In our account the self-referential personal narrative, created as a product of internal broadcasting from non-conscious systems, is accompanied by personal awareness. In Figure 1, non-conscious processes relating to CES activity including those responsible for the reiterative creation of the personal narrative are shown in the oval “bubble.” The non-conscious end-products of CES activity that form the personal narrative are shown in the rectangle immediately above the bubble. It is important to highlight that the personal narrative (as an output) has no processing capacity of its own, it is simply the end-product of selective, competitive psychological processes. “Personal awareness” is represented by the separate, filled rectangle immediately above the personal narrative. As we discuss elsewhere, we argue against any functional or causal relationship between the personal narrative and personal awareness.
A central role of the CES involves the selection from a wide range of available psychological products those that best reflect ongoing brain actvity in relation to current tasks, facilitating identification of the most relevant behaviors for an individual to engage in, and the choice of the most appropriate actions. The CES draws from these competing sources to create a personal narrative relevant to current needs, although other high-priority brain events may also be represented in the narrative in the form of non-task related thoughts, memories, and emotions such as intrusive reflexive responses, emotional responses, traumatic memories, and actions not as planned, originating outside the CES. Importantly, however, most brain activity, including much of that taking place in the CES, is not represented in the personal narrative. Typically, not included are processes that underlie most basic bodily functions regulated by the CNS, such as breathing, the control of individual muscles, digestion, the onset of sleeping, and waking up [or of events that take place between the two, such as dreaming or the processing, reorganizing, and consolidation of vocabulary and memories (Rasch and Born, 2013; James et al., 2017)]. Also there is no record of the brain activity that underlies the identification of sounds, sights, tastes, smells, and the integration of these into the changing sequence of events and objects in the outside world, or of processes underlying thoughts, actions, likes and dislikes, feelings, and moods. The CNS selects relevant end products from these psychological processes when creating the personal narrative, but typically includes no reference to the how these products were generated. In many situations involving rapid or routine decision making for example, underlying thought processes are not reflected in the personal narrative. Hovever, if the process of making a decision or thinking about a problem becomes part of the task in hand, many of these underlying thoughts may be internally broadcast to form part of the ongoing narrative and hence are accompanied by personal awareness (a parallel “conscious” experience), a distinction that Kahneman (2011) drew between “fast” and “slow” thinking.
Importantly, our account is consistent with phenomenological reality. For instance, I don't know what I am going to say or write next—it simply appears as a thought or verbalization. The personal narrative is not the originator but rather the vehicle through which such non-conscious products are presented. This point was dramatically illustrated by the children's author Enid Blyton, who described how, when beginning a new book she would simply sit at her typewriter and wait, and then “My hands go down on my typewriter keys and I begin. The first sentence comes straight into my mind, I don't have to think of it.….To write book after book without knowing what is going to be said or done sounds silly—and yet it happens. Sometimes a character makes a joke, a really funny one, that makes me laugh as I type it on my paper—and I think, ‘Well, I couldn't have thought of that myself in a 100 years!’ and then I think, ‘Well who did think of it then?’” (Stoney, 1992, p. 216–217). Equally, there is anecdotal and research evidence that apparently spontaneous acts of creativity in science and art arise through non-conscious processes, as with recalling the maiden name of our mother, the results of which are later incorporated fully-formed into the personal narrative, often after a period of sleep or distraction (Ghiselin, 1952; Miller, 1962; Ritter et al., 2012). This is not to deny that they may then be further refined or incorporated, by equally non-consciously generated thought processes, if they become part of the ongoing task represented in the personal narrative.
An integral and key aspect of the personal narrative process, we argue, is the incorporation of a self-referential perspective. This provides for the sense of agency and autobiographical time, as well as ownership and responsibility for what are considered to be our internally generated thoughts, actions, percepts, sensations etc. Agency in the context of movement is preserved in the personal narrative by the introduction of the representation of an intention to act in close temporal proximity to the relevant body part movement. This coherence is important for maintaining a consistent, meaningful personal narrative where the notion |
needs. Instead, they want to steer the money toward hiring more teachers at Sterling Correctional Facility and for increased departmentwide maintenance, according to the Joint Budget Committee report.
“It’s our obligation if we need it for something else and we can hire or fill for that, then we need to do that,” Wasko said in an interview Thursday.
She said the department also hopes to reduce a current backlog of nearly 1,700 prisoners on the sex offender treatment referral list by making changes that would mean lower-level sex offenders receive less rigorous treatment than they currently do.
The corrections department already has made changes to the program in hopes of lessening the amount of time lower-level offenders spend in treatment, Wasko said. The department plans to seek approval to make more extensive revisions to the program that should allow lower-level offenders to complete it sooner, freeing up more capacity.
Wasko said many of those on the referral list either have refused to undergo treatment or have been kicked out of treatment for failing to adhere to the program, which requires an admission of guilt. As of Thursday, 67 lifetime supervision offenders who are beyond their parole eligibility date have requested treatment and been unable to enroll. Of those with fixed sentences beyond their parole eligibility date, 369 who have requested treatment remain on the waiting list, she said.
An 18-year-old law created the lifetime-supervision sentence for Colorado sex offenders. The law established indeterminate sentences — two years to life, for example — for many sex crimes in Colorado. Sex offenders who successfully complete a prison-treatment program and get paroled then enter a community-based lifetime-supervision program.
By 2016, more than 2,414 offenders in Colorado prisons were sentenced under the law, or nearly 9 percent of the prison population, according to legislative staff reports.The Brooklyn Nets were in need of a victory after dropping a heartbreaking game to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. A young, struggling Orlando Magic team road into Barclays hoping to skate through a team boasting the NBA’s worst record but ended up on the losing end of a 121-111 game.
After letting Orlando get out to a fast start, Brooklyn was able to eventually dig out of the hole and extend the lead to 13 points halfway through the fourth quarter. The Nets needed big performances from Brook Lopez and the bench unit because of a lack of production from the rest of the starters.
The biggest takeaways from this game are Brook’s 30 points, Jeremy Lin struggles yet again, Trevor Booker scored a point for every minute he was on the floor, and Brooklyn exploited Orlando in the paint.
Brook Delivered A Much Needed Big Game
The Brooklyn Nets were in desperate need of a hero last night and they got in the form of Brook Lopez. One of the all-time greatest Nets came through to the tune of 30 points, one assist, seven rebounds, and two blocks on twelve of twenty two shooting from the floor and three of six from deep in 28 minutes.
This was a throwback game for Brook, who did most of his damage from the paint as opposed to his newfound three point shot. He exploited Nikola Vucevic‘s inability to cover him all night long and it ended up being one of the key reasons Brooklyn was able to dig out of their early hole and hold on to win the game. He was the only starter to score in double figures, as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson only scored two points, Caris LeVert had nine, Jeremy Lin netted only eight points, and Randy Foye failed to score at all.
Brook has played hero numerous times during this post All-Star break rebirth by the Nets and sparked the debate about his future going forward with the team. The plan was to always try to sell high on him in order to get first round draft picks but following his newfound fit with the offense and the DeMarcus Cousins trade resetting the trade value for every big in the league, it looks like the only decision that makes sense is keeping him on the roster.
Without Brook, this team really isn’t much. Lin may hold the keys to running an effective offense, but Brook is the foundation that this entire team is built on right now. When this team is healthy, they can hang with the best of them. If you take Brook off this roster, they can’t compete with anyone. He is liable to go off for 25+ points on any given night and is now a matchup nightmare given his newfound range. If the Nets want to make the playoffs before 2021, they need Brook Lopez on this team.
Lin’s Struggles Continue Despite Nets Victory
Jeremy Lin needed to get a good performance under his belt following a series of bad games. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen last night.
Lin played a total of 28 minutes and dished out eight assists to only two turnovers, but he shot an abysmal three of fourteen from the floor and only scored eight points. Matched up against Elfrid Payton, Lin struggled to get his shot off and find good looks from the floor. In addition to not getting his shot off he also failed to get to the free throw line, something vintage Jeremy Lin was always accustom to.
At this point in the season, Lin has got to be pretty close to exhausted. His conditioning is off due to the injury, he has been playing a ton lately, and he expends a lot of effort on both sides of the ball.
He should look to try to drive the lane more often in order to shake this slump. Taking six three pointers is not Lin’s game, really. While he is enjoying a great year shooting the three, it should be something in his bag of tricks and not the feature aspect of his game. He should call his own number off the pick and roll a few times, get some confidence back in his shot, and then he should be back to his old self.
Booker’s (Near) Perfect Night From The Floor Was The Difference
Outside of signing Jeremy Lin in the offseason, you could make the case that Trevor Booker was the best Nets signing this offseason. He has consistently been one of the best players for Brooklyn off the bench and last night was an example of Booker at his finest.
In 23 minutes played he netted 23 points on eleven of twelve shooting from the floor. In addition to almost going a perfect twelve of twelve from the floor, he pulled down eight rebounds and dished out one assist. He was the perfect presence off the bench, especially given how poor the starting unit was playing outside of Brook.
He matched up especially well against Aaron Gordon and Vucevic in the paint, scoring most of his points there. He isn’t known for being much of a three point threat, but he was so hot last night he even knocked down the rare triple. He has always been a high energy guy that embodies Brooklyn Grit.
His calm, veteran presence is exactly what a team full of rookies and injured leadership needs. While Lin was out, Booker took over as vocal leader of the team. His value is apparent and his production is usually needed for Brooklyn to have a big game.
Brooklyn Dominated In The Paint All Night Long
The Nets needed to do one thing in order to get the win tonight, exploit Orlando in the paint as often as possible and that is exactly what they did.
Brooklyn scored 72 points of their 121 points in the paint last night, a rare feat for a team known for shooting threes and running at a high pace. The Nets really bullied the Magic in the paint for the entire game behind Brook’s 30, Booker’s 23, and good performances from Sean Kilpatrick and Justin Hamilton on the inside too. Kilpatrick had 15 points in 22 minutes on six of twelve shooting from the floor while Hamilton had 13 points on five of nine shooting in 19 minutes.
It isn’t every day that the Nets take it to a team in the paint but this just shows that Kenny Atkinson has the ability to change his game plan and coaching style. A lot of fans have criticized him for how rigid he is in his planning and while this game doesn’t erase past transgressions, it shows that he knows what he is doing and how to get the W.Disdained
Sorry for the wait, but I have been busy with work and playing Life is Strange which is a major priority for me because it's pretty darn good. I remember being turned off by it when it first came out, but I should have given it a chance instead of judging it as a "tumblr game" if that makes any sense to y'all. Anyway, enough of that. Back to the topic at hand.Now, there was a good bit of text this chapter and it is the same for the next one, too. There's no real action as there's lots of talking and discussion about what's to be done next, but things should pick up after that. Also, that giant ass monkey at the end just looks dumb, and I'm really hoping that this doesn't take a dive in quality. Fuck. Why did I have to jinx the manga? Umm. Enjoy. Bye, Lynch-kins!This article is over 4 years old
The former Brazil striker Romário has been elected to the senate in his home country after winning 63.4% of the vote for the Rio de Janeiro seat.
The 48-year-old Socialist candidate, who was part of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning side, finished comfortably ahead of his Democratic Party rival, Cesar Maia, who received 20.5%.
Elected as a congressman for the Socialist Party in 2010, Romário, who scored 55 goals in 70 appearances for the Seleção, was strongly opposed to Brazil hosting the 2014 World Cup, alleging corruption and a waste of public money.
In his playing career, Romário shot to prominence in Europe after a successful spell with PSV Eindhoven secured a move to Barcelona in 1993, where he helped the Catalan club to La Liga title and the Champions League final in his first season, scoring 30 goals in 33 matches.Advanced Types in Elm - The Never Type
Part III: The Never Type
Charlie Koster Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 5, 2017
Ok, ok. I’m bending the definition of what “advanced type” means with this post, especially since we’re reviewing a type found in the Basics module. Regardless, its usage is “advanced” as someone coming from a Javascript background since Javascript doesn’t have the concept of a Never type.
What is the Never type?
The Never type is a type that doesn’t have any values. It’s a type that can be specified in a type annotation, but you can’t construct a Never value because it is valueless.
If you are coming from a language like Javascript this is a bit strange. It’s a type that doesn’t have any values? Let’s reiterate a point made by the docs.
A Bool has two values: True and False
and The unit type has one value: ()
The Never type has no values
How can this be? This starts to make more sense if we look at how Never is defined in the source.
Let’s try and figure out how to use Never as a value. We’d need to use JustOneMore and pass it some additional information.
Ok we need to fill in the blank. JustOneMore expects a Never. Easy.
Hmm. Never is recursively defined. This might take a while..
Hopefully it’s a little more clear that because Never is recursively defined it is impossible to use it as a value. Additionally, Never is an opaque type with no constructor functions exposed. It couldn’t be constructed outside of the Basics module even if it wasn’t recursively defined! There’s more info on opaque types in a previous post.
Wait a sec.. I’m still confused
Yea, I was too when I first started doing research for this post. How can there be an annotated type without a corresponding value?
The answer is simple. Not all types in a type annotation require a corresponding value in the function implementation.
The code above demonstrates that we see this sort of thing every day. In that example alwaysNothing is annotated as returning a Maybe String, yet the body of the function doesn’t contain a string value. There’s an annotated type without a corresponding value.
Likewise, I could also update the annotation to return a Maybe Never.
This function compiles just fine. The really neat part is if I change Nothing to Just "any type here" then I get a compiler error because Never doesn’t have any values. It forces this function to actually always return Nothing by leveraging the type system!
Note that the docs for Never assert that “generally speaking, you do not want Never in your return types” so take this example with a grain of salt.
It seems obvious in hindsight, but honestly a lot of this didn’t click for me until I realized that Never will likely be used in conjunction with parameterized types like Task or Html.
When is it useful?
As is the case with extensible records, the Never type is useful for restricting function arguments.
The Task module does a good job of demonstrating this. There are two functions in that module that produce a Cmd msg. The first function is attempt.
This function takes two pieces of information and returns a Cmd. The two arguments include:
A task that might fail
A function that takes the Result from executing the task and turns it into a msg
This is all reasonable. But what about tasks that can never fail? For example, Time.now can’t fail. If a task cannot fail then we don’t need to handle the error case. In fact, there shouldn’t be any Result to handle at all!
Well, that’s what perform does.
The perform function operates on tasks that can never fail. Because a Task can be annotated with Never (the type of the error is Never) this function is guaranteed to never be called with a task that can fail. And since the task can never fail the first argument to the function can shrink from (Result x a -> msg) to (a -> msg). Never is restricting the function arguments.
If you’d like to play around with how the Task module uses Never I put together a small example with attempt, perform, a task that can fail, and a task that will never fail.
Note that you can replace the usage of taskCanFail with taskWillNotFail, but not the other way around.
Conclusion
The Never type is a valueless type and like extensible records the Never type can be used to restrict function arguments, and that’s all there is to it!
Next up.. a look into phantom types..
Shoutout to the folks on the #beginners slack channel for answering my questions and adding clarification in a friendly way. You’re all incredibly helpful!State Rep. Who Sponsored A Pro-Uber Amendment Drove For Uber On The Side
Former Michigan Rep. Pat Somerville Drove For Uber On The Side Over His Last Two Years In The House; Somerville Said He Mostly Drove On Weekends
By CRAIG MAUGER
Michigan Campaign Finance Network
LANSING — A state representative who sponsored an amendment that would have benefited the ride-sharing company Uber worked for Uber as a driver while also serving in the Legislature.
Term limits forced now former Rep. Pat Somerville, a Republican from New Boston, out of office at the end of 2016. But during the 2015-2016 session, Somerville voted twice in favor of a package of bills that set state requirements for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Uber and Lyft are businesses based around pairing people who are looking for rides with people willing to drive in order to make money.
Before the Michigan House first voted on the bills in the summer of 2015, Somerville sponsored an amendment that specifically prohibited airports from outlawing Uber, Lyft and similar services from picking up and dropping off passengers. The House adopted the amendment, but when the bills moved to the Senate, the Senate changed the language.
In an interview last week, Somerville said he’s been driving for Uber on the side in addition to his legislative duties since the beginning of 2015. Somerville said he primarily drove for Uber on weekends and on University of Michigan game days in Ann Arbor.
“I didn’t think I was doing it enough to make it a conflict,” he said when asked if his work was a conflict of interest.
Somerville also said the legislation wasn’t specific to him and noted there are thousands of Uber drivers around the state.
As for the airport amendment, he said the airport where Uber drivers had been having major problems was in the Grand Rapids area in West Michigan, not in Wayne County, his area of the state.
Michigan has no law that bans state legislators from voting on bills in which they have potential conflicts of interest. Unlike the Senate, the Michigan House doesn’t even have a rule against lawmakers voting when there are conflicts of interest.
The House rules simply provide the option for members to not vote and to state in the official House record that they didn’t vote because of a conflict.
An October 2016 investigation from Bridge Magazine and the Michigan Campaign Finance Network found that the number of lawmakers voluntarily not voting on bills because of potential conflicts has been decreasing over the years. The investigation also found that lawmakers often spearheaded bills that impacted their career fields outside the Legislature.
Gov. Rick Snyder announced he had signed the Uber and Lyft package of bills into law on Dec. 21. The final language says airports can enact rules governing the ride-sharing operations but “shall not impose requirements that have the effect of unreasonably impeding service.”
According to Crain’s Detroit Business, airports in Michigan had been worried that the legislation would impact their ability to set rules and set an access fee for passenger pick-ups.
While Michigan has a full-time Legislature, some lawmakers work other jobs on the side. Most Michigan House members made $71,685 a year in 2016, according to the House’s employee salary disclosure.
Asked why a representative would need to work for Uber on the side, Somerville said House members are term limited after six years and then face potential unemployment.
If he wanted to make money in his personal time on the side, he should have been able to, said Somerville, who now works on the House Republican staff.
TagsThe American Empire: Murder Inc.
Above Photo: As Indonesia’s former President Suharto lay ill in 2008, a supporter displayed a portrait of him outside the Jakarta hospital where the military dictator died two weeks later. It was in Suharto’s brutal three-decade reign that Indonesia invaded East Timor, where investigative journalist Allan Nairn covered atrocities the general’s troops committed. (Vincent Thian / AP)
Terror, intimidation and violence are the glue that holds empire together. Aerial bombardment, drone and missile attacks, artillery and mortar strikes, targeted assassinations, massacres, the detention of tens of thousands, death squad killings, torture, wholesale surveillance, extraordinary renditions, curfews, propaganda, a loss of civil liberties and pliant political puppets are the grist of our wars and proxy wars.
Countries we seek to dominate, from Indonesia and Guatemala to Iraq and Afghanistan, are intimately familiar with these brutal mechanisms of control. But the reality of empire rarely reaches the American public. The few atrocities that come to light are dismissed as isolated aberrations. The public is assured what has been uncovered will be investigated and will not take place again. The goals of empire, we are told by a subservient media and our ruling elites, are virtuous and noble. And the vast killing machine grinds forward, feeding, as it has always done, the swollen bank accounts of defense contractors and corporations that exploit natural resources and cheap labor around the globe.
There are very few journalists who have covered empire with more courage, tenacity and integrity than Allan Nairn. For more than three decades, he has reported from Central America, East Timor, Palestine, South Africa, Haiti and Indonesia—where Indonesian soldiers fractured his skull and arrested him. His reporting on the Indonesian government massacres in East Timor saw him branded a “threat to national security” and officially banned from occupied East Timor. Nairn returned clandestinely to East Timor on numerous occasions. His dogged reporting of torture and killing of civilians by the Indonesian military contributed to the U.S. Congress suspending military aid to Jakarta in 1993. He exposed U.S. complicity with death squads and paramilitary organizations carrying out murderous rampages in El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti. During the 2014 presidential elections in Indonesia, where he spends much of his time, Nairn was threatened with arrest for exposing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s role in atrocities. Nairn’s reporting on army massacres was an important component in the trial of former Guatemalan President Efrain Ríos Montt. Gen. Montt ordered the killing of over 1,700 people in the Ixil region of the country in the early 1980s and was convicted in 2013 of genocide and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison. The conviction was later overturned.
Nairn, whom I spoke with in New York, reaches back to the genocide carried out against Native Americans, the institution of slavery and the murder of hundreds of workers and labor union organizers in the 19th and early 20th century to explain the roots of American imperial violence. He noted that, although wholesale massacres have become taboo on American soil in recent generations, the FBI was carrying out selective assassinations of black radicals, including Fred Hampton, in the 1960s. And police show little constraint in gunning down unarmed people of color in poor communities.
But overseas there are no restrictions. The indiscriminate slaughter of real or imagined opponents is considered a prerogative of imperial power. Violence is the primary language we use to speak to the rest of the world. Equivalents of Wounded Knee and My Lai take place beyond our borders with an unacknowledged frequency.
“To this day,” Nairn said, “it is politically permissible for U.S. forces to carry out or sponsor assassinations of civilians—students, journalists, religious leaders, peasant organizers, whomever. In fact, in U.S. politics, if presidents are reluctant, or seem reluctant to do this, they get castigated. They get called a wimp. George Bush Sr. came under vicious attack when he attempted through covert means to mount a coup in Panama against [Manuel] Noriega and it failed. And there was a cover [of Newsweek, with the headline ‘Fighting the “Wimp Factor” ’] where they were attacking Bush Sr. for not being strong enough.”
“I think it was within a week after that he invaded Panama formally, an invasion that included the burning of the neighborhood called El Chorrillo, where hundreds were killed, a poor neighborhood. The New York Times then ran a front-page analysis by R.W. Apple which said that Bush Sr. had completed his presidential initiation rite by demonstrating his willingness to shed blood,” Nairn went on. “Not his own blood, but the blood of foreigners, including of foreign civilians.”
“It’s basically a refusal on the part of American society to enforce the murder laws when the killings are done by presidents or generals, and where the victims are foreigners,” he said. “Now, all big powers do this. But in the recent period, because the U.S. has been the dominant power, the U.S. has the biggest death toll. If you added all the operations up it would go into the several millions. Just to list the ones that I’ve personally seen and tried to expose and fight against: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, South Africa, Palestine, East Timor, Indonesia, southern Thailand. I’m sure I’m leaving out a few. The U.S. has used the Pentagon, the CIA, occasionally the State Department to set up or back local forces, help them gather intelligence on dissidents, and help them provide the means to carry out systematic assassinations.”
Assassinations and torture are often accompanied in these wars and proxy wars by massacres by government troops that routinely “wipe out whole villages,” Nairn said,
“The Guatemalan military did that, especially during the early ’80s when the Reagan administration was backing them enthusiastically under the time of the dictator Gen. Rios Montt,” Nairn said. “They would go into villages in the Mayan highlands in the northwest. … I was there, I spoke to the soldiers as they were doing it, I spoke to survivors … [and] they would decapitate people. They would crucify people. They would use the tactics that ISIS today puts on video that are now shocking the world.”
“The powers have always been willing to use these tactics,” he said. “And for centuries they were proud of it. All you have to do is look at the holy texts of the major religions—the Bible, the Quran, the Torah. They’re full of one massacre after another. People forget. The story of David and Goliath is put forward as a great story. At the end of that story David decapitates Goliath. He parades around holding up his head. For years and years the powers were proud of these tactics. They advertised it.”
“As recently as the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt, U.S. presidents were still boasting about it,” Nairn said. “Go back and read [Roosevelt’s] writings. He’s repeatedly … talking about the necessity to shed blood, the necessity to kill. Otherwise a person could not be healthy, otherwise a polity could not be healthy. This was Teddy Roosevelt. You can’t do that in today’s U.S. You can’t do that really in any major country today. The only partial exception to that at the level of rhetoric is Israel. Israeli generals and politicians still talk openly about the need to shed Palestinian blood. But they’re really the only ones. Everywhere else—Europe, Russia, China, the U.S.—they have to hide their [activities].”
I first met Nairn in 1984 while I was covering the war in El Salvador. In that year he published an explosive investigative piece in The Progressive magazine titled “Behind the Death Squads.” The article detailed U.S. backing, training and arming of the death squads in El Salvador that were murdering, and often torturing and mutilating, hundreds of people a month. His article led to an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
U.S. commanders in Iraq, attempting to quell the Sunni insurgency in 2004, reached back to the terror tactics used in El Salvador. They formulated a plan called “The Salvador Option” to train and arm Shiite paramilitary units. Former U.S. Army Col. James Steele, who in the 1980s in El Salvador headed the U.S. Military Group or MilGroup, which advised the Salvadoran army during the war, was sent to Iraq by Donald Rumsfeld as a civilian adviser. Steele, who had fought in Vietnam, was assigned to the Iraqi paramilitary Special Police Commandos, a unit known as the “Wolf Brigade.”
U.N. officials, and an investigative team from The Guardian newspaper, later accused these Shiite paramilitary units of widespread death-squad killings and running a network of clandestine detention centers that carried out torture while under Steele’s supervision. The Shiite paramilitary units, which were given money from a $2 billion fund controlled directly by Gen. David Petraeus, terrorized and enraged the Sunni population. The abuse, torture, assassinations and network of clandestine prisons fueled Iraq’s sectarian civil war and led to the creation of radical Sunni groups such as Islamic State.
“The Salvadoran death squad apparatus was created by the U.S., starting during the Kennedy administration through mainly U.S. Special Forces and the CIA,” Nairn said. “[They] … created this intelligence-gathering system which linked Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua. They would have central files organized for them with the help of the CIA. They would teach them [the squads] how to go out and watch on a systematic basis the campuses, the courts, the plantations [and] especially the factories, run by the local oligarchs but also the American investors. They would compile files.”
Nairn spent 13 hours interviewing former Salvadoran Gen. Jose Alberto Medrano, the godfather of the Salvadoran death squads, who was assassinated a year later, in 1985, by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) rebels.
“He explained to me how Salvadoran priests, nuns, catechists [and] unionists were all controlled by Moscow,” Nairn said. “He would draw these schematics showing from Moscow to Havana to here to there. And he said they all became targets; it was our mission to kill them. He described in great detail how he did this while working on the payroll of the United States.”
“These were the death squads that produced actions like the rape and murder of the nuns,” Nairn said, referring to American lay missionary Jean Donovan and three American nuns—Dorothy Kazel, Maura Clarke and Ita Ford—who were killed by national guard soldiers in El Salvador in December 1980. Eight months earlier, the death squads had carried out the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. More than 75,000 Salvadorans died in the conflict, thousands at the hands of the death squads, which often “disappeared” their victims.
“The world is finally starting to understand what’s involved with political killing when they see the videos of ISIS,” Nairn said. “… In Salvador, not only would they kill but they would cut off hands, they would cut off arms, and they would display their handiwork on the road. Passersby would see it. In the same period—I spent most of those years in Guatemala, which was even worse—they were killing more than 100,000, perhaps more than 200,000 by some estimates. One day in the library of the Polytechnica, the military academy of Guatemala, I found the Spanish translation of a U.S. military counterinsurgency document. It gave instructions on how to create terror; this was the way they put it. And they described methods used in the Philippines in the campaign against the Huks.”
“In the case of the Philippines they were talking about leaving the bodies by the rivers,” he said. “So you mutilate the bodies, you cut them, you amputate, and then you display the bodies on the riversides to stir terror in the population. And of course that’s exactly what ISIS is doing today.”
The same tactics were used in Indonesia against ethnic Chinese, labor organizers, artists, intellectuals, student leaders and members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) after the 1965 U.S.-backed anti-communist purge that eventually ousted the independence leader President Sukarno. Sukarno was replaced in a 1967 coup by Gen. Suharto, who brutally ran the country for 31 years. During the army and paramilitary killings as many as a million Indonesians were murdered. The bodies were often left floating in rivers or on roadsides.
“The CIA weighed in with a list of 5,000 targets for assassination,” Nairn said. “The U.S. press was hailing it at the time. They were calling it a gleam of light in Asia. Gen. Suharto was installed in power as a result of this process. Suharto later, in the mid-’70s, sought the permission of President Ford and Henry Kissinger to invade the small neighboring country of East Timor, which was then emerging into independence from having been a Portuguese colony. They gave the green light. They just said do it quickly. They went in [and] killed a third of the population.”
“In ’91 they staged a massacre in front of a cemetery, which I happened to survive,” he said. “I was there with Amy Goodman. They killed more than 200 people right before our eyes. They fractured my skull with their American M-16 rifle butts.
“This is standard procedure. I’ve tried to go over to the countries where the repression is most intense, and where the U.S. is backing it, and expose it and stop it.”
“It’s systematic,” he went on. “It’s the exact same tactics in country after country, with local adaptations, and often the officers are all trained at the same U.S. military bases—Fort Bragg, Fort Benning, Leavenworth [and] at the Inter-American Defense College, in the case of the Latin American officers.”
“It’s not unique to the U.S.,” Nairn said. “This is standard for big powers. … If you wanted to have any kind of impact in politics you had to align yourself with some kind of killer force, be it the Americans, NATO or the Taliban, or some other armed faction capable of fast mass killing. Without that you had no chance.”
“In Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, it’s reached the point of political and social breakdown,” Nairn said. “There’s no stopping it. It’s out of control. There are not two sides. It [has fractured into] many sides. It’s analogous to what happened in Cambodia, with the massive U.S. bombing of Cambodia, which paved the way for the rise of the Khmer Rouge. [It has destroyed] any semblance of normal politics or even society. In that kind of environment the most evil, the most violent, have a better chance to rise and prevail.”
Ceaseless war and indiscriminant killing define the U.S. imperial power. But this policy, he said, has backfired.
“Unless you have enough of an enemy out there, unless you have enough fighting going on, unless you have enough drama going on, a big powerful state, one of whose pillars is war, like the United States, or like, say, today’s Israel—[both of them examples] of Sparta-type states—they can’t sustain themselves,” he said. “They need a high level of dramatic tension. They have to constantly be provoking, constantly causing trouble here and there.”
“We’re now in a moment where these operations of willful murder on the part of the U.S. and provocation have come back to bite [the United States],” he said. “That doesn’t usually happen. There was no consequence like that from Central America. There was no consequence like that from Haiti, Palestine or South Africa. But in this case it happened. Operations like the U.S. backing of the mujahedeen to repel the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan … the U.S. backing of the various anti-Assad Islamist forces in Syria, have given birth to first al-Qaida and then ISIS. That wasn’t the U.S. intention. They didn’t want to create al-Qaida in the sense of the al-Qaida that attacks the U.S. They didn’t want to create an ISIS, which is now a political nightmare.”
“The Bible says they sow the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind,” he said. “Well, usually that isn’t true. It’s not true most of the time. It’s like the other slogan: The people united will never be defeated. Not true. The people united get defeated all the time. They get crushed. They get massacred. They get thrown into mass graves. But sometimes you sow the wind and you do reap the whirlwind. And that’s what’s happening now to the West with ISIS.”If this is true, then it is very likely that the bomber passed a CIA polygraph test. It is decades-old CIA practice to vet informants by means of polygraph screening.
Richard Clarke with Kate Snow on Good Morning America, 2 January 2010
Former National Security Council chief counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke opined to Good Morning America weekend edition anchor Kate Snow that the bomber "was probably a double-agent all along." If that is indeed the case, then the CIA's reliance on polygraphy may well have been a contributing factor in the chain of events leading to the CIA officers' deaths.
As the CIA reviews its security procedures, now would be an opportune occasion for the Agency to heed the end its misplaced reliance on the pseudoscience of polygraphy.
In this regard, it's worth recalling that the man who introduced the polygraph to the CIA back in 1948, and who devised protocols that are to this very day used by polygraph operators nationwide, is a
It's also worth recalling that, as documented here on AntiPolygraph.org more than seven years ago, unlike the CIA, Encylopedia of Jihad! Shouldn't the CIA be at least as smart as the enemy it is confronting?
As I've said before, make-believe science yields make-believe security. ABC News reports that the suicide bomber who killed at least six CIA employees at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan "was a regular CIA informant who had visited the same base multiple times in the past."If this is true, then it isIt is decades-old CIA practice to vet informants by means of polygraph screening.Former National Security Council chief counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke opined to Good Morning America weekend edition anchor Kate Snow that the bomber "was probably a double-agent all along." If that is indeed the case, then the CIA's reliance on polygraphy may well have been a contributing factor in the chain of events leading to the CIA officers' deaths.As the CIA reviews its security procedures, now would be an opportune occasion for the Agency to heed the conclusion of the National Academy of Sciences that polygraph screening is completely invalid andIn this regard, it's worth recalling that the man who introduced the polygraph to the CIA back in 1948, and who devised protocols that are to this very day used by polygraph operators nationwide, is a crackpot who believes that plants can read human thought.It's also worth recalling that, as documented here on AntiPolygraph.org more than seven years ago, unlike the CIA, Al-Qaeda understands that the lie detector is a sham : it's in theirShouldn't the CIA be at least as smart as the enemy it is confronting?As I've said before, make-believe science yields make-believe security.It can be easy to fall into a pattern in our lives and not pay attention to all the small natural wonders that surround us. Most of us spend our days in offices or school buildings and only get to witness nature through windows or on short walks to and from our appointments. It’s really no surprise that many people take the natural world for granted, but tragically, given the damage that has resulted from this apathetic mindset, rainforests, ice caps, and other amazing wild places are disappearing right before our eyes.
There are many small things that we can all do to minimize our impact on the world around us. Some of these things are as simple as recognizing the environmental impact of your diet and opting to choose more plant-based foods, but you won’t be motivated to stop and make a change for the betterment of the world unless you take the time to appreciate its wonders first.
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If you’re in need of a little reminder of why the natural world is worth protecting, look no further than these breathtaking photos from Joseph Michael.
For his series titled “Luminosity,” Michael photographed the amazing natural phenomenon of New Zealand’s glowing caves.
While it looks like some sort of creative photoshopping, the blue-green glow is actually caused by glow worms.
These gorgeous caves have existed for over 30 million years and the worms perfectly light up all their |
predicts the theoretical collapse in the Soviet Union that indeed did accompany the collapse of the entire political and social regime only ten years later.
It is significant that Yakhot never renounced Marxism to the end of his life. As he neared his own death, he worked as long as he could on a study of the great Enlightenment philosopher Spinoza. Deborin had viewed Spinoza as the father of modern materialism and even endorsed Plekhanov’s position that Marxism is a form of Spinozism. Akselrod, however, saw significant vestiges of religious views in his world outlook and cautioned against placing Spinoza too close to Marxism. Without studying the manuscript of Yakhot’s research on Spinoza, we may never discover his own assessment of the seventeenth-century thinker. It is highly likely, however, that Yakhot remained convinced that, in times of great social turmoil, the fundamental philosophical questions explored by Spinoza, Marx, and their followers in the fledgling Soviet state would re-emerge, and that today’s reader should study this history once again. His book is not the final word, but it points the way to further debate and investigation that are crucial to today’s social struggles.
Frederick Choate
April 2012
Notes:
[1] Michael David-Fox, Revolution of the Mind. Higher Learning Among the Bolsheviks, 1918–1929, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997, p. 152.
[2] See “The Idealist Distortion of Dialectical Materialism,” Fourth International, Volume 13, № 1, Summer 1986, pp. 73-76; David North, “A Contribution to a Critique of G. Healy’s Studies in Dialectical Materialism,” Fourth International, Volume 13, № 2, Autumn 1986, pp. 13-25.
[3] See S. N. Korsakov, “Stanovlenie Instituta filosofii i sud’by filosofov pri stalinskom rezhime [Founding of the Institute of Philosophy and the Fate of Philosophers under the Stalinist Regime],” in: Nash filosofskii dom [Our House of Philosophy], Moscow: Progress-Traditsiia, 2009, pp. 95-195; also: Ibid., “Repressirovannye sotrudniki Instituta filosofii [Victims from the Institute of Philosophy],” pp. 508-522.
[4] See Aleksandr Ogurtsov, “Podavlenie filosofii [The Suppression of Philosophy],” in: Surovaia drama naroda [Severe Drama of the People], M.: Politizdat, 1989, pp. 353-374. See also A. P. Ogurtsov, “The Suppression of Philosophy,” Russian Studies in Philosophy, October 2000, Volume 39, Issue 2, pp. 6-34.
[5] Avner Yakovlevich Zis, “Chemu svidetelem byl [What I Witnessed],” in Filosofiia ne konchaetsia... [Philosophy Does Not End...], Book 1, M.: ROSSPEN, 1999, pp. 153-170.
[6] See David North, A Tribute to Vadim Z. Rogovin, 1937–1998, Oak Park, Mich.: Mehring Books, 1999.Police: Driver led cops on pursuit before trying to flee on foot
Police said two Berlin natives face drug charges after trying to elude officers during a traffic stop Saturday night. Police tried to stop the car, driven by James Capron, 26, on I-89 in Berlin for going 83 mph in a 65 mph zone. The car accelerated rather than pull over, police said. The pursuit continued off Exit 7 onto Route 62, then onto Fischer Road, Paine Turnpike, and then Addison Drive before Capron left the car and tried to flee on foot, police said. Police said they tracked Capron to a residence on Addison Drive, where he was arrested after a search by Berlin and Montpelier police turned up heroin, as well as evidence of sales of both heroin and crack cocaine. Police said they also took the passenger of the car, Victoria Stauff, 18, into custody. She was released on citation to appear in Washington Superior Court on Monday. Police discovered Capron also had a criminally suspended license from previous drug-related offenses. Capron was lodged at Chittenden Correctional on $3,000 bail in connection with Saturday night's incident.
Police said two Berlin natives face drug charges after trying to elude officers during a traffic stop Saturday night.
Police tried to stop the car, driven by James Capron, 26, on I-89 in Berlin for going 83 mph in a 65 mph zone. The car accelerated rather than pull over, police said.
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The pursuit continued off Exit 7 onto Route 62, then onto Fischer Road, Paine Turnpike, and then Addison Drive before Capron left the car and tried to flee on foot, police said.
Police said they tracked Capron to a residence on Addison Drive, where he was arrested after a search by Berlin and Montpelier police turned up heroin, as well as evidence of sales of both heroin and crack cocaine.
Police said they also took the passenger of the car, Victoria Stauff, 18, into custody. She was released on citation to appear in Washington Superior Court on Monday.
Police discovered Capron also had a criminally suspended license from previous drug-related offenses.
Capron was lodged at Chittenden Correctional on $3,000 bail in connection with Saturday night's incident.
AlertMe: The seed portal is a way to find basic information about the seed samples conserved in the Seed Vault - see the Information Sharing tab in the menu above.
: The seed portal provides a way to submit inventories of the material they wish to deposit in the Seed Vault - see the Depositor Guidelines tab in the menu above.
Further detailed information on all the germplasm samples in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV) Seed Portal will be made available from the new global accession level data portal (GENESYS) under development by Bioversity International and supported by the Global Crop Diversity Trust
The three partners in the project all have web sites with background information about the Seed Vault. The official website of the project is the one managed by the Ministry in Norway [seedvault.no]Police are investigating after a man was reportedly shot in a Levenshulme street.
Witnesses say a man believed to be in his 30s was hit in the leg after a shot was fired from a moving car on Forest Range in Levenshulme, Manchester, on Wednesday afternoon.
A cordon is in place at the road, which is close to Levenshulme train station.
GMP have confirmed to the M.E.N. the victim is currently in hospital receiving treatment, but have not indicated how serious his condition is.
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One eyewitness told the MEN that the incident happened as children were on the residential street.
They said: "It is a normal street. He was standing outside on the street. It's been a nice day so he's been enjoying the sun and someone has come down the road and fired out of the window. It has hit him in the leg and he has been taken to hospital.
"There were children on the street and everything. It is disgusting what has happened."
Updates from our reporter at the scene are belowBitcoin Price Three Reasons Why Bitcoin is an Epic Buy Right Now
Looks like the global Bitcoin community needs a pep talk. Are you down in the dumps, following a drop in Bitcoin value over the last week? Cheer up, buttercup! Here are three reasons why Bitcoin is an epic buy right now.
[Note: This article is an op-ed]
Why The Doubt?
Call me a Bitcoin optimist, or even a fanboi. Maybe my glass is always half full when it comes to “The Future of Money,” but this has served me well in my almost four years as a Bitcoin advocate. Hopefully, a dose of reality, as rose-colored as it may be, will help you in 2017 and beyond.
Regarding Bitcoin price, Bitcoin oracle Andreas Antonopoulos said it best when describing the relevance of Bitcoin’s price, in the grand scheme of things. He said that Bitcoin’s dollar price is like discussing the value of the Internet based on how many fax machines it replaces. The point being that dollars, or yuan, or yen, do not give Bitcoin its value. You and I do. This is a point we like to overlook or forget.
I see Bitcoin as a pot of boiling water on a stove over a flame. This past week, it has seen some ice cubes thrown into the pot, dropping its temperature. Is anyone really worried that Bitcoin will not reach a boil again? It is simply the hottest investment extent over the last two years, gaining over 35% in value in 2015 and over 125% last year. Has Bitcoin not earned the benefit of the doubt, at least from those so immersed in its community?
Are you a day trader? If not, the daily roller coaster ride of its price should be largely irrelevant. Bitcoin is best used and seen as a long-term ‘buy-and-hodl,’ if you will. People who treat it as such have won over and over again over the last eight years. Those who do otherwise have lived a life of constant frustration. Choose the fate you create.
3 Reason to Stay Bullish
Now, onto the reasons for optimism in 2017 and beyond. The first two are fairly pedestrian in concept. Look at Bitcoin’s history over the last two years. I remember that the sky was falling in January of 2015, Bitcoin price finally bottomed out after the collapse of Mt. Gox and the corresponding market adjustment.
Two years ago, Bitcoin was trading for well under $200 USD. What happened next? A ‘Bull Run’ that saw Bitcoin values more than double since that point in time.
Let’s look at last year. The very public departure of Mike Hearn, selling out to the banking establishment that had gone blockchain crazy, and when Bitcoin XT didn’t get over, was integral in Bitcoin losing about 20% of its value over the course of a week almost one year ago today.
What happened next? Bitcoin gained about $600 in value over the rest of the year. Again, the sky did not fall, in fact, that was the time that smart investors got in. Buy low and sell high.
Now we reach this year’s New Year’s hangover. Forget history repeating itself. Maybe you want to ignore that. What about the Winklevoss ETF? That is scheduled to be resolved on March 11th, and if that goes through hundreds of millions of dollars of fresh capital will flow in from Wall Street in March alone.
Wall Street would love taking advantage of what Bitcoin has to offer, and with the rhetoric from New York State saying they are an area of growth for a digital currency future, it may get approved.
If it does not go through, emerging markets like India may be able to take up any slack left by China’s studio-regulatory environment. There are literally hundreds of millions of people being forced into a future of digital currency mass adoption in India. Can you not see the upside potential?
Bitcoiners in Africa also see a huge 2017 for Bitcoin adoption, so there may be some market shifts away from China this year.
Also, every December, Bitcoin sees a ‘Bull Run,’ so why should this year be any different? Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, so use this experience as wisdom for future trading. Maybe sell next New Year’s and get back in next February, when it is a buyer’s market?
Much like the Internet it is modeled after, or the Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, you cannot stop Bitcoin, you can only hope to contain it. More and more investors, countries with weak currencies, and businesses will use and invest in digital currency tech, only enhancing Bitcoin’s value.
Keep Calm & Buy Bitcoin
Throw all the ice and water you want on Bitcoin’s pot, the proof is in the pudding. Bitcoin’s price will come back, with interest (though not really, since Bitcoin is not debt-based.)
At the end of 2017, we’ll all look back on this and laugh at those who sold in a panic.
Or keep selling. I love when Bitcoin drops in price! Just more Bitcoin for me to buy “on sale.” Smart investors buy low and sell high, so the market is really clearing out all the suckers right now, IMO.
What are you going to do now? I win either way because I’m in Bitcoin for the long haul. Adopt that mindset, the winning mindset, and you will have a very Happy New Year. Cheers!
Are you planning on buying more bitcoin if price continues to drop? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Inside BitcoinsBOSTON (CBS) — Attention, New England: Your help is needed. Please send DayQuil, Robitussin and vats of your grandma’s homemade soup to Gillette Stadium. Quarterback Tom Brady has a cold.
Brady took the podium at Gillette on Tuesday to speak to the media in advance of the Patriots’ home playoff game Saturday night against the Colts. Though Brady and his teammates are well-rested after earning a first-round playoff bye, the quarterback’s voice was noticeably a bit different on Tuesday.
“Do I?” Brady said when asked if he has a cold. “A little bit.”
But fear not, New England. Brady promises that it is not a life-threatening illness.
“But I’ll live,” Brady added. “I’ll be there, hopefully not on the injury report. I’ll try to talk my way out of that.”
While Brady did not indicate that the illness would slow him down, he did admit that the team doesn’t have much time to prepare for the Colts.
“I could still use a few days to get ready,” Brady said. “We’re already on a relatively short week. I’ll be ready once the game is kicked off. Once that ball is kicked off, I’ll be prepared.”
The session with the media couldn’t pass without Brady fielding a question about his former favorite target, Deion Branch, who signed with the Colts in a surprising move on Monday. Brady said he keeps in touch with Branch, like he does with many other friends he’s played with over the years, but the signing doesn’t really affect the quarterback doing his job.
“That’s for our defense, they’re going to worry about all of those guys and prepare for all of those guys,” Brady said. “It’s part of guys changing teams and so forth. It’s nice to see a guy get an opportunity, especially when of your great friends.”
After leading his team to a 1-1 record last year in the postseason, Brady now owns a career win-loss record of 17-7. That, of course, includes three Super Bowl victories, and the 17 wins are the most in the playoffs by any quarterback in history. Despite all that history, these postseason games are anything but old hat for Brady.
“This is pretty incredible, to play in this. These are the moments that you dream about — to be in the NFL playoffs and you’ve got a chance with eight other teams to be the last team standing,” Brady said with a bit of passion coming through in his voice. “It’s why we work hard, it’s why every guy puts a lot out there. You sacrifice a lot of things. A lot of people would die to be in our positions, and I don’t think you take those things for granted. I think you cherish those and understand the opportunity that’s ahead.
“It’s different than a normal week …. You’ve got one opportunity to get it right. That’s all you can ask for as an athlete. And the great part is once that ball is kicked off, none of the other crap matters. It’s just the players that are going to ultimately decide who wins the game by how we play.”
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Detroit Red Wings’ loss will be the Grand Rapids Griffins’ gain for Game 4 of the AHL Western Conference finals. Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson, who were with the Red Wings much of the season and played in Wednesday’s 2-1 season-ending loss to the Blackhawks, will join the Griffins in Oklahoma City tonight, according to Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, and available to play Friday. The Griffins could use them. They have struggled offensively the past two games, including
that gave the Barons a 2-1 series lead. They have 43 shots the past two games and have been outshot eight consecutive periods. Nyquist and Andersson, who were with the Griffins earlier in the season, could provide some pop. Nyquist played extra shifts for Detroit Wednesday after Valtteri Filppula was injured early and assisted on Henrik Zetterberg’s goal in the second period. Nyquist had five points (2-3-5) in the playoffs. During the regular season in Detroit, he had six points (3-3-6) in 22 games. He bounced between Detroit and Grand Rapids twice before his final call up March 20. Andersson, a center, also had five points in the playoffs (1-4-5). He played 38 games in the regular season with eight points (3-5-8). While in Grand Rapids, Nyquist played right wing and was among the AHL leaders in scoring. He played in 58 games and was the team leader in scoring (23-37-60). He also made his second consecutive AHL all-star game appearance. Andersson, bothered by a knee injury in Grand Rapids during parts of December, had 27 points (10-17-27) in 36 games. Andersson, Nyquist and Tomas Tatar formed the Griffins' top line early in the season. First-year defenseman Danny DeKeyser is also eligible to play in Grand Rapids. But he had surgery on a broken right thumb May 7. The Griffins have games Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma City. To get in touch with Pete Wallner:
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|Greenwald writes: "Evidence proves that the graph trumpeted by AP as evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons program is an obvious sham."
An article published by Associated Press about Iran's nuclear program has sparked controversy. (photo: AP)
AP's Dangerous Iran Hoax Demands an Accounting
By Glenn Greenwald, Guardian UK
Evidence proves that the graph trumpeted by AP as evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons program is an obvious sham
An article published by Associated Press about Iran's nuclear program has sparked controversy (screen shot of AP story) Photograph: AP
(updated below w/AP's response)
t's important to return to the story about AP's nuclear Iran "exclusive" which I wrote about yesterday. Although it was intuitively obvious that the graph trumpeted by AP as scary and incriminating of Iran's nuclear program was actually a farce, there is now new, overwhelming, very compelling scientific evidence that is the case. Whether as victim or recklessly culpable participant, AP helped perpetrate a dangerous hoax, and owes an explanation and accounting for what took place, including identifying the "officials from a country critical of Iran's atomic program" who made false claims about what this is.
To begin with, the graph AP touted as reflecting some sort of nefarious, highly threatening and complex nuclear calculation is, in fact, widely available all over the Internet in the most innocuous places. Just consider this side-by-side comparison of the AP graph on the left, with the graph on the right on this harmless site designed to teach beginner users how to use Microsoft Excel:
At the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS), Yousaf Butt and Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress on Wednesday night wrote: "Graphs such as the one published by the Associated Press can be found in nuclear science textbooks and on the Internet." Similarly, Prof. Muhammad Sahimi, a professor of chemical engineering at USC and expert in Iran's nuclear program, told Richard Silverstein of Tikun Olum that "too many graphs like this can be generated by a competent undergraduate student." So what AP presented to the world as some sort of highly complex, specialized document was, in fact, nothing more than a completely common graph easily found in all sorts of public venues.
Even worse, the calculations reflected on this graph are patently ridiculous. Butt and Dalnoki-Veress document that the graph "does nothing more than indicate either slipshod analysis or an amateurish hoax" [emphasis added]. That's because, they explain, "the diagram features quite a massive error, which is unlikely to have been made by research scientists working at a national level"; namely:
"The image released to the Associated Press shows two curves: one that plots the energy versus time, and another that plots the power output versus time, presumably from a fission device. But these two curves do not correspond: If the energy curve is correct, then the peak power should be much lower - around 300 million ( 3x108) kt per second, instead of the currently stated 17 trillion (1.7 x1013) kt per second. As is, the diagram features a nearly million-fold error."
This error is patently obvious to anyone versed in nuclear physics. Nima Shirazi yesterday spoke with Dr. M. Hossein Partovi, who teaches courses in thermodynamics and quantum mechanics at Sacramento State, and he echoed the BAS scientists:
"[Dr. Partovi], noting that the graph is plotted in microseconds, explains that 'the graph depicted in the report is a nonspecific power/energy plot that is primarily evidence of the incompetence of those who forged it: a quick look at the energy graph shows that the total energy is more than four orders of magnitude (forty thousand times) smaller than the total integrated power that it must equal!'"
Notably, the nuclear expert quoted by AP in its article, David Albright, also seemed to be trying to tell AP that the graph contained this same obvious, glaring error, yet AP - eager to believe, or at least lead others to believe, that it had some incriminating evidence - either failed or refused to understand its significance. Buried in the AP article was this passage:
"'The yield is too big,' Albright said, noting that North Korea's first tests of a nuclear weapon were only a few kilotons."
But AP never indicated that this error strongly suggested that no real nuclear scientist would have prepared it, and immediately went back in the very next paragraph to touting the document as some sort of scary evidence of Iran's threatening nuclear weapons machinations.
Then there's the obvious crudeness of the graph itself, which I noted yesterday. Professor Sahimi told Silverstein: "The graph itself looks low quality, as if it has been drawn by hand." And the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists authors noted the same thing: "the level of scientific sophistication needed to produce such a graph corresponds to that typically found in graduate- or advanced undergraduate-level nuclear physics courses." Indeed, they added: "no secrets are needed to produce the plot of the explosive force of a nuclear weapon - just straightforward nuclear physics" [emphasis in original]. They continued:
"Though the image does not imply that computer simulations were actually run, even if they were, this is the type of project a student could present in a nuclear-science course. The diagram simply shows that the bulk of the nuclear fission yield is produced in a short, 0.1 microsecond, pulse. Since the 1950s, it has been standard knowledge that, in a fission device, the last few generations of neutron multiplication yield the bulk of the energy output. It is neither a secret, nor indicative of a nuclear weapons program."
It is, to put it as generously as possibly, completely reckless for AP to present this primitive, error-strewn, thoroughly common graph as secret, powerful evidence of Iran's work toward building a nuclear weapon. Yet from its inflammatory red headline ("AP EXCLUSIVE: GRAPH SUGGESTS IRAN WORKING ON BOMB") to the end of the article, this is exactly what AP did. And it did so by mindlessly repeating the script handed to it by a country which AP acknowledged is seeking to warn the world about the dangers of Iran. This is worse than stenography journalism. It is AP allowing itself, eagerly and gratefully, to be used to put its stamp of credibility on a ridiculous though destructive hoax.
The obligation of journalists to protect the identity of their sources to whom they have pledged anonymity ends when the "sources" use them purposely to disseminate falsehoods. Indeed, the obligation to protect these sources not only ends, but a different obligation arises: to tell the public who fed them the hoax. This was exactly the issue that arose when it became clear that multiple sources had falsely told ABC News' Brian Ross in late 2001 that government tests had linked the anthrax attacks in the US to Saddam's chemical weapons program, a story that Ross spread far and wide - thus, as intended, heightening fears of Iraq, but which turned out to be completely false from start to finish. As numerous journalists argued then, Ross had the obligation to tell the public who was behind the hoax he so damagingly spread.
AP has that same obligation here. At the very least, they have the duty to respond to this scientific and documentary proof that the graph they trumpeted, and certainly the claims they made about it, are misleading in the extreme. On Wednesday afternoon, I asked AP to comment on these issues and have thus far received no response.
As both Shirazi and John Glaser document, the AP writer responsible for this absurdity, George Jahn, has a history of similar behavior. That includes producing an equally hyped and equally absurd report back in May featuring a cartoon-like drawing that, as Jahn put it, "was provided to The Associated Press by an official of a country tracking Iran's nuclear program who said it proves the structure exists, despite Tehran's refusal to acknowledge it."
As the Iraq War proved, there are few things more irresponsible and dangerous than having a large media outlet trumpet extremely dubious claims from anonymous sources designed to hype the threats posed by some targeted foreign regime. That is exactly what AP is doing here, and given how obvious the sham is, it is inexcusable. AP owes a clear explanation of what happened here.
The real story here is not this inane graph, but the behavior of AP and its "sources". That someone is purposely feeding this influential media outlet obvious hoaxes shows two facts: (1) the evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons program must be very thin if fabrications of this type are needed; and (2) someone from an unnamed country or countries is very eager to scare the public into believing this weapons program exists and is vigorously proceeding, and is willing to use fraud to advance those fear-mongering ends.Johnny Depp
AKA John Christopher Depp, Jr.
Born: 9-Jun-1963
Birthplace: Owensboro, KY
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White [1]
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Captain Jack Sparrow
Johnny Depp started smoking at 12, and played guitar in a rock band called The Flame. He lost his virginity to a groupie at 13, in the band's van. His parents divorced when Depp was in high school, and Depp soon dropped out to pursue music full-time. Rechristened The Kids and later Six Gun Method, the band moved to Los Angeles, and had their biggest moment as an opening act for Iggy Pop. Depp struggled to get by, but eventually met Nicolas Cage, who suggested he try auditioning for film and TV work. His first major role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street, as a young boy plagued by bad dreams. Depp sprang to fame in the lead role on the upstart Fox network's first show, 21 Jump Street, playing a baby-faced cop recruited to infiltrate high schools and young criminals' gangs. At the time, 21 Jump Street was Fox's biggest (and only) hit, but Depp abhorred being a "teen heartthrob" and left after three seasons.
Depp often takes roles in darker films, appearing as a robotic topiarist in Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood in Ed Wood (1994), and Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Other roles tend to play more on his looks, such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
He had "Winona forever" tattooed on his arm while engaged to Winona Ryder. After they broke up he had the tattoo reworked to read "Wino forever". Depp owned the nightclub where River Phoenix overdosed in 1993. He now lives in France.
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Submit a correction or make a comment about this profileORLANDO, FL—Leaving no trace of his attendance at the industry conference, American Academy of Periodontology Annual Convention attendee Bill Hancock reportedly removed his name tag Thursday and instantly vanished back into the world of anonymous Hilton Orlando guests. Hancock, who only moments prior had been representing his Kenosha, WI–based oral and maxillofacial surgery group at a session titled “Enhancing Results With Periodontal-Orthodontic Therapy,” was said to be last seen headed toward the hotel’s lobby bar, at which point he peeled the adhesive sticker from his shirt pocket and dissolved into the faceless masses of business travelers and vacationing families. Reports indicate that numerous convention attendees were left wondering where Hancock could have gone, questioning whether he was still in the vicinity of the Orange Ballroom or if he had merely been an apparition conjured by their minds over the past four days of speaker luncheons and clinical technique showcases. Sources went on to confirm that the only evidence Hancock ever existed at all was a business card discovered in the convention’s raffle jar for a free lunch at Spencer’s For Steaks & Chops restaurant.
AdvertisementGet ready for StarCraft rivals Hong Jin Ho and Lim Yo Hwan to bring their long-time rivalry to 'Running Man'! �That's right! �Hong Jin Ho, who has constantly been second to Lim Yo Hwan in StarCraft, may now be able to beat him in the hilarious 'Running Man' competitions everyone enjoys watching. �On top of that, his 'Crime Scene 2' co-participant, EXID's Hani, was revealed to be appearing in the same episode, so bring on the Hobbang-Honey feels, shippers!
On November 16, one rep from SBS stated, "EXID's Hani and broadcasters Hong Jin Ho and Lim Yo Hwan are filming for 'Running Man' at the moment. �The filming will be taking place all throughout the 16th."
There will be a 'Rival Big Match' going on for this episode. �The seven members of 'Running Man' and the guests will embark on one-on-one missions. �It is yet unknown when the episode will air, but it is sure to be an epic one! �Don't miss out!When we asked Netflix for a statement (below), it said it was "deeply troubled" by Rapp's allegations and met with the cast and crew to reassure them that they're safe. Spacey isn't on set "at this time," it said. The company has previously tried to distance itself from scandal, claiming that it didn't have much connection with The Weinstein Company amid sexual assault allegations involving Harvey Weinstein, but it's clearly tackling the issue of sexual assault more directly this time.
No matter what, Netflix is in an awkward position. Although House of Cards isn't as important to the company's bottom line as it was a few years ago, it's still one of Netflix's best-known shows -- cancelling the series isn't a trivial decision, whatever the reason, and ending it with a looming scandal makes things much worse. Rapp's claims are far more important than any kind of hit to Netflix's bank account, of course, but it's hard not to wince seeing a once-crucial show fall from grace.In a bid to bolster their power rotation, while at the same time thinning their perimeter rotation, the Miami Heat on Monday signed 7-foot center Hassan Whiteside and released guard Shannon Brown.
The move with Whiteside, who had been playing with the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, comes in the wake of the Heat losing center Chris Andersen for the balance of the night with a sprained right ankle in the first quarter of Sunday's 94-93 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Brown had started the past two games, victories over the Orlando Magic and Hornets, amid the injuries that have sidelined starting guards Dwyane Wade and Norris Cole.
The release of Brown, who had a non-guaranteed contract, keeps undrafted rookie guard Andre Dawkins on the roster. Dawkins also holds a non-guaranteed contract.
While coach Erik Spoelstra praised Brown for his effort in Saturday's victory in Orlando, when he had seven points and two assists in 37 minutes, Brown struggled Sunday against the Hornets, playing 17 minutes without a point, assist or rebound, but with four fouls and three turnovers. In all, Brown appeared in five of the Heat's 14 games, averaging four points in an average of 17.8 minutes per appearance.
Ira Winderman discusses the gains that the Miami Heat are making Ira Winderman discusses the gains that the Miami Heat are making SEE MORE VIDEOS
With Wade and Cole expected to miss Tuesday's game against the visiting Golden State Warriors, the Heat's options of backcourt starters alongside Mario Chalmers could be reduced to Shabazz Napier, James Ennis, Danny Granger or Dawkins.
The Heat last week hosted a workout with Whiteside, with that session coming before Andersen's injury. X-rays on Andersen's ankle came back negative.
Whiteside, who had previously auditioned for the Heat before last season, is coming off a strong performance against the Heat's D-League affiliate, when he had 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in a 124-104 victory Saturday over the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
With the move, the Heat bypassed recalling center Khem Birch from Sioux Falls. Birch had a solid preseason for the Heat as one of the team's final cuts. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Sioux Falls in that loss to Whiteside and the Energy.
The addition of Whiteside gives the Heat seven players in their power rotation, when factoring in Andersen, Chris Bosh, Shawne Williams, Josh McRoberts, Udonis Haslem and Justin Hamilton. Hamilton has a Dec. 1 Heat deadline for an additional guarantee on his partially guaranteed contract.
Whiteside was the No. 33 selection of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings out of Marshall. He spent parts of two seasons with the Kings and attended training camp last month with the Memphis Grizzlies and recently spent a day on their roster.
Most of Whiteside's professional action has come in the D-League and stints in China and Lebanon. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in China in 2013.
Whiteside, who was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, is the son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Hassan Arbubakrr.
Andersen took a hard fall beneath the Hornets basket during a defensive sequence when he appeared to step on the foot of Charlotte guard Gary Neal and had to be assisted to the locker room. He wound up playing 1:35, with zeros across his stat line.
Andersen missed five games earlier in the season with a bruised left rib, an injury sustained during the second game of the season, on Nov. 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. He had been uneven with his play since his return.
With the addition of Whiteside, who will wear No. 21, and the release of Brown, the Heat remain at the NBA maximum of 15 players.
iwinderman@tribpub.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.winderman.Today, Elizabeth Warren issued a thorough and brutal attack on Donald Trump's credibility. Predictably, Trump was asked about Warren's comments in a press conference later that day.
This follows similar comments Trump made to Maureen Dowd of The New York Times over the weekend:
Asked about her jabs, he pounced: “I think it’s wonderful because the Indians can now partake in the future of the country. She’s got about as much Indian blood as I have. Her whole life was based on a fraud. She got into Harvard and all that because she said she was a minority.”
What is Trump talking about?
Back in April of 2012, Warren was in the grips of a Senate campaign against incumbent Scott Brown when the Boston Herald unearthed that Harvard Law School held up Warren's "Native American background" as evidence of a diverse hiring pool during her tenure there in the 1990s.
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What followed was a weeks-long attempt on Warren's part to creatively have it both ways: while she admitted to listing herself as a minority in a law school directory in order to connect with "people like me" and that being descendant of Native Americans is an "important" part of her heritage, she also claimed to not have used her background for personal gain. And she denied knowing Harvard ever touted her as a minority. But according to The Atlantic, she has shifted between listing herself as white and a minority throughout her career:
Warren, who graduated from the University of Houston in 1970 and got her law degree from Rutgers University in 1976, did not seek to take advantage of affirmative action policies during her education, according documents obtained by the Associated Press and The Boston Globe. On the application to Rutgers Law School she was asked, "Are you interested in applying for admission under the Program for Minority Group Students?'' "No," she replied. While a teacher at the University of Texas, she listed herself as "white." But between 1986 and 1995, she listed herself as a minority in the Association of American Law Schools Directory of Faculty; the University of Pennsylvania in a 2005 "minority equity report" also listed her as one of the minority professors who had taught at its law school.
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Warren traces her Native American heritage to stories her family told her while growing up in Oklahoma. “I am very proud of my heritage,” Warren told NPR in 2012. “These are my family stories. This is what my brothers and I were told by my mom and my dad, my mammaw and my pappaw. This is our lives. And |
play for the Oilers against LA. Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins missed practice Monday with undisclosed injuries. Neither injury is thought to be serious.
Oilers fans will get their first look at Darnell Nurse however, as the rookie will make his NHL debut tonight.
The Kings meanwhile, aim to secure their second victory of the season and seventh in a row over the Oilers.
The Oilers are winless on the young season, losing their home opener to Calgary on Thursday before suffering a 5-4 shootout setback to Vancouver on Saturday.
Edmonton failed to hold a trio of two-goal leads, including a 2-0 advantage in the first period, and allowed the game-tying goal at the 7:06 mark of the third frame. Viktor Fasth, who ended with 39 saves, was then beaten by Chris Higgins for the lone shootout tally.
"We played good during most parts of the game," said Fasth. "We got a lot of penalties today. It's a tough team to beat when you're spending that much time in the box."
Defenseman Brad Hunt scored his first NHL goal and Mark Arcobello added another first-period tally for the Oilers, while Nail Yakupov also scored and Jesse Joensuu tallied shorthanded. Teddy Purcell and David Perron both had two assists for Edmonton.
Purcell, though, was one of three Edmonton players to not skate on Monday along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. All three are day-to-day as head coach Dallas Eakins termed them "banged up."
The Oilers, who visit Arizona on Thursday, did recall forward Bogdan Yakimov from the minors, so there appears a chance at least one of those skaters could miss tonight's game.
It is unknown if Fasth or Ben Scrivens will start for Edmonton in net. Fasth is 1-3-0 with a 2.97 GAA and.906 save percentage in four meetings with the Kings.
Scrivens, meanwhile, began last season with the Kings before getting traded to the Oilers following the emergence of Jones. He has faced Los Angeles just once before and stopped 46-of-50 shots faced in a loss.
The Kings began defense of their Stanley Cup championship with losses to San Jose and Arizona (overtime) before rolling past the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Sunday.
Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson lit the lamp for the Kings, while Martin Jones made 29 saves in his first start of the season.
"I thought we did a good job in front of both nets actually," said Jones. "They did a good job of getting bodies and throwing pucks towards the net and we always seemed to come up with the puck in front of our net and in front of their net too, and bang, a couple goals."
The Kings won the opener of a six-game homestand and have claimed four straight and six of their past seven as the host against the Oilers. They also won all four meetings last season and have taken 12 of the last 15 encounters overall.
Jonathan Quick figures to face the Oilers tonight in net and has an excellent 11-1-4 mark against them in 16 starts, posting a 1.53 goals against average and.940 save percentage.
Oilers (1PT) at Kings (3PTS) - 10:30PM
LAK were 4-0-0 vs EDM last season, 2 shutouts
LAK have won 4 straight at home vs EDM, 2GA
LAK (1-1-1):
1-1-0 at home, 5-2-1 last 8 reg season home games 14GA, 18/21 on PK
0/11 on PP this season, 0/19 on PP last 5 reg season games
Carter (2G, 1A) past 2 games
EDM (0-1-1):
9GA in 2 games, 3/6 on PP, 6/9 on PK
3-3-3 past 9 reg season road games, 4/25 on PP
also winless through first two games last season
Perron (3A) has PTS in both gamesThose of you who remember The War Z (or WarZ as some called it) will recall that the game's launch was mired by controversy back in 2012. Since then, because of a trademark dispute, they had to change the name and they opted for Infestation: Survivor Stories.
Now the game, which it must be mentioned was roundly panned by critics and gamers alike (it carries a 20 and 1.7 on Metacritic if you take note of such things) is being rebooted after developer Free Reign East (formerly Hammerpoint Interactive) stepped away from the MMO's original publisher and teamed up Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero's son, George Cameron Romero.
"[Romero's] going to join production team as a creative force to help us make the ultimate zombie experience," the studio said in a post on their forum. "Cameron, being an avid hardcore gamer will be a great partner for us. He brings not only his creative vision and film experience, but also his family's heritage in the zombie genre. Cameron will help us create a world that is more 'authentic' than the one we had before."
Romero's Aftermath will be a spiritual successor to The War Z/Infestation: Survivor Stories, not a simple name change:
"The development team behind Infestation wanted to create a new experience for Infestation/WarZ players making sure to keep best parts of the game that made it popular, while avoiding controversial decisions and plain stupid mistakes that were previously made. Unfortunately, it was impossible to make the modifications to the existing game under the partnership with Infestation's publisher - OP Productions LLC. We had to leave and start from scratch."
If you've already invested in the game as it was, you'll be granted access to the beta of Romero's Aftermath once that launches. If you can't wait for that you can also invest in the alpha that's just starting up, and there's a selection of different price points (the most dedicated WarZ/Infestation players will be invited to participate in the alpha for free).
Thanks, Eurogamer.Two years ago today, Cody Wilson received a letter from the State Department asking him to take something off the internet.
In short, the letter asked Wilson to take some design files offline and suggested he may be aiding and abetting enemies of the United States. He complied, agreeing to take down the computer-aided design (CAD) files. Still, being the ex-law student he is, he held out hope for his day in court.
But like most things on the internet, the files in question — Wilson's designs for the world's first 3D-printed readymade pistol — weren't easily deleted. And two years later, Wilson's expanded his enterprise, known as Defense Distributed, creating a gun-manufacturing machine known as the Ghost Gunner — so called because the machine aids in the production of untraceable firearms that don't bear serial numbers. This week, his hope for a day in court got one step closer to reality: He filed a lawsuit against the State Department.
In the 2013 letter, the State Department initially stated that the "technical data" provided by Wilson and Defense Distributed on the group's website may have violated regulations known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), because the plans for the gun, known as the "Liberator," would allow virtually anyone with internet access, even embargoed countries or enemies of the state, the ability to manufacture controlled firearms. That, State Department officials argued, was tantamount to distributing the weapons themselves, and was subject to ITAR.
Loaded for Bear
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a U.S. district court in Austin, comes out with guns blazing, arguing the State Department violated a litany of rights, including free speech, due process and (obviously) the right to bear arms.
Wilson, who dropped out of the UT-Austin School of Law, believes his legal team’s First Amendment arguments are strong. The plans, instructions, files and software, which people can use to assist in the production of DIY guns, he argues are likely not within ITAR or State Department jurisdiction. The plans constitute information, and what the government is doing, he believes, is censoring the spread of information through prior restraint. Information-containing code, he argues, is speech, and should be protected.
“So we have firm footing to make the case that you can’t prior restrain certain software just because you dislike the ultimate result of having that software. I mean this department basically claims any digital information that could assist you in manufacturing firearms is under their control.”
Defense Distributed contends they followed all the processes the State Department requested in the 2013 letter, and Wilson says he waited two years without receiving any response to his requests. The company's suit calls out the department for not placing time constraints on the case, which, the suit says, is a violation of their Fifth Amendment right to due process.
The suit also addresses Second Amendment violations. After conferring with his legal team, Wilson says he had to make some “concessions,” like addressing the right-to-bear-and-acquire-arms protections in his suit to "pose questions that are so terrifying to some judges that it will probably speed their First Amendment decision so they can avoid growing the second amendment more than they already have."
Wilson says he observes Second Amendment interpretation through a historical and genealogical perspective from a "radical republican" standpoint and, strategically, he understands that Second Amendment activists might be important to his cause.
"For me it’s not really about a fidelity to any of these particular amendments to the Constitution, it’s about using whatever constitutional framework we have to preserve or open up a particular path to freedom, so people can actually use these blueprints, and they can actually use digital techniques to manufacture firearms," he says.
Scattershot
As Wilson, and likely everyone involved with the lawsuit knows, the information in question is still widely available online. The State Department's 2013 demands, which were sent out shortly after Defense Distributed debuted the Liberator online, drew a lot of press and attention to the group at the time.
This caused what's known as a Streisand effect, when the government's attempts to tamp down on the spread of information draws more attention to it and increases demand. Because of this, most of the Liberator schematics still exist and continue to be updated on bittorrent and filesharing sites.
So, if Wilson knows that his training and building manuals are still readily available for anyone committed to finding them, why sue the State Department?
Personal Defense
Wilson says it's about his personal commitment to protected freedoms, particularly the rights to free speech, information and expression — all of which he argues have been violated. While the suit is asking that the State Department remove the requirement for prepublication approval of his gunmaking instructional materials, it's also asking the department to compensate Defense Distributed for damages incurred during the two years the department barred publication.
It's a bold move to sue the federal government, sure, but it's one that's in line with Wilson's system of belief.
"Some people seem surprised that they can sue the government, and...this is a power that’s afforded to us as citizens of the United States. I hope it goes well, and I hope we reinforce the public’s understanding of protected speech as software." And he adds: "Also, that we even extend some protections for the Second Amendment."Last Updated: February 2, 2019
Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) is used to design websites. It was created by Håkon Wium Lie and Bert Bos. CSS is one of the fundamental pillars of the web. CSS skills are a requirement for being a great web developer. You need CSS proficiency to be able to style your ReactJS and other front-end code. Here’s a list of the best CSS resources including the best CSS tutorials, best CSS books & best CSS courses to help you get started with learning CSS in 2019.
Best CSS courses & tutorials 2019
Advanced CSS and Sass: Take Your CSS to the Next Level! by Jonas Schmedtmann is the most advanced and modern CSS course. You will master animations, flexbox, responsive design, and so much more. This CSS layout tutorial will teach you tons of modern CSS techniques to create stunning designs and effects. You will learn how to use Sass in real-world projects: global variables, architecting CSS, managing media queries, etc. You will learn to code CSS properly. This SASS tutorial teaches advanced CSS animations with @keyframes, animation and transition. Advanced CSS responsive design: media queries, mobile-first vs desktop-first, em vs rem units, etc is taught. You will learn how to master Flexbox layouts: build a huge real-world project with flexbox. Without question, this is the best advanced CSS tutorial in 2019.
Build Responsive Real World Websites with HTML5 and CSS3 by Jonas Schmedtmann will teach you everything you need to build responsive websites using CSS3 and HTML5. This Responsive Web Design tutorial comes with downloadable CSS lectures, CSS code and CSS design assets for the entire CSS project. You will learn jQuery effects like animations, scroll effects and “sticky” navigation that will make your website interactive. Using CSS3 media queries, you will implement Responsive Web Design. This CSS online class will teach you CSS guidelines and tips to make your website stand out. The online CSS course has support with CSS questions and CSS answers. This is among the best CSS3 and HTML5 tutorial in 2019.
Learn CSS Web Design & Development Beginner CSS introduction by Laurence Svekis will help you learn CSS fast. Made for CSS beginners, this will help you learn CSS from scratch. This CSS masterclass will teach you how to apply styling to HTML elements. You will start of with adding styling using colors, CSS fonts and backgrounds. This CSS beginner video course will teach you all about the CSS Box Model. You will learn how CSS Padding, CSS Borders, and CSS margins work. This CSS video training explores the use of CSS floats to create multiple column sites and pages. You will learn how to work with CSS height, CSS width and CSS dimensions. Then you will use multiple CSS techniques to make great CSS layouts. This is one of the best CSS tutorials for beginners in 2019 to learn CSS quickly.
Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS by Brad Schiff will help you become a professional web designer with CSS3. and other modern web technologies. This CSS3 course will teach you how to support any device size with Responsive Web Design. You will learn how to add CSS3 animations and effects. This CSS online training will show you how to use CSS transitions and CSS transforms. SASS and cross-device compatibility are also touched upon in this CSS online course You will learn about CSS Backgrounds including CSS Gradients and CSS Sprites. This CSS video training will teach you about CSS Typography including using Custom Web Fonts. This is one of the best CSS courses in 2019.
The Complete Flexbox Tutorial: Learn CSS3 Flexbox in 2017 by Peter Sommerhoff will teach you how to use CSS3 Flexbox for better layouts. In this CSS interactive tutorial, you’ll learn to use each and every CSS Flexbox property. You will how to use all the following flex containers: flex-direction, justify-content, align-items, flex-wrap, and align-content. Then, you will work with all the flex items: order, align-self, flex-grow, flex-shrink, flex-basis and flex. CSS3 Flexboxes help you make responsive web layouts more effectively and quickly. This CSS3 Flexbox course is packed with real-world CSS Flexbox examples. A close look will be taken of the popular Object Orient CSS pattern. You will be able to build responsive galleries and epic layouts with CSS Flexbox. Not only all that, but you will write high-quality and reusable CSS code. This is one of the best CSS Flexbox tutorial.
Learn SVG Animation – With HTML, CSS & JavaScript by Code Collective will teach you create powerful animations are created using CSS, HTML & JavaScript. CSS animation properties will be explained along with how to use them. You will be working with SVGs. This CSS Animation tutorial will teach you how to animate logos, animate Social Icons, use masks, etc. You will use JavaScript to calculate the length of an SVG path. This course will show you how to create SVG’s that make use of Masks & Gradients. You will use Codepen to write CSS. This is one of the best CSS and SVG animation tutorials in 2019.
Build a Responsive Website with HTML5, CSS3 and Bootstrap 4 by Filip Kordanovski will help you build Modern Responsive Websites using CSS3, HTML5 and Bootstrap 4. You will learn how to easily create CSS3 animations. This Modern Web Dev tutorial will also show you how to create beautiful animations on scroll using basic JavaScript. You will learn how to code amazing Bootstrap 4 templates with HTML5 and CSS3. This course will introduce you to Bootstrap 4 and show you how to use it. This CSS course will teach you new ways of CSS coding, tips & tricks and modern CSS best practices to build websites.
Projects in CSS by Edunoix will teach you CSS by building professional CSS projects. You will build 10 different CSS projects using a variety of techniques and technologies. This will help you learn how CSS works in the real world. You will different kinds of CSS design techniques. This CSS exercises tutorial will introduce you to using Bootstrap, LESS and SASS. You will learn CSS best practices. The CSS projects you will build include: Landing Page, Responsive Tableless Calendar, Pure CSS Image Slider, Transition Drop Down Menu, CSS Timeline, Tables with SASS, CSS Image Gallery, Animated Car, Animated Bootstrap Template and NewsLetter Design with LESS. This is one of the best CSS projects tutorials that will help you practice your CSS skills.
CSSCasts: CSS libraries Plugins Tips & Tricks for Developers by Rahul Giri is a CSS course that is updated weekly with all the latest CSS features. With almost 50 hours of CSS video lessons and being continuously updated, this is one of the most intensive and in-depth CSS online tutorials. You will learn all about Modern CSS, CSS3, CSS$, CSS libraries, CSS plugins, CSS Grids, CSS frameworks, CSS tips & CSS tricks, etc. All levels of CSS are covered, whether beginner CSS, intermediate CSS or expert CSS. This is one of the best CSS video tutorials, and makes learning CSS online easy.
Mastering “Native CSS Shapes” To Build Modern Web Pages by Rahul Giri will teach you how to use CSS3 Shapes. You will learn how to harness the power of Native CSS Shapes to create beautiful modern web pages. You will learn all the CSS shape-outside property functions. These include: circle(), ellipse(), inset(), polygon() and url(). You will learn how to make use of the CSS clip-path property. This CSS Shapes course is packed with CSS code examples. You can then build a responsive website using CSS Shapes. This is one of the best CSS Shapes tutorials.
HTML & CSS: 200+ Most Important Q & A for Interviews & Exams by Nirakar Neupane will teach you how to be confident enough to face CSS job interviews or CSS exams. CSS fundamentals, CSS positioning, CSS advanced concepts and CSS3 Responsive Web Design are topics all covered in-depth and detail. HTML & CSS based jobs are among the highest salaried jobs in the tech industry. This demand will only increase. This CSS3 interview tutorial has the 200+ most important questions and answers on HTML & CSS. This a great CSS basic tutorial for those applying for CSS jobs and giving CSS interviews. You will be able to answer most types of CSS questions after completing this CSS interview training.
Best CSS books 2019
Bestsellers
Sale CSS: The Definitive Guide ISBN13: 9780596527334
Condition: New
Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Eric A. Meyer
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
CSS: The Definitive Guide by Eric A. Meyer is a book absolutely worthy of it’s title and is a comprehensive guide to the world of CSS. Eric A. Meyer is a renowned CSS veteran, having worked on the web since 1993.
CSS: The Definitive Guide is considered a classic book, teaching you everything about the CSS specification. The book tells you the benefits and uses of CSS, showing you how to properly begin using it. Eric Meyer’s expertise and passion on CSS is unmatched by anyone and you can see that throughout the book. CSS: The Definitive Guide covers every topic related to CSS such as layouts, positioning, etc.
CSS: The Definitive Guide is considered by many to be the ultimate book to learn CSS. You will also very likely be using it as a reference for years to come. CSS: The Definitive Guide is a book anyone looking to be serious about CSS must have on their bookshelves. This is one of the best CSS reference books ever released.
CSS Secrets: Better Solutions to Everyday Web Design Problems by Lea Verou shows techniques and solutions to everyday web design problems that can be used by CSS developers. Lea Verou works with the W3C CSS Working Group and is a researcher in Human-Computer Interaction at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
CSS Secrets is a practical guide that contains 47 CSS hacks and tips that will help you solve a wide variety of CSS problems. Lea Verou’s understanding of the CSS specifications (as proven by her work with W3C) is second to none and this book proves it. CSS Secrets tackles pretty much all topics of CSS including CSS fonts, CSS padding, CSS backgrounds, CSS borders, CSS animations, CSS effects, CSS typography, etc. CSS Secrets takes a problem-solving approach to teaching you CSS by using code, unlike many books. Each chapter in the book deals with a problem and the possible solutions to the problem, some of which are simply ingenious. CSS Secrets also talks and explains the solutions and techniques an how and why they work. This CSS book is packed with CSS tricks & tips.
CSS Secrets is a very well designed and written book, packed to the brim with ideas and techniques. CSS Secrets is a book full of great tips that can be used by any web designer or anyone that works with CSS. If you want to unlock the mysteries of CSS, check out CSS Secrets. This is one of the best books to learn CSS3 in 2019.
Sale CSS: The Missing Manual O Reilly Media
David Sawyer McFarland
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Edition no. 4 (08/30/2015)
Paperback: 718 pages
CSS: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland is the hands-on guide to learning CSS from the CSS basics. You will learn CSS step by step. David McFarland has been designing and building websites since 1995.
CSS: The Missing Manual starts from the very basics and assumes no prior experience in CSS. This CSS guide teaches you how to make great layouts with animation that work on mobile. CSS: The Missing Manual also touches upon techniques like floats, postioning, flexboxes and even Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets (Sass).
CSS: The Missing Manual is a book that can be read from cover to cover. This CSS book has been consistently updated to stay with current trends in CSS. CSS: The Missing Manual can be used by CSS beginners and advanced CSS developers alike. CSS: The Missing Manual provides tips and tricks to modernize your web development. This is one of the best CSS reference books.
The Book of CSS3: A Developer’s Guide to the Future of Web Design by Peter Gasston is a great walk-through into the power of CSS3 and how to harness it. Peter Gasston has been a web developer for more than 12 years.
This CSS3 book goes through painstaking detail about the CSS3 technical specification and explains what does what and how in layman’s terms. Updated and new CSS Syntax such as CSS grids, CSS blend modes and other CSS programming are all touched upon. This CSS ebook uses a tonne of real world CSS code and CSS examples to teach you great web design principles. These include how to build custom CSS animations, applying CSS transformations on text, add CSS drop shadow effects to your text, etc. This is one of the best CSS3 books in 2019.
The Book of CSS3 covers and displays the features of CSS3 in a grand and precise way. Developers and designers of all levels should have an understanding of the CSS syntax and this book makes that very easy to do.
CSS Pocket Reference by Eric Meyer is a handy, pocket sized guide that is a great reference fro all things CSS. Eric A. Meyer is a renowned CSS veteran, having worked on the web since 1993.
CSS Pocket Reference is arranged alphabetically in a book small in size but big in content, covering everything CSS related. This book is the ultimate cheat-sheet for all things pertaining to CSS. CSS Pocket Reference helps you work with things such as styling your webpage, adding effects to your elements, etc. CSS Pocket Reference is completely updated for the CSS3 specification, adding loads of new content. It is amazing that even with all this content, new and old, the size of the book is absolutely compact and is something you can keep on your desk or bag instead of your shelf. CSS Pocket Reference is broken down into four sections: 1) Basic Concepts, 2) Values, 3)Selectors and finally 4)Property Reference.
CSS Pocket Reference is ideal for intermediate level and above web developers and web designers (ie have some understanding of the basics of CSS), so that they can understand what to look up and how to use it. This book is concise and to the point, drawing on the author’s years of experience. This is one of the best CSS documentation books. CSS Pocket Reference is an easy to use reference book that fits in every developer’s pocket. Well almost!
Sale CSS Mastery Apress
Andy Budd, Emil Björklund
Publisher: Apress
Edition no. 3 (07/27/2016)
Paperback: 409 pages
CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions by Andy Budd & Emil Björklund will take you on a journey to CSS mastery, using the simplest path possible. Andy Budd is a interaction designer and Emil Björklund is a developer.
CSS Mastery tackles the more technical aspects of CSS and assumes that you already know the basics of CSS. This book is aimed at intermediate and above level web developers and web designers. CSS Mastery teaches you CSS best practices, most common CSS issues and their solutions and everything needed to be a master of CSS. CSS Mastery also tackles the latest features introduced in CSS3. Some of these new topics include responsive web design, advanced typography and modular CSS are tackled. CSS Mastery unveils the secrets of CSS, allowing you to understand and use CSS better. This is one of the best books on CSS3.
CSS Mastery is filled with easy-to-follow and practical CSS techniques that can be easily used. This advanced CSS book is a through guide to cutting-edge CSS development. CSS Mastery makes it simple to master CSS, which may sound easy but isnt. This is one of the best Advanced CSS books in 2019.
HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites by Jon Duckett is full-color introduction to the basics of HTML and CSS. This visual and interactive CSS book makes it easy for anyone to learn CSS. Beginners to CSS will love this book. It is a great CSS reference for you. This is one of the best books for learning CSS3 and HTML5 for beginners in 2019.
Creating Web Animations: Bringing Your UIs to Life by Kirupa Chinnathambi will teach you how to create awesome animations using CSS. You will also learn how to implement common UI patterns by relying on CSS3 animations. This CSS3 Animation book is packed with practical examples, showing you how to use CSS animations properly. You will be able to create CSS animations found in common user interface implementations like bounce after scrolling, content sliders, expanding search boxes, etc. This CSS Animation book will teach you the technical details of working with CSS animations and transitions. You will use CSS transforms to animate an element’s position, scale, and orientation, etc. The book will help you gain understand the importance of easing. This is one of the best CSS3 Animations books for beginners in 2019.
Sale Mastering Responsive Web Design Ricardo Zea
Publisher: Packt Publishing - ebooks Account
Paperback: 334 pages
Mastering Responsive Web Design by Ricardo Zea will take your Responsive Web Design skills to the next level with HTML5 and CSS3 best practices. This is one of the best Responsive Web Design books in 2018. You will learn how to install and use Sass with SCSS syntax to create your CSS. This CSS book will show you how to make great CSS layouts by creating your own scalable CSS3 grid or using CSS3 Flexbox. This is one of the best CSS3 Grid and CSS3 Flexbox books.
CSS Animations and Transitions for the Modern Web by Steven Bradley teaches you how to add animation to web pages using CSS3 style definitions. This CSS book is up-to-date on current browser support for CSS animations and transitions. You will learn CSS techniques for creating smooth transitions. This CSS transitions book will introduce you to manipulating web page objects in both 2D and 3D space. You will even learn how to apply Disney’s principles for creating realistic animation. This is one of the best CSS animation books.
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Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) is used to design websites. It was created by Håkon Wium Lie and Bert Bos. CSS is one of the fundamental pillars of the web. CSS skills are a requirement for being a great web developer. You need CSS proficiency to be able to style your ReactJS and other front-end code. Here’s a list of the best CSS resources including the best CSS tutorials, best CSS books & best CSS courses to help you get started with learning CSS in 2019.
Best CSS courses & tutorials 2019
Advanced CSS and Sass: Take Your CSS to the Next Level! by Jonas Schmedtmann is the most advanced and modern CSS course. You will master animations, flexbox, responsive design, and so much more. This CSS layout tutorial will teach you tons of modern CSS techniques to create stunning designs and effects. You will learn how to use Sass in real-world projects: global variables, architecting CSS, managing media queries, etc. You will learn to code CSS properly. This SASS tutorial teaches advanced CSS animations with @keyframes, animation and transition. Advanced CSS responsive design: media queries, mobile-first vs desktop-first, em vs rem units, etc is taught. You will learn how to master Flexbox layouts: build a huge real-world project with flexbox. Without question, this is the best advanced CSS tutorial in 2019.
Build Responsive Real World Websites with HTML5 and CSS3 by Jonas Schmedtmann will teach you everything you need to build responsive websites using CSS3 and HTML5. This Responsive Web Design tutorial comes with downloadable CSS lectures, CSS code and CSS design assets for the entire CSS project. You will learn jQuery effects like animations, scroll effects and “sticky” navigation that will make your website interactive. Using CSS3 media queries, you will implement Responsive Web Design. This CSS online class will teach you CSS guidelines and tips to make your website stand out. The online CSS course has support with CSS questions and CSS answers. This is among the best CSS3 and HTML5 tutorial in 2019.
Learn CSS Web Design & Development Beginner CSS introduction by Laurence Svekis will help you learn CSS fast. Made for CSS beginners, this will help you learn CSS from scratch. This CSS masterclass will teach you how to apply styling to HTML elements. You will start of with adding styling using colors, CSS fonts and backgrounds. This CSS beginner video course will teach you all about the CSS Box Model. You will learn how CSS Padding, CSS Borders, and CSS margins work. This CSS video training explores the use of CSS floats to create multiple column sites and pages. You will learn how to work with CSS height, CSS width and CSS dimensions. Then you will use multiple CSS techniques to make great CSS layouts. This is one of the best CSS tutorials for beginners in 2019 to learn CSS quickly.
Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS by Brad Schiff will help you become a professional web designer with CSS3. and other modern web technologies. This CSS3 course will teach you how to support any device size with Responsive Web Design. You will learn how to add CSS3 animations and effects. This CSS online training will show you how to use CSS transitions and CSS transforms. SASS and cross-device compatibility are also touched upon in this CSS online course You will learn about CSS Backgrounds including CSS Gradients and CSS Sprites. This CSS video training will teach you about CSS Typography including using Custom Web Fonts. This is one of the best CSS courses in 2019.
The Complete Flexbox Tutorial: Learn CSS3 Flexbox in 2017 by Peter Sommerhoff will teach you how to use CSS3 Flexbox for better layouts. In this CSS interactive tutorial, you’ll learn to use each and every CSS Flexbox property. You will how to use all the following flex containers: flex-direction, justify-content, align-items, flex-wrap, and align-content. Then, you will work with all the flex items: order, align-self, flex-grow, flex-shrink, flex-basis and flex. CSS3 Flexboxes help you make responsive web layouts more effectively and quickly. This CSS3 Flexbox course is packed with real-world CSS Flexbox examples. A close look will be taken of the popular Object Orient CSS pattern. You will be able to build responsive galleries and epic layouts with CSS Flexbox. Not only all that, but you will write high-quality and reusable CSS code. This is one of the best CSS Flexbox tutorial.
Learn SVG Animation – With HTML, CSS & JavaScript by Code Collective will teach you create powerful animations are created using CSS, HTML & JavaScript. CSS animation properties will be explained along with how to use them. You will be working with SVGs. This CSS Animation tutorial will teach you how to animate logos, animate Social Icons, use masks, etc. You will use JavaScript to calculate the length of an SVG path. This course will show you how to create SVG’s that make use of Masks & Gradients. You will use Codepen to write CSS. This is one of the best CSS and SVG animation tutorials in 2019.
Build a Responsive Website with HTML5, CSS3 and Bootstrap 4 by Filip Kordanovski will help you build Modern Responsive Websites using CSS3, HTML5 and Bootstrap 4. You will learn how to easily create CSS3 animations. This Modern Web Dev tutorial will also show you how to create beautiful animations on scroll using basic JavaScript. You will learn how to code amazing Bootstrap 4 templates with HTML5 and CSS3. This course will introduce you to Bootstrap 4 and show you how to use it. This CSS course will teach you new ways of CSS coding, tips & tricks and modern CSS best practices to build websites.
Projects in CSS by Edunoix will teach you CSS by building professional CSS projects. You will build 10 different CSS projects using a variety of techniques and technologies. This will help you learn how CSS works in the real world. You will different kinds of CSS design techniques. This CSS exercises tutorial will introduce you to using Bootstrap, LESS and SASS. You will learn CSS best practices. The CSS projects you will build include: Landing Page, Responsive Tableless Calendar, Pure CSS Image Slider, Transition Drop Down Menu, CSS Timeline, Tables with SASS, CSS Image Gallery, Animated Car, Animated Bootstrap Template and NewsLetter Design with LESS. This is one of the best CSS projects tutorials that will help you practice your CSS skills.
CSSCasts: CSS libraries Plugins Tips & Tricks for Developers by Rahul Giri is a CSS course that is updated weekly with all the latest CSS features. With almost 50 hours of CSS video lessons and being continuously updated, this is one of the most intensive and in-depth CSS online tutorials. You will learn all about Modern CSS, CSS3, CSS$, CSS libraries, CSS plugins, CSS Grids, CSS frameworks, CSS tips & CSS tricks, etc. All levels of CSS are covered, whether beginner CSS, intermediate CSS or expert CSS. This is one of the best CSS video tutorials, and makes learning CSS online easy.
Mastering “Native CSS Shapes” To Build Modern Web Pages by Rahul Giri will teach you how to use CSS3 Shapes. You will learn how to harness the power of Native CSS Shapes to create beautiful modern web pages. You will learn all the CSS shape-outside property functions. These include: circle(), ellipse(), inset(), polygon() and url(). You will learn how to make use of the CSS clip-path property. This CSS Shapes course is packed with CSS code examples. You can then build a responsive website using CSS Shapes. This is one of the best CSS Shapes tutorials.
HTML & CSS: 200+ Most Important Q & A for Interviews & Exams by Nirakar Neupane will teach you how to be confident enough to face CSS job interviews or CSS exams. CSS fundamentals, CSS positioning, CSS advanced concepts and CSS3 Responsive Web Design are topics all covered in-depth and detail. HTML & CSS based jobs are among the highest salaried jobs in the tech industry. This demand will only increase. This CSS3 interview tutorial has the 200+ most important questions and answers on HTML & CSS. This a great CSS basic tutorial for those applying for CSS jobs and giving CSS interviews. You will be able to answer most types of CSS questions after completing this CSS interview training.
Best CSS books 2019
Bestsellers
Sale CSS: The Definitive Guide ISBN13: 9780596527334
Condition: New
Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Eric A. Meyer
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
CSS: The Definitive Guide by Eric A. Meyer is a book absolutely worthy of it’s title and is a comprehensive guide to the world of CSS. Eric A. Meyer is a renowned CSS veteran, having worked on the web since 1993.
CSS: The Definitive Guide is considered a classic book, teaching you everything about the CSS specification. The book tells you the benefits and uses of CSS, showing you how to properly begin using it. Eric Meyer’s expertise and passion on CSS is unmatched by anyone and you can see that throughout the book. CSS: The Definitive Guide covers every topic related to CSS such as layouts, positioning, etc.
CSS: The Definitive Guide is considered by many to be the ultimate book to learn CSS. You will also very likely be using it as a reference for years to come. CSS: The Definitive Guide is a book anyone looking to be serious |
a shampoo meant to be used on animals are safe for the pet as there is a high likelihood that the pets will lick their coats, especially in the case of cats.
Pet shampoos which include fragrances, deodorants or colors may harm the skin of the pet by causing inflammations or irritation. Shampoos that do not contain any unnatural additives are known as hypoallergenic shampoos and are increasing in popularity.
Solid [ edit ]
Solid shampoos or shampoo bars use as their surfactants soaps or other surfactants formulated as solids. They have the advantage of being spill-proof. They are easy to apply; one may simply rub the bar over wet hair, and work the soaped hair into a low lather.
Jelly and gel [ edit ]
Stiff, non-pourable clear gels to be squeezed from a tube were once popular forms of shampoo, and can be produced by increasing a shampoo's viscosity. This type of shampoo cannot be spilled, but unlike a solid, it can still be lost down the drain by sliding off wet skin or hair.
Paste and cream [ edit ]
Shampoos in the form of pastes or creams were formerly marketed in jars or tubes. The contents were wet but not completely dissolved. They would apply faster than solids and dissolve quickly.
Antibacterial [ edit ]
Antibacterial shampoos are often used in veterinary medicine for various conditions,[34][35] as well as in humans before some surgical procedures.[36][37]
No Poo Movement [ edit ]
Closely associated with environmentalism, the "no poo" movement consists of people rejecting the societal norm of frequent shampoo use. Some adherents of the no poo movement use baking soda or vinegar to wash their hair, while others use diluted honey. Other people use nothing, rinsing their hair only with conditioner.[38][39]
Theory [ edit ]
In the 1970s, ads featuring Farrah Fawcett and Christie Brinkley asserted that it was unhealthy not to shampoo several times a week. This mindset is reinforced by the greasy feeling of the scalp after a day or two of not shampooing. Using shampoo every day removes sebum, the oil produced by the scalp. This causes the sebaceous glands to produce oil at a higher rate, to compensate for what is lost during shampooing. According to Michelle Hanjani, a dermatologist at Columbia University, a gradual reduction in shampoo use will cause the sebum glands to produce at a slower rate, resulting in less grease in the scalp.[40] Although this approach might seem unappealing to some individuals, many people try alternate shampooing techniques like baking soda and vinegar in order to avoid chemicals and ingredients used in many shampoos that make hair greasy over time.[41]Researchers report an increase in individualistic words and phrases in American books published over the past half-century.
See Dick. See Dick look in the mirror. See Dick admire his reflection.
Researchers who have scanned books published over the past 50 years report an increasing use of words and phrases that reflect an ethos of self-absorption and self-satisfaction.
“Language in American books has become increasingly focused on the self and uniqueness in the decades since 1960,” a research team led by San Diego State University psychologist Jean Twengewrites in the online journal PLoS One. “We believe these data provide further evidence that American culture has become increasingly focused on individualistic concerns.”
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Their results are consistent with those of a 2011 study which found that lyrics of best-selling pop songs have grown increasingly narcissistic since 1980. Twenge’s study encompasses a longer period of time—1960 through 2008—and a much larger set of data.
Using the Google Books Ngram viewer, the largest database of digitized books, she and her colleagues examined the contents of 766,513 books, looking for specific words and phrases that reflect either an individualistic or communal mindset. (Although the use of this dataset is somewhat controversial, Twenge defends it by noting that books reflect a society’s shared assumptions, and help “shape individuals’ ideas of cultural norms.”)
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Panels recruited through the online service MTurk created lists of common words and phrases connoting either communalism or individualism. Based on their recommendations, the researchers set out to find such individualistic words and phrases as “independent,” “all about me,” “I am special” and “I get what I want,” along with such communal words and phrases as “teamwork,” “band together” and “common good.”
All of those words and phrases increased in usage over time, as the language evolved. After the researchers factored that into their analysis, they found only the individualistic words and phrases significantly increased from 1960 to 2008.
Interestingly, among the 20 individualistic words the researchers searched for, those that experienced the largest increase in usage were “identity,” “personalized,” “self,” “standout” and “unique.”
Consistent with this trend, “Many of the individualistic phrases, especially those that increased over time, included the word ‘self’ or emphasized uniqueness and/or being better than others,” the researchers write. Meanwhile, “Individualistic words and phrases emphasizing standing alone (such as independence, self-reliance, self-sufficient, solitary and sole) were among the few that decreased or did not change.”
If that all sounds depressing, it’s worth noting that Twenge and her colleagues urge caution in drawing conclusions from their data. There are many ways of uncovering such trends, they note, and this is just one of them.
What’s more, they point out that throughout the time period they studied, “communal words and phrases were more commonly used than the individualistic words and phrases.” So there’s some evidence that our culture hasn't turned completely narcissistic—yet.I’ve been doing a bunch of things lately, mostly fixing a couple of very nasty bugs and assisting on engine side work with monsters as well as implementing the AI interface. I recently fixed a really really nasty bug where our networked animation system positions were being de-synced in position with the logical position, and this required a slight rework of the client side networked animator which pulled all of the client side code outside of the server code, making the system better overall anyway.
I’ve been doing a lot of one off bugfixes for metadept, fixing projectiles and changing the update method for our scripted entities, adding to the lua api. I fixed a nasty nasty network bug which made the server send huge amounts more data than it should, which I need to check on current steam stable. Thanks to Underbalanced for reporting this bug to omni. I actually ran into the bug independently working on the networked animator bug, but that confirms that it is occurring on the steam stable build and needs to be fixed.
I fixed a whole series of universe deadlocking bugs caused by a worker pool class we use not being COMPLETELY TOTALLY impervious to re-entry deadlocks. That was fun.
I spent maybe 3 hours tracking down some particle animation problems, which turned out be a one line fix.
Then comes the AI ui stuff… our UI code is kind of.. special.. at the moment. This has been somewhat in my way as of late getting the AI code working, so in the process of building the AI gui I’ve fixed maybe a zillion UI bugs and hopefully introduced significantly less than that in the process. None of it is particularly interesting, it’s just kinda sucky.
Finally, we’re preparing to restore the build server (it’s nearly done actually) and start doing AUTOMATED SCRIPTED NIGHTLY UPLOADS to steam. These will be AUTOMATED builds that are SCRIPTED and occur NIGHTLY, so huge huge warning signs will be placed around them, they are only for dedicated interested people to track development and experiment, not really for normal play. They could eat your dog, set your house on fire, eat your house, or set your dog on fire, who knows. They also might be broken, so don’t complain.England coach Eddie Jones says the team's treatment so far in Australia has been "demeaning and disrespectful"
Australia v England - Second Test Date: Saturday 18 June Venue: AAMI Park Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website
England flanker Chris Robshaw says he is using jibes from the Australian media as motivation for a historic Test series win in Melbourne on Saturday.
The former skipper is prominent in a promotional video by host broadcaster Fox Sports which mocked England's early exit from last year's World Cup.
England beat the Wallabies for only the fourth time in Australia last Saturday.
"It's tough to see things like that, so we want to go out and prove people wrong," Robshaw told BBC Sport.
"With stuff like that, you use it as motivation. We want to come down here as an England team and make history along the way."
England have never won a Test series in Australia but can clinch the three-Test series with victory in Melbourne.
Robshaw wins his 50th cap at AAMI Park on Saturday, but admits he was worried his international career was over following the World Cup.
"Of course I was unsure what to expect, not really sure who was coming in, and how you would be viewed," he said. "So I was extremely glad I had another opportunity."
Robshaw's time in an England shirt has been far from plain-sailing, with some exhilarating highs mixed in with some demoralising lows.
But despite stripping him of the captaincy earlier this year, coach Eddie Jones kept faith with Robshaw as a player, and the Harlequins forward proceeded to play a leading role in England's first Grand Slam in 13 years, before putting in an 80-minute shift in the 39-28 first-Test win in Brisbane.
"In life and in sport you do have setbacks and things don't always go to plan. It's about how you respond," Robshaw added.
"You are always trying to reach the top. If it doesn't happen, you dust yourself off and you have to go again. It's as simple as that."Senator Lankford.
Time and again, President Trump has shown that he has a very poor understanding of how negotiations work, despite his famous declaration, “Deals are my art form.”
Trump demonstrated this early last month, when a group of conservative attorneys general threatened to file a legal challenge to DACA if Trump didn’t kill the program, which offers people brought to the country illegally as children protection from deportation. The president — who had pledged to end the Obama program, but also assured Dreamers that he’s sympathetic to their plight — reportedly wanted to avoid making a decision on the issue. Though the attorneys general were making an empty threat, Trump caved and announced he would end DACA.
He did find a way to foist the decision on Congress, saying DACA would officially end in six months. This was meant to force lawmakers into action; if they couldn’t pass a legislative fix in six months, they’d have to deal with the consequences of 800,000 people being shipped from the U.S. to countries many of them don’t even remember.
But Trump immediately undermined his threat, tweeting: “Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!”
Exactly how he would “revisit the issue” was unclear, but the tweet was generally taken to mean that if Congress didn’t feel like tackling yet another historically difficult issue in the next few months, there wouldn’t be any consequences.
This was no gaffe; now we’ve learned that Trump actually confirmed to a Republican senator that he will extend DACA past the March 5 deadline if Congress can’t come up with a legislative fix by then.
“The president’s comment to me was that, ‘We put a six-month deadline out there. Let’s work it out. If we can’t get it worked out in six months, we’ll give it some more time, but we’ve got to get this worked out legislatively,’” Oklahoma senator James Lankford told the Washington Post outside of a town hall on Thursday night.
A Lankford spokesman said Trump made the remark during a phone call with the senator last month. Lankford relayed the information to reassure a group of 20-somethings who approached him after the town hall to discuss DACA.
“I was trying to set them at ease and to say, ‘This is going to get worked out. The president’s even said to me, we’re going to get this worked out and find a solution to this legislatively,’” he said.
Trump has consistently said that he’d like Congress to come up with a way to help DACA recipients, then made moves that make a solution less likely. Last month he appeared to strike a deal with Democrats, offering DACA protections for relatively mild border-security measures. Then this week his administration said he would only fix DACA if Democrats agreed to border-wall funding and a host of other hard-line immigration measures. Aside from decreasing pressure on Congress, extending the March 5 deadline would create massive headaches, since you can’t turn a complex bureaucratic process on and off like a light switch.
On the other hand, Trump did have someone else write The Art of the Deal for him, so he probably knows what he’s doing.‘Leaning against the wind’: exchange rate intervention in emerging markets works
Christian Daude, Eduardo Levy Yeyati
Central banks’ exchange rate interventions are typically attributed to precautionary, prudential, or mercantilist motives. This column documents the prevalence of an alternative motive – that of stabilising the exchange rate – in emerging markets, where, despite heavy intervention, the Global Crisis saw important deviations of the real exchange rate from its equilibrium value. Exchange rate intervention is shown to be effective, but more so at containing appreciations than depreciations.
The economic debate has typically downplayed the exchange rate-smoothing nature of central bank foreign exchange intervention, attributing it to precautionary or prudential motives, or to the goal of keeping the exchange rate undervalued for mercantilist reasons. There is plenty of evidence, however, indicating that intervention is primarily geared to limiting what policymakers may see as unwarranted (and possibly harmful) deviations from equilibrium levels (BIS 2005, 2013) – intervention correlates negatively with exchange rate pressure and is often complemented with capital restrictions and taxes that could only make any precautionary reserve build-up more costly.1
In a new paper (Daude et al. 2014) we document the prevalence of this ‘leaning against the wind’ exchange rate intervention in emerging economies; in addition, we show that intervention indeed mitigates real exchange rate (RER) volatility as expected.
Because of the two-way causality between intervention and exchange rate variations – central banks purchase (sell) dollars to partially offset appreciations (depreciations) – the literature has not been successful at documenting a significant and systematic link between interventions and their desired effect on the exchange rate, which typically prove not to be significant and, sometimes, show up with the ‘wrong’ sign. Moreover, not all interventions are exchange rate-driven – a large body of research has shown that intervention may instead be due to reserve restocking after a currency crisis (Aizenmann and Lee 2007), or to precautionary reserve stock-building (and un-building) to ensure a reserve coverage of broad monetary aggregates.
In particular, Obstfeld et al. (2010) argue that the intervention objective is to keep the reserve stock stable relative to the broad monetary aggregate that typically runs against reserves in a currency attack. We build on this literature to compute a central bank intervention measure that filters out possible precautionary causes and minimises the endogeneity bias. We follow Levy Yeyati et al. (2013) and use a ‘strict’ intervention proxy defined as the change in the reserves-to-M2 ratio (where reserves are computed as the central bank’s net foreign asset position excluding gold). We use a two-stage approach. First we estimate an equilibrium real exchange rate (ERER) and then we analyse the effectiveness of interventions in an error correction model.2
A few aspects stand out from our estimates of ERERs:
ERERs display a larger volatility in emerging than in advanced economies (particularly, in Latin American and the Caribbean).
Despite heavy intervention, the boom and bust cycle around the 2008 financial collapse was associated with important deviations of the RER from the (predicted) ERER – a finding that a priori justifies the ‘leaning against the wind’ policy chosen by many countries in the region.
ERERs may differ significantly depending on whether they are estimated based on current (short-run) or trend (medium-run) fundamentals –again, a motive to offset temporary capital flows or commodity bonanzas through intervention (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Average difference between equilibrium real exchange rate estimates at current vs. trend values by regions
In the error correction estimation, where we evaluate whether and to what extent central bank intervention effectively leads to changes in the RER in the expected direction. As it turns out, it does. A 1% increase in our intervention variable is associated with a 0.18% depreciation. Indeed, in line with the attenuation bias mentioned above, once the intervention variable is instrumented, its point estimate increases almost three times. Moreover, it reveals an asymmetry – a significantly larger effect of purchases (almost twice as high) relative to sales, suggesting that intervention is more effective in containing appreciation pressures.3 The results are robust to alternative econometric techniques and sample cuts; in particular, the effectiveness of intervention is similar across Latin American, Asian, and other emerging markets.
A number of domestic characteristics influence the intensity of the effect and shed preliminary light on the channels through which intervention may affect the exchange rate (Figure 2). For example, the effectiveness of intervention declines with inflation and with the degree of financial dollarisation (as measured by the initial deposit dollarisation ratio). This is a priori consistent with the premise that higher (and more volatile) levels of inflation detract from the central bank’s credibility and, as a result, from the signalling channel of central bank interventions; it is also in line with the fact that, in financially dollarised economies, greater substitutability between local and foreign currency assets may weaken the portfolio channel.4 In addition, interventions are more effective in countries with more developed financial markets – a result that may be capturing the fact that local market development is generally associated with a greater demand for local currency and lower currency substitution. By contrast, intervention effectiveness does not appear to be correlated with de jure and de facto measures of financial openness.
Figure 2. Correlations between intervention effectiveness and financial market characteristics
In sum, this evidence supports the view that central bank intervention can alter the exchange rate in the short run – a premise that, while accepted by most practitioners, had so far received only partial confirmation in the empirical academic literature.
References
Adler, G and C E Tovar (2011), “Foreign Exchange Intervention: A Shield Against Appreciation Winds?”, IMF Working Paper WP/11/165.
Aizenman, J and J Lee (2007), “International Reserves: Precautionary Versus Mercantilist Views, Theory and Evidence”, Open Economies Review, 18(2): 191–214.
BIS (Bank for International Settlements) (2005), “Foreign Exchange Market Intervention in Emerging Markets: Motives, Techniques, and Implications”, BIS Paper 24.
BIS (2013), “Market volatility and foreign exchange intervention in EMEs: what has changed?”, BIS Paper 73.
Calvo, G A and C M Reinhart (2002), “Fear of Floating”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(2): 379–408.
Daude, C, E Levy Yeyati, and A Nagengast (2014), “On the effectiveness of exchange rate intervention in emerging markets”, OECD Development Centre Working Paper 324.
Levy Yeyati, E (2010), “What drives reserve accumulation (and at what cost)?”, VoxEU.org, 30 September.
Levy Yeyati, E (2006), “Financial dollarization: evaluating the consequences”, Economic Policy, 21(45): 61–118.
Levy Yeyati E, F Sturzenegger, and P A Glüzmann (2013), “Fear of Appreciation,” Journal of Development Economics, 101: 233–247.
Levy Yeyati, E and F Sturzenegger (2010), “Monetary and exchange rate policies”, Chapter 64 in D Rodrik and M Rosenzweig (eds.), Handbook of Development Economics, Vol 5: 4215–4281.
Obstfeld, M, J C Shambaugh, and A M Taylor (2010), “Financial Stability, the Trilemma, and International Reserves”, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2: 57–94.
Sarno, L and M P Taylor (2001), “Official Intervention in the Foreign Exchange Market: Is It Effective and, If So, How Does It Work?”, Journal of Economic Literature, 39(3): 839–868.
Footnotes
1 See, among others, Levy Yeyati (2010) and Adler and Tovar (2011). Sarno and Taylor (2001) provide an early survey for advanced countries, and more recently Levy Yeyati and Sturzenegger (2010) provide a review with a focus on developing economies.
2 We estimate the ERER as a function of standard fundamentals (productivity, commodity terms of trade, net foreign assets, trade openness, and government consumption) using a dynamic ordinary least squares estimation on a balanced panel of emerging and advanced economies at quarterly frequency. From this, we obtain a measure of RER misalignment. Next, we run a short-run error correction model of real exchange rate changes as a function of the exchange rate misalignment and the change in the fundamentals, augmented by additional non-fundamental financial variables that may introduce short-term deviations. To this equation we add our measure of exchange rate intervention to tests its effect on the RER. To correct for the potential endogeneity bias (the fact that intervention may respond to changes in the exchange rate as much as the other way around), we instrument intervention with the change in the M2-to-GDP ratio.
3 Note also that changes in global risk aversion – proxied by changes in the VIX index of implied volatility in options on the S&P500 – have a negative and significant effect on the RER, in line with the anecdotal evidence that global risk-off events are associated with emerging currency sell-offs. Also, the error correction term is always negative and significant at 1%, and implies a half-life between 23 and 27 months – close to the 2.5 years often found in earlier studies.
4 Note that, to the extent that the pass-through from the exchange rate changes to price changes increases with the initial level of inflation, financial dollarisation (which reflects the pass-through) and inflation may be correlated (Levy Yeyati 2006).In a bizarre incident, an 11-year-old girl cut off her tongue and 'offered' it to Lord Shiva in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, officials said today."The incident took place yesterday afternoon at the ancient Shiva temple in Sangeetarai village, located around three kms away from Raigarh district headquarters," Raigarh Sub-Divisional Magistrate Prakash Sarve said.Chameli Sidar, daughter of a farmer, Budheshwar Sidar, chopped off her tongue with a knife in front of a Shiva Linga, following which she fell unconscious, he said, adding, she started offering prayers even after she regained consciousness."When police and the district officials reached the spot, villagers prevented them from taking the child to the hospital citing that she will recover without any medical aid with the blessings of the God," Mr Sarve said.The girl is still at the temple and as a precautionary measure, a doctor has been deputed for ensuring medical aid to her, he added.Mr Sarve said that people have been coming to the temple to catch a glimpse of the girl and the reason behind her move was yet to be ascertained.In the past as well, three incidents had taken place at the temple, where girls had sacrificed their tongues to Lord Shiva, the villagers said and claimed that all the girls recovered without any medical treatment.next Image 1 of 3
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Despite his devotion to dinner time prayers and Christian values, "Duck Dynasty" star Willie Robertson has been axed from speaking at a benefit in Bristol, Tenn. for the faith and bible-driven organization, Family Ministries.
Why?
Wine.
The famous family announced its latest business venture last week: Duck Commander Wines. In conjunction with the winemakers of Trinchero Family Estates in Napa, the Robertsons' own line of Red, Moscato and Chardonnay is slated to hit stores next month. According to the Ministries, Duck Commander Wines goes against the organization's core values.
"Our greatest responsibility is to the young people we serve. Therefore, we feel that in light of the recent news, to continue with this event would send mixed messages to the young people who go through our Adolescent Drug and Alcohol program," Derek Bell, director of development for Family Ministries stated. "Our message must be consistent. The lives of those children may well hang in the balance. We certainly apologize to the people who have already purchased tickets, and pray they understand our position."
A rep for the organization told FOX411 that while they had no hard feelings toward the Robertson family and respect their business decision, they were expecting a predominantly teen turnout for the event and no longer felt that the Duck Commander CEO's presence would be the right fit.
The cancellation has spurred some upset in the Twitterverse.
"I knew this was a problem as soon as I saw the first advertisement. I'm afraid they have lost their focus," one wrote, as another referred to the prominent television family as being "#money #wine #fake."
This event was part of a fundraiser to benefit Family Ministries’ "School Expansion Project," and proceeds would have benefited Family Ministries’ planned 10,000-square-foot expansion to provide updated classroom space and counseling facilities for the children that Family Ministries serve.
Tickets are being refunded by the scheduled venue, Viking Hall Civic Center. A rep for the center said that so far they have not received any complaints about the cancellation, although it was not possible to estimate how many tickets had been sold due to changes in date. The Robertson event was initially locked in for October, but was changed to April due to a scheduling conflict.
And according to Alex Shvarts, CEO of New York based digital branding agency SimplyMint, it was very appropriate for the organizers of the Family Ministries to cancel the engagement with "Duck Dynasty."
"Drawing attention to a family who recently partnered with an alcohol business has the potential to alienate a good portion of the ministry’s audience, youths who have gone through their Drug and Alcohol program. Not every endorsement or speaking engagement is appropriate for every audience," he explained. "Despite the cancelled event, 'Duck Dynasty' made a smart decision with Duck Commander Wines. 'Duck Dynasty's' core audience is made up of 18 to 49 year old adults, and partnering with a wine company is a great opportunity to expand their brand into a new industry that aligns with the interests of their target demographic."
Duck Commander Wines is just one of the many elements to the multi-million dollar business empire, which also sells a slew of other branded items including hunting gear, books, shirts, novelties and baby clothes. It was success of the business that generated the interest to start to now wildly successful A&E reality show, "Duck Dynasty."
However, some PR experts have cautioned that the Robertson family needs to be meticulously careful in who and where they lend their name, so as to protect their brand and not alienate key components of their fan base.
"Anytime a celebrity aligns with a product, they run the risk of alienating other brands and organizations. That risk is magnified when the product is in the alcohol, tobacco or any other space which is not considered to be mainstream for all. In this case, you have a ‘perfect storm’ for controversy – a product that contains alcohol, and a relationship with a religious organization," added Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR. "The loss of this opportunity won’t damage the Robertson brand in the long run, but may this story also remind celebrities that not all press is good press."
A representative for Duck Commander did not respond to a request for comment.Karli Richardson (1997-April 14, 2017) was a senior at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Karli was known by friends and family as a determined, hardworking, joyful and beautiful woman. [3]
Personal Life
Photo of Karli and Kelsey Richardson
Karli Richardson was originally from Mooresville, NC but moved to Phoenix, Arizona to study at Grand Canyon University. Karli had an older sister, Kelsey Richardson. [5]
Education
Graduation Photo of Karli [2]
Karli was set to graduate from Grand Canyon University spring, 2017. Karli previously studied as a dual high school and early college student at Mitchell Community College and the Collaborative College for Technology and Leadership in Statesville, North Carolina. Karli was involved in many clubs and activities including Model United Nations, debate club, prom committee, events committee, softball, cheer leading. She also made the Dean's list. [1]
Death
On April 14, 2017 Karli and Kelsey Richardson were both killed when Keaton Allison drove the wrong way and crashed into them on Interstate 17. [5]
A GoFundMe page was made to raise money for Karli and Kelsey's funeral. [28]
Grand Canyon Public Relations Executive Director Bob Romantic says the other student killed in the crash was the man driving the wrong-way on Interstate 17. [5]
Fire crews had to extricate three people from the mangled veichles. All three were declared dead at the scene. DPS said the 22-year-old man, a GCU student driving a silver Chrysler Sebring with Colorado license plates, was at fault. [4]
State investigators said they have not ruled out the possibility that he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. [4]
All the families have been notified, Romantic said in an e-mail.
“I can confirm that the driver of one vehicle was a GCU student, and one of two sisters in the other vehicle was also a GCU student,” Romantic said, adding, “We’re not releasing information about the students or doing interviews out of respect for the families’ privacy.” [4]
Earlier in the day GCU sent a message of condolence to students, faculty, and staff.Hello there! This is about the most exciting thing we’ve announced since we’ve launched the site, and we’ve been working on it all summer*: the RPS Supporter Program is now live! It’s a new premium arm of the site designed for those people who love the site best to get even more out of it.
You can now (NOW!) purchase Supporter status and get additional content in your RPS. Apply the code, log in to the site, and you’ll have fresh words from our writers each day, as well as exciting free gifts arriving in your inbox. For years, thousands of you have been supporting our work via a PayPal link, but now we’ve decided to mobilise our army and do much more. Existing PayPal subs should check their email (and probably their spam filter) for our little gift**.
Firstly: this new project does not in any way affect the current content of the site. Everything you’re currently seeing will stay as it is, with news, reviews, previews and silliness remaining our daily bread. We have a goal in mind for the Supporter Program, however, and it’s this: to create some games writing that is funded by and guided by our readers. The bulk of the Supporter Program will arrive as daily articles that supporters will see folded into their feed, and we’re going to ask you what we should be writing about, then use our supporter funds to make that happen. As you can imagine, we’re pretty excited about that.
To sweeten the deal, we’re also going to be dropping free gifts into the inboxes of active accounts over the coming months. Currently there’s a gorgeous Horace hat for TF2, and some money off a selection of GoG.com games in there, and there’s more to come. We’ll let you know when we update with new gifts.
The Supporter Program should definitely be regarded as an ongoing work-in-progress project. We want to keep developing it over the coming years, fulfilling the potential of this unique and powerful idea within games journalism. This offers us a special opportunity to do something different, as well as supporting RPS’s overall project of being the most interesting games writing site in the known universe.
You can get a 6-month voucher here:
Or a 12-month discounted voucher here:
Once you have the RPS key, you can redeem it at the bottom of your RPS profile page, at the bit that looks like this:
Logged in supporters can check out your Supporter content over at the Supporter tag.
And thank you, everyone. It’s been an awesome seven years, so let’s do even more cool things in the seven to come. Viva PC Games, etc. <3
*That doesn’t mean there won’t be a few bugs in the system – we’re fixing stuff right now – so definitely send Jim an email if you spot any!
** Email Jim for any support with this.Introducing: The Berlin, Jonathan Gushue’s new farm-to-table restaurant in Kitchener
Introducing: The Berlin, Jonathan Gushue’s new farm-to-table restaurant in Kitchener
Name: The Berlin
Neighbourhood: Downtown Kitchener
Contact: 45 King St. W., 519-208-8555, theberlinkw.ca, @TheBerlinKW
Owners: Jonathan Gushue and Ryan Lloyd-Craig
Chef: Jonathan Gushue (Langdon Hall) and Kempton Munshaw (The Chase)
The food
Gushue, who named the restaurant to honour Kitchener-Waterloo’s Germanic heritage, changes the menu twice daily, driven by what he can acquire from the region’s many farms. “We have a lot of great produce to work with; an endless bounty,” says Gushue. “That’s why I wanted to open a restaurant here.” He makes great use of a wood-fired crank-wheel grill from Grillworks, searing radicchio, thick slabs of pork belly and local trout. And there’s a meat locker in the basement where Gushue butchers whole animals. “We’re aiming for minimal waste.”
Grilled-pear and charred-radicchio salad, with local goat cheese. $10.
House-made beef cheek and foie gras terrine. $18.
Charred lamb shoulder with semolina noodles, broccolini, hazelnut and mustard seeds. $16.
Pickerel, celeriac and barley porridge in a pig’s head broth. $23.
The drinks
A rotating cocktail menu (which currently includes the Cool Runnings, made with Jamaican rum, hibiscus and ginger), and a global wine list. Almost every wine can be enjoyed by the glass, thanks to a Coravin system.
The space
The restaurant is housed in a four-storey heritage building that was built in the late 1800s. Gushue and Lloyd-Craig spent eight months updating its Renaissance-Revival interior to create a 140-seat space with a central bar and an open-concept kitchen. The living wall is also the kitchen’s herb garden, and is maintained daily by a local florist.
Whole red onions are roasted in the grill’s hearth.
Chef Gushue preparing house-smoked Ontario trout.LOS ANGELES -- Jordan Adams scored 20 points, four others scored at least 10 points and UCLA never trailed in a 75-59 victory over USC on Sunday.
The Bruins (20-7, 10-4 Pac-12) avenged a 75-71 overtime loss to the Trojans (12-15, 7-7) earlier this season.
Kyle Anderson, Larry Drew II and Shabazz Muhammad all scored 11 points, and David Wear had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins, who shot 47.2 percent from the field.
J.T. Terrell led USC with 17 points, including 14 in the second half to lead a late Trojans charge. Omar Oraby contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
UCLA came out on fire, making eight of its first 10 shots and racing to a 19-6 lead just over 5 minutes into the game. UCLA kept up that dominance and held a 47-26 lead at halftime.Today's recipe is one of my favorite things to eat, no joke. It's one of those meals that is so satisfying that you forget it's actually really good for you, full of delicious vegetables, and follows the LCHF guidelines. I seriously love meals like this, and the leftovers tend to be even better the next day after the flavors have had more time to come together. I also wanted to say this will be my last recipe for a few weeks as I am preparing to move several hundred miles, and need to start packing up my kitchen things, but don't worry... I will be back! I started Butter Is Not a Carb in this apartment 3 years ago, and have many fond memories of photographing the food on my dining room table by the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. My blog has evolved so much since the first few posts, definitely for the better, but I still have a lot to learn and there are many ways I can improve. Thank you so much for being here with me so far, no matter if you started following yesterday or on [Continue reading...]“What? Dunsparce is evolving!”
Except that never happened. You can imagine what it’d be like though, right? I’ve already speculated on a gaggle of Pokemon that need to be shown some love in part one of this theme, so you know my answer to that one.
And not shown love in the “Pikachu needs more cuddles after his next haircut and hot Thunderstone massage at the PokeSpa” sense — but in terms of ameliorating movesets, stats, and overall appearance.
Being the fine lover of justice porn and prevailing of underdogs that I am, here’s a list of more Pokemon Rudies who deserve their moments of glory:
1. Sunflora
There are only a couple reasons that spring to mind as to why you (or anyone else for that matter) would have Sunflora on your |
the broad goals of the documentation).
I give especial thanks to Erick Tryzelaar for going to the trouble of arranging for this presentation to occur and for ironing out all the issues that arose in SF.
The slides
A video recording of the presentation is available on Air Mozilla; my talk begins at about 34:30 and continues until 55:00. The slides below are sufficient to get the significant majority of the important stuff from the presentation if you prefer. View the slides here (SVG; you’ll need a “modern” browser to view them, or you could ask me to make a PDF of them for you) The slides. Click, tap, arrow keys—whatever you like.
These slides are best viewed in Firefox. (I just tried Chromium and it renders the SVG incorrectly in a number of places—collapsing multiple sequential spaces into one in text, selecting the wrong font weight if you have the Ubuntu font installed locally, getting manual character offsets on the wrong characters in one of the slides… not good.)
If you’re interested in the tech that went into the slides themselves, I’ve written an article on that, too.
Now onto some of the other things I wanted to add more about in the languages section.
The Java documentation
Try to find the official Java documentation. Some places you might start:
http://www.java.com/: … well, if you dig deep enough you’ll find something (start with that tiny “developers” link in the footer).
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=java+docs: showing mostly API documentation.
https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=java%20docs: ditto.
As I observed, hunt hard enough and you’ll find http://docs.oracle.com/javase/. It doesn’t try particularly hard to head you in the right direction, but if you’re persistent you’ll find there are three main things it’s got.
The root of the docs: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/index.html OK, so… now where do I go? Oh! The table cells are clickable. How about we try Input/Output? Now what do we have? A few links to things in different places—the tutorials, for the odd topic a tech guide (often about actually implementing the feature itself rather than using it)
API documentation links
If you’re lucky, an example or two
And a bit of changelog And this is all of the Java Platform Standard Edition 7 Documentation. The official tutorials: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/ They’re decent for learning something, but frankly, I don’t have time to learn that thing. I already know Java, right? I just want to find out how to do this one particular thing. The tutorials also make dubious reference material, because they’re not geared to minimal examples; rather they’re designed for linear progression; the right one can also be difficult to find, assuming it even exists. They’re simply not designed for discovery. Everyone already knows Java or they’re learning it at University (also known as “college” or “school”) from other sources, and so won’t need them. The API documentation: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/index.html This is the heavy hitter of the lot, and the heavy hitter in more ways than one. This is somehow the panacea for everything; you want to know what something can do? Here! Here’s what it can do! Now read this forty page document which explains what each method does and gain enlightenment.
I come away not particularly impressed. Yes, the Java community can produce fairly good API documentation as they go, but it’s not designed for learning, which is a problem.
An example
I’ll draw this all together with an example; in this past semester for a Computer Graphics unit (“course” for Americans) I was doing some OpenGL stuff in Java and I wanted a spinner (you know, the number entry field with arrows) for the window chrome; I wanted to find something in the official docs about them.
I found a tutorial about them, but I really had no time to learn it that way. I had my project set up the way it was set up and setting up a new project for that stuff and going through it in a linear fashion simply couldn’t cut it—that would, all up, have taken hours.
Well, how about the JSpinner API documentation?
… that was even worse.
That’s why I conclude that pragmatism is what the Java docs are lacking.
(P.S. Remember that javadoc was once a pretty radical thing; Java has played a significant part in improving documentation standards, and the existence of javadoc means that Java projects do tend to have at least basic documentation. It’s really isn’t all bad.)
And as for that quote I used on pragmatism, here’s the source:
What sold me on Rust is how insanely practical it is… — /u/Jurily on Reddit
The Python docs
Start at http://python.org/. Look in the navigation. Ah! There’s “documentation”.
http://python.org/doc/. That’s a nice and easy‐to‐read thing but pretty much everything you could want is there and clear.
Let’s try the Python 3 documentation. http://docs.python.org/3/. Again, everything is nice and clear.
Do I want to look at the standard library reference? http://docs.python.org/3/library/index.html
This is no auto‐generated javadoc; this is curated. Look through it all; I don’t mind what you look at there because I know it’s all pretty good.
There’s a general pattern of things that I want to point out:
good explanation at the top of the concepts and functionality;
genuine usage example—as in, bits of code that you can copy and verify to be doing what you want;
directing you to other good third party sources—even going so far as to say things like “this is a common use case, but it’s not in the standard library; here’s the technique most people are using” (Java, by comparison, is fairly leery of third‐party links);
oh yes, actually documenting the API as well (of course).
A few interesting examples (but don’t just look at these ones!):
subprocess uses sound categorisation of things rather than alphabetical order or mere order in source. It also gives good examples, comparisons with what other people may be used to, security considerations, &c.
uses sound categorisation of things rather than alphabetical order or mere order in source. It also gives good examples, comparisons with what other people may be used to, security considerations, itertools uses tables to concisely demonstrate the information that most people will come for, before then proceeding to more traditional documentation, followed at the end by a large number of recipes. (Don’t constrain yourself to text! Something that would be useful in places in the Python docs is images. Yes, you can use images in these sorts of documentation; for comparison, here is one I prepared a few years ago, when using Sphinx in the PortableApps.com Launcher documentation; a flowchart augments the textual description of the same thing.
uses tables to concisely demonstrate the information that most people will come for, before then proceeding to more traditional documentation, followed at the end by a large number of recipes. (Don’t constrain yourself to text! Something that would be useful in places in the Python docs is images. Yes, you can use images in these sorts of documentation; for comparison, here is one I prepared a few years ago, when using Sphinx in the PortableApps.com Launcher documentation; a flowchart augments the textual description of the same thing. collections explains the purposes, gives usage examples, gives alternative data structures and implementations, provides links for implementations in other languages or for old versions of Python, explains briefly where it’s good or bad to use this, and so on and so forth.
A couple of other important things it shows are the module index (we can make whatever indexes we desire) and search.The government has allowed import of vitamin A-enriched transgenic rice seeds for research and trial production.
The state-run Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) late last month got the approval for procuring seeds of the transgenic rice, popularly known as "Golden Rice", for its first-ever trial production in the country.
Something is described as transgenic when genes from a different species transferred to a plant or animal using genetic engineering technique to increase its vigour.
Contacted yesterday, sources at the BRRI, and agriculture and environment ministries said the government gave the go-ahead in response to the research institute's request made in April last year.
Golden Rice, widely acclaimed for its perceived potential to fight vitamin A deficiency in expecting mothers and children, is now set to go through greenhouse trials and field tests before advancing into production phase. Vitamin A deficiency causes blindness and child death in acute cases.
According to the World Health Organisation's global database on vitamin A deficiency, one in every five pre-school children in Bangladesh is vitamin A-deficient, and 23.7 percent of pregnant women are affected by vitamin A deficiency.
BRRI Principal Plant Breeder Dr Alamgir Hossain told this correspondent, "After getting government approval, we have already asked for seeds from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. Expectantly, we will be getting the seeds soon and go for trial production of the Golden Rice in transgenic greenhouse at BRRI by next week."
Once the greenhouse trial succeeds, he said, BRRI will go for trial in the open field under controlled-environment on its campus.
Dr Alamgir said once released commercially, consumption of only 150 gram of Golden Rice a day will supply half of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A for an adult. This is expected to revolutionise fighting vitamin A-deficiency in the mostly rice-eating Asian countries where the poor have limited access to vitamin A sources other than rice.
Bangladesh's most productive rice variety -- BRRI Dhan-29 -- along with an IRRI variety IR-64 and a Filipino variety RC-28 have gone through the process in which these were genetically engineered to have greater expressions of corn gene responsible for producing beta carotene, a source of vitamin A.
And in February last year, trials on the Los Banios campus in the Philippines, IRRI got good results from these Golden Rice varieties including the transgenic BRRI Dhan-29.
Sources said there have been months of wrangling over biosafety concerns about conducting trial of transgenic rice. Though the BRRI plea for the trial got almost immediate approval from the agriculture ministry, the go-ahead came from the environment ministry only last month.
In agriculture, biosafety refers to measures taken to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination of food and its containing any unwanted spread or mix-up of alien genes.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said the government is open to application of biotechnology in agriculture sector. "We've no objection to such trials with biosafety issues well taken care of."
The transgenic technology in rice was first applied by Prof Ingo Potrykus, then at the Institute for Plant Sciences of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Prof Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg, Germany. Their insertion of beta carotene-enriched gene from daffodil to rice caught world attention back in late '90s, and the rice became known as Golden Rice.
After years of scientific research and experiments, IRRI found it more rewarding to transfer the beta carotene gene to rice from corn than daffodil.
On April 13 last year Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sanctioned a grant of over $10 million to IRRI to fund, develop and evaluate Golden Rice varieties for Bangladesh and the Philippines. The Foundation expects that Golden Rice variety of BRRI Dhan-29 will be ready for regulatory approval by 2015.
Alamgir, who had worked with former IRRI biotechnologist Swapan K Datta, however, said, "We will be able to make our home-grown Golden Rice ready for seeking approval much ahead of 2015 if the government, particularly the regulators, take a pro-active role in finishing the safety trial processes quickly."
Bangladesh-born researcher Swapan was the first to infuse daffodil's beta carotene-producing gene into BRRI Dhan-29 nearly 10 years back.
IRRI and Gates Foundation officials, contacted through e-mail, confirmed that as the Golden Rice inventors and subsequent technology developer Syngenta allowed a royalty-free access to the patents, the new rice when released for commercial farming in Bangladesh will be of the same price as other rice, and farmers will be able to share and replant the seeds as they wish.Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller ripped into Ted Cruz Saturday night on the campaign trail in Wisconsin, denouncing the Texas senator in terms harsh even for the contentious Republican primary.
Taking the stage in Eau Claire shortly before Trump was due to appear, Miller dedicated an entire warm-up speech to bashing Cruz, an unusual role for a campaign aide. Miller made charges against Cruz that even Cruz's harshest critics might find short on accuracy.
"I am here to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Goldman Sachs' favorite senator, Ted Cruz," Miller said, referring to the New York investment bank that gave Cruz a loan he failed to properly disclose.
Miller accused Cruz of bringing up "personal stuff" to distract from the issues, mentioning in the process multiple unsourced and unverified tabloid reports regarding Cruz. Trump and his surrogates have falsely asserted that Cruz's campaign distributed an ad critical of Cruz's wife. The ad was released by a super PAC opposed to Trump, "Make America Awesome Again." There is no evidence Cruz was involved in releasing it. His campaign, in fact, is legally barred from coordinating with that or any other outside group.
Miller asserted that Cruz "has betrayed the working people of this country, including every single person in this room tonight" in votes relating to immigration and trade.
Referencing an amendment to the 2013 Senate immigration bill, Miller told the crowd that "Ted Cruz isn't a conservative, He's an ideologue. He's a globalist ideologue."
Prior to joining Trump's campaign, Miller was an aide for Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a top congressional opponent of liberal immigration policies and a conservative skeptic of trade deals.
After criticizing Cruz's record on immigration, Miller concluded that "Ted Cruz is an extremist, and he is too extreme for Wisconsin."
Then he turned to the trade.
"There is no more hardcore ideologue in favor of offshoring than Ted Cruz," he said. "If Ted Cruz is elected president he will sign the death warrant for manufacturing in the state of Wisconsin."
Miller wrapped up by accusing Cruz of backing "left-wing" protesters who, he said, attacked police officers at a planned Trump rally in Chicago in March. Anti-Trump protesters in Chicago clashed with Trump backers. There is little or no evidence of protesters attacking police there.
"Can you support a candidate who sides with protesters over cops?" Miller asked.
Cruz continued to face harsh rhetoric when Trump took the stage.
"Lyin' Ted, Lyin' Ted!" Trump said early in his appearance, using a phrase he has used to refer to Cruz in stump speeches and debates.
"He holds the Bible high. He puts the Bible down, and then he lies," Trump told the crowd.A jury convicted Ballantine's client, Richie Quang Le, of one count of transportation for sale and one count of possession for sale of a controlled substance in violation of California law. The trial court sentenced Le to seven years in state prison.
That's why Jean Ballantine, the court-appointed attorney in People v. Richie Quang Le, wins our newly-created - and unlikely to be again bestowed - FindLaw Defense of the Week award for her zealous challenge of her client's Ecstasy possession conviction.
Le was caught with every raver's favorite drug, MDMA, better known by the street name Ecstasy, during a routine traffic stop. We're not talking about a few pills here, either; police officers found a backpack in Le's car with 407 Ecstasy pills. They also found $6,123.60 cents in Le's pocket, which a drug-expert detective claimed was an amount consistent with the purchase of a 500-pill "boat" of Ecstasy or making change for narcotics sales. (Who knew that drug dealers were so conscientious about making correct change?)
Your average attorney may just run with the tried-and-true challenge-the-search strategy, but Jean Ballantine is not your average attorney. Ballantine, instead, had the chutzpah to argue that Ecstasy isn't a controlled substance under state law, so an Ecstasy possession verdict is invalid.
We're not part of the rave culture, but we once watched an episode of Dawson's Creek in which the whole Capeside gang went to a rave and one of the doe-eyed girls tried Ecstasy. It seemed pretty illegal to us, but it turns out that California law is inconsistent with the social norms promoted on Dawson's Creek, and Ballantine was right.
Ballentine argued that there was no evidence that Ecstasy, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, is a controlled substance, a controlled-substance analog, or that it contained amphetamine or methamphetamine. There was only the trial court's conclusion that it appeared to be an amphetamine, and no doctrine exists that allows a trial court to conclude that one chemical compound necessarily contains another chemical compound merely because their names are similar.
Due to the lack of evidence that MDMA is a controlled substance, the court reversed the conviction and barred the issue from rehearing based on double jeopardy.
Defense attorneys, raise a glow stick to Jean Ballentine for pointing out that Ecstasy is not a controlled substance under the California Health and Safety Code in People v. Richie Quang Le; that information could save your own client from jail time for Ecstasy possession.
Related Resources:0 Former county jail in Oklahoma to be auctioned
- A southern Oklahoma jail will be put up for auction this week after the state Corrections Department ended its contracts to house state inmates in county jails.
The former Jefferson County Detention Center in Waurika will be up for auction starting Wednesday, The Oklahoman reported.
"I don't think in the history of the state of Oklahoma that there's been a prison, or detention center, sold at public auction," said auctioneer Louis Dakil, whose Oklahoma City firm is overseeing the auction.
Ricky Martin, the chairman of the county board of commissioners, said inmates are now kept in the county courthouse.
"It's not one of the modern ones," Martin said. "Just like everything else in Jefferson County, it's old. But we do a pretty good job with the money we get."
The Oklahoma Corrections Department estimates that ending the contracts for Jefferson County and nine other county jails will free up $775,000 for other needs.
Martin said losing the Corrections Department revenue stream in March hurt the county.
"If they could prove they were saving money I'd be OK with it, but they haven't proved it," Martin said. "That's life for the smaller counties."
Department spokesman Matt Elliott said the detainees that were being housed in Jefferson County weren't receiving access to the programming they needed.
"It's not the state agency's responsibility to pay for county buildings or other local responsibilities," Elliott said. "We shouldn't be on the hook for that."
___
Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.×
For a one-time acquisition fee of between $5,000 and $15,000, a single software robot can eliminate—or at least defer—the need for much more significant IT investments.
Technological complexity is a scourge inside large organizations. It’s difficult to manage. It drives up IT expenditures. It impedes organizations’ ability to scale. And it takes many forms, from patchworks of homegrown legacy systems to siloed databases and point-to-point integrations.
Traditional approaches to taming technological complexity typically involve large investments, high-risk implementation or transformation projects, and lengthy payback periods. Even when CIOs attempt to address complexity by making incremental improvements to systems, those investments may consume 20 percent or more of the total IT budget.
Some CIOs are employing a new approach. They’re deploying robotic process automation (RPA) tools to relieve employees of tedious, time-consuming, and convoluted interactions with complex IT. The “robots” in robotic process automation are software programs that mimic human-computer interactions and execute repetitive, rules-based tasks like gathering and comparing data from multiple systems, reading and writing to databases, or extracting and reformatting data into reports and dashboards.
Consider how a financial services company might apply RPA to the process of assessing credit risk for a large commercial client. To get information about the credit products (e.g., loans and lines of credit) the client has with the bank, data analysts must manually pull data from dozens of separate legacy systems. The process, which takes days and involves multiple people, impairs the bank’s ability to effectively manage risk. If the CIO wanted to simplify the data environment, the traditional approach might involve implementing new data infrastructure and APIs—an effort that could easily exceed $10 million.
With RPA, the CIO could install one software robot that could extract data in a fraction of the time it took two data analysts. The one-time acquisition cost for the bot? Anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000.
To the extent software robots take on activities employees have traditionally carried out, CIOs can significantly reduce—and potentially eliminate—the portion of their budgets they allocate to making usability enhancements to systems, thereby freeing up cash for innovation or other value-producing opportunities.
Large RPA deployments aimed at reducing labor costs also offer a compelling ROI. A company that deploys 500 bots at a fully loaded cost of $20 million (including software licenses, planning, process reengineering, programming, testing, and implementation) could potentially realize $100 million in savings, assuming the bots replace 1,000 employees.
Given the costs and benefits of RPA, some routine back-office functions that companies outsource, such as claims processing and certain data center operations, may now be more cost-effectively performed in-house with bots. Companies with high levels of third-party risk have additional incentive to use bots instead of business process outsourcing providers. CIOs working with outsourcers already using RPA should see significant savings.
Currently, early adopters are leading the RPA charge, but research firms widely expect adoption to increase dramatically over the next several years as executives learn more about the technology. Lack of awareness, as opposed to an inherent downside or barrier to entry, is the primary reason deployments are currently limited. As far as technology goes, RPA is relatively easy to deploy because it doesn’t depend on new platforms or infrastructure. It does, however, require sound upfront design and detailed process knowledge to prevent configuration errors.
RPA represents a pragmatic solution for addressing cost, growth, and performance objectives. In some cases, it can help companies defer major investments in IT modernization or new ERP suites, even as they reap the financial and operational benefits of automation. In other cases, CIOs can implement RPA in tandem with a larger transformation initiative, thereby allowing organizations to gain some immediate benefits. Software robots don’t have to automate end-to-end processes to offer value. Even small investments in RPA can have a quick and significant payback.
—by Richard Walker, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLPA visitor takes photos of a 1: 8 scale model of Chang'e 3 moon rover on September 25, 2013. A public naming campaign was launched for the moon rover on the same day in Beijing which will be lunched by the year end. [Photo: China News Service/ Sun Zifa] Chinese scientists described the country's first moon rover on Wednesday and invited the global public to come up with a name for it. Zhao Xiaojin, director of the aerospace department of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, depicted the lunar rover an orbiter adaptable to harsh environments; a highly efficient and integrated robot; and a high altitude "patrolman" carrying the dreams of Asia. The Chang'e-3 mission to moon, named after a Chinese lunar goddess, will take place in December, when a Chinese spacecraft will soft-land on a celestial body for the first time. The rover has two wings, stands on six wheels, weighs 140 kg and will be powered by solar energy. "When it arrives in lunar orbit on board a lander, the rover will choose the best landing site and gently touch down the moon's surface, using optical and microwave sensors to avoid rocks and craters," Zhao said. The rover will "select the best route, use minimal fuel and make the smallest possible error" during landing and is capable of hovering to steer clear of obstacles, he said. Domestic and overseas compatriots can submit their proposed names for the rover through the Internet and the official name will be announced in November after an online poll on the selected proposals. Li Benzheng, deputy chief designer of China's lunar probe program, said the name of the rover should express the wishes of Chinese at home and abroad, feature the modern and national traits to inspire people. Li noted the rover will recognize obstacles on the moon's surface, and plot a path of least resistance by a combination of onboard navigation systems and remote control from the command center. The rover can "rest", automatically entering a dormant state to recharge its batteries, and return to work after a while, Li said. It can endure a vacuum, intense radiation and extremes of temperature. Temperatures on the moon's surface can range from minus 180 to plus 150 degrees Celsius, said Wu Weiren, the program's chief designer. The rover is equipped with numerous detectors and information gathering systems such as a panoramic camera and radar measurement devices. The rover will patrol the Earth's natural satellite for about three months. The data collected by the rover, such as 3D images, infrared spectrums and lunar soil analysis, will directly and accurately lead to greater understanding of the moon.. China launched Chang'e-1 in 2007 and Chang'e-2 in 2010. The first probe collected a large body of data and a completed map of the moon. The second mission greatly enhanced the resolution of the previous map and generated a high-definition image of Sinus Iridium, a plain of basaltic lava, considered by lunar observers to be one of the satellite's most beautiful features. The Chang'e-3 moon probe is part of the second stage of China's three-stage lunar mission, orbiting, landing, and analyzing lunar soil and stone samples.
1 2 3 4Every few months, a racially offensive advertisement emerges from Asia and makes the rounds in America, to howls of disgust. It's happened again this week, as a Chinese laundry detergent brand called Qiaobi released a spot—airing on TV and in cinemas, according to Shanghaiist—in which a black man gets shoved in a washing machine and comes out looking … quite different.
Check out the ad here:
Obviously, the commercial is reprehensible. The tagline at the end translates to, "Change starts with Qiaobi." And while the ad tries to hide behind a visual metaphor about the cleanliness of clothes, it obvious plays off the notion of black people somehow being dirty—and clearly inferior to the light-skinned Chinese.
But the Western reaction to it has been more than a little self-serving, too.
A number of news reports have asked—a bit too gleefully, and either purely as clickbait or because they genuinely wondered—if the spot is the "most racist ad ever." Well, no, it isn't. As the Los Angeles Times pointed out yesterday, it's part of a tradition of racist soap ads that has a long history in America, and Britain too. These vintage ads for Pearline and Pears soaps are just as "jaw-droppingly racist" as the Qiaobi one.
And if you thought the particular plot of the Qiaobi ad was a Chinese idea, it's not. As Shanghaiist also pointed out, it's a ripoff of an Italian campaign from a decade ago.
Of course, such overtly racist depictions are no longer acceptable in American ads, which makes it easy to demonize the Chinese work. Probably too easy. Yes, this kind of commercial reveals something about the extent of racism in China. But America hasn't exactly evolved past its own entrenched racial troubles—not when presumptive presidential nominees are openly advocating the blocking of all Muslim entry to the U.S., or when every U.S. consumer brand that posts an image of a mixed-race family online still gets flooded with hate.
the internet is angrier about a detergent ad made for the chinese market than it is about a racist demagogue running for president. cool. — Gary He (@garyhe) May 27, 2016
Speaking of which, have a look at the reader comments on American stories about this Qiaobi ad. There's a small but consistently vocal group who deny the ad is racist in the first place—or say its critics are "overreacting." True, this ad would never air in America. But if it somehow did, it would be disturbing just how many people would defend it.
Of course it's encouraging, on a basic level, to see a widespread outcry against a racist message. But let's temper our shouty indignation a bit and see the Qiaobi ad for what it is—a piece of trash, but not one that should make us feel quite as superior as we might want.
UPDATE: The maker of Qiaobi detergent, the Leishang cosmetics company, responded to the criticism over the weekend. A spokesman told China's Global Times: "We meant nothing but to promote the product, and we had never thought about the issue of racism. The foreign media might be too sensitive about the ad."
The company did officially apologize with this statement:
On May 27, 2016, media organizations and individuals posted information from U.S. media on Sina Weibo: An allegedly racist advertisement for China Qiaobi Laundry Gell Balls had sparked widespread controversy on Youtube. Subsequently, we looked into the matter. The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and CNN from the U.S., Britain's BBC and France's Agence France Presse were among those who produced the reports, attracting attention in the U.S., Europe and other places. We have been on top of the situation from the very beginning, and now issue the following statements on relevant issues:
1) We had no intention to discriminate against people of color. We do not make judgments based on skin color. We are strongly opposed to and condemn racism.
2) We express regret for the controversy triggered by the advertisement and are definitely not trying to avoid responsibility. As for the controversial advertisement itself, we have already terminated promotion efforts and deleted some links to the advertisement online. We hope Internet users and media will stop spreading it.
3) The publication of the ad and the exaggerated hype surrounding it caused harm to people of African descent—for this, we sincerely apologize, and also express the hope that Internet users and the media will not to read too much into it.
4) Qiaobi Laundry Gell Balls is a local Chinese household chemicals brand. We hope that Chinese brands can grow larger and stronger, and expand around the world.Activists with the group Photography Is Not a Crime, or PINAC, have filed a federal lawsuit against Jacksonville Chief Judge Mark Mahon after he issued an administrative order banning photography and videotaping outside the Duval County Courthouse. The group calls the ban unconstitutional. Mahon issued an order on July 1 that in part banned demonstrations or dissemination of materials on the courthouse grounds that “degrade or call into question the integrity of the court or any of its judges.” The order also banned people from videotaping “all security features” of the courthouse, including any non-public entrance or exit. After public outcry, the judge eliminated the ban against protests that question the court’s integrity, but kept the video ban in place, citing security concerns. We speak with PINAC activist Tom Covenant and his attorney Andrew Bonderud about their decision to file the lawsuit.
First Coast Connect: July 9, 2015
The St. Johns River Water Management District is set to hear feedback about a controversial proposal involving water withdrawals from the Florida aquifer. We discuss the issue with St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman and Linda Bremer of the Northeast Florida chapter of the Sierra Club.
Contributor Kerry "The Specktator" Speckman joins us with a look at this weekend's events.
And comedians Gallagher, Artie Fletcher and Bob Nelson join us in studio with a preview of their shows at the Comedy Club of Jacksonville this week.
You can subscribe to the First Coast Connect podcast in iTunes.A wild discussion about the current state of messaging platforms, the rise of emoji, the growing use of Snapchat, and how we infuse emotion into our text now, and in the future.
INT. OFFICE DAY A modern office, present day. We see a silhouette from behind; in front, a computer monitor. The gentle clatter of a keyboard, the "bwooooop" of messages being sent back and forth. The cadence of messages slowly picks up until they're being sent as quickly as if they were speaking. The camera pushes in and we can see the screen: a cacophony of images, text, full-screen effects filling the screen as message bubbles shoot in front the sides, from above, shrink and grow and shake and expand. One shoots lasers out, only to replaced immediately by confetti. Finally, the fateful message comes up: "i g2g." The TYPIST cringes instinctively at the abbreviation, but nevertheless sends another message of understanding. The green status indicator next to the friend's name blinks to a hollow gray circle, the name italicized. All that remains is the static, froze log of the chaotic communication that filled it just a moment before. The TYPIST looks down and picks up a cell phone. A green icon indicates another message. Another potential for intense, exhausting conversations filled with meta-contextual conversation and multi-channel communication. The TYPIST sighs. TYPIST Well, at least it's not Snapchat. The camera pans around the TYPIST's face and we finally see who it is — Ian Fuchs.ErinMarie said: Love my new deck!
My old deck has vanished. I went to a few local stores looking to see if I could find a deck. There were plenty to choose from, but none of them called to me. When I came across the luminous spirit deck online they screamed at me that I needed to buy them. I was a bit leery of buying a deck that I didn’t meet in person. But when I got them out of their box the same feeling I got with my last deck washed over me. I knew they were perfect. They are gorgeous to look at, front and back. The card meaning seems so apparent to me (more so than my most recent deck). They have the same feeling I had with my first deck, which were handed down to me from my great grandmother. Someone stole from me over 11 years ago, resulting in me not touching cards for 7 years. When I got my last deck I wanted them to be my old cards, they were nice and useful but they were just not the same (dispite the fact they were the same pattern). My luminous spirit deck and I are still in the process of getting to know each other but I know we will be the best of friends. Thank you Tina for bringing us together.This article is about the Video Game character. You may be looking for the season two Fear The Walking Dead character, the season three Fear The Walking Dead character, the actor, the voice actor, or the other voice actor.
"What in the actual fuck is going on here?! What is this sick shit? Someone say something before I start-- HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! Don't you even fucking think about it motherfucker. I will end you! You hear me?!" —Troy yelling at Luke and the group escaping Howe's Hardware.[src]
Troy is an original character and an antagonist in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Season Two. He is a member of William Carver's group and one of the armed main guards, acting as the secondary antagonist of "In Harm's Way".
Contents show]
Pre-Apocalypse
Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Troy's life before or as the outbreak began. He may have lived in or near Tennessee.
Post-Apocalypse
It is unknown when Troy joined Carver's group, but it can be inferred that he is a relatively trusted member as he joins Carver's team to help track down the cabin group. It is also implied that he made sexual deals with Jane in the past in exchange for helping Carver trust her and to get her out of the pen.
Troy, along with Carver, Bonnie and Johnny tracks the cabin group to the Moonstar Lodge after they leave the cabin. They save several members from a herd of walkers surrounding the lodge that were attracted by the out-of-control wind turbine, but then quickly surround them and take them hostage. Troy marches them into the lodge at gunpoint and guards them while Carver searches for Rebecca. When Johnny is suddenly shot dead by Kenny, Troy hides behind a pillar and scans unsuccessfully for the shooter. He stands by as Carver executes Walter, showing slight shock at the incident. He then holds Rebecca back as he brings out Alvin to face the same fate. If Clementine chose to seek out Kenny and tells him to shoot, or surrenders and doesn't say or do anything, Carver is shot in the shoulder, leaving Troy stunned. However, Carver quickly recovers from the nonlethal wound and kills Alvin. Otherwise, Troy continues to guard the prisoners as Kenny is coaxed out of hiding, and escorts them during the trip back to Carver's camp.
Troy appears at the start of the episode, allowing Sarah to relieve herself in the woods. He makes a questionably suggestive remark to which Sarah and Clementine glare at him for. He then talks to Carver about their current situation. He acts as the primary guard of the prisoners while they sleep in the yard. He is seen many times throughout the episode, mostly keeping Clementine, Kenny and Mike in line. When the walkers attack them, Troy comes in and saves Clementine, much to his irritation. He then orders them to their jobs and gets angry because he has to babysit Kenny and Mike for not doing their work properly. When Clementine is caught in the comic book store, he threatens Clementine with violence if she ever disobeys him again. Later on, after Luke, Kenny, Mike and Clementine are caught trying to plan an escape the compound, they are brought back to the garden area. While Carver brutally beats Kenny, Troy will hit Clementine with the butt of his assault rifle if she chooses to help Kenny, leaving a cut on her cheek. If Clementine does nothing, Sarita will be hit by Troy instead, and then he unnecessarily threatens them all with death.
Later on, after Carver is killed, Troy appears outside with the others, angrily asking them what they are trying to do. Luke slowly reaches for an assault rifle nearby but Troy notices and aims his gun at him |
became weeks, Alvarenga and Córdoba learned to scavenge their food from whatever sources presented themselves. Alvarenga managed to catch fish, turtles, jellyfish, and seabirds with his bare hands, and the pair occasionally salvaged bits of food and plastic refuse floating in the water. They collected drinking water from rainfall when possible, but more frequently were forced to drink turtle blood or their own urine.
According to Alvarenga, Córdoba lost all hope around four months into the voyage after becoming sick from the raw food and eventually died by refusing to eat.[18] Alvarenga has said that he contemplated suicide for four days after Córdoba died,[11] but that it was his strong religious faith that ultimately prevented him from doing so.[5] He kept Córdoba's corpse on the boat for six days before putting it into the ocean. Alvarenga also stated that, while at sea, he frequently dreamed about his favorite foods, as well as his parents.[5]
Alvarenga claimed to have seen numerous transoceanic container ships while drifting alone but was unable to solicit help. He kept track of time by counting the phases of the moon.[17] After counting his 15th lunar cycle, he spotted land: a tiny, desolate islet, which turned out to be a remote corner of the Marshall Islands. On 30 January 2014, he abandoned his boat and swam to shore, where he stumbled upon a beach house owned by a local couple. Alvarenga's journey had lasted 438 days.
The length of his voyage has been variously calculated as 5,500 to 6,700 miles (8,900 to 10,800 km)[4][11], the former of which is the approximate distance between Mexico and the Marshall Islands as the crow flies.[19] Though some newspapers originally claimed that Alvarenga had been at sea for 16 months,[20] he never said so himself (he did, however, refer to himself as José Ivan). The newspapers eventually corrected their error and shortened his voyage to 13 months.[3] According to Gee Bing, Marshall Islands' acting secretary of foreign affairs, Alvarenga's vital signs were all "good," with the exception of blood pressure, which was unusually low. Bing also said that Alvarenga had swollen ankles and struggled with walking.[21] On 6 February the doctor treating him reported that his health had "gone downhill" since the day before and that he was on an IV drip due to dehydration.
Family
Alvarenga's parents, who had not been in contact with him for years, had feared he was dead long before he went missing, and were overjoyed to discover he was still alive.[14] Alvarenga's father said that he had prayed for his son while he was missing,[3] while his mother said that she dreamed about her son during this time.[7] Alvarenga's daughter, upon hearing that her father had been found, said that after he returned home, the "first thing I'll do is hug him and kiss him."[9]
Initial doubts and support
The implausibility of someone surviving so long at sea on a small craft led a number of commentators to doubt Alvarenga's story, though investigators were able to confirm some of the basic details. The owner of the boat Alvarenga used, César Castillo, said that "it's incredible to survive that long. It's hard to think how anybody could go more than six or seven months without getting scurvy at least."[9] However, in an interview, Claude Piantadosi of Duke University said that fresh meat from birds and turtles contains vitamin C and that eating a lot of it, as Alvarenga claims to have done, "would provide sufficient vitamin C to prevent scurvy."[22] The Guardian found the Chiapas rescue services official, Jaime Marroquín, who was informed that a fishing boat had gone missing in the area on November 17, 2012. The official report identified the two fishermen as being named Cirilo Vargas and Ezequiel Córdova,[9] and that both of them were in their 30s.[9] Marroquín also indicated that according to the boat's owner, Vargas was born in El Salvador.[1] The local authorities originally searched for Vargas and Córdova, but called off the search after two days, citing heavy fog and bad weather.[9] In regard to the discrepancy between the names of the fishermen in the 2012 report and those of Alvarenga and Ezequiel, CBS News reported that "records in Mexico are often filed with such mistakes."[23] Another explanation was provided by Alvarenga's parents, as reported by National Post, when they confirmed that in Mexico their son is known as Cirilo.[24]
Tom Armbruster, the United States ambassador to the Marshall Islands, acknowledged that it seems implausible for someone to survive at sea for 13 months, but that "it's also hard to imagine how someone might arrive on Ebon out of the blue. Certainly this guy has had an ordeal, and has been at sea for some time."[19] In addition, The Guardian's Jo Tuckman argued that the fact that a fishing boat had been reported missing on November 17, 2012 "lin[es] up" with Alvarenga's claim that he went to sea the following month and that this supports the view that "at least some of his story holds up."[1] In addition, Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at the University of New South Wales, said that it was entirely possible that sea currents could carry a boat from Mexico to the Marshall Islands. He also estimated that such a trip would take about 18 months, but said that 13 months was still plausible.[25] Further support for Alvarenga's tale came from a study by researchers from the University of Hawaii. The study modeled the path a boat might have taken after departing from the Pacific Coast in Mexico based on wind and current conditions and concluded that it would end up "within 120 miles of Ebon", where Alvarenga actually landed.[26]
In April 2014, Alvarenga's lawyer told a press conference that Alvarenga had passed a lie detector test while being asked about his voyage.[27]
Life after rescue [ edit ]
After 11 days in a hospital, Alvarenga was deemed healthy enough to return to El Salvador. However, he was diagnosed with anemia, had trouble sleeping and developed a fear of water. In 2015, he gave a series of interviews to the journalist Jonathan Franklin about his ordeal, who published his story as the book 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea.[17]
Shortly after the release of his book, the family of Ezequiel Córdoba sued Alvarenga for one million US dollars, claiming he survived by eating their relative. Alvarenga's lawyer has denied this accusation.[28]
See also [ edit ]
Literature [ edit ]
Jonathan Franklin: 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea, New York, 2016. (The story of José Salvador Alvarenga, written down by an investigative journalist)
Notes [ edit ]
^ [3][4][5] however, he has been said to be uncertain about whether he is 36 or 37.[6] Most sources state that Alvarenga was 37, usually based on his own statements;however, he has been said to be uncertain about whether he is 36 or 37.An Environmentalism for the Left An Environmentalism for the Left Economic insecurity produces insatiable demands on nature. This is the point where environmentalist and egalitarian projects meet. An “ecosystem services” patrol in Vietnam, October 2013 (Asian Development Bank / Flickr)
Although modern environmental politics emerged in the radical ferment of the early 1970s, leftists were suspicious from the outset of its easy mainstream appeal and its elite constituency. The same doubts persist today. The venerable Nature Conservancy’s close partnerships with corporations and focus on “ecosystem services” that can be monetized are just one reminder that environmentalism’s institutional mainstream fits comfortably with neoliberalism. Consumerist appeals to eco-consciousness (think of the local-sourcing policies and the prices of anti-union Whole Foods) suggest that environmentalism is about image and market choices. Despite decades of talk about environmental justice, the movement remains disproportionately white, elite, and motivated by romantic attachment to high mountains, old forests, and charismatic animals. Even treating climate change as an “environmental” question obscures issues of global justice—the ways that the world’s rich are much more responsible for, and less vulnerable to, the problem than the poor.
What would an environmentalism of the left look like?
It would first of all have to change its attitude to “nature.” Environmentalism is the youngest generation of a longer-running politics of nature. This politics pivots on contested visions of nature’s value, humanity’s place in it, and what, in fact, “nature” even is. From the preservationist movement that helped create national parks and wilderness areas to the awareness of ecological interconnection that inspired the anti-pollution laws of the 1970s, the politics of nature has often been democratic and creative in advancing the notion of the living world as part of a human ecology. But the politics of nature has also been an anti-politics, appealing to “nature” to shut down democratic debate.
Theories of nature justified the expulsion of Native Americans, who were accused of ignoring their “natural duty” to develop the continent. Theories of nature rationalized Theodore Roosevelt’s often progressive but also undemocratic technocracy, which treated the natural and social worlds as problems requiring expertise rather than political contestation. The Romantic visions of nature that powered the creation of national parks and wilderness areas also elevated WASP elites as nature’s privileged interpreters. From Midwestern farms to pristine suburbs to public acreage, American landscapes are a monument to a history of inequality, hierarchy, and exclusion. And they are informed at every point by moral and political conceptions of the natural world—often undemocratic in origin and effect—whose advocates tended to deny that they were political at all. “Nature” has often meant what comes before politics and sets its limits, and environmentalism has sought to speak for nature in these terms.
The first task for left environmentalists is to own up to this history and ask how today’s green mainstream still lacks, or even blocks, democratic and egalitarian projects. A left environmentalism would insist that, as the joint product of natural forces and human activity, the planet’s inequalities are everyone’s responsibility. Turning that idea into more than a slogan might begin with linking rich-world concerns about food sourcing and healthfulness to questions of sovereignty over food systems raised by, for instance, hundred-year contracts reserving food production on traditionally communal African lands for Chinese consumption. It might mean making visible the links between the new natural gas–powered bus lines being touted as “clean” by mayors across the country and the environmental destruction caused by Midwestern fracking. In other words, it could begin by exposing—and questioning—the distributive logic and concealed violence of the exploitation of the world.
The conceptual anchor of such politics might be an update on a very old idea—that the world originally and essentially belongs to everyone, and that this common heritage may be divided into property only in ways that the dividers can justify on moral and political grounds. This idea that the earth is a kind of common gift converges with a more recent one, that the built world—the world that we make—is a shared product of human labor and intelligence, and its fruits should therefore be distributed justly. An egalitarianism for the anthropocene would bring the two together: the world is both given and made, and in both respects it should be presumptively common.
Left environmentalism might also emphasize a democratic version of environmental justice. The attention to racial and economic inequalities in the distribution of environmental harms, which is the usual meaning of environmental justice, is as important an aspect of distributive justice as any other, though it remains unfortunately neglected by many egalitarian thinkers. Truth be told, though, there is really nothing distinctly environmental about it.
Environmental justice also demands something more specifically connected with the future of nature: equal power in decisions that shape the world. Are your interests, values, and way of life among the forces remaking the planet? Or will you have to find your way through a world shaped by others? For previous generations of working people, immigrants, and descendants of slaves, the “natural” world of national parks and wilderness areas was often someone else’s creation. Today, will the inhabitants of mined and fracked landscapes, of villages and towns whose fields are leased out from under them, and of vulnerable coastal regions such as (most of) Bangladesh, have a hand in shaping and making their own world? The principle of environmental justice, like political democracy, is a way of asserting that this jointly created world must belong to everyone. Environmental egalitarianism is in this way a matter of political and social democracy.
Which leads us to maybe the most vexed meeting point between environmentalism and the left tradition: the problem created by natural limits to economic growth. A strand of green politics has always embraced the material limits of the natural world and worried about how to deal with inequality in the face of them. The traditional left, whether of the social democratic or Marxian variety, has instead mostly sought emancipation through growth.
But there is no getting around the planet’s finitude. Although technological change usually blindsides any specific prediction of crisis, the overall logic remains: economic growth increases the per-person pressure on energy sources, food systems, and the global atmosphere. Over the next two centuries, barring science-fiction innovations that essentially decouple human survival from natural resources, people will either find ways to reduce their total demand on the planet or face severe distributive conflict, even resource wars. Easing the demand for growth—as hard as this might seem today—might be the only path to a less divided and more habitable world.
Reformists like John Stuart Mill and John Maynard Keynes once expected economic growth to slow spontaneously. When material needs were met, they argued, people would turn to relationships, self-improvement, and other intrinsic goods, and economies would stabilize. This has not happened. From the United States to China, growth remains the hallmark of economic success and political legitimacy.
An optimistic take on this pattern would hold that human appetites are elastic, and that we are now much more satisfied than our ancestors. A radical take suggests otherwise: we live in an economic order that drives the demand for growth by actively producing insecurity and dissatisfaction. Contra Mill and Keynes, an increase in wealth can redouble a sense of unsatisfied desire. Cars bring less joy when roads are crowded. In a hyper-competitive and stratified economy, an arms race of credentialing means years of higher education are pursued as instrumental prerequisites for a decent job. Total wealth is much greater, but the fight over its benefits, which are ultimately ways of pursuing good lives, means that much wealth and effort go into running to stand still, so as not to fall behind. Anti-union laws, opposition to universal health care, the end of affordable public higher education, and “pension reform” all make the economy more fearsome and workers more fearful. Without economic security and social provision, the world becomes an unsafe place, a place in which you can never have too much protection, that is, too much wealth. So insecurity produces insatiable demands on nature.
Here is where environmentalist and egalitarian projects meet. Only an economy with greater security is likely to produce political forces to limit economic growth because only a secure economy would make an economic slowdown politically tolerable. A world of heightened insecurity and competition is politically unlikely to square economic life with ecological health. Yet, to note the obvious, everyone needs both.
If environmentalism is to be more than a taste in vacations, environmentalists must insist on limits to material progress and offer ways of thinking about both economics and human lives generally that encourage satisfaction within limits. But if it pursues this effort as an individual aesthetic or spiritual conceit, environmentalism will remain deeply conservative, a way of escaping or even rationalizing inequality. Focused instead on how we can build a world worth inhabiting—for everyone—environmentalism offers an expanded picture of democratic life for an age when we have finally acknowledged that political choices shape not just the economy but nature itself.
Jedediah Purdy teaches at Duke and is the author, most recently, of After Nature: A Politics for the Anthropocene (Harvard University Press, 2015).
This article is part of Dissent’s special issue of Arguments on the Left. To read more arguments in the issue, click here.After much reading online and thinking about it, we finally got together and made some of our own Belgian candi sugar. It was really fun to make, not as stressful as we thought, and look forward to making more again soon! Here are some photos of our adventure making two batches along side each other. One batch was kept light, and another was a darker amber shade…
For this first batch, we followed instructions that “Josh the brewmaster” put together a few years back. Here is his blog post:
https://joshthebrewmaster.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/how-to-make-belgian-candi-sugar/
The items we used for this recipe:
4 pounds of pure cane sugar
2 cups of water (and then some extra to pour as needed)
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
2 stainless steel pots
high temperature friendly spatulas
2 baking sheets
parchment paper
candi thermometers (ThermaPen is what we used)
A photo walkthrough of our adventure making Belgian candi sugar:
We started by measuring out 2 pounds of cane sugar into each of our two stainless steel pots, and put these on medium heat.
Each pot got 1 cup of water added, for the sugar to be dissolved into.
After the sugar was dissolved, the heat went higher and the 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar was added to the mix.
Our goal was to heat up the mixture and maintain a temperature between 260-275F for 20 minutes. Here the ThermaPen MK4 came in handy! Along the way, when the temperature got close to 275F we carefully poured in a couple of tablespoons of water.
After the 20 minutes boiling at the 260-275F range, we brought the mixture up to 300F briefly, and then turned the flame off. Right after that, we transferred the first batch to a parchment paper covered baking sheet.
Then we let the tray cool for about an hour on the side.
Meanwhile, we let the second batch continue boiling for an additional 20 minutes at 260-275F before also bringing that briefly to 300F. Actually, we accidentally let it spike up at 335F or higher before quickly turning off the flame and transferring to a tray for cooling.
Here the second batch sits in a tray and cools for a while.
The first batch after an hour was ready for the next step. Hammer time! We cracked it and tasted it, nice and light and also very brittle.
The second batch also was ready for the hammer after cooling. This batch had more flavor to it, but also it was more sticky perhaps due to the higher temperature spike.
We measured the resulting product, and found that we got exactly 2 pounds. It would appear that we got rid of all the water!
Here is the finished product from both batches. Four pounds of Belgian candi sugar waiting to be put to good use in future batches of home-brewed beer!
AdvertisementsPrime Minister John Key is questioning how controversial the new law governing the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) really is.
"There was no protest outside Parliament yesterday. In Question Time I didn't get any questions on GCSB," he told RadioLive this morning.
By 61 votes to 59, Parliament last night gave the GCSB power to spy on New Zealanders when it is acting under warrant and for agencies including the Security Intelligence Service, police and defence.
"It's really easy if you are the Opposition to create either alarm or concern or misconceptions," Key said today.
The law was not the sort of thing that affected most New Zealanders every day.
The assistance function, where the GCSB could provide domestic spying help, applied to probably about nine people a year.
"So it's not the biggest deal, but it is about keeping every New Zealander safe, and in the end that is the dilemma you have when you're in my job," he said.
"Eventually, the buck stops with me in terms of providing the best information to protect New Zealanders."
Labour Party deputy leader Grant Robertson said Key had dismissed out of hand concerns about the law.
"I think he's lost touch a bit with the level of concern that New Zealanders have on this issue, and it's time New Zealanders were listened to," he told TVNZ.
New Zealanders wanted to know that along with the security of the country, their privacy as individuals was protected.
"The balance has gone in this legislation," he said, adding that the GCSB's powers had expanded significantly.
If Labour was the government after the next election it would carry out a review of the law based on core principles such as democracy, transparency and independence.
"We'd make sure that that oversight regime really reflected the modern world we live in, where we do so much communication online," Robertson said.
"So, I'd be very surprised if there weren't some quite significant changes as a result of this review."
KEVIN STENT/Fairfax NZ OPPONENT: Labour leader David Shearer outlining his opposition to the bill.I like to think of my group of friends as a more reasonable version of the Breakfast Club. We all have different traits and personality styles that make each one of us unique. The traits and roles become even more evident when it comes to taking our semi-annual “retreat”. My role, as we go on these adventures is a simple one, GameMaster. It’s my job to bring games for everyone to play once we are done doing whatever it is that is going on during the day. You know, group games like Catch Phrase, Pictionary (on iPad/AppleTV – SketchParty TV), Heads Up, Ca$h-n-Guns 2, etc. Games that we end up playing for hours on end until the early morning. However, I always bring a few 2-5 player games as well, as not everyone wants to play, and sometimes you need to kill 15-20 minutes while you’re waiting on people to get ready for dinner. The biggest hit of our most recent trip was a little 2-5 player card game called Sushi Go!
Sushi Go! is a drafting style card game by Phil Walker-Harding and distributed by Gamewright. For those not familiar with the term “drafting”, it means for each turn, you are going to take one card from your hand and play it, then pass the remaining cards in your hand to the player next to you, so you have a different hand of cards to play with in the next turn. It is an ever changing game, as you have to play the odds to figure out what might be passed to you, or if you let cards go, will they get back to you before the end of the round.
The game is played in three rounds. In each round, players are dealt a hand of 7-10 cards, depending on how many people are playing. You play a card face down, then everyone reveals their card simultaneously. Then you take the remaining cards and pass them to the person on your left. The round ends when there are no cards left to be passed and each player has their set of cards face up in front of them. At the end of a round, you total up the points based on the cards that you have played in front of you. After three total rounds, the person with the highest score at the end of those three rounds wins. So how do you score?
There are eight types of cards, each with their own distinct way to score. Nigiri is comprised of squid (3 points), salmon (2 points) and egg (1 point). If you have these in front of you, they are each worth their respective point value. The Wasabi card, played only before you play a Nigiri card, triples the point value of the next Nigiri you play. Tempura only scores if you have two of them, giving you five points. If you only have one Tempura in front of you, you get nothing. The same goes for Sashimi, except you need three Sashimi to score 10 points. Dumpling cards are worth more for each one you have. For example, if you have one, you get one point. If you have two, you get three points, three for six and so on and so forth. Maki Roll cards have a value of 1, 2, or 3. The person who has the most number of Maki Roll symbols gets six points, second place gets three, anyone else gets nothing. Finally, Pudding cards stay on the table through the entire game, and whoever has the most puddings at the end of the game gets six points. But, whoever has the least, loses six points.
The final card in the set, and the most tricky to remember sometimes are chopsticks. If you play a chopstick card, in a later turn in that round, you can play two cards instead of one, then return the chopsticks from the table back into the hand (keeping everyone’s card count even). It’s beneficial, for example, if you find a hand with two Sashimi cards when you already have one on the table. The bad news is that someone is going to get stuck with Chopsticks at the end of the round, and you don’t score anything for those.
Now, I’m sure if your read all of that above, you’re probably thinking, how do you remember all of those different point values? Simple, they’re printed on their respective cards. If you look in the image above, the cards constantly remind you what they’re worth and how much they score. That’s an invaluable trait for a quick card game if you’re trying to teach new people, because by the time the first of three rounds are over, the new player completely understands what is going on, except for chopsticks, which may not come up every round.
The game states that it is for ages 8+ and plays in around 15 minutes. The timing for the game is correct, but I’ve gotten a lot of utility out of the game with my 25-30 year old friends, much older than the suggested base age. There is a lot of strategy that goes along with this small card game. As people are playing cards in front of them, you have to start looking at what they are putting on the table. If you see that someone has two Sashimi on the table, and your hand has one, do you just play that card so you don’t end up passing them a card that completes their 10 points? Or do you play a card that you desperately need, even though it’s only going to get you six points? In the first couple of hands of a round, you also don’t exactly know what cards are coming around. Do you try to go for dumplings, even though there only may be two in play this round? Also, in your starting hand, you may see a lot of one type of card. If you pay attention to what the other people play, you can start to get an idea of what you’ll get when that hand gets back to you. The game strategy can get pretty deep for such a light game. But at the same time, it’s over in 15 minutes, so it’s not a game to stress over.
The cards are of a normal quality, not too stiff but not too flimsy. You should be careful when you’re putting cards down though, as they could bend if too aggressive. The art style is a cutesy Japanese style, with each piece of sushi having a smiling face, on their respective wooden plates. I don’t mind the art. I think both for the age that the game is intended, as well as how light the game is, it works and makes it easy for casual gamers to get in to. I’ll reiterate, the best part of the cards are that they have the point values and scoring qualifiers on the bottom of each. It is such an easy way to teach the game to new people, and it keeps from having that moment of having to get the rule book out and pause the game. People understand the concept right away, which is great. The game comes in this little metal tin, which is great for taking the game on trips with you. It also has that nice bento box style feel for a game about sushi.
I have taught Sushi Go! to a couple different people on a couple different occasions. The most exciting part about teaching this game is that after we’ve played the first game, later in the day I’ll hear, “Hey, let’s play that sushi game.” That is a great feeling for someone who enjoys games as much as I do. To be able to find a game that people want to play over and over. I find that I keep Sushi Go! in my car a lot, because sometimes you have time to kill, and you could break out a quick game. The way that breweries work now, with a lot of picnic tables and open seating, this would be a good game to take to West Sixth or somewhere, sit down and play while you have a beer, or wait on other friends to get there.
I got my copy from Barnes and Noble for $11.95. As always, I suggest going to somewhere like The Rusty Scabbard or another “friendly local game store” to help support small businesses. If you’re looking for a quick filler game that rewards strategy and thinking ahead, I highly recommend Sushi Go!GalNet News Transmission 8st August 3300
All information ©3300 Elite Pilots Federation. Copyright violation is a crime in all jurisdictions.
:: Elite Pilots Federation Alert::
A recent skills review undertaken by the Pilots Federation has shown a considerable improvement in the general flying skills of all members. Many members have credited the new Docking Computer as a valuable aid, which has seen a good uptake across all shipyards.
However, it would appear that although sales of Docking Computers have been very healthy over the past week, they have been outstripped by sales of Point Defence Turrets.
It is understood that many members are seeking to defend themselves against a growing numbers of missile attacks. The accuracy of heat seeking missiles is reputed to be over 70% so there is clear concern amongst Pilots over the need for defence.
This may also explain the unexpected rise on the black market of personal weapons…
::GalNet Trade Aggregation Service Reports::
Weekly Pilot Federation Member Profits:
Weekly profit exceeded 10 billion credits for the first time.
:: Market Information::
Ship Sales (by market share)
The ship market appears to have settled somewhat after last weeks shake up.
Zorgon Peterson’s Hauler continued to impress and grabbed a staggering 39% market share this week.
Falcon deLacy bolstered by their unexpected success last week, re-energized their Cobra Mk III sales to 17% of the overall market and with rumours of new paint jobs becoming available soon their new Viper took 11% of the market in anticipation. And showing their breadth of the market, their high-end Anaconda started to make its mark with some encouraging initial sales.
The Core Dynamics Eagle left its struggles behind with an almost 15% market share.
Lakon’s versatile new trader, The Type 6 increased in popularity but their Type 9 is off to a slow start.
Most Profitable Goods Superconductors
Beryllium
Gallium
Consumer Technology
Most profitable black market goods are: Palladium
Battle Weapons
Progenitor Cells
Beryllium
Performance Enhancers
Most Traded Goods
Most goods bought and sold (By cargo units) Fish
Terrain Enrichment Systems
Resonating Separators
Advanced Catalysers
Gold Agricultural Medicines
Top 5 Largest Importers, by Quantity of Good Traded
Aulin: Aulin Enterprise
i Bootis: Chango Dock
Asellus Primus: Beagle 2 Landing
Dahan: Dahan Gateway
Azeban: Azaban City
Top Exports, Ranked by Quantity
i Bootis: Chango Dock : Fish
Aulin: Aulin Enterprise: Terrain Enrichment Systems
Asellus Primus: Beagle 2 Landing: Resonating Separators
Aulin: Aulin Enterprise: Agricultural Medicines
Asellus Primus: Beagle 2 Landing: Advanced Catalysers
Trade Tips & Hidden Gems
Market Watch
Markets currently trading with good profits:
Pi-fang: Brooks Estate
Nang Ta-khian: Hay Point
Tilian: Maunder's Hope
LHS 417: Gernhardt Camp
h Draconis: Brislington
:: And finally::
Fish
Fish are still swimming at the top of the traded good charts this week, however they are proving slippery - over 12,765 canisters of Fish have been found ejected in deep space.
Detailed market information feeds are available via an upgraded subscription to GalNet services.
Sports Results, Entertainment News and Celebrity Gossip are available via an upgraded subscription.
This GalNet News Transmission is sponsored in part by the Bank of Zaonce. Trust the Bank of Zaonce with your hard-earned credits.HOUSTON - A federal air marshal was taken to a Houston hospital for tests after he was stabbed with a needle at an airport in Nigeria, according to Local 2 sources.
A group of federal agents in plain clothes were about to walk through security at the Lagos airport Sunday when they were approached by a group of men. Sources said one of them stabbed a needle into an agent's arm and then they all ran away.
Local 2 sources said the agent pulled the needle out of his body and stored it in a safe container. He boarded the flight that he was scheduled to work and landed at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. He went to a hospital and doctors tested him for several diseases, including Ebola and HIV.
"The victim did not exhibit any signs of illness during the flight and was transported to a hospital upon landing for further testing. None of the testing conducted has indicated a danger to other passengers," said FBI special agent Shauna Dunlap in a statement to Local 2.
Homeland security expert Joan Neuhaus Schaan said the reason for the attack lies with whatever was in the syringe.
"Was it something intended to just harm that person, who they certainly thought was American, who they may or may not have known he was a U.S. marshal, or was it something that is contagious that they then hope to spread to the United States," she said.
With the 13th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks just days away, law enforcement sources told Local 2 they were concerned about terrorism connections and wondered if this was a dry run for a bigger plot.
The FBI is now investigating and it plans to test the needle. It could take two days for the test results to come back.
As for the federal marshal, he was discharged from the hospital and is at home recovering. His name has not been released.
Copyright 2014 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Jon Super
A group of Liverpool fans "took exception" to Chelsea supporters mocking Steven Gerrard outside Anfield after Jose Mourinho's team derailed the Reds' title charge with a 2-0 win.
As reported by John Drayton of the Daily Mail, the atmosphere turned heated when away fans sang about Gerrard, whose vital slip handed Chelsea the initiative in front of the Kop:
Pictures have emerged of a scuffle outside the Anfield Road end of the stadium after Liverpool fans took exception to Chelsea supporters singing about Reds captain Steven Gerrard after the match. One fan appeared to throw a punch while others had to be restrained by police.
The photos in questions were posted on Twitter by Footy Away Days, although this feed suggests clashes took place after a fan spat on the Hillsborough Memorial:
Emotions were obviously strained after such an important match. Chelsea headed to Merseyside needing a win to remain within touching distance of the top and were set up to frustrate their attacking hosts.
Mourinho's defensive system centred on a back six—four defenders and two defensive midfielders sitting just in front—to halt a famous Liverpool blitzing early in the match.
Although Brendan Rodgers' side dominated possession they were unable to carve open any telling opportunities throughout the first half. Gerrard slipped when receiving a simple pass, allowing Demba Ba to steal the ball and slot under Simon Mignolet's legs just before the break, giving Chelsea something to hang onto.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Proceedings were much the same in the second half. Liverpool dominated without threatening too much, leaving Mark Schwarzer to deal with a handful of shots he will always be expected to save.
As the final whistle approached, Chelsea's counter-attack broke clear with Willian, who tapped the ball home after Fernando Torres passed beyond Mignolet to set up an open goal.
Andy Hunter of The Guardian suggested Liverpool fans tried to unnerve the away team prior to kick-off. He said, "Fireworks were set off outside Chelsea's team hotel before the game, with several prank calls also attempted." But fortunately for the winners, such distractions weren't felt on the pitch.
Jon Super
Mourinho clearly set his team out to irritate, with obvious time-wasting tactics and an emphasis on limiting Liverpool's attack, but his strategy paid off. Rodgers was left frustrated by his former tutor's tactics, noted by Chris Bevan of BBC Sport:
"They parked two buses, rather than one," Rodgers said. "From the first minute they had 10 men behind the ball. We were the team trying to win but we just couldn't make the breakthrough."
The result leaves Liverpool two points ahead of their opponents. Manchester City will win the title if they rack up three points in each of their remaining three games—barring two Liverpool victories and a momentous goal-difference swing—leaving Merseyside supporters in despair.
While physical exchanges between supporters will drum up headlines across the next 24 hours, this result may potentially define the Premier League season. It is certainly destined to live long in the memory, especially if the scoreline blocks Liverpool's long-awaited ascension to the domestic throne.
Follow @NakermanAs if being ankle deep in a muddy field, surrounded by pretend hippies seemingly re-enacting highlights of the Battle of Waterloo was bad enough, attendees of the aptly named Download Festival will be subjected to a new police facial recognition system, and surveillance of their onsite location and expenditure via the debut of RFID wristbands.
The surveillance technologies are a new facial recognition system being rolled out by Leicestershire Police, and Download's own RFID wristbands, provided by German RFID specialists YouChip.
Leicestershire Police have been trialling NEC Corporation's NeoFace facial |
others' personal property). Impulsive behaviors, such as driving recklessly, abusing substances, shoplifting, or engaging in other illegal acts, can also lead to trouble.
5 Keys for Coping With the Symptoms of BPD
People with BPD do not have to resign themselves to a life of emotional pain. There are a number of things you can do to help you cope with the symptoms. These are just the beginning. Getting help from a licensed mental health professional and learning more about managing the symptoms of BPD, can alleviate the impact it has on your life.
1. Get Help. BPD is a very serious disorder. The intense experiences associated with BPD are not something that one person should face alone. Fortunately, there are a number of effective treatments for BPD. Finding a professional you feel comfortable with is one of the most important steps you can take for your health.
2. Have a Safety Plan. BPD causes very painful emotions and, as a result, it is not uncommon for mental health emergencies (for example, active suicidality) to arise. For this reason, it is critical for you to have a safety plan in place before a crisis happens.
If you are in danger of harming yourself or others, what will you do? Can you call 911? Is there a hospital nearby with an emergency room that you can go to? If you have a therapist, counselor, psychiatrist, or social worker, talk this plan over with them.
3. Get Support. Having the support of your family, friends, or partner can be a big help. But, not everyone has someone to turn to when things get difficult. You may need to find ways to connect with others and to build a support network for yourself.
BPD is not an uncommon disorder; it occurs in about 1.4 percent of the population. That means that there are roughly four million people with BPD in the U.S. alone. Many of those people are looking for support, just like you.
4. Take Care of Yourself. It is important that individuals with BPD take good care of themselves. Healthy self-care can reduce emotional pain, increase positive emotions, and help reduce the emotional ups and downs you may experience.
Some of the most basic things like eating nutritious and regular meals, practicing good sleep hygiene, and getting regular exercise will help tremendously. Also, try to take time for relaxation and stress-reduction and schedule enjoyable activities into your daily life.Michael Bennett deserves to get paid for a dominant season that ended in a Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl championship.
The defensive end, coming off a one-year, $5 million contract, won't be cheap, but is on the record saying he wants to remain in the Upper Northwest.
"I want to be back here 100 percent. I love the team, I love my teammates," Bennett said Wednesday, per The Daily Herald in Everett, Wash. "Pete (Carroll) does a great job of letting us play, so I want to be a part of that. I know we can go back and win a Super Bowl again with all these guys. It's a business, but I definitely want to be back."
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport said matter-of-factly on NFL Network's Super Bowl pregame show that the Seahawks would re-sign Bennett. The defensive end's comments back up that mutual belief.
The defensive end's brother, tight end Martellus Bennett, has publicly lobbied for Michael to join him with the Chicago Bears. Michael, however, prioritizes playing for Carroll over playing with his little brother.
"That doesn't matter much," Bennett said. "I know he wants me to come out there and get a chance to play with him, but I'm definitely a Seahawk and I definitely want to be here for the rest of my career."
The Seahawks benefitted from Russell Wilson's low contract number last season and have one more season until that number balloons. Contracts for Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman will also need to be addressed in the next 14 months.
At the end of the day, Bennett wants to stay in Seattle and the Seahawks want their premier pass rusher. However, when money starts talking, there is always that chance that the glimmer of the Super Bowl trophy could be forgotten.
The "Around The League Podcast" recapped Super Bowl XLVIII live from MetLife Stadium right after the game.Calif. Wildfire Nearly Doubles In Size, Burns Into Yosemite Park
Enlarge this image toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Updated at 12:35 a.m. Saturday: Emergency For San Francisco
Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for San Francisco because of the wildfire's threat to public utilities there.
The fire is 150 miles from the city, but Brown said the fire jeopardizes San Francisco's power lines and stations in the fire area. The city has already had to shut down two of its three hydroelectric power stations, the AP reports.
Further damage could have an impact on San Francisco's power supply.
Our Post From Late Friday:
A California wildfire burst into Yosemite National Park on Friday after growing to more than 105,620 acres, the U.S. Forest Service says. More than 2,000 firefighting personnel are working on the blaze known as the Rim Fire, which is only 2 percent contained.
From Thursday to Friday, the fire nearly doubled in size, growing from 99 square miles to about 165 square miles, the AP reports. A large portion of Highway 120, a main road in and out of Yosemite, remains shut down after being closed earlier this week, the Forest Service reported in its latest update this morning.
"Flames from the Rim Fire have also forced the evacuations of hundreds from homes," NPR member station KPCC reports. People visiting Yosemite are also fleeing.
The fire "is not threatening Yosemite Valley," reports NBC Bay Area News, citing a Forest Service spokesman, and "the park still remains open."
One injury has been reported as a result of the fire, which began on Aug. 17, the Forest Service says. So far, the fire has destroyed 16 structures and caused $5.4 million in damages; thousands more structures have been deemed to be at risk. California Gov. Jerry Brown declared an emergency situation Thursday.
According to the Forest Service, the fire is growing outward from the Stanislaus National Forest in two directions: easterly, toward Yosemite, and westerly, toward the residential Pine Mountain Lake. Elements of the fire are also headed in a northwest direction, officials say.
A new map of the fire was released Friday; you can also follow it on KPCC's "Fire Tracker" featureFAA releases documents showing where government agencies are flying UAVs
Steve Watson
Infowars.com
April 20, 2012
A bipartisan pair of Congressmen joined forces Thursday to put important questions to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the agency’s plans to open up American skies to thousands of surveillance drones.
Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) penned a letter to the FAA demanding answers on how the federal agency will protect the Fourth Amendment rights of American citizens if and when the use of unmanned ariel vehicles by government, law enforcement and private companies increases.
“There is…potential for drone technology to enable invasive and pervasive surveillance without adequate privacy protections.” the Congressmen’s letter stated.
“We are writing to express our concerns about the law’s potential privacy implications and to requisition information about how the FAA is addressing these important matters.” it continued.
Congress recently passed legislation paving the way for what the FAA predicts will be somewhere in the region of 30,000 drones in operation in US skies by 2020.
Once signed by president Obama, the FAA Reauthorization Act allows for the FAA to permit the use of drones and develop regulations for testing and licensing by 2015.
“Many drones are designed to carry surveillance equipment, including video cameras, infrared thermal imagers, radar and wireless network ‘sniffers,’ ” the representatives wrote.
They added that the FAA has “the responsibility to ensure that the privacy of individuals is protected and that the public is fully informed about who is using drones in public airspace and why.”
Barton and Markey are acting in their roles as co-chairmen of the Congressional Privacy Caucus.
“We must ensure that as drones take flight in domestic airspace, they don’t take off without privacy protections for those along their flight path,” Markey said. “The potential for invasive surveillance of daily activities with drone technology is high. Standards for informing the public and ensuring safeguards must be put in place now to protect individual privacy.”
“When the domestic use of drones was legalized in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, I knew that the usage of these unmanned aircraft would bring a great benefit to our local and state governments, as well as some businesses,” Barton added. “However, if used improperly or unethically, drones could endanger privacy and I want to make sure that risk is taken into consideration.”
The FAA declined to comment on the lawmakers’ letter, however the agency has today released information regarding where drones are currently being flown and who is flying them.
The documents were released to the privacy watchdog The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) after the group sued the agency for initially not responding to a Freedom of Information Act request in January.
The FAA documents show which private companies and government entities currently have a certificate to fly drones in US airspace.
They include Raytheon, General Atomics, Telford Aviation, AAI Corp, Honeywell, Unmanned Systems Inc, L-3, and Aurora Flight Companies, as well as government agencies DARPA, the FBI, the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, & Homeland Security, and branches of the military.
As we reported in February, Over 30 prominent watchdog groups have banded together to petition the FAA on the proposed increase in the use of drones. The groups, including The American Civil Liberties Union, The Electronic Privacy Information Center and The Bill of Rights Defense Committee, are demanding that the FAA hold a rulemaking session to consider the privacy and safety threats.
The ACLU noted that the FAA’s legislation “would push the nation willy-nilly toward an era of aerial surveillance without any steps to protect the traditional privacy that Americans have always enjoyed and expected.”
In addition to privacy concerns, the groups warned that the ability to link facial recognition technology to surveillance drones and patch the information through to active government databases would “increase the First Amendment risks for would be political dissidents.”
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Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.Though all of the social media platforms are pretty similar, each one has its own unique purpose. Facebook is for ignoring your family members or high school friends when they share political opinions or tired memes, Instagram is for showing how great you are and how great your life is, and Twitter is about shameless self-promotion—whether you’re promoting your work, your bad attempts at jokes, or your “personal brand.” The expert Twitter users disguise this as its own kind of content, making the self-promotion just as entertaining as the thing they want you to pay attention to, so you end up buying tickets to their movie or checking out their blog without even realizing that you’re still laughing at some great zinger or weeping over a particularly feels-worthy confession.
Legendary Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder—a guy who probably had a hand in creating a lot of your favorite stuff from the show—is officially on Twitter now, and despite his impressive body of work, he is not one of these expert Twitter users. He’s just a guy promoting his books:
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Granted, those lines are pretty great, but it’s not quite as fun as getting 140 characters of new Swartzwelder humor would be. Then again, maybe this is just the ultimate form of Swartzwelder humor. Maybe he’s not an expert Twitter user, he’s the expert Twitter user. Think about it: These quotes are all solid examples of his dry sense of humor, and what’s dryer than subverting people’s expectations by refusing to give them actual funny tweets when you’ve got a bunch of detective novels you can just pull quotes from?
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Those lines are brilliant. This is like the comedy writer equivalent of Kim Kardashian posting nothing but tweets that say “buy the thing I’m holding in this picture.” He’s not just tweeting, he’s doing performance art.Workers with equal intrinsic productivity make higher wages working in a more productive place.
Last year in Science magazine a collection of luminaries (nine authors, two from MIT, two from Yale, etc.) published what many regard as “gold standard” evidence about the impact of a “gold standard” anti-poverty program. The program is a multifaceted program that has six elements: (1) a productive asset transfer, (2) consumption support, (3) technical skills training, (4) high frequency home visits, (5) a savings program, (6) some health education. The program was evaluated in six country sites and was evaluated using a randomized control trial (RCT).
The program produced substantial gains in households’ annual consumption of nondurables in the third year after the productive asset transfer and one year after the end of the program intervention. Given the litany of income generating programs that have failed to have a sustained impact, this news of a sustained (even if only in year 3) gain in household consumption from a targeted anti-poverty program was widely regarded as very good news (see Table 1, column 1, below).
The paper assumes the gains in year 3 will be sustained forever and calculates the NPV (net present value, the sum of all costs and gains, discounted by how far in the future they occur) of the program (in PPP $) at a five percent discount rate (Table 1, column 2). The total gains are impressively large (partly because NPV at 5 percent discount rate multiplies the annual gain by roughly a factor of 20).
Of course this program, being multifaceted, is not cheap. The NPV of costs varies across countries between $1,500 and $6,000 per household. Averaged across the countries besides Honduras (where incomes fell because the “productive asset” transferred was livestock that died), by year 3 the program had spent $4,545 per household and each household’s nondurables consumption was higher in year 3 by $344.
But, with the assumptions (debatable, but we’ll roll with them)—(a) the gains in year 3 are sustained forever and (b) a low discount rate (5 percent)—then the net benefits are substantial and pass a standard benefit/cost test.
Let’s call this debatably but not unreasonably “the best you can do”—that is, if you were looking to augment the incomes of poor people programmatically in situ this intervention has both rigorous evidence across multiple contexts and that evidence suggests program efficacy on its side. (The advocates for “direct cash transfer” could make a case it doesn’t surpass the “index fund”-like benchmark of just giving the households the program costs in cash ($4,500), and they might be right, but just for my argument’s sake let’s assume this program is the gold standard).
Table 1. Rigorous evidence about an anti-poverty program shows (mostly) sustained positive gains—but the total lifetime magnitude is about a third of a year working in the USA versus their own country for a low skill worker.
Country Year 3 nondurable consumption ITT treatment effect (line 6 of Table 4). NPV of total benefits per household (line 8 of table 4) NPV of total costs (line 2 of table 4) NPV of benefits less costs of multifaceted poverty program Lower bound of the estimate of the annual wage gain of low-skilled male worker (correcting for selection), PPP Ethiopia $424 $10,806 $4,157 $6,649 $9,247 India $251 $6,299 $1,455 $4,844 $14,317 Pakistan $451 $10,678 $5,962 $4,716 $13,845 Ghana $332 $7,174 $5,408 $1,766 $12,810 Peru $263 $7,402 $5,742 $1,660 $15,375 Honduras -$218 -$6,117 $3,090 -$9,207 $12,526 Average (excluding Honduras) $344 $8,472 $4,545 $3,927 $13,119 Source: Banerjee et al (Table 4) and Clemens, Montenegro and Pritchett 2016 (column 5).
Now, what is the least “you” (as a rich country citizen) could do for the world’s poor? The least you could do is “let their people come” (at least some of their people and in some modality). This is the least that you can do, as it costs you, the typical rich country citizen, nothing. Since these newly-arrived workers would willingly work at jobs that employers would willingly pay them to do at the prevailing wage, a program could easily be designed that produced positive job possibilities for existing American-born workers and hence zero wage loss for those people already here. (Even the existing migration has near zero loss for almost all ‘indigenous’ workers (Ottavio and Peri) so a program aimed to minimize wage impact could likely do even better). And the public finance implications of labor mobility are roughly whatever the program wants them to be as this is a feature of program design. Rather than costing $4500 per beneficiary this has cost zero to you.
The free lunch is available because of the different place-specific productivities (or TFP if you will) so that workers with equal intrinsic productivity (or “human capital”) make higher wages working in a more productive place even without reducing the TFP available to all other workers. Hence the additional product of the poor person working in a rich country is a net gain in output. The least you can do at the margin for the global poor is to just let them (and only of course those who want to) work in your high productivity environment instead of using the coercion of your nation-state to keep them trapped in the low productivity place they happened to be born in (imagine what you would want if you were born there and they were born here).
Turns out for these six countries the least you can do of letting a worker work in the USA for one year is almost forty times better than the annual gain of the best you can do. The average annual household gain from the “best you can do” is $344 per year. The average wage differential from the “least you can do” is $13,119—38 times higher. Even under the doubly optimistic scenario that these programmatic gains last forever and are discounted at 5 percent, the total lifetime value of the best you can do is less than a fourth the gain from just letting a worker work in a high productivity environment for one year.
Figure 1. The annual gain from a gold standard poverty program is roughly 1/40th the wage differential of low skill workers from these countries working in their country versus the USA
So, I am all for searching for evidence and discovering and then doing the best we can do in terms of in situ poverty programs, but why not also do some of the least we can do and let more of their people come to work in high productivity places?How Bidding Works
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*A reserve price is the minimum value the seller will accept for the work. In order for the lot to sell, the reserve price must be met. You will see a notification whether or not the current bid has met the reserve.“You Can Know for Yourself,” Ensign, February 2017
Photo illustration by Margarita Solntseva
I desire to impress upon your minds the power the Book of Mormon can provide in the journey to your promised land. I testify that because the Book of Mormon is the word of God, it was worth the sacrifices that were made to write it, preserve it, and bring it forth in our day. We can know it is true, and we must pass our testimony of it on to future generations.
In our day, it is so easy to go to the internet and read what everyone else thinks or feels about the Book of Mormon. We might be tempted to spend more time reading what is written there than reading the book itself. The Book of Mormon is one of those books that must be read and experienced by each of us. It is one of those books that can’t be understood through another person. It is a book, after all, that comes with a promise:
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:3–5).
Millions of people have put this promise to the test and have gained a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I am one of those millions. For some, their testimony may have come easily and quickly, but for most of us, it takes time and effort to gain the promised testimony.
For me, it really did require me to remember how merciful Heavenly Father has been to His children from the days of Adam to our time. It required me to read with believing eyes and a believing heart and then to pray with real intent. That means I had to let God know that I was willing to live in accordance with a witness if I received one. It required me to have the commitment to make changes in my life if the answer did come. I did ask of God, and I did receive that witness.
Do Not Give Up If you have not yet received that witness for yourself, do not be discouraged. Lean on my witness. Follow the same pattern I followed. It took time for me. It will take time for you. Do not give up. I find it interesting that we tend to value only what comes at a cost and a price of intent and intensity. It is so important to know for ourselves. We must read from the pages of the Book of Mormon and search its words personally. What is written in the pages of this book is so much more important than what is written about it by others. For those who have already been given a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, remember that it can be lost so quickly. Keep reading, studying, and nurturing your testimony. Remember how it felt to receive your witness. Share that witness with others often. The Savior taught the importance of having a personal witness when He appeared to the Nephites after His Resurrection. After introducing Himself, He invited each person present to approach Him and feel the nail prints in His hands and feet. There were about 2,500 people there that day (see 3 Nephi 17:25). Have you ever wondered how long it took for them to come forward and feel for themselves? If it took five seconds for each person to experience this, Jesus stood there for three and a half hours. If it took 10 seconds, He was there for seven hours. Yet He was willing to do that because He knows that each of us has to know for ourselves. As the 2,500 came forward, we read: “And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come. “And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: “Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him” (3 Nephi 11:15–17). Christ could have asked Nephi to come forth and feel the nail marks in His hands and feet and then to let everyone else know about it via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, so to speak, but He didn’t. Some things are not to be experienced vicariously. We must know for ourselves that Jesus is the Christ. The Book of Mormon can teach us that. We also must know for ourselves that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. We need to experience it for ourselves, not through anyone else.
“Most Worth Knowing” If you have a testimony of this book, no matter how easy or difficult it was to obtain it, I promise that if you continue a serious study of it, your testimony will become stronger. You will never lose it. If you don’t have a testimony now, I promise that if you begin a serious study of this book, you will come to know by the power of the Holy Ghost that it is true. Remember these words from President Boyd K. Packer (1924–2015), President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “What is taught in the scriptures is most worth knowing.”1 And of no book is that more true than the Book of Mormon. Moroni promised that those who receive the record and condemn it not will know of even greater things (see Mormon 8:12). This is a promise of revelation as we study this book! My love of the scriptures, including the Book of Mormon, started while I served a mission in Seoul, Korea. When it really became a part of me, however, was after my mission. I am most grateful today for a wise mission president, F. Ray Hawkins, who committed me to do 14 things as I finished my mission. One of those things was to continue to love the scriptures and to read from them daily. It was that commitment that kept me from missing scripture study too many days in a row. It was that commitment that helped me reintroduce structure into my life similar to the structure I had in the mission field so I could study every day. For most of my married life, I was diligent from Monday to Friday. I always knew when I needed to wake up so I could exercise and study before I needed to be at school and later at work. Saturday belonged to my children, and I didn’t always read on that day because I was constantly going and coming from sports, dance, and lessons. The point is that even if I didn’t keep my commitment to read daily, I did read regularly. I established a positive pattern and habit. When I missed a day or two, I got right back on track quickly. When my oldest son was speaking in church before beginning his mission, he made a statement that helped me understand how grateful I was for my mission president. My son reported that each morning when he would come upstairs to read the Book of Mormon with the family prior to going to school, he always knew he would find his father at his desk reading the scriptures. I am indebted to a wise mission president for helping me have a generational impact on my son.This statement was originally published on bahrainrights.org on 2 February 2015.
On 31 January 2015, the Bahrain Ministry of the Interior revoked the citizenship of 72 individuals, including journalists, doctors, political activists and a human rights activist, rendering most of them stateless. Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) condemn the continued use of citizenship revocation by the Government of Bahrain as a reprisal against human rights activists and pro-democracy campaigners.
The Bahrain Ministry of Interior has published the names of 72 Bahraini citizens in a statement declaring the revocation of their citizenship for a number of “illegal acts” without any due process of law, and in effect, rendering many of them stateless. The Ministry invoked its newly given powers under a revision made to Article 10/c of the 1963 Bahraini Citizenship Act, with the approval of the Council of Ministers, which issued a decree to revoke the nationality of these individuals. The reference number of the decree was not mentioned. In absence of a reference to the decree number, chances for appeal against the decision can be highly restricted.
The Ministry of Interior's statement claimed that “each citizen of Bahrain has the responsibility to act in ways that do not harm the interests of the Kingdom.” Alongside spying, financing terrorism, participation in terrorist actions, the statement lists: “defaming the image of the regime, inciting against the regime and spreading false news to hinder the rules of the constitution,” “defaming brotherly countries” and “inciting and advocating regime change through illegal means” as justification for their decision.
These justifications have been used to revoke the citizenship of human rights activists, political activists, journalists, academics and religious figures. Among the named are blogger Ali Abdulemam, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia for running an online news forum; Dr. Ali Al-Dairi, founder of the online news site Bahrain Mirror; journalist Abbas Busafwan; university professor Masoud Jahromi; and former opposition MP Shaikh Hasan Sultan.
The revocation of citizenship without any due process is a severe violation of international law, namely Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality.”An arbitrary revocation of nationality may also lead to violations of other human rights conventions such as the right to a family life, the right of children to have a nationality under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Individuals that have been rendered stateless also face severe difficulties in enjoying social and economic rights and freedoms.
“We are constantly told by the British government that Bahrain is on the path of reform," said Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy at BIRD. “At exactly the same time, the Bahraini government is trying to ruin the lives of its critics.” Alwadaei fled to the United Kingdom after his arrest and torture in 2011. He is one of the 72 listed in the Ministry of Interior's statement and has been left stateless.
Since November 2012, Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of around 124 persons either through direct statements by the Ministry of Interior or through court orders.
Based on the above, the aforementioned groups call on the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and all other close allies and concerned international institutions to exercise real pressure on the government of Bahrain to:
Restore citizenship to all citizens who were unfairly stripped of their citizenship without recourse to due process in law;
Halt the policy of citizenship revocation used as a punishment against critics and dissidents practicing their right to freedom of opinion and expression;
Join and adhere to the 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.The 14-year-old who became famous after her catch phrase "Cash Me Ousside" went viral was sentenced to five years probation on Tuesday, reported the Palm Beach Post.
Last month, Danielle Bregoli pleaded guilty to five charges including grand theft, grand theft auto, marijuana possession and filing a false report.
As part of her plea deal, Bregoli will be put on probation until she is 19.
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Lou Delgado allowed Bregoli to carry out her probation in California, where she has been living for the past few months. During the hearing, Bregoli became emotional when her father read a statement about her fame being exploited.
“I’m afraid of what she’s being pushed into and who’s profiting from it,” said Bregoli’s father, Ira Peskowitz.
Under the conditions of Bregoli’s probation, she will have a 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, 100 hours of community service and will be attending school full time.
The judge also ordered Bregoli to take courses in sexual education, domestic violence and anti-theft.Check out the advanced-stats glossary here. Below, a unique review of last year's team, a unit-by-unit breakdown of this year's roster, the full 2016 schedule with win projections for each game, and more.
1. Two extremes
In 2014, we saw what happens when it all goes right. Georgia Tech had a quarterback come into his own, with a set of senior skill guys, behind a line that featured an All-American. The defense stayed mostly healthy, and Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets won 11 games for the first time since 2009 and finished in the AP top 10 for the first time since 1998.
In 2015, we saw what happens when it all goes wrong. Georgia Tech headed into the year without its top two fullbacks, top five slotbacks, top two receivers, and said All-American up front. The Yellow Jackets then proceeded to get wrecked by injuries at fullback, slotback, offensive line, and defensive line. The defense didn't regress much, but it didn't matter. The quarterback fell into a bit of a funk, the big plays dried up, and Tech went 1-6 in games decided by one possession.
The short version (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)
2016 projected wins: 5.6
Projected S&P+ ranking: 54 (12 in ACC)
5-year recruiting ranking: 45 (8 in ACC)
Biggest strength: The offense has all the depth and experience at the skill positions that last year's offense didn't.
Biggest question mark: Can Tech generate even a little bit of a pass rush to help out a rebuilt secondary?
Biggest 2016 game: Miami (Oct. 1). A battle with old friend Mark Richt will define the second half of the season -- Is Tech a division contender? Just trying to scrape out six wins?
Summary: After a brilliant 2014 campaign, Georgia Tech plummeted back to earth due to a mix of injuries and experience. Things should even out in 2016 with a Tech team we know well, one with an exciting option offense and an inefficient defense. 5.6: 54 (12 in ACC): 45 (8 in ACC): The offense has all the depth and experience at the skill positions that last year's offense didn't.: Can Tech generate even a little bit of a pass rush to help out a rebuilt secondary?: Miami (Oct. 1). A battle with old friend Mark Richt will define the second half of the season -- Is Tech a division contender? Just trying to scrape out six wins?After a brilliant 2014 campaign, Georgia Tech plummeted back to earth due to a mix of injuries and experience. Things should even out in 2016 with a Tech team we know well, one with an exciting option offense and an inefficient defense.
The result: a season that featured a likely step backwards instead featured about seven. Tech fell from 11-3 to 3-9, taking Johnson from king status to mildly hot seat.
Now what? We can see whatever we want to see from Johnson and Tech heading into 2016. If you want to say that this is the beginning of the end for Johnson, that the talent departed from the 2014 squad was of a higher caliber than its 2015 replacements, then you haven't been proven wrong yet. Justin Thomas is a wonderful athlete and option quarterback, but your success is still dictated by the talent around you. If you choose to believe the defense is never going to improve enough to offset whatever talent drain has taken place on the other side of the ball, you might be right.
After four straight years in the Off. S&P+ top 40 and a peak of third in 2014, Tech fell to 62nd in 2015. Again, injuries could be attributed to some of that struggle, but we indeed do not immediately know that the new pieces will ever reach the heights of the old ones.
But if you want to point out that this downfall has happened before, you are also right to do so. Following the 11-win breakthrough of 2009, in which Tech ranked 16th in Off. S&P+, the Yellow Jackets fell to 74th in 2010. The new skill guys weren't at the level of the old ones, and only an easier schedule kept the Ramblin' Wreck bowl eligible. They then responded with said run of top-40 offenses.
I lean to the latter explanation, both because I'm an optimist by nature and because there's a precedent. And because Tech was so banged up last year. Not a single fullback played in all 12 games. Leading returning slotback Broderick Snoddy missed four games. Slotback Qua Searcy was carrying a big early load, then missed the last nine. Fullback C.J. Leggett, a presumed future star, missed the entire season. Quarterback TaQuon Marshall had to fill in at slotback for a while. On top of that, only two linemen started in all 12 games.
The lineup was both limited and ever-changing. And after recording at least 40 rushes of 20-plus yards in four of the last five years, Tech managed just 27.
Meanwhile, only one defensive lineman could stay on the field for 12 games, which prevented the Yellow Jacket defense from improving enough to make up any of the difference.
Last year |
last night?
What are they doing right now?
If you don’t have confidence in yourself, you can’t have confidence in your relationship. And if you don’t have confidence in your relationship, you’ll find it impossible to trust the other person. Cue paranoia, neediness, suffocation, and the inevitable breakup.
2. You’re willing to be vulnerable
When you’re truly confident in yourself, you can open yourself up emotionally. You’re willing to be honest all the time without worrying about judgment or rejection, because you’re comfortable enough in yourself, flaws and all.
You can share your fears and frustrations. You can share your dreams. You’re willing to let your partner fully in on the good times and the bad. No masks, no cover, no hiding or pretending things are better or worse than they are.
And you’re willing to say, “I love you” early and often, without worrying about whether or not you’re hearing it back.
3. You’ll have boundaries
Having confidence means you'll draw boundaries for inappropriate behavior. No being walked over, no being controlled.
We’ve all seen someone we love in a relationship that didn’t have this, where their partner would treat them poorly, but they would never stand up for themselves. It’s extremely hard to be happy with yourself or your relationship if you can’t stand up for yourself when you think you’re being wronged.
Beyond that, the other people in your life, significant others, friends, family, they’ll respect you for being the type of person that stands up for yourself and what you believe. No one wants to be with a doormat. And if they do, you’ll have the confidence to draw your boundaries anyway and leave the relationship if you have to. Which means when you ARE in a relationship, you’ll be happier and so will your partner.
4. You’ll admit when you’re wrong
Arguments are going to happen from time to time. We know confident people stand up for themselves when they know they’re right. Just as importantly, they’re willing to admit when they are wrong.
Think about it. You know you’re a good person and whatever you’ve done in the past, you’ve acted with good intentions. So what if you screwed up? Everyone does. A confident person is quick to apologize when they’re wrong.
Being able to admit your mistakes means you can diffuse an argument before it gets heated. More than that, the people in your life will appreciate you for owning your actions.
So now what?
Hopefully, you embrace that healthy self-confidence leads to meeting more new people, having more people attracted to you, dating more, and having better relationships.
Now what?
We all know at our core that confidence is key to a happy, successful life.
The key question is this: how can you feel confident and comfortable all the time — in ANY situation?
There’s a lot you can do to improve your confidence, especially in your relationships.
You CAN’T just “be confident.”
“Just be more confident” is one of the most common and most useless throw-away pieces of advice in the world. It’s everywhere, and it’s totally in-actionable.
Instead, focus on your courage. Confidence is a feeling that comes from learning the skills of self-assurance. It comes with time. Courage is a choice. It’s a decision. You can begin to learn the skills of confidence by having the courage to push past your discomfort.
See someone attractive on the street? Go talk to them. Say “hi.” Say anything at all.
Your significant other asking you if they can go to Vegas with every single ex they’ve had in their entire life? Let them go.
Not because I’m promising it will go well. For all I know it will blow up in your face. But because it’s the first step. You find the edge of your comfort zone and you live there, you push it, you do it anyway. Confidence allows you to trust, and it allows you to let go when trust is broken.
In finding the edge of your comfort zone over and over again, I guarantee you will eventually take your confidence through the stratosphere and ignite your love life.
Ben Altman is the founder of Charisma On Command, a site for successful men and women who want to take their charisma to the next level. He’s got some awesome insight into confidence, charisma, and how to leave a lasting impression on everyone you meet. You can check out his newsletter here for more.Video (02:24) : Onetime Minnesota Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson's sentence includes to 100 hours of community service and two days in jail with credit for the two days he already served.
– Last spring, Philip Nelson and Isaac Kolstad were young men with plans and careers, their futures wide open and promising. Nelson was a college quarterback headed to Rutgers after two years with the Gophers; Kolstad was gainfully employed in his hometown and expecting a second daughter with his wife of one year, Molly.
In seconds last May, all of it was upended when they fought on a downtown Mankato street.
They met again Monday, this time in a tense and crowded Blue Earth County courtroom, to see Nelson sentenced to 100 hours of community service for his role in the fight. Fifteen of those hours must be spent speaking to youth groups about how life can change in an instant.
Nelson had faced a potential 90-day jail term after he plead guilty to fifth-degree misdemeanor assault for kicking Kolstad in the head as he lay unconscious on the street. Judge Bradley C. Walker gave Nelson two days of jail, with credit for the two days he already served.
Nelson stood when the hearing adjourned and hugged his parents while Kolstad’s family mostly sat, disappointed that the man they blame for Kolstad’s near-fatal injuries would go free.
Isaac Kolstad spoke haltingly in the packed courtroom, evidence of his brain injury.
Isaac Kolstad suffered severe injuries. Even though a prosecution expert concluded that a kick by Philip Nelson did not lead to the severe brain injury, Kolstad said, “Philip Nelson made decisions that night that left me with permanent brain damage.”
“I can’t hold my own children without someone else watching me,” said Kolstad, a former football player for Minnesota State University, Mankato. “My doctors are afraid I will have another seizure and drop them. I can’t drive. I can’t work. I can’t cook my family dinner.”
Even though a prosecution expert concluded that the kick did not lead to the severe brain injury, Kolstad said, “Philip Nelson made decisions that night that left me with permanent brain damage.”
Before the sentence came down, Nelson apologized in court to Kolstad, saying that not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about that May night. Nelson maintained not remembering kicking Kolstad in the head, which was his original statement to police, and he said he wants to take responsibility for his actions.
“I’m sorry to Isaac and the Kolstads,” he said. “I’m sorry to my friends and family for letting them down.”
Nelson and Kolstad passed each other in the hall outside the courtroom after the hearing. They did not speak.
The Kolstads’ family attorney, Kenneth White, said his clients are disappointed with the sentence and will likely sue the 21-year-old Nelson.
Kolstad, a 25-year-old husband and father, graduated from college in 2013. His second child was born while he was in critical condition. He is undergoing physical and occupational therapy, including for his speech and motor skills. A recent video posted online shows him trying to run sprints in a gym with a therapist.
Molly Kolstad said in her court statement that she has forgiven Nelson and also talked about her husband’s lengthy recovery, saying Nelson should thank her family. “It’s through our hard work that Mr. Nelson is not faced with murder charges today,” she said.
She said she was awakened by a soft knock on her bedroom door at 2 a.m. on May 11. A friend of her husband was there to tell her that he had been hurt, and that she should go to the hospital.
“Nothing could have ever prepared me for the conversation I then had with the neurosurgeon to explain to me what we couldn’t see,” she said. “I was eight months pregnant, had just celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary, and was now being asked if I knew what my husband’s last wishes were.”
A push and a kick
Nelson pleaded guilty on Jan. 21 to fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Felony charges that could have sent him to prison for 20 years were dropped.
Nelson admitted to the lesser charge after a prosecutor’s medical expert said that his kick did not lead to Kolstad’s severe brain injury. The expert said the victim’s injuries were mainly, if not all, from being punched in the head by Trevor Shelley, of St. Peter, Minn., and hitting his head when he fell.
Shelley, a high school classmate of Nelson’s at Mankato West, faces felony charges.
The fight began in downtown Mankato around 2 a.m. when an angry Nelson shoved Kolstad after mistaking him for a bouncer who had kissed his girlfriend, according to a witness interview.
Kolstad then knocked Nelson to the ground, but as Kolstad walked away, Shelley allegedly punched Kolstad in the head. Video shows Kolstad falling and smacking his head on the pavement. Nelson then kicked a prone Kolstad in the head.
Philip Nelson left the Blue Earth courthouse by a side door as his attorney talked with the media. He received 100 hours of community service and no jail time in the beating of Issac Kolstad.
Soon after the brawl, Nelson was removed from the football team at Rutgers University. He had transferred there from the University of Minnesota, where he had played for two years. His lawyer said Monday that Nelson has spent the past 10 months living at home with his parents. His football future remains unclear.The owners of the Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise the Minnesota United are in talks about playing games at U.S. Bank Stadium — and it has left the stadium’s primary tenant, the Vikings, crying foul and threatening to sue.
United owners and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the agency that manages the $1.1 billion building, have been in discussions about an exhibition game — and perhaps more — at the stadium. But the Vikings say they are being shut out of the discussions in violation of state law and the stadium’s use agreement.
“First, it’s clear Minnesota United can’t play at U.S. Bank Stadium without our consent,” Vikings executive vice president Lester Bagley said. “We invested $609 million to make this building soccer-ready and make it a great fan experience.”
The Vikings say the 2012 legislation that got the stadium built gave them five-year exclusive rights to bring an MLS team into the building.
Michele Kelm-Helgen, chairwoman of the MSFA, said the Vikings have a right to “establish” an MLS team at U.S. Bank, but the team has no say in whether the Minnesota United play an “exhibition” game at the stadium.
A Minnesota United spokesman, however, indicated the talks went well beyond a single exhibition game and included the possibility of home games at the stadium.
Soccer fans celebrate the August announcement that Minnesota United FC fans would move to the MLS at an event at CHS Field in St. Paul.
While U.S. Bank Stadium was under construction, Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf tried to lure an MLS expansion franchise into the building. But the Wilfs lost out to a rival group led by former UnitedHealth executive Bill McGuire, Twins owners Bob and Jim Pohlad, Wendy Carlson Nelson, who is on the board of the Carlson Cos. and Glen Taylor, who owns the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Star Tribune and other businesses.
In 2015, when MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the decision to go with the McGuire group, he praised their plan for a “downtown, outdoor, soccer-specific stadium, 20,000 seats, playing on grass.” In other words, the MLS didn’t want to play in the Vikings’ 66,000-plus seat football emporium with a giant roof and synthetic grass.
Team will open at TCF
In August, the St. Paul City Council approved a plan to build a $150 million, 20,000-seat soccer stadium in the Midway area of St. Paul, although construction hasn’t begun. The Minnesota United is set to play 2017 and part of 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota.
About six weeks ago, McGuire contacted Kelm-Helgen, according to United spokesman Eric Durkee.
McGuire asked “in general about opportunities to play home games in U.S. Bank Stadium. There has been no discussion of specific dates or whether we would host MLS game or friendlies,” Durkee said, adding that the United was interested in general availability, price and field alignment.
“It’s certainly possible that we’d look at playing games at U.S. Bank Stadium whether due to snow or wanting to be able to draw a larger crowd for big games,” Durkee said.
To Durkee’s knowledge, United has not received a definite response from anyone at this point.
Lawyers for the MSFA and the Vikings have exchanged sharp letters. The Vikings have threatened to sue to enforce what they believe are their rights in the use agreement.
Kelm-Helgen said the terms of a soccer game have not been finalized, but the MSFA has the full legal right to host an exhibition game without consent from the Vikings.
In a letter Wednesday to Vikings counsel Karin Nelsen, MSFA attorney Jay Lindgren said the stadium use agreement doesn’t prevent an exhibition match. He also dismissed the Vikings’ “threats of litigation,” saying the team has no legal basis to stop it.
But Bagley said that up until recent weeks, the Vikings and the MSFA agreed on the soccer policy. “They knew what the language intended,” he said of the legislation and the use agreement. “We were surprised when they interpreted [it] differently. We’ve been good partners.”
It’s unclear how the disagreement will be resolved.
Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Vernon Center, was the author of the stadium bill and said the legislation is “absolutely clear” that the Vikings have an exclusive right to bring in an MLS team to U.S. Bank Stadium in any scenario.
Kelm-Helgen said, “The Vikings have clearly not established an MLS team at the Stadium, but they still have the legal right to attempt to do so.... We’re just doing our job of bringing high-quality events to the stadium.”
Staff Writer David La Vaque contributed to this report.
Twitter: @rochelleolsonArmy Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley early Wednesday morning became the fourth member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to condemn the racially motivated violence over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va.
Milley wrote on Twitter that the Army will not tolerate “racism, extremism or hatred” among its soldiers and that it is “against our values and everything we stood for since 1775.”
Violence erupted Saturday in the University of Virginia college town after a large gathering of white supremacists and far-right demonstrators converged at a “Unite the Right” rally to protest the taking down of a Confederate statue.
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James Alex Fields Jr. — the Ohio man accused of killing a woman in Charlottesville after he allegedly drove his vehicle into a crowd of counterprotesters — joined the Army in August 2015 but left four months later after failing to pass basic training.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson addressed the violence the day of the protests. He tweeted Saturday evening that the events in Charlottesville were “unacceptable & musnt be tolerated” and that the Navy “forever stands against intolerance and hatred.”
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller wrote on Twitter Tuesday evening that there is “no place for racial hatred or extremism” in the Marines.
Neller wrote the message after reports emerged that a Marine veteran and former recruiter was identified as the leader of a white supremacist group Vanguard America, which took part in the “Unite the Right” rally.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein issued his own statement on Wednesday, saying, "I stand with my fellow service chiefs in saying we're always stronger together."
When asked about Charlottesville and far-right extremist groups wearing clothing affiliated with the military services, Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisTrump backs off total Syria withdrawal Grass-roots campaign backs Mattis for public office Overnight Defense: Dems tee up Tuesday vote against Trump's emergency declaration | GOP expects few defections | Trump doubles number of troops staying in Syria to 400 MORE told reporters Monday that “in America, we can dress as we wish, I would just tell you I was saddened by it. Very saddened by what I saw.”
The four service leaders speak out even as President Trump seemed to walk back statements made Monday in which he declared that “racism is evil” and called out the white supremacists behind the Charlottesville violence as “criminals and thugs.”
But a day later during an impromptu Tuesday press conference, Trump asserted that there is “blame on both sides” and that he needed to “know the facts” before blaming neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.
He also said some of the people on the far-right side were “good people.”Two years ago, I met Square CEO Jack Dorsey at Third Rail, one of his favorite coffee shops in downtown New York. He held up a small plastic square and told me that the future of payments was in this tiny device.
The entire industry was about to change, he said.
Dorsey was in the middle of a major change himself. Recently ousted from Twitter, the company he cofounded, he rebounded by shifting his famously intense focus to a new pain point: the way we pay.
Square's pitch -- a simple fee structure and technology that just works -- was a quick hit with small merchants like Third Rail. Square now has 2 million users and an annual transaction volume approaching $6 billion.
That was just phase one, it turns out. Dorsey wasn't kidding about reinventing the entire concept of payments. Last week, he struck a partnership that will begin to bring his vision to the mass market.
This fall, Starbucks (SBUX) will begin accepting payments through Square's mobile app. Customers will be able to pay for their lattes by holding up their phone and allowing Starbucks to automatically charge the customer's card on the back end.
That's the first step. In the not too distant future, Dorsey and Starbucks plan to let customers ditch their phones completely. All they'll need is the Pay With Square app, which stores credit card numbers and other financial data, and a name.
The system uses the phone's GPS to detect that you've walked into a Square-enabled retailer. The store's checkout software then automatically connects with your Square app.
"You can actually walk into a merchant, keep your phone in pocket, keep your wallet in your pocket, and a picture of you pops up on the register," Dorsey told me. "You can just say 'I'm Laurie, and I'd like a cappuccino,' and your card is charged in the background."
Related story: The death of cash
Square has been experimenting with that kind of almost invisible payment system at small shops like New York's Café Grumpy, but Starbucks can dramatically accelerate it. The company averages more than 8 million customers a day.
Those shoppers are already embracing mobile payments. Starbucks introduced its own pay-by-phone app last year and is now doing 1 million transactions a week through it, according to CEO Howard Schultz.
"I can't think of anything we've introduced in the last 40 years that had this kind of adoption," Schultz said.
It was Schultz who reached out to Dorsey. He had been contacted by a variety of companies focused on mobile payments over the last six months, but turned his attention to Square after Adam Brotman, Starbucks chief digital officer, took the technology for a test drive.
"Once Jack and I sat down, it was very obvious," Schultz said.
Square's fee structure -- a flat 2.75% fee per credit card swipe -- is a better fit for small businesses than large ones, which have the heft to negotiate better terms with their payment processors. Starbucks appears to have scored a break from Square to lure it aboard: Schultz said the company will save money through the arrangement.
A Starbucks representative wouldn't elaborate on the financial terms, saying only that "it will be a reduced cost over what our current provider is charging us."
Will this open the door to bringing other big brands aboard?
"We're open to large retail, medium retailers -- we want this to be a general transaction experience that benefits everyone," Dorsey said. "Starbucks started as one coffee shop in Seattle, and the way its grown has been fantastic. We want that same sort of trajectory for all of our merchants."
There's a land grab happening right now in the mobile payments space. eBay's (EBAY) Paypal is fighting to extend its Web payments empire, while new entrants like Google (GOOG), which recently updated its Google Wallet app, are trying to carve out territory. Visa, (V) Mastercard (MA)and the traditional giants -- which make money off every swipe -- are experimenting widely.
Dorsey hopes to eclipse them all by pursuing the most radical vision. That little plastic device that put Square on the map? He can't wait till it disappears.
That's Dorsey's ideal payment process: Just your name, your coffee order, and a system that invisibly takes care of the details.
"We are building technologies that fade away, that go into the background so people can focus on what is most meaningful to them," he said.Beirut – Lebanon bagged a new entry in the Guinness book of world records by organizing the longest Ramadan iftar table in the world at 2,184 meters, beating the former record held by Ghana at 1,928 meters.
Under the theme, “Ramadan in the heart”, the “Ajialouna” charity organization prepared the event under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in a message of peace and love from Lebanon to the world to show the spiritual meaning of the holy fasting month.
The record-breaking iftar table brought together 5,400 people from all over Lebanon, who gathered at the wooden heart-shaped table at Beirut’s Waterfront.
Ajialouna’s Chairwoman Lina Zaim al-Dada (dentist) said that the event was not prepared with the aim of breaking the record, but it only sought to project the real image of Islam.
She told Asharq Al-Awsat that Ajialouna cooperated with many charities in order to bring together as many people to break their fast.
Some 640 people worked hard around the clock on June 9, the day of the event to ensure its success, she added.
All participants took their seats within 20 minutes, impressing Guinness’s representative, who said he did not see such organization in Alexandria and Ghana, which both staged the same event last year, al-Dada revealed.
The food was donated by various restaurants and food organizations.
Asked if Ajialouna plans to hold similar events in the future, al-Dada replied: “During the holy month, we provide iftar meals for 500 people every day, which is a tradition we have adopted for many years. We are definitely planning other projects that fulfill the same charity goal.”
The event was attended by people from orphanages, charity foundations and poor families, who were driven for free in buses to the location. Some 1,000 people arrived from Tripoli and the North, 1,000 from Aley and the surrounding region, 1,000 from Sidon and 2,000 from Beirut.
Served by 600 volunteers, they were treated to a meal of 10,000 roasted chickens, 5,600 meat pastries, 15,000 dates, as well as salads, rice dishes and the traditional “maamoul” dessert.Jupiter's moon Europa is believed to possess a large salty ocean beneath its icy exterior, and that ocean, scientists say, has the potential to harbor life. Indeed, a mission recently suggested by NASA would visit the icy moon's surface to search for compounds that might be indicative of life. But where is the best place to look? New research by Caltech graduate student Patrick Fischer; Mike Brown, the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor and Professor of Planetary Astronomy; and Kevin Hand, an astrobiologist and planetary scientist at JPL, suggests that it might be within the scarred, jumbled areas that make up Europa's so-called "chaos terrain."
A paper about the work has been accepted to The Astronomical Journal.
"We have known for a long time that Europa's fresh icy surface, which is covered with cracks and ridges and transform faults, is the external signature of a vast internal salty ocean," Brown says. The areas of chaos terrain show signatures of vast ice plates that have broken apart, shifted position, and been refrozen. These regions are of particular interest, because water from the oceans below may have risen to the surface through the cracks and left deposits there.
"Directly sampling Europa's ocean represents a major technological challenge and is likely far in the future," Fischer says. "But if we can sample deposits left behind in the chaos areas, it could reveal much about the composition and dynamics of the ocean below." That ocean is thought to be as deep as 100 kilometers.
"This could tell us much about activity at the boundary of the rocky core and the ocean," Brown adds.
In a search for such deposits, the researchers took a new look at data from observations made in 2011 at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii using the OSIRIS spectrograph. Spectrographs break down light into its component parts and then measure their frequencies. Each chemical element has unique light-absorbing characteristics, called spectral or absorption bands. The spectral patterns resulting from light absorption at particular wavelengths can be used to identify the chemical composition of Europa's surface minerals by observing reflected sunlight.
The OSIRIS instrument measures spectra in infrared wavelengths. "The minerals we expected to find on Europa have very distinct spectral fingerprints in infrared light," Fischer says. "Combine this with the extraordinary abilities of the adaptive optics in the Keck telescope, and you have a very powerful tool." Adaptive optics mechanisms reduce blurring caused by turbulence in the earth's atmosphere by measuring the image distortion of a bright star or laser and mechanically correcting it.
The OSIRIS observations produced spectra from 1600 individual spots on Europa's surface. To make sense of this collection of data, Fischer developed a new technique to sort and identify major groupings of spectral signatures.
"Patrick developed a very clever new mathematical tool that allows you to take a collection of spectra and automatically, and with no preconceived human biases, classify them into a number of distinct spectra," Brown says. The software was then able to correlate these groups of readings with a surface map of Europa from NASA's Galileo mission, which mapped the Jovian moon beginning in the late 1990s. The resulting composite provided a visual guide to the composition of the regions the team was interested in.
Three compositionally distinct categories of spectra emerged from the analysis. The first was water ice, which dominates Europa's surface. The second category includes chemicals formed when ionized sulfur and oxygen—thought to originate from volcanic activity on the neighboring moon Io—bombard the surface of Europa and react with the native ices. These findings were consistent with results of previous work done by Brown, Hand and others in identifying Europa's surface chemistry.
But the third grouping of chemical indicators was more puzzling. It did not match either set of ice or sulfur groupings, nor was it an easily identified set of salt minerals such as they might have expected from previous knowledge of Europa. Magnesium is thought to reside on the surface but has a weak spectral signature, and this third set of readings did not match that either. "In fact, it was not consistent with any of the salt materials previously associated with Europa," Brown says.
When this third group was mapped to the surface, it overlaid the chaos terrain. "I was looking at the maps of the third grouping of spectra, and I noticed that it generally matched the chaos regions mapped with images from Galileo. It was a stunning moment," Fischer says. "The most important result of this research was understanding that these materials are native to Europa, because they are clearly related to areas with recent geological activity."
The composition of the deposits is still unclear. "Unique identification has been difficult," Brown says. "We think we might be looking at salts left over after a large amount of ocean water flowed out onto the surface and then evaporated away. He compares these regions to their earthly cousins. "They may be like the large salt flats in the desert regions of the world, in which the chemical composition of the salt reflects whatever materials were dissolved in the water before it evaporated."
Similar deposits on Europa could provide a view into the oceans below, according to Brown. "If you had to suggest an area on Europa where ocean water had recently melted through and dumped its chemicals on the surface, this would be it. If we can someday sample and catalog the chemistry found there, we may learn something of what's happening on the ocean floor of Europa and maybe even find organic compounds, and that would be very exciting."File this under: Kind of a big deal. The Magicians just got renewed for a Season 3 and we’re EXCITED! The adventures of our majestic crew will continue in 2018 and we’d love to give you dish on what you can expect to see but, we still gotta finish watching Season 2...
Speaking of which, be sure to check out the the penultimate (that's fancy speak for the episode before the final episode) Season 2 episode **tonight** at 9/8c and then tune in next Wednesday at 9/8c for what promises to be an EPIC season finale. Trust us, you seriously don’t want to miss it.
And then? Look out for all-new episodes in 2018. We’ll keep you updated on the latest news about all things The Magicains, on our official site. #teammagic
Let Jason Ralph and Stella Maeve, and the showrunners ease you into the new season with their tasteful Wondercon interview below:Shia LaBeouf is in trouble again.
The actor was arrested for public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and obstruction early Saturday in Georgia, according to TMZ and is reportedly still in custody.
The troubled star was recently filming his new film "The Peanut Butter Falcon" in Savannah and a few weeks ago was reportedly spotting urinating in the ocean on Tybee Island in Georgia.
Sadly this is not the first time the "Transformers" star has run afoul of the law.
A few months ago he was arrested in New York after shoving a man at an anti-President Trump "He Will Not Divide Us" display at the Museum of the Moving Image.
In 2015 he was arrested in Austin, Texas for public intoxication and in March of that year he had a drunken outburst at a New York performance of "Cabaret" where he shouted and slapped star Alan Cumming's behind.
The former Disney star tussled with security and police and was accused of spitting at police as they took him into custody.Everything you need to know to assess, understand, and improve a hangover is here: dozens of comforting recipes, very clever graphic tests for analyzing your state of mind, and quizzes for tracking your progress.
A good hangover brings its victim to a new state of mind—and one that, when looked at objectively, can be quite fascinating to its host: It can create an increased awareness of the body, a willingness to eat something usually off limits, and a fascination with the mind’s strange acrobatics. With P. G. Wodehouse’s six hangovers—The Broken Compass, The Sewing Machine, The Comet, The Atomic, The Cement Mixer, and The Gremlin Boogie—as a starting point, recipes are tailored to each specific malady, allowing the reader to find a recipe (or just a menu item) that precisely suits his state of mind... and body. Interspersed with the recipes are mind games, witticisms and graphic jokes, insights into hangover science, quizzes to see if you are still drunk or now just merely hungover, and more.“What do you do?” or “What does your startup do?” are tired questions in San Francisco, a city where you are measured by your works. The superficial startup ideas, the digital smugness, and the unnatural culture of tech celebrity are sometimes enough to make you want to throw your smartphone into the ocean and dive in after it. Go away from San Francisco for a while though, and you’ll start to remember the thing that drew you in the first place. You remember that, beneath the fads and clumsy attempts of first-time entrepreneurs, lives a city of dreamers and doers defying cynics and conventional wisdom.
Our dream is to create a modern school for engineers to attend throughout their career. Even more audaciously, we want to offer this school for free. Various experiences have led us down this path: our experience as founders exposed us to the pains of hiring, and our experience as engineers gave us the aspiration to be lifelong learners. We believe we can connect the dots and create a better solution for both.
A founder’s perspective
A founder really only has two critical roles: company direction and hiring. A common mantra in the startup world is, “execution is everything”, and, ultimately, it is the team that must execute the vision. Founders often share the trait of being control freaks, so letting go of that control is one of first challenges that they will face. That doesn’t mean letting the company run amuck because setting company direction and expectations is the second role of a founder. I don’t have any sympathy for founders that gripe about their team. All I see is a founder that has failed in their only job.
Unfortunately, hiring is brutally hard. Referral is still the best way to hire, and when that well runs dry, the options are not good. Sometimes, I felt the only thing we could do was watch the months slip by as we tried job boards, contingency recruiters, in-house recruiters, engineering speed dating, engineering auctioning, and any number of ridiculous things.
I find it incredible that large companies use talent acquisition as a major strategy in hiring. I understand how it happens though, when you have executives staring at quarterly hiring targets. Acquisition is probably the only way to expedite the hiring process, so you’re left to solve the challenge of hammering together engineers from different company cultures into a cohesive team. To me, though, that’s like panning for gold when you can build a gold factory instead.
In fact, there is a vast supply of engineers. Engineers who are talented, humble, and eager to learn and contribute. Why, then, do companies drool over Ivy league new graduates whose only experience is school projects when there is this other pool of talent available? At the end of the day, it’s about risk. A big part of hiring is mitigating risk and most experienced engineers don’t have “clean” resumes. Does too many years at the same company mean a lack of initiative? Does too few years mean they are flighty? Also, their technical experience almost certainly doesn’t completely intersect with the tech stack your company is using, so how quickly can they ramp up?
At the end of the day, I can understand the justification for passing on many of these people. Companies avoid risk in hiring so much that one veto amongst six interviews is enough to disqualify a candidate. This is troubling, however, as we have all been in that candidate’s shoes. At some point in our career, a hiring manager or investor took a risk on us, perhaps despite our previous experience, and maybe that was just the opportunity that we needed. In the happiest stories, we went on to be very successful for the company, justifying the risk. Unfortunately, the stories often don’t have happy endings, which causes companies to write off a large number of candidates.
We believe we can change that and broaden the candidate pool beyond those that fit a narrow description. Our school is the perfect environment for individuals to demonstrate initiative and the ability to master new skills quickly. Imagine companies bringing interesting projects to the class or challenges like Google’s Summer of Code. Opportunities to collaborate are opportunities to build trust, and trust is the thing that makes referral based hiring so much better than traditional recruiting. I would have gladly exchanged my many hours spent interviewing with time spent mentoring, probably with more productive results. Properly executed, the school could recycle an endless supply of qualified engineers back to grateful companies.
An engineer’s perspective
The only constant is change, and there’s no truer statement in engineering. An engineer’s career is composed of “learning” years and “plateau” years. It’s deadly to stay too long in the “plateau” years. As a result, professional engineers are accustomed to, and take pride in, frequent self-teaching. It’s a good thing that engineers enjoy self-teaching because it’s the only option available currently. It’s certainly not very practical or efficient to go back to college or even get a graduate degree, and community college and other continuing education programs are no match for modern technology. Instead, you’re left sifting through a thousand different eager voices on the internet, most of whom got something working, but also don’t really know what they’re talking about. You sit there, like some kind of technology archeologist, painstakingly piecing together which APIs were thoughtfully designed and which were some historical remnant. Imagine learning how to be a blacksmith by walking into an empty smithy with nothing but a handful of StackOverflow posts. Maybe possible, but very slow.
On the flip side, think back to some of your more fruitful “learning” years. They are probably characterized by two things: a substantial challenge and a significant mentor. In engineering, there are trivial challenges and there are interesting challenges, but both are time consuming for a newcomer. For example, debugging a well-known library issue can take as much time as designing a clever caching strategy. Mentors streamline the trivial challenges by filling in the communal tribal knowledge. Of course, reference texts are also great resources, but by being comprehensive, important nuggets are lost in a sea of trivia. Lack of mentorship breeds great inefficiencies, and this is made obvious when one observes technologists today praising “recent” advances that are simply rediscovered concepts pioneered decades ago.
We believe that our school brings the same advantages as structured mentorship, and allows engineers to challenge themselves throughout their career. Interestingly, it also brings about another important advantage. Collaboration with like-minded peers is so rewarding that it can keep a team together long after the product or engineering challenge loses its luster. However, if you’ve ever tried to chase that feeling by meeting random engineers at a beer-fueled engineering meetup, you’ve probably been disappointed. A learning environment is infinitely more effective at building meaningful collaborative relationships. The relationships may be its own end, may lead to professional collaboration, or may lead to your next cofounder.
CodePath
When we founded CodePath, we wanted to build it on several principles. First and foremost is |
gy right? and then you sacrifice yourself to stop the legions of hell, who are themselves just victims of a greater evil in the form of a giant tentacle abomination ala lovecraft, you know, sorta like bloodborne, that sells! you know? and first person shooters clearly need these sorts of things in order to survive and-" DOOM SLAYER: "NO..." ID exec: "w-what?" DOOM SLAYER: "FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS NEED ONLY ONE THING IN ORDER TO SURVIVE." ID exec: "and...w-what would that be mr doom guy?" DOOM SLAYER: "LET ME SHOW YOU-" *revs up chainsaw and cuts id exec in half* Id exec: *coughing up blood and staring down at his lower half* "W-why?!" DOOM SLAYER: "BAIT." *LATER IN HELL* Id exec: *While outrunning satan himself and an army of cyberdemons who get their jollies by slaughtering stupid gaming executives trying to keep up with the market without thinking* "WHY?!?! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!?!" DOOM SLAYER: *shows up, cocks a super-shotgun* "NOW FOR THAT DEMONSTRATION, THIS IS THE CORE OF A FPS, THE ORIGIN OF EVERY SHOOTER!! SHOOTERS DON'T NEED PLOT, DARK ANTIHEROES OR DEEP INVOLVING STORIES FOR PUSSIES WHO CAN'T GROW OUT OF THEIR EDGELORD PHASES, IT ONLY NEEDS HOT LEAD-" *blasts apart a cyberdemon, shoots at another one until it dies, tears off another one's skull and rams it down its throat, proceeds to hold satan down, rams the super shotgun up his ass, fires, then proceeds to do the same thing with a BFG while shouting- "GORE!! AND DEATH!!!" *DOOM THEME PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND WHILE ID EXEC LOOKS ON, ENTRANCED BY THE SAVAGE DISPLAY OF DESTRUCTION AND VIOLATION THAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS "RIP AND TEAR" DOOM SLAYER: *with shotgun over his shoulder* "ANY QUESTIONS?!!" id exec: "am...I alive?" DOOM SLAYER: "NO, BUT IF I SAY YOU ARE HELL ISN'T GONNA ARGUE, ISN'T THAT RIGHT MANCUBI?!?!" *army of approaching mancubi slowly back away, whimpering* "THAT'S RIGHT, THIS IS MY CANVAS, AND YOU'RE ALL MY PAINT!! NOW GO BACK TO YOUR JARS UNTIL I NEED YOU AGAIN!! AND YOU-" *points at id exec* "NEVER FORGET THIS SACRED LESSON I TAUGHT YOU TODAY, AND GO BACK TO THE LIVING WORLD, THEN MAKE A DOOM GAME THAT'S ACTUALLY A FUCKING DOOM GAME, I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT, BUT MAKE IT PURE!!!" Id exec: "Pure...." DOOM SLAYER: "PURE!!!!" id exec: *now with more excitement in his voice* "PURE!!!" *later that day, back in the land of the living* "so, guys, we're gonna make doom 4, but it'll be a reboot." *angry groans* "But it'll be all blood, guts, and action, nothing else. if we enforce any plot, we'll have doomgu- no, DOOM SLAYER bitchslap it!! we're gonna make this the most cathartic first person shooter on the market!!! back to the basics!! I WANT MORE VIOLENT KILLS AND DEATH AND I WANT A FUCKING HEALTH SYSTEM IN PLACE REWARDING IT!!! IF YOU CAN THINK OF WAYS TO VIOLATE A DEMON'S RIGHT TO LIVE I WANT IT INCORPORATED!!! WE'RE MAKING IT OLDSCHOOL AND BRINGING IT NEWSCHOOL GRAPHICS!!! WE'RE GONNA PAINT THE FIRST PERSON GENRE RED!!!" *everyone else...after a moment of tense silence...proceeds to start cheering and waving their chainsaws around* -How the production of this game went. also, 10/10 best fucking fps i'll ever play. shame about the multiplayer though. Check this box if you received this product for free (?) Do you recommend this game? Yes No Cancel Save ChangesJanuary 18, 2015
Netanyahoo Responds To Nasrallah Speech With Big Escalation
Update (Jan 19 2:00pm)
It turned out today that the highest rank killed and main target of the attack was not the Hizbullah special force commander in Syria and the other Hizbullah fighters but Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander in Syria General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi. The general was new to the job and will certainly soon be replaced.
While some Jabhat al-Nusra media claim that Jabhat was responsible for the attack the UN observer mission on the Golan height says it observed drones from Israel above the area of the attack. It added:
"This incident is a violation of the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Israeli and Syrian forces."
Original post follows
Three days ago the leader of the Lebanese Hizbullah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Israel against "stupid moves":
A key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Nasrallah said that Israeli strikes on Syria "target the whole of the resistance axis,” which includes Hezbollah, Damascus and Tehran. Nasrallah said Hezbollah fighters in Syria are battling extremist groups in an attempt to thwart threats for Syria, Lebanon and the entire region. Describing the fight in Syria as “existential,” he said the plot against the neighboring country targets the resistance and their intervention into Syria was in order to preserve the country as well as Lebanon. "The repeated bombings that struck several targets in Syria are a major violation, and we consider that any strike against Syria is a strike against the whole of the resistance axis, not just against Syria," he told the Beirut-based Arab news television. "The axis is capable of responding. This can happen any time," he warned.
Israel disregarded the warning. It today attacked a Hizbullah convoy on the Syrian side of the Golan heights and killed the Hizbullah commander in Syria as well as six other Hizbullah fighters. One of those killed today was Jihad Imad Mughniyeh the son of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh killed by Israeli agents a few years ago. The attack was carried out by missiles released from a helicopter within Israeli borders.
Two points about the attack:
Israel is supporting Al-Qaeda in Syria, aka Jabhat al-Nusra, in the Syrian part of the Golan height. The attack on Hizbullah today must (also) be understood as direct Israeli support for Al-Qaeda.
How did Israel know where to hit? Either Hizbullah's communication security was lousy, or there is a(nother) spy in Hizbullah's ranks or this was pure luck. I do not believe that such a "success" is just pure luck. The missile attack points to exact knowledge of the position of the target which lets me believe that some opf those killed might have carried a known cell phone or some other electronic beacon.
Hizbullah reacted so far by immediately putting its forces at the Lebanese Israeli border on alarm while Israeli intensified its (illegal) overflights of Lebanese territory.
I do not doubt that Hizbullah will retaliate harshly for this attack. But it will do so on a timetable that fits its needs and capabilities. I therefore find an immediate response, though justified, not very likely. But I do expect an answer within the next two month before the general election in Israel.
Nasrallah's speech three days ago was relatively aggressive. Netanyahoo now challenged that by escalating the situation. He calculates that Hizbullah can not response effectively or not within a time frame that would endanger his election chances. That may well turn out to have been a huge mistake.
Posted by b on January 18, 2015 at 02:18 PM | Permalink
CommentsNecromancer's Bells
Seven bells, rumored to have been forged in the river of Death itself during the Age of Arcanum, these magical items grant the wielder power to control the Dead and the Living. The necromancer Opash was easily recognizable by the bandolier worn across his chest, with leather pouches that range from the size of a pill box to the size of a jar.
The Bells of Opash
Wondrous Item, Very Rare - Long lost is the name of the necromancer who forged these bells in the river of Death. Made of polished silver and rich ebony, the bells choose their wielder with purpose. The wielder must come to understand each one, awakening and eventually exalting this Vestige to use its full power. In its dormant state, only the Sleeper and the Binder may be used. Once awakened, the Walker, the Speaker, and the Thinker will allow themselves to be wielded. As an Exalted Vestige, all seven bells may be used.
The Sleeper - When you use your Action to ring this bell, you cast Sleep at 1st level. When cast through this bell, the radius of the spell always originates from the bell itself, and the wielder cannot be affected. The bell has 4 charges, and regains 1d4 charges each day at dawn.
The Waker - When you use your Action to ring this bell, you may choose to cast the spell Animate Dead at 6th level, without the need for components (meaning you may create seven undead servants at once, and must follow the rules for reasserting control of the undead creatures), or Hallow at 5th level, with the extra effect of Everlasting Rest. Wielders must succeed a WIS skill check (DC of 20 minus current player level) in order for the intended spell to be cast. Upon a failed roll, the bell will cast the opposite, unintended spell. The bell has one charge, which resets each day at dawn. When the player reaches level 11, the DC becomes static (DC:9)
The Walker - When you use your Action to ring this bell, you may choose to cast the spell Freedom of Movement at 4th level or Hold Person at 4th level (one of the three targets is always the wielder, and it lasts for one minute). Wielders must succeed a WIS skill check (DC of 16 minus current player level), in order for the intended spell to be cast. Upon a failed roll, the bell will cast the opposite, unintended spell. The bell has three charges, and regains 1d3 charges each day at dawn. When the player reaches level 7, the DC becomes static (DC:9)
The Speaker - When you use your Action to ring this bell, you may choose to cast the spell Speak with Dead at 3rd level or Silence at 2nd level (the radius of the spell always originates from the bell, and it last for ten minutes). Wielders must succeed a WIS skill check (DC of 14 minus current player level) in order for the intended spell to be cast. Upon a failed roll, the bell will cast the opposite, unintended spell. The bell has three charges, and regains 1d3 charges each day at dawn. When the player reaches level 5, the DC becomes static (DC:9)
The Thinker - When you use your Action to ring this bell, you cast Modify Memory at 5th level. Wielders must succeed a WIS skill check (DC of 18 minus current player level) in order for the spell to be cast properly. Upon a failed roll, the bell induces intense migraines, causing the wielder to take 2d6 psychic damage and be stunned for 1d4 rounds. The bell has one charge, which resets each day at dawn. When the player reaches level 9, the DC becomes static (DC:9)
The Binder - When you use your Action to ring this bell, you cast Suggestion at 2nd level. The bell has four charges, and regains 1d4 charges each day at dawn.
The Weeper - When you use your Action to ring this bell, you cast Circle of Death at 6th level. Wielders must succeed a WIS skill check (DC of 20 minus current player level) in order for the spell to be cast properly. When cast through this bell, the radius of the spell always originates from the bell, and the wielder is affected. Upon a failed roll, the bell deals 5d10 necrotic damage to the wielder. The bell has one charge, which resets each day at dawn. When the player reaches level 11, the DC becomes static (DC:9)
Opash's Bandolier
Wondrous Item, Very Rare, Reqires Attunement by Bard, Cleric, Paladin, Sorceror, Warlock, or Wizard
This leather bandolier is worn across the chest. It has seven pouches, sized to fit each of the seven Necromancer's Bells. When a bell is properly secured in the pouch intended for it, it cannot be rung accidentally, and it can be drawn and readied to ring, or secured again, as a bonus action. You must still use an Action to ring a bell.
A bell unsecured is quite dangerous. You must be attuned to the bandolier in order to wield any of the bells associated with it.Twitter and speculation. They go together like green eggs and ham, like Gilligan and the Skipper, like peanut butter and chocolate.
Still, it's a little jarring when the source of the speculation is an official source. To wit:
Mgr Kirk Gibson considering moving Collmenter to bullpen and calling up a new starter on Monday — Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 27, 2012
Okay, strictly speaking that's not speculation. It's reporting of wondering: the Diamondback's p.r. department is reporting that Kirk Gibson is wondering if he should replace Josh Collmenter in the rotation.
Which he should wonder, considering Collmenter's 9.82 ERA after four starts.
But why Collmenter, rather than Daniel Hudson? Collmenter's got the higher ERA -- Hudson's is 6.00 -- but he's also got a much higher strikeout-to-walk ratio, while both have given up too many home runs.
Answer: A guy like Collmenter's always going to be a prime candidate for the chopping block. He was a 15th-round draft pick, has an extremely unorthodox pitching style, and wasn't considered a hot prospect at any point his minor-league career; just a year ago, Baseball America didn't rank Collmenter among the organization's 30 best prospects.
All he did was come up in April and ultimately post a 3.38 ERA in 154 innings, with the second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the rotation.
In fairness to Hudson, he pitched even better than Collmenter last season. And both pitched a lot better than Joe Saunders... who's got a 1.29 ERA in his three starts this spring. All of which points to the danger of making decisions based on small sample sizes. Unless Collmenter's hurt or his confidence is shot, he should probably be given more time, though it's hard for a manager to watch a pitcher get hammered every time out.
Assuming Collmenter does lose his job, Gibson's got some options. Barry Enright's in triple-A, and has a lovely ERA down there. But he's also got a 4.87 career ERA in the majors, and has never demonstrated any real ability to control the strike zone.
No, the real prospects are pitching for double-A Mobile Bay. You probably know about phenoms Tyler Skaggs and Trevor Bauer, and both have been impressive this spring. But Patrick Corbin and Charles Brewer have pitched well down there, too. It probably doesn't matter much who starts for the Diamondbacks on Monday. The real takeaway here is that the Diamondbacks are loaded with talented young pitchers.Well, congrats go out to Rob Manfred on assuming the post of Commissioner of Major League Baseball. And congratulations go out to Rob Manfred on igniting his first Twitter controversy about three hours into his lifetime term. In an interview that he gave to ESPN’s Karl Ravech, Manfred spoke of his desire to introduce “the clock” into the game, but then continued on to this tasty nugget:
“I think the second set of changes that I would look at is related, and that relates to injecting additional offense into the game. For example, things like eliminating defensive shifts, I would be open to those sorts of ideas.” Ravech picked up on the opening and asked “The forward-thinking, Sabermetric defensive shifts?” Manfred nodded in agreement.
Exactly 4.63 seconds later, #BaseballTwitter officially susploded. Again. And Ned Yost wasn’t even involved.
It’s easy to cast Manfred as an instant villain or as an old fuddy-duddy who is against creativity and innovation. Maybe a little too easy. That’s what Twitter is for, I guess. And yeah, the soundbite made it sound like he blames the nerds for ruining the game. Well, now that everyone’s had a chance to sleep on it, let’s look at this one all the way through.
Plenty of people (correctly) pointed out that while offense is down and infield shifting does have a negative effect on offense, the effect is (all told) relatively minor. If you want to call something out for the decline in offense, the ever-dropping strike zone, and the resulting strikeout epidemic are much more to blame. Teams probably get as much value out of a well-constructed platoon as they do out of shifting, and no one is out to ban platoons. In Manfred’s defense, it probably wouldn’t be wise to pick a fight with the umpire’s union (“Why can’t those guys just call a decent strike zone?”) on his first day, so he blamed the shift.
It’s true that shifting does reduce scoring (a little bit) and it’s easy to see that teams are shifting. The announcers always point it out. It’s like when politicians use “We need to fix our roads and bridges” as shorthand for “We need spend money on infrastructure.” Roads and bridges are certainly a part of infrastructure, although “infrastructure” also includes public transit, electrical power lines, sewers, natural gas and water pipes, landfills, and a bunch of other stuff that most people don’t interact with. Politicians rarely talk about how “We need to fix our landfills.” When you want to talk about infrastructure, you hit something that people see and understand and drive on. When you want to talk about lagging offense, you talk about something that’s easy for people to see, even if it isn’t the biggest issue. If Manfred is guilty of something, it’s being a bit of a politician. Shocking, I know.
I get that Manfred is worried about the drop in offense and that he would throw shifting overboard to bring a few more runs back into the game. He’s not in baseball ops, where the goal is to figure out every little advantage possible to try to win games. His electorate were the 30 MLB owners who are most concerned with making money. Like any business, that comes from putting butts in seats, eyeballs on televisions, and ears on the radio. Attendance, league-wide anyway, is going to be a function of how much disposable income people have for frivolities like taking someone out to a ballgame, and that’s a macroeconomic question that MLB has little control over. But they do have control over how well the game appeals to the marginal fan. This is the person who might spend money going to a baseball game or instead going to see that new movie which is really just a hackish sequel to some blockbuster from last year. Businesses expand their revenue by marketing to those marginal customers. Hint: That person is not reading Baseball Prospectus right now.
The die-hard fans (i.e., you who reads about baseball during Super Bowl week) would watch the game and buy tickets even if the shift were banned. I don’t have these data, but I’m guessing that MLB occasionally does some market research and they’ve found that the marginal fan would rather watch a 10-9 game than a 2-1 game. Maybe that’s pandering to the lowest common denominator—or as seems to be the common coinage, “ruining the sanctity of the game”—but that’s how businesses work, and that’s Rob Manfred’s (new) job. If offense sells, then let there be runs!
But okay, he took a little swipe at those of us who are reading Baseball Prospectus. Defensive shifting had its moment in the sun as the stunning triumph of big data in baseball. All of the hipster favorite baseball teams (many of them with BP alums in their front offices) used shifting the same way those same teams seem to have all traded for catchers who can frame like crazy this offseason. Infield shifting was (and still is) an exercise in the sort of outside-the-box thinking that every motivational speaker ever wants me to do. For too long, teams were bound by some sort of unwritten rule that you needed to have two over here and two over there. If we’re fairly sure of where Smith is going to hit a groundball, why not put an extra defender in that spot? Where in the rulebook does it say that teams must allocate infield real estate equally? (If Manfred gets his way, likely on page 83!)
I’m left to wonder if Manfred’s comments were less rage at Sabermetrics and more a frustrated comment on what big data hath wrought on the game. Of the marquee advancements that Sabermetrics has made over the past decade or so, they nearly all skew toward a better understanding of how to prevent runs. Beginning with the development of the first really well-constructed fielding metrics, teams started to see that defense had real value and began selecting players with that in mind. PITCHf/x probably has as much to offer pitchers as it does batters, but the information that it gives on pitchers is much more fine-grained. Catcher framing is about stealing extra strikes. The emphasis on hitter patience and making the pitcher throw extra pitches has had the counter-consequence of encouraging pitchers to simply throw strike one. Even the greatly trumpeted OBP revolution put the emphasis on players who walked and singled more, rather than the much more popular home run. You can’t pin all the blame on Sabermetrics, but it’s not like it helped.
The infield shift as been held up as a way that “small market” teams (i.e, those not located in the New York metropolitan area) have been able to use their brains to outmaneuver the “big market” teams. Even if it’s only worth about half a win to an average team, shifting persists mostly because it’s “free money.” It’s easy to implement and requires no extra salary commitments, so why not do it? Every little bit helps.
But let me, for a moment, play the contrarian. Or, I’ll let Yahoo’s Jeff Passan do it for me:
This is very telling: I ran Rob Manfred's idea to limit defensive shifts by two sabermetrically inclined GMs — and both said they agree. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 25, 2015
Wait, what?
Of course, we don’t know who those GMs are, but your mind just generated a short-list. Passan elaborated:
Both essentially said same thing: The game is better when the casual fans gets the product they want. Big concern baseball isn't delivering. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 25, 2015
Passan’s right. That’s very telling. But what is it telling us? Why would a GM willingly give up something that helps him to prevent more runs? Perhaps the GMs, under the cover of anonymity, are simply confessing their sins, but is there another motive? What if I told you that banning the infield shift might be the best possible outcome for a small market, Sabermetrically-focused team?
To understand why, let’s hop in the time machine and go back to January 2nd, 1971. If that doesn’t ring a bell, it’s not surprising. It’s the day on which a ban on radio and television advertisements for cigarettes took place. Many of the people reading this (myself included) have never seen such an ad. The action was the result of a Federal law and driven in part by public health activists, but the surprise is that the tobacco companies breathed a smoke-filled sigh of relief when it went into effect. Advertising is expensive, and when all of your competitors are doing it, it probably means that everyone ends up in a stalemate. So, you are spending money for no appreciable gain, but you can’t stop, because then your competitor would be advertising and you would not be. Now, no one was allowed to advertise! Those of you familiar with Game Theory will recognize this as a modification of the classic Prisoner’s Dilemma.
The thing about the infield shift is that while it is innovative, easy to implement, and saves a few runs over the course of a season, it’s rather easy to spot what the early adopters are doing and copy it. That’s the innovator’s curse. You take the risk and put all the hard work in to come up with something new and people just copy it if it works. When shifts were done by a couple of teams, they were a cute novelty. Now everyone does it and would be fools not to do it. There’s no more relative advantage to shifting any more when everyone else is doing and it makes no sense for an individual team to go back to the old 2-and-2-no-matter-what system. The shift is now just part of the landscape.
Here’s a question that we’ve never discussed. When the shift was a novelty and a way for small-market Saber-savvy teams to grab a couple of free extra runs, we didn’t worry about the side effects. But now that it’s been brought to scale, we need to talk about it. We do have early data that suggest that hitters aren’t actually changing their spray patterns on groundballs. Again, we know that the effects aren’t all that big, and since everyone is shifting now, everyone is saving the same five or six runs. But because there’s no relative advantage, it’s no longer a source of freebies for the small market teams. On top of that, the idea of bunting to beat the shift sounds great, but the math doesn’t actually work out. Offenses can grab some of that lost value back by dropping one down once in a while, but not all of it.
The shift, somewhat by definition, doesn’t affect all players equally. The effects are mostly felt by pull-happy hitters (mostly lefties), while spray hitters are left mostly untouched. For someone like David Ortiz, the amount of value that he loses to shift doesn’t reduce him to nothingness, but it makes sense that at the edges, there will be players whose game would revolve, in part, on pulling base hits who are now diminished. Teams at the lower end of the payroll scale, as we have learned, have to make their bones by finding these guys and turning some of that straw into gold. The shift takes away a source of potentially flawed players who could nonetheless be contributors. It might be a small effect, but it’s more likely to hit those small market teams than the big ones.
Then there’s the optics problem. Whether or not the infield shift is responsible for the well-documented dip in scoring, it is now the poster child. If shifting turns off the casual fan, that has implications for MLB revenue streams, like the national TV deal that brings in something on the order of two and a quarter billion to the sport every year. While small market teams can lose out, comparatively, on local TV deals, they want that common pot (and their share of it) to be as big as possible, because it can bring their relative income (as a percentage) closer to the big market teams. If that number drops a bit, it will hurt a smaller market team’s relative purchasing power.
So what started out as a boon, even if a small one, for a little team that could is now something that everyone can do and it may even be hurting the small-market teams (if only a little bit). But there’s no way to put the genie back in the bottle. Unless Rob Manfred does it for them. It seems strange that some of the very teams that gave birth to the shift might want it deleted from the game, but sometimes life works out funny like that.
It’s true that the actual mechanics of banning the shift would be hard to figure out. MLB could make a rule that says that there must be two infielders to the right and two to the left of second base, although how they would enforce any sort of penalty is hard to fathom (the batter would get first base?) Despite what Rob Manfred might say, we probably are stuck with the shift. The shift might be a bad scapegoat for declining offense, but it’s also a cautionary tale in unintended consequences. Sometimes when you press a button, it changes all of the other buttons.A blockchain in 200 lines of code
Lauri Hartikka Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 4, 2017
The basic concept of blockchain is quite simple: a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of ordered records. However, it is easy to get mixed up as usually when we talk about blockchains we also talk about the problems we are trying to solve with them. This is the case in the popular blockchain-based projects such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The term “blockchain” is usually strongly tied to concepts like transactions, smart contracts or cryptocurrencies.
This makes understanding blockchains a necessarily harder task, than it must be. Especially source-code-wisely. Here I will go through a super-simple blockchain I implemented in 200 lines of Javascript called NaiveChain.
Block structure
The first logical step is to decide the block structure. To keep things as simple as possible we include only the most necessary: index, timestamp, data, hash and previous hash.
The hash of the previous block must be found in the block to preserve the chain integrity
Block hash
The block needs to be hashed to keep the integrity of the data. A SHA-256 is taken over the content of the block. It should be noted that this hash has nothing to do with “mining”, since there is no Proof Of Work problem to solve.
Generating a block
To generate a block we must know the hash of the previous block and create the rest of the required content (= index, hash, data and timestamp). Block data is something that is provided by the end-user.
Storing the blocks
A in-memory Javascript array is used to store the blockchain. The first block of the blockchain is always a so-called “genesis-block”, which is hard coded.
Validating the integrity of blocks
At any given time we must be able to validate if a block or a chain of blocks are valid in terms of integrity. This is true especially when we receive new blocks from other nodes and must decide whether to accept them or not.
Choosing the longest chain
There should always be only one explicit set of blocks in the chain at a given time. In case of conflicts (e.g. two nodes both generate block number 72) we choose the chain that has the longest number of blocks.
Communicating with other nodes
An essential part of a node is to share and sync the blockchain with other nodes. The following rules are used to keep the network in sync.
When a node generates a new block, it broadcasts it to the network
When a node connects to a new peer it querys for the latest block
When a node encounters a block that has an index larger than the current known block, it either adds the block the its current chain or querys for the full blockchain.
Some typical communication scenarios that follows when the nodes obey the described protocol
No automatic peer discovery is used. The location (=URLs) of peers must be manually added.
Controlling the node
The user must be able to control the node in some way. This is done by setting up a HTTP server.
As seen, the user is able to interact with the node in the following ways:
List all blocks
Create a new block with a content given by the user
List or add peers
The most straightforward way to control the node is e.g. with Curl:
#get all blocks from the node
curl http://localhost:3001/blocks
Architecture
It should be noted that the node actually exposes two web servers: One for the user to control the node (HTTP server) and one for the peer-to-peer communication between the nodes.(Websocket HTTP server)
The main components of NaiveChain
Conlusions
The NaiveChain was created for demonstration and learning purposes. Since it does not have a “mining” algorithm (PoS of PoW) it cannot used in a public network. It nonetheless implements the basic features for a functioning blockchain.
You can check the Github repository for more technical details.
If you want to understand more about blockchains, I suggest you to check out Naivecoin: a tutorial for building a cryptocurrency. In this tutorial we will talk more about e.g. mining (proof-of-work), transactions and wallets.Updated: 5:35 p.m. EDT
RALEIGH, N.C. — As same-sex couples in North Carolina await federal court rulings they hope will allow them to get married, Republican legislative leaders made a last-minute move Thursday to block or delay the nuptials.
AP
House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate leader Phil Berger filed a motion seeking to intervene in legal challenges to the state’s gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2012. They also asked for a one-week delay to file additional documents.
The GOP legislators have hired California lawyer John C. Eastman, chairman of the conservative National Organization for Marriage.
Berger spokeswoman Shelly Carver said Eastman has agreed to forgo his first $10,000 in legal fees. After that, he will be paid $400 an hour.
American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina legal director Chris Brook criticized the move as a waste of taxpayer funds.
“The legislature has had more than a year to intervene in this matter if they felt their interests were not adequately represented, and failed to do so,” said Brook, who represents nine same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry and adopt children. “The result here is no longer in doubt. … The legislature should quit playing politics by seeking to defend the indefensible.”
Tillis, who is running for U.S. Senate, said in a debate earlier this week he felt obligated to defend the will of North Carolina voters against “liberal activist judges” appointed by President Barack Obama.
The recent rulings striking down gay marriage bans across the nation as unconstitutional have been handed down by federal judges appointed by presidents from both parties. While North Carolina’s prohibition remains popular with religiously conservative voters, recent polls show increasing support and acceptance for same-sex marriage.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen Jr. in Greensboro, an appointee of President George W. Bush, appears ready to strike down North Carolina’s ban after issuing an order Wednesday lifting his stays and dismissing all motions in the two cases he oversees. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat, ended the state’s defense of the ban after concluding all possible legal defenses have been exhausted.
The ACLU filed a request seeking a quick ruling after the U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it would not hear appeals to lower court rulings striking down similar marriage bans in other states. Osteen has delayed making a decision since July, when Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban was struck down by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. That court has jurisdiction over North Carolina and its decision is binding on Osteen.
In a third challenge filed by members of the clergy seeking to marry gay couples, U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger in Asheville removed himself from the case Thursday, transferring it to District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr.
Tillis and Berger plan to file a motion to intervene in that case, as well.
“This threatened eleventh hour effort to intervene is strange, to say the least,” said Jake Sussman, a Charlotte lawyer representing the religious groups. “We are close to the end of this litigation and ready to banish Amendment One to the dustpan of history. We believe this is an unnecessary use of taxpayer money and judicial resources and seeks only to delay the inevitable”.
Tillis and Berger are currently not party to any of the lawsuits. They will need to file motions with Osteen and Cogburn seeking to intervene, while the judges would have to rule to give them standing.
Sussman and Brook said they will oppose efforts by Tillis and Berger to intervene.
Judge rejects GOP lawmakers’ delay
Update: 10:15 p.m. EDT
RALEIGH, N.C. — The federal judge overseeing a pair of challenges to North Carolina’s gay marriage ban denied a motion late Thursday from lawyers for Republican legislative leaders seeking more than a weeklong delay in the case.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen Jr. in Greensboro issued a ruling shooting down a request from House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate leader Phil Berger that they be given until Oct. 17 to prepare arguments supporting their motion to intervene in the lawsuits.
Instead, Osteen gave them until noon Friday. Full report here →
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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
This Story Filed UnderEditor's note: As Germans prepare for parliamentary elections later this month, senior correspondent Paul Ames made a 900-mile roadtrip across all 16 German states to take the measure of Europe’s most influential country. This is the third in his five-part series.
WERTHEIM AM MAIN, Germany — Tourists disembarking from luxurious Amsterdam-to-Budapest river cruises may not believe Wertheim is a global industrial powerhouse.
There are no billowing smokestacks, no smog or rumble of heavy machinery.
Instead, the pretty little town on the river Main wows visitors with its romantic hilltop castle and cobbled streets lined with colorful cafes offering kaffee und kuchen, and the crisp local white wine.
Head a couple of miles down river, however, and you discover Germany's greatest concentration of world-beating businesses.
Clustered in a bend of the Main and facing a forested Bavarian hillside on the far bank are row upon row of neat, clean factory buildings, mostly run by the kind of small-to-medium-sized companies that form the linchpin of Germany's economy.
Their success explains why Germany has thrived while most of Europe languishes in recession.
"We are |
with religion why it gets deep enough: "at this point, both the word"religion" and the word"secularism" are used in such chaotically diverse ways that they are almost useless."
Bellah talks a lot about Charles Taylor's monumental and magisterial history of secularism, which traces the appearance of several senses of the word from the histories of Christian Europe and America. In the end, he points out, the ideology, or philosophy of secularism takes on many of the functions and inherits many of the cognitive mechanisms, that Christianity once had.
"Ritual culture" he says, is a way for a group to express important things together – again, this idea that the function of religion is essentially groupish at least as much as it is about individual meaning seems to me terribly important. "But there is a sense in which every form of ritual is quasi-religious." Bellah continues:
The university is an institution that we believe in. Some of us are ready to lay down our lives for it when it's under attack. Family ritual is critical–and in danger. The family meal is a central expression of the common life of the family, and it has a religious dimension. The family is an instantiation of a kind of group that, through its deep ties, is tied into and related to some pretty deep meanings. So you are sliding in and out of what is religious and whatever this word"secular" means.
And it is precisely this sliding in and out of what's "religious" which seems to me the interesting area to write about.
There is a great deal more in the interview, to which I may return, about the nature and origins of fundamentalism. But what he has to say about secularism as itself a mythical structure is tremendously important. All of us who criticise the new atheists for getting religion wrong by understanding it as a set of theoretical propositions should watch ourselves lest we make the same mistake about atheism.Attacks on Bitcoin just keep coming: ETH Zurich boffins have worked with Aviv Zohar of The Hebrew University in Israel to show off how to attack the crypto-currency via the Internet's routing infrastructure.
That's problematic for Bitcoin's developers, because they don't control the attack vector, the venerable Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) that defines how packets are routed around the Internet.
BGP's problems are well-known: conceived in a simpler era, it's designed to trust the information it receives. If a careless or malicious admin in a carrier or ISP network sends incorrect BGP route information to the Internet, they can black-hole significant chunks of 'net traffic.
In this paper at arXiv, explained at this ETH Website, Zohar and his collaborators from ETH, Maria Apostolaki and Laurent Vanbever, show off two ways BGP can attack Bitcoin: a partition attack, and a delay attack.
The upside of both of these attacks is that they need an insider, because they happen at the ISP level.
They are, however, serious attacks.
In the partition attack, if an ISP is the only route between significant chunks of the Bitcoin network, a blackhole would stop the two sides communicating with each other.
Since the two “islands” will keep going – processing transactions, and mining new Bitcoin. When the “evil ISP” connects the islands together again, they have no option but to discard mined Bitcoins, transactions, and mining revenue.
The delay attack is nastier, in a way, because unlike the partitioning attack, the researchers say it's undetectable.
Here's how it works:
Step 0: Nodes A and B advertise the same block to the victim, node C.
Step 1: Node C requests the block via a GETDATA from node A. The attacker changes the content of the GETDATA such that it triggers the delivery of an older block from node A.
Step 2: The older block is delivered.
Step 3: Shortly before 20 minutes after the original block request made by node C, the attacker triggers its delivery by modifying another GETDATA message originated by C.
Step 4: The block is delivered just before the 20 minutes timeout. The victim does not disconnect from node A.
The delay attack impacts merchants by making them susceptible to double-spending attacks; miners waste their processing power; and ordinary nodes can't propagate the latest version of the blockchain.
How did we get to this point?
Part of the problem is that Bitcoin's nodes have tended to gather together at relatively few ISPs: thirteen in all host about 30 percent of the whole Bitcoin network; and 60 percent of Bitcoin traffic is visible to just three ISPs.
The researchers say BGP hijacking (which is usually but not always inadvertent) already affects as many as 100 Bitcoin nodes a month. November 2015 saw a peak in this: around 8 percent of the whole Bitcoin network (447 nodes) suffered a traffic hijack in that month.
The work is to be presented at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy 2017 in May, in San Jose. The trio also say they'll release code on GitHub offering a prototype of the delay attack. ®Click here to view the 2015 mission president assignments.
With the announcement this week of new mission president assignments comes news that 11 new missions are being created in the world, a net increase of 10, as one of the smaller missions in Salt Lake City is being absorbed in the realignment of surrounding mission boundaries in Utah.
In fact, two of the new missions are in Utah, based in Logan and Orem. Others are in South America and Europe as well as in other areas of the United States. The changes will be effective on or about July 1.
The growth comes nearly 2.5 years after the historic announcement of the lowering of ages of eligibility for missionary service for both young men and young women. That resulted in an immediate and dramatic surge in the Church’s missionary force that peaked at nearly 89,000, up from less than 60,000 previously.
“When we created 58 new missions two years ago, we were preparing for what we thought we would need after the initial surge of new missionaries,” said Elder David F. Evans, a member of the Seventy and Executive Director of the Missionary Department. “However, the younger brothers, sisters and friends of those who went out, I think, have watched the kind of really remarkable experiences that their older brothers, sisters and friends have had. Thus, young people are continuing to respond to President Thomas S. Monson’s invitation to serve missions, and they are doing it at a higher rate than we ever anticipated.”
As of Jan. 7, the missionary force totaled 84,728, Elder Evans said.
It was foregone that the number would be somewhat smaller after the surge following the 2012 announcement, “but the numbers have not come down anything like we would have projected, and we think it’s a wonderful reflection on the youth of the Church,” he remarked.
“We think it’s a wonderful response to a prophet’s continuing invitation to consider missionary service at the right time,” he added.
At the moment, there are more than 100 missions that each have around 250 missionaries. “Our effort will be to reduce that amount over time to a maximum of about 200 missionaries per mission,” Elder Evans said. “Long experience has taught us that missionaries and mission presidents do better with about 200 missionaries as opposed to a larger number than that.”
Pertaining to the new missions in Utah, Elder Evans said the Beehive State remains a remarkable area of the Church for missionary work, though, when the first mission was formed in Salt Lake City in the mid-1970s, it seemed to some to be an odd location for a mission headquarters.
“But it’s not surprising, because anywhere you have lots of active members, it’s a wonderful place to do missionary work,” he said. “We also have in Utah many members of the Church who need strengthening and, in some cases, even rescuing, and whose children and friends and families need to be taught the gospel.”
He cited the case of one community in Utah’s Cache Valley that has only 10 people in the entire stake boundaries who are not Church members. Yet a set of sister missionaries assigned there are kept productively busy teaching friends and families of those they help bring back into activity.
The creation of new missions in South America “is also a sweet indication of the ongoing work,” Elder Evans said. “The work remains strong there, and it’s a very, very productive area of the Church.”
He added, “We also see a number of other missions being created in the United States, not concentrated in any one area, but in each of these areas, members have demonstrated their ability to be productive and to utilize the efforts of relatively large numbers of missionaries. We’re quite excited about that.”
When asked what young people might do today to prepare to serve missions, Elder Evans said, “One thing is to read and prayerfully consider the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I see so many of this rising generation that have had such strong testimonies when they come to the missionary training center having read and tested Moroni’s promise to gain their own witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration.”
Another way to prepare is to actually share the gospel with someone, Elder Evans said. “These young people are going to become missionaries, but they’re already members and can have the courage to begin to share their testimonies. It could be something as simple as sharing the “He Is the Gift” video that was recently made available to share during the Christmas season and to add their own public words of faith and testimony to the sharing of it.
“It could be as simple as speaking to a friend and inviting him or her to Church or to seminary with you, or even to arrange for the friend to meet with the missionaries and say, ‘I’ll be there with you; I’ll sit with you, and together, we’ll try to answer whatever questions you have.’ ”
To Elder Evans’ advice, his colleague in the Missionary Department, Elder Stephen B. Allen, managing director, added this: “I’d encourage them to get a copy of Preach My Gospel and to read Chapter 3. It contains the doctrines that they’re going to teach as missionaries. If they’ve read that and absorbed into their own heart what the story really is, that will be a big blessing to them.”
Elder Allen, an Area Seventy, also suggested prospective missionaries spend less time playing on personal electronic devices and more time talking to people. “While social media will be an important missionary tool as we move forward, they’ve got that down, but some have paid a price of not really learning how to communicate with others. Making sure they know how to listen to people and talk with them is a good idea.”
Elder Evans concluded, “We hope there’s a need to create even more new missions as we go forward. As the rising generation continues to respond to President Monson’s invitation, to plan their lives, to counsel with their parents and with their bishops, and to prayerfully consider missionary service, I believe even more of them are going to continue to choose to serve the Lord in this way.”
Click here to view the 2015 mission president assignments.
[email protected]Syndromic surveillance is an innovative way of collecting and analysing health surveillance data and is becoming an increasingly popular way of monitoring public health across the world. Syndromic surveillance complements existing programmes, which are usually based upon traditional laboratory reporting, providing additional information about infectious disease outbreaks or other public health incidents that can affect the health of the population.
In this blog we’ll unravel what syndromic surveillance is and why we undertake this form of surveillance.
What is syndromic surveillance?
Syndromic surveillance is a tool we use to collect information about the general public’s health and to see, in real-time, whether there are any diseases which are following an unusual trend, like a sudden increase at an unexpected time of year. Syndromic surveillance primarily measures the reporting of symptoms caused by anything from flu to norovirus. It’s not simply bugs we look at, either. This surveillance can also measure things like hayfever and eye problems caused by summer pollens. Using the symptoms associated with different illnesses provides a way of detecting problems early and allows us to follow the size, spread, and tempo of the outbreaks and to monitor seasonal disease trends in general. Collected from emergency departments (A&Es), general practices and other types of first line patient care services, syndromic surveillance is an excellent way of taking a rough picture of the nation’s general public health at any one time.
In simple terms this type of surveillance collects anonymous information from patients at their first point of contact with medical care (for example, with their GP) which scientists can then look at to monitor trends over time. This is not to say that we only look at syndromic surveillance data: this information is always used alongside traditional laboratory data.
Why do we undertake syndromic surveillance?
In general there are three underlying purposes that syndromic surveillance aims to achieve:
Providing early warning of seasonal illness
One of the most important features of syndromic surveillance is the ability to provide early warning of seasonal illnesses compared to laboratory surveillance, which takes a lot more time to get data back from. We are always looking for ways to provide our public health teams with as much early warning of infections as possible and to improve our response to seasonal outbreaks.
Providing ‘situational awareness’ during a seasonal outbreak or public health incident
During any seasonal outbreak of disease or public health incident, for example an outbreak of norovirus during a mass gathering, those who are coordinating the public health response need to know what is happening. The questions they often ask are:
which areas of the country are being affected by the outbreak/incident?
are particular age groups being affected?
are there signs that the symptoms people have are getting more severe?
when has the outbreak/incident peaked (that is, when will things return to normal)?
Syndromic surveillance can provide some answers that help to address these questions.
Providing reassurance about the lack of impact of an incident or mass gathering
During a public health incident it is important to report both when there are obvious health impacts and when there are not. Syndromic surveillance is able to provide some of this reassurance because the systems we use look at the general population surrounding an incident rather than just focusing on those who have been directly affected.
Where have we used syndromic surveillance and was it useful?
Some examples of times we’ve used syndromic surveillance are:
1. 2009 influenza pandemic
During the 2009 influenza pandemic, syndromic surveillance systems were able to provide situational awareness during the pandemic, informing public health officials where the impact of the pandemic was at its worst, and which age groups appeared to be affected.
The map below is taken from one of our surveillance reports and illustrates the intensity of ‘flu activity across the West Midlands as measured through calls to NHS Direct. The arrow illustrates the location of Birmingham, highlighting the focus of pandemic ‘flu infections in the West Midlands during the early stages of the pandemic.
2. Volcanic ash cloud, Iceland, 2010
During the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano a large ash cloud covered significant parts of Europe. There was concern about whether the ash cloud could cause health problems, especially to individuals with underlying chronic respiratory problems however we were able to show that this was not the case. This information was used, alongside other data sources (e.g. environmental monitoring) to provide reassurance to health care professionals and the general public of the very low risk to health of the ash cloud.
The graphs below are taken from our report on the incident. Each panel shows the recorded levels (blue line) against the expected levels (grey dashes) for syndromic indicators during the period that the ash cloud covered the UK (grey bars).
3. London 2012 Olympic Games
During the 2012 Games, we used our syndromic surveillance systems to monitor the health of the population, especially within London during ‘Games Time’. The large influx of foreign visitors and the high profile nature of the event meant that there were certain public health concerns around the event. Our systems provided vital information which was used in parallel with other national surveillance systems to provide reassurance that there were no major problems in those areas located near Olympic venues.
4. Flooding, 2014
We are currently involved in the national public health response to the 2014 floods across England. As part of a surveillance group (including laboratory reporting), syndromic surveillance is being used to monitor the health of those areas particularly affected by the flooding. Although infection problems arising from floods in this country are rare, we’ve been monitoring levels of gastroenteritis, including diarrhoea and vomiting, to assess whether people in those areas affected by the floods have been reporting higher rates of illness. This information has been important in providing reassurance to local and national public health teams, and to local and national government, that we are not seeing outbreaks of infectious diseases associated with flooding.
What’s next?
We are continually exploring future sources of health data to use for syndromic surveillance including social media, ambulance data and over the counter drug sales. Each will be assessed to understand what advantages, if any, they provide over our existing systems. We are also working with colleagues overseas to further explore the usefulness of syndromic surveillance in public health across the world.
Further information about our syndromic surveillance can be found here.With the recent release of the first major games built for Windows’ Universal Windows Platform runtime, the current limitations of UWP has been a hot topic in technical circles. When it comes to gaming, UWP as it stands is not up to par with the Win32 API we have come to know and tolerate. To that end, with Microsoft running a block of technical sessions at today’s GDC, I checked in on the state of UWP and where Microsoft is in addressing some of the concerns that have been raised over the past couple of weeks.
The overall message from Microsoft right now is to wait and see. Talking to Microsoft representatives and speakers, the company is well aware of what’s being said and wants to address it. GDC just won’t be that venue. Rather the company will be updating the press and developers on UWP at BUILD 2016, Microsoft’s annual conference that’s taking place in two weeks. And while the company’s reps can’t make specific comments at GDC on what to expect later this month, I do consider it a positive sign that they are aware of what’s going on and that they are preparing what looks to be a serious response.
Meanwhile on a related note, in this year’s DirectX 12 session, Microsoft has confirmed that they are going to be addressing the current refresh interval limitations of UWP. In short, Windows UWP will be gaining support for interval immediate refreshing, otherwise known as tearing. Tearing currently isn't allowed, and while tearing is not typically desirable, there are situations where the bare minimum latency it affords may be more useful than displaying a whole frame without corruption. This will also allow Freesync and G-Sync variable refresh rate technologies to work with UWP, as the underlying issues blocking them with the current system are much similar. As it stands there isn’t an ETA on this update, however it’s something the DirectX team has taken to heart, and with a bit of luck it may be sooner than later.Its twisted construction resembles the pretzels of its native Germany. But this €1billion machine could help solve the planet's energy problems – and make harmful fossil fuels redundant.
Scientists celebrated last week after they used the device to make a big leap towards a limitless supply of clean energy created from nothing but water.
The eventual goal is to build a reactor that uses nuclear fusion to create vast amounts of power.
And one British scientist said last night that nuclear fusion as a source of clean energy was 'close enough to be able to taste it'.
The Wendelstein 7-X machine in Germany, which cost €1billion to build, creates conditions similar to those inside stars
On Thursday, scientists took a major step forward, heating one milligram of helium gas inside the 50ft-wide twisted pretzel, to create a one-million-degrees-centigrade plasma which lasted a tenth of a second
Fusion – which happens in our nearest star, the sun – occurs when two atomic nuclei fuse, releasing enormous amounts of energy.
Unlike the fission process in today's nuclear reactors, it creates little if any dangerous waste material. But for fusion to occur, hydrogen gas has to be super-heated to form a 'plasma' at 100 million degrees Centigrade.
The plasma is generated and tightly contained in a sealed container – and if the plasma touches the sides, they will melt.
Until now, most fusion containers have been a symmetrical doughnut design, called a tokamak, which 'cages' the plasma by using supercooled magnets and a powerful current flowing around the loop.
But now scientists have switched on a radical new machine, dubbed Wendelstein 7-X, which uses specially shaped magnets to do away with the need for the current.
The device is a type of'stellarator' – meaning it recreates conditions similar to those inside stars.
On Thursday, they took a major step forward, heating one milligram of helium gas inside the 50ft-wide twisted pretzel, to create a one-million-degrees-centigrade plasma which lasted a tenth of a second.
Scientists have switched on a radical new machine, dubbed Wendelstein 7-X, to create super heated plasma (pictured)
Dr Hans-Stephan Bosch of the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Greifswald, in North-East Germany, where the device is located, said: 'We are very satisfied – everything went according to plan.'
Professor Steven Cowley, head of the UK's Centre for Fusion Energy at Culham, near Oxford, said the magnets had been shaped by supercomputer to keep the plasma from touching the sides while it travelled at 700 miles a second.
The UK's own machine, JET, has already created a 250 million degrees plasma from hydrogen and produced 16 megawatts of power – proving nuclear fusion on an industrial scale is possible.
But – like other fusion machines – JET consumes huge amounts of energy, in part because a five million amp current is needed to help control the plasma.
Prof Cowley said: 'You want a fusion reactor to be on all the time, so you'd like not to have to push a large current around 24/7.
'Wendelstein is a natural design which does without the current. It gets the magnetic field controlling the plasma to twist, using weird-shaped magnets. It's a different route to nuclear fusion.'
Technical director Hans-Stephan Bosch with computer images showing the first plasma from the 'Wendelstein 7-X' nuclear fusion research centre
The first plasma (pictured) in Wendelstein 7-X consisted of helium and reached a temperature of about one million degrees Celsius
And he added that nuclear fusion as a source of unlimited energy might be only decades away.
'We have got close enough to be able to taste it,' he said.
The next step for the stellarator is to create and control a hydrogen plasma at much higher temperatures. A much bigger €15 billion machine called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is now being built near Aix-en-Provence in France.
Scientists hope it will be the first to produce a self-sustaining fusion reaction, called a fusion burn. This is when energy is only needed to fire it up, rather than keep it going.Since the inauguration, the White House has taken several ham-handed escalatory steps that bring into question whether Trump and his most radical advisors are begging for war with Iran. This would be a disaster of epic scale, perhaps eclipsing the nightmare of the Iraq War. Republicans and Democrats need to start viewing President Trump’s actions and words as a possible accidental or intentional prelude to major conflict, and taking steps to counter this dangerous slide to war.
The descent began with last Friday’s executive order barring Iranian citizens from entering the United States. Potentially the most dangerous result of the order was to empower the most hardline clerics in Iran—threatening not just our own security, but our ally Israel’s as well.
The danger of including Iran comes in the message it sends to Iranians and its potential to tip the political balance inside Iran to forces that are deeply antithetical to the United States and Israel – the kind of people who actually could start World War III.
The Iranian people, especially the growing numbers of young people in the country, do not hate the United States. They regularly get fed anti-American garbage by the regime, but the young men and women who will inherit Iran largely admire America. This tilt toward the West is what caused the relative moderate Hassan Rouhani to be elected president. It is also what brought Iran to the negotiating table, resulting in the landmark nuclear agreement committing Iran to give up its pathway to a nuclear weapon.
Every step they have taken seems to be getting us closer and closer to a conflict with Iran.
Rouhani said that the Muslim ban was a “great gift to extremists.” He meant groups like ISIS, but he might have also have been referring to extremist political groups in his own country. Why? Because the hardliners in Tehran who want to tear up the nuclear agreement, make Iran a nuclear weapons power, and create havoc in the Middle East will use the Muslim ban as evidence that America does indeed hate Iran.
We watched on Sunday as the hardliners showed off their new strengthened position. The ballistic missile test was a signal that Rouhani is losing power and the anti-Western conservatives are ascendant. This edges us closer to war, but it also endangers our allies in the region, most notably Israel. By and large, Rouhani has dispatched the hateful anti-Israel speech that was a regular part of his predecessor’s rhetorical repertoire. If Rouhani goes, so does any chance at Iranian moderation on Israel.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of reasons to view Tehran as a serious adversary. The government has long been a sponsor of terrorists and radical groups in the Middle East. Most recently, the Iranian government bears responsibility for some of the worst carnage in Syria.
But often lost in the debate in the United States is that Iran has not been associated with direct threats against our country. Though Trump referenced 9/11 several times in rolling out his executive order, not one of the hijackers or plotters was from Iran (wildly, none of the 4 countries of origin of the 9/11 perpetrators are on the list). Iran’s government is full of bad actors, and that’s why we have levied sanctions against their government for its support of terrorism in the Middle East. But Trump claimed the Muslim ban was about protecting against terrorist threats against the United States – and there’s no evidence to suggest that vetted Iranian immigrants pose a threat to Americans.
Making matters worse this week, instead of trying to heal the wounds created by Friday’s executive order, Trump’s new National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, doubled down on the path to conflict. Though Trump’s executive order was the proximate cause of the ballistic missile launch, that doesn’t excuse it. Flynn appropriately warned Iran that the test would be met with consequences from the United States and the international community. Though the wording of “putting Iran on notice” was a bit odd, a strong message in the wake of the tests was warranted.
What was exceptional was that Flynn included in the statement a warning to Iran that had nothing to do with the missile tests. “These are just the latest of a series of incidents in the past six months in which Houthi forces that Iran has trained and armed have struck Emirati and Saudi vessels and threatened United States and allied vessels transiting the Red Sea,” he said. Flynn brought the Houthis into the statement in order to warn the Iranians that if the Houthis continued to attack Saudi Arabia, we would consider it a threat to us commensurate to the firing of the ballistic missiles. This is an absurd equivalence argument, and it could lead us into a war that no American is looking for.
Houthi rebels inside Yemen have been at war for two years with Saudi-backed forces that historically have controlled the country’s government. The Houthis are undoubtedly backed by Iran, but they are not a pure Iranian proxy in the way, for instance, that Hezbollah is. The Houthis’ grievances against the ousted Yemeni government were organic, and though Iran helps to fund the rebels, they do not command nor control them.
You wouldn’t know this by listening to his statement, but the United States does not have a security treaty with Saudi Arabia. They are our ally, but they fight their own battles. They are waging war against the Houthis with a reckless bombing campaign (supported by the U.S.) that has killed thousands and thousands of civilians. Some by accident. Some on purpose. The Houthis have fought back – and they too are responsible for scores of civilian deaths.
What was so dangerous about Flynn’s statement was that he is now suggesting that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia could lead to war between the United States and Iran. This makes no sense.
The United States should target extremist groups in Yemen, which are growing stronger largely because of the bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia. But we should stay the hell out of the civil war there.
And it squares with other actions that Trump has authorized in the early days of this administration. Last week, an American Navy Seal and countless Yemeni civilians were killed in a special operations mission against Al Qaeda inside Yemen. It was the first counter-terrorism operation authorized by Trump, and it went very, very badly. According to military sources, it was approved “without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.”
This showed that Trump is willing to escalate U.S. military activity in Yemen in dangerous ways. Observed in conjunction with Flynn’s statement this week, it makes clear the U.S. is doubling down on our involvement in the Yemen civil war. This would be madness, and Democrats and Republicans who have any influence with the administration need to beg Trump and his team to back off these escalatory moves.
The United States should target extremist groups in Yemen, which are growing stronger largely because of the bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia. But we should stay the hell out of the civil war there. I have long argued that we should cease helping Saudi Arabia in its bombing campaign, but we should not get any more involved in a war between two rival ethnic groups in Yemen when who wins that fight has no meaningful effect on U.S. national security. Yes, it matters to Saudi Arabia who wins that fight, but the transitive property doesn’t apply to foreign relations – not everything that matters to our friends automatically matters to us.
American presidents are supposed to keep us out of war. What is so hard to fathom about the first few weeks of the Trump administration is that every step they have taken seems to be getting us closer and closer to a conflict with Iran. I hope that is not their goal. I hope that it’s simply a series of mistakes. If it’s the latter, Trump should correct his course right now, or the blood and treasure wasted in an unnecessary conflict with Iran will be entirely of his own making.In Mount Pleasant, at least two signs reading "Black Lives Matter" have been vandalized, with the word "black" painted over.
The signs are located on the 1800 block of Lamont Street NW and the 3100 block of 19th Street NW, just a few hundred feet from one another. Robin Kane, the owner of the home on 19th Street NW, said she didn't know her sign had been vandalized when City Desk visited her address this afternoon. Kane explained that the vandalism must have occurred last night or early this morning: She left her house today, but because she turned down the other direction of the 3100 block, she didn't notice that the word "black" had been filled in. The sign has been up for about three weeks, she added.
"Of course all lives matter," Kane said when asked about the vandalized sign on her front lawn. "But this [act] is part of the crisis of racism in our country. I can't believe someone would make it a priority in their day to jump my fence and do this—to visibly erase black people."
Kane, who is white, added that although she was angered by the vandalism, she was not surprised; she had even gotten more than one "Black Lives Matter" sign in case something happened to the first. She said she will talk to her neighbors and her sixth-grade daughter about the incident as well as notify Showing Up For Racial Justice, "a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice," which distributes the signs.
Steve Hill, a resident of the house on Lamont Street NW, wrote in an email that he posted his sign several weeks ago, adding that he has no leads about the person or persons responsible. "I did not think putting up a yard sign supporting Black Lives Matter was a radical act, but the vandal reminded me of the huge gap between our aspirations for racial justice and our reality," Hill wrote. "I painted 'BLACK' back on our sign, but we can't bring back the Black people who have been killed."
It's possible that other signs in the neighborhood have been vandalized: Kane said SURJ regularly hands out the signs at the Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market on weekends, while canvassing. SURJ-DC organizer Julia Clemons said via email that the group asks for donations for the signs, but payment is not required.
"I would encourage everyone to put out these signs," Kane adds. "Racism is everywhere, even in Mount Pleasant."
If you know of similar acts of vandalism, contact Andrew Giambrone at agiambrone@washingtoncitypaper.com.
This post has been updated to reflect that SURJ seeks donations, but does not require payment for the signs, and to add comments from the Lamont Street resident.
Top two photos by Will Mitchell; bottom photo by Darrow MontgomeryDonald Trump and his allies at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland peddled two falsehoods about America’s immigration problem. One was the vision presented by speaker after speaker of a nation overrun with foreigners crossing American borders and infiltrating communities to rob and kill. Another was the notion that most Americans are desperate for the kind of tough-guy response — including massive deportation and building a wall — that Mr. Trump offers as his solution.
A careful examination of the facts undermines both claims. It is true that this is a complex issue inspiring strong passions. But its resolution, or at least progress toward a resolution, requires clear thinking. It benefits not at all from wild and poisonous assertions. People on all sides of this issue, including Republicans of good will who might be seduced by Mr. Trump’s hyperbole, would do well to take a moment or more to reflect on a few simple truths.
One is that the country is divided over immigration, but not nearly as much as Mr. Trump claims. Americans by wide margins have long supported the principles of sensible immigration reform: modernized laws to better match workers and jobs, strong border security (though not the equivalent of a 2,000-mile wall), better workplace standards and wages, and an opportunity for the 11 million immigrants living outside the law to earn inclusion and citizenship.
Recent polling from the Pew Research Center is instructive: Fifty-nine percent of the public said immigrants “strengthen the country,” while only 33 percent said they were a burden. And 75 percent said immigrants should be allowed to stay legally, if they meet certain conditions. These principles — recognizing the good that immigrants do for the country and rejecting the folly of high walls and mass expulsion — are the basis of the reform legislation that Mr. Trump so deplores as “amnesty” and that many Republicans themselves support. As recently as 2013, bipartisan reform legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 68 to 32.Image caption The label contravened Swedish consumer guidelines on alcohol
A brewery's bid to export one its brands to Sweden has faltered because the beer's label features a hand grenade and bullet holes.
Tiny Rebel brewery in Newport wanted Swedes to taste bottles of its "unique schizophrenic" Fubar pale ale.
But the export drive was blocked after a consumer protection agency said the label was contrary to guidelines.
Co-founder Bradley Cummings, 26, said: "Looks like Fubar won't be heading over to Sweden any time soon."
The firm, launched 18 months ago, has already seen exports of bottles and kegs to Denmark, Norway, Italy and Australia.
But hopes of adding Sweden to the list stopped with an email asking the firm to review the label on the bottles of beer.
It said: "In reviewing this label, we believe this may be contrary to the Consumer Agency's guidelines for advertising of alcoholic beverages to consumers.
'Weapons and bullet holes'
"The overall impression including weapons and bullet holes are not expected to exercise special moderation."
Mr Cummings said he had not long returned from a business trip to Sweden to discuss exporting Fubar so the email rejection was a surprise.
He said: "It might have been our fault for not looking at the advertising laws. Every country is different and we do appreciate that.
"It would be boring if everything country was the same. They have a very different drinking culture over there."
Fubar was runner-up in the Welsh champion beer awards in Cardiff in June, which saw the brewery sweep the board.
Mr Cummings said the firm, started with partner Gareth Williams, 31, now employs six people and produces the equivalent of 640 casks of beer, in casks for the UK market and bottles and kegs for overseas, a month.JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- An undersea cable plugging east Africa into high speed Internet access went live Thursday, providing an alternative to expensive satellite connections.
The cable links southern Africa to Europe and Asia. more photos »
SEACOM, the cable provider company, opened its 17,000 kilometer submarine cable, capable of 1.28 terabytes per second, allowing the region true connectivity.
Most Africans rely on expensive and slow satellite connections, which make the use of applications such as YouTube and Facebook extremely trying.
"This is going to reduce the cost of doing business in Africa, within Africa and with international parties" said Suveer Ramdhani, SEACOM spokesman in South Africa.
"The cable is as thin as a hair strand, and in one second it can download the same amount of data that 160 people use in a month."
SEACOM, privately funded and 75 percent African owned, will provide retail carriers with open source access to inexpensive bandwidth.
It has taken less than three years to complete the mammoth project, providing landing stations at South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar and other points along the east coast of Africa.
But telecoms analyst James Hodge said that some of the more ambitious hopes for the system -- such as impacting the continent's socioeconomic problems -- will be long-term, and that initially it will be those already connected who will see the benefits.
The launch was delayed by a month because of increased activity by pirates along parts of the African coast.
Security teams were beefed up to protect the slow moving cable layers.
Neotel, a South African communications network operator, is the largest SEACOM customer in South Africa and is the country's landing partner, providing both the coastal landing station and Johannesburg data center for |
and fun to build with no need for extra pieces or complicated tools.
The Cyclone list of parts
Why Pledge?
We have put hundreds of hours into the design and engineering of the Cyclone. We need your support to make the dream of creating a block based roller coaster system a reality. That support will enable us to purchase the plastic injection molds needed to make all the components, as well as building inventory for production. With our experience in bringing exciting roller coaster models to market, coupled with your support, we feel the Cyclone can be a tremendous success.
Get Cash Back on the Projects You Love!
This project was conceived by a dedicated group of engineers, including a real roller coaster designer. Based around the CoasterDynamix track and train system developed in 2004, the Cyclone functions just like an actual roller coaster. A miniature chain lift hauls the cars to the top of the first hill, then gravity takes over from there. The kit includes everything you need to build the Cyclone.
The CoasterDynamix track system is famous for its realism.
Use your imagination to build the coaster of your dreams! This eight-foot long racing model was built by combining four Cyclone kits.
The Cyclone model comes with a hand crank for the chain lift, but also has a direct fit for the Lego® Power Functions (#8882) and battery box (#8881), available for purchase separately.
LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO® Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this project.[Disclaimer: This is the opinion of the author]
Nintendo strikes again with the censorship bat, and boy is it going to get ugly. For what may be the first time in history, Nintendo of America has altered a game so much, that they made the Japanese voice actors record separate lines for the American release. Fans should be f**king livid.
Look, I enjoy Japanese games and culture, but I've never been into the bubbly J-Pop or Idol scenes. I understand that it's a strange culture with limited appeal, but the target audience for this game is the same in Japan and North America. The fans that were interested in this game because of its super anime reveal (or after), wanted the standbys of Otaku culture that have been gutted from this release: Fan service, references to gravure idols, Japanese poses, etc. These aren't bad things, and they don't breach the T for Teen rating, so why is Nintendo doing this? It's certainly not going to pull in fans, and I know it has cost them more purchases than it gained.
I'm quite convinced Nintendo of America has no clue as to how to do their jobs. They have all the time in the world now, since they have all of three major releases planned for 2016, and they used it to f**k up one of their sparse releases on an unimaginable scale. Seriously, who is this aimed at? The fans you slapped in the face by creating a new, unwanted version for their countries? The professionally offended, that were never going to buy it in the first place? Little kids, who know nothing about Japan and abandoned your awful tech for smart devices?
Oh I know! The self-masturbatory portion of neogaf that likes to applaud censorship because they don't like Japanese or sexually suggestive content. Surely the haters paying lip service will bring in the big bucks, not the weebs like my now distraught wife. Fuck weebs, their opinions don't matter because you're offended by things they like, right?
Tokyo Mirage Sessions had two niche fanbases, Otaku and JRPG, and it just threw one of them under the bus harder than any fandom in localization history. At least with the terrible Fire Emblem: Fates localization there were groups working to fix the hack job done by the Treehouse, but Nintendo of America seems to have gone the extra mile to ensure these changes couldn't be fixed as easily. Will hackers be able to turn on the old dialogue and undo the outfit and pose changes, or will that not be on the disk for this game?
Rape, torture, murder, euthanization, and implied sex with a minor: Rated T for teen. I think Tokyo Mirage Sessions T-Rating was safe.
Also, before you try to say Atlus was in charge of localization, and not Nintendo, save it: Fire Emblem: Fates, Bravely Second, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions had their "questionable" content eviscerated by separate localization teams. The common thread? 4Kids Nintendo of America was in charge of publishing and/or distribution of all three games in the North American region.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's not a dog some homeless person taught to waddle. It's a lame f**king duck, just like the NA release of Tokyo Mirage Sessions is going to be, sales wise.There has obviously been a lot of discussion about last week's disclosure that iOS devices are maintaining an easily-accessible database tracking the movements of users dating back to the introduction of iOS 4 a year ago. The issue has garnered the attention of U.S. elected officials and has played fairly heavily in the mainstream press.Onereader emailed Apple CEO Steve Jobs asking for clarification on the issue while hinting about a switch to Android if adequate explanations are not forthcoming. Jobs reportedly responded, turning the tables by claiming both that Apple does not track users and that Android does while referring to the information about iOS shared in the media as "false".
Q: Steve,
Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone? It's kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don't track me.
A: Oh yes they do. We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false.
Sent from my iPhone
As is Jobs' usual style, his brief comments provide little detail or information to support his claims, and his vagueness leaves things rather open to interpretation.Android has been shown to also gather location information, but the database is limited to a much smaller list of entries and is regularly wiped by the system. Jobs' email seems to explicitly claim, however, that Google's location information is used to track users while Apple's is not.Apple responded to some questions about location tracking and privacy last July, noting that users have the ability to turn off location services entirely and that all location features require explicit authorization from the user. The Wall Street Journal has found, however, that this newly-publicized database is constructed even when location services are turned off entirely.
The Journal tested the collection of data on an iPhone 4 that had been restored to factory settings and was running the latest version of Apple's iOS operating system.
The Journal disabled location services (which are on by default) and immediately recorded the data that had initially been gathered by the phone. The Journal then carried the phone to new locations and observed the data. Over the span of several hours as the phone was moved, it continued to collect location data from new places.
As many observers have noted, the iOS location database does not record exact GPS data, instead seeking to pinpoint the locations of Wi-Fi access points and cell towers that the device comes within range of, although the database does offer a clear general track of a user's movements.In the meantime, government agencies in a number of countries have launched investigations into the situation, seeking explanations from Apple and details on how users can protect their privacy.Over the past two years, more photographs of bare-naked celebrity anatomy have been leaked to the public eye than over the previous two centuries: Scarlett Johansson snapping a blurry self-portrait while sprawled on her bed, Vanessa Hudgens posing for a cellphone in a bracelet and a smile, Congressman Wiener touting a Blackberry and a mirror in the House Members Gym, Jessica Alba, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Ron Artest, Charlize Theron, Chris Brown, Bret Favre, Rihanna, Pete Wentz, Ke$ha, and dozens more.
This flood of celebrity skin has prompted folks to wonder, 'Why are so many famous people exhibitionists?' The source of all this au naturel flaunting lies not in the culture of fame, but in the design of our sexual brains. In fact, research has unveiled two distinct explanations: Female exhibitionism appears to be primarily cortical, while male exhibitionism is mainly subcortical.
[#contributor: /contributors/5932413644db296121d69eea]||||||
“The desire of the man is for the woman,” Madame de Stael famously penned, “The desire of the woman is for the desire of the man.” Being the center of sexual attention is a fundamental female turn-on dramatized in women's fantasies, female-authored erotica, and in the cross-cultural gush of sultry self-portraits.
Studies have found that more than half of women’s sexual fantasies reflect the desire to be sexually irresistible. In one academic survey, 47 percent of women reported the fantasy of seeing themselves as a striptease dancer, harem girl, or other performer. Fifty percent fantasized about delighting many men.
“Being desired is very arousing to women,” observes clinical psychologist Marta Meana, president of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research. “An increasing body of data is indicating that the way women feel about themselves may be very important to their experience of sexual desire and subjective arousal, possibly even outweighing the impact of their partners’ view of them.”
The source of all this au naturel flaunting lies not in the culture of fame, but in the design of our sexual brains.The desire to be desired drives young women’s willingness to enter wet T-shirt contests and flash what their mama gave them at Mardi Gras. Whereas male exhibitionism is considered a psychiatric disorder and sometimes a crime, female exhibitionism is rarely considered a social problem. Just the opposite: It’s exploited commercially. Multi-millionaire Joe Francis built his Girls Gone Wild empire by taping college girls stripping down for his no-budget camera crew. How does he persuade young women to disrobe? He offers them a T-Shirt and a chance to be ogled by millions of men.
"Look I’m human, & just like every girl in this world, I admire my body so i take pics," wrote singer Teyana Taylor after her graphic self-portraits were leaked. International data supports Taylor's contention that the female exhibitionist urge is universal. In Brazil, Japan, Ghana, and the USA, well-trafficked websites offer galleries of tens of thousands of racy amateur self-portraits surreptitiously downloaded from women’s private MySpace or Facebook accounts or maliciously provided by ex-boyfriends. It's not just celebrities who share intimate imagery.
Though men are so eager to gaze upon women's candid photos they're willing to risk jail time by hacking cellphones, pictures of men's private parts usually come to public attention when a recipient is offended; German Olympian Ariane Friedrich, for example, outed a man on Facebook for sending her a photograph of his manhood. These pickle shots tend to elicit protests and consternation. Men do not question why Scarlett Johansson or Jessica Alba might want to sext bare skin to a guy. But women everywhere ask, 'What are men thinking when they send us photos of their junk?' The answer is that men may not be thinking at all; they may be compelled by an unconscious, evolutionary urge inherited from our primate ancestors.
Male monkeys and apes routinely display their penises to females to indicate sexual interest. Primatologist Frans de Waal writes in Peacemaking Among Primates:
Since bonobos can sheath their penis, nothing is visible most of the time. When the organ does appear, however, it is not only impressive in size, but its bright pink color makes it stand out against the dark fur. Males invite others by presenting with legs wide apart and back arched, often flicking the penis up and down – a powerful signal.
Men do not share women's desire to be desired. Instead, they emulate their bonobo brethren: The internet is saturated with penis self-portraits from every nation on Earth. At any given moment, one in four cameras on the webcam network ChatRoulette are aimed at a penis. On the adult networking site Fantasti.cc, 36 percent of men use an image of a penis as their avatar; only 5 percent of women use a vagina. On Reddit's heterosexual Gone Wild forum in 2010, where users were free to post uncensored pictures of themselves, 35 percent of images self-posted by men consisted of penises.
Though hordes of men pay to peruse amateur photography depicting the anatomy of ladies, not a single website collects cash from ladies interested in surveying amateur photography of phalluses.Anyone who has seen a koteka, the elaborate two-foot-long penis cap worn by men in Papua New Guinea, can easily believe that men have inherited our hominid cousins' exhibitionist urge regarding the penis. In fact, male exhibitionism has long been understood by clinical psychologists as a non-dangerous compulsion: Men who flash their organ to strangers rarely seek contact afterward, instead describing a powerful sense of relief from the display alone. Of course, the yawn is also a powerful biological compulsion, but as we learned in grade school it's always preferable to cover your mouth.
Though hordes of men pay to peruse amateur photography depicting the anatomy of ladies, not a single website collects cash from ladies interested in surveying amateur photography of phalluses. It is this marked gender difference in interest that reveals the dichotomous evolutionary pressures shaping male and female exhibitionism: Women feel the conscious desire to catch the universally attentive male eye, but since women's erotic attention is rarely ensnared by a penis, the male exhibitionist urge is comparatively vestigial.
There are profitable penis sites, however. They boast an engaged clientele who view male sexting as neither troubling nor distasteful and reveal the universality of male sexual circuitry. Who appreciates leaked shots of The Game's well-endowed Hosea Chanchez with the same enthusiasm heterosexual guys show for leaked shots of Mad Men's well-endowed Christina Hendricks? Gay men.
Editor: Caitlin RoperExplodification abounds in this round-based attack and defense mode. Rush to crack (or defend) the base with brand new, 100% safe-for-testing™ siege weapons.
Nexus Siege cuts the Rift in half, leaving just one base to raze/protect. If you’re on the attack, blitz the base, shove waves, and deploy siege weapons to charge up your minions and destructify towers. When defending, break out tower upgrades and hold the line at all costs. Once the attackers crack the Nexus, teams switch sides. Victory goes to whichever team flattens the base fastest when attacking.
Buying and deploying siege weapons:
Siege weapons fill summoner spell slots. Snatch them up with an alternate currency called Crystal Shards (CR). Each side earns this kind of CR a little differently:
Offense: Earned over time
Kill enemy champions; attacker kills net more Crystal Shards than defender kills
Defense: Earned over time
Kill enemy champions
Granted when the first tower in each lane is destroyed
Earned for each minion shoved into the attacker’s teleporters
Defenders start the round with enough Crystal Shards to buy a siege weapon
Siege Warp trinkets and empowered recalls:
Both teams get trinkets that warp them close to the front lines of the siege. Empowered (read: fast) recalls help both teams quickly snag the siege weapons they need before diving back into the fray.
Gold and experience:
Gold and experience are normalized, so both teams receive equal amounts throughout the game. This means last-hitting literally doesn’t matter, so just shove lanes like crazy.
The Obliterator:
You can only unleash the Obliterator on defense. Unlock its eye-searing power by shoving a total of 15 minions into the attacker’s teleport pads. What’s the Obliterator? Just a terrifyingly powerful laser that fires down all three lanes. It makes everything except siege weapons mega dead. Minions? Deleted. Champions? Dearly departed. When the Obliterator fires, attackers would be well advised to duck into the jungle.When physicist Richard Feynman was asked which now-deceased person from history he would most like to speak with, and what he would say, he said: “My father. I would tell him that I won the Nobel Prize.” The prestige of a Nobel Prize is not in doubt, but its 112-year history has been controversial and colourful.
The story behind the Prize is well known: industrialist Alfred Nobel stipulated in his 1895 will that most of his fortune be used to establish a fund to award five annual prizes “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” Prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace were first awarded in 1901; economics was added in 1969.
The Nobel Prize is held in such regard that other prizes are sometimes defined in terms of it. The Fields Medal is informally known as the “Nobel Prize of Maths”. The recent Milner Fundamental Physics Prize has been called the “Russian Nobel”. The Israeli Wolf Prize referred to as the “Pre-Nobel” prize, because of the many recipients who later win the Nobel. Conversely, the Ig Nobel Prize* is an American parody of the Nobel, given to “honour achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think”.
But there have been quite a few controversies, even if we don’t consider the often-politicized peace prize. For instance, half of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa for their discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature. Many felt that Nicola Cabibbo also deserved the award, as his work on two quark families laid the foundation for Kobayashi and Maskawa.
Such complications arise because of a rule to not award the prize to more than three people. In 1965 the Physics Prize went to Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger and Richard Feynman for their contributions to quantum electrodynamics, but not to Freeman Dyson who had mathematically demonstrated that their three approaches were equivalent.
A similar problem was anticipated for the development of quantum chromodynamics, which was based on published research articles by David Gross, David Politzer and Frank Wilczek as well as a lecture series by Gerard ’t Hooft. Fortunately, ’t Hooft received the prize for another contribution in 1999, allowing the other three to share the prize in 2004.
The No-Bell prize
There has also been an unfortunate history of the Nobel committee not recognizing the achievements of women. Columbia University researcher Chien-Shiung Wu experimentally confirmed the beta decay theoretical prediction of Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee, helping them win the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics, though she herself did not receive it.
Rosalind Franklin’s work on X-ray diffraction images of DNA confirmed its helical structure, for which Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962. Franklin herself was never even nominated, and tragically died at age 37 of ovarian cancer.
And Jocelyn Bell Burnell did not share in the 1974 Nobel Prize for the first observation of radio pulsars, despite the fact that she was the one who had actually observed them. She shared the observations with her doctoral thesis adviser Antony Hewish, who did receive the Prize. The astronomy community has so universally condemned that award that it is often called the “No-Bell” prize.
The gravitas of the prize has also given rise to a number of urban legends. The most popular one is that there is no Mathematics Prize because Nobel’s wife (or mistress) was clandestinely involved with a Swedish mathematician. This is not true, though. What is true is that when the 2010 Physics laureate Andre Geim was informed of his recognition by the Swedish Academy, he replied, “The Nobel Prize has interrupted my work. I’m not sure it is a useful interruption, though it certainly is a pleasant one.”
Ironically, receiving the prize that recognises a great accomplishment is often accompanied with a decline in scientific accomplishment. This is most likely due to the deluge of social demands placed upon the laureates, who are perceived not just as a great scientist but also a sage.
French biochemist André Lwoff, winner of the 1965 physiology or medicine prize, speaking on behalf of his colleagues, observed:America is declining, in large and important measures, yet policymakers aren’t paying attention. So argues a new academic paper, pulling together previously published data.
Consider this:
America’s child poverty levels are worse than in any developed country anywhere, including Greece, devastated by a euro crisis, and eastern European nations such as Poland, Lithuania and Estonia.
Median adult wealth in the US ($39,000) is 27th globally, putting it behind Cyprus, Taiwan, and Ireland.
Even when “life satisfaction” is measured, America ranks #12, behind Israel, Sweden and Australia.
Overall, America’s per capita wealth, health and education measures are mediocre for a highly industrialized nation. Well-being metrics, perceptions of corruption, quality and cost of basic services, are sliding, too. Healthcare and education spending are funding bloated administrations even while human outcomes sink, the authors say.
“We looked at very broad measures, and at individual measures, too,” said co-author Hershey H. Friedman, a business professor at Brooklyn College – City University of New York. The most dangerous sign they saw: rising income and wealth inequality, which slow growth and can spark instability, the authors say.
“Capitalism has been amazingly successful,” write Friedman and co-author Sarah Hertz of Empire State College. But it has grown so unfettered, predatory, so exclusionary, it’s become, in effect, crony capitalism. Now places like Qatar and Romania, “countries you wouldn’t expect to be, are doing better than us,” said Friedman.
“You can become a second-rate power very quickly,” added Hertz.
To be sure, the debate over whether America is on the decline has raged for years. The US National Intelligence Council said in its global trends report a decade ago American power was on a downward trajectory. Others making the case say the US is overstretched militarily, ill-prepared technologically, at-risk financially, or lacking dynamism in the face of influential, new competitors.
Arguing decline has been exaggerated, others point to a rising US stock market, manufacturing strength, a growing population, and a domestic energy boom.
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The authors collect many previously published rankings, and the picture that emerges, however, is sobering:
1. Median household income
Rank of U.S.: 27th out of 27 high-income countries
Americans may feel like global leaders, but Spain, Cyprus and Qatar all have higher median household incomesthan America’s (about $54,000). So does much of Europe and the industrialized world. Per capita median income in the US ($18,700) is also relatively low–and unchanged since 2000. A middle-class Canadian’s income is now higher.
2. Education and skills
Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 23 countries
The US ranked near the bottom in a skills survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which examined European and other developed nations. In its Skills Outlook 2013, the US placed 16th in adult literacy, 21st in adult numeracy out of 23, and 14th in problem-solving. Spots in prestigious US universities are highly sought-after. Yet higher education, once an effective way out of poverty in the US, isn’t anymore – at least not for lower-income and minority students. The authors quote studies showing, for example, that today 80% of white college students attend Barron’s Top 500 schools, while 75% of black and Latino students go to two-year junior colleges or open-admissions (not Top 500) schools. Poor students are also far less likely to complete a degree.
3. Internet speed and access
Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 34 countries
Broadband access has become essential for industry to grow and flourish. Yet in the US, penetration is low and speed relatively slow versus wealthy nations—thought the cost of internet is among the highest ($0.04 per megabit per second in Japan, for example, versus $0.53 in the US). The problem may be too much concentration and too little competition in the industry, the authors suggest.
4. Health
Rank of U.S.: 33rd out of 145 countries
When it comes to its citizens’ health, in countries that are home to at least one million people, the US ranks below many other wealthy countries. More American women also are dying during pregnancy and childbirth, the authors note, quoting a Lancet study. For every 100,000 births in the United States, 18.5 women die. Saudi Arabia and Canada have half that maternal death rate.
5. People living below the poverty line
Rank of U.S.: 36th out of 162 countries, behind Morocco and Albania
Officially, 14.5% of Americans are impoverished — 45.3 million people–according to the latest US Census data. That’s a larger fraction of the population in poverty than Morocco and Albania (though how nations define poverty varies considerably). The elderly have Social Security, with its automatic cost-of-living adjustments, to thank, the authors say, for doing better: Few seniors (one in 10) are poor today versus 50 years ago (when it was one in three). Poverty is also down among African Americans. Now America’s poor are more often in their prime working years, or in households headed by single mothers.
6. Children in poverty
Rank of U.S.: 34th out of 35 countries surveyed
When UNICEF relative poverty – relative to the average in each society—the US ranked at the bottom, above only Romania, even as Americans are, on average, six times richer than Romanians. Children in all of Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan fare better.
7. Income inequality
Rank of U.S.: Fourth highest inequality in the world.
The authors argue that the most severe inequality can be found in Chile, Mexico, Turkey — and the US. Citing the Gini coefficient, a common inequality metric, and data from Wall Street Journal/Mercer Human Resource Consulting, they say this inequality slows economic growth, impedes youths’ opportunities, and ultimately threatens the nation’s future (an OECD video explains). Worsening income inequality is also evident in the ratio of average CEO earnings to average workers’ pay. That ratio went from 24:1 in 1965 to 262:1 in 2005.
8. Prison population
Rank of U.S.: First out of 224 countries
More than 2.2 million Americans are in jail. Only China comes close, the authors write, with about 1.66 million.
9. Life satisfaction
Rank of U.S.: 17th out of 36 countries
The authors note Americans’ happiness score is only middling, according to the OECD Better Life Index. (The index measures how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings.) People in New Zealand, Finland, and Israel rate higher in life satisfaction. A UN report had a similar finding.
10. Corruption
Rank of U.S.: 17th out of 175 countries.
Barbados and Luxembourg are ahead of the US when it comes to citizens’ perceptions of corruption. Americans view their country as “somewhat corrupt,” the authors note, according to Transparency International, a Berlin-based nonprofit. In a separate survey of American citizens, many said politicians don’t serve the majority’s interest, but are biased toward corporate lobbyists and the super-rich. “Special interest groups are gradually transforming the United States into an oligarchy,” the authors argue, “concerned only about the needs of the wealthy.”
11. Stability
Rank of U.S.: 20th out of 178 countries.
The Fragile States Index considers factors such as inequality, corruption, and factionalism. The US lags behind Portugal, Slovenia and Iceland.
12. Social progress index
Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 133 countries
A broad measure of social well-being, the index comprises 52 economic indicators such as access to clean water and air, access to advanced education, access to basic knowledge, and safety. Countries surpassing the US include Ireland, the UK, Iceland, and Canada.
“If America’s going to be great again, we’ve got to start fixing things,” Friedman said.
Jill Hamburg Coplan is a writer and editor and regular contributor to Fortune.
This article originally appeared on Fortune.com
Read next: What America Should Learn From Greece
Listen to the most important stories of the day
Contact us at editors@time.com.More by this author
Stefan Green is the media strategist and producer at desiringGod.org.
More by this author
Stefan Green is the media strategist and producer at desiringGod.org.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
These words from the apostle Paul are the heartbeat to Jimmy Needham’s song “Forgiven and Loved,” written in the aftermath of a decade-long battle with pornography. Year after year, shame ruled Jimmy’s life until he experienced, at life-changing depth, a simple, glorious truth: Jesus is better.
In this short video, Jimmy talks about his battle against addiction and the truth that saved his life:
See below Jimmy’s special performance of the song for Desiring God (from his album Night Lights).
More on the fight against porn:Two questions I am often asked:
How far in advance do you work? How quickly can you publish a comic on a current event?
Today I will indirectly answer both questions by talking about something else entirely. I assume you’ve all been following the story of the Apple engineer who left a prototype 4G iPhone at a beer garden. I found this story too delicious to resist, but I worried that the story would become stale before my comics would work through the pipeline. I think the soonest I can get something published is in about a month, perhaps a bit sooner, but I’ve never tested it.
I drew two comics while considering my options. In the end, I thought it wasn’t worth the extra friction to push them to the front of the line. And it would be June 18th before they ran in their normal position, which seemed too far in the future. So here now, exclusively for you blog readers, the totally unfinished first drafts of those comics. You will never see these in newspapers.
Take a moment to marvel at the fact that I didn’t need to add anything to the story as it has been told in the media. All it really needed was Wally. I don’t think any of us will ever know what really happened. I based the comic on the media’s speculation of events. Remember that I’m in the parody business and not the truth business.openANX Meetup in Ukraine
openANX Community #2 — A look into the cryptocurrency landscape in Ukraine
OAX Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jul 18, 2017
This week our guest post is from an openANX community group in Ukraine, where the project has received huge support. If you are part of a group, or are a backer and would like to submit a blog post, email projectstallman@openanx.org
By burmik123 (Evhen from Kiev)
The Blockchain industry has been increasing significantly in the past year, especially for commercial use. We’ve seen more people starting to purchase Bitcoin, new start-ups entering the cryptocurrency industry, and Bitcoin ATMs being established into different parts of the world. Moreover, large companies and stores have started to take Bitcoin as mean of payment. Furthermore, some governments have started to recognize Bitcoin as an official currency. We’ve also seen governments start to implement blockchain technology for their own use.
At the same time, the cryptocurrency community had been growing steadily. Cryptocurrency awareness has been spreading consistently; more people are starting to learn about the use of Bitcoin, alternative coins, and initial coin offering (ICO). Everyday we’ve seen an increase in the number of cryptocurrency enthusiasts all over the world. Smaller countries like Ukraine was no exception.
The Ukrainian government is actively implementing the blockchain technology into their government structure (for example, state registration is currently being transferred to blockchain with the help of their partner, Bitfury). They are also actively searching for new technologies that seem promising, hence why the Ukrainian government has implemented the blockchain technology into their system and because of this, Ukraine has one of the largest cryptocurrency community within the CIS region.
Additionally, we can use Bitcoin for buying trade goods in our Central Emporium. Also in my native university KPI (Kiev Polytechnic Institute) at some faculties we have lessons, where lecturers tell students about Blockchain technologies. And especially I was in one café in Kiev, where people can pay for food and drinks using Bitcoin.
My experience
In early 2015 I learnt about Bitcoin and believed in the strength of Blockchain. I have since been a cryptocurrency enthusiast. Since then I began to engage myself in the cryptocurrency community, learning about different projects and through this, I have met many different people. Together we studied cryptocurrency, sharing our thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of the new technology. We also started trading cryptocurrency and participating in ICOs together. Despite the Ukrainian governments effort to adopt the Blockchain system, many citizens have yet to learn what cryptocurrency and Blockchain is and how it functions. Because of my involvement in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, I’ve been receiving many requests from people asking for advice.
Through the multiple requests, I decided to bring those who would like to learn about cryptocurrency into one place to conduct an information sharing session, a meet-up essentially. I would like to share with you about one of those meetings.
openANX meetup in Ukraine
Last weekend in Kiev, I held a meet-up session for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and beginners. We discussed about a couple of interesting projects and topics. I made a presentation to explain what cryptocurrency is for the beginners. Furthermore, the presentation included information on a project that I found intriguing- openANX.
openANX is a project that is focused on being a decentralized exchange in hopes of tackling issues the community is facing with centralized exchanges. openANX will provide a mechanism for credit risk trading, effective dispute resolution, and will implement Asset Gateways, bridging fiat to tokens in a collateralized and transparent manner.
Prior to this meet-up, I’ve had experience organizing similar events so it was not difficult for me to make the event fascinating and interesting. I really enjoyed meeting different cryptocurrency users. In my opinion, nothing beats face-to-face communication with people over some food and drinks. I decided to invite the participants to the pub “Pivna Duma” in Kiev. I did my best using my contacts to reach a broad range of audience. I have prepared a presentation and speech, even printed out openANX logos, especially for this event.
On the appointed day (1st of July) at 7 PM, we all gathered in the pub. We perfectly discussed about blockchain and crypto, and I made a presentation of the openANX project. With the ongoing problem of centralized exchanges being hacked, I decided that openANX was a project worth noting about. I talked about the main features of openANX and answered all questions from the audience. After that I explained to everyone how to participate in the openANX ICO.
What do Ukrainians think about openANX?
When I finished my speech and presentation, people asked me some questions and shared their views. It so happened that at our meet up there was a guy, who lost 7 000$ a year ago, when Bitfinex was hacked. He was very disappointed of this loss. So openANX as decentralized exchange is a really interesting concept for him. He told me that he looked at similar projects — Waves DEX. But at his opinion, Waves devs work very slowly and new project with idea of decentralized exchange is good opportunity for diversification, and openANX can make strong competition to them.
Another guy from meetup told, that decentralized exchange can covered customers from unpleasant situation, that happened to him. He is trading on one of the major exchange. When he tried to make a withdrawal of LTC (12 000$ estimate) nothing happened. LTC Disappeared from his account and did not appear at that place, where he expected. Also, the hash of transaction was incorrect. This situation he tried to solve with customer support, but they did not answer him for two weeks. Thankfully, after two weeks he received his LTC. This person was especially interested in the dispute resolution mechanism in openANX.
As for me I also trade on centralized exchange and I am very worried about my assets. The centralization of the exchange creates a weak point for hackers. This weak point makes me feel uncomfortable to store my assets, since it is not secured. The decentralization of exchanges seems to be the obvious next step, and I do like how openANX incorporates centralized exchanges by transforming them into asset gateways.
Other people from meetup also had their own thoughts about project. The beginners were particularly pleased with availability of Asset Gateways on the openANX platform because it allows users to exchange fiat into cryptocurrency with ease. Many questions regarding the ICO and general inquiries were raised. The more experienced participants were especially interested about the distinctive features of openANX compared to similar projects. A positive response was received, especially when I discussed about credit risk trading because it could influence the market in a positive manner.
Our meeting was very warm and friendly. Everybody listened to my presentation very carefully. MeetUp participants met interesting people and made interesting comments about the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. I met new friends, with whom is really pleasant to spend time together. We all talked about crypto trading, about our best moments and biggest losses. During the discussion, we drank tasty craft beer, it makes our meeting friendly and funny. We showed newbies step-by-step how to participate in token sales, and made ETH Wallets for them. At the end of meetup we exchanged by telephone numbers with all members. (last weekend we also met together)
Burmik123
You can connect with Burmik123 via bitcointalk below
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=921865
Remember that the deadline for transfer of OAX tokens is getting close, so make sure you’re registered! All you need is an email and the ETH address you contributed from, we’ll contact you if we need further details.
https://registration.openanx.org/"In love with a woman - must society reject me?" That's the real thing, the tagline from one of Ann Bannon's famous "Beebo Brinker" titles, a series that followed young lesbians in the big city, all featuring the dashing Beebo:
Ann Bannon (the pen name of Ann |
Airy's transit circle that was adopted in principle (with French delegates, who pressed for adoption of the Paris meridian abstaining) as the Prime Meridian of the world at the 1884 International Meridian Conference.[36][37]
All of these Greenwich meridians were located via an astronomic observation from the surface of the Earth, oriented via a plumb line along the direction of gravity at the surface. This astronomic Greenwich meridian was disseminated around the world, first via the lunar distance method, then by chronometers carried on ships, then via telegraph lines carried by submarine communications cables, then via radio time signals. One remote longitude ultimately based on the Greenwich meridian using these methods was that of the North American Datum 1927 or NAD27, an ellipsoid whose surface best matches mean sea level under the United States.
IERS Reference Meridian [ edit ]
Beginning in 1973 the International Time Bureau and later the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service changed from reliance on optical instruments like the Airy Transit Circle to techniques such as lunar laser ranging, satellite laser ranging, and very-long-baseline interferometry. The new techniques resulted in the IERS Reference Meridian, the plane of which passes through the centre of mass of the Earth. This differs from the plane established by the Airy transit, which is affected by vertical deflection (the local vertical is affected by influences such as nearby mountains). The change from relying on the local vertical to using a meridian based on the centre of the Earth caused the modern prime meridian to be 5.3" east of the astronomic Greenwich prime meridian through the Airy Transit Circle. At the latitude of Greenwich, this amounts to 102 metres.[38] This was officially accepted by the Bureau International de l'Heure (BIH) in 1984 via its BTS84 (BIH Terrestrial System) that later became WGS84 (World Geodetic System 1984) and the various ITRFs (International Terrestrial Reference Systems).
Due to the movement of Earth's tectonic plates, the line of 0° longitude along the surface of the Earth has slowly moved toward the west from this shifted position by a few centimetres; that is, towards the Airy Transit Circle (or the Airy Transit Circle has moved toward the east, depending on your point of view) since 1984 (or the 1960s). With the introduction of satellite technology, it became possible to create a more accurate and detailed global map. With these advances there also arose the necessity to define a reference meridian that, whilst being derived from the Airy Transit Circle, would also take into account the effects of plate movement and variations in the way that the Earth was spinning. As a result, the International Reference Meridian was established and is commonly used to denote Earth's prime meridian (0° longitude) by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, which defines and maintains the link between longitude and time. Based on observations to satellites and celestial compact radio sources (quasars) from various coordinated stations around the globe, Airy's transit circle drifts northeast about 2.5 centimetres per year relative to this Earth-centred 0° longitude.
It is also the reference meridian of the Global Positioning System operated by the United States Department of Defense, and of WGS84 and its two formal versions, the ideal International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS) and its realization, the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF).[40][41][42] A current convention on the Earth uses the opposite of the IRM as the basis for the International Date Line.
List of places [ edit ]
Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: KML · GPX
On Earth, starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the IERS Reference Meridian (as of 2016) passes through:
Prime meridian on other planetary bodies [ edit ]
"Prime meridian (planets)" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Central meridian (planets)
As on the Earth, prime meridians must be arbitrarily defined. Often a landmark such as a crater is used; other times a prime meridian is defined by reference to another celestial object, or by magnetic fields. The prime meridians of the following planetographic systems have been defined:
Two different heliographic coordinate systems are used on the Sun. The first is the Carrington heliographic coordinate system. In this system, the prime meridian passes through the center of the solar disk as seen from the Earth on 9 November 1853, which is when the English astronomer Richard Christopher Carrington started his observations of sunspots. [43] The second is the Stonyhurst heliographic coordinates system, originated at Stonyhurst Observatory.
The second is the Stonyhurst heliographic coordinates system, originated at Stonyhurst Observatory. In 1975 the prime meridian of Mercury was defined [44] [45] to be 20° east of the crater Hun Kal. [46]
to be 20° east of the crater Hun Kal. Defined [47] in 1992, the prime meridian of Venus passes through the central peak in the crater Ariadne. [48]
in 1992, the prime meridian of Venus passes through the central peak in the crater Ariadne. The prime meridian of the Moon lies directly in the middle of the face of the moon visible from Earth and passes near the crater Bruce.
The prime meridian of Mars was established in 1971 [49] and passes through the center of the crater Airy-0, although it is fixed by the longitude of the Viking 1 lander, which is defined to be 47°.95137 west. [50]
and passes through the center of the crater Airy-0, although it is fixed by the longitude of the Viking 1 lander, which is defined to be 47°.95137 west. Jupiter has several coordinate systems because its cloud tops—the only part of the planet visible from space—rotate at different rates depending on latitude. [51] It is unknown whether Jupiter has any internal solid surface that would enable a more Earth-like coordinate system. System I and System II coordinates are based on atmospheric rotation, and System III coordinates use Jupiter's magnetic field.
It is unknown whether Jupiter has any internal solid surface that would enable a more Earth-like coordinate system. System I and System II coordinates are based on atmospheric rotation, and System III coordinates use Jupiter's magnetic field. Titan, like the Earth's moon, always has the same face towards Saturn, and so the middle of that face is 0 longitude.
Pluto's prime meridian is defined as the center of the face that is always pointed towards Charon, its largest moon, as the two are tidally locked towards each other.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
^ [34] Voting took place on 13 October and the resolutions were adopted on 22 October 1884.
Citations [ edit ]A new study has found that a lower IQ is clearly associated with greater and riskier drinking among young men.
However, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, note that the men’s poor performance on the IQ test may also be linked to other disadvantages.
“Previous results in this area have been inconsistent,” said Sara Sjölund, a doctoral student at the Karolinska Institutet and corresponding author for the study.
“In two studies where the CAGE questionnaire — a method of screening for alcoholism — was used, a higher cognitive ability was found to be associated with a higher risk for drinking problems.
“Conversely, less risk has been found when looking at outcomes such as, for example, International Classification of Diseases diagnoses of alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and dependence.”
“In this study of a general population, intelligence probably comes before the behavior, in this case alcohol consumption and a pattern of drinking in late adolescence,” added Daniel Falkstedt, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of public health sciences at Karolinska Institutet.
“It could be the other way around for a minority of individuals — that is, when exposure to alcohol has led to cognitive impairment, but this is less likely to be found among young persons, of course.”
The researchers analyzed data collected from 49,321 Swedish males born during 1949 to 1951 and who were conscripted for Swedish military service from 1969 to 1971.
IQ results were available from tests performed at conscription. Questionnaires also given at conscription provided data on total alcohol intake and pattern of drinking, as well as medical, childhood, and adolescent conditions.
Adjustments were made for socioeconomic status as a child, psychiatric symptoms, and emotional stability, and the father’s alcohol habits, the researchers noted.
“We found that lower results on IQ tests in Swedish adolescent men are associated with a higher consumption of alcohol, measured in both terms of total intake and binge drinking,” said Sjölund.
“It may be that a higher IQ results in healthier lifestyle choices. Suggested explanations for the association between IQ and different health outcomes could be childhood conditions, which could influence both IQ and health, or that a socio-economic position as an adult mediates the association.”
The main message of the large cohort study may be that poor performance on IQ tests tend to go along with other disadvantages, added Falkstedt. He noted that poorer social background and emotional problems may explain the association with risky alcohol consumption.
“In reality, other differences of importance are likely to exist among the men, which could further explain the IQ-alcohol association,” he added.
“I think a higher intelligence may give some advantage in relation to lifestyle choices,” Falkstedt said.
“However, I think it is very important to remember that intelligence differences already existing in childhood and adolescence may put people at an advantage or disadvantage and may generate subsequent differences in experiences, and accumulation of such experiences over many years.
“Therefore, another important explanation of ‘bad choices’ among lower-IQ individuals may be feelings of inadequacy and frustration, I think. A number of studies have shown that a lower IQ in childhood or adolescence is associated with an increased risk of suicide over many years in adulthood.”
Both Sjölund and Falkstedt noted that results may vary among cultures and countries.
“I think that large parts of the association between IQ and alcohol consumption may be indirect and mediated by experiences in everyday life and differences in social situations,” said Falkstedt.
“It is not necessarily about making intelligent or unintelligent choices. For instance, in countries with weak social safety nets and high alcohol consumption among low-wage workers and the unemployed, I assume the association could be stronger than in economically more-equal countries, perhaps also among the young.”
Sjölund added that “we must be very careful in making any attempt to generalize our results to women, since their level of consumption and patterns of drinking likely differ in comparison with men.”
The study was published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism.
Source: Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Lower IQ Linked to Heavier Drinking in Young MenNearly two years after Moe (and everyone else) criticized Lori Gottlieb's advice to just settle for Mr. Maybe, Gottlieb came back. And so did her critics, and some evidence showing why exactly her advice is crap.
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Gottlieb's bullshit starts from one basic premise: nothing is as terrible as ending up without a husband. Despite being single herself, she knows that no married woman could possibly be as genuinely unfulfilled and unhappy as a single woman. Also, she's certain that the reason she ended up single is that she was too picky (read: shallow) about the men she deemed not-right-for-her in her twenties, with whom she could have been better off — if not, you know, happy — so she now believes that the road to something akin to non-misery runs straight through the guy you don't think you really want to go out with.
Moe's response was:
In fact, that's a good rule of thumb, if you constantly find yourself dating dudes for whom you think you are too good, that is probably the personality flaw that is keeping you from the perfect Mr. Right type characters you think you deserve.
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In this, I think we all agree. If "settling" means finding a little maturity, dating guys because they are interesting people and treat you with respect and with whom you have things in common instead of dating guys because your mom hates them or they are taller than you, that's a good start. If you define it as "settling" because he is 5'6" rather than 5'9", then you're the one with the problem.
The bigger issue, for me, is the idea that almost any husband is better than no husband. Julia Baird has the same problem.
But it's a leap of illogic to suggest that the answer is for women to settle for humdrum marriages with men you tolerate so you can have a father for your children. How insulting for men: imagine going to a boyfriend's house and seeing Marry Her: The Case for Settling for Ms. Good Enough on his shelves.
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It's unfair to you, and it's unfair to the man in question — who, in all likelihood, could find someone who actually, you know, loves him — and it does nothing but set both of you up for disappointment. If a husband is the goal, they're not hard to find or, if the divorce rate is anything to go by, to lose. And as anyone who has been in a long-term unhappy relationship knows damn well, it is often just as easy to be lonely in a relationship as lonely without one.
Want some examples of how this works in practice? James Delingpole has a whole host of them in his article The Secret Lives Of Married Men, in which he purports to reveal the essential truths of maleness: namely, that married guys all cheat (or desperately want to), lie and think their wives are more their mothers than their partners! It makes marriage sound wicked awesome. For example:
"I think most men see their wives as authority figures that they have to rebel against. Sometimes I'll nip outside for a sneaky fag, not because I'm a smoker, but because of how much my wife hates it.
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Paging Dr. Freud! Somebody's got unresolved mommy issues, and he's not alone. There's also this fabulous dad:
"And it's not that I don't love my kids; I adore them more than anything. It's just that I like them to see me at my best, when I'm doing fun stuff with them, rather than worn down with tedious ferrying duties: recorder concerts, ballet classes, that kind of thing."
You know, the shit his mother did for him! What a bitch she must have been.
Oh, and then there are the guys who hide their financial situation from their wives, since it's not of their wives' business what they do with "their" dough.
"I'm not sure when I'm going to finally clear my debts, but till then, what the wife doesn't know isn't going to hurt her, is it?"
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Oh, the ladies and their math skills! And other guys figure their wives are only in it for the wallet and the sperm-donor anyway (paging Lori Gottlieb!), so they're off the hook as long as they've given her what she wants.
And if the thought of a guy treating you as a mother-figure against whom he ought to rebel, or keeping you in the dark about your mutual financial situation doesn't get your ovaries a-tingling, we can always get to the cheaters, the wankers and the whoremongers. They look at internet porn, fearing you'll be offended and scold them likes their mothers did; they dream about boning other hot ladies and know that, since you're not that interested in sex, you have no idea how hard it is to be monogamous; they cheat and tell themselves that, since you must know, it's a "tacit arrangement"; and they engage in risky sexual behavior and claim that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas because everyone knows STIs never follow you anywhere. It's a great read, really.
What's the commonality between these guys, other than their massive Oedipal issues, their inability to view their wives and partners as intellectual and emotional equals and preference to lie? Not a one of them talks about how in love they are, how connected they are: it's all about the drudgery, the children, the house, the Marriage (as though its another child they just need to keep alive and get off to college). In fact, they're all describing the relationships Gottlieb lauds in her writing as better than being alone.
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Tara Parker-Pope, writing for the New York Times, has a slightly different perspective: she focuses on relationships where husbands and wives have unequal economic status that tilts in favor of the wives or totally equality. Guess what? Those marriages tend to last longer.
Today, the statistics show that typically, the more economic independence and education a woman gains, the more likely she is to stay married. And in states where fewer wives have paid jobs, divorce rates tend to be higher, according to a 2009 report from the Center for American Progress.
The other thing statistics show is that women who have economic independence and education tend to get married later. In fact, it's almost like these women don't settle... and then they are less likely to get divorced. Hmm. Take this example:
"Women no longer need to marry up educationally or economically, so they are more likely to pick men who support a more egalitarian relationship," said Stephanie Coontz, director of research and education for the Council on Contemporary Families and author of Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage. She pointed to herself as an example. "In my marriage, I have more education and, because he's retired, more income," she said. "I picked him not because I needed a meal ticket, but because I liked the fact that he respected me and had no problem sharing the responsibilities of daily life with me. More and more women now are able to make those choices."
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I'd rather be 40 and married to someone like Coontz's husband than in my peak fertility ignoring any of Dilingpole's friends' myriad lies to keep my relationship intact. In fact, that's the exact choice I've made, and, believe me, it's not one that I regret.
So, settle if you must, so as not to end up like Lori Gottlieb: 42, embittered and still single with a kid. Just don't be too surprised if you end up 42, embittered and divorced with a kid and an ex you can't stand. At least you'll know you settled.
The Case Against Settling [Newsweek]
The Secret Lives Of Married Men [Times of London]
She Works. They're Happy. [NYT]
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Photo via Archie McPhee SeattleResearchers investigated after their own Bitcoin mining pool was tapped, though how hackers accessed ISP infrastructure is still not known
A hacker generated $84,000 worth of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency by gaining access to a Canadian internet provider and diverting the computing power of private Bitcoin “mines”.
The malicious activity was discovered by researchers at Dell SecureWorks, a cyber intelligence company, after noticing that some of their own mining power stolen. The team traced the activity back to an internet service provider (ISP) in Canada, which remains anonymous.
It remains unclear exactly how the hacker managed to gain access to the ISP’s infrastructure to reroute users’ mining power to their own pool.
Speaking to the Guardian at the BlackHat security conference in Las Vegas, Pat Litke from SecureWorks suggested they may have been a current or former employee at the ISP, or an external hacker who had breached the company.
By gaining administrative access to a router at the ISP, they abused a service known as the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) that is designed to connect different networks on the internet together. By compromising BGP functions at the ISP, the hacker was able to send traffic destined for a legitimate mining pool to his own pool.
The hijacker actually set up two malicious pools. One was used to send miners to a second pool. “By convincing the miners to connect to this second malicious pool rather than the original malicious pool, the hijacker filters out traffic that has already been hijacked so it is not hijacked again,” the researchers’ paper read.
Users originally complained about the illicit activity on internet forums in March, but Litke and his colleague Joe Stewart said the attacks dated back to February. The hacker also stole mining power to release other cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin, HoboNickels and WorldCoin. As many as 8,000 Dogecoins, equivalent to $1.42, were lost at one small-time miner as a result of the hack.
To prevent similar attacks in the future, Litke and Stewart recommended pool servers use the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption protocol. If the affected pool had done so here, it would have prevented the theft, they said.
The researchers were impressed by the ingenuity of the hacker, saying it was a “great idea”, at least from a criminal perspective. The attacker was specifically targeting those miners who had invested in souped-up hardware designed to mine Bitcoin.
The victims will receive no compensation and Litke said the chance of any prosecution was very slim, due to the difficulty of tracking the perpetrator.FAT, stupid Americans with no health insurance have attacked plans to stop them dying so easily.
Across the United States poor people who are told what to think by television said President Obama's plan to give them free healthcare could lead to them being treated in a hospital that was not run by the Chicago Mafia.
Bill McKay, a retired shitkicker and Fox News analyst, from Kentucky, said: "I would rather replace my own hip using a rusty spoon than wait two months to have it done in a communist hospital, by some coffee-coloured faggot doctor who will then eat my unborn child to celebrate the end of Ramadan."
Barbara Hayes, a God-fearer, from Arkansas, added: "Ah see'd some woman from England on the Fox News sayin' her muslim communist doctor would only give her the good medicines if she denounced Jesus. Ah ain't denouncin' Jesus fir nobody, no siree."
But Dr Tom Logan, head of public health at the Institute for Studies, said: "The key difference between the United States and Britain is that we treat poor people rather than leaving them to die in a skip.
"It may take a few weeks or even months, and not everyone is happy about that, but we do at least all agree that it is marginally better than the skip."
He added: "Rich people have a thing called 'BUPA'. No-one knows what it stands for, though some people say it sounds as if it might be Indian. But it does mean you get your own room, quick treatment, nice food, and you get fawned over by nurses who were just that bit too sexy for the NHS."
Meanwhile Conservative leader David Cameron was forced to defend the NHS after Tory MEP Daniel Hannan's ego told Fox News that Britain's health system was 'worse than a lifetime of anal warts'.
A Conservative spokesman said: "We're not really sure what Daniel Hannan's problem is with the NHS. Perhaps they were unable to save his hair."
Stephen Malley, professor of American History at Reading University, added: "To be fair to Fox News and the Republicans, they do have a principled objection to socialised medicine based largely on the fact that a black man won the election.
"The thing you must always remember about the American right wing is that they are basically the baddies in a film."Take a look around at the next ball game or concert you attend. You’ll see thousands of fans snapping photos and videos and e-mailing them to friends. Those armies of smartphone owners—and their tablet-toting brethren—are contributing to a striking increase in wireless data usage: Cisco Systems estimates that mobile data traffic will grow by a factor of 18 by 2016, and Bell Labs predicts it will increase by a factor of 25. Intuitively, there’s a problem: all these photos and videos go over the airwaves. Yet just a few sections, or bands, in the spectrum of radio frequencies are available to the wireless carriers, which paid billions of dollars for them. Vastly more frequencies are reserved for other uses, from television and radio to aviation and military applications. Data traffic is growing so rapidly that carriers have imposed usage caps and raised prices. Surely, these two basic realities—exploding data use on the one hand, limited bands of spectrum on the other—must mean we will soon run out of airwaves for our gadgets, right?
Just two years ago the chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, suggested as much. He said the U.S. wireless industry desperately needed to get its hands on underused parts of the spectrum controlled by government agencies or TV broadcasters. Otherwise, wireless companies would find that demand for their services would outstrip their ability to provide them. “If we do nothing in the face of the looming spectrum crunch, many consumers will face higher prices as the market is forced to respond to supply and demand,” he declared. Similarly, an AT&T executive, Jim Cicconi, said that “the need for more spectrum is an industry-wide issue and problem.”
But these claims were premature. For one thing, spectrum “crunches”—mobile phone usage that overwhelms the available wireless frequencies—would occur at highly specific locations and times. Sometimes, alternative strategies can completely solve these localized problems.
Look around that stadium, for instance, and you’ll probably find milk-carton-size boxes tucked away in the rafters. These are short-range Wi-Fi receivers, operating on unlicensed portions of the radio spectrum. Your phone can send data through them instead of on the long-range cell-phone frequencies. The Wi-Fi boxes mop up all the data you send, and route it out of the stadium over a wired Internet connection. So the data sent by you and nearly everyone else in the stadium doesn’t touch the precious spectrum that the wireless carriers claim is running out. That clever trick is just one example of the new strategies and technologies that can be brought to bear.
Things Reviewed Report to the President: Realizing the Full Potential of Government-Held Spectrum to Spur Economic Growth
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
July 2012
The entire spectrum system is managed inefficiently. A recent advisory report to the White House made that clear enough, and it emphasized that sharing wireless frequencies more widely—rather than parceling each band out to a limited set of users—could increase wireless capacity by a factor of thousands. For example, many sections of the airwaves that are reserved for TV stations and federal agencies go unused. That’s partly because some regions have only three local TV channels and no one needs the remaining spectrum set aside for TV broadcasts. Or a military weapon system that gobbles spectrum in San Diego uses little or none in New York. “We don’t have a spectrum crunch so much as we have a spectrum policy crunch,” says David Tennenhouse, Microsoft’s vice president of technology policy and a former MIT professor and Intel executive. “The so-called ‘spectrum crunch’ really reflects artificial spectrum scarcity.”
To document this artificial scarcity more precisely, his company has launched a project, called the Microsoft Spectrum Observatory, to measure where and when bands of radio frequencies are actually being used, starting in Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Redmond, Washington. Tennenhouse hopes it is the first step in a far broader data-gathering effort that leads to smarter spectrum regulations. Pointing to the runaway success of Wi-Fi, which covers only short ranges and works on open, unlicensed frequencies, he adds, “The challenge now is to extend those proven successes to enable wider-area broadband access using other underutilized portions of the spectrum.”
Some early efforts at frequency sharing have begun. For example, some television channels that go unused in a given geographic area, referred to as “white spaces,” can now be used by other devices. And in December, the FCC recommended that researchers and companies be allowed access to frequencies that have been reserved for radar systems.
Many more airwaves could eventually be shared with the help of cognitive radios, which sense available frequencies and shift between them in milliseconds to avoid interference with other devices. Some of the first outdoor tests are under way at the University of Colorado. Groups elsewhere, including Virginia Tech, the University of California, Berkeley, and Rutgers, are also working on the technology. However, at least for now, rigid regulations don’t allow widespread use of flexible technologies like cognitive radio.
It’s not that the entire subject of a spectrum crunch is a red herring. Radio frequencies are a limited resource, and some bands aren’t well suited to long-distance communications. Wireless carriers can’t endlessly install new base stations, those towers atop office buildings or hillsides (sometimes disguised as trees), because eventually the signals would interfere with those from other stations. But shorter-range transmitters and receivers that use dedicated cellular frequencies—called small cells—can already fill gaps in coverage. The smallest of these, called femtocells, can be as cheap as $200 and give clear service in homes and offices while keeping the load off large base stations, much like those Wi-Fi gadgets in the stadium rafters. “Small cells are the hottest thing in the wireless industry right now,” says Jeff Reed, director of the wireless research lab at Virginia Tech.
John Donovan, an AT&T executive vice president, said this fall that while the company had bought additional spectrum rights and wanted still more, the immediate crisis had passed, and that half the new demand through 2015 would be handled by small cells. Such technologies have emerged far more strongly than anticipated. “If you looked a few years ago, you’d say we’d be out of spectrum by now,” says Vanu Bose, founder of Vanu, a wireless-communications company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bose, along with Reed, was a technical advisor on the White House report. “There are lots of ways to satisfy the demand,” he says. “Adding spectrum [for commercial services] is certainly one of them, and so are small cells, alternative offloading technologies, and innovations we haven’t even conceived of yet.”
Eventually, new technologies might free up airwaves by making wireless data transfers happen much more quickly. For example, MIT researchers have shown it’s possible to reduce the amount of back-and-forth communication required to deal with dropped packets of data. While the technique may be a few years from being widely implemented, lab demonstrations show that it could increase capacity tenfold. That means you could download your video 10 times faster than you do now, freeing the network that much sooner for someone else to use.
So can new technology stave off a spectrum shortage forever? Perhaps not, but Microsoft’s Tennenhouse says that decades of research advances are waiting to be applied to the problem: “Right now, we have a 15- to 20-year backlog of new technologies and architectures … which can take us a long way into the future.”
This story was updated on January 2, 2013.Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) has appealed to its supporters for help after the landlord of its Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre doubled the rent, a week after the launch of the new South Island MTR line. It is now seeking a suitable new place to relocate its dog homing centre.
“We knew that with the arrival of the MTR in Ap Lei Chau the rents would increase, that was inevitable. What we hadn’t anticipated was that the new asking price for our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre would be almost double the current rental,” a post on the NGO’s Facebook page said.
HKDR said that the landlord “waited until the last minute” to inform them about the proposed increase in rent, and that they had until the end of March to find somewhere new.
See also: Interview: Sally Andersen – The Hong Kong Dog Rescue founder who lives with 100 rescue dogs on Lamma
“I would normally say that would be impossible, but we have a lot of connected supporters who may be able to come up with something. We certainly hope so for the sake of the dogs,” HKDR said, urging supporters who have ideas for a suitable place to email them. The post has already been shared over 200 times on social media two hours after being published.
The new South Island MTR line connects Admiralty to South Horizons through Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang and Lei Tung. It came into operation last Wednesday.So bad are shortages of RAF aircraft the French air force has been asked to fly British troops for part of the exercise, senior sources said.
The two-week manoeuvre in Scotland, called Joint Warrior, was intended to fully test the UK’s ability to deploy naval, air and ground forces to “out of area” conflicts such as Libya.
The biggest Nato war games for UK troops in more than a decade, Joint Warrior was designed so that commanders can achieve “full operational capability”. The exercises are vital for “contingency operations” such as a terrorist threat during the Olympics.
One scenario saw an amphibious landing, followed by an infantry battalion being airlifted into action, as well as helicopter assaults and parachute drops.
However, furious troops had to carry out a “paper exercise” after the cash-strapped Ministry of Defence was forced to slash budgets.Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
Israel has resolved to outlaw a domestic Islamist movement with ties to Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, according to a press release distributed early Tuesday morning by the Prime Minister's Office.
The government says that it has declared the northern branch of the Islamic Movement "an illegal organization."
"The practical significance of this decision is that any entity or individual belonging to the group from hereon out and any individual who grants this organization services or operates under its auspices will have violated a criminal statute and is subject to imprisonment," the government statement read.The northern branch of the Islamic Movement is led by Sheikh Raed Salah, who has been convicted in court of numerous subversive activities, including funding Hamas, contacting an Iranian agent, assaulting a police officer, and leading a violent protest.In recent months, Salah has been at the forefront of agitating against Israeli rule over Temple Mount. His rallies frequently invoke the mantra of "Al-Aksa is in danger."The recent unrest between Israel and the Palestinians has been blamed on tensions surrounding the holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City, with the Israeli government issuing strenuous denials of claims that it is seeking to permit Jewish worship on Temple Mount."For years, the Islamic Movement's northern branch has been waging a campaign of deceitful incitement under the banner of 'al-Aksa is in danger,' which blames Israel by falsely accusing it of intending to harm the al-Aksa mosque and to violate the status quo there," the government statement read.""As part of these efforts, the northern branch formed groups of activists (Murabitun and Murabatat) whose job was to ignite provocations on Temple Mount," the government said. "These activities led to a significant rise in tensions on Temple Mount. A significant portion of the attacks that have been carried out recently were committed against the backdrop of this incitement and propaganda."This past September, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon signed a decree banning the Murabitun and Murabatat Islamist activist groups, which gather on the Temple Mount to disturb and intimidate Jewish visitors to the holy site on a daily basis.Ya’alon’s office states that the action is in line with a recommendation by the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency, and is in accordance with the position of the Israel Police. Ya’alon has become convinced that the step is necessary to protect national security and public order.The activities of these male and female groups “form a central component in the creation of tension and violence on the Temple Mount in particular, and Jerusalem in general,” the defense minister’s office says. It describes the activists as engaging in “dangerous incitement” against tourists, visitors, and worshipers on the Temple Mount, which leads to violence that could endanger lives.“The goal of the Murabitun and Murabatat is to undermine Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount, change the reality and the existing arrangements, and harm freedom of worship. They are linked to – and are directed by – hostile Islamist organizations,” the defense minister’s office says.The decree received approval from Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein."The northern branch, which is headed by Sheikh Raed Salah, is the sister-movement of the Hamas terrorist organization," the statement read. "These organizations are secretly and actively cooperating with one another.""The northern branch is a separatist, racist organization that doesn't recognize the State of Israel and its institutions, rejects its right to exist, and calls for the formation of an Islamic caliphate.""The cabinet's decision was arrived at following a series of exhaustive consultations with all of the relevant legal and security officials with the aim of putting a stop to dangerous incitement at home and preventing the harming of innocent life," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said."The government under my leadership will continue to act wherever necessary against instances of incitement and terrorism while at the same time continuing to devote resources for the betterment of the lives of Israel's Arabs and Jews," the premier said.Education Minister Naftali Bennett also praised the cabinet decision.In a statement on Tuesday, Bennett said, "From Paris To Jerusalem, there is one war on terror. The State of Israel moves from words to action: We are destroying terrorists' homes, cancelling residency statuses, and this morning we outlawed [the northern branch of] the Islamic Movement."Bennett continued, "Israel leads the free world against radical Islam. We don't try to explain terrorism, and we don't talk with terrorists - we fight terror with a strong hand - and we will win."According to a police statement, authorities began distributing cease and desist notices to 17 non-government organizations and charities with ties to the northern branch.These notices were handed out to offices in areas with large Arab populations, including Umm el-Fahm, Jaffa, Nazareth, Kfar Kana, Tora'an, Beersheba, and Rahat.Investigators also conducted searches and confiscated equipment in 13 of the 17 offices. Security forces left with computers, documents, and other material. The authorities also froze bank accounts which are alleged to have facilitated the activities of the movement, resulting in harm done to national security.The raids were organized and executed |
- should they be necessary - are concluded.
Labour are counting on MPs from coalition parties supporting them on Wednesday. Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem MP, has already publicly called on Ofcom to block the deal on the “fit and proper owner” grounds. He has said it is “unacceptable for a larger part of the media market to be run by a company which is currently so disreputable”.
In an emergency Commons debate last week several Tories called for a “pause” in the decision. They included Nicholas Soames, who claimed there was “clear evidence of serious criminality” on the part of the News of the World.
A Labour source told The Sunday Telegraph: “We are incredulous that David Cameron thinks that he can press on with the takeover or have an NHS-style delay. He shows no sign of understanding the breadth of the crisis or the depth of public anger."
The coalition’s Commons majority is more than 80 - meaning that Labour would need to get the votes of around 40 Conservative and Lib Dem MPs to have a chance of victory.Sam Esmail is a writer, director and producer working in both film and TV. Esmail made his debut as writer-director with the 2014 feature Comet, starring Emmy Rossum and Justin Long, which was released by IFC Films. Esmail is best known as the creator and show runner of the highly acclaimed, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning TV show Mr. Robot, starring Rami Malek and Christian Slater, which is currently in its third season on USA.
On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail sits down to talk with one of his heroes, Mark Frost, the man who created Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Return with David Lynch – and is also a huge fan of Mr. Robot. The two talk about the unique circumstances under which Twin Peaks: The Return was conceived and made, the story behind Episode 8 (one of the great hours of TV in recent memory), the polarizing second season of Mr. Robot, pushing the boundaries of what TV can be, and much more – including insights into projects that Frost and Lynch worked on that sadly never came to fruition. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse Film at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop about future Talkhouse Podcasts.
The music featured in the podcast is as follows:
1. Intro / outro underscore: “Plastic Man vs. The Giant Red Phase Of The Sun” – Iced Ink
Episode engineered by Gideon Brower and edited by Mark Yoshizumi. The Talkhouse podcast producer is Elia Einhorn.Thanks to the purchase of pretend space ships for a video game that does not yet exist and has no release date, the funding for Star Citizen now sits at more than $100 million
When Chris Roberts in 2012 returned to video games after almost a decade of producing Hollywood films, and turned to crowdfunding for a new space sim game, his success was practically guaranteed.
He was the developer of Wing Commander, the starfighter simulator released in 1990 that was an early pioneer of cinematic cutscenes, branching narrative, and dynamic soundtracks. Wing Commander III starred Mark Hamill and John Rhys-Davies, and was one of the first games to use full-motion video.
When Roberts began raising money for Star Citizen, the goal was to raise $2 million for a single-player space sim game called Squadron 42, coupled to a multiplayer, open-world game in which players could be traders, mercenaries, or pilots. The delivery date was November 2014.
As funding for the game increased, the scope of the project widened. Now Star Citizen is promised to smoothly combine first-person shooter gameplay with starfighter combat, a dynamic world with a player-run economy, and all presented in the best graphics that modern hardware can provide.
Today the release date for Squadron 42 is no more specific than 2016, and Cloud Imperium Games confirmed today to the Daily Dot that the multiplayer portion of Star Citizen does not have a release date. There is a cast list for Squadron 42, however, that includes Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, and Rhys-Davies.
Hamill recently talked about the technical challenge of shooting Squadron 42.
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You have a Porsche? Yeah, here's my ride... Roberts Space Industries
Hitting the $100-million mark is sure to give a shot in the arm to the Internet popcorn drama that’s been roiling around Star Citizen since July, when an independent game developer named Derek Small claimed on his blog that Star Citizen would never be finished, while promoting his own games.
This kicked off an epic he said, she said exchange between Small and Cloud Imperium Games that has included a harsh legal response from CIC, and an article from the Escapist that cited interviews with anonymous sources and seemed to corroborate some of Small’s charges of financial chicanery against CIC. (The Escapist had to ultimately defend how sources for the story were vetted.)
Small says that establishing legal protections for people that pledge crowdfunding campaigns is the issue. Meanwhile, Roberts and Hamill made an appearance at the 2015 Game Awards.
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Illustration via Roberts Space Industries
Here’s Gary Oldman performing one of his scenes.Star Citizen is making its money off preorder packages, and the sales of virtual ships. Access to Squadron 42 will run you $45. Individual starfighters can run you as much as $155. A gunship can run you $255. A Javelin-class destroyer, a large capital ship, is being advertised at $2,500.Roberts doesn’t seem too worried about any of this. If fans are concerned, the crowdfunding totals would probably stop rising so rapidly. Total funding in April 2014 was $43 million. Total funding in May 2015 was $83.2 million. And if people are asking for pledge refunds, they’re doing so quietly.In 1971, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, psychology professors at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the time, began a sabbatical year at the Oregon Research Institute. The two Israelis, both in their 30s, seemed like a study in contrasts; where Tversky, a decorated paratrooper with shrapnel lodged in his body, was optimistic and analytical, Kahneman was pessimistic and intuitive. But they shared a sense of humor, and an interest in the psychology of mistakes.
That year they ran dozens of experiments. In one, they built a wheel marked 0 to 100, but rigged it to stop on only 10 or 65. After each spin, the subject wrote down the number and was then asked to guess the percentage of countries in the United Nations that are African. On average, those who spun a 10 guessed 25 percent, while those who spun a 65 guessed 45 percent.
The number on the wheel, though arbitrary, unconsciously swayed people's predictions—hence the phenomenon is known as anchoring. It happens everywhere. For instance, a sale on cans of tuna that limits each customer to 12 causes the average shopper to buy twice as many cans (seven) than if there were no limit. People also anchor on ideas, sometimes with serious consequences. Recent studies indicate that physicians can fixate on an initial but ultimately misleading symptom, jump to conclusions, and fail to make an accurate diagnosis.
Kahneman and Tversky became connoisseurs of such cognitive biases, meticulously cataloging the ways in which human thinking is flawed.
Related Content Graphic The Reach of 'Prospect Theory' Thousands of citation records track the popularity of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky's seminal 1979 paper. View a Chronicle graphic to see how prospect theory has spread.
Beneath the laboratory curiosities lurked an explosive idea. In the 1970s—and still today, though to a lesser extent—two beliefs held sway in the social sciences. First, that people are generally rational and have sound judgment. Second, that when they depart from rationality, it's a temporary aberration, resulting from emotions like fear, hatred, and love. Kahneman and Tversky's research suggested an entirely different view: that it is the very way we think—our use of what they called heuristics, or mental shortcuts—that leads us astray.
In 1974 they published their findings in Science. "In general," they wrote, "these heuristics are quite useful, but sometimes they lead to severe and systematic errors." That might not sound like the opening shot of a revolution, but as Mark Kelman, a professor of law at Stanford University, puts it: "This was reconceptualize-the-world-type stuff."
Five years later, Kahneman and Tversky did it again, this time upending conventional wisdom about economic behavior. Assumptions about rationality and selfish profit-seeking are built into utility theory, the dominant model in economics, which holds that people will always act in their own best interests. But for Kahneman and Tversky, it was self-evident that people are neither fully rational nor completely selfish. Their "Prospect Theory: an Analysis of Decision Under Risk," published in Econometrica, exposed flaws in utility theory by pointing out how it fails to capture the way people actually behave: We are easily influenced by frames and anchors; we're overconfident; we fear losses more than we value gains. Prospect theory, they argued in 29 equation-packed pages, provides a more psychologically realistic model of economic behavior. (The name itself, "prospect theory," is meaningless. Kahneman and Tversky wanted something distinctive and easy to remember.)
"Going back to Adam Smith, everyone knew that the idea that people operate optimally is a simplification," says Eric Wanner, president of the Russell Sage Foundation and an early enthusiast of Kahneman and Tversky's work. "But until prospect theory, nobody had pinned down the psychology well enough to do anything about it." Richard Thaler, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, has an earthier explanation of prospect theory's impact: "Rationality was f***ed."
Perhaps, but it didn't feel that way to most people at the time. Kahneman and Tversky (who died in 1996) had early converts among some junior professors and insurgent types, but their thinking was at first far from the mainstream. Today, however, their ideas have rippled across the scholarly landscape, from economics to engineering, medicine to environmental studies. Their Science and Econometrica papers are among the two most cited in all of social science. According to the Thomson Reuters Web of Science, Kahneman has appeared or been cited in scholarly journals more than 28,312 times since 1979. In 2002 he won the Nobel in economic science for "having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science."
Kahneman's career tells the story of how an idea can germinate, find far-flung disciples, and eventually reshape entire disciplines. Among scholars who do citation analysis, he is an anomaly. "When you look at how many areas of social science he's put his fingers in, it's just ridiculous," says Jevin West, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, who has helped develop an algorithm for tracing the spread of ideas among disciplines. "Very rarely do you see someone with that amount of influence."
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But intellectual influence is tricky to define. Is it a matter of citations? Awards? Prestigious professorships? Book sales? A seat at Charlie Rose's table? West suggests something else, something more compelling: "Kahneman's career shows that intellectual influence is the ability to dissolve disciplinary boundaries."
You don't glean much about how he did that from his new memoir, Thinking, Fast and Slow (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The book's scope is wide—Kahneman, 77, revisits his entire body of scholarship, including the research on judgment and bias he did with Tversky, as well as his later work on happiness—but his focus is on the science, not himself. (Kahneman was unable to comment for this article, because of an arrangement with another publication.) For a clearer sense of his stature, turn to the blurbs. "Among the most influential psychologists in history," says Steven Pinker. "One of the greatest psychologists and deepest thinkers of our time," says Daniel Gilbert. Nassim Nicholas Taleb declares Thinking, Fast and Slow "a landmark book in social thought, in the same league as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations."
That's not book-flacking hyperbole. (OK, maybe a little.) Ask around and you hear pretty much the same thing. "Kahneman is the most influential psychologist since Sigmund Freud," says Christopher Chabris, a professor of psychology at Union College, in New York. "No one else has had such a broad impact on so many fields."
Born in Tel Aviv in 1934, the son of Lithuanian Jews, Kahneman spent his boyhood in Paris, where the family prospered until Germany invaded, in 1940. Precocious and math-minded, the 6-year-old decided to sketch a graph of the family's fortune: The curve dipped into negative territory.
Jews in France were placed under curfew and required to wear a Star of David. One evening, when Kahneman was no more than 7, he accidentally stayed late at a friend's house. Before starting the few blocks' walk home, he turned his sweater inside out. An SS soldier approached. "I was terrified that he would notice the star inside my sweater," Kahneman recalled years later. Instead, the black-uniformed Nazi gave him a hug and showed him a photograph of his own son. The cognitive dissonance made a great impression on Kahneman: How was this soldier simultaneously capable of great cruelty and great affection?
After Kahneman's father was arrested in a roundup of Jews—his employer, a chemical company, somehow negotiated his release—the family fled, first to the Riviera and then to the center of France. In 1944, Kahneman's father died from untreated diabetes. The rest of the family survived the war and returned to Palestine. In an interview a few years ago, Kahneman was asked about his wartime experience. He said simply, "I was luckier than most of the children of my generation in that place in the world."
At Hebrew University, Kahneman studied psychology and math, earning a bachelor's degree in two years. In 1955, he joined the psychological-research unit of the Israeli military. Just 21, he found himself the best-trained psychologist in the young army. He was assigned to assess the psychological fitness and leadership abilities of new recruits. Mostly he watched as soldiers completed group challenges like trying to cross a six-foot-high wall using nothing but a log that couldn't touch either the ground or the wall. Kahneman made note of who took charge and who was a quitter, and was confident in his evaluations.
That confidence was misplaced. Every few months, a commander would report to him about each soldier's actual performance. It was always the same story: Kahneman's evaluation had been about as accurate as a blind guess. He noticed something else as well: He was incapable of acknowledging the full extent of his own ignorance. He didn't doubt the evidence, but he remained confident in his predictions.
Decades later, Kahneman coined a phrase for this cognitive fallacy—the illusion of validity—and applied it to the psychology of Wall Street. Fifty years of research is conclusive, he argues in Thinking, Fast and Slow: Picking stocks is a game of luck, not skill. And yet the illusion of expertise persists in the financial world—and not only there. We are all masters of self-deception, he suggests, blithely ignorant of our own ignorance.
By the mid-60s, Kahneman had joined the faculty at Hebrew University. One day Amos Tversky, a colleague, argued in a guest lecture in Kahneman's class that people are generally good intuitive statisticians. Kahneman was skeptical, having already been sensitized to his own cognitive limitations. Their debate was lively, and they decided to collaborate on a study of intuition and expertise.
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Their first paper was published in Psychological Bulletin in 1971, shortly before they arrived in Oregon. It confirmed what Kahneman had suspected: Even the brains of professional statisticians are not well suited to think statistically. To determine the lead author, he and Tversky flipped a coin. Thereafter they alternated. Over the next 12 years, their research forever changed the way people think about thinking.
"When I met Danny and Amos, neither of them knew any economics," says Richard Thaler. "They couldn't have passed Econ 101." Thaler, sharp-witted and talkative, is seated in his glass-walled corner office at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He props his feet on the cluttered desk, clasps his hands behind his head, and takes me back to 1976.
Thaler was then an untenured assistant professor at the University of Rochester with an unusual hobby: He collected examples of people behaving at odds with utility theory. For instance, he had a wine-collecting colleague who paid $35 for a bottle but refused to sell it for less than $100. Utility theory couldn't explain the large disparity between those prices. Thaler called these cases anomalies and tacked a list of them to his office wall.
One day a package arrived from an acquaintance. Inside were several papers, including Kahneman and Tversky's 1974 Science article on heuristics and biases. Thaler was enthralled. He tracked down an early draft of their essay on prospect theory—in which a key idea is that losses are more acutely felt than gains. Put another way: The pain of giving up a bottle of wine you own and value can be greater than the pleasure of getting an equally good bottle.
For Thaler, it was an aha! moment. "I was no longer the only crazy person in the world. There were at least two other equally crazy people," he says, grinning broadly. "Even more, they were well regarded in their field, which I was not." Kahneman and Tversky were then at the Center for Advanced Studies at Stanford University. In 1977, Thaler went to Palo Alto and stayed for 15 months. Behavioral economics had its origin story.
The once-marginal field is now booming. Consider that the top five economics journals rejected Thaler's first paper on anomalous behavior (it was finally published in 1980 by the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization). Today he is rumored to be on the shortlist for his own Nobel. What accounts for this sea change? How did an idea—integrating psychology into economics—become a movement?
Part of the answer can be traced to Eric Wanner. Back in the mid-1970s, he edited Harvard University Press's series on cognitive science. Kahneman and Tversky were on the advisory board, and Wanner heard the buzz about prospect theory. In 1982 he left the press to join the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, where he tried to bring economists and psychologists together to research the market implications of nonrational decision making. Kahneman and Tversky were at first skeptical, convinced that interdisciplinary work couldn't be coerced. They suggested instead that Wanner get behind the few economists then willing to listen. Sloan's first grant in that area, in 1983, paid for Thaler to spend a sabbatical year with Kahneman, who was then at the University of British Columbia. "That's when behavioral economics really crystallized in my mind," Thaler says.
A few years later, Wanner became president of the Russell Sage Foundation, which since 1986 has put $8.3-million into behavioral economics. "These are not princely sums," Wanner says, but the money has been well spent. In 1994 the foundation established a biannual summer camp for budding behavioral economists. The two-week workshop for some 30 advanced graduate students and junior faculty was Kahneman's idea. Among the graduates are several leading lights of the field, including David Laibson and Sendhil Mullainathan, of Harvard, and Terrance Odean, of the University of California at Berkeley. (Mullainathan, who received a MacArthur Foundation "genius award" in 2002, was recently appointed to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Office of Research.) "Dollar for dollar, says Colin Camerer, a professor of economics at the California Institute of Technology, "it's the best social-science investment any foundation has ever made."
As Kahneman and Tversky's ideas hopped from discipline to discipline—by the early 1980s, prospect theory had spilled over into medicine, law, and political science—the pattern repeated itself: An enterprising, unorthodox scholar from outside of psychology would fall into their orbit and extend their ideas in new directions. The story of how this happened in medicine is representative.
Donald Redelmeier began his residency at the Stanford University Medical Center in the 80s and became a student of Tversky's, who had joined the university's faculty in 1978. "The brightest person I ever met," Redelmeier says by phone from his office at the University of Toronto, where he is a physician and researcher. In a number of papers he wrote independently with Kahneman and Tversky, Redelmeier—called the "leading debunker of preconceived notions in the medical world" by The New York Times—explored doctor-and-patient decision making and the psychology of pain. He even put to rest the belief that arthritis symptoms are exacerbated by inclement weather. (Redelmeier and Tversky chalked that myth up to people's tendency to look for patterns even where none exist.)
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"Danny and Amos didn't always see the medical connections, but they had a tremendous receptivity to people outside their domain of expertise," says Redelmeier. "When they spoke about decision sciences, I was all ears; when I spoke about medicine, they shut up and listened."
Framing—the way information is presented—is the most salient example of how a cognitive bias identified by Kahneman and Tversky can affect medical decision making. In a classic study done by Tversky and colleagues at Harvard Medical School, physicians were given two options to treat a patient with cancer: surgery or radiation. The five-year survival rate favored surgery, but the short-term risks were higher. Half the doctors in the study were told that the one-month survival rate was 90 percent, while the other half were told that there was a 10-percent mortality rate in the first month. The odds were the same, of course, but the doctors responses' were markedly different. Those told the survival rate were much more likely to choose surgery (84 percent) than those who were given the mortality rate (50 percent).
Among the medical experts who have taken note of such findings is Jerome Groopman, an oncologist at Harvard Medical School and author, with Pamela Hartzband, of Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What Is Right for You (Penguin Press, 2011). "Rational-decision analysis is so far from a doctor's reality," he says, adding that the typical consultation lasts only eight to 10 minutes. In that time, doctors must rely on intuition and pattern recognition—this symptom suggests that ailment—to reach a diagnosis. About 80 percent of the time, he says, intuition gets it right. But in the other cases, the patient is misdiagnosed or the diagnosis is delayed.
Groopman believes that heuristics and biases are often to blame. "Intuition is powerful and necessary," he says, "but if you just rely on that, you're going to get it wrong." According to Hartzband, that message is getting through to her students. "I routinely hear them using terms like anchoring," she says, adding that Kahneman and Tversky "have definitely percolated through the ranks."
Four decades after he and Tversky first cleared the way for a new understanding of the mind, Kahneman and his ideas have branched off in a dizzying array of directions. How to explain his influence? Most everyone agrees that his scholarship—especially the work with Tversky from 1971 to 1983—is just exceptionally good. Moreover, their insights are relatively easy to digest and pack a lot of explanatory power. And because they shine a light on the very stuff of thought, their ideas are relevant to just about everything.
Political scientists use prospect theory to model foreign-policy decision making. Some international-relations scholars argue that cognitive biases favor hawkish policies, making wars more likely to begin and more difficult to end. (Kahneman shares that view.) At Columbia University, an interdisciplinary group of economists, psychologists, and anthropologists is building on Kahneman's ideas about risk perception to better understand apathy about climate change. Kahneman's services are also, not surprisingly, in demand on Wall Street. Guggenheim Partners, a New York-based global financial-services firm that manages more than $125-billion in assets, has recently advertised a Kahneman-designed "proprietary approach" to help "high-net-worth investors understand their specific attitudes toward risk."
It may be in the policy world where Kahneman's ideas have gained the most recent attention and may have the most impact. In the late 1990s, a movement in behavioral law and economics emerged to challenge the assumption in conventional law and economics that judges, jurors, criminals, and consumers are rational. That school of thought, which emerged in the 70s and is most closely associated with Richard Posner, is seen as a bulwark of free-market libertarianism. If people make good choices, the thinking goes, government need only get out of their way. Critics were at a disadvantage, says Thaler. They had misgivings and arguments, but no competing theory of economic behavior. "Then Kahneman and Tversky came along," he says. "People who felt like they were being bullied now had something to hit back with."
Much of this hitting back has been done by Kahneman's friend and collaborator Cass R. Sunstein, the Harvard Law professor who now serves as head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. In 1998, Sunstein and Thaler, along with Christine Jolls, of Yale Law School, published a highly influential article—"A Behavioral Approach to Law and Economics"—in the Stanford Law Review. They called on legal scholars to adopt a more realistic view of human nature. In 2008, Sunstein and Thaler built on those ideas in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (Yale University Press), which drew from Kahneman and Tversky to design noncoercive policies that encourage people to save more, eat better, and become smarter investors.
For example, 401(k) programs are generally opt-in, meaning that the onus to join is on the employee. Many of us want to, and doing so is certainly in our self-interest, but we're human: We procrastinate, we forget. Sunstein and Thaler proposed switching 401(k) programs to automatic enrollment. Studies show how doing so increases employee participation. Moreover, because there is still an opt-out, people aren't forced to join against their will. Kahneman calls Nudge the "bible of behavioral economics." Interest in these ideas has spread across the Atlantic. The British government has established something called a Behavioural Insight Team to bring principles from behavioral economics to bear on public policy. (Thaler is an adviser.)
It now seems inevitable that Kahneman, who made his reputation by ignoring or defying conventional wisdom, is about to be anointed the intellectual guru of our economically irrational times. For proof, look no further than the newsstand. In the December issue of Vanity Fair, Michael Lewis profiles Kahneman, who is described on the cover as the "brilliant but quirky professor who made Moneyball possible." Rumor has it that the article is a preview of Lewis's sure-to-be best-selling next book. Will Aaron Sorkin write the movie script? Will Brad Pitt star? Will Kahneman fall victim to his own illusion of expertise?
That's unlikely. Near the end of Thinking, Fast and Slow, he insists that his deep understanding of bias and blunder has not made him immune to either failing. "Except for some effects that I attribute mostly to age, my intuitive thinking is just as prone to overconfidence, extreme predictions, and the planning fallacy"—making excessively optimistic estimates of how long it will take to complete a project—"as it was before I made a study of these issues," he writes.
But Kahneman, it seems, has indeed learned something about the limits of intuitive thinking. After all, what could be more counterintuitive than a humble guru?
Evan R. Goldstein is managing editor of The Chronicle Review.Stop telling me I have a bikini body.
Summer Lorenzsonn Blocked Unblock Follow Following Aug 9, 2014
When I decided to get healthy 12 years ago, I was 100% prepared for what typically comes along with 100+ lbs of weight loss: the resulting excess skin. After all, the most important thing was that whole “getting healthy” part. If I had to pay in aesthetics for my earlier carelessness, so be it.
Twelve years ago.
I look fine in clothes. In fact, in some clothes, I look fantastic. I know how to flatter the good parts and mask the flaws. It can be really frustrating at times to actually find clothes that can do this considering the weird nature of excess skin, but after twelve years, I at least know how to hunt.
And it’s in those clothes that I have no worries. I have self-confidence out the wazoo. I’m the exact opposite of a shrinking violet. My job requires me to be assertive, and I do that just fine. Things are good. No complaints.
Well… no complaints until someone tells me how to feel about what’s under those clothes.
It would be one thing if I wasn’t in my mid-thirties. It would be one thing if the weight loss was recent and I was still evolving from my pre-weight-loss sense of self. It would be one thing if I wasn’t so enthusiastic about my level of fitness.
I get it. Culturally, there is an epidemic of women basing their self-worth on what their bodies look like. The push is on to empower everyone to accept their flaws and “the only body you’ve got,” rejecting unrealistic Photoshopped portrayals of body in the media. We shouldn’t compare ourselves to nonsensical perfection and focus on self-confidence in our own skin.
And that’s great, for most people. There truly are a lot of women out there who are insecure for no good reason and need to have this pounded into their skulls. You don’t have to see ribs to wear a bikini. You don’t have to care what others think about how you look in that bikini, either. Rock it if you so choose.
But I do not choose that bikini. And no matter how much you tell me to love my body the way it is, I’m NEVER going to choose that bikini.
I do not find my excess skin to be aesthetically pleasing. Whether or not you or anyone else finds it aesthetically pleasing is not my concern. And just like I’m not going to wake up tomorrow being attracted to women, I am not going to wake up tomorrow and look at my naked body thinking, “damn, I love this.”
I am the type of person that if I’m not happy about something that I can change, I change it. Clearly, I did that when I lost 140 pounds and kept it off. When I wanted to get out of my tiny hometown, I took a practical risk and got out. When I wanted to change careers, I followed a path to do so. When I wanted to be strong, I set off on programming to get stronger.
The truth is, I love what my body is capable of. I’m just irritated by this layer that hides all the hard work I’ve put in.
Of course, with the excess skin, the only thing that can change it is surgery. I’ve tolerated the skin for a very long time. I’ve done everything I can do outside of that realm. I’ve long since accepted that I have no other options and made peace with it. Technically, I could tolerate it forever. I’ll never love it, but tolerate it, sure. It’s like family that you don’t really want to hang out with. It is what it is.
I’m a realist. I would look like shit in a bikini, bottom line. I don’t hate myself because I’d look like shit in a bikini. I just know better than to make myself feel like shit by trying to force myself to like how I’d look in a bikini. I know better than to believe I’m broken because I don’t think my excess skin in a bikini is attractive. Just like I know I’m not broken because I don’t find every man on the planet attractive.
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This spring, I had surgery consultation to possibly get the excess skin removed once and for all. The cost is astronomical, and I knew that going in. What I didn’t expect was encouragement from my fitness-minded friends that I should attempt to crowdfund to make it happen. And while I’m not normally the type to do something like that, our finances proved that we could afford about 2/3 of the cost, so attempting to fund the last third didn’t seem too crazy.
What I did underestimate, however, was just how virulently people would object to the idea that I’d want to have the surgery at all. Apparently, pursuing plastic surgery means that you are full of self-loathing, and surgery is incapable of fixing what’s REALLY wrong — your head.
I’ve been told outright, “once you have the surgery, you’ll just find something else to hate about yourself, like the scars.”
I’m repeatedly reminded, “but you look GREAT! You look JUST FINE the way you are! You don’t need surgery!”
And yet, in the face of these concerns, nobody actually asks me about my motivations. Nobody asks questions about its benefits beyond the superficial. Nobody even pretends to have a clue about what is actually going on in my head. They assume, and then preach on that assumption.
I’m sorry, everyone: I don’t hate myself. I don’t sit in a puddle of self-loathing. I don’t measure my worth by what my body looks like. I’ve done awesome things with my life and I will continue to do awesome things with my life regardless of whether the extra skin is there or not. After all… twelve years, remember? If I was completely emotionally crippled by my excess skin, I really doubt I’d be where I am today.
This isn’t about me wanting a culturally-approved bikini body, either. Nobody has asked me about that, but a whole lot of people sure have seemed to think my end game has something to do with a broken-brained dream that I need to conform to screwed-up standards. Those who have known me since I was a kid would tell you in a heartbeat that this has never, ever been something I’ve given two shits about.
So what is it about?
It’s about getting rid of something I don’t like. Think of it as a really huge version of having a wart on your face.
It’s about making my life easier when it comes to clothing. Seriously, you have no idea how annoying it is to try and fit around this stupid skin. I look great when I pull it off, but it’s no small process.
It’s about getting rid of 4–8 pounds of garbage that does nothing to add strength to my lifts. (And actually gets in my way trying to do yoga. Nothing like having to rearrange your butt when you change poses.)
It’s about being tired of tolerating this crap. Yeah, I’ve lived with it and I can continue to live with it if I have to. But lordy, I am TIRED of it.
And it’s about maybe having what empowered women say I should have: belief that I have a bikini body, no matter how many stretch marks, lumps, or scars remain after the fact. I am happy to love everything that I absolutely cannot (or am not willing to) change. Change the excess skin, and that hurdle is gone.
All I ask is for support. Otherwise, please take your judgmental assumptions and your bikini-body nonsense and stick it squarely up your ass.At Kaleoscope, we intentionally present material that will give minority Christians a voice to the issues of our day. But more importantly, we desire to filter our view and voice through the lordship of Jesus Christ, according to will of the Father through the work of the Spirit. In short, we want to cull our perspective through a biblical lens and address issues accordingly so that the church might proclaim the majesty of Jesus Christ as a disparate group of people united to him for his purpose. When it comes to the current discourse on race, we fully acknowledge that racially prejudicial attitudes still exist as events like Charlottesville demonstrated. We are chagrined that such dispositions would be present in the church of Jesus Christ. While it might be tempting to address these issues according to the dictates of contemporary theories, our goal is to filter corrections through the reconciliatory work of Christ as the primary anchor that any kind of reconciliation can happen. In this regard, we appreciate and endorse the statement issued by the Reverend Bill Evans, Critical Theory and the Unity of the Church, found on The Ecclesial Calvinist and endorsed by pastors and others. Here is the full text of the statement.
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The undersigned concerned individuals are constrained, indeed compelled, to speak to ideological dangers that threaten and subvert the unity of the Body of Christ.
Some in the conservative Reformed community evince a laudable desire to overcome racial injustice, but they often seek to understand racial divisions by relying on categories drawn from the “critical theory” of secular academia (e.g., notions of “white privilege,” “white guilt,” “intersectionality,” and more broadly the power-analysis tradition that stems from Marx, Foucault, and others) rather than from Scripture and the Christian tradition. As a result of this uncritical borrowing, some in the church are falling headlong into the divisive identity politics that now plague the broader culture and particularly higher education.
These secular categories are often unhelpful. For example, what are often taken to be examples of “white privilege” are simply the rights and opportunities that should be enjoyed by all, and the appropriate response is not to engender subjective feelings of “white guilt” but to work to extend these rights and opportunities to all. Furthermore, the notion of “white privilege” |
rival U.S. and Iranian-backed forces can avoid conflict and even cooperate in the battle against ISIS, but major questions remain about how to secure and rebuild Fallujah, resettle the tens of thousands of civilians who fled the fighting and establish a sustainable peace in a city that has long been riven by sectarian divisions.
Aid agencies have expressed alarm about the ongoing plight of at least 84,000 people currently displaced from Fallujah. Without a safe pathway out of the city, civilians fleeing the recent battle were forced to brave gunfire and explosives in the streets. Some drowned while crossing the Euphrates River. Even those who managed to escape are now stranded in the searing summer heat in camps outside the city with limited supplies of food, water, and medicine.
Following the chaotic exodus of civilians from Fallujah, aid organizations say more needs to be done to prepare for the even larger flow of displaced people that will result from any battle in Mosul, where an estimated 600,000 people are currently living under ISIS rule. That means establishing a safe route for civilians to exit and ensuring a humanitarian infrastructure is in place before the battle begins.
“If we struggled to cope with Fallujah, then God help us with Mosul,” says Karl Schembri, a spokesperson in Baghdad for the Norwegian Refugee Council, a leading aid group. “Right now it’s just unthinkable. Right now with the current resources that all agencies have—it’s not just us, and the U.N. itself—nobody in his right mind can say that we are prepared for Mosul.”
Yuri Kozyrev: On the Front Lines of the War Against ISIS Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIME 1 of 35 Advertisement
Among the many challenges facing Iraqi authorities is keeping ISIS operatives from infiltrating government-held territory by slipping in among fleeing civilians. But doing so carries major human rights risks—Iraqi forces routinely separated men from women fleeing Fallujah, leading to the reported disappearance of hundreds of men. According to Human Rights Watch, there is also evidence that pro-government forces also tortured detainees and in one case summarily executed more than a dozen civilians.
Evidence compiled by rights groups suggests that some of the abuses were carried out by government forces such as the Federal Police. Others were the fault of government-allied, Shiite-dominated militias called Popular Mobilization forces. Organized in 2014 as a bulwark against ISIS after the Iraqi national army collapsed, the Popular Mobilization groups now play a central but controversial role in the civil war. Critics accuse the Shiite-dominated militias of punishing ordinary Sunni civilians. The leaders of the militias deny those charges, but there’s no doubt that using Shiite militias to fight the Sunni jihadists of ISIS risks alienating ordinary Sunni Iraqis.
In Fallujah, Iraqi leaders can look to some positive signs. Pro-government forces retook the city after nearly five weeks of fighting. The battle ended more quickly than expected as ISIS forces abandoned the area. Some observers had feared a repeat of the intense urban warfare experienced by U.S., Iraqi, and British troops fighting a Sunni-led insurgency there in 2004, one of the deadliest battles in the nearly decade-long U.S.-led occupation.
Analysts say the fight for Fallujah was also an example of coordination among rival forces, including U.S.-trained troops and pro-Shiite militias that lean toward Iran. In Fallujah, Iraqi police, special forces and Popular Mobilization forces all participated in the battle—and in a surprisingly harmonious way.
Before the launch of the operation in May, massive protests against the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spurred the competing forces toward coordination, according to Maria Fantappie, a senior analyst with International Crisis Group. “When the domestic crisis unfolded, there was, I think, a renegotiation in an indirect way between the two sides over this issue,” says Fantappie, speaking by phone from Iraq.
A rough division of labor emerged, with Iran-backed forces deployed on the northwest outskirts of the city and U.S.-backed forces in the south. “There was a sort of understanding of who should be where, and that actually allowed the operation to unfold,” she says.
But in Mosul the political puzzle is even more complicated, with the Iraqi national army, U.S. military and pro-Shiite militias all expected to play different roles. Adding yet another layer of complexity, Mosul is flanked on three sides by Kurdish forces who do not answer to the central government in Baghdad. Before the battle for Mosul can begin in earnest, the government must reach an understanding with the Kurdish regional government based in the city of northern Erbil. The two leaderships have yet to decide the exact role Kurdish forces will play in the battle, including how close they will get to the center of the majority Arab city. Because Mosul lies close to Kurdish-controlled land, any negotiations over the future of the city will trigger delicate questions of Kurdish aspirations for greater autonomy or even full independence.
The battle for Mosul will also be far larger than the effort to liberate Fallujah, and the Iraqi government’s current military campaign in the north is unfolding at a halting pace as the army recaptures villages one by one along the Tigris River south of Mosul. With some exceptions, Kurdish forces are holding static front line positions, awaiting orders for the final battle. Officials and analysts say an attack on the city of Mosul is months away at least, if not longer.
Ultimately defeating ISIS in Sunni-majority cities like Fallujah and Mosul will also require reestablishing a social contract with Iraq’s minority Sunni Arab citizens, many of whom feel neglected by the Shiite-dominated central government in the years since the toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein in the U.S. invasion of 2003.
“ISIS emerged as a matter of an intra-Sunni leadership problem. A Sunni leadership that was increasingly less legitimate was pushed out by another Sunni leadership,” says Fantappie. “You can reconstruct infrastructure. You can deal with the humanitarian problem, but it should also be thought through, how you can solve this intra-leadership problem.”
Contact us at editors@time.com.Just how stupid do the producers of most nature documentaries think American filmgoers are?
Year after year, movie studios release nature documentaries that strain far too hard to force the animals in them to conform to traditional narratives and story arcs, when it would be just as fascinating to simply watch animals being animals, especially if they're cute.
And if you don't think there's at least some portion of the moviegoing public that would be totally fine with beautifully shot footage of animals in their native habitats, let me introduce you to the concept of zoos. They're apparently quite popular.
Just how stupid do the producers of most nature documentaries think American filmgoers are?
The problem with so many nature documentaries is that they take gorgeous images shot in the sorts of wild places the vast majority of us will never have the chance to visit, then force them into simplistic narratives so that they might be more palatable to a mass audience. By doing so, these producers and directors are taking the beauty and mystery of the wild world around us and turning them into just another bland story you've heard a million times before.
Monkey Kingdom forces a story arc on amazing nature footage for no good reason
Take Monkey Kingdom, released April 17 by Disney Nature, the company's specialty arm focused exclusively on nature documentaries. If you pay attention only to the images, then this is a tremendous film. It follows a troupe of macaque monkeys living out their lives in the Sri Lankan jungle. The film explores their social order, then observes as they're kicked out of their home by a rival monkey troupe and are forced to take shelter in a human city.
Rating 3
There's a weirdly apocalyptic bent to much of the film, particularly in the sections where the monkeys try to live their lives amid human beings. But it's leavened by the fact that the monkeys are, well, monkeys. They bounce around the jungle, swinging from vines and smacking each other in the head. They make funny faces and chitter at each other in greeting. Monkeys are fun animals to watch — just human enough for us to read emotions into their interactions, while being just animal enough to arouse curiosity as to their true intentions.
The problem, then, is that the film is completely unable to let the images tell the story. Instead, it plasters the film with omnipresent narration by Tina Fey, who affects funny voices when the monkeys do goofy things and jokes about mushrooms being like potato chips to monkeys — who can't eat just one! Fey's not bad, as narrators go, and she didn't write the script she has to deliver. But it's still irritating to be watching a monkey, wondering what it's up to, and then hear someone provide the most simplistic answer possible.
The film is completely unable to let the images tell the story
Even worse is how Monkey Kingdom refuses to let viewers concoct their own stories about their primate cousins. The film's protagonist — a young female monkey dubbed Maya — is shoehorned into a fairy-tale princess story arc, complete with a cover of Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue's "Whatta Man" when a handsome male monkey outsider joins the troupe.
That would be bad enough, but director Mark Linfield also does viewers the disservice of editing the film in such a way that we can never trust the essential veracity of what he's saying — a real issue in a documentary.
Sure, we're told that the father of Maya's son is the aforementioned new guy in town, but Linfield almost never shows us the two monkeys in the same shot, making it harder to trust the "love story" being sold to viewers.
We have no real reason to trust the narrative arc Linfield sells, and the monkeys never seem to occupy the same space, which drastically undercuts the relationships between them being sold. It sometimes feels as if Linfield shows us Maya in one location, then cuts to another monkey somewhere else entirely, trying to sell a connection that doesn't actually exist.
This attempt to force a narrative onto footage that doesn't really require one is a constant in Disney Nature's films. The company's conservation efforts are welcome, and it's just cool that a major Hollywood studio has an entire arm devoted to nature documentaries. But these films are too often facile disappointments, coupling great raw footage with weak storytelling that constantly undercuts it.
But why? The answer, as with so many terrible things, has to do with penguins.
March of the Penguins destroyed the nature documentary
You can tell the story of the rise and fall of the nature documentary in just two films. The first is the 2003 French documentary Winged Migration. The film, directed by Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud, and Michel Debats, follows many types of birds migrating around the world. It was filmed over four years, on all seven continents, and for the purely jaw-dropping quality of its footage it's one of the most stunning documentaries ever made.
It was also hugely successful. Grossing more than $11.6 million at the box office and scoring an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature, it was the most successful nature documentary in American history. (The prior box office champion had been the insect-themed Microcosmos from the same studio, which grossed just under $1.5 million.)
But Winged Migration doesn't try to hold your hand. It accepts that the impulses that drive these birds are fundamentally alien to human beings — no matter how much we can understand them scientifically. Yes, the footage is amazing, but Winged Migration is basically a non-narrative art film — and all the more effective for it.
The answer, as with so many terrible things, has to do with penguins
The commercial success of Winged Migration, considerable though it was, was blown away by 2005's March of the Penguins. That film decided to focus its story of animals around the emotion of love. Narrator Morgan Freeman spoke soothingly over footage of penguins wandering the Antarctic snowscape, on their way to lay eggs that will eventually hatch into cute, fuzzy chicks. And he framed everything the penguin parents did in terms of their all-consuming love for both each other and their chicks.
March of the Penguins isn't a bad film. Again, the footage it captures is so impressive that in and of itself it makes the film worth watching. And Freeman's narration is notably less intrusive than, say, Fey's in Monkey Kingdom. But March of the Penguins fundamentally doesn't trust its audience to empathize with birds journeying into the depths of a frozen wasteland unless it can pin that journey to a simplistic emotional arc.
That decision worked, too. Penguins made over $77 million at the box office — the second-most-successful documentary of all time, after only Fahrenheit 9/11. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary. It's easy to see why everybody learned the wrong lessons from it.
Animals don't have to be like humans to be movie stars
There's perhaps no greater example of Penguins' seismic impact on the American nature documentary scene than Oceans, the follow-up to Winged Migration from some of the same filmmakers. Released in multiple versions around the globe in 2010, the American version features Pierce Brosnan's voice refusing to let the once again jaw-dropping footage speak for itself. (The French original featured Perrin, who also narrated the original version of Winged Migration.) It also cuts out 20 minutes of footage, mostly depicting nature's brutality.
March of the Penguins fundamentally doesn't trust its audience to empathize with the birds unless it can pin their journey to a simplistic emotional arc
This is an increasingly common trick — where other countries get more scientifically minded versions of these films, Americans get movies where narrators spell out emotional arcs, lest viewers become too confused or lost.
For instance, on television, the Discovery Channel's periodic co-productions with the BBC are given rigorous narration from naturalist David Attenborough in other countries (and on American DVDs) but more simplistic voiceovers from celebrities in their American television airings. One needs look no further than Oprah Winfrey's narration for the otherwise impressive Life to see just how much this can hamper a production.
Even when the narration is well done — as it was with Sigourney Weaver's American narration for Planet Earth — it still takes away from the film as a whole, intruding on the wildlife viewers are ostensibly there to see. It's hard to focus on what's happening on screen when a celebrity voice is present, along with all the other associations you may have with that voice. But studios are terrified you might get bored just watching animals living their lives.
The studios need to have more faith in viewers. Animals are fun to look at. It's why we have pets and zoos — to say nothing of cute cat videos. It's why as soon as the camera was invented, photographers started trying to capture images of them in their natural world.
Winged Migration proves that you can create an artistically satisfying nature documentary and still make solid box office. No nature documentary released since March of the Penguins has even come close to its box office in the decade since its release. Isn't it time to unlearn the lessons of that film and do something better?
Monkey Kingdom is playing in theaters throughout the country.From the ousted Thai PM to fracking company Cuadrilla and Asma al-Assad, the PR firm Bell Pottinger represents some of the world's most notorious clients. Tim Bell, who masterminded Margaret Thatcher's election campaigns, explains why he thinks his business is a force for good
At first sight, the Curzon Street offices of Bell Pottinger Private are everything a conspiracy theorist could hope for. Next door, guarded by uniformed police officers with machine guns, squats the immense embassy of Saudi Arabia, a country with which the controversial PR firm's even more controversial chairman, Tim Bell, has had decades of opaque, often defence-related dealings. Beyond the embassy is the rest of Mayfair, where businesses are discreet, ethics are flexible, and rich people with reputations to upgrade are in increasingly plentiful supply.
In the lobby of Bell Pottinger, there are cream leather benches for visitors. The day's newspapers hang from clips on the wall. The implication is that Bell, who has worked in PR or advertising since 1959, can get you or your company or government into them – or quietly arrange the opposite. "We keep a lot of people out of the media," says James Henderson, the firm's chief executive.
From the lobby, a tiny lift whisks you up to Bell's top-floor office. It is a long corner room, with a row of windows looking out over Mayfair's wine-red and bone-white rooftops. In the centre of the room is a large desk, almost in the shape of a quotation mark. Along its outer curve are a few chairs for clients. On the inner, there is an oldish computer, two telephones, two used coffee cups, a half-full ashtray and Bell himself.
Lord Bell of Belgravia, who was knighted by his longstanding client and political soulmate Margaret Thatcher in 1990, is 72. But he is still working full-time, and still looks like an old-fashioned PR man from central casting: slicked-back hair, assertive tie, tailored shirt, quick smile. He talks in a half-gravelly, half-chocolatey voice, and instantly drops your first name into his quick sentences. "He is an icon in the business," says Mark Borkowski, another British PR veteran and a historian of the industry. "A lot of people have tried to write his obituary, but they underestimate his steely determination. He has a very powerful network, contacts all over the world. Bell Pottinger are a formidable multinational. For many, many years they have operated in the shadows, as agents of influence."
'Labour Isn't Working' campaign poster, which helped discredit the Callaghan government in the late 70s.
Bell grants interviews rarely, and then usually to rightwing newspapers, his preferred journalistic conduits. But sometimes he wants to reach a wider audience. Today, sitting back from his desk in a shaft of cigarette-fogged sunlight, he is in expansive, self-deprecating mode.
"The Thatcher legacy – of course I live off it to some extent," he says. "What I did for her has been grossly exaggerated by some, and grossly underestimated by others." According to Mark Hollingsworth's biography of Bell, The Ultimate Spin Doctor, he advised her on everything from how to relax on television – "to melt her almost frozen expression, Bell would sit behind the camera and pull faces" – to how to attack Labour, including the famous "Labour Isn't Working" poster campaign, featuring an endless queue of the unemployed (actually Young Conservatives borrowed for the shoot), that helped discredit the Callaghan government in the late 70s – shortly before the Thatcher government sent unemployment much higher. "My profound belief," Bell continues, "is that a small number of words, a strong visual image, can change the way people think." At Bell Pottinger, which he co-founded in 1998, "We tell stories – I don't mean lies. We work for people who want to tell their side of the story."
The government of Sri Lanka; FW de Klerk, when he ran against Nelson Mandela for president of South Africa; Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted Thai premier, whom protesters claim still controls the country; Asma al-Assad, the wife of the president of Syria; Alexander Lukashenko, the dictator of Belarus; Rebekah Brooks after the phone-hacking scandal broke; the repressive governments of Bahrain and Egypt; the American occupying administration in Iraq; the polluting oil company Trafigura; the fracking company Cuadrilla; the athlete Oscar Pistorius after he was charged with murder; the Pinochet Foundation during its campaign against the former Chilean dictator's British detention; the much-criticised arms conglomerate BAE Systems – Bell or Bell Pottinger has represented all of them. "They get involved in lots of'special situations', in reputational and crisis PR," says Alec Mattinson, the deputy editor of PR Week. "The reputation they have is as an agency that goes where other agencies would fear to tread."
A Buddhist monk puts on a gas mask during clashes in Bangkok. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
This notoriety has had consequences. In 2011, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Independent published a Bell Pottinger exposé, including covertly filmed company executives (though not Bell or Henderson) bragging about their influence over the Sri Lankan government and the British Conservative party, and about the firm's expertise in "all sorts of dark arts". This August, anti-fracking protesters superglued themselves to the doors of Bell Pottinger's other London office, on a busy street in Holborn, during the morning rush hour. Last month, the BBC3 satirical show The Revolution Will Be Televised broadcast its attempt to gatecrash this year's Bell Pottinger summer party – a Whitehall gathering of dark-suited men with worldly auras – by a comedian dressed as the Devil and then as Hitler.
Bell and the company have a range of responses to such frontal attacks. One is to claim victimhood: "The left is extremely strong, and very active, and very keen on demonstrating its point of view by shouting at people," he says, with a world-weary shrug. "It's become very fashionable to shoot the messenger."
Another approach is to affect casualness. When I ask if Bell Pottinger is still working for the Sri Lankan government – citing commercial confidentiality or official secrecy, the firm does not publish a full list of clients – Bell says airily: "We stopped in … 2009? Or 2010? I might have got the dates wrong."
Then he switches seamlessly to a sterner, man-of-the-world tone: "It's a fashionable thing to criticise the way the Sri Lankan government has behaved. David Cameron had one meeting in the north of the country with 200 people who have lost relatives. You have to remember there was a 30-year civil war. The Tamil Tigers weren't exactly gentle, nice people. And for Britain to ponce around the world talking about human rights after what we did in Afghanistan … It's what Winston Churchill called 'our usual export': hypocrisy."
Finally, and most ambitiously, Bell claims that his company is in fact a force for good. "We are actually decent people," he says. "We do know right from wrong. The reason we worked for Lukashenko in Belarus was because he told me: 'We want to go along the path to democracy.' We actually got six political prisoners released."
Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus. Photograph: Pool/Reuters/Corbis
The shameless incompatability of all these arguments is typical Bell: always slippery, always trying a new line on you, and, deep down, probably trying to persuade himself. "He's mercurial, quite emotional," says Hollingsworth. "He can suddenly turn."
Yet the question that hovers over Bell Pottinger is whether this theatrical, highly personalised approach exactly meets the needs of a modern PR multinational. After 20 highly quotable minutes in Bell's office, we are joined by Henderson. The chief executive, who only came to the company three years ago, is a quarter of a century younger than Bell, and has a much more sober background in financial and corporate PR. Unlike Bell, he keeps his suit jacket on.
At first, while Bell talks and talks, Henderson stays quiet, rolling a pen between his fingers. Then, just as Bell is concluding a long, involved anecdote about why he turned down a chance to work for the authoritarian president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Henderson interjects: "We have a very, very non-controversial client base now," he says. "Our client base doesn't reflect what you read about in the press."
The Bell Pottinger website mentions work for dozens of less-than-sinister entities such as Kurt Geiger, Daylesford Organic and the London Chamber Orchestra. Yet many of the commercial sectors the company lists as focuses for its PR activities – "oil and gas", "mining", "financial institutions", "Russia" – suggest a readiness to work at the more rugged end of international capitalism. Your attitude to the company doing such work, says Bell, flashing a wide smile, "does depend on your definition of controversial".
Henderson argues that Bell Pottinger is disproportionately targeted by critics of London's hard-nosed PR world. "These 'controversial' clients – we do pitch for them against other PR companies," he points out.
PR Week's Mattinson agrees: "The idea that they're the only company prepared to work for controversial clients is a [mistake]." In the magazine's league table of PR firms operating in Britain, Bell Pottinger is at number five; Hill & Knowlton, a bigger American rival, controversial since the 30s, which has also promoted repressive governments and fracking, is just behind at number seven. Portland PR, a newer British firm set up by Tony Blair's former aide Tim Allan, has already achieved some notoriety for its work for authoritarian Kazakhstan and Russia.
One reason, perhaps, why Bell Pottinger is singled out for special criticism is its lingering air of rightwing tribalism. When I ask Henderson why they haven't ever worked for controversial leftwing governments, such as the many currently in South America, he looks at me slightly uncomprehendingly, then says: "We've never been approached by a leftwing government, that I'm aware of." Bell adds: "You don't want an adviser that doesn't agree with you."
Tim Bell and James Henderson of Bell Pottinger. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian
Bell grew up in the aspiring, often politically conservative, outer suburbs of north London. His background was entrepreneurial and middle class: his Irish father was a gifted salesman and his Australian mother came from a shop-owning family, like Thatcher. As a young man during the 60s, Bell was less interested in politics than in his advertising career, and the flash clothes and cars it paid for, but he found time to canvass for several north London Tory MPs, including Thatcher. When she hired Bell and his then employers Saatchi & Saatchi to work for her party in 1978, he and she immediately established a rapport. He became one of the closest in her inner circle of clever, often slightly roguish informal advisers, partly because they had a similar worldview: us-against-them, fiercely anti-communist, unquestioningly pro-market. "If anyone inspired me, it's Ayn Rand," says Bell, namechecking the famously confrontational American rightwing author. Long after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bell still privately referred to journalists he disliked as "commies" and "pinkos".
Henderson is less of a crusader. Privately educated, unlike Bell, more smartly spoken, more quietly dressed, he could be a Mayfair hedge-fund trader. "We are all supportive of Tim and his politics," he says with a slightly fixed smile. Bell Pottinger's partisan and more straightforwardly corporate impulses, he goes on, "can work well side by side". In a sense, this is right. Bell's work for the Conservatives in the 70s and 80s helped create a world – of London as a hub for the international rich, of the privatised utilities, of a post-communist, status-hungry eastern Europe – that has produced clients for Bell Pottinger, and Bell's previous PR enterprises, ever since.
Much of what Bell Pottinger does for these clients is commercially confidential, but the company also needs to promote itself, and its website offers surprisingly detailed case studies. "Katrin Radmacher is a German heiress," begins one. "She asked Bell Pottinger to help uphold her reputation and manage the media during a legal marathon with her former husband … After each ruling, Bell Pottinger issued a highly quotable statement on her behalf to the world's media … When misconceptions arose, Bell Pottinger quietly briefed the press. A Tatler interview, establishing her as a privileged, yes, but unassuming mother of two who'd tried to save her marriage, was syndicated in the Sunday Times. Evening Standard and FT interviews, and a Times leader, were sympathetic …"
A General Pinochet supporter. Photograph: Santiago Llanquin/AP
Bell Pottinger likes to portray itself as a dexterous media manipulator, yet sometimes the process is more fraught. In 1998, the campaign it helped orchestrate for the release of General Pinochet had a clever slogan – "reconciliation not retribution" – but also internal tensions. In 2000 Charles Alexander, a pro-Pinochet figure in the City of London, told me: "I said on the first day after he [Pinochet] was arrested [in Britain], 'He's got to get very ill, very quickly.' But Tim Bell disagreed with me. He said: 'Pinochet got rid of the commies, and that's our argument.'" In the end, the campaigners settled for an awkward mixture of both approaches, apolitically playing up Pinochet's frail health while also producing and distributing crude rightwing propaganda pamphlets and articles about the elected leftwing leader he had overthrown, Salvador Allende. The general eventually flew back to Chile, but with his international reputation even lower.
Nowadays, Henderson's strategy for Bell Pottinger sometimes seems more safety-first. Last year, he, Bell, and the firm's co-founder, Piers Pottinger, a City of London PR veteran, organised a management buyout of the company, extricating it from the bigger communications conglomerate Chime. Since then, Henderson has emphasised "rebuilding the Bell Pottinger brand", getting the firm "up the league tables", and winning a greater "number of mandates [contracts]". Much of this strategy is being enacted not in Mayfair, but in the Holborn office, which houses Henderson and nine-tenths of the firm's 250 staff. The Bell Pottinger premises there have a security guard in the lobby – perhaps on the lookout for more protesters with superglue – but otherwise seem a little more prosaic: a single floor of a heavy postwar office block, above a Sports Direct and an M&S.
In some ways, the PR business is getting harder and less glamorous. The internet and particularly social media are making Bell Pottinger's traditional publicity channel – the newspapers hung up in its Mayfair office, long susceptible to Bell's smooth phonecalls – less central to the making and unmaking of reputations. And the sour mood in many countries towards politicians, big business and the wealthy is making the public less ready to accept that such interest groups are not, as Bell Pottinger would put it, really such bad guys after all. "The most difficult thing now in our business is having an impact," Bell acknowledges. "You have to operate in more and more areas of distribution."
Bell is a professional optimist, but occasionally seems gloomy about the modern world. "I hate the internet," he told the authors Charles Vallance and David Hopper in a recent book on British entrepreneurs, The Branded Gentry. David Cameron does not enthuse him: "I don't know him, and I don't understand him. He's obviously stuck in the Lynton Crosby strategy: be vile, and that'll do." Of course, this may be a piece of pragmatic positioning, as Cameron's chances of re-election begin to diminish. When I ask about Ed Miliband, Bell says brightly: "He's obviously very clever, and has done some smart things." But he goes on to praise George Osborne for his "clear" free-market thinking. For all Bell's gut political feelings, Hollingsworth's biography shows he has long been willing to play situations both ways. In 1985 he told Media Week magazine: "I want the BBC to fail"; a month later, he took on the contract to do their advertising.
At Bell Pottinger, clients with opposing interests are assigned separate PR teams, and the situation is kept manageable and ethical – at least by Bell Pottinger's standards – by internal "Chinese walls". Clients are always informed when the firm is representing a rival, says Henderson, but few walk away. Bell Pottinger's ease with conflicts of interest, like its readiness to represent dubious clients, is easy to find chilling; but to detail and condemn it can act as a form of free advertising: there will always be people in the world who want an unsqueamish PR firm. Likewise any article that portrays Bell Pottinger as having tentacles everywhere: "I'm delighted to have people think we have a finger in every pie," says Henderson, finally smiling. "Because that's our objective!"
In truth, both Bell Pottinger and their critics often overstate the firm's power. Henderson claims its work for Cuadrilla has "completely changed the whole debate" about fracking. It doesn't quite feel like that. Nor does it feel like world opinion has softened much over the decades towards Bell Pottinger's contentious government clients. In April, PR Week reported that the firm had "annual revenues [in] the mid/high £30m mark" – high for a company with 250 employees, but modest compared with other rightwing media players such as Rupert Murdoch.
Yet for Bell at least, precisely measuring the effect of Bell Pottinger's work – even if that were possible in the infinitely subjective world of PR – is probably not the point. "I don't think he's ever been interested in being [part of] a big PR conglomerate," says biographer Hollingsworth. "His life is about the buzz."
Outside his top-floor office, the sun has gone in and a grey winter afternoon is settling over Mayfair. Our interview is past the hour and a half mark, yet Bell is still spinning tirelessly. "My interest is in high-profile news," he says, unleashing another smile. "It's nice to be part of what's going on." On the pavement below, the police officers outside the Saudi embassy pace up and down with their machine guns.When I was researching a solution for Elm Phloem Necrosis I found a paper written by M. Ćurković Perica that outlined success in curing periwinkle of a phytoplasma bacteria. This solution should be used for Flavescence dorée.
Periwinkle and IAA
Prof. Ćurković Perica saw that some plants would spontaneously recover from the diseases by themselves. An investigation was then carried out to find out why the plants recovered. The conclusion was that plant hormones were likely responsible for the recovery.
An experiment was conducted and test several hormones on infected periwinkle. The results, IAA, an Auxin compound had the biggest impact. The conclusion was that IAA changes the expression of the plant’s genes by demethylation. Genetic tests confirmed that IAA was causing expression of genes in the periwinkle and in the phytoplasma bacteria. In plants, some of these genes then cause an increase concentration of peroxide in the plant. The peroxide then kills the phytoplasma. In the bacteria, the genes were likely genes to increase the likelihood of survival. This solution could be applied to Flavescence dorée.
The solution of using IAA to produce peroxide in plants should be applied elsewhere. What plants would make the most sense? Well it would be ones that have high economic value. Plants that live for a long time. And plants that we can apply IAA can easily such as a foliar (leaf) application. Grapes meet all these requirements and Flavescence dorée would be an ideal disease to solve.
Flavescence dorée
What is Flavescence dorée? It is a disease that impacts grapes in France and neighboring countries. Currently, there are two solutions to deal with the diseases: Removal of the vines, and a heat treatment. IAA treatment would be a cheaper alternative than both of these current solutions.
IAA Treatment
We should test IAA to see the effects on Flavescence dorée. After testing we could improve the treatment further. Future development of an IAA treatment could alter IAA or apply IAA with an additional compound. The goal would be to make it more effective at killing the bacteria and to decrease the impact on normal growth. One way to better kill the bacteria after a treatment of IAA is to prevent the phytoplasma bacteria from adapting. For the normal growth of the grapes a second hormone, such as cytokinin could be applied after the plant is clear of the infection.
Future Investigations
Before we remove the plant or try a heat treatment maybe apply a treatment of IAA. If you do document how it works. This development could help vineyards around the world from the development of another solution to Flavescence dorée.
Work Cited:
Ćurković Perica, M. (2008), Auxin-treatment induces recovery of phytoplasma-infected periwinkle. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 105: 1826–1834. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.2008.03946.x
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2008.03946.x/fullMarvel’s Runaways may be making the jump to television, but now they’ll also be returning to their comic book roots — and each other. EW can exclusively reveal that Eleanor & Park author Rainbow Rowell will be penning the upcoming ongoing comic series, joining Kris Anka who is the artist on the series.
“This is my favorite Marvel book. When [editor Nick Lowe] first reached out to |
from Idaho, and there was a transaction under his name at 12:12 p.m. from a Costco gas station in Pocatello the same day. His family also received a tip from a gas station cashier in Malad City who said they saw him and talked to him at 1:30 p.m. the same day.
His family has not been able to contact him otherwise and his phone is either dead or no longer has reception, according to his daughter Melanie Bruse.
Meiling is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He was driving a White Toyota Tundra with a white shell with license plate No. B028FJ when he went missing.
The family is covering the area from Malad City and southward to Salt Lake City and has an active Facebook page called Find Paul Meiling where they have posted updates on the search.
"We want to thank a lot of people who are offering their help and offering their services," Bruse said.
The West Jordan Police Department has asked those with information to call the department at 801-840-4000.
Contributing: Merri Golightly
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PhotosThis story is part of a week-long series exploring how we as Canadians define "Canadian food," and how it has evolved in modern Canada.
How many times have you heard that the Chinese food you’re eating isn’t “real” Chinese food?
If what’s on your plate or in your take-out container is lemon chicken, ginger beef, chicken balls or anything else coated in neon red sauce, then it probably isn’t Chinese food.
What you’ve got is Chinese-Canadian food, which pretty much makes it Canadian – a distinct style of cooking with a rich history as old as the nation it was created in.
“Everybody who has eaten in one of these restaurants knows there is something very specific about the food on that menu,” says Lily Cho, an associate professor of English at Toronto’s York University and author of “Eating Chinese: Culture on the Menu in Small Town Canada,” a study of Chinese diasporic culture.
Cho should know. Besides making Chinese-Canadian restaurants and their typically split menus (“Chinese” in one half, “Canadian” in the other) the focus of her doctoral dissertation, the Edmonton native spent her childhood around them. Her aunt and uncle owned one in Red Deer, Alta. and while she was still quite young, her dad took the family up to Whitehorse, Yukon where he tried his hand at running the local Chinese restaurant there, the Shangri-La, in the early 1970s for two years. A photo of the place, replete with the unmistakeable red, white and gold signage and stylized lettering, graces the cover of her book. Her favourite dish from its menu? The hot beef sandwich, which she believes has been perfected in the Chinese-Canadian restaurant.
A time before chicken balls
The Shangri-La owned by Cho's parents in Whitehorse, Yukon. (Courtesy Lily Cho) More
For a long time, that was the sort of food most often found on Chinese-Canadian restaurant menus, before sweet and sour anything was even a brightly-hued thought in some cook’s mind. The earliest eateries were products of Chinese migrants and their families who had first come to Canada in the mid- to late-19th century, during successive gold rushes, to build the country’s unifying railroad, work in its mines and pick up other jobs that needed doing, including cooking, thanks to the resources boon.
The restaurants they started in British Columbia, moving out to Alberta and Saskatchewan and, in time, further east, were set up to cater to a rural crowd in towns that often did not have anywhere else to go for a meal out or even somewhere to meet with friends or neighbours over coffee. Vancouver artist Janice Wong, in her family and food memoir “Chow,” writes that at her parents’ popular Wings Café, opened in 1944 in Prince Albert, Sask., the offerings of the day were things like Finnan Haddie (a Scottish-style smoked haddock), breaded lake trout, raisin pie and custard pudding. There was no chow mein in sight.
Dishes like egg foo young, chop suey and stir fries started to creep onto menus in post-war Canada, an event Cho believes was not so coincidental with the end of the Chinese Exclusion Act (formally known as the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923), which restricted Chinese immigration to Canada, and the granting of the right for Chinese-Canadians to vote in federal elections, both in 1947. Even then, Chinese restaurateurs tread carefully, creating dishes that wouldn’t overwhelm the Canadian palate.
Story continuesToday I have for you a very simple yet delicious vegan pasta recipe. I have to say I wanted to make this recipe because I wanted to use my pasta maker with my Kitchen Aid mixer that we've never used since we bought it years ago. However, after making the pasta dough I realized there was a part missing! So needless to say I had to do some improvising and make the pasta the good old fashioned way with a rolling pin and knife. The pasta still ended up being a great success and was quite delicious. I will order the missing part and do yet another pasta recipe, only next time I'm thinking whole wheat ravioli.
Ingredients:
5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 365 organic unbleached all-purpose flour)
About 1 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon tumeric
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, tumeric, and salt.
Make a well in the flour and pour in olive oil and water. Gradually combine ingredients, adding more water as needed.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5-10 minutes or until texture is smooth.
Cover dough and let sit for 20 minutes.
Cut dough into several different sections (about 7)
Roll out each section of dough using rolling pin on a floured surface (or using a machine) using flour as needed so your dough doesn't become sticky.
Starting with the end closest to you, fold the rolled out pasta sheet a few inches (going away from you), and then continue doing this until you have a flat jelly roll shape.
Using a sharp knife, cut the jelly roll pasta dough forming your desired width. I made a pappardelle shaped pasta, about 3/4 inches thick.
Lay pasta strands on a floured towel and dust them with flour.
Let the noodles sit for about 10 minutes before cooking them, and then cook them in salted water for about 5 minutes. Cooking times vary widely so keep an eye on your pasta to tell when it's ready.
Enjoy!
Note: This makes a lot of pasta, and you can always reduce the measurements. Also, you can add more flour or water as needed to make sure the consistency of the dough is right; you don't want it to be sticky or tacky but you also don't want it to be too dry.Directions:Will deep learning artificial intelligence be able to keep up with the rapidly increasing population of the Earth?
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations projects that 9.7 billion people will inhabit the Earth come 2050. With one in eight people today not getting enough food, farmers will have to become more prolific in order to serve these additional billions.
As nearly half of the planet’s 10 global hectares of potentially productive land is already devoted to agriculture, any expansion will increasingly impact delicate ecosystems that are already declining. What’s worse is the World Bank estimates that climate change could cut crop yields by more than 25 percent as the population continues to grow.
Feeding this amount of people will require finding new ways of becoming even more efficient at producing food. The result of recent decades is plenty of remarkable progress: agriculturally advanced countries like the United States are now doubling global yield averages for key crops.
It increasingly seems that “deep learning” artificial intelligence will have a significant role to play, and a number of notable technologies are now making a real difference for the world’s farms.
With this style of AI having already racked up major wins in fields from manufacturing to healthcare, it may yet prove its value when applied to one of the most fundamental human problems: hunger.
A Deep New Form of AI Finally Produces Results
The history of AI has been a varied one, with what Pamela McCorduck famously called “an ancient wish to forge the gods,” which led many researchers astray. Departing from the unproductively humanized goals that characterized the AI boom of the 1980s, contemporary technologists have started generating plenty of impressive results.
The so-called deep learning approach that underlies these modern success stories revolves around the power of today’s computers to perform incredible numbers of straightforward calculations in parallel.
In the process, they can build and refine abstract systems that are capable of classifying images or other data sets according to hundreds of distinct dimensions.
AI based on deep learning can now reliably detect manufacturing defects at rates far beyond what even the most experienced human workers could imagine. IBM’s Watson AI platform has begun to outperform whole teams of doctors at diagnosis while making real inroads with drug discovery and other medical fields.
Even if the deep learning style of AI does not demonstrate the humanistic flair that so many researchers hoped for in the early days, it’s producing concrete, practical results that are changing the world for the better.
Expert AIs Identify Plants, Weeds, and Diseases
American farmers purchase and apply around 310 million pounds of herbicides in the average year. In the past, a “spray and pray” approach to application wasted the vast majority of these supplies.
With a deep learning AI system distinguishing between weeds and the sprouts that farmers want to cultivate, Blue River’s LettuceBot cuts those losses by up to 90 percent.
Despite only being on the market for a few years, the “see and spray” technology already supports one in every ten lettuce heads produced by American farms. Recently, the technology won the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Outstanding Innovations Award.
Others are taking this basic approach even further. Researchers built an AI that could identify 14 different plant species and diagnose as many as 26 distinct diseases with an accuracy exceeding 99 percent.
While the deep learning system needed some support in the form of careful image enhancement, results like these that build on what LettuceBot can do are sure to keep rolling in.
AI Will Tackle Huge Data Sets Produced by the Agricultural IoT
Image recognition feats like these have been a staple of the current surge in AI success stories. At the same time, data is data, and deep learning is also well-positioned to contribute to agricultural efficiency in other ways.
One of the reasons American farms are so productive is the already heavy use of sensors and systems that collect and allow the analysis of crop-related data.
Global shipments of Internet of Things (IoT) devices tuned for agriculture will hit 75 million annually by 2020. Agricultural IoT provider OnFarm figures that this ramp-up will see the average farm generating four million data points each day by 2050.
That much information about weather, soil conditions, crop status, and other factors will be a huge target for deep learning AI. While the data that flows in today remains mostly managed and plumbed by people, researchers expect that to change soon.
AI Capable of Breeding Better Seeds
The impact of deep learning AI will not be confined to day-to-day agricultural operations, either. Having access to plants that can adapt and thrive in changing conditions can be one of the most effective ways of all of improving yields.
In the past, some fairly crude approaches produced notable successes of this basic kind. The CalRose strain of rice that now accounts for a great deal of California’s production and the Ruby Red grapefruit that dominates in Texas, for example, were both created by researchers who bombarded seeds with gamma rays to encourage mutations.
Deep learning AI promises to comprehend the complex genetics of plants in ways that allow for far more refined, focused approaches to breeding.
Syngenta‘s recently announced AI Challenge, a joint project with the AI for Good Foundation, aims to get the ball rolling with a top prize of $7,500 for the AI that produces the best results from a sample data set.
Entries will be accepted until June 1, 2017 and finalists named on July 14. AI for Good Co-Founder and CEO James Hodson hopes the contest will illuminate another way how AI might help solve the pressing problem of “ensuring we can feed a growing world population sustainably.”Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said that while pointing to Bill’s behavior isn’t the “most effective” way to beat Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “if my husband were doing that, I would have left him” and apologized to his accusers rather than attacking them like Hillary did on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel.
Fiorina stated of the allegations of sexual assault against Bill, [relevant remarks begin around 3:40] “Oh, sure it’s fair game. Look, everything Bill Clinton has done fair game. He’s a former president. I just don’t think that’s the most effective way to beat Hillary Clinton. Because while all that was going on, there were a lot of women who felt, for whatever reason, great sympathy for Hillary Clinton. Look, if my husband were doing that, I would have left him. I wouldn’t have behaved the way Hillary Clinton did, and I would have apologized to all those women.”
Fiorina added that Hillary helped attack Bill’s accusers, but that the best way to beat Hillary is to remind people of her behavior.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchettSerie A: Reports say Clarence Seedorf may be sacked as coach of AC Milan today
Clarence Seedorf: Italian media reports suggest he will be sacked by AC Milan
It is reported that the 38-year-old, who has only been in the post for four months, will be replaced by former Milan team-mate and current youth team coach Filippo Inzaghi.
Seedorf signed a two-and-a-half year contract in January and took the team from 12th place in Serie A to an eighth-place finish.
But rumours about the Dutchman's future have been rife for several weeks, and club president Silvio Berlusconi met chief executive Adriano Galliani on Monday night to discuss Seedorf's future.
Italy's three sports papers, Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport, all carried similar reports, which were unsourced.
Inzaghi spent 11 seasons playing for Milan, where he won two Serie A titles and two Champions League titles, and also won 57 caps for Italy.The back pages are covered in reports that Arsenal are hoping to sign Liverpool striker Luis Suarez this summer.
According to reports on Friday, betting had been suspended by bookmakers on the transfer of the Uruguayan to Arsenal, despite there having previously been little or no reports that the Gunners were even interested in the controversial forward.
Somehow, from being ‘interested’ on Friday, over the weekend it would appear, Arsenal have now had a £30 million bid rejected by Liverpool, despite neither club having made an official statement whatsoever on the matter.
Initially, following his 10-game ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic, Suarez had stated he would like a change of scenery, hoping to depart from Merseyside, eventually admitting it would be ‘difficult to say no’ to Real Madrid.
On Friday morning, reports emerged claiming the ‘bookmakers’ had stopped the betting on the transfer despite it not previously being even suggested with any legitimacy.
Where has this ‘story’ come from? It has not come directly from anyone associated with any of the parties apparently involved – not Arsenal, not Liverpool and not Luis Suarez. It would seem at least.
I already asserted my firm belief that the transfer is highly unlikely from all directions, given the kind of player Suarez is and the two clubs involved. Stranger things have happened, it’s true and, who knows, I may well end up eating my hat.
But this ‘story’ does not make sense from a purely footballing perspective – it insults the intelligence of people who have even a vague understanding of the sport and the transfer market.
It simply seems to be a little bit of politics. Arsenal want Higuain, Madrid want Suarez but don't want to deal on Arsenal's terms. So Arsenal publicly threaten Madrid by going after one of their targets? Dirty tactics and silly season indeed. Or simply it was made up by those looking to shift a few papers.
What do you think is behind the rumour?Right-hander Kyle Drabek has been claimed on waivers by the White Sox, the Blue Jays announced. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweeted minutes before the announcement that an unknown club had claimed Drabek, and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi had originally tweeted that Drabek was packing up his locker and appeared to be on the move. Fellow righty Nate Jones has been placed on the 60-day DL to clear a roster spot, the White Sox announced.
The 27-year-old Drabek was once regarded as one of baseball’s top 30 prospects by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, and he was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Roy Halladay from Toronto to Philadelphia. Injuries, however, have limited much of his ability to stay on the mound since being acquired by Toronto (he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012), and he’s been ineffective when able to take the hill. In 172 1/3 big league innings, Drabek has a 5.27 ERA, an even more unsightly 5.41 FIP and an uninspiring 118-to-111 K/BB ratio.
Drabek has been effective over the past two Minor League seasons, however, and he’s had a strong Spring Training (7 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), though it’s tough to place too much emphasis on seven spring innings. Drabek is out of Minor League options, as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently noted, meaning that he’d have to clear waivers before the Sox could send him outright to Triple-A.
The Sox may very well try to sneak Drabek through waivers, as the bullpen picture already contains David Robertson, Jake Petricka, Zach Duke, Daniel Webb, Zach Putnam, Javy Guerra and Dan Jennings, with Maikel Cleto and Eric Surkamp also serving as options.“Yellow Journalism” is a term used in media for a situation where the reporter presents little or no well-researched news and instead uses eye catching headlines to sell his product. Tommy Tuberville may be the victim of such a tactic both in print media and the on radio.
One month ago, an internet story surfaced on 247sports based on the recollections of Devonte Danzey of Hutchinson Community College. The junior college offensive lineman, who has since signed with Auburn, claimed the night before Tommy Tuberville was announced as Cincinnati’s new head football coach (replacing Butch Jones), he prematurely walked out on a Texas Tech recruiting dinner.
Danzey claims he asked Coach Tuberville and the other Tech coaches how long they expected to be in Lubbock, Texas.
“I asked Coach (Charlie) Weis at KU and Coach (Dana) Holgorsen at West Virginia (the same question), just so I know my relationship with them,” Danzey said. “(Tuberville) was just telling me he coached at Miami and Auburn, he coached 10 years and recruited Ray Lewis and kind of blew the question off I didn’t even realize.”
Danzey added: “The waitress brought our food out, and we thought (Tuberville) went to the bathroom, but he never came back to dinner. Then next thing I know, the next day, he made an announcement that he’s going to Cincinnati.”
The story took on a life of its own soon afterward and became the No. 1 referenced story in 247sports.com history and prompted Tuberville to be a guest on The Dan Patrick Show the next day in an attempt to refute the charges. Unfortunately, everyone assumed Danzey’s recollections were accurate and no one even attempted to report the recollections of the other recruits present at that recruiting dinner in Lubbock, Texas. That is until now.
BearcatLair.com contacted Sunny Odogwu from Hargrave Military Academy on Wednesday night to do what others had evidently neglected to do. Odogwu has since signed with Miami, Florida but remembers the night in question quite well.
“I remember that night,” said the 6-foot-8/300 pounder. “I’m surprised that story got so popular because I remember talking to Coach Tuberville after my dinner. He left after the dinner. As I recall, he was there as I was eating. He talked to me about coaching Ray Lewis and showed me some pictures that night, and he tapped me on my back as he was leaving the dinner. That man is innocent of this. He was there that night. It wasn’t like he just disappeared.”
BearcatLair.com also attempted to contact Jarvis Blue, a recruit that was also present at the 50-Yard Line Restaurant that evening, but we were unsuccessful.
Since then another story has surfaced questioning the ethics of Tuberville. Todd Porter of Cantonrep.com wrote a piece on January 3 suggesting the new UC head football coach may have treated Massillion Washington star quarterback, Kyle Kempt, unfairly.
Massillon head football coach, Jason Hall (referring to himself in the third person), had the following to say about Tuberville and the UC football program.
“It was an ugly situation. I think they thought he (Kempt) was going to go to Tennessee with Butch Jones, and they offered another quarterback. But that wasn’t the case. Cincinnati will not be allowed back in Massillon on our campus as long as Jason Hall is in Massillon.”
After admittedly speaking to Coach Tuberville and others in the Cincinnati athletics’ department, Hall said, “They think it is a misunderstanding. I got the political run-around. The way they came in conducting business, I’m not sure Kyle would have ended up going there anyway.”
Kempt had been contacted by multiple reporters since Butch Jones took the Tennessee head coaching position, and although the talented quarterback always maintained he was still “committed” to Cincinnati, he also followed that statement with either “I’m keeping my options open” or “I’m looking around.”
Hall also coached Gareon Conley last season, and the talented senior was at one time a Michigan commit. However, Conley started having second thoughts and also started looking around and keeping his options open.
That led to Conley eventually decommitting from Michigan and committing to Ohio State on December 7. Hall was very much involved in the process as he is quoted in a story on November 30 where he said the following:
“My job is to get these kids all the opportunities I can.”
Of course, Tommy Tuberville's job is to win games, and it's difficult to do that if he turns away solidly committed recruits for those that are admittedly "looking around."
Clint Brewster of the 247sports site for Michigan spoke to Bearcat Lair about how Michigan generally handles commits that are still looking at other options.
“Michigan usually tells a kid they are recruiting a certain number of players at a position. They won’t continue to recruit over a commit unless that person starts to look at other schools. If another recruit at the position makes a firm commitment, they will pull a scholarship.”
That is essentially what Tommy Tuberville and UC did with Kyle Kempt when Brent Stockstill informed BCL that he was verbally committing to the Bearcats on December 17. Interestingly, Kempt informed BCL earlier that same night that he had decommitted to Cincinnati, but our website also received a message from someone obviously close to Kempt earlier this week claiming UC pulled the offer.
College coaches are not permitted to talk about prospects until they have signed their letter of intent so speaking with Coach Tuberville was not an option.
Still, the situation begs the question- Why is it okay for a high school coach to help a player to “look around” or “keep his options open” when colleges coaches aren’t afforded the same right?
An early signing period might help to alleviate some of these kinds of situations, but until that occurs, some high school coaches will continue to try and get their kids all the opportunities they can while colleges will occasionally have to pull offers because of it.
Regarding the media, many will continue to be attracted to the sensational headlines and do little to actually research the story.It sounds like a joke, but it’s true. A few years ago, Ecolab walked into a bar and never left.
While the St. Paul-based sanitizing chemicals giant has kept towering kettles, pipes and fermentation tanks spotless and scale-free for 40 years at big players such as Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors and Heineken, a new idea started bubbling in 2013: Tap the burgeoning ranks of tiny brew pubs and microbreweries.
Ecolab’s craft brew program now generates millions in sales and commands 26 percent of Ecolab’s total brewing sales. That’s up from 17 percent in 2011 — when craft breweries weren’t an integral part of Ecolab’s strategy.
“Today, more than 70 percent of our brewery customer base are craft brewers,” said Ecolab spokesman Roman Blahoski, who declined to discuss revenue.
Customers include Great Waters Brewing Co., Indeed Brewing, Summit Brewing, and more than 100 others. While a small part of Ecolab’s total annual revenue of $14 billion, the division is making headway.
“As we looked into the market, we noticed the double-digit growth rate in pub brews and craft breweries,” said Pablo Segovia, marketing manager for Ecolab’s food and beverage division. “We saw an opportunity to leverage the solutions that we already had in our portfolio to meet the needs of these [tiny shops].”
It would require some finesse on Ecolab’s part. Turns out smaller players could be eccentric. “Some of these guys have a very do-it-yourself mentality. … And their ability to invest in equipment is sometimes [stunted],” Segovia admitted. “And we saw that square footage was at a minimum.”
Ecolab was accustomed to rolling its tanker trucks of cleaning and sanitizing chemicals into sprawling production plants. Suddenly, it was catering to upstart breweries and corner pubs operating in cramped quarters on tight budgets.
With such limited resources, the idea of installing major cleaning equipment and chemicals in such tiny shops seemed daunting — but necessary, Segovia said. Sanitizing chemicals keep mash tanks, brewing kettles, pipes and bottling equipment pristine so the beer stays true to taste — and free of beer stones, mold, botulism, souring lactic acids, and those hyper-sticky foams that can make cleaning a nightmare.
Segovia and Ecolab’s institutional marketing manager, Charles Hipp, welcomed the challenge of helping tiny brewers who knew a lot about beer, but less about sterilizing and chemicals. Hipp had catered to Ecolab’s global hotel and chain restaurant customers, while Segovia worked the mega brew meisters from all over the world. Surely they could figure out how to “scale things down” to help cash-strapped craft houses while still helping Ecolab grow.
Ecolab spent 2013 researching. To succeed, it knew it had to leave its tanker trucks at home. Instead, it delivered sanitizing and acid or alkaline-altering chemicals in 55-gallon drums — or 1-gallon jugs.
“We had to bring it down a bit,” Segovia said. “We managed to break the complexity, so we could provide [products] for all sizes [of brewers].” The company also focused on service and partnerships as a way to edge out a multitude of competitors.
By 2014, it had unleashed 200 microbiologists, service and sales personnel into small breweries to act as consultants. They helped the beer pros install bottling systems and chose the right chemicals, lubricants and processes for steel vs. copper equipment. They also tested acid or alkaline levels, created a new equipment sanitizer that prevented “beer stones” and launched a “dry lubricant” to keep bottles and cans scooting on conveyors without the need for workers to squirt messy water onto the belts (or the floors).
Chuck Skypeck, technical brewing products manager for the Brewers Association in Colorado, said Ecolab isn’t alone in aggressively pursuing this industry. “Just as we saw an explosion in our brewer membership we have also seen an explosion in our supplier members. We have seen a lot of these larger companies see opportunity in this market. … So I don’t think that Ecolab is unique in sensing a market opportunity and going after it.”
After seeing its efforts pay off in the U.S., Ecolab started fielding calls for help from small shops overseas. “We have been approached by fields in Europe and Asia and also in Latin America,” Segovia said. “We really walked them through how our teams are working in the United States and what we have learned from what [we] are experiencing here.”
In northeast Minneapolis, Indeed Brewing started with six brewing tanks and six employees in 2012 when the three founders approached Ecolab for help. “We were one of their first small brewers,” said Indeed co-owner Tom Whisenand. Ecolab made it clear the small shops were “not really a priority for us. … But our sales rep Zach Babcock [was that] certain salesperson who was interested in working with the smaller breweries and growing that business.”
Babcock and Ecolab’s senior R & D program leader, Chad Thompson, taught Indeed to pre-treat its new steel tanks — some 30 feet tall — with chemicals that strip iron from the metal so the tanks don’t rust and contaminate their golden suds. “That was something totally foreign to us. And the chemicals used are pretty intense,” Whisenand said, noting that a tiny spill burned a hole in the cement floor. Ecolab trained his workers how to feed chemicals into the tanks without human touch.
Babcock also suggested a $2,000 central chemical-dosing system. It would prevent costly overuse of chemicals that frequently hurt equipment, spoil flavors and prompt workers to pour freshly brewed batches right down the drain. “It is a couple thousand bucks but it offered them long-term benefits and brand protection,” Babcock said. “Tom understood that.”
Over time, as Indeed grew, so did its relationship with Ecolab. “We were the 18th brewery to start in the state of Minnesota. Today there are 105 breweries and we are the fifth-largest craft brewery,” Whisenand said. “We grew from six to 55 employees.” Indeed has 20 brewing and fermentation tanks in a $1 million plant that brews and cans Dandy Lager, Midnight Ryder Black IPA and a variety of other beers for customers across Minnesota and North Dakota.
Last year, Indeed bought a customized $100,000 stainless steel “clean-in-place” system from Ecolab that injects chemicals, heat and water into selected pipes, vessels, tanks and machinery all over the brewery.
“It’s like a remote dishwasher that is like an octopus,” Whisenand said. Ecolab sold the system, and Babcock made weekly adjustments and adapted it to Indeed’s process.
Eric Nelson, manager of Great Waters Brewing restaurant in St. Paul, said his experience was similar despite having just two brewers.
“Ecolab takes care of their people and equipment. If there is a problem, they find a way to address it,” Nelson said. “You are never calling somebody’s boss to solve a problem.”
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725How aggressively will the Trump administration pursue the transgender troop ban?
That’s the question now that the federal government has 60 days to appeal U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s Monday afternoon decision to grant a preliminary injunction against the ban.
Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion that Trump’s hasty tweets and lack of supporting evidence for his decision were “highly suggestive of a constitutional violation,” and that the transgender plaintiffs were likely to win.
The Trump administration’s planned reversal of a 2016 policy allowing transgender troops to serve openly—previously on track to be implemented in March—has effectively been derailed for the time being. And although the legal battles around the ban will continue, transgender service members have been granted a momentary and partial reprieve from the panic while they await the White House’s response.
“I wouldn’t say it’s normalcy yet,” Bryan Fram, policy chair for the transgender military organization SPART*A, told The Daily Beast. “But some things have improved for people. Packets for gender changes are being pushed forward, people think surgeries are going to be approved again shortly. There is some of that, but it’s localized. ‘Cautious optimism,’ I would say, is the phrase for the day.”
Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s order essentially returns the military for the status quo before Trump’s July tweets, when the estimated 4,000 currently-serving transgender troops were allowed to serve openly but the process of recruiting new transgender troops—or accessions—was still in the works. But an appeal from the Trump administration is a distinct possibility—although the White House stopped short of promising one in a statement.
“President Trump lawfully concluded that the Obama Administration’s eleventh-hour decision to overturn the military’s longstanding policy on service by transgender individuals had not been adequately justified and directed Department of Defense to review the issue,” White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is currently evaluating next steps.”
The possibility of those “next steps” means LGBT advocates are still bracing for a fight—and currently-serving transgender troops are still uneasy about the future.
“We really don’t know what to expect,” said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which secured the injunction on along with the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). “We’re anxious to see what the government is going to do.” Minter told The Daily Beast that the transgender plaintiffs in the case feel like “a great weight has been lifted” but added that the “stress and tension and confusion” Trump created has not yet been fully “alleviated.”
Indeed, in the midst of this large-scale judicial battle are real people who are deeply uncertain about their job security. Indeed, the U.S. military may be the single largest employer of transgender people in the country, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
“If people are going to be discharged in March, they of course need to make other plans to make a living and obtain health care and housing and many of them have families,” Minter explained. “It puts people in this impossible situation.”
“ The President ought to be able to recognize this is a political loser. ”
The Trump administration will earn no new fans by continuing to target transgender troops. Top Senate Republicans—including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain—oppose the ban.
Only the extreme wing of the party—like Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who called for Kollar-Kotelly’s impeachment after she issued the injunction—seems hell-bent on purging the military’s ranks of transgender service members.
There is widespread public support for transgender military service as well. According to a July 2017 Reuters/Ipsos poll—taken shortly after Trump’s tweets—58 percent of Americans support transgender military service and only 27 percent oppose it, while the remainder said they “don’t know.” Supporters of transgender military service included 83 percent of Democrats and 32 percent of Republicans.
“Massive bipartisan support exists for transgender Americans continuing to serve in the military,” Tyler Deaton, senior adviser for the conservative LGBT advocacy organization American Unity Fund, told The Daily Beast in a statement. “The Trump administration is up against overwhelming opposition in Congress, the Courts, the military leadership, and the general public. The President ought to be able to recognize this is a political loser.”
In phone interview, Deaton added that he “do[es] see damage if the administration continues to pursue this,” given how much opposition there is for the ban among the president’s own political party.
“My observation, from all of the Republicans who I talk to, is basically people want to go back to exactly where we were in the process of continuing to study this,” he said. “[They want to] be methodical, be thorough, and let the military leadership be in the driver’s seat here—not bureaucrats, not social agenda zealots with some sort of an ax to grind who don’t know the first thing about military policy.”
Indeed, it was reportedly the more zealous wing of the Trump administration that pushed for the seemingly out-of-the-blue ban in the first place.
As The Daily Beast reported, Vice President Mike Pence and former chief strategist Steve Bannon had been “pushing hard” for the policy ban, which the White House anticipated would go over well with the Religious Right.
Politico reported in their behind-the-scenes breakdown of Trump’s decision that the president abruptly issued his tweets to satisfy House Republicans and thereby secure funding for his favorite pet project: the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
The House did approve a spending bill including funding for the wall the day after Trump’s tweets—but, as Newsweek noted, it would only cover 74 miles of the 2,000-mile border. And the inclusion of border wall funding, as The New York Times noted, made the bill “almost certain to fail in the Senate” anyway. Trump has since failed to secure congressional funding for the wall.
Effectively, that means Trump may have already failed to get what he reportedly wanted out of the transgender troop ban in the first place—and continuing to push for it would mean butting heads with his own party and the public at large, all at a moment when his approval ratings are the lowest they have ever been: 38 percent. The “snap decision,” as Politco described it, has backfired.
In fact, the suddenness with which Trump tweeted about the ban has become the biggest impediment to seeing it through; in her 76-page opinion, Judge Kollar-Kotelly cited the lack of “formality or deliberative process that generally accompany the development and announcement of major policy changes that will gravely affect the lives of many Americans.”
If Trump’s tweets are any indication, he cares much more about his travel ban than the transgender troop ban. Trump has only tweeted the word “transgender” twice—both times on the July morning he hastily announced his ban.
But knowing how much influence the Religious Right still wields within the White House, LGBT advocates are still anticipating a protracted fight despite Monday’s taste of victory.
“We’re gonna see this through to the end,” Minter promised, noting that the soonest the case could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court if the government appeals would be Spring 2018.
And until the appeal window passes or the legal challenges against the ban get decided more definitively, transgender service members will save the celebration until after the fight is over.
“There’s a lot of good feelings about the strength of the argument that the judge put forth in dismissing the Department of Justice’s decision,” Fram told The Daily Beast |
draw from an understanding of this earlier period far-reaching conclusions about what is required today.
Four months after the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln was clear about what was at stake in the war.
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…
“The great task remaining before us,” Lincoln said, was that “we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Yet the American ruling class, represented by both the Democrats and Republicans, is seeking, with deliberation and conscious intent, to defend at all costs not “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” but “government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.” For this reason, it cannot address with any degree of honesty even the bourgeois democratic revolutionary traditions of the United States itself.London Underground’s Jubilee line came out on top (Picture: PA)
The Jubilee line has been named Londoners’ favourite Tube line, with the Northern line emerging as the most hated.
Twenty-four per cent of respondents picked out the Jubilee line as their favourite, with the Victoria line second on 19 per cent.
Meanwhile 20 per cent branded the Northern line the worst the London Underground had to offer, followed by the District line on seven per cent.
MORE: 10 reasons the Northern line is so terrible
The YouGov survey of 1,500 Londoners for the Evening Standard completes a bad week for the Northern line, after Transport for London bosses launched a new campaign asking commuters between Tooting Bec and Clapham North to walk instead of catching the Tube between 8am and 8.45am.
Click here to see the full results of the survey
Favourite Tube lines:
1 Jubilee – 24%
2 Victoria – 19%
3 Central – 12%
4 Piccadilly – 12%
5 Metropolitan – 8%
6 District – 7%
7 Northern – 7%
8 Bakerloo – 3%
9 Hammersmith & City – 3%
10 Circle – 2%
11 Waterloo & City – 2%
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Least favourite:
1 Northern – 20%
2 District – 7%
3 Bakerloo – 6%
4 Circle – 5%
5 Central – 4%
6 Hammersmith & City – 4%
7 Metropolitan – 3%
8 Waterloo & City – 3%
9 Jubilee – 2%
10 Piccadilly – 2%
11 Victoria – 1%The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation has endorsed a draft law aimed at silencing the Muslim call to prayer.
On Sunday, the committee released a statement which said the "bill for prevention of noise from public address systems in houses of prayer" had been “passed” without giving further information.
The draft legislation is expected to be discussed before the Israeli parliament on Wednesday. If passed, it will be returned to the committee for a second and third reading.
Despite the bill making no mention of any specific religion, it has become known as the “muezzin bill or law" as it blocks the traditional Muslim call to prayer that is broadcast through speakers mounted on the mosques' minarets.
A former version of the bill was rejected because it would have also blocked the siren broadcast in Jewish regions at sunset on Fridays.
The new version prohibits the playing of amplified sounds from 11:00 pm local time to 7:00 am, a period which encompasses the first of Islam’s five daily calls to prayer.
Read More:
"This law does not deal with noise nor with quality of life, just with racist incitement against a national minority," said Palestinian MP Ayman Odeh. "The voice of the muezzin was heard here long before the racists of the (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and will after them."
A picture taken on October 13, 2016, showing al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds
If the law is passed, it will be enforced in East Jerusalem al-Quds and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories apart from around the al-Aqsa Mosque. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.
The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed tensions ever since Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.
Nearly 280 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since October that year.Ferrero U.S.A. Inc., the maker of Nutella, has just settled a $2.5 million lawsuit.
The class action lawsuit was brought against the company by a mother in California who was “shocked” to see that Nutella was advertised as a healthy food. Ferrero said that it stood by its product and its advertisements, but has agreed to settle the Nutella lawsuit for close to $3 million.
A spokeswoman for the company said: “We stand behind the quality and ingredients of Nutella hazelnut spread and the advertising of our product.”
CTV reports that the money will be spread around to anyone who bought Nutella between August 2009 and January 2012. The company has also said that it would change Nutella’s label and stop running “misleading” ads.
Athena Hohenberg, the lead plaintiff in the case, said that Ferrero’s advertisements for the chocolate spread led her to believe that Nutella was a nutritious product.
The complaint read:
“Ms. Hohenberg was surprised and upset to learn that Nutella was in fact not a ‘healthy’ ‘nutritious’ food but instead a product wsith the nutritional properties of a candy bar, with very high levels of refined sugar and saturated fat. Had Ms. Hohenberg known the truth about Nutella’s qualities, she would not have purchased it for her family.”
Nutella said that it will now put the fat, sugar, and calorie information on the front of the label.
Are you surprised that Nutella isn’t healthy? Are you surprised that someone thought Nutella was nutritious?NEW YORK -- Several angry major league players wanted Alex Rodriguez kicked out of their union after he sued it last week, but staff lawyers told them expulsion was not allowed.
The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrator's decision suspending him for the 2014 season and postseason.
Details were first reported Tuesday by Yahoo! Sports and later confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the call. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no statements were authorized.
The union and Rodriguez spokesman Ron Berkowitz declined comment.
All players in the major leagues are members of the union and pay $65 daily in dues, or $11,895 if a player is in the big leagues for a full season. Baseball's labor contract specifies the union is "the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all major league players."
Several players have called for Alex Rodriguez's ouster from the players' union AP Photo/David Karp
The union will incur costs of defending the lawsuit by the New York Yankees third baseman, who claimed in the suit it "breached its duty of fair representation to Mr. Rodriguez." The union retained Michael Rubin and Barbara J. Chisholm of the San Francisco firm Altshuler Berzon to defend it, according to a court filing Tuesday.
Rodriguez was suspended for 211 games by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig on Aug. 5, and the union filed a grievance contending the discipline was without "just cause." The penalty was reduced to 162 games plus the 2014 postseason by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who concluded Rodriguez violated baseball's drug agreement each year from 2010-12 and twice obstructed MLB's investigation in violation of the sport's labor contract.
Rodriguez agreed to a $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees after the 2007 season. Horowitz's decision cost Rodriguez $22.13 million of his $25 million salary this year; the three-time AL MVP is owed $61 million by the Yankees from 2015-17.
Meanwhile, MLB and the union have agreed to follow their previous methodology for luxury tax payrolls in dealing with Rodriguez's suspension. He will count as $3,155,738 this year for the Yankees, which is 21-183rds of the $27.5 million average annual value he would have been listed at. Horowitz ruled Rodriguez loses 162 days' pay over the 183-day season.What does it take to be successful in a job interview? Many people don’t realise that our skills, knowledge and abilities are only partially responsible. Our appearance, particularly whether hiring managers find us attractive, also plays an important part. This is particularly true for jobs in frontline services.
Being overweight is a significant obstacle to employability, especially for women. Researchers have confirmed time and again that overweight or obese job applicants are much less likely than those of a “normal” weight to succeed in an interview or gain a promotion.
Overweight people also suffer from negative perceptions based on stereotypes that are often inaccurate. These are reinforced by media representations of the “ideal” woman (or man) as unrealistically thin.
Our research
To see how far this discrimination goes, my colleagues and I looked into whether even subtle weight gain within a healthy range of body mass index (BMI) could negatively affect employability.
We started with photographs of four men and four women, all with BMIs in the healthy/normal range (typically defined as 18.5 to 24.9). We then used specialised software to add weight to their faces so that we created two versions of each person: a “normal” one and a “heavier” one. But whereas the heavier men’s faces put them in the overweight BMI range (25.0 to 29.9), the heavier women were still within a healthy range.
We showed these photographs to 120 participants and asked them to rate each face on employability across a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 the lowest and 7 the highest. Participants were told to assume these were job applicants who were all equally qualified for the position in question.
We showed the participants all the photographs twice. On the first pass they had to assume the position was for a customer-facing job such as a waiter, while in the second pass they had to assume it was for a non-customer facing job such as a chef in a kitchen. We assumed the participants would give the heavier faces a better score on the second pass than the first pass, given the absence of any customer interaction for the second role.
What we found
Our assumption was correct for the heavier men. They rated significantly lower than the original faces for the customer facing job, yet for the backroom job there was no significant difference. On the other hand, the heavier women were rated significantly less employable than the original faces in both customer facing and backroom jobs. This was in spite of the fact that the heavier women were still in the healthy BMI range.
What does this tell us? It appears that even subtle weight gain can have a huge impact on employability, especially for women. Women on the heavier side of healthy appear to suffer more in the labour market than overtly overweight men. By the same token, even subtle weight loss can apparently improve your chances of success in a job interview – particularly if you are a woman.
These findings are alarming. They are a reflection of the unrealistic standards of beauty that many women, and to a lesser extent men face in society today. To combat weight-based discrimination, we need to encourage hiring managers to “audit” their unconscious biases and focus on job applicants’ inner skills and experiences. Either that or we’ll have to wait until societal standards of attractiveness become more realistic – and that could be a long wait.Update: The lack of clarity on No Man’s Sky refund process has left many folks frustrated. Earlier, some users managed to the refund from Steam without many issues and posted about the experience on Reddit and NeoGAF forums. What appeared to be a no-questions-asked refund drill actually had a few caveats that weren’t clarified and communicated clearly on Saturday.
Following the sudden surge in refund requests, Steam seems to have updated No Man’s Sky page, stating that the standard refund policy applies to the game, and no special exemptions are available. Previously, no such disclaimer existed. On the other hand, Sony is reportedly asking folks who bought the game to run some tests first to troubleshoot the game’s performance, reports IGN. Once Sony verifies in-game technical snags, the refund request passes to the next step. In all fairness, folks who ideally have clocked two to four hours and faced justifiable technical glitches can have a word with the respective stores for refund eligibility.
The original article begins below.
Hello Games’ woes with No Man’s Sky for PC continues to bother gamers as well as its developers. In the meantime, Game Revolution reports that Steam has quietly started accepting refund requests from the PC users regardless of the play hours. Following that, even Sony and Amazon U.S. is issuing refunds to the buyers irrespective of the play hours clocked, reported Gadgets 360. The game is available via Steam, Sony, and Amazon for $59.99.
About 18 quintillon planets with different species are procedurally generated. [Image via Hello Games]
Launched on PC earlier this month, thousands of Steam users who paid for No Man’s Sky weren’t happy with the game’s performance and stability. Earlier this week, Hello Games released three patches and shared the details in lengthy release notes on the Steam Community forum.
Patch notes here for PC. Three patches released on Steam and GoG which fix the most common issues reported: https://t.co/LqwbQPXQjj — Hello Games (@hellogames) August 23, 2016
No Man’s Sky is a sandbox-style, space exploration game set in a massive universe that procedurally generates worlds. Starting off as an explorer, drift in the space exploring new planets and trading items from your inventory. The game features 18 quintillion planets to visit and explore. That sure makes it feel tedious, and of endless scale. In fact, you might end up spending an entire lifetime exploring every nook and cranny of each planet. However, the same idea might be transfixing for those who love such games, reports Vox.
The word about Steam offering a refund for No Man’s Sky spread via Reddit. A user named whaaatcrazy posted, “Just heard on a random twitch channel they’re giving the refund, so I gave it a shot even though I tried the day it came out, AND HOLY S**T IT WORKED.”
Steam’s official refund policy states the following.
“Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any reason, if the request is made within fourteen days of purchase, and the title has been played for less than two hours.”
When the game launched on Steam in mid-August, over 220,00 players were actively playing No Man’s Sky. That number has dropped to roughly 15,000 players this week, reported PC Invasion. That’s a massive drop that puts the game developers in hot water.
Buy, sell, replenish your inventories on every planet you explore. [Image via Hello Games]
PlayStation 4 users were infuriated over Sony’s archaic cancellation, and refund policy, according to Eurogamer. As per PlayStation Store’s official documentation, the user can request for cancellation within 14 days of the purchase. However, the caveat here is that user must not have initiated the download or streamed the game.
To our surprise, even Sony is now issuing refunds to the PlayStation Network accounts. The biggest fear among PS4 users is that Sony will give them the money back but will block the possibility of purchasing a digital copy of No Man’s Sky at a lower cost again in future. However, Sony assures it won’t be the case with this game.
Amazon, who sold digital codes for the No Man’s Sky, is also accepting refund requests from its customers and most found that the live chat was the fastest way to get it.
Some gamers are already posting about their success with refunds from Steam, Amazon, and even Sony’s PSN on the NeoGAF forum boards.
General grievance among the gamers is that No Man’s Sky doesn’t work as advertised in the trailers and promotional materials. A massive Reddit post that listed all the missing features promised by Sean Murray, Hello Games founder, got deleted but has been archived on a website amusingly called One Man’s Lie, as per a Steam Community post.
Hello Games has already released five patches for the PlayStation 4 version of its game. The game developer plans to fix the crashing issues entirely in coming weeks.
Patch 1.06 fixes 90% of crash issues for PS4 is in testing and will release this week — Hello Games (@hellogames) August 24, 2016
In case you plan to keep the game, there’s some more bad news for you. The game developers hinted that you might have pay for its DLC in the future, according to the Inquisitr. Certainly, the paid DLC will include a lot of content and new features that might lead to additional development time. But you know what that means. Meanwhile, you can check out the new Experimental Branch thread on Steam Community boards which gives a lot of workaround for the existing issues to the PC users.
The trailer of the No Man’s Sky made it look like a dream come true. However, its release gave a taste of the reality with several crashes and bugs. Thankfully, Sony, Steam, and Amazon are refunding the money to only eligible buyers, who justified technical issues, of the No Man’s Sky.
Those troubled with the game and are facing issues getting your refund, voice your experience in the comments section below.
[Image via Hello Games]LIVERMORE FALLS, Maine, April 10 (UPI) -- A Maine man who was trying to avoid being charged with marijuana possession may now be wishing he simply pleaded to police that the pot was his.
When Douglas Glidden was stopped by police in Livermore Falls because an officer recognized him and knew his license was suspended, he “told them the marijuana found in the car was not his because he had stolen the car.”
While Glidden was being taken to the Androscoggin County Jail for booking, police said the car's owner called and reported that it had been stolen from his driveway.
The 25-year-old was charged with felony operating under the influence, and felony counts of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and violating condition of release.
According to Chief Ernest Steward Jr., Glidden has also been charged with a misdemeanor count of operating with a suspended or revoked license and a civil violation of possession of a useable amount of marijuana.
[The Sun Journal] [WMTW]Force of 5,000 troops from central African countries to be formed to'stop Kony with military hardware', envoy says
The African Union has announced that it will form a 5,000-strong brigade to hunt down Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), believed to be hiding in the jungles of central Africa.
The brigade will be led by Uganda and include troops from the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, the countries that have been ravaged by LRA raids.
"We need to stop Kony with hardware – with military hardware in this case. We're on a mission," an African Union envoy, Francisco Madeira, told reporters in Entebbe, Uganda. "We need to stop Kony."
The announcement came a few weeks after a video made by a US advocacy group was seen by millions of people around the world. The video, Kony2012, by Invisible Children, was viewed by more than 100 million people, generating interest in Kony who has used his militia to terrorise communities throughout central Africa for more than 14 years.
Kony believes he is the spokesman of God but also tries to assert the rights of his Acholi people in Uganda, particularly after the overthrow of the Acholi president.
Abou Moussa, the UN envoy in the region, told the BBC that Kony was believed to be in the Central African Republic. He said the LRA had dwindled in size but was still creating havoc.
Kony and his close aides have been wanted by the international criminal court in The Hague since 2005. He is believed to have recruited between 60,000 and 100,000 child soldiers and displaced around 2 million people.
Moussa, speaking in Entebbe where African ministers agreed the new strategy, said the LRA was believed to have dwindled to between 200 and 700 followers but remained a threat.
"The most important thing is that no matter how little the LRA may be, it still constitutes a danger … they continue to attack and create havoc."
Moussa said international interest in Kony had been "useful, very important".
The force will be based in South Sudan and is expected to receive assistance from the US army. Ministers said the force would be disbanded when the threat from Kony was eliminated.Looking for news you can trust?
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Back in January, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) made a promise. His state, he said, would pursue a new package of climate goals that are the most ambitious in the nation (and among the most ambitious in the world). California was already a leader in efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy. Brown pledged to go further. By 2030, he declared, California would double the energy efficiency of state buildings; get half its electricity from renewables; and halve consumption of gasoline by cars and trucks.
At the time, all those nice-sounding goals were just words in a speech. But they could very soon become the law of the land. The state legislature is currently considering several bills (SB 350 is the most important) that would codify Brown’s climate agenda. The legislation is widely expected to pass before the end of the legislative session next Friday, but not without a fight from the state’s powerful oil lobby.
Before we get into the bills themselves, let’s talk about California. Believe it or not, the state where America fell in love with cars and highways is now leading the nation, and the world, when it comes to climate action. And that matters, because California, the world’s seventh-largest economy, is a world-class emitter of greenhouse gases. It ranks second for state emissions, behind Texas, and if it were its own nation, it would rank 20th globally, right between Italy and Spain. Still, it’s remarkably clean for its size: On a per-capita basis, it ranks 45th among US states and 38th when compared with countries around the world. (Below, the bars represent total emissions and the dots represent per-capita emissions.)
California is also special because of how much of its emissions come from road transportation (cars, trucks, buses, etc.), which is why a major reduction in gasoline use would be so significant. Nationally, just 27 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are from transportation; in California, it’s 37 percent. Another way to crunch those numbers: One-tenth of the nation’s road transport emissions come from California. Unsurprisingly, California is also the biggest consumer of gasoline, accounting for one-tenth of the national gas market. As a result, it also has an infamously aggressive oil lobby—more on that in a minute.
“If California can do this, it could really be the beginning of the snowball,” Tim O’Connor said.
California first stepped onto the national climate stage back in 2006 during the Arnold Schwarzenegger administration, with the passage of AB32, known as the Global Warming Solutions Act. That law sets a target of reducing the state’s economy-wide carbon footprint to 1990 levels by 2020. Since the bill was enacted, gasoline consumption in the state is down 9 percent—double the nationwide decline. Total carbon emissions are also down, while GDP and population are both on the rise. Roll those things together and you get the most impressive number: The carbon intensity of the state’s economy (that is, emissions per unit of GDP) is down 28 percent. The upshot is that California has become a proving ground for the notion that strong economic growth and climate action can go hand in hand:
That’s where the current bills come in. SB 350 would bring the state’s gasoline consumption down to about where Florida’s is now, while setting new targets for clean energy and energy efficiency projects. There’s also SB32, which would build on Schwarzenegger’s targets and require the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 (to meet that target, emissions have to start falling about five times faster than they currently are). That would be the most aggressive state target in the country; nationally, the furthest President Barack Obama has gone is to aim for a 26-28 percent reduction by 2025 (and that’s not enshrined in law, either). Both bills passed the state Senate in June by a wide margin; they’re due for a vote in the Assembly within the coming week. If they pass, they’ll head to Brown’s desk for a signature.
Neither bill includes specific prescriptions for how to meet the targets. Those are left to the state’s Air Resources Board (CARB), which would be required to turn in an enforcement plan by 2017. The gas consumption target would likely require some combination of new fuel efficiency standards for cars, incentives for alternative fuels and biofuels, cooperation with local planning agencies to improve public transit and make communities less car-reliant, and a push to get people to buy more electric vehicles. (California is already home to half of the roughly 174,000 electric vehicles on the road in the United States.)
“If California can do this, it could really be the beginning of the snowball,” said Tim O’Connor, director of California policy for the Environmental Defense Fund. “This is how California can really shake up the national conversation on climate.”
The oil lobby has long been the most powerful special interest group in Sacramento.
Combined, these efforts are expected to create up to half a million jobs, according to a recent University of California-Berkeley study, and draw billions in clean tech investments (for which California is already the undisputed national champ). The bills’ supporters in the California capitol also say they will save millions of dollars in traffic-related public health costs and result in reduced energy bills.
The bills’ other supporters include Obama; both the state’s US senators and a majority of its congressional delegation; and a coalition of California businesses, large and small. But they also have some powerful enemies who are pushing back hard.
Because of the state’s share of the gasoline market, and its robust oil and gas production industry, the oil lobby has long been the most powerful special interest in Sacramento. The biggest group, the Western States Petroleum Association, spent $8.9 million on lobbying last year. Now, Californians are getting blitzed by ads like the one below, from the so-called California Drivers Alliance (backed by WSPA, and representing “fuel users & providers”). The ad claims SB 350 will lead to gas rationing and is all about “limiting how far we can drive” and “penalizing drivers for using too much gas.” The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), called the ad “absurd” and “fear-mongering.”
“There’s a significant amount of inertia protecting the industry,” O’Connor said. “The lobby is putting its aim right at the center, at swing moderates” in the Assembly.
We’ll have to wait and see how this pans out. But California has a strong history of leadership on climate policies—including carbon trading programs (it created the nation’s first economy-wide cap-and-trade market in 2012) and clean vehicle standards—so the odds are pretty good.
“The governor has put his reputation on the line,” O’Connor said. “It’s hard to imagine 350 won’t pass.”Reddit devolved into a civil war Thursday night that has left dozens of its most popular communities inaccessible and uncounted refugee users fleeing for higher ground.
After news surfaced late Thursday that management had laid off a popular Reddit employee for reasons that remain unclear, the moderators of an increasing number of subreddits—more than 1,200, according to the latest count, some of which enjoy millions of subscribers—have effectively taken their communities offline in protest.
Victoria Taylor, the public-relations manager who ran Reddit’s popular celebrity “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) sessions, was apparently let go by Reddit management without warning, Business Insider reported, leaving her “dazed” and suddenly unemployed.
“We all had the rug ripped out from under us and feel betrayed.”
As a result of Taylor’s abrupt absence, the volunteer moderators of r/iAMA, home of the AMA interviews that included Hollywood stars, NASA engineers, and even President Barack Obama, took the subreddit private—meaning only mods and select users could access it—as they scrambled to keep their slate of high-profile AMAs afloat.
“Today, we learned that Victoria was unexpectedly let go from her position with Reddit,” wrote r/iAMA mod Karmanaut in a comment on the site. “We all had the rug ripped out from under us and feel betrayed.”
Calling Taylor “an essential lifeline of communication,” Karmanaut explained just how vital she was for the AMA interviews to work at such a popular level: She provided proof that the person fielding the AMA questions was who they said they were; she handled the “vast majority of scheduling requests;” and she was the only person able to put out fires whenever they sparked up.
“Without her filling this role, we will be utterly overwhelmed. We might need to scrap the calendar altogether, or somehow limit AMAs from those that would need help with the process,” Karamanaut wrote.
“We have been really blindsided by all of this. As a result, we will need to go through our processes and see what can be done without her.”
Turns out, as goes r/iAMA, so goes hundreds of other subreddits, which have “gone black” in what has erupted into the most significant civil war in Reddit’s 10-year history.
Reddit
A user of the community r/SubredditDrama has put together the following list of subreddits that have, as of publication time, gone black or halted all activity. The list below only includes communities with more than 5,000 subscribers and is therefore almost certainly incomplete. (Note: Some of the links below are NSFW.):
The widespread protest is apparently not fueled by Taylor’s dismissal alone. Reddit user Gilgamesh-, a mod of the subreddit r/OutofTheLoop, reports on the site that the deeper problem stems from a general feeling that Reddit management takes advantage of the volunteer moderators who maintain virtually all aspects of their respective communities. As Gilgamesh- explains in a highly cited post:
As much as Victoria is loved, this reaction is not all a result of her departure: there is a feeling among many of the moderators of reddit that the admins do not respect the work that is put in by the thousands of unpaid volunteers who maintain the communities of the 9,656 active subreddits, which they feel is expressed by, among other things, the lack of communication between them and the admins, and their disregard of the thousands of mods who keep reddit’s communities going.
The “Reddit Revolt” or “Great Reddit Blackout of 2015,” as some have called it, follows widespread controversy over the site’s decision to ban a number of contentious communities, including r/fatpeoplehate, a highly active community dedicated to disparaging overweight people, under a new harassment policy. The institution of the policy came under the leadership of interim Reddit CEO Ellen Pao, a controversial figure whom some redditors have taken to calling Chairman Pao.
The Reddit blackout carries with it widespread calls for users to abandon the site altogether. Whether the exodus will endure long enough to cause lasting damage to Reddit remains in flux.
Update 7:30am CT, July 3: The number of subreddits that have gone offline has swelled to 1,222, according to a regularly updated list on the r/GoldTesting subreddit. That’s down from a total of 1,266, with 44 subreddits coming back online over night. The reinstated subreddits include r/pics and r/todayilearned, two major subreddits that each count more than 8.7 million subscribers. Both are now dominated by posts about Taylor and the unfolding Reddit “armageddon.”
The Reddit protest has also given rise to r/Blackout2015, the central hub of the unrest.
Update 12:50pm CT, July 3: The subreddit that started it all, r/iAMA, is back online, as are a number of other popular subreddits.
But the rebellions is far from over. Posts about Taylor’s dismissal and complaints about Reddit administrators continue to dominate the site. And a Change.org petition started three weeks ago calling on Ellen Pao to step down has surged to more than 22,000 signatures, more than doubling its support in under a day.
Illustration via Reddit | Remix by Andrew CoutsTL;DR
When using the optimistic concurrency approach for entities that are updated frequently, some of the actions may fail because of the conflicting version numbers. A proper modelling technique distilling if business requirements can be loosened may greatly increase the chances of succeeding with commands issued against these entities improving overall performance of an application and a lowering a probability of errors.
Optimistic Concurrency
The optimistic concurrency is an approach for ensuring non overlapping updates over a given entity. It’s supported by the majority of heavy ORMs and applied simply by adding a conditional where at the end of the update. For example
UPDATE Orders -- more updated columns SET version = @version + 1 WHERE id = @id AND version = @version
This approach ensures, that if any other operation updated the entity in the meantime, this update will fail. Additionally, if an ORM is capable of counting rows that should have been updated, like NHibernate does, it can abort a transaction and throw an exception informing that some of the operations that were planned to be executed failed.
The optimistic concurrency approach is not a unique SQL technique. It’s popular in many NoSql databases like Azure Table Storage for example. When updating an entity, its ETag is added as the If-Match header, ensuring, that if the entity was modified after retrieval and updated, the operation, again, will fail. See Update operation documentation here.
Finally, when applying Domain Driven Design and operating on an Aggregate Root, this technique is the easiest one to ensure, that the aggregate root is truly a transaction boundary. If the root has its version updated with every change of the aggregate, then two concurrent operations cannot be executed and one will fail, still, preserving the root as a transaction boundary. This applies to aggregate roots, no matter if you immerse them into Event Sourcing or a regular ORM mapped graph of entities. Just update the root with every operation and your aggregate will be just fine.
As it’s been shown above, optimistic concurrency is a simple and powerful tool that in a world of NoSql and transactional-boundaries-got-right may be the only one to ensure atomicity of operations.
Limitations
When using optimistic concurrency, the flow of applying a change is a bit different. Instead of just updating a property, or a value, the following approach is taken
An aggregate is retrieved with its version If the state allows it, a command is executed The aggregates’ state is updated conditionally (if the version is unchanged)
Again, this ensures that the updated is applied on the version that a business logic operated onto, but limits the concurrent access.
For services using Event Sourcing, instead of retrieving entity all of the events are retrieved and a state of an aggregate is rebuilt. If snapshots are used, only events with versions bigger than a snapshot must be retrieved. If the snapshot is preserved in a in memory cache, then possibly, no events will be retrieved if the snapshot’s version is equal to the number of aggregate’s events so far. Events that are a result of a command are appended to the store conditionally. Depending on the storage it can be the stream version when using EventStore AppendToStreamAsync or update of a root markup entity when using a custom relational store.
An example
Let’s consider an example of a GitHub-like issue. Every issue has an option of locking it. It can be used for instance to lock an issue created by a troll (you don’t feed the troll) and disallow adding more comments. For sake of argument:
let’s model all comments as a part of the issue aggregate (as always, there are many models that can be applied) optimistic concurrency is used for all commands.
A business requirement for locking an issue could look like:
when an issue is locked no user should be able to add more comments
It’s quite common, that when seeing a requirement like this, developers don’t ask questions. It’s even more unfortunate, that some companies require to just follow the analysis. Let’s try to relax this requirement a little bit by asking some questions:
Is it required to lock the issue immediately? Could an issue be considered locked after some short period of time (less than 1s) after locking it? Could we allow adding some comments during this period?
If the answers point towards no need of an immediate lock, there’s a space to handle locking in a relaxed manner
Relaxed Optimistic Concurrency
If an operation can have its preconditions relaxed and can be performed after achieving some state it can be executed with much less friction. In the previous example, the state when a user can add a comment is a created issue. The precondition is a non-locked issue, but it’s ok to add a comment to a locked issue within some time boundaries. Consider the following flow
An aggregate is retrieved with its version If the state allows it, a command is executed The aggregates’ state is updated conditionally (if the version is unchanged) appending the change unconditionally
Depending on the storage and the applied design in can be done in many ways.
When using Event Sourcing with EventStore a special version can be passed to the appending method which represents any version. This appends events unconditionally. This means that a locking operation and adding a comment can be done in parallel without conflicts!
When using a relational database, an issue entity can be retrieved to check it’s state. Next, a comment entity can be added separately, without updating the version of the issue itself. Again, because adding a comment does not change the version, the friction on the aggregate is lowered.
Summing up
Don’t take requirements for granted, but rather ask for the reasoning behind them. Try to relax requirements for areas which may suffer from the high contention. The model is just a model. There are no true or |
Words would always be ‘uncertain in their significations’, wrote Locke. Therefore, for him, human communication entailed misunderstanding. The speaker and the hearer might assign a different idea or ideas to the same word. Open your mouth or put pen to paper, and you unleash ambiguity.
No wonder Americans of the 18th century loved trompe-l’oeil (literally ‘trick-the-eye’) paintings and other sensory tricks. The five senses had moved front and centre of the conversation, so why not play with them? Since the Renaissance, perspectival painting had been growing in popularity. These paintings represent an optical experience common to most people as they view the world: objects meant to seem far away are smaller, those meant to seem closer are bigger, and everything recedes in an orderly fashion toward the horizon. A regular perspectival painting is a painting in the subjunctive mood. The painter says to the viewer: ‘If this were a real landscape, this is how it would look.’ Painter and viewer agree that it is a representation of reality, not reality itself: it’s a kind of contract between painter and viewer.
A trompe l’oeil painting breaks the contract between painter and viewer. It is a deception, replacing the subjunctive ‘if this were’ with the declarative ‘this is’. This is a curving wooden staircase, and two of my sons are climbing it. That is what the Revolutionary-era painter Charles Willson Peale did when he painted The Staircase Group in 1795. Peale’s fame rested on his portrait gallery of America’s revolutionary heroes: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and Peale himself, who appear in regular perspectival fashion. In The Staircase Group, the painting tricks the viewer. To the two boys on the staircase, we want to say: ‘Here, you dropped this scrap of paper’ and clamber up behind them. To amplify the deception, their father added a real wooden step to the painting’s base. Peale’s painting asked the great questions of the revolutionary generation: do our senses deliver truth to our minds? Or can they be tricked by something as simple as the stroke of the brush?
One might think that the framers of the Constitution would have plugged their ears and shut their eyes against Locke’s warnings about the ambiguity of language and the dangers of sensory failure. After all, the Constitution was just words – and words, Locke warned, might mean so many different things. Yet in the months and years after the federal convention, American politicians returned again and again to the Constitution and its problems of language. That it was written was one of its novelties. The British have never seen fit to write down their Constitution, and have governed for centuries with a series of precedents and practices.
Because the US Constitution was written, it focused the problems of ambiguity and misunderstanding that Locke said plagued all language. ‘The charge of being ambiguous and indefinite may be brought against every human composition, and necessarily arises from the imperfection of language,’ noted delegate Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut in 1787. Madison also despaired of ‘the inaccuracy of the terms’ and how they bred confusion.
The framers concluded that the US Constitution could never be just a text. Rather, it existed as part of a human interpretive community: Locke’s merchants and lovers, his cooks and tailors. They would decide among themselves what each word meant. In the same way that the mind formed through sensory input, and a stalactite from the steady drip of water, the Constitution would slowly take shape as people interpreted and debated it. ‘Though penned with the greatest technical skill, and passed on the fullest and most mature deliberation,’ noted Madison in 1787, all laws ‘are considered as more or less obscure and equivocal, until their meaning be liquidated and ascertained by a series of particular discussions and adjudications.’
Americans built a new, unruined Rome based on their imaginings of the classical world
History presented the same challenges of understanding, the same uncertainty. Eighteenth-century Americans read the past as a how-to manual. They coined our term ‘political science’ because they hoped to create a data-driven science of politics, one as empirical as optics or chemistry. In his Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America (1787), John Adams compared the history of ancient Greece to a room with mirrors on the walls and ceiling. Everyone in America should look into the mirror of Greece to see what to strive for and what to avoid.
A glance backward, however, revealed a historical record full of holes. The further back in time, the bigger the holes. Americans saw classical antiquity as the best political science textbook, full of examples ripe for their plucking, but hardly a scrap of evidence remained from the classical world of Greece, Carthage and Rome. A few texts, some coins, some crumbling columns and statues. After the Revolution, neoclassical architecture became the new style of the American federal, state and local government. Americans built a new, unruined Rome based on their imaginings of the classical world. Most of classical history was unknown and unknowable to them. American neoclassical architecture, the iconography of state buildings, is a great self-deception.
The lost civilisation of Carthage presented the most problems. Perched on the northern shore of Africa, ancient Carthage for centuries stood at the centre of a vast Mediterranean empire. Like its arch-rival Rome, Carthage was a stable republic, with a senate and great generals such as Hannibal. Thomas Jefferson thought Carthage had ‘a very distinguished policy and government’.
Carthage could have been a useful how-to manual for building the new federal government of the US. But the Romans had annihilated Carthage in the last Punic War. The American founders pulled their hair out. How can we use Carthage to build our federal government if we know almost nothing about it? ‘It has often you know been a subject of regret that Carthage had no writer to give her side of her own history,’ Jefferson wrote to Adams. Madison complained that only ‘circumstantial evidence’ remained from Carthage. He’d hoped to use the government of Carthage as a model to build the new US Senate, and spent months reading everything he could about it.
But, instead, Madison’s notes on Carthage are epitaphs to a lost world. The duration of office of its tribunals? ‘Unknown.’ The number of people in the senate? ‘Not known.’ Unknown, unknown, unknown. He pressed on anyway. Openly confessing the disastrously thin historical record for Carthage, Madison cited it anyway as a model for the US Senate in The Federalist (1788). He skated onward.
Science and nature presented headaches akin to those of history and language. The American revolutionaries had questions about every realm of scientific knowledge: astronomy, anthropology, medicine, biology, oceanography, geology – the list could go on and on. Why is the human body warm? Why do some people have dark skin, and others have light skin? Why are there seashells in mountaintops? Where did the American Indians come from? Do all fossil bones have living analogues? How do the planets move? And why this riot of natural energy – what purpose does it serve?
These questions sent them searching for answers. They dragged telescopes up moonlit hills to watch the planets sailing across the heavens. They launched the Lewis and Clark expedition across western North America. They flew kites in thunderstorms.
Yet their conclusions were often, well, inconclusive. ‘Ignorance is preferable to error,’ wrote Jefferson in 1785. He couldn’t figure out why there were marine shells in the peaks of the Appalachians. He laid out a bunch of theories, then threw up his hands. He wondered why some people have light skin, and others dark. He laid out some ideas, then left things open. ‘The opinion… must be hazarded with great diffidence,’ he wrote about the origin of skin colour. It was enough to lay out the theories, to toy with possibility. This modesty is so unlike the bombastic self-confidence that Americans usually pin to the revolutionary generation. But again and again, on every topic, they greeted the world with question marks rather than exclamation points.
The American revolutionaries declared some things. But they also supposed, wondered, questioned, asked and pondered many more
They also got a lot of things wrong. We are fairly sure today that our warm-bloodedness does not result from food decaying in our stomachs to produce electricity, which then powers the human furnace (as the electricity-loving Franklin proposed). Skin colour does not correlate to intelligence; mastodons don’t still roam the American West; American Indians are not descendants of the ancient Phoenicians (all ideas Jefferson proposed). But to err is human, as their favourite poet Alexander Pope liked to say.
The American revolutionaries declared some things. But they also supposed, wondered, questioned, asked and pondered many more. This legacy of questioning rather than declaring should be something that Americans both acknowledge and cherish. It will be an uphill battle. Unlike Europe, where Enlightenment ideas are just one stop along a path of history that stretches back several thousand years, in the US the Enlightenment is foundational to national identity. Foundational ideas presume a solid base on which to ground themselves. Americans like to imagine that the revolutionaries of the age of Enlightenment must have been sure about what they were doing. After all, if they were unsure, then they might have been wrong. They might have built the new republic on shaky foundations.
Yet as the revolutionaries themselves have shown us, doubt and uncertainty can be a great strength. They can spur enquiries, push us to new understandings, and open great possibilities. Today there are many more Americans than there were in the 18th century, and the stock of human knowledge is vastly larger. But so is the dividend of uncertainty. New answers always yield new questions. Part of the adventure of living, of building societies and governments, is to talk together about what we don’t know. Isn’t that a more useful Enlightenment for Americans today than a dusty mausoleum of self-evident truths?It’s almost April 2013 and the planet is going through a mass transformation. There are many aspects to this transformation, and in the end one must come to realize the basic building block for global change starts with us, humanity on a collective level, together. We are being called to evolve past our current way of living, tap into our infinite potentiality, let go of our training wheels and fly. We continue to search for external factors like technology and alternative ways to function, which is great. But humanity cannot evolve past its current paradigm unless the souls on Earth themselves change first. From that place of change we can begin to implement new ways of operating on this planet which can propel us past our current limitations and into an existence of abundance, peace, prosperity, and discovery. Humanity must operate from a place of love, peace, cooperation, acceptance and understanding if it is to move on and expand past the current limitations and definitions it has placed upon itself. A portion of the paradigm change we are witnessing on planet Earth today is people waking up to what has really been taking place. This can be a tough process because many humans have been made to believe certain realities are true when they are not. Through the use of mainstream media, education and more, we have been programmed with false ideas and belief systems of how the world and the industries that govern it work. We’ve also been programmed with the idea of how to be, how to act, and what to do in certain situations. This type of programming has taken us away from our soul’s voice, our heart, and our ability to be our true self. We are a young race, and we are only just discovering our hearts now.
Only a small group of people and the corporations they run are in control of all the world’s resources. When something new comes along and threatens these industries and multinational corporations they put a tremendous amount of effort into concealing and covering up information. A part of this transformation is the apocalypse, which is an ancient Greek word that carries the meaning of “transparency.” This is not always an easy process. Sometimes it is hard for one’s mind to take in certain information when after carrying a specific belief system for almost all of one’s life. We are an infant race of seven billion, separated by many different belief systems. The belief systems that once separated us are beginning to crumble, and we are all coming to the realization of oneness. That’s what we are: one human race. Imagine a race united in knowing instead of separated by belief systems. Someone once said that the mind works best like a parachute, when it is open!
Many find the idea of mass brainwashing hard to believe, but it’s really not. The brain and our consciousness is highly programmable. The way we perceive reality is directly correlated to the reality we create, you can read more about this here. Throughout human history intellectual authorities have affirmed their supremacy by purposely ridiculing ideas and new concepts of reality that did not fit the accepted framework. They accomplished this by using their position of ‘power’ to dictate, and dispense their resources into brainwashing the public. The best historical example is ancient Rome and Christianity. The elite banned and punished those who did not follow. Even all the way up to recent history when ancient Rome spread its power all over the globe, scientists were sought after and killed while their works were taken and hidden from the public, they were considered heretics. Galileo is a classic example of this.
So how do they do it today? Is it a conspiracy? Well, if you would like to inquire about that, the first question you must as yourself is who is in control now? Who is dictating ‘truth’ to people, how do they do it, and how do we find out what is really going on in the world? After all, nobody can really deny that human beings have an innate desire for knowledge and truth. The only difference is that everybody seeks it using different methods. Some simply believe what they are told, and others search more in depth. Truth can never be hidden, and it is always possible to discover certain aspects of our reality that is kept from the masses.
For quite some time the dominating ‘truth givers’ have come from television programming. It’s no secret that mainstream media sources are extremely manipulating. They are owned by a handful of multinational corporations who we all know are in control of government and governmental policy, such as Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, News Corporation, CBS Corporation, and NBC Universal. What is even more strange is that all of these corporations have connections to each other. Multiple CEO’s and employees are members of the Council On Foreign Relations and all of these organizations always lead up to the same group of families, like the Rockefellers. Does that not make people scratch their heads? I am not asking you to believe me blindly. I take it that this is a known fact. You can browse through our website if you are looking for proof, or you can simply do the research yourself. If you’d like to see an example of these mainstream media connections. you can click here get you started. What is even more amusing is that the corporations that own and run the mainstream media also own big oil companies, big pharmaceutical companies, big energy companies, big food companies and more. Basically, a small group of people and the corporations they run own all aspects of our lives. What is becoming more transparent by the day is that everything that surrounds us is not good for us at all. For example, the food and pharmaceutical industries both complement each other in that one makes us sick and the other treats us. It’s a cycle.
We no longer desire the type of environment that surrounds us daily and we are starting to realize that we can change it any time we want. Change can’t happen in a second. Sometimes our perception gets in the way. What seems like ten or twenty years to some may seem like one second to others. This transformation we are going through is rapid, and it starts with the recognition that many of us here no longer resonate with the current system planet Earth uses to govern itself. This feeling that does not resonate with many has caused many to ‘leave’ the system and begin to create for themselves. It has also encouraged others to begin spreading information to spark more awakening across the world. A massive ripple effect is moving around the planet right now. All we have to do is follow our hearts, let go of the fear to do so. and realize that in these times the Earth is truly our playground. Much Love.Neeley: Lack of hurricanes helps climate change skeptics
"Rick Perry leaves a trail of death." So reads the headline in a fake weather report, part of a new campaign to name hurricanes after noted climate change skeptics. The group, 350.org, hopes that associating politicians with destructive storms will make them more willing to enact restrictions on carbon emissions as a means of fighting global warming.
The campaign is tasteless, but it helps to highlight an otherwise largely overlooked fact: Hurricanes have been largely absent this year.
For the first time in 11 years, August came and went without a single hurricane forming in the Atlantic. The last intense hurricane (Category 3 or above) to hit the United States was Hurricane Wilma, in 2005. According to Phil Klotzbach, head of Colorado State University's seasonal hurricane forecast, accumulated cyclone energy is 70 percent below normal this year.
Hurricanes have become a major part of the public relations campaign for radical action on climate change. After Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern Seaboard last fall, the left quickly dubbed it a "Frankenstorm," and nearly fell over itself attempting to claim that the intensity of the storm was a result of greenhouse gas emissions.
That's not so surprising. Despite decades of effort, the environmental movement has largely failed to persuade the American public to accept the draconian restrictions that stopping climate change would entail, and linking hurricanes to climate change may be their best chance to change all that.
A look at the science, however, tells a somewhat different story. While the overall number of recorded hurricanes has increased since 1878 (when existing records begin), this is at least partly due to an improved ability to observe storms rather than an increase in the number of storms.
As Thomas Knutson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noted recently, "the rising trend in Atlantic tropical storm counts is almost entirely due to increases in short-duration (less than 2-day) storms alone [which were] particularly likely to have been overlooked in the earlier parts of the record, as they would have had less opportunity for chance encounters with ship traffic." As such, "the historical Atlantic hurricane record does not provide compelling evidence for a substantial greenhouse warming induced long-term increase."
Similarly, the increase in damages from storms over time has less to do with their increased frequency or intensity than with the fact that we have gotten richer. Had Hurricane Sandy swept through New Jersey 100 years ago, it would have done far less damage simply because, back then, there was less of value to destroy. These days Americans are not only wealthier, but we are more inclined to build closer to the water, due to subsidized flood insurance. When University of Colorado professor Roger Pielke looked at the numbers, he found that correcting for these factors completely eliminated the supposed increase in hurricane damage.
Unsurprisingly, then, a leaked draft of the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (due to be released later this month) downgraded the likelihood of a connection between past temperature rises and extreme weather events. According to the report, there is "low confidence" in any association between climate change and hurricane frequency or intensity.
The U.N. panel could, of course, be wrong. Congress recently held hearings examining the science behind climate change claims, and should continue to do so. In this case, however, the attempts to slander climate change skeptics by linking them to today's storms is scientifically flawed to say the least.
Whenever a climate change conference is greeted by a record snowfall or cold snap, environmentalists are quick to point out that weather is not the same as climate. Yet when it comes to storms, many have been willing to fall into exactly the same trap.
Neeley is a policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit, free-market research institute.Looking for news you can trust?
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When Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) was anointed last month by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to lead yet another congressional investigation of Benghazi, the second-term tea party congressman, a former prosecutor, was hailed by his Republican colleagues as an evenhanded lawmaker who had no political ax to grind in this endeavor. Boehner called him “serious-minded” and cited his “zeal for the truth.” Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) praised him as “cerebral” and said “he has a great capacity to work through an investigation and come to a fair conclusion.” And Gowdy himself vowed, “We’re going to go wherever the facts take us. Facts are neither Republican nor Democrat. They are facts.”
Yet when it comes to another conservative crusade, the supposed-IRS scandal, Gowdy has not been so dispassionate and judicious. As a member of the House government oversight committee led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), which has mounted the main congressional inquiry into this matter, Gowdy has publicly suggested that the vetting of political groups conducted by an IRS office in Cincinnati was part of a scheme hatched in Washington to benefit President Barack Obama and the Democrats. And he has done so without presenting facts to prove this assertion.
On March 4, Gowdy appeared on Fox News, and anchor Bill Hemmer asked, “if you aren’t convinced that this did not start in the Cincinnati office, where did it come from?” Gowdy didn’t wait a beat:
Washington, DC. Keep in mind Bill, you remember the State of the Union, where the president famously chastised the supreme court for their decision in Citizens United? And to their face at the State of the Union. Democrats don’t like that opinion, and they immediately started a project. And that’s not my word, that’s [Lois Lerner’s] word. They started a project to unravel Citizens United because they are tired of outside groups going after Democrats. This was orchestrated, it was planned, and we’ll prove it tomorrow.
The next day, Lerner, the former director of the IRS exempt organizations division, was scheduled to testify before Issa’s committee, but she ended up pleading the fifth. Nevertheless, Gowdy and the committee released no evidence showing the IRS vetting was a conspiracy hatched by Democrats in Washington to counter the consequences of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling that increased the power of special interest and secret money in politics.
Gowdy had long been suggesting that the vetting conducted by the IRS office in Cincinnati was part of a nefarious plot mounted by Democrats. On June 17, 2013, during one of Gowdy’s frequent appearances on Fox News, Bill O’Reilly asked: Do you think this [IRS activity] was orchestrated by the Democratic Party or the White House? Gowdy replied, “Well, I don’t have any evidence to support that.” But that did not stop him from sowing suspicion: “But I can tell you this: one place where we ought to be looking is the Obama-Biden reelect [campaign]. Not just the White House, but their reelection team.” He added, “I like to deal in evidence. I can’t prove to you that it goes to the White House. I can tell you this: I don’t think two rogue agents in Cincinnati concocted this scheme on their own.”
At this point in time—and ever since—there was no indication of any involvement of the White House or the Obama reelection crew. Yet Gowdy was clearly showing a strong bias in favor of a tea party-ish conspiracy theory. He also was calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS and urging Congress to cut funding for the agency in response to both the vetting and the IRS’s role in implementing Obamacare.
Gowdy was sharing his dark suspicions with O’Reilly just days after Issa had tried to concoct a gotcha moment. His staff had shared with Wall Street Journal reporters portions of interviews conducted by his committee with IRS workers in the Cincinnati office. This led to an article headlined, “IRS Staff Cite Washington Link: Two Workers Tell Congress That Agency Officials Helped Direct Tea-Party Reviews.” Issa and other conservatives thought this was an a-ha! moment.
But within days—and a day after Gowdy told O’Reilly he suspected Obama-ites had cooked up this plot—Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) released a set of transcripts that eviscerated Issa’s big news (and Gowdy’s pet theory). In one of the interviews, a manager of the IRS screening group in Cincinnati—who described himself as a “conservative Republican”—said the targeting of tea party groups began with low-level workers in that regional office and was not politically motivated.
Days later, the Issa-Gowdy narrative—the IRS scandal was an Obama scandal—took another blow with the news that documents showed that the IRS officials who had screened applicants for tax-exempt status with the words “Tea Party” and “Patriots” in their names had also zeroed in on groups with names including “Occupy” and “Progressive.” The New York Times reported, “The documents appeared to back up contentions by IRS officials and some Democrats that the agency did not intend to single out conservative groups for special scrutiny. Instead, the documents say, officials were trying to use ‘key word’ shortcuts to find overtly political organizations—both liberal and conservative—that were after tax favors by saying they were social welfare organizations.”
After these documents emerged, Issa claimed he never said the White House or the Obama campaign had been behind the IRS targeting. (But that is precisely what he had suggested.) Still, Gowdy held on to this notion. On July 22, 2013, during another Fox News appearance, he said, “We also shouldn’t believe the other defense that the progressive groups were targeted as well. I’ve never really understood that defense, that because we’re going to act improperly, toward more than one group, that’s a defense.” He added, “This was not confined to Ohio, that it’s got Washington’s fingerprints all over it. And so we need to be careful going forward that, that we view whatever we’re told from this administration with a jaundiced eye.”
Gowdy has been consistent. This past February, he was still insisting that the IRS had targeted groups “based on your political beliefs.” And it was in March that he told Hemmer that the IRS vetting was “orchestrated” by Democrats in Washington as a response to Citizens United.
On the IRS beat, Gowdy has not been a wait-for-the-facts truth seeker. He has acted more like a zealous prosecutor, pushing a particular view that depicts the Obama White House—or its unnamed allies—as underhanded criminals who covertly abused the IRS to destroy political foes. This may not be the best training for chairing the special select committee on Benghazi—that is, if the goal is indeed a fair and balanced inquiry.Army sources said the helmets are being made by a Kanpur-based firm (Representational)
The government today said it is procuring 1.58 lakh lightweight and safer ballistic helmets for the Indian Army. "A contract for procurement of 1,58,279 ballistic helmets through capital routes has been concluded in December 2016," Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.The helmets are being manufactured by Kanpur-based company MKU limited, army sources said, adding they will be lightweight and have better safety features. "There is no shortage of quality protective material for soldiers of the Indian Army fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir," Mr Bhamre said.To a separate query on whether the interim verdict of the International Court of Justice on Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav has brought out glaring deficiencies in the military legal system of Pakistan, Mr Bhamre did not comment.On whether there was a need for major changes in the military justice system in India, Mr Bhamre said the existing laws are up-to-date and in sync with human rights, humanitarian laws and criminal and service jurisprudence. To another question, Mr Bhamre said a committee headed by Lt. Gen. DB Shekatkar (retd.) has recommended closure of the Army Education Corps. "The recommendations of the committee are under consideration of the government," he said.Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer are full of optimism after getting their central defensive partnership in the Premier League off to the ideal start at Norwich City.
A knee injury sustained by Jan Vertonghen at Crystal Palace last month spelled the end of the centre-half double act he’d maintained with Belgian international team-mate Toby since the beginning of the season.
But any fears that our impressive defensive continuity would suffer as a result have been quashed after Austrian international Kevin seamlessly stepped into the breach alongside Toby at Carrow Road on Tuesday night and duly helped us keep a clean sheet against the Canaries.
It wasn’t the first time Toby and Kevin have teamed up in the heart of our back four – indeed, they played together in home Europa League wins against Qarabag and Monaco earlier in the season, again in the first encounter between us and Leicester City in the FA Cup third round in January and then for the last 15 minutes of our 3-1 domestic victory at Crystal Palace after Jan was forced off.
But after starting their first Premier League match together against the Canaries, both players feel they can work well in tandem as the games continue to come thick and fast.
“Kevin did very well,” 26-year-old Toby, the more experienced of the duo, proudly said after Tuesday’s game.
“I’ve played a couple of Europa League matches with him as well and he’s very comfortable on the ball, he knows how we have to play and there is a good connection between us – that’s important.
“He’s a quiet guy, quite funny as well off the pitch, but he always works hard for the team – even when he wasn’t playing earlier in the season.
“The lads are all helping him and he put in a very good performance against Norwich. This is a good opportunity for him and I’m sure – in fact, I know – he will do well.”
High praise indeed for the 23-year-old former 1. FC Köln defender – although Kevin was keen to return Toby’s compliments: “It’s always good to have a player like Toby next to you,” he said.
“You know that if you maybe lose a header, there’s always someone who covers you – he gives me a lot of security and that’s very important.
“I learn a lot from both Toby and Jan – they are two of the best centre-backs in England and the world and for me it’s a pleasure to work every day with them. I’m a bit younger than them so I can still learn a lot in training and in matches. I try to see what they’re doing and give my best to try to improve myself.”
Understandably, both players were in talkative mood after our fine win over Alex Neil’s men…
Kevin on Dele Alli’s early goal at Norwich City…
It was a very good start to the game. We scored very quickly and it was very important to score so early. We wanted to put pressure on them from the beginning and we did that. In the first half we did very well and we had chances to score even more. In the second half Norwich tried everything and played a lot of long balls but I think we defended well and they didn’t really have any big chances. It was a very important three points for us and, of course, I’m very happy that we kept a clean sheet as part of the victory.
Toby on the team’s performance at Carrow Road…
We started very well – the way you have to start a game. The second half was different but we showed a lot of character, put a lot of effort in and, in the end, it was a deserved win. If we have to say something about the first half, perhaps we should have scored a third goal because then the game would have been over.
Kevin on the outcome of his first Premier League start…
If you have a wish before your first Premier League start and someone tells you that you’re going to win 3-0, keep a clean sheet and get the three points I don’t think it could be better and that’s the case for me today. We did very well – Norwich were never really in the game and it was clear that there was only going to be one winner.
Toby on our resilience after half-time…
In the second half we worked hard for it, kept a clean sheet and achieved three very good away points. It was difficult to play in the second half but it doesn’t always have to be pretty, sometimes you have to fight and do your best to keep a clean sheet. They had a lot of possession but that’s it and of course it’s difficult when there are crosses and second balls coming in, but we did well.
Kevin on what he’s learned since his summer move to the club…
To always be aggressive, always try to push the striker, never give him space to turn and always be right with him. This is what I’ve tried to improve on a lot and I feel I’ve already become much better than when I first arrived at the club. I’ve also learned to keep calm when I have the ball and the opponents are pressing us – I always try to play and not only play long balls.
Kevin on the atmosphere created by our supporters…
In Germany we had quite good supporters but the Tottenham fans are always the loudest. When we played Crystal Palace recently they were brilliant, as they were tonight. They are always singing for the 90 minutes – you can hear them and that’s very important for a player because you always know that they are behind you and trying to push you on. Of course it’s nice when you score and can celebrate with them. For sure, Spurs fans are among the best in the league but when it comes to a song for me I think the fans know better than me so I’ll leave it to them!X Factor husband and wife judging duo, Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, have walked off the show today after learning that “numerous contestants” had not been singing their own music, but in fact songs they had copied from influential popular artists.
While it was common knowledge to many that contestants – from Sarah Spicer to Steve Broad – had not been singing their own songs, both Kills and Moon – neither of whom have real names – said they were “totally unaware” until last night, when contestant Joe Irvine sung Cry Me a River, originally written in 1953 by Arthur Hamilton.
At the conclusion of the song, judges Melanie Blatt and Stan Walker gave Irvine a standing ovation, but Kills was furious, and Moon looked perplexed.
“Hold on a minute,” said Moon, raising his hand to silence applause. “That’s not your song, is it?”
“It’s the song I chose,” replied Irvine.
“No, no, no, but it’s not a song you wrote, is it?” pressed Moon.
“Well, no.”
“And you’re not the slightest bit ashamed of that?”
Kills interjected to tell Irvine he was a “disgusting human being” who had brought “shame and disrepute” to a show “otherwise without incident.”
According to X Factor executive producer, Andrew Szusterman, it was only this morning, in the aftermath of filming, that Moon and Kills were made aware that the show’s entire premise was based on ordinary people singing songs they could never have written themselves.
“Yes, I think they were quite shocked to hear that,” he said.
“Look, how was I to know?” complained Moon on The Edge this morning. “Nothing was ever said about this to me. If I’d known about it I would never have accepted the job in the first place.”
“Couldn’t you just hear, though, that they’ve been singing popular music?” asked the Mike part of Jay-Jay, Mike & Dom.
“Well of course not,” he replied. “People expect me to somehow know all this music. I don’t listen to this music. I only listen to Willy Moon.”
In a joint statement this afternoon, Moon and Kills confirmed that they would be stepping down from X Factor, effective tonight, in protest of what they call “flagrant plagiarism.”
Stan Walker, who made a name for himself in similar circumstances by plagiarising his way through Australian Idol, described his fellow judges’ decision as “dum.”
Walker said he had no other words or letters to add, but had recently learned the word “bridge” and thought that was “pretty interesting, not going to lie.”
Despite his principled stand today, Moon has himself faced criticism in recent weeks from some who claim he stole his name from popular astronomical body The Moon.Our librarians make a difference in the lives of people in Los Angeles every day. If a librarian has made a difference in your life, now is the chance to tell your story.
The "I Love My Librarian Award" encourages library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Ten librarians from around the nation will be selected to win $5,000 and will be honored at a ceremony and reception in New York. In addition, a plaque will be given to each award-winner’s library. The award is supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York, The New York Public Library, and The New York Times.
We encourage you to nominate your favorite LAPL librarian! Go to lapl.org/lovemylibrarian by September 19 to fill out the online nomination form.
Children's librarian Ednita Kelly with one of our young patrons.Both traditions [Eastern and Western], when they talk about the knowability or unknowability of the divine ousia or essentia, are for the most part talking pious nonsense. There is no such ‘thing’ as the divine essence; there is no such object, whether of knowledge or ignorance. It is ultimately immaterial whether we prefer to use the term ousia to indicate the transcendence and incomprehensibility of God in himself or to use the term ‘incomprehensibility of the essence’ instead. God is essentially Father, Son, and Spirit, and … there is no other reality prior to, apart from, or more original than the paternal arche, which perfectly reveals itself in an eternal and coequal Logos and communicates itself by the Spirit who searches the deep things of God and makes Christ known to us. There is no divine essence, then, into the vision of which the souls of the saved will ultimately be admitted, nor even from the knowledge of which human minds are eternally excluded, and any language that suggests otherwise—whether patristic, Thomist, or Palamite—is an empty reification. The question of the knowledge of God, properly conceived … is the question of how we know the Father in the Son through the Spirit, even as the Father infinitely |
in contracts should the measures pass. Dozens of groups have said they would never host a conference in Texas if the measure is signed into law, she said.
Jeff Noonan of Visit Austin cited similar figures for the capital city and suggested that passing the bill could mean losing the annual South by Southwest festival, an event worth $325 million that he called the city's "Super Bowl."
"How do they sell tickets if they can't get top-tier entertainment to come?" Noonan asked.
During the months-long debate over bathroom restrictions, Kolkhorst and other Republicans have largely brushed off the business community's concerns.
"I put daughters before dollars on this issue," Kolkhorst said Friday morning.
Later in the day, Ginger Chun — the mother a 16-year-old transgender daughter — responded directly to Kolkhorst's comment by holding up a picture of her daughter Marceline while arguing that the restrictions would endanger her safety.
"You've said 'dollars above daughters,'" Chun told Kolkhorst. "But whose daughter? Not mine."
Shannon Najmabadi contributed to this report.
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From The Texas TribuneFirst Army Region commander Lt-Gen Kampanat Ruddith said the five Khon Kaen university students who raised three fingers to protest the military junta were paid to do so.
He said investigations by authorities revealed that the five students who raised their hands with the three fingers symbolic gesture in front of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha while delivering a speech at a drought relief operation in Khon Kaen were paid 50,000 baht by a local politician.
They wanted to grab room in the media from the prime minister if their protest caught media attention, he said.
He said the father of one of the students is a lawyer, but this would not be a problem.
He said that the National Council for Peace and Order has approached deans and rectors of educational institutions to seek their help in explaining to their students of the need to maintain martial law in the country and the military junta is not a dictator as students claimed.
He said the country is not in a normal situation and therefore there is need for the law to stay.
He also said there are only small groups of students who oppose the military junta but authorities would continue to explain them so they would understand the military good intention.
He said martial law would not harm good citizen and it would be executed only in case of urgency when normal judiciary process might not be taken in time.
(Photo : Thai PBS File)"The Voice" Season 6 contestant Christina Grimmie performs on June 29, 2014 as part of "The Voice Tour" at Cobb Energy Centre, in Atlanta. (Photo: Robb Cohen, Invision, AP)
Christina Grimmie's incredible voice has been silenced. The singer from The Voice season 6 was shot Friday night while signing autographs after a concert in Orlando. But many knew her even before her TV appearance. Grimmie started out in her teens as a YouTube singer, eventually gaining more than 2 million subscribers. She also did originals and had a major-label album set to be released this fall, but here are some of our favorite covers.
Listen to how powerfully she covers Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up" even while she's feeling under the weather. Pay special attention to the line: "God knows we're worth it."
Her performance of Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" got all four The Voice judges to turn their chairs around. That look in Shakira's eyes when she first heard her? Pretty much how we all felt.
Love how the OneRepublic cover shows off her piano skills.
And we'll leave you with this, rendered haunting by yesterday's events.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1tjbvVR3 awesome iPhone photography mock-ups.
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UPDATE 2014-02-21: Just added two more mock-ups free of charge for you guys!REUTERS/Jaime R. Carrero Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has called for a July 1 special session of the Texas legislature to address "unfinished business" from the last session, which ended in chaos after a marathon filibuster of a controversial abortion law Tuesday night.
"I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas. Through their duly elected representatives, the citizens of our state have made crystal clear their priorities for our great state," Perry said in a statement.
"We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do."
There are three items of legislation on the agenda, but attention will center on the abortion bill, SB5, which temporarily died Tuesday night after a near 13-hour filibuster from state Sen. Wendy Davis (D).
The bill would impose some of the most restrictive measures on abortion in the nation. It would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and impose new regulations on abortion clinics, such as a requirement that doctors providing abortions have admitting procedures at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic.
Supporters contend that the new requirements would improve patient care, but opponents claim they are a pretext designed to close as many as 37 of Texas' 42 abortion clinics.
The Texas Constitution limits special sessions to no longer than 30 days.This is a guest post by Nicholas Barnes, a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His dissertation project examines the governance practices of non-state armed actors in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. He is currently in Rio carrying out fieldwork with the support of the Drugs, Security and Democracy Fellowship Program, the SSRC-International Dissertation Research Fellowship, and the National Science Foundation. A longer version of this post is here.
*****
In recent weeks, millions of Brazilians have displayed their frustration and disillusionment with the political system through popular protest. But despite the fact that a majority of Brazilians support the protests, the movement remains fragmented and diffuse. The list of demands and grievances continue to grow and the sporadic violence which has taken place make understanding these protests and predicting their future trajectory extremely difficult. After nearly two weeks, I am left with more questions than answers.
Who are the protesters?
As David Samuels has already pointed out on this blog, the largest protests in the major urban centers have been dominated by an assortment of middle class, educated youth. However, these youth are not the only ones protesting. In the days following last Thursday’s massive outpouring, many smaller protests occurred across the country. Many marginalized populations have added their voices to the growing cacophony. These smaller protests are driven by more local and historical grievances. For instance, in many of Rio de Janeiro’s peripheral neighborhoods and favelas (shantytowns), protests were not organized by middle class youth but by local working class poor who understand better than any other segment of the population the effects of rising transportation costs, non-existent or low-quality schools and health services, and a repressive public security apparatus. Many of these communities have been organizing, advocating, and protesting for such change for decades with little to show for it. Only with the expansion of activism and mobilization to the middle classes in the last several weeks have Brazil’s political elites begun to pay attention. What remains unknown is if these groups are actually part of the same movement, advocating for the same reforms, and if they will be appeased by the same concessions.
What are the demands?
Although these protests began with the 20 cent rise in bus fares, they have come to encompass much more. Some of the most prominent grievances are the corruption of public officials and the poor quality of public services. Instead of improving infrastructure for the health and education systems and providing affordable public transportation, politicians are accused of misusing public funds for their own personal benefit and that of corporations. A prime example is the exorbitant spending on soccer stadiums and other World Cup preparations which have outpaced budgeted expectations. Many of the most violent protests have occurred around the newly constructed and renovated stadiums which are currently hosting the Confederations Cup, a surprising development for a country obsessed with soccer and the World Cup. For more on this, see Diego von Vacano’s previous post.
Looking more closely at any single issue area within the protest movement, the divisions are obvious. Regarding public transportation, the Free Fare Movement, which began the protests in São Paulo, is advocating for totally free public transportation in Brazilian cities. Other groups are demanding free rides just for students. Some are merely protesting for more affordable bus rates. On Monday, Dilma promised $22 billion to be invested in public transportation in Brazil’s biggest cities which will largely be spent by building more subways and improving infrastructure. Will this be enough to satisfy some of the protesters? It is difficult to know.
What kind of violence is occurring?
The role of violence in these protests cannot be overstated. The size and popularity of the protests themselves is partially a product of the violence which occurred at the first protests nearly two weeks ago. Videos and images of police brutality quickly spread through social media and emboldened a much larger set of protesters last week. Despite the fact that the vast majority of protesters continue to renounce violence, a very small portion of them have been able to provoke some of Brazil’s public security apparatus into violent action. Some individuals wish to engage in vandalism, looting and opportunistic violence for its own sake. There are also some radical protesters who may wish to provoke the government to overreact to further delegitimize the government and spread the protest movement. Both of these groups are present in protests around the country and, although in the extreme minority, have been able to derail otherwise peaceful demonstrations.
For their part, Brazil’s public security institutions have a long history of using violent and repressive tactics against civilians that can be traced back to the military dictatorship (1964-85). However, their responses to protests have varied significantly. Countless protests have concluded without any violence. On the other hand, in last Thursday’s mass protest in Rio de Janeiro with an estimated 300,000 participants, I witnessed the military police and BOPE (a special forces unit trained in urban warfare), send a very clear and heavy-handed message to protesters about public order. As more marginalized groups continue to engage in protests, the public security apparatus’ leeway in dealing with these groups will likely be even greater. For instance, a protest in Complexo da Maré, a large network of favelas in the north of Rio, eventually led to a violent invasion of the community by BOPE forces and a several-hour shootout with local gangs. Thirteen deaths have been officially confirmed. Local residents are outraged and immediately began more protests against such abusive and indiscriminate violence.
What will happen in the short-term?
Since mass protests began, public officials’ responses have been largely conciliatory. The 20 cent rise in bus fares were quickly revoked. A proposed amendment to the constitution which would make investigation of public corruption cases private information and take them out of the hands of the Interior Ministry was voted down. On Monday, President Dilma Rousseff chaired a meeting of all the governors and the mayors of the largest cities in which they agreed to certain reforms regarding public transportation, the health and education systems as well as political corruption. It remains to be seen how adamantly protesters refuse politics as usual and such concessions from public officials. It is likely that the disparate groups within the protest movement will respond differently. My guess is that many of the middle class youth will be quicker to accept concessions and massive protests like we witnessed last week will fade. However, better organized social movements and activist groups have been reinvigorated and have a much longer battle in mind.
What are the possible longer-term impacts?
Overall, these protests are clearly a positive development for democracy in Brazil. There is a real opportunity to change the political culture if a focus on improved public services and greater accountability and transparency from public officials are taken up as the primary demands of a broad spectrum of society. However, violent escalation and a tendency toward fragmentation and polarization at the party level could derail these opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, now that specific promises have been made, the majority of Brazilians that support political reform must hold these politicians and parties accountable in next year’s elections. Finally, the protest movement itself must find itself a leadership and a way to transition toward supporting candidates and parties if they are not to go the way of the Occupy Movement in the United States.In this episode, we look at the decontamination procedures used for the instruments making the journey to Mars with John Robert Brucato, Planetary Protection Manger at the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF).
Brucato is in charge of the planetary protection of the DREAMS instruments, travelling to Mars aboard the ExoMars probe.
“Instruments that are on board the ExoMars mission, aimed to search for signs of life, must be sterilised before launch – to avoid contaminating the planet with terrestrial life,” Brucato explains.
“We know now that on Earth there are extraordinarily resistant bacteria, able to bear extreme environmental conditions and which could survive on board a space mission during an interplanetary journey.”
“The procedure for on board sterilisation of a space mission instrument involves putting the instrument in a high-temperature environment, at 120 degrees, for several hours or even days. In this way, we are sure to have no biological load on board.”
Looking towards future missions that “will bring Martian samples to Earth”, Brocato says: “today we are studying at European level how to develop a protected place to analyse these samples and to check whether there is extraterrestrial life on another planet.”Selling a home in Portland, Oregon? Consider getting it certified green, as a recent release from the Earth Advantage Institute reveals that homes with a recognized third-party certification brought in as much as 30 percent more than their non-certified counterparts in 201o and 2011.
These results are based on a survey of new and existing home sales between May 1, 2010 and April 30, 2011 in Multnomah, Clackamas, Columbia, and Washington Counties in Oregon, and Clark County in Washington, as per local Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS) data. The Portland RMLS was the first U.S. regional multiple listing service to introduce sales info on green certified homes, at the behest of Earth Advantage Institute, back in 2007.
The data reveals that, over 2010 and 2011, existing homes with a green certification from Energy Star, LEED, or Earth Advantage in this six county Portland metro region fetched an average of 30 percent more, while new homes with the same certifications sold for an average 8 percent more than conventionally built new homes. (Presumably because buyers are more wary concerning the energy performance of an older home.)
The study reveals a consistent trend over the last four years in which a third-party green certification has boosted the prices paid for homes, even in the midst of slow home sales years such as 2009 and 2010.The Diversity of Early Christianity
From the beginning, early Christians struggled to define for themselves the identity of Jesus and the meaning of his message.
Harold W. Attridge:
The Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament Yale Divinity School
BOOK OF ACTS ACCOUNT TOO SIMPLE
What is the account that we get from Acts about the early history of the Christian church?
The Book of Acts records or reports that there was a special event that took place at Pentecost, which would have been the next pilgrimage festival after the Passover at which Jesus died. And at that time the disciples of Jesus were gathered together in Jerusalem unsure of what their future would be, when all of a sudden the spirit took hold of them and enabled them to speak in tongues, and that speaking of tongues is understood by the author of the Book of Acts to mean speaking in all of the languages of the world. So with the power of the spirit behind them, the disciples of Jesus immediately began a missionary campaign and started bringing people into the fold, converting them to belief in Christ. And from that time forward the mission moved ahead in the rather smooth way, directed by the spirit and by all of the apostles who acted in concert with one another and agreement with one another. That's the picture that we get in Acts.
The historical reality is probably much more complex. The Christian movement probably began not from a single center but from many different centers where different groups of disciples of Jesus gathered and tried to make sense of what they had experienced with him and what had happened to him at the end of his public ministry. Each of those groups probably had a very different take on what the significance of Jesus was. Some of them understanding his death and the resurrection experience, if they focused on it, in terms of exaltation. Others understanding it in terms of a resuscitation of the corpse of Jesus, others not worrying very much at all about the resurrection of Jesus, but concentrating on his teaching and trying to propagate that. We can see, even in the canonical text, in the Book of Acts, that there were different groups that were in competition with one another. Those who insisted more strongly on observance of Jewish laws in the Torah competed with those who were more open to admission of gentiles without imposing the burden of the Torah on them. There were others who we meet again in the Book of Acts, who apparently stood in continuity with the activity of John the Baptist and did not know the baptism that the Pauline Christians, at least, knew. So there was much more diversity in the early stages of the Christian movement than the Book of Acts suggest....
Holland Lee Hendrix:
President of the Faculty Union Theological Seminary
EARLY "CHRISTIANITIES" OF THE 2ND AND 3RD CENTURIES
Christianity, or one would rather say "Christianities," of the second and third centuries were a highly variegated phenomenon. We really can't imagine Christianity as a unified coherent religious movement. Certainly there were some religious organizations.... There were institutions developing in some Christian churches, but only in some. And this was not universal by any means. We know from, for example, the literature recovered at Nag Hammadi, that gnostic Christianity didn't have the kind of clear hierarchy that other forms of Christianity had developed. They still clung to a charismatic leadership model. And so there was a lot of variety in 2nd and 3rd century Christianity....
There were very different views of Jesus in the various types of Christianity.... Perhaps the starkest contrast was among those who considered themselves as gnostic Christians, and those who considered themselves Christians in the old Pauline view of things. On the one hand, Paul, and Pauline Christianity, would have placed all of the emphasis on Jesus' death and resurrection, and the saving power of that death and resurrection. Gnostic Christianity, on the other hand, would have placed its prime emphasis on the message, the wisdom, the knowledge, the gnosis, that's where the word gnostic comes from, the Greek word for knowledge, the knowledge that Jesus transmits, and even the secret knowledge that Jesus transmits. So one would have on the one hand faith in the saving event of Jesus' life and death, and on the other hand knowledge as the great source of adherence to the Jesus movement on the other hand.
More on the gnostics.
Helmut Koester:
John H. Morison Professor of New Testament Studies and Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History Harvard Divinity School
DIVERSITY IN EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES
Christianity did not start out as a unified movement. We have to remember that the disciples were probably dispersed at a very early time.... That is, at a time where there was no fixed formulation what the set of Christian beliefs should be. What Christian rituals should be. What they should think about Jesus or what they should tell about Jesus. The sources that we have tell us that Christianity started as a very diverse movement, as the founding of churches... moved into very different cultural and language contexts....
Paul's conversion as an apostle to the gentiles may date as early as three years after Jesus' death. No later than the year 35, but probably already 32 or 33.... He was in Damascus when he was called, according to his own witness. So we have, already, within two years or three or five years, of Jesus' death probably Greek speaking communities outside of Palestine, very early in Antioch, but we have also the founding of communities in Samaria.... We have apparently more isolated Christian communities founded very early in Galilee. Paul's mission carried Christianity all the way over Asia Minor, present Turkey into Macedonia, into Greece, within 20 years. And at the end of that period, Paul already knows that there's a Christian community in Rome which he has not founded.
With this explosive spread of Christian churches, not a very slow moderate growth, getting a few new members every few years, but an explosive spread of this movement, it cannot be expected that everywhere, everybody was doing and believing the same thing, singing the same hymns and reading the same scriptures and telling the same story. So we have a beginning with great diversity, and the slow process, particularly in the second century, to establish a greater unity among the very diverse churches. Already a process in Paul's churches themselves, because that's why Paul writes letters, because he wants to make sure that these newly converted Christians in Ephesus and Philippi and Thessaloniki and in Corinth have some unanimity in their beliefs. And his work is made even more difficult because once he had left Corinth, some people came to Corinth and told them, "Really Paul has not told you enough of the deep wisdom of the words of Jesus. Those you have to contemplate in order to learn the wisdom that comes from Jesus," and Paul has to write back and say, "Now, I taught you nothing but Christ crucified, not Christ wisdom." So you get a conflict of different traditions also at a very early stage.
WE CAN LEARN FROM THE STRUGGLES OF THE EARLY CHURCH
One interesting problem is simply the experience of diversity. We sometimes think that it's just such a shame that we have so many Christian denominations and so many other religions all in one country. "Wouldn't it be great if we have only one belief and one religion as it was in the time of the early Christians?" No, it wasn't in the time of the early Christians. The early Christians had a hard time to discuss with each other, fight with each other to establish certain patterns and criteria for the organization of community, what was important in the churches. Was it indeed important that churches established mutual responsibility for each other and care for the poor as part of their dossier? This is what they're supposed to do. And that discussion in our church was very helpful twelve years ago, when we discussed whether we should open a shelter for homeless people in the basement of our church.
But the other aspect is the diversity of religious movements. And that in fact early Christianity, by moving into different realms of the different universes of thought and of religion in the Greco-Roman world, adopted a lot of concepts from other religions, lots of them pagan religions, which enriched the early Christian movement tremendously. This probably should encourage us to say that our discourse, not only inner Christian discourse with other denominations, but also our discourse with other religions, with the Jews, with Moslems, with Buddhists, may in fact, indeed be very fruitful..., rather than staying away from this and saying, "Oh God, now we have even more Muslims in America than we have Jews." Which some people find terrible. But they have to learn to say "maybe that is very good."
L. Michael White:
Professor of Classics and Director of the Religious Studies Program University of Texas at Austin
REGIONAL DIVERSITY
We tend to think of the success of Christianity in the second and third centuries just on the eve on really when it becomes the prominent religion in the Roman Empire as if it were just one form of religiosity, when in fact the opposite is true. Christianity was extremely diverse during this period, and we probably ought to think of it as a kind of regional diversity; that is, the Christianity of Rome was different than Christianity in North Africa in certain ways, and that was different from what we find in Egypt, and that different from what we find in Syria or back in Palestine. We have, in effect, different brands of Christianity living often side by side, even in the same city. So, it's a great deal of diversity.
At one point in Rome,... Justin Martyr has his Christian school in one part of the city, and the gnostic teacher Valentinus is in another school in Rome, and another so-called heretic by the name of Marcion is also in Rome just down the street somewhere. All of these along side of the official papal tradition that developed as part of St. Peter's See in Rome, all there together. So, even within one city, we can have great diversity.
Now, what's significant about this diversity is the fact that each form of Christian tradition tended to tell the story of Jesus in different ways. The image of Jesus for Justin Martyr is rather different than that that we see for Valentinus or Marcion or others as well. And this is especially true even in other parts of the empire. This is where we start to see a kind of proliferation of gospels... all over the empire, and by the third and early fourth century [more] than you can actually count, and certainly more than you can easily read within a bible.
Wayne A. Meeks:
Woolsey Professor of Biblical Studies Yale University
INTERNAL SCHISMS AND THE DRIVE FOR UNITY
Now, the early Christians put a great emphasis upon unity amongst one another, and the odd thing is they seemed always to have been squabbling with one another over what kind of unity they were to have. The earliest documents we have are Paul's letters and what do we find there? He is, ever and again, having defend himself against some other Christians who have come in and said, "No, Paul didn't tell it right. We have now to tell you the real thing." So, it is clear from the very beginning of Christianity, that there are different ways of interpreting the fundamental message. There are different kinds of practice; there are arguments over how Jewish are we to be; how Greek are we to be; how do we adapt to the surrounding culture - what is the real meaning of the death of Jesus, how important is the death of Jesus? Maybe it's the sayings of Jesus that are really the important thing and not his death and not his resurrection.
Now, this runs very contrary to the view... which the mainstream Christianity has always quite understandably wanted to convey. That is, that at the beginning, everything was unity, everything was clear, everything was understandable and only gradually, under outside influences, heresies arose and conflict resulted, so that we must get back somehow to that Golden Age, when everything was okay. One of the most difficult things which has emerged from modern historical scholarship, is precisely that that Golden Age eludes us. The harder we work to try to arrive at that first place where Christianity, were all one and everything was clear, the more it... seems a will-o'- the-wisp. There never was this pure Christianity, different from everybody else and clear, in its contours....
How did these squabbles unfold over time?
The interesting thing about Christianity is that you have diversity from the beginning, and each of the diverse groups feel so keenly about their way of of seeing things that obviously, they'd like everybody else to agree with them.... There seems to be a sense, [among] all of the various parties that somehow, it ought to be one group; it ought to be one people. Obviously, they inherit this from Judaism, the notion that there is one people of God,... and yet, they're not one, they're different on all kinds of of things. And the drive to obtain the truth and to manifest the truth is so strong that if one group cannot convince the others that their way is right, often times, it seems the only thing they can do is separate, to make sure that the truth is embodied somewhere. And so the very drive for unity produces schism, and... quite ironically, the very existence of all the different schisms is testimony to the sense that there ought to be unity.
...The notion of Orthodoxy, which is only the flip-side of the notion of heresy, [developed in the second century]. So heresy which... simply means [in Greek], a choice, and is most commonly used to talk about a philosophical school, now takes on a negative connotation for the Christians. [It] first of all implies a schismatic group, a choice, which is different from the mainstream,... and then secondarily, [implies] people have wrong ideas, people who think wrongly about this or that, notably about the identity of Jesus Christ. The other side of that, of course, is our side, which has orthodoxy, that is, right thinking. The great controversies of the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries, which create what we will know as orthodoxy, and in the west, Catholicism, emerge from this very drive to create a a unified body of opinion.
It sounds like these early Christians are having big turf wars over who gets to say what Christianity is all about.
Yes. Well, the early Christians did have turf wars over who had it right and you see this from the very beginning. The Apostle Paul and his opponents in Galatia, who say, "Wait a minute, Paul told you a very simplified gospel, it makes it easy for you to become a member of this new group, but we know, after all, that if you're really going to be a real Christian, first you have to be a real Jew and that means, you have to be circumcised and you have to keep certain regulations out of the Torah. So Paul has not got it right." Paul said, "No, you don't understand how radically new this thing is, which God is doing here." [And] again in Corinth, people come and say, "No no, you don't understand, Paul isn't really quite what he claims to be here and now we're here to put it right." So, from the very beginning, it seems Christianity has different ways of construing what it's all about, which will lead to divisions and lead to conflict.
Who wins?
Who wins - in some sense, nobody wins, in the sense that the result of this is schisms and ultimately, some very nasty things in the history of the church, eventually the use of force and violence.... History is always written by the victors; if one wanted to be very cynical about it, one would say "All right, the people who finally managed the most power and the most persuasive abilities win out and they write the history, which defines everybody else as a heretic." and one would have to say there's a great deal of truth in that. [On] the other side of it... is that who wins, finally, is the side that embodies the widest support of people [for] their way of symbolizing Christian truth, and so there's there's a kind of strange democracy involved here. Obviously distorted by imperial power from the 4th century on but nevertheless, a strange kind of democracy involved... It is the usage of the local churches that eventually determines which books will be included in the New Testament, for example, and which will not be included, which point of view about Jesus has the widest support and therefore will also gain political power because there are people in various places that support that. It's a very complicated picture, obviously.Have a seat, Canada. Are you comfortable? Good, that’s good.
I noticed you’ve been in a downward spiral since Burger King announced its plan to buy Tim Hortons for $12 billion—or roughly $1 for every Tims on Yonge Street in Toronto.
You’re worried about what the takeover will mean for your morning coffee—and for the corporation that is traditionally depicted in our media as adored, iconic and able to cure hepatitis with its doughnut glaze. (I’m paraphrasing.)
I’m here to help. This is a safe place, Canada. I want to see you get through this. Which is why I need you to listen to me closely. These words will be painful, but it’s important you hear them:
Tim Hortons is not a defining national institution. Rather, it is a chain of thousands of doughnut shops, several of which have working toilets.
Tim Hortons is not an indispensable part of the Canadian experience. Rather, it is a place that sells a breakfast sandwich that tastes like a dishcloth soaked in egg yolk and left out overnight on top of a radiator.
Tim Hortons is not an anti-Starbucks choice that makes you a more relatable politician or a more authentic Canadian. Rather, it is a great place to buy a muffin if you’ve always wondered what it would be like to eat blueberry air.
There is no shame in having been caught up in the Hortons hype. It happens. Just last week, a columnist in the Toronto Star likened Tim Hortons to a precious vase that’s about to be juggled by its new owner, a monkey. (I was so irate at this irresponsible journalism that I wrote a letter demanding the Star issue a retraction. Everyone knows monkeys juggle only coconuts.)
Meanwhile, the NDP’s Peggy Nash—who, by all accounts, is an actual person and not a fictional construct of The Onion—gravely warned of the potential consequences of the Tim Hortons brand “falling into foreign hands.”
Yes, imagine the consequences. Maybe these madcap foreign owners will go so far as to alter the sandwiches so they taste like... something. Preferably like sandwich, but, at this point, most of us have stopped being picky.
Am I getting through to you, Canada? While we’re on the topic of hard truths, there is something else that needs to be said.
Canada, you sure do like your double-double—or, as it is by law referred to in news reports, the “beloved double-double.” But here’s a newsflash for you: If you drink your coffee with two creams and two sugars, the quality of the coffee itself is of little consequence. You’d might as well pour a mug of instant coffee or sip the urine of a house cat mixed with a clump of dirt from your golf spikes. It’s all basically the same thing once you bombard it with sweet and dairy. You’re really just wasting your...
I see from your reaction that I’ve crossed a line. I hereby withdraw my defamatory comments about the double-double and kindly ask that you return that handful of my chest hair.
Sit back down, Canada. I want to tell you a story.
There is a Tims located a few blocks from where I live, which is to be expected, given that my house is not on the moon. This outlet happens to be close to a major intersection. Every morning, the lineup from the drive-through extends down to the edge of the street.
Confronted with this situation, a sensible driver would grasp the inherent hazard in blocking a thoroughfare and simply keep motoring on. Does anyone do this? Of course not.
Instead, everyone stops and idles. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. Other drivers come whipping around the corner and must execute Cannonball Run feats of two-wheeled stunt-driving to avoid ramming these pastry-seeking asshats. Horns honk. Tempers flare. And still no one moves. Sure, I got a debilitating case of whiplash, and the nice lady in the Subaru lost the use of her legs, but on the upside TIMBITS NOM NOM NOM.
My point is this, Canada: It’s fine to enjoy Tim Hortons. Some may even say it’s fine to be like my Dad and insist on the old-fashioned plain, the only doughnut that delivers both the flavour and texture of a memory foam mattress.
But don’t get weird about it, OK?IN “ZERO TO ONE”, Peter Thiel's forthcoming guide to startups, he lets aspiring tech magnates in on an effective if unorthodox rule for making smart decisions: don’t do business with anyone who dresses in a suit. A slicked-up entrepreneur is inevitably a salesman trying to compensate for an inferior product. Based on this perception, Mr Thiel’s venture fund instituted a blanket rule to pass on any company whose principals dressed in formal wear for pitch meetings. The evidence suggests that Thiel’s bias worked: the fund was an early investor in companies like Napster, Facebook and Spotify. “Maybe we still would have avoided these bad investments if we had taken the time to evaluate each company’s technology in detail,” he writes. “But the team insight—never invest in a tech CEO that wears a suit—got us to the truth a lot faster.”
In Silicon Valley informality has long been de rigueur. But as the startup bug is spreading to innovation hubs across the world, hoodies, T-shirts and sneakers are the new corporate livery. The shift isn’t just a matter of comfort or convenience, but a change in how we conceptualise competence and professionalism. The thinking goes something like this: by stripping away the artificial appearances of showmanship, you can get to the truth about a product, person, or business. It is part of a cultural gravitation toward transparency—and a penchant for disruption in all its forms. People who have the confidence to dress informally and to disrupt traditional business codes, are perceived as more independent, innovative and competent.
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Researchers at Harvard Business School call this the “red sneakers effect”. In a study published by The Journal of Consumer Research they note that professors dressed less formally at academic events as they gained higher status. Students also perceived unshaven, devil-may-care professors as more knowledgeable than ones in a dress shirt and tie. These mildly rebellious signals are powerful in a culture that has long emphasised conformity as the road to social acceptance. “Instead of showing you can afford to spend money,” the authors explain, “you’re showing you can afford to spend your social capital… You’re saying, I’m so autonomous and successful that I can afford to dress in a non-conforming way.”
The way we signal status has also changed. Especially in business, success isn’t just about looking wealthy, but |
erc. 2013 May 7.
Well, I want to be honest with you. It's not like you could actually grow exclusively the peak of your biceps, but the fact that even the observation that the maximal increase in muscle cross-sectional area does actually correspond to the area of maximal stimulation can be considered a "novel finding", is testimony to how under-researched the optimal modalities of training for such profane things as cosmetic muscle gains actually are. In the end, you'd even have to wonder that Taku Wakahara and his colleagues from theandandin Japan even dared investing precious time and money into a part of human physiology that's still looked down upon by large parts of the scientific establishment.Maybe, it's like a carte blanche young researchers have!? After all, the study was supported partially by a grant for young scientists. So, before we get to the details, let's briefly thank the board members for turning a blind eye to the fact that the purpose of the present study was...... and did not involve the frail, the obese or the frail and obese, but 24 completely healthy young male volunteers. With an average age of 26 years and 66kg on a 172cm frame (likewise averages) the letter were yet either sedentary or (maximally) "recreationally active" and hadbeen involved in a regular resistance training program for the upper limbs for six months before the beginning of the experiment.Now you may certainly argue that it would be nice to see the very same study done in young bodybuilders. And this would in fact have been quite "nice" it would probably have been quite useless, as well. After all, you would have been hard pressed to measure any significant significant differences in muscle growth in already highly trained subjects.That being said, there is still something to criticize:I mean, it's not exactly likely that people who are sitting around anyway are suddenly growing big guns due to anything, but the 12-week exercise intervention they were part of? If the 12 subjects in the...had, for example, performed the same workout as the...but with different rest times or using different exercises the scientists would have been able to collect much more valuable data in the same 12-week study period. Information muscle-heads like you and me would have highly appreciated.But again, who am I to pass criticism on Taku Wakahara, Atsuki Fukutani, Yasuo Kawakami, and Toshimasa Yanai? A smartass blogger... no, I suggest we'd better be happy with the results and accept the limitations of the study at hand.Before the training intervention, there was no significant difference in the age, body height, body mass or the maximal CSA of the triceps brachii between the two groups. After 12 weeks with three training sessions per week, however, the scientists did observe a highly significant increase in muscle CSA in the participants in the active arm of the study.As mentioned before, this observation is neither surprising nor novel. What's quite telling and of practical relevance, however, is the observation that the different activation patterns the scientists had observed during the first training session, where the "%activated area of the triceps brachii had been significantly higher in the middle regions than that in the most proximal region" (Wakahura. 2013) did - just like "broscience" would have it - yield corresponding increases in the cross-sectional area in the respective parts of the muscle.Interestingly, the scientists did not observe any significant change in the muscle thickness of the long head in the training group (before: 2.0 ± 0.3 cm, after: 2.1 ± 0.2 cm). This is a result that stands in line with the activation patterns Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies observed in their Y2k study on which the data in the SuppVersity EMG Series is based on (click on the respective body part below to see the activation patterns for different exercises for all muscle groups).According to the said EMG data, the optimal exercise for the caput longum are dumbbell triceps kickbacks on an incline bench - an exercise that was obviously not part of the workout. The same goes for possible replacements, such as the seated dumbbell extension.Irrespective of the previously discussed limitations / shortcomings of the study at hand the results are anything but worthless. After all the correspondence of the activation patterns and hypertrophy response the scientists observed in the study at hand supports the notion(*) that EMG activity patterns as they were measured by Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies (see) are practically relevant and can be used as a starting point to build highly specific hypertrophy workouts.In this context, the "(*)" after the expression "supports the notion" is of utmost importance. Why? Well, the study at hand used MR imaging, not electromyography (EMG), to evaluate the skeletal muscle activation patterns- probably even more importantly - a sluggishly performed DB kickback is not going to yield the exact same activation patterns as a picture perfect DB kickback "right from the textbook".With form, inter-individual physiological difference (e.g. the length of your limbs), personal preference, training experience, auxiliary movements etc. all having a more or less pronounced influence on the activation pattern, EMG studies or other data on activity patterns should always be regarded as a guide, as inspiration to give things a try - not as a prescription! In the end, it will always be up to you or an experienced trainer who is actually watching you as you train (!) to pick the "truly optimal" exercises for you, as anWe’ve been pretty critical of the Productivity Commission in the past for endorsing more sprawl as a response to the housing crisis, but their Using Land for Housing draft report released a couple of weeks ago gets some things dead right.
In the Commission’s crosshairs are a few dumb planning regulations for which they’ve concluded “the cost exceeds the likely benefits”: minimum parking requirements, mandatory balconies and minimum floor sizes for apartments, and height and density restrictions.
In this blog we’ll focus on minimum parking requirements (MPRs). Unless you’re a planner or a developer you’ve probably never heard of them, but these harmless sounding rules are driving up the cost of housing and development, spreading our cities out and clogging them up with more traffic congestion. Getting rid of these would be a major win economically, socially and environmentally.
What are minimum parking requirements and why do we have them?
MPRs are rules in District Plans that force developers to build a minimum number of off-street car parks with any new development. Typically this will be one or two parks per dwelling, or one park per 30 or so square metres of floor area for commercial properties.
To put that in perspective, an NZTA research report says each car park requires about 30 square metres (including space for access and manoeuvring), so this means parking taking up as much space as the development itself. We’re all familiar with US-style big-box retail stores with their massive parking lots, but most people are probably unaware that local councils actually require developers to provide all that parking.
So why do we have these rules, rather than just letting the developers decide for themselves?
For an economist, the starting point for assessing any regulation like this is: what market failure(s) is it trying to address? The usual justification here is to prevent parking spillover (people parking where they’re not meant to) and traffic congestion caused by people cruising the streets for on-street parking. MPRs ‘solve’ this problem by ensuring there is always heaps of parking space.
For starters, the degree of ‘market failure’ is questionable. Anyone building or buying a house or commercial property already has every incentive to ensure there is an adequate amount of parking, otherwise the value of their business or home will be reduced. Secondly the real issue here isn’t a supply shortage, it’s that parking (or congestion) isn’t being priced efficiently. ‘Free’ on-street parking is still commonplace throughout New Zealand. We should all know there’s no such thing as a free lunch. What this really means is that the costs of storing a car are paid for by everyone else.
What MPRs really do is let local councils off the hook for their responsibility to monitor and manage public parking properly, and charge fair market prices. They also let councils and government off the hook for proper traffic management through policies such as congestion charging and provision of public transport.
OK it’s dumb, but what’s this got to do with the price of housing?
By wasting valuable land and pushing up construction costs, MPRs make housing and basically everything more expensive. Now of course, there’s nothing wrong with building car parks so long as people are happy to pay for them. The problem is when they aren’t given any choice.
To what extent are MPRs actually causing an oversupply of parking? Estimating this can be difficult and will differ case by case. As an example, removal of MPRs in London resulted in a 40% decrease in the number of car parks provided with new developments. Clearly the regulation was forcing people to build significantly more parks than they wanted to.
The direct cost of providing a surface car park has been estimated at $2,000-5,000, but the bigger factor is the opportunity cost of the value of the land – in other words what the land could be used for if it wasn’t a car park. For bigger developments where land values are high, a developer might choose to build underground parking at an estimated cost of $20,000-$30,000 per car park. Developers have reported that the net cost per car park in the Auckland CBD is around $32,000.
The impact is largest on denser developments. The Productivity Commission cites a Los Angeles study that parking requirements added 25% to the cost of an apartment building. Another study of a hypothetical apartment block found that requiring 0.75 underground car parks per unit would require rents to be 63% higher than if no parking was provided.
The impact also falls disproportionately on poorer people. As transport planning expert Todd Litman puts it, “Since parking costs increase as a percentage of rent for lower priced housing, and low income households tend to own fewer vehicles, minimum parking requirements are regressive and unfair.”
With house and property prices going through the roof in Auckland, ditching MPRs ought to be a no-brainer for politicians of all stripes.
My coffee too, are you serious?
MPRs don’t only affect housing. As one study puts it, MPRs for commercial buildings are “effectively a tax on floor space, where an increase in floor space triggers increased parking provision”.
As taxes tend to do, that flows through into the cost of everything else. When you buy your groceries at the supermarket, you’re paying for that massive parking lot outside – even if you walked, biked or bussed to get there and home (now known as ‘quaxing’). And yes, when you’re coughing up for that flat white, you can bet that a little bit of that bill is paying for your cafe’s off-street parking which they have to provide regardless of whether they want to. We have heard anecdotal stories of the dreams of prospective Auckland cafe owners being dashed by… you guessed… a lack of car parks.
Not only are MPRs bad for consumers, they are a barrier for new business developments.
What’s next, MPRs cause global warming???
Well… yes, actually.
MPRs tilt the playing field heavily towards driving as a preferred mode of transport. As the Productivity Commission says, “In effect, parking minimums act as a subsidy to car owners by over-supplying parking and are likely therefore to encourage excess use and congestion.”
Add to that the effect MPRs have on sprawl. Car parking takes up a large percentage of space in urban areas – perhaps as much as one-quarter in New Zealand city centres. Excess parking consumes scarce land and forces developments to spread to the urban fringe. The New Climate Economy report showed that sprawling cities have far higher emissions, and as we have pointed out in previous blogs, sprawl doesn’t save money – lower house prices are offset by higher transport costs.
Lower density, longer travel distances and a free park at both ends of the trip? No wonder we have that tired old cliché, “Kiwis love their cars”. Perhaps if car owners had to pay for the true cost of all that ‘free’ parking, things might be a bit different.
Considering all the negative impacts on congestion, health problems related to physical inactivity, car accidents, and environmental pollution, it doesn’t get much dumber than subsidising car ownership. It’s especially dumb when these rules apply to developments in the inner city or near main bus and train routes, undermining the whole purpose of inner city living and providing public transport.
Time to ‘bin the mins’
It’s clear there’s no credible argument for keeping minimum parking requirements. One study of medium density areas in Auckland conservatively estimated that the overall costs are 6-12 times as large as the benefits.
Ideally, central government would do away with MPRs through a national policy statement under the RMA. If they’re not going to, local councils should take things into their own hands and remove MPRs from their district plans. Auckland and Wellington have already removed them in their city centres, and as the Productivity Commission notes, they are more vibrant and successful places as a result.
After all, the main reason people live in denser areas is so that they can walk to the cafe, park, supermarket or their work. This kind of regulation actually makes this kind of lifestyle impossible. No-one should be forced to get into a car if they don’t want to.
One dumb regulation is driving up the cost of your house and your flat white was last modified: by
One dumb regulation is driving up the cost of your house and your flat white was last modified: byA/N: This chapter came out a little quicker because I am now off for the summer. I hope everyone likes it, and please let me know what you think.
Chapter 7 – Climb Ev'ry Mountain
The von Trapp children, along with Kristoff, stood in a circle on the boat landing, bouncing a ball and counting off their numbers. The ball stopped with Louisa, and after half-heartedly announcing a number, she threw the ball to Liesel, who in turn called out a number and threw it to Kurt. While Olaf watched from the terrace, Kurt announced Kristoff's number and threw it to him. Kristoff caught it easily, then announced Gretl's number and gently threw it to her. It slipped past her, and she ran after it. By the time she had gotten back, children and adult alike had already grown tired of the simple game, and by common consent, they decided to abandon it. "Thank you for playing with us, Baron," Liesel said politely.
"It's no trouble," Kristoff said sincerely, and he looked around at them all. "I only wish I could do more," he admitted regretfully, and all of the children knew he was thinking of Fraulein Anna, as were they. With a sad smile, Kristoff retreated to join Olaf on the terrace, and the children sat dejectedly on the stone bench on the landing.
"Have some lemonade," Olaf offered, trying to cheer Kristoff up as the burly man sank gloomily into the patio chair.
Kristoff sighed and took the glass filled with the pink-colored liquid. He took a sip and sighed again. "I just wish I knew how to get her back, Olaf," Kristoff said. "This house is not the same without her. The children are listless and unhappy, and Elsa, well Elsa has turned silent and emotionless. She will barely speak to anyone, even the children."
"She's heartbroken, Kristoff," Olaf replied. "She's lost practically everyone she has ever truly cared about."
"But Fraulein Anna isn't lost to her; I can feel it," Kristoff protested. "I don't know what changed between when Elsa came down and when Fraulein Anna left, but I feel like it's something fixable, if we could only get her back."
The children, hearing snippets of the conversation from where they sat, perked up at the suggestion of trying to get Fraulein Anna back. They looked around at each other and nodded, getting up from their benches and coming to the terrace. "We heard what you were discussing, and we want to help," Brigitta said bluntly. All of her siblings nodded enthusiastically, and Kristoff smiled, happy to see the children taking an interest in something.
"Then help you shall," Kristoff declared, encouraging all of them to gather around. "Does anyone have any ideas?" he asked.
"Go to the Abbey and talk to her," Louisa said promptly.
"Send a telegram that she is urgently needed back here," Liesel offered.
"Sing outside her window at the Abbey?" Kurt suggested.
"Go to the Reverend Mother and ask her to return our governess," Friedrich declared imperiously. "We are a part of the royal family, after all."
"No, not the Reverend Mother," Brigitta disagreed, obviously thinking. "We need someone with even more power. We need…Great-Grandmother. She wants Mother to marry Fraulein Anna just as badly as we do, and she's the Queen. If anyone can get her back for us, it's her."
Her siblings all nodded in agreement, and Kristoff was impressed with the rather brilliant thought. "Yes, Her Majesty was quite obvious with her admiration for Fraulein Anna," he allowed.
"No, she actually agreed with us when we said Mother should marry Fraulein Anna," Marta informed him, adding information that Kristoff didn't know.
"Well then, she would be the perfect ally," Kristoff agreed. "So what should be our plan? Perhaps see if we can visit Fraulein Anna to see why she left, whilst notifying Her Majesty?" Smiles broke out as the children considered and embraced the plan, and Kristoff was glad to see their renewed happiness. "Should we tell your Mother?"
"Absolutely not," Olaf stated firmly, rejoining the conversation. "Elsa is still angry and heartbroken. The only way to get her over the heartbreak is to have Fraulein Anna here. All the pain won't matter quite as much if she is actually standing in front of your Mother. If we just talk about her, Elsa is likely just to get angrier."
Kristoff and the children considered this and quickly realized that Olaf had a point. "Okay, so we don't inform your mother," Kristoff reiterated.
"Inform me of what?" Elsa queried with suspicion in her voice as she strode out from the house and onto the terrace. Surprised and caught in their scheming, the whole group jumped, making Elsa even more suspicious. "What are all of you plotting?" she asked, critically looking at them all.
"Nothing," Liesel said quickly. The glare she received from her mother instantly informed her that her lie had not been believed.
"Would anyone else like to try?" Elsa asked acerbically.
The children shifted around uncomfortably, trying to think of another lie as their Mother scrutinized them. Olaf sighed dramatically, drawing her scrutiny to him. "We were discussing our rehearsal schedule for the Festival auditions," he lied, his face falling in convincing faux remorse and shame at being found out. "We were hoping that if the children auditioned and won a spot, then you would let them compete."
"You know of my views on my children singing in public, Olaf," Elsa said angrily.
Olaf fought to keep his face melancholy even though he was celebrating the fact that the lie worked. "Well, yes," he admitted, still trying to sound contrite, "but the children needed something to cheer them up, and I thought that this would be a good way."
Elsa sighed, softening her gaze slightly. The children were as saddened by Fraulein Anna's sudden departure as she was, but where Elsa had her anger to fall back on, the children only had their sadness. "I can understand that, Olaf," she said, her tone much more calm. "But that doesn't change my feelings about the subject. Besides," she continued, looking first at her children and then at her houseguests with obvious unease, "if everything goes to plan, no one but Olaf will be here to attend the Festival anyway."
"What plan, Mother?" Liesel asked, immediately wary of Elsa's pensive look.
Elsa straightened her shoulders, and the pensive mother troubled by her decision disappeared behind the mask of the stoic sea captain. "With the escalation of the Weselton menace, it is apparent that the Arendellian Navy will soon be called into action," she said, her face almost completely emotionless. "There is a lack of qualified Captains, so I have petitioned the Navy to reinstate my commission. Once my petition is accepted, I will be returning to active duty."
The children looked shocked, and Kristoff looked at his best friend in sadness. Like she often did, Elsa was running away, trying to find solace in the familiar confines of the Navy. He went to say something, but Liesel spoke before he had the chance.
"And what of us, Mother?" she asked, her anger obvious in the tone and volume of her voice. "What will happen to us now that you are running away for good?"
Elsa paused; Liesel's sharp, perceptive question hit its mark, and Elsa had to swallow down the guilt. "You all will be enrolled in boarding school by the fall," she stated, keeping her face neutral at the betrayed looks on her children's faces. "I realize that boarding school is not something that we have traditionally done in this family, but the war is coming, and my loyalty to Arendelle is required, so it's what is best for our family at this juncture," she concluded.
Liesel laughed mockingly at her mother, emboldened by outrage and anger. "No, it's not," she declared. "You abandoning us at boarding school so you can hide behind the Navy is not what's best for our family, Mother. It's what's best for you." Having said everything that she wanted to say, Liesel turned her back on her mother and stormed off into the garden. One by one, the rest of her children looked at Elsa, some with anger on their face, some with betrayal, but all with sadness before they turned and followed Liesel into the garden.
Elsa sat down heavily at the table, the guilt of thoroughly disappointing her children weighing her down. She had fully expected them to be upset, but she hadn't expected the depth of the disappointment and hurt she had obviously caused them. "I didn't think they would take it so hard," she admitted quietly to Kristoff and Olaf.
"How were they supposed to take losing their mother after only just getting her back?" Kristoff challenged with quiet anger much more subtle than the children's. "How were they supposed to take losing yet another person they loved? First it was their father, then it was Fraulein Anna, and now it's you."
"They aren't losing me, Kristoff," Elsa protested weakly.
"Of course they are," Kristoff retorted. "I never thought I'd see the day when you would be this cowardly and selfish, Elsa. You've disappointed me too," he said, getting up from the table and following the children.
Elsa put her elbows on the table and buried her head in her hands. Olaf took pity on her and came around the table to sit beside her and put his arms around her. She returned his embrace and put her head down on his shoulder. "We were a family again, Olaf," Elsa sighed. "How did it go so wrong? And why am I the one that's being blamed when she's the one that left?"
"Because you aren't doing much to bring her back," Olaf replied with maddeningly simple logic. "Everyone in this house loves her, including you. The children don't understand how you can just let her go so easily."
"I didn't want to let her go," Elsa protested. "She left!"
"But why did she leave?" Olaf prompted.
"Her note said that she missed her life at the Abbey too much, and she had to leave us," Elsa replied.
"And why would she write such a thing right after she told you how she felt?" Olaf inquired.
Elsa thought about that question. She had been avoiding thinking about Fraulein Anna entirely, so she hadn't thought much about the governess' motivations. "She is a postulant, and she has promised her life to the Maker. She must have realized she loves the Maker more than me and my children, so she went back."
"Or, perhaps she realized she loves you and your children more, and after a lifetime of devotion to the Maker, it frightened her. Maybe that, plus the burden of vows and promises already given made her go back," Olaf hypothesized.
Hope blossomed in Elsa's chest at Olaf's suggestion, but just as quickly, she tamped it down. "There's no way to know that, Olaf," she said dejectedly.
"Of course there is," Olaf disagreed. "You find a way to talk to her, and you ask her. And if she truly left because she loves the Maker more and wants to become a nun, so be it. But, if she left because she's trying to decide between her dreams, then convince her she can have both. Be her Georg."
Elsa's head snapped up at the mention of her late husband. "Wait…what?" she questioned.
"Fraulein Anna is twenty, the same age as you were when you gave birth to Liesel," Olaf replied. "When you were twenty, you thought you were going to have to give up your dream of the Navy to follow your dream of being a wife and mother. But you didn't have to, because you had Georg. He allowed you to have everything. Find Fraulein Anna; talk to her and convince her that she doesn't have to completely give up one dream for another. She won't be able to become a nun if she marries you, obviously, but she doesn't have to give up her faith in the Maker. Convince her she can have both. Become her Georg," he repeated. Elsa looked at him in consternation, but he gave his niece a lopsided grin, and she gave him an affectionate smile back. Olaf glanced at his watch and sighed, giving Elsa a soft kiss on the forehead and a gentle squeeze before he got up from his chair. "I apologize, but I have to leave. I have a meeting with the festival organizers," he said, purposely leaving out that the Queen was one of the organizers, and he was going to have a long talk with her about everything. "Think about it, Elsa," he advised, before he took his leave. Elsa didn't reply, but she watched him go, a pensive look on her face as thoughts chased themselves around her head.
AAAAAAAA
After all of them had stormed off the terrace, the children and Kristoff spent a few moments talking and strategizing. By common consent, they agreed that they needed to get Fraulein Anna back sooner rather than later, and all agreed that Louisa's plan of going to the abbey to talk to her was best. The group skirted around the house and entered through the side door, gathering their hats before catching the bus to Arendelle. When they got to town, they hopped off the bus and started walking up towards the imposing convent nestled in its foothills.
Nordfell Abbey was large and daunting, and even Kristoff felt a little intimidated as they timidly walked up to its gates. The gates were locked, and as they peered through them, Kristoff could see the sisters scurrying about. Shouting at one of them seemed rude, so Liesel looked around, spotting a chain off to the side of gate. She pulled it twice, and a chime rang out twice, alerting the sisters to their presence. One of the sisters came strolling over, and by habit she addressed the oldest female in the group, namely Liesel. "Yes, my children?" she asked courteously.
"My name is Liesel," Liesel answered.
"Yes, Liesel?" the sister prompted.
"We, my brothers and sisters and I, we want to see Fraulein Anna, please," Liesel requested politely.
"Fraulein Anna?" the sister questioned, looking puzzled, until she realized who these children probably were. "Oh, you mean Anna-Maria," she guessed. The children nodded happily. "Come in please," she invited, opening the gates. The children followed, but she put up a hand when Kristoff came after them. "I'm sorry, sir," she said, "but adult men are not allowed in here unless they are in the service of the Maker." Kristoff nodded in understanding, and the children went in without him. The sister didn't not take the children very far before she put up her hand to signal them to stop. "Wait here please," she instructed, before going over to a different sister that stood some distance away.
The two sisters had a brief conversation, and the older sister, the one who hadn't opened the gate, came over to the group of children. "I'm Sister Marguerite," she told them with a friendly smile on her face. "I understand you have been inquiring about Anna-Maria."
"We have to see her," Friedrich stated emphatically. "Will you tell her we're here, please?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Sister Marguerite replied regretfully.
"Oh, but you've got to!" Louisa insisted. "We have to speak to her!"
"She's our governess!" Marta explained.
"We want her back!" Gretl added.
"She didn't even say goodbye!" Kurt said, adding his voice to the conversation.
"It's very important," Brgitta pleaded.
Liesel quieted down her younger siblings before speaking herself. "All we want to do is talk to her," she said imploringly.
"I'm very sorry, children, but Anna-Maria is in seclusion," Sister Marguerite explained. "She isn't seeing anyone."
"She'll see us; I know she will," Friedrich said confidently, and his siblings nodded vigorously.
"I'm sorry, children, but you will have to come back some other time," Sister Marguerite apologized. "I'll tell her you were here. It was sweet of you to call." She guided the children back to the gate with all seven of them protesting as loudly but as politely as they could. Sister Marguerite ignored them silently and politely and ushered them out of the gate, closing it behind them even as they all pleaded with her. "Goodbye, children," she said finally, turning to the Reverend Mother who had come up to see what all of the commotion was about.
"What was that all about, Sister Marguerite?" Mother Gerda asked, as they watched the children file forlornly away.
"The von Trapp children, Reverend Mother," Sister Marguerite replied, as the two sisters turned back towards the interior of the abbey. "They wanted to see Anna-Maria."
Mother Gerda started to say something, but the gate bell ringing drew their attention to the front again. "What now?" Mother Gerda wondered.
Sister Marguerite went to the gate and opened it quickly when she saw the uniform of a royal messenger. The older man bowed and handed her an envelope. "A message for Her Highness, the Reverend Mother," he said respectfully.
"That title has held no meaning for many years, Stefan," Mother Gerda chided, coming up beside Sister Marguerite and taking the envelope from her. Flipping it over, she was unsurprised to see the Queen's seal.
"And yet her Majesty the Queen insists on it, your Highness," Stefan replied with a small smirk.
Mother Gerda sighed in affectionate exasperation. "Give my annoyance of a sister my love," she requested.
"Of course, Your Highness," Stefan said with a crisp bow and a smile before he turned and left.
Mother Gerda opened the envelope and read what the Queen had written. She frowned and turned to Sister Marguerite. "Has Anna-Maria spoken yet?" she asked. "Has she told you anything?"
"She doesn't say a word, Reverend Mother, except in prayer," Sister Marguerite replied.
"Poor child," Mother Gerda said, glancing at the note again.
"It's strange, Reverend Mother," Sister Marguerite said. "She seems happy to be back her, and yet, she's unhappy too."
"It seems I have been wrong in leaving her alone so long," Mother Gerda decided, pondering the children's visit and the letter she had received from the Queen. "I think you'd better bring her to me, even if she doesn't feel like she's ready."
"Yes, Reverend Mother," Sister Marguerite answered with a small bow.
AAAAAAA
Mother Gerda rose from her desk, taking off her glasses and closing her sacred text. "Sister Augusta, take our new postulant to the robing room," she requested of the other nun in the room. To the new recruit, she offered her congratulations. "The Maker bless you, my daughter," she said warmly. The newest member of her convent blushed shyly and nodded, leaving with Sister Augusta. Just as they left, a quiet knock sounded at the door. "Come," Mother Gerda replied, and the door opened, revealing Sister Marguerite. "Sister Marguerite, good. Bring her in," the Reverend Mother said.
Anna-Maria came somberly into the room, and when Mother Gerda had closed the distance between them, Anna-Maria knelt and kissed her hand as was the custom. "You've been unhappy," Mother Gerda observed. "I'm sorry."
"I will be fine, Reverend Mother," Anna-Maria replied as she rose to her feet.
"Why did they send you back to us?" Mother Gerda asked.
"They didn't send me back, Mother," Anna-Maria replied truthfully. "I, I left."
Mother Gerda studied her postulant, thinking about the visit from the von Trapp children and the note from the Queen. "Sit down, Anna-Maria," she said, indicating a chair with an incline of her head. "Tell me what happened."
"Well, I…I was frightened," Anna-Maria admitted reluctantly.
"Frightened?" Mother Gerda said in alarm. "Were they unkind to you?"
"No, no," Anna-Maria replied immediately with a shake of her head. "No, it was me. I was confused by how I felt. I've never felt that way before. I couldn't stay; I knew that here I would be away from her. I'd be safe."
With a single gender-specific pronoun, Anna-Maria confirmed what Mother Gerda had suspected based on her instincts and the message from her sister. "Anna-Maria, our abbey is not to be used as an escape," the Reverend Mother said sternly. "What is it you can't face?"
"I can't face her again," Anna-Maria said, with a sad shake of her head. With that statement, thoughts of Elsa came flooding into Anna-Maria's mind, and in spite of what she had just said, her whole being ached with its desire to go running back to the Captain.
Mother Gerda saw the conflict and the ache. "Her?" she said with a pointed emphasis. Anna-Maria didn't answer, but bowed her head. Mother Gerda sighed sympathetically. "Thank you, Sister Marguerite," she said, and the other nun, knowing she had been dismissed, bowed her head and left, closing the door behind her. "Are you in love with Captain von Trapp?" Mother Gerda asked when she and Anna-Maria were alone.
Anna-Maria hesitated, knowing if she admitted it, the longing for the Captain would become almost unbearable. But, she couldn't lie to Mother Gerda. "Yes!" Anna-Maria finally admitted with a small sob. "And she is in love with me. After she came back and thawed out and showed me what a wonderful person she is, I, I just couldn't help myself, Mother. She's beautiful and smart and funny, and even with as awkward and outspoken and headstrong as I am, she loves me. In fact, I think she loves me because of all of that, which no one in my life has ever done. Ever."
"Then why did you leave her?" Mother Gerda asked.
"I was there on the Maker's errand, Mother," Anna-Maria replied with anguish. "That's what been torturing me. To have accepted her love would have been wrong. I couldn't stay, I just couldn't." Anna-Maria spun away from Mother Gerda before coming to a stop in front of the small altar that the elder nun had in her office. "I'm ready at this moment to take my final vows," Anna-Maria said softly, even though she knew it to be a lie. "Please help me, Mother," she concluded.
Mother Gerda knew a falsehood when she heard one, and she came over to her obviously-distressed postulant. "Anna-Maria, the love of two people is holy too," she said soothingly. "You have a kind heart whose capacity for love is almost limitless. What you need to find out is how the Maker wants you to spend that love."
"But I've pledged my life to the Maker," Anna-Maria protested. "I've pledged my life to Her service."
"My daughter, if you love this woman, it doesn't mean you love the Maker less," Mother Gerda stated. Mother Gerda walked away, thinking. "No, you cannot stay and hide here," she decided as she reached her desk. "You must go back."
"Oh, Mother, you can't ask me to do that," Anna-Maria pleaded. "If I go back, then I won't be coming back here. If I see her again, I won't be able to leave her or the children."
"The fact that you know that means your heart has already made its decision," Mother Gerda observed with a small smile. "And that decision means you would never truly be happy here. Anna-Maria, these walls were not built to shut out problems or hard decisions; you have to face them. You have to live the life you were destined to live, even if it is not the one you always envisioned for yourself."
When Anna-Maria still looked doubtful, Mother Gerda took a different approach. "Think of your new pathway as a mountain, Anna-Maria, one that you must climb in order to know your true self," she encouraged. "Climb that mountain. Search high and low. Follow every byway, every path you know. Ford every stream that may come across your path."
"But |
honks I give about graded cards are few and far between, but the single graded card I own is an Alpha Hurloon Minotaur with the case signed by Anson Maddocks. It is iconic enough for me to justify having a card I can't play with.As a part of the game's promotion in the mid 90's, WotC produced some Magic branded clothes. Among the more familiar ones might be the Vesuvan Doppelganger and Serra Angel t-shirts. But they didn't stop with t-shirts or backpacks. Among the real oddities of the 90's Magic swag are the denim jackets.Now, regarding most Magic rarities, I usually have some idea of whom to ask or what to look for. Like when I looked at early Khalsa-Brain mats Japji Khalsa helped me out, and when I dug down on Summer Magic, I could ask the people who collected sets of the cards. I've asked Matt Tabak about flipping Chaos Orbs and Keith Adams about Garfield Alters. But for this I didn't really have a good starting point. Two well-known collectors at the Magic Librarities forum mentioned having Hurloon jackets in a forum thread from 2009, but judging from the discussion, even they weren't that certain about their origins nor distribution.Beth Moursund maybe? Mark Rosewater? The only other person I know by name who owns one is Nicola Leonard-Beeson, an early Mtg artist who painted e.g. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale and Karakas.So, these are pretty Swagic. After some lurking at collector forums and a little Google Fu with the Wayback Machine, this is what I've learned.LaVar Ball: These shoes are symbolic
“I expected this reaction. The fact that people are losing sight - they’re looking at the price tag and not understanding that Lonzo’s shoe is symbolic. That comes with a price tag.
"Symbolic as he’s the first one ever to come in here without even playing a game and have his own brand. It’s not just a shoe you just go in a store or something like that and you say, ‘You know what, let me get the Kyrie, the LeBron… by the way, throw in the ZO2.’
"ZO2s mean something. That’s why the price tag is like that. That’s what the shoe’s worth.
"I bet you not one of those guys that I named sat in the room for the price of the shoe. ‘We just give you the shoe and here you go.’”An Arizona lawmaker who believes the earth is only 6,000 years old and that the U.S. government regularly sprays its citizens with mind-controlling chemtrails has been selected to lead an Arizona legislative committee overseeing education.
Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-Snowflake), was selected by fellow Republican and Senate president Andy Biggs to chair of the Arizona Senate Education Committee, according to 12News. The committee acts as a gatekeeper for education-related laws, including Common Core and spending.
“She understands what Arizona students and parents need in our education system,” Biggs told reporters in a prepared statement. “She is a very experienced legislator and I know she will do a wonderful job.”
According to AZCentral, Allen attended high school but did not go to college. She helped found a charter school in her home town of Snowflake.
In March, Allen made national news when she derailed a discussion about gun legislation to suggest a law that forces Americans to go to church on Sundays.
In March 2013, she wrote an addled Facebook post about her belief the government was purposely poisoning its citizens with chemicals sprayed by airplanes, confusing white contrails left by aircraft with chemical trails.
“Ok, I do not want to get into a debate about weather. However, I know what I see weekly up here on the flat where I live outside of Snowflake. The planes usely (sic), three or four, fly a grid across the sky and leave long white trails streaming behind them. I have watched the chem-trails move out until the entire sky is covered with flimsy, thin cloud cover,” she wrote. “Things are happening all around us that we see everyday and just don’t get what it is. I think we throw the ‘conspiracy theory’ at people when we don’t understand or have the information they have so we try and explain it that way.”
Allen will replace state Sen. Kelli Ward, who resigned the position to run against Sen. John McCain for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
“I want to highlight the incredible teachers who are the reason for our children’s success,” Allen said in a prepared statement to reporters. “I also want to focus on parents’ responsibility in their children’s education. They are a critical part of their children’s success. We need to encourage that involvement.”Reading Football Club are delighted to announce that forward Jón Daði Böðvarsson has completed a transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers to join the Royals for an undisclosed fee.
The 6’3” Icelandic international completed his medical earlier today and put pen to paper on a three-year contract at Madejski Stadium this afternoon. Böðvarsson is now immediately flying out to join his new teammates at their pre-season training camp in Holland.
Royals manager Jaap Stam said, “Jón is the type of player who can play in our system and he is able to play in a number up different positions within that system too - up front as a central striker, as one of a two or as a winger.
“He’s a strong runner, he’s tall but he’s very comfortable on the ball, he’s got some pace…so he’s definitely a player who will be a useful addition to our squad.”
Böðvarsson began his career at his hometown club, Selfoss, earning promotion from the Icelandic second tier in his first professional season at the club – a feat he repeated at the club two years later!
In November 2012, he made a switch to Norway to join Tippeligaen side Viking and scored 15 goals during his stay in Stavanger before being snapped up by Kaiserslautern in June 2015.
Jón made his Kaiserslautern debut against Union Berlin and soon opened his account with a goal against Nürnberg. The following summer, Böðvarsson had done enough to earn another move, this time to the Championship and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Icelander scored on his Wolves debut in an opening day draw against Rotherham last season and his Molineux bow came in a 2-0 win over the Royals the following weekend.
A late strike that secured three points at St Andrew’s helped him win Wolves hearts in a derby day victory against Birmingham City later that month and he went on to make 48 appearances in black and gold in 2016-17.
On the international front, the 6’3” forward, who can play up front or in a winger’s role, represented his country at Under-19 and Under-21 level before making his first senior team debut at the age of 20 in a 2-0 win for Iceland in Andorra.
His first goal for his country came in September 2014 as Iceland began what was to be an historic European Championships qualification campaign with a 3–0 victory against Turkey.
And little more than a year ago, Jón was making waves with Lars Lagerbäck’s giantkillers, starting in all five of Iceland’s games in Euro 2016, scoring in their final group game against Austria to cement qualification from the group phase, and then playing 89 minutes in Nice as his country earned a famous 2-1 win over England to advance into the quarter-finals!
Jón joins a club with a relatively recent history of bringing the very best out of Icelanders – Ivar Ingimarsson was part of our 106 title-winning side eleven years ago, as was Brynjar Gunnarsson who actually played a part in both of the Royals’ successful Premier League promotion campaigns.
And, of course, one of Böðvarsson’s current Icelandic international teammates remains arguably our most successful Academy graduate to date…Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Chief Executive Ron Gourlay said, “I am delighted to bring Jón to Reading Football Club on a contract that keeps him here until 2020. He is a forward who, despite only recently turning 25, has already earned in excess of 200 appearances whilst experiencing regular first team football across a range of different European domestic leagues – including the Championship. He also arrives at Reading with proven international pedigree and we now look forward to him making an impact at the Madejski.”The most important thing to know about the coming year in sports:
He gets another green jacket.
And you get rich taking the 20-1 odds Las Vegas bookmakers are laying on Tiger Woods to win the Masters. Things get interesting when you bump into Floyd ''Money'' Mayweather leaving the betting window.
Money: ''How's it going?''
You (fanning out $100 bills): ''Great!''
Money: ''Save some for October. I'm coming back... against some guy named McGregor.''
Like the conversation above, or disgraced Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte trying to sneak into the world championships in Budapest with a fake mustache and new dye job, Mayweather vs. McGregor would be loads of fun. But it probably won't happen in 2017. Frankly, it's going to be a lousy year.
It will mark 50 years since the NFL's biggest game was first played - even though this one is technically Super Bowl LI. But instead of something momentous like the old-guard Packers vs. the upstart Chiefs in that first one, or something sexy like Cowboys vs. Raiders in this latest one, we'll get a snoozefest like Lions vs. Dolphins. It's been that kind of season.
So expect even more commercials, replay reviews, timeouts, warmed-over analysis and breathless sideline reporting than usual. Lady Gaga's barely-there halftime outfit will barely cause a ripple across the Twitterverse.
Who wins? Who cares? By the end, few beyond the players' family and friends will be watching. And, continuing two more trends much noted during the NFL's regular season, TV ratings will slip lower and commissioner Roger Goodell won't have a clue why.
''Maybe our fans were watching replays of the presidential debates,'' Goodell tells TMZ the day after. ''No wonder they dented our ratings the first time around. Hand-to-hand combat, bad refs, lots of Hail Mary passes... and that town-hall touchdown dance Trump did? The kind of stuff people used to watch the NFL to see.''
Speaking of the president-elect, moments after slipping on his fifth green jacket and first since 2005, Woods credits Trump with helping him win the Masters.
Jim Nantz: ''A little while ago, you told Peter Kostis behind the 18th that you got a tip during a round with the president in West Palm Beach last December.''
Woods: ''Yep.''
Nantz: ''About putting? Your swing? The mental game? I have to ask... what was the tip?''
Woods: ''Get rid of the beard. He said it made me look like Danny Glover.''
A few more things that could turn up on the 2017 calendar:
January 9 - College Football National Championship - Orlando, Florida
After losing to Clemson 3-0, Alabama coach Nick Saban announces his retirement.
''I always said I'd leave when I couldn't give this program 110 percent,'' he begins. ''Last night, I was dreaming about how to block those three, 300-pounders in the middle of Clemson's `D' line. All of a sudden, I dreamed I was in a meadow, alongside a lake somewhere. There were peonies and wild horses....''
Saban drops the mic, starts toward the exit, then makes a U-turn back to the podium. ''One more thing: `Roll Tide!'''
May 7 - European Karate Senior Championships - Samsun, Turkey
Sixty-four-year-old Russian president Vladimir Putin is declared the surprise winner. The first congratulatory call comes from the White House. Appearing bare-chested at the press conference soon afterward, Putin compares it to the time he scored seven goals in a hockey game in Sochi against a team made up of his political and business cronies.
''It's amazing what you can accomplish,'' he says, ''when people get out of your way.''
June 18 - NBA Finals, Game 7 - Cleveland
LeBron James wills the Cavaliers to another NBA title, again at the expense of Warriors. Immediately afterward, Golden State's Kevin Durant says he's instructed his agents to explore a trade to Cleveland.
''Not so fast,'' King James tells reporters, reacting to the report. ''He hasn't suffered enough. Tell him to call back when they're burning his jerseys on the streets.''
September 10 - Opening weekend of NFL season - various locations
Without warning, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick gets up and stands for the national anthem. NFL players on every sideline follow suit. Intrepid FOX sideline reporter Erin Andrews tracks him down shortly afterward.
Andrews: ''After all this time and all that abuse. Why now?''
Kaepernick: ''My knees are killing me.''
November 1 - World Series, Game 7 - Chicago
Pinch-hitter Kyle Schwarber homers one-handed in the bottom of the ninth while wearing a full body cast and eating a hot dog with the other hand.
Cubs win! Cubs win!
Again. Like you didn't know that.
December 18 - The Ashes cricket series, 3rd Test - Perth, Australia
England sweeps the first three test matches in the best-of-five format to lock up a second straight series win, and its sixth in the last eight. In the middle of a locker room filled with drunken revelers, wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow holds up a the tiny terra cotta championship urn and calls for quiet.
Bairstow: ''Chaps, I don't know how to put this... but there are ashes in here.''
Teammate: ''Of course, Jonny. Legend has it they're the remnants of a burnt cricket ball, perhaps, or a mournful woman's veil.''
Bairstow: ''Afraid not. No. 1, this is just a replica. No. 2, these are ashes like in an ashtray. Somebody put out a cigarette in this one.''
Yep. It's going to be that kind of year.
---
Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitkeYou are invited to participate in a web-based online survey on First Person Shooters. This is a research project being conducted by students at St. John Fisher College. It should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete.
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ELECTRONIC CONSENT: Clicking on the “Agree” button indicates that you voluntarily agree to participate.LET IT BE is currently celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the world’s most successful rock’n’roll band, The Beatles. LET IT BE is a spectacular theatrical concert with forty of The Beatles’ greatest hits. The show is currently on at the Savoy Theatre, booking until 8th February 2014, before going on a UK Tour.
Recently before a show, four of the cast took time out to answer some questions about themselves and LET IT BE, and this is what they had to say.
Cast: Emanuele Angeletti (Paul), Reuven Gershon (John), Stephen Hill (George) and Luke Roberts (Ringo).
You are all primarily musicians, not trained actors?
Luke: Not us, there are a couple of guys in the cast that have more of an actor’s background. But it’s very much a musician’s gig.
Emanuele: It’s not really a musical, it’s concert theatre.
Emanuele, you were doing Beatles’ performances before this, how did it start for you?
Emanuele: It was my job since I was a kid. Well, not a job, more a hobby. I remember playing Paul in front of a mirror, so for me this is a dream come true.
Do you always play with the same set of people, or does the line-up change?
Luke: The general rule is that there are two bands that will frequently be the same musicians. But it’s such a demanding show that quite frequently it mixes it up and we have a whole company of musicians so frequently we will be playing with other musicians. The general idea is to have the two main bands that perform together, so more often than not we will be with the same guys.
Reuven: There are two bands, and one set of understudies. But they do quite a lot as well. So when people are on holiday or ill, they cover.
In the show you’re very much in character. Is this something you consciously do, think about where Beatles were as a band in each period? Towards the end there’s a lot of conflict in the band, do you find that plays into how you are with each?
Reuven: We definitely try to play like the characters as they grew through the Beatles period. Like the early days they’re fun and happy, ambitious, enjoying themselves. Then they get a bit tired, then go into Sgt Pepper and they’re a bit high, a bit of drugs going on, at Magical Mystery Tour I think more drugs (!), but also lots of love and peace kind of feeling, with the Vietnam war going on and them singing All You Need Is Love, it’s very important.
Emanuele: I think it’s from Abbey Road you get that feeling.
Reuven: And then the conflict is from that period. We don’t have conflict live falling out on stage or anything, because no one wants to see that. But it’s subtle, we’re not the happy guys we were, everyone is a bit more serious. As John Lennon I’m thinking about Yoko perhaps, and losing interest in being a Beatle. So I’m in that mind-set.
Luke: For me, it’s a good show from that point of view in that it’s very clearly distinct between different sections. And it’s very easy when the curtain comes down and we do a quick change, for the curtain to come up and you can be this different character. And I think it’s good, certainly within the first song of a new era, to really try and get that, because the audience really do pick up on that. Oh hang on, wow that’s totally changed. And I think the show does really well from that point of view. All the visuals and effects aid that a lot.
How many wigs do you wear in a show?
Stephen: Lennon, you’ve got the most.
Reuven: I use two. No, sorry, three.
Luke: I can beat that. I’ve got four now.
Reuven: We’ve all grown our own hair as well.
You are going on tour next year. Will it be the same production?
Reuven: Yes, it’s the same production.
Luke: The audience will see the same show as here.
Emanuele: Sometimes we change some songs.
Reuven: A lot of the places we’ll be playing, the Beatles have played.
What is it like backstage?
Luke: Sexy, I would say.
Reuven: Yeah, just say it’s sexy! Very sexy.
Is there a click-track on A Day In The Life?
Reuven: …how would you know that?
Brief technical discussion later…
Luke: It’s there so it’s exactly like the record, because one verse is faster than the other. And we have done this whole show without click. The reason they’ve said they want that one on click is to make it exactly like the record, and it’s also for the lighting. Because it’s so crazy, and the visuals are so integral to that, it’s a lot easier to marry up with that visually if the guys running the lighting hear the click as well.
With regard to Eleanor Rigby, do you have a music cue to know where to come in on that one?
Reuven: Yes, and a count in as well.
Emanuele: It’s played just by Reuven and Michael Bramwell. Everything is played live by us and Michael. He plays all the instruments not played by The Beatles.
Luke: There’s nothing on track.
Reuven: The swell of the orchestra on A Day In The Life is the only thing that’s pre-recorded. All the strings, like on Eleanor Rigby, is played live. Michael and I are playing them.
Emanuele, you recorded at Abbey Road. What was that like?
Emanuele: It was in 2005 with my Italian band. We won a competition. The studio was Studio 2, where the Beatles recorded. It’s exactly the same, the same floor. Even the clocks on the wall are the same.
Stephen, you toured with Jerry and The Pacemakers?
Stephen: Yes, with Gerry and The Pacemakers and The Searchers. We were a Beatles tribute act. The tour was called Back To The Cavern, it was all Brian Epstein managed groups. It was great! This Let It Be tour is going places The Beatles were playing, and I went there with that tour, so for me it’s going back to a lot of the same theatres and reminiscing. Gerry Marsden was there with the Beatles and Epstein. It was a pleasure to do those gigs and hear some of the stories.
We heard already how Emanuele started out as a Beatle. How did the rest of you start out being someone from the Beatles?
Reuven: John Lennon was my favourite pop star when I was a boy. I used to imitate him. And I loved The Beatles. They were my favourite band. So I was always a Beatles fan. I didn’t have any ambition to be John Lennon. The audition came along and I thought ‘Wow, that’s perfect! That’s exactly what I want to do.’ And I got lucky, I got the job.
Stephen: Same for me as a lead guitarist, George Harrison. It’s my favourite thing in the world. A job like this is great.
Luke: I’d never done anything specifically as Ringo before. The closest thing I’d done was playing in a Paul McCartney tribute act called ‘All McCartney’. It was nice, because it got me involved with all the songs which I could do live later. And this was the first “The Beatles” thing. So I had my homework cut out somewhat. But I love it!
Have you ever met any of the Beatles?
Reuven: I’ve met Paul McCartney. It was great! It was at a party, his party. I was in this show called The Buddy Holly Story and I was playing Buddy Holly, and because Paul McCartney loves Buddy Holly he threw a party to celebrate Buddy Holly’s birthday. And some of us from the show were invited. So I went along, and I met him, went up to him and shook his hand, and he took my hand and went “Rock ‘n roll! Rock ‘n roll!” It was pretty cool. At the end of the night I serenaded him and Heather.
Luke, you’ve done quite a few musicals.
Luke: Yes, they’ve mostly been short runs, but it’s been good to get my head into reading charts and things like that. That’s been really interesting. This is the first non-pit show I’ve done. I do enjoy having that extra stage element to it.
The ‘extra stage element’, do you mean the adoring screaming fans?
Stephen: Adoring, screaming ‘fan’.
Luke: We do get some regular fans and it’s great, it’s nice to see them. There’s one in particular that’s guaranteed she’d be up, she’ll be dancing. She’s frequently on the front row. And when the first person gets up on the front row there’s a domino effect on the rest of the audience, they will get up and it’s really nice to see. And that’s the thing, why it’s nice being on stage, because you see that. You don’t really see that when you’re in the pit.
Stephen, you have a young child. Do you find it hard to be touring?
Stephen: It’s the hardest thing in the world. Kids change your whole life completely. Being a musician, touring, I’d go away for six months. But with children, you want to go back every night and see your family. You want to be there for them. It’s hard, hard work. I missed the birth of my child for this job! I was in Canada. But it’s the first Let It Be baby, so she’s part of the family. Your life changes, and it’s not about you, it’s about your family. That’s why I work, to live. I love my job, it’s the best job in the world. But I work for my family.
Luke: If you go into his dressing room, it’s full of pictures.
Stephen: But before I had children, I didn’t give a shit about anything. I’d go anywhere, but now I wouldn’t want to go to Japan for months.
Why should everyone come along to see Let It Be?
Reuven:To see the illusion of The Beatles play their greatest hits in a timelined concert, and recreate some of their classic moments as a live band.
Many thanks for taking time out to chat, and very best wishes for Let It Be at the Savoy Theatre and the forthcoming tour.
Interviewed by Tori Jo Lau
LET IT BE returns to London West End Garrick Theatre
Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Age Restrictions: Suitable for 6+
Booking From: 9th July 2014
Booking Until: 20th September 2014
Content updated June 2014I heard this story a while back… of a smart bunch of university students in one of the Universities in the United States who were part of the Muslim Student Association.
Now they understood that ignorance was the biggest enemy and that most of the people who where showing hostility toward the Muslim students at the university where just ignorant of the Religion of Islam, or worse… they believed what the media was saying.
Now I don’t know if this was after 9/11 or not but it was after a wave of hostility toward Muslims had washed over the US… so what they did was that they printed some T-Shirts out that said something along the lines of … Stop me if you want to know more about islam.
They gave the t-shirts only to those members of the MSA who had a good amount of knowledge in the Deen and they set them free.
This method was immensely successful, so much so that those students where getting stopped so often that they were missing classes and going late to others. So they thought of something else. They figured the T-shirts where a good way to attract someone’s attention… but then if they student was late for class he would give the person asking the question a small business card that had a number that they could call to get their answers about islam…
That solved the problem and the Islamic Information Hotline was a huge success. I pray that Allah accept this student’s actions and that hopefully by telling their story I can inspire others to setup a program just like theirs. Ameen.
October 4, 2010Toyota has kicked off a partnership with the French power supply company EDF recently. Under this partnership, the automobile brand will be assessing the infrastructural facilities of the vendor EDF. According to recent press news, Toyota is aiming at using their Prius Plug-in hybrid charging model by the assessment at nearly 200 charger points controlled by EDF across Paris.
Toyota Prius, a hybrid of new generation, can make you move up to 20 kilometers on a single electric charge with a speed up to 100 kilometers per hour.
Toyota is expecting to bump Prius for European market where they need to address the issue of charger facilities at present and exploring the capabilities of the charger sites. If Toyota wants to run their Prius solely on electric power, there is no alternative than assessing the present condition of the charger stations, indeed.
Source: worldcarfans.com2017 MEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
We’ve previewed each event individually (don’t panic – some are still coming down the pipeline), and now it’s time to take a broader look at the team points battle at the men’s NCAA Championships. Here’s our predictions for the top 25 teams at this week’s event.
(Note: SwimSwam did reach out to Nostradamus for consultation on this story, but he preemptively replied to our unfinished e-mail to tell us he only really cares about swimming during Olympic years and wouldn’t share his predictions with us. With that in mind, we made these predictions only based on what we’ve seen this season and over the past several years, meaning there is an outside chance we’re wrong about a team or two. If you feel that is the case, please respectfully leave your own personal predictions in the comments section.)
Suggested reading before NCAAs begin:
The ‘One Man Army’ Tier
#25 North Carolina Tar Heels (Last year: #26)
#24 Arizona Wildcats (Last year: #16)
The bottom of the 25 is the hardest to predict because most of those teams are relying on one or two key swimmers, and a bad meet from one of them can change things dramatically. UNC is seeded to get almost all of its points from freestyler/IMer Henry Campbell, but does have two divers also in the mix. Arizona is a little more set up in the relays, which is more of a high-risk, high-reward type situation that offers double points but requires all four athletes to be on.
The first team out here is Harvard, which is relying almost entirely on Dean Farris, who has had a breakout season but is still an unproven commodity.
The ‘Diving Is A Thing’ Tier
#23 Minnesota Golden Gophers (Last year: #20)
#22 Texas A&M Aggies (Last year: #25)
#21 Purdue Boilermakers (Last year: #43)
Three teams seeded to score solid points in the pool, but should get a huge bump through diving. Minnesota has two divers in, including All-American Matt Barnard. Texas A&M has a duo including All-American Tyler Henshel. Purdue is only slated to score 12 swimming points from breaststroker Marat Amaltdinov, but returns former NCAA champion diver Steele Johnson, who could be worth 50-60 points by himself.
The ‘Top 15 Challengers’ Tier
#20 Penn State Nittany Lions (Last year: #44)
#19 South Carolina Gamecocks (Last year: #17)
#18 Wisconsin Badgers (Last year: #18)
#17 Tennessee Volunteeers (Last year: #7)
#16 Virginia Tech H2Okies (Last year: #19)
Penn State is relying almost entirely on Shane Ryan in the pool, but Zone champ diver Hector Garcia adds some more points. South Carolina does return mile title contender Akaram Mahmoud along with stud breaststroker Nils Wich-Glasen.
Wisconsin is going to live and die by the free relay points, though Cannon Clifton and Matt Hutchins should score individually. Tennessee probably has the highest ceiling of any team in this tier, and returning NCAA champ diver Liam Stone should add huge points. Meanwhile Virginia Tech qualified 4 – count ’em, four – divers who combined for a win and two silvers in Zone A. Plus the H2Okies have the continually underrated Brandon Fiala.
The ‘Top 10 Challengers’ Tier
#15 Missouri Tigers (Last year: #8)
#14 Michigan Wolverines (Last year: #12)
#13 Ohio State Buckeyes (Last year: #15)
#12 Auburn Tigers (Last year: #10)
Fabian Schwingenschlogl should reap points in a somewhat weak breaststroke field for Missouri, but the Tigers fate will depend a lot on how well Andrew Sansoucie can back up his mid-season brilliance.
Michigan just dropped its first Big Ten title in years. Are the Wolverines saving their best stuff for NCAAs? The freestyles are more than set with Felix Auboeck, PJ Ransford and Paul Powers. Ohio State’s Matt McHugh is an undervalued versatile sprinter on the national stage, but the Buckeyes will need more scorers around him. Two divers (defending NCAA champ Zhipeng Zeng and Zone champ Christopher Law) should help immensely.
Auburn swam great at SECs last year but struggled at NCAAs. The Tigers seemed less explosive in the conference rounds this year, which could foreshadow a bigger focus on NCAAs. But even still, they’ll have their work cut out for them to earn a repeat top 10 appearance.
The ‘Cardinal(s)’ Tier
#11 Alabama Crimson Tide (Last year: #6)
#10 Arizona State Sun Devils (Last year: #44)
#9 Georgia Bulldogs (Last year: #5)
#8 Southern California Trojans (Last year: #13)
#7 Louisville Cardinals (Last year: #11)
#6 Stanford Cardinal (Last year: #14)
No Gkolomeev, no problem for Alabama, with Connor Oslin and Luke Kaliszak crushing the backstrokes and the sprint corps stepping up as a group. Arizona State could see the biggest jump of any team from last year’s placing, but much depends on unproven freshman Cameron Craig.
This feels low for Georgia, which took 5th last year and gained Chase Kalisz back from a redshirt. But the psych sheet scoring is not kind to Georgia, and it’s hard to predict too many gained relay points for a team that will be cobbling together relays out of exhausted IMers and 200 flyers.
We’ve all been waiting for the post-Olympic bump from Santo Condorelli, and he’s the wild card for USC, coming in seeded to score zero individual points but with the talent to score 30 or more.
The Cardinals have a deep roster of scorers, with 7 men seeded in position to score. That makes them a relatively safer bet than a team relying on one guy to score a truckload. Grigory Tarasevich will have to fight for big points in a historically brutal backstroke crowd.
Meanwhile the Cardinal could be sowing the seeds of a great multi-year run here, but are also relying on freshmen Grant Shoults and True Sweetser for their biggest hauls. Like Louisville, though Stanford has its seeded points spread between a huge crowd – 11 swimmers, to be specific – which is a testament to great depth.
The ‘Silver Contenders’ Tier
#5 Florida Gators (Last year: #3)
#4 Indiana Hoosiers (Last year: #9)
#3 NC State Wolfpack (Last year: #4)
#2 California Golden Bears (Last year: #2)
Caeleb Dressel is bar none the greatest all-around relay asset in the NCAA right now, and his presence on the end of medley relays means Florida won’t be out of the hunt until the winning relay officially hits the pad. Dressel has been lights out this year, and if he singlehandedly wins Florida a relay title or two with a mind-boggling anchor leg, Florida could top any team in this tier.
Indiana gets stud divers James Connor and Michael Hixon back from redshirts. But it’s not just a diving effort for IU. The Hoosiers are seeded to score almost 300 swimming points, only 48 out of first place. Blake Pieroni is a weapon across every relay distance, and Vinicius Lanza is looking scary in his first full NCAA season.
NC State is seeded to win the entire meet, though they probably can’t match Texas’s diving strength. Ryan Held would probably be the NCAA’s most valuable swimmer (in terms of individual and relay contributions to a team) in a universe where Dressel didn’t exist. And new addition Andrea Vazaios is tearing it up this postseason.
Cal has Ryan Murphy, who gives both medleys a massive advantage in clean water and should be a 50-60 point individual scorer. Andrew Seliskar has come into his own, but it’s the unknown commodity of the new additions in Singaporean sensation Zheng Wen Quah and Division II powerhouse transfer Matt Josa who offer Cal their best chance to challenge Texas.
The ‘Texas Longhorns’ Tier
#1 Texas Longhorns (Last year: #1)
There hasn’t been anyone close to Texas in several seasons now, and they’re still clearly the team to beat. Joseph Schooling is clearly regaining his form after a slow start to the regular season. Will Licon seems primed to make a run at Swimmer of the Year if he can pop a big swim in the 100 breaststroke to go with his title defenses in the 200 IM and 200 breast. There’s some uncertainty in specifics (can Townley Haas have the same kind of taper explosion he did a year ago? Which Clark Smith will show up in Indianapolis? Will Schooling, Jack Conger and Brett Ringgold bump each other out of the 50 free final?), but the Texas roster is too strong to bet against.
Full team predictions with psych sheet scores:Following Donald Trump’s election in November, Apple is now seeking to expand their U.S. operations with new “high-tech manufacturing” in Arizona, according to Business Insider.
In the report, Apple requested permission conduct a new wave of “high-tech manufacturing” at a factory in Mesa, Arizona, as well as approval from the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to build “finished products” exempt from normal customs duty payments.
“Apple Inc has repurposed the site as a global data command center that will conduct high-tech manufacturing of finished data center cabinets for other data centers,” read the document, published by the Federal Register on Monday.
If approved, the operations could create a range of new jobs in the area, with Apple currently advertising a “Data Center Site Services Technician” position for their Mesa factory.
President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly criticised Apple and other prominent US companies for producing their products overseas, promising that should he be |
Japan: B-sides from Re:Call3 (A New Career... box set) 2017
-Under Pressure ~ with Queen from Hot Space 1981
-Baals Hymn & The Drowned Girl ~ from Baal, only CD release on S+V Box Set v2 Remixes & Alternate Versions
-Ashes To Ashes: Single Version (3.35) from Best of Bowie CD/DVD 2003
-Fashion: Single Version (3.25) from Best of Bowie CD/DVD 2003; Shout-Solaris vs Bowie Original Mix (8.02) from Club Bowie 2003
-Scary Monsters: Single Vers (3:32) from Best of Bowie 2002
-Under Pressure: Rah Mix & Edit & Mike Spencer Mix from Queen Greatest Hits III and EP
Circa Lodger & Stage (1979)
B-Sides & Out-Takes
-I Pray Ole: Outtake from 1979 from Lodger Rykodisc release 1991 Live Tracks
-Man Who Sold The World ~ SNL, NY; December 15, 1979 from From Station to Station Vol 1 (damaged track); (Webvid capture/Vault CD 257)
-Man Who Sold The World, TVC15, Boys Keep Swinging ~ SNL, NY; December 15, 1979 from webvid capture (Vault CD 314)
Circa "Heroes" (1977-1978)
Out-takes, B-Sides, Etc
-Abdulmajid - Recorded 1976-1979 from "Heroes" Rykodisc release 1991 Live Tracks
-Sense of Doubt, Beauty and the Beast, "Heroes," Stay, The Jean Genie*, TVC-15*, Alabama Song*, Rebel Rebel* ~ Musikladen-Spezial, NDR, Bremen; 1978 from From Station to Station Vol 1 (*damaged tracks)
-Sense of Doubt-, Beauty and the Beast-, Heroes-, Stay-, The Jean Genie-, TVC15-, Alabama Song-, Rebel Rebel- ~ Musikladen-Spezial, NDR, Bremen; 1978 (Webvid capture/Vault CD 257)
-Jean Genie ~ standalone Musikladen-Spezial, NDR, Bremen; 1978 (Webvid capture/Vault CD 257)
-Warszawa, What in the World, Be My Wife, Blackout, Speed of Life {blend} ~ from Live 1978 from Stage (Vault CD 257) Remixes & Alternate Versions
-"Helden" ~ German Version 1989 Remix (3.39) from S+V Box Set
-"Heroes"/"Helden" ~ German/English Hybrid Version (6.05) 1977 from Christiane F. Soundtrack 1981/2001
-"Heroes" ~ French Version 1977 from??; 1977 Single Version (3.35) from Best of Bowie CD/DVD 2003; Just For One Day Rmx by David Guetta (6.38) from Club Bowie 2003; Just For One Day Rmx Edit by David Guetta (2.58) from Best of Bowie CD/DVD 2003 (Vault CD 226)
-Joe the Lion: Alt Mix (5:18) from "Heroes" Rykodisc release 1991
Circa Low (1977)
-Some Are, All Saints - Recorded 1976-1979 from Low Rykodisc release 1991
-Some Are - Recorded 1976-1979 from iSelect
-Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy ~ with Bing Crosby from Re:Call3 (A New Career... box set) 2017 Remixes & Alternate Versions
-Sound+Vision: 808 Giftmix (4.01), 808 'Lectric Blue Remix Instr (4.10), David Richards Remix 1991 (4.43) from Sound+Vision: DB vs 808 US CD5 1991; Sound+Vision (2013)+ ~ from Sound+Vision (2013) Digital Single 2013 (Vault CD 210)
Circa Station to Station (1976)
B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City ~ Station to Station outtake recorded Oct 1975 from S+V Box Set Remixes & Alternate Versions
-Golden Years: Instrumental Vers (web download/db vault, vol 2); Single Version (3.27) from Best of Bowie CD/DVD 2003
-Stay: Edit Version (3.21) from Christiane F Soundtrack 1981
-TVC15: Single Version (3.32) from Best of Bowie 2002; Edit Version (3.43) from The Singles
Circa Young Americans (1975)
Circa Diamond Dogs & David Live (1974)
B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-Dodo ~ 1973 proposed for 1984 musical from Diamond Dogs (30th Anniv CD) 2004
-1984/Dodo ~ 1973 from S+V Box Set
- Live Tracks
-Panic In Detroit ~ live version omitted from David Live ~ Philly; 1974 from db vault: rare sound +vision Remixes & Alternate Versions
-Candidate: Alternative Candidate-demo proposed for 1984 musical (5.05); Intimacy Mix (2.57) from Diamond Dogs (30th Anniv CD) 2004
-Diamond Dogs: K-Tel Best of Bowie Edit (4.37) from Diamond Dogs (30th Anniv CD) 2004; [K-Tel Best Of Edit] added better intro 4:37 (Vault CD 258)
-Rebel Rebel: 1974 rare Single Version from S+V Box Set; US Single Version (2.58) from Diamond Dogs (30th Anniv CD) 2004
Circa Pin Ups (1973)
B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-Growin' Up ~ 1973 (Bruce Springsteen cover) from Diamond Dogs (30th Anniv CD) 2004
-Growin' Up, Port of Amsterdam ~ from Pin Ups Rykodisc release 1991
Circa Aladdin Sane (1973)
B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-John I'm Only Dancing [Sax Version] ~ Aladdin Sane outtake from S+V Box Set 2003
-All The Young Dudes ~ 1973 from Aladdin Sane (30th Anniv CD) 2003
-Zion ~ Recorded in New York, October 1972, this is an unfinished song set for "Aladdin Sane". It was later dropped in favour of "Lady Grinning Soul". Part of this song was later used as "Candidate" on "Diamond Dogs". (MP3 on Rare S+V) Live Tracks
-Drive-In Saturday ~ The Public Hall, Cleveland, OH; November 25, 1972 from Aladdin Sane 30th Anniv Release 2003 Remixes & Alternate Versions
-Jean Genie: Original Single Mix from Aladdin Sane (30th Anniv CD) 2003
-Time: Single Edit from Aladdin Sane (30th Anniv CD) 2003
Circa Ziggy Stardust (1972)
Demos, B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-Holy Holy ~ 1971 from MWSTW Rykodisc Release & Ziggy Stardust (30th Anniv CD) 2002
-Amsterdam, Round and Round, Velvet Goldmine, Sweet Head (Take 4) ~ 1972 from Ziggy Stardust (30th Anniv CD) 2002
-Round And Round [Alt Vocal Mix] ~ Ziggy outtake from S+V Box Set 2003
-Ziggy Stardust, Lady Stardust: demo versions from Ziggy Stardust (30th Anniv CD) 2002 BBC Tracks
-Hang on to Yourself, Ziggy Stardust {omitted on my pressing], Queen Bitch, I'm Waiting for the Man, Five Years ~ Bob Harris: Sounds of the 70s; January 18, 1972 from Bowie at the Beeb 2000
-Ziggy Stardust ~ Bob Harris: Sounds of the 70s; January 18, 1972 from BBC Sessions 1969-1972 (Sampler) {also omitted from Bowie At The Beeb (Vault CD 18 & db vault, vol 5)}
-White Light/White Heat, Moonage Daydream, Hang on to Yourself, Suffragette City, Ziggy Stardust ~ John Peel: Sounds of the 70s; Recorded May 16, 1972 from Bowie at the Beeb 2000
-White Light/White Heat 1, White Light/White Heat 2 ~ John Peel: Sounds of the 70s; Recorded May 16, 1972 (web download/db vault, vol 3)
-Starman, Space Oddity, Changes, Oh! You Pretty Things ~ Johnnie Walker Lunchtime Show; Recorded May 22, 1972 from Bowie at the Beeb 2000
-Andy Warhol, Lady Stardust, Rock 'n' Roll Suicide ~ Bob Harris: Sounds of the 70s; Recorded May 23, 1972
-Oh You Pretty Things [Alt Vers], Queen Bitch ~ Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC Studios, London; February 8, 1972 (webvid capture/Vault CD 186)
-Five Years, Oh You Pretty Things, Queen Bitch: Take 1, Queen Bitch: Take 2 ~ Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC Studios, London; February 8, 1972 (web download/db vault, vol 3) Live Tracks
-John I'm Only Dancing, Changes, The Supermen ~ Music Hall, Boston, MA; October 1, 1972 (web download/db vault, vol 6) Remixes & Alternate Versions
-Moonage Daydream: Guitar Mix from Ziggy Stardust (30th Anniv CD) 2002
-John I'm Only Dancing: 1979 alternate Mix from Ziggy Stardust (30th Anniv CD) 2002
Circa Hunky Dory (1971)
B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-Moonage Daydream, Hang Onto Yourself ~ 1971 Arnold Corns Versions from MWSTW Rykodisc Release & Ziggy Stardust (30th Anniv CD) 2002
-Looking For A Friend ~ Arnold Corns Version? (db vault, vol 2)
-Quicksand [Demo] ~ 1970 from Hunky Dory Rykodisc Release
-Bombers ~ 1971 from Hunky Dory Rykodisc Release
-Bombers ~ Two versions of this song exist. The first one is an US promo single version. This is the second which continues with a protracted fade similar to the bridge between "Fill your heart" and "Andy Warhol". (MP3) BBC Tracks
-Bombers, Looking for a Friend, Almost Grown, Kooks, It Ain't Easy ~ John Peel: In Concert; Recorded June 3, 1971 from Bowie at the Beeb 2000
-Queen Bitch, Supermen, Song for Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol ~ John Peel: In Concert; Recorded June 3, 1971 (web download/db vault, vol 3)
-Andy Warhol ~ Bob Harris "Sounds of the 70s"; Recorded Sept 21, 1971 from BBC Sessions 1969-1972 (Sampler)
-The Supermen, Eight Line Poem ~ Bob Harris: Sounds of the 70s; Recorded Sept 21, 1971 from Bowie at the Beeb 2000
-The Supermen, Oh! You Pretty Things/Eight Line Poem, Kooks, Fill Your Heart, Amsterdam, Andy Warhol ~ Bob Harris: Sounds of the 70s; Recorded Sept 21, 1971 on Oh You Pretty Things Live Tracks
-Changes, The Supermen, Life On Mars, John I'm Only Dancing ~ The Music Hall, Boston, MA; October 1, 1970 from Aladdin Sane (30th Anniv CD) 2003 Remixes & Alternate Versions
-The Bewlay Brothers: 1971 Alternate Mix from Hunky Dory (Rykodisc Release)
-The Supermen: 1971 Alternate Mix from Hunky Dory (Rykodisc Release) & Ziggy Stardust (30th Anniv CD) 2002
Circa The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-Lightning Frightening ~ from MWSTW Rykodisc Release BBC Tracks
-Waiting For The Man ~ Andy Ferris: Sounds of the 70s; Recorded on March 25, 1970 (Edit) from BBC Sessions 1969-1972 (Sampler)
-Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud ~ Andy Ferris: Sounds of the 70s; Recorded March 25, 1970 from Bowie at the Beeb 2000
Circa David Bowie/Space Oddity/Man of Words, Man of Music (1969)
B-Sides, Out-takes & One offs
-An Occasional Dream [Jan 1969 Demo] ~ from David Bowie [Deluxe]
-Space Oddity [Jan 1969 Demo] ~ from S+V Box Set & David Bowie [Deluxe] BBC Tracks
-Let Me Sleep Beside You, Janine ~ DLT Show; Recorded Oct 20, 1969 from David Bowie [Deluxe] and Bowie at the Beeb 2000
-Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed ~ DLT Show; Recorded Oct 20, 1969 from David Bowie [Deluxe]
-Interview. Let Me Sleep Beside You ~ DLT Show; Recorded Oct 20, 1969 (Edit) from BBC Sessions 1969-1972 (Sampler)
-Amsterdam, God Knows I'm Good, The Width of a Circle, Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed, Cygnet Committee, Memory of a Free Festival ~ John Peel: Sunday Show; Recorded Feb 5, 1970 from Bowie at the Beeb 2000 Remixes & Alternate Versions
-Conversation Piece: Stereo Version from David Bowie [Deluxe]
-London Bye Ta-Ta: 1970 Stereo version*, Alternate Stereo Mix from David Bowie [Deluxe]
-Memory of a Free Festival: Parts 1 & 2 (re-recorded for single versions) from David Bowie [Deluxe]; Alternate Album Mix (2 mins. longer than album vers) from David Bowie [Deluxe]
-The Prettiest Star: 1970 Single version* from??; 1970 Original Version with Marc Bolan from S+V Box Set; Stereo Version from David Bowie [Deluxe]
-Ragazzo Solo Ragazza Sola (Italian version of Space Oddity, translated as "Lonely Boy, Lonely girl): Full Length Stereo Version from David Bowie [Deluxe]
-Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud: 1969 Rare B-Side Paul Buckmaster intro version from S+V Box Set & David Bowie [Deluxe]; Full Band Version from David Bowie [Deluxe]
*Recorded in same session
Circa David Bowie (1967)The TV Contenders 'Walking Dead's' Norman Reedus is go-to guy in zombie times
In the zombie apocalypse, you want 'Walking Dead's' Daryl Dixon on your side. He's become one of the series' most interesting characters, thanks to Reedus' portrayal.
They've lost more than their share of members, and the dynamics have shifted among the remainder. One character in particular has stepped up to new heights of leadership and attachment, which makes one thing in this bleak world of survival clear:
Still, the show has had its bumps in the road — fans complained last season that its adrenaline level had dropped precipitously, and this year, perhaps in response, the gore factor has been amped so high as to spawn complaints that the series has gone over the top. But as the levels of head chopping and brain stabbing get worked out behind the scenes, what keeps fans tuning in every week are the relationships and developments among the small band of survivors at the heart of the show.
In an era when vampires, werewolves, serial killers and other forces of the underworld freely prowl the television airwaves, "The Walking Dead" stands alone as the series that best combines genre fiction with deep character study. Now in its third season, AMC's zombie plague survivor series, which initially drew fans of the graphic novel it is based on, has exploded in popularity, becoming the top drama series in the coveted demographic of adults ages 18 to 49 and drawing an average of 10 million viewers — an unheard-of high for basic cable.
PHOTOS: On the set of 'Walking Dead'
When the zombie apocalypse comes, who wouldn't want a friend like Daryl Dixon?
Sure, he's from a redneck, drug-addled, abusive clan; sure, big brother Merle is a murderous psychopath now intent on tracking down the group that forced him to cut off his own hand. But bow-hunting, master-outdoorsman Daryl has gone from sneering squirrel-flinger to integral part of "The Walking Dead's" protagonists and in the process has become one of the series' most interesting characters — largely due to actor Norman Reedus' nuanced portrayal.
Daryl is something of a wild card, as he hasn't appeared in the comic book so far. The show's brain trust hasn't been shy about diverging from the source material in ways shocking to devotees. It's possible that Daryl's having no blueprint has resulted in a windfall of creative leeway.
"He grew up in this racist family. He grew up with drugs around, but he didn't take them. That was in the script early on [that he did use drugs]," Reedus says, "and I fought against that. I wanted him to be more of an Al-Anon member than an Alcoholics Anonymous member." He says that he and series creator Frank Darabont never had an in-depth discussion about the character. "He's becoming the man this world is allowing him to become. No one ever relied on him before, and now people need him, and it's allowing him to become the man he wanted to be."
The actor has worked that back story into his scenes in subtle ways.
AWARDS: Oscars 2013
"When [group member] Carol kissed Daryl on the forehead, I flinched — the back story of him being an abused child," Reedus says by phone from Atlanta, where the series is filmed. "When we got the script where we're cutting open a zombie, looking for [a child's] remains, I knew I was going to say, 'Here, I'll do it.' I wanted to be the guy who takes out the trash."
Reedus knew nothing of the Robert Kirkman "Walking Dead" comic book before reading the pilot script.
"I knew it was going to be good. It had Frank and Gale Anne Hurd and [makeup designer] Greg Nicotero, and it was on AMC, which was the only channel I was watching anyway, besides watching 'South Park.' I was reading all these pilots, and they were cop drama, hospital drama, buddy drama. So it stuck out."
Born in Hollywood, Fla., the soft-spoken Reedus is very much a New Yorker now, with no trace of a Deep South accent. He is an accomplished visual artist whose short films, sculpture and photography draw influence from Luis Buñuel and Hieronymus Bosch. He's not even much of an outdoorsman.Recently there has been a lot of noise around a plan by Transport for London to track people around on the London Underground in order to work out journey patterns. The proposed system effectively works by capturing the MAC Addresses of Wi-Fi enabled devices as they pass through Underground stations. This has been loaded with controversy, with some activists on Twitter even vocalizing their plans to circumvent or disrupt the program.
Regardless, this story reminded of Journey Time Monitoring technology. Despite the fact this technology is widespread, incredibly, there are very few people who know how it works.
Journey Time Monitoring
Traffic Officer patrol on the M6 smart motorway - courtesy of Highways England
Occasionally when driving along a motorway or major road, you may see a sign telling you the time it’ll take you to drive to a given exit or destination. This can either be enabled during congestion, or sometimes when there are roadworks a portable display can be put up to indicate how long it will take to get through roadworks. To those of us who frequently drive on motorways (especially in Britain), this is nothing new. This system collects journey time data which can be useful in future planning, relaying this information to drivers via signs can potentially help with driver frustration. So how does this actually work?
ANPR?
One way of doing this is ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). ANPR works to automatically recognize car registration plates using cameras and specialist software; these fixed cameras can then be used for law enforcement purposes (i.e. to check a car is being driven without road tax). By using these cameras in pairs, you can find out how long it takes a given car to get from point A to point B.
ANPR cameras do however require set-up and can be costly to install; especially in temporary applications.
Bluetooth Journey Time Monitoring
Instead of ANPR, there is an alternative solution. Bluetooth traffic monitoring solutions allow for journey time to be calculated by capturing the MAC Addresses from Bluetooth enabled devices.
At Point A there is a roadside device that captures the MAC Addresses from Bluetooth devices, at Point B there is a device which does the same. If the same MAC Address is captured at Point A and Point B, the time difference between the captures is worked out - from there the journey time from Point A to Point B can be calculated. Outlier detections can then be removed, leading to the journey time data which can be relayed around.
Phones aren’t the only bluetooth enabled devices in cars, indeed the cars themselves may be Bluetooth enabled, whether for hands-free calls or for internet-enabled services.
Marketing material from Libelium
These sensors are relatively low-cost to install and the road operator may well not even manage the data; often the vendor of the hardware will simply offer a web interface and API to access the data from a cloud web service. Such a cloud service may then be shared amongst the operators of multiple international road networks. Whilst it’s easy at a technical level to identify where a given MAC Address is throughout the road network (covered by these sensors), I’ve not found an example of such a vendor actually doing this.
Bluetooth tracking isn’t a new technology, in 2013 the City of London Corporation asked a company to stop using recycling bins to track smartphone users - but this technology has been widespread across the motorway network in Britain for many years with little controversy.
Privacy Issues
Vendors of various MAC Address tracking devices claim they “encrypt” the sensor information passing through these devices. Unfortunately, in researching for this blogpost, I discovered that with most manufacturers this is really just MD5 hashing a MAC Address with no salt.
Hashing the MAC Addresses exists to prevent against one specific attack vector, identifying the MAC Address of every vehicle that drove past a given sensor. Bluetooth MAC Addresses start with 6 characters which identify the manufacturer, then 6 characters unique to the device (e.g. MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS). For example, the manufacturer prefix for BMW is 00:01:A9, there are only 2238976116 potential MAC Addresses in this namespace. If the MAC Address was hashed using MD5 it would only take about 4 minutes 15 seconds to iterate the entire MAC Address namespace of a given manufacturer and find the MAC Address of every BMW with Bluetooth that drove past a given sensor.
However, the real attack vector comes in the event someone wants to identify where a specific vehicle or smartphone user is within the road network. If you knew the MAC Address and access to the database of the Bluetooth Journey Time cloud service, you could essentially just calculate the MD5 hash of the MAC Address you wanted to locate and look for when it last appeared in the database. Worse, you could even set-up an alert to detect when a given set of MAC Addresses were picked up a Journey Time calculation device to find the location of a Bluetooth device.
Conclusion
Journey Time tracking offers a great way to get data for planning of road capacity whilst also helping limit driver frustration; this may prove to be a lifesaving technology. Bluetooth Journey Time tracking allows this to be done cheaper than ever before, unfortunately this brings privacy questions as a result.Everyone has their comfort food. Donuts be mine.
Every Sunday of my adolescence started in a hellfire of procrastination, running the no-huddle offense to make 10am mass. “As long as we’re there by the gospel reading, we’re on time!” mama would reason with us. Clean shirt, a dollar in change in my pocket, and we were out the door by 10:05.
After finding an open pew, the weekly motions and recitations put my hands and lips on autopilot as my mind wandered to the entrance of St. Mary’s. Out the door, I’d approach the adjacent picnic table, peer into the pink box, deposit my tithe, and enjoy my ritual brunch. Donuts were Sunday’s blessing.
Now that I’m a big boy and can enjoy maple crullers at my leisure, I look for what the wonderful world has to offer. Last year, I guarded my cardboard carry-on from Manila to take home Bronuts. Last month, I made a point to stop by Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee.
Laura and I took much more time looking and settling choices than consuming their creations. When it came down to it, we boxed up one butter and salt, one Madagascar vanilla bean, and a blackberry & rose geranium. To wash it down, one regular cold brew coffee for the missus, and one nitro brew for me.
Outside, we lucked upon an open patio table, and we began.
Throw it all in there. Buster Bluth’s THC pill incident. Xander Harris’ Magnolian epiphany. Homer Simpson’s “Mmmmmmm.”
Honest gourmet donuts. There’s definitely a flair for the pretty, but it’s never a fondant façade. Nevertheless, we agreed our favorite of the trio was the simplest. The butter and salt wasn’t decadent nor bland. It was well-balanced and pillowy. Everything you need in fried and flavored bread. And it as damn good.
If you haven’t been to Sidecar’s Costa Mesa location, or upcoming Santa Monica space, be sure to get in on the action. They’re a small-batch bakery that prioritizes on quality. There’s a monthly rotation of new concoctions to go along with the classics. And best of all, they serve their community with every donut sold.
I wish it was Sunday already.
Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee
270 E. 17th St., #18, Costa Mesa, California 92627
Bakery website
Instagram account
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The Start Order for 2018 (updated 18.02.2018)
FINAL START ORDER 15-2-18
An annotated version of this list, with crew CRIs added, is also available.
Notes to the 2018 Start Order
As you were probably expecting, the order has a different look to previous years. In particular, crew
priorities are indicated by A, B, etc and not numbers and the menu of events has been modified to
reflect the dropping of the status system.
The list has been compiled, as planned, on the basis of descending RPI totals, with two exceptions –
i) the top-30 finishers from 2016 form the top 30 in this year’s order subject to a minimum RPI
total, and ii) a small number of clubs and crews, for particular technical reasons, do not have an RPI
total that reflects their recent results and some of these have been moved in the order accordingly.
As we all know, a person’s RPI is an evolving score, and the total used for this list was fixed at the
time entries closed. As many crews will be racing before 11 March, and gaining RPI points, totals
will increase but it would be impossible to compile a start order at (say) a week’s notice and so this
somewhat arbitrary line had to be drawn.
With this in mind, it is extremely unlikely that any request for a different starting place will be
granted. However, as has been the case in past years, if there is a potential safety issue involved a
move may be granted, but only if it is serious enough to justify a move of more than 75 places and
if the Chief Marshal (whose decision is final) agrees.More than 75 VIP ticket packages for Saturday's Messi and Friends vs. the Rest of the World game at Soldier Field will be refunded by the Miami-based event promoter after fans did not receive what they were promised for their $2,500.
Numero 5 Producciones LLC spokeswoman Ada Linares said this morning that the company "is preparing a release with our attorneys" to facilitate the refunds and will release a statement on the VIP issues this afternoon.
Dozens of people who purchased VIP packages for the Messi and Friends game at Soldier Field at $2,500 apiece have been seeking full refunds since the July 6 game.
Aside from the fact that only about a third of the advertised three-dozen international soccer stars played in the contest, VIP ticket holders say they did not get to meet soccer star Lionel Messi in a poorly organized, pre-game "meet and greet" and didn't receive promised memorabilia such as a Messi jersey.
"At worst, it was totally negligent; at best, it was a scam," said Deerfield resident Tony Sherwood, who purchased VIP tickets for himself and his 9-year-old son. He disputed his credit card charge after the game.
According to Mr. Sherwood, VIP ticket holders were told to meet at Soldier Field's Gate 14 for their pre-game meet-and-greet session with Mr. Messi and other players before the scheduled 6 p.m. start of the match.
The group was escorted inside the stadium to a small room, where they were told to wait for the players to show up, according to several people who were there. After 45 minutes, a handful of players came into the middle of the room. The VIP ticket holders swarmed them to sign memorabilia before Soldier Field representatives stepped in to organize the session and have fans form lines to meet players.
At 5:30 p.m., the group was told that Mr. Messi had not yet arrived at the stadium and that when he did, he would pose with them for a group photo. Twenty minutes later, said Mr. Sherwood, a Messi representative arrived to say he wouldn't be coming in "due to TV commitments."
The VIP group then moved quickly to their seats for the start of the game. During the match, many of them wondered when that Messi meet and greet would be held, but they had no contact with anyone from Numero 5.0 YouTube dad says authorities pay visit; Daughter gets job offer
STANLY CO., N.C.,None - A local father who captured worldwide attention after posting a YouTube rant about his daughter is now responding to all the attention.
Tommy Jordan, from Stanly County, got mad after his daughter complained about doing chores on her Facebook page.
In the video, titled "Facebook Parenting for the troubled teen" shows Jordan pull out a gun and shoots his daughter’s laptop.
RAW: Dad responds to daughter, shoots laptop (WARNING: explicit language)
The video received more than 21 million views in five days.
“Pay you for chores?” Jordan said in the video. “Are you out of your mind?”
The former Marine wrote on his Facebook page that Child Protective Services officials came to his home in Stanly Co. on Saturday and interviewed him and his daughter — separately — after viewers of the video called with concerns about his actions.
He said the police also stopped by.
“The police by the way said ‘Kudos, sir,’ ” Jordan wrote. "I actually had a "thank you" from an entire detectives squad. And another police officer is using it in a positive manner in his presentation for the school system. How’s about those apples? Didn’t expect THAT when you called the cops did you?”
Police officials in Albemarle told Channel 9 they have received dozens of calls and emails asking why they haven't done anything about the video. Officials said Jordan lives outside of city limits, so his actions are outside of their jurisdiction.
Officials at the Stanly County Sheriff's Office said there are no laws against what Jordan did, so they will not be investigating the matter.
In the Saturday Facebook post, Jordan said he does not regret making the video and stands by his decision to post it.
Jordan's post also said if he had to do it again he would, "Not be smoking a cigarette... not have used the word "ass" in my comment directed at my daughter... would have worn my Silverbelly Stetson, not my Tilley hat if I'd known that image was going to follow me the rest of my life and I'd probably have cleaned my boots."
If there is a bright spot for Jordan's daughter, it appears she has at least one job offer from an ice cream shop in the town of Stanley. The offer was posted on YouTube Friday after Jordan's video went viral.
WATCH: Stanley ice cream shop offers Jordan's daughter a job
Hundreds of people are talking about this story, head over to our Facebook page and leave a comment, right here.The US is becoming a “rogue state” as it backslides on hard-fought global pact, say international observers
By Megan Darby
After weeks of speculation, US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order to dismantle the policies that made an international climate pact possible.
Flanked by invited coal miners and introduced by four members of his cabinet, Trump promised “the start of a new era in American energy” that would “put miners back to work”.
Trump’s executive order on climate is signed. Let the lawsuits begin. pic.twitter.com/I5tYwPFcPI — John Upton (@johnupton) March 28, 2017
It fires the starting gun on a roll-back of Barack Obama’s clean power plan, methane rule and other measures that underpinned the US contribution to the Paris Agreement. A review of the “social cost of carbon” provides the basis for downplaying the economic harm brought by unchecked greenhouse gas emissions.
The order stops short of withdrawing from the Paris deal. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson, the former boss of Exxon Mobil, advocates keeping a seat at the table. A senior administration official told journalists the subject was “still under discussion”.
But if Trump fully implements his order – which the official said could take two or three years – US emissions are expected to flatline rather than fall, blowing the voluntary targets set by the Obama administration. It goes hand-in-hand with a budget that axes climate finance.
“Whether it formally pulls out or not, the fact is that [the US] will not live up to its commitments,” Joyce Mxakato-Diseko, the South African ambassador who chaired the G77 negotiating bloc of developing countries in Paris, told Climate Home.
“It is very disappointing, especially because in Paris we bent over backwards to accommodate the US and in the process weakened key aspects of the Agreement… We hoped that for once the US could be trusted not to renege, as it serially does, on international agreements.”
Obama made climate change a legacy issue, working closely with China’s Xi Jinping to forge a bilateral deal that toppled barriers to wider cooperation. With the world’s two biggest emitters on board, poorer countries agreed to contribute to carbon-cutting efforts, despite their lack of historic responsibility for causing climate change.
Still, the Paris deal was hard-fought, with US negotiators pushing back on some demands for financial support and recognition of the losses faced by communities vulnerable to drought, flood and sea level rise. Extracting concessions from Obama’s team was “like pulling teeth”, said Mxakato-Diseko. Now the US is defaulting on its side of the bargain.
Trump is turning the US into a “rogue state,” said Saleemul Huq, Bangladeshi climate scientist and advisor to countries on the sharp end of global warming. “The worst case scenario is being rolled out, not just on climate change but on many other fronts.”
As well as scrapping emissions curbs, the order overturns a requirement for federal agencies to build community resilience to global warming. From thawing permafrost in Alaska to coastal flooding in Florida, the impacts are starting to be felt.
“The people who suffer are the people of the US who are already impacted by climate change,” said Huq. “It is very, very sad for the people of the US to be governed by Mr Trump and his philosophy of trying to take the country back into the last century, when the rest of the world is going forward.”
Several leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement since Trump’s election in November, including president Xi. Joint initiatives like the US-China Clean Energy Research Center are headed for funding cuts, however, which risks hampering progress.
“China has made it clear that it is going to continue to move ahead with its own climate initiative,” said Barbara Finamore, Asia director at the National Resources Defense Council. “[But] there are going to be a lot of practical implications… that are going to make it more difficult for China to move ahead with some of its work – a loss of opportunity for both countries.”
Meeting the overarching goal of the Paris Agreement to hold global warming “well below 2C” depends on countries ratcheting up ambition over time, as clean technologies improve.
Rather than develop renewables, Trump has stated an intention to bring back coal mining jobs and unblock fossil fuel projects. That is popular with his voters – 69% support more coal mining, according to a recent Pew survey – but not as popular as wind and solar power, on 84% and 77% respectively. Separately, Yale Climate Opinion Maps show three out of four Americans back regulations on carbon dioxide emissions.
Analysis by economic consultancy Rhodium Group suggests his approach will see annual US emissions stabilise at 14% below 2005 levels, far short of the 26-28% cut Obama promised by 2025.
Christiana Figueres, who led the UN climate body through to the Paris deal, said undoing climate policies would put the US on the back foot. “Trying to make fossil fuels remain competitive in the face of |
Illinois in Algonquin last August.
Brasky, who spent nearly 30 years as a police officer and was working as a child safety seat instructor at the time of his arrest, was charged last year with setting fire to three trash receptacles and mailbox, all near his Algonquin home.
All of the charges against Brasky, except for the single count of felony arson, were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea, for which he received two years of probation. He also was ordered to have no contact with Goodwill and to pay almost $1,500 in fines and restitution. A 90-day jail sentence will be suspended as long as Brasky obeys the terms of his probation, including that he continues to receive mental health counseling.
After being charged in November, Brasky was suspended from his $65,588 job with the Illinois Department of Transportation instructing people on how to install child safety seats. The work was funded by a federal grant through a contract with Rush-Copley Medical Center, officials said at the time.
Lake Zurich officials have said Brasky worked for their police force in the traffic safety division from 1980 to 2008 and retired in good standing.
Authorities said the four fires Brasky was initially accused of setting happened occurred between late August and late October, all between 8 and 10:30 p.m. No one was injured in the fires.
Had Brasky gone to trial and been convicted of class 2 felony arson — the charge to which he pleaded guilty — he could have faced 3 to 14 years in prison, officials said.
After entering his plea, Brasky and his attorney Bridget Salvi left the courtroom without comment.
Salvi previously issued a statement saying Brasky "served as a respected and dedicated police officer." She wrote that he had earned numerous commendations for his "commitment to traffic safety."
At the time of his arrest, Algonquin police said there had been a number of unsolved small fires in the area in recent years. In some cases, police said, Brasky had been walking his dog nearby and had talked to police about the fires. Police said they identified Brasky in the area of the fires on nearby video surveillance.
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is pictured inside the newly opened Omotesando Apple store at a shopping district in Tokyo June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo
BEIJING (Reuters) - Internet regulators in China’s capital plan to summon Apple Inc APPL.O to urge the American firm to tighten its checks on software applications available in its Apple Store, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The Beijing Cyberspace Administration, together with the Beijing Public Security Bureau and Beijing Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Team, has already met representatives from Apple about the examination of live streaming apps from its app store, Xinhua said.
The U.S. tech firm is turning to selling more apps and services in China amid falling sales and rising competition from domestic smartphone makers.
Apple confirmed this year that it removed the New York Times Co’s (NYT.N) English- and Chinese-language news apps from its iTunes store in China following a request from authorities.
Apple in Beijing could not be reached for comment after normal business hours.
The Beijing Cyberspace Administration and the other two departments separately ordered three domestic live-streaming websites to rectify management loopholes, Xinhua said.
China’s fast-growing live-streaming market produced revenues of more than 30 billion yuan ($4.36 billion) last year, according to investment bank China Renaissance Securities, even as regulators have clamped down on sites that provide illegal content, including pornography.The cerebellum is a portion of the brain that is responsible for fine motor movements including posture, balance, motor learning (like learning to kick a ball), and speech. Located at the base of the skull, the cerebellum contains about half of all neurons in the brain, though it represents only 10% of the volume. Losing partial function due to injury or disease isn’t completely unprecedented, though lacking a cerebellum from birth is exceedingly rare. Physicians in China discovered a 24-year-old woman who is only the ninth known case of a living person with cerebellar agenesis. Her condition was described in the journal Brain.
The woman’s condition was discovered after she sought medical attention due to nausea and vertigo. CT scans and MRI images revealed the missing cerebellum, which readily explains why those symptoms would be present. It also explains why she wasn’t able to speak until she was six and wasn’t able to walk until age seven. She had never been able to play and jump like normal kids due to this defect.
Magnetic resonance angiography image reveals that the posterior cranial fossa, where the cerebellum is missing, does not have cerebellar arteries bringing blood to the region. Image credit: Feng Yu et al.
Unsurprisingly, the woman had been unable to walk steadily without support throughout her life.
While testing revealed that she had no trouble understanding vocabulary, the missing cerebellum caused her to have difficulties with pronunciation. Her voice trembles, words are slurred, and the doctors described her voice tone as “harsh.” Even still, the doctors were amazed that her symptoms were more in line with a mild to moderate impairment, not a complete absence.
In the space where the cerebellum should have been, cerebrospinal fluid has filled the gap. The chemistry of the fluid appeared normal, though the pressure was a bit high. Initial measurements read 210 mm H2O, exceeding normal limits of 70-180 mm H20. She was treated with a dehydration treatment that removed some of the water pressure along with other techniques that were less invasive, which provided immediate and lasting improvement of her symptoms. Even at a follow-up appointment four years later, she was still doing quite well.
Neurological defects do not appear to run in her family, and she was able to get married and have a neurologically-typical daughter without pregnancy complications. The structures and tissues surrounding the missing cerebellum appear to be mostly well-formed with no signs of extreme defects. The pons appeared underdeveloped, but considering part of its job is to convey messages from the frontal cortex to the cerebellum, that’s not completely surprising.
Diffusion tensor imaging reveals a lack of pontocerebellar fibers, which function to bring signals from the pons to the cerebellum. Image credit: Feng Yu et al.
As the condition is so rare, it isn’t very well understood how it occurs. While there are about 30 mutations associated with disorganized cerebella, complete absence of the structure is a bit tougher to figure out. This woman represents a very unique opportunity to study the effects of this disorder in a living adult. It isn’t known how her condition will change as she ages, but the fact that she has made it this far is a testament to the plasticity of the brain.
[Hat tip: New Scientist]
Read this: Why Do Dolphins and Whales Still Have Pelvic Bones? To Please the LadiesThe girl, Geesa, was attacked earlier this week by two men from the spurned family as she went to collect water from a stream in her village in northern Afghanistan.
The attack came after her father, Mohammad Rahim, had turned down a marriage offer for the girl, saying she was too young to be engaged.
"At this stage it looks like they wanted to marry her and the father refused, so they killed her," said Syed Sarwar Hosseini, police spokesman for Kunduz province.
Two men, named as Massoud and Sadeq, have been arrested on suspicion of the murder, in Kulkul village of Imam Sahib district, he said. The two men were relatives of Geesa and lived in the same village.
The provincial director of women's affairs said the province had been hit by a wave of violence against women.
Nadira Giah said 11 girls and women had been killed this year, up fivefold from last year.
In January, a young woman was reportedly murdered in the province by her husband and her mother-in-law for giving birth to a daughter. The 22-year-old woman called Stori was strangled after giving birth to a third daughter, when her husband wanted a son.Price vs. Performance
Before wrapping things up let's take a quick look at a few price vs. performance scatter plots. Please note that we are just comparing CPU prices here, which doesn't take into account additional costs like the need for a cooler with Intel's K-series for example.
This graph is quite telling, isn't it? For those of you wondering what you're looking at, the further right a plot is the better its performance, while the lower a plot goes the cheaper it is, which is to say that processors want to be situated as far right and as low as possible.
The overclocked R3 1200 achieves precisely that, costing half as much as the Core i5-7500 while being only a little bit slower, not to mention that it's cheaper than the Core i3-7350K yet much faster when comparing minimum frame rates. The overclocked 1300X was slightly faster but also more expensive, so the 1200 is clearly the better value choice here.
Moving to HandBrake we see that the scatter plot is again dominated by red dots in all the right spots -- sorry about that. Intel puts up more of a fight this time but for quite a bit less cash than the Core i3-7350K, the R3 1200 delivers a smidgen more performance. Overclocked, the 12000 pulls well ahead of the i3-7350K. Of course you can also overclock the Intel chip but once you factor in the cost of a cooler and a motherboard with an overclocking-enabled chipset, the price vs. performance ratio favors AMD.
Lastly we have Premiere Pro CC and here the red team comes out in force. At its stock settings the R3 1200 isn't particularly impressive but looks considerably stronger once overclocked, particularly its render times. After being boosted, the R3 1200 isn't much slower than the Core i5-7500 and again at almost half the price that's a great result. Looking at this scatter plot, it's pretty clear that Ryzen is great for content creators.
Wrap Up
Last week we checked out simulated Ryzen 3 performance by disabling SMT on the R5 1400 and adjusting its clock speeds. At the time, we were working on the assumption that the leaked pricing info was accurate, which would see the R3 1200 priced at just $110 with the R3 1300X coming in at $130. As fate would have it, those figures were indeed correct.
Based on previous findings, I thought that Ryzen 3 looked like it was going to be a decent proposition yet I wasn't overly excited by what I saw. Sure, it beat Intel's Core i3 and locked i5 processors, but compared to SMT-enabled Ryzen 5 quad-cores, it seemed smarter to spend a little more on an eight-threaded part such as the R5 1400.
I previously wasn't sure what kind of cooler we'd get in the package and what kind of overclocking performance we could expect. However, we now have all the facts. As it turns out, Ryzen 3 is packaged with the Wraith Stealth, which did a commendable job throughout testing and allowed us to achieve 3.9GHz on the 1200 and 4.0GHz for the 1300X.
The fact that these overclocks were achievable using nothing more than the humble box cooler is amazing and it certainly adds a lot of value to these chips, especially given that the Core i3-7350K doesn't come with a cooler at all and currently retails for $150.
The Pentium G4560 still puts forward a strong case for budget builders at its $64 MSRP, but it's currently $80 in the US (a 25% markup) and out of stock in Australia. That's a shame because the chip is super efficient and enables playable performance in all the latest titles using an entry-level or mid-range graphics card.
To regurgitate a portion of our simulated Ryzen 3 article...
"If you are aiming for the cheapest possible gaming build with a basic B350 board, 8GB of DDR4 memory, a GeForce GTX 1050, a 500GB Seagate FireCuda along with a cheap case and PSU, you'd save 18% on the entire build cost by opting for the R3 1200 over the R5 1600 and you'd be getting half as much L3 cache, two less cores and eight less threads.
For those wondering, the same system would be just 10% cheaper with the R3 1200 versus the SMT-enabled R5 1400, so spending more seems worth it here. Overall, the Ryzen 3 1200 should deliver relatively strong results at $110 for those who are hellbent on spending as little as possible."
Given that 1300X only produced an additional 100MHz overclock (probably a best case scenario over the 1200), I don't think spending an extra $20 is worth it. Folks considering the 1300X might as well buy the Ryzen 5 1400 for its SMT support, or the six-core R5 1600 on the pricier end of things.
The 1200 is a ripper once overclocked, often delivering 1500X-like performance in games. Of course, you could overclock the 1500X for even more performance but that's somewhat beside the point.
Shopping shortcuts:
Closing out our official Ryzen 3 coverage, it still seems like the biggest challenge this series faces is AMD's own Ryzen 5 lineup. On that note, there is much more testing to be done. Coming up soon, I want to benchmark a wider range of GPUs and I'm also keen to compare the R3 1200 against the R5 1400 in mid-range gaming with both clocked at 2.9GHz.The 2016 World Cup of Hockey doesn’t officially begin until Saturday in Toronto, but we have had a number pre-tournament exhibition games over the past week to help the teams get some work in with one another in a game setting.
It has also given us an early look at what the teams are going to look like and how they are going to play.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the developments from these initial games.
Team USA cares about this tournament. A lot. The one thing that has stood out about the pre-tournament games is the players, at least as it relates to the United States and Canada, really seem to care about it and are taking it seriously. That intensity was on display in a pair of games this past week that did not resemble the exhibition games they were.
You can question the construction of the Team USA roster (in fact, you should question it), and there are a lot of reasons to doubt whether or not their desired style of play will actually work against teams that are more talented than them (unless they get amazing goaltending, it probably won’t). But whether it’s about winning and trying to get some sort of redemption for themselves after a disappointing showing at the 2014 Olympics, or just because they care about beating Canada and sending some sort of message to them, these guys have already bought into the style of play that the braintrust in charge of building and coaching this roster wants it to play.
If the first two pre-tournament games were played with that level of intensity, what are the real games going to look like?
Team North America looks like it can be scary good. Or at least really, really, really entertaining.
It certainly hasn’t hurt that their first two pre-tournament games were against what is probably the weakest team in the field (Europe), but the most impressive team so far has been the North American young stars team that has already scored 11 goals in two games and has played at an absolutely stunning pace.
While the United States team under John Tortorella is going to try to impose its will and inflict as much physical damage as it possibly can on its opponents, the North American team seems determined to just try and out-skate everybody.
They did exactly that in their first two games against Europe. Perhaps the most impressive thing about their goal output in the first two games is that they did it without their best player, Connor McDavid, recording a point. Don’t expect that goose egg to last next to his name much longer.
The idea of the North American and European teams has been a point of ridicule for critics of the tournament, but the reality is their creation has added a significant level of skill and entertainment to the tournament that may not have otherwise existed. A lot of these players would not have been playing in this if they were only eligible for the Team USA or Canadian rosters.
It has also been a great opportunity for Johnny Gaudreau to make a pretty big statement as he attempts to finalize a new contract with the Calgary Flames.
The Boston Bruins should probably be a little concerned about Zdeno Chara. While Team North America has looked great in its first two games, Team Europe, having been on the other side of those performances, has obviously looked like … well … kind of bad.
They just can not match the speed and skill of the North American team, and it is unlikely that is going to change when they run into any other top team in the tournament.
One player that seemed to especially struggle to keep up with the pace of the younger, faster skaters on the other side of the ice was Bruins defender Zdeno Chara.
Look, it’s only two exhibition games of a preseason tournament, so we don’t want to go overboard here. But Chara is 39 years old. He has already started to show signs of slowing down over the past year in the NHL. The Bruins, after doing almost nothing to fix a blue line that was by far the weak link of their team a season ago and significantly contributed to the team missing the playoffs for the second year in a row, are going to be relying heavily on him to still be a No. 1 defender. He just may not be able to physically play at that level anymore. That should be a pretty big point of concern with the start of the season just around the corner.
Team USA needs to just trust Max Pacioretty. At the 2014 Olympics Pacioretty was pretty much an afterthought when it came to playing time for team USA, mainly being relegated to fourth-line duty and only getting a little more than 10 minutes per game.
We’re not even into the actual tournament here and Pacioretty is already being challenged by Tortorella to show him more.
Together, it’s all a very weird approach to take with the player that has been — literally — the best the best goal scorer from your country over a five-year stretch. He has at least 30 goals in four of the past five NHL seasons, while his 154 goals are the fifth most in the entire NHL. He is tops among all American-born players and is one of only five American-born players in the top-30 of the entire league (and one of those five, Phil Kessel, is not even on the team).
Pacioretty is like any other goal scorer in hockey. He is not going to score every night, and when he doesn’t, it is easy to get frustrated with that and start picking apart other areas of his performance and concluding that you need more from him.
He is going to be streaky, and there are going to be a few cold streaks that you have to get through. Sometimes you need to be a little patient through the dry spells and wait for the inevitable hot streak where he can carry the offense. Especially when you are dealing with a roster that doesn’t really have a lot of players that are capable of putting together that type of hot streak.
Coaches and GMs around the league probably can’t wait for it to be over. At least the ones that aren’t involved in it. There have already been a handful of injuries in the tournament and more than a few scares, especially in the USA-Canada matchups, with top players like Shea Weber, Claude Giroux, and Logan Couture all taking massive hits. The Chicago Blackhawks, a team that really can’t afford to lose any forward depth, have also had a couple of players in Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa get banged up a little.
Hockey is a collision sport, and there are always going to be injuries. They are inevitable. But it still seems like it would be a little tougher to accept a potentially significant injury to a star player if it happened in a tournament game like this and not in a game for their own team and in a game that counts in the standings.
And as long as the USA and Canada try to beat each other up whenever they step on the ice together, there are probably going to be a lot of nervous coaches and GMs around the league.People do a lot of stupid things. Train surfing. Ghost riding their whips. Cross fit. But a man in Western Australia might’ve just taken the cake. Taken the cake and all the ingredients for the next cake, as well.
In the waters in between Rottnest and WA, a dead humpback whale has been floating for some time. Since sharks like dead whales, among other things, they have been spotted eating it, which is good. Otherwise it’d wash ashore, fill up with rotten gasses, and explode, covering onlookers in giant chunks of whale blubber – which is entertaining for onlookers of the onlookers, but not so much for the first onlookers.
According to the West Australian, the Seven News helicopter spotted the man sitting on top of the forty-foot whale carcass, which is an odd place to sit. Surf Life Saving WA had put out a warning earlier that several tiger sharks had been spotted feeding on the whale, so it made it an even odder place to sit. But after someone on a nearby boat told him that yes, there were indeed sharks in the water, he returned to his boat. Reports aren’t clear just how he got back to his boat, but I’m assuming he dove off the rotting whale carcass and swam through a gauntlet of hungry tiger sharks, which is actually pretty awesome.
Obviously, authorities weren’t all that happy with guy. “Ninety-nine per cent of the population would see that behaviour as irresponsible,” said Department of Fisheries regional manager Tony Cappelluti in a statement that 1% of people disagree with. “If sharks were feeding on that whale carcass when he swam over, then that type of behavior is highly risky.”Get ready Jetsons. The armrest on your next airplane ride might have be made by a 3-D printer.
In June, Stratasys Ltd. introduced a new 3-D printer at the Paris Air Show that makes the Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency approval process easier for aviation parts makers, said the company with dual headquarters in Eden Prairie and Israel.
Stratasys promises that its Fortus 900mc Aircraft Interiors Certification Solution can make the certification process quicker for new interior plane parts such as armrests and window panels.
The 3-D printer includes updated hardware and software to make strong and lightweight aircraft parts on a repeatable process.
It took four years of working with aerospace customers to achieve both repeatability and FAA certification, Stratasys officials said.
“Until now, the process of achieving FAA certification for 3-D printing has been limiting the adoption of additive manufacturing in aviation,” said Scott Sevcik, who heads Stratasys’ Aerospace, Defense and Automotive Solutions.
It took Stratasys four years to achieve repeatability and FAA certification to make plane parts, like this armrest.
“There have been limited specialized solutions and statistical data sets available to support this complex process,” Sevcik said. “With the new Stratasys Fortus 900mc Aircraft Interiors Certification Solution, we are removing major obstacles and making it much easier to 3-D print airworthy parts.”
If successful, the effort could help Stratasys meet its longtime goal of increasing aerospace revenue. “The opportunity represented here has near term potential in the tens of millions [of dollars] and can extend to well over $100 million,” Sevcik said.
Stratasys’ 3-D printers already are used in the $13 billion aerospace industry, but mostly to make prototypes and assembly tools for customers such as Airbus, NASA, United Launch Alliance, Siemens and Boeing.
Customers can choose to buy the new printer to have in-house or contract with Stratasys to manufacture the parts, most likely lightweight pieces for the interior of the airplane. The company expects that most customers will buy their own printer.
Stratasys’ newest manufacturing process uses strong Ultem 9085 thermoplastic resin, which is lightweight, nontoxic and flame resistant. The resin, which comes in the form of pellets or string like filaments, is used inside Stratasys’ Fortus 900mc printer.
The printer melts the resin, reads the computerized digital design file and then repeatedly “prints” or deposits tiny droplets of resin in exactly the right place until a 3-D (and often hollow) structure emerges, such as an armrest or a window panel.
The goal is to be able to use 3-D printing to manufacture large quantities of an interior airplane part with reliable consistency, said Stratasys spokesman Joe Hiemenz.
The printer, and by extension the process, is now undergoing a first-of-its-kind qualification test by the FAA. The test is being conducted at the National Institute of Aviation Research’s (NIAR) National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP) at Wichita State University and will be completed by September.
A final qualification report will follow.
“NIAR has been commissioned to develop the framework that would include polymer additive manufacturing [also known as 3-D printing] under the NCAMP umbrella. And we have partnered with Stratasys to be the first material for this new process,” said Paul Jonas, NIAR’s director of technology, development and special programs.
Jonas noted that FAA manufacturing requirements are extremely stringent because each 3-D printed airplane part must be exactly the same.
“The first part that you make has to be equivalent to the hundredth part, to the thousandth part and to the part you make 10 years from now in order to be good enough to be certified by the FAA,” Jonas said. “That is what is so powerful about the NCAMP process.”
If Stratasys passes the institute’s test, it would be the latest accomplishment for a company that has struggled with profitability.
Stratasys, which generated $672 million in revenue but recorded a $77 million loss last year, announced three other new aerospace partnerships last month.
Stratasys’ Fortus 900mc printer was chosen by the German Aerospace Centre to make a working robot prototype capable of exploring Mars.
That prototype is now being tested and subjected to extreme conditions believed to be found on Mars.
Separately, Eviation Aircraft said it will use Stratasys 3-D printers to make prototypes, tools and parts for its electric private airplanes.
Stratasys also announced that its 3-D printers will be used by Boom Supersonic to make a lightweight experimental jet that will travel about 2.6 times faster than a standard commercial jet. That’s 1,451 miles per hour. The prototype for that project is set to be done by 2018.
If achieved, it could transform the flight industry, shortening commercial flights from New York and London to just three hours instead of seven, officials said.FAILED state, surging economy, most risky place: what really is Pakistan? I tackled this riddle by comparing Pakistan globally and regionally on 25 critical progress measures across four dimensions.
I took the world governance, democracy, press freedom and corruption indices for governance, and the human development, happy planet (HPI) and slavery indexes and child and maternal mortality, literacy, life span and poverty indicators for social progress. For economics, I took the doing business and economic freedom indexes; the tax, debt, export, industry, foreign investment and current deficit ratios to GDP; and GDP growth, inflation and per capita income. For security, I took the fragile states and global peace indexes. To ensure rigour, I excluded some key measures (eg, investment) where global databases had gaps or did not cover 150+ (75pc+ of total) countries.
‘Patriotic’ Pakistanis must exercise caution in reading further since results may hurt their delicate egos. Even my Pakistani ego was bruised badly though I wore my academic hat. All figures below show the percentage of surveyed countries ranked better than that country on the measure. On average, 73pc of countries beat us overall, and 76pc on governance, 69pc on social, 71pc on economic and 94pc on security measures. Our best rankings (below 50pc) are on the HPI (14pc), GDP growth (34pc), current deficit (40pc) and poverty (43pc). The next best ranking is 65pc on the democracy index. Our worst rankings (all 85pc+) are on slavery, press, fragile states and peace indexes and child mortality, export-GDP and tax-GDP rates.
Regionally, I excluded ultra-tiny Maldives and Bhutan, they being absent from many databases. But they do top regionally on income. Sri Lanka (52pc), on average overall, ranks first, followed by India (63pc), Bangladesh (64pc), and Nepal (67pc). Pakistan (73pc) only beats Afghanistan (78pc)! Texans say ‘Thank God for Mississippi’, since only it lags behind Texas on social measures. We too must thank Afghanistan for joining Saarc and saving us the blushes of coming last.
The research here may upset ‘patriotic’ Pakistanis.
Except Sri Lanka, South Asia states overall outperform Africa only. Miffed by tiny Sri Lanka’s lead, some Indians and Pakistanis argue that small states are easier to govern and develop. But by this logic, we must divide India and Pakistan into many small states. This ‘treasonous’ idea quickly makes people accept that large size helps too.
We rank fifth regionally on governance, security and social progress but embarrassingly last economically. If this last bit irks Messrs Sharif and Dar, let me add that global data is usually two to three years old and may not reflect their recent economic ‘miracles’. Also, Afghanistan beats us economically only given its abnormally low debt-GDP ratio achieved due to huge American aid. We beat it on the 10 other economic measures.
Also, if an economic development index is ever invented, measuring national ability to produce high-end goods, services and labour, we would rank behind India only regionally and among the top six to seven among 40+ non-oil Muslim states. Our best regional ranks (second) are on the HPI, poverty rates and the dubious economic freedom index.
My research may upset ‘patriotic’ Pakistanis. But do not blame the messenger for the bad news. Let me say we are now recovering from our worst phase ever and rankings may improve a bit soon. But one must avoid knee-jerk reactions like hunting selectively for obscure indicators where we beat India.
My Berkeley training disallowed me this trick. Instead, I first took the most critical measures and then made comparisons rather than vice versa. Also, our ranking is poor on too many measures to blame methodologies or invoke conspiracies against the world’s only (self-styled) ‘Islamic fortress’. Many blame things on the corruption and mal-governance of elected leaders. But our scores on the corruption and world governance indexes have improved after Musharraf. Regional ranks confirm democracy’s edge too. The two consistent democracies lead, with the three patchy democracies in between and Afghanistan last.
Luckily, we do better on several ‘potential’ and ‘significance’ measures. We have the fifth largest population, sixth biggest army and nuclear arsenal and 18th-biggest middle class and are among the biggest exporters of skilled labour. We lag behind only 30pc of countries on the index of national power, being near the top among developing ones.
We must convert this potential into better outcomes. The best strategy is investing massively in our large but deprived population to increase people’s incomes and purchasing powers, hence expanding domestic demand, production, jobs and again people’s incomes under a continuous virtuous circle. Making the rich richer first makes the poor richer too, neo-liberalists say. But making the poor richer first will make the rich richer too. Thus, poverty reduction is not only a welfare strategy to help the poor as in Bisp, but can also be a creative national development strategy.
The writer is a political economist.
murtazaniaz@yahoo.com
Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2015The girl on the hill made Mark think of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Perhaps it was because of the way she was standing there in the afternoon sun, her dandelion-hued hair dancing in the wind; perhaps it was because of the way her old-fashioned white dress was swirling around her long and slender legs. In any event, he got the definite impression that she had somehow stepped out of the past and into the present; and that was odd, because as things turned out, it wasn't the past she had stepped out of, but the future. He paused some distance behind her, breathing hard from the climb. She had not seen him yet, and he wondered how he could apprise her of his presence without alarming her. While he was trying to make up his mind, he took out his pipe and filled and lighted it, cupping his hands over the bowl and puffing till the tobacco came to glowing life. When he looked at her again, she had turned around and was regarding him curiously. He walked toward her slowly, keenly aware of the nearness of the sky, enjoying the feel of the wind against his face. He should go hiking more often, he told himself. He had been tramping through woods when he came to the hill, and now the woods lay behind and far below him, burning gently with the first pale fires of fall, and beyond the woods lay the little lake with its complement of cabin and fishing pier. When his wife had been unexpectedly summoned for jury duty, he had been forced to spend alone the two weeks he had saved out of his summer vacation and he had been leading a lonely existence, fishing off the pier by day and reading the cool evenings away before the big fireplace in the raftered living room; and after two days the routine had caught up to him, and he had taken off into the woods without purpose or direction and finally he had come to the hill and had climbed it and seen the girl. Her eyes were blue, he saw when he came up to heras blue as the sky that framed her slender silhouette. Her face was oval and young and soft and sweet. It evoked a déjà vu so poignant that he had to resist an impulse to reach out and touch her wind-kissed cheek; and even though his hand did not leave his side, he felt his fingertips tingle. Why, I'm forty-four, he thought wonderingly, and she's hardly more than twenty. What in heaven's name has come over me? "Are you enjoying the view?" he asked aloud. "Oh, yes," she said and turned and swept her arm in an enthusiastic semicircle. "Isn't it simply marvelous!" He followed her gaze. "Yes," he said, "it is." Below them the woods began again, then spread out over the lowlands in warm September colors, embracing a small hamlet several miles away, finally bowing out before the first outposts of the suburban frontier. In the far distance, haze softened the serrated silhouette of Cove City, lending it the aspect of a sprawling medieval castle, making it less of a reality than a dream. "Are you from the city too?" he asked. "In a way I am," she said. She smiled at him. "I'm from the Cove City of two hundred and forty years from now." The smile told him that she didn't really expect him to believe her, but it implied that it would be nice if he would pretend. He smiled back. "That would be A.D. twenty-two hundred and one, wouldn't it?" he said. "I imagine the place has grown enormously by then." "Oh, it has," she said. "It's part of a megalopolis now and extends all the way to there." She pointed to the fringe of the forest at their feet. "Two Thousand and Fortieth Street runs straight through that grove of sugar maples," she went on, "and do you see that stand of locusts over there?" "Yes," he said, "I see them." "That's where the new plaza is. Its supermarket is so big that it takes half a day to go through it, and you can buy almost anything in it from aspirins to aerocars. And next to the supermarket, where that grove of beeches stands, is a big dress shop just bursting with the latest creations of the leading couturiers. I bought this dress I'm wearing there this very morning. Isn't it simply beautiful?" If it was, it was because she made it so. However, he looked at it politely. It had been cut from a material he was unfamiliar with, a material seemingly compounded of cotton candy, sea foam, and snow. There was no limit any more to the syntheses that could be created by the miracle-fiber manufacturersnor, apparently, to the tall tales that could be created by young girls. "I suppose you traveled here by time machine," he said. "Yes. My father invented one." He looked at her closely. He had never seen such a guileless countenance. "And do you come here often?" "Oh, yes. This is my favorite space-time coordinate. I stand here for hours sometimes and look and look and look. Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer, and today, you." "But how can there be a yesterday," Mark asked, "if you always return to the same point in time?" "Oh, I see what you mean," she said. "The reason is because the machine is affected by the passage of time the same as anything else, and you have to set it back every twenty-four hours if you want to maintain exactly the same co-ordinate. I never do because I much prefer a different day each time I come back." "Doesn't your father ever come with you?" Overhead, a V of geese was drifting lazily by, and she watched it for some time before she spoke. "My father is an invalid now," she said finally. "He'd like very much to come if he only could. But I tell him all about what I see," she added hurriedly, "and it's almost the same as if he really came. Wouldn't you say it was?" There was an eagerness about the way she was looking at him that touched his heart. " |
Hepburn. In the summer of 1566, James was seriously wounded during an altercation with a John Elliot. It is said that upon hearing this, the queen galloped madly across the country to be at James’ side, but this is not substantiated. In the absence of a mad ride to be at her wounded man’s side, there is therefore no conclusive proof Mary and James were lovers at the time. Hmm. Is a hell for leather ride absolute proof of an amourous relationship? I think not. However, being an incorrigible romantic, I hope Mary and James were having an affair already in 1566 – if nothing else because their time together would be so short, and the aftermath so very long and trying.
In 1567 Lord Darnley was murdered. Someone had placed kegs of gunpowder under his room and blown Darnley sky-high, but this does not seem to have been the cause of death – rather it was said he’d been strangled. Whatever the case, he was dead and three months later, in May of 1567, the Queen married James Hepburn – the man most people suspected of murdering Darnley – this after an alleged abduction and rape. (Seeing as Mary miscarried twins in July, it’s a safe bet to assume she was already pregnant when this little episode played out.)
The newly-weds time together was to be very short. The queen’s marriage to one of the suspects in her husband’s death tore the kingdom asunder, and after a month of marital bliss (well, assuming there is some bliss to be found when the country takes up arms against you) the loving couple separated on the battlefield. One last embrace, one long lingering kiss and James Hepburn took off, promising his wife and queen that he’d be back soon – with reinforcements.
He never came back. James was, one could say, detained. An alternative description would be to say his history caught up with him. It began with a storm that blew his ships off course. James’ intended destination was Denmark, but instead he ended up in Bergen, and who might be sitting in Bergen, still nursing a broken heart? Anna Tronds, of course, and in Bergen she had the upper hand, being related to the powers that were. James was thrown in prison while Anna’s case was heard, but after some wheeling and dealing he got himself out of that mess.
Just as he was about to be released from imprisonment in Bergen, the Danish king, Fredrik II ordered him to be taken prisoner – again. James must have protested, he must have yelled and demanded his rights, but to no avail. Fredrik wanted to make an impression on Elizabeth of England, and what better gift could he offer than the potential murderer of Elizabeth’s cousin, Lord Darnley?
In the event, Elizabeth showed no interest. But Fredrik held out hope – or maybe he took a dislike to his prisoner and decided to hold on to him, indefinitely. James Hepburn spent five long years in confinement in Malmö, years spent trying to get someone to take an interest in his plight and help him regain his freedom. His wife was not in a position to aid him – she was imprisoned in England.
The last five years of his life, James Hepburn spent in horrible conditions in Dragsholms Castle in Denmark. It is said James lost his mind in there, shackled like an animal in a miniscule cell. It is also said his soul prowls the castle to this day, as restless in death as he seems to have been in life.
James Hepburn was 44 when he died. It seems to me he paid a very high price for what little joy he found in his life. Was he a self-seeking cad who left jilted women along the way while he set off in pursuit of the next? Maybe. But he was also a loyal subject to the regent and his queen,he was brave and determined, and seems to have cared for his royal wife.
Mary Stuart was also 44 when she died, executed for her purported participation in the Babington plot. By then, she had spent almost half her life as Elizabeth’s prisoner, the last nine of them as a widow who would weep upon hearing her husband’s name.
Two larger than life personalities, two tragic ends. Did James, in a rare moment of lucidity, cry out for her as he died? Did she think of him as she placed her head on the block? We don’t know. We never will.
As a rather sad codicil to all this, the Earl was to suffer the further humiliation of having his bodily remains put on show in a remote little church in Denmark. Of course, at the time, James was well beyond caring.The second preseason game should be a little more telling than the first for the New York Giants. This time their best players, quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., actually will play a little bit on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns.
Manning and Beckham (along with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) were held out of the preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are expected to play the first quarter, and possibly more, against the Browns.
Their goal should be to remain healthy and knock off the rust. Whether Beckham catches a pass or scores a touchdown is irrelevant. Whether Manning completes every pass or throws three interceptions won't make or break his season.
Others are playing for much more -- their livelihood. They're among the primary focuses of preseason game No. 2. That and the progress of Ereck Flowers.
Here are some things to watch Monday night:
Ereck Flowers vs. Myles Garrett
The Giants raved about Flowers' performance against the Steelers, but it hasn't matched what he's done on the practice field where he's struggled. It's to the point where there is enough evidence from three weeks of training camp to question whether the left tackle has made significant strides.
Monday will provide a stiff test with Flowers matched up against Garrett -- the No. 1 overall pick, a premium athlete and good-looking pass-rusher. It's a one-on-one battle that will surely be highlighted. Even the Giants will be watching closely.
"Yeah, I'm excited," coach Ben McAdoo said. "We have good competition going at the offensive tackle spot, and Cleveland has some good rushers. So I'm excited to get out there on a big stage for a preseason game and see how we perform."
If Flowers can't hang with Garrett, it will be time to sound the alarm. The Giants don't have many other viable options to be their starting left tackle.
Brandon Marshall and Evan Engram
The veteran wide receiver and rookie tight end will be working with Manning in a game setting for the first time. Terrell Owens scored an 81-yard touchdown on his first play in his first game with the Philadelphia Eagles. It threw Eagles fans into a frenzy. If Marshall or Engram do anything significant, the optimism from Giants fans will rise through the roof.
Left tackle Ereck Flowers will match up against No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett. If Flowers can't hang, it will cause some concern. Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
D-line competition
The Giants have several options at defensive tackle vying for the only open starting spot on defense. Jay Bromley is the current leader, rookie Dalvin Tomlinson is making his push and Robert Thomas is trying to re-enter the mix after missing some time with injury. This will be a telling test for all three against a quality Cleveland offensive line.
The Giants also have a glut of defensive ends and linemen trying to make the roster. Players such as Kerry Wynn, Devin Taylor, Owa Odighizuwa and Jordan Williams need to continue to perform well in the preseason to feel more secure about their standing.
Geno Smith vs. Josh Johnson for No. 2 QB
Johnson received the first crack last week playing behind the starting offensive line. This week Smith will likely be the first into the game early in the second quarter.
Neither quarterback has blown away the competition this summer. Smith looked the better of the two in the preseason opener until he threw a pair of interceptions (although one was negated by a penalty). He then had ball-protection problems in practice last week, which led to McAdoo sending him and rookie running back Wayne Gallman for some laps. That's something that was never seen before at a McAdoo practice. It's not a positive for Smith.
Johnson struggled in the preseason opener but wasn't helped by the mistakes and miscues of Roger Lewis, who cost him a pair of touchdowns. Johnson will need to play much better against the Browns, even if it's against third-stringers.
Running game
This is something that will be watched closely every week considering their struggles last season (29th in the NFL) and in the preseason opener. The Giants' offensive line, particularly the interior, needs to do better than it did against the Steelers in the running game.
Second-year running back Paul Perkins also needs to show more. He was criticized publicly by the coaches for not gaining extra yards when matched against the safety on a 7-yard run to start the contest. It has been an unspectacular summer so far for Perkins. This will be an opportunity to show he's a capable starting running back, and for the line to prove it can more consistently open holes than it has.Content Update 2.2.2 Coming Tomorrow. Patch Notes Available Now! Content Update 2.2.2 will be released tomorrow. Its Patch Notes are available here! It introduces the Labyrinth Leaderboards, new microtransactions, bug fixes, the Summon Lightning Golem skill gem, The Star of Wraeclast and much more!
The Labyrinth Leaderboards enable a new type of competitive game play in Path of Exile! Players are ranked based on how quickly they have completed the Labyrinth. To be eligible for the leaderboard, you must enter the labyrinth alone. You must complete the labyrinth before the daily changeover to the next labyrinth layout. To be eligible for the Normal Labyrinth leaderboards you must be level 40 or lower. To be eligible for the Cruel Labyrinth leaderboards you must be level 60 or lower. Once the patch has been deployed, you will be able to find the leaderboards at https://www.pathofexile.com/labyrinth. The leaderboards will start tomorrow when the update is deployed. They award their prizes at midnight UTC (which is around 5pm PST for example).
At the end of each day the top player from each difficulty and league will be awarded a unique jewel. There's a different one for each difficulty:
Playing the Labyrinth grants you experience which can cause you to become too high level. We are adding a simple vendor recipe that grants a book that de-levels your character by one level. This is preferred over the option of pausing your experience gain because you can use it for fixing the mistake after the fact if you get too high level.
Currently we don't prevent players who have skill points from higher difficulties from entering a leaderboard as long as they're under the level cap. This will change in the next week so that you can only enter the Normal Labyrinth leaderboard if you haven't left Normal difficulty on that character (and the same for the Cruel one). The lower leaderboards are intended for dedicated Labyrinth-running characters that try to get the best possible times. For now it's okay to use characters with additional points to compete, but this will change when the follow-up patch is deployed. Currently there are two issues that we plan to address in a follow-up patch later this week or early next week. These both relate to the level cap for the Labyrinth leaderboards (which is 40 in Normal, for example).
Content Update 2.2.2 will be deployed around noon NZ time tomorrow!Obama's sanctions against Russia are going to take a while to be felt. Obama, Putin push Ukraine strategies
President Barack Obama’s incremental strategy on the Ukraine crisis marched forward Monday — but so did Russian President Vladimir Putin, without appearing to notice.
Through targeting the bank accounts of 11 Russian and Ukrainian government and business leaders, the administration hopes the pressure on the so-called “cronies” — as administration officials repeatedly called them Monday — will get through to Putin himself.
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But though the sanctions are the most aggressive any American president has taken against Russia since the end of the Cold War, they’re going to take a while to be felt, and even then, it’s an open question of how much the people targeted by them will care. White House officials haven’t laid out what happens if Putin doesn’t back down — and the options aren’t great.
( PHOTOS: 20 great quotes on Putin and Obama)
“Going forward, we can calibrate our response based on whether Russia chooses to escalate or to de-escalate the situation,” Obama said Monday at the White House, announcing the latest actions.
The sanctions — which already go further than President George W. Bush went when Putin invaded Georgia in 2008 — are the latest phase in a process that started with warnings, continued with a cancellation of preparations for the May G-8 summit in Sochi and the creation of a legal sanctions framework, and made a few stops along the way at the White House podium and U.N. Security Council.
So far, sanctions are the main lever administration officials have discussed publicly. The most obvious place to go next would be to expand the number of people targeted by the sanctions, ratcheting up to the 21 hit by the European Union sanctions passed Monday, or beyond.
The new sanctions executive order, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Monday afternoon, “provides us with broad authority and scope to impose costs on Russian Government officials, individuals or entities operating in the arms or materiel sector in the Russian Federation, and those that provide support to senior Russian government officials.”
( Also on POLITICO: Obama announces new sanctions)
But the effectiveness of that approach hinges on Putin listening, and on them actually trying to talk to him. Depending on how many bank accounts the targeted officials have hidden away and how long they think they’ll be able to ride out sanctions, they may not feel rushed to pick up the phone anytime soon. Russian oligarchs, after all, aren’t your standard captains of industry.
Vice President Joe Biden is headed to Poland on Monday night in a show of solidarity with leaders there and other Eastern European NATO allies. Obama will be in Brussels next week to press the case himself.
But so far, despite all the tough talk and long phone calls between Obama and Putin, the Russians have proceeded exactly as they said they would, despite multiple explicit warnings from America and its allies: Troops came to Crimea and stayed. A referendum was announced and held. Putin formally recognized Crimea as a sovereign state Monday, and seems set to go through with Tuesday plans to address the Russian Duma, where he is expected to urge them to accept widely-ridiculed results from Sunday’s vote — a solid 95.3 percent in favor of seceding from Ukraine — and possibly proceed with annexing the peninsula. Meanwhile, Russian troops aren’t going anywhere.
The crisis continues, even after the White House used scare quotes to refer to the “referendum,” and an American official spent Monday morning equally sarcastically flagging “fun facts”: ballots arrived pre-marked, over 100 percent of people in the Crimean capital seemed to have voted, and there wasn’t a single complaint to the election commission.
( Also on POLITICO: Crimea parliament declares independence after vote)
The public Russian response to Monday’s announcement from the White House ranged from apathetic to sneering. There wasn’t a whole lot of shivering from Obama’s promise that “further provocations will do nothing except to further isolate Russia and diminish its place in the world.”
Rather than showing any signs of taking the “off ramp” Obama and his aides have been urging for weeks, or concern about the decline in the Russian stock market or value of the ruble that American officials proudly point to as signs that their approach is working, Putin’s posture is more like the bored-looking giant brown bear that his deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozinm tweeted Saturday. Staring into the camera, a bottle of vodka on a table next to him, the bear’s photo featured two words written underneath, in Russian: “awaiting sanctions.”
Responding to being one of the people named for the sanctions, Rogozin offered another bear yawn, tweeting: “I think some prankster prepared the draft of this Act of the US President,” and adding a few minutes later, “Here it finally came to me: the real world-wide acclaim)) I thank the Washington Obkom! (Province Party Committee).”
And Putin himself continues on course. He has not officially raised the Russian flag over the Crimean parliament, but he’s expected to. He has not moved troops further east into Ukraine, but what was seen as a long shot just two weeks ago is now being talked about more credibly.
( PHOTOS: Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin’s relationship)
“I believe he is calculating the credibility of his opponents on a daily basis,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) said of Putin Monday morning on MSNBC.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who led a delegation of senators, including Barrasso, to Kiev over the weekend, released a statement saying Monday’s move was a good step, but not nearly enough.
“In the absence of a stronger U.S. and Western response to this aggression, we run the risk of signaling to Putin that he can be even more expansive in furthering his old imperial ambitions, not only in Ukraine, but also in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic countries, and parts of Central Asia,” McCain said.
In addition to Monday’s news of significantly expanded U.S. sanctions, McCain called for more humanitarian and modest military assistance to be rushed to Ukraine.
“The crisis in Ukraine is about more than Ukraine,” McCain said. “It is also about the credibility of America’s global leadership and whether the future will be defined by the values of the West, or by dictators and aggressors who think they can bully the free world into submission.”Tzachi Hanegbi, a close ally of Netanyahu, threatens Palestinians with ethnic cleansing in response to the latest round of violence.
A senior minister in the Israeli government and a close ally of Prime Minister Netanyahu warned the Palestinian people over the weekend of mass expulsion and ethnic cleansing if they don’t put an end to the current round of violence.
“Remember 1948” and “remember 1967,” Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi wrote in a statement posted to Facebook on Saturday, responding to the murder of three Israeli civilians inside their home in the West Bank settlement of Halamish the night before. “This is how a ‘Nakba’ begins.”
(Find a full translation of Hangebi’s statement below.)
“Nakba” is the Palestinian name for the events surrounding 1948, when some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled by Israeli forces as part of the war that led to the establishment of Israel. Israel allowed neither those whom it expelled nor those who fled during the fighting to return once the war was over, leading to a massive refugee crisis that continues to this day. Another 300,000 or so Palestinians were forced to flee during the 1967 Six-Day War, roughly half of whom were refugees from 1948.
“When you want to stop it all it will already be gone,” Hanegbi wrote, suggesting that the current cycle of violence will lead Israel to carry out another mass expulsion or to the displacement of Palestinians. “It will already be after the third Nakba.”
“You’ve already paid that crazy price twice for your leaders,” he continued, urging the Palestinian public to break from their leaders, whom he described as reckless, religious zealots. “Don’t try us again because the result won’t be any different.”
Israel regularly accuses the Palestinians of incitement to violence against Jews and Israelis, yet nobody in the Israeli government has condemned Hanegbi’s warning of ethnic cleansing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not fired him, demanded he retract the threat to carry out a war crime, nor has any Israeli official made public any indication that such statements are unacceptable.
The Netanyahu government has portrayed Palestinian incitement as one of the major hurdles to peace in the most recent American attempts to re-start a peace process.
Violence broke out in Jerusalem and the West Bank in recent days as Palestinians protested new Israeli security measures outside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, unilaterally installing new fixed checkpoints to control the entry of Muslim worshipers into the site. The metal detectors were installed after three Palestinian citizens of Israel perpetrated killed two Israeli policemen at the site.
A delicate “status quo,” negotiated by Israel and Jordan after Israel conquered East Jerusalem in 1967, has been in place for the past 50 years; the Palestinians and much of the Muslim world view Israel’s new security measures as a violation of that status quo, and one of a string of Israeli attempts to assert increasing sovereignty over the holy site.
The largest protests have been nonviolent prayers in the streets of Jerusalem, but Israeli security forces have killed at least three Palestinians in clashes since the weekend. On Friday night, a Palestinian man murdered three civilian settlers in their West Bank home, which he said was related to Israeli violations of Al-Aqsa in a Facebook post before his murderous rampage.
Here is the full text of Hanegbi’s statement that he posted to Facebook (my translation):During his first four years as President, George W. Bush nominated fifty-two men and women for seats on the Circuit Courts of Appeals. The Senate confirmed thirty-five of them. During the previous Presidential term, Bill Clinton’s second, fifty-one candidates for those same appellate courts were nominated. Thirty-five were confirmed. Call it a tie.
The details differed, but the differences tended to offset one another. On the one hand, Clinton, both by inclination and (the Senate being in Republican hands) by necessity, almost always nominated moderates—moderate liberals, moderate conservatives, and just plain moderates—while Bush has almost always nominated conservatives, very few of them moderate and some of them so out there in the distance that their left-of-center equivalents would look more like William Kunstler than like Floyd Abrams. On the other hand, Senate Democrats, a minority for all but seventeen months of Bush’s term, have had to use larger-calibre tactics. Republicans and Democrats alike have taken advantage of the Precambrian rules of their chamber to dispose of nominees who, if put to a vote in the full Senate, would have been confirmed. But while Republicans simply arranged for unwanted nominees to disappear forever into the no-exit in-box of the Judiciary Committee, Democrats have been obliged to flourish the ultimate weapon: the filibuster. Call this a tie, too, though with the ideological edge going to Bush.
Now it turns out that the filibuster is not the ultimate weapon after all. It’s merely the penultimate one. As Jeffrey Toobin reported in these pages last week (“Blowing Up the Senate”), the real ultimate weapon is—shades of Joe McCarthy!—the point of order. Here’s how it would work. Normally, under the Senate’s famous Rule XXII, it takes sixty senators, three-fifths of the full membership, to cut off debate and proceed to a vote. However, during a debate on a judicial nominee, a Republican senator would ask the Presiding Officer to rule that further debate is out of order. The Presiding Officer—Vice-President Cheney—would so rule. The ruling would be challenged, of course. But because such a challenge can be tabled by the vote of a simple majority, and because there are fifty-five Republican senators, the ruling would be upheld. And, boom, that would be that—a piece of procedural ordnance so devastating in its effects and its aftermath that it has been nicknamed “the nuclear option.”
The point-of-order strategem would nuke not only the particular filibuster against which it was deployed but all future filibusters against judicial nominees. It would also put an end to any hope of preventing Bush from filling Supreme Court vacancies with clones of his proclaimed judicial ideal, Antonin Scalia, whose activities last week included (a) angrily denouncing his brother and sister Justices for removing the United States from the short list of countries (the others include Iran and China) in which the execution of minors is legally sanctioned, and (b) calling it a “fact” that “government derives its authority from God”—as opposed to, say, the consent of the governed.
The filibuster has been around in one form or another since 1806, when the Senate absent-mindedly neglected to readopt a rule allowing a simple majority to move the previous question. It has been a favored tactic of conservatives of a particularly hard-shelled type, who have used it in the service, successively, of preserving slavery, perpetuating white supremacy, and frustrating what Lady Bracknell disapprovingly called “social legislation.” By the same token, liberals, historically, have passionately called for its abolition. Lately, the roles have reversed. Now it’s conservatives who indignantly denounce the filibuster as undemocratic. And, oddly, they’re right—sort of.
The filibuster allows a minority within a legislative body to thwart the will of a majority. But that is hardly the worst of the Senate’s democratic imperfections, most of which spring from the arithmetical disparity among state populations. Fifty-one senators—a majority—can represent states with as little as seventeen per cent of the American people. Sixty senators—enough to stop a filibuster—can represent as little as twenty-four per cent. That’s theory. What about reality? Well, if each of every state’s two senators is taken to represent half that state’s population, then the Senate’s fifty-five Republicans represent 131 million people, while its forty-four Democrats represent 161 million. Looked at another way, the present Senate is the product of three elections, those of 2000, 2002, and 2004. In those elections, the total vote for Democratic senatorial candidates, winning and losing, was 99.7 million; for Republicans it was 97.3 million. The forty-four-person Senate Democratic minority, therefore, represents a two-million-plus popular majority—a circumstance that, unless acres trump people, is at variance with common-sense notions of democracy. So Democrats, as democrats, need not feel too terribly guilty about engaging in a spot of filibustering from time to time.
One problem for the Republicans is that they like the idea of filibustering legislation (the filibuster has been very, very good to them over the years); they just don’t like, for the moment, the idea of filibustering judicial nominees. So they’ve tried to argue that there is something uniquely awful about the latter. “Filibusters are designed so that the minority can bring about compromise on legislation,” Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told Toobin. “But you can’t compromise a Presidential nomination. It’s yes or no. So filibusters on nominations are an abuse of our function under the Constitution to advise and consent.” Actually, you can compromise a Presidential nomination, by submitting another one. (Robert Bork too right-wing? Fine, appoint Anthony Kennedy.) More important, though, a filibuster actually has more, not less, moral legitimacy in the case of a judicial appointment. A piece of legislation can be repealed or amended after the next election. A judge is there for life.
The Democrats have vowed that, if the Republicans opt for the nuclear option, they will bring the Senate to a halt. No more unanimous consent to dispense with the reading aloud of bills. Round-the-clock quorum calls. Extended debate on confirmation of assistant secretaries. They will be perfectly justified in doing this. But they ought to stay off their high horse about the sacred wonderfulness of the filibuster per se. Over the decades, filibusters have done far more harm than good. In “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” Jimmy Stewart used one to save his Boy Rangers camp. In real life, the record is not so pretty. Absent Senate filibusters, the anti-lynching bills of 1922, 1935, and 1938 would have become law, bringing federal force to bear against racist violence and possibly allowing the civil-rights movement to achieve its victories decades earlier; direct election of the President would have replaced the electoral college in time for the 1972 election; and nearly all Americans would now be covered by a program of national health insurance. So, Democrats, please: If the Republicans go nuclear and ban filibusters for judicial nominations, by all means raise holy hell. But don’t elevate the filibuster into a moral principle, and when you get back into power—and, hard as it may be to believe at the moment, that day will come—get rid of it for everything else, too.http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/
Managed News: Inside The US/NATO Military Industrial Media Empire
By Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff
“There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth.”
–– Charles Dickens
We face what appears to be a military industrial media empire so powerful and complex that truth is mostly absent or reported in disconnected segments with little historical context. A case in point: The London Times reported on June 5, 2010, that American troops are now operating in 75 countries. Has President Obama secretly sanctioned a huge increase in the number of US Special Forces carrying out search-and-destroy missions against al-Qaeda around the world? If so, this increase is far in excess of special-forces operations under the Bush administration and reflects how aggressively Obama is pursuing al-Qaeda behind his public rhetoric of global engagement and diplomacy. Somehow this information didn’t make it into the US media.
The US, in cooperation with NATO, is building global occupation forces for the control of international resources in support of Trilaterialist—US, Europe, Japan— corporate profits. A New York Times report on the availability of a trillion dollars in mineral wealth in Afghanistan, on top of the need for an oil/gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea, suggests other reasons for U.S objectives in the region.
Jim Lobe of Inter Press Service writes on June 15, 2010, “The timing of the publication of a major New York Times story on the vast untapped mineral wealth that lies beneath Afghanistan's soil is raising major questions about the intent of the Pentagon…Blake Hounshell, managing editor at Foreign Policy magazine, says that the US Geological Service (USGS) already published a comprehensive inventory of Afghanistan's non-oil mineral resources on the Internet in 2007, as did the British Geological Survey. Much of their work was based on explorations and surveys undertaken by the Soviet Union during its occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s.”
Given the previous reports, there is nothing new about resources in Afghanistan that the Pentagon and US multinational corporations didn’t already know. On the contrary, the public should consider whether the surfacing of this resource story is a managed-news press release being done at a time of sensitive concerns regarding NATO’s mission in Afghanistan. A deliberate news insertion such as the mineral wealth story is designed to create support for a US/NATO global empire agenda.
Managed news includes both the release of specific stories intended to build public support as well as the deliberate non-coverage of news stories that may undermine US goals. Have you been told about the continuing privatization of this global war? Independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, wrote in The Nation magazine November 23, 2009, how Blackwater (Xe) operatives in the Pakistani port city of Karachi are gathering intelligence and helping to direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign in that country.
There has not been much coverage of the report in Global Research, May 27, 2010, regarding new US capabilities for cyber warfare, announced recently by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as the activation of the Pentagon's first computer command and the world's first comprehensive, multi-service military cyber operation. CYBERCOM is based at Fort Meade, Maryland, which also is home to the National Security Agency (NSA).
The US’s Israeli partner in the Middle East demonstrated a skilled manipulation of the global media’s coverage of the May 31 attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Israel controlled the news and images that emerged from the attack on the ships, asserting that the invading Israeli paratroopers were viciously attacked by crewmembers—resulting in the killing of several in “self defense.” Israel sought to divert the focus of public discussion away from the illegitimate use of excessive force against a group of humanitarians– of diverse religious and national affiliations– to the blaming of the victims for causing their own deaths.
Managed news creates a Truth Emergency for the public inside the US/NATO Military Industrial Media Empire. Deliberate news management undermines the freedom of information on the doings of the powerful military/corporate entities though overt censorship, mass distractions, and artificial news— including stories timed for release to influence public opinion (i.e., propaganda).
A Truth Emergency is the lack of purity in news brought about by this propaganda and distraction. It is the state in which people, despite potentially being awash in a sea of information, lack the power of discernment resulting in a knowinglessness about what is going on in the world. In short, we are living in a time where people do not know whom to trust for accurate information and yearn for the truth.
One antidote to the ongoing Truth Emergency is the creation of validated independent news by colleges and universities around the globe where students and professors use research skills and databases to fact check and verify information that is reported to the public. For more about this, and what we can all do to counter managed news, see Project Censored International's new website at http//:mediafreedominternational.org. Together, we can build accountability in our media and breathe life back into our withering republic.
_______________________
Peter Phillips is professor of sociology at Sonoma State University, President of Media Freedom Foundation/Project Censored, former director of Project Censored, and co-editor of Censored 2010.
Mickey Huff is associate professor of history at Diablo Valley College, Director of Project Censored/Media Freedom Foundation, and co-editor of Censored 2010.
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Some of the top most important censored stories of the year include:
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or Checks to: Media Freedom Foundation/Project Censored, P.O. Box 571, Cotati, CA 94931# 8 = Volume 3, Part 1 = March 1976 Gale E. Christianson Kepler's Somnium: Science Fiction and the Renaissance Scientist In 1634, four years after his death, the most provocative and innovative of Johannes Kepler’s works was published by his son Ludwig Kepler, then a candidate for the doctorate in medicine. In one form or another, the manuscript had been the elder Kepler’s constant companion since his student days at Tübingen University where his introduction to the heliocentric system, revived from the ancient Greeks by the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus, had prompted Kepler to devote one of his required dissertations to the question: "How would the phenomena occurring in the heavens appear to an observer stationed on the moon?" The theses propounded by Kepler at Tübingen in 1593 contained, in the words of his German biographer Max Caspar, "the first germ of a work which we shall come to know as the last of the books he published," the Somnium or Dream. 1 It had been Kepler’s intent to personally supervise the publication of his manuscript and, at the time of his sudden death in 1630, six pages of the document were in type. Jacob Bartsch, Kepler’s son-in-law, undertook the task of completing publication but he, too, died suddenly before it was finished. The project might well have been abandoned at this point had not Kepler left his widow in dire financial straits. In an attempt to assist his mother during this economic crisis, son Ludwig brought the thin volume to press in 1634. In accordance with the medieval-classical tradition—broken only by Kepler’s contemporary Galileo, who occasionally published in the vernacular—the original edition was in Latin. Over two centuries passed before a second Latin edition was published in 1870 in volume eight of the Opera Omnia, a collection of Kepler’s works edited by Christian Frisch. This was followed in 1898 by a rather poor and quite obscure German paraphrase under the title Kepler’s Traum Von Mond by Ludwig Gunther. Except for these two limited editions and a few surviving copies of the original printing, a seminal work in science fiction remained a literary curiosity for over three centuries, read only by those few authors with a strong interest in the new genre and possessed of the classical background required to read the work in its original Latin. It is difficult to appreciate to any degree this last work of a great theoretician and scientist without knowing something of the circumstances surrounding its authorship, a task which spanned some thirty-seven years. For the time in which he lived Kepler’s lunar exploration is a truly remarkable and revolutionary work, and in the view of historian Lewis Mumford must be appreciated for "the audacity of the concept" as well as for its intrinsic merit as a pioneering work of science fiction. 2 There is little, if anything, in the background and early childhood of Johannes Kepler to suggest that this son of a ne’er-do-well mercenary of the Duke of Alba and an innkeeper’s daughter, who was nearly burned at the stake as a witch, would become a central figure in the seventeenth-century scientific revolution in astronomy. Kepler was born and spent his childhood in Weil-der-Stadt, a small Swabian village located in southwestern Germany. He lived in the crowded cottage home of his paternal grandfather, Sebaldus Kepler, along with aunts, uncles and numerous brothers and sisters—the latter of whom biographer Arthur Koestler collectively refers to as "this misshapen progeny." 3 Through some favorable natural phenomena, not yet completely understood by modern science, Johannes was endowed at birth with the gift of genius while the rest of his brothers and sisters suffered |
pro wrestlers in the ring.
“You suck Cena!” they yelled, even though controversial World Wrestling Entertainment superstar John Cena wasn’t wrestling in the ring. Nikki Bella, the wrestler he dates, was.
“You suck Bryan!” they yelled, not at the beloved wrestler Daniel Bryan but at his wife, the wrestler Brie Bella.
The jerks in the audience weren’t accidentally yelling at the wrong wrestlers; they knew exactly who they were talking to, and what they were saying. Their chants had about as much class as they had commas. Online, at least, fans largely talked about them in disgust.
The vulgarity of those chants was surprising. So too was the fact that fans—even rowdy obnoxious fans—were chanting anything during a women’s match at all. The predominant reaction to women’s wrestling in the major leagues of WWE and the defunct WCW for much of the past 30 years has been apathy.
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Over the years in America, women’s professional wrestling has been treated as a sideshow, as a sort of intermission between major men’s matches. Run a short women’s match between two major men’s matches, the thinking seems to have been. Cool off the crowd. Give fans time to go the bathroom or go buy popcorn before the next match that actually matters. The best fans are going to do is heckle the match anyway.
What a surprise, then, at what 2015 has wrought: a renaissance in women’s wrestling. That renaissance has been spurred, it seems, by everything from generational shifts in the family-run WWE business to a social media protest on behalf of women wrestlers. Trumping even that is the emergence of women’s wrestling in WWE’s minor league, the online-only NXT, where it is treated at last as a star attraction that gets as much cheering and respect as the men’s wrestling.
Regarding that last one, any long-time WWE fan might be shocked to tune into NXT, where there is nary a women’s match set in pudding, where there are multiple storylines involving women wrestlers, where there is a deep roster of women wrestlers, where the women are given time to wrestle an interesting match, where they’re presented as athletes. Where, hell, they’re treated, basically, the way the best male wrestlers are treated.
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It turns out that fans love women’s wrestling when it’s done like that. They even think things like this are cool:
When the NXT wrestlers Sasha Banks and Charlotte recently wrestled in the—note the match placement—main event of a show, the crowd broke out into the best possible cheer: “THIS. is. wrestling!”
No shit.
It was superb pro wrestling.
Women in WWE have long been bit players. Big time pro wrestling in America, after all, has mostly been an athletic soap opera about men. It’s been an endless continuity of staged and occasionally real rivalries passing through various phases from the cartoonish Hulk Hogan-led 1980s to the envelope-pushing Stone Cold Steve Austin-led “attitude era” late 1990s to the more family-friendly and increasingly-realistic modern era led by John Cena.
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In the Hogan era, the most famous woman to appear in WWE didn’t wrestle. That was the late Miss Elizabeth, on-screen manager to the “heel,” or the bad guy, Macho Man Randy Savage. She played “face,” or the good guy, quietly cheering Savage on. Her on-camera support for the high-strung Savage endeared her to fans who empathized with the classy lady saddled with an obnoxious boyfriend. When Savage ditched her for the talented female wrestler Sensational Sherri, that was really just an extended prelude to Savage’s face turn, a quest for forgiveness and an eventual marriage proposal to which Elizabeth, of course, said yes.
Miss Elizabeth set the standard for women as background players in WWE’s weekly drama, there to play the role of girlfriends, dupes or backstabbers. When the WWE reached its low-brow nadir in the late 90s, Terri Runnels, who mostly served as an on-screen manager for various male wrestlers, was running through a series of storylines involving pregnancy, miscarriage and the revelation she’d never been pregnant in the first place.
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But in fits and starters, women in WWE have distinguished themselves not simply as valets or vixens but as competitors.
Take Rena Mero, aka Sable, the eventual Playboy centerfold who in the late 1990s played the disrespected wife to then-real-life husband before beating him up, to loud crowd cheers.
Take Chyna, the woman bodybuilder presented at times as a freak of nature—”The 9th Wonder of the World” (Andre The Giant had been dubbed the 8th)—and who eventually, regularly competed against the WWE’s men.
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And take Trish Stratus, the fitness model who made her WWE debut managing a pair of male wrestlers dubbed T&A but who eventually distinguished herself, unlike Sable, as an athletically gifted performer who could stage a believable and compelling match. Stratus even became the rare WWE woman wrestler to have a notable rivalry, hers against the popular high-flyer Lita. Here they are in the rarest of sights, a women’s match that, back in 2004, main-evented Monday Night Raw (it’s happened... maybe twice in the show’s 1100 episodes?):
Even in the brightest moments, though, WWE’s women wrestlers have rarely been given featured positions on a given night’s WWE card of matches. A decade since Trish and Lita, there has been little progress. Few segments of a three-hour episode of Raw would involve women wrestlers. You’d get one women’s match compared to eight or so featuring the men, and the same paltry amount of storylines involving women’s wrestlers per show.
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In a non-staged sport, wins are a proof of talent. Pay is management’s primary way of acknowledging a player’s value. Pro wrestling is different; the best measure of a performers’ worth to a company is the amount of match time they get, the amount of time given to them on a TV show.
Wrestlers low on the card get a few minutes. Main eventers will get 20 minutes, 30 or more. If a wrestler is seen as a draw, they’ll be given a match on Monday Night Raw that straddles a commercial break. The show will go to commercials mid-match, but it is assumed that fans will stick around to see if these wrestlers they care about win or lose.
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It’s simple: TV time = respect from management. That’s likely why it pissed off so many WWE fans when, on February 23 of this year, a two-on-two match on Raw involving the top women wrestlers in the company’s main roster—who WWE calls Divas (men are “superstars”)—got a match that lasted 30 seconds. Here it is:
(If you check it out on YouTube, for once, do read the comments.)
The 30-second match spawned a social media uprising around the hashtag #GiveDivasAChance. It trended. It turned heads. Long-time WWE chairman Vince McMahon, a workaholic who pretty much dictates what has appeared on WWE TV for the past three decades, acknowledged it on Twitter.
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A skeptical bystander might assume this was all part of a storyline. Maybe WWE ran a short match to provoke a reaction and to create support for women’s wrestling. Maybe. WWE is not above pissing off fans to make them love something in the future, and part of the fun of following modern pro wrestling does involve distinguishing the real from the fictional. But WWE didn’t make much of the fan outcry on their programming, not explicitly. Instead, women’s matches simply began to get a few more minutes. Some of them even began to span commercial breaks. There would, though, be just one women’s match at the company’s big annual Wrestlemania event in late March, slotted between two of the highest-profile contests on the card.
The 30-second match and fan protest happened the day after the Oscars, where the actress Patricia Arquette said it was time for women in America “to have wage equality once and for all.” That Monday morning, Vince McMahon’s daughter and current WWE chief brand officer, Stephanie McMahon, commended Arquette over Twitter.
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The Tweet must have caught the eye of AJ Lee, an unusual figure in WWE’s divas division. Lee had been a multi-time women’s champion for the company and had carried herself as an anti-diva, a longtime wrestling fan who tattooed the date of her first WWE title win on her neck. In recent years, WWE had found a surprise hit in an E! reality show, Total Divas, that featured the relationships and “real” lives of all of its top women wrestlers, with the notable exception of Lee who seemed to proudly stay off the show.
Back in February, Lee was in the midst of what has to have been one of the most awkward professional stints of any wrestler in WWE history. She was wrestling for the company but was (and is) married to male wrestler CM Punk who had acrimoniously walked out of WWE a year before and been formally fired on his and Lee’s wedding day. On Thanksgiving he released a tell-all podcast detailing his issues with the company including accusations of medical neglect, only to be sued by WWE’s in-house physician the week before the Arquette speech and the 30-second match.
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Lee, apparently in the mood for not giving a fuck, replied to Stephanie McMahon’s Tweet about Arquette on the 24th, which remember, was also a day after the #GiveDivasAChance thing:
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And she got the only possible reply a corporate officer can probably give an independent contractor whose husband is being sued by the company doctor:
It’s unclear what became of all that. Wages are secret in wrestling. The public doesn’t know how much a John Cena or AJ Lee makes. Women did start getting more time to compete on Raw, but that might have been as a result of the hashtag movement. It’s hard to imagine the Lee stuff was planned, and the WWE wanting the public to think it treated its female employees badly would be a reckless storyline. AJ Lee wrestled for WWE for a couple of months, got a match on Wrestlemania and was then retired to a very positive and public “thank you” from the company on their broadcasts and website.
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There’s a decent chance that there’s a generational divide being exposed as this all plays out. There’s certainly a change in societal values that is evident in other aspects of WWE, such as in the company’s recent vocal support for its first openly gay active wrestler.
With women’s wrestling, the smart money is that the 69-year-old Vince McMahon, who still dictates what kind of wrestlers, wrestling matches and storylines appear on WWE’s main TV programs, doesn’t have much enthusiasm for women wrestlers. He’s long had a place for women in his company. Hell, his wife used to be the company’s CEO before she tried twice, unsuccessfully, to run for U.S. Senate.
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Under Vince McMahon, women’s wrestling has been the aforementioned sideshow. He seems leery of even promoting his male wrestlers as athletes and is long known for favoring a more cartoonish presentation of pro wrestling, so it tracks that he wouldn’t have time for women wrestlers. This is a guy who would book some of his sexiest female performers to flirt with him or make out with him, back when he was playing a bad-guy boss on-camera. He’d also always make sure he got his comeuppance in those storylines, but that’s a hallmark of his outsized approach. It’s telling that it took an E! reality show targeted at women to finally begin fleshing out who WWE’s female performers were.
Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF
The contrast is with NXT, WWE’s minor league that is overseen by Stephanie’s husband and Vince’s son-in-law, Paul “Triple H” Levesque. There, in weekly one-hour shows, the women almost always have at least one match and backstage segments.
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It’s NXT where WWE dabbled with having a female color commentator. During a women’s match on a January episode of the show, Renee Young, at ringside, said: “Even looking at the bodies of these divas alone—I mean, I know this is an area I can comment on and not make it weird—but these girls are ripped. That is what a champion looks like.”
It’s NXT, which has been serving as WWE”s developmental system, where WWE brought in their first ever female trainer.
When Triple H recently appeared on a podcast on WWE Network streaming service, he was asked what he want to change about Monday Night Raw. He said he’d love to whittle the show down from three hours to two. He wanted to move through storylines in less of a rush. And this: “I would like to see the women get more time and more dedication... they have a lot to offer, and we have a large fanbase of women that watch. I think they’re inspirational and I think just having them have the time and the stories and all of that [would be good.]”
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Triple H is a former multi-time WWE wrestling champion. Back in the 90s, he used to date Chyna. He and Stephanie are proud fitness buffs. He’s been very public about his close friendship with the hall-of-famer Ric Flair, whose daughter Charlotte is a freakishly-athletic top female wrestler in NXT, holding that spot on the merit of being a badass female wrestler.
All signs are there that he respects and cares about promoting women’s wrestling.
Here’s a visual aid.
This is the current women’s championship title belt for the top woman in the Vince McMahon-overseen televised WWE product:
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Here’s the women’s title belt for the Triple H-overseen online-only NXT:
Maybe there is a glass ceiling for wrestlers in a company where the main women’s title looks like a shiny pink butterfly. But it still feels like something is finally changing, that a foundation is finally being built.
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You could look to this past March’s Wrestlemania, where Triple H and Stephanie McMahon played their on-camera bad-guy roles and got beaten up by MMA star Ronda Rousey. That feels like proof that WWE is waking up to the idea that kickass women fighters can be cool.
I’d point to you to NXT, though, as the better proof. You can watch it on the premium online WWE Network or at least catch clips on YouTube. That cheering NXT crowd says it all: This is wrestling.
To contact the author of this post, write to stephentotilo@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @stephentotilo. Title belt images via the Pro Wrestling Wikia. GIF created by Sam Woolley.Even though measles was eliminated from the U.S.—meaning the disease no longer circulated on its own within U.S. borders—16 years ago, outbreaks have continued to result from occasionally imported cases. But the disease can only spread if enough people are not vaccinated against it—and that’s precisely why the U.S. has seen an increase in measles outbreaks. In fact, well over half of people who have caught measles in the past decade and a half were unvaccinated, and most of them had refused the measles vaccine, found a recent study in JAMA.
The numbers were not so dramatic for under-vaccination of pertussis in communities, however, because several other factors besides low immunization rates contribute to pertussis outbreaks, the authors explained.
“The phenomenon of vaccine refusal was associated with an increased risk for measles among people who refuse vaccines and among fully vaccinated individuals,” wrote Varun K. Phadke, MD, and fellow researchers at Emory University. “Although pertussis resurgence has been attributed to waning immunity and other factors, vaccine refusal was still associated with an increased risk for pertussis in some populations.”
Determining an unvaccinated individual’s risk of catching a disease and the risk they pose to their communities depends on the disease itself and characteristics of their community, such as how closely people live, how populated the area is and how many are vaccinated. The Disneyland measles outbreak a little over a year ago, for example, spread quickly in part because of low vaccination rates in a densely and highly populated area.
The researchers, led by Saad B. Omer, PhD, MPH, combed through all reports of measles outbreaks since the disease was eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 and all reports on pertussis since the disease’s lowest point in 1977. They also reviewed studies that assessed the risk of a disease when vaccines were delayed or when families sought exemptions for required vaccines to attend daycare or public school.
They identified 18 studies of measles, and more than half of the 1,416 measles cases they described occurred in unvaccinated individuals: 57% of the people with measles had no history of getting a measles vaccine. Only 12.5% of all the measles cases combined were children under 1 year old and therefore too young to be vaccinated, so the vast majority of unvaccinated ones were not unvaccinated due to age.
In fact, a closer look at the cases with more detailed information on their vaccination history (a total of 970 cases) revealed that 59% of them were unvaccinated even though they were eligible for the vaccine. The reason for not being vaccinated was not a medical reason for most of them, however. Among that unvaccinated group, 71% of them had religious, philosophical or personal belief exemptions.
In other words, to put it more plainly, the majority of measles cases occurred in people who weren’t vaccinated, and the majority of those unvaccinated individuals were old enough to get the vaccine and did not have any medical reason for not being vaccinated. They or their parents had all intentionally refused the measles vaccine.
Although a similar pattern showed up among the 32 pertussis outbreaks the researchers investigated, the trend occurred to a much lesser extent, in part because the pertussis vaccine’s waning effectiveness is playing a significant role in whooping cough outbreaks as well (though it’s still the most effective way to reduce risk of death from pertussis). The reports included more than 10,000 people, ranging from 10 days old to 87 years old, with pertussis. In the five largest state-wide epidemics of pertussis, anywhere from a quarter to nearly a half of those who caught whooping cough were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated (they had not received all the recommended doses of the vaccine).
Although several large outbreaks also occurred in areas with a high pertussis vaccination rate—providing more evidence of the vaccine’s waning immunity—the majority of outbreaks involved large proportions of unvaccinated people. Further, in 8 out of 12 outbreaks that provided detailed immunization history on the sick individuals, approximately 59% to 93% of the unvaccinated people with pertussis had been intentionally unvaccinated. It wasn’t a case of forgetting to go to the doctor’s office or falling behind schedule—it was intentional refusal of the pertussis vaccine.
Review of these studies also confirmed what researchers, physicians and public health officials have known for decades: folks have a much greater risk of catching measles or pertussis if they haven’t been vaccinated. In one study, in fact, children were 35 times more likely to catch measles if they hadn’t received the MMR vaccine. The reports also confirmed that the less vaccinated a community is when measles arrives, the more people get sick.
An important implication of this study, the authors wrote, is that “a clear demonstration that the risks and harms to the child of remaining unimmunized are substantial” is key to justifying the legitimacy of “overrid[ing] parental decisions to refuse a vaccine for their child.”
But the authors do not suggest that the only solution is to enforce vaccine mandates such as the California law SB277 that passed last year amidst vitriolic opposition. Another option, for example, is to make vaccine exemptions harder to get without removing them as an option entirely. In addition, “immunization policy makers must also address the reasons for vaccine hesitancy, which may include parental perceptions regarding the risk and severity of vaccine-preventable diseases, the safety and effectiveness of routine immunizations and confidence in medical professionals, corporations and the healthcare system,” the authors wrote.
In an accompanying editorial, Matthew M. Davis, MD, of the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, suggested that vaccine refusal and waning immunity are related problems.
"Nonmedical exemptions for childhood vaccination reduce overall community immunity, thereby increasing risk of infection for individuals with waning immunity or no immunity whatsoever," Davis wrote. "When vaccine-preventable disease is diagnosed among individuals whose vaccine-acquired immunity has waned, this raises questions among parents about vaccine benefits and may inappropriately reassure parents who are skeptical about the importance of vaccination for their children."
He recommends three strategies to improve immunity at the population level, starting with stricter exemption policies in states whose laws for exemptions are currently more permissive. "Stricter exemption regulations that facilitate unbiased dialogue with vaccine-hesitant parents will increase awareness of benefits of timely immunization," he wrote.
Next, the time between vaccine boosters needs to be adjusted to reduce the waning immunity of pertussis vaccines, or else new better vaccines need to be developed, he argued. Finally, adults need to be brought into the discussion of staying updated with vaccines.
"Vaccination coverage rates among adults are substantially lower than among young children," Davis wrote. "Lack of vaccination in adults contributes to the problem of resurgent vaccine-preventable diseases, not just among adults but also among susceptible children with whom they come in contact."
Addressing these issues now, he wrote, is even more important with vaccines for Zika, Ebola, HIV or other diseases potentially on the horizon.
My book, The Informed Parent, with co-author Emily Willingham, is available for pre-order. Find me on Twitter here.“So you want to change the world, huh? Course you do. Everyone wants to do that, asshole. But still, none of that gives you the right to treat your fellow human beings like they’re your own personal playthings and to treat them like they’re nothing!”
– Lubbock, Akame ga Kill! (Ep. 20)
The Toonami Trending Rundown for January 23-24, 2016. A pretty good night of trending all things considered, as every show had managed to trend in the US as well as #DBZKai during it’s encore presentation.
In addition during Akame ga Kill, Lub (short for Lubbock) also trended as he manages to defeat Syura but at the cost of his own life, while the #SentaiHour trended once again during Parasyte.
Tune in next week as DBZ Kai begins the Trunks saga, among other great moments. Until next week, stay gold as always.
[divider]
Legend: The shows listed are ordered based on their appearance on the schedule. Show trends are listed in bold. 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 Twitter tweet counts, the listed number of tweets are also sorely based on the highest number shown based on the images on the rundown.
United States Trends:
Toonami [#6]
#SentaiHour (During Parasyte) [#7]
#DBZKai (Also during the encore presentation) [#8]
#AkameGaKill [#6]
Lub (From Akame ga Kill!) [#5]
#Parasyte [#6]
#SamuraiChamploo [#6]
#Shippuden [#5]
#OnePiece [#6]
#KillLaKill [#5]
Notes and Other Statistics:
Special thanks to @JMB_70056 and others I forgot to mention for spotting the trends on this list.
Ooh, Bottlecaps. Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.Speaking on one of the year’s biggest battles to date, battle rap emcee Math Hoffa recently sat down with VladTV to describe his thoughts on the recent match-up between Hollow Da Don and Loaded Lux within the UW Battle League.
Hoffa said Hollow Da Don’s rebuttals earned him the victory. “According to my ‘B.A.R.C.O.D.E.,’ you gotta give’em the big points for that type of shit,” the Brooklyn battler said. “I think that his second and third round was incredible. Taking nothing away from Lux, Lux is a master at what he does, and to be that put together, that structured, takes a different type of thinking. I’ve been telling niggas for years, he’s autistic but they don’t listen to me. Nigga is autistic. No, but he’s got some real Bobby Fisher shit going on and I respect it. But, I feel like some of the angles he took was kind of predictable and I wanted to hear a rebuttal from him, show that side, show that it wasn’t all script [and] that he could be spontaneous.”
Hoffa said that despite Loaded Lux’s scripted performance, his appearance made for an entertaining show. “I felt like Hollow gave’em everything,” he said. “I think Lux, he gave them a show. He definitely gave them a show that was worthy of it being the biggest battle of the year.”
Math went on to paraphrase a portion of Hollow Da Don’s second round as a reference to his win. “The second round: ‘just ‘cause you don’t understand him don’t mean he’s not nice,'” he says. “Aw man, that would have been my angle the whole fucking battle. I respected that.”
Math Hoffa Critiques Hollow Da Don’s Lean Comments
During the High Stakes battle, Loaded Lux also referenced Hollow Da Don’s alleged use of Promethazine—commonly referred to as ‘lean’—in order to bring his character into question.
“And the whole lean thing,” Math Hoffa said, “c’mon. You was in the video with Fat Trel, and you was sippin’ lean, my nigga. Why did you turn around and be like, ‘Yo Fat Trel, stand up niggas don’t lean.’ Like, why’d you do that? It was a little hypocritical. If you’re going for facts—all the Loaded Lux fans, they’re like, ‘But my nigga, the real thing about it, the facts are…’ Okay, that’s a fact, he did a video for nigga [while] sippin’ lean. Why is he going so hard right now? It was little angles. Hollow had a lot of counter angles.”
In the same interview, Hoffa later praised Lux’s style of delivery while knocking possible fictions in his raps. “I think that Lux is excellent with the preaching that he does, but I don’t think that it’s all the way realistic,” he said.
The Loaded Lux video featuring Fat Trel is available for streaming below.
Hoffa also addressed Hollow Da Don’s own tactic of bringing out a man believed to be the father of battle rapper Calicoe during the event. In a previous battle against Calicoe, Lux himself demeaned his opponent over his allegedly distance relationship with his father.
“To disbar somebody as, ‘Yo, he’s a wack father,’ you know it’s an angle in the battle, but people took it as a such a spiritual thing that it was like, ‘C’mon, if you’re gonna take it like that, you need to reeducate yourself on what’s really going on in America,’” Hoffa said. “So, when he took that third round angle, he brought Black face out, it was a proud moment. You kind of scarred that man in your last battle and for Hollow to bring him out, it was like ‘That’s crazy. Oh shit.’ And to break that whole thing down, I feel like it shattered Lux’s whole approach. It showed that there’s a hole in it.”
Last month, co-owner of the UW Battle League, D Rock, spoke exclusively with HipHopDX about utilizing a paid model for viewing of the High Stakes event.
“As a company, we’re striving to push the envelope, to encourage innovation and to expand the culture of Battle Rap,” D Rock said. “The ‘High Stakes’ event gave UW Battle League the opportunity to accomplish all three goals. Our pay-per-view business model is a breakthrough opportunity which may come as a shock to many at first, given that its something different, but in the long run, it will only help advance the sport of Battle Rap.”
RELATED: Math Hoffa Discusses Punching Serius JonesIf you’re wondering if you spend an unhealthy amount of time scouring the web for alternate fan theories or poring over Reddit for clues, you’re not alone. Rami Malek has done his time on Reddit and has gone down his own rabbit hole trying to figure out exactly what Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail is…creating.
He was also happy to have been able to share the Mr. Robot VR experience at Petco Park. The VR event was Esmail’s idea and, at the time, Malek wasn’t sure why they were taking time away from the show to do it, but after sitting there with fans and experiencing it for the first time, he sees it as a great way to celebrate the show and the fans on the success of the first season.
Having had the chance to have a nice intimate (8 other journalists at one table and loads more in the room) chat with Rami Malek during SDCC, I got the feeling that Malek thought he’d be this sort of obscure actor doing this quirky and interesting show, but there’s something about the success that can be a little strange. Like, for example when buses bearing his face drive through a shot. “Sam think’s it’s kind of meta and he’ll let it go,” Malek grins “but every once in a while they just come one after the other and we have to cut.”. Sometimes he feels a little responsible for slowing down the day but then he smiles and realizes his face is on a bus.
Some days you’re “that guy” and some days you’re “the guy” with his face on a bus. Malek may have been shooting for the first, but he manages to be that and the second guy, too.
He’s also a genuinely nice human being (when one reporting mentioned his busy day, Malek responded with “But you’re busy, too!”) and a dedicated actor. So much so that he likely left a little of his own digestive remains in the fake vomit during a recent scene because it’s hard to make certain sounds without the accompanying results. It may be difficult to watch, but it’s authentic.
He’s heard the prison theory and he’s been over on Reddit. While Sam’s told him stuff, he likes to figure things out, as well. To him, the routine “is a way to capture his sanity and try to have some semblance of normalcy”.
When asked about the social media and the VR and how he thinks it affects the show, he feels it’s really progressive. Live streaming an episode on Facebook means you may lose viewers on the night the episode airs, but he thinks USA has been really forward-looking in both how they advertise and in picking the show up in the first place.
I only got one question, but you know I had to ask about the Red Wheelbarrow and if it was connected to the William Carlos Williams poem. Malek smiled in response and offered, “It might be.”. He definitely paused to choose his words (which left me feeling that it was a “yes”) but he did offer that he thinks it definitely has some allusions to our literature and as a question of what is literal as well. Who knows?
Chew on that Reddit. Rami may be reading.Video
The political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Hillary Clinton on Thursday in what has become a tight race for the Democratic presidential nomination, providing an institutional boost as she battles with Senator Bernie Sanders for the support of black voters.
The endorsement comes after the board of the caucus’s political action committee voted to back her, with Mr. Sanders failing to get any votes and two people abstaining.
Nearly half of the Congressional Black Caucus’s 46 members gathered at the Democratic National Committee headquarters Thursday in support of Mrs. Clinton, saying she had spent her career proving her commitment to causes important to them, including poverty and voting rights. They said the endorsement of the board — which is made up of a handful of members of Congress as well as consultants and other prominent black figures — reflects that.
“You judge a person by their results, and there is no question that the person that has obtained the most results and benefits for communities of color and everyone in America, in my opinion — especially getting Democrats elected — it’s not even close. It’s not even close,” said Representative Gregory Meeks, Democrat of New York and the PAC’s chairman. “It’s Hillary Clinton.”
Though he pointed out that more than 33 members had endorsed Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Meeks was careful to say that this did not constitute an endorsement on behalf of the caucus as a whole, which has Republican members as well. In fact, Representative Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota and a member of the caucus, said on Twitter that the board did not consult the other members. (Mr. Ellison has endorsed Mr. Sanders.)
Cong'l Black Caucus (CBC) has NOT endorsed in presidential. Separate CBCPAC endorsed withOUT input from CBC membership, including me. — Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) February 11, 2016
The endorsement comes as Mr. Sanders has been gradually picking up some high-profile black supporters, like the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and, on Thursday, the singer Harry Belafonte.
Mr. Meeks said that Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina — the House’s No. 3 Democrat, who was not present Thursday — would make his own decision. Mr. Clyburn has said he will not endorse a candidate before his state’s Feb. 27 Democratic primary.
Some of those assembled — a group that included Representatives John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and civil rights leader, and G. K. Butterfield, a North Carolina Democrat and chairman of the caucus — also offered a notably harsh assessment of Mr. Sanders, slamming him in particular for doing little to curb gun violence.
Representative Cedric Richmond, Democrat of Louisiana, younger voters, who provide a significant share of Mr. Sanders’s support, should carefully scrutinize his proposals “because most of the time if it’s too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.”
“When you start saying free college, free health care, the only thing you’re leaving out is a free car and a free loan,” he said. “But who’s going to pay for it? How are you going to pay for it?”
Mr. Meeks said the group would provide the maximum contribution allowable — $5,000 — to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. Members also said many of them would be traveling to South Carolina to campaign on her behalf, with some lawmakers going this weekend ahead of the state’s crucial primary a week later.
And as some criticized the committee’s appearance at the Democratic Party’s headquarters, Mr. Meeks dismissed the notion that the group’s backing signified that the Democratic political establishment was again rallying to Mrs. Clinton’s side against an outsider.
“We are not the establishment,” he said, as other members laughed. “We are from the streets. Mess with us, and you’ll see we are from the streets.”Get the biggest Black Country stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Unison, the West Midlands’ largest public sector trade union, recently published a 20-point manifesto declaring what they see as the key priorities for the new Mayor of the West Midlands. Goals included developing a proper democratic system to hold the mayor to account, a programme of building green council houses and free public transport for 16 to 19-year-old students - all vital things that I fully support.
But the most eye-catching policy was a call to pilot a ‘Universal Basic Income’ (UBI) scheme in the West Midlands – an idea that is gaining support all over the world.
For decades, many towns and cities in our region have been left behind as government after government has focused on attracting big businesses and bowing to large banks, instead of building up a modern, home-grown economy centred on areas of high demand where we have unique strengths, like low-carbon manufacturing.
As a result, millions of people are one missed pay cheque away from disaster. Too many jobs these days are short-term and insecure, without guaranteed hours or very low wage self-employment.Now is the time to consider new ideas. In the Green Party, we’ve been calling for universal basic income trials for decades.The real advantage of a UBI is that it offers financial security to families. It could unleash a wave of innovation and creativity as people are free to be entrepreneurial and start up businesses without running the risk of losing everything.Not only that, but it removes insecurity for workers as well – if you’re a parent with three kids and a mortgage, the idea of working for a brand new startup might be too much of a gamble. But, if you know you have a basic income as a safety net, you can throw yourself into your work without needing to worry.Government economic plans for the recent past have left huge parts of the Black Country and pockets of Birmingham and Coventry struggling. Unless we change the plans, we'll just see the situation get worse. UBI is one example of how we can do things differently and create a more resilient economy that doesn't leave anyone behind.Voting for the same old parties will just lead to the same old policies. As mayor I will be a champion for the majority of Midlanders who have been left sidelined by unfair and uneven economic development, and tirelessly challenge central government to provide the investment our communities really need.Social Democrat, who faced calls to resign after last month’s presidential election, says he has lost support of colleagues
Austria’s social democratic chancellor has resigned suddenly, becoming the first major political victim of Europe’s refugee crisis after accusations from within his own party that he had caved in to rightwing populist demands to build fences on the country’s borders.
Werner Faymann, whose Social Democrats (SPÖ) suffered heavy losses in the first round of the presidential election last month, had initially taken a sympathetic approach to German chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy to support newcomers to Europe.
But with opinion polls consistently showing that the Freedom party (FPÖ), a rightwing populist group whose success is built on anti-immigration views and and fears of Islamisation, was topping the popularity stakes, the 56-year-old did an abrupt U-turn.
He joined his coalition partners from the centre-right People’s party (ÖVP) in deciding to erect fences on Austria’s borders and, working in tandem with Balkan states on the migrant routes, encouraged them to do the same.
Austrian far |
misogyny, their lives are substantially damaged by religiously inspired misogyny. Not just words, real deeds, painful, physical deeds, physical privations, legally sanctioned demeanings. The equivalent would be if PZ had nailed not a cracker but a Catholic. Then they’d have had good reason to complain. Richard
People still didn’t understand his point. He tried again:
Many people seem to think it obvious that my post was wrong and I should apologise. Very few people have bothered to explain exactly why. The nearest approach I have heard goes something like this. I sarcastically compared Rebecca’s plight with that of women in Muslim countries or families dominated by Muslim men. Somebody made the worthwhile point (reiterated here by PZ) that it is no defence of something slightly bad to point to something worse. We should fight all bad things, the slightly bad as well as the very bad. Fair enough. But my point is that the ‘slightly bad thing’ suffered by Rebecca was not even slightly bad, it was zero bad. A man asked her back to his room for coffee. She said no. End of story. But not everybody sees it as end of story. OK, let’s ask why not? The main reason seems to be that an elevator is a confined space from which there is no escape. This point has been made again and again in this thread, and the other one. No escape? I am now really puzzled. Here’s how you escape from an elevator. You press any one of the buttons conveniently provided. The elevator will obligingly stop at a floor, the door will open and you will no longer be in a confined space but in a well-lit corridor in a crowded hotel in the centre of Dublin. No, I obviously don’t get it. I will gladly apologise if somebody will calmly and politely, without using the word fuck in every sentence, explain to me what it is that I am not getting. Richard
Dawkins was probably unaware that an interesting bait and switch had already taken place. Rebecca’s initial complaint about discomfort about allegedly being sexualised was not the issue anymore. The issue was now about the possibility that she could have been raped. The man in the elevator was now no longer just a guy who made Rebecca Watson feel uncomfortable by making an awkward pass at her – he was now a potential rapist. So Dawkins’ dismissal of Watson’s experience as trivial was now taken as Dawkins’ dismissal of the plight of women who live in fear of rape, or of actual rape victims.
So to have my concerns – and more so the concerns of other women who have survived rape and sexual assault – dismissed thanks to a rich white man comparing them to the plight of women who are mutilated, is insulting to all of us.
Rebecca Watson, from her article: The Privilege Delusion
This, of course, was a terrible distortion of the intent of Dawkins’ comments – but that didn’t matter. Other feminist-atheist bloggers decided that Dawkins was going to be crucified for the sin of being dismissive of the ordeals of rape victims:
And so began the castigation of Richard Dawkins from all feminist quarters.
One interesting evaluation of Dawkins’ actions came from Jean Kazez, speaking at a recent meeting of the Fellowship of Freethought Dallas, below. She tried to put Dawkins’ comments in context of what had been going on in the weeks prior to them appearing on Pharyngula. Listening to her explanation, it is easy to see where Dawkins was coming from:
CONCLUSION:
Much as I’m annoyed by this all, I think we needed this debacle. This is a wake up call that I think all skeptics should reflect on. It raises many important questions.
For example, perhaps skepticism is not something that works well in a group setting, or as a movement. On the other hand, perhaps it is. Is radical gender feminism consistent with skepticism? Maybe it is. I’m inclined to think it is not. Is sexism the real reason women opt not to participate in atheist/skeptic conferences? Perhaps not – and I personally doubt it. The thing is, having the audacity to even ask these questions, is, for me, what skepticism is actually all about.
Any questioning attitude of knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere – is what skepticism is.
Let’s start acting like skeptics.
I certainly expect that not all will see things the way I have, and your comments are more than welcome.
Related posts:
AdvertisementsThe global offshore wind power market, fuelled by the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, the declining cost of wind power generation and impressive investment from the UK, is expected to explode over the next decade, states research and consulting firm GlobalData.
The company’s new report* forecasts the global offshore wind power market to rocket from a 2012 cumulative installed capacity of 5.1 Gigawatts (GW) in 2012 to a far greater 54.9 GW by the end of the decade, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 34.5%.
The UK is a major player in the offshore wind power market thanks to its substantial financial commitment and ideal location, contributing more than half of the global installed capacity last year, with 2.7 GW.
Jonathan Lane, GlobalData’s Head of Consulting for Power and Utilities, says: “While risks for offshore developers remain, in particular the potential rationing of Contracts for Difference (CFD) under the levy control framework, the still nascent transmission regime and the competition from nuclear power, the UK government is firmly supporting offshore wind via the Energy Bill.”
Offshore wind is expected to make a large impact upon the UK’s 2020 renewable energy targets and a major expansion is planned. Correspondingly, GlobalData expects the country’s offshore wind power installed capacity to hit 21 GW by the end of 2020, increasing almost 800% from 2012.
According to the firm’s latest report, the offshore wind power industries of several other countries are also expected to undergo massive expansion over the next decade. Germany, in particular, has plans to grow its offshore wind sector substantially in the future, announcing a target of 25 GW installed capacity by 2030 and 95 GW by 2050.
Between the 2012 and 2020, however, GlobalData forecasts the Germany’s offshore wind power installed capacity to climb from a modest 220 Megawatts (MW) to 8 GW.Work is to begin soon to add separated bike lanes to Sherbourne St. as part of planned repairs to the street. The $4.1 million contract includes $2.5 million for bike lanes and the rest for road resurfacing, sidewalk and streetscape improvements.
An artist's rendition shows what the new separated bike lanes on Sherbourne will look like when completed. "Bike boxes" at intersections, giving bicycles first dibs on turns, will make travel safer for cross-traffic cyclists. ( zhoux )
In a first for Toronto, curbs and a painted buffer strip will be employed to separate bikes from cars. Street parking will be lost, but delivery zones will be provided. Sherbourne St. was touted as a better, safer north-south cycling route than Jarvis St., where motorists complained after painted bike lanes were added in the summer of 2010 under former mayor David Miller. City council decreed that the Jarvis bike lanes would be removed when Sherbourne was completed. Now, cycling advocates are hoping to keep the Jarvis lanes, to give cyclists two routes.
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They contend that car traffic hasn’t been badly disrupted on Jarvis and delays could be avoided by installing a new left turn signal at Gerrard St. It could cost $250,000 to put Jarvis back the way it was, with a reversible fifth lane for commuters, said Jared Kolb, of advocacy group Cycle Toronto. “It would be a colossal waste of money,” Kolb said. “The street’s working very well. It’s a good example of sharing the road.” Councillor Mike Layton, who wants to see bike lanes expanded, said there was never a strong argument to get rid of the Jarvis bike lanes. “There had been minor impacts on traffic that could be offset with advance turn signals,” Layton said. “Beyond that, there was very little justification removing them.”
“It’s an incredibly popular bike route that’s not really holding up traffic. I see no reason why we should remove them.” It makes sense to add lanes to Sherbourne because the street is due for repairs, he added.
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Work is scheduled to begin next week to re-do Sherbourne from Bloor to King Sts., with completion by November. From Bloor to Gerrard, Sherbourne will get surface repairs, with bike lanes at road level. From Gerrard to King, the road will be rebuilt down to the concrete base, with bike lanes at sidewalk level. The section of Sherbourne from King St. to Queens Quay is also due to be overhauled, probably in 2014, said Dan Egan, the city’s cycling infrastructure manager. Once it’s completed, cyclists on Sherbourne will be able to connect with east-west bike lanes on Wellesley, Gerrard, Shuter and Queens Quay, Egan said. Because its bike lanes will be separate from traffic, Sherbourne will offer cyclists greater protection than Jarvis could, said Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday. “With the number of cyclists downtown and the number of opportunities for conflicts with cars and pedestrians, separated lanes are the safest,” Holyday said. Councillor John Parker, who had successfully moved the motion to scrap the Jarvis bike lanes, said he has no interest in reopening the debate. “Council has considered the matter and made its decision,” said Parker (Ward 26, Don Valley West). “I’m happy that Sherbourne is going ahead. I think that’s good news.” Holyday said Sherbourne will be a test case for separated bike lanes. If it works well, other streets could get them as well. “I think that type of system is repeatable in other places, and once we see how it goes on Sherbourne, that’s exactly what might happen. I think we have to do what we can to protect users of the road.”Just over 100 years after he published his general theory of relativity, scientists have found what Albert Einstein predicted as part of the theory: gravitational waves.
"We have detected gravitational waves. We did it," said David Reitze, executive director of LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, which was created to do just what Reitze announced.
Reitze made the announcement Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington surrounded by other LIGO researchers and National Science Foundation head France Cordova.
The gravitational waves -- ripples in space-time -- were created by the merging of two black holes, Reitze said. One black hole had the mass of 29 suns; the other was the equivalent of 36 suns. Each was perhaps 50 kilometers (30 miles) in diameter.
More than a billion years ago -- LIGO estimates about 1.3 billion -- the two collided at half the speed of light. Gravitational waves pass through everything, so the result traveled through the universe for that time before reaching Earth.
The 'chirp' of black holes colliding
The gravitational waves stretched and compressed space around Earth "like Jell-O," said Reitze.
However, the waves are so small that it takes a detector like LIGO, capable of measuring distortions one-thousandth the size of a proton, to observe them. They were observed on September 14, 2015.
Scientists heard the sound of the black holes colliding as a "chirp" lasting one-fifth of a second. Though gravitational waves aren't sound waves, the increase in frequency the collision exhibited in its last milliseconds -- when the black holes were mere kilometers apart and growing closer -- is a frequency we can hear, said Deirdre Shoemaker, a Georgia Tech physicist who works on LIGO.
LIGO is described as "a system of two identical detectors" -- one located in Livingston, Louisiana, the other in Hanford, Washington -- "carefully constructed to detect incredibly tiny vibrations from passing gravitational waves." The project was created by scientists from Caltech and MIT and funded by the National Science Foundation.
Szabolcs Marka, a physicist at Columbia University who is leader of the LIGO member Columbia Experimental Gravity Group, said you could think of it as "a cosmic microphone."
Einstein's concepts
Gravitational waves were predicted by Einstein in his general theory of relativity in 1915, the theory that proposed space-time as a concept. The waves are a distortion of space-time.
However, in order for us to detect them, they needed to be created by a mammoth event -- for example, the collision of two black holes.
Black holes are a holy grail of the gravitational wave concept. To date, we'd been able only to see their aftereffects. Black holes themselves were a conjecture.
"There's been a lot of indirect evidence for their existence," says Shoemaker, an expert in black holes. "But this is the first time we actually detect two black holes merging and we know the only thing that predicts that (is) gravitational radiation, (which) comes from a binary black hole merging. There's no other way we could have seen that but gravitationally."
'Now we can listen to the universe'
But is LIGO correct? Have we really detected gravitational waves?
Scientists have what they call a "five-sigma" standard of proof, and LIGO's researchers say the gravitational wave discovery exceeds that.
"It took six months of convincing ourselves that it was correct," says Shoemaker. "It goes beyond that five-sigma to proving that nothing was happening with the equipment that couldn't be understood."
She's thrilled with the possibilities.
"Imagine having never been able to hear before and all you can do is see," she says. "Now we can listen to the universe where we were deaf before. It's a different spectrum (from the electromagnetic spectrum). It's unlike anything we've ever detected before."
"What's really exciting is what comes next," said Reitze at the announcement. "I think we're opening a window on the universe -- a window of gravitational wave astronomy."
Einstein would be surprised
Columbia University physicist Marka, who's been working on the project for more than a decade, said the discovery will open up new horizons, including direct tests of Einstein's general theory. Those could further support it -- or force physicists to come up with new ideas.
"A physicist is always looking for a flaw in a theory. And the only way to find a flaw is to test it," Marka told CNN. "Einstein's theory did not present any flaws to us yet, and that is really scary. Physicists are very (skeptical) of flawless theories because then we have nothing to do."
Ironically, Einstein didn't think gravitational waves would be discovered.
"He thought gravitational waves are a beautiful construct, but they are so small nobody would ever be able to actually measure it," said Marka.Maybe it's the green carpet in the background here, but dare we say that this is the most amazing thing we've seen in recent history. Or at least the past 24 hours.has gone above and beyond the call of duty with his latest hack job, the NES Cartridge Wireless Router. As the title implies, there's an actual Belkin Wireless G router (the F5D7230-4, for those curious) shoved inside of an authentic NES game cartridge. Better still, the instructions to whip this up yourself are just a click away in the source link, giving you precisely zero reasons to continue using the horrifically unsightly WLAN router that you currently are. Oh, and if it sporadically disconnects, we're hearing that a brief (albeit powerful) blow across the Ethernet jacks will fix things right up.MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday launched a ferry route that will connect the two countries.
Widodo, who was in Davao with his First Lady Irania for the launch, said he expects the new roll on-roll off (Ro-Ro) Davao-General Santos-Bitung (Sulawesi, Indonesia) route to boost trade in the regions.
The Indonesian president said he knows the importance of giving opportunities to those in the provinces because he too, like Duterte, was a mayor of a city away from his country's capital.
"President Duterte and I sincerely believe that people in the outer
regions are just as smart, strong and resourceful as the rich people in the capital cities. They only need one thing and one thing only. And that is to be given a chance," Widodo said in a speech.
For his part, Duterte said he expects the new Ro-Ro route to boost trade and tourism for both countries on the way to building an integrated ASEAN market.
The Philippine president said the Davao-General Santos-Bitung is just the first of the many Ro-Ro networks to be formed for ASEAN countries.
"This route shall be the first of many routes to be formed for the international Ro-Ro network envisioned by our ASEAN leaders to provide more accessibility and opportunities for our countries," he said.
The newly opened route is expected to cut shipping time of transporting goods from the usual 5 weeks to 2-3 days, reducing logistical cost in the process.
Duterte also called on the private sector to help promote the Davao-General Santos-Bitung route.
"This route will help us realize our collective goal of creating an integrated regional market that will complement our own infrastructure of modernization program," Duterte added.In an alternate universe, Team Dignitas won both of their matches last week against Echo Fox and Immortals. They closed out both games without crashing themselves into enemy bases like a ship onto a rocky shoal and kept their playoff dreams alive.
Had this actually happened, it would have thrown an interesting wrench into the 2016 North American League Championship Series Spring playoff standings, as Dignitas would have moved up the standings into Echo Fox’s current position of seventh, with an identical record of 6-10. If all outcomes had remained the same in this parallel NA LCS Week 8 universe, the Dignitas and Team Liquid Week 9 meeting would have larger implications for Dignitas, as it could have meant an unlikely playoff spot for the latter team. Instead, Echo Fox is now the team currently on the outside, looking up at both NRG eSports and Team Liquid immediately above them.
With the standings as they are, Dignitas still presents a significant danger to Team Liquid, and will aid Echo Fox’s playoff chances with a win. They’re not a team to be underestimated, in spite of two heartbreaking losses last week. Dignitas has visibly improved their coordination and early-to-mid game, and their issues lie in actually closing a game. Upon approaching the enemy nexus — even with every advantage like Aspect of the Dragon, Baron and double Zz’Rot Portals — Dignitas alternates between over-aggression and indecision. They engage on opponents when they should allow their poke and minion damage to do the work for them, or they back off when they could easily take a fight. In Week 8, this allowed both Echo Fox and Immortals to come back and win games, while Dignitas watched their playoff hopes slowly circle the drain.
Now, as the lone bubble team, Echo Fox remains in the playoff hunt thanks to Dignitas’ good graces. The Dignitas team of Week 8 also presents an interesting contrast to Echo Fox, and how the latter team wins games. Both teams are tied for the longest average game time in the NA LCS at 37.9 minutes. While Dignitas squanders early and mid game advantages, Echo Fox often plays for the long game from the moment they load up onto the Rift, waiting for opponents like Dignitas to make a game-changing mistake.
Much of Echo Fox’s playstyle stems from mid laner Henrik “Froggen” Hansen. A veteran who is most well-known for his Season 2 performances with Counter Logic Gaming Europe, Froggen’s approach to the game has always been more controlled and patient than his mid lane counterparts. Europe as a League of Legends region is known for their excellent laning mids — partially a byproduct of Froggen’s success found in restraint rather than the aggressive outplay. On Echo Fox, Froggen brings a stable and steady presence in mid that’s near-impossible for opponents to overcome.
With a whopping 89.7 percent kill participation — best of not only all NA mid laners, but all NA starting players in 2016 Spring — everything on Echo Fox goes through Froggen. His Gangplank was one of the key components of Echo Fox’s comeback against Dignitas, setting a worldwide cs record of 764, with Cannon Barrages that softened up Dignitas as they attempted to fight their way into Echo Fox’s base. This eventually turned fights into Echo Fox’s favor, enabling their late push up the mid lane and eventual backdoor victory with support Terry “BIG” Chuong and AD carry Yuri “KEITH” Jew.
In turn, Froggen also aids jungler Anthony “Hard” Barkhovtsev. The safe positioning of Froggen holds the mid lane for Echo Fox as long as possible, which allows Hard more freedom of movement around the map. Hard averages -2.3 CS behind his NA jungle opponents at 10 minutes, yet has the second highest CS per minute of any NA jungler at 4.3. Like Froggen, Hard is able to slowly accrue advantages throughout the mid game, joining up in time for skirmishes or fights with a lead.
Echo Fox wins games through their mid and late-game teamfighting. Froggen accrues CS and gold leads in lane. Come the time for teamfighting, he often joins with significant item advantages over his mid lane opponent along with Echo Fox jungler Hard. In contrast, KEITH and BIG are wholly underwhelming in lane, but their teamfight positioning has been surprisingly strong throughout the split — Echo Fox’s most recent match against Counter Logic Gaming aside.
While his mid laner has the second-highest average cs per minute of all NA mids at 9.7, KEITH has the lowest CS per minute of all starting NA AD carries at 8.1. However, when KEITH and BIG join up with their Echo Fox teammates, they accumulate eventual gold advantages through skirmishing, and play key roles in teamfight cleanup. BIG has the second-highest kill participation (84.2 percent) of any starting NA player, with only teammate Froggen ahead of him. KEITH is also in the top ten players for kill participation at 77.5 percent, and is second only to Team Liquid’s Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin (77.7 percent) for NA AD carries. The Echo Fox teamfight begins with engages from top laner Park “kfo” Jeong-hun, who has shown a surprisingly intuitive initiation sense that has won Echo Fox multiple teamfights since his return to the Rift in Week 5.
"For me, Fiora, Riven, Quinn, I love these aggressive champions that can kill the enemy and can fly around. However, my team keeps saying, 'Kfo, tanky, tanky.' So I have to pick tank champions."
-Park “kfo” Jeong-hun in a Riot Games interview
Kfo is more than capable of playing carry champions; however, Echo Fox’s skirmishes suffer a bit without his strong initiation sense. His crowd control and general positioning have been crucial in orchestrating Echo Fox teamfight victories, especially when re-engaging while his team kites backwards to turn a losing battle into a favorable Echo Fox fight. He also provides additional peel and protection for KEITH, allowing the AD carry to clean up.
When Echo Fox falters, it’s often due to their reactive approach combined with proactive moves from adversaries. Since their playstyle is often dependent on opponents’ mistakes, Echo Fox struggles when faced with boundless aggression and quick, decisive maneuvers as they often force Echo Fox into immediate calls that can go wrong due to a lack of communication. These players fit well together as a unit, but they’ve had less time than other teams to gel onstage, due to visa issues for three of the first four weeks of the 2016 Spring Split.
Cloud9 is the exact type of team that will likely give Echo Fox problems, as they continuously force fights and are decisive early. As for their other game in the final week, Renegades appears to be a fairly strong matchup for Echo Fox. Even with their new starting top laner Shin “Seraph” Woo-yeong and mid laner Noh "Ninja" Geon-woo, Renegades are still prone to making mid and late-game errors. This is perfect for Echo Fox's overly-patient approach, but just one Week 9 loss will eliminate Echo Fox from playoff contention. If Echo Fox does manage to win out against both Cloud9 and Renegades, they will finish the season with a 8-12 record.
In order to make the playoffs, Echo Fox are in the unfortunate position of relying on opponents’ mistakes outside of what they can control in their own games. Team Liquid or NRG eSports would have to go 0-2 in the coming week, forcing a tiebreaker for the magical sixth-place spot that ensures a playoff berth. In context, this would be a remarkably impressive finish. Going into Week 5 — their first week since Week 1 with their starting lineup — Echo Fox was in ninth place with a 1-7 record. Their only win came against the then-struggling Renegades, who were in last place — the only team below Echo Fox in the standings.
The greatest enemy of Echo Fox this season has been their lack of time together as a starting lineup, with losses in the interim hurting their overall record. They're most likely to finish in seventh place, securing a spot for the Summer Split where they hopefully could develop into a tighter team over time.
Emily Rand is a staff writer for theScore esports. You can follow her on Twitter.Uber
Mayor Bill de Blasio has struck a deal with Uber that the car-booking service says will help Staten Island.
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
CITY HALL -- Mayor Bill de Blasio has struck a deal with Uber that the car-booking service says will help Staten Island, though City Hall is skeptical of the company's commitment to the borough.
Following a contentious public fight over a plan to cap the rapid influx of Uber cars on city streets, officials on Wednesday announced that the company agreed to a four-month study on its impact on traffic and the environment.
While Uber claimed the sidelined proposal to halt its growth would have hurt a push for more service on Staten Island, the city argued that the company's expansion won't benefit the borough.
"Staten Island needs better transportation options -- that's why we're looking at everything from ferries to better bus service," de Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell said before the agreement was reached. "Uber's pledge that it'll eventually trickle down to Staten Island -- when they make less than a tenth of one percent of their pick-ups there today -- rings hollow."
Uber still makes more average daily trips on the borough than yellow and green "outer borough" taxis combined. Staten Island is also experiencing the fastest uptick in Uber service of all five boroughs.
The number of Staten Island trips has grown five-fold since January, with locals and visitors summoning Uber cars on their smartphones about 5,000 times per month, according to the company.
THE AGREEMENT
The increase comes amid a bump in Uber service citywide. In just a few years, the number of Uber cars driving across all five boroughs has swelled to around 20,000. The city only has 13,600 yellow taxis and 6,000 green cabs, some of which also use the app.
Uber's "core service area."
The de Blasio administration has said that the rise of Uber and similar services has further clogged Manhattan traffic and harmed air quality. City officials also said the Uber system is unfair -- for both drivers and residents -- and needs to be regulated.
City Hall had supported Council legislation that would limit Uber's growth for a year during an impact study. Under the deal reached on Wednesday, Uber will provide trip data to a consultant for a shorter study but expansion of service would not be capped.
The Council on Thursday will also vote on a measure that would require a study on the taxi and for-hire vehicle industries. As part of the deal, Uber will participate in a conversation about the future of those industries. This includes accessibility, wages for drivers and how Uber and similar services can support mass transit.
A future cap on service wasn't completely ruled out.
STATEN ISLAND EFFORTS
Uber said any service limitations will stymie efforts to expand service on Staten Island. Though most residents drive themselves around the Island, the borough is seen as an untapped market.
"Uber has been investing on the Island to ensure continued growth in access to safe, reliable rides," spokeswoman Alix Anfang said.
Uber thinks more Islanders will rely on the service if they get more drivers here and the company is offering incentives to make this happen.
Key Island spots for Uber
Described in a recent email sent to drivers, these are the "key" locations on the borough for Uber demand.
-- Staten Island Ferry Terminal
-- Concord Lake
-- Clove Lakes Park
-- Willowbrook Park
--Staten Island University Hospital
Drivers were offered a $15 "reward" per trip starting on Staten Island this past Saturday and Sunday. They also earn more than taxi drivers from long trips like those that are possible when traveling to, from and within Staten Island.
Of course, expanding Uber and other electronic hail service on the borough faces the same roadblocks as getting yellow and green cabs here. Taxi drivers follow the money -- and those working for a $40 billion company are no different.
The borough has about 27 for-hire vehicle bases with 495 cars affiliated to them. Some of those local car services have complained that Uber and similar apps have put their businesses in jeopardy. They say drivers are leaving to work for Uber where they won't serve the borough as much.
An average of nine green and eight yellow taxi trips were made daily on the borough this past April, according to the most recent data available from the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission.
During the same month, there were 36 Uber trips made on average per day on the Island, amounting to less than one-tenth of a percent of all service at the time.
Uber's own data shows that the daily average on Staten Island has since increased.
NOT A SOLUTION?
Ridership numbers vary by day, but Uber cars made 253 combined pick-ups and drop-offs on Staten Island this past Saturday, according to the company. About 100,000 are made citywide a day.
Last year, from October to December, Uber guaranteed that drivers would make $5,000 a month. One of the requirements was that they spend at least 200 hours in the company's "core service area," which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
City Hall argued that tactics like this have had an impact on overall congestion, including the speed of express buses that thousands of Staten Islanders rely on to get to work.
Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island) is supportive of studying the the effect of Uber and for-hire vehicles on traffic.
"Uber is another option for the Staten Islander who needs a safe way to get back to the borough -- especially during later hours at night," he said.
Uber is particularly useful for locals that can't easily hail a taxi after being out in the other boroughs. The same can be said for those that are drinking alcohol on the Island and need to get home safely without driving.
While a Bronxite can take the subway, that's not the case for transit-starved residents here.
Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) said the deal reached on Wednesday allows for "good, thoughtful oversight."
Still, she said, "Cabs, car services and for-hire cars are a supplement, not a replacement, for public transit."
The city has no immediate plans to expand mass transit within Staten Island. This is despite an acknowledgement that the borough is a notoriously difficult place to get around without a car.TV Reviews All of our TV reviews in one convenient place.
All hail Alyssa Edwards, bringer of drama and delight! Alyssa was entertaining in the first two episodes of this season (shame on me for not mentioning her face mask moment last week), but she significantly ups her game in “HERstory Of The World,” an episode that spotlights her overwhelming personality, deep talent, and surprising savvy. Alyssa was something of a joke in season 5, a scatterbrained, over-the-top queen that had difficulty focusing all her energy, but she’s totally in on the joke now, owning her ridiculousness and using it to elevate her drag. Alyssa presents a huge personality out of drag that doesn’t feel like a forced performance (something her protégé Laganja Estranja struggled with in her season), and while I don’t know if this is how she actually acts in real life, she’s successfully convinced me that this caricature of a person is her true self.
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The editing of Alyssa this week makes her look incredibly loud and hyperactive, but these are good qualities for a drag queen. She shouts out catchphrases and occasionally does the splits for no good reason, and Phi Phi calls her out on showboating for the cameras during a cutaway interview. What Phi Phi doesn’t seem to understand is that this is a TV show and playing it up for the cameras is the entire point. Yes, Alyssa is thinking of the.gifs that can be shared and the merchandise that can be sold from her antics on this show, but that’s what everyone should be doing. Going back on Drag Race is the opportunity to revitalize your brand on a global stage, and Phi Phi has to use it to redeem her past sins while Alyssa can use it to be big and silly and fun because she doesn’t need to be forgiven for anything.
RuPaul wants to see scene-stealers on this show, and Alyssa is willing to make herself look foolish to pull the focus to her (see: “All-Stars Snatch Game”). Even if you’re in the background, Ru wants to see you try and grab her attention by doing something especially impressive (pulling focus with mistakes is still a no-no), and that’s exactly what Alyssa does in this episode’s big lip sync extravaganza. Each queen plays a different woman from herstory, and Alyssa’s Annie Oakley is like a sharp-shooting, fleet-footed Jeri Blank wearing huge hair and a cowgirl costume. There’s a bold goofiness to Alyssa’s performance that makes her stand out in a crowd, and she pairs that attitude with precise dancing and lip syncing to stomp the competition when she takes the spotlight. Silly meets sexy when Alyssa is dancing, and the sharpness and clear intent of her movement bring extra sensuality to the character and highlight different facets of Alyssa’s acting ability.
Alyssa is one of the winners of the challenge, and this is when her savvy becomes especially evident. The bottom two queens are Katya and Ginger Minj; the former is arguably one of the most beloved queens in Drag Race herstory, the latter has a smaller fanbase but received better critiques from the judges. Of the two, Katya is the more entertaining queen, and this season of All Stars will benefit from keeping her in the competition because she’s so good on camera. Alyssa will also get less shit on social media if she eliminates Ginj, and I highly suspect this plays a part in Alyssa’s decision. The queens bring up the topic of social media harassment while getting ready for the runway, and the reactions of the fan community have a definite impact on the contestants’ behavior. You see it intensely with Phi Phi and her quest for redemption, but I also believe those probable future reactions influence Alyssa’s decision to save Katya.
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When it comes to social media response, eliminating Ginj is the safer choice, even though it means keeping a competitor who poses a greater threat to Alyssa’s victory. I applaud Alyssa for finally shaking things up after two weeks of winners using the judges’ critiques to eliminate the contestant that performs the worst, and by cutting Ginj, Alyssa raises the stakes of the game moving forward. Now that a winner has decided to follow her heart instead of the judges, the doors have been opened for more personally subjective eliminations down the road, and I’m excited to see how that changes the group dynamics moving forward.
Ginj is a fiercely talented queen in performance, but her character still pales in comparison to the best this series has to offer. She’s at her best when she’s acting, singing, and dancing, but take away the script, music, and choreography and she starts to fade into the background. Even though she lands a good one-liner every so often, her comedy is fairly tame, and while she was one of the bitchier queens in her season, she doesn’t create very compelling drama. Ginj’s performance as horse-fucker Catherine the Great is a highlight of the lip sync extravaganza, but her energy level drops once she’s in the chorus. As a professional musical theater actor, Ginj has probably become accustomed to not pulling focus when another performer is being showcased, but that’s a liability in this challenge.
The main issue with Ginj this season is that she isn’t offering the judges or the viewers anything new. She tries to create drama for herself by bringing up her weakness as a dancer, but it’s just a rehash of her season 7 troubles, which always played as disingenuous given her musical theater background. Ginj’s outfits on the runway have been uninspired in All Stars, and she has the worst look of the night as she takes inspiration from “retro The Brady Bunch space age” for her futuristic drag ensemble. That inspiration makes no sense (The Brady Bunch has no place in a futuristic drag challenge), and there’s nothing futuristic about Ginj’s look, which looks like an ’80s showgirl got herself some chrome spraypaint and a horrible haircut. Katya also disappoints on the runway, but her look does much better work channeling a ’60s space age aesthetic. Unfortunately for both of them, going retrofuturistic is a risky decision that doesn’t pay off because both outfits lean too much on the retro.
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Katya gets the shaft with the role assignments, and not only does she have an extremely difficult character in Princess Diana, but she’s given lackluster music and choreography to perform in the number. Ginj gets a horse-fucking Russian queen in a bawdy cabaret number while Katya gets a dainty piece about Diana’s divorce that gets a little rowdy at the end but is generally demure and not very Katya. Diana’s wedding dress is her most iconic look, but it’s impossible for Katya to do choreography with a ridiculously long train so she has to cut it off, diminishing the entire |
rollment. Just give people the stuff they need.
This shouldn’t even be a liberal-socialist divide, although it seems to have become one in recent years. When society decided citizens should be able to read, we didn’t provide tax credits for books, we created public libraries. When we decided peoples’ houses shouldn’t burn down, we didn’t provide savings accounts for private fire insurance, we hired firefighters and built fire stations. If the broad left takes power again, enough with too-clever-by-half social engineering. Help people and take credit.
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Email You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license. University Cardiff University
New research suggests a noninvasive blood test could vastly improve early detection rates of severe liver disease—before irreversible damage is done.
Using information collected in a liver biopsy study, researchers at Cardiff University have developed a method of determining the onset of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) through the analysis of lipids, metabolites, and clinical markers in blood.
“Many people with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis do not have symptoms and are not aware they are developing a serious liver problem.”
NASH is the most extreme form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)—a range of conditions caused by a build-up of fat in the liver. With NASH, inflammation of the liver damages the cells, potentially causing scarring and cirrhosis.
Currently, the only way to diagnosis of NASH is through a costly and invasive liver biopsy.
“Many people with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis do not have symptoms and are not aware they are developing a serious liver problem,” says You Zhou from Cardiff’s Systems Immunity Research Institute. “As such, diagnosis often comes after irreversible damage is done.
“Our quicker and less invasive method of diagnosis could mean that more people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease could be easily tested to determine whether they are progressing to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, the more severe form of the disease.”
A healthy liver should contain little or no fat. Estimates suggest about 20 percent of people in the UK have early stages of NAFLD with small amounts of fat in their liver. NASH may affect up to 5 percent of the UK population and is now considered to be one of the main causes of cirrhosis—a condition where irregular bumps replace the smooth liver tissue, making it harder and decreasing the amount of healthy cells to support normal functions. This can lead to complete liver failure.
Common risk factors for both NAFLD and NASH are obesity, lack of physical exercise, and insulin resistance. But if detected and managed at an early stage, it’s possible to stop both NAFLD and NASH from getting worse.
The new method of NASH diagnosis will undergo further investigation with a view to developing a simple blood test that can be used by clinicians to provide effective medical care for patients at high risk of the disease.
The findings are published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Source: Cardiff UniversityUpcoming fighting game Injustice 2 is getting a local tournament with a R60K prize pool. The winner will also receive an entry to the VS Fighting tournament in the UK with an all-expenses-paid trip to the event in August.
This local tournament will feature various online battles, each taking place on the dates below, and culminates in a LAN final. Each of the online matches will award points to those on the leaderboard, and the top four players after the June 25th tournament will be entered into the final in Gauteng.
21st May 2017 – Online Tournament [Non – Qualifier Warm Up]
28th May 2017 – Online Tournament Qualifier 1
4th June 2017 – Online Tournament Qualifier 2
11th June 2017 – Online Tournament Qualifier 3
18th June 2017 – Online Tournament Qualifier 4
25th June 2017 – Online Top 16 Finale
8th July 2017 – LAN Grand Finals
The event is sponsored by PlayStation, and all the games will be played on PS4 exclusively as a result. It’s also restricted to South African citizens aged 18 or older. Make sure you also check out more details on tournament operators ACGL’s website for the full list of Ts and Cs.
A final point worth mentioning is the entertainment at the finals: Jack Parow and Fokofpolisiekar will be playing. We recently interviewed Fokofpolisiekar about their unique position in the SA music scene as well as their decision to crowdfund their newest album, so give that a read while you wait for Injustice 2 to launch on May 16th.Does this man scare you? This man scares me.
Yep, still terrifying
I recently attended areading held at Skylight Books in the appropriately understated, enduringly cool east Hollywood enclave of Los Feliz. During the Q & A session after he read his latest collection's titular piece, Evenson shared a personal story that had occurred in a parking garage just days before. As he was walking to his car one afternoon, he noticed a fluttering object up ahead of him, trapped in the corner of the structure, that appeared to be a distressed bird most likely injured and unable to fly. As he drew nearer, he realized that what he was certain was a bird was actually a dead leaf, rocking back and forth in the wind. This gave him pause, and in pondering what he had just seen, or thought he had seen, he surmised that it could be possible that the bird he first saw may have physically transformed itself into the leaf that he found.This was a quick anecdote, and seemingly innocuous, but as the discussion moved on, this visual vignette and its explanation sent my mind reeling with possibility: When we don't trust our eyes, perhaps we should. When we do trust our eyes, and what information it is relaying to our rational brain, perhaps we shouldn't. Maybe what we think we see but would never dare believe is actually what's absolutely real. Perception can be reality when reality is what we not just perceive, but truly see. Or don't. If a tree falls in the forest and you weren't there to see it, did it not fall?Some may look upon a rocky outcropping, or a hole in the ground, or a cave, and see it for what it is in a physical sense. Some see these things as something else. Yet others can hear a sound in the woods and interpret it as the swaying of trees in the wind, or the movement of harmless animals. A different set of ears, attached to a different brain, infuse those noises with dread, and potential violence. Terror. Strips of meat hang in a cellar. What sort of meat is it? Why are they there? Is this innocuous, or is this horrific? Can it be both?If we do not perceive something to be horrifying, it is not horrifying to us. Similarly, if we find something horrifying, ASSIGN it horror, it will be just that. We should question everything. It would be safer to question nothing.This is heavy philosophical cargo, dealing with the heart and ephemeral soul of physical existence. But more so, these concepts examine the truth or lies of perception, shaded by interpretation, learned bias and ritualized certitude. Perception. Interpretation. Challenging rationalism through a realization of the "supernatural." A loss of control, willingly or not. Dissolution and disintegration.deals directly with these sorts of issues in his novels and especially in his short fiction, collected most recently in, published by Coffee House Press as the fourth piece of a "cover puzzle" that also includes re-issues of(1999),(2006), and(2009). In these seventeen tales, Evenson shows us his wide range of literary darkness, probing at all those spots that hurt and unsettle us most.Since the mid 90's and the release of his brilliant debut collection, Evenson's work has been widely acclaimed, celebrated within genre fiction and without, and keeping him from falling into any easily classifiable genre pigeonhole. Yet he has and continues to write some of the most vital, brutal, and unsettling fiction today. For my money, he writes horror, in the truest sense of the word.In doing so, in writing these horrors, he rarely falls back on the easy crutch of "going supernatural," but instead sets the table with very real forks, knives, spoons, and plates, although arranging them in such a way that you'd swear some outside force was messing with the scene, re-positioning everything in such a way as to hint of a malevolent presence engaged in disorienting us just long enough to take us down.This strain of dark fiction - let's call it the Evenson Strain - gives volume and heat to one of the central chambers in the beating heart of contemporary literary horror, sprouting a strongly pumping artery that is leading us into this new century, depositing us - we platelets - on strange, unsafe shores. Great beasts (rarely) scuttle from crypts or rise from the ocean in Evenson's stories. His horrors somehow seem extraordinarily real, and waiting for us all, fate willing. We are monsters and are surrounded by monsters that are sometimes less monsters than we.Which brings us to, an enviable title that perfectly sets the tone for the stories to come, which include the following standouts:"Black Bark" ushers us into the collection, introducing us to Sugg and Rawley, two men on the run in the old horse American west. Sugg took a bullet in the leg, and is holding out hope for a cabin waiting just around the next bend in the trail. Instead, they settle for a cave, where a "good luck charm" has good missing from a bloody boot, and a story is told in the flickering light of a campfire. The story of black bark, found in the coat pocket of a man who had no idea how it got there. Then, later, another story is told. "'Doesn't matter much one way or the other,' said Sugg. Then he opened his mouth wide and smiled. It was a terrible thing to watch. Rawley began to be very afraid.""A Report" reminds me of Kafka (which makes sense, considering Kafka's influence on a young Evenson, something I found out well after making this comparison), only better, soaked with the terror of imprisonment without reason, without end, and - possibly the worst part - without explanation. The tricks the mind plays, and the victims becoming the instigators."The Punish" explores the enduring power of childhood trespasses, performed in secret, away from adult eyes and rules, and how these actions can shape the rest of a person's life, for good and for ill. This is a tragic tale of never being allowed to forget the past, and the power of karma.In "Cult," one cannot help but think of religious compounds, which include those founded on LDS teaching, that litter the western hinterlands of the United States. The weakness and indecision of our protagonist in dealing with an ex had me seconds from screaming at the page. Reads like a price of slightly spooky contemporary fiction, wrapped tight in personal lamentation and religious critique. Excellent."A Seaside Town" is - simply and crudely put - one of the best pieces of uncanny and weird fiction I've ever encountered. It reads like Ligotti on a Victorian holiday, and makes the mundane into something unsettling, threatening, dangerous. I have no idea why this story scared me so much, why the activities in the courtyard filled me with such disquiet, but they did. All of them. Stories don't frighten me much, but this one did. A masterstroke of the uncanny that left me scratching my head in grateful awe."The Dust" is realistic science fiction Noir, with the situation being very relatable to any locality on any planet. An insidious dust is wreaking havoc on a mining operation, quickly becoming the last of the small crews' problems as they deal with depleting oxygen and the death of one of their own. This is a longer work, a murder mystery novelette buried within a survival tale set on some nameless rock floating in the cold, airless reaches of space, and I couldn't stop turning the pages."BearHeart (tm)" is as harrowing tale of parenthood cut short, and the copping mechanisms employed by the grieving couple left spinning in the wake. You can see what's coming, but you don't turn away, because you can't."Scour" explores the delicate nature of life, the and the long, unending concept of death.The drudgery of the afterlife. If death came for you, would you recognize it? Would you know that you're dead? Once again, dust and grit play a central role"Past Reno" might be the second-best story in, as it gins up dread in ways that you never thought possible, including through the unlikely vehicle of a diner bathroom mirror. This is Evenson at his very best, mining his past and those dry, western landscapes he knows so well, and the darker spaces just under the surface, where things hang from the ceiling that he doesn't want to know at all.With "Any Corpse," Evenson veers into dark fantasy and body horror more associated with Neil Gaiman at his most ghastly, or Clive Barker on any given Sunday. This story shows impressive world-building in a strange, grisly afterlife, weaving a level of strangeness that I found comforting, even inspiring. A surprising tale, and by Evenson's own admission, one of the last two stories he added to the collection at the 11th hour before it went to print. I'm very glad it made it in."Click," confusion, injury, loss of memory, power of suggestion, at the mercy of larger forces that probably don't have your best interests, or your freedom, at heart - a theme that runs through this collection like a cold needle through flesh. Our protagonists could be having a bad dream or an hallucination, brought on by what appears to be a mass murder and near-suicide. But one can never know, if one cannot trust one's own brain, or the reality that it builds from the information at hand. Officials hover around a hospital bedside, bent on interrogation, obfuscation. They threaten, but don't actually harm or kill you, which might be worse. The waiting. The not knowing. The unreliability of perception, and what horror that surely lays just beneath this thin layer of what our eyes, our brain, tells us is real.I could go on, but I feel like that would be doing you a disservice, and more importantly, time's a'wasting. It's now your turn to get down into the dust next to, close your eyes, and see where it is that you wake up, and what your brain now tells you. You might be surprised. No, strike that. Yoube surprised._________________________________________________________________________When I was pretty young, maybe 14, my father gave me a book of Kafka’s stories. It was unlike anything I’d read before and kind of blew my mind. But I was also reading SF writers like Gene Wolfe and Michael Moorcock, and I was watching a lot of horror and thrillers as well—sawwhen I was thirteen and it opened up all sorts of doors for me. Later, when I was in high school, I stumbled into a lot of theater of the absurd stuff that Grove Press had published—Beckett, Ionesco. Then later, when I was a Mormon missionary, I managed to talk my companion into going to see David Lynch’swithout either of us having any idea what we were getting into, and again that was so different than anything I’d read. That movie became a kind of touchstone for me—for many years I had much of it memorized.It took a while, but eventually I somehow just kind of figured that if I could find all of that satisfying, my readers would too, and that those influences should be allowed to talk to one another on the page. Early in my career people would tell me that was a bad idea—one of my first reviews suggested I’d be a good writer once the macabre in me had melted down—but I’ve always been stubborn. Now, it seems to appeal to people.Probably more a change in critic reaction than in reader reaction. I think when I was first writing there were a lot of critics who saw the line between genre and literature as very firm, as more of a wall than a line. They thought you should stay on one side or the other. I watched some early critics go through acrobatics to avoid mentioning the connections of my work to genre, and other critics criticize it for that connection. Now, it’s much more widely accepted that what many of that generation thought of as a wall is more like a line drawn in the sand, and that in certain places the wind has made it so you can’t even be sure where the line is at all.It’s funny: in the early 20th century it was really common to publish collections that would have a mix of stories in them, some of them literary, some ghost stories, some detective stories, etc.—the idea being, I guess, that you trusted the skill of the author and her ability to entertain you no matter what sort of story she was telling. But in the second half of the twentieth century there was more of a tendency to divide things out, to publish a book of literary stories or a book of science fiction stories or of a book of horror stories, but not all three. Now it’s swung back the other way somewhat, partly because of how much good publishing is being done by small and intermediate presses that don’t let their aesthetic taste be guided by their publicity and marketing departments, and partly because the people reading now grew up comfortable with the idea that they could watch an art film on Netflix on Monday, then a horror film on Tuesday, then a drama on Thursday. We’re much more comfortable crossing those genre lines as readers.I think stories are such a rich form, that there’s so much you can do with them. They’re compressed and quick, and as a result every word matters, every word is either helping build something or it’s not doing its job. With novels, there are slack moments, slack passages, places where you have to let the reader rest a little or they’ll be exhausted. In a story, you can keep the tension ratcheted tightly throughout.A Collapse of HorsesIt kind of just turned out that way. Originally I wasn’t aiming for it, but after I had maybe 2/3rds of the stories and was trying to decide what to include I found I had stories that touched on a fairly tight set of ideas and themes but that also felt really different on the surface, were playing with different genre elements. So I made a choice to embrace that.Actually, originally the collection had two other quite different pieces in it which would have made it even more diverse but my editor Chris Fischbach and I decided at the last moment to take them out and save them for a later collection. And then I added in their place “Any Corpse” and “Seaside Town”, both of which were written pretty late. I added them in just before we printed the galleys. “The Blood Drip” was a fairly late addition too, but not as late. It would have been a really different collection without that.It’s funny, I think the moments in my story that are personal are probably not the ones that seem personal. Those personal details are there, but they’re usually hiding quietly in the story, trying to energize it in some way. So, for “The Punish” the situation is completely constructed, but the architecture of the house is a combination of my best friend’s house growing up (who was very different from that character) and a particular open staircase that was in my grandmother’s house. And the vertigo he feels going up the staircase, yes, that’s something I experienced when I was young.“Cult” is loosely based on a story a friend of mine told me about going to pick up his ex-girlfriend at a cult. There, it was really just a question of imagining a character not unlike myself into the situation and thinking about how wrong it could go. The journey in “Past Reno” is creepily closely based on a trip we took through Nevada—all the little details of that trip are things I scribbled as notes while driving, just tweaked to be slightly (but only slightly) weirder. But the father in that story is really different from my own father—though not unlike people I grew up around.With “A Collapse of Horses” it’s a little different: that whole story started with a moment when I was walking through Golden Gate Park with Kristen when we were dating and we came across a paddock that had four or five horses in it, all of them lying down. I’d never seen a horse lying down before, despite growing up in the West, and I wondered if they were sick or, for a fleeting instant, dead. I watched them maybe five seconds before they finally moved. I went away haunted by that, and began to wonder how a more compromised character might take it in.A Collapse of HorsesI think of it first of all pretty literally: perception is pretty problematic, and we seem to have always been insulated from reality in some way or other. I’m interested in thinking about that in two ways, I guess. First, what happens when what we thought of as real or solid suddenly collapses and leaves us in free fall? Second, what happens when we break through one reality into a darker one hiding beneath? So, vertigo on the one hand, terror on the other...But yes, I think there’s a worldview behind that, that has something to do with the impossibility of ever knowing anything for certain, of ever being in a position in which you can trust reality. I don’t think you ever can. That shouldn’t prevent you from living most of the time like you can, but if you’re attentive and have a certain amount of morbid and dangerous curiosity, I think you notice moments when your perception warps or shifts things, where you have to back up and figure out the world in a new way.The covers were designed by my daughter Sarah, who is a visual artist living in Minneapolis, and who has done a few other book covers for other people. My editor had mentioned wanting to have her do a broadside with the release of the four books and she went in to talk with them about that, and then suddenly she was doing the covers. I was a little taken aback, though also very happy with what she did. I like the cover puzzle—though I know it can be frustrating if you already know the books. Coffee House is doing some more re-releases of mine, and I’m hoping we can continue the puzzle, keep expanding the monster.I think it had a big effect. I grew up in a culture that had a strange relationship to art. With movies for instance, as a Mormon you weren’t supposed to watch R-rated movies. But a lot of my friends growing up decided that that it was okay to watch R-rated movies if they were rated R for the violence rather than for sex, that it was okay if they were “only violent.” I think with my first book especially I was responding to that, to the way in which violence had been normalized in Mormon culture (and indeed in the culture at large). I was trying to make violence unsettling again.But there are a lot of other things too. I think there’s a sort of tone to my work that draws on a formal, slightly archaic way of speaking that Mormons can fall back on in worship situations. Because I appropriate that language, I think my work is more unsettling to Mormons than it is to people who are not Mormon. But of course there are other ways of coming at a similar tone—that’s something I respond to in some of your work, for instance, or in some of Matt Bell’s work.In terms of worldview, I think something about being raised Mormon and having left it has allowed me to examine some pretty dark territory, but I’m not sure why—and obviously if I was watchingwhen I was a Mormon missionary I’ve long had an odd relation to the culture. I’ve got a weird combination of ideas I’ve inherited from Mormonism and ways in which I’ve broken from Mormonism. I’m not religious at this point—I’ve formally left the Mormon Church (excommunication) and am happy to be outside of it. But it’s never easy to completely shake your upbringing, and I don’t know that I’d want to.It isn’t actually compulsory and yes, I was a pretty active Mormon for a long time, though I always had a complicated relationship to the religion as you might guess from thestory I mentioned above. I think that my relationship to Mormonism gave the horror I was seeing and watching a certain intensity and resonance that it might not have had otherwise. It felt much more seriously transgressive to me than it might have in another context, and once I started writing it, it felt like I was playing for keeps.I was actually sent home from my mission in France and Switzerland for having broken too many mission rules, and then was allowed to go out and continue my mission in Wisconsin. Eventually, I chose to leave and not complete it. But then, later, after I was married, I came back to it and served in a Mormon bishopric and so was one of three people overseeing a congregation of several hundred. And yet, even while I was doing that, I was taking classes for my PhD that challenged notions of truth and meaning, a lot of contemporary philosophy. I also took a class on the work of the Marquis de Sade. So I was reading de Sade in French during the week and then running religious meetings on Sunday. It was a very schizophrenic life, and I think I was pretty good at compartmentalizing it, and at moments there was something exhilarating about how far it stretched me. I simply didn’t reconcile it and eventually it stretched too far and broke. Having said that, I’m very content no longer being Mormon and am certain I’ll never go back.I think it will. I hope it does. It’s great in any case to be back in the West. I think about writers like Dennis Etchison and what they’ve managed to do with horror and the very particular landscape of the West and I think it can’t help but seep in. But then again, I’ve never really set a story in Rhode Island, so maybe now that I’m out of New England I can write my New England stories...Altmann's TongueIt strikes me as much stronger overall, even though there were giants in the field already established at that time—people like Peter Straub, for instance, or Stephen King or Clive Barker. What I guess strikes me as stronger is the range and variety, and the way in which Weird Fiction has become a strong and varied genre which people give real credence to. There’s just so much going on at the moment, and such great writers—Caitlin Kiernan, Laird Baron, Paul Tremblay, Gemma Files, John Langan, Michael Cisco, Simon Strantzas, Richard Gavin, etc., etc. Even in just that list, there’s such a variety of approaches to horror and dark fiction... So I feel we’re in a period of possibility and expansion, where people are really exploring the limits and possibilities of what the genre can do. That’s healthy, and really great for us as readers, and it shows the genre is still healthy and alive.The Warrendoesn’t come out until September, but a few galleys are floating around. It’s an SF novel, though different from “The Dust”, the SF novella in the collection. In terms of my work, it’s closest toand has a similar kind of meditation on identity and memory. It’s about a person who may not be who he thinks he is, may not, in fact, even be a person at all.Yes. Even now, as we approach the political conventions, we need stories about puppies and bunnies...I have an idea for a long novel and about 75 pages of notes. I’d like to get around to writing that. I’m always interested in new projects as well—I find it very hard to resist something I haven’t done before. For instance, a few years back I got asked if I would write fake subtitles for a Turkish sit-com. “Of course!” I said. I feel like I learn something from doing something outside of my comfort zone, that it’s good as a writer to be shaken out of your complacencies.Besides, I’m working toward a new and selected stories volume and a collected novellas volume with Coffee House Press, but those will be three or four years down the road...You’re welcome! (And are you sure you double-checked the mirror?)_________________________________________________________________________OrderOrderFind Brian Evenson onlineVideo
The parents of a man murdered on his honeymoon in Antigua have said they cannot understand how his killer has been allowed to release a rap song from behind bars.
Physiotherapist Ben and doctor Catherine Mullany, both 31, were shot dead in a botched robbery at their beach villa in 2008.
One of the killers Kaniel Martin, 28, won a prison talent contest and his rap song has been released on the internet.
The other killer, 24-year-old Avie Howell, was shot dead by police while attempting to escape from prison in June 2014.
Ben's mother Marilyn Mullany, of Ystalyfera, Swansea, said: "It's awful, I wish Ben was here to write a song.
"I can't believe he was allowed to do this - it is not something that could happen here in this country."
Martin's brother Akeba Martin recorded and edited the video for the song titled Take Control and posted it online.
He told a newspaper in Antigua: "I was recording the show and then I took the audio of his performance and made it into a video."Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption French Interior Minister Manuel Valls: "The majority must be returned to the borders. There is no other solution"
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls says he stands by remarks calling for the country's Roma (Gypsies) to be expelled.
He said few Roma could ever integrate into French society and "the majority" should be sent "back to the borders".
He has been criticised by human rights campaigners, the European Commission and one of his cabinet colleagues.
Amnesty International is calling for a ban on forced evictions of Roma people in France in a report out on Wednesday.
It says more than 10,000 were evicted from temporary camps in the first half of the year.
It has said Mr Valls' remarks were likely to "perpetuate stereotypes and encourage animosity" among the approximately 20,000 Roma who have settled in France, mainly from Romania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia.
"A theory that such and such a person or such and such a people will never, ever be able to integrate just doesn't stand up," said Mr Valls' cabinet colleague, Arnaud Montebourg, according to Agence France-Presse news agency.
"That's what they said about the Italians, that's what they said about the Spanish, it's what they said about the Portuguese, and what they said about the Arabs.
"Decreeing in advance that it is impossible seems to me excessive and is worthy of being corrected."
Mr Valls was also criticised by the UN human rights body, the European Commission, other rights groups including Roma organisations - some of whom are pledging to take Mr Valls to court for incitement to racial hatred.
'Nothing to correct'
But Mr Valls - a dapper 51-year-old who polls suggest is a rising star in Francois Hollande's Socialist administration - said he saw no reason to correct comments that Roma lifestyles were "clearly in confrontation" with French ways of life.
"I've got nothing to correct," he said. "My remarks only shock those who don't know the subject.
"The majority [of Roma] should be delivered back to the borders. We are not here to welcome these people.
"I'd remind you of [former Socialist premier] Michel Rocard's statement: 'It's not France's job to deal with the misery of the whole world.'"
The treatment of Roma people - who face widespread discrimination in Europe - is a political hot potato in France.
Mr Valls has encouraged local councils to systematically dismantle illegal Roma slums, and offer the expelled residents free flights back to their countries of origin.
He has also been at the forefront of French opposition to allowing Bulgaria and Romania full access to the passport-free Schengen zone.
Mr Valls is himself the Barcelona-born son of Spanish immigrants Mr Montebourg pointed out on Wednesday.Black bear killed in Kerr County Drought blamed for protected animal's travels from Mexico.
State authorities are investigating the killing Wednesday of a black bear by a Kerr County man who says it menaced him.
J.A. Whittenburg V, 33, was walking near U.S. 83 in western Kerr County when the 103-pound juvenile bear approached at 7:20 a.m.
“It made a move and started towards him,” said J.A. Whittenburg IV of his son, an experienced hunter who carries a gun because of his work with exotic game on Las Catarinas Ranch, which is owns.
“It was very close,” he said.
After shooting the bear, they called game warden Kenny Lee, who reported that biologists surmised the bear had traveled from Mexico because of the drought.
“It's unbelievable how many varmints and critters are coming out of the woodwork” seeking food and water during the drought, Whittenburg V told the Associated Press.
“It's unusual but not unheard of for a bear to be found in the Hill Country,” Lee said, noting a bear was killed in Menard County around 2010.
He's investigating what transpired between the bear and the younger Whittenburg.
“You're only allowed to shoot them to protect your life or livestock,” Lee said. “A mere sighting doesn't constitute a threat.”
The American black bear is endangered in Mexico, and threatened and protected in Texas.
As originally published, this story contained an error.A History Of Violence With A History Of Violence, Tom Breihan picks the most important action movie of every year, starting with the genre’s birth and moving right up to whatever Vin Diesel’s doing this very minute.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
People laughed. That’s the thing I remember the most from the sleepy art-house cinema where I first saw Ang Lee’s 2000 wuxia epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The first action scene, with its bodies sailing across rooftops gracefully, in ways that make an absolute mockery of earthly physics, looked strange and beautiful and alien. My crowd didn’t know what to make of it. Hence the laughter. It wasn’t a full-on belly laugh or anything. It was more of a nervous titter. But still: People laughed.
The wire effects of Crouching Tiger—the heroes who can basically fly—were nothing new to audiences in Hong Kong or China. Lee, from Taiwan, had grown up watching movies like that, and Crouching Tiger was, in some ways, the realization of a childhood dream for the director, who’d spent the previous few years making English-language interiority dramas like Sense And Sensibility and The Ice Storm. But Lee knew that he was making something new for Western audiences, for people who hadn’t seen those wire effects create dream-realities in movies like The Heroic Trio or The Bride With White Hair. And so that first action scene was, among other things, an intentional challenge to the movie’s Western audiences. Lee was telling us that we were entering a world where the rules were not the same, where fighters could drift slowly through the air and where nobody would act like that was a weird or unnatural thing.
It worked. It all worked. Crouching Tiger was a true experiment, an expansive and relatively big-budget epic, an action movie more concerned with delicate beauty than with blood-pumping intensity. It was put together by a motley pile of movie studios from four different countries (the U.S., Hong Kong, Taiwan, China), with an all-Asian but international cast whose accents simply didn’t match up with one another. (This was reportedly an issue for some Chinese audiences, but ignorant Westerners like me got to be swept up in the grandeur without that particular distraction.) And even though it had no real precedent in America, the movie clicked, pulling in nine box-office figures and a whole mess of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Unless we’re counting The Passion Of The Christ—and please, let’s not do that—Crouching Tiger remains the highest-grossing foreign-language movie in American history.
Crouching Tiger is absolutely an action movie; its fight scenes, from the master choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping, are intricate and ambitious pieces of art, and the movie exists to showcase them, the same way every musical exists to showcase its song-and-dance numbers. But there’s no impact to any of the blows struck; even when a policeman gets a sickle-blade embedded in his skull, we don’t really get that “daaaaamn” moment that action movie fans live for. Instead, those fight scenes are a delicate dance, the characters’ toughness and intensity often overshadowed by their stillness and their unspoken feelings.
There’s a moment in the movie where Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) tells Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi) that fencing and calligraphy are similar. The movie agrees. There’s a fluid expressiveness, a sense of florid and formal beauty, to the way its characters fight. The point isn’t exhilaration; it’s in the way the characters use fights to express feelings that their society otherwise forces them to bottle up. Every bit as much as the Jane Austen adaptation that Lee made a few years earlier, Crouching Tiger is a movie about societal repression, about characters resolutely sacrificing their happiness, and sometimes their lives, to fulfill a set of societal expectations that they hold as sacred as anyone else.
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As the legendary swordsman Li Mu Bai, Lee cast Chow Yun-Fat, one of the most dapper and charming leading men in Hong Kong cinema history. Chow remains one of the greatest action stars of all time, but before Crouching Tiger, it was brashness and melodrama, not restraint and nobility, that were his calling cards. He wasn’t really a martial artist, either; his best roles had been in John Woo’s gun-fu melodramas. Lee brought something else out of him. In Crouching Tiger, Chow is all stillness and dignity, maintaining his composure even as the world falls apart around him. In what was probably the movie’s most famous scene, Chow whistles through the precarious treetops of a lush, green forest, sword-fighting with Zhang Ziyi’s character while gently lecturing her to change her life. Chow was really up in those trees, suspended on wires, and it must’ve been a terrifying experience. But Chow radiates an absolutely resolute calm. He knew what he |
main event at an ordination is that a man is being set aside for a specific task. I think this is most clearly seen in the village situation in any medieval country where a priest worked his entire life. Monday through Friday he would go out to the fields with his neighbors and look after his flocks or his land and but on Sunday his neighbors would put on their best suits and he would go to church and put on his vestments and would serve the Liturgy for the community as best he could, sometimes with little or no education, sometimes simply using whatever knowledge he had to his best advantage in allowing the community to take part in the Divine Liturgy, for which a priest is necessary, obviously.
When that man dies, the community gets together and has a little think about who will be the next priest and it’s usually another member of the community and it may, in fact, be the son of the priest who has just died. That’s not at all uncommon, and at that point the man is sent to the bishop and the bishop examines the person to find out if there are no canonical reasons why he cannot be ordained—that list is quite long and complicated. And there’s something else there that happens there that I want to come back to in a minute. And then, all being well, the man is ordained. Perhaps he stays around the bishop for a while in order to learn the services and in order to be taught what exactly he needs to learn. Then he goes back to the village and takes on the role of the priest.
So the priesthood for us is a man who is specifically set apart in order to perform a particular service, diakonia, ministry to the community.
What I want to come back to is quite an interesting sort of thing because it shows that there’s a two—dimensional or two ways of looking at this process. One is the relationship between this man, the candidate, and the bishop, and the other is between this man and the spiritual father. And this is the one place in the life of the Church where a spiritual father has a sort of an official role. Usually the notion of spiritual fatherhood is sort of charismatic and sort of ad lib. Someone may or may not have a spiritual father at any given period of time and that’s just how it is. But in order to be ordained, the man has to go to a spiritual father, someone that he knows, and the process is usually, although not always, to give a life confession. Part of that process is to allow the man to turn over a new leaf, to start a new life, which is the pastoral thrust of what’s going on there. And part of it is to see whether in fact there are in fact canonical impediments to his ordination.
So the process of towards ordination is on two paths. One, the official path, which is hierarchical and is of the power of the bishop, and the other, which is charismatic in nature because the man can choose his own spiritual father and depends on the relationship between himself and that spiritual father. To this degree the bishop is not the spiritual father. It’s usually a priest, someone else. That balance is something that which needs to be seen in the life of the Church, I think, in general. That there is a hierarchical structure in the Church which shows how things happen safely. The bishop is the archpastor of the diocese, the parish priests are his representatives in the parishes and so on, and the life of the Kingdom is then transmitted, as it were, from the diocesan middle, the bishop through his priest, to his people.
The priest never, incidentally, stands at the altar by right. The most an Orthodox priest ever does is to represent the bishop. And the presence of the antimension on the alter is an indication of that fact.
But there is also, as the practice suggests, the second notion that there is another sort of structure going on, the spiritual structure where a person is free to choose his own spiritual advisor, to discuss problems with him, to get support from him, if need be to get some direction from him and under extreme circumstances, I would say, to receive some sort of remedial advice from him in the form of- penance is not the right word because that doesn’t belong to our system at all. The word is epitimia and it suggests something like a directive, but I would have to say that these epitimias, these penances, if we to use that word, have to be used with extreme caution. But let’s talk about that…
Steve: Yes, that’s something I want to address at a later time.
Fr. Meletios: So what does the man get when he is kneeling there on one knee if he is being ordained deacon or on two knees if he is being ordained priest or on both knees plus the Gospel on his head if he’s being ordained a bishop. Well obviously, his personality is not affected by ordination. That is not in the way of God’s working. Specifically what the man receives through the grace of the Holy Spirit is the ability to do what the Church needs him to do in his new service, in his new diakonia. So from that point on, a deacon has everything within himself that he needs in order to be a deacon. The priest, the same for what he needs to be a priest, and so on.
Steve: Okay now, can I ask you a question here. I was tonsured a subdeacon a couple of years ago and one of the requirements for that was to be able to intone the Epistle and to read well.
Fr. Meletios: Yes.
Steve: I can guarantee you that after my tonsure I didn’t read any better or…
Fr. Meletios: No
Steve:… was not able to sing any better than I was beforehand. So when you say that a person is equipped to do the ministry that he’s been ordained to, what specifically are you talking about there?
Fr. Meletios: He has the authority to do what the Church requires of him in his new situation. So the priest has the ability to lead the congregation for the Divine Liturgy as long as he has the blessing of the bishop to do so, he has the ability to bless the congregation, he has the ability to teach the congregation, to a limited extent. But his personal character, his personal life- these things need not be touched at all, in any automatic sense. One would hope that the Holy Spirit is able to work miracles even with what … the peoples he’s working with, but that’s not the issue here. There’s no automatic guarantee that the person’s character will change and there’s certainly, certainly no indication that he will suddenly be right about everything. That isn’t given to anybody in the Orthodox Church, even the Patriarch is allowed to be wrong about things.
Steve: So when I heard a parish priest say that when he is vested that every word that proceeds from his mouth is from the Holy Spirit and that what he says in his homily is as important as the Gospel itself, is that what the Holy Spirit does with somebody? When I heard that then I thought, well, what then about all the heretics who were vested and teaching in their parishes? Does the Holy Spirit guarantee that the man becomes an infallibly representative of Orthodoxy by virtue of ordination?
Fr. Meletios: Absolutely not and you don’t really need to use much imagination to see why. I would say that he may have a point in that he should be aware that when he is wearing the vestments he is representing the Orthodox Church to whomever is there and that he has to be extremely careful to show the life of the Gospel, the life of the Kingdom to his people during those times that he is functioning, in that very full sense, as a priest. An enormous responsibility is placed on his shoulders together with the vestments. But as to giving him any personal infallibility, that’s, that’s not true at any level for anyone, that’s not to the experience of the Orthodox Church, at all, none.
That doesn’t mean that a person in a position of authority—a priest, a parish priest, a bishop—doesn’t have to give directives sometimes to his people. Otherwise, why would he have to be there?
Steve: What would be the point, yes.
Fr. Meletios: And sometimes he’s going to do that with some force, just as the father of a family, perhaps, at times needs to discipline his children. That doesn’t necessarily mean, thought, that the man is right. It does suggest that he sort of has the right to do his best but he may not be right at all, he may be entirely wrong on any given theme. So when a priest sometimes has to give, say, directions to a parish council that seems to be completely out of control, then the Church would say, “Well, he has the right to do his best to explain what the Orthodox Church does in a situation like this” because very often people don’t really know. But as for any personal infallibility then the answer would have to be absolutely not.
Steve: And I think that kind of touches on some kinds of things that are spider—webbing out from the core issue. I’ve been in enough different parishes and on parish council for the entire time I’ve been Orthodox and a number of the issues that have come up with priests have been exactly in, you know, those kinds of situations where the priest’s experience of Orthodoxy was perhaps from his personal background, from his experience in, perhaps, being raised Orthodox in a specific culture and trying to bring a large group of converts into his experience of the Church when we’ve come from Episcopalian backgrounds, or Congregational backgrounds where the priest didn’t have that kind of authority. I felt like we were having more of a cultural clash than we were a clash of necessarily authority.
Fr. Meletios: And I thing it’s actually worse than that because the Orthodox Church, with some exceptions in certain periods of Russian history until the last century or so, had no idea what a parish council was. It’s not part and parcel of Orthodox life throughout the centuries. Various levels of participation by the laity in the running of the Church have been seen in the history of the Orthodox Church but during many long periods no such thing has existed at all. And the introduction of parish councils actually adds a problem to, you know, the question of what is the Church actually like? I’ve experienced this, for example, in western Europe where I was in a parish for a while where the priest was trying hard to get the notion of parish council accepted by the people and then used in a way that was acceptable to the Church, because both things have to happen. What you tend to get, first of all, is when the people realize they can have some influence and authority which they never actually experienced before, then they go overboard and think well, we’re running the Church and we can hire and fire the priest, which, of course, is simply not true. A priest is placed or removed only by the bishop. That’s the practice of the Church. There have been elements of congregationalism that have crept in. I’ve seen parishes in this country that treat a priest like, pretty much as, you know, as…
Steve: A hired hand
Fr. Meletios:… the hired hand to the parish council. And that is not the Orthodox practice. But these people don’t know that unless they’re told. Very often they don’t want to hear. By this point there’s a lot of ego involved and usually no one is listening and everyone’s talking. So there are problems there, too.
Steve: So when we have a situation where we have a conflict between at times, the collective wisdom—or the collective egos—of the parish council are in conflict with the discernment or the sensibility of the priest who the direction the parish has to go … how can that work?
Fr. Meletios: The structure across the different jurisdictions is pretty much the same. Parishes are grouped into deaneries, deaneries become part of a diocese, and the diocese is part of the national Church. So, the way to deal with any conflict is first of all to use that structure. If there is a struggle between a parish council and a priest over something trivial or something terribly important, then the first person to be consulted would be the dean of the deanery. If he can’t solve it, then the bishop may or may not get involved or the bishop may appoint somebody to mediate. But there is always a structure in place for this to happen. Once you’ve got parish councils and things like that then you need a structure all the way up. And that’s what the Church in America has done. And this isn’t a bad thing. I think the spirit of America has something vitally important to add to the experience of the Orthodox Church, at least in America. And this notion of sharing of power, checks and balances, is something which I think gradually will become an integral part of our Orthodox life. But in getting there, there are many bumps and grazes and a lot of people are going to be saying a lot of bad things. That’s how we do things. Of course, if the ego were not involved, if we could do this all a spiritual way, it’d be a lot smoother but I haven’t noticed this happen too often at a parish council.
Steve: It doesn’t happen much on any human level.
Fr. Meletios: No.
It is true that across the board you can see at times that the tension is there, that is there, actually works to the advantage of the whole.
Fr. Meletios: Yes.
Steve: There’s a necessary tension. Alternative viewpoints are able to be expressed…
Fr. Meletios: Yes
Steve:… and communicated throughout the parish because of that tension at times and if the people involved are grownups about it, it can work to the advantage of all.
Fr. Meletios: The trouble is when people get into conflict they stop being grown up…
Steve: Exactly.
Fr. Meletios: … and very quickly become like children and not very nice children, either. Our Church is hierarchical, that is not going to change, but how we understand the role of the hierarch in feeding his flock, that may well be given a new coat of paint as the Church becomes more American.
Steve: You see the direction of the American Church becoming more accountable. I take it “accountability” seems to be kind of the watchword among the archdiocese now. You know, the recent scandals with…
Fr. Meletios: There’s been scandals?
Steve: Oh, that’s right, you’re in a monastery, you’re unaware of those things (laughter).
But anytime you introduce accountability into a system that’s been in place for centuries…
Fr. Meletios: It’s a rough ride.
Steve …it’s a rough ride. And the nuances of how to work that out. Of course as you say, the egos of those who are now held accountable and those holding account, there’s a great opportunity for ego display on both sides of that equation.
Fr. Meletios: Absolutely. And we see it, unfortunately.
Steve: Yes.
Fr. Meletios: Quite often. Not when the Church is being the Church but when the Church is misbehaving. When the Church misbehaves it’s neither better or nor worse than any other institution that’s misbehaving. And we have to face that reality, but it is never the whole picture of the Church.
Steve: Yes.
Well, that’s all we have time for today. I have another hour’s worth of material. This week we talked more in terms of the priest and his relationship to the congregation and the parish. Next week we’ll begin the discussion of the priest with the individual parishioner and his spiritual children. So thank you for listening this week. We’ll see you next week on Steve the Builder.What is slut shaming, and why are we all hearing this word more and more?
If you grew up on this side of the sun, you know very well what it means to call someone a slut...and probably how it feels to be called one, too.
Men (and women!) have long used this 4-letter catchall to shame real or perceived female promiscuity—a highly effective way of policing women’s bodies and freedoms. It’s sexist because only girls and women are held accountable for their sexuality proclivities.
Most of the time, boys and men are given a pat on the back and a chuckle for the exact same (perceived) behavior.
Writer Leora Tanenbaum says it very well: “This is the essence of the sexual double standard: Boys will be boys, and girls will be sluts.”
Sexy vs. slutty
Women are supposed to be sexy, though, don’t get it wrong. Endless “advantages” come with hetero-feminine sexiness, right?
But it’s a fine balance, you see, between sexy and slutty; one has to be sexy without calling attention to one’s sexiness. It’s almost as though one needs to be sexy while appearing not to know it, or not to have planned it. If a woman lacks the mystical ability to pull off this exquisite charade, she may just get labeled a “slut.”
Slut-shaming in the media
Slut shaming is certainly not new. Monica Lewinsky was called “a little tart” in the Wall Street Journal in 1998. Twenty years on and Lewinsky is still ridiculed, a walking punch line for oral sex. Bill seems to have shrugged it off.
White radio show host Don Imus referred to black members of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” in 2007.
Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a “slut” in 2012 after she advocated for no-copay birth control.
Embodying the fuckery far too well, Urban Dictionary’s definition of slut-shaming is itself a shockingly violent example of slut shaming.
Men and women have been shaming women (for no reason) and excusing men (for no reason) forever. And ever.
What is new is that acts of slut shaming are easier than ever in the age of social media. What happened to Rehtaeh Parsons of Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2011 is a horrifically familiar tale to many: a few weeks before her 16th birthday she was sexually assaulted at a party, and one of the boys involved took a photograph that promptly circulated at her school. The online bullying began when she went to the police and the investigation began, and it continued right up until she committed suicide. Her mother said she was receiving e-mails from both boys and girls, mocking her and calling her a slut.
So in the case of a sexual assault, the victim/survivor may be assigned the slut identity as a mode of blame—to rationalize the crime and protect the assaulter. Makes total sense, right?
And flipping it back around, once a girl or woman is regarded as a slut, she becomes a target for sexual assault.
Regardless of which direction this misogynist bullshit flows, all these possible scenarios perfectly encapsulate what many of us now recognize as all-pervasive rape culture.
Reclaiming sluttiness
Some women refer to themselves as sluts in order to reclaim the word and empower themselves sexually—to show they’re comfortable with themselves. Unfortunately, while there is power in this act, women are often targeted, and sexually assaulted for claiming such power. Women of colour are more at risk because many white people are influenced by the racist belief that they’re inherently sexually wild and thus deserve to be shamed.
The SlutWalk is a transnational movement of protest marches calling for an end to rape culture, including victim blaming and slut shaming of sexual assault victims. Participants protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies began in 2011, in Toronto, after a Toronto Police officer suggested that "women should avoid dressing like sluts" as a precaution against sexual assault. Rallies now occur worldwide.
Slut-shaming is violent and makes the world a shittier place
In 2014, 22-year old Elliot Rodger vowed to “slaughter every single spoiled, stuck-up blonde slut” that had rejected him, and went on a killing spree in Isla Vista, California, killing six people and sending seven more to the hospital with serious gunshot injuries. This was anything but an isolated act. There are real and devastating consequences to slut shaming.
The slut class act
In 2004, two researchers conducted a study at a public university in the Midwest and found that women’s attitudes about sex were influenced by their families’ incomes; economic inequality drove many of the differences in the ways the women talked about appropriate sexual behaviour.
The more well-off women generally viewed sluttiness as “trashiness,” generally relating it to an inability to dress and behave properly. Meanwhile, the less well-off women would regard the richer ones as “slutty” for their cliques and their rudeness.
The bottom-line here: women police each other, and it’s ugly. And sometimes we do it without even realizing what we’re taking part in.
It’s always a good idea to check your attitudes and beliefs about other women. Doing so can tell us a lot about our own barriers to a healthier, juicier, and more joyful sex life—devoid of shame or self-judgment.
And, of course, it should go without saying that teaching both girls and boys to respect the sexual agency, autonomy and decision-making power of all genders and races can quite literally change the world.WASHINGTON -- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) insisted Monday night that he didn't support the budget sequester put into place last summer that Congress is now trying to get out of. But, well, he did vote for it.
During a debate with his Democratic challenger Wayne Powell, Cantor blamed President Barack Obama for pushing through a debt deal in August 2011 that included a $1.2 trillion sequester, or a trigger for automatic, across-the-board spending cuts set to kick in at the end of this year. The sequester was never intended to take effect. It was supposed to spur lawmakers to come up with a better way to cut trillions in spending. But Congress failed to come up with a bipartisan plan, so the possibility of the sequester taking effect now looms.
As Cantor spoke of the need to cut spending, Powell threw in his face that he voted for the sequester, which includes major cuts to defense spending -- an issue that resonates in the military-heavy state of Virginia. Cantor disagreed.
"Mr. Powell keeps saying that I supported the sequester. As he knows good and well, that's not true," Cantor said. "The president insisted on its insertion into the debt ceiling deal.... We were put in a position where there was no other choice because the president didn't want to go along with actually beginning to address the real deficit issue, which are health care entitlements."
Cantor said Obama told congressional leaders that "the only way" a debt deal could pass is if there was a sequester in it, which meant lawmakers had to choose between swallowing the sequester or having the nation default on its debt.
"What we did is we went and said, 'The House is too important,'" Cantor said. "It's a very scary thing, this sequester. And it ought not go through."
But as bad as it may have tasted, Cantor voted for it, along with more than 170 members of his party. Among them: Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan (Wis.), who also tried to argue last month that he is opposed to the defense sequester that he voted for.A tech blog that paid five grand to the finder of a prototype iPhone is under police investigation, as it seems buying found property is against the law.
Gizmodo paid $5,000 to the chap who found a next-generation iPhone in a bar, and the blog made merry with the device before returning it to Apple - after forcing Cupertino to admit that the prototype was genuine, in writing. But it seems that paying for found property is illegal in California, and now CNET reports that the police are taking an interest.
The prototype iPhone was left in a bar by an engineer who was field-testing it; with the launch scheduled for June it makes sense that Apple would do some field testing. An unknown person picked it up and played with it briefly before Apple remotely pulled the plug. That person apparently tried to return the handset to Apple, but the support desk staff (who don't have access to the goings on in the R&D department) told him it was just Chinese knock-off and not to bother them with it.
So he sold it to Gizmodo, who spent a week taking it apart and then posted the details, causing their servers to melt down as everyone scrambled to get sight of the device (sight only, the software was long gone).
The details are hardly in dispute - extracting every possible value from its purchase Gizmodo has waxed lyrical over every aspect of the iPhone, Apple's reaction, and the career of the poor engineer who left it in the pub, but whether the law was broken is another question entirely.
CNET quotes a California law that requires a person who finds something, and knows who the owner is, to return it or face a charge of theft. Of course, our man tried to return it, but Apple didn't want to know.
Freedom of the press is guaranteed in the US, and Gizmodo counts as "press" in this context, so trade secrets can be published - but this is a physical thing, an actual item for which money was paid, and that changes the situation considerably.
If the police do take action then lawyers on both sides will no doubt explore that in detail - though not Apple's lawyers as criminal offences aren't their remit.
What we want to know is if Gizmodo will be invited to the launch of the handset in June, or if the blog will joining El Reg with the rest of the Apple-offending personae non grata outside. ®In the first installment in this two-part series on consuming REST services with the Microsoft C++ REST SDK, I explained how to start working with the SDK and the asynchronous features to connect to a REST service and execute a simple HTTP GET request. In this article, I explain how to retrieve and send JSON data, work with asynchronous streams, and the different HTTP methods usually required when interacting with REST services.
Working with JSON
In the previous article, I explained how to execute a simple HTTP GET request. Here, I work with a complex JSON response. I'll use a sample REST service based on the ASP.NET Web API introduced in.NET Framework 4.5 that I explained in Access Data with REST in Windows 8 Apps. This image shows an example of the JSON response produced by an HTTP GET that requests all the groups and their items to the REST service in the popular Fiddler Web debugger.
The following lines show the complete JSON response when you make an HTTP GET request to /api/groups. The response includes six groups. The first group whose Title is Cloud has two items. The other groups don't have items.
[ { "Title":"Cloud", "Subtitle":"Cloud Developer", "Description":"Cloud feature articles", "MainPage":"cloud", "Items":[ { "Title":"AMD's Bold ARM Server Gambit", "Subtitle":"AMD's Bold ARM Server Gambit", "Description":"By combining 64-bit ARM processors with server-side technology, the company that led the x86 architecture into the 64-bit world is hoping to reinvent the data center and give itself new life.", "Content":"Content for AMD's Bold ARM Server Gambit...", "MainPage":"cloud/amds-bold-arm-server-gambit/240012549", "Id":"240012549" }, { "Title":"How Atlassian moved a code base of 21,000 files with more than 47,000 commits on its best-selling product from Subversion to Git without stopping the development workflow.", "Subtitle":"Migrating from Subversion to Git and the Lessons Learned", "Description":"It is incredible how the cloud growths", "Content":"Content for Migrating from Subversion to Git and the Lessons Learned...", "MainPage":"cloud/migrating-from-subversion-to-git-and-the/240009175", "Id":"120020304050" } ], "Id":"1" }, { "Title":"Mobile", "Subtitle":"Mobile Developer", "Description":"Mobile feature articles", "MainPage":"mobile", "Items":null, "Id":"2" }, { "Title":"Parallel", "Subtitle":"Parallel Programming", "Description":"Parallel feature articles", "MainPage":"parallel", "Items":null, "Id":"3" }, { "Title":".NET", "Subtitle":"M-Dev", "Description":"The world of Microsoft Developers", "MainPage":"windows", "Items":null, "Id":"4" }, { "Title":"JVM Languages", "Subtitle":"Powered by Java Virtual Machine", "Description":"The world of JVM languages", "MainPage":"jvm", "Items":null, "Id":"5" }, { "Title":"C/C++", "Subtitle":"Powered by C/C++", "Description":"The world of C/++ developers", "MainPage":"cpp", "Items":null, "Id":"6" } ]
The C++ REST SDK uses a single class ( web::json::value ) to represent JSON values and provides the necessary helpers to assist in serialization. The following code shows an example of a Windows console application that uses the C++ REST SDK to make the HTTP GET call http://localhost:58957/api/groups, and extract the JSON response. Then, the code loops over each JSON element and displays their keys and values by using the helpers provided by the C++ REST SDK.
Before using the code, you need to follow the steps explained in the previous installment for your Visual Studio project and execute the ASP.NET Web API example. In addition, you need to replace http://localhost:58957 with the URI and port on which your REST service is running.
// The code includes the most frequently used includes necessary to work with C++ REST SDK #include "cpprest/containerstream.h" #include "cpprest/filestream.h" #include "cpprest/http_client.h" #include "cpprest/json.h" #include "cpprest/producerconsumerstream.h" #include <iostream> #include <sstream> using namespace ::pplx; using namespace utility; using namespace concurrency::streams; using namespace web; using namespace web::http; using namespace web::http::client; using namespace web::json; void DisplayJSONValue(json::value v) { if (!v.is_null()) { // Loop over each element in the object for (auto iter = v.cbegin(); iter!= v.cend(); ++iter) { // It is necessary to make sure that you get the value as const reference // in order to avoid copying the whole JSON value recursively (too expensive for nested objects) const json::value &key = iter->first; const json::value &value = iter->second; if (value.is_object() || value.is_array()) { // We have an object with children or an array if ((!key.is_null()) && (key.is_string())) { std::wcout << L"Parent: " << key.as_string() << std::endl; } // Loop over each element in the object by calling DisplayJSONValue DisplayJSONValue(value); if ((!key.is_null()) && (key.is_string())) { std::wcout << L"End of Parent: " << key.as_string() << std::endl; } } else { // Always display the value as a string std::wcout << L"Key: " << key.as_string() << L", Value: " << value.to_string() << std::endl; } } } } pplx::task<void> HTTPGetAsync() { // I want to make the following HTTP GET: http://localhost:58957/api/groups http_client client(U("http://localhost:58957/api/")); // Manually build up an HTTP request with a header that specifies the content type and the request URI http_request request(methods::GET); request.headers().set_content_type(L"application/json"); request.set_request_uri(U("groups")); // Make an HTTP GET request and asynchronously process the response return client.request(request) // The following code executes when the response is available.then([](http_response response) -> pplx::task<json::value> { std::wostringstream stream; stream.str(std::wstring()); stream << L"Content type: " << response.headers().content_type() << std::endl; stream << L"Content length: " << response.headers().content_length() << L"bytes" << std::endl; std::wcout << stream.str(); // If the status is OK extract the body of the response into a JSON value if (response.status_code() == status_codes::OK) { return response.extract_json(); } else { // return an empty JSON value return pplx::task_from_result(json::value()); } // Continue when the JSON value is available }).then([](pplx::task<json::value> previousTask) { // Get the JSON value from the task and call the DisplayJSONValue method try { json::value const & value = previousTask.get(); DisplayJSONValue(value); } catch (http_exception const & e) { std::wcout << e.what() << std::endl; } }); } #ifdef _MS_WINDOWS int wmain(int argc, wchar_t *args[]) #else int main(int argc, char *args[]) #endif { std::wcout << L"Calling HTTPGetAsync..." << std::endl; // In this case, I call wait. However, you won’t usually want to wait for the asynchronous operations HTTPGetAsync().wait(); return 0; }Content Update 2.6.0 and the Legacy Challenge Leagues launched over the weekend! We're very proud to announce that this was one of our best launches to date. Everything went relatively smoothly and we once again reached a record number of players online at once! Our previous record was set only recently with the launch of the Breach Challenge Leagues, with 80,000 players online at once. The Legacy Leagues peaked at 112,800 players! Thank you so much to everyone who joined us over the weekend!
Leading up to the Content Update 2.6.0 launch we teased many buffed uniques and threshold Jewels. Since the Challenge Leagues launched, the community have found many more items that weren't previously revealed. We've compiled some of those here!
If you're enjoying the Legacy Leagues so far, please consider purchasing a Legacy Supporter Pack and checking out our new Classic Mystery Box! Thank you so much for your support.In his recent article, Sam Harris, a popular critic of Islam, referred to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education activist, as "the best thing to come out of the Muslim world in 1,000 years." Hidden in this comment is the idea that Malala's fellow Muslims are backward and that her religion, Islam, is not conducive to change or progress.
Conversely to the beliefs of Harris and others like him, Muslims have actually made enormous contributions to civilization, perhaps due to the heavy emphasis that Islam places on knowledge. People who forget or blatantly ignore major trends or events in world history can be said to suffer from "historical amnesia." Though this mindset cannot be cured in one short blog post, I hope to dispel some of the stereotypes and misperceptions exacerbated by Harris and other anti-Islam activists by highlighting the contributions that Muslims have made to civilization over the years.
Contributions to education
Malala's quest for universal education follows in Muslims' long and proud history in the field of education. Two Muslim women, Fatima and Miriam al-Firhi, created the world's first university, Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, in 859 AD. For several years, students were schooled here in a plethora of secular and religious subjects. At the end of their education, teachers evaluated students and awarded degrees based on satisfactory performances. The concept of awarding degrees would spread from Fez to Andalucía, Spain, and later to the Universities of Bologna in Italy and Oxford in England, among other places of learning.
Spanish Muslims of Andalucía were especially strong advocates of education and helped to dispel the gloom that had enveloped Europe during the Dark Ages. Between the 8th and 15th centuries, Andalucía was perhaps the world's epicenter for education and knowledge. Spanish universities such as those in Cordoba, Granada, and Seville, had Christian and Jewish students who learned science from Muslims. Women were also encouraged to study in Muslim Spain. This educational environment that stressed tolerance would not reach the "Western world" until the 19th and 20th centuries.
Contributions to philosophy
One of the greatest Muslim contributions to civilization began in the 8th century when Muslim scholars inherited volumes of Greek philosophy. The wisdom in ancient Greece texts, which had been lost to Europeans, was translated from Latin to Arabic by Muslim scholars, thus creating one of the greatest transmissions of knowledge in world history. Muslims scholars would eventually bring the ideas of great ancient Greek minds such as Socrates, Aristotle and Plato into Europe, where their philosophy was translated into other European languages. This is why Muslims are the main threshold behind the European Renaissance and the Enlightenment, two movements that resurrected Greek philosophy and gave new life into a European continent that was bogged down with religious dogma and bloody internal conflicts.
Many Muslim scholars made acquiring knowledge their life goal. Perhaps the most notable of these scholars is Al-Ghazali, a Sufi Muslim who in the 11th and 12th centuries revolutionized early Islamic philosophy by helping develop Neoplatonism, which is often described as the "mystical" or "religious" interpretation of Greek philosophy. At the time of Al-Ghazali's writing, Muslim philosophers had read about the ideas of ancient Greece, but these ideas were generally perceived to be in conflict with Islamic teachings. Al-Ghazali helped synthesize these elements by adopting the techniques of Aristotelian logic and the Neoplatonic ways to diminish the negative influences of excessive Islamic rationalism.
Ibn Khaldun is another one of the most important Muslim thinkers in history. Recognized as one of the greatest historians ever and the founder of sociological sciences in the 14th and 15th centuries, Khaldun created one of the earliest nonreligious philosophies in history in his work, the Muqaddimah. He also paved the way for our expectations of modern-day Presidents and Prime Ministers by creating a framework for evaluating "good rulers," stating "the sovereign exists for the good of the people... The necessity of a Ruler arises from the fact that human beings have to live together and unless there is some one to maintain order, society would break to pieces."
Contributions to health care
Medicine is another crucial contribution to civilization made by Muslims in addition to education and the university system |
be discarded later.
However, for big projects like an ongoing website or application, this technical debt can potentially become unmanageable and hinder development. Let’s see why this happens.
Unsemantic HTML code
This is not a problem of frameworks per se, but I have seen it happen a lot in the most popular ones.
For instance, maybe you’re reading documentation for styling buttons: You might find a code snippet that tells you to use a CSS class for disabled buttons instead of adding the disabled attribute to the <button> tag itself.
There are abundant examples of <div> or <span> where a more semantic tag would be appropriate. And let’s not talk about the <div> inside a <div>, inside a <div> …
Over-specific CSS selectors
Again, this is not a problem intrinsic to frameworks, but something we can observe in the most popular ones: there is a tendency to use very specific selectors to create the CSS rules. For instance:
.table-responsive >.table-bordered > thead > tr > th:first-child
What happens if you need to override some of the properties of your <th>? Then you need to create an even more specific selector! You can’t just get away with creating a generic rule like:
th.important-heading { color: #000; }
Instead you would need to set up a rule like this:
.table-responsive >.table-bordered > thead > tr > th:first-child.important-heading { color: #000; }
What happens in the wild is that nobody wants to write that kind of code. We soon start to see these kind of rules popping up:
th.important-heading { color: #000;!important }
…which only makes the problem worse!
Rules you don’t need
If you include a whole framework instead of just the bits you really need you will have CSS rules you are not actually using.
Of course you can mitigate this with the aid of a post-processing tool to remove unused rules, but the moment you begin to add or remove classes dynamically with JavaScript, you’ll never be 100% sure that you will not need that code.
Unused CSS not only makes your files bigger, which can be a problem for mobile devices that are connected to a cellular network rather than wi-fi, but they make your codebase larger too, and thus harder to maintain.
Owning your opinions and decisions
All frameworks are opinionated. This is not an issue if you don’t have a strong opinion or if yours is the same as the frameworks.
But sometimes you do have strong opinions. For instance, here’s the HTML one framework proposes to create some coloured text labels:
<span class=“label label-warning”>Out of stock</span>
I find these classes redundant, since I like to use only the classes I deem necessary. If that were my code, I would probably only have a class label-warning.
And what if you are a fan of a specific CSS methodology (like “Block, Element, Modifier”) your framework doesn’t use?
Alternatives to frameworks
Write your own HTML and CSS. If you don’t like the markup a framework produces, you should write your own. If the CSS rules a framework provides makes you work inefficiently, you should craft your own rules.
If you need a grid, you can use Flexbox today, which makes crafting a layout much less painful than using floating divs. If you are not familiar with Flexbox, take a look at this MDN guide. If you are curious about how the code might look, here’s an implementation of the Holy Grail layout I did using Flexbox.
In the future we will have Grid! This will make creating layouts a breeze, and you won’t feel the urge to use an existing grid framework ever again. Here’s another implementation of the Holy Grail layout, this time using Grid.
(Note: To see the actual result running in your browser, try Firefox Nightly or the latest Firefox Developer Edition browser —it just works. To view these examples in any other Firefox release, you’ll need to flip the flag. Go to about:config in the browser to enable layout.css.grid.enabled functionality.)
If you just need a UI widget, like a custom dropdown menu, and you don’t want to code it from scratch, you can always grab that bit—instead of the whole framework—or use a 3rd-party component that has no external dependencies.
If you need a design you can use, one reasonable way to use these frameworks would be to grab the Sass or Less sources instead of the generated CSS files. If you do this, you can grab the mixins and create your own selectors, which will allow you to have your own markup. But keep in mind that your site will look exactly like loads of other sites as well!
If you need a way to standardise the UI creation in your project, so people know which code to use and how to add new interface elements, what you are looking for is a style guide (in short, your very own custom framework). You should have one for big projects!
In summary
CSS frameworks may have advantages, but they also have drawbacks that are often overlooked. Be aware of those and also know the tools and APIs you have at your disposal for creating the CSS and markup of your sites and apps.A new campaign that aims to counter images of an “all white” Christmas is to be launched on Thursday to increase the number of black and ethnic minority families portrayed enjoying the festive period.
A series of images of black and ethnic minority families doing things such as wrapping Christmas presents or decorating a tree will be made available on social media platforms under the hashtag #ChristmasSoWhite in a bid to increase the diversity of holiday images.
Nadya Powell, an advertising consultant, was inspired to start the project when looking for images for a school website project on favourite things at Christmas. She was searching for snowball fights to reflect the choice of her six-year-old daughter’s friend, Sara. “I looked at white family upon white family and then looked at Sara, who is black,” said Powell. “I asked her to choose a picture, and she chose the backs of the family’s heads.
Black, white or imaginary? Santa's race has the US in a Christmas kerfuffle | Hadley Freeman Read more
“She was not seeing anything that looked like her and I realised she never did. This beautiful little girl is growing up in a world where on a daily basis she doesn’t see people like her in any media, where a perfect Christmas is a white Christmas.”
Powell believes that Christmas has somehow become linked with the idea of white people and snow. Online searches for families wrapping presents or throwing snowballs produce results that are almost entirely white models.
Powell teamed up with Looks Like Me, a modelling agency that was started because the founder’s daughter wanted to be white “like all the girls in the magazines”, to add balance to the overwhelmingly whiteness of most Christmas images.
The group is also talking to photography distribution platforms about access to the images. Shot by the photographer Helen Marsden, the images of families will also be available on the website www.christmassowhite.com from Thursday.
The campaign has been financed so far by eight large media and marketing groups including Google, MediaCom, Saatchi & Saatchi and Edelman. In an email Karen Blackett, chairwoman of MediaCom, said: “This campaign is long overdue and is so needed.”You may be seeing reports this morning linking 18-year-old Jeremie Boga with a move to Olympique Marseille. Most are vague on whether that'd be a loan or permanent move, but that's because they're going off of secondary sources like Le 10 Sport. In his actual interview with Foot Mercato, Boga makes it quite clear — well, as clear as things can be through Google Translate — that it's a loan he's looking for.
"I must begin to gain experience at the top level and I hope [that will be at] Chelsea next year, [but] if not, why not go toughen me loan." "My first choice would be to stay in England. [But] if there are good options in L1 that match my profile, why not." "A loan at OM? This is my heart club so if I am asked why not! Yes, even in London, I watch all the matches of OM! They started the season very well and now they are in a difficult period. But all is not lost, I hope they will finish the season well."
Boga is from Marseille so it's hardly surprising that he would be happy to go on loan back to his hometown. But, considering that his whole family moved to London when he signed with Chelsea, his first choice is to remain in England (and remain with Chelsea, even!), and he also hopes to make his professional debut in the final three games of this season.
"I'm not frustrated. But it's clear that I'm looking forward to my first official match with the pros, but if I am aware that I am in a big club so I wait and wait my turn. Now we are champions, I hope to make an appearance in a game by the end of the season."
Dear Jose Mourinho, please make it so.
"I am very happy having won the [UEFA] Youth League. When lifting the cup, I thought of our journey and the pride of being European champion." "I think [Mourinho] watched the game on TV, but he told me about the match and congratulated personally."
Jeremie Boga has immense potential. His development will have to be managed very carefully. Here's hoping we make all the right choices.In a county courthouse not long ago, I had the misfortune to witness something that PJ Harvey sings about on her latest album, “Let England Shake.” She may not even fully realize that a little anecdote like this could possibly be related to her work, but it most definitely is. The event in question involves a teenaged young man, his mother, more than one cop, Harvey’s haunting music, and the observations of a rapidly aging homo.
But first, let me tell you about my older brother. He’s terrific. I rely on him heavily, and as my life goes on, I find myself relying on him that much more. In fact, I normally refer to him in capital letters: Older Brother. Some call him Jesus; some Buddha; some just God. There are probably women out there who call him Older Sister. If that works for them, fine. Older Brother, you see, is my conscience.
Based on the look in his eyes and his general cool-guy demeanor, I figured this was a teenager’s scratch at profundity.
Older Brother is bigger than I and handsomer. He never judges, punishes, or condemns. He listens. He is frank, open, and honest about not having all the solutions. He asks questions; I provide answers. When I lash out at him, he doesn’t hit back. Sometimes, we wait out the tough stuff together, both of us shaking our heads.
I hear that researchers are now discovering the evolution of the human conscience, in a relatively short span of human history. At least one writer claimed (haven’t read the book yet) that the writings contained within the Holy Bible denote profound changes in this evolution. He postulated that ancient men may have believed that God existed because the voices of their individual consciences seemed disembodied.
Whatever the reasons for our highly evolved consciences, we have them and we call them by many names. You don’t have to call your conscience anything other than what it is. I have found it quite useful to refer to mine as Older Brother, and I will continue to do so. Those of you with actual older brothers, the kind of brothers that every young boy fantasizes about having, may feel less of a need to do so.
Based on what little I know of her life, it is quite possible that PJ Harvey doesn’t refer to her conscience by any fancy names. From my vantage point, I see a woman my age who was raised on a sheep farm, amidst placid, peaceful creatures, by a father and mother who had their own individual skills, their own work to do, and who gave her the opportunity to be exposed to various sorts of music. Based on her work thus far, that last observation is readily apparent, as she has infused popular sensibilities with a wide-ranging number of styles. I like to imagine that Harvey was left alone a lot of the time to explore life as she wished. (She refused the intrusion of the computer and the Internet for as long as possible, and goes online only when she has something she wishes to research. What are the odds she wasted any time growing up in front of the idiot box?) I know for certain that she had a father around, with the opportunity to experience his presence in her daily life.
That experience is quite important, on multiple levels. Even though I am not close to my father, I had him around constantly in my growing up years, and the benefits reveal themselves every day as I traverse this land mass we call America. There is stability inherent in the presence of manhood. Undoubtedly, and especially when she’s a fine woman, there is stability inherent in womanhood, but the lack of muscle and basic masculine outlook must be, I imagine, a serious lack for those who do not enjoy the experience.
In my mind, however, it is not enough to have a father in the home. There must also be a masculine engagement of the little minds that the father has helped to create. This is where fathering takes on a whole new meaning beyond being a mere sperm bank. I am certain that good fathering leads to a conscience, in the mind of the created, that can function at a much higher level. The absence of good fathering or, at a lower level, the absence of any fathering at all, appears to frequently lead to far more destructive ends.
Enter PJ Harvey’s “Let England Shake,” an album of popular music on par with Benjamin Britten’s classically-oriented “War Requiem.” Both masterpieces concern themselves with essentially the same thing: the effects of an empire’s wars felt directly through individual experience. Both works are somewhat politically ambiguous, but thoroughly unambiguous about war’s ravages on society and the self. Read the opening words of Harvey’s titular song:
The West’s asleep. Let England shake,
Weighted down with silent dead
We’re not going anywhere pleasant from here, folks. Just take a look at what transpired in England a few months after this album’s release. Angry Harry put one word underneath it: feminism. In the sense that many prominent feminists have helped to demonize all men; to shame women into the workplace and out of the hearth; to stand silently by while society turns from small-town sensibility to highly mobile suburban culture infused with the sicknesses of empire, including government schooling, television, and consumerism; I find myself in agreement.
Therefore, Harvey’s strangely upbeat musical ideas and stranger vocal modulations from one song to the next, carried along like a string of bagatelles so that one song cannot be discarded from the whole, have the power of a medieval minstrel standing on a heap of bodies after a battle, pointing out the sorrows created by the wrong ideas and actions, while strumming her autoharp. (And I thought I was done with popular music.)
The man I saw in the courthouse couldn’t be a day younger than 16, but he was already several inches taller than I. He was with a group of people: another young man who didn’t look related to him, his mother, and another woman whose relation to him I also couldn’t identify. He kept the hair on his small, blond head cropped short, atop his long neck and lanky frame, his face shaped by a prominent nose that seemed to draw out the rest, forcing him to slouch. He had the remnants of acne on his jaw and a rather mischievous half-grin on his face. The pink-and-purple tie-dyed shirt he was wearing was scrawled with a gothic design that you would normally find on the back of a biker’s jacket. It featured an eagle clutching something, and beneath the angry beast was a ribbon spinning down below the hem with just two visible words: “ERASE ALL.”
Erase all what? Is that supposed to be profound? Based on the look in his eyes and his general cool-guy demeanor, I figured this was a teenager’s scratch at profundity. Ah, yes. Erase all. That’s what we should do, apparently. Like some nihilistic haiku, it says it all without really saying anything, doesn’t it? Well, it turns out that that’s merely where my mind was going, because when he turned away from me to speak with someone, I saw the same design on the back of his shirt, only up higher so the rest of that swirling ribbon could be read: “ERASE ALL FEAR.”
So it wasn’t nearly as pseudo-profound as I originally thought. It was just stupid. How do you erase all fear? That’s like trying to erase poverty or bigotry. Besides, fear is an emotion. Why didn’t he understand that? We all have fear. Sometimes you can do something about it; sometimes not.
It reminds me of the word “cool,” a word that became popular when popular culture started taking a nose-dive in the 50s, and a word that every generation of suburban, government-educated, and increasingly fatherless Americans has embraced. It still has the same meaning to young people that it did in the 50s, although what comprises being cool changes quite frequently. You can’t be cool wearing the shoulder pads and fluorescent colors that people wore when I was a teenager in the 80s; you can only be ridiculous.
Why should we want to be “cool”? Think about what that word implies. Not hot… not warm… something akin to cold or frozen… aloof… uninvolved… cynically knowing… no fear. Remember Fonzie? He was cool. Fonzie was never afraid. He’d snap his fingers and young women would come running. No man would dare fight him. He successfully erased all fear. Guess what? Kids laugh at Fonzie for entirely different reasons now. He’s ridiculous. He isn’t cool anymore. He also had no parents.
Another woman with files and a suit walked out of one of the offices and spoke to the mother. “Well, what do you think?” she asked. The mother had a half-grin like Erase All Fear, but for different reasons. I didn’t hear what she mumbled to the official lady, but it sounded like the half-grin was pinned to her face out of exasperation. I never saw the father in the hallway, and have no idea of his whereabouts.
Eventually this little group disappeared. A big handsome cop walked past me and down the hallway a little later on, and from the open door of an adjoining courtroom, I heard a man shout, “Stop!” The door quickly closed and the cop kept walking, looking straight ahead. Consequently, I soon forgot about the disembodied voice. A few minutes later, that same door opened again, and Erase All Fear was pushed violently up against the wall of the corridor by two other big handsome cops. He was quickly cuffed, frisked, and taken away, with that cheesy half-grin on his cool face.
I can’t be certain, and I acknowledge that most of my observations are anecdotal in nature, but I strongly suspect that the absence of a father on that day in the courthouse was no mere coincidence. I also strongly suspect that Erase All Fear has no Older Brother to talk to. At least, not yet. Perhaps his mind is too far away from his conscience at this point. But there is also a chance, I hope, that one of the big handsome cops that cuffs him in the future might actually be able to ask him a question or two that wakes up his Older Brother for him. Maybe it happened that day with the cuffer or the frisker. I don’t know.
I remember one time when it happened for me. I was in conversation with one of my local church leaders. Back when I was a religious conservative and unhappy about being gay, I was having one of my many personal interviews with this guy. These interviews had become routine, and involved confessing my many terrible “sins.” In spite of my ideological differences now, this one particular leader did me a great service. In the turmoil of my personal life, he had the decency to tell me plainly that he had no idea how to help me (something that Older Brother sometimes says). But then he asked a question that changed my life. Eyes searching up towards the ceiling for something – anything – to help me, he asked, “Do you have any buddies?” I answered without hesitation and startled myself with the answer: “No.” Eventually, that fatherly remark – a simple question: no lecture, no advice, no threat, no bribe nor diatribe – led me out of a cycle not unlike the one currently drowning Erase All Fear.
That’s what fathers are for: building your conscience. Fathers who fail to do that, and mothers who take their children away from fathers who can do that, are creating miniature Erase All Fears as we speak. I know it. I think PJ Harvey knows it. And now you know it.
Therefore, I have a question for all you feminists out there: What are you going to do about it? Before you answer, I suggest you download a female musician’s latest album and take a good hard listen to the wildly shifting tone of her voice, which some have errantly described as “childlike.” It is nothing of the sort. Being a fully grown woman, Harvey cannot truly ape a child’s voice. She can, however, affect a higher register, like she does in the opening number as well as several others, but only in a way that seems hideously condescending, the way some women (and even men) do from time to time in order to ingratiate themselves to little people that they perceive to be inferior and somewhat stupid. It is deliberately seductive, until it turns into the wail of an angry and grieving woman:
What is the glorious fruit of our land?
Its fruit is deformed children…
What is the glorious fruit of our land?
Its fruit is orphaned children.
There is more than one war going on right now, ladies, but the outcomes are always the same. Consider yourselves warned. And good luck erasing the fears about to be unleashed, many of them without conscience and without fathers.Looking for news you can trust?
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With so many environmental groups sporting similar names and missions, what’s an interested citizen to do? How can anyone distinguish between the “Center for Whale Research” and the “Institute for Cetacean Research”? Between “Wildlife Trust” and “The Wildlife Trusts”? “The Ocean Conservancy” and “Conserve Our Ocean Legacy”?
You can—and must. The Center for Whale Research, for instance, monitors killer whales in the Pacific Northwest, but the Institute for Cetacean Research is a front group for Japanese whaling interests. Very different. Wildlife Trust is a group for empowering American scientists, while The Wildlife Trusts is a leading coalition of conservation activists in the United Kingdom. And, well, The Ocean Conservancy and Conserve Our Ocean Legacy are on the same side of the issue and both operate from Washington, D.C.
The list below summarizes the work of many groups that work for the ocean, as well as a handful of the organizations working against the ocean under misleading names and mission statements. (This survey is not exhaustive. For a more complete list of bona fide organizations, see here.)
GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS WITH MARINE CAMPAIGNS
Environmental Defense: Originally the Environmental Defense Fund, this group’s founders brought a lawsuit against the government to ban DDT—a novel concept at the time. Forty years later, the group has 400,000 members and leads a variety of environmental campaigns, including Oceans Alive, an all encompassing effort to maintain the health of the oceans. The campaign’s website explains which species of fish are high in contaminants and which are being farmed responsibly, and fights for more ecologically sound regulations on fishing, as well as protections to save reefs and lagoons around the world.
Sierra Club: The oldest and largest environmental group in America, the Sierra Club has 750,000 members. A subsidiary called the National Marine Wildlife and Habitat Committee tackles an ambitious agenda that includes: permanent protection for the environmentally-sensitive areas that are now covered by a moratorium on offshore oil development; sustainable fishery regulations; proper construction and implementation of the Marine Mammals Protection Act and Endangered Species Act; ending active sonar programs by the U.S. Navy that may endanger marine mammals and other ocean wildlife; and the monitoring of international agreements such as the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling.
Wildlife Conservation Society: This global organization seeks to save wild animals and wild spaces. Its Marine Conservation Program creates and provides crucial scientific information related to the maintenance, conservation, and recovery of marine wildlife populations and the habitats that support them. These efforts are undertaken by field scientists working in over twenty countries.
Greenpeace: Thirty years ago this organization sent inflatable dinghies into the high seas to stop Russian whaling ships, thereby ushering in the Save the Whales movement. In November of 2005, Greenpeace went at it again, trying to stop massive Japanese whaling boats with a much smaller ship and several inflatable rafts. In addition to anti-whaling efforts worldwide, Greenpeace works to preserve deep sea life and protect oceans from pollutions and oil spills.
Humane Society: Having recently celebrated its 50 year anniversary, the Humane Society can boast of being the largest animal protection organization in America. It works towards the protection of marine mammals from commercial fishing, boat collisions, entanglements in fishing gear, and beaching-related dangers, like sonar. It is leading the fight against the Canadian seal hunt, and its website offers a guide that dolphins and whales should swim free in the ocean, not entrapped in Sea Worlds and zoos.
World Wildlife Federation: The World Wildlife Fund offers a global program for saving the ocean and its inhabitants. The WWF works with the media and lobbies policymakers in dozens of countries, while advocating solutions on an array of areas, including coral reefs, sustainable fishing, no-take zones, and oil and gas exploration.
Defenders of Wildlife: Known primarily for its work defending endangered species and their habitats, Defenders of Wildlife drafted and helped enact laws protecting dolphins from tuna nets. The group helped convince the UN to ban high-seas, large-scale driftnet fishing to help save dolphins and other species. The organization also helps create marine sanctuaries, as seen during their campaign for the reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1994.
GROUPS THAT FOCUS ON PROTECTING THE OCEAN
The Ocean Conservancy: This group advocates healthy ocean ecosystems and opposes practices that threaten marine life. Through “research, education, and science-based advocacy,” the group empowers people to speak and act on behalf of the oceans. Its website features congressional action alerts, petitions, a quarterly magazine, and free e-cards.
Ocean Futures Society: This global organization was founded by Jean-Michel Cousteau, and emphasizes the exploration of the ocean, using videos and books to illustrate the importance of the ocean for the survival of all life on the planet. Its website allows interested parties to sign up for a cruise with Cousteau or for the “Jean-Michel Cousteau Family Camp.”
Marine Conservation Biology Institute: This group functions as something of an ocean think tank, bringing scientists together to examine marine conservation issues and sign public letters and statements. It also does policy research to “frame the marine conservation agenda” and produces publications to educate scientists, the public, and decision-makers.
Global Coral Reef Alliance: This group focuses on coral reef restoration, marine diseases, and other issues caused by global climate change, environmental stress, and pollution.
SeaWeb: This organization focuses on communications and marketing to protect the oceans. Among other objectives, it seeks to amplify the voices of ocean conservationists in the media, trains local scientists in the Asian Pacific on communication skills, and used to advocate for the ocean using 90-second radio spots. It brings together parties concerned about seafood—chefs, activists, and fisherman—at its Seafood Summit.
GROUPS PROTECTING WHALES AND OTHER MARINE MAMMALS
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society: As the name would suggest, this group works for the conservation and welfare of whales, dolphins and porpoises.
American Cetacean Society: This organization protects whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their habitats by educating the public about the problems these animals face. It also provides teachers’ guides and fact sheets on marine mammals and allows interested parties to join the group’s whale watching trips to Baja.
Ocean Mammal Institute: OMI says it is “dedicated to awakening peoples’ minds and hearts to nature’s interconnected harmony.” The group provides in-depth research and carries audio files of whale songs on its website.
International Marine Mammal Project: The International Marine Mammal Project hits all of the major challenges facing marine mammals—eliminating threats to dolphins posed by the tuna fishing industry, keeping commercial whaling illegal around thew orld, and promoting sustainable fishing and the responsible travel through marine habitats.
Seaflow: This educational nonprofit organization fights sonar and other noise pollution that disrupts the ability of marine mammals to communicate and navigate. The group’s website tracks the continued use of sonar by the U.S. Navy in whale habitats.
Wildlife Trust: This group empowers local conservation scientists to protect nature, safeguard ecosystems, and defend marine mammal species from extinction.
GROUPS PROTECTING FISH AND PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE FISHING
Marine Fish Conservation Network: This coalition contains over 170 national and regional environmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing groups, and aquariums. It is dedicated to conserving fish and to promoting the long-term sustainability of their populations, and its website keeps a running tab on fish-related legislation in Congress.
National Coalition for Marine Conservation: Supported by many of the same funders as the MFCN above, this group is “dedicated exclusively to conserving ocean fish, preventing overfishing, reducing fish bycatch, and protecting marine habitat.”
GROUPS WORKING ON MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, POLICY, AND EDUCATION
Earthjustice: This non-profit public interest law firm is dedicated to protecting oceans, land, and wildlife—”because the earth needs a good lawyer.” Its website has an explanation of major cases concerning the ocean that are currently underway.
Oceana: At work in North America, South America and Europe, Oceana is a group of “marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates” that work for policy changes to lessen cruise ship pollution, eliminate destructive fishing practices, reduce seafood contaminants, and prevent the collapse of fish and marine mammal populations. Ted Danson is a board member.
Conserve Our Ocean Legacy: Aimed at public education and raising awareness of the threats of over-fishing, bycatch, and habitat destruction, representatives of COOl went on a 3-month tour of 11 states, presenting a 45-minute slide show to “hundreds of groups ranging from students to divers to recreational fishermen.” The group’s website has videos on each of the challenges facing marine life, including one starring a comedian from Comedy Central.
Blue Ocean Institute: A group that “works to inspire a closer relationship with the sea through science, art, and literature.”
Bluewater Network: Known for their campaigns to stop environmental damage from cars and cruise ships, Bluewater Network also fights to protect public lands and to stop global warming.
GROUPS WORKING ON ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
Earth Policy Institute: The Earth Policy Institute publishes research that examines the feasibility of an environmentally sustainable economy and the means to get there. Its website carries video of public appearances by staffers, as well a schedule of future appearances.
GROUPS PRODUCING ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
Pew Institute for Ocean Science: The institute and its fellows conduct, sponsor, and promote scientific research aimed at protecting the world’s oceans and the species that inhabit them. Their regular rotation of projects includes a global assessment of shark populations and advising small African countries on sustainable fishing.
Ocean and Climate Change Institute: This organization works to identify the effects ocean circulation patterns have on global climate.
Ocean Life Institute: This group searches for ways to sustain healthy marine environments and explores how ocean life informs science on the origin and evolution of life on Earth.
Coastal Ocean Institute: This organization promotes scientific research into coastal waters and ecosystems. Last year, the Institute monitored the “red tide” phenomenon in the Northeast.
ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS WITH DECEPTIVE NAMES/MISSION STATEMENTS
International Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources: This group suggests pronouncing its name “if nar,” as though the word “conservation” weren’t even part of the name. It’s only fitting for an organization that serves as a front for anti-environmental interests. While the group’s website states its mission as “to communicate, educate, evaluate, and advocate for the environmentally sound, ethical, socially just, and sustainable use of Nature’s resources,” this actually translates into working to loosen environmental regulation, increase corporate profitability at the expense of the earth, and dishonestly attacking environmental groups and activists.
Sustainable Use Parliamentarians Union: A subsidiary of the IFCNR, this organization supposedly brings together elected officials and government appointees (“parliamentarians”) from around the globe together to discuss “the sustainable use of Earth’s natural and renewable resources.” In reality, SUPU’s two conferences—one in Japan and the other in New Zealand—proclaimed support for virtually any commercial fishing interest, most notably whaling. Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA), was SUPU’s founding chairman, and read their resolution declaring that the international moratorium on whaling a violation of human rights into the Congressional Record.
The Institute of Cetacean Research: There are a couple ways to get around the international moratorium on whaling, and disguising your whale catch as “science” is one of them. Under this rationale, the Japanese were allowed to “take” 450 minke whales last year. This government-funded organization does not publish its findings in scientific journals, and most of its research does not pass muster with the International Whaling Commission, the regulator of whaling worldwide.
U.S. House Committee on Resources: Welcome to the environmental doublespeak capitol of the world. This committee, chaired by Rep. Richard Pombo, is supposed to look after energy, fish, wildlife, forests, and water. Its website prominently displays articles such as “ANWR – Putting it in Perspective,” “Drilling Won’t Harm the Environment,” and “Modernizing the Endangered Species Act.” It is also home to the Healthy Forest Act, which granted developers and logging companies more access into national forest. Chairman Pombo supports drilling for oil off-shore and in ANWR.So, for many months now I’ve been extolling the virtues of the killer combo that is a Razer Blade paired with a Razer Core. I know of 3 colleagues I talked into the pair, plus many more whom I’ve planted the seed in and may or may not have pulled the trigger without me knowing. It’s a great setup, especially if you want to move away from having “too many computers” and, like me, have a core gaming desktop as well as a day to day laptop.
In August, my MacBook Pro’s video card started to give out. It’s 4 years old, so it’s understandable and no hard feelings. After much research I decided to take my own advice and buy the recently released New Blade from Razer and pair it with a Core with a 1080 inside. About the start of September, I went to pull the trigger and that’s where the fun began. What follows is a timeline of the absolute comedy of errors that began that is so ridiculous I can’t even be mad… and only just laugh at this story. It’s a long read, but that’s because it’s a meticulously detailed timeline of events for maximum impact and reliability. I promise you it’s worth the read.
Sept. 5th – I finally decided to pull the trigger and to order a Core and Blade combo to replace my desktop and aging (and literally melting) MacBook Pro laptop all in one go. First tried to go online to the special Partner store, since as a employee of a game studio partnered with Razer, I am able to get a few minimal but none the less nice discounts. Unfortunately, the promotion they are running for $100 off a Core when purchasing a New Blade is not offered on the Partner store. Also, no New Blade’s are listed on the store either, only the legacy ones. (As I learned later there is a 3 month lag for new products on the partner store. Lame, but I can rationalize the reasoning on that to some degree and no major complaints).
I then went to the regular store url/login with my personal account. The promotional bundle was offered, but the New Blades were currently listed on back-order with no date for future availability. The only option is to sign up to be notified when on sale… so I signed up and eagerly wait!
Sept. 21st (ish) – I receive an email stating the New Blades will once again be shipping in October, and are preorder-able on Oct 2nd at 9 am PST. I set an alarm to remind myself to hop on immediately at that time and preorder one, just in case.
Oct. 2 – I hop out of bed bright and early in my hotel room at Twitchcon and ordered my New Blade and Core together at 9:02 AM just as it unlocked. The Core is listed to ship on Oct 14th, and Blade Pro is listed on back-order until Oct 28th. Remember this. 😉
While ordering, I found code online for a free $49 messenger bag if ordering a Blade. I put the code in, because I love free stuff! The order form accepted the code and confirmed the free bag. 6 hours later, the order confirmation was emailed to me (seems kind of long? Was a bit worried something went wrong up until then due to demand or something.)
I also discover at this time that the $100 off discount was not applied. Apparently you don’t get it automatically? The discount appears to be emailed as a promo code as part of the order confirmation email, once your order has been processed and subsequently confirmed. Instructions state it must be applied separately to a different Core order to be claimed?!
Oct. 4th – After chatting options with a friend at Razer for advice, I reached out to Support to find out how to get the $100 credit applied to my order. unfortunately, the support form is limited to 550 characters only. No email, no phone. Very hard to explain most problems in so few words but I managed it. The Support form gave me an auto email to expect a reply in up to 1-2 business days, as to be expected. Later in the same day, I received an unrelated email stating the following:
“Thank you for ordering from the RazerStore. As indicated during checkout, one or more of the products you ordered is currently unavailable and cannot be shipped. You will receive an email notification when your order has been shipped.
Estimated |
step is to acknowledge that you are addicted. The second is to understand why. Only then can you work on rehabilitation.
“The intervenor” is always a solution to a problem. Alcohol for stress, hacks for urgent production issues, overtime for pressing deadlines. What might be the benefits of looking into the root causes of these problems rather than jumping at solutions? What conditions might need to be in place for you to be able to do so?
Retrospectives in scrum are a great opportunity to delve deep into root causes and I’ve personally found exercises such as “the 5 whys” to be invaluable in looking beyond mere symptoms. Frequently however, individuals and teams lack the power or autonomy to address root causes that are beyond their remit. These circumstances are much more difficult to address in my experience, and success depends heaviliy the willingness of individuals at all levels in an organisation to listen, to empathise and to attend to the needs of themselves and others.
As with many illnesses, prophylaxis (prevention) is the best approach and recognising when you’re descending into addiction is vital.
Rule Beating
You have a problem with rule beating if you find something stupid happening because its a way around a rule.
Part 1 described how drivers commonly slow down erratically for speed cameras only to speed up again once the threat to their licence and bank balance is past. The rule looks to the law as if it’s being upheld, but it’s being beaten. This might be described as following the letter rather than the spirit of the law.
Back in software engineering land you may have been subjected to rules that require lengthy sign-off for permission to start work estimated at more than x days. If this resulted in a glut of x-1 day estimates you’ll have witnessed rule beating. @matthewpskelton mischievously and ingeniously suggested after reading part 1 that this exact rule could be used to encourage small batch sizes. This might just work, though I imagine that an organisation which is aware enough of systems thinking to use false bureaucracy to dirty double cross their employees might be able to think of better ways to reduce batch sizes.
Talking about better ways, why are rules needed in the first place? Is it because organisations don’t trust their employees? Is it because organisational needs contradict the needs of employees, requiring behaviour to be brought into line with the threat of punitive action? Is it because organisations find it so difficult to describe their purpose and principles that the only way they can get their needs met is through the threat of punishment?
This last question just might contain the vaccine for rule beating. Purpose and principles trump rules any day of the week. What is your team’s purpose and what principles do you live and die by? Answer this question and you might not need rules and you certainly won’t need to keep a sharpened stick under the desk with which to threaten transgressors. The police force have a a tough job in improving road safety as they have an entire population to contend with. Organisations have it easier in that they can select who works for them. Does your hiring process ensure that the people who you’re courting share your principles and agree with your purpose? If not you’ll have to get busy making rules.
Seeking the wrong goal
You have a problem with rule beating when you find something stupid happening “because it’s the rule”.
The L Bomb
We looked at the legend of King Midas in part 1, who made a wish which he thought would bring him riches but merely brought him gold. Like wishes in fairy a tale, goals have a terrible tendency to produce exactly and only what you ask them to produce, so be careful what you aim for.
If you wish to increase code quality but define your goal in terms of increasing unit test coverage, you’ll increase your unit test coverage. Whether your code quality will increase at the same time is anyone’s guess.
If you wish to generate more value for your clients but you express this goal in terms of velocity increase, your velocity will increase. As for value, who knows? Add in a dash of rule beating and you might also find that the velocity increase is a mirage.
This of course is not to say that aiming to increase test coverage is a bad thing. Neither is aiming to improve development speed, or to hit enforced deadlines or to become ‘more agile’ or to improve your findbugs, checkstyle, PMD or lint metrics. Just don’t expect these goals to change anything else. They might do, but then again they probably won’t. Such goals can be genuinely helpful, important even, but they are rarely the goal. They are however easily measured: something which can’t be said for vague concepts such as “business value” or the extent to which users’ needs are being met.
What about happiness?
What about love?
Whoa there…did I just mention the “L” word? If you’ve tested the waters with the E-Bomb, try the L-Bomb out for size and watch on in amusement as the starch in your colleagues’ collars starts to run.
The infeasibility of measurement shouldn’t however preclude something from being the genuine goal. Furthermore, if proxy goals are leveraged for performance management it’s easy to see how the genuine goal can be subverted by the desire to hit proxy targets.
“It is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it — a costly myth” ~ W E Deming
Eric Reis’s Lean Startup warned against the folly of vanity metrics: measures that boost the ego but yield nothing in terms of learning. I’m not even going to attempt to offer ‘advice’ on what your true goal is. This is something that only you can answer for yourself.
Just a hint though: If you do summon up the courage to ask the question and the answer comes back as “maximise shareholder value”, please don’t feel ashamed to vomit all over the boardroom table before politely excusing yourself, because frankly we’ve all got better things to do with our lives than that.
Summary
Though maybe, just maybe hold onto that breakfast… shareholder value, as dry and uninspiring as it sounds, is a desired outcome of many systems. It might not be the primary goal (rather it is frequently a good indicator of success) but everyone in a system has needs. Including shareholders. If you can put yourself in the shoes of the multiple actors in a system and see what they see, feel what they feel, even for a moment, you’ll have done something so vanishingly rare that you’ll shine brightly in whatever you choose to do with your life.
So is Admiral Ackbar right? Surely he knows a trap when he sees one. Are these traps no longer traps?
Of course they’re still traps, but that’s not really the point. The point is in recognising the situations that confront us for what they are, and in the ability to view a system as a whole rather than just the small piece which hovers in front of our noses.
After part 1, a few readers expressed a need for answers. I’ve tried to walk the tightrope between patronising prescription and unhelpful vaguery.
The silver bullet. This doesn’t exist.
The funny thing is that we’re often stuck in a perpetual search for the silver bullet, and a bullet, silver or otherwise is a hopeless metaphor for the solution to systemic problems (and most problems are systemic). A bullet’s trajectory is determined before it’s fired, it travels in a perfectly straight line, and takes out a small, single target. If systemic problems could be solved via such crude means, the world would be a rather different place than it is today. Hopefully this pair of posts has shown that solutions can affect systems in ways beyond initial intention and this is as true in software development as it is in the ‘real’ world. As a software engineer I sometimes feel that the problems that I face are unique to my narrow discipline and it’s comforting to me that in systems thinking I can lean on the experience and learnings from disciplines as diverse as ecology, politics and sociology to help broaden my perspective.
Would you be willing to share your thoughts with me about how this has helped — or failed to help you in your search for answers?
Further reading
Follow me on twitter @smrimellCracking jokes and ad-libbing, the new pontiff addresses the world's media and explains why he chose to name himself after St Francis of Assisi. Lizzy Davies reports from Vatican City
Pope Francis declares: 'I would like to see a church that is poor and is for the poor'
As he walked on to the stage of the Vatican's vast Paul VI audience hall on Saturday, Pope Francis was still wearing the white cassock, plain crucifix and black shoes that have characterised his fledgling papacy's pared-down aesthetic.
In his first encounter with the thousands of weary journalists who have been covering the Vatican in recent action-packed weeks, the first Latin American and Jesuit pontiff endeared himself to them by expressing gratitude for their labours. "You've been working, eh?", he chuckled, in the informal style that is fast becoming his trademark.
But some of the loudest applause from the audience was reserved for when the man of simple habits explained why he had chosen to name himself after St Francis of Assisi, the saint who devoted his life to peace and the poor.
In conclave, the Argentinian said, when the votes were being counted and things seemed to be becoming – in his own words "a bit dangerous" – the cardinal sitting next to him, an old friend from Brazil, embraced him and said: "Don't forget the poor."
In a clear signal of his desire to reset the priorities of the embattled Catholic church after Benedict XVI's intellectual, remote-seeming reign, Francis added that the reminder had made him think of St Francis – a man "who wanted a poor church". "Ah, how I would like a church," he said, "that is poor and is for the poor."
Juan Camilo, a 23-year-old Colombian in the audience, was impressed. "I liked most of all this part, because it is a sign of transformation of the change towards the poor," he said. "And surely it will be a sign of an improvement of the relationship between the church and its hierarchy and the people. Because [in recent years] the church hasn't been so open to the people."
Looking relaxed and settled in his new role, Francis, 76 – who delivered his inaugural homily off the cuff and veered from his notes during an address to cardinals on Friday – once again proved his penchant for improvisation as he cracked jokes and recounted the anecdote in the Sistine chapel.
While he had decided on the name Francis, he explained with a grin, other cardinals had their own suggestions, including Clement XV as a way of getting back at Clement XIV, who had suppressed the Jesuits. And, in an allusion to the desire for reform with which many cardinals entered conclave after years of scandals and controversies, he said that another had proposed that Jorge Bergoglio name himself after Adrian VI, the 218th pontiff who sought to reform the church and crack down on abuses of power and corruption in the hierarchy.
The meeting with the media – 5,600 of whom had been accredited to cover the transition between Benedict's resignation and Francis's election – had been applauded when first announced by spokesman Federico Lombardi. In the end, as with Benedict's own parallel audience in April 2005, the interaction between pontiff and press was strictly one way. "It is not a press conference," the Vatican clarified.
In a brief but warm message to journalists, Francis chose not to repeat a colourfully worded claim made last year in which he accused them of focusing on and exaggerating the negative sides of the Vatican. He did, however, urge them to "always try to better understand the true nature of the church and even its journey in the world, with its virtues and with its sins".
Afterwards a string of journalists and communications helpers lined up to be greeted personally by the pope – some of the men embracing him in bear hugs. The reporters included Giovanna Chirri, the Latin-speaking Vatican specialist for the Ansa news agency who broke news of Benedict's resignation, and a visually impaired radio journalist whose guide dog also received a papal blessing – a fitting image for a pope seeking inspiration from the patron saint of animals.
The coming days are looking busy for Francis. Today he will deliver his first angelus, or Sunday prayer. Tomorrow he will meet the Argentinian president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, whom he has taken to task for her pioneering moves to make the pope's home country the first in Latin America to legalise gay marriage.
In an inauguration mass celebrated by dignitaries from all over the world, Francis will be officially made pope on Tuesday. Leading the Anglican delegation will be the archbishop of York, John Sentamu. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, whose predecessor, Rowan Williams, attended Benedict's installation in 2005, is unable to attend as he is on a prayer pilgrimage in preparation for his own enthronement on Thursday. The Queen will be represented by the Duke of Gloucester.
Of all his future engagements, however, the one that particularly stands out is his historic meeting, planned for Saturday, with his predecessor at his temporary retirement home in Castel Gandolfo. The Vatican said yesterday that the two popes – current and emeritus – would meet privately.
The virtually unprecedented dynamic has prompted speculation over the kind of role – if any – Benedict will play in church affairs. The first pope to resign for nearly 600 years has, however, insisted he will be "hidden from the world". Francis has appeared comfortable with the unusual situation, paying an emotional tribute to his predecessor from the balcony of St Peter's basilica in his first public appearance as pope.Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close Image 2 of 35 Construction of the NuStar Oil docking pier is under way in Port Corpus Christi, Texas. Construction of the NuStar Oil docking pier is under way in Port Corpus Christi, Texas. Photo: Bob Owen / Associated Press Image 3 of 35 Construction of the NuStar Oil docking pier is underway in Port Corpus Christi, Texas. Construction of the NuStar Oil docking pier is underway in Port Corpus Christi, Texas. Photo: Bob Owen / Associated Press Image 4 of 35 Valero offices (left) and Citco storage containers (right) operate in Corpus Christi, Texas. Valero offices (left) and Citco storage containers (right) operate in Corpus Christi, Texas. Photo: Bob Owen / Associated Press Image 5 of 35 Dredging operations occur at the La Quinta Channel expansion at Ingleside, TX. Dredging operations occur at the La Quinta Channel expansion at Ingleside, TX. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 6 of 35 New housing has been built in Portland, TX as activity in the Corpus Christi port has expanded. New housing has been built in Portland, TX as activity in the Corpus Christi port has expanded. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 7 of 35 Wind turbines operate in the Papalote Creek Wind Farm near Taft, TX. Wind turbines operate in the Papalote Creek Wind Farm near Taft, TX. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 8 of 35 A shrimping boat heads back to dock as it passes the opening of Port Corpus Christi. A shrimping boat heads back to dock as it passes the opening of Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 9 of 35 Downtown Corpus Christi overlooks the port. Downtown Corpus Christi overlooks the port. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 10 of 35 The Corpus Christi skyline looms behind oil refineries next to Port Corpus Christi. The Corpus Christi skyline looms behind oil refineries next to Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 11 of 35 Steven Schmidt (right), terminal manager of NuStar in Port Corpus Christi, talks with Greg Matula, also of NuStar, at the contraction site of the new pier for oil tankers. Steven Schmidt (right), terminal manager of NuStar in Port Corpus Christi, talks with Greg Matula, also of NuStar, at the contraction site of the new pier for oil tankers. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 12 of 35 Jose Martinez uses a sand blaster preparing to paint oil pipelines at the new NuStar Terminal in Port Corpus Christi. Jose Martinez uses a sand blaster preparing to paint oil pipelines at the new NuStar Terminal in Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 13 of 35 Wind turbine blades made in the U.S. wait to be shipped as an oil tanker passes by in Port Corpus Christi. Wind turbine blades made in the U.S. wait to be shipped as an oil tanker passes by in Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 14 of 35 Construction work is underway at the site of Nueces River Rail Yard, which will tie into Port Corpus Christi. Construction work is underway at the site of Nueces River Rail Yard, which will tie into Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 15 of 35 A refinery operates near Port Corpus Christi. A refinery operates near Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 16 of 35 A wind turbine blade is loaded for transport in Port Corpus Christi. A wind turbine blade is loaded for transport in Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 17 of 35 Ships unload in Port Corpus Christi in the shipping channel. Ships unload in Port Corpus Christi in the shipping channel. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 18 of 35 Large mounds of sulfur, a byproduct of refining, sit in a lot in Port Corpus Christi. Large mounds of sulfur, a byproduct of refining, sit in a lot in Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 19 of 35 Large mounds of sulfur (right) and coke (left), byproduct of refining, sit in lots in Port Corpus Christi. Large mounds of sulfur (right) and coke (left), byproduct of refining, sit in lots in Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 20 of 35 A shrimping boat passes a oil barge after leaving Port Corpus Christi. A shrimping boat passes a oil barge after leaving Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 21 of 35 The USS Lexington sits in front of the Harbor Bridge and Port Corpus Christi. The USS Lexington sits in front of the Harbor Bridge and Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 22 of 35 Corpus Christi Marina.. Corpus Christi Marina.. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 23 of 35 Refineries operate in Corpus Christi, TX, with Port Corpus Christi at left. Refineries operate in Corpus Christi, TX, with Port Corpus Christi at left. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 24 of 35 Oil storage tanks stand next to Port Corpus Christi. Oil storage tanks stand next to Port Corpus Christi. Photo: San Antonio Express-News Image 25 of 35 The USS Lexington near the Harbor Bridge, the opening to Port Corpus Christi. The USS Lexington near the Harbor Bridge, the opening to Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 26 of 35 Tugs push an oil barge out of the Port Corpus Christi. Tugs push an oil barge out of the Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 27 of 35 The Port Corpus Christi is seeing an increase in activity due to the oil and gas production from the Eagle Ford. The Port Corpus Christi is seeing an increase in activity due to the oil and gas production from the Eagle Ford. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 28 of 35 A man rests with his feet propped up at a picnic table on North Beach in Corpus Christi, Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, as a full tanker ship made its way to the shipping channel of Port Corpus Christi. A man rests with his feet propped up at a picnic table on North Beach in Corpus Christi, Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, as a full tanker ship made its way to the shipping channel of Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 29 of 35 Ships and barges hug the shoreline at the Port Corpus Christi. Ships and barges hug the shoreline at the Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 30 of 35 Crude oil storage tanks at NuStar Energy Terminal at the Port Corpus Christi hold 400,000 barrels. Crude oil storage tanks at NuStar Energy Terminal at the Port Corpus Christi hold 400,000 barrels. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 31 of 35 Wind turbines stand near the Citco crude oil storage tanks near the Port Corpus Christi. A larger wind farm can be seen in the distance past Nueces Bay. Wind turbines stand near the Citco crude oil storage tanks near the Port Corpus Christi. A larger wind farm can be seen in the distance past Nueces Bay. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 32 of 35 Valero offices (left) and Citco storage containers (right) are located at the Port Corpus Christi. Valero offices (left) and Citco storage containers (right) are located at the Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 33 of 35 A tug boat pushes a barge for oil in the shipping channel past a military transport ship at the Port Corpus Christi. At right is construction on the new NuStar dock. A tug boat pushes a barge for oil in the shipping channel past a military transport ship at the Port Corpus Christi. At right is construction on the new NuStar dock. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 34 of 35 Tugs push an oil barge out of the Port Corpus Christi. Tugs push an oil barge out of the Port Corpus Christi. Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 35 of 35 South Texas sees struggles, opportunities amid oil boom 1 / 35 Back to Gallery
CORPUS CHRISTI — Along a bay front dotted with sailboats and shrimp boats, the movement of crude oil has long been part of the background scenery.
Only now, most of the ships sit lower in the water when they leave — heavier and filled with Eagle Ford Shale crude oil bound for other U.S. ports and Canada — than when they arrive at the port.
Starting in July for the first time ever, more domestic oil left the Port of Corpus Christi than foreign oil arrived. It’s a startling trend, but just one of several effects of the Eagle Ford boom, which has created jobs and wealth in spades, but also turned South Texas upside down in many ways.
“No one really foresaw the massive changes in this industry,” said NuStar Energy LP CEO Curt Anastasio, who spoke Tuesday at the fall conference of the Eagle Ford Consortium, a group of officials from several counties impacted by drilling and production.
The Eagle Ford boom started five years ago this month with the announcement of a successful shale well in La Salle County.
West Texas: Oil’s $5 trillion Permian boom threatened by $70 crude
But communities and companies continue grappling with the growth and change that’s come with an influx of oil and gas activity.
San Antonio-based NuStar is one company that used to receive African crude oil in Corpus Christi and ship it north. It already had pipelines in South Texas — which it reversed — and was the first to ship Eagle Ford crude a few years ago.
Anastasio told the audience during a keynote talk that shale drilling is here to stay, and that the Eagle Ford and North Dakota’s Bakken Shale remain economic for drilling even if oil prices drop to around $60 to $70 a barrel.
“You’re near the Gulf. You’re near refineries. You’re near this very extensive infrastructure,” Anastasio said.
NuStar has invested around $185 million in the Eagle Ford region so far, and expects to spend around that much in the next year.
Many South Texas operators, service companies and communities also have their eyes on Mexico, which is considering constitutional changes that would open its vast oil and gas fields to more foreign investment, allowing outside companies to share in profits.
The Eagle Ford in Texas arcs from East Texas to the border, but doesn’t stop there.
“What you’ve got in the shale play down there (in Mexico) is as extensive if not greater than what we’ve got here,” said Phil Wilson, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation. “Geology does not respect borders.”
Eagle Ford operators and oil-field service companies are monitoring the Mexican policies with the thought that they would be among the best positioned to make the cross-border leap. Some operators, such as the privately held Lewis Energy Group, have been working in Mexico for years already.
Mexico reform: Services companies stand to profit if Pemex makes changes
And while the Mexican side of the shale field will bring business opportunity to Texas, it also means that the state’s transportation infrastructure — from roads to ports, rail and pipeline — will see more traffic, Wilson said.
Already in South Texas, heavy trucks carrying everything from crude oil to drilling rigs have torn apart infrastructure — one of the most visible problems for communities.
The roads in South Texas were largely built in the 1950s and 1960s, intended for 50 to 100 vehicles per day with maximum weights of 25,000 to 40,000 pounds.
“Today, every time you drill a well — one well — you have 1,300, 80,000-plus-pound trucks. That’s equivalent to 8 million cars,” Wilson said. “These roads start breaking. It is what it is. You start to have shearing on the side. You have concrete breaking, asphalt tearing up.”
The state lacks the money to fix the roads, and plans to turn 83 miles of South and West Texas roads to gravel. The agency says that safety is its priority, and graveling would slow trucks and save money.
But the gravel plans have created an outcry. Local officials have been scrambling to figure out a way to avoid downgrading key infrastructure.
Wilson said the state simply does not have the money to do all of the work needed.
“It’s a math problem,” Wilson said.
While county tax receipts are up, they don’t cover the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for repairs. And TxDOT gets funding from gas taxes, not the state’s severance taxes on oil and gas production. A constitutional amendment in 2014 would send a slice of money, if approved by voters, from the state’s severance taxes to road repairs, but that’s a year away.
Still, many in the region see the challenges as part of a historic opportunity.
“For those of us south of I-10, it seems we’ve always been left behind,” said John LaRueÖ, executive director at the Port of Corpus Christi, which has seen billions of dollars in recent investment. “This gives us a chance to rise to the top.”The Republican National Committee is spotlighting campaign-season worries that Team Obama is in covertly violating campaign laws by accepting online donations from foreigners.
Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, announced today he’s asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the president’s fund-raising system.
“The President’s campaign committee does not use the industry standard practices to guard against receiving fraudulent or excessive contributions via the internet… I therefore call on the Department of Justice to investigate this troubling pattern of behavior by the President’s campaign,’ said Priebus in a Oct. 11 letter to Holder.
The request follows an investigation by the Government Accountability Institute, which highlighted the campaign’s low-grade anti-fraud measures, the large amount of online traffic between the campaign’s fundraising pages and overseas Internet users, plus foreigners’ claims they had donated to the campaign.
“This new report suggests that the President’s campaign did not take the appropriate measures to correct for the vulnerabilities uncovered during the previous election cycle, in which reports surfaced that the president’s campaign accepted a large number of excessive contributions and contributions from donors using fake names, suggesting a pattern of questionable behavior that is troubling,” Priebus wrote to Holder.
In response, the Obama campaign has said they ask overseas donors to prove their eligibility to donate, and they conduct manual checks of potential ineligible donors.
Few Republicans think Holder will launch an investigation, but the request may spur coverage by the established media of the fund-raising concerns, which appear to be a repeat of Obama’s fund-raising practices in 2008.
In 2008, Obama’s campaign declined to use commonplace online anti-fraud services, received donations from foreigners and accepted donations from unidentifiable sources.
The campaign also received numerous small donations from a few sources with strange names — such as “Doodad Pro” — that appeared to be automated “robo-donors.”
However, Obama’s 2008 fund-raising system was never investigated by the Federal Election Commission or any other government agency, partly because it did not accept federal campaign funds.
There was scant media coverage of the documented 2008 problems.
In 1996, then-President Bill Clinton’s campaign was hit by a scandal caused by illegal donations from Chinese nationals. The resulting FBI investigations led to the conviction of 22 people. Others fled before they could be arrested.
Follow Neil on TwitterBy most accounts, she was in high spirits. Having successfully climbed Mount Everest in May — unassisted and without oxygen, becoming the first woman to do so — Alison Jane Hargreaves now contemplated the peak of K2 towering over her in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. It was August 13, 1995, and she had a lofty goal: to become the first woman to ascend the three highest peaks in the world — Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga, east of Everest — without supplemental oxygen. Under a cloudless sky, she left camp to check the second mountain off her list.
She never made it back down.
[Hargreaves] was a trailblazer, because she climbed Everest alone … while breaking down social constructs of what it means to be a mom. Molly Schiot, author and filmmaker
Some names will forever be synonymous with mountain climbing. George Mallory, Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, Reinhold Messner … these names are known by enthusiasts ranging from armchair mountaineers to accomplished alpinists. Far fewer remember the name Hargreaves.
She grew up in Derbyshire, England, the daughter of two mathematicians who early on instilled in her their love of walking the hills of England and Scotland. Another early influence was Hillary Collins, her outdoor pursuits teacher at Belper High School, who taught her how to rock climb at age 15. Three years later, having discovered her talent for climbing, she set up a mountaineering equipment company with James Ballard, whom she would later marry. Hargreaves made headlines in 1988 when, six months pregnant with her first child, Tom, she became the first female British alpinist to summit the north face of the Eiger in the Alps.
Becoming a mother did not end Hargreaves’ climbing career. In fact, her passion became a family affair. In 1993, two years before she made her attempt on K2, she became the first climber — male or female — to solo the six classic north faces of the Alps in a single season. Her family — husband James, son Tom and and daughter Kate — traveled with her, and she wrote about the experience in her 1995 book, A Hard Day’s Summer: Six Classic North Faces Solo.
Hargreaves wasn’t just breaking new ground in her sport; she was forging a trail socially as well. “[Hargreaves] was a trailblazer, because she climbed Everest alone without any [supplemental] oxygen while breaking down social constructs of what it means to be a mom,” says author and filmmaker Molly Schiot, who profiled Hargreaves in her 2016 book, Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History.
Indeed, Hargreaves faced criticism when, following the release of A Hard Day’s Summer, she decided to begin her quest to climb Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga, leaving two young children at home. She knew full well the risks associated with her audacious goal; she also knew she was one of the most talented climbers in the world. “Some of her alpine solos at the time were the cutting edge and today remain right up there with similar feats by the very best male alpinists,” says her son, Tom, himself a climber. “No woman has ever come close.”
That day in August the weather was favorable on K2, widely regarded as the world’s most dangerous peak, and so Hargreaves and five other climbers decided to go for it. Though the weather turned, bringing snowy conditions as a storm moved in, Hargreaves, along with Spanish climber Javier Olivar, radioed back to base camp to report that they had summited.
That was the last radio call Hargreaves made, disappearing from the mountain during her descent through treacherous winds. Other climbers who had turned back from a summit bid reported seeing her jacket, a pair of boots and a harness near her last known location — and in the distance, a body. To this day, Hargreaves’ body remains on K2; recovery excursions can be dangerous and are rarely attempted.
History is replete with climbers who never made it off the mountains they tried to climb. Their aspirations are typically treated with awe and respect. But Hargreaves’ death on K2 elicited a different response — namely, criticism that she would have risked her life (and ultimately, sacrificed it) climbing as a young mother.
But Hargreaves had pursued her passion with the blessing of her family; in fact, her son, Tom, followed in her footsteps. In 2015 he became the first person to climb all six of the great north faces of the Alps in winter. “I guess this career choice is not particularly surprising, considering the way I was brought up and my exposure to climbing and mountains before I was even born,” Ballard says. “Instead of being pushed away from the mountains by my mother’s death, I have been drawn toward them.”
According to Hargreaves’ husband, she lived her life by the words of an old Tibetan saying: “It is better to have lived one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep.”
Only a tiger could have accomplished what Hargreaves achieved in her short career. Standing atop Everest’s summit without oxygen and unaided is no small feat. While more than 4,000 people have climbed the peak, fewer than 200 have done so without access to supplemental oxygen. That number was far smaller when Hargreaves did it in 1995. “I hope we all learn [Hargreaves’] story,” Schiot says. “It only makes us stronger.”
Paddy O’Connell, staff writer for Adventure Journal, agrees. “Hargreaves is one of the most accomplished mountaineers, and her story is inspiring,” adding that if Hargreaves’ name doesn’t come up in discussions about the all-time best alpine climbers, male or female, “it’s probably not a conversation worth participating in.”OTTAWA - Ottawa Senators ( @Senators ) general manager Pierre Dorion announced today that the club has signed defenceman Mark Borowiecki to a two-year contract extension. The contract will carry an average annual value of $1.2 million ($1.2M in both years).
Borowiecki, 28, recorded one goal and two assists in a career high 70 games last season for the Senators. He was limited to only two playoff games after suffering an injury during the second game of the 2017 playoffs against the Boston Bruins.
The Ottawa native led the National Hockey League in both hits (364) and penalty minutes (154) in 2016-17, while missing 12 regular-season games. On Dec. 5, 2016, he equaled an NHL record by recording 14 hits in one game at Pittsburgh.
The Senators' fifth-round pick (139th overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft, and the first Ottawa native ever drafted by the Senators, Borowiecki has recorded four gaoals, 17 points and 436 penalty minutes in 217 career NHL games.
Visit the Senators website: www.ottawasenators.com
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- end -(Image: http://astana.gov.kz)
Becoming a millionaire mathematician?
Mathematics is a universal language. Even so, a Kazakh mathematician’s claim to have solved a problem worth a million dollars is proving hard to evaluate – in part because it is not written in English.
Mukhtarbay Otelbaev of the Eurasian National University in Astana, Kazakhstan, says he has proved the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem, which concerns equations that are used to model fluids – from airflow over a plane’s wing to the crashing of a tsunami. The equations work, but there is no proof that solutions exist for all possible situations, and won’t sometimes “blow up”, producing unrealistic answers.
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In 2000, the Clay Mathematics Institute, now in Providence, Rhode Island, named this one of seven Millennium Prize problems offering $1 million to anyone who could devise a proof.
Otelbaev claims to have done just that in a paper published in the Mathematical Journal, also based in Kazakhstan. “I worked on the problem on and off, for 30 years,” he told New Scientist, in Russian – he does not speak English.
Mathematical Babel fish
However, the combination of the Russian text and the specialist knowledge needed to understand the Navier-Stokes equations means the international mathematical community, which usually communicates in English, is having difficulty evaluating it. Although mathematics is expressed through universal symbols, mathematics papers also contain large amounts of explanatory text.
“Over the years there have been several alleged solutions to the Navier-Stokes problem that turned out to be wrong,” says Charles Fefferman of Princeton University, who wrote the official formulation of the problem for Clay. “Since I don’t speak Russian and the paper is not yet translated, I’m afraid I |
Nothing is coincidence 🙌🤗⚽️ pic.twitter.com/VrFSKuC30R — Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 30, 2017
Should the youngster follow in the footsteps of his famous dad, the chance of a Ronaldo-Messi rivalry leading us into the future may well become a reality.
The Barcelona superstars eldest son Thiago is rumoured to have a bit of genius about him too, leaving fans purring at the prospect of what may follow in the years to come.Potion Info Chart [ edit ]
So, everyone should have an idea of what their favorite magical beverages taste, smell and look like. Each potion (taken from the core list of potions) is rated by its color, smell, texture and flavor. (If you have a potion, elixir or ingested poison you would like to add, feel free, and don't forget to link it and place it in alphabetical order).
Elixir Taste Chart [ edit ]
Ingested Poison Taste Chart [ edit ]
Table: Ingested Poison Taste Chart Poison Name Appearance Smell Flavor Striped Toadstool Grainy Tan Powder Earthy Sour Arsenic Varies, usually Gray Powder Odorless Tasteless Id Moss Greenish Yellow Plant Grindings Faintly Herbal Bland Oil of Taggit Light Brown Oil Odorless Tasteless Lich Dust Dark Gray Powder Foul Bitter Dark Reaver Powder Black Powder Odorless Sour Tang Ageric Spores Eggshell White Powder Faintly Ashen Dry and Chalky Red Dust Red Dust Odorless Bitter Potassium Cyanide Sugar-like White Powder Almonds/Odorless Tasteless Thallium Bluish-grey dust Odorless Tasteless Strychnine Sugar-like White Powder Odorless Extremely Bitter
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → OtherThe formal recognition of Edinburgh as one of the world’s most beautiful cities is under threat amid a battle for the soul of its most historic quarter.
The city was inscribed as a Unesco world heritage site in 1995 for the beauty of its medieval old town and 18th-century new town but, following complaints from the public and architectural experts over a number of new buildings, inspectors from Icomos, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which advises Unesco, have toured several of the most contentious sites.
Most of the concerns are focused on the east end of Princes Street, in the shadow of one of the city’s most famous landmarks, Calton Hill.
A 1973 concrete shopping mall, felt generally to be an eyesore, is finally to be demolished. But the planned replacement has caused alarm among many of long-suffering citizenry. More than 40,000 square metres of shopping space, along with private apartments, office blocks and a theatre is to be built. The centrepiece of this £850m development is a massive hotel which the developers would like to be regarded as a ribbon unwrapping a gift. Some local people, however, have bestowed on it the uncharitable appellation “the Turd”.
A few hundred metres away, sculpted into the soil of Calton Hill, sits the Royal High School of Edinburgh, one of the treasures of the old town and whose sentinel, neo-classical gaze accompanies the visitor all around this part of the city. Improbably, plans are afoot to turn this into yet another hotel for the elite. The plans envisage two free-standing extensions to the Thomas Hamilton-designed school which critics say would give it the appearance of a giant Mickey Mouse head looking down on the city.
On Leith Walk, as it rises to meet Princes Street, award-winning novelist Candia McWilliam is heartbroken at what has already disfigured her beautiful Edinburgh and the prospect of what may yet befall it. Her father was the noted architectural writer, Colin McWilliam, who toured the UK to write about the country’s most beautiful and important buildings.
Her home lies in the shadow of the St James development and she is dismayed at what it will do to the city’s skyline. “The architecture of a city ought always to be the result of a conversation between the old and the new. The hotel that is being built up there is like a loud, boastful, braggart bullying everything that comes into its view,” she said.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A computer image of the controversial new hotel on the St James development. Photograph: Jestico + Whiles
“Dad was a modernist, and probably far more daring in all regards than me and he believed (and I agree with him) that there is a place for architectural ‘brutalism’; in its place. These designs – the ‘Ribbon’ Hotel, the Inca Terraces on Calton Hill, and the Caltongate development, aren’t even monumental or serious or sublime or grand; they have a thinness, an ornament-ledness, that is perhaps graphically envisioned and somehow even, I would hazard, ‘screen-conceived’.
David Black, a conservationist and architectural critic, detects a sinister hand in the planned developments and others that have occurred with seemingly indecent haste around Edinburgh. “The cataclysmic event as far as I was concerned was the wrecking of St Andrew Square last year and two wonderful, B-listed buildings within it, to build a TK Maxx and offices for Standard Life, all of which was dusted under the carpet,” he said.
“Edinburgh is in crisis financially as a result of the tram catastrophe and the losses arising from a property repairs scandal. They’re trying to deal with this with a number of panic measures, like extending parking controls to late night and through Sundays to raise more revenue and doing all sorts of events deals in public spaces like Princes Street, St Andrew Square, and the Meadows. They’re also pimping the city to global investors like TIAA-CREF of North Carolina.
“If you are an international developer there has never been a better time to open up in Edinburgh and to get past planning protections for its built heritage.”
Councillor Ian Perry, planning convenor on Edinburgh City Council, said: “Unesco heritage status does not preclude ongoing development to keep the site active and vibrant if it is deemed to be appropriate.”
Black, meanwhile, has made several representations to Unesco about the demolition of listed buildings within the protected zone but his concerns were ignored. He is hopeful though, that the Ribbon Hotel and the Aztec theme park on the Calton Hill will see his city stripped of its Unesco status. “My city simply no longer deserves to have it,” he said.The 21st annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum, taking place in the Expoforum complex between 1-3 June, includes a rich cultural programme open to the public that runs parallel to the business deals. Prospekt Magazine selected 4 of the best events happening at the forum venue and around the city where you can to rub shoulders with executives and gallery curators
The first days of June start in St Petersburg with the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Political and economic leaders from Russia and around the world will get together to find practical solutions for business in an intensive programme focusing on Achieving New Balance in the Global Economic Arena.
But business is not the only reason to come to St Petersburg these days. A rich cultural programme will complement the forum in different parts of the city through the long weekend. The new cultural addition of this year is the Expoforum itself: the venue was designed in cooperation with the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Museum in a Russian avant-garde. The internal walls of the Expoforum feature fragments of works by Russian avant-garde artists, such as the famous Kazimir Malevich and Alexander Rodchenko.
Eco-Technologies: A Fad or a New Reality?
During the St Petersburg Design Week, the evening event titled Design, Science and the Future, will showcase future technologies, smart textiles, smart jewellery, interactive objects, the science of personal branding, the use of lasers in treating stress, and a first look at a new fashion collection. The event will also boast various entertainment acts such as an interactive show by The Higher School of Lighting Design, an art-eco-performance by young designers and students from St Petersburg, as well as a fashion show featuring the leaders of Russia’s fashion industry.
When: 1 June, 6-8pm
Where: ARTPLAY, 3, Krasnogvardeyskaya ploshad, St Petersburg,195027
Silk Labyrinth exhibition opening
2017 marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the production of the famous French luxury goods firm Hermes. Their first scarf was produced in 1937, named Jeu des Omnibus et Dames-Blanches, and after 80 years it is still a symbol of elegance. The exhibition Silk Labyrinth, coming from the private collection of the Maison Carré Foundation, is a unique project that gives visitors the chance to explore the world of fashion design in the 20th century.
When: 1 June, 7pm-11pm
Where: KGallery, 24, Embankment Reki Fontanki, St Petersburg, 191028
Russian Industry’s 2.0 Photo Exhibition
Walking into pavillon H of the Governor’s Club, the photos of different photographers will catch the eyes of a different audience. The photos showcase an unconventional Russia: the big country is depicted through the activities of Russian and foreign companies at different construction sites. The subjects are both local producers and big company employees, showing steelworks, ship-and aircraft-builders, different stages of the pulp and paper industries, as well as heavy mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals, and other industries.
When: 1-3 June
Where: Governor’s Club Pavillon H, Expoforum, 64, Peterburgskoye shosse, 196140, St Petersburg
Endangered Photo Exhibition
This year, SPIEF also provides the opportunity to meet one of the world’s preeminent animal photographers, Tim Flach. Between pavillons G and H, in the Art Centre, several photos Flach took in the past years are exhibited in a culmination of many years of research on different animals. During the Forum the photographer will present his Endangered project with two different talks: Endangered animals and how we best communicate their stories on 1 June and Who’s upside down, us or the bats? on 2 June.
When: 1 and 2 June, 4pm
Where: Art Centre, Expoforum, 64, Peterburgskoye shosse, 196140, St PetersburgFoto: Index
BROJ stanovnika u zemljama Istočne Europe smanjuje se brzinom koja nije zabilježena nigdje drugdje u suvremenoj povijesti, upozorila je u svibnju, na temelju podataka UN-a, OECD-a i drugih organizacija, blogerica Financial Timesa, Valentina Romei.
UN je procijenio da je prošle godine u tom dijelu svijeta živjelo oko 292 milijuna ljudi, što je za 18 milijuna manje nego početkom 1990-ih To pak podrazumijeva smanjenje populacije za veći broj ljudi nego što ih živi u cijeloj Nizozemskoj.
Romei u svojem blogu ističe da takav pad broja stanovnika, koji se kreće oko 6%, nije zabilježen nigdje drugdje u svijetu još od 1950-ih.
Trend je započeo s padom sovjetskog bloka, ubrzao je krajem 2000-tih, a potom je počeo usporavati. Jedan od njegovih ključnih razloga je emigracija iz istočnih zemalja u prosperitetnije zapadne. Poljacima, Litavcima i Latvijcima najatraktivnija su odredišta bile Velika Britanija i Irska, Estonci su iseljavali u Finsku, a Rumunji u Italiju i Španjolsku.
Ovaj pad populacije ima više uzroka, a započeo je i prije proširenja EU na istok. Uz iseljavanje, drugi ključni problem je i pad nataliteta (u Istočnoj Europi je sa 2,1 djeteta po ženi u 80-ima uglavnom do 90-ih pao na 1,2).
Prema studijama OECD-a trend je doživio vrhunac s ulaskom istočnoeuropskih zemalja u EU 2005. i ponovno s gospodarskom krizom 2008. Od tada je iseljavanje uglavnom u postupnom padu.
U svojoj studiji organizacija ističe da je iseljavanje, uzrokovano prvenstveno gospodarskim razlozima, bilo važan sigurnosni ventil koji je mnogima u tim dijelovima svijeta donio lakše zapošljavanje i viši standard. No dugoročne posljedice manje su pozitivne – iseljavanje i pad nataliteta uzrokuju pad broja radno sposobnih ljudi u odnosu na stariju populaciju, gubitak obrazovanih mladih i manjak stručnjaka. Pokušaji da se problem riješi nekom pronatalitetnom politikom i programima za povratnike, uglavnom nisu dali zadovoljavajuće rezultate. Primjerice, Poljska je rodiljama s više djece svojevremeno isplaćivala novčane naknade, slično kako je to predizborno obećavala, ali nije sprovela naša Domoljubna koalicija. No takvi kratkoročni, uglavnom kozmetički zahvati nisu okrenuli trendove. Konačno, prema OECD-u povratnici su pretežno slabije obrazovani ljudi koji u inozemstvu nisu mogli naći naročito dobro plaćene poslove. Ipak, neki podaci iz Rumunjske i Poljske pokazuju da su po povratku bili bolje plaćeni i uspješniji, vjerojatno zahvaljujući iskustvu koje su stekli u inozemstvu.
Zašto je Istočna Europa bazen radne snage za Zapadnu?
Naš demograf Anđelko Akrap, profesor na Ekonomskom fakultetu u Zagrebu, kaže da je trend koji se bilježi u istočnoeuropskim zemljama logična posljedica činjenice da je taj dio Europe vrlo atraktivan rezervoar stanovništva za razvijene zemlje kojima manjka radne snage. Naime, integracija takvog stanovništva daleko je jeftinija od integracije stanovnika bliskoistočnih, afričkih i drugih geografski i kulturološki udaljenijih zemalja.
'Još u 80-im godinama prošlog stoljeća europske zemlje suočavaju se s padom nataliteta. Tu su razne države prigrlile razne demografske politike. Primjerice, skandinavske zemlje shvatile su da uvozna radna snaga u srednjem roku više košta od stimuliranja vlastite radne snage', rekao je za Index Akrap.
'Nizozemci ističu da ulaganje u demografsku politiku nije socijalno ulaganje, milosrđe, već je ulaganje u buduću radnu snagu. U tom kontekstu ističe se Njemačka koja je specifična jer je bila pod dugim povijesnim opterećenjem. Kada bi se računala imigracija, ona bi trebala imati najbolju demografsku sliku, no nema je. Oni ulažu ogromna sredstva u demografsku obnovu, međutim, nemaju razvijenu infrastrukturu za pomoć obiteljima koje podižu djecu. Primjerice, žene u Njemačkoj nemaju dovoljno dobru potporu kada odu na porodiljni i napuste posao. To je bolje riješeno u skandinavskim zemljama u kojima se, među ostalim, nikako ne može dogoditi da žena dobije otkaz kada ostane trudna, kao što se to često događa u Hrvatskoj', kaže Akrap pa nastavlja:
'Već 90-ih godina Europa se suočava s problemom nestašice radne snage. Zapadne zemlje od tada provode imigracijsku politiku kojom privlače radnu snagu iz drugih krajeva svijeta i potiču imigraciju. Kada popune svoje potrebe, zatvaraju granice. No tu je zanimljivo što se situacija useljenika posljednjih desetljeća mijenja. U 60-im godinama ljudi su dolazili na tzv. privremeni rad u inozemstvu. Oni su ondje mogli raditi, uštedjeti i vratiti se nazad. Barem neki. Sada to više nije moguće. Zapade zemlje moraju računati da će imigranti biti trajni doseljenici. Stoga biraju one koji će im predstavljati najmanje troškove u smislu integracije u društvo. Zbog toga su im istočnoeuropske zemlje najatraktivnije. One su dobar izvor radne snage za razvijene zemlje. Primjerice, Njemačka će do 2035. godine imati pad stanovništva u radnoj dobi od 15 do 64 godine sa 50 milijuna na 35 milijuna. Dakle, oni si već sada moraju osiguravati radnu snagu, oni imigrante ne primaju iz milosrđa, nego zato što im trebaju. S druge strane Hrvatska i neke druge istočnoeuropske zemlje nemaju dobru ekonomsku strategiju kojom bi mogle zadržati stanovništvo ili privući doseljenike', objasnio je Akrap.
Kako pokazuju podaci UN-a, trend iseljavanja u nekim istočnoeuropskim zemljama koje doživljavaju brz gospodarski procvat posljednjih se godinama postupno zaustavlja. U onima u kojima se gospodarska situacija ne popravlja naročito brzo, poput Hrvatske, Rumunjske i Albanije, on eventualno usporava, ali ne staje. Iz infografike gore vrlo se jasno može iščitati korelacija između BDP-a prema kupovnoj moći i trendova iseljavanja (BDP u Češkoj, Sloveniji i Slovačkoj trenutno je na oko 80% onoga u EU, a sredinom 90-ih bio je na oko 50%). Drugim riječima, nema populističkih, kratkoročnih i jeftinih mjera - rješenje je u gospodarskom rastu i kvalitetnoj, sveobuhvatnoj demografskoj politici koja posebno mora voditi računa o razvoju zemlje u svim njezinim dijelovima - u prostoru, kako u gradovima, tako i u selima.The easiest way to approach answering this is to find the positive evidence current Hotspot does optimization like it. Luckily, it is pretty simple with JMH. It is useful not only for building the benchmarks, but also for the most important part of engineering, analyzing them. Let’s start with a simple benchmark:
@Fork(..., jvmArgsPrepend = {"-XX:-UseBiasedLocking"}) @State(Scope.Benchmark) public class LockRoach { int x; @Benchmark @CompilerControl(CompilerControl.Mode.DONT_INLINE) public void test() { for (int c = 0; c < 1000; c++) { synchronized (this) { x += 0x42; } } } }
(full source here)
There are a few important tricks here:
Disabling biased locking with -XX:-UseBiasedLocking avoids longer warmups, because biased locking is not started up immediately, but instead waits 5 seconds through the initialization phase. (See BiasedLockingStartupDelay option). Disabling inlining for @Benchmark method helps to separate it in the disassembly. Adding up a magic number, 0x42 helps to quickly find the increment in the disassembly.
Running at i7 4790K, Linux x86_64, JDK EA 9b156:
Benchmark Mode Cnt Score Error Units LockRoach.test avgt 5 5331.617 ± 19.051 ns/op
What can you tell from this number? You can’t tell anything, right? We need to look into what actually happened down below. -prof perfasm is very useful for this, as it shows you the hottest regions in the generated code. Running with default settings would tell that the hottest instructions are actual lock cmpxchg (compare-and-sets) that perform locking, and only print hot things around them. Running with -prof perfasm:mergeMargin=1000 to coalesce these hot regions into a solid picture, one would get this scary-at-first-sight piece of output.
Stripping it further down — the cascades of jumps are the locking/unlocking — and paying attention to the code that accumulates the most cycles (first column), we can see that the hottest loop looks like this:
↗ 0x00007f455cc708c1: lea 0x20(%rsp),%rbx │ < blah-blah-blah, monitor enter > ; <--- coarsened! │ 0x00007f455cc70918: mov (%rsp),%r10 ; load $this │ 0x00007f455cc7091c: mov 0xc(%r10),%r11d ; load $this.x │ 0x00007f455cc70920: mov %r11d,%r10d ;...hm... │ 0x00007f455cc70923: add $0x42,%r10d ;...hmmm... │ 0x00007f455cc70927: mov (%rsp),%r8 ;...hmmmmm!... │ 0x00007f455cc7092b: mov %r10d,0xc(%r8) ; LOL Hotspot, redundant store, killed two lines below │ 0x00007f455cc7092f: add $0x108,%r11d ; add 0x108 = 0x42 * 4 <-- unrolled by 4 │ 0x00007f455cc70936: mov %r11d,0xc(%r8) ; store $this.x back │ < blah-blah-blah, monitor exit > ; <--- coarsened! │ 0x00007f455cc709c6: add $0x4,%ebp ; c += 4 <--- unrolled by 4 │ 0x00007f455cc709c9: cmp $0x3e5,%ebp ; c < 1000? ╰ 0x00007f455cc709cf: jl 0x00007f455cc708c1
Huh. The loop seems to be unrolled by 4, and then locks are coarsened within those 4 iterations! Okay then, if that happens due to loop unrolling, we can quantify the performance benefits of doing this limited coarsening, but trimming down the unrolling with -XX:LoopUnrollLimit=1 :
Benchmark Mode Cnt Score Error Units # Default LockRoach.test avgt 5 5331.617 ± 19.051 ns/op # -XX:LoopUnrollLimit=1 LockRoach.test avgt 5 20679.043 ± 3.133 ns/op
Whoa, 4x performance hit! That stands to reason, because we have already observed that the hottest things are lock cmpxchg from locking. Naturally, 4x coarsened lock means 4x better throughput. Very cool, we can claim success and move on? Not yet, we have to verify that disabling loop unrolling actually gives us what we want to compare against. perfasm seems to indicate it does the similar hot loop, but with a single stride.
↗ 0x00007f964d0893d2: lea 0x20(%rsp),%rbx │ < blah-blah-blah, monitor enter > │ 0x00007f964d089429: mov (%rsp),%r10 ; load $this │ 0x00007f964d08942d: addl $0x42,0xc(%r10) ; $this.x += 0x42 │ < blah-blah-blah, monitor exit > │ 0x00007f964d0894be: inc %ebp ; c++ │ 0x00007f964d0894c0: cmp $0x3e8,%ebp ; c < 1000? ╰ 0x00007f964d0894c6: jl 0x00007f964d0893d2 ;A new documentary reveals the producers of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service had their doubts about George Lazenby’s sexuality after casting him to play 007.
The Australian was a model whose most prominent work had been a TV commercial for Big Fry chocolate. He had the physique and self-assurance for the part but there was one big question.
Lazenby reveals: “They sent a girl up to my apartment to make sure I wasn’t gay. A little while later they had their answer. I sure as hell wasn’t.”
He went on to be the most notorious womaniser of all Bond actors as he tried to live the 007 life on screen and off.
“Suddenly I was James Bond and you can imagine what that did to me,” says Lazenby. “I don’t want to brag but I had at least one girl a day.
“There was a tent on set where the stuntmen used to keep the mattresses they fell on in fight scenes. It was a good place to take a chick if you were in a hurry.”[UPDATED 9:57 p.m. July 4]
Metro Police Saturday night confirmed that former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair, 36, and a 20-year-old woman, were found dead in the living room of a downtown Nashville condominium co-rented by McNair.
Medical Examiner staff concluded that McNair was the victim of multiple bullet wounds, police spokesman Don Aaron said late Saturday night, at least one to the head, and the woman, Sahel Kazemi, died of a single gunshot wound to the head. A pistol was found near her body.
The pair was found early Saturday afternoon in the condominium at 2nd and Lea Avenues in Rutledge Hill by the other co-renter, Wayne Neely. Police reported receiving the first call at 1:35 p.m.
Metro Police Homicide detectives are investigating the shooting death and the circumstances surrounding it. Aaron gave few additional details, mentioning only that witnesses saw McNair and Kazemi arrive at the condo early Saturday morning and that the pair was involved in a DUI after a traffic stop early Thursday.
While details are sketchy at this time, NashvillePost.com sources say that the scene could be double homicide, a murder/suicide, or made to look like a murder/suicide. NashvillePost.com has reported that McNair was approached and threatened at a Nashville restaurant Friday evening, though Aaron would not comment on that or any other theory.
An autopsy is planned for Sunday morning, police said.
Police reported that Kazemi was pulled over about 1:20 a.m. Thursday on 9th Ave. S. near Broadway, driving an SUV registered to both her and McNair, who was traveling with her in the passenger seat at the time. The SUV was at the condo when police arrived at the crime scene, Aaron said.
A police report on the DUI bust said the Cadillac Escalade driven by Kazemi was clocked at 54 miles per hour in the 30 -m.p.h. zone along Broadway just past 12th Ave. S. "She refused a breath test," the arresting officer reported. "She said she was not drunk, she was high."
McNair, immensely popular in Nashville, played 13 seasons with the Titans/Houston Oilers and was a three-time Pro Bowler. He was the NFL's co-MVP (along with Peyton Manning) in 2003, before spending two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, before retiring in 2008.
"He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans," Titans owner Bud Adams said Saturday in a statement. "He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl."
The team's former general manager was also "deeply saddened to learn of [Saturday's] tragic news.
"He was a player who I admired a great deal," said New England Patriots senior football adviser Floyd Reese, who was GM of the Titans when McNair played there. "He was a tremendous leader and an absolute warrior. I don't think there was a player who played with him or against him that didn't look up to him and respect him.
"My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, his friends and the many teammates who loved and admired him," Reese said.
McNair is survived by four sons, Junior, Steven, Tyler, and Trenton.
"We don't know the details, but it is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the families involved," added NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher is in Iraq, taking part in the first NFL-USO coaches tour.EXCLUSIVE: Penelope Cruz is signing on to star with Ben Stiller in Zoolander 2, the comedy that puts Stiller back behind the camera again, with a Justin Theroux script for Paramount Pictures. Stiller will reprise his role as empty headed supermodel Derek Zoolander, and there have been rumors that Will Ferrell will be back as the sinister Mugatu and Owen Wilson as Zoolander’s supermodel rival Hansel. Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld are producing for Red Hour.
Cruz just wrapped the Julio Medem-directed Ma ma in Spain, and she plays a small role in the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy Grimsby. Let’s hope that a byproduct of the surprising success of the long awaited sequel Dumb and Dumber To is that sequels to other worthy niche comedies like Zoolander will gain more currency at studios. Despite the presence of Jim Carrey (who never does sequels) and Jeff Daniels and the Farrelly Brothers, Dumb and Dumber To got turned down by its original maker, New Line, and everywhere else before Red Granite stepped up and financed the hit and Universal Pictures distributed.
The original Zoolander was an irresistibly silly film. Like Carrey and Daniels, Stiller fully committed to character, that mugging buffoon supermodel and there were some hilarious moments in the original, from Blue Steel to the catwalk showdown between Zoolander and Hansel, to the freak gasoline fight accident that was one of the funniest movie comedy moments in recent years. Stiller has wanted to make this movie for a long time and it shouldn’t have taken 13 years to get this far. I’m hoping he gets to do this in time for his 87-year old dad Jerry Stiller to reprise as the weak-willed agent Maury Balltein, and that this re-dedication to dumb comedies clears a path for another Dodgeball. And how about another Borat or Bruno? Here’s a reminder of the freak gas fight incident.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two days, two losses for Michael Phelps.
Phelps was beaten again at the Charlotte UltraSwim, losing to French star Frederick Bousquet in the 100-meter freestyle Sunday night.
Phelps touched nearly a full second behind Bousquet, world-record holder in the 50 free, after losing his first final in nearly a year the previous night. Aaron Peirsol beat Phelps in the 100 backstroke.
Bousquet went out strong, ensuring he had a big enough lead to hold off Phelps at the end -- even as the winningest Olympian ever experimented with a new straight-arm stroke that is supposed to provide more speed.
Michael Phelps finished nearly a second behind Frederick Bousquet in the 100-meter freestyle. AP Photo/Gerry Broome
The Frenchman touched in 48.22 seconds, while Phelps never really had a chance and finished second in 49.04.
"The biggest thing that killed me were my turns and my finishes," said Phelps, who holds the American record in the 100 free at 47.51. "I'm not disappointed with that time, but the finish was awful. There's small things I need to work on. But overall, it was a good meet."
The North Carolina meet was his first since capturing a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. The nine-month layoff was the longest of Phelps' career, though he had intended to come back earlier -- after being photographed using a marijuana pipe, a picture that wound up on the front page of a British tabloid, he was given a three-month suspension by USA Swimming.
The sanction ended May 5, and Phelps was eager to start competing again. He entered five events at Charlotte and won the first two, the 200 free and 100 back, both of which were part of his gold-medal haul in China.
But Phelps still has some work to do in the 200 back and 100 free, two events he hopes to add to his repertoire while dropping several races he won at Athens and Beijing. It's all part of his plan to take on new challenges -- and stay motivated -- heading into his final Olympics at London.
Nothing gets Phelps going like a loss. Or two.
"This is something that will motivate me to fix those things over the next few weeks," he said. "I'm kind of mad at myself. I wanted to break 49. I was five-hundredths off it with the two stupid mistakes I made."
Phelps was kicking himself for having to take an extra stroke going into the turn, and again at the finish. Plus, he was experimenting with a straight-arm stroke that he believes will help him be more competitive in the sprint events.
He started out with the standard stroke -- elbow bent -- before switching to the windmill-like motion for the second half of the opening lap. After the flip, Phelps went back to the regular stroke, then switched again to the straight arm for the final 15 meters.
Bousquet was amazed.
"Did he do that? Really? Whoa," said the Frenchman, who last month became the first swimmer to break 21 seconds in the 50 free. "That's even more impressive. To go 49.0, which is a pretty decent time in season, and change up the strokes a couple of times during the race, that's pretty impressive."
All things considered, Phelps said he was pleased with his performance. In addition to the two wins and two runner-up finishes, he entered the 50 free to get in some extra work with his new stroke. He actually qualified for the final of that event -- barely -- but scratched.
"For my first meet back, I have no complaints," he said. "We're on the right track. This is exactly where I want to be."
Bousquet covered the opening lap in a blistering 22.83 seconds, 0.99 ahead of Phelps, and didn't lose much of his advantage on his return to the wall.
"Whenever you race that guy, you can't count on your back-end speed to beat him," Bousquet said. "I knew I had to use my strength, which is my speed, and go out as fast as I could."
Phelps knows what he needs to work on.
"I need some of Fred's first-half speed," the American marveled. "He sure takes it out."
Bousquet was a late addition to the four-day meet. He doesn't usually swim the 100 free in season, but couldn't pass up a chance to go against Phelps.
"Tonight's race helped me get motivated a lot," the French star said. "The fact he was in the race and the fact we were next to each other, too, definitely helped me to get motivated and get my head into it."
Rising star Dagny Knutson won her fourth event of the meet in the women's 200 individual medley. The 17-year-old North Dakotan, who trains on her own and without benefit of a 50-meter indoor pool, touched first in 2 minutes, 12.87 seconds, beating out 2008 Olympian Julia Smit by nearly two seconds.
Aaron Peirsol completed his sweep of the backstroke events with a victory in the 200. The previous night, he handed Phelps his |
450coins (18 tubes of 25 coins)”. Orders of 25 coins will ship in a mint tube and orders of 450 coins will ship in a mint bag.
The Mexican Silver Libertad Coin has largely been overlooked by numismatics since its introduction in 1982. Though it is on par with coins like the American Silver Eagle and Austrian Silver Philharmonic, the coin is struck in much lower mintage levels each year. Recently, demand for the Libertad has risen, making it a hard-to-find coin as numismatics look to acquire the coin amid continued low mintage levels. Today, you have the chance to purchase a 2015 1 oz Mexican Silver Libertad from JM Bullion.
Coin Highlights:
Only 903,000 of these coins exist!
Contains 1 oz of 99.9% pure silver.
Minted at the Mexican Mint in Mexico.
Features the popular Angel of Independence design on the obverse.
Available in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. Protect your investment with 40.6mm Direct Fit Air-Tite Capsules.
Mexican Silver Libertad coins are struck in a total of seven weights each year, with three full weights and four fractional weights. The 1 oz. Mexican Silver Libertad is the most popular coin the series, and tends to have the highest mintage numbers each year. Images used on the Libertad coins trace back to 1920 and Mexicos celebration of the start of its fight for freedom from Spanish rule.
In the center of Mexico City in 1920, a statue of the Angel of Independence was erected to represent the countrys struggles during the War of Independence. The angels image, along with the national coat of arms, were included on the Centenario gold coin. Today, both images are featured on the Mexican Silver Libertad.
On the obverse side of the coin is the statue of the winged angel. She is featured front and center on the coin, with the twin volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. Engravings include the weight, purity, and metal content. The reverse design focuses on the current Mexican coat of arms, a bald eagle perched atop a cactus with a serpent in its beak. Surrounding that design is the image of various coat of arms used by Mexico in the past.
The Mexican Mint is a decentralized agency of the federal government in Mexico. Also known as La Casa de Moneda de Mexico, the mint is oldest in the Americas, having been founded in 1535.
JM Bullion welcomes all questions you might have about the Mexican Silver Libertad coin. You can reach an associate on the phone at 800-276-6508, or connect with us online through our live chat and email services.Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers about the Netflix TV series Stranger Things.
As a bit of a sci-fi nerd who grew up in the 80s and 90s with movies like E.T. and TV shows like The X-Files, I was quick to become a fan of the popular Netflix series Stranger Things when it aired in the summer of 2016. When Season 2 came out just before Halloween this year, I was one of millions who enjoyed bingeing on the series (while simultaneously consuming excessive amounts of bite-sized chocolate bars). Aside from being an overall well-done piece of dramatic, sci-fi/horror entertainment, some aspects of Stranger Things stood out to me as a particularly poignant analogy for mental illness – not only the effects on the individual, but the ripple effects on close family members, friends, and society as a whole.
Confrontations with Darkness
For those who have been affected by serious mental illness, it’s probably not a stretch to empathize with the horror and trepidation felt by young Will Byers (brilliantly acted by Noah Schnapp) as he is pursued by malevolent forces from an alternate dimension (a place that the child protagonists colloquially refer to as “the Upside Down”). In Season 1, Will is kidnapped by a monster (“the Demogorgon”) and taken to the alternate dimension; in Season 2, the evil forces from the Upside Down infiltrate Will’s body, using him as an incubator, and begin to effectively possess him (in a manner reminiscent of so many demonic possession horror films). The scene in which Will attempts to stand up to the evil forces pursuing him – following the well-intentioned but misguided advice of his mother’s boyfriend – is particularly heartbreaking: it becomes clear that Will isn’t dealing with ordinary childhood fears or the effects of an “overactive imagination,” but is in fact facing something that is very real and dangerous. Such is the case for many young people in our world as they struggle to navigate the complexities of their own humanity – struggles which commonly involve confrontations with both internal shadows and external obstacles.
Effects on the Family
Many people’s lives are completely side-tracked, put on hold, or otherwise change direction due to mental illness. To people close to someone who is unwell, it can seem like the person they know and love is absent from their lives. Family members and close friends often become increasingly concerned and seek to find answers to the questions: “what is wrong with my loved one?” and “how can I fix it?” The desperation of family members is perhaps best exemplified in Stranger Things by Will’s mother, Joyce Byers, (portrayed by Winona Ryder): the frantic movements of eyes and furrowing of brows trying to make sense of an impossible situation; the frustration and anger at the seeming unfairness and randomness of her son’s condition; the fierce determination to do anything possible to find answers and help her son. People with loved ones affected by mental illness know the pain and helplessness behind the tears of Joyce and Jonathan Byers (Will’s older brother, actor Charlie Heaton) as they struggle to bring Will back from the grips of a force beyond their comprehension and control.
Often what is brushed off or misunderstood from the frame of reference of ordinary fears, anxieties, or sadness are in fact more extreme, pervasive, all-encompassing versions of such common human experiences. Past a certain threshold of severity, these experiences are today commonly diagnosed as psychiatric disorders. When I was a young teenager and began experiencing symptoms of what was later diagnosed as depression, I recall initially being told that I was going through the “pains of growing up” (today I understand my experiences back then as a budding awareness of existential angst). As my descent into the depths of addiction and mental illness progressed in my later teenage years, the negative effects on my family, particularly my parents, started to become evident. It’s clearer to me now in retrospect than it was to me during that period of my life how my behaviour had harmful effects on the people closest to me. I was blessed to be offered unconditional love and support from my family, which included them giving me the space to make mistakes, falter, and even fall on numerous occasions (something that I know through my work supporting the loved ones of people going through similar struggles is an extremely difficult thing to do). When I was ready and willing to get the help I needed, my family was there to support me; combined with professional help and a lot of hard work on my part, I was able to recover and turn my life around. I was one of the fortunate ones.
It Takes a Village
All too often, we view mental health issues through a hyper-individualistic lens, overlooking the fact that each one of us exists in a web of interconnected relationships. The quality of our well-being and our very lives as inherently social animals is largely determined by the quality of our relationships. Without the support and efforts of his close family and friends, Stranger Things’ Will Byers would certainly not have survived his confrontation with the darkness that had begun to consume him. Many of the least fortunate people in our society, those without strong networks of familial support or supportive social relationships, are often the ones who suffer most severely from the effects of mental illness (in addition to suffering from poverty, homelessness, and various other forms of trauma). For most people, it’s usually not enough to treat their mental illness from the perspective of “fixing a dysfunctional brain” via pharmaceutical or other medical interventions alone. If people are to truly heal, recover, grow, and ultimately flourish in society, they need the love and support of other people in the their lives. Because the greatest burden of care often falls on the spouses, parents, and siblings of those who are struggling with mental health issues, family members themselves need the support of their friends and communities to hold them up during difficult and trying times.
Like the infected underground tunnels that spread beneath the community of Hawkins, Indiana in Stranger Things, mental illness is not a problem that is limited only to those who appear to be suffering the most. While those who manifest psychiatric symptoms and fit diagnostic categories rightfully deserve attention and treatment, family members and close friends also need support and care to maintain their own health and wellness. Rather than being a force that tears families apart and alienates those who are afflicted, mental illness can be seen as a rallying cry for people to come together and support individuals and families who are suffering. It is through coming together that we can acknowledging our shared experiences of suffering, and in doing so break down the secrecy, stigma, and barriers to healing and growth that leave too many of us to face our demons alone.4th May, 2017 by Annie Hayes
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is seeking permission from the federal government to become the first US state to acquire and sell Cuban rum.
Pennsylvania – the sixth most populous state in the country – has submitted the initial paperwork to begin the application process, and is now working to provide additional documentation and materials in a bid to lift the 1962 trade embargo.
Under the Obama administration, ties between the US and Cuba were put on a path to “normalisation”, with diplomatic relations restored and some travel restrictions eased.
New regulations were introduced to allow the office in charge of enforcing the 55-year-old embargo – which prohibits almost all imports from and exports to Cuba, including rum – to grant licenses to allow limited exchanges of goods and services.
“The PLCB continues to look into legal ways to pursue business with Cuba, in the interest of bringing Cuban rum to Pennsylvania consumers,” said Elizabeth Brassell, director of communications, PLCB.
“The federal government has established a process by which those who want to do business with embargoed countries can seek permission to do so, so we’re beginning to explore that process to seek permission to acquire and sell Cuban rum.
“Ultimately, it will be up to the federal government to determine whether or not they’ll grant us permission to do business with Cuba.”
The application may encounter further hurdles under the current Trump administration. Following the death of Cuban revolutionary and politician Fidel Castro, now-president Donald Trump threatened to reinstate sanctions on Cuba that had been lifted by his predecessor, Barak Obama.
Pernod Ricard is currently engaged in a legal battle with Bermuda-based Bacardi over the rights for it to launch Havana Club in the US if the trade embargo is scrapped.
The French drinks group has received trademark approval to launch its rum in the US, but faces a challenge from Bacardi, which has sold its own Havana Club rum brand – made in Puerto Rico – in the US since the mid-1990s.Get the biggest Liverpool FC 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
Jurgen Klopp will bring both Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz with him as part of a new backroom staff at Liverpool.
They will, in part, replace some of the quartet of staff are set to follow Brendan Rodgers out of Liverpool - including assistant boss Sean O'Driscoll and coach Gary McAllister.
Klopp has called Buvac 'the brain' and Krawietz 'the eye'. Here is what can be expected of the new men in the dugout.
Zeljko Buvac
The 54-year-old experienced Bosnian coach has had a close bond with Klopp since they were team-mates together at Mainz more than two decades ago.
Buvac was an attacking midfielder who had spells with Rudar Ljubija and Banja Luka in his homeland before moving to Germany in 1991, He played for Rot-Weiss Erfurt and then spent three years at Mainz before signing for Neukirchen,
He hung up his boots at the age of 36 and was appointed manager of the club who were operating at the time in the fourth tier of German football.
In 2001 Klopp came calling. Klopp had been offered the manager’s job at Mainz after deciding to retire from playing and he wanted Buvac alongside him.
It was the start of a successful double act. Over the next seven years they secured promotion for Mainz into the Bundesliga for the first time and earned European qualification.
In 2007 Mainz were relegated and 12 months later, after failing to get them back up, they walked away.
Borussia Dortmund made their move and in May 2008 Klopp and Buvac inherited a team who had finished 13th under Thomas Doll.
After sixth and fifth placed finishes, Dortmund kicked on and won back to back Bundesliga titles in thrilling fashion.
IN PICS: Zeljko Buvac, Klopp's right-hand man
Buvac was the co-architect of Dortmund’s high-octane style of play where everything was done at speed - they pressed relentlessly to win back possession and counter-attacked with pace and movement.
The 2012 victory over Bayern Munich in the German Cup final sealed the club’s first ever domestic double.
The following season they lit up the Champions League - knocking out Real Madrid en route to the final where Bayern got their revenge with a 2-1 win at Wembley.
Hampered by the sale of Robert Lewandowski to their rivals, last term standards slipped. At one stage Dortmund were flirting with relegation before a spirited revival saw them finish seventh. Klopp announced back in April that he would be leaving to take a sabbatical and Buvac went with him.
Klopp has previously described Buvac as his “brains” and someone he has a telepathic relationship with. The respect between the two men is clear.
Back in September 2013 Klopp was hit with a touchline ban after being sent off against Napoli in the Champions League for berating the fourth official.
Asked about the manager’s absence at the time, Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin, who had a short loan spell at Liverpool the previous season, said: “Zeljko Buvac is basically Klopp’s twin, and he’ll be on the bench. “Both of them see football in exactly the same way.”
Now the duo are now set to be reunited at Anfield where Kopites will hope they can replicate the glory they brought to the Westfalenstadion.
Peter Krawietz
The 43-year-old German never played professional football but his skills are highly regarded by Klopp who gave him the nickname 'The Eye'.
He worked with Klopp and Buvac at Mainz where he was chief scout and then followed them to Dortmund.
Krawietz is Klopp's video analyst and provides a succession of information for the manager on both his own players and also an opponent's strengths and weaknesses.
Former Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert spent some time with Dortmund's staff last season. He said: “He was great with me when I was over there and showed me how it worked on the analysis side of it.
“Peter is a big part of his team and he was at Mainz with him. He knows him really well and is someone who he trusts to be very analytical about the game. He’s someone he’ll lean on.”Gujarat Cop DG Vanzara was showered with petals by supporters at the Ahmedabad airport
Highlights DG Vanzara key accused in alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan His bail conditions relaxed after David Headley said Jahan was LeT member Nearly 500 supporters welcomed him at the Ahmedabad airport
Supporters of Gujarat Cop DG Vanzara, many of them wearing caps, outside the airport
Former Gujarat cop DG Vanzara will go home today for the first time in nine years. He was showered with petals by supporters at the Ahmedabad airport where he landed this morning.A chariot awaited Mr Vanzara, who hopped on to it for a while and said, "This welcome is not for me, but for the Gujarat police." He then got into a car and drove off to Gandhinagar for another felicitation.About 500 supporters, many of them wearing caps with the slogan Bharat Mata ki Jai received Mr Vanzara at the airport.Earlier this month, a CBI court relaxed bail conditions for the retired police officer, allowing him to return to Gujarat. DG Vanzara is a key accused in the alleged staged encounter to kill Mumbai teen Ishrat Jahan and three others in 2004.Mr Vanzara, also accused in the Sohrabuddin Shiekh and Tulsi Prajapati "fake encounter" cases, had been at the Sabarmati prison in Ahmedabad since 2007. He walked out of jail in February this year after being granted bail on the condition that he would not enter Gujarat. He was also barred from leaving the country. On Saturday last, April 2, Mr Vanzara was allowed by the court to return to Gujarat on the condition that he will present himself before the court every Saturday.The former police officer had applied for a modification to his bail conditions last month after Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist David Coleman Headley alleged in his deposition before a Mumbai court said that Ishrat Jahan was an operative of the Pakistan-based terror group. Mr Vanzara was Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in the Ahmedabad crime branch when college student Ishrat Jahan and three others were shot dead by the Gujarat police on the outskirts of the city on June 15, 2004.He has insisted all through that he did his job, obeying orders.Once celebrated as a "Encounter cop" and "supercop", Mr Vanzara was arrested in April 2007 and sent to prison in connection with the alleged staged encounter killing of small-time criminal Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his associate Tulsi Prajapati. In September 2014, a Mumbai court granted him bail in the Soharabuddin and Prajapati cases, but he had remained in jail in connection with the Ishrat Jahan case. He retired in 2014, while still in jail.The Serbian central defender has not featured for the Premier League champions this season and is available for around £5 million in the January transfer window
By Greg Stobart Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic has been offered to Arsenal and Tottenham in the January transfer window for a cut-price £5 million,can reveal.Nastasic was told to find a new club over the summer but remained at City despite interest from a host of Italian clubs.City's desire to recoup as much as possible of the £12m that they paid for him and the 21-year-old's refusal to accept a drop in his £75,000-a-week salary blocked a move away from the Etihad Stadium.The Premier League champions are, however, prepared to let Nastasic leave on the cheap in the January transfer window, with the Serbian now an outcast under Manuel Pellegrini.Nastasic has not even been named as a substitute in any of City's matches this season since playing in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal in August.The 21-year-old has found himself behind Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis, Eliaquim Mangala and Dedryck Boyata in the pecking order under Pellegrini and City are now actively touting him to other clubs.North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs have both suffered defensively so far this season and have been approached over possible deals for Nastasic in the New Year.Arsenal, though, are understood to have prioritised West Ham's Winston Reid and Celtic's Virgil van Dijk as Arsene Wenger looks to bolster his struggling back line in January.Tottenham have also struggled badly defensively this season but would not pay Nastasic anything near his £75,000-a-week wage demands, an obstacle that blocked potential moves to Roma and AC Milan over the summer.Nastasic joined City in a £12m transfer from Fiorentina in 2012 and was named the club's young player of the year the following summer after an impressive debut season under Roberto Mancini.But the defender, who is contracted until 2017, made just 13 Premier League appearances last term as he struggled with injuries and form and has since fallen completely out of favour.Getty Images
The Vikings reworked running back Adrian Peterson’s contract this week, but they reportedly won’t be addressing safety Harrison Smith’s deal until after the 2015 season.
Ben Goessling of ESPN.com reports that the team won’t hold extension talks with the 2012 first-round pick until next year. Smith is set to make just over $1.36 million this season and the Vikings exercised their 2016 option on his contract earlier this year.
The presence of the option, which is guaranteed for injury only, leaves the sides plenty of time to work out a deal before the Vikings would run any risk of losing Smith to another team. Doing a deal now might be helpful to the team’s cap situation, but a patient approach also gives the team a chance to make sure Smith remains healthy and productive before making any kind of long-term commitment.
Health is tough to predict, but Smith’s play last season was strong enough that it would be a surprise if the Vikings didn’t do everything they can to hold onto him. Smith had 92 tackles, five interceptions and a forced fumble while starting all 16 games for the second time in his three years with the club.Ivanka Trump sat down with CBS This Morning to tape her first interview since announcing her new role at the White House—unpaid assistant to her dad, the president.
The show released a brief and tantalizingly absurd preview this afternoon in which Trump, a woman who claims to stand for paid leave and equal pay, is asked to respond to critics and SNL skits that have deemed her "complicit" for her position in an administration that has terrorized immigrants, undermined essential maternal health care, demonized reproductive healthcare choices, and poisoned our air and water, to name a few, in only eight weeks.
But Ivanka can't! She can't respond! Because she doesn't know what "complicit" means.
"If being complicit is wanting to, is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact than I'm complicit," she says. (But, like, that's not what complicit means.) "I don't know that the critics who may say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I am doing."
Reeeeally?
But the point is there is no point because the world is flat and Ivanka proved it when she literally concluded by saying, "I don't know what it means to be complicit."
Thankfully, in these upside-down times, Merriam-Webster is here to help:If there's anything that changed in our picture of the Israeli-Iranian stand-off after this morning's barrage of warlike headlines in all four Israeli dailies it's that the camps in the Israeli leadership were sharply brought to focus. In the pro-war corner: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In the anti-war corner: Everybody. Literally everybody else. The punchline: They still wanna do it—and they just might.
In Yedioth Ahronoth, an unequivocal headline informs us "Netanyahu and Barak determined to strike Iran in the fall." The report itself, put together by two of Israel's most senior diplomatic correspondents, Nahum Barnea and Shimon Shiffer, suggests that Netanyahu and Barak believe that the risk of an Iranian retaliation is worth gain that would result from an attack, and that they do not believe President Barack Obama will act against the Iranian nuclear program as forcefully as he promised. And, consequently, that there simply isn't any sense in waiting for the November presidential elections. Τhe reporters also state the prime minister's office is well aware that the damned-if-you-join-the-war-damned-if-you-don't situation in which such an attack would put Obama can cost the latter his second term. It's hard to imagine Netanyahu shedding any tears over this prospect.
And this, pretty much, sums up the pro-war camp. In that very same report, Schiffer and Barnea note that the duo knows that "there is not a single senior official—not at the top of the security establishment, not even the President of the state—who supports an Israeli attack on Iran." Yedioth goes on to name the opponents of a solo attack. It is a daunting list: the Chief-of-Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz; Maj. Gen. Amir Eschel, commander of the Israel Air Force; Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, director of Military Intelligence; Mossad chief Tamir Pardo; Shin Bet (secret service) director Yoram Cohen; and most of the "octet"—Israel's informal inner cabinet of eight ministers. President Shimon Peres is opposed to a unilateral solo strike, as is, of course, the United States. Yedioth has also reported recently that Netanyahu twice summoned the top brass to his residence to obtain the general's support for the war and twice failed, prompting Barak—the gall of it—to accuse the generals of cowardice and careerism, and inviting any opponent of the war to quit their post. So far, none obliged.
Meanwhile, another centre-right daily, Maariv, tries interpreting its own survey as pro war, but ends up telling us the opposite story: While 33 percent of the population believe Israel should attack Iran even if it goes alone, their support for such a move is explicitly conditioned on the approval of Israel’s own top brass. This approval is manifestly lacking, so it would seem safe to relegate even these meager supporters of a solo strike to the camp opposing Netanyahu and Barak. That same survey also lists 37 percent as giving more credence to Obama's assurances than Netanyahu and Barak do, expressing a belief the American president will stop the bomb. Only 29 percent think that he will not.
To recap, then, according to Israeli media the hierarchy of power play on the Israeli side and the actors’ stance on the idea of a solo air strike before November looks as follows :
United States, principal ally and patron: Opposed to the strike. President Shimon Peres: Opposed to the strike. Prime minister and Defense Minister: Hell-bent on strike. Inner cabinet (Octet): Largely opposed to the strike. IDF, incl. Chief of Staff, Head of Intelligence and Commander of the Air Force: Opposed to the strike. Chiefs of counter-intelligence (Mossad), secret service (Shin Bet): Opposed to the strike Most of the public: Opposed to war so long as the top brass above is opposed to the strike.
This alignment, laced with acrimony and infused with rising tension over the incredible, apocalyptic stakes hanging in the balance, constitutes an alarmingly near-perfect set up for a military coup.
In particular, it’s disturbingly reminiscent of the last time Israel faced such a risk. In June 1967, as prime minister Levi Eshkol played for time and tried to secure U.S. support for what would become the Six Day War, enemy armies amassed themselves on Israel's borders and the nerve-wracked top brass of the IDF felt that going to war was less dangerous than not going. As the country agonized in a nerve-wracking wait, the then-Major General Ariel Sharon tried to persuade his superior, Chief-of-Staff Yitzhak Rabin, to stage a coup. Sharon himself candidly recalled later to a military historian how it would be done: "You get up and say—listen, you [ministers], your decisions are endangering the State of Israel, and since the situation has reached a critical point, we kindly ask you to move into the next room and wait there. And the Chief of Staff would go on radio and make a statement. They [the ministers] would have accepted this with relief." Sharon also said almost as much to Eshkol's face, and in an atmosphere historian Tom Segev describes as already resembling a coup, the die was cast, and Israel went to war—against the wishes of the United States.
Forty-five years later, we’re told the majority of the top brass believes not launching a war in the nearest future is safer than launching one, and this time it’s perfectly aligned with the opinion of the United States. It's hard, then, not to imagine similar conversations already taking place, around a scenario one would imagine to look something like this: When put before the inevitability of a strike they clearly believe to be militarily and politically catastrophic for Israel, instead of complying, the Chief of Staff and the Commander of the Air Force arrest Netanyahu and Barak. Gantz “goes to the radio” and announces an emergency provisional government, tasked with de-escalating the situation at least until after the American elections. The anti-war ministers of the inner cabinet are offered to keep their jobs, and Peres grants the generals a presidential pardon. The United States tut-tuts but looks the other way. The Israeli public, which deems Barak unelectable, has recently sent Netanyahu's approval rating through the floor, and anyway has always trusted the army more than the politicians, does the same. Even the most ardently "pro-Israel" pundits in the United States will find it hard to support Netanyahu and Barak against the idolized IDF's top brass.
This is a purely speculative and, needless to say, highly undesirable scenario. It’s very difficult to take a “break” from democracy and then resume it as if nothing happened. Military coups that start off as "temporary" tend to morph into permanent very quickly, and it's more than likely an army-led anti-immediate-war government will seek to establish its patriotism through a crackdown on Israel's civil society, on Palestinians, or both. Moreover, the scenario is not based on any primary sources—only on what has been reported so far in the Israeli press and on historical precedent. A much better option, as the top brass of the 90's told told Netanyahu when he threatened to arm Israel's missiles in response to some vague Iranian statement, would be for everyone to take a pill, relax and forget about it. An even better, and one hopes the likeliest option is that all of it is just a spin atop a spin atop another spin. Fingers crossed.
Still, it seems the situation in both the region and in the innermost chambers of the Israeli state has come to resemble a Mexican stand-off in a mirror-maze, something out a bad 1980's action movie. Everyone is staring hard at everyone's reflection, and everyone hoping everyone else is bluffing. The possibility of the generals moving first—either by staging a coup or simply by calling Netanyahu's bluff and collectively resigning—is surely one of the considerations hanging thick in the air as we shuffle uneasily towards D-day.Sewing skirts is one of the easiest sewing projects to start with. If you’re ready to make your first skirt I recommend starting with something simple. When you’re ready to move on this free pleated skirt tutorial is adorable! I’m sharing this free skirt tutorial as part of Simple Simon & Co.’s Skirting The Issue series. They’re collecting skirts for girls in foster care. If you’re interested in sewing a few skirts please check out their resources and all the great tutorials.
headband: handmade (tutorial) // shirt : iron-on tutorial soon // skirt: handmade
This skirt is a girl’s size 10 with a 24″ waist. With a little planning you can adjust this to any size for women or girls.
Supplies:
1 yard of fabric // I used a stiff fabric that I got from the red tag section. I’m guessing it is supposed to be for curtains but it makes the fullest, lovely skirt.
I used a stiff fabric that I got from the red tag section. I’m guessing it is supposed to be for curtains but it makes the fullest, lovely skirt. 1 zipper // I would have used an invisible zipper if I had one but I used a great metal zipper I have.
I would have used an invisible zipper if I had one but I used a great metal zipper I have. Hook & Eye
Coordinating thread
Sewing machine
Ruler
Cut Pieces:
Cut 2 waistband pieces 25″ by 3 inches. Optional: Cut an additional piece of stabilizer to iron onto your waistband to make it stronger.
Cut 2 pieces for the skirt, 16″ by 36.5″.
Sew:When faced with leaving their furry companions alone during the day, pet parents often suffer from separation anxiety — not so much from their pets as from themselves and their own guilt over leaving their pet’s to fend for themselves in a lonely house. Here are four ways to help your cat stay occupied while you’re gone; after all, he can’t nap all day long!
1. Building the Fun Zone
When your cat is ready to play, a special space that has been set up just for that purpose is important. Even if you don’t have an extra room to devote as a cat haven, a corner of a room or a window will suffice. Set up a nice cat tree and/or scratching post that is specially made for climbing and claw exercises. Perches that overlook the yard will also give her hours of free, albeit mundane, entertainment. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, you can build a sitting shelf that sits on the inside ledge of the windowsill using just a shelf, brackets and fabric, or you can buy one from a pet supply store. A bird feeder placed outside the window will provide hours of entertainment (and maybe a little frustration!).
There are also ways to make it so that your cat can go outside while staying inside, with an enclosure that juts from the open window, allowing your cat the best view of all. This is another project that you can either take on yourself, or buy pre-assembled.
Start simple: You can begin by hanging toys from different spots so your cat has something to bat around, and place little jingly balls and furry mice on the floor for your cat to bat across the room and play a game of make-believe chase.
2. Get a “Buddy”
If your cat is an “only child,” you may want to consider adopting a feline brother or sister for her. Keep in mind that it can be challenging to integrate a new pet into the household, especially if your cat is older and is used to being the sole holder of the throne, but it is worth the effort to give your furry feline a companion she can grow to love (and groom). When two cats get together, playtime can really be productive and new games will be invented, even if you’re not home to witness them!
See Also: Should I Keep My Cat Indoors?
3. Puzzles and Snacks
If your cat is into treats and snacks, a food puzzle toy can be a great way to keep him occupied. These typically ball-shaped toys are made to be stuffed with small pieces of food (or treats), which are released only when your cat figures out the right way to undo the catch or turn it the right way to make the treat fall out. This is good for stimulating your cat’s brain and his muscles. Most pet supply shops sell different versions of treat puzzles, or you can look online.
4. Soothing Sounds
The poet William Congreve wrote that “music has charms to soothe a savage beast.” We know this to be true for the savage man, and it is also true for our domesticated savage companions. If you find that your cat responds to certain styles of music, you can collect more of that style and set it up to play quietly on the home stereo while you are away. If in doubt, you can’t go wrong with classical. Stick with the soft pieces, piano and string rather than trumpets and drums. There is also a large choice of soothing meditation music that you can play for your cat. Just don’t be too surprised if you come home one day and find your cat in the lotus pose.
***
Sure, your cat is probably more than happy to spend her day alone. She needs her rest after a long night of resting, but enriching her environment with some extra toys, visual distraction, music or companions will probably end up being one of your greater ideas. If nothing else, it will ease your guilty conscience and make you a happier pet owner.
Related:
Senior Cat Care
Budget-Friendly Cat Food Guide
Cat Behavior 101
Four Ways to Keep Your Indoor Cat Entertained While You’re Away originally appeared on petMD.comGeneral view (2013)
Teddy Stadium (Hebrew: אצטדיון טדי, Itztadion Teddy) is a sports stadium in Jerusalem, Israel. Four football teams currently use the stadium: Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem, and Beitar Nordia Jerusalem. The stadium also serves the national team for some select home matches.
The stadium is named for long-time Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, who was in office during the time of its construction and was one of its prominent advocates.
History [ edit ]
For Beitar, the stadium was a major upgrade after years of playing at the YMCA Stadium, nicknamed "The Sandbox". In the first stage, only the west and east sides of the stadium were built, giving it a capacity of over 14,000. In 1999, work was finished on a north side that increased capacity to 21,600.
The stadium itself is one of the newest in Israel and one of the few that are close to meeting all European standards. It is accessible to the disabled, has modern bathrooms, and has ample concession stands, a combination that is very difficult to find in many Israeli stadiums. The stadium has 5,000 parking spots on its premises, and is connected to the Malha Mall and its parking facilities by a pedestrian bridge.
The stadium is located at the Begin Expressway and just past the Malha Train Station, which ensures convenient road and rail access to the rest of Israel.
With stands close to the pitch and excellent acoustics, Teddy Stadium has hosted several Israel national football team matches, the Maccabiah Games opening ceremony, and other public events.
A south side stand was completed on June 3, 2013, increasing seating capacity to 31,733.
Teddy Stadium was one of the venues for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and hosted the tournament's final match.
Supporters [ edit ]
During Beitar matches, the La Familia group occupies the eastern sections of the stadium. They are known for being the most vocal and controversial of fans in the venue.[2][3]
Renovation plans [ edit ]
From September 2016 |
were unavailable or unable to appear at the hearing, or that they communicated with Shanabrook. For those reasons, this court finds that Wells Fargo failed to provide a witness competent to testify to matters relevant to this proceeding, and so the court will draw an inference from this refusal that had competent testimony been produced, it would have been adverse to Wells Fargo.”
How does this hurt the borrowers? As with the robo-signing controversy, some question whether any of this really harms a borrower who admittedly owes somebody some money. Often, the harm is that the judgment amount is overstated. See e.g., Palacios briefs which point out the discrepancies between the bank records and the judgment:
• Many of the amounts awarded cannot be found in the records at all (Title Search, Title Update, Mediation Fee, Property Preservation, Property Inspection and BPO/Appraisals) • The records show half the amount in the judgment for 2010 taxes--which happens to be about double what was paid every other year. This is a $32,412.86 swing. • Neither the interest nor the principal due can be computed from the records in evidence
Yet the witness testified that the figures in the final judgment were supported by the records in evidence. The appeal was PCA’d (affirmed for the bank without an opinion). Proof of attorney involvement Trial orders generally require the parties to disclose their witnesses before trial. It is typical that, even though servicers rarely use more than one witness at trial, they list several, even dozens, all to testify about the same thing because they do not know which of the army of robo-testifiers will be assigned to the case. The very fungibility of these witnesses indicates that they have no personal knowledge of the facts of any particular borrower’s loan. Note that the Florida evidence code permits parties to introduce documents into evidence at trial through “a certification or declaration” of the records custodian or other qualified witness that says that the records meet the “business records” hearsay exception. § 90.902, Fla. Stat. So there is no need to undergo the expense of training and transporting live witnesses, when they could just submit what is essentially an affidavit as to each set of records. This can only mean that the real records custodians/qualified witnesses will not testify as needed, not just because the banks attorneys are choosing the more expensive route, but because submitted such affidavits would expose the signers to deposition—just as the original robo-signers were. The Rolle case In 2013, plaintiff’s counsel emailed exhibits in the case of Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v. Rolle, Case No. 56 2012 CA 001461 (St. Lucie County). The email inadvertently included instructions from one of the attorneys to others about preparing the Ocwen witnesses for trial which included questions and answers that the witnesses were to give. It also included instructions on how to get the witnesses the documents that they would be testifying about at trial. In other words, although they were being presented as the “records custodian” or at least the person who combed through the bank’s records to obtain the relevant ones, what are alleged to be company records actually come from the attorney. This revelation of this before trial last year resulted in a lot of accusations and an unsuccessful attempt by Ocwen to seal the records from the public. The case was dismissed, but attorneys around the country are still requesting copies of these documents. More on the Rolle case, including the inadvertently emailed documents, can be found here...I live at 270 Main St. Perhaps you have driven past our home in previous years during the Halloween season.
We have always put out a spooky display for trick-or-treaters. Last year, we had more than 350 visitors on Halloween night. We even won a prize from the Times a few years ago for our display.
Well, each year there have always been some late night occurrences of minor vandalism and occasionally a stolen tombstone or missing zombie. We have come to expect and accept this as taking a chance on leaving things out in the open.
But on Oct. 23, several high-cost items were stolen (valued at approximately $350). It was very disheartening, to say the least.
It was not just the loss of the items, but also the time it took to set things up (I take days off from work to get it all completed) that has finally broken our spirit considering what this year’s display meant to my husband and me.
My mother became terminally ill last year just after helping us set up the display. She so enjoyed watching the families stop by throughout October taking photos.
At the age of 82, she would still go out and help get everything together and greet people as they stopped by.
After losing her to cancer last November, I was finding it difficult to get into the spirit this year, but friends and family convinced me that mom would be very disappointed if I didn’t make the neighborhood kids happy.
So, with the help of my husband, we put up our display, only to wake up one morning to being violated.
As a result, and after a good cry, we made the decision that the hooligans have won the war. We decided rather than have someone steal from us in the middle of the night, that we would rather give it away to someone who would enjoy them.Touring the security barrier I was surprised to hear that the architect of the barrier had appeared before the Israeli Supreme Court on countless occasions to defend his decisions regarding the route of the barrier. On occasion, when his planned route was ruled illegal, the barrier was removed and re-built according to the judgement. I also learnt that as a country with sparse natural resources Israel has had to develop alternative methods of productivity. The country leads the way in hi-tech, green and agri-techniques as well as in scientific development.
I was indifferent about Israel and the Middle East. However, last year when I visited Israel and the Palestinian territories for the first time, I was left with a very different impression of the place: Israel is a country misunderstood and misrepresented. Looking across the border with Lebanon and peering at Hizbullah strongholds, no more than 100 yards away from where I was standing, underlined the significance of Israel’s strategic frailty in the face of constant threat.
What images come to mind when people think about the state of Israel? Israeli oppressors shooting at cherub faced Palestinians? Suicide bombings and exploded buses? Or maybe indifference reigns; why should we care about this faraway place that has no real bearing on our daily lives? Perhaps it is all of the above.
My travels around Israel surprised me completely. The people were full of get up and go, eager to live peacefully in the region; the towns and cities were energetic and cosmopolitan; and the deliverance of democracy never failed to impress upon me. So why is there such a discrepancy between what I experienced and public perception back in the UK? When was the last time you heard a good news story emanating from Israel on your TV screens or in the newspapers? And why has Israel become defined simply by its inability to solve the conflict when it is so much more than that?
I raised these questions when I returned to Israel again last week with colleagues from the UK and Australia for a dialogue with Israeli and Palestinian politicians, journalists, academics and commentators. This serious problem is not being effectively addressed and Israel’s future is being undermined by its inability to promote itself both accurately and attractively. As an MP, I witness this difference between perception and reality, on a regular basis in the House of Commons. From Backbenchers through to Government Ministers and Shadow Ministers, colleagues suffer from a serial case of apathy where Israel is concerned. Seemingly no positive impression of the place has been determined in people’s minds.
Israel has consistently perceived military might as the number one way to protect and defend the state. Although an important factor, this cannot be the only focus. The country’s re-branding is now an issue of serious strategic importance. Israel must accept that engaging their critics, isolating and correcting their propaganda and successfully rebalancing the debate must be a priority in order to protect their future. All of us who see Israel as more than a conflict zone ought to play our part in this important task.
My challenge to anybody who feels strongly on Israel is to get on a plane and go and see the place for yourself. Visit Tel Aviv where you will see a modern liberal western society where most people are just getting on with their lives in peace. Chat to Israelis or to their politicians and you will be reminded that this is the only true democracy in the Middle East where political debate is passionate, diverse and vibrant. More vibrant than our own democracy perhaps. That is the true Israel, the real Israel.NSPatsFan I'm disrespectful to dirt.
Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: I'm Down From Canada and they think I'm slow Eh? Posting Frequency
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"The Patriots Just Benefit From a Weak Division"
Quote: Since 2001
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@Steelers NFC North opponents win %.453
@Patriots AFC East opponents win %.450
Pats vs Division win %.775
Steelers vs Division win %.724
So the Steelers play in a division better by three one-thousandths of a precent and yet have a win percentage 17 times worse than that difference against their division opponents...
I'm sure that 0.003 is why the Patriots have won 3 more Super Bowls...
The numbers in the boxes are each Division's win % that year, so in 2016 the AFC East won 56.25 of their games. The brighter green the box is, the higher over.500 the division is and Red is the opposite.
Now some people will claim "But the Patriots add a lot of wins to the AFC East each year! It makes it look better than it is." That's true, I took a look at the numbers for the division without the Patriots and they came out like this.
In this table the NOP column stands for No Pats, so it is the win % of the other 3 teams in the AFC East. The results are STUNNING. There is a dropoff to be sure, I would argue that would happen if you remove the team with the best record in the other divisions as well. But in only THREE of the past 16 years, 2005, 2007 and 2012 denoted in orange; (including the thus incomplete 2017) has the AFC East been the worst division in football WITHOUT its best team in it. So you have the AFC East opponent teams doing better than other divisions who all have their best teams in them!
The grand total of times the AFC East was the worst division in football without the Patriots win percentage included and the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year?
ZERO.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the "Weak division" argument is dead. I just killed it. Turns out that fans of other teams are full of shit. Who knew? For those of you who didn't see it in the Steelers fan whining thread I laid the smack down on the "The Patriots only win because their division sucks every year" argument made by Steeler fans including Dave Dameshek.But, I wanted to go further and debunk this BS once and for all, so I took the winning percentages of all the divisions since 2001 and put them into this table. Please note the current division re-alignment didn't take effect until 2002, so I just took the teams as if they were in the new divisions for 2001 and gave the Texans, who didn't exist yet, an 8-8 record in the South. So 2001 numbers are a bit skewed because of this.The numbers in the boxes are each Division's win % that year, so in 2016 the AFC East won 56.25 of their games. The brighter green the box is, the higher over.500 the division is and Red is the opposite.Now some people will claim "But the Patriots add a lot of wins to the AFC East each year! It makes it look better than it is." That's true, I took a look at the numbers for the division without the Patriots and they came out like this.In this table the NOP column stands for No Pats, so it is the win % of the other 3 teams in the AFC East. The results are STUNNING. There is a dropoff to be sure, I would argue that would happen if you remove the team with the best record in the other divisions as well. But in only THREE of the past 16 years, 2005, 2007 and 2012 denoted in orange; (including the thus incomplete 2017) has the AFC East been the worst division in football WITHOUT its best team in it. So you have the AFC East opponent teams doing better than other divisions who all have their best teams in them!The grand total of times the AFC East was the worst division in football without the Patriots win percentage included and the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year?ZERO.Ladies and Gentlemen, the "Weak division" argument is dead. I just killed it. Turns out that fans of other teams are full of shit. Who knew?Monday, May 8, 2017
NORFOLK, ENGLAND—The Yorkshire Post reports that Shelby Putt of the Stone Age Institute and her team scanned the brains of volunteers with functional near-infrared spectroscopy while they produced two-sided stone weapons, such as hand axes and cleavers. It had been thought that such stone tool production, first undertaken some 1.75 million years ago, would be linked to the evolution of language. But the scientists instead found that the same areas of the brain were activated in the tool makers as in those who play the piano in a rock-and-roll style. Both skills require a combination of visual memory, hearing, movement awareness, and action planning. “We think this marked a turning point in the evolution of the human brain, leading to the evolution of a new species of human,” Putt said. For more, go to “Earliest Stone Tools.”The famous defense attorney Clarence Darrow advised lawyers that they should not pick jurors who had strong Calvinist religious beliefs about right and wrong because they have a harsh and unforgiving attitude. It should not come as a real surprise that new research supports his view.
A new study backs up Darrow’s advice, finding that belief in a vengeful God will lead a person to oppose programs that help prisoners re-enter society, while a person who believes in a loving and forgiving God is more likely to support those programs. “Stronger feelings of religious forgiveness led to greater support for assisting offenders,” says the study of 386 random Missourians. “The people who had the stronger punitive picture of God were less likely to support transitional programs, things like substance abuse programs,” says Brett Garland, a professor at Missouri State University and an author of the study. Past research echoes the Missouri findings. “Fundamentalists tend to be more punitive. They do believe in ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’” Monica Miller, a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, tells Newsweek. Miller’s research found stronger support for the death penalty among those who take the Bible literally and among fundamentalists, who place more weight on the Old Testament than the New.
In Darrow’s time one did not have the option of picking non-religious people since they were unlikely to publicly declare their unbelief so Darrow advised defense lawyers as to which denominations were preferable.
In his 1936 essay for Esquire, Darrow predicted the views toward criminals and defendants that Guyton, the Methodist, and Moore, the Southern Baptist, would hold almost 80 years later. The guidance he gave defense attorneys for picking sympathetic jurors seems to remain solid. “The Methodists are worth considering; they are nearer the soil. Their religious emotions can be transmuted into love and charity,” Darrow wrote. “If chance sets you down between a Methodist and a Baptist, you will move toward the Methodist to keep warm.”MANILA — The Maute Group has aligned with three other groups to sow terror in Mindanao and had planned to seize schools in Zamboanga areas and Jolo, and take grade school children there as hostages, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said.
Sotto, a reserved Philippine Army officer, said he got the intelligence information from his sources and that he expected the military not to confirm this report.
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That was why when President Duterte met with senators along with some congressmen last week to pitch for an extension of martial law in Mindanao, he said he understood the Chief Executive when he told them of the seriousness of the problem of the Maute Group which had taken siege of Marawi City last May 23 and which government forces have been doing battle with to this day.
“The President told us that: “This is no longer a problem of Marawi. We are almost able to contain Marawi but they (Maute) are going to branch out,” Sotto said in a phone interview.
He said that they suspected ISIS has been backing the Maute Group, which has linked up with the Abu Sayyaf, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Maguit Group to make up the group calling itself “Da’wahtul Islamiyah Wailayatul Mastiq” or DIWM. The group is believed to have 1,200 members, according to Sotto.
He called the move of Congress to extend martial law in Mindanao until Dec.31 as a “pre-emptive strike” against the DWIM, which he said could have been surprised by the extension of the proclamation.
Last Saturday (July 22), the Senate and the House voted in a joint session to grant President Duterte’s request for an extension of martial law in Mindanao until Dec.31. The extension was granted, a day after his 60-day martial law proclamation covering the entire Mindanao expired.
The military continues to go after the ISIS-inspired group after taking over some of its strongholds in the now ruined city.
Before he talked to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sotto had told a radio interview on Sunday, that the plan of Maute and other groups to seize Zamboanga and Jolo schools and take the school children there as hostages were disclosed in “captured documents.”
Sotto also said in the same radio interview that he did not think the local terrorists would go to Luzon and Visayas because an intelligence report said Filipino terrorists who were asked to become suicide bombers refused to do so.
When pressed on the report of the planned seizure of Zamboanga and Jolo schools, the senator said he learned from sources of this plan last week or before the President met with some senators and congressmen in Malacañang.
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“They (ISIS -inspired groups) planned to take over schools while the (elementary) students are there. So what will the government do? What should we do if they hold the children hostages?” Sotto said in a phone interview.
“They were targetting elementary students.”
Sotto said the groups were already prepared to execute the plan to hold schoolchildren as hostages but apparently this did not happen.
An incident in Jolo last week somehow confirmed the intelligence reports on terrorists’ plan to mount attacks in Zamboanga City and Jolo, the senator said. Sotto was apparently referring to the July 21 attack when Abu Sayyaf members stormed a sawmill and took two men there as hostages.
Of the DIWM, he said the group members were spread out in Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Saranggani.
“They plan to establish a Daesch there, ” Sotto said.
Sotto added that President Duterte had told them he needed P20-25 billion to arm the military and police against the new terror group.
He said Mr. Duterte has asked Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to look for excess money in the current national budget so he could provide much needed government “arsenal” to fight the well-armed terror group.
“Because of the large number of our enemies, our bullet reserves are depleted. So we need a buffer to beef up our arsenal,” Sotto said.
Still, he said he believed the government would be able to wipe out this group before Dec.31 and therefore, the martial law proclamation could be lifted earlier.
Sen. Grace Poe, meanwhile, said the government should intensify its intelligence as the enemy has been engaged in guerilla-type warfare.
Poe said the government has so far reported that of the 1,200 enemies, 66 have been arrested; 400 have been killed whil 666 have remained unaccounted for.
“They may be in Marawi, they may be in nearby areas and in other parts of Mindanao,” Poe said in a radio interview on Sunday. SFM
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MOST READThe tug of war on tobacco has gone on since 1964. Lets face it. It’s been almost 52 years since January 11th, 1964.
The Surgeon General at that time, Dr. Luther L. Terry, announced “an astounding conclusion: smoking causes cancer” in front of 200 reporters behind locked doors. His decision to announce this must have come at some price. Imagine the pressure then, even then.
The Kennedy assassination was fresh in the country’s mind. Conspiracy theories were brewing. The Beatles were on the air invading the airwaves, but not yet on American soil. Ed Sullivan was plotting his next move.
Herbert A Gilbert had already invented the first e-cigarette – almost a year before his patent originally Filed Apr. 17, 1963.
There was no social media – no way to look something up on Google. Look & Life magazines were “Google”. A gallon of gas was $.25. My older brother John wasn’t even a gleam in the old mans eye, yet. I eventually came along in 1967…. I’ll put my beads & mop tops away now, and focus on this:
FIFTY-ONE years. To improve? That’s the spirit. What THEY are doing is not working in the United States. What they are doing is lying.
What they are doing is without integrity. They tell you to “keep trying”, call the quitline, you’re not trying hard enough. It may take a few tries, We have products available that are approved.
E-cigarettes are not pharmaceutical. They are not tobacco. They are, however, a viable solution to tobacco use, if the user chooses to do so. To pretend e-cigarettes are bad is a “Professor of Tobacco Control“‘s job? The director of the CDC, Tom Frieden? Neither of those have a conflict of interest…
I’ll get back to who’s job this is.
Lets look quickly (and sadly) at two men who represent the United States “Health Care” with questionable integrity.
Earlier this year, the CDC’s Director, Tom Frieden made a decision to be cute. He decided it was a good idea -confusing people with ads on television and billboards. He’s tweeted, set off the #CDCTips (Tips From A Former Smoker) with the impression of e-cigarettes being bad because a smoker kept smoking ((while using an e-cigarette)), and sadly lost her lung. Who knows the truth.
He also tweeted and proclaimed youth, children, tobacco products….
The present Surgeon General chose, embarrassingly to say “we don’t know enough” but kids should not use them.
You all reading know the deal.
When will the lack of integrity catch up in the United States? HOW and WHEN will they be held accountable?
Public Health England released their evidence update to the WORLD.
Public Health England Ecigarettes_an_evidence_update_A_report_commissioned_by_Public_Health_England(6)
Is their report pristine? No.
Is it responsible? Yes.
It gives responsible exposure to the subject. Opens very large doors to smokers. It tells the world there is a viable option, it opens up the world of reducing tobacco in the world responsibly. It creates a solution for the fairy tale goal of tobacco control.
The United States and a select group of idiots worldwide CHOOSE to continue to hide their heads in the sand and pretend it is bad. (Yes, Christoper Snowden brilliantly covered you here – Chapman, McKee, and Glantz, hoping he does Capewell soon).
WHERE is the reaction, agreement or even a contradiction of the PHE report from the CDC & Surgeion General? The U.S. Health Organizations? The Doctors pretending they’re experts? Playing grab-ass with themselves? They don’t have one, they’re trying to hide from it.
They’re not going to recognize it? They’re not going to acknowledge it?
Well, my favorite engineer in the whole wide world, Professor Glantz, a “Professor of Tobacco Control” (self-titled?) who’s criteria is spelled out CLEARLY here
and his conflict of interest is clearly shown here,
and here
and Glantz DID do some cherry-picking and complaining of “conflict of interest” of the Public Health England report here)
This is a SUBSTANTIAL list of various organizations who are supporting Public Health England.
The only improvement to tobacco control I’m seeing in the United States is more taxes, restrictions, regulation processes and bans on e-cigarettes. The only thing I’m seeing in the United States is ignoring the PHE report without cause, without question, and with questionable integrity to the public. You’d think, after all, the effort in tobacco control in the United States is just about money not health. You’d think they wanted you to smoke.
The Beatles, like them or not, changed the face of music.
The e-cigarette, like it or not, has already changed the face (or “two-faced” opponents) of tobacco, tobacco control efforts and the world.
The American public is being lied to like the rest of the world. The honesty of Public Health England, and all involved is a step in the right direction. The path to irrelevance is going to be a lonely one, with less support for the true causes you do represent. Few in the United States are taking the initiative to be honest. Many are arrogant, few have integrity.
I thank those of you who do.
It’s our job to enlighten the public. I encourage you to #DoSomething.
I want you to fight for your lives and a choice for smokers in the future as Dr. Farsalinos has stated.
My website is now live at VAPINGLINKS.COM
More to come ~and as always,
Keep On #Vaping ON.
Kevin
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Like this: Like Loading...If you're a car owner in Chicago, life is about to become a little less miserable. At Wednesday's City Council meeting, the body approved a new ordinance that established a "Towing Bill of Rights."
The measure was headed up by 47th ward Alderman Ameya Pawar and is in response to a litany of complaints about Lincoln Towing, a North Side company who inspired the song "Lincoln Park Pirates." In February, Pawar threatened to shut down the company's Uptown lot, which operates at 4882 N Clark St. A few weeks later, the Illinois Commerce Commission launched an investigation into Lincoln Towing's shoddy practices, and community members launched a petition to suspend its business license.
For decades, the company has allegedly towed legally parked vehicles, overcharged drivers and engaged in predatory practices that rival a mountain lion's. Now, Pawar and his City Council colleagues have moved to regulate towing companies throughout the city.
The ordinance lays out in clear terms a series of rules that companies like Lincoln Towing must follow. For starters, tow trucks that relocate vehicles must report the towed car's year, make, model and state license plate number to the Chicago Police Department's nonemergency line within 30 minutes after the move. Within 24 hours of relocating a vehicle, towing companies will be required to submit a written report to the superintendent of police that contains the contact information of the relocator, the information on the car that was moved, when and where the car was moved, where it's being stored from and information on the person with whom the relocation agreement was made.
Moreover, towing companies will be required to provide CPD with a list of all locations where they have an active agreement to remove and relocate unauthorized vehicles before they can start towing cars.
If the ordinance has the effect that Pawar hopes it will have, companies like Lincoln Towing will have to, you know, cease being dickheads. If Pawar gets his way, though, Lincoln Towing will face sanctions and potentially be put out of business.
The Towing Bill of Rights passed #ChiCouncil! Now it's time for the ICC to take action against #LincolnTowing. — (((Ameya Pawar))) (@Alderman_Pawar) June 22, 2016
Interested in blogging for Time Out? Contact us here.Bob Iger is likely to extend his tenure as Disney chairman-CEO if the company succeeds in acquiring 20th Century Fox and other big assets from the Murdoch empire.
Iger’s current contract runs through June 2019. He’s extended twice after originally setting his retirement date from Disney as 2015 as the Disney board has struggled to find a candidate to take the reins of the world’s largest media company. If Disney were to pull off a huge acquisition of film and TV assets from 21st Century Fox, it’s virtually a given that Iger would have to stick around to help oversee the hardest part of any merger deal — the integration of operations and management.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report Iger’s plan to stick around if the Fox deal transpires, citing sources with knowledge of the situation. Iger’s most recent extension came in March, when he added one year to a contract that had been set to expire in mid-2018.
Disney reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Disney is in talks with 21st Century Fox to acquire major portions of its entertainment assets, including the 2oth Century Fox film and TV studio, the FX Networks and National Geographic Channels cable groups, the regional Fox Sports cablers as well as Fox’s 39% interest in Euro satcaster Sky and a collection of international channels including the prosperous Star India outlet. Disney would also buy out Fox’s 30% interest in Hulu — a move seen as a first step toward turning Hulu into the foundation of the standalone streaming service that Disney has vowed to launch in 2019.
Related Bob Iger on Hostless Oscars: 'It's Been a Rollercoaster' Last Hostless Oscars Were Memorable — for the Wrong Reasons
The deal under consideration is believed to be an all-stock transaction that values the Fox assets at around $60 billion.
There’s also speculation that a Fox acquisition could help Disney with its CEO succession problem. Twenty-First Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice are seen as candidates for possibly serving an apprenticeship under Iger with an eye toward eventually taking the reins.
Disney’s talks with Fox picked up steam during the Thanksgiving holiday break and have continued ever since. Comcast also remains in the mix although the momentum is stronger with Disney, in part because the Murdochs are believed to see Disney as a better fit overall for the assets in question.
Sources said it seems unlikely that the pursuit of Fox will erupt into an all-out bidding war given Disney’s determination and deep pockets. There’s also the perception that Comcast would have a harder time than Disney guiding an acquisition through the regulatory approval process at a time when the Justice Department has signaled its willingness to challenge media consolidation through its efforts to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger.
Comcast’s hefty footprint as a cable operator and broadband provider is a dimension that Disney, for all its size, does not have. Bringing Fox content and programming assets into the Comcast tent could be a non-starter for the current anti-trust regime at the Justice Department.
The size of the deal and the presence of two industry giants in Disney and Comcast is believed to have discouraged other potential suitors, including Sony Pictures Entertainment and Verizon, from jumping into the fray. At present the talks are said to be happening at the highest levels rather than in an auction-style process with formal bid deadlines — at least for now.
Wall Street is closely eyeing the Disney-Fox courtship as a sign of a fundamental shift in the entertainment sector. If the Murdochs are willing to sell big portions of the conglomerate that Rupert Murdoch built up during the past half-century then the business horizon is surely changing for other players. But investors seem to be in wait-and-see mode as Fox and Disney shares have been relatively flat the past few days. Fox shares were up just 22 cents to $32.70 at the close of trading Wednesday, while Disney stock slid 1.6% to $105.46Jon Hunstman Unveils A Tax Plan You Ought To Be Paying Attention To
Jon Huntsman is out with a tax and jobs plan that deserves a lot more attention than it's likely to get.
Doug Mataconis · · 44 comments
Jon Huntsman is hovering near the bottom of the polls both on a national and a statewide basis, so perhaps that he feels free to put forward one of the most far-reaching tax reform plans we’ve seen in quite some time:
Jon M. Huntsman Jr. again showed himself on Wednesday to be an ideological outlier in the Republican presidential field, calling for the tax code to be stripped of all loopholes and deductions. Congressional Republicans have resisted closing loopholes in recent budget talks, portraying such moves as tax increases. “Over the last few decades, our tax code has devolved into a maze of special-interest carve-outs, loopholes and temporary provisions that cost taxpayers more than $400 billion a year to comply with,” Mr. Huntsman said in a speech at a metal plant in Hudson, N.H. “Get rid of all tax expenditures, all loopholes, all deductions, all subsidies, all corporate welfare.” Mr. Huntsman’s plan, which borrows from both Representative Paul D. Ryan’s proposal and the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission recommendations to reduce the deficit, also calls for sharply lowering both corporate and individual tax rates, as well as ending taxes on capital gains and dividends, positions more in line with Republican orthodoxy. It calls for simplified income tax rates of 8 percent, 14 percent and 23 percent, but would eliminate popular tax breaks like the deduction for interest on home mortgages.
The New York Times article on the plan is unfortunately devoid of any real analysis of the plan, which probably wouldn’t be true of a plan put forward by one of the top tier candidates. Fortunately, The Washington Post gives the plan a little more attention, including noticing the fact that Huntsman plan deals with a lot more than just taxes:
Called “Time to Compete,” the speech aimed to catapult Huntsman into the economic debate among the top-tier candidates and give his campaign some much-needed traction. “There is no more urgent priority at this point in our nation’s history than creating jobs and strengthening our economic core; everything else revolves around it,” he said. “Meeting our challenges will require serious solutions, but above all, it will require serious leadership — a quality in high demand in our nation’s capital and among my opponents on the campaign trail.” Huntsman’s plan calls for eliminating taxes on capital gains and dividends, lowering the business tax rate, and instituting a tax holiday for repatriating corporate profits earned overseas. Addressing regulations, Huntsman said he would repeal Obama’s health-care plan — all of his Republican rivals have vowed to do the same if elected — as well as the Dodd-Frank bill, which increased oversight of the financial sector. Huntsman also took aim at the Environmental Protection Agency, which his opponents have also targeted, saying, “We must end the EPA’s serious regulatory overreach.”
Huntsman talked about his plan on the Today show this morning:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
James Pethokoukis concentrates on the tax part of Huntsman’s plan and finds much to be impressed with:
Basically, this is the “zero option” Bowles-Simpson tax plan that lowers marginal tax rates and broadens the tax base. But there is at least one big difference. B-S would use part of the money from axing some $1 trillion in annual tax breaks to lower marginal rates and part for deficit reduction – a net tax hike. Huntsman would divert that extra tax revenue into “paying for” the elimination of investment taxes. At first glance, this looks like perhaps the most pro-growth, pro-market (and anti-crony capitalist) tax plan put forward by a major U.S. president candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1980. But it is not without political risk. In addition to killing tax breaks for businesses, Huntsman would eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, healthcare exclusion, and the child tax credit among other “tax expenditures. ” We’re talking about a whole herd of sacred cows. Both his fellow presidential candidates and Washington lobbyists will likely attack him for some of those ideas.
The main reason they might attack him, of course, is that the biggest tax deductions, the ones that would be most likely to increase revenue even if marginal rates are reduced also happen to be the most popular:
Congress’s nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found in a March analysis that the top tax break is the one on employer-sponsored health care, with a $659 billion price tag between 2010 and 2014. The second is the deduction for home mortgage interest, at $484 billion over the same time period. Even the most aggressive plans from the flurry of budget commissions over the last decade have stopped short of recommending a full elimination of all tax breaks, said Ted Gayer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. However, the widely popular idea of lowering rates and broadening the base of taxpayers is a “noble goal,” he said. Mr. Huntsman’s 12-page proposal noted the tax section was modeled after “Ronald Reagan’s 1986 tax reform package,” but not all agreed with that characterization. “The 1986 tax reform did not pay for lower rates by eliminating deductions,” noted Alan Reynolds, senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. Some conservatives hoped the audacity of the plan would push the idea of overhauling the tax code past the current partisan impasse over raising revenues. “It’s certainly not a timid proposal,” said Scott Hodge, president of The Tax Foundation, a tax research group that advocates lower taxes. “In order to move the debate forward on fundamental tax reform, sometimes you have to push the discussion as far as you can.”
The reaction to Huntsman’s plan is interesting. On the left, of course, you’ve got the usual sources like Think Progress and Daily Kos call the plan a tax hike on the poor and elderly. What’s somewhat unusual is the response of National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru, who essentially says the exact same thing:
The candidate has a new tax plan that is designed to raise as much money as the current system. It lowers tax rates in return for getting rid of the mortgage-interest deduction, the child tax credit, the exclusion of employer-paid health insurance premiums |
The Teensy switches and manages a four port USB switch with four LED's and four touch sensor buttons
Synergy: Please visit and donate to synergy-project.org.
First I would like to explain my love and addiction for a program called Synergy. It shares a keyboard and mouse between multiple computers. One computer with a keyboard and mouse is set as a Synergy server, then other computers are added as clients and communicate over a local network. I love that its Open Source, multiplatform, and has a quick smooth transition from one screen to another.
Synergy dislikes:
Its network dependent so any computer or router with a hint of connection problems fails. All client keystrokes like passwords and account numbers go through the local network, although there is an option for encryption. Setup can be complicated with mixed platforms. It can not be used on screens where the client is disabled. For example; BIOS setup, Windows user account control, live CD's, some network passwords and user logins.
How its hacked:
I purchased this four port USB switch years ago to avoid the aggravation of swapping USB plugs every time Synergy disconnected.
I hacked the USB switch into a hardware solution by having the Teensy Microcontroller do the switching for me.
It originally worked by pressing the only switch, which increments the port number by one, and back lights the port number LED.
Inside:
If you cut the board in two, I would want the lower half behind the desk, out of sight with all the wires. The upper half looks like it needs a hacking onto the top of my trackball!
Desoldered the LED's.
I tested the circuit with a multimeter and the wiring was confusing at first because the left pair of LED's connect anodes to ground, and the right pair connect cathodes to the same ground. To keep it simple, and to utilize the built in resistors...
... I kept the circuit the same through the CAT-5 wires:
Each pair of LED's gets three wires: LED#1+, LED#2+, common pair ground.
Plus two to short the switch underneath.
Homemade two pin female jumpers made from two pin headers.
Common ground wires matched in pairs.
Back in its shell. Cable runs through missing LED hole, strain relieved by a cable tie on the inside.
A USB switches' worst nightmare...
... and kept alive to see its own working LED's amputated and transplanted on my track ball.
The wire on the third LED is a hacked experiment for touch sensors on LED's.
Desktop integration on three computers:
Cable restrained to the base. The more flexible wire female jumper wires connect to the solid wire, then taped.
Then plugged directly underneath the transplanted LED's
The third jumpers connect under the touch sensor wires.
Connecting the Teensy:
I used an NTE R56S-5D.5-6 reed relay: (5v, 3.8v min), and a "flyback diode." The relay does not have a built in diode. (the "R56S-5D.5-6D does; that first "D" is tricky. NTE_R56_57specs.pdf )
Thanks to the PJRC forums for the information on the flyback diode saving the Teensy from sure death from the relays coil. Next time I will get the ones Paul recommended;
http://forum.pjrc.com/threads/23693-Baisc-Teensy-2-is-the-switch?highlight=9007-05-01
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/9007-05-01/306-1063-ND/301697
The NTE116 (1N4004) diode and the relay were in stock at my small local electronics store.
Jumpers made from two pin female headers and solid strand wire:
The two header sockets have the wire insert 3mm pin fix. The two male pins are bent together into a two pin jumper, and then soldered to the wire. This connects the relay to the diode in parallel. See relay pins pictured above.
Two pin jumpers relay to diode:
Two pin jumpers on the Teensy side make for easy access breakout sockets on top.
The code for the Teensy is simple:
See which LED is being touched, figure out how many steps from the current port to the desired one with some simple math, then send that many long delay pulses to the relay. The coed is below and needs to be cleaned up. I was trying to blindly integrate variable names. The delays were easy to figure out by "higher/lower" testing for speed and consistency.
I triple checked the connections before connecting the Teensy. It turns out the relay sends an unknown (to me) signal to the USB switch moving it backwards (decreasing); so I just reversed the formulas in the code to work backwards.
Wish List:
Making an Open Hardware trackball with optical encoders, controlled by a microcontroller, that traces mouse movements to calculate each computers mouse pointer position (without drivers). That will allow for screen edge detection and gestures for smoother faster screen transitions, eliminating the need for the touch sensors.
//
//
/* Mouse Controler Project 2014 @ hackaday.io by frankstripod via Teensy 3.1
*/
// Touch USB switch setup:
const int u = 4; // Number of USB touch sensors used
int upin[u]={0,1,22,23};
int ubase[u];
int usb[u];
int unow=1;
int utouch = 1;
int relay = 0;
int relaypin = 3;
// Touch sensor adjustments:
int sensitivity = 130;
int touchDelay = 100;
int Delay = 100;
int c; // Generic counter
int led = 13; // Blink conformation
void setup() {
Serial.begin(38400);
for (c=0; c<u; c++) {
ubase[c]=touchRead(upin[c]); // Baseline calibration
}
pinMode(led, OUTPUT);
pinMode(relaypin, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
// Read the sensors
utouch = 0;
for (c=0; c<u; c++) {
usb[c] = touchRead(upin[c]);
if (usb[c]-ubase[c] > sensitivity) {
utouch = c+1;
}
}
// Skip the rest if nothing is touched
// Figure how many steps
if (utouch) {
relay = 0;
if (utouch > unow) {
relay = 4 - (utouch - unow);
}
if (utouch < unow) {
relay = unow - utouch;
}
unow = utouch;
// Pulse relay that many times
for (c=0; c<relay; c++) {
digitalWrite(relaypin, HIGH); // increment +1
delay(10);
digitalWrite(relaypin, LOW);
digitalWrite(led, HIGH);
delay(100);
digitalWrite(led, LOW);
}
}
}Video Interview: Community's Donald Glover By Eric Eisenberg Random Article Blend
Regularly dropping lines that end up being the best of the episode (“Have you ever seen a cat penis?”), Glover’s Troy is wonderfully dumb and his pairing with Danny Pudi’s character Abed is arguably the best on television. His character has already been working hard so far this season, be it starting the “Old White Man Says” Twitter account or seeing Pierce’s mother dead on the floor of the garage. But that’s nothing compared to where he is going in this week’s episode.
This summer I took a trip down to the set of Community as they were filming the episode “Basic Rocket Science,” a parody of Apollo 13 that has been compared to last season’s paintball episode, “Modern Warfare.” While there, I was able to sit down with the various cast members of the show including Donald Glover, who not only opened up about this week’s adventure but where we will be seeing Troy going this season.
Just a few years ago, Donald Glover, along with his friends Dominic Dierkes and D.C. Pierson, was making hilarious shorts online as a member of Derrick Comedy. The group was a YouTube phenomenon, all of their videos collecting millions of hits, and Glover has since gone on to build his stand-up career, cut a rap album, make the movie Mystery Team and work as a writer on 30 Rock. But where the young comedian has really been able to show off his abilities has been on NBC’s Community.Regularly dropping lines that end up being the best of the episode (“Have you ever seen a cat penis?”), Glover’s Troy is wonderfully dumb and his pairing with Danny Pudi’s character Abed is arguably the best on television. His character has already been working hard so far this season, be it starting the “Old White Man Says” Twitter account or seeing Pierce’s mother dead on the floor of the garage. But that’s nothing compared to where he is going in this week’s episode.This summer I took a trip down to the set of Community as they were filming the episode “Basic Rocket Science,” a parody of Apollo 13 that has been compared to last season’s paintball episode, “Modern Warfare.” While there, I was able to sit down with the various cast members of the show including Donald Glover, who not only opened up about this week’s adventure but where we will be seeing Troy going this season. Blended From Around The Web Facebook
Back to topNEW YORK (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday condemned the craving for material gains and power, warning an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that greed is destroying the Earth’s resources and aggravating poverty.
The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff also prayed at the memorial to those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in perhaps the most solemn moment of his first visit to the United States.
He later was greeted by adoring crowds estimated at about 80,000 people as he drove in his “popemobile” through sprawling Central Park before heading to the famed Madison Square Garden sports arena for an evening Mass before about 20,000 people.
Addressing dozens of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, the spiritual head of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics railed against the “grave offense” of economic and social exclusion.
“A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged,” he said.
The first pope from Latin America, Francis has often criticized unbridled capitalism in the two years of his papacy.
On Friday, he had a high-powered audience at the United Nations, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary. This year’s General Assembly is believed to have attracted the highest number of leaders in U.N. history.
The pontiff urged government leaders to ensure their people enjoy the minimum material needs. “In practical terms, this absolute minimum has three names: lodging, labor and land,” Francis said to applause.
He said humanity’s future is in danger.
“The ecological crisis and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity can threaten the very existence of the human species,” said Francis, who this year published the first papal encyclical, a letter to the church, dedicated to the environment.
Francis underscored an “urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons” and praised the July agreement reached by the United States and other world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear program as “proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy.”
The pope also said international financial agencies should work toward “the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems” that cause greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.
‘GRIEF IS PALPABLE’
Francis led an inter-religious prayer service at the site of the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks by al Qaeda Islamist militants that brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.
Pope Francis addresses a plenary meeting of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 at United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, New York, September 25, 2015. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
“Here grief is palpable,” Francis said, after viewing the reflecting pools that mark the footprints of the Twin Towers.
Flanked by a dozen religious leaders from the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Greek Orthodox traditions, Francis spoke to a crowd of about 700 people in an underground gallery.
“In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions,” Francis said.
A day after becoming the first pope to address the U.S. Congress, Francis warned in his U.N. speech against imposing Western liberal values on the rest of the world via “an ideological colonization by the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles.”
Francis called on government leaders to fight human trafficking, ban nuclear arms and promote the education of girls. Among those in the audience were Cuban President Raul Castro and Malala Yousafzai, the 18-year-old Pakistani campaigner for girls’ rights to schooling.
Echoing concerns he expressed at the White House and Congress this week about the environment, Francis called for “fundamental and effective agreements” at climate change talks in Paris in December.
During the Mass at Madison Square Garden, Francis focused his homily on life in big cities populated by many forgotten or “second-class” citizens.
“They are the foreigners, the children who go without schooling, those deprived of medical insurance, the homeless, the forgotten elderly. These people stand at the edges of our great avenues, in our streets, in deafening anonymity,” he said in Spanish.
Slideshow (6 Images)
The pope, who arrived in New York on Thursday night, earlier was serenaded by schoolchildren during a visit to a Catholic elementary school serving mostly Latino and black children in the city’s East Harlem neighborhood, speaking with individual students at Our Lady Queen of Angels School.
Two years into his papacy, Francis has won the admiration of many in the United States, with liberals captivated by his focus on meeting the needs of the poor, immigrants and the homeless. On his U.S. trip, he has also emphasized conservative values and Catholic teachings on the family.
Francis wraps up his six-day U.S. trip in Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday with a Catholic summit of families, a visit to a jail and a large outdoor Mass.Philip Song Brings Kia Motors to Southland Streets Through Rental Outlets
Richard Fruto, The Times
Another Korean-made car will soon be gracing the streets of America right along Hyundai.
Kia? Yes. Kia.
Kia Motors, a Korean car company founded in 1944, will be making its debut in the United States by early 1994. Kia will first be available through car rental agencies before a full-scale distribution is carried out.
The man responsible for representing Kia automobiles to the United States is Philip Song, an industrial and commercial real estate specialist in Southern California. The Kia account, from the first proposal to the final approval, took less than a year for Song to obtain.
"It's actually a very strategic planning to introduce Kia through rental agencies because people will see it on the street and wonder what the make of the car is..." said Song, on Kia's free marketing strategy. This marketing concept will help Kia reduce its costs, while allowing it to monitor the receptiveness of the market. Many Korean companies, such as Hyundai and Daewoo, have spent millions in advertising alone.
"We want to test the response of the public before we begin more importing." said Song. "However, I predict that the response will be a very positive one."
Kia Motors, which actually began as a company producing motorcycles, has designed a variety of automobiles. For example, the Sephia model, a 1.5-liter sedan, was praised when introduced at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show. There is also the Pride model which is highly regarded for its reliability, safety and economy.
Among other models, Kia Motors offers the Potentia, the top-of-the-line model that comes with a choice of V6 3-liter DOHC or 12-valve 2.2-liter engines. Suprisingly, the Kia is not packaged by box-like frames, but rather sporty, yet sensible sedan designing.
Philip Song, who specializes in the corporate real estate industry in Southern California, has represented noted corporations from Asia including Daewoo, Hyundai America, YonSan Steel company and Hyundai Construction to name a few. He said that Korean American export/import business has stimulated growth within the South Bay area. Due to the close proximity to the airport and sea port, the area is ideal for commercial and industrial development and relocations, he added.
"Korea, like many other Asian nations, sees the United States as a must for expansion; if you get a start here, you see it as the first step into the free corporate world," Song said as he drove through several industrial parks and passed by the Daewoo Western Headquarters, another building Philip Song himself helped relocate.
Having vested interest in the growth and progress of many parts of Asia, Philip Song is an international businessman with holdings, particularly in Korea. Philip Song invests in real estate, businesses and in the wholesale distribution and consumer goods industry.
Philip Song launched his first Asia venture in 1999 and since has spread throughout four nearby countries. Philip Song considers Asia as the "new frontier" comparing it to as the next "Wild West".
"There's so much potential in so many sectors in Asia", says Song, 'given the economic benchmark of what's taken place recently, and the aggressive forecast for various sectors, I see much room for impressive maturing of the market place there."
Philip Song is very optimistic about business opportunities in Asia and the future of Asia as economies of scales/various economies continue to grow and mature.The Iran Nuclear Energy Agreement: Force Again Prevails Over Law — Paul Craig Roberts
The Iran Nuclear Energy Agreement: Force Again Prevails Over Law
Paul Craig Roberts
The Israel Lobby and its associated neocon war criminals will block if they can the
nuclear energy agreement, worked out by Putin, Iran, and Obama, which has the promise of bringing to an end the US orchestrated crisis over Iran’s development of nuclear energy.
As a signatory to the nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty, which Israel is not, Iran has the right under the treaty to develop nuclear energy. Iran, alone of all the signatories to the treaty, has had its rights under the treaty cancelled by economic sanctions imposed by the US and by the threat of a US military attack.
Neither US intelligence nor the International Atomic Energy Agency, which inspects Iran’s enrichment sites, has reported any sign of an Iranian nuclear weapons program for the past decade. Despite the absence of any evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, the crazed Israeli government and its neoconservative agents, who represent Israel’s interests, not America’s, have almost driven the US to war with Iran over nuclear weapons as non-existent as Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.
The nuclear energy agreement that has been reached eliminates any possibility of Iran diverting enriched uranium to a weapons program. Nevertheless Washington warmongers and the Israel Lobby are attempting to block the agreement with the argument that “Iran’s leaders cannot be trusted.”
The real question, however, is on what basis can Iran possibly trust Washington?
Iran should ask former Soviet president Gorbachev what Washington’s word is worth. In exchange for Gorbachev’s agreement to the reunification of Germany, Washington promised Gorbachev that NATO would not move one inch to the East and promptly took NATO to Russia’s border and is now working to incorporate former parts of the Russian empire into NATO.
Iran should ask current Russian president Putin what Washington’s word is worth. Sensing Russian strategic weakness, the George W. Bush regime broke the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that Washington had signed with Moscow. Pulling out of the treaty, Washington quickly put anti-ballistic missile bases on Russia’s borders, hoping to degrade Russia’s strategic missile forces that serve as a guardian against Washington’s first nuclear strike, a policy now permissible under Washington’s revised war doctrine.
Iran should ask Germany, which was coerced into the Versailles Treaty in violation of every promise President Woodrow Wilson made to Germany in exchange for ending World War I. The extensive loss of Germany territory and crippling reparations greedily and thoughtlessly imposed on Germany, whose government most certainly did not start the war, led directly to World War II, also blamed on Germany despite the fact that the war began with Britain’s and France’s declaration of war on Germany.
Iran should ask the American Indians–the Iroquois, the Cherokee, the Sioux, Cheyenne, Comanche, the Nez Perce, and every other indigenous American people how many treaties Washington kept. In case you don’t know the answer, it is zero. Washington did not keep a single treaty it made with Indian tribes. To fully comprehend the total worthlessness of Washington’s word, read Ralph K. Andrist’s book, The Long Death: The Last Days Of The Plains Indian. No one who reads this book would sign any agreement with Washington.
An agreement with Washington is a prelude to treachery. It puts the signer at ease while Washington prepares the signer’s doom. This is the way Washington operates.
Washington is now in the process of going back on the Medicare and Social Security promises Washington made to the American people. Washington has “borrowed” the earmarked payroll taxes that finance these programs, putting in their place non-marketable, and thereby worthless, IOUs and spending the money on its wars and handouts to the elites who don’t need Medicare or Social Security. As Washington has robbed Social Security and Medicare of its earmarked revenues, Washington has begun the process of abolishing health and old age security for the American population. The world has never experienced robber capitalism as unleashed as it is today.
Washington already has put in place age limits on forms of health care, and Washington has robbed retirees of their cost-of-living adjustments by concocting a fraudulent measure of the consumer price index. Washington’s goal is to privatize the programs, thus producing profits for its financial supporters and prohibitive costs for the elderly, disposable people whom Washington is throwing away.
No one can trust Washington. Least of all the American people.
Throughout history Washington has proven conclusively that its word is not worth the paper it is written on.
Everyone who ever trusted Washington has been betrayed. Possibly there is an exception somewhere, but the betrayals are vast and are sufficient in number to define Washington as the least trusted entity on the earth. No extant entity has broken more agreements than Washington.
Iran should put no trust in an agreement with a government that has never kept its word.
Moreover, in order to get the agreement, Iran had to give up many of its rights that are granted to Iran by the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Alone among the signatories, Iran is discriminated against. Iran had to agree to this humiliation in order to avoid military attack and in order to have economic sanctions removed.
The real importance of the nuclear energy agreement is that Washington was able successfully to use coercion to force Iran to forego its treaty rights in order to avoid military and economic assault.
In other words, the agreement is yet another example of the world accepting Washington’s use of force to require sovereign countries to give up their rights. Washington’s hegemony has again prevailed.
Judging from the real outcome, the Iran nuclear energy agreement is another defeat for mankind."These illegal leaks, like Comey's, must stop!" President Donald Trump tweeted. | John Minchillo/AP Trump blames 'intelligence leak' for damaging report on Sessions
President Donald Trump railed against the latest damaging report about his administration, tweeting on Saturday morning that the "illegal leaks" like the one he said was behind a Washington Post article must end.
The Post reported late Friday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had discussed campaign-related matters with the Russian ambassador during the election, seemingly contradicting Sessions' claim that no such issues were discussed. The article cites current and U.S. officials who were familiar with U.S. intelligence intercepts.
Story Continued Below
"A new INTELLIGENCE LEAK from the Amazon Washington Post,this time against A.G. Jeff Sessions.These illegal leaks, like Comey's, must stop!" Trump tweeted.
The tweet came amid fresh tension between Trump and Sessions, after the president earlier this week heavily criticized his attorney general in a New York Times interview for recusing himself from the FBI's Russia probe.
The White House has since said Trump has confidence in Sessions, and Sessions said he has no current plans to step down.
Trump on Saturday morning also rebuked the Times for its coverage of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"The Failing New York Times foiled U.S. attempt to kill the single most wanted terrorist,Al-Baghdadi," the president tweeted. Trump went on to pan The Times' for "their sick agenda over National Security" in a seemingly unfinished train of thought.
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Though it is initially unclear which report Trump was alluding to, The Times reported late Friday that Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon that al-Baghdadi was still alive, adding:
“I’ll believe otherwise when we know we have killed him. We are going after him.”
A New York Times spokesperson told POLITICO that the news organization has asked the White House to clarify the president's tweet.
"We have asked the White House to clarify the tweet. If the President is referring to this 2015 story, the Pentagon raised no objections with the Times before publishing the story in 2015 and no senior American official ever complained publicly about it until now, as noted in Peter Baker's story this morning," a Times spokesperson said.
The on-the-record remarks were widely reported by other news outlets as well.
The president has frequently spoken out against damaging reports in the press dating back to the 2016 presidential race, bashing outlets for reporting on the so-called "illegal" leaks.
The Times, which
Trump has repeatedly derided as the "failing New York Times," has been a target of choice for the president.
In October of 2016, Trump's legal team threatened to sue the publication over its reporting of sexual harassment allegations from several women. Trump at other times has alluded to potential libel lawsuits against news outlets.
Hadas Gold and Brent Griffiths contributed to this report.By John Forester | February 25, 2019
In his first state budget, Governor Tony Evers will seek to freeze enrollment in private voucher schools and suspend expansion of independent charter schools. Check out the news story from Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
By John Forester | February 15, 2019
On the heels of releasing a very well-received report on special education funding earlier this week, the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum (WPF) today released a new online school resource which allows parents, teachers, school officials and the public to examine and compare educational data for school districts throughout Wisconsin.
For more information, see the WPF news release and check out the WPF School DataTool.
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By John Forester | February 14, 2019
From the Legal Side …
On January 22, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Wisconsin’s open enrollment program did not violate federal law. In its most recent legal update, Strang Patteson examines the court’s decision and its impact on Wisconsin school districts.
The SAA regularly receives these legal updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of Strang Patteson.
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By John Forester | February 14, 2019
From the Legal Side…
In its most recent School Law Update, Boardman Clark reports that the consumer price index (CPI) for bargaining agreements beginning July 1, 2019 has been confirmed. Check it out.
The SAA regularly receives these legal updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of Boardman Clark.
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By John Forester | February 14, 2019
Check out today’s news story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that focuses on the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s recently released special education funding report. The SAA posted the WPF report yesterday.
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By John Forester | February 13, 2019
I just finished reading the latest report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum titled, “Special Education Funding in Wisconsin: How it Works and Why it Matters.” I found the report timely, very interesting and “right on point.” Check it out here.
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By John Forester | February 8, 2019
From The Wheeler Report...
The Legislative Reference Bureau has released a new report titled, “Profile of the 2019 Wisconsin Legislature.” According to the report:
Of the 33 Senators, 8 are women, 2 are African American women.
25 Senators previously served in the Assembly
10 Senators had local government experience
The Senate average age is 58 (the oldest since 1948; Age range 31-91).
7 Senators have military service.
Of the 99 Representatives, 28 are women, 5 are African American, 3 are Hispanic.
64 Representatives had local government experience
The Assembly average age is 49 (Age range 19-80).
9 Representatives have military service.
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By John Forester | February 8, 2019
From WisPolitics.com …
Evers is now locked in to deliver his budget Feb. 28, a spokeswoman said.
Lawmakers gave Evers until Feb. 28 to release the document, and his office had indicated previously it was targeting that date for the address. The date is now confirmed, the spokeswoman said.
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By John Forester | February 4, 2019
From the Legal Side:
In it’s most recent school law update, Boardman Clark examines the recently announced initiative by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to address the inappropriate use of seclusion and restraint in school districts.
The SAA regularly receives these legal updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of Boardman Clark.
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By John Forester | February 4, 2019
From The Wheeler Report:
The Legislative Council Study Committee on Identification and Management of Dyslexia has released its final report. The Committee has made the following recommendations:
LRB-0368/2. Employing a Dyslexia Specialist at the Department of Public Instruction.
This proposal would require DPI to hire a dyslexia specialist beginning in the 2019-20 school year and provides $95,000 per year to fund the positions. The dyslexia specialist duties would include: Provide schools with information, technical assistance, and supported related to dyslexia and related conditions. Provide schools with information, technical assistance, and support related to addressing the needs of pupils with dyslexia and related conditions. Increase professional awareness in schools, and instructional competencies of teachers, to meet the educational needs of pupils with dyslexia and related conditions. Development implementation guidance and make recommendations to the state superintendent of public instruction for comprehensive, scientifically based reading instruction practices and strategies to be used to assist regular education teachers and special education teachers to recognize educational needs of and improve literacy outcomes for pupils with dyslexia and related conditions or identified with risk characteristics associated with dyslexia and related conditions.
LRB-0383/3. Developing a Guidebook Related to Dyslexia and Related Conditions.
Requires DPI to develop a guidebook for parents, guardians, teachers, and administrators regarding dyslexia and related conditions. The guidebook must be developed by the state superintendent of public instruction establishing an advisory committee. The guidebook must include all of the following information: Guidelines on screening processes and tools available to identify dyslexia and related conditions. A description of interventions and instructional strategies that have been shown to improve academic performance of pupils with dyslexia and related conditions. A description of resources and services related to dyslexia and related conditions that are available to pupils with dyslexia and related conditions, parents and guardians of such pupils, and educators.
Alternative Licensure
The Committee recommends the Legislature consider options to ensure that all applicants for an educator license must fulfill requirements to complete students teaching, obtain a passing score on the FoRT test.
Lifetime Licensure
The Committee recommends the Legislature consider the repercussions of the lifetime educator license created in the 2017-19 Biennial Budget Act and its impact on teacher effectiveness.
Grade Ranges for Educator Licenses
The Committee recommends the Legislature consider the effectiveness of broadened grade ranges for educator licenses issued under ch. PI 34.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »Accenture Backs Blockchain Technology as Next Aviation Sector Disruptor
Leading global professional services company Accenture is backing blockchain technology as one of the next major disruptors in the aerospace sector. The firm believes the technology will be fully applicable to the aviation industry in the next two years and will lead to improved time and cost management.
Speaking at the 2017 Paris Air Show, John Schmidt, Head of Aerospace and Defense at Accenture, expressed the company’s belief that blockchain technology will be beneficial to the sector. “I really see this coming in, in a couple of years,” he said.
The blockchain is a distributed ledger that offers high levels of security due to its immutability. This, amongst other features, is what makes it a tool that can be used to better the aerospace sector.
Citing engine maintenance as an example, Schmidt explained how the blockchain could facilitate an easier and more efficient service process. Currently, different parts of the engine are typically maintained by different service providers:
“Through all that life cycle of the engine, the original parts, the replacement parts, and configuration are all being tracked, and it is being done by a number of different companies.”
However, there is no central database that firms can use to confirm details about the engine or its parts. Thus the data sharing process can take longer than necessary. According to Schmidt, the blockchain can remedy that:
“Blockchain is in effect a single federated ledger that everybody who uses and touches that engine could use it as a single point of truth of what has happened to the engine.”
Blockchain tech would enable all concerned parties to view data pertaining to the engine. Schmidt added that maintenance crews generally consider the data as a whole without considering other micro factors that would affect the working of the engine.
“The reality is an engine has high-pressure, and low-pressure usage and each of these may impact the true number of cycles the engine has achieved in its life,” Schmidt stated. However, the blockchain will allow more useful data to be recorded accurately and be easily accessible to maintenance crews.
In addition to this, since blockchain technology would allow easy access to data, it would change the current trend of having to use the same maintenance crew every time due to prior experience with the engine. “My inclination would be to use a shop that has already worked on the engine, but that shop may have a 30-day backlog. With blockchain, you can look at what other options might be available,” he said.
Accenture is currently working on a patent for a blockchain service catered to the aerospace sector. “It is something we can see clearly in terms of the benefits, and we effectively have a patent pending on how to leverage blockchain in the aftermarket,” Schmidt revealed.
It remains to be seen just how much the blockchain can revolutionize the aerospace sector, but this move by Accenture signals the business world’s growing confidence in the technology as a workable solution to a wide range of challenges.Rose City Comic Con has changed its costume policy to ban “reminders of unspeakable atrocities,” including “Old School Hydra and Red Skull or any other Nazis from entertainment properties.” Violations of this rule will result in a lifetime ban from the convention.
The change was made to the website yesterday, and appears to be in response to cosplayers dressed in Hello Kitty Nazi SS uniforms, whose appearance at the show was reported by Claire Napier at Women Write About Comics.
Rose City Comic Con’s Twitter account tweeted:
Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt backfired over certain cosplay. We apologize & have updated our policy. https://t.co/o56b3ehIaX — Rose City Comic Con (@RoseCityCC) September 14, 2017
And explained:
Cosplayers associated with SS gear; we first thought it was offensive, but permissible. That was wrong & we won't allow it again. — Rose City Comic Con (@RoseCityCC) September 14, 2017
Previously, the section on hateful symbols said the following:
“Hateful symbols aren’t welcome at Rose City Comic Con. Historical costumes can be great, but reminders of unspeakable atrocities are not appropriate.”
But it has now been updated to read:
“Hateful symbols aren’t welcome at Rose City Comic Con. Historical costumes can be great, but reminders of unspeakable atrocities are not appropriate – this goes for Old School Hydra and Red Skull or any other Nazis from entertainment properties. Those figures, while comic-related, are still very much Nazis. As a result, they are 100% banned, always. This includes any sort of “ironic” or satirical costumes that re-appropriate Nazi paraphernalia or gear. You won’t just be banned from that year’s convention. You will be banned from coming to RCCC for life.”
Banning Nazi cosplay sounds like a no-brainer of a good idea, but we are forced to wonder: what about retailers wearing those Marvel Secret Empire promotional Hydra t-shirts?
About Jude Terror A prophecy says that in the comic book industry's darkest days, a hero will come to lead the people through a plague of overpriced floppies, incentive variant covers, #1 issue reboots, and super-mega-crossover events. Scourge of Rich Johnston, maker of puns, and seeker of the Snyder Cut, Jude Terror, sadly, is not the hero comics needs right now... but he's the one the industry deserves.
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4, 2016
Alongside the recent launch of carwow Germany, we inevitably found ourselves needing to adapt the content of the website to the foreign market. Some may think that there’s nothing too complicated about it, being it just a matter of simply translating the existing pages into the new language.
The truth is… nothing is more wrong than that!
Translation by itself isn’t everything and we soon discovered how difficult it is to make the lovely German language fit within the beautiful and balanced layouts we created for the English text. It’s also true that, to an English-speaking person, German words look ridiculously long and therefore take up almost double the space that was previously considered, changing the position of line and page breaks(see Img.1 and 2 for reference).
Img.1: English tagline
Img.2: German translated tagline
At that point it was obvious that we couldn’t just copy-paste the translated text and expecting it to fit effortlessly. We seriously needed to rethink about the layout of each page making sure that everything looked in place. Also, as already said before, it’s not just about translation but about being able to convey the same message across different cultures.
Here are three things that you need to keep in mind when dealing with localisation and internationalisation.
1. Good copywriting skills
This one may seem obvious, but there’s nothing more important than being a really good copywriter. Text plays an important role in design and makes a significative contribution to the first impression people have about your website and product. Good copy doesn’t just need to be grammatically correct and without spelling mistakes, but it should also be well-written and engaging. This means that a literal translation may not work, especially when it’s too long or misses out on puns from the original language.
2. Design for context
We all know that an image is worth more than a thousand words so, when it comes to be visual, nothing beats choosing the best imagery. That needs to be relevant and understandable and in line with the cultural context. For our German homepage, for example, we decided to go with a different hero image to which German people could easily relate themselves instead of keeping the one we have on the UK website.
Hero image for the German homepage
3. Think global, act local
Design is really about solving problems and, with different markets, come different issues. Can one solution rule them all? Or do people from different countries think differently? What may seem logical to one may not work for another as the need of a person may vary according to the local culture. Although the Internet has helped us close the distance and make us feel part of the same big community, the diversity stays and, even when people use the same products, they create very different experiences out of them.
Conclusion
There’s not a lot of documentation about this topic and, looking at other websites, it looks like that often they are simply translated in other languages but not “localised” or “internationalised”, and the design stays the same. Visual design localisation is not something that should be underestimated as it goes well beyond translating text. The most important thing that we always need to keep in mind, in the end, is that we’re designing for humans and thus, we need to have a good understanding of the targeted culture and design accordingly.Greetings all, hopefully you’ve been getting to spend some quality time with Uncharted 3 these past few weeks. We are grateful for all the positive fan feedback and thank you for the support.
I’m not here today to talk about U3 though. We’ve been getting many, many requests asking when Jak and Daxter will be coming to PS3, and I’m happy to announce that they will be making their PS3 debut this February with the launch of Jak and Daxter Collection.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
The Jak and Daxter Collection features three of our favorite Jak and Daxter titles- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II and Jak 3 – all remastered by Mass Media, working closely with our team at Naughty Dog. With the launch of Jak and Daxter Collection, you’ll be able to experience the adventures of Jak and his Daxter in 720p High Definition with crisper visuals, smoother gameplay animation and in full stereoscopic 3D. And, I’m sure all of you hardcore collectors will be happy to hear that each game in the trilogy features full PS3 trophy support.
Jak II
The Jak and Daxter franchise set a benchmark for the platformer genre with its huge environments and gaming freedom. In fact, it holds 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008 including the First Seamless 3D World in a Console Game. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of love for the franchise here at Naughty Dog, and it has a very special place in our hearts. If you can believe it, the Jak and Daxter franchise will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year on December 4th and we’ll be checking in with you via the PlayStation.Blog to help us celebrate. In the meantime, let me know your favorite Jak and Daxter memories in the comments and be sure to stay tuned to the blog to for the latest Jak and Daxter Collection news.First lady Melania Trump spoke at the United Nations on Wednesday, condemning bullying and urging world leaders to teach "moral conscience" by example.
"We must teach each child that they are at the core of the kindness, mindfulness, integrity and leadership, which can only be taught by our own example. By our own example, we must teach children to be good stewards of the world they inherit," Melania Trump said, addressing the international body in New York City.
Melania Trump, who on the campaign trail in 2016 indicated interest in leading anti-cyberbullying efforts as first lady, said in the speech that her focus as first lady is teaching the next generation.
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"We must remember that they are watching and listening, so we must never miss an opportunity to teach life's ethical lessons along the way. As adults we are not merely responsible, we are accountable. I hope you will join me in recommitting ourselves to teaching the next generation to lead and honor the golden rule, do unto others as you would have do unto you. Which is paramount in today's society, and my focus as first lady. It reminds our generation's moral imperative to take responsibility for what our children learn," she continued.
"We must turn our focus right now to the message and content [children] are exposed to on a daily basis through social media — the bullying, the experience online and in person," the first lady said.
Critics have argued that President Trump's bombastic rhetoric on social media and in person contradict the first lady's message.
The president has called his political opponents various names, including on Wednesday when he referred to his 2016 presidential election opponent 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 as "Crooked Hillary" in a tweet.
After allowing North Korea to research and build Nukes while Secretary of State (Bill C also), Crooked Hillary now criticizes. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 20, 2017
The first lady said in a "60 Minutes" interview last year that she pushes back on the president's tweets "all the time."
Her spokeswoman, though, said earlier this year that "when her husband gets attacked, he will punch back 10 times harder."I began and ended the year 2014 experiencing tragedy, the worst I have ever experienced. From where I am sitting right now, I am only able to focus on the despair and devastation of the situations and seem to have forgotten all the wonderful things that happened in the months between January and December. I know that many amazing things happened and I could easily make a long list of happy times, accomplishments, and more. However, every piece of me just can’t move past the pain and the torture of my mind and my emotions right now.
So what does that mean? Does this make me a Negative Nancy or a Debbie Downer because I just can’t see the light right now? Not at all, in my opinion. I understand the balance of life as seen in things such as the yin and the yang. In order to really know what true joy or happiness is, we must know and experience the depths of despair. Right now, if I were to push aside the shadows and the darkness then I would only be running away from the truth. And the truth is? This sucks. And I need to feel that, because that is exactly how I feel.
Years ago, I was really bad at allowing myself to feel. When going through mucky waters in life, I did everything I could to busy myself or numb myself so that I didn’t have to feel unwanted pain or anger. This certainly backfired as when you bottle things up for long enough, they WILL come out, and usually not in a very desirable way. So as much as we may not want to, we have to allow ourselves to feel, even when the feelings are awful. One thing that has helped recently is to put my pain into words. (I guess I have you all to thank for that part!). I can’t believe how much lighter I feel when I take even a few minutes to bring a pen to paper and then read what it is that is really inside.
The past few days have been rough, to say the least. Usually, when bad things happen, I try to be the one who pushes people to focus on the positive and the abundance in life. However, this week, I did NOT want to hear any of that. I continued to bathe in my sorrow and fall deeper and deeper into the, It’s not fair! or Why? Why? Why? Of course, there is no good answer to any of it, but I needed that time. I may still need some of that time a week from now, a month from now and maybe longer.
But I can promise, even though I do not see the light at this point, that the light will come. It will. It has to.
Leave it to good old Marilyn Monroe to bring me a little bit of ease to the pain I am feeling. I don’t think she could’ve said exactly what I needed to hear any better. She said, Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. Wow. That needs to be my new mantra. That needs to be the little reminder when I move a bit further away from the rawness of this time that there is hope. And it is hope that will be my guide as I move forward. It will be what I hold onto. I will trust that better things will come and that the amount of joy and happiness I will feel will be so overwhelming that I may even come to appreciate these depths and what they taught me.
So as I move into 2015, I still bring with me some of the rough edges of the year that has past. In fact, they will travel with me for the rest of my life, no doubt. But I also find relief in the concept of a new beginning, with new chances and new opportunities. I hold onto hope. I believe that better things will certainly fall together. There is a light out there, and believe me, I will find it.
Let’s try to sweeten things up after all of that. We haven’t had a lot of snow this season…yet, but I am sure it is coming. And with the snow comes hot chocolate. Have you ever taken a look at a hot chocolate mix from the store to see what is actually in it? It’s very eye opening to say the least. Go ahead and take a look at one for yourself. First of all, sugar and corn syrup are the first two ingredients, that’s bad enough as it is, but then it is loaded with chemicals. This is what I drank as a kid! Well, that will be no more! I have created my very own to sip on this winter and you can easily vary it if you like!
Clean Eating Hot Cocoa
Ingredients:
2 cups milk of choice
2 T cocoa powder (heaping tablespoons)
3 T maple (2 of you don’t like it too sweet)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
Method:
1. In a small saucepan, bring milk to a soft boil. (I heated at medium)
2. Stir in cocoa until completely dissolved.
3. Lower heat to med-low and add in maple and vanilla. (Add the peppermint to if you like!)
4. Bring to a low simmer for a few minutes and then serve immediately.
Note: Feel free to adjust the sweetness to your liking. Also, I am working on a few clean whipped cream recipes right now so eventually they will go together perfectly! Enjoy!The death of a teenage boy who was found badly injured on the west side of Saskatoon is being treated as suspicious, police said. Saskatoon Police chief Clive Weighill said it is likely a homicide.
"That's two homicides within a two-week period here in Saskatoon," Weighill said. "Very concerning for us. That's why we're redeploying. That's why we're trying to get as many tentacles as we can into the community."
The details are unknown about the nature of the injuries. The situation unfolded in the 100 block of Avenue I N. on the city's west side at around noon Wednesday.
Witnesses said there was a badly injured teenage boy on the lawn, suffering from a serious head wound.
Police said the male was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The identity of the victim has not been released.
The investigation is ongoing.The Conservative party is struggling to defend itself against the disclosure that Andy Coulson, its former head of communications, received six-figure payments from News International while working for the party, despite having previously stated categorically that he had no other income.
The party has been asked repeatedly about Coulson's income, insisting that he was not paid by anyone else during his time at Conservative party HQ and in Downing Street. It offered comprehensive assurances that he had no other income as recently as last month, and apparently after seeking assurances directly from Coulson.
The revelation on Monday night that he received the severance payments in instalments in 2007, the first year he was employed by George Osborne and David Cameron, and also continued to use a company car and receive health insurance from News International until the beginning of 2010, raises the possibility that the payments could have been concealed from the party.
But in a sign of the continued loyalty to Coulson at the top of the government, senior sources in the Conservative party stressed that the severance payments were different from receiving a salary or co-payment from News International. The party refused to answer detailed questions about what assurances Coulson gave about his earnings, whom he had given assurances to, and when.
No 10 directed inquirers about the revelations to the prime minister's previous promise in the Commons to issue a "profound" apology should it transpire that Coulson lied to him over the extent of his knowledge of phone hacking at the News of the World, where he was editor before joining the Conservatives. But the Opposition and even some people within the coalition demanded to know whether Coulson had lied about his income too.
Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat peer, said: "There is a clear conflict of interest in the director of communications for the Conservative party driving a company car and using health insurance provided by News International. Clearly he didn't come clean on this with the party. Have we got to the bottom of it even now?
"The question is: did Andy Coulson conceal this from the Conservative party or not? If he didn't, who knew? This raises ever more serious questions and, rather than having to drag admissions out of them one at a time like rotten teeth, we need Cameron to say what he knew."
Ivan Lewis, Labour's culture spokesman, said: "It must be explained why Mr Coulson was getting these payments when he resigned from the News of the World. The longer these questions are unanswered the more damage will be done to the prime minister's reputation."
Tom Watson, the Labour MP who has campaigned on phone hacking, wrote to the Electoral Commission asking it to investigate the payments, arguing they could amount to an undeclared donation to the Tory party. The commission's rules suggest that a decision to investigate will rest on whether Coulson's payments benefited the party or amounted to a gift in kind that saved the party expenditure, for example by meaning it did not have to provide health insurance, which is not routinely offered at Conservative campaign headquarters.
In a statement, a spokesman for the party said: "We were not aware until last night of allegations that Andy Coulson's severance package, agreed with News International before he was employed by the Conservative party, was paid in instalments that continued into the time he was employed by the Conservative party. Any payments made to Andy Coulson as part of his severance package with News International would not constitute donations in kind to the party as they were linked to his previous employment with NI, not with the Conservative party. Severance payments are a private matter. It is not part of the HR process to discuss severance payments from previous jobs with potential employees."
Last month, a senior Conservative official told the Guardian: "We can give categorical assurances that he wasn't paid by any other source. Andy Coulson's only salary, his only form of income, came from the party during the years he worked for the party and in government."
The Guardian has also established that News International paid Coulson's legal fees up until late last year while he was still working in Downing Street.
The Cabinet Office confirmed last year that Coulson's legal fees were met by News International when the former MSP Tommy Sheridan was prosecuted for libel in December 2010. News International would not be drawn on whether Coulson's legal fees are still being paid by the company. According to insiders, however, some so-called compromise agreements signed by former staff include clauses stating that the company will meet the cost of any future legal disputes relating to their time at the company.
Two former News International editors, David Yelland and Andrew Neil, publicly disputed claims that staggered severance payments were normal at the firm.
Senior News International sources privately claimed Coulson was entitled to have his contract honoured despite having resigned from the paper in January 2007 after his royal editor was jailed for intercepting voicemails. However, Yelland, a former Sun editor, said on Twitter: "When I left NewsCorp I didn't sign or have any compromise agreement! I just left." It is understood that Yelland did not receive any money from the company. Neil, who edited the Sunday Times for 10 years, used Twitter to say: "My original NI editor contract said if I resigned I was entitled to nothing."
A spokesman for Rebekah Brooks, who resigned as chief executive of News International last month, refused to comment on whether she has received a pay-off from the company, or whether any sum agreed is being paid in instalments.Sunset Overdrive could be the colorful explosion the current "grim and gray" zombie genre needs.
The Zombie genre is usually all about loss, sadness, and bullets. Sunset Overdrive aims to change all that up, by making it about neon, energy, and bullets. Sunset Overdrive is the game that would have happened if Andy Warhol tried to make Left 4 Dead. It's fast, fun, and very, very colorful.
When we last saw the title, Andrea was moving about Sunset City solo, learning about some of the game's RPG elements. The demo that I got to try out at Tokyo Game Show threw me and seven strangers into what can only be described as a "base defense" scenario. We were given an arsenal of weapons, a brief tutorial on how to "grind" around the map like some kind of hyper-violent Tony Hawk (sans skateboard), and told to shoot zombies (or O.D'd, as they are referred to this time) from destroying special canisters of goo. Or something. The "plot" was pretty thin in this demo.
Anyway, once having a couple of seconds to try and figure out what button did what, waves of O.D'd started running towards us. The game encouraged us to grind, and it's auto-aim system meant that you never felt like you had to stop and look down the iron sights - you could simply zip around blowing stuff up. The grinding system is really the coolest feature of the game, as I became more proficient with it, I was able to traverse the map with ease, not unlike Titanfall's wallrunning.
The weapons were all as crazy and zany as the world and the characters, and included efforts such as a record launcher, and a gun that shot exploding teddy bears, but unlike my experience with The Order: 1886, where I had too few weapons, in Sunset Overdrive I had too many. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but switching between them felt really awkward, and it was hard for me to get a handle on so many weapons so quickly.
What I was a little disappointed to discover was the demo's lack of traps, considering how Insomniac had hyped them in the past. We were only able to place a single trap each, and the trap I happened to have was the run-of-the-mill spinning blade trap. I like that the demo forced us to use teamwork, but I was really hoping to be able to lay my own complex labyrinth of traps.
So Sunset Overdrive was fun and colorful... but also somewhat confusing. While the Left 4 Dead onslaught is something we're all used to, the game's unique spin on it means it certainly takes some getting used to. At the moment it still feels a big messy in places, but if Insomniac can tidy it up, it may become the Xbox One's best exclusive.Listen to the story here.
Arkansas soybean farmers who rely on a chemical called Dicamba to kill weeds must stop using it during the growing season next year. That’s because it has allegedly been drifting to neighboring farms and killing crops.
The State Plant Board voted Wednesday to ban the use of dicamba after hearing public comments.
Karen Hawkins, a farmer from Mississippi County, says her vegetables and peanuts were damaged by drifting dicamba from a neighbor’s farm.
Her cotton crop did well, but that’s because she purchased dicamba-resistant cotton seeds from Monsanto. At the public hearing, she said that farmers shouldn’t be scared into buying the Monsanto product to avoid damage.
“I believe that every farmer has a right, and I believe that other farmers’ rights stop immediately, and I mean immediately, when you start causing harm and damage to anyone else in the area. It needs to stop.”
The use of dicamba has divided farming communities this year, and Hawkins says her brother, Mike Wallace, was killed in a dispute over it, but farmers like Jonathan Driver who’ve bought Monsanto's dicamba-resistant soybeans and cotton seeds and used the spray to kill powerful weeds, like pigweed, say the ban means lost income.
“Economically it ruins our quality. If we lose quality, our foreign buyers are not going to buy,” he said.
According to plant board spokesperson Adriane Barnes, of the public comments it received, 27,055 of about 30,000 thousand supported the ban.
“It is true that the plant board has looked at exhaustive research. They have taken an exhaustive and thorough look at opinions, and where they are at today is a continued use of restrictions for dicamba in Arkansas,” she said.
She said the drift seems to have harmed all sorts of plants, vegetables, and even bees in the state.
But Monsanto vice president Scott Partridge says farmers need the product because weeds have grown resistant to regular weed killers.
“It is a significant problem in the state of Arkansas in particular. This is the most modern technology that’s available to help farmers produce more, in a more sustainable fashion. It’s just critical to have access to this tool,” he said.
With better training, farmers could learn to spray dicamba without seeing the chemical drift to neighbors whose crops aren’t resistant, Monsanto contends.
The state plant board wasn’t convinced.
The ban, which lasts between April and October of next year still has to be approved by the legislature.
This story is produced by Arkansas Public Media, a statewide journalism collaboration among public media organizations. Arkansas Public Media reporting is funded in part through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with the support of partner stations KUAR, KUAF, KASU and KTXK and from members of the public. You can learn more and support Arkansas Public Media’s reporting at arkansaspublicmedia.org. Arkansas Public Media is Natural State news with context.WASHINGTON Stung by public unease about new details of spying by the National Security Agency, President Barack Obama selected a panel of advisers he described as independent experts to scrutinize the NSA's surveillance programs to be sure they weren't violating civil liberties and to restore Americans' trust.
But with just weeks remaining before its first deadline to report back to the White House, the review panel has effectively been operating as an arm of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the NSA and all other U.S. spy efforts.
The panel's advisers work in offices on loan from the DNI. Interview requests and press statements from the review panel are carefully coordinated through the DNI's press office. James Clapper, the intelligence director, exempted the panel from U.S. rules that require federal committees to conduct their business and their meetings in ways the public can observe. Its final report, when it's issued, will be submitted for White House approval before the public can read it.
Even the panel's official name suggests it's run by Clapper's office: "Director of National Intelligence Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies."
Its meetings in recent weeks with technology industry and privacy groups have been closed to the public even though no classified information was discussed, according to participants. Attendees told The Associated Press they raised concerns about the NSA's spying programs. During one session, two participants said, panel members said the group might hold a separate classified meeting soon with technology executives to discuss details of secret surveillance programs.
"No one can look at this group and say it's completely independent," said one attendee, Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Institute and vice president at the New America Foundation. Meinrath said the closed meetings "leave the public out of the loop."
Obama described the panel an Aug. 9 speech as an "independent group" and said its members would "consider how we can maintain the trust of the people, how we can make sure that there absolutely is no abuse in terms of how these surveillance technologies are used."
The formal White House memorandum days later -- effectively the legal charter for the group -- does not specify anything about its role being independent of the Obama administration. It directed the panel to emphasize in its review whether U.S. spying programs protect national security, advance foreign policy and are protected against the types of leaks that led to the national debate in the first place. The final consideration in the White House memo told the panel to examine "our need to maintain the public trust." There was no mention of the panel investigating surveillance abuses.
The review panel, in a statement released through the DNI's press office, confirmed to the AP that Clapper had exempted it from the U.S. Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires such committees to conduct open meetings and notify the public about their activities. It said Clapper made the decision because of the "highly classified nature of their review," but added: "We are conducting this review as openly and transparently as possible." In private meetings so far, several attendees said their discussions did not mention any classified activities and that the panel members steered them away from doing so.
Four of the five review panel members previously worked for Democratic administrations: Peter Swire, former Office of Management and Budget privacy director under President Bill Clinton; Michael Morell, Obama's former deputy CIA director; Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism coordinator under Clinton and later for President George W. Bush; and Cass Sunstein, Obama's former regulatory czar. A fifth panel member, Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago, leads a university committee looking to build Obama's presidential library in Chicago and was an informal adviser to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
Stone wrote in a July op-ed that the NSA surveillance program that collects the phone records of every American every day is constitutional.
"We would have liked a more diverse group," said Michelle Richardson, an ACLU legislative counsel who attended one meeting for civil liberties groups.
The review panel overlaps with a similar effort by a second advisory group. In July, Obama asked the independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to report on the NSA programs and their effects on civil liberties. While PCLOB's work is expected to take months and has no deadline, Obama ordered the review group to report interim findings within 60 days and provide a final report by Dec. 15.
PCLOB chairman David Medine said recently that his group's purview was different because it was not subject to review by the White House. PCLOB's hearings so far have been conducted in public, although the group has been given classified briefings by national security officials.
"We're proceeding regardless of other groups' timelines," Medine said.
A spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, Caitlin Hayden, said the review group and civil liberties board have separate mandates. She said the review panel is looking at spy programs authorized under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the USA Patriot Act, and references to the NSA collecting phone-records and obtaining copies of Internet messages from U.S. technology companies. The civil liberties board, however, is focusing on the same surveillance programs, according to a June 2013 Congressional authorization letter.
Obama has said in recent comments that he might be open to setting up public advocates who could oppose government lawyers at secret federal surveillance court proceedings -- similar to a proposal by Swire in 2004. But the administration has otherwise backed the surveillance programs as essential for national security.
Participants in one session held for the technology industry included lawyers and other figures from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook and Apple -- firms that reportedly have worked with the NSA in surveillance operations. No phone company executives attended, participants said. Technology executives pressed for more authority to tell computer users their private data is not being abused by the government, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Neither session, according to participants, gave any hint of changes under consideration.
"Any time someone brought up what was at the heart of these issues," Meinrath said, "we were told to put that into record on the website, or else we were told it was classified."Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersSenate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Bernie Sanders Town Hall finishes third in cable news race, draws 1.4 million viewers Woman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid MORE (I) is the country’s most popular active politician, underscoring his importance to the Democratic Party as it seeks to rebuild in the wake of a disastrous 2016 election cycle.
Sanders is viewed favorably by 57 percent of registered voters, according to data from a Harvard-Harris survey provided exclusively to The Hill. Sanders is the only person in a field of 16 Trump administration officials or congressional leaders included in the survey who is viewed favorably by a majority of those polled.
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White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon is far and away the least popular political figure in the poll, with only 16 percent viewing him favorably, compared with 45 percent having a negative view of him.
“In losing to Hillary [Clinton], Bernie Sanders has floated above today’s partisan politics while Bannon has, rightly or wrongly, taken the blame for the administration’s failures,” said Harvard-Harris co-director Mark Penn. “It is symptomatic of the Democrats increasingly consolidating to the left while the Republicans are fractured and unable to come together. Sanders is an asset to the Democrats while Bannon is a liability to the administration.”
Only 32 percent have a negative view of Sanders, including nearly two-thirds of Republicans.
Besides Republicans, though, Sanders is popular among broad swaths of the registered voting population.
Those figures could buoy a potential 2020 presidential run. Sanders, who would be 79 on Election Day in 2020, hasn’t ruled out another bid.
Among registered voters, fifty-eight percent of women view Sanders favorably, as do 55 percent of men. He is most popular among people aged 18 to 34, who give him a 62 percent approval rating. Sanders also has majority support among those over the age of 50.
While Sanders struggled during his Democratic primary challenge against Clinton in states with large African-American voting populations, he is viewed favorably by 73 percent of black registered voters.
That’s better than Hispanics, at 68 percent favorable, Asian-Americans, at 62 percent favorable, and whites, at 52 percent favorable.
Sanders is viewed favorably by 80 percent of registered Democrats, even though he has steadfastly refused to join the party whose presidential nominee he campaigned for.
The Vermont senator is touring the country with new Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez as the two work to unify a party that split sharply along the line between grassroots activists and the establishment during the primaries.
There is still lingering bitterness between Sanders supporters, who believe the party stacked the deck against their candidate, and mainstream Democratic operatives, who view Sanders as an interloper who will drag the party too far left.
Still, no other Democrat comes close to matching Sanders’s popularity.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann WarrenWoman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid Raising taxes on the wealthy is 'extremely popular,' says Dem pollster 64 percent say Democratic Party supports socialism, says poll MORE (D-Mass.), a progressive and potential presidential candidate in 2020, is in positive territory at 38 percent favorable and 32 unfavorable.
Clinton is at 42 percent positive and 53 percent negative. That’s down from a 44-51 split in same poll in February.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is viewed favorably by 31 percent of registered voters and unfavorably by 48 percent, while Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerBrady gun control group gets rebranding Brennan fires back at'selfish' Trump over Harry Reid criticism Trump rips Harry Reid for 'failed career' after ex-Dem leader slams him in interview MORE (N.Y.) is at 27 percent positive and 35 percent negative.
On the Republican side, President Trump’s favorability rating is at 44 percent positive and 51 negative.
Vice President Pence is the top-rated official in the White House, posting a 44-41 split.
Trump’s newly confirmed Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch, is also in positive territory at 34 percent favorable and 29 percent unfavorable. Though he is little known, Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, posts a positive 20-13 split.
The other Republican officials in the poll overall had negative approval ratings.
House Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Five takeaways from McCabe’s allegations against Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Sanders set to shake up 2020 race MORE (R-Wis.) is viewed favorably by 34 percent of voters and unfavorably by 47 percent. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellWhite House pleads with Senate GOP on emergency declaration Senate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Pence meets with Senate GOP for 'robust' discussion on Trump declaration MORE (R-Ky.) fares worse, at 23 positive and 42 negative.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is at 24 positive and 46 negative. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, comes in at 23 positive and 34 negative.
FBI Director James Comey, who scored criticism from both sides during the presidential campaign, is also deep in negative territory in the poll. Only 18 percent said they view him favorably, compared with 36 percent who said they view him unfavorably.
The online survey of 2,027 registered voters was conducted between April 14 and April 17. The partisan breakdown is 36 percent Democrat, 31 percent Republican, 30 percent independent and 3 percent other. Harvard-Harris Poll uses a methodology that doesn’t produce a traditional margin of error.
The Harvard-Harris Poll survey is a collaboration of the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll. The Hill will be working with Harvard-Harris throughout 2017. Full poll results will be posted online later this week.Tiffany Mack doesn't want Wegmans Good Dog Park shut down. She makes that clear.
She just hopes people might remember Charlie -- and then use their heads.
Charlie was a character, one of her three dogs. Born not quite eight years ago, he was part Yorkshire terrier, part Chihuahua. Eight days ago, as Charlie did each morning, the little dog woke up early and made a point of getting the household moving. It was a quiet Saturday in March; Mack's 25th birthday was the next day.
She and her fiance, Andy Nolan, are educators in the Syracuse city schools. Nolan, who helps coach baseball at Corcoran High School, left for an early practice. Mack dropped into the routine she and Nolan typically follow together:
With the dogs in the car, she drove from her Syracuse home to Good Dog Park, in the Cold Springs section of Onondaga Lake Park. Licensed and supervised dogs are allowed to run free, in an enclosure.
Nolan and Mack have used it for years. Only once, before last week, did they encounter an aggressive dog. For the most part, it's been a chance for their dogs to run themselves into exhaustion, a chance to be with other people who love dogs.
Mack arrived around 11 a.m. Two men were there with their dogs. She walked through a gate, where a big sign offers a clear choice: "Any size dogs" can go to the play area to the left, while "Small dogs only," 25 pounds or less, can go right.
Faced with that choice, Mack went right. She let her dogs off the leash: There was Charlie, and a King Charles Spaniel named Cody, and Molly, a mix of many things, including whippet and beagle. "Molly was running with the other dogs," Mack said. "Cody was asking the other (dog owners) to meet him, and Charlie was sniffing around."
While the animals played, a third man arrived. He had a dog that towered above the others; Mack guesses it was a mix of mastiff and Labrador retriever. At the place where visitors make the choice -- large dogs to the left, small ones to the right -- the man went right.
Within minutes, his dog moved in a threatening manner toward Cody. The little spaniel fled and cowered between Mack's legs. She bent down to reach for him.
In that instant, the larger dog attacked Charlie, who had no chance. It grabbed him in its mouth, Mack said, and started shaking him and "tearing him apart."
Her voice trembled as she recalled the |
slogan they're using — 'Take Our Country Back'?" said Dianne Hart, 57, of Tampa, Fla. "From what? A black man?"
Enlarge this image toggle caption Liz Halloran/NPR Liz Halloran/NPR
"I know racism; I've lived through it," said Hart, president of the Hillsborough, Fla., County Democratic black caucus. "It is alive and well."
Voter ID efforts and the characterization of Obama's tweaking of welfare work programs to accommodate requests from governors — both Democrats and Republicans — are manifest of a tone, an atmosphere that state Rep. Darryl Owens, 74, of Louisville, Ky., says has driven race relations backward since Obama's election.
"Many people thought the country was changing, and changing too fast," he said of Obama's election four years ago. "We're seeing a lot of white middle-class people voting against their own self-interest because they feel the nation has changed too much — an African-American in the White House, gay marriage."
But for Greenville, S.C., County Councilwoman Xanthene Norris, 83, this year is still filled with hope.
"We have struggled through the years," said Norris. "We are supporting President Obama not because he's a black president, but because he's a great president."At an art gallery in New York, Citizenfour cinematographer Trevor Paglen is showing a video installation that features more than 4,000 surveillance program code names from both the National Security Agency (NSA) and Government Communications Headquarters. Entitled Code Names of the Surveillance State, the exhibition consists of endlessly scrolling columns projected on the four walls of Metro Pictures' Chelsea gallery, and will run until December 20th.
The code names displayed are described as "deliberately nonsensical" and without any ostensible connection to the programs they represent. For example, Bacon Ridge refers to an NSA facility in Texas while Mystic is reportedly a program for accruing every phone call from the Bahamas. A version of the installation was on display in the United Kingdom from October 31st to November 7th. Paglen is one of many artists who have produced interstitial pieces revolving around the NSA, including Oliver Bienkowski who projected a comical image of President Obama and the words "NSA in da House" on the walls of the US Embassy in Berlin.dpa
Die Stadt Duisburg hat einen Antrag abgelehnt, wonach es in Zukunft in öffentlichen Bädern gesonderte Schwimmkurse und Schwimmzeiten für Muslime geben sollte. Die Entscheidung geht zurück auf einen Antrag eines muslimischen Bündnisses, dem der Integrationsrat der Stadt zustimmte.
Der Integrationsrat der Stadt Duisburg hat beschlossen, dass die Stadt prüfen soll, ob es getrennte Schwimmzeiten für Muslime und Nicht-Muslime in öffentlichen Bädern geben soll. Das berichtet "derwesten.de". Eingebracht hatte den Vorschlag das islamische Wählerbündnis Ummah, das im Integrationsrat vertreten ist. Eine Mehrheit für den Prüfantrag gewann die Gruppe laut "derwesten.de" durch die Zustimmung zahlreicher Migranten-Vertreter und gegen die nahezu einstimmige Ablehnung des Stadtrats. Einzige Ausnahme: Die SPD, die sich der Abstimmung enthielt, wodurch die Annahme erst möglich wurde. Das muslimische Wählerbündnis bittet darum, dass "Schwimmzeiten und Schwimmkurse für muslimische Einwohner eingerichtet werden". Es gebe ein großes Interesse, allerdings hätten viele Eltern und Kinder aus religiösen Gründen Probleme damit, sich in knapper und enger Badekleidung zu zeigen. Dabei ist laut einer Stadtsprecherin auch die Teilnahme an Schwimmkursen im Burkini möglich. Düsseldorfer Grundschule verbietet Burka und Gesichtsschleier auf dem Schulgelände
"Der Antrag will nicht zusammenführen. Er will trennen" Wie "derwesten.de" schreibt, herrscht auch nach der Abstimmung weiter Streit zwischen Befürwortern und Gegnern. CDU-Ratsfrau Sylvia Linn wird mit den Worten zitiert: "Der Integrationsrat wurde gebildet, um Menschen unterschiedlicher Kulturen und Religionen zusammenzuführen. Der Antrag will das Gegenteil: Er will trennen. Das kann nicht das Ziel von Duisburger Politik sein." Auch Rainer Grün von der Duisburger Alternativen Liste ist unzufrieden: "Das hat nichts mit Integration zu tun", sagt er gegenüber "derwesten.de". Vielmehr handle es sich um „die gezielte Abschottung und Ausgrenzung von Bevölkerungsgruppen unter religiösen Vorzeichen“. Er wirft der SPD vor, mit der Enthaltung "einen Fehler" gemacht zu haben. Das Wählerbündnis Ummah hingegen sieht in dem Antrag einen Beitrag zur Integration. Laut "derwesten.de" führen die Verantwortlichen an, dass es an Grundschulen häufig zu Zwist zwischen Lehrern und muslimischen Eltern komme, weil die Kinder nicht schwimmen können. Das könnte durch das Angebot geändert werden. Update: Der Artikel, auf den sich unser Text bezieht, stammt aus dem Februar 2015. Zwei Wochen später hatte die Stadt Duisburg entschieden, den Antrag abzulehnen. Die Begründung laut "derwesten.de": "Die Stadt verfügt weder über die finanziellen und personellen noch über die materiellen Ressourcen, um eine solche Forderung umsetzen zu können." Außerdem wolle man integrieren und nicht separieren. Saudische Männer beschimpfen verhüllte Frauen, weil sie sich zu aufreizend kleidenToronto’s Subway Fares Are Going Up (But So Are Fares in Every Other City in the World)
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) recently announced that cash fares for a subway or bus trip are rising in 2016 by a quarter to $3.25 (token fares are rising by a dime to $2.90). Certainly, Toronto residents have some reason to complain; Toronto’s transit costs are among the highest in North America, on par with the pricey transit systems in cities like Ottawa, Calgary and Miami. One of the driving factors for Toronto’s sky-high prices is that the city provides the lowest per-passenger subsidy on the continent (just $0.88), meaning that riders must pick up more of the tab for each of their trips.
However, it is short-sighted to focus on incremental fare increases when every transit system in the world is raising prices to manage their increasing costs. Consider that there will have been five fare hikes on the TTC since the year 2000, with cash fares rising 62.5% over that period (from $2 to $3.25). But that is actually on par or even lower than cash fare increases for comparable cities in Canada or around the world. Subway systems in Montreal (62.5%) and Vancouver (57%) experienced nearly identical fare increases over the past 15 years, while passengers in New York City (83.3%) and London (123%) have been forced to shell out much more in the past decade and a half just to get around town. Metro fares continue to steadily march upwards around the world, from Boston to Rio de Janeiro to Berlin, due to an increasingly expensive mix of energy, infrastructure and labour.
In protesting the upcoming fare increase, Toronto City Councillor Glenn de Baeremaeker suggested that “every year we go back to our customers and add a nickel or add a dime. That is the death of a thousand cuts; eventually people will say [they’re] just going to go out and buy a car.” The councillor is barking up the wrong tree. Fares that rise in order to keep up with increasing operational costs are necessary to keep the system running and pay the bills, and Toronto has managed to keep this kind of fare growth quite modest relative to comparable cities in Canada and around the world. To keep transit affordable, tackle the elephant in the room — subsidies — and don’t be distracted by the periodic fare hikes.
Data Sources and Methodology
For consistency, we looked at the cost of a single ride cash fare in each city. Many transit systems do offer various tokens, cards or passes that can give a discount below the cash fare.
Toronto: Torontoist
Montreal: STM
Vancouver: Translink. We used the travel cost of 1 zone.
New York City: Associated Press/Mashable
London: Londonist. We used the cash fare for a single Tube ride for zones 1-4.
Don’t miss our newest stories! Follow The 10 and 3 on Facebook or Twitter (@the10and3) for the latest news and analysis.It's not DeAnn Moran's responsibility to buy supplies for her second-grade students when their parents and schools do not. But she has consistently done so for the more than 20 years she has been teaching.
"Their little faces are just devastated when they don’t have books and colors," she said of her Moore Public Schools students in Oklahoma. "It's amazing what that can do for a child."
Moran estimates that she spends $4,000 to $6,000 of her own money on supplies for her students each year. The number has increased over the past few years, she said, as Oklahoma has slashed education funding. Moran's district, which was devastated by a tornado in 2013, is especially in need of resources.
Teacher salaries in Oklahoma are also some of the lowest in the nation.
"We as teachers have to find ways to be creative because I'm going to do whatever it takes to be creative for our children, even if that means it comes out of my pocket," Moran said.
She is not alone. All around the country educators are being forced to do more with less. Last year, teachers spent an average of about $500 of their own money on supplies for students.
We asked teachers on Twitter and Facebook to share how much they were spending on back-to-school supplies.
Are you a teacher spending your own $ on supplies? Tell us how much you spent and send a pic of the supplies tagged #mymoneymyclass — HuffPostEducation (@HuffPostEdu) August 26, 2015
Here is what they had to say:
#mymoneymyclass would be easier to take pics of what I haven't bought! Spend an average of $5000 each year. #sad pic.twitter.com/ujctoP0fuB — DeeAnnMoran (@DeeAnnMoran) August 6, 2015
@HuffPostEdu #mymoneymyclass hundreds if not a grand each year. Most of it on books for our class library pic.twitter.com/n7E5mTWjdO — Ms. N. Warchol (@MsNWarchol) August 6, 2015
Over truck load of supplies brought to my new classroom plus $ spent before school starts #TeachersSubsidizeSchools #mymoneymyclass — Deb Weston (@dr_weston_PhD) August 27, 2015
@HuffPostEdu over $700 for my 6th grade classroom. No budget for class supplies 😁😬😱😰 #mymoneymyclass pic.twitter.com/BpKxGSbaIS — Addison Duane (@addisonsays) August 26, 2015
@HuffPostEdu I have spent a lot. Def don't have the tags still on the items but have receipts. Very close to about $500 #mymoneymyclass — Liz Koscielski (@lizandnatekosc) August 26, 2015
@HuffPostEdu Dining roomful of books for classroom library - over $300 this summer, $1000+ this year #mymoneymyclass pic.twitter.com/9r7Jm3o7yg — lpdeal (@lpdeal) August 7, 2015
@HuffPostEdu all of that, plus another shelving unit, not to mention what's at school. Diff grades. #mymoneymyclass pic.twitter.com/8ZSv3RjawW — Amanda G (@nascar_girl_24) August 7, 2015
@HuffPostEdu @HuffingtonPost $782.00 so far, but we've only been in session for 14 days — Wendy Portillo (@WendyPortillo) August 27, 2015
@HuffPostEdu I spend $500 to $600 a year. Pencils, folders, notebooks, paperbacks, and classroom decor necessities. pic.twitter.com/CmKhi7GVKp — Stacy Gibbs (@Tealtess68) August 27, 2015
@HuffPostEdu 1000s of dollars in prof books, reading novels, games, decor, art supplies, storage, manipulatives... pic.twitter.com/6fvXgbQBuY — Julie K-H (@Cruiserk) August 9, 2015
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Also on HuffPost:New York's Chinatown marking the Lunar New Year. Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images A New York Times editor was recently told to "go back to China" when walking down the sidewalk on New York City's Upper East Side neighborhood.
Michael Luo, an Asian-American journalist, wrote about the experience in The Times on Sunday, saying he was with family and friends after leaving church. As the group moved down a sidewalk, with a stroller in tow, a woman who was apparently annoyed that the group was taking up a large portion of the sidewalk, lobbed a racist remark at the group.
When Luo sprinted to confront her, he wrote, she pulled out her phone and threatened to call the police, screaming "go back to your f---ing country."
"I was born in this country!" Luo recalled yelling back, saying it was the only retort he could muster in the moment.
Luo wrote that, disturbed by the confrontation, his 7-year-old kept asking: "Why did she say, 'Go back to China?' We're not from China."
"Maybe you don't know this," Luo wrote in The Times, addressing the woman in an open letter, "but the insults you hurled at my family get to the heart of the Asian-American experience."
"It's this persistent sense of otherness that a lot of us struggle with every day," Luo continued. "That no matter what we do, how successful we are, what friends we make, we don't belong. We're foreign. We're not American."
Asian-Americans who were moved by Luo's story are using the hashtag #thisis2016 to share their own experiences with racism.
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York weighed in, denouncing the harassment.
A Harvard alumnus who now edits for one of the world's most prominent publications, Luo said he still often feels like "an outsider."
Compared with other minority groups, Asian-Americans tend to remain silent on issues of identity politics, but that appears to be changing.
Last Thursday, Asian-Americans protested outside the Manhattan headquarters of Fox News after a stereotype-filled segment about Chinatown— produced by correspondent Jesse Watters — aired on the cable network.The local cafes have been packed for days, but on the fifth day, there is no queue to get your ten-dollar lunch specials. There is no police outside the ground making sure cricket fans don't get run over. Neroli Meadows and Merv Hughes have almost the entire Woolloongabba Place Park to themselves for some TV work. Only a handful watch Pakistan in the nets. Most of the people walking around the ground are not fans but Cricket Australia, Queensland Cricket or Brisbane Lions employees. The plastic bollards to give the crowd extra walking space are being taken down even as a few spectators walk past them.
That is because no one really believes Pakistan can win.
Off the second ball of the day, Asad Shafiq plays and misses. Yasir Shah plays a flash uppercut soon after, and you can feel Australia will just get one right, and the lack of crowd will be justified by a quick finish. But Australia don't get many right.
A single guided to deep point is just one of the 490 needed, but it brings the target to under a hundred and cricket makes that a noteworthy occurrence. Shafiq is farming the strike, making sure that Yasir doesn't have to face too many balls. Apparently, he hasn't watched Yasir in the nets over the last two days, because he has looked more assured than Younis, more in-form than Misbah and technically superior to Sarfraz Ahmed. Shafiq plays and misses again at one; that may have hit a crack. Will this heroic defiance be ended by simple day-five deterioration?
But as Yasir plays some effortless cover drives, and Shafiq stops playing and missing, the first signs of tension start to show on Australian faces. A graceful push through cover compels David Warner to throw every part of himself at stopping the ball. Instead, it eludes him and gently nudges the boundary triangle. The total crosses 400, another pointless landmark, another moral victory for Pakistan. More belief.
Yasir plays an offside waft, not even a real shot; the field is up, and he was sucked into the wrong shot. The ball is passed to Steven Smith who sighs for what seems like seven seconds. Yasir backs up his weak shot with an ordinary stroke that misses the ball by about a foot, and instead hits the ground. Matthew Wade and Smith show some excitement, but it's not a real appeal, it's just the hope of a real appeal. It's now half an hour, and the game is different than before: there are two set batsmen, one frustrated captain, two tiring strike bowlers and one ever-softening ball.
A section of the crowd made the Gabba Test feel like a home game for Pakistan Getty Images
Ian Healy talks to the Pakistani fans, of which there are few, but they are loud enough for it to feel like a home game. One fan claims they will win, not only this Test, but all the Tests. It is different from the passionate pessimism of regular Pakistan fans, but even gung-ho patriotism aside, you can see his point.
Australia seems to have no definite plan, no grip on the contest, and now Jackson Bird is warming up. Bird has bowled well and has earned his spot by taking wickets, but he's at his best with a new ball, winkling out top-order batsmen. His first ball seems gentle and apologetic, and is guided with grace and no effort by Shafiq, who happily lets Yasir face Bird, in a way he never did for Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood. Nathan Lyon comes on and Shafiq pushes him away effortlessly as well, and has no qualms about Yasir facing him either - this despite the fact that Yasir is almost dismissed from an excellent Lyon ball straightaway.
During a Bird over, Warner comes excitedly to talk to Smith at slip. Next ball, Bird hits a crack; it's probably not true, but I like to think that Warner said, 'all we need to do is hit that crack a lot'. The ball flies past the one floating slip, and Smith reacts by putting out a fly slip, who is so square he's almost a fly gully. Yasir responds with a push through the covers for two. Warner chases after it like no man has ever chased after a two in the covers. There is such power in his running, such desperation, and yet it was always going to be two. It was as if Warner thought that by running fast, he could change Australia's new fate, of being on the wrong side of the biggest chase in cricket.
At the one-hour mark, our stats team point out that only once in Pakistan's Test history before this have their numbers 7 to 10 scored over 20 in the same innings.
Smith tries something new: a short leg, a short midwicket; fly gully goes back to standard gully and Bird tries to go straight. On a morning of almost no obvious plans or proactive calls, this one is quite clear. Yasir reacts by drop-kicking the straight ball over square leg's head like he's operating Viv Richards in a computer game. Forget belief, Yasir now has swag.
Lyon beats Yasir and appeals for a caught behind; Wade takes the bails off, and he asks for a stumping. Half the team appeal to one umpire, half to the other, some for a catch, some for a stumping, and probably a few for lbw. It's not an appeal for a wicket; it is not out in any of cricket's ten dismissal laws. It's an appeal for help.
After a memorable ton, it needed something even more special from Mitchell Starc to remove Asad Shafiq AFP
It is then, with what might be thousands but could be just hundreds of people in the ground, I suddenly realise; I could be at one of the single most amazing days of cricket in history. Pakistan still need heaps, Australia still only need two balls, but it doesn't feel like that. All my cricket background is saying, this will stop, that they'll get a good ball in, or Pakistan will struggle when the overwhelming nature of chasing 490 gets down to a handful of runs. But I don't care. Now I believe.
When a strong drive from Shafiq crashes into the non-striker's stumps, there is a sudden panic, as Yasir doesn't have his bat down. But when you see the replay you see a ball heading for Bird's hand, only to take an exaggerated dip. Now it might have been spin on the ball that made it do that, or the game now deciding that Pakistan must win. I decide the dip existed, and that it was a sign of a supernatural presence - Mother Cricket - guiding it away.
Starc comes back on, Yasir flays, and Shafiq goes down to tell him not to. Yasir pushes Starc through cover; Starc looks at Smith, and Smith shrugs back at Starc. Everyone is talking to someone, every ball. Ian Gould talks to Yasir about something, and suddenly I need to know what is going on: why are they talking, what does it mean, why can't I hear them? Every single small moment, a lingering look at cover and point, or a back pat between the batsmen is now the single most important thing I have ever seen.
"Shafiq's bat has become something extraordinary, like it was made from a willow tree that was struck by lightning, crafted by Hattori Hanzo and one that he, and only he, could pull out of an enchanted stone"
And Asad Shafiq. I mean what is happening there? He was supposed to be in poor form, still hiding down at six and not taking up his rightful place at three or four. He was barely involved in the first innings and now look at him. He seems to have worked out the exact mathematical dimensions of this ground to find every single or two he needs. He's batting with Misbah's mind and Younis' self-determination, and prettier than either. Shafiq's bat has become something extraordinary, like it was made from a willow tree that was struck by lightning, crafted by Hattori Hanzo and one that he, and only he, could pull out of an enchanted stone. With it, he calmly guides another ball away to the boundary, calmly like this isn't the chance for perhaps the most incredible victory, but just a club game with some mates.
Yasir slashes at point. Lyon launches himself as best he can without the athletic gifts that some of his team-mates have, gets a finger to it - just one which you can see bend as the ball crashes through. The other fielders clean up beyond him, the batsmen run three, the ball's returned to Wade, who throws it up to mid-off, and Lyon is still on the ground. Shafiq takes a single next ball, and Yasir is back on strike. He leaves a ball after a shuffle down the wicket; it hits his back leg and on commentary, Mark Nicholas says, "They ask, they ask, they get it, they get it, they get it". But just to prove that Yasir's judgment all morning has been on song, he reviews instantaneously, and it's overturned almost as quick.
But the reviews show up something else, something which will be far more important: reverse swing. It's not clear, until another one crashes into the pads, and yes, that's what it is. Oh Pakistan, it had to be that, didn't it?
Starc's next over has him around the wicket going at the batsmen. He gets one down the legside and Yasir moves across and it takes something as it goes through to Wade. Starc goes up to appeal, but the ball is trickling along the ground and Wade is desperately trying to pick it up, like he can make up for what has just happened. He gets up and seems to say to everyone, 'it's just pad', or that it didn't carry, but essentially, 'it's all cool guys'. The replays show there was bat, but the replays that needed to show whether the catch carried, never comes. Wade finishes the over by fumbling another ball and they don't take the run. Wade walks down pitch trying to spin the helmet on his hand casually. It doesn't spin well, it doesn't look casual. It is barely repressed panic.
Steven Smith's deadly accuracy allowed Australia to breathe again Getty Images
The panic shifts though with Shafiq's first play and miss in an age. There is no doubt now, the ball is moving, the spell is breaking.
Next over, Starc is around the wicket again, and a good yorker is just squeezed away by Yasir. Now it is Starc v Shafiq. Starc, like a chum-baited shark, isn't the same bowler as earlier. The ball jumps up at Shafiq, fast and mean. The man who has been a Zen batting master is suddenly everywhere at once, in the air, facing the wrong way, each limb doing a different thing. But the ball has somehow ignored the chaos to find the leading edge, and it balloons up.
It's not that high, it's not a tough catch, but it goes to Warner - the man who earlier tried to beat fate by running fast - on a platter with a champagne flute beside it. After the false dawns and optimistic cries of hope, the Australians wait for the catch to be completed, and when it is, they scream, the way you do when you have just realised you aren't about to become the laughing stock of the world. Not Starc, he barely raises a hand.
Shafiq is even more emotionless. Shafiq was stoic all innings, and his face is the same now as he takes his gloves off and starts heading off. That is until Yasir walks over and embraces him. Then it hits him, and it becomes obvious that up until that very moment, he believed. He believed more than Misbah, more than the loud Pakistan fan on Channel Nine, more than anyone could, or should. He takes his helmet off, and at first he isn't even walking towards the dressing rooms, just drifting off the ground. Of all the things he had allowed himself to dream, the walk off the ground as a loser wasn't one.
Rahat Ali's reputation as an entertaining batsman, for almost none of the right reasons, means that Yasir decides to hit out. He tries to slog Starc with no luck, and then he tries to hit a yorker. He makes contact, but he doesn't know where, so he takes off, before realising it has gone behind him, and he turns. Smith at first just gently takes the dribbling ball, but then, like a gunfighter who sees a man drop his weapon, he goes for the kill. It was Smith who allowed Pakistan to dream, for Shafiq to be the hero, and now it is the same hands that end the match.
Maybe it was reverse swing, Pakistan's most dramatic superpower, that changed the balance, but it was quality fielding, their one eternal weakness, that finished them. It was 40 runs those who weren't watching will say, not even that close. They won't get it. Just like how those who didn't believe in Pakistan didn't get that they believed in the first place. And they may have lost, but after all that, you know they still believe.Tal’s Hill was never supposed to last this long. Its death via forthcoming stadium renovation was discussed in the abstract for years before being announced in the definitive last summer and scheduled for last fall. But then came an unexpected Astros playoff run, prolonging the inevitable and giving us one more season with the weird little slope in Minute Maid Park’s center field.
That season is over now and, as of this week, so too is Tal’s Hill. It’s easy to mourn this as a great loss for ballpark quirks. So easy! The imagery is almost obnoxious in its obviousness— bulldozing something that made a stadium unique, literally flattening out its character. But to mourn the death of Tal’s Hill simply as a delightful park oddity is to overlook why Tal’s Hill existed at all.
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It’s true that Tal’s Hill was killed because it was too different (“unsafe” and “distracting” are, at their core, variations on “too different). But being different was the reason that Tal’s Hill was built in the first place. It was not a ballpark quirk born from a strange setting or a demand of its time or a weirdly individualistic architect. It was a ballpark quirk born out of a team’s desire for a ballpark quirk.
Tal’s Hill was designed to be different, and it was—but only so much as we can accept manufactured difference for difference’s own sake as being different.
The design alone, stripped of context, is weird. It’s a hill and a flag pole in the middle of a ballpark! It’s very weird! There’s nothing wrong with this, in and of itself, and maybe even something very much right with this. Weird can be good, weird can be inspired, weird can be fun. It is the foundation of where we might put a pit on the field. Weird gives a place its sense of self, and it allows us to build something human into a structure that would otherwise be anything but. It’s what makes ballparks individual, which is what lets us make ballparks personal.
This weirdness manifests itself in different stadium quirks, and it comes with different origin stories. It stems from a desire to keep a park private (Fenway’s Green Monster), or from baseball put in a stadium that was built for something else (the catwalks of Tropicana Field), or from a Bill Veeck beautification project that took root and never left (Wrigley Field’s ivy).
Some ballpark quirks are largely adored, others are not; some are simple background color for the baseball they hold, others are written into the rules themselves to participate in the game. But they are all weird, and even when there is something of a gimmick to them or their history, their weirdness is authentic and it comes with context.
The weirdness of Tal’s Hill, meanwhile, has no motivation apart from its own novelty—it is weirdness that exists not just to be weird, but to be noticed as so. Designed in the 1990s by then-Astros president of baseball operations Tal Smith, Tal’s Hill was intended as an homage to the slope of Cincinnati’s Crosley Field from the 1910s. The hill in Crosley Field was a result of expanding an originally small outfield and balancing the difference between the park and street level; the hill in Minute Maid Park was a result of trying to imitate Crosley Field. It was a nod to tradition, but it was disconcerting and it was forced. The outcome was a ballpark quirk with no context other than its own quirkiness, a contrived performative weirdness of sorts.
There is something depressing in acknowledging the artifice of this history, because Tal’s Hill was fun. Watching people run up a hill and sometimes fall down it is, generally, very fun. But it is much less fun to consider that the hill was created only so that they might fall down, that the hill was designed to amuse you, that the hill would not have been built were you not there to think it funny. This makes Tal’s Hill feel less like a ballpark quirk and more like a corporate gimmick masquerading as such.
Which is all to say—mourning Tal’s Hill is overly sentimental and naive and requires allowing yourself to fall for a marketing scheme built on forced nostalgia, but mourning Tal’s Hill makes sense. Mourning Tal’s Hill makes sense because Tal’s Hill once caused Andruw Jones to wipe out spectacularly, only to give him a backdrop to redeem himself on the very next pitch, and really, how can you not mourn something like that?
Your browser does not support iframes.AS THE sun sets on a Friday in a smart new suburb of Lagos, Harim Obidike dons his kippah and opens up a prayer book. It is the start of shabbat, the Jewish holy day, and as he croons through the psalms, a gaggle of youngsters sing along. “We are Israelites,” he says after bread has been broken and the candles lit.
Nigeria is a devout country split loosely between a Muslim north and a Christian south: two halves which were brought together by colonialists and still butt heads today. A couple of decades ago, modern Judaism was almost unheard of. But this household is one of a growing number that are taking to the Torah. In Abuja, the capital, there are at least four small communities of Igbo-speakers that have opened synagogues. (Jews joke that every town needs at least two so that members can hold a grudge, and refuse to attend one of them.) In one, on the outskirts of the city, there is a gospel lilt to the songs: members taught themselves to read Hebrew and then had to make up the tunes, says one.
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It might seem odd that people would sign up to join a small faith whose members have suffered centuries of oppression. Yet Uri Palti, Israel’s ambassador to Nigeria, reckons there are more than 40 such communities across the country. Daniel Lis, an academic, thinks there may be thousands of Nigerians who practise Judaism. Millions more of the Igbo tribe believe that they are descended from biblical Israelites. Across Africa as a whole there may be thousands more self-declared Jews. One community in eastern Uganda, the Abayudaya, adopted the faith almost a century ago. Its rabbi was recently elected the country’s first Jewish member of parliament.
Yet the embrace by these communities of the laws of Moses has not been warmly reciprocated by the Orthodox establishment in Israel. Unlike proselytising religions such as Christianity, the guardians of Orthodox Judaism go out of their way to make conversion difficult, insisting on a two-year programme of study and lifestyle changes.
Still, officialdom is shifting. Israel’s Jewish Agency last month recognised the Abayudaya as Jews, meaning that they are allowed to emigrate to Israel. There is a precedent. Since the 1980s more than 90,000 Ethiopian Jews (known to some as Falashas) did so after Israel’s rabbis accepted them into the fold.
Such a stamp of approval seems a little less likely in the case of Nigeria. Some fear it would open Israel’s gates to thousands of economic migrants. Yet this does not trouble the likes of Mr Obidike. Nigeria’s Semites argue that they are descended from one of Israel’s lost tribes and that cultural similarities such as circumcision are proof of their pedigree. Others at his synagogue do not worry much about officialdom’s response. “We are Jewish,” says one old lady who switched from Catholicism. “Whether you are recognised or not is no matter.”Fox has indefinitely delayed production on “The Maze Runner: The Death Cure” as star Dylan O’Brien needs more time to heal from his March 17 injuries after an on-set car accident.
“The resumption of principal photography on ‘Maze Runer: The Death Cure’ has been further delayed to allow Dylan O’Brien more time to fully recover from his injuries,” Fox said in a statement Friday. “We wish Dylan a speedy recovery and look forward to restarting production as soon as possible.”
Production on the film was initially scheduled to resume May 9, according to a production listing in Vancouver.
“His injuries are very serious and he needs more time to recover,” said O’Brien’s publicist Jennifer Allen.
The movie — the third in the Maze Runner trilogy — has been set for a Presidents Day weekend release date of Feb, 17, 2017, but it may have to be pushed back due to the production delay.
Wes Ball is directing the film. O’Brien’s character is on a mission to find a cure to the “Flare,” a deadly disease.
O’Brien was hit by a car and suffered multiple injuries on March 17 on the set in British Columbia. The 24-year-old actor was taken to a local hospital for observation and treatment following the accident.
The 2014 original grossed $102 million in U.S. receipts, and 2015 follow-up “The Scorch Trials” tallied $82 million in domestic box office.
THR first reported the news.British tax authorities have been accused of attempting to ride roughshod over Magna Carta in pursuit of new powers that will allow them to raid the bank accounts of those who fail to pay their dues.
MPs on the Treasury Select Committee said they were “horrified” by the proposals which HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says it needs to recover tax from 17,000 “recalcitrant debtors”.
Lin Homer, chief executive of HMRC, insisted that the powers would only be used in extreme circumstances and would never leave taxpayers short of “enough money to live.” However, she caused alarm by explaining that HMRC would be able to judge whether a debtor could afford to pay up because they would have access to 12 months of the target’s personal spending habits. The proposals are currently out for consultation until the |
He was well liked in the town, and defeated his challenger by a vote of 1,597 to 1,409. During his first term (1910 to 1911), he increased teachers' salaries and retired some of the city's debt while still managing to effect a slight tax decrease. He was renominated in 1911, and defeated the same opponent by a slightly larger margin.
In 1911, the State Senator for the Hampshire County area retired and successfully encouraged Coolidge to run for his seat for the 1912 session; Coolidge defeated his Democratic opponent by a large margin. At the start of that term, he became chairman of a committee to arbitrate the "Bread and Roses" strike by the workers of the American Woolen Company in Lawrence, Massachusetts.[b] After two tense months, the company agreed to the workers' demands, in a settlement proposed by the committee. A major issue affecting Massachusetts Republicans that year was the party split between the progressive wing, which favored Theodore Roosevelt, and the conservative wing, which favored William Howard Taft. Although he favored some progressive measures, Coolidge refused to leave the Republican party. When the new Progressive Party declined to run a candidate in his state senate district, Coolidge won reelection against his Democratic opponent by an increased margin.
Do the day's work. If it is to protect the rights of the weak, whoever objects, do it. If it is to help a powerful corporation better to serve the people, whatever the opposition, do that. Expect to be called a stand-patter, but don't be a stand-patter. Expect to be called a demagogue, but don't be a demagogue. Don't hesitate to be as revolutionary as science. Don't hesitate to be as reactionary as the multiplication table. Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. Don't hurry to legislate. Give the administration a chance to catch up with legislation. Have Faith in Massachusetts as delivered by Calvin Coolidge to the Massachusetts State Senate, 1914.
In the 1913 session, Coolidge enjoyed renowned success in arduously navigating to passage the Western Trolley Act, which connected Northampton with a dozen similar industrial communities in western Massachusetts. Coolidge intended to retire after his second term as was the custom, but when the President of the State Senate, Levi H. Greenwood, considered running for Lieutenant Governor, Coolidge decided to run again for the Senate in the hopes of being elected as its presiding officer. Although Greenwood later decided to run for reelection to the Senate, he was defeated primarily due to his opposition to women's suffrage; Coolidge was in favor of the women's vote, won his own re-election and with Crane's help, assumed the presidency of a closely divided Senate. After his election in January 1914, Coolidge delivered a published and frequently quoted speech entitled Have Faith in Massachusetts, which summarized his philosophy of government.
Coolidge's speech was well received, and he attracted some admirers on its account; towards the end of the term, many of them were proposing his name for nomination to lieutenant governor. After winning reelection to the Senate by an increased margin in the 1914 elections, Coolidge was reelected unanimously to be President of the Senate. Coolidge's supporters, led by fellow Amherst alumnus Frank Stearns, encouraged him again to run for lieutenant governor. Stearns, an executive with the Boston department store R. H. Stearns, became another key ally, and began a publicity campaign on Coolidge's behalf before he announced his candidacy at the end of the 1915 legislative session.
Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Massachusetts [ edit ]
Calvin and Grace Coolidge, about 1918
Coolidge entered the primary election for lieutenant governor and was nominated to run alongside gubernatorial candidate Samuel W. McCall. Coolidge was the leading vote-getter in the Republican primary, and balanced the Republican ticket by adding a western presence to McCall's eastern base of support. McCall and Coolidge won the 1915 election to their respective one-year terms, with Coolidge defeating his opponent by more than 50,000 votes.
In Massachusetts, the lieutenant governor does not preside over the state Senate, as is the case in many other states; nevertheless, as lieutenant governor, Coolidge was a deputy governor functioning as administrative inspector and was a member of the governor's council. He was also chairman of the finance committee and the pardons committee. As a full-time elected official, Coolidge discontinued his law practice in 1916, though his family continued to live in Northampton. McCall and Coolidge were both reelected in 1916 and again in 1917. When McCall decided that he would not stand for a fourth term, Coolidge announced his intention to run for governor.
1918 election [ edit ]
Coolidge was unopposed for the Republican nomination for Governor of Massachusetts in 1918. He and his running mate, Channing Cox, a Boston lawyer and Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, ran on the previous administration's record: fiscal conservatism, a vague opposition to Prohibition, support for women's suffrage, and support for American involvement in World War I. The issue of the war proved divisive, especially among Irish and German Americans. Coolidge was elected by a margin of 16,773 votes over his opponent, Richard H. Long, in the smallest margin of victory of any of his statewide campaigns.
Boston Police Strike [ edit ]
In 1919, in reaction to a plan of the policemen of the Boston Police Department to register with a union, Police Commissioner Edwin U. Curtis announced that such an act would not be tolerated. In August of that year, the American Federation of Labor issued a charter to the Boston Police Union. Curtis declared the union's leaders were guilty of insubordination and would be relieved of duty, but indicated he would cancel their suspension if the union was dissolved by September 4. The mayor of Boston, Andrew Peters, convinced Curtis to delay his action for a few days, but with no results, and Curtis suspended the union leaders on September 8. The following day, about three-quarters of the policemen in Boston went on strike.[c] Coolidge, tacitly but fully in support of Curtis' position, closely monitored the situation but initially deferred to the local authorities. He anticipated that only a resulting measure of lawlessness could sufficiently prompt the public to understand and appreciate the controlling principle – that a policeman does not strike. That night and the next, there was sporadic violence and rioting in the unruly city. Peters, concerned about sympathy strikes by the firemen and others, called up some units of the Massachusetts National Guard stationed in the Boston area pursuant to an old and obscure legal authority, and relieved Curtis of duty.
"Your assertion that the Commissioner was wrong cannot justify the wrong of leaving the city unguarded. That furnished the opportunity; the criminal element furnished the action. There is no right to strike against the public safety by anyone, anywhere, any time.... I am equally determined to defend the sovereignty of Massachusetts and to maintain the authority and jurisdiction over her public officers where it has been placed by the Constitution and laws of her people." Telegram from Governor Calvin Coolidge to Samuel Gompers September 14, 1919.
Coolidge, sensing the severity of circumstances were then in need of his intervention, conferred with Crane's operative, William Butler, and then acted. He called up more units of the National Guard, restored Curtis to office, and took personal control of the police force. Curtis proclaimed that all of the strikers were fired from their jobs, and Coolidge called for a new police force to be recruited. That night Coolidge received a telegram from AFL leader Samuel Gompers. "Whatever disorder has occurred", Gompers wrote, "is due to Curtis's order in which the right of the policemen has been denied…" Coolidge publicly answered Gompers's telegram, denying any justification whatsoever for the strike – and his response launched him into the national consciousness. Newspapers across the nation picked up on Coolidge's statement and he became the newest hero to opponents of the strike. In the midst of the First Red Scare, many Americans were terrified of the spread of communist revolution, like those that had taken place in Russia, Hungary, and Germany. While Coolidge had lost some friends among organized labor, conservatives across the nation had seen a rising star. Although he usually acted with deliberation, the Boston police strike gave him a national reputation as a decisive leader, and as a strict enforcer of law and order.
1919 election [ edit ]
Coolidge inspects militia in Boston police strike
Coolidge and Cox were renominated for their respective offices in 1919. By this time Coolidge's supporters (especially Stearns) had publicized his actions in the Police Strike around the state and the nation and some of Coolidge's speeches were published in book form. He faced the same opponent as in 1918, Richard Long, but this time Coolidge defeated him by 125,101 votes, more than seven times his margin of victory from a year earlier.[d] His actions in the police strike, combined with the massive electoral victory, led to suggestions that Coolidge run for president in 1920.
Legislation and vetoes as governor [ edit ]
By the time Coolidge was inaugurated on January 2, 1919, the First World War had ended, and Coolidge pushed the legislature to give a $100 bonus (equivalent to $1,445 in 2018) to Massachusetts veterans. He also signed a bill reducing the work week for women and children from fifty-four hours to forty-eight, saying, "We must humanize the industry, or the system will break down." He signed into law a budget that kept the tax rates the same, while trimming $4 million from expenditures, thus allowing the state to retire some of its debt.
Coolidge also wielded the veto pen as governor. His most publicized veto prevented an increase in legislators' pay by 50%. Although Coolidge was personally opposed to Prohibition, he vetoed a bill in May 1920 that would have allowed the sale of beer or wine of 2.75% alcohol or less, in Massachusetts in violation of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. "Opinions and instructions do not outmatch the Constitution," he said in his veto message. "Against it, they are void."
Vice presidency [ edit ]
1920 election [ edit ]
At the 1920 Republican National Convention, most of the delegates were selected by state party conventions, not primaries. As such, the field was divided among many local favorites. Coolidge was one such candidate, and while he placed as high as sixth in the voting, the powerful party bosses running the convention, primarily the party's U.S. Senators, never considered him seriously. After ten ballots, the bosses and then the delegates settled on Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio as their nominee for president. When the time came to select a vice presidential nominee, the bosses also made and announced their decision on whom they wanted – Sen. Irvine Lenroot of Wisconsin – and then prematurely departed after his name was put forth, relying on the rank and file to confirm their decision. A delegate from Oregon, Wallace McCamant, having read Have Faith in Massachusetts, proposed Coolidge for vice president instead. The suggestion caught on quickly with the masses starving for an act of independence from the absent bosses, and Coolidge was unexpectedly nominated.
The Democrats nominated another Ohioan, James M. Cox, for president and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, for vice president. The question of the United States joining the League of Nations was a major issue in the campaign, as was the unfinished legacy of Progressivism. Harding ran a "front-porch" campaign from his home in Marion, Ohio, but Coolidge took to the campaign trail in the Upper South, New York, and New England – his audiences carefully limited to those familiar with Coolidge and those placing a premium upon concise and short speeches. On November 2, 1920, Harding and Coolidge were victorious in a landslide, winning more than 60 percent of the popular vote, including every state outside the South. They also won in Tennessee, the first time a Republican ticket had won a Southern state since Reconstruction.
President Harding and Vice President Coolidge and their wives
The U.S. vice presidency did not carry many official duties, but Coolidge was invited by President Harding to attend cabinet meetings, making him the first vice president to do so. He gave a number of unremarkable speeches around the country.
As the U.S. vice president, Coolidge and his vivacious wife Grace were invited to quite a few parties, where the legend of "Silent Cal" was born. It is from this time that most of the jokes and anecdotes involving Coolidge originate. Although Coolidge was known to be a skilled and effective public speaker, in private he was a man of few words and was commonly referred to as "Silent Cal". A possibly apocryphal story has it that a matron, seated next to him at a dinner, said to him, "I made a bet today that I could get more than two words out of you." He replied, "You lose." Dorothy Parker, upon learning that Coolidge had died, reportedly remarked, "How can they tell?" Coolidge often seemed uncomfortable among fashionable Washington society; when asked why he continued to attend so many of their dinner parties, he replied, "Got to eat somewhere." Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a leading Republican wit, underscored Coolidge's silence and his dour personality: "When he wished he were elsewhere, he pursed his lips, folded his arms, and said nothing. He looked then precisely as though he had been weaned on a pickle."
As president, Coolidge's reputation as a quiet man continued. "The words of a President have an enormous weight," he would later write, "and ought not to be used indiscriminately." Coolidge was aware of his stiff reputation; indeed, he cultivated it. "I think the American people want a solemn ass as a President," he once told Ethel Barrymore, "and I think I will go along with them." Some historians would later suggest that Coolidge's image was created deliberately as a campaign tactic, while others believe his withdrawn and quiet behavior to be natural, deepening after the death of his son in 1924.
Presidency [ edit ]
On August 2, 1923, President Harding died unexpectedly in San Francisco while on a speaking tour of the western United States. Vice President Coolidge was in Vermont visiting his family home, which had neither electricity nor a telephone, when he received word by messenger of Harding's death. The new president dressed, said a prayer, and came downstairs to greet the reporters who had assembled. His father, a notary public and justice of the peace, administered the oath of office in the family's parlor by the light of a kerosene lamp at 2:47 a.m. on August 3, 1923; President Coolidge then went back to bed.
Coolidge returned to Washington the next day, and was sworn in again by Justice Adolph A. Hoehling Jr. of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, to forestall any questions about the authority of a state official to administer a federal oath. This second oath-taking remained a secret until it was revealed by Harry M. Daugherty in 1932, and confirmed by Hoehling. When Hoehling confirmed Daugherty's story, he indicated that Daugherty, then serving as United States Attorney General, asked him to administer the oath without fanfare at the Willard Hotel. According to Hoehling, he did not question Daugherty's reason for requesting a second oath-taking but assumed it was to resolve any doubt about whether the first swearing-in was valid.
President Coolidge signing appropriation bills for the Veterans Bureau on the South Lawn during the garden party for wounded veterans, June 5, 1924. General John J. Pershing is at left. The man at right, looking on, appears to be Veterans Bureau Director Frank T. Hines
The nation initially did not know what to make of Coolidge, who had maintained a low profile in the Harding administration; many had even expected him to be replaced on the ballot in 1924. Coolidge believed that those of Harding's men under suspicion were entitled to every presumption of innocence, taking a methodical approach to the scandals, principally the Teapot Dome scandal, while others clamored for rapid punishment of those they presumed guilty. Coolidge thought the Senate investigations of the scandals would suffice; this was affirmed by the resulting resignations of those involved. He personally intervened in demanding the resignation of Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty after he refused to cooperate with the congressional probe. He then set about to confirm that no loose ends remained in the administration, arranging for a full briefing on the wrongdoing. Harry A. Slattery reviewed the facts with him, Harlan F. Stone analyzed the legal aspects for him and Senator William E. Borah assessed and presented the political factors.
Coolidge addressed Congress when it reconvened on December 6, 1923, giving a speech that supported many of Harding's policies, including Harding's formal budgeting process, the enforcement of immigration restrictions and arbitration of coal strikes ongoing in Pennsylvania. Coolidge's speech was the first presidential speech to be broadcast over the radio. The Washington Naval Treaty was proclaimed just one month into Coolidge's term, and was generally well received in the country. In May 1924, the World War I veterans' World War Adjusted Compensation Act or "Bonus Bill" was passed over his veto. Coolidge signed the Immigration Act later that year, which was aimed at restricting southern and eastern European immigration, but appended a signing statement expressing his unhappiness with the bill's specific exclusion of Japanese immigrants. Just before the Republican Convention began, Coolidge signed into law the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced the top marginal tax rate from 58% to 46%, as well as personal income tax rates across the board, increased the estate tax and bolstered it with a new gift tax.
On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the act granting citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. By that time, two-thirds of the people were already citizens, having gained it through marriage, military service (veterans of World War I were granted citizenship in 1919), or the land allotments that had earlier taken place.
1924 election [ edit ]
1924 electoral vote results
The Republican Convention was held on June 10–12, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio; Coolidge was nominated on the first ballot. The convention nominated Frank Lowden of Illinois for vice president on the second ballot, but he declined; former Brigadier General Charles G. Dawes was nominated on the third ballot and accepted.
The Democrats held their convention the next month in New York City. The convention soon deadlocked, and after 103 ballots, the delegates finally agreed on a compromise candidate, John W. Davis, with Charles W. Bryan nominated for vice president. The Democrats' hopes were buoyed when Robert M. La Follette Sr., a Republican senator from Wisconsin, split from the GOP to form a new Progressive Party. Many believed that the split in the Republican party, like the one in 1912, would allow a Democrat to win the presidency.
After the conventions and the death of his younger son Calvin, Coolidge became withdrawn; he later said that "when he [the son] died, the power and glory of the Presidency went with him." Even as he mourned, Coolidge ran his standard campaign, not mentioning his opponents by name or maligning them, and delivering speeches on his theory of government, including several that were broadcast over radio. It was the most subdued campaign since 1896, partly because of Coolidge's grief, but also because of his naturally non-confrontational style. The other candidates campaigned in a more modern fashion, but despite the split in the Republican party, the results were similar to those of 1920. Coolidge and Dawes won every state outside the South except Wisconsin, La Follette's home state. Coolidge won the election with 382 electoral votes and the popular vote by 2.5 million over his opponents' combined total.
Industry and trade [ edit ]
it is probable that a press which maintains an intimate touch with the business currents of the nation is likely to be more reliable than it would be if it were a stranger to these influences. After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world. (emphasis added) President Calvin Coolidge's address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington D.C., January 25, 1925.
During Coolidge's presidency, the United States experienced a period of rapid economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties." He left the administration's industrial policy in the hands of his activist Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, who energetically used government auspices to promote business efficiency and develop airlines and radio. Coolidge disdained regulation, and demonstrated this by appointing commissioners to the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission who did little to restrict the activities of businesses under their jurisdiction. The regulatory state under Coolidge was, as one biographer described it, "thin to the point of invisibility."
Historian Robert Sobel offers some context of Coolidge's laissez-faire ideology, based on the prevailing understanding of federalism during his presidency: "As Governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge supported wages and hours legislation, opposed child labor, imposed economic controls during World War I, favored safety measures in factories, and even worker representation on corporate boards. Did he support these measures while president? No, because in the 1920s, such matters were considered the responsibilities of state and local governments."
Taxation and government spending [ edit ]
Coolidge adopted the taxation policies of his Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon, who advocated "scientific taxation" — the notion that lowering taxes will increase, rather than decrease, government receipts. Congress agreed, and tax rates were reduced in Coolidge's term. In addition to federal tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring of the federal debt. Coolidge's ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and in 1924, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for some two million people. They reduced taxes again by passing the Revenue Acts of 1926 and 1928, all the while continuing to keep spending down so as to reduce the overall federal debt. By 1927, only the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers paid any federal income tax. Federal spending remained flat during Coolidge's administration, allowing one-fourth of the federal debt to be retired in total. State and local governments saw considerable growth, however, surpassing the federal budget in 1927.
Opposition to farm subsidies [ edit ]
Perhaps the most contentious issue of Coolidge's presidency was relief for farmers. Some in Congress proposed a bill designed to fight falling agricultural prices by allowing the federal government to purchase crops to sell abroad at lower prices. Agriculture Secretary Henry C. Wallace and other administration officials favored the bill when it was introduced in 1924, but rising prices convinced many in Congress that the bill was unnecessary, and it was defeated just before the elections that year. In 1926, with farm prices falling once more, Senator Charles L. McNary and Representative Gilbert N. Haugen—both Republicans—proposed the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill. The bill proposed a federal farm board that would purchase surplus production in high-yield years and hold it (when feasible) for later sale or sell it abroad. Coolidge opposed McNary-Haugen, declaring that agriculture must stand "on an independent business basis," and said that "government control cannot be divorced from political control." Instead of manipulating prices, he favored instead Herbert Hoover's proposal to increase profitability by modernizing agriculture. Secretary Mellon wrote a letter denouncing the McNary-Haugen measure as unsound and likely to cause inflation, and it was defeated.
After McNary-Haugen's defeat, Coolidge supported a less radical measure, the Curtis-Crisp Act, which would have created a federal board to lend money to farm co-operatives in times of surplus; the bill did not pass. In February 1927, Congress took up the McNary-Haugen bill again, this time narrowly passing it, and Coolidge vetoed it. In his veto message, he expressed the belief that the bill would do nothing to help farmers, benefiting only exporters and expanding the federal bureaucracy. Congress did not override the veto, but it passed the bill again in May 1928 by an increased majority; again, Coolidge vetoed it. "Farmers never have made much money," said Coolidge, the Vermont farmer's son. "I do not believe we can do much about it."
Flood control [ edit ]
Coolidge has often been criticized for his actions during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Although he did eventually name Secretary Hoover to a commission in charge of flood relief, scholars argue that Coolidge overall showed a lack of interest in federal flood control. Coolidge did not believe that personally visiting the region after the floods would accomplish anything, and that it would be seen as mere political grandstanding. He also did not want to incur the federal spending that flood control would require; he believed property owners should bear much of the cost. On the other hand, Congress wanted a bill that would place the federal government completely in charge of flood mitigation. When Congress passed a compromise measure in 1928, Coolidge declined to take credit for it and signed the bill in private on May 15.
Civil rights [ edit ]
Osage men with Coolidge after he signed the bill granting Native Americans U.S. citizenship.
According to one biographer, Coolidge was "devoid of racial prejudice," but rarely took the lead on civil rights. Coolidge disliked the Ku Klux Klan and no Klansman is known to have received an appointment from him. In the 1924 presidential election his opponents (Robert La Follette and John Davis), and his running mate Charles Dawes, often attacked the Klan but Coolidge avoided the subject.
Coolidge spoke in favor of the civil rights of African-Americans, saying in his first State of the Union address that their rights were "just as sacred as those of any other citizen" under the U.S. Constitution and that it was a "public and a private duty to protect those rights."[129]
Coolidge repeatedly called for laws to make lynching a federal crime (it was already a state crime, though not always enforced). Congress refused to pass any such legislation. On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted U.S. citizenship to all American Indians living on reservations. (Those off reservations had long been citizens.) On June 6, 1924, Coolidge delivered a commencement address at historically black, non-segregated Howard University, in which he thanked and commended African-Americans for their rapid advances in education and their contributions to U.S. society over the years, as well as their eagerness to render their services as soldiers in the World War, all while being faced with discrimination and prejudices at home.
In a speech in October 1924, Coolidge stressed tolerance of differences as an American value and thanked immigrants for their contributions to U.S. society, saying that they have "contributed much to making our country what it is." He stated that although the diversity of peoples was a detrimental source of conflict and tension in Europe, it was peculiar for the United States that it was a "harmonious" benefit for the country. Coolidge further stated the United States should assist and help immigrants who come to the country, and urged immigrants to reject "race hatreds" and "prejudices".
Foreign policy [ edit ]
Official portrait of Calvin Coolidge
Coolidge was neither well versed in nor very interested in world affairs.[133] His focus was directed mainly at American business, especially pertaining to trade, and "Maintaining the Status Quo." Although not an isolationist, he was reluctant to enter into foreign alliances.
Coolidge considered the 1920 Republican victory as a rejection of the Wilsonian position that the United States should join the League of Nations. While not completely opposed to the idea, Coolidge believed the League, as then constituted, did not serve American interests, and he did not advocate U.S. membership. He spoke in favor of the United States joining the Permanent Court of International Justice (World Court), provided that the nation would not be bound by advisory decisions. In 1926, the Senate eventually approved joining the Court (with reservations). The League of Nations accepted the reservations, but it suggested some modifications of its own. The Senate failed to act and so the United States did not join the World Court.
Coolidge authorized the Dawes Plan, a financial plan by Charles Dawes, to provide Germany partial relief from its reparations obligations from World War I. The plan was initially provided stimulus for the German economy.[139][140] Additionally, Coolidge attempted to pursue further curbs on naval strength following the early successes of Harding's Washington Naval Conference by sponsoring the Geneva Naval Conference in 1927, which failed owing to a French and Italian boycott and ultimate failure of Great Britain and the United States to agree on cruiser tonnages. As a result, the conference was a failure and Congress eventually authorized for increased American naval spending in 1928.[139] The Kellogg–Briand Pact of 1928, named for Coolidge's Secretary of State, Frank B. Kellogg, and French foreign minister Aristide Briand, was also a key peacekeeping initiative. The treaty, ratified in 1929, committed signatories—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan—to "renounce war, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another." The treaty did not achieve its intended result—the outlawry of war—but it did provide the founding principle for international law after World War II. Coolidge also continued the previous administration's policy of withholding recognition of the Soviet Union.
Efforts were made to normalize ties with post-Revolution Mexico. Coolidge recognized Mexico's new governments under Álvaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles, and continued American support for the elected Mexican government against the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty during the Cristero War, lifting the arms embargo on that country; he also appointed Dwight Morrow as Ambassador to Mexico with the successful objective to avoid further American conflict with Mexico.[139][144]
Coolidge's administration would see continuity in the occupation of Nicaragua and Haiti, and an end to the occupation of the Dominican Republic in 1924 as a result of withdrawal agreements finalized during Harding's administration. In 1925, Coolidge ordered the withdrawal of Marines stationed in Nicaragua following perceived stability after the 1924 Nicaraguan general election, but redeployed them there in January 1927 following failed attempts to peacefully resolve the rapid deterioration of political stability and avert the ensuing Constitutionalist War; Henry L. Stimson was later sent by Coolidge to mediate a peace deal that would end the civil war and extend American military presence in Nicaragua beyond Coolidge's term in office.[144]
To extend an olive branch to Latin American leaders embittered over America's interventionist policies in Central America and the Caribbean, Coolidge led the U.S. delegation to the Sixth International Conference of American States, January 15–17, 1928, in Havana, Cuba, the only international trip Coolidge made during his presidency. He would be the last sitting American president to visit Cuba until Barack Obama in 2016.
For Canada, Coolidge authorized the St. Lawrence Seaway, a system of locks and canals that would provide large vessels passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.[151][144]
1928 election [ edit ]
Collection of video clips of President Coolidge
In the summer of 1927, Coolidge vacationed in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where he engaged in horseback riding and fly fishing and attended rodeos. He made Custer State Park his "summer White House." While on vacation, Coolidge surprisingly issued a terse statement that he would not seek a second full term as president: "I do not choose to run for President in 1928." After allowing the reporters to take that in, Coolidge elaborated. "If I take another term, I will be in the White House till 1933 … Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it—too long!" In his memoirs, Coolidge explained his decision not to run: "The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish." After leaving office, he and Grace returned to Northampton, where he wrote his memoirs. The Republicans retained the White House in 1928 with a landslide by Herbert Hoover. Coolidge had been reluctant to endorse Hoover as his successor; on one occasion he remarked that "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad." Even so, Coolidge had no desire to split the party by publicly opposing the nomination of the popular commerce secretary.
Cabinet [ edit ]
Although a few of Harding's cabinet appointees were scandal-tarred, Coolidge initially retained all of them, out of an ardent conviction that as successor to a deceased elected president he was obligated to retain Harding's counselors and policies until the next election. He kept Harding's able speechwriter Judson T. Welliver; Stuart Crawford replaced Welliver in November 1925. Coolidge appointed C. Bascom Slemp, a Virginia Congressman and experienced federal politician, to work jointly with Edward T. Clark, a Massachusetts Republican organizer whom he retained from his vice-presidential staff, as Secretaries to the President (a position equivalent to the modern White House Chief of Staff).
Perhaps the most powerful person in Coolidge's Cabinet was Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, who controlled the administration's financial policies and was regarded by many, including House Minority Leader John Nance Garner, as more powerful than Coolidge himself. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover also held a prominent place in Coolidge's Cabinet, in part because Coolidge found value in Hoover's ability to win positive publicity with his pro-business proposals. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes directed Coolidge's foreign policy until he resigned in 1925 following Coolidge's re-election. He was replaced by Frank B. Kellogg, who had previously served as a Senator and as the ambassador to Great Britain. Coolidge made two other appointments following his re-election, with William M. Jardine taking the position of Secretary of Agriculture and John G. Sargent becoming Attorney General. Coolidge did not have a vice president during his first term, but Charles Dawes became vice president during Coolidge's second term, and Dawes and Coolidge clashed over farm policy and other issues.
Judicial appointments [ edit ]
Coolidge appointed one justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, Harlan Fiske Stone in 1925. Stone was Coolidge's fellow Amherst alumnus, a Wall Street lawyer and conservative Republican. Stone was serving as dean of Columbia Law School when Coolidge appointed him to be attorney general in 1924 to restore the reputation tarnished by Harding's Attorney General, Harry M. Daugherty. It does not appear that Coolidge considered appointing anyone other than Stone, although Stone himself had urged Coolidge to appoint Benjamin N. Cardozo. Stone proved to be a firm believer in judicial restraint and was regarded as one of the court's three liberal justices who would often vote to uphold New Deal legislation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt later appointed Stone to be chief justice.
Coolidge nominated 17 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 61 judges to the United States district courts. He appointed judges to various specialty courts as well, including Genevieve R. Cline, who became the first woman named to the federal judiciary when Coolidge placed her on the United States Customs Court in 1928. Coolidge also signed the Judiciary Act of 1925 into law, allowing the Supreme Court more discretion over its workload.
Retirement and death [ edit ]
After his presidency, Coolidge retired to the modest rented house on residential Massasoit Street in Northampton before moving to a more spacious home, "The Beeches." He kept a Hacker runabout boat on the Connecticut River and was often observed on the water by local boating enthusiasts. During this period, he also served as chairman of the Non-Partisan Railroad Commission, an entity created by several banks and corporations to survey the country's long-term transportation needs and make recommendations for improvements. He was the honorary president of the American Foundation for the Blind, a director of New York Life Insurance Company, president of the American Antiquarian Society, and a trustee of Amherst College.
Coolidge published his autobiography in 1929 and wrote a syndicated newspaper column, "Calvin Coolidge Says," from 1930 to 1931. Faced with looming defeat in the 1932 presidential election, some Republicans spoke of rejecting Herbert Hoover as their party's nominee, and instead drafting Coolidge to run, but the former president made it clear that he was not interested in running again, and that he would publicly repudiate any effort to draft him, should it come about. Hoover was renominated, and Coolidge made several radio addresses in support of him. Hoover then lost the general election to Coolidge's 1920 vice presidential Democratic opponent Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide.
Coolidge died suddenly from coronary thrombosis at "The Beeches," at 12:45 p.m., January 5, 1933. Shortly before his death, Coolidge confided to an old friend: "I feel I no longer fit in with these times." Coolidge is buried in Plymouth Notch Cemetery, Plymouth Notch, Vermont. The nearby family home is maintained as one of the original buildings on the Calvin Coolidge Homestead District site. The State of Vermont dedicated a new visitors' center nearby to mark Coolidge's 100th birthday on July 4, 1972.
Radio, film, and commemorations [ edit ]
Coolidge, reporters, and cameramen
Despite his reputation as a quiet and even reclusive politician, Coolidge made use of the new medium of radio and made radio history several times while president. He made himself available to reporters, giving 520 press conferences, meeting with reporters more regularly than any president before or since. Coolidge's second inauguration was the first presidential inauguration broadcast on radio. On December 6, 1923, his speech to Congress was broadcast on radio, the first presidential radio address.[175] Coolidge signed the Radio Act of 1927, which assigned regulation of radio to the newly created Federal Radio Commission. On August 11, 1924, Theodore W. Case, using the Phonofilm sound-on-film process he developed for Lee DeForest, filmed Coolidge on the White House lawn, making Coolidge the |
back to the creation of the Constitution, when the founders worried about standing armies and the intimidation of the people at large by an overzealous executive, who might choose to follow the unhappy precedents set by Europe's emperors and monarchs.
Given the critical role played by sheriffs in the protection of constitutionally guaranteed liberty, it is dismaying to read story after story describing the eager acceptance — and occasionally the full-time petitioning — of military materiel by county lawmen.
If the threat of the police becoming a standing army of the sort our forefathers believed to be “inconsistent with liberty” is to be diffused, Americans must not only exercise their right to demand that police recognize their responsibility to abide by the law rather than break it, but we must also fiercely resist every attempt to abridge our right to keep and bear arms while keeping ourselves ready to defend that right against all enemies.
Photo of Seattle Police SWAT team: AP Images
Joe A. Wolverton, II, J.D. is a correspondent for The New American and travels frequently nationwide speaking on topics of nullification, the NDAA, the Second Amendment, and the surveillance state. He is the co-founder of Liberty Rising, an educational endeavor aimed at promoting and preserving the Constitution. Follow him on Twitter @TNAJoeWolverton and he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..[oldembed src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yugHvpHUi0o" width="425" height="300" resize="1" fid="21"]
Rep. Lincoln Davis
The United Steelworkers have launched a campaign against voter suppression, releasing three new videos that highlight validly-registered voters who were denied the right to vote under right-wing voter suppression efforts. The first shows former Rep. Lincoln Davis from Tennessee, who was purged from voting records despite having voted in the same precinct since 1995.
The second features Gilbert Paar, a veteran in Wisconsin who was prevented from voting using his military identification as his required form of ID. Retiree and veteran Clifford Glass, also in Tennessee, was rejected from voting because he lost his driver's license after an accident when he was younger.
Activists opposed to these types of laws can volunteer to help the USW fight back and can download materials to help spread the word about people being denied the rights in the name of stopping nonexistent "voter fraud."
USW will continue to issue videos of others who have been denied the right to vote.
Veteran Gil Paar
[oldembed src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iUJhkCD26F4" width="425" height="300" resize="1" fid="21"]
Retiree Clifford Glass
[oldembed src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x2NnHxRELcE" width="425" height="300" resize="1" fid="21"]Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
July 6, 2017, 12:43 PM GMT / Updated July 6, 2017, 12:43 PM GMT By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
First Read is your briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.
Trump once again downplays Russia’s meddling in 2016 election
Here are four undeniable facts when it comes to President Trump and Russia: One, Trump is set to meet Friday with Russian President Vladimir at the G20 summit. Two, Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, according to U.S. intelligence agencies. (“Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump,” the intel community said publicly back in January.) Three, Trump has taken little to no action to punish Russia or try to prevent future interference. And four, Trump continues to downplay what Russia did in last year’s presidential election — as he did at a news conference in Poland earlier this morning.
NBC’s Hallie Jackson: Mr. President, can you once and for all, yes or no, definitively say that Russia interfered in the 2016 election?Trump: Well, I think it was Russia, and I think it could have been other people in other countries. Could have been a lot of people interfered… [Barack Obama] did nothing about it. The reason is, he thought Hillary was going to win. If he thought I was going to win, he would have plenty about it. So that’s the real question — why did he do nothing from August all the way to November 8th? His people said he choked. I don’t think he choked.NBC’s Jackson: You again said you *think* it was Russia. Your intelligence agencies have been far more definitive. They say it was Russia. Why won’t you agree with them and say it was?Trump: I agree, I think it was Russia, but I think it was probably other people and/or countries, and I see nothing wrong with that statement. Nobody really knows for sure. I remember when I was sitting back listening about Iraq. Weapons of mass destruction. How everybody was 100 percent sure that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Guess what — that led to one big mess. They were wrong.
It’s easy to become numb to Trump once again downplaying Russia’s interference in the 2016 election (in Poland of all places!), criticizing the U.S intelligence community, and blasting the American news media following him. But this is more than being unpresidential and undignified — it's all against the interests of the United States of America, all ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Putin.
Here are six other times Trump denied — or downplayed — that Russia interfered in the 2016 race, despite his intelligence briefings as a candidate, president-elect, or president
1. “I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. [Hillary Clinton’s] saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I don't — maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? You don't know who broke in to DNC.” (First presidential debate, 9/26/2016)
2. "But I notice, anytime anything wrong happens, they like to say the Russians are — [Clinton] doesn't know if it's the Russians doing the hacking. Maybe there is no hacking. But they always blame Russia. And the reason they blame Russia because they think they're trying to tarnish me with Russia." (Second presidential debate, 10/9/2016)
3. “Unless you catch ‘hackers’ in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election? (Trump tweet, 12/12/06)
4. “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia," adding later: “it could have been others also.” (Trump news conference, 1/11/2017)
5. “You can talk all you want about Russia, which was all a, you know, fake news, fabricated deal, to try and make up for the loss of the Democrats and the press plays right into it.” (Trump news conference, 2/16/2017)
6. “FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony … Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. (Trump tweets, 5/2/17)
By the way, our latest NBC/WSJ poll found a majority of Americans (53%) saying that Russia DID interfere in the 2016 election, while only a quarter of Republican respondents (26%) agreed -- with two-thirds of Republicans saying Russia did NOT interfere.
Fact-checking Trump: It’s incorrect to say that Obama “did nothing” about Russia’s interference
As for Trump’s assertion in Poland that former President Barack Obama “did nothing” about Russia’s interference, here are the facts: On Oct. 7, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security and Director of National Intelligence issued a statement explicitly saying that Russia was behind the election hacks. ("The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.") And two, the Obama administration sanctioned Russia for its interference. (“President Obama struck back at Russia on Thursday for its efforts to influence the 2016 election, ejecting 35 suspected Russian intelligence operatives from the United States and imposing sanctions on Russia’s two leading intelligence services,” the New York Times wrote on Dec. 29, 2016.) Now you can legitimately argue that Obama didn’t do ENOUGH or EARLY ENOUGH against Russia. But you can’t say he did nothing.
Trump on North Korea: “Something will have to be done”
Here’s the other news from Trump’s presser earlier this morning: “President Donald Trump promised Thursday to ‘confront very strongly’ the issue of North Korea’s ‘very, very bad behavior’ in test-launching missiles,” per NBC’s Ali Vitali and Alastair Jamieson. “‘I have some pretty severe things that we’re thinking about,” he told reporters in Poland, where he was making an official visit ahead of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday. North Korea test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile Tuesday, marking a significant step forward in its weapons program and an escalation of a nuclear standoff with the U.S. ‘I think we’ll just take a look at what happens over the coming weeks and months. It’s a shame that they’re behaving this way,’ Trump said during his first overseas press conference. ‘Something will have to be done.’”
Do-over: Trump explicitly endorses NATO’s Article 5
In his speech in Poland after his news conference, Trump explicitly endorsed NATO’s Article 5 mutual-defense provision — after failing to do so the last time he was in Europe. CNBC: “‘To those who would criticize our tough stance, I would point out that the United States has demonstrated — not merely with its words but with its actions — that we stand firmly behind Article 5, the mutual defense commitment,’ Trump said. ‘Words are easy, but actions are what matters. And for its own protection, Europe — and you know this, everybody knows this, everybody has to know this — Europe must do more.’”
Pew study: Most of the world doesn’t have confidence in Trump — with one big exception
With Trump in Poland and heading to Germany for the G20 meetings, here’s a reminder how other countries view Trump versus Obama when on the question whether these citizens have confidence the U.S. president will do the right thing, per a recent Pew study:
A bipartisan rebellion against Trump’s vote-fraud commission
NBC’s Dartunorro Clark: “Forty-four states and the District of Columbia are mounting a bipartisan rebellion against President Donald Trump’s commission on vote fraud by either declining to release any of the requested data or by providing only limited information to the panel.”The UK's most popular baby names have been revealed in a new survey, with Muhammed and Amelia topping the charts for the capital.
Research carried out in every city in the country has shown how long-time favourites such as Emily, Sophie, Jack and Oliver are still going strong in 2017.
At the same time, the Arabic name Muhammed came out as the most popular given to boys in culturally-diverse London, and was second most popular nationwide.
Meanwhile, Amelia proved among the biggest hits, coming top of the pile in 26 different cities including Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
The UK's most popular baby names have been revealed in a new survey, with Muhammed and Amelia topping the charts for the capital
Research carried out in every city in the country has shown how long-time favourites such as Emily, Sophie, Jack and Oliver are still going strong in 2017
The Arabic name Muhammed came out as the most popular given to boys in culturally-diverse London, and was second most popular nationwide
The most popular boys' name varied depending on the region, while Amelia featured several times throughout the UK
Germanic names such as Harry, Henry and Charlie were favoured once again, accounting for nearly half of all the cities for most popular boys' name.
Over the border in Scotland, Jack and Olivia proved the most popular, while Osian was a big hitter in Wales.
The most popular boys names in the UK, in order, were Oliver, Muhammed, Noah, Harry, Jack, Charlie, Jacob, George, Ethan and Henry.
Meanwhile, the UK's most popular girls names were Olivia, Lily, Sophia, Emily, Amelia, Ava, Isla, Isabella, Isabelle and Sophie.
Data for the survey by Character Cottages was gathered through a mixture of regional research from Bounty.com and national records from BabyCentre
Jack and Olivia proved to be the most popular names in Scotland, with the Greek names Sophie and Sebastian also proving big hits
The Welsh name Osian was popular in Bangor, but despite not being the most popular in any one area, the Germanic name Oliver came out as the most popular boys' name in Wales
The traditional English names Jack and Emily proved the most popular in Northern Ireland
Data for the survey by Character Cottages was gathered through a mixture of regional research from Bounty.com and national records from BabyCentre.
Character Cottages director Andrew Soye said: 'As experts in family holidays it was really interesting to see how name trends varied through different cities and regions.
'Some of the most popular names appealed across the entire country while we also saw some names which were more localised to specific regions – often names that were traditional Gaelic or Welsh.'Audiomachine - Unfinished Life
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Album: Trailer Acts 2
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Track: #18 - Unfinished Life (Disc 2/3)
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I own nothing of this. All credits belongs to their real owners. No copyright infrigment intended. by Cape Tranquillity 2:3 - 1,495,314 viewsCompany: AudiomachineComposer: Danail Getz (ASCAP)Album: Trailer Acts 2Year: 2009Track: #18 - Unfinished Life (Disc 2/3)Home: http://www.audiomachine.com/I own nothing of this. All credits belongs to their real owners. No copyright infrigment intended.
Nuclear Alarm Siren - 10 minutes (World War III)
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SUBSCRIBE! by Prestigigator 10:8 - 6,591,893 views10 minutes of nuclear alarm :)Have fun!FB: http://facebook.com/prestgigatorLook at other awesome channels:http://youtube.com/LeonEhe/SUBSCRIBE!Cannibal-Camping Simulator The Forest Is Coming To PS4 in 2018
Remember when Sony revealed that The Forest was coming to PlayStation 4? Well, it’s been 84 years and we finally have another trailer and a non-specific release date!
The latest The Forest trailer dropped during this weekend’s PlayStation Experience. It featured many of the gameplay mechanics and enemies that were present in the original trailer. This latest trailer, though, focuses heavily on the inclusion of cooperative play.
You and a friend will be able to wander through the wilderness, chop wood, hunt for food, build a campsite, and murder the native cannibals who want to bite your face off. It’s exactly what real life is like when you go camping with your relatives!
The Forest is a horror-survival game where the player crash lands onto an island and has to survive by gathering resources and building shelter. What makes it interesting is that you are not alone on the island. It seems that a tribe of cannibals have decided to make this cute little island their home.
Though there is not a specific release date for the PlayStation 4 version of The Forest, the game will be coming out in Spring 2018.Illustration by David Parkins
Under US President Donald Trump, defunct economic arguments about prescription drugs are coming to the fore. His advisers contend that today's system is a bad deal. They want to undo regulations that require companies to show that a medical product actually works before it is sold. The advisers argue that removing the burden of large, lengthy clinical trials will cut costs and reduce delays, and that the marketplace can be trusted to sort good drugs from bad ones.
Although many have raised concerns about a Trump Food and Drug Administration (FDA; see, for example, Nature http://doi.org/bz92; 2017), few have debunked the economic arguments. Here we outline what the case for deregulation gets wrong. All nations should take note — weaker standards for entry of drugs onto the US market will harm health everywhere.
Knowledge of the history is important. The 1938 US Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act required only that drug safety be demonstrated. In 1962, new legislation demanded that marketed drugs also go through well-controlled studies to test for therapeutic benefit. More than 1,000 medical products were subsequently withdrawn after reviews found little or no evidence of efficacy1. The free market that existed before 1962 revealed no connection between a drug's ability to turn a profit and its clinical usefulness. The same is likely to be true of any future deregulated market.
Market farces
Economic arguments against the FDA's requirements for efficacy date back to at least the early 1970s. Originally these were advanced by libertarians and neoliberal economists at think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC. Since the early 2000s, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York City has added its voice. Some economists posit that regulatory agencies are systematically biased towards excessive caution, and that the burden of testing a drug's efficacy before it comes to market outweighs the benefits.
They argue that 'bad' drugs can be identified quickly after they go on sale, whereas harms caused by the unrealized utility of 'good' drugs are often invisible (see go.nature.com/2hymtel). Such reasoning has led prominent economists, including Nobel prizewinners Milton Friedman, Gary Becker and Vernon Smith, to recommend that efficacy requirements be weakened or abandoned.
An overly stringent system will err by withholding or delaying safe and effective 'good' drugs from patients. Critics of existing regulations often point to the case of a treatment for Hunter syndrome — a rare, inherited degenerative disease in which the absence of a crucial enzyme can be fatal. Trials of the enzyme-replacement drug Elaprase (idursulfase) meant that, for a year, a group of children received a placebo instead of the drug that was eventually shown to be effective2.
Conversely, a lax regulatory system will subject patients to 'bad' drugs that may be toxic. The iconic example is the more than 10,000 birth defects caused worldwide by the drug thalidomide, a late 1950s remedy for nausea during pregnancy. Even in the past dozen years, initially promising drugs, such as torcetrapib (for reducing cholesterol and heart-disease risk) and semagacestat (for improving cognition in people with Alzheimer's disease), were found to cause harm only after they had been tested in large, mandatory trials — effects that were not seen in the smaller trials3.
The most extreme proponents of deregulation argue that the market can serve as the sole arbiter of utility: if a medicine is selling well, it must be delivering value4. A more moderate view is that reliable information on efficacy can be collected after a drug goes on sale, through uncontrolled observational studies and other post hoc analyses.
There is a third type of error that these arguments neglect (see ‘The good, the bad and the useless’). Untested drugs can be reasonably safe but provide no benefit.
The good, the bad and the useless Allowed on market? Drug is harmful
(‘bad’ drug) Drug is safe and beneficial (‘good’ drug) Drug may be safe, but is useless (‘futile’ drug) Yes Patients at risk (toxicity) Appropriate decision False hope, wasted money No Appropriate decision Patients lose out Appropriate decision
Unregulated markets are hopeless at sifting out these 'futile' drugs (witness the multibillion-dollar industries in homeopathy and other pseudo-medicines), unlike the current system. In January 2017, the FDA released a report identifying 22 products that were initially promising but disappointed in later-stage clinical trials: 14 for lack of efficacy, 1 for lack of safety, and 7 for both reasons3.
Futile drugs, even the non-toxic ones, cause real harms. They waste money for both patients and taxpayers. Marketing useless drugs wastes industry resources that could be used in developing effective therapies, squanders opportunities for patients to receive beneficial medical care, engenders false hope in miracle cures, and leads to cynicism about the value of research.
Some countries, including South Korea and Japan, have allowed cell biologics such as stem and immune cells onto the market without requiring them to show compelling evidence of efficacy. This might boost the domestic drug industry, but lowers the value of local health care. These products have not been authorized for sale in any other countries.
Europe should beware too. Lower drug-quality requirements in the large US market could make firms that adhere to the higher standards in the European Union less competitive.
No free lunch
Arguments for deregulation fail to recognize that valuable information has a cost. Drug companies cannot afford to generate reliable evidence for efficacy unless their competitors are all held to the same high standards. Efficacy requirements level the playing field and ensure that the health sector receives the data needed to inform good therapeutic and economic decisions. The government, insurers, patients and others need to know whether medicines are likely to provide benefits. Patients and physicians must have access to reliable information to make educated and ethical choices.
Rigorous clinical studies are still the best way to learn whether a drug works, and regulation is essential to ensure that these studies are conducted. Pre-specified endpoints, controls, randomization and blinding cannot be discarded without sacrificing actionable clinical information5.
Once a drug is on the market, it is hard to gather solid efficacy data. Blinding and randomization in clinical studies can be compromised when money changes hands and, historically, compliance with monitoring requirements has been poor. One analysis found that only 13% of post-market studies required by the FDA had been completed between 1990 and 1999 (see go.nature.com/2mayocv). And a survey of 20 drugs approved by the FDA in 2008 found that fewer than one-third of post-market study commitments had been fulfilled by 2013 (ref. 6). Marketed drugs are also unlikely to be withdrawn because of a lack of efficacy7.
The FDA's gatekeeper role makes the medical marketplace function. The economic benefits of good research and a healthier population will be lost without incentives to find truly effective drugs.Everybody eats. And consumers increasingly try to consider the environmental effects of their food choices. For example, if you want to eat meat, how do your choices compare? That’s what a group of researchers set out to discover. And they found that raising one animal is dramatically more environmentally draining than all the others: cows. The research is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Gidon Eshel et al, Land, irrigation water, greenhouse gas, and reactive nitrogen burdens of meat, eggs, and dairy production in the United States]
The scientists noted the challenge in accessing data and creating metrics that can be compared across livestock and to potato, wheat and rice production. They settled on national data from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the Interior and Energy. The team calculated the production costs by assessing land area, water needs and fertilizer. They also analyzed greenhouse gas emissions.
Producing pork, poultry, eggs and dairy were between two and six times less efficient than growing potatoes, wheat and rice. And in the current agricultural system, beef uses 28 times more land, 11 times more water and six times more fertilizer than the average of the other categories of livestock. Cattle ranching also creates five times more greenhouse gas emissions.
The researchers hope this data will help consumers make informed choices and policy makers create systems that can reduce the environmental costs of what we eat.
—Cynthia Graber
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]Botched Lethal Injection Executions Reignite Death Penalty Debate
Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP
This past year, the number of inmates executed in America was the lowest in two decades at 35, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
But death penalty states are having increasing difficulty obtaining the drugs they have used to execute inmates because pharmaceutical companies refuse to associate their drugs with killing people. This has forced states to seek new formulas using untested doses and find new compounding pharmacies to make their execution drugs. As a result, four executions in 2014 did not go well.
Michael Kiefer, a veteran reporter for the Arizona Republic, has over the years been witness to five Arizona executions. Last July, Kiefer was observing the execution of double murderer Joseph Wood. For Wood's execution, the Arizona Department of Corrections was using a different drug formula for the first time.
"We were escorted in," Kiefer says. "Everything seemed to go smoothly. You watch the catheters being inserted. Joseph Wood closed his eyes, his head went back. It looked like executions I'd seen before using thiopental and pentobarbital."
Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP
With those drugs, Kiefer says it normally took five to 10 minutes for a condemned man to die. But at the six-minute mark something unusual happened.
"Suddenly he opened his mouth," Kiefer says. "His mouth sort of made this funny round shape, and you could see this expulsion of air, and we all jumped. This was something different."
Wood had begun fighting for his life, taking large intermittent breaths.
"And then there was another and then another, and then it just kept going," Kiefer says. "I started putting little hash marks on my pad, my notepad, to see how many times he did this — 640 times."
The executioner eventually came out, turned on the death chamber microphone, and tried to reassure everyone that Wood was asleep, and it was OK. But Kiefer says the sounds emanating from the condemned man that were suddenly brutally audible behind the executioner's voice only added another layer to everyone's distress. An hour passed.
"We looked at each other; you could see the alarm on the faces of the prison personnel," Kiefer says. "Nobody said anything. I turned to the reporter next to me and said, 'I don't think he's going to die.' I was wondering if Wood was going to open his eyes again."
Arizona's new drug formula — 50 milligrams of midazolam, a sedative, and 50 milligrams of hydromorphone, a narcotic — was supposed to be a lethal dose. Obviously it wasn't, so the executioner gave Wood a second dose. And then a third, a fourth, a fifth and so on, and then, mercifully, on the 15th dose, Wood died. It had taken nearly two hours.
"I was wondering if Wood was going to open his eyes again."
"A mess is a good way to put it," says Maurie Levin, a capital defense attorney in Texas who's been doing most of the lethal injection litigation in the state that is the runaway death penalty leader.
For both moral and public relations reasons, pharmaceutical companies no longer want any association with the death penalty process. Their drugs are to be used for healing only.
Levin says that pharmaceutical companies' new stance has forced death penalty states to search for new drug combinations and new sources — compounding pharmacies.
"[The Texas Department of Criminal Justice], the prison, went to a pharmacy in Houston. They wrote them a letter, it was only discovered later, that said, 'We promise you that we will keep this on the down-low,' " Levin says.
"Down-low" was actually the phrase used. Just like the big pharmaceutical companies, compounding pharmacies don't want to be associated with executions either. So when the name of the pharmacy was disclosed in a court proceeding, the Houston compounding pharmacy was furious, embarrassed and quit.
"And the pharmacy asked for their drugs back, and the prison refused to give them back," Levin says.
This outing of compounding pharmacies has become a serious threat to death penalty states' drug supplies. Like several other death penalty states, Texas argues that the identity of the drug suppliers should be a state secret and not even judges should be able to find out.
"We've said before that disclosing the identity of the pharmacy would result in harassment of the business, and it's going to raise serious safety concerns for the business and its employees," says Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
But last month a Texas judge rejected the state's arguments, ruling the name of the compounding pharmacy is public information. Texas is appealing.
This is the new front in the legal war over the death penalty. A clean and painless death by injection has played a major role in preserving capital punishment in America. If that becomes a problem, it could complicate the institution's long-term survival.Jim Clifton, the Chairman and CEO at Gallup, has acknowledged the dirty little secret that the Obama administration and their media lapdogs assiduously attempt to hide: the official unemployment rate reported by the U.S. Department of Labor does not accurately reflect the grim reality of American unemployment.
Clifton sardonically notes the “celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is ‘down’ to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening. The media loves a comeback story, the White House wants to score political points and Wall Street would like you to stay in the market.”
Then Clifton savages such claims. He points out that the Department of Labor simply doesn’t count someone as unemployed if they gave up looking for a job after four weeks of fruitless searching. Adding that as many as 30 million Americans are truly out of work or severely underemployed. Clifton writes bitterly: “Trust me, the vast majority of them aren’t throwing parties to toast ‘falling’ unemployment.”
But Clifton doesn’t stop there; he explains exactly how ridiculous the Department of Labor’s standards are, noting that if a worker performs one hour a week and gets paid a minimum of $20, that worker does not count among their number of unemployed workers.
Even that shocking fact does not end Clifton’s litany of Labor Department subterfuges: if an American works part-time but seeks full-time employment, that American does not count as unemployed. He uses the example of someone who has degree in chemistry or math but can only find part-time work because that job is all that’s available.
Clifton blasts, “There’s no other way to say this. The official unemployment rate, which cruelly overlooks the suffering of the long-term and often permanently unemployed as well as the depressingly underemployed, amounts to a Big Lie.” He notes, “Gallup defines a good job as 30+ hours per week for an organization that provides a regular paycheck. Right now, the U.S. is delivering at a staggeringly low rate of 44%, which is the number of full-time jobs as a percent of the adult population, 18 years and older.”
Clifton concludes with a flourish: “I hear all the time that ‘unemployment is greatly reduced, but the people aren’t feeling it.’ When the media, talking heads, the White House and Wall Street start reporting the truth — the percent of Americans in good jobs; jobs that are full time and real — then we will quit wondering why Americans aren’t ‘feeling’ something that doesn’t remotely reflect the reality in their lives. And we will also quit wondering what hollowed out the middle class.”Today we’re gonna share with you latest hairstyles for men in 2019. Guys we’ve gathered 50 new hairstyles & haircuts that top on the fashion in 2018. we made sure that all of latest hairstyles are include in this gallery, After searching we;ve got some changes with men’s hair, After visiting some famous barbershop we;ve compiled trendiest hairstyles and cuts for you, Men;s are take these hairstyles as a trend.
Find below gallery of new hairstyles for men in 2018, save your best ideas and get new look, hope you will be find right option for your any hair types and face shapes with newest hair look. Short to long and medium between in it, below list of men’s latest hairstyles and cuts.
A modern classic
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Amazing Mid Fade Hairstyles for men
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Mid Fade + Comb-overIt's tax rebate time, and no one is hungrier for the tax rebate checks arriving in mailboxes today than Wal-Mart. The retailer is advertising tax-rebate sales and has offered to cash the checks for free -- all in hopes that consumers will spend their newfound money at Wal-Mart stores. But spending your tax rebate at Wal-Mart won't stimulate the economy -- and here's why:
Despite bringing in over $378 billion last year, Wal-Mart repeatedly underpays its American workforce. More than 80 wage & hour lawsuits, including a recently certified class action lawsuit in California, are currently pending against the company. Plus, it faces more than 200 discrimination lawsuits for unfair promotion practices, pay discrepancies and other issues, including the nation's largest workplace gender discrimination lawsuit. By failing to fairly compensate its employees, Wal-Mart cheats states out of income tax revenues.
Wal-Mart also pays poorly. While the company seeks to benefit from the government's rebate payout, Wal-Mart's low wages means store employees have little or no disposable income to spend to stimulate the economy. Think about what even a small raise for Wal-Mart's 1 million+ workers would mean nationally, or what it would mean to your city or town if everyone at your local Wal-Mart got a raise.
Wal-Mart sources the vast majority of its products from countries overseas, meaning most of the cost of a given Wal-Mart product doesn't go into the U.S. economy. Rather than boosting the U.S. economy, Wal-Mart has played a major role in exporting U.S. manufacturing jobs to countries with low labor and environmental standards. Meanwhile, the company has embraced unions in its Chinese stores and has negotiated with them to raise Chinese salaries. Apparently, what is good enough for China is not good enough here at home.
Wal-Mart underfunds its health care plan and cuts corners whenever possible, forcing many of its employees to postpone care, thus decreasing their productivity and increasing the eventual cost of their treatment. In desperation, many of them rely on state-sponsored care and drain yet more funds from American communities. That means when Wal-Mart employees end up in emergency rooms, it's U.S. taxpayers who end up footing the bill. If Wal-Mart were truly interested in stimulating the economy, it would begin to adequately fund its health care plan and take care of its own Associates.
Wal-Mart routinely dodges state and local taxes, meaning money spent at a Wal-Mart store won't end up in your community. Wal-Mart actively works to challenge property tax assessments and creates complex real estate arrangements to obscure how much taxes the company owes. When Wal-Mart dodges its tax burden, it takes precious revenues away from cities and states to pay for roads, schools and other services. In turn, individual taxpayers are forced to pay more to make up the difference (which takes more money out of their pockets) or get by with less.
With its low price focus, Wal-Mart may appear to help the U.S. economy. But, the reality is that with its poor wages and benefits, massive China sourcing and tax avoidance, Wal-Mart makes its workers and the communities where it operates poorer.
As our nation's largest employer and most financially-successful company, Wal-Mart is a singular American institution. It occupies a unique position in our world by virtue of its size, reach and responsibility for the livelihoods of millions of workers and the needs of billions of consumers. And with such overwhelming influence comes certain moral responsibilities. It is the acceptance or rejection of those responsibilities that determines greatness.Announcing the winner
Congratulations to Jon Tidey, the winner of the CAD E100S!
Jon is a freelance audio engineer. He is the cohost of the Home Recording Show podcast, and proprietor of Audio Geek Zine. You can also find Jon on Twitter, at @theaudiogeek.
See this month’s giveaway!
Microphone Giveaway Details
This March giveaway was sponsored by CAD Audio.
The prize was a CAD E100S!
The E100S is CAD Audio’s flagship FET condenser microphone. It is a supercardioid condenser, with a large-diaphragm capsule and extremely low-noise electronics.
The capsule uses a polyester-film diaphragm metallized with Nickel. The electronics are a 3rd-generation version of CAD’s exclusive Equitek design. The mic is capable of withstanding 150dB SPL (pad engaged), but due to its low self-noise is equally at home recording quiet acoustic instruments.
The drawing for the winner was held on March 31, 2011.The Shepherd of Hermas (Greek: Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ, Poimēn tou Herma; sometimes just called The Shepherd) is a Christian literary work of the late first half of the second century, considered a valuable book by many Christians, and considered canonical |
be among the highest ranking Democrats on the Senate’s Commerce Committee when it reconvenes in January.
The net neutrality fight pits Internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T against content companies like Google Inc and Microsoft Corp.
The ISPs, which also include Verizon Communications Inc. and cable company Comcast Corp, say they need to manage the ever-growing traffic on their networks without government interference.
Content companies say the ISPs hold too power much to block or slow down traffic requiring more bandwidth, such as movie downloads, or certain content altogether.
President-elect Barack Obama supports net neutrality legislation. The election of Obama and more Democrats who back the concept adds momentum to the cause, Wellings said.
A recent Federal Communications Commission decision ordering Comcast to stop impeding the sharing of certain content between users proves regulators already have the authority, an AT&T official said.
“The current (FCC) principles already deal with unreasonable discrimination,” said Jim Cicconi, AT&T executive vice president for regulatory affairs, pointing to the Comcast case.
The public would not pay for its Internet services if AT&T discriminated against content, he added. “We’d be shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Comcast is suing the FCC over the issue, and much depends on the outcome of that case, experts said. If the court sides with Comcast, legislation will become much more likely.
“The telephone and cable companies say trust them,” said Markham Erickson, director of the Open Internet Coalition, a trade group that lobbies for net neutrality, with members such as Google and eBay Inc. “We will trust but verify.”× Expand Dylan Brogan Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a packed house of about 1,000 supporters and journalists on Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville. About 5,000 people requested tickets.
At best, the man outside the Donald Trump rally in Janesville was a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan. At worst, he was a white supremacist. Maybe he was both.
Standing in a line with other Trump supporters and staring down a parallel line of protesters, he wore a hat and a black hoodie with “88” printed on the sleeve — code for “Heil Hitler,” because H is the eighth letter in the alphabet. It’s also Earnhardt Jr.’s racecar number.
“I hope you get raped by a Muslim,” he said as a reporter approached. When she introduced herself and asked for an interview, he told her to “fuck off.”
Another man standing nearby chimed in, telling the reporter “she could be one of the 72 virgins” promised as a reward to Muslim martyrs.
His tone was mocking: “Oh that’s right, she probably lost [her virginity] at [age] 9.”
This was one of several shocking exchanges at Trump’s first campaign stop in Wisconsin on Tuesday. The rally drew thousands of supporters and protesters to the Janesville Holiday Inn Express, where security was tight and the mood was tense.
“[President Barack Obama] is trying to start a civil war — hence the anger here,” said JoAnna Beard, a Trump supporter from Janesville who was at the rally. “We don’t want the change that Obama promised. We want [America] to come back to what it was supposed to be.”
× Expand Dylan Brogan This Donald Trump supporter had some advice for world leaders.
Along the I-90-39 exit, dozens of dump trucks were set up as a protective barricade against car bombs. Snipers kept watch from the hotel’s rooftop, and officers with bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the grounds. Protesters chanted “Love not Hate” and “Dump Trump” while marching in the street in front of the hotel. Trump supporters looked on, with some shouting responses.
“This is ridiculous,” Trump supporter Jarrod Wiedmer said of the protesters. “I think they’re confused. I think the media has made them confused.”
Wiedmer, a Janesville resident, believes the candidate’s message will resonate with people in the area, which has been “hard hit by illegal immigration” and the 2009 closure of the General Motors Assembly Plant in Janesville.
“A lot of the policies that Trump supports are gonna help,” he said. “There’s gonna be more jobs, there’s gonna be better-paying jobs. I mean, hopefully. You can’t believe what a politician says, even if he isn’t truly a politician.”
× Expand Dylan Brogan Scores of protesters brought homemade signs bearing anti-Donald Trump slogans to the GOP frontrunner's rally in Janesville.
Reporters lining up to pass through security said the Janesville rally was tame compared to other Trump campaign stops, like the March 11 speech in Chicago that was abruptly canceled after aggressive clashes between supporters and protesters. One said it must be the fabled “Wisconsin nice.”
But the stereotype was shattered when a 15-year-old girl was attacked with pepper spray. According to an initial report from the Janesville Police Department, a man in the crowd groped the girl, prompting her to push him away. Video of the incident shows another man spraying the girl, who is helped away by police as Trump supporters laugh and cheer.
On Thursday afternoon, Janesville police held a press conference and announced that investigators, after reviewing video of the incident and interviewing witnesses, determined that no sexual assault occurred. The girl is facing disorderly conduct charges. Police are still looking for the pepper spray attacker.
× Expand Dylan Brogan Outside the Donald Trump rally, dozens of vendors set up shop, peddling pro-Donald Trump shirts, hats and buttons.
Doug Rogers, a Janesville resident and the pastor of a church in Rockford, Ill., went to the Trump rally as an observer. He was dressed in his clergy robes but said he hoped that he would not be needed “in a professional capacity.”
“I’ve watched this kind of thing on television, and I was curious to be able to experience it firsthand,” he said. “It’s living up to my expectations.”
It was standing room only inside the Holiday Inn banquet hall as 1,000 Trump supporters eagerly awaited the candidate’s arrival. The Republican frontrunner kept the crowd waiting for nearly an hour in order to make a live appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity program. Occasional chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump” broke up the monotony.
Then, to the classic jock jam tune “Get Ready for This,” the billionaire populist took center stage and the political rally/tent revival show was underway.
“There is something going on here,” Trump told the fervent crowd. “It’s like a movement. It’s not me. I’m a messenger to be honest.”
Shedding the usual conventions of a presidential campaign stump speech, Trump jumped from one issue to the next making bold proclamations throughout.
“We’re going to turn this country around, and we’re going to be the smart people,” Trump said. “We’re not going to be the dummies anymore.”
Trump promised he would “knock the hell out of ISIS” and said he’d repeal Obamacare and replace it with “something so much better.” He declared the Second Amendment to be “under siege” and vowed to preserve Social Security and Medicare.
To the delight of the crowd, he also reaffirmed his constitutionally questionable pledge to ban all Muslims from entering the country on a temporary basis. “I took so much heat for that,” Trump says. “Now people are saying, ‘Trump is sort of right about that’...because they see what’s happening.”
Just hours before Trump’s first campaign stop in Wisconsin, former presidential hopeful Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. It took Trump only minutes to call out Walker’s support of free trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
“Wisconsin has lost 15,000 jobs to Mexico since NAFTA,” Trump said, going on to criticize Walker on a host of issues including the state’s fiscal health and unemployment rate. “He’s not doing a great job...[and] he certainly can’t endorse me after what I did to him during the debate.”
× Expand Dylan Brogan An adoring crowd greets Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump at the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville.
Truck driver Shawn Rickelman from Rockford is a Trump fan because “he gives a shit about Americans.”
“He wants the American worker back to work,” Rickelman said. “I want someone who gives a damn about us.”
Effortlessly playing to the crowd like a seasoned road comic, Trump asked the Janesville audience about native son Paul Ryan, the GOP House Speaker. After a chorus of boos, even Trump seemed dumbfounded by the response on the Speaker’s home turf.
“I was told to be nice to Paul Ryan,” Trump said. “I’m very surprised...wow.” A man in the crowd yelled back: “He’s establishment.”
The latest Marquette University Law School poll, released Wednesday, shows Trump trailing Cruz by 10 points among likely Wisconsin primary voters. Cruz now garners 40% support, Trump nets 30%, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich 21%.
Trump announced at the rally he is taking his campaign road show across the state until the April 5 Wisconsin primary.
“If we win Wisconsin, it’s going to be over,” said Trump about the GOP nomination. Before exiting the packed banquet hall, Trump accused all of his opponents of being beholden to big-money backers and offered a simple promise to loyal supporters.
“I’m controlled by you,” said Trump to applause. “I’m going to do the right thing for you.”
[Editor's note: This post has been updated to include the latest comments from the Janesville Police Department.]Brian May vows legal action over badger cull extension BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Rock musician Brian May has promised legal action over the Government's decision to extend the cull of badgers in the face of condemnation from animal rights groups. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/brian-may-vows-legal-action-over-badger-cull-extension-31484882.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/article31485021.ece/9d84b/AUTOCROP/h342/PANews%20BT_P-ca0105aa-e903-43b5-b7af-3c40d2e02a39_I1.jpg
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Rock musician Brian May has promised legal action over the Government's decision to extend the cull of badgers in the face of condemnation from animal rights groups.
Natural England has authorised a four-year licence for Dorset, where b etween 615 and 835 badgers are due to be killed over a six-week period this year, alongside the third of four years of culling in Gloucester and Somerset.
Farming minister George Eustice said "strong action" was needed to protect the dairy and beef industry by controlling the spread of TB in cattle, claiming the support of "leading vets" for the policy.
And farmers' leaders said they were disappointed that the cull had not been extended to other areas.
But critics pointed to an independent expert panel's findings that the trials had proved neither humane nor effective and should be halted, with Queen guitarist May vowing to seek a judicial review of the policy.
Mr May, who founded the Save Me Trust, said: " The Government should quit now, and save the taxpayer more fruitless expense.
"This is a tragedy for our farmers, cattle and wildlife. The scientific advice has been ignored by ministers with more badgers set to die again this year."
Just 274 badgers were killed in the second year of the Gloucestershire pilot, less than 45% of the 615 thought necessary to affect TB rates - something the Government said reflected " extensive unlawful protest and intimidation".
In Somerset, 341 were culled - just inside the target of 316 to 785.
Mr Eustice said the approach "includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, vaccinating badgers in the buffer zone around high-risk areas, and culling badgers where the disease is rife".
"Our approach of dealing with the disease in cattle and wildlife has worked overseas and is supported by leading vets."
National Farmers' Union president Meurig Raymond said: "We are very disappointed that more areas will not benefit from it this year. This is much slower progress than we wanted."
The RSPCA was among organisations calling for the cull to be halted and replaced by greater use of vaccination and improved biosecurity.
Assistant director of public affairs David Bowles said: "We are saddened but unsurprised at the restart of the badger culls but to extend the number of cull areas further is alarming.
"The whole scheme has turned into a farce. We have no evidence to show the first two years of culls have reduced bovine TB incidents in cattle and previous studies show that with the numbers killed it may even have made it worse.
"As there have been no new population assessments, target figures for badgers to be killed this year have been simply guessed at, meaning that hundreds of badgers could be killed for a policy that is misguided, inhumane and ineffective."
Shadow environment secretary Maria Eagle accused ministers of a " complete disregard for evidence".
"Following repeated failures to meet deadlines and targets, these so-called 'pilots' have now effectively become an inexpert, unscientific mass cull with no rigorous monitoring or evaluation."Effortless Environment Reports
Any project, any info, easy Solidarity reports
Gant Laborde Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 12, 2017
Have you ever filed a ticket on a project and been hit with a hefty script of things you have to do, just to file a ticket? It’s usually from GitHub’s issue template and includes requests like:
“Identify your OS, version of Node, CPU architecture, favorite 🍕, and current BMI round to 8 decimal places, do you want kids?”
This is, of course, wildly unpopular. But we are engineers! So we started creating CLIs to make things easier. Ionic has an info command. And so does React Native. This helps people pass along version info on these complex tool-chains when they file tickets.
Have you ever used Ignite? We made ignite doctor, too.
We have a line in our issue template that says this:
Run ignite doctor and paste the results below, including the lines with the three back-ticks
We ask for those back-ticks in our issue so the report becomes Markdown friendly. It doesn’t always work because the person filing the issue doesn’t always understand. Every project now needs one of these, Grrrrr!
Although, look at how useful these tools are for comparing environment differences, a major culprit in bugs. But we would know all about that wouldn’t we? … In fact, didn’t we recently release an open source tool for helping two developers ensure environment parity?
Couldn’t we just also add a command to our existing tool, to give people a free environment report for when they file issues? We can save the module author from having to write their own CLI on each project. They’ve defined what’s essential in their easily configured solidarity file… the project maintainer doesn’t need to write a thing! We know exactly what to report for any project.
Introducing Solidarity Report
If your project has a Solidarity file, as of version Solidarity 1.1.0 you can now simply type solidarity report and it will compile a friendly report of your environment.
Bonus: the report is printed in markdown, so it’s clean and readable in the terminal, but becomes formatted and even more readable when pasted to GitHub.
Of course, Solidarity uses itself, so I can quickly show you an example 🙃
Typing solidarity report grabs the rules from your Solidarity file and then provides an in-depth printout of the system that is clean and readable.
Now, let’s place the output in a GitHub issue, and voila!RosterWatch Week 1 Matchup Tool
Alex Dunlap, Rosterwatch.com
It’s hard to believe that we’re back to that time of year again. Without further ado, here is your RosterWatch Week 1 matchup tool.
This is a tool to help you judge the weekly matchups your fantasy players face. Teams are ranked from 1-32 versus the RB, QB, WR and TE positions. A ranking of “1” is the most friendly to an opposing player, while the ranking of “32” is the worst.
When you use the tool, find the team that your player plays on, then look at the opponent’s matchup rating against the position in question.
We have highlighted the top 10 best positional matchups in BLUE.
Fringe-top tier matchups are highlighted in LIGHT BLUE.
Fringe-bottom tier matchups are highlighted in LIGHT RED.
The top 10 toughest matchups for opposing fantasy players are higlighted in RED.
Method:
Upon arriving at Week 5 of the NFL season, all of the data we use as inputs for this tool will come from the 2012 season. At this point in time, we will have a solid baseline from which to base projections completely moving forward.
Since we are not afforded the luxury of any 2012 action to look back on in Week 1, we have employed our system of weighted averages to construct the following hierarchy.
Matchup rankings take into account a number of variables, and are derived via a proprietary RosterWatch algorithm. One portion consists of six variables from 2011, while the rest is comprised of scouting/analysis grades of each defensive team’s 2012 starting positional group when taken as an average.
Meaning, for example, for TE matchups: We will look at 2011 fantasy points allowed per game by the team on average to fantasy TEs.
We then make adjustments for new personnel, and/or scheme. A grade in this case will be assigned to those who will generally cover the TE. (3-4 ILBs, 4-3 LBs, Safeties and Nickel Corners.) We call this variable the TECP or tight end coverage personnel variable. We then get an average for that group’s scores and use it as an input along with a small bit of credence given to preseason performance in snaps vs. No.1 offenses.
So, yes, our jobs get much easier with each passing week leading up to Week 5, but now is when you have to win. As always, feel free to hit us up with questions.
Here is your Week 1 RosterWatch Matchup Tool:
+RW Proprietary Algorithm
++Based On Standard ScoringRising transgender stars such as Laverne Cox of Orange Is The New Black and Hari Nef of Transparent, a show that focuses on transgender issues, have raised awareness about new archetypes of beauty as well as fashion possibilities. And while the highly secure entrance to the SAG Awards may have electronic scanners and security staff with metal-detecting wands, a red carpet is a comparatively safe, broad-minded setting for trans individuals.
But as several cast members of Transparent have pointed out, airport security, with X-ray scanning devices, and staff undertrained in the sensitivity of trans issues, are not such a safe, welcoming environment for gender transitioning or transitioned individuals. Instead, they've made it clear that airports can be a dangerous, unpredictable, and even unsafe environment for individuals who do not fit as neatly into the neatly defined categories on government documentation.
When asked about travel on the red carpet, Transparent cast member Our Lady J opened up about the unfortunate realities. "Airports are really, really difficult for trans people," she told Condé Nast Traveler. "Often, if we go through security, if we are presenting as our authentic gender and we’re perceived to be another gender based on X-ray scans, we’re often detained and dehumanized.“
Hari Nef, also of Transparent, later reiterated the sentiment. "People can be voyeuristic. And airports, in particular, can be tricky. I have been okay so far. But my friend Shadi had this really well-documented, horrific incident that happened to her. When I go to the airport, I kind of dress gender neutral. But it can be difficult."
Shadi in this case is Shadi Petosky, a transgender television producer who was detained at the Orlando airport when a TSA agent found an "anomaly," she said. She tweeted extensively about the incident, noting that "2 police officers, 1 explosives specialist, and four TSA agents" were brought to the scene.
Jeffrey Tambor, who won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in Transparent, said the time for change is now. "It’s an opportunity we have," he said, of the award-winning show's capacity to educate. "People need to wake up. That comes from government officials talking, to teachers, to janitors in High Schools, and to TSA people. Everybody has to [wake up]. Non-education is no longer an alibi; we have to be able to kick [this]," he said.
This article has been updated with new information regarding Shadi Petosky's encounter.The basement consisted of six prefabricated cells, each with a clock and arrow pointing to Mecca, the officials said. The cells were on springs, keeping them slightly off balance and causing disorientation among some detainees.
The detainees could then be unloaded and whisked into the ground floor of the prison and into the basement.
Shuttling detainees into the facility without being seen was relatively easy. After flying into Bucharest, the detainees were brought to the site in vans. CIA operatives then drove down a side road and entered the compound through a rear gate that led to the actual prison.
The CIA prison opened for business in the fall of 2003, after the CIA decided to empty the black site in Poland, according to former U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the detention program with reporters.
"No, no. Impossible, impossible," he said in an ARD interview for its "Panorama" news broadcast, as a security official monitored the interview.
In an interview at the building in November, senior ORNISS official Adrian Camarasan said the basement is one of the most secure rooms in all of Romania. But he said Americans never ran a prison there.
Unlike the CIA's facility in Lithuania's countryside or the one hidden in a Polish military installation, the CIA's prison in Romania was not in a remote location. The building is used as the National Registry Office for Classified Information, which is also known as ORNISS. Classified information from NATO and the European Union is stored there. Former intelligence officials both described the location of the prison and identified pictures of the building.
The Romanian prison was part of a network of so-called black sites that the CIA operated and controlled overseas in Thailand, Lithuania and Poland. All the prisons were closed by May 2006, and the CIA's detention and interrogation program ended in 2009.
A joint investigation by The Associated Press and German public television, ARD Panorama, however, located the former prison and unearthed details of the facility where harsh interrogation tactics were carried out.
For years, the building -- codenamed Bright Light -- housed some of the CIA's most important terror suspects, including Khalid Sheik Mohammad, the mastermind of 9/11. Even after the detainees were shipped off to Guantanamo Bay in 2006 and reports about the prison began to surface, the Romanian government repeatedly denied any knowledge of its existence.
WASHINGTON—One of the CIA's most important secrets in the war on terrorism was hiding in plain sight, on a leafy residential street along a busy set of train tracks in Romania's capital. There, tucked in the basement of a government building, the CIA ran a clandestine prison, former U.S. intelligence officials said.
The CIA declined to comment on the prison.
During the first month of their detention, the detainees endured sleep deprivation and were doused with water, slapped or forced to stand in painful positions, several former officials said. Waterboarding was not performed in Romania, they said.
After the initial interrogations, the detainees were treated with care, the officials said. The prisoners received regular dental and medical check-ups. The CIA shipped in Halal food to the site from Frankfurt, Germany, the agency's European center for operations. Halal meat is prepared under religious rules similar to kosher food.
Former U.S. officials said that because the building was a government installation, it provided excellent cover. The prison didn't need heavy security because area residents knew it was owned by the government. People wouldn't be inclined to snoop in post-communist Romania, with its extensive security apparatus known for spying on the country's own citizens.
Human rights activists have urged the eastern European countries to investigate the roles their governments played in hosting the prisons in which interrogation techniques such as waterboarding were used. Officials from these countries continue to deny these prisons ever existed.
"We know of the criticism, but we have no knowledge of this subject," Romanian President Traian Basescu said in a September interview with AP.
The CIA has tried to close the book on the detention program, which Obama ended shortly after taking office.
"That controversy has largely subsided," the CIA's top lawyer, Stephen Preston, said at a conference earlier this month.
But details of the prison network continue to trickle out through investigations by international bodies, journalists and human rights groups. "There have been years of official denials," said Dick Marty, a Swiss lawmaker who led an investigation into the CIA secret prisons for the Council of Europe. "We are at last beginning to learn what really happened in Bucharest."
During the Council of Europe's investigation, Romania's foreign affairs minister assured investigators in a written report that, "No public official or other person acting in an official capacity has been involved in the unacknowledged deprivation of any individual, or transport of any individual while so deprived of their liberty." That report also described several other government investigations into reports of a secret CIA prison in Romania and said: "No such activities took place on Romanian territory."
Journalists and human rights investigators have previously used flight records to tie Romania to the secret prison program. Flight records for a Boeing 737 known to be used by the CIA showed a flight from Poland to Bucharest in September 2003. Among the prisoners on board, according to former CIA officials, were Mohammad and Walid bin Attash, who has been implicated in the bombing of the USS Cole.
Later, other detainees -- Ramzi Binalshibh, Abd al-Nashiri and Abu Faraj al-Libi -- were also moved to Romania. A deceptive Al-Libi, who was taken to the prison in June 2005, provided information that would later help the CIA identify Osama bin Laden's trusted courier, a man who unwittingly led the CIA to bin Laden himself.
Court documents recently discovered in a lawsuit have also added to the body of evidence pointing to a CIA prison in Romania. The files show CIA contractor Richmor Aviation Inc., a New York-based charter company, operated flights to and from Romania along with other locations including Guantanamo Bay and Morocco.
For the CIA officers working at the secret prison, the assignment wasn't glamorous. The officers served 90-day tours, slept on the compound and ate their meals there, too. Officers were prevented from the leaving the base after their presence in the neighborhood stoked suspicion. One former officer complained that the CIA spent most of its time baby-sitting detainees like Binalshibh and Mohammad whose intelligence value diminished as the years passed.
The Romanian and Lithuanian sites were eventually closed in the first half of 2006 before CIA Director Porter Goss left the job. Some of the detainees were taken to Kabul, where the CIA could legally hold them before they were sent to Guantanamo. Others were sent back to their native countries.
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Associated Press writer Desmond Butler contributed to this report.
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Contact the Washington investigative team at DCInvestigations(at)ap.org
Follow Apuzzo and Goldman at http://twitter.com/mattapuzzo and http://twitter.com/goldmandc
© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.While Hillary Clinton and her Democrats are trying to sell Khizr Khan as a constitutional expert, the reality is that the Constitution allows Donald Trump’s proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigrants from terror-related countries. However, if a liberal justice takes Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court, the ban would be struck down nonetheless.
Donald Trump has refined his proposal over the past couple months. His final position is that the United States should temporarily bar Muslim immigrants from certain countries where we know terrorists are training or operating, as well as from countries where U.S. authorities cannot adequately vet potential immigrants. Rather than a permanent ban, such a prohibition would be in place only until federal authorities can define the scope of the threat of radical Islamic terrorists infiltrating this country, and fully investigate all prospective immigrants.
Clinton, liberal Democrats shout that such a policy is unconstitutional. They are now joined by Khan, a foreign lawyer the Left laughingly advertises as a constitutional expert, despite the fact that Khan is an ordinary lawyer who does not litigate constitutional law cases, does not teach constitutional law, and has never published a scholarly work on the Constitution. With “experts” like Khan, it’s no surprise that they’re wrong.
Three provisions of the U.S. Constitution are relevant to Trump’s proposed policy. Properly understood, all three allow Congress to work with a President Trump to fashion a law codifying this new policy.
Naturalization Clause
The first provision is Article I, Section 8, Clause 4, which empowers Congress, “To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization.” Combined with Congress’s shared power with the president to govern the foreign policy of the nation, this provision gives the two elected branches discretion on who enters this country, how long they can stay, under what conditions, and by what process some of them can become citizens.
Regarding the scope of this power, as the Supreme Court held in its 1982 case United States v. Valenzuela-Bernal, “The power to regulate immigration—an attribute of sovereignty essential to the preservation of any nation—has been entrusted by the Constitution to the political branches of the Federal Government.” The Court then quoted a 1976 case, which acknowledged, “The Court without exception has sustained Congress’ plenary power to make rules for the admission of aliens.”
It’s possible that Trump could unilaterally impose such a ban as president, though legally that’s more of an uphill climb. Federal law—specifically 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f)—provides:
Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.
This statute likely conveys all the authority needed for a president to enact the policy advocates, although liberal judges—and possibly some moderate judges—might disagree.
But even if the statute does not delegate such power to the president, there is no question that Congress could amend federal law at any time to codify Trump’s new policy.
Religious Test Clause
The second provision is found in Article VI, Clause 3, which includes that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
This is the constitutional provision that the Left often cites as forbidding Trump’s ban. That argument is unquestionably wrong.
The Religious Test Clause forbids government agents from taking into account a person’s religion only when considering whether to appoint that person to serve in the federal government. Government actors remain free to consider religion for any other purpose, and voters can consider religion for anything at all, even for public office.
Ironically, the only government officials who have violated the Religious Test Clause in modern times are Democrats, usually over judicial nominations. Democratic senators opposed Judge Charles Pickering (a federal trial judge) when he was nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit because of his evangelical Christian faith.
As another example, when devout Catholic William Pryor was nominated to the Eleventh Circuit, Sen. Charles Schumer opposed him, saying, “[Pryor’s religious] beliefs are so deeply held that it’s very difficult to believe those views won’t influence how he follows the law. A person’s views matter.”
But where immigration is concerned, as Andy McCarthy has explained, current federal immigration law already explicitly takes into account the religion of applicants. Many foreigners request political asylum in the United States because they claim to belong to a persecuted religious minority.
Obviously the federal government cannot ascertain the truthfulness of their persecution claim without asking the applicant’s religion. Accordingly, 8 U.S.C. § 1158 provides that immigration authorities “must establish that … religion … was or will be at least one central reason for persecuting the applicant.” Thus, federal law actually requires immigration authorities to examine the religion of some foreigners.
So despite the Left’s outcries, the Religious Test Clause is irrelevant to restricting Muslim immigration.
Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause
The third relevant constitutional provision is where the real challenge appears. The Bill of Rights—including the Fifth Amendment—was ratified in 1791. The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause commands that, at the hands of the federal government, no person may “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
In the Civil War’s aftermath, in 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified. The Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment command that no state may “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall any State deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
In 1954 the Supreme Court held in Bolling v. Sharpe that although due process and equal protection are separately addressed as separate rights in the Fourteenth Amendment, and despite the fact that there is no clause requiring equal protection from the federal government in the Fifth Amendment, nonetheless the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause includes an implicit guarantee of equal protection.
The central meaning of the Equal Protection Clause was to eliminate government actions discriminating on the basis of race or national origin. Laws that make such distinctions are therefore subject to “strict scrutiny,” under which the law is presumed invalid, and the burden is on the government to prove that the law is narrowly tailored to achieve some compelling public interest.
While the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause applies only to a person “within [the] jurisdiction” of a particular state, the Fifth Amendment has no such geographical limit, so the Fifth Amendment’s equal-protection component extends everyone federal power is found.
Conservative Judges Would Uphold the Ban
Conservative judges could hold that the ban is constitutional for at least three reasons.
First, they could hold that the Fifth Amendment does not constrain the political branches’ policy judgments on immigration at all. Congress and the president acting together have completely unfettered discretion on who can enter the United States. If so, then politicians could ban anyone, even on the basis of race, religion, or national origin.
Second, they could say that the Fifth Amendment is irrelevant, but when a court reviews an equal-protection claim here, strict scrutiny does not apply because the ban is not based solely on race, nationality, or religion. Instead, it is a ban on potential immigrants who fit a multi-factor profile, which applies only to specific parts of multiple nations. Religion is only one factor among several.
If so, then the policy would be subject to rational-basis review, meaning it would be upheld unless the plaintiffs could prove that the policy was not rationally related to a single public interest. That judicial inquiry would precipitate a slam-dunk victory for Trump.
Third, a court could hold that strict scrutiny applies, but that the ban satisfies strict scrutiny. National security is a compelling government interest—in fact, it is the Constitution’s top priority of the federal government. Judges could hold that a policy that is strictly time-limited, lasting only until the federal government defines the scope of the threat posed by radical Islamic terrorists, and strictly limited in scope, applying only to countries and parts of countries where overwhelming evidence proves that Islamic terrorists are operating, training, and trying to infiltrate the United States.
Liberal Judges Would Strike Down the Ban
The challenge is that liberal jurists might look at this quite differently, especially at the Supreme Court.
Liberal Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision, Zadyvas v. Davis, that even when it comes to controlling immigration, Congress’s “power is subject to important constitutional limitations,” and argued that previous Supreme Court cases mandate that “Congress must choose a constitutionally permissible means of implementing that power.”
Zadyvas thus holds that the Constitution does impose limits on immigration policy. While conservative justices could overrule that holding, liberal justices could cite it as a justification for an equal-protection challenge. The Court could have that strict scrutiny applies and that Trump’s policy fails that demanding test.
If a president acted without Congress, these justices would acknowledge that 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) permits a president to impose such a ban, but they would then go on to hold that Section 1182(f) violated the Fifth Amendment if applied in this fashion.
The Next President’s Supreme Court Will Make the Call
On yet another issue, then, the Supreme Court majority created as a result of whoever the next president appoints to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat will determine the constitutional fate of Trump’s policy.
Clinton would appoint a liberal to that seat, essentially guaranteeing that any immigration restrictions would be struck down, which seems beside the point because Clinton would never make such a policy, and would veto any bill from Congress attempting to create such a policy.
It also makes it all the more imperative for Trump to stand by his commitment to nominate a solid originalist to the Supreme Court, such as many of the judges on his current list of 11, or someone like former Solicitor General Paul Clement (who is the favorite of many conservatives). If Trump goes with a moderate or unproven pick, that person could side with the liberal justices to strike down key parts of Trump’s entire immigration policy.
Examining its text, structure, and history, the original public meaning of the Constitution allows Trump to create his policy, especially if he does it through legislation passed by Congress. Any lawyer like Khan who argues to the contrary merely proves himself to be incompetent.
But whether the policy would stand depends on whether a majority on the Supreme Court will be faithful to the original meaning of the Constitution.
Ken Klukowski is senior legal editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @kenklukowski.On this day in 2013, Manchester City made the contentious decision to appoint Manuel Pellegrini to replace the popular Roberto Mancini.
The mixed feelings surrounding Pellegrini’s appointment were soon forgotten as he had a memorable first season in charge, breaking goal scoring records, winning a domestic double including the Premier League, and making some progress in the Champions League.
After season one, his reign is much more debatable. For some, City have been under a slow, painful decline under Pellegrini since part-way through his second season, with a failure to even seriously challenge for the Premier League title in his second and third campaigns. Others will argue he got City further in Europe, with an appearance in the Champions League semis |
pike missiles, there will be additional special equipment to engage in Ship-to-Ship disruption, such as aggressive avionics modules and hacking arrays.
Distortion – Disrupts a target’s power flow to all components. A hit will temporarily reduce a power plant’s maximum output. Although power plants will eventually flush the distortion, repeated hits in a short time can completely overload the system and halt power flow to components.
Signal-Intercept – The most passive form of electronic warfare, Signal-Intercept covers the basics of interfering with a target’s communications or scanner systems. This includes tracking target signatures, intercepting/rerouting/scrambling outbound communications or causing direct interference to radar and scanner systems.
Special Equipment – Special equipment includes ship-mounted antenna systems and custom avionics modules to aid with storage, decryption and encryption of transmissions in a local space.
Defense-Based Electronic Warfare
To stay safe from incoming hacking and electronic warfare attacks, pilots will need to outfit their ships and flight-suits with appropriate countermeasures. Electronic defenses require less specialized equipment than their offensive counterparts, and while this does favor defenders to an extent, they can still be met with multiple attacks and overwhelmed.
Weapon-Based Defenses
EM Flare – In general combat, EM flares are another tool at a pilot’s disposal to help shake off EM-tracking missiles. Beyond this though, they can also be used to help mask the launch of a data-module from an Info-Runner ship like the Herald. They’ll replace standard IR flares when loaded onto a ship while ships with multiple flare launchers would have the option to mix types.
Heat Chaff – Serving as the counterpart to the EM flare, heat chaffs will launch to create a temporarily heated up field when launched. While it won’t emit the same IR-signature as a IR flare, the real benefit would be found in the large area coverage, making them extremely useful against IR-tracking cluster munitions like the Rattler. They would replace standard chaff when installed, while ships with multiple launchers could utilize multiple types.
Data Chaff – Since every ship is not equipped with a full e-war suite, pilots can use data chaff to guard against attacks to their communications and scanners. When launched, the data chaff will make it much harder for the attacker to establish or maintain their lock against the defender’s systems. Like other countermeasure types, these would replace standard chaffs, but can be mixed together on ships with multiple chaff launchers.
Decoy Missile – A missile that, when fired, broadcasts appropriate signatures to assume the identity of a particular ship. However, the cross-section cannot be spoofed. By default, these missiles will inherit the signature of the ship firing them, but advanced operators can configure them to mimic a wide array of targets.
Scan Shielding
Scan shielding can come in various forms:
Hull modifications (additional or alternate armor sets).
Shields (i.e. standard craft shields with a secondary scan shielding aspect).
Scan Shield component (a device specifically for shielding an area of a craft against scanning).
Internal modification (module) installed within a room aboard a multi-crew ship (or larger craft type), usually around a space containing a sub-component or cargo.
Looking Forward
When we began the process of building Arena Commander, the goal was to create the most fundamental parts that the rest of the game would be based around. That meant spending a lot of time building the physics system, multiplayer connectivity and all the basics that would let the first wave of players start dogfighting. With the foundation nearing completion, we’re now free to start building much more elaborate systems on top of that previous work, including the robust electronic warfare and detection system outlined above. With the Hornet Tracker already seeing combat and the Vanguard and Herald coming in the not-too-distant future, it only makes sense that this be one of the next major systems we implement. In time, you’ll see plenty of other systems come online including components, cross-system travel, hacking and overclocking that will bring Arena Commander closer to the final gameplay experience we intend for Star Citizen.Pop.
The ball smacked into my mitt.
Finally.
For the first time all season, a ball had been hit to centerfield.
Which was my position.
You see, this wasn’t a routine fly ball. This was my first putout in an Arizona State uniform. There hadn’t been a ball hit to centerfield in our opener. I had to wait until the first inning of our second game to cross that achievement off my list.
Now that I had my first collegiate catch under my belt, I felt more confident going into our third game — the second of two we would play that day. It was a double-header, and we had around 45 minutes between games.
When my turn to hit came up in the first inning I took a deep breath and picked up my helmet, my gloves and my bat, and headed to the on-deck circle. There was a runner on first. It was go-time.
Unfortunately, when I got up to bat, I didn’t get much to hit. I was walked.
As I stood on first, I saw my teammate on second base flash the double-steal sign.
I knew it was time to turn on the engines.
I’d stolen second thousands of times. This was just another play. But like I had my whole life, I only knew how to play with aggressive passion. So I cranked up my speed to show how much it meant to me to be in the starting lineup and to be a Sun Devil.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of my teammate taking his first step toward third, and I was gone. I absolutely gassed it toward second.
The voice of the second baseman cut through the sound of the wind rushing through my helmet.
“Two! Two! Two!”
The catcher was trying to throw me out at second instead of my teammate at third. I knew I had to hustle to beat the tag.
The ball sailed a bit toward the first-base side. The second baseman lunged for the ball and missed it. I dove headfirst and collided with his knee.
Crack.
I saw the ball roll into centerfield, and I wanted more than second.
I wanted to get to third.
My teammates were waving their arms.
“Go, go, go! Go, Cory!”
I tried to get up.
I couldn’t.
Woah, what’s going on here?
I didn’t want to get tagged out.
I tried again. I couldn’t feel my legs.
What’s happening right now?
I felt helpless.
The ump finally called timeout.
I was lying on my side.
Our trainer ran to me from the dugout.
“Cory, you alright?”
“I can’t move. I can’t feel myself.”
“Stay down. Keep breathing. You’re alright, Cory.”
“I don’t know what my body’s doing. I can’t feel myself.”
My head coach came running up to me.
“Cory, talk to me.”
“I don’t know what to do. I’m just here. I can’t move.”
They rolled me onto my back.
“I can’t feel anything.”
My dad ran onto the field.
Wait, why are you here?
“Hey, buddy, are you alright?”
“What’s happening to me, Dad?”
The paramedics arrived.
They took my helmet off.
They stabilized my neck.
They cut my jersey off.
They applied heart-monitor pads.
They put me on a stretcher.
They rolled me off the field.
My teammates lined up at the edge of the dugout.
I mustered four words.
“Go kick their ass.”
***
Two days earlier, I had been sitting in freshman calculus. It was a beautiful day outside and I was listening to some professor talk about the area below a curve. Exciting stuff, right?
Thankfully, I felt a buzz at my side.
I executed a textbook pocket-glance. You know, the maneuver every college student uses when they’re stuck in a boring class.
Couldn’t ignore this one. It was a message from a senior on the team.
“Hey man, I wanna relay this to you because you deserve this and earned it. But you’re in the lineup tonight. Get your mind ready.”
Wait a second … what?
I had to pull the phone out of my pocket. I must’ve read that wrong.
I looked over his text six or seven times. Was this some sort of joke?
I knew I had proved I could compete well at this level, but a freshman in the starting lineup for our season-opener? All I’d heard up to this point was that freshmen don’t start right away at Arizona State, let alone see any playing time on opening day. And now, I was starting in centerfield.
All I could do was smile. I looked up at my buddy sitting next to me and flashed the screen of my phone so he could see it. His jaw dropped in astonishment. I knew what I had to do.
“Dude, I’m outta here. I’m gone.”
“What? Dude, there are 40 minutes left — ”
The zip of my bag cut him off.
“I gotta get out of here. I gotta get outta here!”
Tangents and mathematical theorems had suddenly become meaningless. I had to get to the stadium to prepare for my first collegiate start as an Arizona State Sun Devil.
***
I’ve always loved baseball. My parents never pushed the game on me, even though they could have very easily. My father played college baseball and my mother played college softball.
My dad once told me, “I want you to be the one who asks me to go work out, or to go hit some BP, not the other way around.” From early on, I set the agenda. It was never forced. My love for the game was as pure as you can get.
My career really took off at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif. As a senior in 2010 I was named high school player of the year by the California Interscholastic Federation, the Los Angeles Times and MaxPreps. I was named Mr. Baseball in California and was the MVP of the Trinity League.
As I got older, I began to show some promise as a ballplayer. I was extremely dedicated. I was invited to represent the U.S. on the under-18 team. That was unreal. To look down and see USA written across my jersey … man, what an absolute honor.
It all happened because of my determination to get better. Not because I had crazy parents who wanted to artificially mold me into a moneymaker. Nah. It was because of my youthful drive and my love of baseball and competition.
I began to receive offers from some top baseball programs, including Arizona State. The San Diego Padres even drafted me in 2010. We were unable to agree on a deal, but that was cool with me because I knew that I had a chance to get an education and then get drafted again after a career at ASU.
After my senior year, I put a lot of time and effort into getting myself ready for college baseball. I had the absolute confidence that I could hang with the best of the best, and I wanted to bring that mentality to ASU.
I mention all the accolades and all the effort to show that starting for Arizona State was the culmination of years and years of hard work. It was something I had wanted to do ever since I committed to the Sun Devils. I wanted to be one of the guys responsible for bringing another championship back to ASU.
All the blood and sweat that I had expended over the years finally manifested themselves in that text message. I was going to be an opening-day starter.
***
This wasn’t a torn ACL. This wasn’t a broken leg. This wasn’t a scratch on the knee. You definitely feel those things.
This was a severed C-5 vertebra. When you sever your spine, you can’t feel anything.
The 45 minutes after I arrived at the hospital were the most miserable of my life. I was scared because I had no idea what had happened, and I had to lie in a confined tube for an MRI and a CAT scan.
Afterward, my dad came over to me, his eyes lit up with worry. He had just found out that the doctors were going to have to fuse my vertebrae back together. My dad grabbed my arm and looked me in the eye.
“You’re gonna be alright.”
Get this nightmare over with, I thought. Get me into surgery already. Just fix me.
The morning after my surgery, I woke up with a ventilator tube running down my esophagus and into my lungs. It was so uncomfortable when the doctors pulled the tube out of my throat. They told me what had happened and that I was going to be paralyzed from the chest down for the rest of my life.
Then came eight straight days of misery in the ICU, where I was tied up with tubes to all these machines, put through all these tests and was surrounded by all these strange noises — the hiss of ventilators and the beeps of heart monitors. But despite all of that, some pretty special things also happened.
My best friends from California drove through the night to see me the morning after surgery.
Derrick Hall, the CEO and president of the Arizona Diamondbacks, along with 2001 World Series hero Luis Gonzalez, showed up at the foot of my bed one day. They had a jersey signed by all the Diamondbacks players. We hung out and talked baseball for a couple of hours.
Andre Ethier of the Dodgers came in to visit. We’ve become great friends since then. Torii Hunter and Mike Scioscia of the Angels, my favorite team, stopped by. They were my heroes.
For all the joy these visits brought me, reality kept bringing me down.
Just a few days after surgery, I got on the phone with my little brother, Jason, who was in high school back in California. It was the first time I had spoken to him since my injury.
His own hero — his big brother, with whom he had spent countless hours playing in the backyard — was now a quadriplegic. Life as I knew it was never going to be the same. Lying in my hospital bed, I cried.
On the other end of the line, I heard sobbing.
No more sports. No more playing. We were devastated.
On day seven, my teammates came to say goodbye. The next morning, I was going to be airlifted to a hospital in California.
In our last moments in the ICU, my teammates and I had a ton of fun together. Imagine a bunch of hollering college kids in this little tiny hospital room. We were just a bunch of college kids having a good time.
But then … silence.
Absolute silence.
Someone had entered the room. I was facing away from the door, so I could only see the outline of a figure from the corner of my eye. I assumed that it must’ve been a doctor because I could see the faces of my teammates. They looked serious.
He walked into my line of sight and looked down at me.
It wasn’t a doctor.
“Hey, Cory.”
I was staring up at Josh Hamilton.
Josh Hamilton was my favorite ballplayer. By far. Not only for what he did on the field, but also for his recovery from addiction off of it. I realized in that moment that I was more similar to him than I had ever been before. Baseball didn’t bring us together. Tragedy did.
“You alright, kid?”
“Yeah, I’m hanging in there.”
We talked for an hour or so. Not about my injury. But about life. About being a kid. About college.
After a while, he asked me a simple question. One that I’ll never forget.
“Is it O.K. if I pray with and for you?”
I didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely. That’s fine.”
He knelt down.
To this moment, I can hear his deep voice echoing in my head. I can see his mouth moving slowly, and tears finding their way out of the corners of his eyes.
My teammates were still in the room. After that moment with Josh, our lives would never be the same.
***
In California, I spent 75 days in inpatient recovery and completed countless hours of physical therapy. As you can imagine, once out of the hospital, my parents were reluctant to send me back to Arizona State. They didn’t want to see their child fail. And man, there was a very distinct possibility that failure was in my future.
But the thing is, I needed to get back to school. Think about this — a 19-year-old kid, who had already gotten a taste of college, living at home with his parents. “Stir crazy” doesn’t really do it justice. But more than that, there was no way that I was going to let my situation dictate my outlook going forward. There was a moment where I realized that I could either sit in my house and feel sorry for myself for the rest of my life, or I could make something of my life. I was going to get a degree from Arizona State. No one was going to tell me otherwise, and no injury was going to get in my way.
After months of trying, my parents finally said yes. I was going to be a normal kid again. I couldn’t stop smiling.
Even though I had been out of school for more than a year, my friends saved me a room in their newly rented house. Not just any room — the master bedroom. They even thought to find a handicap-accessible house. I’m so grateful to those guys. We made some incredible memories together.
One was on the first Halloween after my injury.
That year, my costume was pretty much on point. I had never really been one for Halloween, but I had to take advantage of my situation.
So my friends and I had this crazy idea. I was going to go out to parties dressed as Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump.
It’s alright, you can laugh. It was hilarious.
When we arrived at a party, I showed off my outfit to a couple of friends. We shared some laughs and had a few beers, and then … a group of girls came up to us.
Oh, boy.
They had zero idea about my injury. One of them, clearly impressed by the authenticity of my costume, said something like, “Oh, my God! I can’t believe you went this far.” Another said, “Where’d you get the wheelchair?” And another said, “C’mon, get out of the chair and go put it in the corner.”
I wondered how my friends were going to react. I was cool with going along with it, but I was concerned that they would feel awkward.
Well … my friends burst out laughing.
That solved that, I guess.
We played along with it for the entire night. Man, Lieutenant Dan will surely live in infamy.
A different time, my buddies and I went to this apartment complex for a party.
We arrived and looked around the lobby.
“O.K., where’s the elevator.”
No elevator.
“What floor’s the party on?”
“I think four.”
Oh, shit.
“Guys, wait here. I’ll be back.”
One of my roommates went up to the apartment to scout out the place. Two minutes later, he returned.
“O.K., this is the plan. Cory, just bear with us.”
One of them picked me up out of my wheelchair and threw me over his shoulder, fireman style. I was holding on for dear life. One guy led the way, and one guy followed behind carrying my wheelchair.
Talk about a team effort.
They plopped me down on the couch. One of my buddies asked, “You good?”
“Yeah, I feel good.”
Next thing I knew, everything was just … normal. People were talking to me. My friends were chatting with girls. Everything felt right.
Moments like these — I have so many. They’re so vivid because my friends didn’t care what I looked like. They didn’t care who I was. They just wanted to be with me. They wanted to be my friend. These guys are amazing.
This was why I came back to Arizona State.
***
In 2013, two years after my injury, I received a call from Arizona State’s head baseball coach, Tim Esmay. He had appointed me student-coach when I returned to school after my injury, so I figured we were going to chat about the team.
But that wasn’t the case. He reminded me that the MLB draft was in four or five days.
He said, “I’m not going to tell you who they are, but there have been a few teams that have called me asking if it’d be O.K. to draft you.”
Wait, really?
“Yeah, that’d be an incredible gesture,” I said. “I’m all for it.”
A few days passed and I didn’t think more about that phone call. I wasn’t sure that it was actually going to happen, so I didn’t worry too much.
The first day of the draft was the same day my parents and I flew to Florida to receive an achievement award from the NCAA. I was following the draft on my phone and saw some of my friends get picked pretty early. I was so proud of them.
Once the award ceremony was over, my parents and I returned to the Jacksonville airport. That was when I received a phone call from an area scout in Arizona.
“What do you think about getting drafted? I can’t guarantee anything, but there are talks. Stay tuned.”
Wait, could this actually happen?
I was speechless.
My wheelchair probably left some tread marks in the terminal, because I kept rolling back and forth waiting for my phone to ring. They had just announced last call for my flight, so my parents and I were forced to get on the plane. It was the 32nd round.
I thought, Of course, this would happen.
C’mon. C’mon! Call me!
We were five minutes away from take off. Seatbelts were supposed to be fastened, tray tables were supposed to be in their locked and upright position, and phones were supposed to be off.
But not mine. No way.
As the plane was taxiing, my phone finally rang. Unknown number.
I answered it, trying to shield others from seeing that I was on my phone. On the line was Derrick Hall, CEO and president of the Arizona Diamondbacks — the same Derrick Hall who had visited me in the ICU two years earlier.
“Cory, I just wanted to call you personally and tell you that we’re going to select you in the 34th round, in about four picks. Stay close to your phone.”
I couldn’t believe it. I turned to my parents with my phone still up to my ear, and smiled.
“O.K., O.K. Sounds good. Thank you so much.”
About three minutes later, I received the call I had been waiting for.
Again, it was Derrick on the other end of the line.
“Cory, I just want to personally and officially welcome you to the Diamondbacks organization. We just selected you.”
I looked over to my parents. They were blurry through my tears.
“Thank you so much. I’m so humbled.”
We did it. We’re Diamondbacks.
My parents and I started to cry.
It happened. We did it.
I hung up and shut off my phone.
I smiled all the way home.
***
These days, I’m not much of a ballplayer, although in my heart I always will be.
I recently graduated from Arizona State with my original class despite missing a year of school. For three straight semesters, I took something like 21 class-hours. I never worked so hard in my entire life. I wanted to prove to my parents that they had made the right decision. I wasn’t going to fail. Not for them and not for me. I wanted to show that through hard work, passion, and belief in yourself, we are capable of anything.
After getting drafted, I obviously wasn’t going to play ball for the Diamondbacks. But they still decided to put me to work. Derrick Hall told me that getting drafted wasn’t honorary. It wasn’t symbolic. He told me that I didn’t have to play baseball to add value to the organization.
I’m now a part of our baseball operations department and scout for the team. I analyze high school, college, minor league and major league players.
I’ve been through a bunch of ups and downs. But life is starting to level off a bit — it’s becoming rewarding. The past couple of months have been a ton of fun. Right now the team and I are preparing for the upcoming draft, where we’ll have to make some pretty important decisions on the future of some young kids.
But no matter how normal life is, I’d be lying to you if I said that I didn’t sift through the what ifs whenever I’m watching a game for work or lying in bed at night. It’s tough stuff, and honestly, I struggle with it on a regular basis.
There’s one thing, though, that pulls me out of the dark: perspective. For as tough as it is — for as much as I have to battle all the time — I’ve realized that I’ve come a long way and have been able to do so much good — that I’ve been able to inspire people. To me, that’s what it’s all about.
I promise you I will never give up, I WILL win this battle, I WILL walk again.
On May 8 the whole world will run for those who can’t. The Wings for Life World Run raises money to help find a cure for spinal cord injuries. I invite you to join me in it.
Every person living with a spinal cord injury is just a boy or a girl from somewhere. Their injuries don’t define them. Me, I’m just a boy from Cali. My injury doesn’t define me.
I’m excited about the future of spinal-cord research. Together, we have the power to make an incredible difference. Join me, because I won’t be able to do it without you.
***
Cory Hahn serves as an ambassador for the Wings for Life World Run, which is dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injury. For more information, visit wingsforlifeworldrun.com.I always feel on edge when I'm watching a movie that features a silent or timid character. Those members of the cast are always the biggest wildcards. They wait in the background, not fully immersed in the main action and this makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. You're always waiting for this selective mute or shy person to erupt into a tirade or a witty banter. The movie seems to be building up to the part where Jimmy Chitwood saves Gene Hackman's job, or George McFly punches Biff, or the giant dude in Gone in 60 seconds reveals he's a British genius (kidding). The movie is left unresolved if there's a character who doesn't ever seem to maximize their potential and pop out of their shell. This is what makes me so frustrated with Michonne on The Walking Dead, she lurks in the background with the proles and fill ins of the show, but you know she has more, yet she never shows it. Sure, she stabs the Governor's eye out with a fish tank, but she never has that one moment and the audience is left feeling unsatisfied. A character like that doesn't belong in the background, they need their moment where they come into the fold as a true contributor.
The Spurs have been known for always having the supporting cast and always having the role players who do their part. The "next man up," theme is a common one for the Spurs. We have seen guys like Speedy Claxton, Malik Rose, Steve Kerr, Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Fabricio Oberto, George Hill all operate like those second tier cast members in a movie. They'll occasionally offer a line of comic relief or save the day somehow, but they never really jump into the fold as a star. They're Shorty type characters from Temple of Doom or Joe Pesci's from Lethal Weapon. They support the stars and that is fine. Like on this current team we need the role playing Danny Greens and Gary Neals of the world to be Lando Calrissian's and drive the millennium falcon into the Death Stars, while the Big 3 fights Vader/The Emperor. That's great. But, to play off of the idea written about in last month's Grantland, in order to hang another banner in the AT&T center rafters, we need Kawhi Leonard to snap. He can't be a Fransisco Elson or even a Bruce Bowen, he has to immerse himself into the Big 3. Because they simply cannot do it anymore. Old Gene Hackman needed Jimmy Chitwood to stand up for him, and we need Kawhi Leonard to become a star. He isn't like any Spur we have ever had, and if he stays in the background like the other role players, we will be left so unsatisfied, because those dunks and those few games have shown us he is so much more than a filler.
Don't get me wrong, Leonard is literally my 5th favorite Spur ever (yes, already, behind D Rob and the big 3), but Leonard needs to be more than a next man up/latest Pop project for us to have a chance at hanging a banner or even taking this series back. Leonard has played great in the first two games, providing clutch shots, fast break energy and great Bowen-esque pestering D on Curry. Save a few missed free throws (and missed threes) and he's been almost perfect. But 18 points and 11 points (respectively in games 1 and 2) don't make him anything more than another Classic Spur who gives heft and form to the supporting cast. The reason we haven't won a Championship since 08 is we had some older Luke Skywalkers and a bunch of Admiral Ackbar's, and we need a Han Solo. Losing out on Luis Scola was big and we failed with Richard Jefferson as bad as Star Wars did with Jar Jar Binks. We need for Kawhi Leonard to show what's behind those timid eyes and erupt this weekend in Oakland. He has to go off, I want to see him post up people like Jarrett Jack or Curry anytime Thompson leaves for Parker. I want to see him demand the ball on the perimeter and make the longer defenders leave Parker and Manu alone. He needs to fearlessly run the court and have that moment, that game where he becomes one of the Stars, not stay a Nazr Mohammed.
The reason we hung two more banners in 2005 and 2007 was because Manu became more than just a "fun and crazy" foreign player in 2005. He wasn't just a classic Spur anymore who occasionally delivered Steve Kerr/Memorial Day Miracle type moments. He became a legend, a player who snapped and terrified defenses with his recklessness and speed. Do you remember his 48 point game in 2OT against Phoenix? When a gangly, long-haired, big-nosed faux-European became Manu Ginobil? We need a night or a weekend like that from Leonard. Because the Big Three can't rely on a team of "classic spurs" anymore. They'll have their moments, but they always have the feel of that Old Band who can rock your face off one last time. I keep waiting for the farewell tour. So, We need Kawhi to snap like the mute kid did in the Billy Bob Thornton's Friday Night Lights.
We need a star to be born and the Warriors left not knowing what to do. May their minds be blown with OUR young star who has all the potential in the world. We aren't asking you to be Steph Curry, Kawhi, just Han Solo. Knock that block off Biff's shoulder, George McFly, knock him out.Kevin Drew to Exhibit Original Artwork with Debut Gallery Show in Toronto
Published Mar 22, 2016
You A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Nov 20, 2015 at 1:56am PST
Self portrait A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Dec 16, 2015 at 9:30am PST
Us A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Dec 20, 2015 at 11:17am PST
Words A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Dec 22, 2015 at 7:44am PST
I'm always up there with you A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Jan 2, 2016 at 8:05am PST
We are all in this together A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Jan 5, 2016 at 6:46am PST
Is this you? A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Feb 21, 2016 at 6:21pm PST
A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Mar 4, 2016 at 3:06pm PST
A photo posted by KevinThomasMccarthyDrew (@kevinselection) on Mar 19, 2016 at 8:50am PDT
Between his work with Broken Social Scene and his self-titled solo project, music has long been Kevin Drew's primary form of artistic expression. Now, the celebrated Canadian songwriter is set to show off another creative avenue with his first-ever art show.Titled Skid Marks of the Soul, the show will host a series of original art pieces from Drew in Toronto for two weeks. In a flyer posted to Instagram today (March 22), a quote from Drew describes the exhibit as "a reaction to the constant noise. Descriptions of colour chaos amongst the stolen moments," before slyly adding, "It's my first art show. Who knows..."The show will take place at the city's Analogue Gallery, opening with a "celebration" from 7 to 10 p.m. EDT on April 14 and will run until April 28. Interested viewers can email [email protected] to RSVP.For a taste of what you might see at the show, take a look at some of Drew's work through his Instagram account below. Whether any pieces were created with his signature body butter remains to be seen.There are a number of data architectures you could use when building a multi-tenant app. Some, such as using one database per customer or one schema per customer, have trade-offs when it comes to larger scale. The other option is to build the notion of tenancy directly into the logic of your SaaS application. With django-multitenant and Citus, built-in tenancy becomes much easier to put in place for your application without having to re-invent the wheel yourself.
Our django-multitenant Python library, enables easy scale out of applications that are built on top of Django and follow a multi tenant data model. This Python library has evolved from our experience working with SaaS customers, scaling out their multi-tenant apps.
You can get started at the application level setup with:
Including package django-multitenant into your requirements.txt, Running pip install -r requirements.txt,
Once you’ve done the installation. You’ll want to import that package and begin updating your models to leverage the package:
class Product ( TenantModel ): store = models. ForeignKey ( Store ) tenant_id ='store_id' name = models. CharField ( max_length = 255 ) description = models. TextField () class Meta ( object ): unique_together = [ "id", "store" ]
In the above there are three changes to your app which you’d make to each model that relates to a tenant:
Inherit from TenantModel when creating your model Specify the field that is your tenant_id on each model. Set id and store as a unique_together constraint.
Do the above and you should be set to prep your multi-tenant application for scaling when you need it. But there’s more.
What happens when you don’t want to have to think about scoping the tenant? With django-multitenant you can easily put in place your own logic that hooks into the Django authentication infrastructure and sets the appropriate tenant as a request comes in.
To do this we’ll write some middleware which sets/unsets a tenant for each session/request. This way you don’t have to worry about setting a tenant on a per view basis. Let’s set it at authentication and the library would ensure the rest (adding tenant_id filters to the queries). This way you do not need to worry about setting a tenant on a per view basis.
Here’s a sample of what such would look like:
class SetCurrentTenantFromUser ( object ): def process_request ( self, request ): if not hasattr ( self, 'authenticator' ): from rest_framework_jwt.authentication import JSONWebTokenAuthentication self. authenticator = JSONWebTokenAuthentication () try : user, _ = self. authenticator. authenticate ( request ) except : # TODO: handle failure return try : # Assuming your app has a function to get the tenant associated for a user current_tenant = get_tenant_for_user ( user ) except : # TODO: handle failure return set_current_tenant ( current_tenant ) def process_response ( self, request, response ): set_current_tenant ( None ) return response MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES = ( 'our_app.utils.multitenancy.SetCurrentTenantFromUser', )
Going beyond Django middleware
Middleware works great and would suffice to scope your application, another approach is to set the tenant using setcurrenttenant(t) api in all the views which you want to be scoped based on tenant. This allows you to scope django API calls automatically (without specifying explicit filters) to a single tenant. If the current_tenant is not set, then the default/native API without tenant scoping is used.
Let’s take a look at how that works:
def application_function : # current_tenant can be stored as a SESSION variable when a user logs in. # This should be done by the app t = current_tenant #set the tenant set_current_tenant ( t ); #Django ORM API calls; #Command 1; #Command 2;
Most of API calls are supported by this library, some of the examples are listed below
# Most of the APIs under Model.objects.* except select_related(). # Examples: s = Store. objects. all ()[ 0 ] set_current_tenant ( s ) # All the below API calls would add suitable tenant filters. # Simple get_queryset() Product. objects. get_queryset () # Joins Purchase. objects. filter ( id = 1 ). filter ( store__name = 'The Awesome Store' ). filter ( product__description = 'All products are awesome' ) # Updates Purchase. objects. filter ( id = 1 ). update ( id = 1 ) # Saves p = Product ( 8, 1, 'Awesome Shoe', 'These shoes are awesome' ) p. save () # Aggregates Product. objects. count () Product. objects. filter ( store__name = 'The Awesome Store' ). count () # Subqueries Product. objects. filter ( name = 'Awesome |
another year or so of little warming would put global temperature trends outside the accepted range model prognostications.
So, clearly, the picture is a lot more complicated than CO2 in/catastrophic climate change out. It is just that most environmental alarmists (reporters included) don’t like to think of it as such.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed the slanted reporting coming from the coverage of the AAAS meeting. University of Colorado researcher and renowned climatologist Roger Pielke Sr. had this to say at over at his ClimateScience blog:
Since papers and weblogs have documented that the warming is being over-estimated in recent years, and, thus, these sources of information are readily available to the reporters, there is, therefore, no other alternative than these reporters are deliberately selecting a biased perspective to promote a particular viewpoint on climate. The reporting of this news without presenting counter viewpoints is clearly an example of yellow journalism; “Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers.” When will the news media and others realize that by presenting such biased reports, which are easily refuted by real world data, they are losing their credibility among many in the scientific community as well as with the public.
Good question.CTV Montreal
It was once the most revered building in hockey but 21 years after the Canadiens departed, the Montreal Forum has fallen on hard times.
Thousands of fans used to mob the Forum to watch the beloved Habs, who won 22 of their 24 Stanley Cups while calling the building home but the team departed for Bell Centre (then called the Molson Centre) in 1996.
Five years later, it reopened as an entertainment complex that featured a movie theatre, restaurants and other amenities, all while maintaining a replica of the former centre ice of the arena it once was.
It was to be an economic shot in the arm for the area between Guy and Atwater, but many of the businesses that once called the building home have since departed. Future Shop closed its location four years ago and a SAQ store is set to move to a new location on Ste-Catherine St. on April 19.
Building manager Andre Jude said several factors played a role in the decline, including changes to the entertainment industry and the state of the neighbourhood.
“There was a period of almost 10 years in this area where nothing happened,” he said.
That period of decay could be at an end. Over the last five years, 1,200 new apartment and condos have been constructed in the area with another 1,400 being built on the former site of the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
“The area is probably undergoing its most significant transformation since the early 20th century,” said Jude.
To capitalize, Jude said he’s trying to attract new businesses to the Forum, with a focus on restaurants.
“We have a rather unique food emporium coming into the southwest area where Guido’s and Angelina’s and Eggspectation used to be,” he said.
With so many new living units being built, there’s also hope of attracting more home décor retailers.
Meanwhile, there are plans for Dawson College, which uses the forum as a satellite campus, to expand its presence and the owners are looking into the possibility of building housing above the current structure.
“We will be pursuing the feasibility to densify this building,” said Jude. “We have the right to do so after this phase, which take about two years.”This is a "basics" article, intended for introducing people to the concept of existential risk.
On September 26, 1983, Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov saved the world.
Three weeks earlier, Soviet interceptors had shot down a commercial jet, thinking it was on a spy mission. All 269 passengers were killed, including active U.S. senator Lawrence McDonald. President Reagan called the Soviet Union an “evil empire" in response. It was one of the most intense periods of the Cold War.
Just after midnight on September 26, Petrov sat in a secret bunker, monitoring early warning systems. He did this only twice a month, and it wasn’t his usual shift; he was filling in for the shift crew leader.
One after another, five missiles from the USA appeared on the screen. A siren wailed, and the words "ракетном нападении" ("Missile Attack") appeared in red letters. Petrov checked with his crew, who reported that all systems were operating properly. The missiles would reach their targets in Russia in mere minutes.
Protocol dictated that he press the flashing red button before him to inform his superiors of the attack so they could decide whether to launch a nuclear counterattack. More than 100 crew members stood in silence behind him, awaiting his decision.
"I thought for about a minute," Petrov recalled. "I thought I’d go crazy... It was as if I was sitting on a bed of hot coals."
Petrov broke protocol and went with his gut. He refused to believe what the early warning system was telling him.
His gut was right. Russian satellites had misinterpreted shiny reflections on the Earth’s surface as missile launches. Russia was not under attack.
If Petrov had pressed the red button, and his superiors had launched a counterattack, the USA would have detected the incoming Russian missiles and launched their own missiles before they could be destroyed in the ground. Soviet and American missiles would have passed in the night sky over the still, silent Arctic before detonating over hundreds of targets — each detonation more destructive than all the bombs dropped in World War II combined, including the atomic bombs that vaporized Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most of the Northern Hemisphere would have been destroyed.
Petrov was reprimanded and offered early retirement. To pay his bills, he took jobs as a taxi driver and a security guard. The biggest award he ever received for saving the world was a "World Citizen Award" and $1000 from a small organization based in San Francisco. He spent half the award on a new vacuum cleaner.
During his talk at Singularity Summit 2011 in New York City, hacker Jaan Tallinn drew an important lesson from the story of Stanislav Petrov:
Contrary to our intuition that society is more powerful than any individual or group, it was not society that wrote history on that day... It was Petrov....Our future is increasingly determined by individuals and small groups wielding powerful technologies. And society is quite incompetent when it comes to predicting and handling the consequences.
Tallinn knows a thing or two about powerful technologies making global impact. Kazaa, the file-sharing program he co-developed, was once responsible for half of all Internet traffic. He went on to develop the internet calling program Skype, which in 2010 accounted for 13% of all international calls.
Where could he go from there? After reading dozens of articles about the cognitive science of rationality, Tallinn realized:
In order to maximize your impact in the world, you should behave as a prudent investor. You should look for underappreciated [concerns] with huge potential.
Tallinn found the biggest pool of underappreciated concerns in the domain of “existential risks": things that might go horribly wrong and wipe out our entire species, like nuclear war.
The documentary Countdown to Zero shows how serious the nuclear threat is. At least 8 nations have their own nuclear weapons, and the USA has given nuclear weapons to 5 others. There are enough nuclear weapons around to destroy the world several times over, and the risk of a mistake remains even after the cold war. In 1995, Russian president Boris Yeltsin had the “nuclear suitcase" — capable of launching a barrage of nuclear missiles — open in front of him. Russian radar had mistaken a weather rocket for a US submarine-launched ballistic missile. Like Petrov before him, Yeltsin disbelieved his equipment and refused to press the red button. Next time we might not be so lucky.
But it's not just nuclear risks we have to worry about. As Sun Microsystems’ co-founder Bill Joy warned in his much-discussed article Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us, emerging technologies like synthetic biology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence may quickly become even more powerful than nuclear bombs, and even greater threats to the human species. Perhaps the International Union for Conservation of Nature will need to reclassify Homo sapiens as an endangered species.
Academics are beginning to accept that humanity lives on a knife’s edge. The famous physicists Martin Rees and John Leslie have written books about existential risk, titled Our Final Hour: A Scientist’s Warning and The End of the World: The Science and Ethics of Human Extinction. In 2008, Oxford University Press published Global Catastrophic Risks, inviting experts to summarize what we know about a variety of existential risks. New research institutes have been formed to investigate the subject, including the Singularity Institute in San Francisco and the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University.
Governments, too, are taking notice. In the USA, NASA was given a congressional mandate to catalogue all near-earth objects that are one kilometer or more in diameter, because an impact with such a large object would be catastrophic. President Bush established the National Nanotechnology Initiative to ensure the safe development of molecule-sized materials and machines. (Precisely self-replicating molecular machines could multiply themselves out of control, consuming resources required for human survival.) Many nations are working to reduce nuclear armaments, which pose the risk of human extinction by global nuclear war.
The public, however, remains mostly unaware of the risks. Existential risk is an unpleasant and scary topic, and may sound too distant or complicated to discuss in the mainstream media. For now, discussion of existential risk remains largely constrained to academia and a few government agencies.
The concern for existential risks may appeal to one other group: analytically-minded "social entrepreneurs" who want to have a positive impact on the world, and are accustomed to making decisions based on calculation. Tallinn fits this description, as does Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel. These two are among the largest donors to Singularity Institute, an organization focused on the reduction of existential risks from artificial intelligence.
What is it about the topic of existential risk that appeals to people who act by calculation? The analytic case for doing good by reducing existential risk was laid out decades ago by moral philosopher Derek Parfit:
The Earth will remain inhabitable for at least another billion years. Civilization began only a few thousand years ago. If we do not destroy mankind, these few thousand years may be only a tiny fraction of the whole of civilized human history....Classical Utilitarians... would claim... that the destruction of mankind would be by far the greatest of all conceivable crimes. The badness of this crime would lie in the vast reduction of the possible sum of happiness... For [others] what matters are... the Sciences, the Arts, and moral progress... The destruction of mankind would prevent further achievements of these three kinds.
Our technology gives us great power. If we can avoid using this power to destroy ourselves, then we can use it to spread throughout the galaxy and create structures and experiences of value on an unprecedented scale.
Reducing existential risk — that is, carefully and thoughtfully preparing to not kill ourselves — may be the greatest moral imperative we have.Home for John Rathwell and Tracy Guenard is a pretty small space these days: since May of 2016, the Gatineau, Quebec couple has been crisscrossing Canada and the United States in a newly-polished 1991 Volkswagen Westfalia, meeting people and sharing their stories of pursuing happiness.
“It’s a beautiful van,” says Guenard. “It’s small — 15 feet long — but it’s got all we need, really. It’s got two beds — actually, we could sleep four in here, if it’s a tight space — we have a sink, a two-burner stove, water, a little fridge […] and on the roof, we have stand-up paddleboards, a big Thule box with gear if we want to go hiking or camping, and in the back, we have our mountain bikes.”
The project, dubbed Searching for Sero, aims to shine a light on mental wellness and suicide prevention. It’s a topic that has touched the two quite closely: within a span of mere months, Rathwell lost his father to suicide, and Guenard lost her aunt.
“My dad had just retired,” says Rathwell. “Standing on the other side, to me, [he] finally had his whole life in front of him. He worked seven days a week; he took every overtime shift he could get; he drove an hour and a half just to get to work. And now he’s retired; he’s finally free. But I guess that wasn’t really the case.”
“You wonder about life in a very different way than you would if someone you loved died from natural [causes],” adds Guenard. “There’s a lot of thinking associated with it. And not only do you question that person’s life, you question your own as well — and that’s what we found ourselves doing.”
“I had what most people call the ‘golden ticket’: a permanent job, good salary, good pension, all of that. I had a condo in Gatineau; I was pretty well settled, but then I decided to let it all go and go for a life of adventure and something quite different.” – Tracy Guenard
With a growing feeling that there was more to life than what they were getting out of it, the two eventually came up with a plan to travel across the continent and collect stories from the inspiring people they met. Rathwell, a renowned adventure sports photographer, would gather the photos; Guenard, with her background in criminology and youth intervention, would handle the writing. After Guenard told Rathwell about her readings into the connection between the neurotransmitter serotonin and happiness, the project’s name was born.
“At first, it was just going to be a summer thing […] It kind of started to take its form over the course of that winter and spring into what it is now,” says Rathwell.
“[It’s] a ridiculous idea,” Guenard laughs. “You roll into town and randomly look for people you don’t know, and hopefully they want to talk to you, and let you take photos, and write their life down on paper. Yeah, that’s going to work, right?”
So far, it has — with over 60 stories amassed over the past 16-odd months spent travelling across Canada, and then south into the United States. The couple’s story has spread across the continent, amassing thousands of followers on social media.
“The variety of stories we have now […] everybody’s is so unique. And everybody we talk to motivates us in their own unique way,” says Rathwell.
As for what the couple has learned from the experience?
“Nobody can tell you what brings happiness. That needs to come from inside. That needs to come from you,” says Rathwell. “You can’t buy happiness; you need to go find it.”The mini mOwayDuino robot – powered by an Arduino Leonardo (ATmega32u4) board – is equipped with a wide range of sensors, including anti-collision, directional light intensity and opto-reflective infrared.
The little robot is also fitted with an RGB LED indicator, frontal LED, red rear LEDs, three-axis accelerometer, microphone, radio frequency module, a two-hour LiPo rechargeable battery and an SPI expansion kit.
In addition, the mOwayduino crew has designed a number of hardware add-ons, including a WiFi module that allows users to control the ‘bot via a mobile device or link with social network sites and email servers. Meanwhile, an optional camera streams real-time images to a PC, helping the mOwayduino learn how to recognize shapes or colors and respond to visual codes.
On the software side, the mOwayDuino robot can be programmed via Arduino’s IDE (Integrated Development Environment), as well as Java, Python and Scratch.
According to TechCrunch, the Indiegogo campaign to fund production of the ‘bot will kick off in less than two weeks.
“If we succeed, in three months, it will be on market. For people supporting the Indiegogo project, mOwayduino will be available at a special price,” a company rep told the publication. “If we exceed the money we need for the production, we will develop a graphical programming app for tablets.”CTV Kitchener
Innovation was the word on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s lips Thursday as he visited three Waterloo Region organizations that know the concept very well.
His day started in the morning, with a stop at the University of Waterloo.
At the school, he toured through a science lab, getting a firsthand look at some of its inventions and research.
“This is about getting the word out there, and making sure that the university and this area is known as the innovation hub,” said Harry Gandhi, who co-founded Medella Health, a company developing contact lenses that can measure the blood glucose levels of diabetics wearing the lenses.
Speaking to a large crowd at Needles Hall, the prime minister announced that the federal government plans to invest up to $12 million on research into clean water technologies.
The money is going to the Southern Ontario Water Consortium – a group of 10 universities working to help Ontario companies push new, clean water technologies into the marketplace.
“Southern Ontario companies will have the opportunity to develop and accelerate the commercialization of new technologies in all areas of water and wastewater treatment and monitoring,” Trudeau said.
“This will make them stronger global competitors, and grow local and regional economies in the process.”
University of Waterloo president Feridun Hamdullahpur told the assembled crowd that “years of hard scientific work and scholarship” led up to Thursday’s announcement.
“This is a model partnership for science and innovation that will serve the needs of our society … but also the economic opportunities for our province and country,” he said.
Leaving Needles Hall, the prime minister found the Waterloo campus lined with huge groups of students look to take photos of or with him.
Trudeau’s next stop was the headquarters of BlackBerry, where he received a private tour.
After that, he headed to Kitchener to take part in the opening of Google Canada’s new office on Breithaupt Street.
Speaking to the media at Google, Trudeau talked up Waterloo Region as an "extraordinary" innovation hub.
“What’s happening here really, really matters," he said.Best Answer: Deliver Pizza - I do and it is great
First you are usually in your car listening to your favorite music all evening and you drive from the pizza place to peoples houses and they pay you for it. Occasionally, you are in the store folding boxes or maybe taking an order or pulling a pizza off of the oven... but wait why does it pay good
YESSSS
First you get minimum wage or better per hour for showing up. Currently, I get 6.25 and hour and Domino's pays an extra.25 per hour for having their sign on your car. As well you get 1.00 for every order you take out the door plus you get tips which on average are 2.00 per order. So, lets do the math....
Lets assume that your an average driver and you get 3 deliveries per hour... 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back 3 times is an hour.... that would be as follows
6.25 +.25 = 6.50 per hour you will get in a check every 2 weeks
3 orders per hour would get you 3.00 for orders and an average of 2 dollars tip per each order would get you 6.00 in tips for a total of 9.00 per hour in tips and orders.
that would be on average about 15.00 per hour but this depends on nights and business rushes. I do this on a regular basis and change periodically to avoid burn out.
Finally, I would suggest this type of work because it requires almost no professional work and very little liability. It is fun and easy has no preparation and you can find a job easily and the best part is that they are so easy to find and you already have a main job that you can quit at any time and find another.... another bonus is that if you get lucky on some shifts the manager doesn't mind if you drop a large pizza and cinna-stiks in the oven to cook on your last run of the night that would be ready just before you go home on a long night... hey that is an extra 15 to 20 dollars...
it is kinda blue collar but limited boss interaction and most people are glad to see you... it is also one you can do during school if you want.... i do occasionally during the winters on Saturdays and another evening during the week that is not to busy for me during school...
Check it out and think about it...it usually comes to about 20 hours a week during the summer and this will get you about an average of $200 plus or minus a few in tips and trips during each week and about $200 every two weeks in a check from the company for an extra $1000 a month for about 80 hours of work...
I have worked for Pizza Hut, Dominos, and Papa Johns... they are similar only made different by the people who work there
20 years teaching math in adult corrections, juvenile corrections, alternative schools and special ed...
hey if you try this and it works remember this question and send me an e-mail to tell me what you think....
I always pick my extra work as jobs that pay good and you can have fun... another interesting one is being a white water rafting guide... oh and just fyi... companies on the rivers train their guides.... it is a blast and great for practicing your story telling techniques to earn extra on tips... on the Ocoee in TN you get $30 for a hour and a half ride plus tips which usually average $5 per person on the boat... about $30-50 a trip...
on any one day you could get 3 trips for $90 and about $150 in tips but it can be dangerous but only if you have trouble paying attention to details or safety...
hope these suggestions help open up the possibilities...
AVOID ANY TYPE OF TEACHING.... this will help you avoid burnout during the regular year
Source(s):
Anonymous · 1 decade agoAt a time when it’s become a cliché to say that Occupy Wall Street has changed the nation’s political conversation -- drawing long overdue attention to the struggles of the 99 percent -- electoral politics and the 2012 presidential election have become almost exclusively defined by the 1 percent. Or, to be more precise, the.0000063 percent. Those are the 196 individual donors who have provided nearly 80 percent of the money raised by super PACs in 2011 by giving $100,000 or more each.
These political action committees, spawned by the Supreme Court’s 5-4 Citizens United decision in January 2010, can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations or unions for the purpose of supporting or opposing a political candidate. In theory, super PACs are legally prohibited from coordinating directly with a candidate, though in practice they’re just a murkier extension of political campaigns, performing all the functions of a traditional campaign without any of the corresponding accountability.
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If 2008 was the year of the small donor, when many political pundits (myself included) predicted that the fusion of grass-roots organizing and cyber-activism would transform how campaigns were run, then 2012 is "the year of the big donor," when a candidate is only as good as the amount of money in his super PAC. “In this campaign, every candidate needs his own billionaires,” wrote Jane Mayer of the New Yorker.
“This really is the selling of America,” claims former presidential candidate and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean. “We’ve been sold out by five justices thanks to the Citizens United decision.” In truth, our democracy was sold to the highest bidder long ago, but in the 2012 election the explosion of super PACs has shifted the public’s focus to the staggering inequality in our political system, just as the Occupy movement shined a light on the gross inequity of the economy. The two, of course, go hand in hand.
“We’re going to beat money power with people power,” Newt Gingrich said after losing to Mitt Romney in Florida as January ended. The walking embodiment of the lobbying-industrial complex, Gingrich made that statement even though his candidacy is being propped up by a super PAC funded by two $5 million donations from Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. It might have been more amusing if the GOP presidential primary weren’t a case study of a contest long on money and short on participation.
The Wesleyan Media Project recently reported a 1,600 percent increase in interest-group-sponsored TV ads in this cycle as compared to the 2008 primaries. Florida has proven the battle royal of the super PACs thus far. There, the pro-Romney super PAC, Restore Our Future, outspent the pro-Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future, 5-to-1. In the last week of the campaign alone, Romney and his allies ran 13,000 TV ads in Florida, compared to only 200 for Gingrich. Ninety-two percent of the ads were negative in nature, with two-thirds attacking Gingrich, who, ironically enough, had been a fervent advocate of the Citizens United decision.
With the exception of Ron Paul’s underdog candidacy and Rick Santorum’s upset victory in Iowa -- where he spent almost no money but visited all of the state’s 99 counties -- the Republican candidates and their allied super PACs have all but abandoned retail campaigning and grass-roots politicking. They have chosen instead to spend their war chests on TV.
The results can already be seen in the first primaries and caucuses: an onslaught of money and a demobilized electorate. It’s undoubtedly no coincidence that, when compared with 2008, turnout was down 25 percent in Florida, and that, this time around, fewer Republicans have shown up in every state that’s voted so far, except for South Carolina. According to political scientists Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar, negative TV ads contribute to “a political implosion of apathy and withdrawal.” New York Times columnist Tim Egan has labeled the post-Citizens United era “your democracy on meth.”
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The.01 Percent Primary
More than 300 super PACs are now registered with the Federal Election Commission. The one financed by the greatest number of small donors belongs to Stephen Colbert, who’s turned his TV show into a brilliant commentary on the deformed super PAC landscape. Colbert’s satirical super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, has raised $1 million from 31,595 people, including 1,600 people who gave $1 each. Consider this a rare show of people power in 2012.
Otherwise the super PACs on both sides of the aisle are financed by the 1 percent of the 1 percent. Romney’s Restore Our Future super PAC, founded by the general counsel of his 2008 campaign, has led the herd, raising $30 million, 98 percent from donors who gave $25,000 or more. $10 million came from just 10 donors who gave $1 million each. These included three hedge-fund managers and Houston Republican Bob Perry, the main funder behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004, whose scurrilous ads did such an effective job of destroying John Kerry’s electoral prospects. Sixty-five percent of the funds that poured into Romney’s super PAC in the second half of 2011 came from the finance, insurance and real estate sector, otherwise known as the people who brought you the economic meltdown of 2007-2008.
Romney’s campaign has raised twice as much as his super PAC, which is more than you can say for Rick Santorum, whose super PAC -- Red, White & Blue -- has raised and spent more than the candidate himself. Forty percent of the $2 million that has so far gone into Red, White & Blue came from just one man, Foster Friess, a conservative hedge-fund billionaire and Christian evangelical from Wyoming.
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In the wake of Santorum’s upset victories in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on Feb. 7, Friess told the New York Times that he’d recruited $1 million for Santorum’s super PAC from another (unnamed) donor and upped his own giving, though he wouldn’t say by how much. We won’t find out until the next campaign disclosure filing in three months, by which time the GOP primary will almost certainly be decided.
For now, Gingrich’s sugar daddy Adelson has pledged to stay with his flagging campaign, but he’s also signaled that if the former speaker of the House goes down, he’ll be ready to donate even more super PAC money to a Romney presidential bid. And keep in mind that there’s nothing in the post-Citizens United law to stop a donor like Adelson, hell-bent on preventing the Obama administration from standing in the way of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, from giving $100 million, or for that matter, however much he likes.
Before Citizens United, the maximum amount one person could give to a candidate was $2,500; for a political action committee, $5,000; for a political party committee, $30,800. Now, the sky’s the limit for a super PAC, and even more disturbingly, any donor can give an unlimited contribution to a 501(c)(4) -- outfits defined by the IRS as “civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare,” and to make matters worse, that contribution will remain eternally secret. In this way, American politics is descending further into the darkness, with 501(c)(4)s quickly gaining influence as “shadow super PACs.”
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A recent analysis by the Washington Post found that, at a cost of $24 million, 40 percent of the TV ads in the presidential race so far came from these tax-exempt “social welfare” groups. The Karl Rove-founded American Crossroads, a leading conservative super PAC attacking Democratic candidates and the Obama administration, also runs a 501(c)(4) called Crossroads GPS. It’s raised twice as much money as its sister group, all from donations whose sources will remain hidden from American voters. Serving as a secret slush fund for billionaires evidently now qualifies as social welfare.
The Income Defense Industry
In his book "Oligarchy," political scientist Jeffrey Winters refers to the disproportionately wealthy and influential actors in the political system as the “Income Defense Industry.” If you want to know how the moneyed class, who prospered during the Bush and Clinton years, found a way to kill or water down nearly everything it objected to in the Obama years, look no further than the grip of the 1 percent of the 1 percent on our political system.
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This simple fact explains why hedge-fund managers pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries, or why the U.S. is the only industrialized nation without a single-payer universal healthcare system, or why the planet continues to warm at an unprecedented pace while we do nothing to combat global warming. Money usually buys elections and, whoever is elected, it almost always buys influence.
In the 2010 election, the 1 percent of the 1 percent accounted for 25 percent of all campaign-related donations, totaling $774 million, and 80 percent of all donations to the Democratic and Republican parties, the highest percentage since 1990. In congressional races in 2010, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the candidate who spent the most money won 85 percent of House races and 83 percent of Senate races.
The media loves an underdog story, but nowadays the underdog is ever less likely to win. Given the cost of running campaigns and the overwhelming premium on outspending your opponent, it’s no surprise that nearly half the members of Congress are millionaires, and the median net worth of a U.S. senator is $2.56 million.
The influence of super PACs was already evident by November 2010, just nine months after the Supreme Court’s ruling. John Nichols and Robert McChesney of the Nation note that, of the 53 competitive House districts where Rove’s Crossroads organization outspent Democratic candidates in 2010, Republicans won 51. As it turned out, however, the last election was a mere test run for the monetary extravaganza that is 2012.
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Republicans are banking on that super PAC advantage again this year, when the costs of the presidential contest and all other races for federal posts will soar from $5 billion in 2008 to as high as $7 billion by November. (The 2000 election cost a “mere” $3 billion.) In other words, the amount spent this election season will be roughly the equivalent of the gross domestic product of Haiti.
The Myth of Small Donors
In June 2003, presidential candidate Howard Dean shocked the political establishment by raising $828,000 in one day over the Internet, with an average donation of $112. Dean, in fact, got 38 percent of his campaign’s total funds from donations of $200 or less, planting the seeds for what many forecast would be a small-donor revolution in American politics.
Four years later, Barack Obama raised a third of his record-breaking $745 million campaign haul from small donors, while Ron Paul raised 39 percent from small dollars on the Republican side. Much of Paul’s campaign was financed by online “money bombs,” when enthusiastic supporters generated millions of dollars in brief, coordinated bursts. The amount of money raised in small donations by Obama, in particular, raised hopes that his campaign had found a way to break the death grip of big donors on American politics.
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In retrospect, the small-donor utopianism surrounding Obama seems naive. Despite all the adulatory media attention about his small donors, the candidate still raised the bulk of his money from big givers. (Typically, these days, incumbent members of Congress raise less than 10 percent of their campaign funds from small donors, with those numbers actually dropping when you reach the gubernatorial and state legislative levels.) Obama’s top contributors included employees of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, hardly standard bearers for the little guy. For obvious reasons, the campaign chose to emphasize the small donors over the big ones in its narrative, as it continues to do in 2012.
Interestingly enough, both Obama and Paul actually raised more money from small donors in 2011 than they did in 2008, 48 percent and 52 percent of their totals, respectively. But in the super PAC era that money no longer has the same impact. Even Dean doubts that his anti-establishment, Internet-fueled campaign from 2004 would be as successful today. “Super PACs have made a grass-roots campaign less effective,” he says. “You can still run a grass-roots campaign but the problem is you can be overwhelmed now on television and by dirty mailers being sent out... It’s a very big change from 2008.”
Obama is a candidate with a split personality, which makes his campaign equally schizophrenic. The Obama campaign claims it’s raising 98 percent of its money from small donors and is “building the biggest grass-roots campaign in American history,” according to campaign manager Jim Messina. But the starry-eyed statistics and the rhetoric that accompanies it are deeply misleading. Of the $89 million raised in 2011 by the Obama Joint Victory Fund, a collaboration of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Obama campaign, 74 percent came from donations of $20,000 or more and 99 percent from donations of $1,000 or more.
The campaign has 445 “bundlers” (dubbed “volunteer fundraisers” by the campaign), who gather money from their wealthy friends and package it for Obama. They have raised at least $74.4 million for Obama and the DNC in 2011. Sixty-one of those bundlers raised $500,000 or more. Obama held 73 fundraisers in 2011 and 13 last month alone, where the price of admission was almost always $35,800 a head.
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An increase in small donor contributions and a surge of big money fundraisers still wasn’t enough, however, to give Obama an advantage over Republicans in the money chase. That’s why the Obama campaign, until recently adamantly against super PACs, suddenly relented and signaled its support for a pro-Obama super PAC called Priorities USA.
A day after the announcement that the campaign, like its Republican rivals, would super PAC it up, Messina spoke at the members-only Core Club in Manhattan and “assured a group of Democratic donors from the financial services industry that Obama won’t demonize Wall Street as he stresses populist appeals in his re-election campaign,” reported Bloomberg Businessweek. “Messina told the group of Wall Street donors that the president plans to run against Romney, not the industry that made the former governor of Massachusetts millions.”
In other words, don’t expect a convincing return to the theme of the people versus the powerful in campaign 2012, even though Romney, if the nominee, would be particularly vulnerable to that line of attack. After all, so far his campaign has raised only 9 percent of its campaign contributions from small donors, well behind both Sen. John McCain, 21 percent in 2008, and George W. Bush, 26 percent in 2004.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, Romney outraised Obama among the top firms on Wall Street by a margin of 11 to 1. His top three campaign contributions are from employees of Goldman Sachs ($496,430), JPMorgan ($317,400) and Morgan Stanley ($277,850). The banks have fallen out of favor with the public, but their campaign cash is indispensable among the political class and so they remain as powerful as ever in American politics.
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In a recent segment of his show, Stephen Colbert noted that half of the money ($67 million) raised by super PACs in 2011 had come from just 22 people. “That’s 7 one-millionths of 1 percent," or roughly.00000071 percent, Colbert said while spraying a fire extinguisher on his fuming calculator. “So Occupy Wall Street, you’re going to want to change those signs.”
To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com here.As I mentioned in my recent blog post Angular 2 is a complete rewrite. Many concepts that are known from Angular 1.x are gone or changed dramatically. Angular 2 looks like a completely different framework: no DDO, no $scope, no angular.module and completely rewritten binding and change detection (no ng-model).
Update (1/4/2016) - This blog post is not maintained. The concepts are still valid, but the code may be outdated. If you want to learn how to use up-to-date Angular2 with TypeScript and Gulp, please read this blog post (regularly updated): Quickstart: Angular2 with TypeScript and Gulp
Although Angular 2 is still work in progress many new features have already been revealed. In this blog post I will share some basic concepts of the framework via code samples that I presented during my lecture at InfoShare |
, but after that the Broncos released him on waivers. (He was in his thirteenth year as a player.) He sought medical help and it was then that X-rays were taken, which revealed that the C4, 5, 6, and 7 vertebrae on his neck were fractured. This injury ended his football career.
In 1974 neurosurgeons told Hackbart that if he didn’t have surgery to repair the damage, he would lose use of his left arm, shoulder, and any muscles involved with the damaged vertebrae. The Broncos claimed they were not liable. Hackbart hired an attorney, Rodger Johnson of Johnson & Mahony, and brought a suit against the Bengals. Hackbart v. the Cincinnati Bengals became a precedent setting case. In the case the courts ruled that in the course of a professional football game an intentional infliction of an injury by one player upon another might constitute a tort.
As a result of the lawsuit, the National Football League mandated that all stadiums had to be equipped with X-ray machines. The head slap maneuver which injured Hackbart was banned. Later, rules against spearing with the helmet and helmet to helmet contact were created. Hackbart settled with the Bengals and the Broncos filed a Workman's Compensation claim which paid for the surgery that was performed in 1976.
The case was eventually appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1979 and has become a key point of discussion in several first year law school tort classes. Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals, Inc., 601 F.2d 516 (10th Cir. 1979).[2]
NFL Green Bay Packers 1961 50 Year Championship Reunion [ edit ]
Dale attended the 2011 Reunion at Lambeau Field, in Green Bay Wisconsin, October 2, 2011. [3][4]
References [ edit ]
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HackDa20.htmThe LEGO world could get much more fabulous if one man’s efforts to see a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” set take shape can get enough support from viewers.
The LEGO Ideas website offers fans the chance to create the set they would like see come to life online, and if they can get 10,000 supporters it moves on to a review by the company. If they like it, it becomes a reality.
Mark Fitzpatrick’s concept, “RuPaul’s Brick Race,” is already over a third of the way there.
It includes RuPaul with various looks.
The workroom.
The “Snatch Game” set.
And some of RuPaul’s favorite stars, such as Alyssa Edwards and Jinkx Monsoon.
The head queen herself has even taken notice.
And so too has the production company behind the show, World of Wonder.
RuVote: Let's Make This "RuPaul's Drag Race" Lego Set A Ru-Ality: https://t.co/YLSCW7u1e8 pic.twitter.com/a7OJXa7RlY — World of Wonder (@WorldOfWonder) February 2, 2017
If you want to vote to see it become a reality, you can do so at the LEGO Idea website here.
This Story Filed UnderVeriFone Calls Out Potential Security Flaw in Square’s Mobile Phone Payment App
VeriFone, the large publicly held company that makes cash registers and other payment processing devices, has issued a scathing open letter about Square, the San Francisco start-up that has gotten a lot of press recently for offering a solution to small merchants using a mobile phone.
In the letter, VeriFone’s CEO Doug Bergeron called it a “wake-up call to consumers and the payments industry….Seems like a great idea, but there is a serious security flaw that Square has overlooked that places consumers in dire risk.”
To help illustrate the vulnerability, VeriFone said it took an hour to write a test app that could steal financial and personal information right off a credit card’s magnetic stripe using Square’s card reader.
We’ve reached out to Square for comment and have not heard back. We’ll update the post as soon as we do. [Update: Square’s response can be found here.]
So, in the interim, the question is, is this a publicity stunt, or are there real threats with what Square is doing?
VeriFone claims the issue is that Square’s hardware is poorly constructed and lacks the ability to encrypt consumers’ data. In essence, there’s no way to verify that the Square dongle is connecting with the real Square application and not some knock-off. VeriFone wants Square to recall the dongles from the market.
Square said last week that it is now processing more than $1 million in transactions a day. The company, which was started by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, recently raised $27.5 million in capital. In a recent interview we conducted with Dorsey, he explained Square’s vision to replace everything from the receipt to the register.
The open letter can be found at www.sq-skim.com, where VeriFone has gone the extra mile to make the fake application available to anyone. It is also sending a copy of the app to Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and JP Morgan Chase (Square’s credit card processor) to invite their comments.SiriusXM is singing a happy tune after finally scoring a courtroom success over its public performance of pre-1972 music.
In 2013, Flo & Eddie of The Turtles filed separate lawsuits in California, Florida and New York, aiming to use state laws to punish SiriusXM for misappropriating their common law rights to sound recordings. The plaintiffs haven't been paid royalties from the air time of songs like "Happy Together" on satellite radio. And in high-stakes litigation, with the potential to shatter long-held assumptions and winning hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, California and New York judges have favored the argument that state laws protect the public performance of sound recordings in the absence of federal legislation.
The Florida judge was last to rule, and perhaps surprisingly given how the other cases have gone, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles on Monday decided to rule in favor of SiriusXM's summary judgment motion.
The judge says he understands why his judicial colleagues ruled differently. California and New York are centers of the art world, laws have been enacted there to protect artistic rights, and there have been prior cases that have touched upon the present controversy.
"Florida is different," writes Gayles. "There is no specific Florida legislation covering sound recording property rights, nor is there a bevy of case law interpreting common law copyright related to the arts."
Without any such guidance, the judge has to decide whether public performance of pre-72 sound recordings are implicitly protected or whether they should be protected.
"If this Court adopts Flo & Eddie’s position, it would be creating a new property right in Florida as opposed to interpreting the law," he continues. "The Court declines to do so."
Gayles says it's the job of the Florida legislature to address the issue, and if he were to step in, there would be difficultly resolving who sets and administers licensing rates, who owns sound recordings for dead artists and what exceptions there might be to a public performance right. The judges in California and New York dealt with some of these issues, but their rulings didn't prevent them from coming to a different conclusion.
Flo & Eddie also lose the argument that SiriusXM should be held liable under Florida common law copyright for reproductions of their sound recordings in back-up and buffer copies. If the plaintiff can take anything away from today's ruling, it's that Gayles comes to the conclusion that "state regulation of pre-1972 recordings would not impermissibly regulate extraterritorial conduct in violation of the Dormant Commerce clause."
A decision otherwise would probably have been a ticket for a quicker trip to the U.S. Supreme Court. At it currently stands, the 2nd Circuit will be reviewing the New York judge's decision with the California case awaiting a result, too.
Here's the full Florida ruling.
Sirius is represented by Daniel Petrocelli, Cassandra Seto and Evan Mayor of O’Melveny & Myers.Globally, outdoor air pollution causes an estimated 4.5 million deaths a year. Air pollution exposure has been linked to increases in hospital admissions and deaths from cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and lung cancer. A key culprit is cars, since emissions from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles are one of the main sources of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and particulates.
“For many people, such as the elderly or those with chronic disease, the only exercise they very often can do is to walk,” Chung said. He said he believes the results of the new study, carried out in London, would be replicable in many North American and European cities. He also said the impacts are likely to apply to other age groups, but further studies are needed on that.
The report calls for stricter air quality limits, better traffic control measures and greater access to green spaces. Chung also said the study indicated individuals should avoid busy, congested areas whenever possible and opt for green spaces instead. He acknowledged that may be hard ― and costly ― for those living or working in inner cities.
“Our hope is that this study will add to the evidence city leaders need to contribute to policies that will encourage preservation of green spaces,” said Jim Zhang, professor of global and environmental health at Duke and study’s co-author.
He added: “As economic growth and urbanization happen around the world, lots of cities are left with very little green space.... People like outdoor exercise. We should provide them with spaces to enable that instead of giving them no choice but to walk and cycle through busy, polluted streets.”
Brooke Havlik, communications director for the New York-based nonprofit organization WE ACT for Environmental Justice, said that far from improving the situation, the U.S. is going backward at a federal level when it comes to combatting air pollution.
“The Trump administration and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt are actively working to dismantle critical public health and clean air protections,” she said.
Poor air quality is creating a public health crisis in the U.S., said Natalie Nava, project leader at the environmental group Greenpeace USA.
She noted that although the Obama administration proposed stronger fuel efficiency standards for vehicles to fight air pollution, since President Donald Trump took office, “car companies have actually been lobbying... to get these standards rolled back.”
“As long as American automakers drag their feet on fuel standards and other sustainability regulations, they’re showing that they care more about their short-term financial interests than they do about long-term benefits for public health, the planet, and even the economy,” she said.
For more content and to be part of the “This New World” community, join our Facebook Group.We drop friends all the time for a whole variety of reasons—they messed with our loves lives, they lied, they weren’t supportive—so why do some people think it’s such an outlandish idea to dump them for their political views? I think there’s a misguided sense that, “It’s a free country and people have the right to believe what they want. Why should I let their political opinions interfere with a long-running friendship?” The truth is, there is no law that “free speech” means you have to keep a friend who promotes the Republican agenda any more than you have to keep someone who calls you a cow. Everything in a friendship that might have seemed good suddenly goes sour when I learn that they advocate Trump and his hideousness, which involves attempting to diminish rights for women, LGBTQs, Muslims, immigrants, the arts, and the non-rich, not to mention all those treasonous-sounding doings with Russia. Am I supposed to understand that a gay friend is simply concerned about tax breaks and therefore can’t be bothered to devote any energy to little things like human rights? Bye, Felicia!
My time spent on social networks has been way more gratifying since I decided to block anyone who’s tried to crawl out from under a rock and chirp about how Trump isn’t really bad to LGBTQs at all. (“After all, everyone said we’d be in death camps, and we’re not” is a typically lame-brained argument). You can’t control what happens to you in the real world—someone might yell epithets at you or maybe throw paint—but the great thing about your Facebook page is the ability if affords you to weed your garden and make it your own personal playground. You don’t have to tolerate bullshit. Naturally, trying to talk sense to these people is a valuable route to go—why not try to have a conversation?—except that more often than not, you’ll find that they’ve already imbibed the Kool-Aid and aren’t going to budge from their throne of denial, no matter what facts you lay at their feet. As Pride month went by without a mention from the White House—to name just one of many indignities aimed our way—the army of gays who were still willing to cut Trump some slack was appalling to me, and I now don’t have to worry about indulging their head-in the-sand points of view any more than I’ll be inviting Milo over to a non-toxic dinner any time soon. (Yes, we’re all just preaching to the converted on my pages these days, but hey, it feels good. I’ll take our fake news over their fake news any day).
Similarly, if a real-life friend—someone who knows my plight, my accomplishments, and my oppressions—decides to trumpet in my face the alleged glories of the Republican party, I simply have to show them the hand and the door. Friendship over. I don’t care if they once helped me into an uber or maybe clicked on my links a couple of times. I don’t give a shit that they sent me birthday wishes on Facebook and also treated me to a half priced burrito for Christmas. They are as over to me as a boyfriend who cheated with someone I was cheating with. I have no use for them and would find it more than strained to attempt exchanging friendly banter with them, knowing full well that they’re basically self-loathing climbers who are furthering the mistreatment of mankind with their empty headed emissions. Am I cutting myself off from meaningful discourse? I don’t believe so; I feel I’m short circuiting the chance to hear odious apologias and offensive attempts at spin. Dropping Repubs (especially gay Repubs) from my guest list is a complete no brainer, which makes my life more aromatic while also sending out the message that self-loathing isn’t going to be tolerated around here, fellas. Pretty soon, I will put out a friendship alert that specifies, “Femmes and fats allowed, but no Trumpettes, please.” In the meantime, be warned.
A PENNY FOR HER THOUGHTS
There are other icky issues within our own backyard, as longtime performer Penny Arcade astutely points out. Arcade is a bisexual fag hag, who finds that bi people are routinely ignored in the community. (She likens it to being a part Jew who’s Jewish enough for the Nazis, but not enough for the Jews). What’s more, she’s a self-admitted fag hag who’s been diminished for that too, and has lobbied to put an “F” for “fag hag” into LGBTQ. (She poignantly describes such people as “despised women who troll for love in gay bars.”) Penny revealed these thoughts at her Summer of Love Redux show at Pangea last week (it runs two more Tuesdays), which is a kaleidoscopic look at the queer experience, done in collaboration with Steve Zehentner, who spins old hits as Penny emits her stream of commentary. Penny honed her craft by improvising with the Theater of Ridiculous, so she now ad libs in front of her collaborator, then lets the audience be her producers as she tweaks and edits the material.
Penny—who’s best known for her revelatory Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore! show—took us through her childhood with an old-school Italian family, the kind where if you had a headache, they brought out a tub of olive oil to douse you with as they tried to scrub out “the evil eye.” Covered in oil, little Penny always said “yes,” but she defiantly did whatever she liked anyway, and ended up greeting puberty in a house of detention. As she grew up, she took a magic carpet ride to a life with other LGBTQs, whether in the East Village, the West Village, Provincetown or San Francisco, finding that “We developed our dance moves and relationships at the same time. We became friends with people because we liked the way they danced.” While busting moves to the Supremes, Penny fell in with a cool crowd and realized that queers had founded a subversive but vital community where they clung to each other for comfort while operating under different rules than prevailed in outside society.
Class, gender, and race distinctions went out the door, as fringe characters bonded and made their own extraordinary universe. Describing colorful drag queens and trans women on the scene, she talks about finding herself drawn most of all to the older queers, who elevated your IQ level with their very presence. She also takes a side trip into her family’s religion and reminds us that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, but somehow that’s what’s always quoted, while the Christian right willfully ignores his actual statements about love and compassion. She decides that Jesus has been coopted from us, when in actuality he was a loser, outsider, and activist, just like we are. In fact, Jesus was totally gay—and so was Joseph, who decorated the manger!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Penny coming to New York, and also the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, an explosion of peace and drugs founded in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury. As it skirts through both her personal evolution and that of our community, the show spans a lot of topics, but Penny keeps it together as a tribute to the LGBTQF experience, especially in the days when there seemed to be even more at stake. (Yes, I added the F as a tribute to Penny). The show should be required viewing for anyone who cares about the dangerous magic that emanates from being gay and gifted.THE Israeli government might try to take solace in the low turnout—only half of British MPs showed up to debate a motion proposing to recognise Palestine as a state on October 13th. Yet their verdict was overwhelming: the motion was carried by 274 to 12.
As a backbench motion, the coalition government, which asked its ministers to abstain during the vote, can choose to ignore it. But as an indication of where British, and European, sympathies increasingly lie on this issue, it will be profoundly unsettling for Benjamin Natanyahu, Israel’s prime minister.
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The main opposition Labour Party—including its leader, Ed Miliband, who has Israeli relatives and has visited Israel as Labour’s leader—supported the motion. So did the Liberal Democrats, the government’s junior partner, which has long advocated recognising Palestine. And on the Conservative side, which has traditionally been more sympathetic to the Jewish state, the motion also received some striking backing.
Richard Ottaway, the veteran Tory chair of Parliament’s influential foreign affairs select committee, said Israel’s recent decision to expand its settlements in the West Bank had persuaded him to break a lifelong habit of staunch pro-Israeli support. “Looking back over the past 20 years, I realise now Israel has slowly been drifting away from world public opinion. The annexation of the 950 acres of the West Bank just a few months ago has outraged me more than anything else in my political life. It has made me look a fool and that is something I deeply resent.”
“In normal circumstances” Mr Ottaway said he would have opposed the motion, because the Palestinian refusal to recognise Israel was fit to disqualify it from statehood. But, he said, “such is my anger with the behaviour of Israel in recent months that I will not be opposing this motion. I have to say to the government of Israel: if it is losing people like me, it is going to be losing a lot of people.”
The vote in the House of Commons follows an announcement from Sweden’s new centre-left government on October 3rd that it intends to recognise Palestine. Around 130 countries have already done so; Sweden would be the first longstanding EU member to follow suit on Palestine’s behalf.
Recognition from Britain, given its historical role in Israel’s birth and closeness to America, would be a much bigger fillip for the Palestinian cause. Given that Mr Miliband is currently the bookies’ favourite to win next year’s general election, and probably then rule in tandem with the Lib Dems, that has never looked so likely.Testimonials
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- MaralynHe is the greatest evil the universe has ever known. An unstoppable force whose name is whispered in hushed tones across the galaxy. Feared from one end of the cosmos to the other, he’s returned to take back what is rightfully his! Today, Marvel is pleased to present your first look inside THANOS #1 – the new ongoing series from all-star creators Jeff Lemire (Moon Knight, Death of X) and Mike Deodato (Avengers, Invincible Iron Man)! Venture into the dark depths of one of Marvel’s most vile villains as he enacts vengeance on all who would stand in his way. In his absence, Thanos’ grip on the cosmos has loosened. As he returns to the stars to terrorize the galaxy once more, reborn and reinvigorated – are there any that can stop him? Many will try, including members of his own family – Thane, Starfox and many others. Will they succeed where others have failed?
This November, it’s good to be bad. Be there when unspeakable evil comes to comic shops on November 16th in THANOS #1!
THANOS #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art & Cover by MIKE DEODATO
Variant Covers by RON LIM (SEP160913) and JEFF DEKAL (SEP160914)
Toy Variant by ALEX KROPINAK (SEP160915)
Hip-Hop Variant by MIKE DEL MUNDO (SEP160916)
FOC – 10/24/16, On-Sale – 11/16/16A man was arrested Saturday after being accused of shooting at cows along Florida's Turnpike, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers got a call from a driver about 5:40 p.m. about a man "hanging out of a car shooting a rifle at cows" near Osceola Parkway, an arrest report states.
The driver took down the license plate number of the Hyundai Sonata, and within minutes troopers pulled the vehicle over in Orange County and found three people inside.
From mass slayings to strange attacks, these are pictures of the most bizarre and shocking crimes to happen in Florida.
Elvis Antonio Artola, 30, first started firing when the trio pulled over to relieve themselves along the turnpike, troopers said. He continued shooting from a window in the back seat as they drove down the highway, an arrest affidavit said.
Artola wouldn't tell troopers what happened, but the two passengers told them Artola was firing into woods and out the window as they drove, records show. Troopers say they found evidence that he'd been drinking alcohol.
The driver said he wasn't sure whether Artola "was trying to hit the cows on the side of the road or if he was just shooting," and arrest report states.
Troopers found a loaded black Bushmaster AR-15 rifle in the trunk of the vehicle along with evidence it recently had been fired. Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes said troopers haven't been notified of any injured cows.
CAPTION The Orlando Police Department is asking local legislators for $250,000 to purchase the ANDE 6C Rapid DNA System, an instant DNA-testing technology that allows law enforcement to test and compare evidence in-house in less than two hours, without shipping it to a state lab. The Orlando Police Department is asking local legislators for $250,000 to purchase the ANDE 6C Rapid DNA System, an instant DNA-testing technology that allows law enforcement to test and compare evidence in-house in less than two hours, without shipping it to a state lab. CAPTION The Orlando Police Department is asking local legislators for $250,000 to purchase the ANDE 6C Rapid DNA System, an instant DNA-testing technology that allows law enforcement to test and compare evidence in-house in less than two hours, without shipping it to a state lab. The Orlando Police Department is asking local legislators for $250,000 to purchase the ANDE 6C Rapid DNA System, an instant DNA-testing technology that allows law enforcement to test and compare evidence in-house in less than two hours, without shipping it to a state lab. CAPTION Gov. Rick DeSantis revokes the appointment of John Miklos, the controversial chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District. Gov. Rick DeSantis revokes the appointment of John Miklos, the controversial chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District. CAPTION Two Orlando-area massage parlors and women are among the dozens implicated in a six-month statewide investigation into human trafficking, prostitution and racketeering. Two Orlando-area massage parlors and women are among the dozens implicated in a six-month statewide investigation into human trafficking, prostitution and racketeering. CAPTION Orange County is considering a mega-park in Horizon West, the fast-growing community near Walt Disney World, that could feature an outdoor amphitheater for major concerts, botanical gardens and an aquatics center. Orange County is considering a mega-park in Horizon West, the fast-growing community near Walt Disney World, that could feature an outdoor amphitheater for major concerts, botanical gardens and an aquatics center. CAPTION UCF President Dale Whittaker resigned "to end punitive measures and threats." Is it enough? UCF President Dale Whittaker resigned "to end punitive measures and threats." Is it enough?
"It's a good thing this driver called this in and was able to take down the plate number because we were able to get there quickly and prevent this guy from doing this again," Montes said.
Artola is facing a number of charges, including firing a weapon in public and using a firearm under the influence.
chayes@orlandosentinel.com, @Journo_Christal or 407-420-5493This artist's illustration of SN 1987A reveals the cold inner regions of the exploded star's remnants (red), where tremendous amounts of dust were detected and imaged by ALMA. This inner region differs from the outer shell (blue), where the energy from the supernova is colliding (green) with the envelope of gas ejected from the star before its detonation.
New looks at the heart of a supernova remnant are revealing clues about the deaths of massive stars and how these dramatic events affect their host galaxies, two recent studies report.
Observations made by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile allowed one research team to construct a detailed 3D map of SN 1987A — the remains of a huge star that exploded three decades ago — and another group to spot several molecules previously undetected in the supernova remnant.
"When this supernova exploded, now more than 30 years ago, astronomers knew much less about the way these events reshape interstellar space and how the hot, glowing debris from an exploded star eventually cools and produces new molecules," Rémy Indebetouw, an astronomer at the University of Virginia and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, said in a statement. [Supernova Photos: Great Images of Star Explosions]
"Thanks to ALMA, we can finally see cold'star dust' as it forms, revealing important insights into the original star itself and the way supernovas create the basic building blocks of planets," added Indebetouw, who is a co-author on both recent studies.
SN 1987A formed in the aftermath of a Type II supernova, which results when a star at least 10 times more massive than the sun runs out of fuel and ceases pushing outward against the inward pull of its own gravity. The big star's outer parts then come crashing back on the core, sparking a mammoth explosion that can be seen from great distances.
The supernova remnant SN 1987A, as seen by ALMA. The purple area indicates emission from silicon oxide molecules, and the yellow is emission from carbon monoxide molecules. The blue ring is Hubble Space Telescope data that has been artificially expanded into 3D. (Image: © ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO); R. Indebetouw; NASA/ESA Hubble)
Indeed, SN 1987A lies 163,000 light-years away, in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, and has been studied intensively by a variety of instruments since its light first reached Earth in February 1987. (The explosion actually occurred about 163,000 years ago, of course, but astronomers such as Indebetouw often refer to it happening in 1987 for simplicity's sake.)
The supernova sent huge amounts of dust streaming into space, creating a veil that many telescopes have had trouble penetrating. And that's where the newly reported ALMA observations come in: The radio dishes in the array can peer through the dust, revealing the structure deep within the remnant.
In one of the recent studies, scientists mapped out in 3D the abundances of many molecules that formed in the aftermath of the massive explosion (after SN 1987A had cooled sufficiently to allow this to happen). For example, the ALMA data revealed large amounts of silicon monoxide (SiO) and carbon monoxide (CO) clumping in the remnant's heart, researchers said.
The other study team performed a molecular inventory of SN 1987A. They found a number of species, including the new detections formyl cation (HCO+) and sulfur monoxide (SO).
Astronomers combined observations from three different observatories to produce this image of SN 1987A. Red shows newly formed dust in the center of the remnant, taken at submillimeter wavelengths by ALMA. The green and blue colors reveal where the expanding shock wave from the exploded star is colliding with a ring of material around the supernova. The green represents the glow of visible light, captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Blue reveals the hottest gas and is based on data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The ring was initially made to glow by the flash of light from the original explosion. Over the years, the ring material has brightened considerably as the explosion's shock wave slams into it. (Image: © NASA/ESA, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO))
"These molecules had never been detected in a young supernova remnant before," Indebetouw said. "HCO+ is especially interesting, because its formation requires particularly vigorous mixing during the explosion."
Overall, the combined results reveal new insights about SN 1987A's composition and how conditions within the supernova remnant have changed over time, researchers said. This information, in turn, could help astronomers better understand galactic evolution.
"The reason some galaxies have the appearance that they do today is in large part because of the supernovas that have occurred in them," Indebetouw said. "Though less than 10 percent of stars become supernovas, they nonetheless are key to the evolution of galaxies."
The 3D-mapping study was published last month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, and the molecular-inventory paper was published in April in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.Let's meetup and chat about some more F# on the web!
Adam Granicz (@granicz (https://twitter.com/granicz)) will be joining us via Google Hangouts (https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/csppmu2c95eeavrdldns6anpk64) to present more F# on the web. Let's get together and learn some more about WebSharper (http://websharper.com/) and CloudSharper (http://cloudsharper.com/).
WebSharper’s UI.Next (http://intellifactory.github.io/websharper.ui.next/) library provides the perfect way for building robust, rich, reactive web applications and SPAs in pure F# code, as an alternative to working with JavaScript libraries such as React or AngularJS.
In this screencast, you will learn the basics of working with UI.Next and reactive DOM through a larger example that features a reactive multi-view user interface, providing two different views over a conceptual model and reacting to changes in the observable collection it represents.
The concepts presented are essential in any web and mobile developer’s toolset, and will easily make you a better developer. You can also follow along and try the examples live in CloudSharper, and learn how you can get started quickly on your next F# project on the web.
As Adam is going to be remote, we will be broadcasting this through Google Hangouts (https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/csppmu2c95eeavrdldns6anpk64), again. If you're local, though, please come out with us and socialize a bit. Looking forward to seeing you all there.The 100 Greatest Quotes From ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’
It’s hard to believe that the hysterical FX series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” has been on the air for eight seasons, with production of season nine underway. Series co-writer, producer and star Glenn Howerton (Dennis Reynolds) recently tweeted that the new season is “some of the funniest shit [they’ve] ever done.” Looking back, we realized that is no easy feat. So in anticipation for the upcoming season, set to air in September 2013, we’ve gathered up the best catchphrases and one-liners from the gang and arranged them into the 100 greatest quotes from the show. Check them out and then dive into the comments section to laugh, rejoice and argue with us.
100. [Singing] You gotta pay the troll toll, if you wanna get into that boy’s soul. -Frank
99. So you think not eating cat food is putting on airs? -Mac
98. We’re trying to give you the Christmas spirit, dickhole! -Sweet Dee
97. Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon! -Frank
96. Charlie, make a move. Just tell her you wanna bang her. -Mac
95. Mac, you have an exceptional number of bugs in your teeth. You’re gonna wanna rinse those out. It’s disgusting. -Dennis
94. Grain alcohol, baby! Whenever there’s a potential riot, I’m getting blasted on grain alcohol. -Mac
93. Okay, Mr. Mayor. Feast your ears on that Spin Doctors mix. -Charlie
92. Dude, do you have a boner right now? -Dennis
91. Name’s Artemis. I have a bleached asshole. -Artemis
90. And you know what happens with Tokyo drifting? It leads to bickering. Which, of course, leads to karate. -Mac
89. The acid’s makin’ me feel like I gotta take a dump. -Frank
88. Dude, I swear to God, if you try and give me a noogie, I will yank your underwear over your head so hard your asshole will rip in half. -Dennis
87. [Holding a calculator] What are you? -Charlie
86. Any amount of cheese before a date is too much cheese. -Dennis
85. [Reading a note from Charlie] Taked baby. Meet at later bar, night or day sometime. -Sweet Dee
84. Smoke some cigarettes. The smoke will suffocate the bacteria in your stomach. -Mac
83. Yeah, well, you’ve never once seen me wash my testicles either, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do it every Friday. -Charlie
82. Animals should be food, rugs and trophies. Why do you think I’m wearing a leather suit? -Frank
81. Goddammit, Jack Bauer. You really are the man. -Dennis
80. Dennis, you don’t wanna go anywhere near a court. How many bench warrants for sexual misconduct do you have? Yeah, and Frank, how many unregistered guns are in your car right now? -Sweet Dee
79. Oh, look at me! The millionaire who goes to see doctors! -Charlie
78. I’m just saying, based on that story that you just told me, I’m fairly certain that those Santas were running a train on your mom for money. -Mac
77. Then start breakin’ bricks, wet nips! -Liam McPoyle
76. That’s Tammy, Trey’s ex-girlfriend. This is classic Tammy. Trey broke up with Tammy because Maureen Kinallen said that she saw Tammy flirting with Walt Timby at a party. But she was only doing it to make Trey jealous because, you know, she thought that Trey secretly liked Erin Hannabry. But Trey didn’t like Erin Hannabry. It was all a bunch of bull. -Charlie
75. RUM HAM! RUM HAM! I’m sorry rum ham! I’m sorry… -Frank
74. Mac, I’m gonna stop you right there. First of all, your breath smells like an old lady fart passing through an onion. Secondly, I know you’re trying to manipulate me, and it’s not going to |
arrests of small-time thieves. In Texas, misdemeanor-theft charges, after a third infraction, become felonies, and, he explained, “It is reasonable to expect that a percentage of the thieves caught will give statements in exchange for leniency.” Henley knew he was a target, given the unfamiliar cars parked, day and night, across the street from his rendering plant, the frequent visits from Griffin’s security people, and the fact that Felchak stopped him and confiscated a set of keys from his pocket, claiming that they fit Griffin’s locks. Throughout, Henley maintained his innocence. “I was raised that right is right and wrong is wrong,” he says. “And I wasn’t doing anything wrong.” He knew that some haulers might skim from a Griffin container when no one was looking. But, he insists, short of riding on every truck with every hauler on every route, there was no way he could be certain. On Jaworski’s advice, he got haulers to sign a legal disclaimer with each load, saying that their grease was not stolen, as a hedge against a potential prosecution. Then, in the spring of 1991, Findley found a way around this obstacle. In Austin, a mysterious man had presented himself to a Griffin driver and said that he knew everything there was to know about grease theft in Houston. Findley took note of the driver’s description of the man—“big, bearded, and toothless,” with a limp, and “possibly panhandling”—and drove to Austin, where he quickly located the man among the city’s street people. The man introduced himself as David Rice and said, “I’ve been expecting you.” As it turned out, he had been questioned months before by Felchak and Spurlock, and had admitted to stealing Griffin’s grease. Now, he said, he wanted to “go straight.” Findley offered a deal: if Rice could gather evidence that Henley knowingly bought stolen grease, Findley would help him out. Rice agreed, and said that he knew enough about Henley “to send him to the penitentiary.” Findley later recorded a statement from Rice. In the transcript, Findley establishes that Rice had stolen grease from more than a hundred Griffin containers, and then asks Rice where he sold the contraband. “Henley’s Grease Service,” Rice says. According to Rice, Henley knew the grease was stolen. “How did he know?” Findley asked. [cartoon id="A17848"] “ ’Cause he told us to go out there and steal it.” In a gleeful note to Griffin, Findley wrote that Rice “is, in fact, the ‘inside man’ we have needed to do irreparable damage to these people.” He drove Rice to Houston, put him up in a Western Inn motel near Henley’s plant, and showed him how to use a tape recorder hooked up to the room phone. Rice began calling up his former colleagues in the grease trade. In one call, Kenny McGlothlin, a twenty-four-year-old hauler who’d been collecting with his dad since he was nine, admitted that he’d just taken a full load from Popeye’s—top quality, four per cent. “I bet old Griffin’s going to be mad about that,” Rice said. “Oh, they know I’m the Cat Daddy,” McGlothlin said. “They let Cat Daddy get away. I’m the man, the main man.” Rice called a half-dozen haulers, including his cousin Ronny Lemond. “You ain’t hitting Griffin no more, are you?” Rice asked. “Hell,” Lemond said, “I’m making a living off of Griffin.” With each call, Rice took care to establish that his interlocutors sold to Henley’s Grease Service. He also strapped a tape recorder to his leg and made secret recordings inside Henley’s plant, following Findley’s instructions on how to act. “He told me, ‘Be like any other day,’ ” Rice later said in a deposition. “ ‘Don’t agitate nothing. Let them do the speaking.’ ” Rice visited repeatedly, hanging around for hours, but failed to capture any evidence of theft. Henley and JoAnn recall Rice showing up with a tanker of grease that he ostentatiously announced was stolen—a tactic known as a “reverse sting.” (Findley denied taking part in this.) JoAnn ran him off the property. With other haulers, Rice established where and when they planned to strike, and tipped off Felchak and Spurlock. In a month, fifteen people were arrested. “Like shooting fish in a barrel,” Findley noted. One November morning, around 4 A.M., they swooped in on Kenny McGlothlin while he was inspecting a Griffin bin behind a Popeye’s. “We kind of got you by your nuts this morning, don’t we?” Felchak observed. He said that they might take McGlothlin downtown and book him, or they might not. “Depends on what you tell us.” McGlothlin wavered at first, but, under duress, he agreed to testify that Henley knew he was buying stolen loads. Several other independent haulers, facing possible jail time, also coöperated, and the charges against them were dropped. In an attempt to secure a grand-jury indictment, Findley met with an assistant D.A., Larry Standley—a meeting that he later called a “complete disaster.” The D.A., whom Findley described as “rude, uninterested, and belligerent,” blamed Griffin’s problem on the company’s own lax security, and dismissed the testimony of the thieves. “Who’s going to believe them?” he said. An attorney suggested to Findley and Bob Griffin that a civil suit, under RICO statutes, might be easier. “Hearsay is usually accepted,” Findley wrote, “and you must only show ‘a preponderance of the evidence,’ not ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” In December, 1991, Griffin Industries filed suit against Henley and a dozen independent haulers, accusing them of taking part in an organized grease-theft ring. But during the early legal proceedings Griffin’s strongest witness, David Rice, was nowhere to be found. Findley finally tracked him down in West Virginia, where he was serving a nine-month jail sentence for negligent homicide; he had killed a man in a car accident and then fled. Findley also learned that Rice had been living under an assumed identity; his real name was David Himes. Jaworski saw an advantage. In the depositions, he questioned Griffin’s tactics: coöperating with a felon, wringing testimony from haulers, and dispensing money to key witnesses. For weeks, Griffin had paid for Himes’s motel room and living expenses, and promised him a hundred dollars for every arrest that resulted from his phone work. Himes testified that he was given twelve hundred dollars to help pay for a leg operation, and that, during his time in jail, Findley visited him and put money in his account at the canteen. Upon his release, Himes was given regular work at Griffin. “Do you know why they did any of those things for you?” Jaworski asked Himes in a deposition. “Was it because they wanted you to testify against Everett Henley?” “Objection!” Griffin’s lawyer said. “Calls for speculation.” Jaworski insists that he could have won the case, given the chance. But defending a RICO charge against a wealthy corporation would have cost Henley and his co-defendants ninety thousand dollars, Jaworski estimates. “I told him, ‘You can fight it and spend your life savings on me—which I would appreciate.’ ” Instead, Henley chose not to contest the lawsuit. Griffin was awarded a default judgment of almost $1.9 million for lost grease, damaged equipment, and legal fees. Jaworski describes the suit as an act of corporate aggression. Findley argues that Griffin was merely protecting itself. “Anyone who intimates that Griffin Industries set out to put independents out of business is a bald-faced liar,” he said. Henley declared bankruptcy, which temporarily allowed him to avoid payment. Though he continued running his grease service, the judgment gave Griffin the rights to any profits—and Henley, who was determined not to give up a penny, was forced to put whatever he made back into the business. After two years, JoAnn says, “we couldn’t do it anymore.” In 1996, they closed the plant and moved to the countryside north of the city. There they ran a small farm, launched a wrecker business, and raised the kids.
When Stuewe took over Dar Pro as C.E.O., in 2003, the company was doing everything it could to extract added profit from its rendered fat and bonemeal. “We tried making particleboard, landscaping timbers—we tried everything, and nothing really works,” he told me. Although biofuel from used cooking oil was clearly the frontier, it was a seemingly limited one. “It doesn’t work real well as road fuel,” Stuewe said. The glycerine in biodiesel leaves glasslike deposits in engines, and it freezes. Dar Pro enlisted the technology arm of Honeywell to fix the problem, using a method called hydrocracking—essentially knocking a carbon atom off of each molecule of the oil—to produce a fuel that is identical to petroleum yet burns far cleaner. But the process is expensive and complex, requiring high temperatures and intense pressure. So Stuewe approached Valero Energy Corporation, an oil refiner based in San Antonio, to manufacture the fuel. In June, the two companies opened the Diamond Green Diesel plant, in Norco, Louisiana, which will produce a hundred and thirty-seven million gallons of renewable diesel a year. To operate at capacity, Stuewe said, it will need to capture “up to fifty per cent of all the used cooking oil in the country.” The biofuel boom has injected into the trade a degree of money and professionalism that was unthinkable in what Jaworski calls “the Wild West days.” Jaworski has lately been getting calls from as far away as Australia from people with chemistry degrees trying to figure out how to get into the biofuel business. One of the new entrepreneurs was Jason Burroughs, a thirty-nine-year-old former skate punk who had helped build a multimillion-dollar data-storage company. He told me that he had had an epiphany on the day after the September 11th attacks—the same day he picked up his Dodge Viper. “It was awkward,” he says, “because pretty quickly we learned why these terrorist attacks were happening—the connection with oil and all that. Here I am driving around this nine-mile-per-gallon car.” Burroughs sold his Viper and bought a Prius, and in 2005 launched a cooking-oil-collection venture, DieselGreen Fuels. If the business fell through, Burroughs said, he could just get a pickup truck and go out collecting. “It’s such easy money,” he told me. The changes in the business have only sharpened Dar Pro’s desire to stop theft. During my visit to Total Compliance Associates, the security company, in May, GraBois outlined the firm’s plan. “What we’re trying to do is cut off the head of the ultimate recipient,” he said, referring to the smaller renderers and biofuel companies who buy stolen grease. “Once we put these people out of business and there’s no place to sell it, the gypsies”—his term for street-level thieves—“will go on to a different crime.” It was the same strategy that Griffin employed twenty years ago against Henley. Indeed, GraBois described to me a classic reverse sting—or started to. “We’ve set up undercover operations, where we try to get people to deliver the stuff— Mike,” he said, interrupting himself and turning to Ferrandino, “stop me if I’m going too far.” Mike stopped him.
Henley also took note of the rise of biofuel. When his stepsons, Nick and Michael, announced a desire to get into the business, in 2002, he and JoAnn were all for it. Henley built a holding facility on the farm, and began soliciting local restaurants and hauling raw grease down to Houston to be rendered. After a few years, Henley recalls, “We had a meeting with the kids, and we said, ‘O.K., what do y’all really want to do? Want to go big or go home?’ Nick said, ‘Let’s go big.’ ” In 2011, they bought a warehouse and offices on the northern fringe of Houston, acquired five enormous rendering tanks, applied for a license, and launched Service First Grease Recycling. When I visited Service First in April, the office had tasteful gray tile underfoot and an elegant reception desk beyond a set of French doors. It might have been a boutique ad agency—although, with annual revenues of more than two million dollars, Service First does better than a lot of ad agencies these days. In the main office, Nick, now twenty-six, sat at a large-screen iMac, typing figures into a spreadsheet. Dressed in a backward baseball cap, designer jeans, and a Supreme T-shirt with a silk screen of Kate Moss, he looked like a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. JoAnn, his mother, was working at a computer at an adjacent desk. Michael telecommutes from home. Nick explained that Service First has collection contracts with many of the city’s top restaurant chains: Chili’s, Texas Roadhouse, Church’s Chicken, Popeye’s. Having learned from Henley’s experience, Nick renders only grease that his own haulers collect—“I wouldn’t buy grease from anybody in this town,” he says. Although Dar Pro pays more for grease than he can afford, he stays competitive by offering personal services, like power-washing a restaurant’s back area every time a driver picks up grease. “It can take hours,” Nick says, “but the big companies don’t do it.” He also equips all his drivers with iPads to snap time-stamped photographs after each pickup, to show that they left things clean. Competitors are not above spreading rancid grease around to make a rival look bad. In March, a constable and a phalanx of Dar Pro lawyers visited Service First, hoping to collect on Henley’s outstanding judgment—which, with accrued interest, is now about ten million dollars. Nick informed his visitors that Service First legally belongs to him and to his brother; Henley works as a “consultant.” So Dar Pro seized the only property that was in Henley’s name: two grease-collection trucks. Two weeks later, an injunction notice arrived, claiming that Service First had illegally placed a container at a Denny’s where Dar Pro had an account. If the container wasn’t removed, Henley could be found in contempt of court and sent to jail. When I returned to Houston, in May, Henley had been dodging a process server for weeks, and had developed a habit of driving cautiously around lone trucks idling in parking lots. The server had camped in front of his house for three days. To sneak out for our meeting, Henley had sent JoAnn first, as a decoy. Henley drove with me and Nick to the disputed Denny’s franchise, on a heavily trafficked stretch of Highway 6. They were planning to remove the offending Service First container—not on Dar Pro’s orders, they said, but because the restaurant was closing. As Nick hosed out a final load of grease, I sat in the dining room with the franchise holder, a woman named Debi Haq, under a forlorn banner announcing, “Baconalia! Celebrating Our Bacon Obsession!” Haq told me that she owned five Denny’s locations in the city, and had ended her association with Dar Pro at all of them. She balked at Dar Pro’s agreements, which were binding for five years and insisted that she pay damages if she didn’t renew. “I used to work for HUD,” Haq said, “so I can read a contract like nobody’s business.” But the real deal-breaker was Dar Pro’s whimsical approach to payment: promising top dollar, then finding excuses not to pay. “Obviously, it’s not a big income stream,” she says. “I make my pennies selling pancakes. But, hey—every little bit helps.” After Haq broke off her arrangement, Dar Pro never picked up its container; a slime-encrusted box was still sitting out back. (“They’ll leave their container here and whoever takes over the building will think, Oh, there’s our grease container,” Henley said. “Automatic account.”) Haq brought in Service First, and in April Nick placed a container in the only available spot—a few feet in front of Dar Pro’s abandoned container. Within a week, Henley received the injunction notice. Haq calls Dar Pro’s actions “vindictive,” but isn’t surprised. “Just like Walmart or anyone else, they’re trying to squeeze out the little guys and have a monopoly.” Stuewe scoffs at the notion that Dar Pro is seeking a monopoly. “If we look at our market share in the United States,” he says, “we may have anywhere from fifteen per cent to twenty per cent—which is far from a monopoly in any way, shape, or form. Besides, monopolies are formed when barriers to entry are so high that no one else can play in the game. Well, the barrier to entry in this business is a pickup with a fifty-five-gallon drum and a five-gallon Home Depot bucket.”
“My dad always had a vision that this was going to be a huge business,” JoAnn told me one day over a lunch of take-out tamales at Service First. But José Villegas died in 1993, long before the biofuel boom. Six months before his death, José was arrested collecting a barrel at a Popeye’s, and began a long court battle that put him under great stress. While collecting grease one night, he collapsed behind a restaurant, dead of a heart attack. “He died on a grease run,” Nick said. “Died in the grease,” JoAnn said. I asked Nick if he and his brother planned to stay in. “I hope so,” he said. “But with Darling around...” JoAnn spoke ominously of the Dar Pro-Valero plant in Louisiana. “It’s going to need all the grease that it can get, anywhere and everywhere. It needs it.” Nick, the company’s C.E.O., has worked in grease since his early teens. He says that sucking used oil from a container used to be a little humiliating. “You’d get the dirtiest looks from people,” he says. “Like, ‘That’s why you go to college—because otherwise you’ll end up like him.’ It really bothered me for a while.” He points out that his brother recently bought a custom Bentley, which cost three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, to add to his collection of vintage sports cars. Nick says, “People ask, Why would anyone risk going to jail for stealing something so petty? Because nobody knows.”The Maranello-based outfit has suffered a blow with the departure of Allison, and is under pressure to turn around its campaign after slipping behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship.
But although Allison's immediate successor Mattia Binotto does not have extensive experience of aerodynamics nor chassis development, Arrivabene has said that a new approach to its technical operation means he is the right man to lead things.
"He will work with the team to help improve the car," said Arrivabene. "All the technicians talk to each other, but the difference is very important: there will be no more of 'this is 'Mr X's' car'.
"There will be a car that will be the result of the co-operation between all the working groups involved in the project."
Looking within
While Ferrari had considered roles for Ross Brawn and Toro Rosso's James Key, neither have shown any interest in getting involved at Maranello.
Arrivabene has explained that the plan now is for a different way of doing things that will increase the input from all its engineers.
There will be a more horizontal structure, with the technical operation headed up by several key figures – similar to what McLaren has with Peter Prodromou, Tim Goss and Matt Morris.
"We are modifying our technical structure but we'll complete this operation only when we understand if we already have in the team engineers with untapped capacity," said Arrivabene, in reference to a push to see if there are junior staff members who can be promoted.
"I think that we have some talent. The question I ask myself though is: why, if you have these skilled people, does their talent not come out? If you have good engineers but they spend time on [less important jobs] if it clear that we are losing important opportunities.
"Our role is to show the target, and to make sure that the objectives are to be achieved. If the concepts are clear, I think we don't need to look outside Maranello for new engineers. We are not looking for the mega-talent.
"When there is a figure like a mega-talent, it is normal for all the technical team to follow what he says. But we have not this kind of man. We are working on a new horizontal structure and the coordinator is Mattia Binotto."Thomas Wolfe’s posthumous novel “You Can’t Go Home Again” was published in 1940, and critics and readers have been debating the truth of its title ever since. Wolfe himself had no doubt: His autobiographical writings, with their biting, thinly disguised portraits, made him persona non grata in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.
In Japanese films, however, characters are forever heading back to their furusato (hometown), no matter how frosty the reception. Feelings of duty to family often prompt the move, as do hard economic facts: Home may not be where the heart is, but you can usually get three squares a day there.
Misaki Yoshida (Hiromi Nagasaku), the feisty, emotionally wounded heroine of Taiwanese director Chiang Hsiu-chiung’s “Saihate nite: Yasashii Kaori to Machinagara (The Furthest End Awaits),” is under no such obligation or duress when she decides to return to the ruggedly beautiful Noto Peninsula. Instead she has other more personal reasons for taking up residence in the ramshackle boathouse that is the sole bequest of her fisherman father (Jun Murakami) — missing at sea for eight years and out of her life for nearly 30.
Saihate nite: Yasashii Kaori to Machinagara (The Furthest End Awaits) Rating
4 out of 5 Director Chiang Hsiu-chiung Run Time 118 minutes Language Japanese Opens film_opens
Based on Nako Kakinoki’s script, the film falls into the popular “heroine finds her groove in picturesque locale” genre. Also, Misaki’s occupation — she roasts and sells her own coffee blends to customers all over Japan — has parallels in recent Japanese films with foodie or back-to-basics themes, such as the recent “Little Forest” duology, whose heroine grows and prepares her own delicious-looking organic veggies.
Chiang, who trained under Taiwanese master directors Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang, lifts Misaki’s story out of its generic rut by sensitively focusing on specific human dilemmas rather than eye-candy (or coffee) visuals or the miraculous curative powers of Misaki’s roasted beans.
Instead of a fantasy figure enjoying a rural idyll, Misaki impresses from the start as a dedicated artisan and savvy businesswoman, if one yearning for a father she barely knew. Soon after arriving she has the boathouse looking ship-shape and her coffee roaster up and running. But her only neighbor — a statuesque beauty named Eriko (Nozomi Sasaki) living alone in a huge lodge with her two young children — is unaccountably rude and abrupt. (“Why am I even talking to you — go away!” is her brush-off when Misaki comes calling.)
When Eriko goes to her job as club hostess, the kids — third-grader Arisa (Hiyori Sakurada) and her younger brother Shota (Kaisei Hotamori) — are left on their own with hardly any money, hardly any real food (instant ramen being the nearest substitute) and hardly anything to do. Naturally they gravitate toward the strange lady down the hill, who is doing something interesting with a funny-looking machine.
Being a kindly sort, Misaki takes them in and even gives the delighted Arisa a job as her assistant. But the girl’s flighty-if-well-meaning teacher (Asami Usuda) becomes concerned about her home life (or absence thereof), while her classmates bully her for an alleged theft. Also, the children must live with the ominous presence of their mother’s much-older boyfriend (Masatoshi Nagase), who shows up out of the blue with an air of quiet menace.
One fateful day, Misaki returns to the boathouse to find him inside, playing her father’s beloved guitar. Her carefully constructed world, founded on the impossible dream of a father-daughter reunion, is about to fall to pieces.
The ensuing crisis brings Eriko and Misaki together in a way that, given what we’ve seen of the former, seems little short of miraculous, but — with coffee serving as a healing bridge — begins to make life-changing sense.
A former idol singer who has long since proven her ability to play comic or dramatic roles, Nagasaku grounds Misaki firmly in her chosen work, making it inform her every brisk, efficient gesture. At the same time, she embodies — with sure conviction and no sentimentality whatsoever — the little girl inside, who keeps one tender memory of her father alive.
The surprise for me was Sasaki, a supermodel whose movie appearances to date have been more decorative than substantive. Asked to play both nasty and nice, she brings off both seamlessly. This face of 1,000 ad campaigns gives her character a core, not just the called-for expressions.
The film’s reality-based humanism and its strong, lyrical sense of place — Noto Peninsula’s dramatic rocky coastline and crashing waves begin to infiltrate Misaki’s very soul — can also be found in the films of Chiang’s distinguished mentors. Chiang, however, tells this woman-centered story with an unerring rightness that feels imaginatively lived rather than ingeniously contrived. This isn’t to say that only a woman could have filmed it — just that Chiang has set the bar high.
Fun fact: Born in 1969, Chiang Hsiu-chiung won a best supporting actress nomination for the Golden Horse Awards — the Taiwanese film industry’s highest honors — for her work in Edward Yang’s 1991 film “A Brighter Summer Day.” She went on to make award-winning shorts, documentaries and TV movies. “Saihate nite: Yasashii Kaori to Machinagara (The Furthest End Awaits)” is her first international feature co-production.
Screening Schedule Saihate Nite: Yasashii Kaori to Machinagara Japanese title さいはてにて～やさしい香りと待ちながら～ Rating
4 out of 5 Director Hsiu-Chiung Chiang Runtime 118 min. Language Japanese Genre DramaSaid to be up for the part last month, Dane DeHaan has officially scored the role of Harry Osborn in the upcoming sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man. Director Marc Webb confirmed the news this morning via his Twitter feed with the following post:
DeHaan is best known for roles in films like Chronicle and Lawless and his casting suggests that the sequel will retain the “dark and edgy” take on the young Osborn rather than, as later rumored, a more outgoing and athletic version.
Harry, the son of Green Goblin alter ego Norman Osborn, was in the comics a close friend and classmate to Peter Parker who later became a villain, taking up the Goblin mantle himself. In Sam Raimi’s original trilogy, the role was played by James Franco.
DeHaan joins the returning Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone along with Shailene Woodley in the part of Mary Jane Watson. The below press release also confirms that Jamie Foxx has joined the cast and he’s expected to play the film’s central villain, Electro.
The Amazing Spider-Man sequel hits theaters on May 2, 2014. Here is the official press release on the casting:
Dane DeHaan will join the cast of the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man™ along side Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next chapter of the blockbuster franchise, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio.
The screenplay is by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner based on a previous draft by James Vanderbilt. The film will be directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.
The casting of DeHaan as Harry Osborn was confirmed this morning in a tweet by Webb (@MarcW) who wrote “Meet Harry Osborn. So excited to have him on board. @danedehaan.”
“Dane is an exciting and extraordinary young actor and he is a fantastic addition to our cast,” Webb said.
The new film in the Spider-Man saga is set for release in 3D on May 2, 2014. Production will begin in early 2013 in New York.
Webb, Garfield and Stone previously teamed on this summer’s blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man, which has taken in more than $751 million worldwide.
DeHaan caught moviegoers’ attention with his performances in four 2012 releases: Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Lukas Haas; John Hillcoat’s Lawless, alongside Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke; Bradley Rust Gray’s Jack & Diane, with Juno Temple and Riley Keough; and one of the year’s biggest sleeper hits, the adventure thriller Chronicle, directed by Josh Trank. He began his film career with director John Sayles and actor Chris Cooper in Amigo.
DeHaan next stars in Place Beyond the Pines alongside Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling. In addition he will star in Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot, with Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, about the fate of the West Memphis Three; and John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings, with Jack Huston, Daniel Radcliffe, Ben Foster, and Kyra Sedgwick, set in 1944 amidst the Beat Generation.
Mr. DeHaan first came to industry attention with his portrayal of Jesse in the third season of the critically applauded drama series In Treatment, starring alongside Gabriel Byrne. This was followed by a guest arc in the fourth season of the popular horror series True Blood.
In 2010, he received an Obie Award for his performance in Annie Baker’s The Aliens, directed by Sam Gold. The Rattlestick Theater production was cited as “Play of the Year” by The New York Times. Mr. DeHaan made his Broadway debut in with American Buffalo, Robert Falls’ 2008 staging of the classic David Mamet play.In a rambling letter from his prison cell sent to TPM and other media outlets, former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) writes that he never told the feds that he had sex with a prostitute “and the DOJ bastards know it,” that IRS agents and media reporters “remind me of ravening wolves,” and that he never should have agreed to a plea deal that put him behind bars.
The former California Republican is serving eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud in 2005. Now he’s claiming that there were no “bribes,” and that the only checks he received were reimbursements.
I wrote to Cunningham a few months ago to ask him what he thought of Attorney General Eric Holder’s push for prisoner re-entry reform and to get an update on how he’s been spending his time behind bars.
What I got back on Wednesday was a packet from Cunningham that featured a personalized response and a copy of “The Untold Story of Duke Cunningham” — a nine-page, typed, single-spaced monograph dated March 2011 apparently written by Cunningham himself. The monograph was attached to a copy of a March 17 letter to the federal judge who handled his case. That letter was also copied to numerous media outlets.In response to TPM’s questions, Cunningham wrote that his life “will be dedicated to prison & DOJ reform.”
“The United States has more more men & women in prison than any other nation including Russia and China,” he wrote. “The largest growing number of prisoners, women — 1-34 Americans are either on probation or in prison. The 95% conviction rate reached by threats of long sentences, intimidation, lies and prosecutorial abuse has got to be reckoned with now, not later.”
“The system to return inmates to society is a joke and until real change is made our children will do w/o a mom/dad that can provide for them after release,” Cunningham continued.
In the letter sent to a number of media outlets, Cunningham explains that he’s spent much of his time behind bars teaching GED courses to other inmates and has even tried his hand at paddle ball and softball on weekends. He describes himself as a “walking skeleton” when he took his plea deal back in 2005 and says he has refused media requests “in hopes the judicial process would eventually get at the truth, the whole truth and nothing but.”
“Perhaps it is time to end my silence and tell the untold story, at least to record it here for my family and friends before I take my last flight into the wild blue yonder,” the 69-year-old Vietnam-era fighter pilot writes.
He continues:
“I will soon pass my allotted ‘three score and ten years’ as described in the Good Book — and thank the Lord for each new day I am still able to share with family and dear friends. Strange but true, even at my age, soon into my 70’s, life still seems like it was when I flew my F-4 jet fighters in defense of our country over Vietnam and elsewhere – wondering I will live to see another day,” Cunningham writes.
“I never imagined then that I would later receive a phone call from U.S. President Ronald Reagan, urging me to run for the US Congress — much less that I would be re-elected 7 times — much of it serving on the Armed Services Committee making life and death decisions of the other young military men, women and their families who were also defending the Constitution of our nation as I did all those years,” he writes.
“Those who know my heart know that I am an earnest seeker of truth, who has taken a lifelong oath to defend the truth that sets us free from the lies told by those with a hidden agenda, some of whom are domestic enemies of our Constitution.”
Cunningham also touches on the shooting that nearly took the life of Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ). The same judge who handled his case is presiding over the case of shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner.
“A few days after this shooting rampage, Air Force One brought US President Barrack Hussein Obama to Tucson, along with some of his cabinet members to pay respect to the victims of this dreadful tragedy. We could see Air Force One as it came in for a landing a few miles north of the prison camp where I am writing these thoughts,” Cunningham writes.
“President Obama went to visit ‘Gabby’ and other survivors at the hospital. He also spoke at the Memorial Service at the University of Arizona campus — urging us all to tone down divisive discourse and create the kind of American government that 8 year old Christina Green wanted to believe in before she was shot and killed on that tragic day in Tucson at her neighborhood grocery parking lot,” he writes.
Cunningham writes that he too wants to believe in the kind of American government that Green believed in.
“I manned up to my errors in judgement, but I have also endured affliction for things I did not do, like other innocent souls, but somehow we carry on, believing as we must that the truth will ultimately prevail with those who know our hearts.”
Cunningham indicates that he did not knowingly and intentionally sign the plea because as he explained he “had never been in or trained for this battle ground” and “simply trusted my lawyers.”
“Today I know that was a mistake. First, the money amounts charged against me as bribes could have been proven completely false. I have recently received my 2000 and 2005 check registers that document that most of the alleged ‘bribes’ were in fact reimbursements. Black and white,” he writes.
“I can prove item by item that was in the Plea Agreement was not true, except I did accept antiques, furniture and carpets from Mitch Wade. They were NOT bribes. I signed the Plea only under the duress described, and the DOJ assurance that if I continued to cooperate in other cases, I would receive a 35% reduction in my sentence…after which I fully cooperated over several years, often in leg irons and belly chains, only to have the DOJ mislead me because I refused to twist the truth to fit their story against over defendants in other cases,” Cunningham writes.
He writes that he would have supported Wade’s defense program “even if the vicious Nancy Pelosi had wanted it.”
“So, clearly no bribe of any sort was involved in this matter. But the DOJ prosecutors … put a false spin on the true story — and in the Plea — to make their case,” he writes.
Cunningham also explains that it would have been impossible for him to have had sex with a prostitute.
“At no time did I ever state that I had sex with a prostitute in Hawaii, and the DOJ bastards know it. I told the prosecutors I would submit to any doctor or sex therapist etc to prove it was impossible. I had radical prostate surgery which left me almost impotent even with the use of ED medication after a year of recuperation,” he continues.
“Yet the DOJ put the worst possible spin on these allegations to humiliate me before family and constituents — without regard for the truth. When my prostate cancer returned, I had a full dose of radiation. I told them and the prostitute first that I was married and happily so. Second, I would not due to the possibility of disease and when she said he had ‘protection’ I told her and the DOJ that I could not get one even if I wanted to.”
“I recognize the need for zeal on the part of prosecutors — and I have championed the adversary system of justice in our land. But by my own firsthand experience, this is not justice, and it does not get us to the truth of things,” he writes.
“I marvel that federal Judges like the late John Rolls here is Tucson, and Judge Burns |
1977.
The first lighthouse was built on Sharps Island in 1838, but due to the island's erosion it was moved in 1848. This was replaced with a screwpile lighthouse in 1866 near the original location of the first structure.[3][4]
The second lighthouse lasted until 1881 when it was forced off its foundations by an ice floe. It floated nearly five miles down the Chesapeake—with its keepers still inside—until it ran aground, allowing the men to escape unharmed.[5]
1885 photo of lighthouse, when it was still upright
The current light, a sparkplug lighthouse, was constructed in 1882 with a concrete caisson foundation and a 35-foot (11 m) cast iron tower. The fourth-order Fresnel lens was replaced with a 9.8-inch (250 mm) lens in 1977; the focal plane is 54 feet (16 m) above sea level. The tower includes an integral dwelling and was manned until 1938 when the United States Coast Guard automated the light.[3] Leaning by about 15° since it was ice-damaged in 1977, the structure is picturesque, but in poor condition.
The Sharps Island Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (reference # 82002821) on July 22, 1982.[1] It is one of the many historic features along Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
It is also on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List of endangered lighthouses.[6]
As of 2006, the lighthouse was a candidate for sale under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.[6][7] It was deactivated in January 2010.[8]
References [ edit ]WASHINGTON (By Dave Clarke) - The wealthy should pay the largest portion of U.S. taxes, JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Tuesday, injecting himself into the budget debate as the threat of a government shutdown looms.
Dimon, who also backed getting government spending under control, spoke as Republicans and Democrats failed to reach agreement during White House talks aimed at forging a budget deal that would keep the U.S. government operating beyond Friday.
On Tuesday, House Republicans also unveiled a plan for tackling long-term budget shortfalls that focuses on slashing spending including what goes to Medicare and Medicaid.
"I for one have no problem, as a well-off American... paying taxes," Dimon told the annual spring meeting of the Council of Institutional Investors.
"I think those well off should pay a lion's share, I have no problem with that," he said. "But I think we can't just go on endlessly spending money."
Dimon singled out education spending as an area where budget cutters should be careful when wielding their knives as he bemoaned the lack of opportunities for lower-income students.
He also warned that if the United States does not fix its budget problems soon investors in government debt will force budget cuts in the future by refusing to buy U.S. securities.
"If we are not voluntarily fiscally responsible, we will be involuntarily fiscally responsible," he said.
In a wide ranging talk with meeting attendees, Dimon also said new international bank capital standards are excessive and may impede economic growth.
"It will stifle economic growth and I already believe it is," he said.
The new Basel III rules being phased in over several years from 2013 will roughly triple to 7 percent the minimum core capital a bank must hold to withstand shocks and spare taxpayers from footing the bill in the next financial crisis.
Large internationally active banks, known as "SIFIs," will also likely have to hold an additional amount of capital to better prepare them for another global shock.
"I think banks around the world are already deleveraging getting ready for the potential impact of Basel III global SIFI charges," he said.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Dimon also warned of the anti-competitive effects of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.
He said new rules being developed for the roughly $600 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market could drive business oversees. He voiced similar criticisms of the derivatives rules last week at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event. (Reporting by Dave Clarke; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio judge on Friday granted a request to let 17-year-olds vote in the swing state's presidential primary on Tuesday.
Ohio allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 before the fall election to vote in Tuesday's primary, with some exceptions. Young Ohio voters can decide on congressional, legislative and mayoral contenders, but they can't vote on ballot issues or candidates for a political party's governing body.
Whether the teens can vote in the presidential primary race had been under dispute in the perennial battleground.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, said about 7 p.m. Friday that he has reversed his plans to appeal the ruling.
"Upon learning that the 10th District Court of Appeals do not plan to hear an appeal on the lower court's decision until the day before the election, even if we were to prevail, there is no effective way to responsibly make the changes necessary to implement an orderly election," Husted said in an updated statement.
Even though Husted still says that "this last-minute legislating from the bench on election law has to stop," he will direct all county boards of election to comply with the court order, according to the statement.
"Our system cannot give one county court the power to change 30 years of election law for the entire state of Ohio, 23 days into early voting and only four days before an election," Husted said in a news release. "We will appeal this decision because if there is a close election on Tuesday we need clarity from the Supreme Court to make sure that ineligible voters don't determine the outcome of an election."
Nine 17-year-old registered voters in central Ohio had sued Husted in state court over his interpretation that 17-year-olds can vote "solely on the nomination of candidates" -- and not in the presidential primary "because delegates are elected and not nominated."
But the delegates aren't assuming any office, said the teen's attorney, Rachel Bloomekatz. They serve as the voters' surrogates at a party's nominating convention. Plus, the names of delegates corresponding to each presidential candidate do not appear on the primary ballot.
Presidential candidates earn their party's nomination by collecting a majority of the delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Frye on Friday issued an emergency order blocking Husted's instructions that forbid 17-year-olds from voting in the presidential primary.
Early voting has been underway in for weeks in Ohio.
Chad Readler, an attorney for Husted, told Frye at a Thursday hearing that changing the rules would create "mass confusion" at the boards, though Bloomekatz argued the instructions could be simple: Count the votes.
The Ohio Democratic Party has urged Husted not to appeal the decision.
"Young Ohioans deserve to have a say in whom they want to lead our country," Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a statement Friday. "The Ohio Democratic Party will continue to support greater voter participation -- regardless of party. We've never solved a problem with less democracy."
Separately, Democrat Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign has filed a federal lawsuit over the limitations. A federal judge earlier Friday temporarily halted the lawsuit, saying the court would abstain from a decision in the case until the state court ruled on the similar lawsuit.
Although the Sanders' campaign's lawsuit was not directly resolved Friday, the campaign's Ohio director Jeff Rusnak was pleased with Frye's ruling.
"This is a victory for young voters and a great day for democracy in Ohio," Rusnak said in a statement.
At least 20 other states allow 17-year-olds to vote in presidential primaries or caucuses, though rules sometimes vary based on political party, according to FairVote, an organization that tracks electoral issues.
cleveland.com reporter Jane Morice contributed to this post.After a recent workout for the Los Angeles Lakers and considering overseas deals, free agent Quincy Miller has signed a contract in the NBA Development League, sources told RealGM.
Miller's agent, Jared Karnes, confirmed on Wednesday night that the 6-foot-10 forward has filed paperwork to enter the D-League.
Miller worked out for the Lakers last month and had been a leading candidate to earn a roster spot. The Lakers have been deliberate in deciding which wing player to sign onto the roster, continuing to closely monitor forward Roscoe Smith out of their D-League affiliate in Los Angeles, league sources said.
Miller, the 38th overall pick to Denver in 2012, spent two seasons with the Nuggets and averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Miller, 22, was waived out of Denver's training camp in October.On Sunday, a court in Khartoum, Sudan sentenced a Czech citizen, Petr Jašek, to life in prison, and his associates to lengthy prison terms on charges of espionage for documenting Christian persecution and for helping pay the medical costs of a burn victim. The Czech Foreign Ministry has denounced these charges as baseless.
"Petr Jašek was imprisoned for life," attorney Muhanad Nur told Morning Star News. Middle East Concern, an organization dedicated to protecting the religious freedom of Christians in the war-torn region, laid out the charges in full:
The court sentenced Petr Jašek to life in prison for espionage, to six months in prison for spreading rumours that undermine the authority of the state, to a fine of 100,000 Sudanese Pounds (approx. USD 16,000) for undertaking NGO work without a permit, and to one year in prison each (to be served consecutively) for inciting strife between communities, for entry in and photography of military areas and equipment, and illegal entry into Sudan.
The Czech Foreign Ministry, in rejecting the ruling as groundless, reported the prison term as 20 years, not life, according to the Associated Press (AP). The ministry announced that a deputy foreign minister will travel to Sudan in the coming days to try to negotiate Jašek's release. The ministry added that Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek is ready to go if necessary. Czech officials said Jašek was in Sudan to help local Christians but was arrested in December 2015.
The Czech statement said there was no evidence to support either his conviction or sentence.
Two other men were also given prison terms by the Sudanese court. Reverend Hassan Abduraheem Kodi Taour and Mr. Abdulmonem Abdumawla were each sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly abetting Jašek in the crime of espionage, and two more years each, for the crimes of inciting strife between communities and spreading rumors to undermine the authority of the state. These 12-year sentences are to be served consecutively.
Middle East Concern, in reporting the sentencing of the other two men, noted that "the legal maximum penalty for" spreading rumors that undermine the authority of the state is six months in prison. Lawyers for the three men indicated they will appeal the sentences within 15 days.
According to the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), in November 2015, Jašek met with a young man from Darfur (Ali Omer) who had been badly burned during a demonstration, and donated money toward his medical treatment. As Jašek left Sudan, he was searched by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), who discovered a receipt for the donation.
NISS confiscated his personal belongings, including his cell phone, laptop, and camera. Nine days later, they arrested the other two men. Jašek has assisted VOM to provide care to persecuted Christians in Sudan and Nigeria, including medical care for Christians attacked by the terrorist group Boko Haram, which is linked to the Islamic State (ISIS).When Leo Macias wants to visit an art gallery, he just has to walk across his living room. He and his wife, Thais Marin, opened the ApArt Private Gallery almost two years ago in their spacious eighth-floor apartment in São Paulo.
Thais Marin and Leo Macias with guest in lion head Credit: Photos courtesy ApArt
Mr. Macias, who joined Brazil's DM9 DDB a year ago as creative director following seven years at Publicis, is also an artist himself and an art collector.
"It was going to be a studio, then we said 'No, an art gallery,' and why not exhibit the work of advertising creatives who are artists?" said Ms. Marin, a former agency account exec who recently joined Disney. Not all the artists work in the ad industry, but those who do are often frustrated by clients fiddling with their ideas. She said, "No one is going to change their work [here]."
And they had the perfect place. "I bought the apartment five years ago, and people said 'Your apartment is like an art gallery'," said Mr. Macias.
The pair have curated a dozen shows since opening ApArt in August 2013, with 15-day intervals to prepare the next show (see slideshow of their home and gallery below). Each kicks off with an opening event for up to 200 people, with some kind of performance. Art usually sells for between $430 and $3,400, with the most expensive piece so far going for $43,000.
When Seu Jorge, a leading Brazilian musician, performed at ApArt, his team built a stage in the living room. Another singer and songwriter, Maria Gadú, opted to cook dinner in the couple's kitchen, because singing would have been the obvious thing to do.
Mr. Macias curated a photography exhibition called "New York Under" by inviting creatives from agencies including Almap BBDO and WPP digital agency F.biz who had been to New York to submit their photographs showing the city "in a completely different way."
One participant, André Gola, a cartoonist and creative director at Almap BBDO, went on to have his first one-man show last fall at ApArt.
"For the first time, I was showing my own personal work, and not advertising," Mr. Gola said. "It was very motivating." Besides the thrill of selling his work, he's had several commissions since his show, including designing shirts for the Choix boutique owned by Marcio Ribas, Neogama BBH's creativie director.
Mr. Macias' own eclectic work is on display, including "Individual Paradises," a series of colored clouds made from wood, rubber and plaster and fastened to the ceiling (see slideshow). They recreate the experience of gazing at clouds as a child and imagining the worlds within. A shoe, with clouds painted on the sole, is on display on a nearby wall. It's the shoe Mr. Macias wore when he arrived in Sao Paulo from his native Colombia 20 years ago, and it reminds him "you have to always be taking a step upward."
The ApArt gallery doesn't have official hours, but visits can be scheduled at apartprivategallery.com, and Brazilian media increasingly recommend a visit to ApArt.
Coming up: The next show is by Bia Tambelli, best known for her oil paintings of nude women done over photographs, starting July 2. And Mr. Macias and Ms. Marin hope to bring an artist-in-residence from the U.S. later this year to live and work in their apartment-gallery for two weeks.
A huge 50-year-old blue wooden front door leads into Leo Macias' and Thais Marin's apartment. The open-plan living space is full of the couple's colorful collections. A temporary stage was built here for Brazilian musician Seu Jorge to perform; the 46 origami birds by the window were part of the set. An alcove contains both a mini wine cellar and shelves holding hundreds of female saints. A glass door leads from the living room into the gallery space. Each gallery show has an opening party. One show was Mr. Macias' own work; the clouds on the ceiling are part of "Individual Paradises."
Photos courtesy of ApArt Private GalleryFrom the evolutionist point of view, the point of marriage is the production of children.
Let’s quickly analogize to food. Humans have a tremendous variety of customs, habits, traditions, and taboos surrounding foods. Foods enjoyed in one culture, like pork, crickets, and dog, are regarded as disgusting, immoral, or forbidden in another. Cheese is, at heart, rotten vomit–the enzyme used to make cheese coagulate is actually extracted from a calf’s stomach lining–and yet the average American eats it eagerly.
Food can remind you of your childhood, the best day of your life, the worst day of your life. It can comfort the sick and the mourning, and it accompanies our biggest celebrations of life.
We eat comfort food, holiday food, even sacrificial food. We have decadent luxuries and everyday staples. Some people, like vegans and ascetics, avoid large classes of food generally eaten by their own society for moral reasons.
People enjoy soda because it has water and calories, but some of us purposefully trick our taste buds by drinking Diet Coke, which delivers the sensation of drinking calories without the calories themselves. We enjoy the taste of calories even when we don’t need any more.
But the evolutionary purpose of eating is to get enough calories and nutrients to survive. If tomorrow we all stopped needing to eat–say, we were all hooked into a Matrix-style click-farm in which all nutrients were delivered automatically via IV–all of the symbolic and emotional content attached to food would wither away.
The extended helplessness of human infants is unique in the animal kingdom. Even elephants, who gestate for an incredible two years and become mature at 18, can stand and begin walking around shortly after birth. Baby elephants are not raised solely by their mothers, as baby rats are, but by an entire herd of related female elephants.
Elephants are remarkable animals, clever, communicative, and caring, who mourn their dead and create art:
But from the evolutionist point of view, the point of elephants’ family systems is still the production of elephant children.
Love is a wonderful, sweet, many-splendored thing, but the purpose of marriage, in all its myriad forms–polygamy, monogamy, polyandry, serial monogamy–is still the production of children.
There are a few societies where marriage as we know it is not really practiced because people depend on alternative kin networks or women can largely provide for themselves. For example, 70% of African American children are born out of wedlock; and among the avuncular Apache:
In the Southwest United States, the Apache tribe practices a form of this, where the uncle is responsible for teaching the children social values and proper behavior while inheritance and ancestry is reckoned through the mother’s family alone. (Modern day influences have somewhat but not completely erased this tradition.)
Despite the long public argument over the validity of gay marriage, very few gay people actually want to get married. Gallop reports that after the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, the percent of married gay people jumped quickly from 7.9% to 9.5%, but then leveled off, rising to only 9.6% by June 2016.
In contrast, 46% of US adults are married.
Even this number, though, is in sharp decline: in 1960, 72% of adults were married; by 2010, only 51% were.
The situation is similar throughout the Western world. Only 51% of Brits are married. In Italy, the crude marriage rate (the number of new marriages per 1,000 people), has fallen from 7.35 in 1970 to only 4.21 in 2007. Only 58.9% of Japanese are married.
Declining marriage rates across the developed world have been accompanied by declining fertility rates and rising illegitimacy rates:
As Wikipedia notes:
In other words, the Japanese welfare state, while generous, does not encourage single motherhood. Wikipedia also provides a discussion of the causes of declining Japanese marriage rates:
In other words, marriage is functionally about providing a supportive way of raising children. In a society where birth control does not exist, children born out of wedlock tend not to survive, and people can easily get jobs to support their families, people tended to get married and have children. In a society where people do not want children, cannot afford them, are purposefully delaying childbearing as long as possible, or have found ways to provide for them without getting married, people simply see no need for marriage.
“Marriage” ceases to mean what it once did, reserved for old-fashioned romantics and the few lucky enough to afford it.
Mass acceptance of gay marriage did change how people think of marriage, but it’s downstream from what the massive, societal-wide decrease in child-bearing and increase in illegitimacy have done to our ideas about marriage.
Advertisementsio.js
io.js, the legendary Node.js fork, has achieved two major things: it made possible to use ES6 in production without excuses and forced Joyent to move Node.js to an open governance model. This is great.
“Node.js will be developed under an open governance, model, with serious corporate support, and without the confusion and fragmentation risk associated with two communities going separate ways.” —
It is still not clear if and when the codebases of both io.js and Node.js will be merged together, but reconciliation discussion is very much alive and you can follow the progress here.
As far as reassurances go, Node.js / io.js technology stack is the best I have ever worked with in my life: excellent performance, simplicity and incredible amount of supported, reusable and compatible modules on Node Package Manager (NPM).
Just to put things in perspective:
Rubygems.org, the package manager for Ruby, has 98,793 packages and 4.8 billion downloads to date since its launch in 2004.
While on NPM at the time of writing there are 135,475 packages, which were downloaded a staggering 1,2 billion times in the last month alone.
I’ve never seen so many components being actively supported by community,
you can focus on your app, not fixing someone’s broken library —
Javascript, the language behind Node.js and io.js is doing well too.
Tiobe has recently awarded Javascript with “Programming Language of The Year 2014” title, so did Red Monk. The language continues to experience a massive increase in adoption globally.
Final point to consider: hiring is easy.
Javascript is the lingua franca of the web and it has one of the lowest barriers to entry. For anyone with Javascript skills, a switch to node.js / io.js stack is usually a short and pleasant experience.
React
React is a simple and declarative JavaScript library for creating user interfaces. It was developed by smart people at Facebook and Instagram to increase developer productivity and to make client side code easier to maintain. They did this by re-thinking separation of concerns and challenging many of the long standing concepts developers took for granted.
Facebook thinks that you should be re-rendering the app every time your data changes to achieve the best performance. Wait, what?!
Enter the Virtual DOM.
React processes all your operations in a separate Virtual DOM written in Javascript without touching the browser. Then it computes the absolute minimum number of operations needed to apply those changes to the real DOM using DOM diffing (described in detail here) and applies the changes using batched writes.
Verdict: using Virtual DOM results in incredible performance gains.
Even on mobile.
React is not only fast, but it’s simple to write too. Here’s a small ToDo list app written in React:
The interesting thing to note here is that the code above also uses JSX, a completely optional JavaScript syntax extension that looks similar to XML, for code clarity.
React Native
But what about mobile?
Before we continue: I have to admit, for years I have been chasing the impossible pipedream of “write once — run everywhere”. And so many times I have been disappointed by HTML5 performance on mobile devices.
Just imagine the possibilities, if you would not need to worry about code fragmentation or performance and you could deploy your code into any platform without modifications (hello, Adobe AIR)?
Today, cross platform apps are still a dream. The performance of HTML wrappers like Cordova is simply no match to native UI rendering.
Facebook knows this as well, that’s why they chose a slightly different path by throwing their support behind React Native (currently available for iOS only; Android version in the works).
The focus of React Native is on developer efficiency across all the platforms you care about — learn once, write anywhere. Facebook uses React Native in multiple production apps and will continue investing in React Native —
React Native makes use of native platform components such as UITabBar and UINavigationController on iOS, multithreading, asynchronous code execution and hardware acceleration.
With React Native apps can achieve a true native feel.
It’s true that React Native renders the results on your screen using a different engine than React in the web browser, but the way you write applications remains unchanged, therefore the philosophy “learn once, write anywhere”.
Using React and React Native does not eliminate the platform overhead completely, but it minimizes it significantly by offering reusable components and ability to write your application in the world’s friendliest language — Javascript, without worrying about performance.
React is a solid technology choice, while we wait for major advances in how Javascript is treated on mobile platforms.
Couchbase 4.0
But first, I have to give a special shout out to the guys at FoundationDB.
Funny story: I almost got myself fired by choosing their database after rigorous research for my company’s main technology stack, only to wake up next morning and find out that they have been acquired by Apple and the downloads are no longer available.
FoundationDB’s attractiveness came in the speed at which it handled ACID-compliant transactions and coupled that with strong scalability —
TechCrunch
In fact it was so fast, it scaled up 14.4 million random writes per second on a 32 x c3.8xlarge cluster. Insane.
Apple snatched up this amazing technology company and the talent behind it leaving nothing for the ailing web.
Luckily the rest of the NoSQL industry did not stand idly by while FoundationDB was breaking records. Almost the same day Couchbase announced version 4.0 of their Server product.
Couchbase 4.0 is SQL capable database powered by extremely fast, scalable and durable Key-Value store.
Here’s the highlights:
Multi dimensional scaling (separation and isolation of query, index, and data resources)
(separation and isolation of query, index, and data resources) ACID transactions via new storage engine called ForestDB
via new storage engine called ForestDB Multi-version concurrency control (MVCC)
(MVCC) SQL for Documents (previously N1QL)
(previously N1QL) Durability (write-ahead logging) and SSD optimizations
These features make it a perfect candidate to fill the gap left by FoundationDB acquisition.
Update May 27, 2015: Couchbase clarified that their V4 product will not actually provide ACID guarantees. I will update this post once more information becomes available.
Recent advancements in data storage technology have proven that speed, scalability and data durability can coexist in a database product. I expect all NoSQL databases to move towards providing ACID support out of the box sooner or later (looking at you MongoDB).
Meanwhile Couchbase 4.0 looks like an amazing technology which you should absolutely consider for your technology stack in 2015.
Notable mentions
Postgres 9.4.1 has JSONB which makes it a hybrid SQL+NoSQL database. Great performance out of the box while you wait for the new stuff. Nice hosting options too: heroku and compose
which makes it a hybrid SQL+NoSQL database. Great performance out of the box while you wait for the new stuff. Nice hosting options too: heroku and compose MongoDB 3.0 has swappable storage engine support, and overall great performance. This is our current production DB. However, no transactions out of the box and inferior master-slave replication model.
has swappable storage engine support, and overall great performance. This is our current production DB. However, no transactions out of the box and inferior master-slave replication model. OrientDB 2.0 is the one to watch. An interesting mixture of document and graph databases with ACID transaction support. Latest 2.0 cloud hosted instances available from Jelastic.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this, let me know on Twitter @pauliusuzaHumans, via their robotic rover, are now leaving their mark on the Red Planet.
When the creators of Curiosity built the rover that would explore Mars, they gave its wheels special treads. The marks left by Curiosity's tires as they tool through the dust of the Martian soil won't just serve as visual odometry markers, allowing Curiosity's engineers to determine the rover's orientation and distance traveled; they'll also send a message. Specifically, this message:
short long long long
short long long short
short long short short
Which is also to say, in Morse code:
. - - -
. - -.
. -..
Which is also to say, translating that code: J-P-L, the acronym for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- Curiosity's creator.
Yes. A calling card, coded into Curiosity's every move. Which was feasible for JPL engineers this time around because of Curiosity's advanced design. The wheels of Opportunity, Curiosity's predecessor, had basic, square holes, which allowed the rover to be bolted to its lander during cruise and touchdown. Since Curiosity didn't have a lander, though -- the thing, famously, pretty much landed itself -- JPL engineers suddenly had the freedom to create cleats in Curiosity's wheels that were aesthetic rather than pragmatic in function. And the Morse-to-Mars tribute to their work is what they chose.
NASA/JPL
So it's worth celebrating that earlier today, the engineers' eponymy came to fruition: The JPL has literally left its mark on Mars. The Curiosity rover took its first drive, skimming the surface of the Red Planet and leaving Pasadena's coded calling card in its wake.SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio center Pau Gasol credited a one-on-one session Monday with franchise stalwart Tim Duncan as the catalyst for one of his better statistical outings (17 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists) of the season Wednesday in the Spurs’ 108-101 victory over the Boston Celtics.
“It made all the difference,” Gasol said with a laugh. “It’s all I’m going to do from now on.”
Jokes aside, as much as Gasol’s game blossomed, so did the rest of the team’s, as the Spurs racked up 30-plus assists (33) for the second consecutive game since they were called out by coach Gregg Popovich on the heels of a 95-91 loss at Chicago. On Monday, San Antonio conducted its first practice since Nov. 7, and over the course of some much-needed rest time and on-court instruction, the club appears to have returned to its brand of ball-movement-oriented basketball.
The players remain cautiously optimistic that is the case.
“Fresh legs. Four days off was great,” point guard Tony Parker said. “We had a lot of energy, and the ball was moving. Everybody was sharing, and when we play like that, we will be hard to beat. Having 33 assists is very good.”
Tony Parker's 16 points Wednesday made him one of six Spurs in double figures, and his seven assists put him among six Spurs with at least three. AP Photo/Darren Abate
The Spurs knocked down 44 baskets, with 33 assists, led by Parker, who finished with seven assists and 16 points. Six Spurs ended the night scoring in double figures: Parker, Gasol, Kawhi Leonard (who ran off a game-high 26 points), Manu Ginobili (12 points), Dewayne Dedmon (10) and Jonathon Simmons (10). The Spurs now own a record of 12-0 this season when they finish with five or more scorers in double figures.
Spurs bigs David Lee, Gasol and Davis Bertans dished a combined 13 assists. Six Spurs (Leonard, Lee, Gasol, Parker, Ginobili and Bertans) contributed at least three assists, with three of them racking up six or more.
The Spurs played without power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, whom Popovich decided to rest because the veteran, according to the coach, is “banged up.”
Danny Green attributed San Antonio’s success to an emphasis on “picking up the pace a little bit more.”
“Not letting the ball stick,” he added. “Catching and moving, catching and going, catching and playing for a teammate. We’ve been doing better with it, but I’m not sure we’re where we want to be.”
Popovich and Ginobili agreed, with the former saying “not yet” when asked whether San Antonio has achieved some level of consistency after strong showings in back-to-back outings.
San Antonio scored a combined 123 points in the first halves of its past two contests, compared to a combined 75 first-half points in the two outings before that, including Thursday’s loss at Chicago.
WEDNESDAY SPOTLIGHT The Beard match the Dream, a deal was made and the Spurs found their way. • Brow ties Dream in triple-doubles
• Russ: Speak not of triple-dubs
• Players embrace new deal
• Back to the Spurs' way
• Crowder itching for Green revival
• Dray's not a fan of the deal
• TrueHoop podcast, Wednesday edition SAN ANTONIO SPURS Check out the team site for more game coverage BOSTON CELTICS Check out the team site for more game coverage
“When you see some consistency, it’s got to happen four, five, six games in a row,” Popovich said. “But this is a really good win for us because Boston, I think they execute better than most everybody in the league: great ball movement, great people movement. Brad [Stevens] does a great job with those guys, and they really react well to it, so they’re hard to guard. The things they do are hard. I thought this was one of our better efforts at the defensive end.”
The Spurs became the second team in the NBA to reach 20 victories, and their 20-5 mark equals the second-best record in franchise history through 25 games.
“I think we played pretty well today,” Ginobili said. “We had some distractions. We got great leads three times, and they got back in the game. But overall, we really feel better about the way we played. Everybody got involved. Everybody felt good about the game. So yeah, I think we did good. We are trying to focus on [ball movement], trying to be more aware of where our teammates are and try to get everybody involved. For these two games, it worked. I think it’s too early to say that we turned the corner. But it’s a good sign.”
Parker and Green stressed the need for San Antonio to maintain the momentum from a pair of home victories over the Nets and Celtics as the team prepares to hit the road for a Thursday matchup at Phoenix.
“I think we have spurts of it when we see it, especially with that second group,” Green said. “Our first group does it in phases. We have to get both groups to do it for a full 48. It comes and goes. You might see it throughout the game, maybe 60 percent of the time, or two or three games out of seven. We want to do it all seven.”
But is that possible?
The Spurs are 18-2 when they distribute 20 or more assists this season, and they’ve reeled off a combined 71 dimes in the past two games: 38 on Saturday against Brooklyn and 33 in the win over the Celtics.
“Just have to maintain it,” Parker said. “That’s the whole goal: keep improving, and push ourselves to play like that, at a high standard offensively and defensively, same thing, and try to improve.”The Shark outfit is a Fishing outfit that can be acquired via the Invention skill. The outfit pieces can each be made at Level 80 Fishing and Level 20 Invention by combining 3,600 shark fragments at an Inventor's workbench, after discovering the Shark outfit blueprint at the workbench.
The Shark outfit can be combined with the Tiger shark outfit and Burnt shark outfit to make the Fury shark outfit for additional benefits. Pieces of the Shark outfit can only be traded for other parts of the shark outfits. They cannot be traded for anything else.
Contents show]
Set effects
Equipping all pieces of the outfit provides the following benefits:
The outfit also has the option to "consume all" caught fish or "catch all" caught fish. This can be toggled by right-clicking on the Shark head. If the "consume all" option is selected and the extra fish effect is triggered, both fish are consumed, and you will gain double the experience instead. Wearing a sign of the porter will have no effect if the consume option is enabled.
It is confirmed that the shark outfit's consume option will not affect prawn balls/crackers or golden fish eggs[1].
Outfit pieces
Previous availability
The shark outfits were introduced on 25 March 2015, and they were available only via Treasure Hunter, in a time-limited promotion that ran from 26 March 2015 00:00 UTC to 30 March 2015 23:59 UTC.
They were later made available again by purchase from Vic's Store for 600 credits. If players already have one or more pieces of the outfit, they will be given a missing piece at random. This is also applicable to both the Tiger shark outfit and Burnt shark outfit.
On 6 December 2015, players received a Shark head or an unowned piece of the shark outfit as part of the Christmas Advent Calendar promotion. If all pieces were owned, players received a Huge fallen star (Fishing).
On 6 March 2017, an update added the ability to make the outfits by collecting and combining shark fragments.
GalleryCBS announced today that Stephen Colbert will succeed David Letterman when he walks away from the Late Show at the end of this year. Colbert is best known for The Colbert Report, the hit fake news show in which he impersonates a right-wing blowhard.
In a press release announcing the big news, Colbert said:
Simply being a guest on David Letterman’s show has been a highlight of my career. I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s lead. I’m thrilled and grateful that CBS chose me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go grind a gap in my front teeth.
[UPDATE] Colbert will be leaving his right-wing persona behind along with his Comedy Central show. As "Stephen Colbert," the comedian has made endless fun of the right while pretending to be an idiotic member of that group. It's a tricky line to walk, but Colbert has done it seemingly effortlessly, staying in character when interviewing his nightly guests.
It's a very different format |
ight, but she was also right. Adorable, lovable, witty David was also a brute who showed up to meetings late and drunk and unshaven and who constantly hit on everyone and would have run the Blue Moon Detective Agency into the ground. If Willis’ charisma sometimes unbalanced the balance between the leads, there was a reciprocity written into the show’s very premise.
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“Moonlighting” was considered a drama, but tonally it’s like a single-camera comedy, albeit with a multi-camera setup. The dialogue flies fast and furious, with a level of banter and word play — take your pick of any of these — that could not exist if there was a laugh track and does not exist in most dramas (the work of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Aaron Sorkin excluded). “Moonlighting” is also formally inventive and goofy, in a way we now associate with comedies, but has a sort of unplanned, devil-may-care shagginess it's near impossible to find anywhere on TV. The ambitious “Community” has basically nothing on “Moonlighting” when it comes to genre busting: "Moonlighting" did a claymation segment, it had a "Honeymooner’s" send-up way before "30 Rock," it did a whole film noir dream sequence, and a long dance number to a Billy Joel song (check out Willis' moves), and it was regularly tossing in crazy buttons whenever it felt like it. (See, for example, this bit with the Temptations. And yes, Shepherd's dance at the end really does show up when you flip to "game" in the dictionary.)
But the most modern thing about “Moonlighting” is how much it was trying to communicate and be in conversation with its audience: how much it was was trying to be an Internet show before there was an Internet. “Moonlighting” was very meta from the start. It broke the fourth wall often, without ever breaking the spell of the show. David Addison would crack jokes about what the writers were up to — "What do we do now?" Maddie asked once. "Wrap this up in about 12 minutes so another show can come on the air,” he replied — but he would never do so as Bruce Willis. In the Christmas episode, which ends with probably the sweetest thank you to a cast and crew ever, David looks around at the office and the decorations and says to Maddie, “Do you think this is the Christmas episode?” They wander out the door, and onto the soundstage, where the whole crew and their families are singing “Noel” in fake falling snow. And then they kiss and wave goodbye, as Maddie and David.
This sort of winking is nothing compared to what came later. Starting in the second season, “Moonlighting” would regularly open with a segment that featured Maddie and David talking directly to the camera, making some meta-commentary about something that had happened in the real world. The first one featured them reading letters from fans about when they would kiss: They said they didn’t know, they only just read the episode's script, and they don't kiss in that one. After “Moonlighting” lost 15 of 16 possible Emmys, the show opened with a segment allegedly filmed before the Emmys with Maddie and David talking about how their victories are totally in the bag. How could they lose! Sixteen nominations! This is what you do when you can’t tweet about how losing 15 Emmys feels.
By the third season, “Moonlighting” was if not quite in creative crisis, certainly in chaos. Episodes weren’t arriving on time, Shepherd was pregnant, Willis had broken a clavicle, everyone knew Willis and Shepherd didn't like each other. And so in “The Straight Poop,” “Moonlighting” made a meta-clip show episode that featured gossip columnist Rona Barrett conducting interviews with Maddie and David about why they couldn’t work together.
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As the season went on and more and more time elapsed between episodes, Gordon Caron would come up with exceedingly clever, overly apologetic ways to do what was essentially “Previously, on 'Moonlighting.'" (This was an earlier time, when "Previously ons" weren't standard.) Jeff Jarvis, a TV critic at the time, cheekily introduced an episode, noting that perhaps the audience didn’t know what was happening because the show was on so infrequently they'd started reading books on Tuesday nights. Another episode featured man on the street interviews: The first people interviewed explained they had stopped watching, because it wasn't on enough.
These little segments are remarkable, both for their cleverness and their self-awareness, but most of all their desire to please. “Moonlighting” really wanted to be in communication and conversation with its audience, who loved it, who were impatient with it. It wanted to let the audience know what was happening, even if what was happening was that they couldn't really get it together to bang out 22 episodes, and so they did this the only way they could at the time, with the show itself. "Moonlighting" was self-reflexive in a way that is totally common now, but was so remarkable then that it made a fuss nearly every time it looked itself in the mirror.
Even as the audience started to dissipate, "Moonlighting" just anted up. (And about the “Moonlighting Curse." Forget strikes and deflating chemistry; in the fourth season, Maddie split for Chicago and she and David did not appear together for eight more episodes. That’s probably not a curse, that’s just suicide, or as David and Maddie put it when talking about what getting together might do to the show, "telecide.") While Maddie was in Chicago, David got stuck in prison: On the show ABC executives started looking for replacements, and ABC started selling off the set. As the show went on, losing audience all the while, it couldn’t stop talking about itself, how it had gotten itself into this hole, how it could get out, and what did the audience think? It was begging for feedback. The show ended with Maddie and David coming back and seeing their set being dismantled. It was the TV show that most wanted a huge chorus of people to be talking about what was wrong with it — or what was right with it. If it were on the air right now, it might regret that impulse, but I wish we could find out.OAKLAND — Three Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies sat together in court Monday, with a former deputy in a row behind them, awaiting a hearing for allegations that include facilitating the throwing of feces at inmates at Santa Rita Jail.
Deputies Justin Linn, 23, of Tracy, and Erik McDermott, 27, of Concord, are charged with felony assault under the color of authority, witness intimidation and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Deputy Sarah Krause and former deputy Stephen Sarcos are charged with felony assault under the color of authority.
Related Articles Alameda County deputies charged with inmate abuse
Four deputies arrested for allegedly letting inmate throw feces in Santa Rita McDermott is also alleged to have choked an inmate into unconsciousness.
Linn, McDermott and Krause sat in a row, Santos was behind them. One of the defense attorneys, Matthew Pavone, asked Judge Yolanda Northridge to file a motion to separate the cases of Krause and Sarcos from the others.
Linn and McDermott are facing the more serious crimes of the quartet; both their bails were increased earlier this month from $135,000 to $340,000 and $320,000, respectively. Krause and Sarcos both had $35,000 bail. All four have posted bail and appeared out of custody on Monday.
They all are expected to appear in court again next month to enter pleas.
The allegations against the four current and former deputies include eight total inmate victims.
A formal investigation by the sheriff’s office was launched in January. An inmate first alerted staff of the alleged mistreatment of inmates by deputies Linn and McDermott on Nov. 20, 2016. The whistleblower inmate said the two deputies were allegedly using another inmate to throw feces and urine onto other prisoners in the jail’s housing unit 2, according to court documents.
Court documents concerning McDermott said the alleged choking incident occurred June 16, 2016, in housing unit 2. An inmate said he awoke to the sound of his door being opened and saw McDermott standing over him. He alleges that McDermott assaulted him, strangling him until he lost consciousness.
Both Sarcos and Krause allegedly admitted their involvement from an incident in September 2016. The two allegedly assisted an inmate by unlocking his cell door and the door of another inmate’s cell so he could assault the other inmate with a plastic bottle of feces and urine, court documents stated.
All the deputies were placed on leave in June, except for Sarcos, who resigned.
The four defendants did not comment outside the courtroom in the Rene C. Davidson courthouse Monday morning.Gaming revenue up 27.5 percent on Las Vegas Strip in July
CARSON CITY — The gambling win by Strip casinos, buoyed by strong baccarat and slot play, increased 27.5 percent in July compared to the same month a year ago, ending a two-month slide.
Most areas of Clark County reported increases in gaming wins, while the number fell at casinos in Northern Nevada.
The state Gaming Control Board reported today that, statewide, casinos won $1 billion, before taxes and business expenses, a 16.9 percent rise from July 2011.
The 41 casinos on the Las Vegas Strip showed a win of $597.4 million in July compared to $483.7 million for July 2011. The baccarat win skyrocketed by 113.8 percent after two off months.
Slot machine winnings jumped 10.6 percent in July, the biggest percentage gain since an 11.4 percent increase in June 2011.
Slots and baccarat are the biggest revenue producers on the Strip.
Gross win in blackjack games fell by 1 percent; craps jumped 72 percent; roulette was off 21 percent, and winnings at sports books climbed 230 percent.
The board reported the win in downtown Las Vegas was up 16.4 percent; North Las Vegas rose 36 percent; Laughlin fell 0.54 percent; the Boulder Strip posted a 17.2 percent increase; Mesquite was down 2.5 percent; and the balance of Clark County dropped 0.8 percent.
In Northern Nevada, Washoe County’s gaming win dropped 8.2 percent; South Lake Tahoe was off 0.58 percent; Elko County declined 0.5 percent; and Carson City fell 0.19 percent.Published on October 2nd, 2014 by Eric Weichhart
Another week, another update for the Nintendo eShop. Like we usually do, here is a list of the new releases and sales, as well as the old sales that are still live.
Before getting to the list, I should mention this week’s awesome promotions and sales:
If you buy Azure Strike Gunvolt you will get a free copy of Mighty Gunvolt.
The free game promotion started on Europe!
Note: This list will be updated once all the new sales are confirmed.
Wii U eShop
99Seconds – EnjoyUp Games – $2.49
Red Riding Hood – Brave Rock Games – $1.00
Wii U Virtual Console
Castlevania Dracula X (SNES) – Konami – $7.99
Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts
Until October 6th
Armillo – Fuzzy Wuzzy Games – $4.99 ($7.99)
Until October 9th
Swords & Soldiers – Two Tribes – $1.99 ($2.99)
Until October 12th
Spin The Bottle: Bumpie’s Party – KnapNok Games – $8.39 ($11.99)
Wii U eShop Permanent Discount
Just Dance Kids 2014 – Ubisoft – $19.99 ($29.99) *From October 6th
Wii U eShop
99Seconds – EnjoyUp Games – €2.49 / £2.29
Wii U Virtual Console
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (SNES) – Capcom – €7.99 / £5.49
Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts
Until October 5th
Armillo – Fuzzy Wuzzy Games – €3.69 / £2.99 (€6.00 / £5.50)
Until October 9th
Swords & Soldiers – Two Tribes – €1.99 / £1.77 (2.99 / £2.69)
Until October 12th
Spin The Bottle: Bumpie’s Party – KnapNok Games -€5.99 / £5.60 (€8.99 / £8.00)
Until October 30th
Poker Dice Solitaire Future – RCMadiax – $0.69
3DS Retail Download
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS – Nintendo – $39.99 (From October 3rd)
Tenkai Knights Brave Battle – Bandai Namco – $39.99 (From October 7th)
3DS eShop Temporary Discounts
Until October 6th
Classic Games Overload: Card & Puzzle Edition – Telegames – $14.99 – ($29.99)
Until October 9th
Glory of Generals – CIRCLE Entertainment – $6.99 ($9.99)
Until October 16th
Tappingo – Goodbye Galaxy Games – $1.99 ($2.99)
Until October 23rd
Free eShop Demo:
Color Zen – Cypronia
3DS Retail Download
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS – Nintendo – €44.99 / £39.99 (From October 3rd)
3DS Virtual Console
Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight (NES) – Capcom – €4.99 / £4.49
3DS eShop Temporary Discounts
Until October 9th
Parking Star 3D – CIRCLE Entertainment – €1.99 / £1.79 (€2.99 / £2.49)
Quell Reflect – CIRCLE Entertainment – €2.99 / £2.69 (€3.99 / £3.49)
3D Game Collection – Joindots – €5.99 / £5.99 (€13.99 / £11.99)
Funfair Party Games – Joindots – €6.99 / £6.99 (€19.99 / £17.99)
Gardenscapes – Joindots – €5.99 / £5.99 (€14.99 / £14.99)
Jewel Match 3 – Joindots – €5.99 / £4.99 (€6.99 / £5.99)
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return – Avanquest – £9.99 (£19.99)
Until October 16th
Real Heroes Firefighter 3D Download Version – Zordix AB – €4.99 / £4.49 (€9.99 / £8.99)
3D MahJongg – Joindots – €3.99 / £3.29 (€4.99 / £4.49)
Murder on the Titanic – Joindots – €5.99 / £4.99 (€14.99 / £14.99)
Secret Agent Files: Miami – Joindots – €6.99 / £5.79 (€7.99 / £6.99)
Atlantic Quest – Joindots – €5.99 / £4.99 (€6.99 / £5.99)
Tappingo – Goodbye Galaxy Games – €1.99 / £1.69 (€2.99 / £2.49)
Until October 23rd
Until November 12thThe failure of licensed racers to race is the biggest barrier to a thriving sport, but there are other factors. After non-participation, the biggest obstacle in California is the local racing association. The SNCNA and NCNCA seem locked in a deadly competition to see who can strangle the sport the quickest.
I’ve always thought that the northern district was better than the southern one, a misperception that definitely falls into the category of wishful thinking. This past weekend I signed up for the Pescadero Road Race.
I’ve never raced in NorCal because it is too far away, even though their road races are legendary. “NorCal,” people whisper, “is where you find real road racing in California. Not this punk crit SoCal crap.” I wondered what road race could be harder than Punchbowl, or Boulevard, or Castaic, or Vlees Huis, or Tuttle Creek, and decided to find out.
Of course in order to make the trek I’d need company, and Wily, ever eager to do hard road races, agreed to split the $96.00 we’d have to pay at Ye Old Millipede Motel in Redwood City. Two days before liftoff Wily shot me an email. “Dude,” he said, “they won’t let me register.”
“What?”
“It’s their state elite championship race and they only allow district residents to race it.”
“That can’t be right. Every state lets non-residents race, they just can’t compete for the jersey. Anyway, you’re a resident of the state.”
“Nope,” he said, and forwarded me the emails.
Of course the only possible reason to ban non-district elite racers from the race is so that the tiny penis NorCal riders can not only win the jersey but also be first across the line. In our own elite championship race, the SoCal champion got fourth place, being beaten by out-of-state/out-of-district riders. No one cared, of course, least of all the promoter, because the more riders the more competitive the field the better the race’s reputation and the more money.
Wily first inquired as to whether or not he could race. The promoter responded:
Nope. Norcal only. Why not try one of the other 1/2/3 races?
Sounds good, Wily thought, What other race is it he’s referring to? Answer: There isn’t one. This was the promoter’s very clever way of saying Kcuf Ouy.
Wily next took a more analytical approach.
Pursuant to USA Cycling Rule 7J3(b), “State Championships are open to US Citizens and permanent residents (green card).” This plainly entitles me to register and race, as I’m a US citizen and licensed USA Cycling rider. Subsection (d) only gives the Administrator discretion with regard to ineligible riders, which does not apply to me as I am clearly eligible. Subsection (e) only applies to members of the local association, i.e. NorCal, which again, I am not. Can you cite me to any rule or authority that would allow you to prevent me from entering? If not, please confirm that I will be allowed to register and race.
He quickly learned, however, that analysis is useless with idiots. The promoter responded with this gem:
This is an Elite district championship, not state. You must be in the NCNCA district.
It’s a gem because this is not a rule except in the very loose sense of “I’m saying it therefore it is a rule.” Events held under USAC permits must conform to the USAC rule book with regard to all aspects of the race. What’s funnier is that the promoter calls it an “Elite district championship, not state.” There is, of course, no such event.
Other SoCal riders began inquiring and the promoter gave them the same runaround — you can’t race in THIS P/1/2 race but you can race in one of the OTHER 1/2/3 races, unless you don’t qualify because those are all masters races, which means you can’t race ANY of the races.
It’s not up to me to bypass the registration restriction. The flyer publicly states NCNCA only and the officials
expect me to enforce that for the two championship fields. You’re always welcome to come and race another field. If you reg’ed online there is a no refund policy in effect.
My favorite is the last line: If you already paid, Kcuf Ouy.
So now the asshole promoter claimed that it was up to the officials whose rules he was merely enforcing. So Wily pinged the chief poobah. As soon as I saw her 281 area code at the bottom of her email, I knew she was going to be an idiot because that’s the area code for Houston, my hometown.
Wily then tried this tack:
Is there any other rule than the ones you’ve cited that allows you to ban me from entering this race? If there is, please point me to it, as the rule you’ve cited to mentions state championships, an event you now claim that you are not hosting. If there is no other rule and you still won’t allow me to register, please confirm that you won’t allow me to register since it is a 7-hour drive and doesn’t make any sense for me to come up the night before, stay in a hotel, and show up only to be refused entry due to some rule that you claim USAC forgot to put in its rulebook because they somehow forgot that California has two districts, even though there are specific provisions that talk about states with multiple districts. The promoters should be aware that their flyer constitutes false advertising and, according to an attorney who has reviewed the rule book and the flyer, it is a possible violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act as well. I and the other SoCal racers who have contacted the promoter are very upset about this arbitrary exclusion from the race. It’s a violation of the USAC rules and it’s also illegal. Please advise.
Instead, Wily received a response that will go down in history as one of the best pieces of Kcuf Ouy that anyone affiliated with NCNCA has ever sent out. And of course the maroon who sent it has the excellent email handle of papa.mike.bike@gmail.com, which is, you know, so cool.
These championships were once called “district” championships. USACycling, for reasons of its own, decided that they should be called “state” championships and that is how they are addressed in the rule book. It is likely that USAC forgot that California is divided in half along with Nevada, so Northern California and Nevada are administered by NCNCA as one state and Southern California and Nevada are administered by SCNCA as another. Most other Local Associations in the country coincide with state borders. The dividing line between the two “states” is the line running east-west across California with San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino Counties to the south, and Monterey, Kings, Tulare, and Inyo Counties to the north. Clark County Nevada is southern and the rest of Nevada is northern. Your license states your residence as Palos Verdes which, of course, lies well south of that line, deep in southern Los Angeles County. That puts you in the “state” administered by SCNCA. NCNCA has determined that only riders living in its “state” of Northern California and Nevada are allowed to race in its “state” championships, much like other state’s championships are restricted to in-state residents. NCNCA has held NCNCA-only elite championships for many years and this very question has arisen before. USAC has long stood by NCNCA’s determination. Rule 7J1. “State Championships are allocated by the Local Associations to race directors based on the criteria that the LA or its administrator shall determine.” Rule 7J1 puts the race director in the position of having to enforce NCNCA’s ruling even though he would love to have you pay your entry fee and race on the spectacular Pescadero course. I’m sorry that you will miss out on this great race. Mike Hardaway
NCNCA Officials’ Committee Chair
The first bit of analysis is priceless. NorCal is excluding SoCal because the USAC rules committee “forgot” about California being divided into two districts. They forgot about it so totally that there is an entire subsection devoted to states with multiple districts, of which there are two: Nevada and California. I will remember this argument the next time I’m in court. “Hey judge, the legislature forgot to put this in the law so I added it for them.”
Then the Hon. Hardaway launches off into crazyland, explaining that since districts are the same as states according to the forgotten rule, you have to determine a rider’s “state of residence” by a fictitious line that divides NorCal and SoCal, kind of like Mason-Dixon. It’s in the forgotten rulebook, look it up.
Then, carried away by his Civil War remembrances, he reminds Wily that Wily is “deep in southern Los Angeles County,” who voted to secede and join the confederacy and is therefore not entitled to the protections of the Union army. Finally, we are directed to Supreme Court precedent, as we are told that USAC has “long stood by NCNCA’s determination.” You can find the text of the decision here: 60 U.S. 393 (1857).
Best of all, Hardaway quotes a rule, 7J1, and then simply invents what it says even though the actual rule, which he goes to the trouble to type out, says nothing of the kind.
In case Wily hadn’t gotten the message, it’s this: KCUF OUY!
The idiot with the Houston area code then piles on with this beaut:
I believe your question about racing Peacadero has been answered based on the rule book, our district boundaries and the race flyer which indicates the Elite 1/2 race is for NCNCA racers as well as the email from Mike Hardaway, the chair of our officials committee where he clarifies how the Nor Cal and So Cal districts are viewed.
Then, with everyone singing from the same page, the promoter decides to dispense with all of the indirect rigamarole and cut to the chase scene:
I have reviewed your communications with the officials and myself as well as several other SCNCA individuals. My decision is SCNCA members are *NOT* welcome to race in any of the elite championship races in 2015 that I promote.
Everyone understand what *NOT* welcome means? It’s the new stealth marketing ploy to get people to drive seven hours and pay nonrefundable entry fees in order to *NOT* race.
So to hell with the rules, to hell with promoting races, to hell with getting more riders to race, and to hell, especially to hell, with everyone who holds a racing license from The State of Southern California as Defined by the Invisible Mason-Dixon Line, in other words, in case you have trouble with all this backwards spelling and convoluted reasoning: FUCK YOU.
END
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For $2.99 per month you can subscribe to this blog and be amazed that there ever any bike races anywhere, ever, at all. Click here and select the “subscribe” link in the upper right-hand corner. Thank you!As the new year begins, millions of people are vowing to shape up their eating habits. This usually involves dividing foods into moralistic categories: good/bad, healthy/unhealthy, nutritious/indulgent, slimming/fattening — but which foods belong where depends on whom you ask.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recently released its latest guidelines, which define a healthy diet as one that emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or nonfat dairy products, seafood, legumes and nuts while reducing red and processed meat, refined grains, and sugary foods and beverages. Some cardiologists recommend a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, the American Diabetes Association gives the nod to both low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine promotes a vegetarian diet. Ask a hard-bodied CrossFit aficionado, and she may champion a “Paleo” diet based on foods our Paleolithic ancestors (supposedly) ate. My colleague Walt Hickey swears by the keto diet.
Who’s right? It’s hard to say. When it comes to nutrition, everyone has an opinion. What no one has is an airtight case. The problem begins with a lack of consensus on what makes a diet healthy. Is the aim to make you slender? To build muscles? To keep your bones strong? Or to prevent heart attacks or cancer or keep dementia at bay? Whatever you’re worried about, there’s no shortage of diets or foods purported to help you. Linking dietary habits and individual foods to health factors is easy — ridiculously so — as you’ll soon see from the little experiment we conducted.
Our foray into nutrition science demonstrated that studies examining how foods influence health are inherently fraught. To show you why, we’re going to take you behind the scenes to see how these studies are done. The first thing you need to know is that nutrition researchers are studying an incredibly difficult problem, because, short of locking people in a room and carefully measuring out all their meals, it’s hard to know exactly what people eat. So nearly all nutrition studies rely on measures of food consumption that require people to remember and report what they ate. The most common of these are food diaries, recall surveys and the food frequency questionnaire, or FFQ.
Several versions of the FFQ exist, but they all use a similar technique: Ask people how often they eat particular foods and what serving size they usually consume. But it’s not always easy to remember everything you ate, even what you ate yesterday. People are prone to underreport what they consume, and they may not fess up to eating certain foods or may miscalculate their serving sizes.
“The bottom line here is that doing dietary assessment is difficult,” said Torin Block, CEO of NutritionQuest, a company that conducts FFQs and was founded by his mother, Gladys Block, a pioneer in the field who began developing food frequency questionnaires at the National Cancer Institute. “You can’t get away from it — there’s error involved.” Still, there’s a pecking order in terms of completeness, he said. Food diaries rank high and so do 24-hour food recalls, in which an administrator sits the subject down for a guided interview to catalog everything eaten in the past 24 hours. But, Block said, “you really need to do multiple administrations to get an assessment of someone’s usual long-term dietary intake.” For study purposes, researchers are not usually interested just in what people ate yesterday or the day before, but in what they eat regularly. Studies that use 24-hour recalls tend to under- or overestimate nutrients people don’t eat every day, since they record only a small and perhaps unrepresentative snapshot.
When I tried keeping a seven-day food diary, I discovered how right Block was — it’s surprisingly difficult to capture a record that reflects normal eating patterns when you collect only a few days’ worth of data. It so happened that I was traveling to a conference during my diary week, so I ate packaged snacks and restaurant meals far different from the foods I usually eat from my garden at home. My diary showed that before dinner one day, I’d eaten only a doughnut and two snack packs of potato chips. And what did I have for dinner? I can tell you that it was a delicious Indonesian seafood curry, but I couldn’t possibly begin to list all its ingredients.
Another lesson from my short stint keeping a food diary is that the sheer act of keeping track can change what you eat. When I knew I had to write it down, I paid far greater attention to how much I ate, and that sometimes meant that I opted not to eat something because I felt too lazy to write it down or else realized, nah, I didn’t really want a second doughnut (or else didn’t want to admit to eating it).
It’s not easy to circumvent the human instinct to fib about what we eat, but the FFQ aims to overcome the unrepresentativeness of short-term food records by assessing what people consume over a longer period. When you read a headline saying something like “blueberries prevent memory loss,” the evidence usually comes from some version of the FFQ. The questionnaire typically asks about what the survey-taker ate during the last three, six or 12 months.
In order to get a sense of how these surveys work and how reliable they might be, we hired Block to administer his company’s six-month FFQ to me, my colleagues Anna Barry-Jester and Walt Hickey, and a group of reader volunteers.
Some questions — how often do you drink coffee? — were straightforward. Others confounded us. Take tomatoes. How often do I eat those in a six-month period? In September, when my garden is overflowing with them, I eat cherry tomatoes like a child devours candy. I might also eat two or three big purple Cherokees drizzled with balsamic and olive oil per day. But I can go November until July without eating a single fresh tomato. So how do I answer the question?
Questions about serving sizes perplexed us all. In some cases, the survey provided weird but helpful guides — for example, it depicted what a half-cup, one cup or two cups of yogurt looked like with photographs of bowls filled with various amounts of wood chips. Other questions seemed absurd. “Who on this planet knows what a cup of salmon or two cups of ribs looks like?” Walt asked.
Although the questionnaire was meant simply to measure our food intake, at times it felt judgmental — did we take our milk full fat, low fat or fat free? I noticed that when I was offered three choices of serving sizes, my inclination was to pick the middle one, regardless of what my actual portion might be.
Despite these challenges, Anna, Walt and I did our best to answer completely and honestly. Afterward, we compared our results. The questionnaire deemed “cheese, full fat” and some version of alcohol as our top sources of calories.
From there, our diets diverged. Walt has lost 50 pounds on a ketogenic diet, Anna eats relatively little protein and, according to the FFQ, I devour almost twice the calories as either of them.
Could these results be correct? Anna and I are virtually the same height and weight; we could probably share clothes. How could I eat more than twice the calories she does? Block acknowledged that it’s difficult to get an accurate count of calories, especially without a long-term food record, and when you start looking at individual nutrients it gets even trickier. He pointed me to a 1987 study concluding that to estimate a true average calorie count, it takes an average of 27 days of daily intake data for men and 35 days for women. Some nutrients required even longer — 474 days on average to measure vitamin A intake for women, for example. This suggests our reports might be correct, but they might also contain lots of errors.
Sure, memory-based measures have limitations, said Brenda Davy, a professor of human nutrition at Virginia Tech, “but most of us in the nutrition world still believe they have value.” Calories are probably the trickiest thing to measure, she said, noting that there’s good evidence that people underreport foods deemed unhealthy, like high-fat foods or sugary snacks. “But that doesn’t mean that everything is underreported. It doesn’t mean that fiber intake or calcium intake is problematic.”
Developers of the surveys recognize that answers are imperfect, and they correct for this with validation studies that check FFQ results against those obtained via other methods, usually a 24-hour food recall or longer food diary. The results of such validation studies, Block said, allow researchers to account for variability in daily intake.
Critics of FFQs, such as Edward Archer, a computational physiologist at the University of Alabama’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center in Birmingham, say that these validations are nothing more than circular reasoning. “You’re taking one type of subjective report and validating it with another form of subjective report,” he said.
Recording what you eat is harder than it might seem, said Tamara Melton, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in Atlanta. Among other things, it’s almost impossible to measure ingredients and portion sizes when you dine out. “It’s cumbersome. If you’re out at a business lunch, you can’t whip out your measuring cup.”
When Anna, Walt and I compared the caloric intakes that our FFQs had spit out with the ones that we calculated from our seven-day food diaries, they didn’t match up. We ran into trouble estimating portions in the FFQ, too, and who’s to say which was more accurate?
Although concerns about self-reported dietary intakes have been around for decades, the debate has come to a head in recent years, said David Allison, director of the University of Alabama’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center in Birmingham. Allison was an author of a 2014 expert report from the Energy Balance Measurement Working Group that called it “unacceptable” to use “decidedly inaccurate” methods of measurement to set health care policies, research and clinical practice. “In this case,” the researchers wrote, “the adage ‘something is better than nothing’ must be changed to ‘something is worse than nothing.’”
The problems with food questionnaires go even deeper. They aren’t just unreliable, they also produce huge data sets with many, many variables. The resulting cornucopia of possible variable combinations makes it easy to p-hack your way to sexy (and false) results, as we learned when we invited readers to take an FFQ and answer a few other questions about themselves. We ended up with 54 complete responses and then looked for associations — much as researchers look for links between foods and dreaded diseases. It was silly easy to find them.
Our shocking new study finds that … EATING OR DRINKING IS LINKED TO P-VALUE Raw tomatoes Judaism <0.0001 Egg rolls Dog ownership <0.0001 Energy drinks Smoking <0.0001 Potato chips Higher score on SAT math vs. verbal 0.0001 Soda Weird rash in the past year 0.0002 Shellfish Right-handedness 0.0002 Lemonade Belief that “Crash” deserved to win best picture 0.0004 Fried/breaded fish Democratic Party affiliation 0.0007 Beer Frequent smoking 0.0013 Coffee Cat ownership 0.0016 Table salt Positive relationship with Internet service provider 0.0014 Steak with fat trimmed Lack of belief in a god 0.0030 Iced tea Belief that “Crash” didn’t deserve to win best picture 0.0043 Bananas Higher score on SAT verbal vs. math 0.0073 Cabbage Innie bellybutton 0.0097 Source: FFQ & FiveThirtyEight Supplement
The FFQ we used produced 1,066 variables, and the additional questions we asked sorted survey-takers according to |
they blew off the confetti cannons in the first song. Usually that comes at the end.
It figures. Coldplay has always set the bar high for themselves. On album and in concert. They more or less used the same tricks the last time they came to Edmonton in 2012. They tried so hard to make it look easy. For 20 years this charming and clever British band has aimed for the stars, trying with every stirring stadium-ready “whoa-oh-oh” singalong hit single to top themselves – and sometimes succeeding.
Sure, there have been missteps. People have complained about the latest collaboration with the Chainsmokers, that evilly catchy synth-lover’s act whose hooks could be rendered with one finger on a three-note keyboard. But Something Just Like This is another huge hit to add to the Coldplay canon – and it came in a place of honour, in the encore.
Perhaps it is beneath them to dabble in the electronic dance music world? No matter. Coldplay does what it wants – and they want it all. They’re on the hit parade, they rock, they folk, they do the house music thing. They played basically three, maybe four, entirely different genres of music on three different stages at Rogers Place – and they did it all frightfully well. From Yellow to Clocks to the touching and tender Fix You to the stirring, stadium-ready Adventure of a Lifetime, to some down-home folk on the “C” stage, to singer Chris Martin displaying his talent on solo piano and vocals, this show was a blithering lovefest that skirted the cliff of sentimentality and bravely avoided falling into the gorge of maudlin peril and badly mixed metaphors.
The computer-controlled wristbands were beautiful icing on the cake. Any colour on any individual of 14,000, any time the controller wanted. How do they do that?
There were lots of other visual toys and displays of ostentatious showmanship – like further explosions of confetti. Oh, yes, there was more than one wad to blow here. Martin would often do a dancing dervish in the storm of ensuing wee paper butterflies that made the stage look like an autumn lawn in Elmwood by the end of the show; or he’d end up singing a song lying on the floor, dramatically. For contrast, early in the show came a heart-pumping EDM tune blasted at deafening volumes, accompanied by multi-coloured “laser beams.” Later came the release of dozens of giant multi-coloured balloons into the delirious audience. And that’s when the Ecstasy kicked in.
The band even took requests – one, anyway, via Instagram – and pretended to screw up songs. And yet Martin displayed a number of genuine moments despite the lockstep production choreography and scripted patter shows like this demand. They make a special effort with freshly-shot footage in each town. Edmonton is stop No. 104 on the Head Full of Dreams tour – 104! Jesus! – and yet, Martin said, “We’re going to do the greatest concert we’ve ever done! As long as you make the loudest noise you’ve ever made!”
Oh, so there’s conditions?
Lies! All lies! Coldplay is not the greatest band in the world. Yes, Martin is very talented. He plays a mean piano and has the perfect vocal range to stir the stadiums, and the rest of the band is quite gifted as well, it is clear, and they write beautiful songs, but there was so much pre-recorded tracking in the show – the string section in Viva La Vida just the tip of the iceberg – that it sometimes didn’t feel like they were in complete control, and therefore not as honest, not as real, not as human. It was like they were slaves to the machine of their own making, and therefore … URK!
ALL HAIL COLDPLAY!
Sorry, wristband talking. Can’t … seem … to … get … it … off.
The show repeats Wednesday night.Family and friends of a young Irishman who died suddenly in India have paid tribute to the young man, who was "always happy and smiling".
Family and friends of a young Irishman who died suddenly in India have paid tribute to the young man, who was "always happy and smiling".
Brendan Devenney, from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, was found unconscious in his hotel bedroom in Mumbai on Tuesday, one day after he had checked in.
He was found by staff when he failed to check out and rushed to the nearby Cooper Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Concerns have been raised that his drink may be been spiked.
Local politician Nicholas Almeida warned that foul play must not be ruled out.
"I have given a written complaint regarding a thorough probe into this death.
"Brendan lost consciousness after consuming alcohol and we suspect it may have been spiked. The police should conduct a proper probe instead of taking the matter lightly," he told the 'Times of India'.
While the death had originally been recorded as accidental, it could be upgraded to a murder investigation, depending on post-mortem results.
Mr Devenney, who had been living in Australia for the past number of years, had been enjoying a holiday in India when the tragedy occurred.
His heartbroken brother Enda took to Facebook to pay tribute to his sibling and call for a full investigation.
His call was echoed by friends of the young Mullingar man, who remembered him as a gentleman and a hard worker.
"Brendan Devenney was a good guy, always happy and smiling. The truth needs to come out and a proper investigation conducted. Brendan's family deserve it and for it to be concluded and proper action taken asap out of respect," said one friend.
Irish embassy staff are liaising with the Devenney family and providing consular assistance. They hope to have his remains flown home early next week.
Irish IndependentThis visualization shows the extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug. 26, the day the ice dipped to its smallest extent recorded in more than three decades of satellite measurements. The line on the image shows the average minimum extent from 1979 to 2010. Every summer, the ice cap melts down to what scientists call its “minimum” before colder weather builds the ice back up. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
The extent of Arctic sea ice has reached a record low, a historic retreat that scientists said is a stark signal of how climate change is transforming the global landscape.
Scientists at the University of Colorado’s National Snow and Ice Data Center and NASA said that, as of Sunday, the Arctic sea ice cover had shrunk to 1.58 million square miles, the smallest area since satellite measurement began in 1979. With the melting season not yet over, the ice will almost certainly contract further in the coming weeks before it begins to re-form.
The previous record low, recorded in September 2007, was 1.61 million square miles.
Walt Meier, a research scientist at the federally funded center, said a long-term warming trend was largely responsible for the sharp reduction in ice, though recent weather conditions, including a strong storm, also contributed. Higher temperatures produced more open water, which, he said, absorbs more heat and makes the ice thinner.
The ice has become “increasingly vulnerable to extreme conditions,” Meier told reporters during a telephone conference. He said that “parts of the Arctic have become like a giant slushy” that can melt much more easily than the 10-foot-thick ice that used to compose 20 to 25 percent of the surface of the water. “The Arctic Ocean is really a very different place than it used to be.”
The ice’s fragility is one reason the storm had such a big impact, he said. Even without the storm, he added, “we were already tracking along the 2007 trajectory,” so a record was within reach.
The area covered by Arctic summer sea ice usually reaches its low point around Sept. 13, when the region begins to cool. But the ice melted at an unprecedented 38,600 square miles per day during the first part of August, which is why the low point occurred earlier this year.
The reduction in ice is already transforming the Arctic. On Saturday, a Royal Dutch Shell drill ship, the Noble Discoverer, departed Alaska’s Dutch Harbor and headed to the Chukchi Sea off the state’s northwest coast in anticipation of final federal approval for oil-exploration activities there. The increase in open water makes oil exploration easier.
‘A profound moment’
The record-low Arctic ice is sure to intensify the debate over whether to curb greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. Rafe Pomerance, former deputy assistant secretary of state for environment and development under President Bill Clinton, called the record ice loss “a profound moment that will change the debate” over climate change.
“It is very troubling, because the refrigerator of the Northern Hemisphere has been unplugged, so we will keep warming,” he said.
But the record isn’t likely to convince some global-warming skeptics. Patrick Michaels, director of the Center for the Study of Science at the libertarian Cato Institute, noted that sea ice has been expanding at the South Pole. “The overall loss in sea ice from the planet is less than people often assume,” he said.
Meier, the research scientist, countered that the two poles have different climate systems. Antarctica is land surrounded by ice, while the Arctic is an ice-covered ocean surrounded by land. He said an overall number for global sea ice has little meaning.
“It’s like having flooding in New York City and drought in Texas, and saying it’s an average rainfall year,” he said.
A further reduction in summer sea ice, which has declined 40 percent over the past three decades, would have implications far beyond the Arctic.
Diminished ice means there would be a smaller expanse of white reflecting sunlight back into space. That could accelerate warming in the Arctic, increase sea surface temperatures and lead to the melting of a major ice sheet, such as Greenland’s, which could raise global sea levels.
Between July 11 and 13, the Greenland ice sheet experienced the broadest thaw since 1973, with melt occurring on 97 percent of its surface. Three days later, a chunk of ice twice the size of Manhattan calved off the Petermann glacier, a break researchers attributed to warmer ocean temperatures.
Environmental activists said they will use the shrinking of sea ice in the Arctic — along with one of the worst U.S. drought and wildfire seasons in decades — to press for a cut in the burning of fossil fuels, whose greenhouse gas emissions are linked to climate change.
“Unfortunately, as our natural world cries out ever more loudly, the national conversation about climate change has lowered to a whisper,” said Lou Leonard, managing director of climate change at the World Wildlife Fund.
Less ice, more drilling
At the same time, Arctic warming is helping to speed oil and gas extraction, not curb it. Marine traffic is accelerating as the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route become routinely ice-free in the summer. The Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, or “Snow Dragon,” is now exploring a high-latitude route and reached 81 degrees north latitude on Friday.
Meanwhile, Shell appears to be on the verge of starting drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas, an effort that in the past has been bogged down by federal permitting delays and thicker-than-usual sea ice in some areas.
Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh wrote in an e-mail that the Discoverer should arrive in the Chukchi by the end of the week, while another vessel, the Kulluk, is halfway through its two-week journey to Shell’s Beaufort Sea leases.
“The departure of both the Kulluk and the Discoverer marks the first time working drilling rigs have charted a course for the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in more than two decades,” she wrote, adding that the company will await final permission from the Interior Department before starting exploration.In a column written for nme.com, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello has revealed the he once worked as an exotic dancer.
When I graduated from Harvard and moved to Hollywood, I was unemployable. I was literally starving, so I had to work menial labour and, at one point, I even worked as an exotic dancer. ‘Brick House’ [by The Commodores] was my jam! I did bachelorette parties and I’d go down to my boxer shorts. Would I go further? All I can say is thank god it was in the time before YouTube! You could make decent money doing that job – people do what they have to do.
So wait, you can graduate from Harvard and still be “unempoyable?” I think what Tom’s trying to say is ‘don’t worry about getting into a good school,’ because that’s what I got out of it. How can a political science degree from an Ivy League school be worthless? Maybe there wasn’t a huge job market for making a “wiki wiki” scratching sound with his guitar in Los Angeles at the time?
The other thing we got out of this was that there’s probably a good number of awesome puns that can be applied towards Tom’s old job. Drowned In Sound, where we first heard about this, has the best one, with “Balls On Parade.” In fact, except for our tag, we can’t top that.Merger would allow Monsanto to avoid paying taxes by establishing headquarters in Switzerland
Potential Monsanto merger made possible by taxpayer-funded programs and services
(NaturalNews) The world's most evil corporation is trying to buy out another of the world's most evil corporations to become one giant, monopolistic force of unstoppable abomination throughout the globe. Monsanto, a household name in toxic chemicals and untested GMOs (genetically modified organisms), has asked Syngenta, a major competitor, for its hand in marriage, a potential merger that would consolidate control over more than 35% of the world's seed supply into the hands of just one entity.Monsanto's first proposal, offering Syngenta a sizable "dowry" of $45 billion, was rejected. But Monsanto isn't giving up, with reports indicating that a deal between the two companies is still a strong possibility. Both corporations created their own advisory teams to come up with a solid negotiation plan, implying that it's only a matter of time before Monsanto gobbles up yet another large piece of the agricultural pie."No single corporation should be allowed to wield the sort of power that comes from a near-monopoly on our global food system," reads a statement issued by the group SumOfUs, which vocally opposes the merger on all counts."Imagine this: Monsanto eliminates one of its biggest competitors and tightens its grip on the global farming industry. Our precious wildlife like bees, birds, and butterflies suffer as Monsanto spreads its pesticides further and wider. More and more small-scale farmers are bullied if they refuse to buy Monsanto's seeds."Since the merger would create one of the most egregious corporate monopolies the world has ever seen, Monsanto has offered a small concession -- it plans to sell off Syngenta's seed business, which represents about 21%, or $3 billion, of its annual sales. At the same time, the merger would allow Monsanto to claim its headquarters in Switzerland, where Syngenta is currently based.This is significant because Switzerland, as you may already know, is considered a tax haven. Corporations that move their headquarters there, at least on paper, know that they'll be taxed less than they otherwise would be in their home countries through a loophole known as corporate inversion, of which Monsanto plans to take full advantage."In its last year, Monsanto paid $648 million in federal income taxes on U.S. pre-tax income of $2.4 billion, an effective tax rate of 26.6 percent," reports the Center for Effective Government (CEG)."In addition, Monsanto reported that it held $4.4 billion of profits offshore. Monsanto could owe as much as $1.5 billion in U.S. taxes on these offshore profits, an amount that could be permanently avoided if the new company engages in complex legal and tax transactions following an inversion."Not surprisingly, Monsanto's ability to potentially acquire Syngenta isn't at all the result of honest business practices. The company's continued expansion has only been made possible through taxpayer extortion, with the U.S. government using tax dollars to fund programs and services to further Monsanto's control over agriculture."Monsanto Company's numerous products build on the research advancements made possible by taxpayer-funded programs, such as programs at the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation," explains CEG. "Monsanto Company's billions of dollars of profits depend upon a robust U.S. patent protection system provided by U.S. taxpayers and a workforce trained and educated with significant federal, state and local resources."Two separate bills have been introduced to stop corporate inversions, by which companies like Monsanto are able to dodge paying U.S. taxes. You can learn more about these two bills by visiting:Roundup, Monsanto's trademark herbicide, has been known for decades to induce cancerous tumors and other devastating health conditions, yet only recently has a branch of the World Health Organization declared glyphosate, the main ingredient, to be "probably carcinogenic to humans." This chemical is sprayed on lawns and parks across America, threatening the lives of children and families, and companies like Lowe's and Home Depot continue to profit from its sale. Click the links below and sign the petitions to tell these companies to stop selling cancer-causing Roundup and protect Americans' health:Home Depot:Lowe's:Six-year-old Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi is buying 1,500 technology patents from Microsoft and will preinstall the Microsoft Office productivity suite and Skype on its Android-based smartphones and tablets under a new partnership deal announced by the two companies.
The deals, which were unveiled on May 31, will bring Xiaomi a wide assortment of patents relating to wireless communications, video, cloud technologies and multimedia, a Microsoft spokesman told eWEEK in an email reply to an inquiry.
"This agreement reflects the deep respect Xiaomi and Microsoft have for intellectual property rights," the spokesman said. "The companies are committed to a healthy patent system and standing against the abusive practices we've seen at times in our industry."
The companies also will cross-license some of their technologies, according to their joint announcement, but no details of that deal were released.
Under the agreement to install Microsoft Office and Skype on Android smartphones and tablets from Xiaomi, that deal will give mobile users the ability to work, collaborate and communicate using the mobile devices of their choice, the companies said.
"We are excited to be working closely with Microsoft on a broad technology collaboration partnership," Xiang Wang, a senior vice president at Xiaomi, said in a statement. "As demonstrated by this agreement with Microsoft, Xiaomi is looking to build sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders, with the ultimate goal of bringing the best user experience to our Mi fans."
Xiaomi Android devices, including the Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi 4s, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3, will come pre-installed with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype applications starting in September 2016, according to Xiaomi. The offerings may vary by device, market and mobile carrier.
The companies already had a partnership that involved Windows 10 on the Xiaomi Mi Pad and the use of Microsoft Azure to power the Mi Cloud service from Xiaomi, the companies said. Microsoft said that the "partnerships with companies such as Xiaomi are central to Microsoft's strategy to work with industry leaders around the world to meet the needs of joint customers."
The expansion of the existing partnership between the two companies is also intriguing as Huawei's market share of the global smartphone market exceeds that of Microsoft, which is in a decline. In late May, Microsoft announced that it is laying off up to 1,850 workers in its smartphone hardware business as it moves to cut its losses, shrink its sales focus and sell smartphones to enterprise customers who want specialized devices with additional security and manageability features. The company said it will "streamline" its smartphone hardware business and take a fourth quarter impairment and restructuring charge of about $950 million, including about $200 million for severance payments, according to a recent eWEEK story.
Also in May, Microsoft sold its feature phone assets to Foxconn Technology Group's FIH Mobile Ltd. (FIH) for $350 million, according to an eWEEK report. That deal was related to a 10-year licensing deal that will allow Nokia mobile phones, smartphones and tablets to be built and sold around the world by a newly formed Finnish company, HMD Global.
Xiaomi and other Chinese upstart smartphone companies, such as Huawei, Alcatel and ZTE, don't come close to leading the U.S. smartphone market, but they are gaining market share around the world at the expense of companies like Microsoft, Lenovo and others due to lower prices, good products and unlocked device flexibility for buyers.
In August 2015, Xiaomi announced a partnership with Taiwan's Foxconn to try to carve out a bigger piece of the huge consumer handset market in India by assembling phones there to cut costs and simplify distribution, according to an earlier eWEEK report.A team of leading marine scientists from around the world is recommending an end to most commercial fishing in the deep sea, Earth's largest ecosystem. Instead, they recommend fishing in more productive waters nearer to consumers.
In a comprehensive analysis published online in the journal Marine Policy, marine ecologists, fisheries biologists, economists, mathematicians and international policy experts show that, with rare exceptions, deep-sea fisheries are unsustainable. The "Sustainability of deep-sea fisheries" study, funded mainly by the Lenfest Ocean Program, comes just before the UN decides whether to continue allowing deep-sea fishing in international waters, which the UN calls "high seas."
Life is mostly sparse in the oceans' cold depths, far from the sunlight that fuels photosynthesis. Food is scarce and life processes happen at a slower pace than near the sea surface. Some deep-sea fishes live more than a century; some deep-sea corals can live more than 4,000 years. When bottom trawlers rip life from the depths, animals adapted to life in deep-sea time can't repopulate on human time scales. Powerful fishing technologies are overwhelming them.
"The deep sea is the world's worst place to catch fish" says marine ecologist Dr. Elliott Norse, the study's lead author and President of the Marine Conservation Institute in Bellevue, Washington USA. "Deep-sea fishes are especially vulnerable because they can't repopulate quickly after being overfished."
The deep sea provides less than 1% of the world's seafood. But fishing there, especially bottom trawling, causes profound, lasting damage to fishes and life on the seafloor, such as deep-sea corals, these experts say.
Since the 1970s, when coastal fisheries were overexploited, commercial fishing fleets have moved further offshore and into deeper waters. Some now fish more than a mile deep.
"Because these fish grow slowly and live a long time, they can only sustain a very low rate of fishing," says author Dr. Selina Heppell, a marine fisheries ecologist at Oregon State University. "On the high seas, it is impossible to control or even monitor the amount of fishing that is occurring. The effects on local populations can be devastating."
The authors document the collapse of many deep-sea fishes around the world, including sharks and orange roughy. Other commercially caught deep-sea fishes include grenadiers (rattails) and blue ling.
"Fifty years ago no one ate orange roughy," said author Dr. Daniel Pauly, a fisheries biologist with the University of British Columbia (UBC). "In fact, it used to be called slimehead, indicating no one ever thought we would eat it. But as we've overfished our coastal species, that changed and so did the name."
Orange roughy take 30 years to reach sexual maturity and can live 125 years. Compared with most coastal fishes, they live in slow-motion. Unfortunately for them and the deep-sea corals they live among, they can no longer hide from industrial fishing.
"Fishing for orange roughy started in New Zealand and grew rapidly through the 1980s and 1990s. However, most of the fisheries were overexploited, and catch levels have either been dramatically reduced or the fisheries closed all together," says author Dr. Malcolm Clark, a New Zealand-based fisheries biologist. "The same pattern has been repeated in Australia, Namibia, the SW Indian Ocean, Chile and Ireland. It demonstrates how vulnerable deep-sea fish species can be to overfishing and potential stock collapse."
There are very few exceptions to unsustainable deep-sea fisheries around the world. One is the Azores fishery for black scabbardfish. There the Portuguese government has banned bottom trawling, which overfished black scabbardfish elsewhere. Azores fish are caught sustainably with hook and line gear from small boats. In most deep sea-fisheries, however, trawlers fish outside of nations' 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones, outside of effective government control.
"Deep-sea fisheries can be sustainable only where the fish population grows quickly and fisheries are small-scale and use gear that don't destroy fish habitat," said Dr. Norse. "With slow-growing fish, there's economic incentive to kill them all and reinvest the money elsewhere to get a higher return-on-investment. Killing off life in the deep sea one place after another isn't good for our oceans or economies. Boom-and-bust fisheries are more like mining than fishing," Dr. Norse said.
The lawlessness of the high seas adds to overfishing in the deep. So do nations' fisheries subsidies.
High seas trawlers receive some $162 million each year in government handouts, which amounts to 25% the value of the fleet's catch, according to Dr. Rashid Sumaila, an author and fisheries economist at UBC.
The authors of this Marine Policy paper say that the best policy would be to end economically wasteful deep-sea fisheries, redirect subsidies to help displaced fishermen and rebuild fish populations in productive waters closer to ports and markets, places far more conducive to sustainable fisheries.
"Instead of overfishing the Earth's biggest but most vulnerable ecosystem, nations should recover fish populations and fish in more productive coastal waters," says Dr. Norse. "Deep-sea fishes are in deep trouble almost everywhere we look. Governments shouldn't be wasting taxpayers' money by keeping unsustainable fisheries afloat."My secret santa sent a desert island survival kit, based on my answer to the redditgifts survey question about what I'd bring to a desert island. My answer was "a hat, chapstick, sunscreen and a dog." So my secret santa sent me just that, a sun hat, 3 chapsticks, a tube of sunscreen and two super cute glamour shots of his dog. He also included some peppermint chocolate covered pretzels (based on my survey answer about what sweets I like), and an AWESOME grunting pig toy for my own dogs. I guarantee you that my dog Batman was more excited about that pig than ANY redditor was about ANY of their secret santa gifts. He lost his damn mind. He is currently loving it to death. It will be nothing more than rubber pork rinds within an hour. But trust me secret santa, your money was not wasted, you made my doggo a very happy boye. Thank you for the thoughtful gift! Also, I LOVE YOUR DOG, I don't think I mentioned it in my survey but I'm a member of r/pitbulls and although I don't own one, I adore them. Give Reagan a squish for me!The Washington Post's Bob Woodward weighs in on President Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, and remembers the Saturday Night Massacre and the Watergate scandal. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
The Washington Post's Bob Woodward covered the Watergate scandal as it unfolded more than 40 years ago. But despite widespread comparisons between President Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James B. Comey and President Richard M. Nixon's decision to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, Woodward says the media should be careful about making conclusions about Trump and his motives, saying, “Let's see what the evidence is.”
The Fix sat down with Woodward in his Washington home Wednesday to get his thoughts on Trump's decision to fire Comey, comparisons to the Saturday Night Massacre, and how the media should cover the Trump administration. Our conversation has been edited only for length and clarity.
The Fix: To start with a broad question, does the United States have a problem labeling every scandal as a "-gate?” From Deflategate in the NFL to Pizzagate in the 2016 election, it seems like we compare everything to Watergate.
Bob Woodward: Well, it's in the political culture now. It's going to be Trumpgate, it's going to be Comeygate, it's going to be FBI-gate, it's going to be something-gate.
Fix: What was your first thought when you heard the news that President Trump fired FBI Director Comey?
Woodward: My first reaction was, “Wow,” and my second reaction was, “But of course!” There's a certain logic to it. Now, Trump says it's about the email investigation. As many people have said, that doesn't seem quite plausible. That's like settling an issue that is gone — and in many ways Trump won, because he won the presidency. Comey certainly was the aggressive one, the fact gatherer. There's a story today that just recently he was asking the Justice Department for more money and resources to increase the effort in the Russian investigation, and a couple of days later he's out the door.
Fix: President Trump has repeatedly called the Russia investigation “fake news” and suggested that it's a witch hunt more than a legitimate investigation. Is it?
Woodward: It's clearly a legitimate investigation, and Trump doesn't like it. We'll see. Some people think it's a coverup already. Others think there's no evidence, and let's see. And what's worrisome to a reporter interested in getting facts is, this is so polarized, this is so emotional. This is driven by tweets and assertions from people who don't really know. It's too bad we live in this Internet culture of impatience and speed, and it does not set us on the road to gathering facts.
Fix: In that same vein, are people rushing to the Watergate comparison too quickly? Are Trump's opponents so alarmed by his presidency in general that they want to see it that way?
Woodward: Lots of people are alarmed by the Trump presidency, some people for partisan reasons; they're probably hyping this up. But this is pretty extraordinary. Don't dilute the moment when the president, kind of out of left field, says, “I'm firing the FBI director, who has a fixed term, can only be fired for cause.” Trump has decided he has cause, and I guess Comey is at home now. He's no longer at FBI headquarters. I think it's very important — I was listening to Sen. Lindsey O. Graham this morning, and he said, okay, let's take it one step at a time. We can afford to do that. I'm for that. I'm for the media, which I think now has a quadruple responsibility to work hard on this — the various investigations, the FBI, the Senate, the House, to dig in and be patient.
Fix: The central question seems to me to be, is it an abuse of power for the president to fire the FBI director who is investigating him?
Woodward: Look, the president has that power. Go to the Constitution. It's very clear. Article 2: The executive power of the United States is vested in one person, the president. Not the National Security Council, not the Cabinet, not the White House staff, one person. He can do whatever he wants, within perhaps reasonable limits, so he's got the power. You could argue he shouldn't do this, it's abusive. I don't know until we get evidence — if we ever get evidence — where this is going, and if the climate of the times is impatience, we're not going to get the evidence because to do that, you have to really launch, as you do in the media, a full-scale inquiry with lots of people working on it, trying to talk to everyone who might know something.
Fix: Some of the specific comparisons that have been made today are between Trump's decision to fire Comey and the “Saturday Night Massacre” during the Watergate scandal. Is that a fair comparison?
Woodward: The Saturday Night Massacre was a giant, seismic event in Watergate. But that was in October 1973, and what happened is, the attorney general then, Elliot Richardson, had been appointed by Nixon. Elliot Richardson, “Mr. Clean,” had agreed to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would appoint a special prosecutor in Watergate.
At the time of the Saturday Night Massacre, John Dean, Nixon's lawyer, had already testified — a devastating four days of nationally publicized testimony — and Alexander Butterfield, a Nixon aide, had disclosed the taping system, so by the time you got to the point where Nixon fired the special prosecutor, there were voluminous accusations against Nixon and there was a path to getting the evidence, getting the tapes.
Fix: So while the rumors surrounding the Trump investigation are pretty vague, the accusations were very specific in this situation.
Woodward: It's so important to understand what John Dean was saying: specifics, dozens of calls, meetings saying the president orchestrated and was the leader of an illegal obstruction of justice. Dean testified to his own motive, which he said was corrupt, and that the president was corrupt. So you had a firsthand witness, and in the Trump case, there's a lot of suspicion — genuine, well-founded suspicion, but no John Dean testifying with the kind of specifics, “On March 21 we met and I said we need maybe a million dollars to pay the Watergate burglars for their silence,” and Nixon says, “Well, I know where we can get a million dollars.” Nothing like that. Nothing comparable. Maybe there will be at some point. No comparable evidence trail, where there were suggestions of a secret taping system or suggestions of absolutely foolproof evidence.
So you get to the Saturday Night Massacre. Nixon's not firing the FBI director, he's firing the boss, the special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. There was such a firestorm, dozens, as I recall, of resolutions introduced in the House of Representatives to introduce an impeachment investigation, so what did Nixon do? He blinked. He said, okay, we'll have a new special prosecutor — it turned out to be Leon Jaworski, and the second thing — at that moment, there was an order from a federal court of appeals saying he had to turn over a group of tapes, and he said, “Okay, I'll do it.” And so he turned over evidence that turned out in itself to be quite incriminating to him. So you have a very different situation.[See Also:
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Ideas have consequences, as the conservatives used to say.
Shooting and homicide rates are spiking in major U.S. cities including Baltimore and New York in the wake of nationwide protests against policing tactics such as stop-and-frisk and the questionable use of force against unarmed black men by law enforcement officers. The number of shootings in Baltimore nearly doubled through May 31 compared with the same period last year, and homicides jumped from 86 to 131. The New York City Police Department said it had about a 9 percent increase in shootings and almost a 20 percent spike in homicides in that same period. Chicago also is reporting a rise in its homicide rate. [Violence spikes in major cities as cops walk tenuous line between fighting crime and civil rights, by Maggie Ybarra, Washington Times, June 16, 2015]
It's worth noting that African-Americans themselves will pay the highest price for increased crime. Businesses will close, as they already have in Ferguson, leading to fewer jobs. White flight will increase, accelerating the entire process.
As Pat Buchanan speculated not long ago, "law and order" could reemerge as a potent political issue in the Republican primaries. Yet Republicans, both candidates and in Congress, seem strangely silent about the sudden spike in crime rates caused by the media's war on (white) policemen. It would be so easy for Republicans to take advantage of it—as Peter Brimelow said of the immigration issue with Barack Obama, all they would have to do is say it.
Instead, Republicans seem content to keep pushing destructive trade pacts seemingly designed to infuriate the Reagan Democrats they need to win so desperately.
This is why I'm sanguine about Donald Trump running for President. It's not Donald Trump who shouldn't be taken seriously. It's the Republican leadership.I have news for the pollsters and politicians: As a longtime resident of Scarborough, subways don’t fit the needs of modern suburbs. We deserve something far better — a modern light rail system.
This view isn’t about the reliability, speed and capacity of one system against another. Nor is it about asking suburbia to take a solution that is second best. It’s not even a discussion about money, although there is no money for new subways.
Rather, it’s simply figuring out which transit is the best choice for suburbanites. It’s all about what will work best along Sheppard or Eglinton or Finch in the suburbs, what meets residents’ needs, plus what supports existing jobs and the suburban quality of life.
We know that the subways now promised are the product of projections that were valid about a quarter of a century ago. The suburbs were to be full of manufacturing centres or offices, surrounded by workers’ homes. Towering over subway stations would be dense condominiums or apartments. Most commuting would be on the traditional pattern of living in suburbia while working downtown. Under these assumptions, subways are viable.
Building a transit system with a vision to stand the test of time is a risky proposition. A favourite example is the subway tunnel opened in the Bloor Viaduct years before it was required. Much less has been said about the subway era visions that created residential blocks around Jane and Finch, or near Kingston and Galloway.Wawa, Inc. ( WAH-WAH) is an American chain of convenience stores and gas stations located along the East Coast of the United States, operating in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Florida.[5] The company's corporate headquarters is located in the Wawa area of Chester Heights, Pennsylvania in Greater Philadelphia. As of 2008, Wawa was the largest convenience store chain in Greater Philadelphia, and it is also the third-largest retailer of food in Greater Philadelphia, after ACME Markets and ShopRite.[6][7]
History [ edit ]
Old Wawa logo used from 1990 to 2004. This logo is still in use at many locations.
The Wawa business began in 1803 as an iron foundry.[5] In 1890, George Wood, an entrepreneur from New Jersey,[8] moved to Delaware County, Pennsylvania; it was here that he began the Wawa Dairy Farm.[8] Wood |
with, you can do things you wouldn’t do in a game and just have fun with it. It’s a huge honor to represent your team, your teammates.
“If it wasn’t for them, there’s no chance anybody’s going. I don’t look at it like I lose out on a vacation. For me, I get a great vacation. I get to go with my family and relax.”Sources close to the recruitment of 5-star defensive lineman Cece Jefferson have confirmed that the Florida native was in Tuscaloosa Friday for an unofficial visit. Jefferson, 6-foot-2, 275-pounds, stopped by the University of Alabama while on his way to Ole Miss for another unofficial visit. The same sources confirmed that on his return trip home from Oxford he again dropped by Tuscaloosa for another brief visit.
The news is intriguing for Alabama fans with the Auburn and Ole Miss leading the way for his signature as signing day approaches. But the Tide have been a mainstay among his top four favorites along with the Gators.
Jefferson, who rated nation’s No. 7 overall player and the No. 2 strongside defensive end according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, has made numerous trips to the Capstone including his official visit on October 17.An appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., ruled today that the government jumped the gun by not seeking public feedback before rolling out airport scanners that see through travelers’ clothes. Unfortunately for those opposed to these devices, the scanners are not going anywhere.
The ruling comes as the result of a 2010 lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which says the government overstepped its own procedures by introducing backscatter and millimeter wave scanners without first seeking public comment.
The TSA has argued that it didn’t need to seek public comment on the scanners because it wasn’t a legislative decision. However, the appeals court ruled that the new scanners are so different from previous detectors — and so potentially invasive of personal privacy — that it they merited the comment period.
“It is clear that by producing an image of the unclothed passenger, an AIT scanner intrudes upon his or her personal privacy in a way a magnetometer does not,” Wrote Judge Douglas Ginsburg.
But, adds Ginsburg, “Due to the obvious need for the TSA to continue its airport security operations without interruption, we remand the rule to the TSA but do not vacate it.” The court pointed out that the much-discussed pat-down is still available to those wishing to opt out of the scanner.
The court now expects the TSA to “act promptly” in soliciting public comment.
Airport Body Scans Can Continue While U.S. Seeks Comments [SFgate.com]The superhero movie had to settle for second place as its domestic gross rose to nearly $300 million, but it led the international box office list with $34 million, bringing its worldwide total to $783.5 million.
Melissa McCarthy, squaring off against both Batman and Superman over the weekend, scored a narrow victory, as the raucous comedian’s new feature The Boss claimed the top spot at the North American box office in a virtual photo finish with an estimated $23.48 million, just a few dollars above Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’s weekend gross of $23.44 million. The superhero movie fell 54 percent in its third weekend as its total domestic tally rose to $296.7 million.
Hardcore Henry, the first-person POV action movie from STX Entertainment, the weekend's other new wide release, didn't shoot up the box office, debuting at just $5.1 million for a fifth-place showing from 3,015 locations.
On the specialty front, Fox Searchlight opened Demolition, Jean-Marc Vallee's drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a man coping with the death of his wife, in 854 locations, where it grossed $1.1 million, for a quiet per-theater average of just $1,317.
And on the international scene, Warners' Batman v. Superman led the list, corralling $34 million in 67 markets to bring its international cume to $486.8 million. Both Disney's The Jungle Book and Universal's The Huntsman: Winter's War made promising international debuts in select territories in advance of their North American openings, with The Jungle Book taking in $28.9 million to rank second and Winter's War pulling in $20 million for a fifth-place showing. Rounding out the top five internationally were Millennium's London Has Fallen in third place with $26 million and Disney's Zootopia in fourth with $22.7 million.
The Boss, released by Universal in 3,480 locations, had to overcome withering reviews — its approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes was just 18 percent — and a C+ rating from CinemaScore along the way. But McCarthy can nevertheless claim her third No. 1 opening, following 2013’s Identity Thief and last summer’s Spy.
Female moviegoers flocked to The Boss. Its audience was 67 percent female, with 51 percent under age 35 and 49 percent 35 and older, the studio reported. Seventy-nine percent cited McCarthy as the main reason they sought out the movie. "We love the fact that Melissa is a genuine movie star, people love her comedies and she opens at No. 1," said Universal's domestic distribution president Nicholas Carpou. "The Boss is a female-driven, R-rated raunchy comedy that delivers, and there hasn't been one for a while."
Written by McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone with their Groundlings collaborator Steve Mallory and directed by Falcone, the pic, which was produced for $29 million, is coming in on the low end for one of McCarthy’s trademark R-rated comedies. It is performing along the lines of 2014’s Tammy, also directed by Falcone, which opened to $21.6 million and went on to gross $84.5 million domestically and $100.5 million worldwide. A Wednesday opener, Tammy grossed $33.5 million in its first five days.
In The Boss, McCarthy, drawing on a character she created as a member of the Groundlings comedy troupe, plays a titan of industry who, after a stint in prison, has to rebuild her life and empire. Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage and Kathy Bates also star. The comedy was produced by McCarthy and Falcone’s On the Day production company along with Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy’s Gary Sanchez Productions.
The Boss and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, playing in 4,102 locations, actually seesawed back and forth during the course of the weekend. The Boss took Friday with $8.1 million, including $985,000 from Thursday night previews, versus BvS’s $6.05 million, but BvS was stronger on Saturday with $10.7 million versus Boss’ $9.7 million. BvS is expected to cross the $300 million mark domestically by Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.
Internationally, BvS took in $34 million from 67 markets to bring its international cume to $486.8 million and its worldwide total to $783.5 million.
Hardcore Henry, from director Ilya Naishuller, drew its inspiration from first-person shooter video games, and it appears that it was younger videogamers, targeted by the studio, who showed up to support the movie. The pic's audience was heavily male, at 76 percent, and young, with 67 percent in the 17-34 age group. While STX acquired the movie for $10 million at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, the studio said that its foreign sales limited its exposure to $2 million.
In other box-office action, Disney's animated Zootopia, in its ninth weekend, landed in third place with an additional $14.4 million, bringing its domestic gross to $296 million. With the addition of another $22.7 million from international markets, its worldwide number grew to $852.5 million. The film now ranks as the fifth-highest-grossing original animated release of all time and the 11th-highest-grossing animated movie ever, and is only $5 million shy of surpassing Disney/Pixar's Inside Out.
In fourth place, Universal's My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 pulled in $6.4 million in its third weekend to bring its domestic gross to $46.7 million.
Faith-based movies occupied the sixth and seventh slots, with Sony's Miracles From Heaven attracting $4.8 million for a $53.9 million domestic purse, and Pure Flix's God's Not Dead 2 collecting $4.3 million for a $14.1 million cume.
The Jungle Book, which is set to bow on Friday in North America, began its international rollout in 15 markets in Asia and Latin America over the weekend, where it took in $28.9 million. That opening was almost double the number posted by those same markets for last year's Cinderella and 32 percent of 2014's Maleficent, the studio reported. India was the top territory with $7.6 million.
The Huntsman sequel, which debuts domestically April 22, tested the waters in 18 territories, grossing $20 million. It opened in the No.1 slot in 11 markets, led by the U.K. and Ireland, where it drew $4.4 million.China's Quantum Science Satellite is operating well in orbit after testing and will begin its experiments this month, according to the project's lead scientist Pan Jianwei.
Launched on August 15, the satellite is designed to test quantum mechanic principles, including quantum entanglement over unprecedented distances, and the possibilities for secure quantum communication.
Pan told state media Xinhua that satellite-to-earth links have been established between 'QUESS' and five ground stations across China, laying the technical foundation for distributing quantum keys.
Laser communications experiment between China GUESS/Mozi quantum experiment satellite and ground station pic.twitter.com/vFaC8JFeAq — China Space Report (@SinoDefence) August 28, 2016
"We are confident that the project will fulfill its tasks," Pan said.
The mission payloads include a quantum key communicator, quantum entanglement emitter, quantum entanglement source, quantum experiment controller and processor and a laser communicator.
QUESS has received much attention and hype from media across the globe, but remains an early experiment in the extremely demanding nascent field of quantum communication.
A new era of Chinese space science
QUESS is the third of four Chinese space science satellites that will be launched within a year of each other, marking the fruition of a strategic space science program launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011.
The DAMPE (Wukong) Dark Matter probe was launched in December, followed by the Shijian-10 retrievable microgravity space science satellite in April.
The fourth, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), recently passed factory tests and will launch late this year in order to observe black holes, neutron stars and other phenomena based on their X-ray and gamma ray emissions.
China earlier this year introduced a national roadmap for space science for 2016-2030 and the country is already working on the next batch of five new space probes to study a range of Earth, solar and deep space phenomena.
China’s nascent space science program also received a big budget boost earlier this year, receiving around 5.9 billion yuan (US$ 910m) across five years.
Above: HXMT in an anechoic chamber for testing (CAS/IHEP).The Obama administration put out the word this weekend that the president’s new budget will end several years of “austerity” in Washington.
Come again?
Austerity? Since 2009, federal borrowing has skyrocketed by $6 trillion. This year’s budget deficit is expected to fall to somewhere near $500 billion, which sadly is progress, because the first-term Obama deficits all exceeded $1 trillion.
It is true that federal spending has trended downward since 2011, but this is only because in 2009 and 2010, the $830 billion of federal stimulus spending drove federal outlays from about $3.5 trillion to just below $4 trillion. Yes, federal spending has come down in the last several years, though the federal empire still commands a $3.8 trillion price tag. Most of the “austerity” cuts Obama complains of are merely a result of the reductions in Pentagon spending due to winding down the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Programs like infrastructure, housing, education, job training, community development, and others have been on a decade-long shopping spree, with many programs up more than 50 percent when counting stimulus funds. President Obama would spend $56 billion more on these “neglected” programs in his latest budget. And he would finance the new spending with even more tax increases (which he calls loophole closings). This comes on top of his demands for more food stamps and extended unemployment insurance funding.
Don’t forget that $1 trillion in Obamacare subsidies are also just kicking in and will grow every year. The president who pouts about austerity also boasts of putting 5 million to 7 million new recipients into Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
Meanwhile, the now discredited Keynesians in and outside the White House continue to complain of a “fiscal drag” that is holding back the economy and condemning the U.S. to this tortoise-paced 2 percent growth path. But under the Keynesian model, the juice comes from the excess of spending over taxes collected. For five years, the deficit has averaged more than 6 percent of GDP. This year the deficit shrank, but before the end of the decade it is headed again to again level out at $1 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That same report tells us that entitlement programs are forecast to rise by another 50 percent over the next decade.
If all of this is austerity, God help us if we see a binge.Continuing our University previews, Andy Eck takes a look at the still-developing (and oddly named) West Midlands and Wales region.
This region is small, still finding its footing among the more established Ultimate teams of England and Scotland. The most powerful squads hail from the English half of the region, while teams still in development find their home in the Welsh half. While often overlooked, give this region five years and it’ll be as diverse and hotly contested as any. For now, shake ups among the six universities are rare and the big players dominate the scene.
Bath
Bath are as close to a dynasty as you can get in the still-young West Midlands and Wales region. Just last year they breezed through their regional matches and placed seventh at nationals. A big loss this year is Oscar Modiano (Ka-Pow!), however, many of their star players remain. Bath’s second indoor team, which qualified for Division One Indoor Nationals two years ago, make up a large portion of this squad. Well drilled, experienced, and comfortable with each other, captain Michael Guise (Great Britain Under-23 Open) will use the team’s chemistry and sheer athleticism to run circles around their opponents. On defence, their teamwork and pressure will prove too much for lesser teams. At first, this looked like Exeter’s year. They had good retention and some solid pickups, but the enduring strength of Bath won’t let them take the top spot so easily.
The team to watch if you want to see some high quality Ultimate.
Predicted finish: first.
Bristol
Though by no means out of the race, the dominance of Bath and unexpected power of Exeter this season may catch Bristol off guard. Captain Andrew Paterson seemed well aware of this dynamic and predicted a third place finish for his squad, despite finishing second last year. Paterson stressed morale as a key element of the team, citing missing Jamie Lowe’s charisma at socials and tournaments as well as the last-minute retention of musical talent Allan MacLeod as a key loss and pickup, respectively. In practical terms, high levels of morale translate into a team that never gives up. Bristol might go down, but they won’t be out until the whistle blows. Paterson stated very matter-of-factly that on offence Bristol will be looking to score. Specifically, he hopes to put together a team of intelligent players who approach games with smarts. This will also apply on defence. Expect a team with a wide variety of ever-shifting strategies to attempt to surprise and confuse opponents. Bristol haven’t significantly weakened this year, but simply not weakening likely won’t be enough to overtake Bath and may not be enough to keep pace with Exeter.
The team likely to have the most exuberant sideline.
Predicted finish: third.
Exeter
Exeter begin the season in a strong position, having retained most of last year’s first team. The most crucial of these remaining veterans are last year’s Men’s captain Christopher Ross (Devon), current club captain Luke Gregory (Devon), and Men’s captain Sean Jagger (Devon). They are further bolstered by a couple of American pickups; it remains to be seen how much of a difference they’ll make on the pitch. Hopefully, they’ll be able to pick up the slack left by the departure of Mike Forrest and Stephen Strickland (both Devon players as well). Exeter have always been a blisteringly speedy team, and that isn’t going to change this year. On offence, they’ll use that advantage to great effect: a single break will be devastating as one completed pass leads to three more with no chance for the defence to reset. With energy and pace to spare, it’s no surprise that the team will be running a hard man defensive system. They have their sights set on Bath this year, but Bristol will nip at their heels, ready to take advantage if Exeter stumble even a little.
The team most likely to experience an upset, in their favour or not.
Predicted finish: second.
Falmouth
Falmouth (AKA Kernow Ultimate, AKA FXU) is a team that is often overshadowed by Exeter, since the two share a jointly managed campus. This year, however, they’re stepping into the daylight to face all comers. Falmouth are a classic University team with a group of experienced handlers and cutters holding things together with newer players filling in the gaps made from people graduating. The biggest loss this year is Chris Redd (Devon) who was not only a playmaker on the pitch, but coached the team as well. Captain Robin Ellis-Cockcroft (Devon) plans to focus his team on defence, particularly zone, as the skill disparity between players is not as apparent and mismatches are less likely to occur. He hopes this will create an abundance of turnovers to compensate for the ever popular huck and D strategy Falmouth plan to utilize, turnover heavy itself.
The team with the most personable captain.
Predicted finish: fourth.
Swansea
Expect a weakened Swansea to under-perform last year’s results. A victory against Southampton (Skunks) and an upset win against Cardiff netted them fourth place. This means the team will be fighting to avoid relegation. They’re smarting from the loss of veteran players Jacques Laloe (Brighton City) and Jack Bailey (Blue Arse Flies or BAF). Swansea have kept seasoned cutters Owen Payne (BAF) and James Lear (Storm), but are left with only a single core handler in captain Thawn Hatzaw (BAF). Swansea will rely on him to start their offence and create momentum. On defence, look for attempts to create unanticipated turnovers with a poachy man and zones tailored to the weather. With team harmony and a solid crop of beginners, Swansea may surprise us yet.
The team to see grow over the season.
Predicted finish: fifth.
Winchester
A true mystery of the season, no one seems to have a good read on Winchester. When asked, most captains expected Winchester to finish in the bottom three of the league. However, captain Daniel Fallon (Hampshire) was confident that his team would strongly contest Bath for the top spot. We’ll have to wait until the end of the season to see if he’s confident for a reason. Able to change gears to suit any situation, Winchester look to play a clean, patterned stack in all its variants on offence. Defensively, the team will zone, hoping to use the cup to smother opposing teams’ offence. Fallon asserted that one of Winchester’s strengths is in having players that are comfortable in any role, be that handler, cutter, or something in between. This means that any player can be a threat from any position. That explosive offensive potential might be just what they need to crack through the tough teams in the league.
The team to watch if you love wild cards.
Predicted finish: sixth.
Conclusions
1st – Bath
2nd – Exeter
3rd – Bristol
4th – Falmouth
5th – Swansea
6th – Winchester
Though there are some strong teams in this region of six, there remains a wide gulf between the top three and the bottom three. The barriers around these groupings are quite rigid and for any team to fall from first to third and fourth to sixth or vice versa would be a huge shock. With that said, let’s take a look at each group on their own in a little more detail.
TOP THREE: Bath, Bristol, and Exeter – oh my! My money’s on Bath to take it again this year, but it’s nowhere near a lock. They will be heavily contested by Exeter. If Bath don’t come out firing on all cylinders from the start, I can see Exeter building up a nice lead that carries them through to a victory. Bristol vs. Bath is likely to be more clear cut, with Bristol struggling to overcome Bath matching and exceeding them man for man. Again, however, carelessness invites disaster as Bristol are still a regional powerhouse; they may be able to develop a winning strategy. The Bristol and Exeter match will likely be the most exciting, tense game of the season. The outcome may be decided by the conditions on the pitch, as Bristol will have trained hard to take advantage of adverse conditions. High winds and rain may be just enough to allow Bristol to put the game away before Exeter can adjust their strategies. On a clear day, expect a close first fifteen minutes, then watch Exeter pull away as the Bristol boys find themselves hard pressed to keep up.
BOTTOM THREE: A group of teams with good individual players, but not enough depth to carry them into the top three. Unfortunately, two of these teams will be relegated, meaning the stakes for these squads are incredibly high. Winchester is an enigma this season that could place anywhere, but they’ll have to prove themselves against Falmouth and Swansea first. Falmouth seem to be the team to beat in this half of the region. Falmouth vs. Swansea is looking like the game that will decide which of the teams face relegation. Advantage goes to Falmouth on strategy alone. With only a single core handler left to them, Swansea will have few answers to a huck and D offence. In the event of a turnover, Swansea will face a zone defence with their backs to their own goal line. The pressure could be difficult to overcome. Winchester’s relative anonymity could work to their advantage as Falmouth and Swansea scramble to properly identify key players and adjust to any strategies they may have. As it stands, however, they’ll need to push hard to place fourth or better in this region.So you’re thinking of getting a dog and then you see an ad using the local airport’s logo, images and letterhead saying you can get a pooch from the airport’s kennels; you just have to pay hundreds of dollars in advance before you pick the puppy up. It might seem like an obvious scam to you, but plenty of people are falling for it.
Officials at Hartsfield-Jackson International in Georgia tell Atlanta’s WSBTV that they hear of around 15 people a month who are tricked out of hundreds of dollars by scammers pretending to represent the airport.
WSB says that in the last week alone, three families thought they were rescuing canines from the airport, only to find out that no such program exists.
“The woman we were emailing said the dogs were at the airport, but we needed to send another $400 to get them out of quarantine,” says one father, who had already paid $800 for two fictional dogs. “We knew something was up then.”
The airport cargo manager explains: “So many people get caught up into thinking they got a good deal, or that the person on the other end of the computer or Internet really wants to help them and they don’t realize they’re getting scammed… Airlines may ship dogs, but not the airport.”
The manager’s advice is sound for just about all impulse buys — ask questions and take a day to think about it. And always use a credit card when paying for something online, as it offers the highest level of fraud protection.Local government leaders in Wisconsin say tax dollars from more economic development in their areas are key to pay for local infrastructure improvements, but they also recognize it's that very same infrastructure — things like good roads and a faster internet — that's crucial to foster economic growth.
A recent survey of officials from the nearly 600 Wisconsin cities and villages belonging to the League of Wisconsin Municipalities shows economic development is the top priority of the group. Executive Director Jerry Deschane said while the majority of roads in the state's cities and villages are in good shape, they are also expected to rapidly deteriorate which will make economic growth a challenge.
"You need the taxpayers to provide you with resources. We have to nurture a really strong economy because that comes first," Deschane said.
In the last 15 years, Wisconsin communities have seen less shared revenue, or financial aid from the state, and lawmakers in Madison have also put greater revenue controls on local governments to keep property tax increases to a minimum.
Deschane said local communities need a combination of some financial help from state lawmakers along with robust economic growth that will bring in new taxes.
"It's unrealistic to think the Legislature is just going to say, 'Hey go out there and raise taxes 10 percent.' Our citizens wouldn't stand for it," said Deschane. "But, it's a combination of the two."
In the Town of Farmington in northern La Crosse County, Town Chair Mike Hesse said they hadn't replaced any of their 40 miles of roads since the 1970s, until 2016, when the town spent more than $800,000 to reconstruct 2.2 miles of Davis Creek Road. It paid for that project by saving money for 10 years, borrowing another $400,000 and getting help from a large state grant.
"We've been getting $1 million and $2 million and $3 million of growth every year. Even during the downturn we were almost $1 million in growth," said Hesse. "We need that to get our tax revenue because we don't get the state shared revenue we used to get. The road aids have been basically frozen."
Hesse said most Wisconsin towns are in a similar situation. The majority of the state's roads are in towns and haven't been replaced in decades and aren't designed to handle 21st Century farm traffic.BENGALURU/LONDON (Reuters) - World economic growth lost momentum in September, with China’s factory output shrinking again, euro zone manufacturing growth slowing, and U.S. activity steady.
An employee works at a Chinese automobile factory in Hefei, Anhui province, March 15, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer
The latest business surveys across Asia, Europe and the Americas paint a gloomier picture and are likely to prompt more calls for central banks to loosen monetary policy even further.
“The data probably increases the case for more stimulus in certain parts of the world, especially from the People’s Bank of China and the European Central Bank,” said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec in London.
“Those economies that are at less advanced paths of the recovery cycle — the key example is the euro zone, where we’re looking at more disinflation — may well find more stimulus is in order.”
CHINA MANUFACTURING STILL CONTRACTING
Surveys of China’s factory and services sectors showed the world’s second largest economy may be cooling more rapidly than earlier thought, with deeper job cuts.
Taken together with a stock market crash in Shanghai during the summer and a surprise devaluation of the Chinese yuan, the data highlight just how difficult it will be for policymakers to steer China’s economy out of the biggest slowdown in decades.
“Two straight months of manufacturing sector contraction with a depressed equity market suggests China’s third-quarter GDP growth is likely to have slowed to 6.4 percent,” economists at ANZ said.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)in China inched up to 49.8 in September from 49.7, but was still below the 50 level on the index separating growth from contraction.
Private data vendor Caixin/Markit reported its China PMI slipped to 47.2 in September though, the lowest reading since March 2009.
In China’s service sector the official PMI stood at 53.4, the same as August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The Caixin/Markit service sector PMI fell for a second consecutive month to 50.5, its lowest level since July 2014.
China is a major importer of raw materials, especially from commodity producers such as Australia, Brazil and Canada, so a slowdown in demand is being felt globally.
Concerns over China and global market volatility figured high on a list of reasons the U.S. Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates last month.
MORE ECB STIMULUS AS PRICES DROP
In the euro zone, where the central bank is six months into a 1.1 trillion euro asset purchase program, the PMI survey data showed manufacturing output weakened slightly last month.
Markit’s final euro zone manufacturing PMI was 52.0 last month, lower than August’s 52.3.
ECB policymakers, led by President Mario Draghi, have hinted the 60-billion-euro-a-month bond-buying scheme could be enhanced in size or duration if inflation is seen missing its goal of near 2.0 percent even by 2017.
Factories in Europe’s number one economy, Germany, performed better, however, driven by strong output from consumer goods producers and rising new orders.
The PMIs also showed French manufacturing grew faster than first thought in September, while British factory growth lost steam and shed jobs for the first time since 2013.
The drag on the UK economy is likely to weigh on the Bank of England which is considering when the appropriate time is to raise interest rates from the current 0.50 percent, where they have stayed since March 2009.
U.S. MANUFACTURING SLUGGISH
In the Americas, growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector rose slightly in September but was still at its second-lowest level since Oct. 2013, according to Markit.
The final U.S. manufacturing PMI inched higher to 53.1 in September from 53.0 in August, which marked the lowest level since Oct. 2013.
“The U.S. manufacturing sector has seen a distinct loss of growth momentum in recent months, endured the worst performance for two years during the third quarter,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
“Headwinds include the rising dollar, weak demand in global markets, a downturn in business investment and financial market jitters,” he added.
An alternative U.S. manufacturing survey from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) showed the pace of factory activity slowed in September while remaining at its lowest level since May 2013.
Business conditions in the Canadian manufacturing sector fell to a record low in August as the country continues to feel the effect of cheap oil prices.
The RBC/Market manufacturing PMI for Canada fell to 48.6 last month from 49.4 in August and is now at the lowest level in the survey’s five-year history.
Canada was in a mild recession in the first half of the year as the oil-exporter has been hurt by the drop in the price of crude oil.
In Latin America, Brazil’s manufacturing PMI rose to 47.0 in September from 45.8 in August but the sector has now contracted for an eighth straight month.
Brazil’s economy is struggling through its worst recession in 25 years, leaving the nation’s long-crippled manufacturing sector reeling. Manufacturers have laid off nearly half a million workers over the past 12 months as output shrunk to 2009 levels.
Mexico’s HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI fell to 52.1 from 52.4 in August.India is planning to launch many crucial projects that could have serious civil liberty implications. There is no doubt that ensuring a balance between civil liberties and national security requirements is a tricky issue. The national security and fundamental rights must be reconciled by Indian government keeping in mind the constitutional mandates.
According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT and techno legal law firm Perry4Law and CEO of PTLB, there is need to have “Reconciliation” between National Security needs of India on the one hand and Protection of Fundamental Rights on the other. I have also sent a communication in this regard to Government of India in the past, informs Dalal.
India must stress upon capacity and skills development to protect its national security and cyber security requirements. The offensive and defensive cyber security capabilities must be developed by India to thwart the growing cyber attacks against Indian critical infrastructures.
It would be a wrong strategy to curb civil liberties for false national security requirements. That is simply a façade to hide our own lack of expertise and capabilities to manage our national security requirements.
Let us repeal the draconian laws like information technology act, 2000 and Indian telegraph act, 1885 and enact constitutionally sound law to maintain a balance between civil liberties and national security requirements.
See CECSRDI For More.Hello, fellow smashers! Many smashers, like me, have never had a Wii, thus never got to experience SSBB. But now that I have bought a Wii U, I can finally play Brawl! But Brawl was missing something... and that something was the fast paced gameplay that Melee had to offer. Yes, this guide is how to get Project M working consistently on your Wii U, for people in a strange situation, like me. I will be covering common problems and ways to fix them, and covering basic requirements to get Project M functioning on your Wii U! Lets begin.
Disclaimer: This guide is for the NTSC version of SSBB and Project M. Unfortunately, Project M is not available in the PAL region. It is only available in America and Japan. It sucks, but I've heard that they're working on a PAL version, so keep your fingers crossed! I've also heard that by using a program called USB Loader GX, you can get a functioning version of Project M on a PAL Wii U, but I know nothing about that, so look it up on google, you'll probably find a guide or something similar eventually.
Part 1 - Downloading the mod
To start off, you'll obviously need a Wii U, and a copy of SSBB. Keep in mind, this is a guide for the hackless version, as this is the only consistent way you can play Project M on Wii U, due to Homebrew not working correctly, if at all on Wii U. I've heard from Reserved that he got Homebrew and Project M functioning on his Wii U, so if you can get it to work, than great! But I generally recommend using the hackless version, as it is more consistent with Project M on Wii U.
Just like a Wii, you'll need a 2gb SD card. When Brawl was created, Wii's could not support SD cards more than 2gb, thus Brawl is not compatible with any bigger SD cards. You can probably find one at Walmart or Radio Shack. If you can't, like I couldn't, you'll probably have to order one online, which are typically expensive. The cheapest you'll find would probably be 10 dollars, 8 if you're lucky. I know it's a ripoff, but trust me, It's worth it!
Next step, go to the official Project M website (Smashboards won't let me link it) and click the "Download" tab on their home page. Scroll down until you see a list of download options. Click and download the "Hackless Wii ZIP (Full Set)". I've heard from some people (Namely Shokio) that the "WiFi-Safe" works and the "Full-Set" doesn't work. In all honesty, they both work, yet you want to download the Full Set anyway, due to more features and better gameplay. Nintendo dropped WFC anyway, so you couldn't use the WiFi to play online.
While you wait for it to download, go ahead and plug your 2gb SD card into your computer. If you don't have an SD card slot, just go and buy a cheap USB hub that has a SD card slot from Walmart or somewhere that sells computer accessories. after it downloads, open it in WinRAR. If you don't know what WinRAR is, then find another guide that tells you how to download WinRAR. After that, click the start menu, then click computer. There should be some new storage device. Open it.
Proceed to drag the WinRAR file into the storage device (Your SD card). Be sure not to name the SD card "Project M" or any kind of abbreviation of that. If you absolutely HAVE to name it something, "Game" works fine. Right click the WinRAR file and click "Extract here..." Boom. Done.
Part 2 - Running Project M on your Wii U
Boot up your Wii U, but don't put Brawl or the SD card in yet. For some reason, Project M won't load unless you put the SD card in your Wii U AFTER going to the Wii menu. Although, I've heard from various people that they got it to work without doing that... just do it this first time to be safe. As for not putting Brawl in, it just works better for me. After you boot up the Wii menu, go ahead and put Brawl in, but not the SD card. Boot up Brawl.
Go to the Vault, then Stage Builder. Delete EVERY STAGE. Don't assume just because you haven't made a stage that there are no custom stages, as Brawl comes pre-loaded with 3 sample stages. If you want to just start on a fresh slate, go ahead and erase all your save data, and then delete the three sample stages (Although erasing your whole game data isn't necessary, it's just cleaner). Go back to the Wii menu after deleting all custom stages.
Put in the SD card, the card holding both the fun and glory that is Project M. Boot up Brawl once more. Go back to the Vault, and then to the stage builder. If you have done everything correctly, then after clicking the stage builder, it should go to |
actual physical brawl out of the way in an entertaining but brisk fashion, with Iron Man, Captain America and Thor battling in the forest. But I seem to remember the first two issues of the recent Justice League comics reboot were just Batman, Green Lantern and Superman fighting each other before any actual baddies showed up. And that was one and a half issues of "heroes fighting each other" too many. I could totally see a League movie trying to copy that format, resulting in an hour of good guys smacking each other due to wacky misunderstandings — as a means of introducing them to each other, and to us.
But seriously, Warner Bros. — it's not that complicated. Superman/Batman (not Superman vs. Batman). Followed by Trinity. Followed, in turn, by Justice League (and a Wonder Woman solo outing). Make it happen! Or else, just make a Wonder Woman movie, before doing the full Justice League. Wonder Woman's origin needs a whole movie to itself.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday he does not yet know how Republicans will amass the votes needed to pass legislation now being crafted to dismantle Obamacare, but expressed some optimism on another top priority, overhauling the tax code.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, McConnell said healthcare and taxes still top the Republican legislative agenda, and he added that he will not reach out to the minority Democrats on either one because differences between the two parties are too stark.
McConnell also said he has not asked the White House for input as the Senate devises its own healthcare legislation after the Republican-led House of Representatives passed its version on May 4, but may do so in the future.
Excluding Democratic involvement will leave McConnell, a conservative 75-year-old Kentuckian with a reputation as a dealmaker, a narrow path to win passage of these ambitious goals, which are also at the head of Republican President Donald Trump’s policy agenda. A repeal of Obamacare was one of Trump’s leading campaign promises last year.
Asked about behind-the-scenes work among Senate Republicans on hammering out the provisions of a healthcare bill, McConnell said, “I don’t know how we get to 50 (votes) at the moment. But that’s the goal. And exactly what the composition of that (bill) is I’m not going to speculate about because it serves no purpose,” McConnell said.
Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority. In the event of a 50-50 tie, Republican Vice President Mike Pence would be called upon to cast a tie-breaking vote.
McConnell opened the interview by saying, “There’s not a whole lot of news to be made on healthcare.” He declined to discuss what provisions he might want to see in the bill or provide a timetable for producing even a draft to show to rank-and-file Republican senators and gauge their support.
On the other hand, he said, prospects for passage of major tax legislation were “pretty good.” While this too will be difficult, McConnell said, it is “not in my view quite as challenging as healthcare.”
Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress want to cut tax rates across the board, but a House proposal to use the tax code to boost exports and discourage imports has split the business community and some lawmakers.
The House narrowly passed its legislation to overhaul the healthcare system and dismantle major parts of the Obamacare law, formally called the Affordable Care Act, that was Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, overcoming unified opposition from Democrats.
On Wednesday, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the House-passed bill would result in 23 million people losing health insurance coverage by 2026, a sobering figure for Senate Republicans as they mull action. The CBO also said federal budget deficits would fall by $119 billion over 10 years under that bill.
Asked if he was getting any guidance from the White House on healthcare legislation, McConnell said, “Honestly I haven’t asked for any. I told the president there would be a point at which we might well want him and the vice president to be helpful.”
McConnell said Trump and Pence could play an important role when it comes to “whipping” up support for whatever bill is produced.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to Reuters during an interview in Washington, U.S., May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
If the Senate passes a healthcare bill, lawmakers would have to work out the differences in the House and Senate versions and pass a compromise bill before it could go to Trump for his signature.
BALANCING ACT
With Republicans holding a slim Senate majority, McConnell likely needs the cooperation and support of hard-line conservative Republicans such as Senator Ted Cruz who in the past have been difficult to corral.
Cruz is a member of a working group within the Senate in charge of crafting the Senate Obamacare repeal legislation.
“I’m grateful that he wants to help us get an outcome here,” McConnell said.
Republicans face a tricky balancing act. Because they cannot expect any Democratic support and have a razor-thin majority, they must devise legislation that appeals not only to the most conservative senators but also does not drive off many Republican moderates.
Since it became law in 2010, Republicans have railed against Obamacare, arguing that it is too expensive and involves the government too deeply in Americans’ healthcare decisions.
They have said they want to replace it with a program that repeals most Obamacare taxes, reduces federal spending in the Medicaid insurance program for the poor and leaves more decisions up to the states.
McConnell in the past has promised to undo Obamacare “root and branch.” Now that Republicans are in a position to do so with control of both Congress and the White House, they have struggled to come up with a consensus plan.
The Republican leader compared the effort to solving a Rubik’s Cube.
Many Senate Republicans have misgivings about the House-passed legislation, which Democrats have said would deprive millions of people of insurance, benefit the wealthy and roll back Obamacare protections such as guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
McConnell made clear that senators are writing their own bill, saying, “We’re working on a separate approach.”
In taking a Republican-only approach to healthcare and taxes, McConnell said of Democrats, “They’re not interested in doing what we’re interested in doing.”
Slideshow (2 Images)
McConnell expressed optimism two parties can band together to pass legislation funding the federal government in the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1.
He also noted good prospects for bipartisanship on a bill to expand sanctions against Iran, due for debate in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week, and renewal of a Food and Drug Administration user-fee program that expires later this year.Select a date Select month July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 Select a category Agriculture Bihar Votes For Its (and India’s) Future BUDGET 2014 Budget 2015: Modi’s Moment of Reckoning Budget 2016: The stories behind the numbers Chart of the Day Climate Change Cover Story Currency Chaos Development Education Elections 2014 Employment Fact Check Governance Newsletter Health homepage video Hunger India’s Great Challenge: Health & Sanitation IndiaSpend In The News IndiaSpend Interviews Industry Investigations Central State Latest Headlines Latest Reports Making Sense of Breaking News Modi’s Message: India’s States Reply Modi’s Report Card Mumbai Special Mumbai Special: The Revival Agenda Opinion – Videos Opinions Pollution Poverty Prime Time: India’s Grand Challenges Resources Central State Sectors Agriculture Defence Economy & Policy Education Health Infrastructure Snapshots States Central India Chattisgarh Madhya Pradesh EAST Bihar Jharkhand Orissa West Bengal NORTH Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir New Delhi Punjab Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand NORTH EAST Arunachal Pradesh Assam Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Sikkim Tripura SOUTH Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Kerala Tamil Nadu WEST Goa Gujarat Maharashtra Story In A Minute The Air We #Breathe The Road To Delhi: Elections 2015 The Transition: 2015-2016 Uncategorized Viznomics: A Quick Glance At Big Issues Welfare Women Women@Work Search with Google
The population of India is estimated to increase 26%, from 1.35 billion in 2017 to 1.7 billion in 2050, according to projections by the Population Reference Bureau, a global non-profit.
Over the next 33 years, India will add 323 million people, equivalent to almost the current population of the USA, or more than the current populations of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar combined.
India, which currently has one of the world’s youngest populations, with 21% aged 15 to 24, will age by 2050, with the proportion of young people falling to 17%.
The world’s population will reach 9.8 billion in 2050, up 31% from 7.5 billion now, with India accounting for 17% of the population.
We storified a thread of tweets put out on August 17, 2017, to give you an idea of India’s and the world’s population trends by 2050.
Today, we bring you the latest world population trends for 2050, according to @prbdata. #worldpopdata. (1/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
India with 1.7bn will be world's most populous country by 2050, next China (1.34bn), according to @prbdata. #worldpopdata (2/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
India’s popn(1.35bn)to increase 26% to 1.7bn by 2050; China’s popn to decline 4% from 1.39bn in 2017 to 1.34bn in 2050. #worldpopdata (3/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
India to will add most people, 323mn (almost current US popn.), by 2050. Nigeria next, 220mn. #worldpopdata (4/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
India has world’s largest youth population (aged 15-24), 247mn (21%); will fall to 229mn (17%) by 2050. #worldpopdata (5/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
World popn will reach 9.8bn in 2050, up 31% from 7.5 bn now; India will be 17% of total. #worldpopdata (6/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
China will register largest population drop (44mn); next, Japan (25mn) & Ukraine (9mn). #worldpopdata (7/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
World youth population aged 15 to 24 will reach 1.4bn by 2050, from 1.2bn now. #worldpopdata (8/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
Japan has world’s oldest popn, 28% > 65 yrs; in India, 6% > 65 yrs. #worldpopdata (9/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
Number of births worldwide currently 2.5 times number of deaths. #worldpopdata (10/10) — IndiaSpend (@IndiaSpend) August 17, 2017
(Mallapur is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)
We welcome feedback. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. We reserve the right to edit responses for language and grammar.
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“Liked this story? Indiaspend.org is a non-profit, and we depend on readers like you to drive our public-interest journalism efforts. Donate Rs 500; Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000.”The S.2852 OPEN Government Data Act aims to require true open data access at the federal level. In this article I will discuss the importance of open data in government, the current state of open data in government, and what we need to do to implement true open data.
When I read an article on the Center for Data Innovation site, Congress Is Stepping Up to Protect Open Data, I was struck by two feelings: elation and surprise. The article explains:
Sponsored by Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Blake Farenthold (R-TX) in the House, and Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) in the Senate, the bill would make changes to the U.S. Code to institutionalize open data best practices, such as publishing government data, by default using open and machine readable formats, and with an open license that imposes no restrictions on reuse. "Open by default" has been a mainstay of the open data movement for years, and for good reason: there is simply no way to reliably foresee the potential value of every government data set until the public has access to it.
The article links to a 2013 McKinsey report, Open data: Unlocking innovation and performance with liquid information, that says the national open data initiative of "open by default" represents real economic and transparency value for the public. The report points out that there is no assurance that open data will survive the end of the current administration.
What are the opportunities in legislation for open data within open government?
The how and why of open data was first discussed in the 8 Principles of Open Government Data, published in 2007, and it has increased its importance in government, civil society, and developers' communities. In 2009 President Obama, on his first day in office, issued his first executive order requiring agencies to identify and release "high value" data sets. This had an unintended consequence of some agencies participating and flooding data.gov with what were arguably "high value" data sets and some not participating. In 2013 M1313 Executive Order mandated that all data be open "by default." But did that really happen?
President Obama said of his Executive Order: Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information:
"My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.
One of my open data colleagues, Dr. Dennis D. McDonald, has a concise description of the problem. He says that unless we address a few questions about open data, the effort will fail:
How does making open data relate to or support the goals and objectives of the government programs that generate the data?
How much will open data cost?
Who will pay?
The executive orders, albeit well intentioned and ground-breaking, did not deliver on the promises made, and executive orders are easy to reverse. Legislation is a stronger approach.
Open data and transparency
There is noise on the local scene, and from civil society organizations, that transparency is not the goal of federal open data. In fact, some scholars have debated whether transparency is really a smoke screen enabled by "open data."
A few years ago, I read The New Ambiguity of Open Government, and I disagree with the authors' assertion that the edge of open government is going away. Yes, data sets that have nothing to do with accountability are being published. Yes, there are open data initiatives that stand up a few data sets and call it "open." This does not mean that all or most open data professionals do this. The idea of "government versus the people" is one reason Public Sector Agencies (PSAs) have trouble getting open data initiatives launched in the first place. This statement is based on my observations from ten years in public service. Most elected officials cite risk aversion as the main obstacle to releasing open data. I have managed 15 open data projects, including Open Raleigh and Open Durham, the main cause of resistance by data stakeholders is the fear of confrontation with civil society.
The main issue with data policy development and release of PSA data is the disconnect between PSAs and the private sector. There is little, if any, discussion on the value-add of releasing these data. This is not purely a government issue. The private sector, with a few shining exceptions (BuildingEye, a permit visualization application for example) has shied away from using or even trying to use these data. PSAs see this lack of engagement and fail to rise to the occasion. This causes many PSA open data efforts to stagnate.
Using a framework to which the US is already committed: the Open Government Partnership
The United States reached another important open government milestone in 2014 when President Obama signed legislation passed unanimously by the US Congress, requiring Federal agencies to publish their spending data according to clear standards that will help improve the quality of government information, help inform government decisions, and make government work more efficiently for the American people.
In 2011, the US and India became the original co-founders of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The goals of the OGP are to establish an international body to oversee progress, and to be accountable to Civil Society Organizations (CSO). CSOs are organizations that advise governments how to fulfill their OGP obligations and commitments. Should Congress put Project Open Data into law, or should they use a hybrid approach by blending OGP commitments with the existing Project Open Data infrastructure? At the very least, our OGP commitments should be addressed by Project Open Data, and data sets supporting those OGP commitments should be the rubric of "high value".
The third National Action Plan (NAP) was published late 2015 by the White House Office of Science and Technology to the OGP. Its stated goals mention accessibility issues and codifying web standards. These action items will increase accessibility to government services. But do they increase access to information on what our government is doing?
OPEN Data legislation opportunities
The goals of the OPEN (Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary) Government Data Act are raising awareness among governments and civil society of the usefulness and potential of open data in public policies, furthering awareness of the importance of open data, and supporting its use and fostering new data opening initiatives. Open Data Legislation should include strategic activities aimed at our OGP commitments:
Defining the regulatory framework for the implementation of open data at the federal Level.
Defining policy and technical guidelines for the implementation of open data that could have benefit for organizations at the state and local level.
Redesigning and improving the functionality of public facing open data portals.
Disseminating information on the topic of open data and encouraging third-party development of applications using open data.
Let’s go open some data with the right legislative approach. Join Jason Hare, Mark Headd, and Daniel Castro for a free webinar on this groundbreaking topic. You will learn:
Who the OPEN Government Data Act will impact, and how
Why you should support the bill as it moves through Congress
What being transparent enough means, and how the US can finally carry the torch for transparency through open data
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SEATAC, Wash. -- American Airlines Flight 2310, en route from Seattle to Dallas/Fort Worth, on Wednesday was forced to return to Sea-Tac International Airport after a bird strike on takeoff, the airline said.
An American Airlines spokesman told Q13 News that the bird -- or possibly two or more birds -- struck the nose of the plane on takeoff, and a large dent in the nose was clearly visible upon the aircraft's landing. No one was injured.
The airline said there were 150 passengers and six crew members on aboard the Airbus A321.
"Our maintenance team is currently evaluating the aircraft," the airline said. "We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience, and are working to get them to Texas as soon as possible."
The airline later said that they had decided to swap out the aircraft, and that the new plane would be leaving Sea-Tac for Dallas/Fort Worth at 6:50 p.m.Select your approx. talent budget* $5,000 or less $5,000 - $7,500 $7,500 - $10,000 $10,000 - $20,000 $20,000 - $30,000 $30,000 - $50,000 $50,000 - $100,000 $100,000 and above I have a budget, but I am unsure of what it is I am looking for Talent to donate their time
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If you are the talent, and wish to request removal from this catalog or report an issue with your profile, please click here.Adam Boyes: PS4 Launch has “Way More Content Than The Other Guys” Thanks to Indies
Adam Boyes, who first talked publicly about the PS4 originally having just 4GB, is at IndieCade right now, where he gave a keynote speech (via Gamasutra), which included discussing console exclusivity:
Right now exclusives are just a way for [console makers] to brag louder. Nobody gains from exclusivity in perpetuity.
With developers now having so many different platforms to bring their game to, and Sony wanting all developers to be successful, Boyes believes that that is what ultimately leads to games going multiplatform.
Also during IndieCade (via NeonTommy), Boyes talked about the “personal relationship” between Sony and indie developers by saying, “It is no longer just a corporation to corporation exchange, it’s a real sort of, almost friendship.” He then added, “As long as we bring visibility to these games, it will drive more creativity, more innovation and that will drive people to play the [PS4].”
“What happens when we have this great relationship with developers, we have more games,” Boyes said, “When you look at the PlayStation 4 launch, we have way more content than the other guys because of great independent content.”
Do you think we’ll see many third-party exclusives in the next generation? Or just exclusive content on multiplatform titles? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image]
Essential Reading:Single release Edit
"Bennie and the Jets" was featured on side one of the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, and Elton John was set against releasing it as a single, believing it would fail. CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, began heavy airplay of the song and it became the #1 song in the Detroit market.[3] This attention caused other American and Canadian Top 40 stations to add it to their playlists as well and as a result, the song peaked at #1 on the US singles chart in 1974. In the US, it was certified Gold on 8 April 1974 and Platinum on 13 September 1995 by the RIAA,[4] and had sold 2.8 million copies by August 1976.[5] "Bennie and the Jets" was also John's first Top 40 hit on what at the time was called the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, where it peaked at #15, the highest position out of the three of his singles which reached that chart.[6] The acceptance of "Bennie" on R&B radio helped land John, a huge soul music fan, a guest appearance on the edition of 17 May 1975 of Soul Train, where he played "Bennie and the Jets" and "Philadelphia Freedom". In Canada, it held the #1 spot on the RPM national singles chart for two weeks (13–20 April), becoming his first #1 single of 1974 and his fourth overall.[7][8]
Song composition Edit
Personnel Edit
Music video Edit
In May 2017, an official music video for "Bennie and the Jets" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a winner of Elton John: The Cut, a competition organized in partnership with AKQA, Pulse Films, and YouTube in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of his songwriting relationship with Bernie Taupin. The competition called upon independent filmmakers to submit treatments for music videos for one of three Elton John songs from the 1970s, with each song falling within a specific concept category. "Bennie and the Jets" was designated for the choreography category, and was directed by Jack Whiteley and Laura Brownhill. The video was influenced by early cinema and the work of Busby Berkeley, portraying characters as participants on a talent show auditioning for Bennie.[10][11]
Chart performance Edit
Covers Edit
Mondegreens in the song Edit
The song contains the line "She's got electric boots, a mohair suit", which is often misheard as "She's got electric boobs, and mohair shoes".[25][26] A scene in the film 27 Dresses shows that this is but one of many mondegreens that listeners have invented for this song.[27]
References in popular culture Edit
The original Winnipeg Jets NHL team's mascot was named Benny, [28] partially in reference to this song, but primarily after the original owner of the (WHA) team, Ben Hatskin.
partially in reference to this song, but primarily after the original owner of the (WHA) team, Ben Hatskin. The band TV Girl released an EP on 25 July 2011, entitled "Benny and the Jetts". It features four songs, the first of which is also titled "Benny and the Jetts", which describes a girl that the singer once knew who was always listening to the song. [29]
Axl Rose cited it as a song that meant a lot to him as a teenager. [30]
The film 27 Dresses has a scene where Jane (Katherine Heigl) and Kevin (James Marsden) get drunk in a bar and sing this song with everyone in the bar. [31]
has a scene where Jane (Katherine Heigl) and Kevin (James Marsden) get drunk in a bar and sing this song with everyone in the bar. The song was used in a scene in My Girl 2.***Grow Your Own Berries At Home..
You don’t have to be a gardening expert to get started on your very own berry garden; this e-book has you covered! It contains all the information you require including weather, soiling and equipment requirements as well as the best practices for yielding organic and delicious berries each time round.
Whether you are a berry lover or a gardening beginner, this simple guide has everything you need to know including:
•Basic information on berry gardening
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The demand for organic fruits and the processed products made from it is growing all across the globe, and with the information and easy to follow guidelines provided in this e-book, you can easily be on your way to start a small berry business of your own!
So let’s get digging shall we?
>> Scroll Up & Grab Your Copy!According to witness reports, on Sept. 22 at 2:45 p.m., NYPD officers in a patrol car trailed a group of black teenagers walking through Park Slope, Brooklyn and told them via loudspeakers to "get out of the neighborhood."
Most appallingly: the NYPD isn't even trying to apologize. At a 78th Precinct Community Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Commanding Officer Capt. Frank DiGiacomo said he wasn't aware of the incident but that it did sound like something they would do.
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"We've had large fights... and things stemming over to Barclays Center and things stemming over to robberies and assaults," he said of incidents at the Atlantic Center Mall. "When one or two are hanging out, it's never a problem, but when we have large groups of kids together and we don't ask them to move or go somewhere else, they become a larger group, and that's when we get assaults."
As Sara Bennett, a witness and former criminal defense lawyer, pointed out, the location of the incident (Ninth Street and Seventh Avenue) isn't anywhere close to the mall.
DiGiacomo continued: "Most of the crimes that happen in our command are from outside people committing the crimes... If [teens] are not playing basketball, you're not playing soccer, you're not doing something productive in the neighborhood, I can see [officers] moving them."
With that statement, DiGiacomo exhibits loathsome bias, alleging that these teens must have been outsiders only because of their race. And that congregations of black teens must be playing a sport in order to be permitted to hang out anywhere.
According to New York law, the teens were not breaking any laws by walking through the neighborhood (obviously), other than, potentially, the unstated social crime of "walking while black."Sucha Singh Langah, the former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader, who had been booked on rape charges, has not yet surrendered to the police, though he had said in a statement that he would turn himself in to the police on Saturday.
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His laywer, who did not wish to be named, said Langah would surrender in court but the timing of the surrender was “not decided”.
Langah was booked on the complaint of a woman at Gurdaspur city police station on Friday.
The timing of the case against Langah, which he questioned in his statement, has added an edge to the otherwise dull Gurdaspur by-election, scheduled to be held on October 8.
While SAD was quick to accept his resignation from all party posts, the BJP candidate for the by-election, Sawarn Singh Salaria, has strongly defended Langah whose assembly constituency Dera Baba Nanak falls in Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency.
Langah was elected from Dera Baba Nanak a few times, though he lost both the 2017 and 2012 elections.
BJP and SAD have long been allies in the state. Asked if rape charges against Langah would damage his election campaign, Salaria told The Indian Express, “You are yourself wise enough. The incident allegedly happened in 2009. Now it is 2017. How much these allegations are justified?”
“Congress is so frustrated that they received complaint over night and registered the case. They have done nothing in the last six months and have nothing to show on report card. So now they have been making up things. Jakhar is an outsider. He cannot win from his home constituency in Assembly elections. Now he wants to become MP from Gurdaspur,” Salaria said.
He said he was not defending rape, but maintained that Congress was afraid of Langah as he was “a powerful and leader of masses”.
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Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar refuted the made by allegations by Salaria. “There is a video clipping of the crime. This is such a serious allegation, heinous crime. It cannot be brushed aside as political vendetta,” he said.http://anythingbutpenalties.com/2014/05/24/mauricio-pochettino-through-statistics/, diagrams by me) (Stats via, diagrams by me)
This post will look at Pochettino's philosophy and tactical ideology which he will likely implement at Tottenham Hotspur. Based on his work at Espanyol and Southampton, his tutelage under Marco "El Loco" Bielsa and the type of players he employs on the pitch.(I cannot guarantee this is how Spurs will play, you never know with young coaches how they will develop as a coach and how they will edit their system among a different group of players.)Let's start with a likely starting XI:On paper, Mauricio Pochettino's team usually sets out in a 4-2-3-1 shape. The team presses very high up the pitch, a la Bielsa. The back 4 and 2 holding mids push the team forward as quickly as possible in the game before the 2 CB's take up their positions close to/ on the halfway line (Dawson will play in a high line again!). The idea behind this is to win the ball back up the pitch as high as possible, to keep the opposition away from our goal and to maximise the chances created through winning the ball closer to the oppositions goal. It's a high paced, exciting brand of football which requires a lot of energy and fitness from our own players. While this can lead to an entertaining and dominating brand of football, it will require a lot of effort from our players and, if, executed poorly can lead to our team fading in the later stages of games. However it is important to realise Mauricio Pochettino has been employing this style of play for all of his management career and with better players and facilities at his disposal, I'm sure he can make it work at Tottenham Hotspur.Pochettino's Southampton enjoyed the highest average amount of possession during last seasons Premier League:58.6%2 Manchester City 57.6%3 Swansea 57.3%4 Arsenal 56.8%5 Liverpool 55.8%6 Everton 55.6%This is a very impressive statistic which is also vital to ensure that when Poch's teams lose the ball, they still have the energy to pressure their opponents and win the ball back as soon as possible. High amounts of possession are always beneficial to teams in the Premier League because of the quality of the opposition, 8 times out of 10 the premier league side you come up against has a player on the other team who can change the game in an instant, so it is important to minimise the time the opposition has the ball. Even more impressive is this statistic when you realise how many long balls on average Southampton played last season:1 Aston Villa 71703 Everton 684 Fulham 685 Hull 676 Sunderland 667 West Ham 66This stat will be enjoyed by those who grew frustrated with AVB's patient build-up play between the CB's which often slowed down the tempo of our play and allowing the opposition to restore their defensive shape. This is another piece of evidence of Poch incorporating Bielsa's philosophy into his own game. Instead of patient build-up play which features a lot of sideways passing, Poch's team looks to play vertical passes at every opportunity to speed up play and catch the opposition out of shape. This ppoint is supported also by these statistics:1 Arsenal 5242 Swansea 5063 Manchester City 5024 Liverpool 4694576 Manchester United 4477 Chelsea 432Rank Pass Success% Rank Possession % Team Difference between ranks1 2 Manchester City 12 4 Arsenal 23 3 Swansea 04 5 Liverpool 15 7 Manchester United 26 6 Everton 07 8 Chelsea 18 9 Tottenham 19 1These show that Southampton have been remarkably capable of maintaining an overwhelming and dominant style of play without boring the opposition to death, instead by coming at them time and time again in a direct and unsubtle fashion.Southampton played many of these long balls to Rickie Lambert, who could use his heading ability to either flick the ball on or play it down to an onrushing Rodriguez or Lallana. At Spurs, Adebayor is the closest we have to Rickie Lambert, and I'm fully expecting Ade to be moved on this summer (wages, attitude, Monaco) so either we buy a similar type of forward to Lambert or we'll see Poch adapt to vertical passes played along the floor to Soldado.In possession, it's likely we'll see Spurs take this shape:A1: The 2 CB's spread wide in order to martial the halfway line and provide support to the WBs and the two holding mids.A2: This line of 4 support the front men and offer maximal protection allowing the WBs to push forward with the front men. They offer a solid base from which to retain possession, preventing this job to be done by the CBs therefore speeding up play and allowing the CBs to pull the opposition strikers wide with them, removing them from the danger areas.A3: The front 4 are again evidence of Bielsa's influence on Pochettino. The front 4 feature 1 playmaker, 2 inverted wingers and one striker. The playmaker allows for the front 3 to interchange positions efficiently as the playmaker occupies any space opened up by the forwards movements. The playmaker is also tasked with linking midfield to attack, it is likely this role will be occupied by Eriksen or Holtby next season.A4: This is where |
of Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Whig iconoclast and fierce critic of the French Revolution. His book is limited in its ambitions and not meant as a work of scholarship; instead, it offers a survey of the literature and an argument about why Burke should be celebrated as the greatest of conservative minds. In the United States, where this book was first published, the title is Edmund Burke: The First Conservative, whereas in the UK it is more shyly titled Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet.
Norman presents his hero as a creative thinker, which should whet the appetite of anyone, the present reviewer included, who is inclined to champion the mind of this interesting Anglo-Irish intellectual. If Norman is partisan and needlessly strident in proclaiming Burke as “ours” (i.e., a conservative), his enthusiasm is admirable even if the facts pose incorrigible difficulties. Likewise, it is not true that “Burke has been all but ignored in recent years, or reduced to a clutch of standard clichés and sound bites.” Given that Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France, among other works, have been in continuous circulation since 1790, this assertion requires qualification.
A plethora of books has been published on Burke. Some of the greatest accounts include Conor Cruise O’Brien’s The Great Melody: A Thematic Biography of Edmund Burke (1992), about Burke’s consistent opposition to the abuse of power, and Paddy Bullard’s Edmund Burke and the Art of Rhetoric (2011), which ponders whether Burke’s wordy eloquence compromised his achievement as a political thinker. Isaac Kramnick also wrote an interesting journal article on “The Left and Edmund Burke” in Political Theory (1983), describing hostility, admiration, and ambivalence, and collected fresh perspectives in a book he edited, Edmund Burke (1974).
Norman’s book is in the tradition of writings over the past fifty years by conservative authors championing Burke’s conservatism. Yet Burke’s support for the liberty of the American colonies, his opposition to the oppression of Catholics in Ireland, his withering critique of British rule in India, and his fear and hatred of what revolution wrought in France were all grounded in and sympathetic to what now would be called the liberal spirit. This, however, is probably too vast a term. There is an explanation that can be lifted from W.B. Yeats’s lines in the poem ‘The Seven Sages’ (1933): “American colonies, Ireland, France and India / Harried, and Burke’s great melody against it”, which turns on the question of what is the “it”. O’Brien decided it was opposition to the blatant and cruel misuse of power.
This was the great theme that informed Burke’s rhetoric and moved him body and soul to fight tyranny. A contrasting interpretation can be found in Isaiah Berlin’s famous essay ‘The Counter-Enlightenment’, where he dismissed Burke’s criticisms of the French Revolution as “anti-intellectual diatribes” and described their “strongly conservative and, indeed, reactionary implications.” This rather stylishly imitated the typecasting of ‘Burke the authoritarian’ by the historian Lewis Namier and his second-rate followers. O’Brien, more persuasively, sees Burke’s opposition to the French revolution as “the first great act of intellectual resistance against the first great experiment in totalitarian innovation.”
In the final page of his book, Norman says of Burke, “His thought is imbued with the importance of history and memory, and an Orwellian detestation of those that would erase them.” The comparison with Orwell is instructive. Like Orwell, Burke was a complicated thinker who spoke (and continues to speak) to people of all political persuasions. He was appalled by sentimental, na√Øve, and sloppy opinions about what was taking place in revolutionary France. In one of the anti-revolutionary writings, the Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs (1791), he sought to persuade the newer representatives of a tradition to consider the views of those who gone before them and disputed with his erstwhile ally Charles James Fox (1749-1806) about the latter’s praise for revolutionary France. Orwell similarly tried to rally his side—the Left—to stop barracking for Soviet despotism. Some of what both authors wrote was so strident and biting, that conservatives were struck with joy. But their writings were pitched to shame their side to reason, and to state a case which needed to be answered. Burke and Orwell fearlessly teased truth from the evidence and stood for an enlightened, questioning humanism. If that comparison is too capacious, then in plainer terms, they were hostile about arbitrary execution and fanatical rule.
Some sweeping and meaningless claims are made by Norman, such as that “Burke can be said to be the hinge of Anglo-American, and indeed the world’s political modernity.” It is not clear what this means, if anything. He claims, similarly, that “Burke would have welcomed much of the history of the past 200-odd years.” One would surely hope otherwise. There are also some daring suggestions, such as the assertion that the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre owes—or should owe—a huge debt to Burke, yet the thought is not advanced beyond a single sentence. On the circumstances of Burke’s early life in Ireland and London, an element of the toff creeps through as Norman claims that “Riots were sometimes seen as a means for an urban underclass to even the score, and could offer rich pickings…” One wishes for a keener social insight.
Some passages shine, as Norman grasps Burke’s insights. This is particularly true of his account of MPs’ responsibility to represent their constituents and to think independently for themselves. For Burke, this raised two questions. One was whether an MP should act in all instances as they think their constituents would want or to exercise their own judgement. The other was whether MPs should think independently or in blocs with other MPs. Thinking in isolation can be dangerous; for, as Burke says, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.” Elsewhere, Burke’s defence of the aristocracy and his innate fear of democracy, leave even Norman cold. Burke was never always right—he was inconsistent on some issues; he was a divided soul on others—yet usually he wrote powerfully and well.
Burke’s Reflections sparked a furious response at the time of its publication, including, most famously, by Thomas Paine in his pamphlet on the Rights of Man (1791), as well as works such as Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Men and James Mackintosh’s Vindiciae Gallicae. Yet as the late Christopher Hitchens observed in his paean, Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man: A Biography (2007), there were many ways in which Burke was right and Paine terribly wrong about what was really happening in revolutionary France. Hitchens’ observation respected that Burke was not merely against something; he stood for something—for the values and traditions that had been won in time and needed to be extended not swept away by the new.
Six pages into the final chapter, Norman argues that Burke is a conservative in the modern sense. This is stated in excess, as an “inconvenient truth”. All sorts of straw men are paraded forth. “Liberalism”, we are told, “is unimpressed by the past”, whereas “Burke quarries it.” One can see the stuffing from the straw man flying in the wind. But more seriously, the claim that Burke was a conservative in the modern sense is misleading for at least four reasons. First, Burke was actually a Whig, opposed to the conservative party of his day, the Tories. Second, his famous Reflections were a plea from the old Whigs to the new, so he was arguing from within this tradition. Like George Orwell castigating and cajoling his friends on the Left about the Russian Revolution, Burke wanted to save the political allies with whom he felt most intellectually at home from the naive and sentimental embrace of the French Revolution in ignorance of its devastating consequences.
The third reason is that from his own time until the 20th century Burke was claimed as the liberal exemplar par excellence. This is how he was regarded by writers such as John Morley and John Stuart Mill. Only from the 1950s onwards was Burke described as a conservative thinker, perhaps, in part, because the far Left’s embrace of Bolshevism caused anti-revolutionists like Burke to be retrospectively typecast as conservatives. He cannot be pigeon-holed like that.
Fourth, one of the lasting consequences of the French Revolution, based on the seating in the National Assembly, was to characterise political beliefs on the basis of whether they were literally to the left or the right of the chair. Given all that Burke said about the debilitating influence of the French Revolution, it would indeed be a deep irony if Burke’s politics were now to be reduced to merely languishing on one side. The left-right distinction is an anachronism. He wanted to address all and to be relevant to all sides of the political chamber, both then and now.
Alas, the present debate, and Norman’s contribution, is reminiscent of the American Commentary magazine editor Norman Podhoretz’s claim in 1984 that George Orwell, “if he were alive today”, would have been a neo-conservative or perhaps a real conservative. The speculation is childish. Perhaps what is interesting is the story of ‘Burke in History’, how he is perceived by different generations and within competing traditions; Burke was his own authentic voice—neither entirely liberal nor conservative—much as the late Polish (and Oxford) philosopher Leszek Kołakowski described himself as a Liberal Conservative Social Democrat.
Because Norman is a politician with limited time and aptitude for systematic thinking, there is much to quibble with in this book. He is, however, a politician who is keen to put his case. That is greatly to his credit. If only there were more politicians like him, with a book or two in them.
Michael Easson completed a MSc at Campion Hall, Oxford, and is Chair of EG Funds Management.Donald Trump has been rightly ravaged on mainstream and social media for his Thursday “anti-press conference”, which he used to tell the US media point-blank that they are the bad guys. For example, he claimed that his electoral college margin, at 306, was the biggest since Ronald Reagan. He was quickly corrected in that very press conference. No his wasn’t. His predecessor, Barack Obama got higher EC votes both in 2008 and 2012. President George HW Bush got even higher.
President Donald Trump is corrected by NBC reporter after falsely claiming he had the biggest electoral margin since President Reagan. pic.twitter.com/a7K16mU0Pc — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 16, 2017
President Trump’s claim that his administration is running like a “fine-tuned machine” was also contradicted. Then and there. For example, even the cabinet is not in place. There’s been a fresh controversy over Russian links almost every day.
Fact-corrected, and humiliated, stands Donald Trump. But let’s be honest. The guy, delusional and completely out-of-whack though he is, at least has the gumption to face the very press he loves to berate. He calls them “fake news”, but in their face. He calls them the bad guys in front of them.
There lies the difference.
In India, the best our high-octane media has managed to obtain are a couple of long and extremely monotonous, tightly-controlled, entirely scripted interviews with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that too in lieu of air time to particular campaigns, ideas etc to benefit the owners of those channels.
Except for a townhall with Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, PM Modi hasn’t brooked questions on Indian soil. He has however taken a joint press conference with former UK prime minister David Cameron, where a BBC journalist flummoxed him with a difficult question. Modi’s answer was found to be inadequate, evasive.
Photo: DailyO
Why doesn’t PM Modi do press conferences at all? Like President Trump, PM Modi was one of the first elected leaders to betray a keen fear of the liberal media, and his party has become synonymous with a factory of online of troll who abuse and threaten journalists on social media as a modus operandi. Modi’s suspicion of liberal media is as deep-rooted as Trump’s, but unlike the latter, India’s prime minister does not face the head-on.
Trump targets media in his press conference, questions integrity of journalists who question him.. Remember Modi's BazaruMedia comment... — Shehzad Poonawalla (@Shehzad_Ind) January 11, 2017
So much journalists here can learn from the American media on asking tough questions. Also credit to Trump for holding press conferences — Nidhi Razdan (@RazdanNidhi) February 17, 2017
Trump might inhabit alternate reality, but he's still taking press conferences. When was it that India's current PM had an un-scripted PC? — Angiography (@angshukanta) February 17, 2017
Instead, PM Modi relies on soft press he gets from a number of right-of-centre newschannels, digital portals and opinion websites that openly trumpet “pro-military, pro-nationalist” credentials. PM Modi is never seen in a non-controlled situation, he always speaks from a pedestal, prefers virtuoso performances and high-voltage electoral campaign rhetoric over speaking in Parliament, as he ought to as an MP.
Will PM Modi be ever fact-checked the manner in which Trump was? When is Modi conducting his first press conference as the Prime Minister? pic.twitter.com/2YMFwRdYtU — Truth Of Gujarat (@TruthOfGujarat) February 17, 2017
Already looking forward to a joint Modi-Trump press conference where Modi calls him by his first name. Remember "Barack..." — Manak Gupta (@manakgupta) November 9, 2016
What is PM Modi afraid of? Shouldn’t he expose the liberal media’s “anti-Modi bias” by dutifully and responsibly taking on their questions, and answering them all, without scripting the whole thing to look favourable?
Shameful behaviour of Trump 🆘Is that way to talk/treat a Journalist?And yes, when's Modi taking tough Questions in Press Conference? https://t.co/rSVWESbnKJ — A Observer (@A_Observr) February 1, 2017
10/n Modi doesn't do any press conference Even Donald trump did press conference 2 days back n faced media n answered there questions — K Padma Rani (@KPadmaRani1) January 18, 2017
It’s easier to lampoon Donald Trump sitting in air-conditioned newsrooms of New Delhi and Noida. It’s tougher to emulate the journalists who are holding President Trump to account at every point, fact-checking on real time, and not retweeting bigotry spewed from the troll factory that BJP’s IT cell maintains when it’s not selling out state secrets to Pakistan’s dreaded ISI.
It’s important to face the elephant in the room. When will Prime Minister Narendra Modi really hold a no-holds-barred press conference? Until journalists demand that, we should take their ridicule of Trump with sacks of the common salt, preferably iodised.
Also read - Donald Trump’s ‘alt-fact’ press conference almost crowned US media as the enemy of the stateEpicurean sued for failure to pay workers’ overtime wages
Epicurean and Company is being sued for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and DC Minimum Wage Act. The lawsuit was filed on July 30 by three plaintiffs who worked overtime on several occasions without adequate compensation. Both branches of Epicurean, Vigor Restaurant and RC CT Avenue Restaurant located at 1225 19th Street NW, as well as the owner and operator Chang Wook Chon, are included in the complaint as “Defendants.” Chon is allegedly responsible for hiring and payment practices for all Epicurean establishments.
According to the Civilian Complaint, the three plaintiffs worked over 40 hours per week without the appropriate FLSA-approved pay rate. The FLSA states that any employee working over 40 hours in a week must be paid “one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.” The complaint also states that one of the plaintiffs, Carmen Yesenia Mejia, reportedly worked “in excess of 40 hours” and “Defendants generally failed to pay her at all.”
The attorneys for the plaintiffs are James & Hoffman, a law firm focusing on labor and employment disputes, and Laura Brown, the Legal Services Director for the D.C. Employment Justice Center who also works at UNITE HERE Local 25, the hotel and restaurant employees’ union in D.C. UNITE HERE is the union for Leo’s Armark workers on campus.
On June 25, 2010, employees filed a lawsuit against Epicurean in a case Ferrufino et. al v Vigor Restaurant, LLC, et al., with similar claims that the company violated the FLSA and D.C. Minimum Wage Act. The Court responded with request for names and addresses of those employees who took part in the collective action. At the time, according to the complaint, “Defendants did not produce to Plaintiffs’ counsel the name or address” of the employees. The plaintiff who was a member of this action did not receive a notice about the Court’s request for this information, and “did not know how to exercise [his] right to join the Ferrufino action,” the Complaint said.
The plaintiffs in the July 30, 2012 action request compensation for unpaid overtime wages, as well as “an equal amount of liquidated damages as required by FLSA and the DC Minimum Wage Act.” The workers also demand coverage for any fees paid to attorneys for filing the action.
Photo Wikipedia CommonsAs Russian-backed rebels scored another victory is Eastern Ukraine Thursday, two giants of 20th-century geopolitics issued separate warnings about the crisis, suggesting it could evolve into a deeper, direct conflict between the United States and Russia with dangerous consequences.
Testifying at a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Henry Kissinger, an ardent Cold Warrior who was Richard Nixon’s main foreign policy advisor, stopped short of endorsing a call by the committee chairman, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, to provide defensive weapons to Ukraine’s military as it battles Russian-backed separatists.
“I’m uneasy about beginning a process of military engagement without knowing where it will lead us and what we’ll do to sustain it,” the 91-year-old Mr. Kissinger said.
Mr. Kissinger, chairman of Kissinger Associates, said Ukraine should be an independent state and Russian troops should be withdrawn.
“But I believe we should avoid taking incremental steps before we know how far we are willing to go,” he said. “This is a territory 300 miles from Moscow, and therefore has special security implications.”
Meanwhile, former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev told Russia’s Interfax news agency that the West had “dragged” Russia into a new Cold War, one that risked outright confrontation.
“I can no longer say that this Cold War will not lead to a ‘Hot War.’ I fear that they could risk it,” he was quoted as saying.
Mr. Gorbachev was one of the architects of the peaceful dismantling of communist rule in Eastern Europe.
He has increasingly sounded ominous warnings about the path events are taking in Ukraine. Earlier in January, he reportedly told a German magazine that he feared a nuclear confrontation was possible if things begin to escalate.
“The statements and propaganda on both sides make me fear the worst. If anyone loses their nerve in this charged atmosphere, we will not survive the next few years,” he said.
“I do not say such things lightly….I am a man with a conscience. But that’s how it is. I’m really extremely worried.”
More than 5,100 people have been killed in the bloody conflict. Ukraine accuses Russia of aiding the separatists while Russia says the West is behind Ukraine’s attempts to retake the rebel-held areas.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s military conceded that its forces had been overrun by rebel forces in another town in their battle to hold onto a strategically valuable railway hub.
A soldier wounded in combat for the town, Vuhlehirsk, said armoured vehicles and tanks were used in the attack on government positions, forcing a hasty retreat.
The loss of full control over town will further complicate efforts to resist the onslaught on Debaltseve, a nearby railway hub that sits between the two main rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
While clashes in east Ukraine rage, hopes are still being invested in reviving a peace process that has been undermined with every new day of fighting.
In Washington, much of the hearing seemed like a flashback to the 1970’s and 1980’s, as Mr. Kissinger was joined by two other elder statesmen — former Secretaries of State George Shultz, who served under President Ronald Reagan, and Madeleine Albright, the top diplomat in the Clinton administration — to offer their views of national security strategy.
Mr. Kissinger, who showed up with his right arm in a sling, was briefly shouted down by a protester accusing him of war crimes from the Vietnam War.
“Get out of here, you low-life scum,” Mr. McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, told a protester before the hearing started.
Bloomberg News, The Associated Press and National PostIt's been more than 20 years since a half-dozen friends and I played through an entire first-edition Shadowrun adventure in one awesome overnight session. And while the cyberpunk-meets-magic-and-fantasy role-playing game created by Jordan Weisman back in 1989 has evolved through several pencil-and-paper editions and video game adaptations in the years since, that night was the only time I set imaginary foot in the Shadowrun universe.
I'm looking forward to going back in 2013 when Weisman and his team of game designers at Harebrained Schemes LLC expect to launch Shadowrun Returns.
Funded through an insanely successful Kickstarter campaign – the team met its initial $400,000 funding goal in 28 hours – Shadowrun Returns will bring the old familiar deckers, ork mercenaries and street samurai back to life in a "graphically rich 2D turn-based single player game with deep story interaction, meaningful character development, and highly-contextual tactical combat." (There are a couple days left to get in on backing the project, which has met subsequent funding goals of $1 million and $1.5 million and expanded its original parameters to include PC, Mac and Linux platform compatibility, among other developments.)
In a telephone interview with GeekDad, Weisman talked about the appeal Shadowrun seems to hold over gamers of so many stripes, his previous efforts to revisit the world, his hopes for Shadowrun Returns, and about gaming with his three sons.
Creating and enriching universes seems to be second nature to Weisman, from co-founding the role-playing publisher FASA Corporation to developing the MechWarrior PC games to founding WizKids, which produced Mage Knight and Heroclix. He also developed "The Beast" alternate reality game tie-in to A.I.
So what it is it that gives Shadowrun such staying power?
From physical augmentation of the human body to ceding chunks of societal control to megacorporations, Weisman said, "The slide into the dystopian future of a cyberpunk scenario as envisioned by many authors and in films like Blade Runner feels very plausible. And that's kind of scary stuff. What's interesting about Shadowrun is that it contrasts that with the inclusion of nature kind of putting up one last fight, if you will, through the introduction of magic. I think it's the juxatpostiont between the dystopian future and the kind of hopes and ideals of magic and fantasy slamming against each other in really interesting ways."
(I know that mix is a big part of what hooked me, from the original rulebook's Larry Elmore cover featuring an Elven decker and a mage with a pump-action shotgun to the street proverb on page six. Say it with me, Shadowrun fans: "Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon.")
Weisman began plotting his return to the world of Shadowrun a few years ago, eager to play in his own sandbox again.
"We went to Microsoft and tried to buy back the property. I wasn't successful, but I did get a license," he said. "So I started thinking about a very large-scale implementation of Shadowrun. And I pitched that to a number of publishers and was not successful. When we formed Harebrained Schemes, we had some conversations about smaller scale versions of it, but there were still no takers. I had pretty much lost hope of being able to do the kind of role-playing game I wanted to do."
When Weisman was finally persuaded to take a serious look at funding Shadowrun Returns via Kickstarter, he admits that he "just didn't think that kind of idea would work."
And then that 400-grand-in-28-hours thing happened.
"It was very overwhelming," Weisman said. "Enormously, emotionally overwhelming, and not just the money, but as I said in the videos, it was people's stories that they were posting, and they were really touching. This (game) was 23 years ago, and to see how much of it is left in people's hearts and minds – to see that kind of response made an old man feel pretty good."
As the funding continued to come in, Weisman and his team made an effort to respond to backers' concerns and questions and suggestions.
"One of the things I love about doing games in today's world as opposed to doing games 30 years ago is that you do get feedback," he said. "We're deluged with information. It's really engaging and powerful. That said, I'm not a believer in design by giant committee, but the general direction on things like we have been getting is very valuable."
Describing the goals for the game itself, Weisman said "the legwork, the exploration, and the interaction with the world is going to be a key component. And then when combat does happen, we wanted it to go to turn-based so you could really have the tactical options that are offered to all the different characters in Shadowrun."
Weisman is also enthusiastic about the cross-generational appeal of Shadowrun Returns, relating notes from fans who've said they're looking forward to sharing with their kids this game from their own youth.
Laughing, Weisman recalled gaming with his own sons, Zach, Nate, and Lucas. "One of the things I learned early on is that whatever your dad does isn't cool," he said. "All my friends' games were cool, but mine weren't, so we'd play Warhammer and whatever other games they were into. The only times they played my games was in the booths at conventions when we were demoing them for other people.
"But now that they've gotten older, and they've started working on games with me … that has a joy all its own."Ricky Gervais has revealed that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have invited him back as host for next year's Golden Globe Awards.
Writing in Heat magazine, the comedian said that the ceremony's high ratings last month led organisers to offer him the post again despite controversy caused by his material.
"The ratings went up again, and the organisers asked me to consider a third year. [But] I don't think I should," he wrote.
"I don't know what I could do better. I certainly couldn't get more press for them, that's for sure. The response was staggering. It was discussed on every news channel and chatshow for weeks."
However, Gervais stood by his earlier assertion that he did nothing wrong, adding: "The weird thing is, the question is always, 'Did Ricky go too far?' And the answer is always, 'No'.
"I have yet to find anyone who was actually offended by it."Tim Hortons has closed its Dublin-based U.S. headquarters as parent company Restaurant Brands International continues a reorganization after the merger of Tim Hortons and Burger King late last year. The office had 50 employees following recent layoffs, down from 125 last year, according to Dublin officials.
Tim Hortons has closed its Dublin-based U.S. headquarters as parent company Restaurant Brands International continues a reorganization after the merger of Tim Hortons and Burger King late last year.
The office had 50 employees following recent layoffs, down from 125 last year, according to Dublin officials.
Tim Hortons plans to manage U.S. operations from its headquarters in Oakville, Ontario.
�The U.S. remains a top-priority growth market for Tim Hortons, and we have made the strategic decision to leverage our other locations to drive that development,� said Patrick McGrade, senior vice president, corporate affairs at Restaurant Brands.
�This move will see a number of positions relocated to both Miami and Canada, focused 100 percent on supporting the U.S. business, with additional on-the-ground support provided by an extensive U.S.-based field-operations team.�
Dublin officials were not notified of the closing of the office, 4150 Tuller Rd.
�We were not aware of them closing their U.S. headquarters but realize they�re going through reorganization under new ownership,� said Dublin spokeswoman Sue Burness. �We are sad for the loss as they have been a great corporate partner to the Dublin community and the Columbus region.�
The Canadian coffee-and-bakery chain merged last year with Burger King, forming Restaurant Brands International. 3G Capital, a Brazil-based private- equity group, owns about 51 percent of the company.
�Cutting costs is nothing new for 3G. It�s what they do,� said John Gordon, principal of Pacific Management Group, a restaurant-industry analyst and consultant. �I don�t think they�re concerned about U.S. franchisee support, as their field consultants are a mobile group and can work from home with today�s mobile connections.�
He believes the new strategy for Tim Hortons will be international growth.
�Canada is pretty full of Tims and the U.S. has more than a million restaurants, so growth in the U.S. will be a tough slog,� he said.
The chain dominates the Canadian market with more than 3,600 stores but has struggled to gain market share in the U.S., where it has about 850 locations.
The Brazilian private-equity group �doesn�t reveal much of their plans,� Gordon said, but he speculated that 3G and Tim Hortons are looking to South America and Asia rather than Europe to add new restaurants.
�Tims would be appealing to folks looking to invest in a smaller restaurant with a higher sales-to-cost ratio,� he said.
Tim Horton�s Dublin presence is a vestige from when Wendy�s owned the company from 1995 to 2006. Wendy�s and Tim Hortons still operate some dual-branded locations here and in Canada.
swartenberg@dispatch.com
@stevewartenbergMore than the proximity, it’s a distinct respect for Japanese culture that binds the Russian far eastern island with its neighbour to the south.
Cities in the southern part of the island of Sakhalin are defined by what locals call a distinctly Japanese characteristic: compactness. Unlike largely European cities on the Russian mainland with their broad avenues and now tastefully restored pre-Civil War architecture, Sakhalin’s towns combine Soviet planning with Japanese size.
The broad layout of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the region’s administrative centre, shares similarities with small provincial towns in a Japanese prefecture. The city rapidly moved on from its days as Toyohara, the name bestowed by the Japanese rulers, but has managed to maintain certain relics from its days as the northernmost provincial city in Japan.
The biggest symbol of the Japan’s one-time presence on the island is the Sakhalin Regional museum, a building, which at first glance reminds one of a Japanese palace. The building, which was used as the administrative headquarters of the southern part of the island then known as Karafuto, is a rare and fine example of Russo-Japanese fusion architecture. Visitors to the city from the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ often comment on how there is probably no similar structure back home, but for Sakhaliners, it is a piece of Japan on the island.
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk also has a small Japanese Buddhist pagoda and a few smaller monuments in different parts of the city. A great way to see some of the older Japanese monuments on the island is by bicycle on the disused Kholmsk-Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway line. There are a series of Japanese-built tunnels and the scenery starting from the port of Kholmsk right through the interiors of the southern part of Sakhalin can be absolutely breath-taking at times.
Japanese culture
More than the proximity, it’s a distinct respect for Japanese culture that binds Sakhalin with its neighbour to the south. Many long-terms residents of the Russian island grew up listening to music from Japanese radio stations. It was next to impossible for the authorities to block these signals and many a time Western music made its way to homes in Sakhalin via Japan.
Once the Soviet-era border zone restrictions were lifted from the island in the early-1990s, the Japanese were the first tourists to visit the island. This led to a renewed interest in Japanese culture and the language with cultural programmes, including film festivals being well-received on the island. Accepting the loss of the southern half of Sakhalin as fait accompli, Japan opened a consulate in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to promote trade and cultural exchanges between the countries.
Sakhalin’s state university and the largest private university both offer a philology programme where Japanese can be taken as a second language. This option remains popular among students who see potential opportunities in Japan or with any of the Japanese companies involved in the oil and gas projects in Sakhalin.
Relatively easy visa procedures and a ferry service connecting the town of Korsakov on southern Sakhalin with Wakkanai on Hokkaido have also made travel to Japan easier and less expensive. The traffic is two-way and fascinated Japanese tourists take the ferry north to see a part of Russia that is far closer to Tokyo and Osaka than it is to the great Russian cities of Moscow and St Petersburg.
Sakhalin is also a trend-setter when it comes to Japanese cuisine. Almost a decade before sushi bars became vogue in Moscow, the Russian far eastern island had a good collection of Japanese restaurants. The combination of easily available sea food and adventurous entrepreneurs from the other side of the La Perouse Strait gave the island a vibrant Japanese gastronomic scene.
Citizen of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
It’s impossible to live in the administrative capital of Sakhalin and not know about its most famous Japanese entrepreneur. Yutaka Miyanishi, now in his late-70s, came to Sakhalin around the time the island was thrown open for visitors to the outside world in the early-1990s. He has since opened the most frequented Japanese restaurant on the island: Furusato (which means homeland in Japanese).
Since moving to Sakhalin, Miyanishi-san, as he’s affectionately called by Sakhaliners, has been dedicating a great amount of time in bringing Russia and Japan closer together. Besides his involvement in the Rotary Club and occasional compositions for the island’s chamber orchestra, the Japanese entrepreneur sets aside time for social causes. Support for children’s homes and sponsorship of sports teams have endeared him even more to the Sakhalin public.
Those who are lucky enough to be in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk when the cherry trees start to blossom (and this event was delayed by a painfully long winter in 2013) need to walk in the Miyanishi alley in the city’s Gagarin Park. Miyanishi-san specially arranged for the ‘sakura’ saplings to be imported from Japan and planted in one alley of the park for Sakhaliners to get a feel of spring in Japan.
With Sakhalin set to be used as a major transport hub to connect Russia with East and Southeast Asia, the links between the island and Japan are set to grow.
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The Christmas season holds a special place in my heart.
Not because I’m particularly religious or spiritual. Not because I enjoy cold weather. And certainly not because I relish the taste of eggnog (the consistency alone makes my stomach turn).
Instead, Christmas means a lot to me because of my dad.
As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I had a particularly rough childhood. There was a lot of mental illness in my family. I had to grow up fast in that environment and there were times where I missed out on the innocence of being a kid and living in the moment.
But somehow, through all that struggle, my dad made Christmas a glowing beacon of happiness.
Perhaps one of my favorite memories as a kid was when I was in kindergarten (5-6 years old). I had just gotten off the bus, book bag in hand.
I was walking down our long, curvy driveway where at the bottom of the hill I saw my dad laying out Christmas lights which would later decorate our house, bushes, and trees, transforming our home into a Christmas wonderland.
I took off like a rocket, carelessly running down the driveway (as only a child can), unzipped winter coat billowing behind me as I ran, shouting:
“Wait for me, dad!”
I didn’t want to miss out on the decorating festivities.
For the next few hours, my dad patiently helped me untangle the knotted ball of Christmas lights, lay them out, and then watched as I haphazardly threw the lights over the bushes and trees (that were many times my size), ruining any methodical, well-planned decorating blueprint he had so tirelessly designed.
Once I was finished he smiled proudly. He didn’t need any words. His smile confessed that my decorating was the best he had ever seen.
This is just one example of the many, many times my dad made Christmas special for me (despite what else may have been going on in the family).
He probably didn’t even know he was crafting a lifelong memory in my mind — he just wanted to make me happy.
Each year, when Christmas rolls around, I try to slow down, reduce stress, and enjoy the time of year.
Without my dad, I wouldn’t be where I am today — and I certainly wouldn’t have made it through my childhood.
In honor of the Christmas season, I’d like to dedicate this blog post to my dad.
Even if you’re busy, don’t have the time, or simply don’t care about deep learning (the subject matter of today’s tutorial), slow down and give this blog post a read, if for nothing else than |
actually prefer annihilation with physical death to any sort of survival. Longing for immortality is seen as a defect of character or a philosophical sellout in people too weak-willed to face their impending doom. In the face of certain extermination, one should simply man up and go quietly, proudly and bravely into that dark night. There is a hint of this heroic martyrdom in Lord Bertrand Russell’s famous comment, “I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive.... I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation.” [42]
Human Costs
S]cience has gone too far in breaking down man’s belief in his spiritual greatness... and has given him the belief that he is merely an insignificant animal that has arisen by chance and necessity in an insignificant planet lost in the great cosmic immensity....”The principal trouble with mankind today is that the intellectual leaders are too arrogant in their self-sufficiency. We must realize the great unknowns in the material makeup and operation of our brains, in the relationship of brain to mind, in our creative imagination, and in the uniqueness of the psyche. When we think of these unknowns as well as the unknown of how we come to be in the first place, we should be much more humble [emphasis in original]. [43] — Sir John Eccles, neuroscientist and Nobelist
Physicalism comes with enormous human costs, which, I believe, are vastly underestimated by the physicalist cheerleaders. Annihilation is an inescapable part of the physicalism package. Carl G. Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, said, “The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life.”[44] If consciousness is produced by the brain and vanishes with physical death, as physicalists insist, then any meaningful relationship to “something infinite” is a chimera. Jung felt so strongly about this issue that he made it a principle in his patients’ therapy. “As a doctor,” he said, “I make every effort to strengthen the belief in immortality....”[45] Novelist George Orwell was among those who decried the impact of this morbid outlook, saying, “The major problem of our time is the decay of belief in personal immortality.” [46]
In any case, one’s view of immortality depends on the meaning of time. The problem is that there is no monolithic, agreed-on definition of time in modern physics. As Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman acknowledged, “What is time? We physicists work with it every day, but don’t ask me what it is. It’s just too difficult to think about.”[47] The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein saw the relevance of the “time question” to immortality, saying, “If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present.”[48] Because of the unsettled definition of time in modern physics, physicalists might at least acknowledge that, while immortality is not affirmed in modern physics, the possibility of such is not excluded.
The human cost of a failed belief in immortality, which has helped sustain human hope for perhaps the entire span of human history, is not admitted within physicalism. The public stance of many physicalists, as mentioned, is to keep a stiff upper lip, flex one’s intellectual muscle, and deny any desire or need for such a belief. Yet the old channels within the psyche run deep, and merely declaring immortality undesirable or unnecessary does not make it so.
The fear of death is humanity’s Great Disease, the terror that has probably caused more suffering throughout history than all the physical diseases combined. As Ernest Becker said in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death, “[T]he idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is the mainspring of human activity activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for man.”[49]
The physicalists’ certainties that these issues are settled and the verdict is in: materialism reigns, and spirituality and any form of survival is self-delusion is regarded as overheated swagger by many consciousness researchers. Kelly, for example, speaking for his colleagues, states,
We believe it takes astonishing hubris to dismiss en masse the collective experience of a large proportion of our forebears, including persons widely recognized as pillars of all human civilization, and we are united in believing that the single most important task confronting all of modernity is that of meaningful reconciliation of science and religion.... [W]e believe that emerging developments within science itself are leading inexorably in the direction of an expanded scientific understanding of nature, one that can accommodate realities of a ‘spiritual’ sort... [50]
Practicality
But not just of a spiritual sort. For instance, quantum theorist Henry P. Stapp, widely considered the current dean of quantum theorists, has expressed concern about the impact of the physicalistic views on the nitty-gritty, practical ways we live our lives. In his paper titled “Attention, Intention, and Will in Quantum Physics,” he stated, “It has become now widely appreciated that assimilation by the general public of this ‘scientific’ view, according to which each human is basically a mechanical robot, is likely to have a significant and corrosive impact on the moral fabric of society.” He warned of the “growing tendency of people to exonerate themselves by arguing that it is not ‘I’ who is at fault, but some mechanical process within: ‘my genes made me do it’; or ‘my high blood-sugar content made me do it.’”[51][52], Stapp shows how hard-core physicalism lets us off the hook by assuming that the world unfolds on its own according to the alleged meaningless laws of nature. We are not active participants in such a process, but are passive observers at best and victims at worst.
Cosmologist and quantum physicist Menas C. Kafatos, of Chapman University, is the co-author of The Conscious Universe: Parts and Wholes in Physical Reality.[53] Like Stapp, he is concerned with the practical importance of consciousness in daily life, what our future will look like, and whether we shall have a future that can support life as we know it. He writes:
Are these issues yet another set of intellectual arguments that scientists, philosophers and academics make? They are very relevant to your life and your healthy living: We seem to be bound by our minds, often giving us no peace. Yet, if what we view as reality is really the product of the mind, then we can approach our mind as a tool, as a friendly tool, get it on “our side,” so to speak... [for] healthy living... what we should pass on to the next generations. [54]
Your Spouse as a Differential Equation
Stapp’s concern that physicalistic science defines us as mechanical robots is a grave issue. If we peel back the layers of physicalistic logic behind this view, what do we find? We come face-to-face with serious illogic, described by philosopher of science Sir Karl Popper in his Compton Lecture in 1965.[55] Popper observed that, according to physicalistic determinism, mental states are the result of
... a certain physical structure of the holder perhaps of his brain. Accordingly, we are deceiving ourselves whenever we believe that there are such things as arguments or reasons which make us accept determinism. Purely physical conditions including our physical environment make us say or accept whatever we say or accept. [56]
Popper called the physicalistic narrative “promissory materialism” the notion that one day, not so very long from now, we’ll be able to give a completely physical account of consciousness. Popper predicted that, lured by periodic advances in brain science, “[W]e shall be talking less and less about experiences, perceptions, thoughts, beliefs, purposes and aims; and more and more about brain processes....”[57] His prediction has come to pass.
Nobel laureate and neurophysiologist Sir John Eccles agreed with Popper. He excoriated the physicalist narrative, saying:
[P]romissory materialism [is] a superstition without a rational foundation. The more we discover about the brain, the more clearly do we distinguish between the brain events and the mental phenomena, and the more wonderful do both the brain events and the mental phenomena become. Promissory materialism is simply a religious belief held by dogmatic materialists... who confuse their religion with their science. It has all the features of a messianic prophecy.... [58]
Because physicalists maintain that no one is immune from physical laws, the implication is that everyone is a mechanical robot, including, inevitably, physicalists themselves. As Eccles observed, this leads to “an effective reductio ad absurdum.”[59] Why? Consider philosopher Dennett’s above observation that free will is an illusion. In asserting such, he presumably believes he was using his own free will to arrive at the conclusion that free will does not exist. But physicalists never acknowledge this pretzel-like aspect of their “logic.” Determined, robotic behavior is for others. The robotic strictures of physicalism do not apply to themselves. Thus they behave as if their conclusions are freely arrived at, and should be taken seriously. They must exempt themselves from their physicalistic theory, for if they did not they would have no claim to truth, no compelling “arguments or reasons,” as Popper noted. They cannot acknowledge that, if physicalism is valid, they arrived at their conclusions not as a result of freely considered data, but because their atoms, molecules and brain made them do so. They are thus hoisted by their own petard.
This ludicrous situation was parodied by astrophysicist Sir Arthur Eddington in his 1927 Gifford Lecture:
The materialist who is convinced that all phenomena arise from electrons and quanta and the like controlled by mathematical formulae, must presumably hold the belief that his wife is a rather elaborate differential equation, but he is probably tactful enough not to obtrude this opinion into domestic life. [60]
Futurist Willis Harman identified the hypocrisy of the physicalist position:
Science for three and a half centuries has been built on the premise that consciousness as a causal factor does not have to be included.... [But] nobody has ever lived life on the basis of such a contrary premise. Nobody has ever said, “I’m going to live my life as though my consciousness my mind weren’t capable of making decisions, making choices, taking action....” [61]
Evidence
The evidence favoring a view of consciousness that transcends physicalism is enormous and is too vast to be described here. Several excellent summaries have recently appeared, such as Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examining the Scientific Evidence[62] ; Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century[63] ; and, as mentioned, Beyond Physicalism: Toward Reconciliation of Science and Spirituality.[64]
All told, the evidence from more than a century of consciousness research shows that consciousness can do things brains cannot do. Thousands of studies show that humans can psychically insert information into the environment nonlocally, and also psychically acquire information from the environment nonlocally.
What does “nonlocal” imply? Nonlocality is a concept that physicists apply to a class of events whose description relates to the speed of light.[65] As physicist Nick Herbert explains, “A non-local connection links up one location with another without crossing space, without decay, and without delay.” These connections have three identifying characteristics, says Herbert. They are unmediated (no connecting signal is involved), unmitigated (the strength of the correlations do not fade with increasing distance), and immediate (they are instantaneous). [66]
Nonlocality is subdivided by many physicists into three types. Type I is spatial nonlocality; type II is temporal nonlocality; and type III nonlocality is both spatial and temporal. [67]
But physics does not own nonlocality, and physicists do not have a monopoly on nonlocal events and the language that describes them. People were routinely having nonlocal experiences millennia before quantum physics was invented in the twentieth century, and we are not obligated to cede nonlocality to scientists who have chosen to nuance the term differently.
There are compelling scientific, historic, and experiential reasons for believing that consciousness behaves nonlocally in space and time that it is spatially unconfinable to brains and bodies, and that it is temporally unconfinable to the present. The evidence suggests that space and time are simply not applicable to certain operations of consciousness.[68][69] This evidence overwhelmingly suggests that consciousness is both trans-spatial and trans-temporal, that it is not in space and time. [70][71]
Empirical evidence shows that brains are separate, but minds are not. In the domain of consciousness, separation is not fundamental. The degree of spatial separation of individual minds, the distance that is involved, is not important; and the connections are instantaneous or immediate, whether the humans involved are an inch apart, or presumably when they are at opposite ends of the universe.
Many individuals accept the evidence that minds might operate at a distance, but they rebel at the possibility that minds might function outside the present. Yet scores of experiments indicate that human consciousness can operate nonlocally not only in space but also in time. Temporal nonlocality of consciousness has been solidly demonstrated. In these studies, intentions appear to influence certain types of events in the past, even though they presumably already have happened.[72][73] In addition, individuals also appear capable of acquiring accurate information from the future before it has occurred, especially if this information is of an unpleasant or traumatic nature.[74][75][76][77][78]
A nonlocal picture of consciousness has emerged from these studies, in which separation of minds is not fundamental, whether in space or time. A consciousness that is nonlocal with respect to space is infinite and omnipresent. A consciousness that is nonlocal with respect to time is eternal and immortal. And if individual consciousnesses are boundless and boundaryless, at some level they must come together to form a whole a Universal or One Mind. When we therefore describe consciousness as eternal, infinite, and one, we are not speaking symbolically or poetically. We are invoking empirical science, in addition to human experience.
Several top scientists have stipulated that these views are fully compatible with emerging concepts within contemporary physics. For example, George Wald, a Nobel laureate in biology, stated, “I do not need spiritual enlightenment to know that I am one with the universe. That is just good physics.”[79] And the eminent physicist O. Costa de Beauregard observed, “Today’s physics allows for the existence of ‘paranormal’ phenomena of telepathy, precognition, and psychokinesis....The whole concept of ‘nonlocality’ in contemporary physics requires this possibility. [80] Far from being ‘irrational,’ the paranormal is postulated by today’s physics [emphasis in original]. [81]
Nonlocal consciousness is as necessary a concept as nonlocal subatomic particles, because nonlocal manifestations occur in the macroscopic, human domain, just as remote correlations between particles occur in the invisible subatomic domain. Moreover, these distant human-level connections appear to demonstrate the three essential characteristics of nonlocal subatomic events mentioned above: they appear to be unmediated, unmitigated, and immediate. This does not mean, however, that subatomic nonlocality necessarily explains or underlies the nonlocality of consciousness, despite the widespread temptation to assign a “quantum” explanation to the nonlocal experiences of humans. Caution is required. There is no conclusive evidence that quantum nonlocality causes nonlocal human experiences. Indeed, we may be dealing only with correspondences in terminology.
Many individuals may be surprised to discover the depth of this empirical evidence. There are at least six areas in consciousness research that resoundingly demonstrate the nonlocal, beyond-the-brain actions of consciousness. Experiments in these areas have been replicated repeatedly in labs around the world, each area giving odds against chance of around a billion to one, or combined odds against chance of 1054 to one, a truly astronomical number. These areas of research are remote viewing, random number generator influence, Ganzfeld, the Global Consciousness Project, presentiment, and precognition.[82][83][84][85]
This evidence is not a cosmetic re-working of current materialistic/physicalistic views, but is a radical departure or paradigm shift in current thinking. Consciousness researcher Kelly summarizes what is at stake:
[This emerging world picture] is not just the same old physicalistic world with an altered expression, but a world whose constitution is fundamentally different in ways that matter to us human beings. [This] vision... provides an antidote to the prevailing postmodern disenchantment of the world and demeaning of human possibilities. It not only more accurately and fully describes our human condition but engenders hope and encourages human flourishing. It provides reasons for us to believe that freedom is real, that our human choices matter, and that we have barely scratched the surface of our human potentials. It also addresses the urgent need for a greater sense of worldwide community and interdependence, a sustainable ethos, by demonstrating that under the surface we and the world are much more extensively interconnected than previously realized. We strongly suspect that our individual and collective fates in these exceptionally dangerous and difficult times indeed, the fate of our precious planet and all of its passengers may ultimately hinge upon wider recognition and more effective utilization of the higher states of being that are potentially available to us but largely ignored or even actively suppressed by our post-modern civilization with its strange combination of self-aggrandizing individualism and fundamentalist tribalisms (emphasis in original). [86]
Theory
One of the main obstacles to the penetration of this evidence into mainstream science is the lack of a generally accepted theory as to how so-called paranormal phenomena could be true. But if this is a weakness for consciousness research, it is equally problematic for mind-equals-brain physicalism, which is completely bereft of any successful explanatory theory of consciousness, as mentioned.
The basic conundrum is not how a particular so-called paranormal event telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, or the survival of bodily death could be valid, but how we can consciously be aware of ordinary experiences. In other words, the primary mystery is the very existence of consciousness. We breezily ignore the role of consciousness in the mundane events of our lives how we decide what to have for dinner, say, and how we choose to raise a fork of spaghetti while opening our mouth at the same time and swallowing soon thereafter; and how we can experience the redness of the sauce, the taste of the garlic, the satisfaction of a lovely presentation, the bouquet of the wine, and admiration for the chef feats beyond the ability of the most sophisticated robot. Although physicalists offer a flurry of explanations in sensorimotor terms for how these accomplishments happen, their explanations are empty of the crucial role of consciousness in all such sequences.
Any experience in which consciousness is involved is mysterious, whether deciphering the Lorenz equation or deciding to pick our nose. Commonplace events are as enigmatic as any of the so-called paranormal pyrotechnics that provoke incredulity among physicalists. There are not two categories of consciousness-related phenomena, normal and paranormal. They are all “para”— or normal, as the case may be. If we were sufficiently awake, we might realize that the lifting of a finger or the experience of love is as astonishing as the survival of bodily death. When physicalists bridle at the extraordinary and ignore the commonplace, in biblical imagery they are “straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.” [87]
Voltaire no friend of spirituality realized this. He observed, “It is not more surprising to be born twice than once.”[88] He understood that the marvel is life and consciousness themselves, not how many turns they make on the wheel of life.
Double Dazzlement
“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else,” exulted Emily Dickinson.[89] And physician-researcher Lewis Thomas observed, “Statistically, the probability of any one of us being here is so small that you’d think the mere fact of existing would keep us in a contented dazzlement of surprise.”[90] Add to this the fact that we are not only here but conscious as well, and you’d think we might experience a state of double dazzlement. But no; for most people, most of the time, consciousness is so ordinary and boring it largely escapes notice: the height of cosmic ingratitude.
Awakening us to conscious awareness of the ordinary is the calling of every great poet and artist. This is the point of Tennyson’s humble “Flower in the Crannied Wall,” of which he said: “... if I could understand/What you are, root and all, and all in all,/I should know what God and man is.”[91] And as George Eliot wrote in Middlemarch, “If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence.” But Eliot felt compelled to add, “As it is, the quickest of us walk about well wadded with stupidity.... We do not expect people to be deeply moved by what is not unusual.” [92]
If our well-waddedness prevents our recognition of the extraordinariness of the ordinary, how do we strip away the cognitive padding that insulates us from greater awareness? This is a crucial question because, typically, dedicated, well-wadded physicalists scrupulously avoid evidence that contradicts their assumptions. As one such individual commented, “This is the sort of thing I would not believe, even if it really happened.”[93] Many consciousness researchers have written wisely about how to encourage openness to the evidence for a nonphysicalist view, such as Paul Marshall in his recent essay “Why We Are Conscious of So Little” in the above-mentioned Beyond Physicalism.[94] In fact, the overall thrust of all three volumes mentioned above is to nudge us into fuller awareness through an enlarged conceptual framework, as well as experiences and practices, that transcend a physicalistic approach.
Recognition of the incompleteness of science and the need for novel views is especially encouraged by the blank spots on our maps of the universe that have been recently recognized. As consciousness researchers Edward Kelly and David E. Presti state:
[D]espite all of our genuine scientific knowledge and technical expertise, patiently accumulated over centuries of systematic and disciplined effort, we... apparently overlooked until the past decade or so something like 95% of the physical content of the universe its so-called dark matter and energy. This chastening discovery should certainly encourage humility, and perhaps a sense of excitement as well, regarding what may remain to be discovered about the human mind! [95]
Because physicalists assume, as stated, that extraordinary, anomalous consciousness-related phenomena cannot exist in principle, they generally refuse to examine the evidence for these happenings. In so doing, they may have duplicated the failure of physicists to notice[95]percent of the matter and energy in the universe, only this time the overlooked item is the fundamental nature of consciousness and its manifestations.
Suppose I said to you, “I would like to be your internal medicine physician, but you should know that I understand nothing about[95]percent of the organs in your body.” You would probably turn away immediately, disgusted by my audacity, as you should. Should we not react with equal caution to physicalists who want to be our interpreters of reality, when they are in the dark regarding[95]percent of the physical content of the universe? With such massive lacunae regarding physical issues, why trust them where consciousness is concerned?
Why do entities such as consciousness remain invisible to physicalists? As astrophysicist David Darling says, “If science searches the universe as it does for certain kinds of truth, then these are inevitably the only ones it will find. Everything else will slip through the net.”[96] The net used by consciousness researchers is made of finer mesh than the net employed by physicalists; it captures facts and phenomena physicalists never notice.
There is no room for smugness, however, because this failing failure to notice affects everyone in one way or another, as novelist Stephen King humorously points out:
[J]umbo shrimp, everybody’s oxymoron. They’re the big shrimp that nobody ate in restaurants until 1955 or 1960 because, until then, nobody thought of going shrimping after dark. They were there all the time, living their prosaic shrimp lives, but nobody caught them. So when they finally caught them it was, “Hello! Look at this. This is something entirely new.” And if the shrimp could talk they’d say, “[W]e’re not new. We’ve been around for a couple of thousand years. You were just too dumb to look for us.” [97]
Mind at Large
A recurring theme of modern consciousness research is that there is a larger, more extensive consciousness beyond our individual mind. This view can be traced back for at least three millennia, appearing in various forms in Eastern traditions. But it is a mistake to consign this concept to archaic cultures. A proponent of this view was British classicist and psychical researcher F. W. H. Myers (1843-1901), who wrote:
There exists a more comprehensive consciousness, a profounder faculty, which for the most part remains potential only...but from which the consciousness and the faculty of earth-life are mere selections.... [N]o Self of which we can here have cognizance is in reality more than a fragment of a larger Self revealed in a fashion at once shifting and limited through an organism not so framed as to afford it full manifestation. [98]
Many prominent architects of 20th-century science have affirmed a unified, collective aspect of consciousness, in which all individual minds are connected as a single whole. As Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger put it, “To divide or multiply consciousness is something meaningless. In all the world, there is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the spatio-temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction.... The category of number, of whole and of parts are then simply not applicable to it.”[99] And, “The overall number of minds is just one.... In truth there is only one mind.”[100] Astrophysicist Sir Arthur Eddington agreed: “The idea of a universal Mind or Logos would be, I think, a fairly plausible inference from the present state of scientific theory; at least it is in harmony with it.”[101] And as the eminent physicist David Bohm observed, “Deep down the consciousness of mankind is one. This is a virtual certainty... and if we don’t see this it’s because we are blinding ourselves to it.”[102] These images are congruent with psychiatrist Carl G. Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious, Emerson’s Over-Soul, and Aldous Huxley’s Mind at Large a Universal or One Mind, a plenum that fuels our experience as individual sentient, conscious creatures. As philosopher Michael Grosso has stated, “Our individual minds are surface growths that appear separate and distinct but whose roots lie in a deeper psychic underground; there we are mutually entangled and part of a more extended mental system.” [103]
A perennial complaint toward this view is the horror of being swallowed up and homogenized in a cosmic blob of undifferentiated consciousness, in which individuality disappears. This concern is emphatically contradicted by those who claim to have experienced the larger connections. Psychologist William James emphasized that a sense of individuality is preserved, not extinguished, in the Universal or One Mind:
We with our lives are like islands in the sea, or like trees in the forest. The maple and the pine may whisper to each other with their leaves... [but] the trees also commingle their roots in the darkness underground, and the islands also hang together through the ocean’s bottom. Just so there is a continuum of cosmic consciousness, against which our individuality builds but accidental fences, and into which our several minds plunge as into a mother-sea or reservoir. Our “normal” consciousness is circumscribed for adaptation to our external earthly environment, but the fence is weak in spots, and fitful influences from beyond leak in, showing the otherwise unverifiable common connection. [104]
The Brain As Filter
The brain does not generate thought...any more than the wire generates electric current. [105] Paul Brunton
An assertion related to mind-at-large is that the brain operates not as a generator or producer of mind or consciousness, but as a filter that receives, limits, transforms, and transmits information that arises external to the brain. As historian of religion Huston Smith has said, “The brain breathes mind like the lungs breathe air.”[106] This reducing function is vital; otherwise we would likely be overwhelmed by informational input, which would compromise our ability to get on successfully in the world. An impressive array of historical opinion has accumulated in favor of the brain-as-filter view, including Aldous Huxley, F. W. H. Myers, William James, Henri Bergson, F. C. S. Schiller, and others.
We pay a price for this stepped-down version of consciousness, however. An experience of our essential nature is obscured. As novelist Huxley put it, “[E]ach one of us is potentially Mind at Large. But in so far as we are animals, our business at all costs is to survive. To make biological survival possible, Mind at Large has to be funneled through the reducing valve of the brain and nervous system. What comes out at the other end is a measly trickle of the kind of consciousness which will help us to stay alive on the surface of this particular planet”[107] As astrophysicist Darling has said, we are conscious not because of the brain, but in spite of it. [108]
Philosopher Michael Grosso has summarized the key features of this view:
The brain transmits it does not produce consciousness.... [M]ind is not a property of the brain but a user of the brain.... Consciousness preexists the brain; it does not emerge from the brain. There is a transpersonal mind, i.e., a mind at large, a cosmic consciousness, James’s “mother-sea” of consciousness.... [There is an] ever-fluctuating threshold that separates subliminal from supraliminal mental life.” [109]...A crude analysis with radio and radio waves: the radio does not produce the radio waves; it detects, transmits, and filters them. If your radio breaks down, it doesn’t follow that the sounds you’re listening to have ceased to exist. They just cease to be detectable. An analogy is possible between this and the mind-brain relationship.” [110]
The permeability of our mental filter is not fixed. Filters can become clogged, but they can also become more porous, so that the “measly trickle” that emerges is increased. As a consequence of this “ever-fluctuating threshold,” experiences such as telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition may occur. Throughout human history, techniques have been developed to alter this threshold in favor of expanded awareness, as seen in various mystical, religious, spiritual, and native traditions.
Creativity
The “cash value” of the beyond-the-brain models of mind-matter interaction can be seen in the domain of creativity. Physicalistic models of brain function fail to explain, for example, the mind-boggling feats of savants, who are commonly mentally impaired, or the genius of prodigies such as the great mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. But if all individual minds are connected with one another and to a plenum of consciousness that transcends ordinary awareness, and if the threshold between expanded and contracted awareness is continually shifting, individuals might have occasional access to all conceivable knowledge, past, present, and future. This could account for what F. W. H. Myers called a “subliminal uprush” of genius-level creativity and understanding. [112]
These “uprushes” can be spectacular when they occur in children. Developmental psychologist Joseph Chilton Pearce reports a striking example. When he was in his early thirties, teaching humanities in a college, he was engrossed in theology and the psychology of Carl Jung. Pearce describes himself as “obsessed” by the nature of the God-human relationship, and his reading on the subject was extensive. One morning as he was preparing for an early class, his five-year-old son came into his room, sat down on the edge of the bed, and launched into a twenty-minute discourse on the nature of God and man. Pearce was astonished. He states:
He spoke in perfect, publishable sentences, without pause or haste, and in a flat monotone. He used complex theological terminology and told me, it seemed, everything there was to know. As I listened, astonished, the hair rose on my neck; I felt goose bumps, and, finally, tears streamed down my face. I was in the midst of the uncanny, the inexplicable. My son’s ride to kindergarten arrived, horn blowing, and he got up and left. I was unnerved and arrived late to my class. What I had heard was awesome, but too vast and far beyond any concept I had had to that point. The gap was so great I could remember almost no details and little of the broad panorama he had presented.... He wasn’t picking up his materials from me. I hadn’t acquired anything like what he described and would, in fact, be in my mid-fifties and involved in meditation before I did.... My son had no recollection of the event. [113]
Many consciousness researchers recognize that there are deeper ways of knowing than the rational, logical, analytical methods usually attributed to “doing science.” These deeper ways do not deny the physical senses and reason, but they include and transcend them. We get glimpses of this process from exemplars who have employed them. An example is Thomas Edison, America’s great inventor, who stated:
People say I have created things. I have never created anything. I get impressions from the Universe at large and work them out, but I am only a plate on a record or a receiving apparatus what you will. Thoughts are really impressions that we get from outside. [114]
Logic, reason, and intellectual analysis take a back seat in this unfolding. As Eugene Wigner, Nobel laureate in physics, put it, “The discovery of the laws of nature requires first and foremost intuition, conceiving of a picture and a great many subconscious processes. The... confirmation of these laws is another matter.... [L]ogic comes after intuition.”[115] Baron Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, the renowned physicist who was a student of the legendary physicist Werner Heisenberg, thought similarly about creativity and discovery in science:
A great scientific discovery... is often described as an inspiration or a special gift of grace which comes to the researcher when and as it pleases, like the answer from “another authority” and then almost without effort on his part. It is never viewed as the inevitable result of his research effort. Here we find the often disturbing and happy experience: “It is not I; I have not done this.” Still, in a certain way it is I yet not the ego... but... a more comprehensive self. [116]
Psychiatrist Carl G. Jung conceived of a timeless reservoir of information not unlike Edison’s image of “impressions from the Universe at large”:
As a matter of fact we have actually known everything all along; for all these things are always there, only we are not there for them. The possibility of the deepest insight existed at all times, but we were always too far away from it.... Originally we were all born out of a world of wholeness and in the first years of life are still completely contained in it. There we have all knowledge without knowing it. Later we lose it, and call it progress when we remember it again. [117]
The unfolding of this knowledge is revelatory. It cannot be manipulated. As Aldous Huxley said,
Understanding is not inherited, nor can it be laboriously acquired. It is something which, when circumstances are favorable, comes to us, so to say, of its own accord. All of us are knowers, all the time; it is only occasionally and in spite of ourselves that we directly understand the mystery of given reality. [118]
Still, we are not helpless. Although the knowledge cannot be commanded, it can be invited. We can set the stage for the revelation. This seeming paradox has been emphasized repeatedly in the world’s great spiritual traditions. As historian of religion Huston Smith, mentioned above, says, from the Christian tradition, “Everything is a gift, but nothing is free.”[119] Vivekananda, from the Hindu perspective, agreed: “The wind of God’s grace is always blowing, but you must raise your sail.”[120] The message from Islam is the same. As the Sufi mystic Bastami said, “The knowledge of God cannot be attained by seeking, but only those who seek it find it.” [121]
Resistance
Open minds toward the evidence we have examined can be hard to come by. Closed minds, of course, are nothing new not just toward consciousness-related phenomena, but toward new developments in the physical sciences as well.[122] During the early twentieth century, plate tectonics and continental drift were hotly debated in the field of geophysics. Looking back on this debate, the eminent geophysicist Sir Edward Bullard observed, in words that apply to the current arguments about consciousness-related phenomena,
There is always a strong inclination for a body of professionals to oppose an unorthodox view. Such a group has a considerable investment in orthodoxy: they have learned to interpret a large body of data in terms of the old view, and they have prepared lectures and perhaps written books with the old background. To think the whole subject through again when one is no longer young is not easy and involves admitting a partially misspent youth.... Clearly it is more prudent to keep quiet, to be a moderate defender of orthodoxy, or to maintain that all is doubtful, sit on the fence, and wait in statesmanlike ambiguity for more data.... [123]
Max Planck, the founder of quantum mechanics, confronted this problem. He famously said, “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”[124 |
to the Jews Dem. Rep Shiela Jackson "...this is killing Americans if we take this away, if we repeal this bill."
COMMENT #27 [Permalink]
... Ernest A. Canning said on 1/21/2011 @ 3:04 pm PT...
You see what happens when you visit a Right-Wing smear site, like Patterico's Pontifications, Blubonnet? You cause a couple of their deluded wingnuts, like Aaron Worthing and TGOg, to pollute a site (The BRAD BLOG) which is devoted to telling truth to power, with damnable lies. This then requires that we take the time to disprove one Right-Wing lie after another. Take, for example, TDOg @26 who writes: Steve Cohen (D) from Tennessee called the republicans Nazis in a healthcare debate and accused them of "blood libel" like the Nazi's did to the Jews. The Facts All that Cohen actually said was: They say it’s a government takeover of health care --- a Big Lie just like Goebbels. When he was challenged on CNN about this remark, Cohen said that he never compared Republicans to Nazis, but, instead, made a comparison between the "Big Lie"/propaganda by repetition of simplistic, but false propaganda talking points used by the Republicans and by Goebbels. Had TDOg bothered to read the post immediately preceding this one, and specifically my comments, he would have learned why Cohen had made an academically valid comparison --- though Cohen's reference to the repetition of simplistic talking points comes not only from Goebbels but from Hitler's Mein Kampf. I would challenge any and all of the Patterico/Breitbart/Beck followers to demonstrate a valid academic distinction between the propaganda techniques now employed by Corporate America's wholly owned subsidiary, GOP, Inc., and that employed by Goebbels and Hitler. Next, TDOg states: Dem. Rep Shiela Jackson "...this is killing Americans if we take this away, if we repeal this bill." And? One has to respectfully question TDOg's comprehension skills. Unlike Beck, who should be charged with incitement, Jackson was referring to the 45,000 Americans who die each year simply because they cannot afford to buy health care under the current corrupt, dysfunctional and deadly for-profit system that places the profits of a few healthcare insurance CEOs and their Wall Street investors above the health and very lives of our citizens. That's 45,000, in addition to the countless others who've lost their lives, because, as poignantly demonstrated by the sworn Congressional testimony of Dr. Linda Pino, recounted in Sicko!, insurance carriers, through a process known as "utilization review," routinely deny vital procedures. The "Big Lie" was that last year's less than adequate "reform" provided for "death panels." The "truth" is that there are "death panels" in the existing system that the GOP, Inc. is touting --- panels of utilization review doctors, who, without ever examining a patient, issue such denials.
COMMENT #28 [Permalink]
... Brad Friedman said on 1/21/2011 @ 3:25 pm PT...
TDog - Our few rules for commenting here require that you choose a name to post under and stick to it. So thank you for respecting that from now on. Looks like your copy and pasting of various out-of-context and/or obscure clips from folks on the Left, in hopes of offering false equivalency to the multitudes of direct incitements of violence and eliminationist rhetoric from top officials and media personalities on the Right (stuff like "where ballots don't work, bullets will", "use of 2nd Amendment remedies", "I want to murder Michael Moore", etc. etc.), many of which have directly resulted in violence and murder against folks on the Left, has left you short. You probably should have actually looked into those things you copy/pasted here to check context, accuracy, attribution, etc. So here's some help for ya, responding to the various anecdotal, sometimes misattributed, sometimes offensive, and often out-of-context quotes you posted above. Steve Cohen (D) from Tennessee called the republicans Nazis in a healthcare debate and accused them of "blood libel" like the Nazi's did to the Jews Actually, Cohen, who is Jewish himself (first Jewish Congressman from TN) actually said this about Republicans in his remarks on the House floor during debate of the "Repeal the Job-Killing Health Care Bill Act": "They say it's a government takeover of health care. A big lie just like Goebbels. You say it enough and you repeat the lie, repeat the lie, repeat the lie until eventually people believe it. Like blood libel, that's the same kind of thing." While I have no particular problem with that factually accurate quote and fail to see an incitement of violence within it, he has now been condemned from many on the supposed Left, including both Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart yesterday. So not sure what the point is in your quoting it here. Dem. Rep Shiela Jackson "...this is killing Americans if we take this away, if we repeal this bill." Here's what she actually said during the debate on repeal of the Democratic health insurance law: "Frankly, I would just say to you, this is about saving lives. Jobs are very important; we created jobs," Jackson Lee said. "But even the title of their legislation, H.R. 2, 'job-killing' — this is killing Americans if we take this away, if we repeal this bill." Again, perhaps I'm missing the incitement to violence that you are seeing in that comment? BTW, as a Harvard study has found that some 45,000 Americans die each year due to lack of health insurance, her comments are also factually accurate, whether you care for them or not. “I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact.” Kieth Olbermann about Dick Cheney Actually, that was the very "politically incorrect" (not particularly Leftish) Bill Maher, not Keith Olbermann, making a comment that was, though clearly not meant to incite violence against Cheney, but rather part of a politically incorrect discussion on Real Time about whether more people would live if Cheney had died. It was, at the time, during the height of American deaths in Iraq, condemned by folks on Right and Left (here, for example, is Left-ish Mark Kleiman doing so at Huffington Post after it happened.) Are you suggesting Maher should not have been condemned for that? Is that something he does with any regularity, btw? Does he regularly incite violence against folks on the Right? If so, I haven't seen it, but if you believe he does, I hope you'll condemn him for it! “He is an enemy of the country, in my opinion, Dick Cheney is, he is an enemy of the country….Lord, take him to the Promised Land, will you?” Ed Shultz Lots of interesting stuff replaced by that ellipses there, as well as both before and after the text you quoted. The comment in question was made by Schultz after Cheney had charged that Obama's policies in the "War on Terror" were going to lead to Americans being killed (an opinion which Cheney has since changed, btw, given that Obama's policies there, shamefully, are virtually identical to Bush/Cheney's). Here's what Schultz said in full there: I knew this was going to happen today. We were going to get into a conversation about that dirtbag Dick Cheney. And he's going to do this every month until someone steps forward or until we get hit as a country so he can say I told you so. And that probably, a terrorist attack will probably turn a lot of people on the president. He is an enemy of the country, in my opinion, Dick Cheney is, he is an enemy of the country. He's making it harder for those who are in power right now to protect the country. He's about the political divide. It just, I just think the guy's such a freakin' loser. You know, Lord, take him to the promised land, will you? See, I don't even wish the guy goes to hell, I just want to get him the hell out of here. So, still want to condemn Schultz' comment? Feel free. Believe that he's inciting violence against Cheney? Okay. Calling him an "enemy of the country" is certainly disturbing, certainly when taken out of context of the rest of the remarks as you did. Nonetheless, feel free to condemn Schultz for the remarks if you like! "Instead of running for governor of Florida, they ought to have him and shoot him. Put him against the wall and shoot him. He stole billions of dollars from the United States government and he’s running for governor of Florida." --Paul Kanjorski(former Dem. Congressman) about Repub. candidate Rick Scott The full quote, which Kanjorski said during an interview with the editorial board of the Times-Tribune is actually this: "That Scott down there that's running for governor of Florida," Mr. Kanjorski said. "Instead of running for governor of Florida, they ought to have him and shoot him. Put him against the wall and shoot him. He stole billions of dollars from the United States government and he's running for governor of Florida. He's a millionaire and a billionaire. He's no hero. He's a damn crook. It's just we don't prosecute big crooks." Even in context, and even correct on the facts of the "crook" remark, it's still completely appalling, and certainly worth condemning, as most folks on both Right and Left did. Happily, he lost the election last year shortly thereafter, so there was at least some accountability for the remark. For the record, he was correct in that Scott's private health insurance company Colubmia/HCA was found guilty of the largest Medicare and Medicaid fraud scandal ever seen in this nation. Scott was ousted as CEO due to the scandal, and the company was forced pay a record $1.7 billion in fines and civil settlements for it. Then he was elected Governor of Florida last November. A few months back when ted Stevens plane crashed Kieth Halloran a Dem rep candidate in NH tweeted this: "Just wish Sarah and Levy were on board," That quote was apparently a comment left on someone's Facebook page and quickly removed by either the owner of the page or whoever left the comment. It's never been confirmed, to my knowledge, as coming from Halloran himself (whoever he is) and it was seen by almost nobody as a comment on a web page --- at least until Rightwingers started copying and pasting it around as "evidence" to prop up the false notion that the Left is someone as bad as the Right in inciting violence. Whoever made the comment should be condemned for an ugly remark nonetheless, though calling it an "incitement of violence" seems a stretch. “Somebody’s going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he’s going to explode like a giant blimp.” Ed Shultz That was Chris Matthews, not Ed Schultz. You can watch the segement, in context here. The full quote, coming at the end of a segment in which he was talking about the unelected Rush Limbaugh's inordinate power in the Republican Party, was: CHRIS MATTHEWS: You guys see Live and Let Die, the great Bond film with Yaphet Kotto as the bad guy, Mr. Big? In the end they jam a big CO2 pellet in his face and he blew up. I have to tell you, Rush Limbaugh is looking more and more like Mr. Big, and at some point somebody's going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and he's going to explode like a giant blimp. That day may come. Not yet. But we'll be there to watch. I think he's Mr. Big, I think Yaphet Kotto. Are you watching, Rush? To be frank, I don't actually understands what he means there by "a CO2 pellet", but if you'd like to condemn him because you feel that he was inciting violence against Rush, while it seems a bit of a stretch to me, particularly after watching the full segment from which that quote is taken, that's absolutely fine. If you feel Matthews was inciting violence against someone, you are more than welcome to --- and, in fact, should --- condemn him for that. Nobody should be inciting violence against anybody. Why is that so difficult for you guys to understand? For each (usually out-of-context) quote you may be able to scrape up from someone on the supposed Left, no matter how obscure the comment, I could cite well more than 10 from top figures on the Right in response to each of them, each heard over our public airwaves, on the largest cable news channel or in a NYTimes best-selling book. In the meantime, do people set out to assassinate politicians and groups on the Right, citing --- as would-be assassin Byron Williams did in regard to Glenn Beck (as noted in my original article above), or as Jim Adkisson did in TN after shooting up a "liberal" church when citing Bernie Goldberg (and O'Reilly, Hannity, etc.), or as Richard Poplawski did after killing 3 cops in Pittsburgh because he thought Obama was coming to take away his guns, just to name a few examples --- a top political official or media personality on the Left as their teacher and/or inspiration for such acts? If so, I'd be happy to join in the condemnation of such incitement. Why you guys seem to actually be defending such behavior remains beyond me. BTW, if something happens to the obscure Professor Frances Fox Piven (who, like the Tides Foundation that Beck disciple Byron Williams had tried to shoot up, I had never heard of until threats were made on her life following targeting by Glenn Beck on Fox), I hope you'll quote some of the death threats she has been getting of late, as noted in a letter sent to Roger Ailes of Fox News yesterday by the Center For Constitutional Rights [PDF]. Here are some of those threats as posted --- many still remaining as of yesterday --- on Beck's own website, The Blaze in response to their Dec. 31, 2010 article headlined "Frances Fox Piven Rings in the New Year by Advocating Violent Revolution": "Be very careful what you ask for honey. As I mention3ed in previou posts - one shot, one kill. The people have to stand up for what's right. A few well placed marksmen with high powered rifles...then there would not be any violence." JFT 14254 "Maybe they should burst through the front door of this arrogant elitist and slit the hateful cow's throat." Reckless "Somebody tell Frances I have 5,000 rounds ready and I will give my life to take our freedom back. Taking her life and any who would enslave my children and grandchildren and call for violence should meet their demise as they wish. George Washington didn't use his freedom of speech to defeat the British. He shot them." superwench 4 "I am all for violence and change Frances: Where do your loved ones live?" Green Manilici "Again, why is this woman still alive?" capnjack "We should blow up Pi8ven's office and home." lepanto "If she says it's OK to use violence, then I'd like to use some and snap her little chicken neck. This pinko filth needs a long dirt nap!" thejackal "We need a target? OK...Here's one, Frances Fox Piven. Let's go string her up, as this mess is directly due to her and her husbands meddling." Vote against carter. "For what it's worth department she resides in [town in NY]" doncarr61 "Big lots is having a rope sale I hear, you buy the rope and I will hang the wench. I will spin her as she hangs. Here is your revolution Piven wench, Allah Akbar!" ham4mohammed But, yeah, the 78-year old professor probably would have gotten those threats all by herself without Beck (and Breitbart's) help, right? And, after all, "both sides do it", so really, it's not a problem.
COMMENT #29 [Permalink]
... Ernest A. Canning said on 1/21/2011 @ 3:41 pm PT...
Hmmmm, Brad. You covered a lot more in responding to TDOg's cut-and-paste job than I did, which underscores the undue labor created when we are bombarded with disinformation. While you've thoroughly dissected this mess, there is one amusing point with regard to Ed Schultz asking the Lord to take Cheney to Heaven. As both an Atheist and an Attorney, I'm having trouble understanding how one can apply the charge of "incitement" to anything someone asks God (as opposed to living, breathing human beings) to do.
COMMENT #30 [Permalink]
... Dennis D said on 1/21/2011 @ 4:34 pm PT...
Why when I open an extremist Marxist blog 90% of the time they are Jewish operations? Aren't they only 2% of America?
COMMENT #31 [Permalink]
... Ernest A. Canning said on 1/21/2011 @ 4:45 pm PT...
So Dennis D, can you provide a list of blogs that you regard as "Marxist" and the basis for your allegation that they are Jewish. Or did you make that up as part of an anti-Semitic rant?
COMMENT #32 [Permalink]
... Thick-Witted Liberal said on 1/21/2011 @ 6:14 pm PT...
Keith Olbermann just resigned from MSNBC.
COMMENT #33 [Permalink]
... Blubonnet said on 1/21/2011 @ 6:14 pm PT...
Ernie, I did not mention Bradblog there at all. Patterico apparently took note of Brad's piece, with no help from me here. I only mentioned for those on the Left here to talk to them there to set them straight. Just so you know that.
COMMENT #34 [Permalink]
... FreedomOfInformationAct said on 1/21/2011 @ 10:51 pm PT...
Palin to be prosecuted for inciting violence if she visits Australia, attorney says
By Stephen C. Webster
Friday, January 21st, 2011 --- 2:58 pm Sarah Palin better watch out. Under Australian law, inciting violence is a serious crime: an offense which could even trigger the prosecution of members of the US political class and mainstream media who called for the assassination of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to his attorney. http://www.rawstory.com/...olence-visits-australia/ The context behind beck's 'you're gonna have to shoot them in the head' quote http://www.examiner.com/...hoot-them-the-head-quote
COMMENT #35 [Permalink]
... Brad Friedman said on 1/21/2011 @ 11:09 pm PT...
BluBonnet (& Ernie) - Looks like Charles Johnston at Little Green Footballs did a fine job of smacking down Patterico's latest horseshit today.
COMMENT #36 [Permalink]
... FreedomOfInformationAct said on 1/21/2011 @ 11:13 pm PT...
angry right-wing rhetoric has consequences http://www.rawstory.com/...rst-poll-numbers-career/ spin it anyway you want righties, I'd say the evidence is pretty damning against your party of teabaggers. Fox pundit: Palin admitted rhetoric can cause violence http://www.rawstory.com/...ical-discourse-violence/ Tucson Arizona Shooting Rampage Victims blame right wingers like palin, beck, angle, tea party http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics Eric Fuller, 63, who was struck by a bullet in the hail of gunfire in Tucson that killed six and wounded 13 on Saturday, claimed Thursday that conservative figureheads such as Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Sharron Angle were to blame for the violence in Arizona."How many more demented people are out there? It looks like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the rest got their first target," Fuller, a former campaigner for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), told Democracy Now. "Their wish for Second Amendment activism has been fulfilled --- senseless hatred leading to murder, lunatic-fringe anarchism, subscribed to by John Boehner, mainstream rebels with vengeance for all, even nine-year-old girls," he added, reading from comments he said he had written down while being treated for his wounds. now what do you teabaggers have to say? Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cg...311S82.DTL#ixzz1BkInYVRP
COMMENT #37 [Permalink]
... FreedomOfInformationAct said on 1/21/2011 @ 11:31 pm PT...
MediaMatters has a whole section dedicated to right-wing hate rhetoric.
COMMENT #38 [Permalink]
... Blubonnet said on 1/22/2011 @ 1:00 am PT...
Sadly, Media Matters dissing the Truth Movement, so they have quite simply dismissed themselves from being taken seriously now, in my book. Damn, I liked them. They lost respect of millions in this country by doing that. They too got bought by someone with an agenda. My observation.
COMMENT #39 [Permalink]
... TheMadKing said on 1/22/2011 @ 3:54 am PT...
Beck must have taken President Obama's advice about not bringing a knife to a gunfight
COMMENT #40 [Permalink]
... TheMadKing said on 1/22/2011 @ 4:02 am PT...
Last thought and question, Brad. Were you this outraged when Randi Rhodes simulated President Bush's assassination on Air America? Secret Service even responded to that one. You lefty psychos spent eight years spewing the most heated and violent vitriol at President Bush, conservatives and Republicans. All of a sudden you want US to act civil? lol! NEVER! I will come back here and verbally scorch your eyebrows every time you post this kind of hypocritical lefty idiocy. Count on it! Welcome to the First Amendment, Brad, where I can say all the things that you don't like, much as you offend me with your moronic associations and ideological blathering. Have a nice day. Not.
COMMENT #41 [Permalink]
... Ernest A. Canning said on 1/22/2011 @ 7:39 am PT...
TheMadKing @40 seeks to dismiss the issue of incitement raised by the Glenn Beck statement "you're going to have to shoot them in the head" with: Welcome to the First Amendment, Brad... News flash! In case your friend Patterico, aka L.A. County Deputy DA Patrick Frey failed to inform you, MadKing, the First Amendment does not protect incitement to murder.
COMMENT #42 [Permalink]
... Ernest A. Canning said on 1/22/2011 @ 7:44 am PT...
re BluBonnet @23. I stand corrected. My apologies for an erroneous assumption that your taking on Patterico's lies at his site sent his trolls to this one.
COMMENT #43 [Permalink]
... Blubonnet said on 1/22/2011 @ 11:38 am PT...
Actually, I did suggest we go there. I did not suggest they come here. Over there, a piece about Brad, I feel needs addressing, by Brad. That is why they are here, the bully in them made them do it. But, you know what, that is what we do, and the opportunity, despite the daunting task of taking on soooo many of their deluded perceptions, or outright deceit, despite the immense efforts involved makes for the goal of us, turn around the delusions. Yeah I know, the enormous amount of
it is daunting. Hats off to you all for doing it well. I'm not sure they are capable of shame though. However, readers can see you all are correct. Also, it is apparent who maintains the most composure, the "cool factor" is on our side.
COMMENT #44 [Permalink]
... Blubonnet said on 1/22/2011 @ 11:40 am PT...
And of course the facts are on our side.
COMMENT #45 [Permalink]
... Jeannie Dean said on 1/22/2011 @ 12:35 pm PT...
"But, you know what, that is what we do, and the opportunity, despite the daunting task of taking on soooo many of their deluded perceptions, or outright deceit, despite the immense efforts involved makes for the goal of us, turn around the delusions. Yeah I know, the enormous amount of it is daunting."...I adore your astounding chutzpah-moxie, Blubonnet. I do. And Brad's (and Ernest's) tireless attempts to Right-mind the right in these threads has been a great example - mountainous proof, in fact - that engaging them is a Grand Waste of Time. Lord knows if you all have the time to engage the lowest common demon-inator on behalf of those of us who don't - Grand. But I feel Ernest's legitimate frustration re: all this extra labor is a good chance to point out (again, FWIW)that in doing so you are playing to intractable hecklers, and giving them all the attention they (come here) to demand. It's baby-blog sitting. It's for amateurs.
It's stooping to not-conquer. I realize (and am quite familiar with) all the right reasons you give for engaging them, especially when besieged like you have been in this gloomy lack-witted slip of a thread full of hateful, unfounded, stupid accusations that often accompany their ramblings and never relate to the original post. And btw, all it takes to bring em' here en masse is a little linky-dink from that aborted-soul of a dailywakinghatefest Michelle Malkin, or that bitch-cracker Fredderico Pat-er-whats-his-gut, or for Brad's latest to make the list of whatever the new bastard-incarnation the DIGG PATRIOT's might be (I guess now they're using REDDIT? The Reddit Tighty-Righties, maybe?)hit up their sick rounds of favorite items to "bury" so opposing viewpoints don't see their rightful play.
If Brad builds it, they will come. "Hats off to you all for doing it well. I'm not sure they are capable of shame though."...they're not. However, readers can see you all are correct. Also, it is apparent who maintains the most composure, the "cool factor" is on our side. As for the posterity / integrity of the blog archives...I get that. Having to set the record straight is a very big deal....but long-winded responses only exhaust and drains your resources. And your readers. And you. Maybe it's time for a new BRADBLOG rule? (Tho most of these could fall under posting knowing disinfo...that's a sticky wicket because you all are so very gracious in giving them the benefit-of-the-lout.) Maybe something re: "unless cited evidence / sourcing is given for outrageous claims and accusations - your comment will may be intentionally ignored." Then you could cite the rule as hotlink; maybe provide another link that sets the record straight (so many to choose from right here in these archives!) that explains in great detail why they are flat-out dead wrong and why they *should* be ashamed of their post. That gives the moral rest of us more leverage to take back our Bradblog threads, more time for rational discussions. I miss those. Seen glimpses of them with the return of some old regulars recently...
remembering what kind of resource for sanity this blog can be.
COMMENT #46 [Permalink]
... Brad Friedman said on 1/22/2011 @ 2:03 pm PT...
Jeannie Dean @ 45 said: attempts to Right-mind the right in these threads has been a great example - mountainous proof, in fact - that engaging them is a Grand Waste of Time. Not sure I entirely agree, even as I hear ya and certainly appreciate where you're coming from. The "proof" is actually that most of these disinformed and/or disinformer folks don't return with responses. Because they can't. But more importantly, far more folks read comments(both phony claims and fact-based rebuttals) than actually participate in them. Where a guy like TDog puts forward phony RW talking points, you can be assured that thousands more like him are passing on such points and/or reading them elsewhere, as well as here. Having a cogent rebuttal to follow them is useful for many, whether they reply here or not. And, whether such rebuttals are read now or later (for history, posterity, when these Zombie Lies continue to crop up again and again, and the rebuttals to them get found via search engines, as you also suggest yourself...) As for the posterity / integrity of the blog archives...I get that. Having to set the record straight is a very big deal....but long-winded responses only exhaust and drains your resources. And your readers. And you. They certainly can exhaust me. No question. And it's certainly arguable that my time may be better spent in original articles, rather than rebutting their nonsense. But informing myself through the research of smacking down these yutzes here also informs me for other purposes (radio, TV and/or future articles), so I don't mind it. On the other hand, if you guys beat me to such rebuttals, I wouldn't have to do it myself! (hint, hint! )
COMMENT #47 [Permalink]
... J L Fuller said on 1/22/2011 @ 3:41 pm PT...
What was the context in which Beck made these comments? If he was talking about some apocalyptic type crisis, then what he said would be true. If Communists actually took over our government, as has happened in many countries around the world, there would be civil war. There would be bloodshed. Any student of history knows how the Communists do such things and there is always bloodshed.
COMMENT #48 [Permalink]
... J L Fuller said on 1/22/2011 @ 3:47 pm PT...
Can anyone tell me specifically what Beck has said that makes him so dangerous. Can you be specific please? I know he made a comment that Obama may hate white people early on but he retracted that. I don't watch him very often so I don't know. All I have to go on is what I have seen, which isn't a lot. If that is all there is then I have to conclude that he pretty innocuous. You may not like his program but I can't say I have ever witnessed anything dangerous about what he says.
COMMENT #49 [Permalink]
... J L Fuller said on 1/22/2011 @ 4:36 pm PT...
I watched the "shoot them in the head..." video clip and it is taken out of context. Beck was talking about internecine warfare between the far left radicals and the centrist liberals who might "betray" the far left's agenda. Apparently the radicals have said they are willing to kill to achieve their agenda and any one who gets in their way or betrays them is in danger. It is about liberals having to defend themselves from the fringe elements of the far left. It had nothing to do with the right.
COMMENT #50 [Permalink]
... J L Fuller said on 1/22/2011 @ 4:42 pm PT...
Most people want to do the right thing but recently it seems folks are too willing to buy off on the demonizing on both sides. May I suggest we just ignore the crazy comments and read a variety of sources before we decide what the real story is? Go to sane sources for your information and ignore the others. Read conservative, moderate and liberal writers but stay away from those incite others.
COMMENT #51 [Permalink]
... Blubonnet said on 1/22/2011 @ 11:26 pm PT...
The misinformation that makes it onto the airways is literally dangerous, as our democracy falls farther and farther down the hell-hole. It is literally an information war going on, and the Cons own most of the MSM. That is why we have so many maniacal Patterico pets, barking their delerious, unresearched rhetoric, oblivious of all that is verifiable, ignoring that which is verifiable, and replacing honest, objective discussion with jokes, name calling, and darn near shooting spit wads, and I'm sure if it could be accomplished by way of the internet, they would be doing just that, shooting spitwads. I don't think they ever came to realize that adulthood has visited them. They really don't seem to be there.
COMMENT #52 [Permalink]
... Brad Friedman said on 1/23/2011 @ 5:34 pm PT...
J L Fuller said, at various... Apparently the radicals have said they are willing to kill to achieve their agenda and any one who gets in their way or betrays them is in danger. It is about liberals having to defend themselves from the fringe elements of the far left. It had nothing to do with the right. First, there is no "apparently" here. Yet, if you believe that, it sounds like you got it from Beck. And if you believe there are "radicals...willing to kill to achieve their agenda...on the far left", then I suppose the only thing to do is risk your life to stop them, eh? Or so that is the message sent by folks like Beck in the clip above. That message was received by Byron Williams. And others. And acted upon to deadly ends. Most people want to do the right thing but recently it seems folks are too willing to buy off on the demonizing on both sides. May I suggest we just ignore the crazy comments and read a variety of sources before we decide what the real story is? You may "suggest" that, if you wish, but it will do little to bring back the lives of those who have been murdered after being inspired by the likes of so many on the right. Did you bother to read what Byron Williams had to say after he was stopped from shooting up the Tides Foundation (brought to his attention by Beck) and the ACLU? I have seen no such similar behavior based on demonization from "both sides". Have you? If so, please show us all the evidence for that claim. Can anyone tell me specifically what Beck has said that makes him so dangerous.... You may not like his program but I can't say I have ever witnessed anything dangerous about what he says. Then you're not paying attention. Or reading what Byron Williams had to say. I would also recommend that you read the death threats received on Beck's website in regard to "enemy of the Constitution", as he calls her, 73-year old professor Frances Fox Piven as I detailed in comment #28 above. Then tell me he's not dangerous. As to more specific and dangerous incitements he offers regularly, please feel free to use Google. There are tons from him, Rush, O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter etc. etc. etc. If you don't know about them already, it's because you likely don't care to.
COMMENT #53 [Permalink]
... love-of-truth ucc guy said on 1/23/2011 @ 7:04 pm PT...
I've just read many of the comments here. I love this community. Bless you all, especially for taking on Tdog, and trying to show him where he was misinformed. I hope he may begin to notice, that right-wing websites virtually always make claims without backing them up with any citations, so you have to just take it on faith that they are accurate. And if you do go looking, you find that the story is vastly different, and frequently opposite of what was told. You should keep surfing and get to the truth of things, TDOG. Keep talking here. I used to believe a lot like you do. Keep asking your questions, and keep listening here. Peace to you.
COMMENT #54 [Permalink]
... JL Fuller said on 1/23/2011 @ 11:23 pm PT...
It concerns me that the likes of Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorn could actually commit violence for leftist political reasons yet and get away with it without a peep from the left and yet there is no one on the right who has ever been charged or convicted of such a thing. We see here above proof that leftists have deliberately lied about what Beck said and the apologists writing in this board continue to deny it. What was it that the good Congressman from Tennessee said the other day in the House about telling lies so many times it becomes embedded in people's heads as truth? By the way it was Walter Lippmann who promoted the idea of manipulating the population by means of the mass media. He said we needed "a specialized class whose interests reach beyond the locality...." composed of experts, specialists and bureaucrats. He said in his book Public Opinion that manufacturing public opinion was a laudable and necessary thing. It was Lippmann's ideas that the Nazi's used as foundation for their propaganda machine. Thank you Mr. Lippmann. Jews of the world will ever hold you in high esteem. People some commenting above continue your work.
COMMENT #55 [Permalink]
... Ernest A. Canning said on 1/24/2011 @ 7:49 am PT...
JL Fuller @54 wrote: We see here above proof that leftists have deliberately lied about what Beck said... News flash, my deluded right wing spinster. Quoting Beck verbatim, and posting the actual video, can never be considered a "lie"! If you want to post such drivel, return to Patterico's Pontification where logic and truth are irrelevant. Oh, and if you want to examine a classic example of "manipulating the population by means of the mass media," turn on the Fox "News" network and listen to the likes of Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly or any of there other assembly of propagandists--Oh, my mistake. You're one of their regulars already.
COMMENT #56 [Permalink]
... JLF9999 / J L Fuller said on 1/24/2011 @ 8:21 am PT...
I stand by my contention that most people want to do the right thing. They don't always know what that is. I suggest we all loath li |
behind the global rise in commodity prices. From cement and steel to support construction projects, to oil and natural gas to power its cars and satisfy its hunger for energy, China’s raw material needs are massive. ‘What does this have to do with forex?’ you are probably wondering. The answer is simple: those countries with large reserves of natural resources have seen their economies boom and their currencies rise. The Canadian Dollar has already achieved parity against the US Dollar, and the Australian Dollar is not far behind. The Russian Rouble has also outperformed. Those who wish to understand the appreciation of these three currencies should look no further than record-high commodity prices, for which Chinese demand is largely responsible.
5. Investor/Consumer sentiment
The importance of investor and consumer sentiment in forex markets is connected with the notion that perception is reality. Amateur, investors often make the mistake of focusing all of their attention on coincident and lagging indicators, such as employment and GDP, when making investing decisions. Savvy investors, however, devote equal attention to leading indicators- of which market sentiment is one- which represent a proxy for future economic performance. For example, if investors/consumers indicate a pessimistic outlook, it is likely that future economic growth will be lower. As a result, investors will be more likely to shift capital away from the US, which would drag down the Dollar.
6. US Real Estate Prices
This factor is probably the most conventional on this list, especially given the current economic milieu, where business headlines are dominated by coverage of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. The housing/construction sectors have historically only accounted for a modest portion of US economic growth. However, the period of easy money that followed the collapse of the tech bubble in the late 1990’s led to a rapid run-up in real estate prices. An exceptional tolerance for risk in the financial community enabled buyers that were barely credit worthy to take out mortgages at impossibly low interest rates. In addition, existing homeowners rushed to cash in on the rising value of their houses by refinancing their mortgages and taking out a home equity loan. As everyone knew, the party had to end at some point, and the collapse in confidence is now threatening to spread to other sectors of the economy, perhaps precipitating a recession.
7. IMF and World Bank
While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are certainly diminishing in importance, they continue to exert influence in the developing world. Both organizations can still potentially impact economic growth by lending money for development projects and helping in times of crisis. In some cases, they demand control over member countries’ economic policies in exchange for favorable loan terms. The IMF is now more visible in forex since it officially changed the way it monitors the foreign exchange policies of member nations. Previously, the IMF focused on the internal effects of exchange rate policies, by looking at how the country in question was either harmed or benefited from the policy. The IMF’s new mandate, in contrast, extends to the evaluation of these policies from an external standpoint: how these policies affect other countries. As a result, the IMF is now justified in advising against currency policies that engender global economic instability. Predictably, Iran, Egypt and China have all voiced disapproval of this policy change.
8. Fixed Exchange Rate Regimes
Wait, I thought we were only interested in currencies covered by floating exchange rate regimes? By definition, currencies that are pegged don’t fluctuate in accordance with market principles (if they fluctuate at all), so they’re probably not worth paying attention to, right? While there is certainly some validity to this mindset, these currencies areworth following because at the very least, they impact the currencies to which they are linked. The Chinese Yuan, for example, remains pegged to a basket of currencies, consisting predominantly of Dollars. In order to maintain this peg, China’s Central Bank has been forced to stockpile over $1 Trillion in foreign exchange reserves, also predominated in Dollar-denominated assets. Thus, China’s fixed exchange rate regime, via the buying of US assets, directly supports the Dollar. And of course there are dozens of other examples around the world.
9. Central Bank Intervention
This factor is counter-intuitively included on the list precisely because it does not influence forex. Many policymakers have accused Japan and Korea, for example, of holding down their currencies in pursuit of policies of export promotion. In fact, Korea has recently intervened in forex markets, while Japan has not. Yet, the Won has soared while the Japanese Yen has remained frozen in place. The point illustrated by this example is that Central Banks are rarely able to influence forex valuations despite concerted efforts to the contrary. Even the US is a veteran of forex intervention, having intervened on behalf of the Dollar twice during the Clinton administration. Both times, however, the Dollar was virtually unaffected. In short, when you hear currency traders or policymakers griping about Central Bank intervention, feel free to shake your head and chuckle a bit.
10. US Treasury Secretary
The list of the most influential people in forex would probably be a “who’s who” of politicians, central bankers, and hedge fund managers. However, would you believe that the US Treasury Secretary is just as important, if not moreso, when it comes to forex? The reason is that the Treasury Secretary represents the US in matters of currency, regardless of whether the currency in question is the Dollar or a foreign currency. Despite having only recently been appointed, the current Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, has been quite vocal about currency issues. He has criticized China and Japan for their weak currencies while maintaining that it is in the best interest of the US to have a strong Dollar.
11. Financial Derivatives
A derivative is a financial security which has no inherent value and instead derives its value from an underlying asset. Financial derivatives, which include forwards, futures, options, and swaps, have proliferated in every branch of global capital markets. In fact, many analysts insist that long term interest rates are now based more on swaps valuations than on government bonds. With regard to forex, derivatives reflect market expectations for future exchange rates. Previously the bastion of professional investors, these securities are now available to amateur investors, who can quote a 12-month RMB/USD futures contract to see what exchange rate investors are willing to accept for delivery of RMB (Chinese Yuan) 12 months from now. With regard to options, traders can look at implied volatility, which can be induced from the price of the option based on the strike price, current exchange rate and time to maturity. Implied volatility offers an instant snapshot of how much investors believe a currency will fluctuate over the term of the option.
12. Composition of the EU
The composition of the European Union (“EU”) certainly has a bearing on the value of the Euro. As of October 2007, the EU had 27 members, and is currently in talks to add 3 more. When a new country adopts the Euro, its effect on the collective EU economy can be labeled either “accretive” or “dilutive.” When a country’s economic growth is higher than the EU average and/or its rate of inflation is lower, its effect on the EU average is said to be accretive. The opposite set of circumstances will have a dilutive effect. You may be familiar with this concept in the context of public company mergers, where analysts use similar language to evaluate the effect of the acquired company’s relative profitability on the acquiring company’s stock price.
13. Rating Agencies
You are probably wondering how rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s, Fitch) can influence forex, since after all, they don’t issue ratings on specific currencies. They do however, issue ratings for government bonds and a mix of other public/private securities. In theory, these ratings should merely serve to reinforce investor opinion since both investors and rating agencies have access to the same information. In practice, however, a great deal of stock is placed on a security’s credit rating, and securities with the same ratings tend to trade at similar valuations. When Iceland’s sovereign debt was downgraded last year, its currency instantly dropped over 10%. In addition, it was not until collateralized debt obligations tied to US subprime mortgages were downgraded that economists and investors really began to take scope of the US real estate crisis, which now threatens to spread to the rest of the economy and drag down the Dollar.
In conclusion, there are numerous factors in forex that escape the attention of the mainstream business media. Even when such factors do receive coverage, the link to forex isn’t clear. This list is in no way exhaustive; while its stated purpose was to bring to the surface a few unconventional forex factors, its broader purpose was to provide insight into a new framework for looking at what drives currencies. Ultimately, the main point is to encourage you to shift your attention to secondary and tertiary factors, which underlie the primary factors of inflation and interest rates, which in turn, drive currencies.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Malcolm Smith always was ready to step in when the Seattle Seahawks needed him.
Now he's only the third linebacker in NFL history to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.
Smith returned an interception of regular-season MVP Peyton Manning 69 yards for a touchdown in the first half, recovered a fumble in the second half, and was part of a dominating defensive performance by Seattle during its 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.
"I woke up jumping, bouncing," Smith said when presented with a truck amid the confetti-strewn field after the game. "It turned out great for us tonight."
Sure did. And it was rather appropriate that a member of Seattle's league-leading "D" would be the MVP of the Super Bowl, considering the way the Seahawks shut down Manning and Denver's record-breaking offense, forcing four turnovers and holding the Broncos scoreless until the last play of the third quarter.
Smith joined Ray Lewis of Baltimore in 2001, and Chuck Howley of Dallas in 1971 as the only linebackers to be picked as the top player in a Super Bowl. Only eight of 48 Super Bowls have ended with a defensive player getting the honor; the last was Tampa Bay Buccaneers free safety Dexter Jackson in 2003.
Malcolm Smith of the Seahawks became the third linebacker in history to be named Super Bowl MVP. Elsa/Getty Images
Smith also becomes the first defensive player to get the "I'm going to Disney World" commercial.
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas were first-team All-Pro selections this season, and both finished among the top five vote-getters for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Safety Kam Chancellor was a second-team All-Pro choice.
That trio of defensive backs is part of a talented secondary known as the "Legion of Boom," and guys like Smith often get overshadowed.
But it was Smith who wound up with the victory-sealing interception at the end of Seattle's NFC championship game victory over the San Francisco 49ers two weeks ago, grabbing the football after Sherman tipped it away from receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone.
And then, in the biggest game of all, Smith's pick-six made it 22-0 late in the first half Sunday, and Seattle was on its way. He grabbed a fumble in the third quarter, too, as the Seahawks made sure the Broncos never made things interesting.This article is over 3 years old
‘Loss’ of valuable 1634 Rembrandt etching and 1504 Durer engraving led to resignation of library president – but they were found the next day
Boston public library officials say two rare and valuable artworks that vanished last month have been found – and they never left the library.
Library officials say the 1634 Rembrandt etching and 1504 Durer engraving were found on Thursday in the library’s print stacks. Officials say the artworks were misfiled.
The disappearance of the art pieces eventually led library president Amy Ryan to announce her resignation on Wednesday, effective on 3 July, saying her leaving would end a “distraction”.
However, Ryan said in a statement on Thursday that library officials were thrilled to have found the missing pieces right in the library.
The Durer engraving is worth an estimated $600,000 and the Rembrandt etching has an estimated value of $20,000 to $30,000.This story complements the Culinary Journeys TV series, airing monthly on CNN International. See more of the show here: cnn.com/journeys. Share photos of your own Culinary Journeys on Instagram with the hashtag #CNNFood for a chance to be featured on CNN.
(CNN) — Two Norwegian phenomena worth experiencing above all others? White nights and black coffee.
In the height of midsummer, the sun doesn't set for months in Norway's Arctic north -- and nearly 11 p.m. in the southern capital Oslo. Norwegians seize their short summer with both hands.
They head to their cabins, to forest, mountain or fjord, and enjoy alfresco meals topped off with kokekaffe -- steeped coffee -- prepared over an open fire.
Like their long summer days, Norwegian coffee is a little lighter than the rest of us are used to.
The light roast is a Norwegian tradition. It suits single-origin coffee, and illuminates the fruity flavors and unique characteristics obscured by darker roasts.
As the rest of the world gets serious about coffee origins and roast profiles, the Norwegian way is spreading.
Light roast
Coffee has "been a huge part of our culture for many years," says Tim Wendelboe, 2004 World Barista Champion, 2005 World Cup Tasting Champion and owner of the Tim Wendelboe coffee shop, micro-roastery and training center in Oslo.
A light roast reveals more of the coffee's aromas, he explains, and is best served black and slightly cooled, so that "the sweetness comes through."
The elegant coffee served at Wendelboe's -- in bespoke ceramics, shaped to coffee type, on handmade wooden trays -- is more akin to a tea ceremony than a casual cup of energy-juice.
Iced coffees, such as their Kenyan Gachatha -- recipe here -- are served cube-free and in wine glasses.
For single-origin purists, creating coffee blends is like mixing an Italian Abrusco with an Argentinian Malbec. Sure, it tastes fine, but why mess with the unique character?
A light roast also has the side effect of revealing any flaws at origin, exposing old coffee as woody and inferior beans as bitter. Wendelboe is serious about protecting the quality of his product, from farm to cup.
Related content 18 Norwegian foods you've probably never heard of
Last year he bought a farm in Colombia and his Oslo coffee shop stopped serving pastries because he wasn't happy with the consistency of the product.
If it's good-quality coffee, "you don't need to roast it a lot in order to cover up the defects," he adds.
"I spend so much time trying to improve the quality of the green coffee at farm level it would be a pity to cover it up by roasting it too much."
A nation of coffee lovers
2013 report by Euromonitor found that Norwegians get through 7.2 kilograms of coffee per person per year -- making them the world's biggest consumers of the dark stuff after their neighbors in Finland.
Coffee-drinking flourished in Norway when the country began trading its plentiful fish supplies for American beans in the 1800s.
A period of prohibition, followed by high alcohol prices that remain today, maintained its status as the social drink of choice for many.
"We had to pay a lot of taxes on alcohol; it was too expensive and coffee is still very cheap. That's why it has stayed as the social drink," explains Wendelboe.
Modern cafe culture
However, until 20 years ago, says Wendelboe, "coffee was not drunk outside of the home."
Norway benefited from the same post-Starbucks boom that saw the first wave of Seattle-style coffee shops spring up across Europe in the late '90s.
Wendelboe started out in 1998 at Stockfleths, a coffee house founded in 1895 but reinvented a century later, and now a citywide chain.
Norway's position as coffee contenders on the global stage was solidified when Norwegian Robert Thoreson became the first ever World Barista Champion in 2000.
The opening of Wendelboe's own shop in Oslo's hip Grunerlokka district in 2007 coincided with the latest boom in coffee appreciation and innovation.
Related content Greenlandic coffee: The Arctic cure for cold weather
"I'm really excited that now we're seeing a lot of people opening up roasteries.
"I embrace diversity. I know it's more competition for me, it sort of keeps me focused on doing an even better job.
For the consumers it's a lot more to choose from. Also for the coffee producers it's great that more and more people are getting into higher quality and willing to pay a little more for their coffee."
The perfect cup?
And in the era of AeroPress, pourovers, single-origin beans and roasting profiles, what's the secret to making a good home-brewed coffee?
"It's not really about actual preparation technique. You can make good coffee on most of them, you just need to learn how.
"Use the equipment that you have, make sure it's clean, then go to the website brewmethods.com and look at the techniques for that particular brewing method.
"The only thing you need to focus on then is buy good coffee. Also get a grinder, because you need to grind your own beans."
Related content 8 of the world's best cities for coffee
And if you're having some "cowboy coffee" kokekaffe on your campfire this summer?
"Just boil the water, put the coffee in the pot and let it steep for four minutes and then pour.
"It tastes incredible. You get all the oils and much more viscosity and also a little bit of grit."
We asked Wendelboe and his team for their favorite coffee shops around Oslo.
Here are some of the best.
Supreme Roastworks
This friendly Grunerlokka micro-roastery is a short walk from Tim Wendelboe's. Customers might be served by Odd-Steiner Tollefsen, co-owner and the 2015 World Brewers Cup champion.
Says Wendelboe, "It's a fantastic place, so hospitable. You feel like you've been friends with them forever as soon as you step in."
Fuglen
A cafe, bar and vintage furniture store, Fuglen is kitted out like the '50s living room of the hip Scandinavian aunt we always wished we had.
The menu sporadically includes Tim Wendelboe Coffee and Juice cocktail and Mountain Crow: rum, bitters, lemon, syrup and crowberries -- little black berries native to northern climes.
Java and Mocha
Java, opened in 1997, was one of Oslo's first modern coffee shops. Maureen O'Hare/CNN
Sister shops Java, in Sankthanshaugen, and Mocca, in Briskeby, are temples to design and to coffee, the twin passions of their owner, Robert Thoresen, a former architect who in 2000 became the first ever World Barista Champion.
They're supplied by his roastery, Kaffa.
Vingen
Proving once again that art and coffee are the hallmarks of Scandinavian cool, Vingen is an independent cafe, bar and eatery adjoining Oslo's Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.
The sail-shaped building designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano nods to the museum's maritime setting on the Oslofjord, where the visual feast outside the gallery is as stunning as that inside.
Lille Toyen Kolonial
Off the beaten track in up-and-coming Toyen -- but handy for outings to the Munch Museum or Natural History Museum -- this neighborhood cafe and organic grocery store is in the heart of the Lille Toyen Hageby garden village, built in the 1920s to house local craftspeople.
Co-owner Kaja Rambaek Holmboe Bang has culinary pedigree -- her husband Esben runs Oslo's Maaemo restaurant.
Mathallen
Tim Wendelboe recommends a trip to indoor food hall Mathallen, where Solberg & Hansen -- Norway's largest specialty coffee roaster -- have a coffee and tea store.
"Then outside of the food hall, one or two years old but doing a great job," says Wendelboe, there's cafe-bar Hendrix Ibsen.
Pascal
Pascal: If it's good enough for Bill Clinton, it's good enough for us. Maureen O'Hare/CNN
Pascal is a French cafe and restaurant famous for its patisserie -- Bill Clinton popped into the Henrik Ibsens branch when visiting Oslo in 1999.
At the Tollbugata branch, the retro chrome counter seating is complemented by pistachio-green walls and raspberry-red lampshades.
Liebling
Gronlokka is Oslo's answer to Paris' Canal Saint Martin district: hip, gentrified, and with opportunities for leafy waterside strolls and hanging out at artisan eateries.
Friendly and informal cafe-bar Liebling serves blondies with cute butterfly motifs and -- true to its German name -- seems popular with a local German language meetup group who use the cafe as a hangout.
Stockfleths
Citywide chain Stockfleths is "where everyone starts out," says Julia Richardson, barista at Java.
Fellow Stockfleths alumni Wendelboe agrees.
"For me, it's kind of nostalgic," he says. "I prefer the one by the Parliament. They just refurbished it and it's a beautiful little small space in downtown."
Stockfleths, Lille Grensen 4, 0159 Norway; + 47 28 51 88 82; stockfleths.as
Kaffebrenneriet
Founded in 1994, Kaffebrenneriet is a chain of Norwegian coffee shops that sprang up during the first post-Starbucks wave of European coffee shops in the '90s.
One local enthusiast, Nina, remarks: "It's not cool to like chains, but Kaffebrenniert is a good chain."
Coming soon
The legendary Grand Cafe on Karl Johans Gate, where Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen would lunch each day on herring, beer and Aquavit, closed last year after 140 years in business, due to lack of profitability.THE SNP scored a double victory today in the Aberdeen City Council by-election.
Alex Nicoll was elected in the Midstocket/Rosemount ward in the fourth stage of counting, while Michael Hutchison won the George Street/Harbour ward in the first stage.
Mr Nicoll got 1,168 votes and Mr Hutchison 961.
Turnout in Midstocket/Rosemount was 2,872 (from a total electorate of 11,825). In the George Street/Harbour ward it was 1,898 (from 12,179).
Aberdeen City Council now looks like this: Labour – 17, Conservatives – 2, Independent Alliance – 3, SNP – 16, Liberal Democrat – 5.
The full results were:
Midstocket/Rosemount
Howard Gemmell (Scottish Labour Party) 605 votes
Tom Mason (Scottish Conservative and Unionist) 672 votes
Ken McLeod (Scottish Liberal Democrats) 238 votes
Alex Nicoll (Scottish National Party) 1,168 votes
Jennifer Phillips (Scottish Green Party) 170 votes
George Street/Harbour
Brian Davidson (Scottish Conservative and Unionist) 195 votes
Euan Davidson (Scottish Liberal Democrats) 96 votes
Michael Hutchison (Scottish National Party) 961 votes
Alex Jarvis (Scottish Green Party) 136 votes
Mike Scott (Scottish Labour Party) 490 votesW. Scott Frame and Joseph Tracy
The Government’s Role in Mortgage Finance
Private Sector Capital and Mortgage Credit Risk
Bolstering Program Evaluation
Foreclosure Prevention
Improving Mortgage Design
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.
How to cite this blog post:
W. Scott Frame and Joseph Tracy,, “At the New York Fed: The Appropriate Government Role in U.S. Mortgage Markets,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Liberty Street Economics (blog), August 23, 2017, http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2017/08/at-the-new-york-fed-the-appropriate-government-role-in-us-mortgage-markets.html.
While the U.S. mortgage finance system was at the center of the recent financial crisis, it remains largely untouched by legislative reforms. At the center of these conversations are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—both of which were placed into federal conservatorship in September 2008. Now, nearly nine years later, the fate of these two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and the prospect of related changes to the mortgage finance system are once again a focus of policy discussion. In this post, we summarize the main themes of a recent New York Fed workshop where policymakers, academics, and practitioners gathered to consider the future structure of the U.S. housing finance system. The April 27-28 workshop “The Appropriate Government Role in U.S. Mortgage Markets” was organized by the New York Fed in association with the Board of Governors, the Atlanta Fed, the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The conference agenda, with links to the presentation slides, is available online. The workshop was designed around broad themes that are relevant for mortgage finance reform, rather than comparisons of specific reform proposals. What follows is a summary of these broad themes.Several presenters set the stage for our discussions. U.S. home prices nearly doubled between 2000 and early 2006, and then rapidly declined by about one-third as the financial crisis and the Great Recession unfolded. Paul Willen shows that the ratio of house prices to annual rents rose substantially during the housing boom—a pattern consistent with the view that speculative demand was driving house price appreciation. Susan Wachter notes that, during the same time, there were real estate booms and busts across many countries with different mortgage finance systems. This suggests a common underlying macro-financial dynamic. Atif Mian summarizes research across countries and periods on the connection between mortgage debt overhangs created by housing busts and subsequent economic performance.The U.S. government’s primary role in this market has been to provide mortgage insurance programs and secondary market guarantees (explicit and implicit) for mortgage-backed securities (MBS).Government mortgage insurance programs are operated by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and the Rural Housing Service and facilitate lending to borrowers with little-to-no down payment and weak credit histories. Virtually all such loans are securitized, with cash flows guaranteed by Ginnie Mae—a government corporation.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, on the other hand, are GSEs—quasi-private/quasi-public companies chartered by Congress to facilitate liquidity in the broader secondary conforming-conventional mortgage market. Like Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee principal and interest payments on MBS, and investors have long viewed these two institutions as benefitting from an implicit government backstop. Securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac are often collectively referred to as “Agency MBS.”As discussed by W. Scott Frame, the GSEs have been tasked with many policy goals over the years, including establishing a nationally integrated mortgage market, promoting homeownership, and, more recently, enhancing financial stability. Wayne Passmore discusses the pre-crisis prescriptions for GSE reform and the degree to which they were attained by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008. The most important remaining area to address is whether the government should move away from implicit guarantees for the GSEs (or their replacement) and shift to an explicit and priced government guarantee for catastrophic mortgage credit risk. Jane Dokko points out the tradeoffs involved in designing government policy to support affordable housing—such as that between risk-based pricing to better align guarantee premiums to default risk and cross-subsidization to lower premiums for more constrained households (see Kris Gerardi's presentation for a detailed discussion and analysis in the context of GSE credit guarantees). Barry Zigas emphasizes that any reformed system should maintain a clear focus on ensuring that mortgage credit is accessible and affordable, suggesting a three-pronged approach including quantitative and qualitative assessments.A second theme concerns how housing finance can bring in more private sector capital to bear mortgage credit risk, while maintaining the liquidity benefits from the “to be announced” (TBA) forward market for Agency mortgage-backed securities. James Vickery points out two key requirements for a functional TBA market are standardization and credible guarantees against mortgage default. Aurel Hizmo finds that TBA market liquidity reduces mortgage rates to borrowers by 20 basis points, on average. Andrew Davidson argues that private capital can be attracted to the secondary mortgage market through the rapidly developing credit risk transfer (CRT) market. However, he believes that to do so, housing finance reform must accomplish the following objectives: (1) limit the number of securitizers to maintain standardization and reduce “race to the bottom” dynamics; (2) establish an explicit government tail-risk guarantee designed using a vintage model; and (3) ensure risk retention by originators to maintain proper underwriting incentives.A third theme emerging from the workshop is that program evaluation needs to be given greater emphasis. This would enable policymakers to better assess whether government programs are meeting their goals and to learn how to improve programs over time, based on experience. Deborah Lucas stresses that any housing subsidies should be well targeted, on budget, and funded through broad-based taxes. This stands in very sharp contrast to the existing GSE model. The extent of government subsidies to housing needs to be evaluated holistically given the multiple sources of subsidy; and the expected cost to the government from these subsidies should account for covariance across risks for different government programs (see the presentation by Brent Ambrose and Zhongyi Yuan for more). Donghoon Lee and Joseph Tracy illustrate how new data capabilities allow for more extensive analysis of government housing goals such as “sustainable homeownership.” This is particularly important for FHA mortgage insurance.A fourth theme, as stressed by Karen Dynan, is that financial stability would be enhanced by having effective foreclosure prevention programs in place in case housing markets come under stress again in the future. This involves two distinct elements.First, as emphasized by Itzhak Ben-David, it is important to have clear ex ante delegation of responsibility for mortgage interventions. He specifically notes that incentive conflicts, such as those between first- and second-lien holders, need to be avoided.Second, we should learn from the crisis about the types of interventions that worked best to reduce foreclosures. Chandler Lutz provides such an analysis of the California Foreclosure Prevention Laws.A final theme is to consider variants of the thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage that may better support financial stability. Indeed, this was the theme of a previous New York Fed conference. Affordability concerns have led to government support for very low down-payment mortgages by the FHA, but at a cost of high default rates. More up-front equity by the borrower would reduce the default rate, but would require the borrower to provide more cash at closing. Stephen Oliner describes a new mortgage product that reduces this tension by increasing the rate at which borrowers build equity over time. This should reduce the default rate while not requiring the borrower to provide more cash at closing.Morten Nielsen, stepping in for Jesper Berg, discusses how in Denmark low default rates are supported by stronger recourse and shorter foreclosure timelines.Another week, another heartbreaker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who, up 21–17 on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats heading into the fourth quarter, lost 31–21. That leaves them at 0-5 heading into Week 6—the only team in the league without at least two wins.
In this week’s roundtable, featuring members of Sportsnet.ca’s CFL panel on three hot-button issues, we discuss how much Roughriders coach Corey Chamblin should be to blame for the team’s rough start, plus look at the impact of even more injuries to high-profile offensive stars.
1. Should Corey Chamblin’s job be in jeopardy?
Bennett: No. I’m of the belief that coaches don’t become smarter or subsequently dumber overnight. Chamblin led the Riders to victory in the 101st Grey Cup. If fired, Chamblin would be hired elsewhere in no time and the Riders would still have serious roster and health issues to manage.
Dunk: Yes. Chamblin has taken over defensive play-calling duties and it hasn’t gone well. Plus, some late-game decisions have been questionable and in four close losses those stand out.
Thomas: No. There is still a lot of time remaining in the season and the Riders are not out of it at all. It is not Chamblin’s fault that the team lost Darian Durant in the opener, and still the Riders have remained competitive. I say they turn this around soon.
Madani: If firing Corey Chamblin will heal Darian Durant’s Achilles, or Kevin Glenn’s shoulder, then absolutely, in a heartbeat. Otherwise, what possible good would it do to fire a coach right now who doesn’t have a competent quarterback? Look, Chamblin’s had his faults through five games: short yardage has been an adventure; defensive backs haven’t adjusted to the new rules; the pass rush is non-existent; and his decisions in overtime (deciding to settle for a field goal on third and one? Really?) have been bizarre. But moving forward, a coaching change doesn’t fix the problem—it just calls for a time of death on the 2015 season.
2. Jon Cornish’s thumb injury means ______?
Bennett: We will learn about his pain threshold and the Stamps’ depth at RB. A scaphoid fracture is a tough one to heal because the bone doesn’t get much blood, but once they put a pin in it theoretically he could play with a cast. But playing with one hand might not be worth it in a passing league. Leaning on the best natural passer in the league in Bo Levi Mitchell isn’t the end of the world.
Dunk: Calgary shifts to using an import at running back. Martell Mallett shouldered the load last season when Cornish went down and it appears Tory Harrison will do the same this year. It sets the scene for Cornish to make another triumphant return and strong run down the stretch.
Thomas: The Stampeders have survived without their star player before and should be able to do it again. That being said, the fact the Stamps are hurting on the offensive line as well means Bo Levi Mitchell will be in tough considering defences don’t have to worry about Cornish for awhile.
Madani: That the Stampeders will have to tweak what they did offensively the first nine weeks of last season when they were without their star tailback. Issue is, they’re missing many of their 2014 receiving options (Price, Lewis, Cunningham) and with the offensive line injuries, Bo Levi Mitchell remains under siege. The Stamps will be fine losing Cornish for six to eight weeks on a non-knee/leg/foot injury—he’ll return fresh and healthy when the weather gets worse and many players league-wide are battered from the toll of a long season.
3. With the rash of QB injuries, will back-up quarterbacks (and their agents) around the league now have more leverage in contract negotiations moving forward?
Bennett: A resounding yes. Right now we’re on pace for the majority of teams to have more offensive snaps without their starting QB than with him. The strength of the QB room as a whole and not just the top of the depth chart will become paramount in the CFL.
Dunk: It should help beef up active incentive clauses for quarterbacks who can stay healthy. Signal callers that keep themselves on the field deserve to be paid for it.
Thomas: It is hard to predict injuries and it is also hard to project how a backup QB will do once he takes over. Kevin Glenn should command more money because he is a solid backup as opposed to someone like Trevor Harris who hasn’t proven he can he consistently do it year after year.
Madani: Slightly, and only if they’re a legitimate, established No. 2. The Kevin Glenns of the world may benefit, but often in this league so many quarterbacks are unknown, unpolished talents. Unless you’ve accomplished something in this league, your leverage is zero.HMCS Fredericton joins Exercise JOINT WARRIOR today along with various international military forces gathering for the semi-annual exercise, the Canadian Forces said in a news release.
Two RCAF CP-140 Auroras will also take part to the exercise.
Fredericton and other Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) warships, as well as the two RCAF CP-140 Auroras, will participate in the semi-annual training exercise conducted in the coastal waters off the United Kingdom from April 12 to 23, the news release noted. The training is designed to provide NATO and non-NATO forces a multi-warfare environment in which to prepare for global operations.
More details from the news release:
Under the command of SNMG2, HMCS Fredericton will exercise with more than 50 warships in support of 15 countries making it the biggest in the history of the multinational exercise.
Participating ships will conduct a large spectrum of naval exercises including Maritime Interdiction Operations, Air Defence Exercises and Casualty Exercises while operating in an simulated unstable political environment.
The exercise will include air, sea and ground assets from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
HMCS Fredericton is the first modernized frigate to deploy in support of Government of Canada objectives. The ship’s participation in Exercise JOINT WARRIOR will demonstrate its developments in surveillance and information sharing capability.
SNMG2 is comprised of HMCS Fredericton, U.S. flagship, USS Vicksburg (CG 69), Turkish ship TCG Goksu and German oiler FGS Spessart (A 1442).
HMCS Fredericton has participated in NATO-led counter-terrorism patrols and related activities in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas as part of SNMG2 since relieving HMCS Toronto in January.
HMCS Fredericton recently completed her modernization/frigate equipment life extension (HCM/FELEX) refit in November 2014. The ship has upgraded and enhanced capabilities including a new Combat Management System, new radar capability, a new electronic warfare system, upgraded communications and missiles, as well as a new Integrated Platform Management System.
HMCS Fredericton is a Halifax-class frigate with a crew of approximately 250 personnel of all ranks, including a CH-124 Sea King helicopter and air detachment.
The CP-140 Auroras are from 19 Wing Com |
Age (1956 – c.1970)
Bronze Age (c.1970 – c.1985)
Modern Age (1985 – present)
Today we move on to our final list
THE TOP TEN MODERN AGE BATMAN COVERS:
10. Detective Comics #566
You’ve seen this one. They even put it on a t-shirt. Still though, it holds up. Giordano takes ‘rouge’s gallery’ very literally here and by god, it works. Look at that, a cover with Killer Moth made a “best of” list. Congratulations, Killer Moth.
9. Detective comics #699
I’m a sucker for people who utilize negative space in cavalier ways, so I’ll be damned if I don’t love this cover. It is a bit similar to another favorite cover of mine, but this one did it first, so props to Graham Nolan.
8. Batman #453
Mike Mignola did some amazing work on the covers of Batman comics throughout the mid to late 80’s before he went on to create Hellboy. Already though, his voice and his style was so unique that even never having read single Hellboy comic myself (for shame, I know…), I can pick his work out anywhere, just because his Batman covers are so ingrained in my mind. Here he’s doing zombie chic before it became cool again. Graveyard, zombies and Batman – ingredients for a memorable cover if ever there were any.
7. Batman #400
This cover has always reminded me, of Dave Mckean’s work on Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth; the lithe, gesticulating batman, the mad, expressionist portrayal of the Joker, the random faces, bats, the moon, shadows, a skull – all archetypal building blocks of a grand and morbid visual trip. I loved it then and I love it now.
6. Batman #677
Thank god I managed to get an Alex Ross cover in here somewhere. This man stands alone in the comic art world and I’d be so ashamed if I didn’t get to mention that at least once on these lists somewhere. While Ross’ realism is his biggest asset I must admit that it has always been a double edged sword for me when I view his interpretation of Batman – look at his eye(s). You can see his eyes… this still seems crazy to me, but I just cannot help that I prefer the blank, white oblivion which usually resides there. Seeing his pupils makes me think of Adam West or Michael Keaton… I’m not sure what exactly it is that rubs me the wrong way, I just know I feel weird and it doesn’t sit quite right. But who am I to speak a sour word towards the mighty Alex Ross? The man is an absolute, unmitigated genius – so I’ll gladly stare into Batman’s eyes anytime he decides to allow me to.
Beyond that though, this cover is fantastic not only because of the brilliant illustration but also because of the dual visual metaphor we have here; Batman “r.i.p.”, literally “ripped” – and the fracture of his mind that the story is dealing with. Jezebel is inside his head, helping to tear him apart. Brilliant stuff.
5. Detective Comics #880
Jock! Now here is another man who I think is doing just blow-me-down amazing work nowadays. All the work, Jock did during Scott Snyder’s Detective Comics run was fantastic, but this cover stands out to me as his best, most high-concept and successful piece of the lot. This single image perfectly captures the Joker’s mad bat-obsession perfectly, it is just an impeccable portrait of insanity.
As an aside, let me just say that the Bronze era brought us the horrible UPC box which mars the canvas for me on a lot of Modern Age covers, sure- but what’s worse, and what I remember distinctly being nerd-ragey about when I saw it on another beautiful Jock cover, were the unabashedly gaudy advertisements that publishers cram onto the covers now as well. We know you were making a shitty Green Lantern movie DC, you didn’t have to fuck up some of the best cover art you had put out in a long time to remind us yet again that we didn’t want to see Ryan Reynolds in a green CGI suit.
4. Batman 668
The Modern Age has been bringing it “lately” – sure through some shaky beginnings (the mid 80’s were pretty bad for everyone, in every medium, so comics shouldn’t feel too bad – but once we got to the 90’s – yeah, comics should feel bad for that shit), I was worried that the artistry of comic art had been lost, but soon, slowly, it started creeping back in with a vengeance. J.H. Williams III is of course one of the most unique and medium-defying artists working in superhero comics today. His paneling isn’t even paneling, it’s like an acid trip through the story. His cover work, while obviously more constrained to the size and shape of the cover itself, still manages to come off as exhilarating and fresh. This is one of my favorite “Black Glove” stories, the whole Agatha Christie vibe on The Island of Mr. Mayhew is right up my classic whodunnit alley and when you combine such a strong and brisk script with such strong and incomparable art you’ll still have me swooning, years later.
3. Batman #612
As cliche as it sounds and as much shit as I give the crappy “90’s look” of comics I just cannot look at this cover and not immediately want to buy ten copies and open them all up to read them simultaneously. Jim Lee may be old hat, and I’m not even a big fan of his myself, but when he’s on he’s really on – this is one of those arcs where I think he knocked it out of the park. The Killer Croc cover also always gets me to open up the issue to read – but this one has the advantage solely because Supes is finally putting the beat-down on The Batman after always being shown up… well, not really, in the story Bats repeatedly cracks Supes upside the head with a kryptonite ring until he makes him his bitch… yet again… but nevertheless it is still somehow satisfying to see good ol’ boy, Superman choking the shit out of Bats for once.
2. Batman #404
For as big a douche as Frank Miller is, I still love Year One dearly – Mazzucchelli literally started the arc off with a bang – ingraining it into my memory and the memories of other comics fans world-wide. Sure this image had been done before, plenty of times, but (in keeping with the book’s tone) Mazzucchelli made it new again by being uncompromising, by re-creating it with a unflinching and horrific realism. We’ve seen Bruce’s parents lying dead before, but we’ve never watched them bleed out… that’s definitely a memory, right there.
1. Batman #428
Here it is people! After decades of Robin being “dead” on the cover of Batman comics they finally, really killed the fucker! Seriously though, I love Robin and all – but after almost 50 years of constant foreplay they finally made good on their threats! This is the only cover in Batman history to actually give us a dead Robin.
Sure, the whole Death in the Family story was astoundingly mediocre, but still – DEAD ROBIN!!! The fact that they followed up this issue with this cover makes it even better for me, the Joker looks so damn aristocratic and refined, that’s a ballsy look to take on for someone who just beat a young boy to death with a crowbar.
There we have it – that’s all, folks!
70 years of Batman comics distilled down into four middling lists!
If you’re wondering where the ‘funny’ covers are for this list… well, I’ve got to be honest – I think the mid to late 80’s and early 90’s have the absolute worst covers in that previously mentioned 70 year history, full of ridiculously proportioned characters, horrible hair and gaudy character designs … it takes a strong stomach to sift through all that sort of stuff. Suffice it to say – there were definitely plenty of god-awful covers in this era… and I invite all our masochistic readers to go search them out.
Thanks for reading!The fact that Hugh Grosvenor’s estate is held in a trust means that his £9bn inheritance is likely to remain largely intact
Had the Grosvenor estate bequeathed to the new Duke of Westminster been liable for 40% inheritance tax, the amount owed to the Treasury would have been not far off the government’s entire death duty take for the last financial year.
Hugh Grosvenor, however, avoids a significant cut to his £9bn inheritance because the estate is held in a trust.
Britain’s generous trust law ensures that the country’s largest fortunes are largely kept intact. This is borne out by statistics which show that duties are a modest source of revenue for the Treasury. HMRC collected total tax of £534bn in 2015-16, of which inheritance tax receipts represented £4.7bn.
New Duke of Westminster inherits £9bn fortune aged 25 Read more
“The benefits of trusts are that they don’t form part of somebody’s estate,” says Ian Dyall, a manager at the financial adviser Towry. “In a discretionary trust, you have a whole pick list of potential beneficiaries which the trustees can choose to appoint benefits to. Because of that, you can’t point a finger to any potential beneficiary and say that’s your money. Money can stay in the trust and cascade down from generation to generation and nobody pays inheritance tax on it.”
Instead of one-off taxation, trusts are subject to charges every 10 years from the anniversary of their creation. Known as the inheritance tax periodic charge, it can amount to 6% of the funds held. There are, however, plenty of loopholes. Agricultural and business property relief applies, and the Grosvenor assets will have been managed to take full advantage of that.
The estate has been divided into three portfolios:
Grosvenor
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Eaton Square in central London is the jewel of the 300-year-old Grosvenor estate. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA
The privately owned property business has £11.8bn in assets under management. At its heart is the 300-year-old Grosvenor estate in London, which began in 1677 as 500 acres of land including Mayfair and Belgravia. Its holdings range from hi-tech office space in Silicon Valley and a science park in Edinburgh to the freehold on the current US embassy in Grosvenor Square. The jewel is Eaton Square, built close to Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament during the housing boom that followed the Napoleonic wars.
Run as a separate legal entity with its own chief executive, Grosvenor Group paid £58m in tax on profits of £527m in 2015, and has 520 employees on its payroll. Its holdings are largely expected to qualify for relief from the inheritance tax periodic charge.
“Property is at the frontline over what qualifies and what doesn’t,” said Dyall. “If you run a hotel, that’s a business. If you have a rental property and all you do is collect the rent, that’s not a trading company. That’s an investment.”
Wheatsheaf
Set up in 2012, Wheatsheaf employs 450 people and invests in food, energy and water security. It runs Grosvenor Farms, one of the largest farms in the UK with more than 6,000 acres in Cheshire and a herd of 1,400 dairy cows. Other businesses include the UK’s largest bull stud, Cogent Breeding, and a hydroelectric plant on the Reay Forest estate in Scotland.
With its emphasis on food production, job creation and trading rather than land holding, Wheatsheaf assets are also likely to be exempt from the inheritance tax periodic charge.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The late Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor. Photograph: Grosvenor Estate/PA
Family Investment Office
The Family Investment Office manages rural estates in Sutherland, Lancashire, Spain and the family seat at Eaton Hall near Chester. It also takes care of stock market and other financial investments, the charitable Westminster Foundation, and a fine art collection that includes works by Velásquez, Stubbs, Rembrandt and Lucian Freud. The office employs 470 people across its rural estates. It is likely some of its assets, particularly cash investments, will not qualify for periodic tax relief.Ahmedabad, Oct 13: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday began his two-day tour to Gujarat, where the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been camping ahead of the Assembly election. Addressing a rally in Gujarat’s Valsad, Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on Nehru-Gandhi family and said Rahul Gandhi failed to develop his parliamentary constituency Amethi. The BJP leader visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state as part of the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra being organised by the party.
“Even after ruling there for 14 years Rahul Gandhi did not facilitate the building of a collectorate in Amethi. Congress loses where Rahul Gandhi goes for campaigning,” Yogi Adityanath said in Valsad. “People who couldn’t build a collectorate in Amethi after ruling there for 3 generations, what development will they bring to Gujarat?” Aditynath said while attacking the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Yogi Adityanath took a dig at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said, “A thing was famous about Manmohan Singh. For any approval, he always looked at Nehru-Gandhi family and stayed mum if they said no.” If party sources are to be believed, Adityanath will be one of the star campaigners for the party in the state. After Valsad, he is also scheduled to address a gathering in Surat and in Kutch on Saturday before returning to Lucknow on Sunday. During his visit to Gujarat, the Chief Minister will be meeting businessmen there in a bid to bring investment and business to Uttar Pradesh.
Yogi Adityanath Rakes Up ‘Love Jihad’ in Kerala, Accuses CPM Government of Inaction Against ‘Dangerous Trend’ Read more
According to reports, bringing Yogi Adityanath in Gujarat is part of BJP’s strategy to counter Rahul Gandhi, who has been aggressively campaigning in the poll-bound state by organising road shows. “Yogi Adityanath will visit Gujarat several times to the run-up to the election. He will be one of our star campaigners in the elections,” a BJP leader was quoted as saying. Gujarat will go to poll later this year.
Yogi Adityanath recently visited Kerala where he participated in BJP’s ‘Jan Raksha Yatra’ to protest against the killing of several BJP-RSS activists in the state ever since the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM government came to power last year.Image copyright Ruth Miller Image caption A family friend contacted Terry on Instagram to ask if he would like to contribute to the funeral costs
Footballer John Terry has paid for the funeral of an eight-year-old Chelsea fan, who recently died from leukaemia.
The former England captain donated £1,600 to the family of Tommi Miller, who he met last year.
He told the Cambridge News he was "totally devastated" to hear he had died.
Tommi's mother Ruth Miller said she was "overwhelmed" by the gesture and is also planning to buy a "special headstone" with the money.
She said the family, who live in Thorpe Way, Cambridge, were "very proud" the footballer remembered him.
More on this story and others from Cambridgeshire
Image copyright Ruth Miller Image caption Tommi, who was diagnosed with leukaemia aged three, died last month after an unsuccessful attempt was made to carry out a bone marrow transplant
"When we visited the stadium, you could tell John Terry was really taken by him and his cheekiness but it was still a shock when we heard.
"Tommi obviously made a big impression on him and he was one of his favourite players so it's very special to us," she said.
Tommi, who was diagnosed with leukaemia aged three, died last month after an unsuccessful attempt was made to carry out a bone marrow transplant.
A family friend contacted Terry on Instagram to ask if he would like to contribute to the costs and he replied saying he would "love to help."
Image copyright Tawney Bianca Wenman Image caption John Terry replied to a family friend on Instagram to make the arrangements to pay for Tommi's funeral
When he was told it was £1,600, Terry phoned up the funeral director to arrange the payment.
He said it was a "pleasure" to meet the youngster, adding: "I'm sure his family and friends will give him the send off he deserves."
The funeral will take place on Thursday, with those attending wearing either Chelsea shirts or the Cambridge United strip.As far as I can tell, the rules at this time are purely based in speculation. Having just recently looked into this, I can tell you that the rules are definitely in flux and in conflict between what would make a good game, and what makes for good plots (e. g. Rules on the show aren't always practical).I have found two sources of knowledge. One is what appears to be an abandoned pbwiki (), and the other source appears to still be active:I've found the first link to be useful for initial understanding, while the second goes into further detail. In general, each tile has certain allowed movements, like in chess. In addition to type of movement, each tile can only exist in zones defined by the board colors. Certain tiles also have special abilities that can be used, such as one tile being able to push another tile. There are various rules for "capturing" an opponent's tile, such as pushing it into an invalid zone, or landing on with one of your tiles that is defined as being opposite (disharmonious). You gain points by moving tiles next to each other, to form a "harmony", which just means that they match according to the rules. Your opponent is trying to break your harmonies, and you theirs. Play continues up to a specified number of points are earned, such as 25.I'm still trying to piece together how it works, but it's fun from a game design perspective to make a purely fictional game work in real life.“I have thought that through and tried to apply 20-20 hindsight,” he told some of his guests, as one recalled. “I’m perfectly willing to admit they were right, but even if they were right, I still can’t see how that would have changed the situation.”
He defended his decision to wait to approve airstrikes until last month in Iraq and last week in Syria, saying he wanted first to force Iraq to replace its government with a more inclusive coalition that could draw disaffected Sunnis away from supporting ISIS and take on the task of combating it.
But while Mr. Obama sees bolstering the new Iraqi government as his path to ultimate success on that side of the border, he struck his guests as less certain about the endgame on the Syrian side, where he has called for Mr. Assad to step down and must now rely on the same moderate Syrian rebels he refused to arm in the past.
Mr. Obama acknowledged it would be a long campaign, one complicated by a dearth of intelligence about possible targets on the Syrian side of the border and one that may not be immediately satisfying. “This isn’t going to be fireworks over Baghdad,” he said.
Asked by one of the columnists what he would do if his strategy did not work and he had to escalate further, Mr. Obama rejected the premise. “I’m not going to anticipate failure at this point,” he said.
He made clear the intricacy of the situation, though, as he contemplated the possibility that Mr. Assad might order his forces to fire at American planes entering Syrian airspace. If he dared to do that, Mr. Obama said he would order American forces to wipe out Syria’s air defense system, which he noted would be easier than striking ISIS because its locations are better known. He went on to say that such an action by Mr. Assad would lead to his overthrow, according to one account.
Mr. Obama dwelled on the killings of the two American journalists, Mr. Foley and Mr. Sotloff, telling guests that he had authorized the Pentagon to develop a rescue attempt this summer on the same day the matter was brought to him. It was conducted within days and executed flawlessly, he said. He noted that the United States does not pay ransom to terrorists, but remarked with irritation that President François Hollande of France says his country does not, when in fact it does.Shevonne Polastre is a freelance Technical Writer who assists companies and non-profits. She authors FreeAgentWriter, a blog about the technology world.
Online self-publishing services have given users the tools they need to create, publish and promote their work. These sites allow authors to bypass the process of finding an agent and pitching to publishing houses, a venture that can take months, if not years.
Here are six great sites that will help you publish your work, guaranteeing you a published book that can be sold via different outlets, such as Amazon.
Have another service to suggest? Tell us about it in the comments.
1. Lulu
Lulu allows you to create a variety of books, but also lets you develop digital media. These range from music and ringtones to videos and e-books. With Lulu, you can also scan and digitize your old books, albums, and photos. You are given the option of leaving the book in private view or releasing it to the public.
Before finalizing the book, you are able to download and print a proof of the book, and when your book is ready, you are able to sell it in your customized storefront. Users are able to use Google Book Search (Beta), which puts your book content in Google's search results. When viewers click on the link, they are taken to a Google-hosted web page that links to Lulu. Lulu also provides groups that allow you to sell your book with similar books in a group storefront. Group members share a group blog, forum, and find like-minded individuals for future collaboration efforts.
What makes it unique: Lulu provides an FTP site for uploading files larger than 300MB. In addition, you are able to distribute to third-party sites, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, by purchasing a distribution package.
What it’s missing: You are not able to build your own templates or layouts.
Pricing: Softcovers start at $7.60 and hardcovers at $17.48
2. Blurb
Blurb allows anyone to create any kind of book, from nonfiction to photo, recipe, and more. You can use one of their templates and layouts or import your own design. Once you've created your book, you can choose between making the book open to the public or keeping it private. If you choose to make your book public, it can be sold on the Blurb website. Additionally, you can opt to offer readers a preview of the first 15 pages of your book to help them decide if they want to make a purchase.
To increase your search ranking, you are able to add subtitles, tags, categories, and descriptions. If you are in need of assistance, you can contact a “Custom Bookmaker,” an independent provider who can help you in your book development.
What makes it unique: Blurb offers BookSmart, free software that assists you in developing your book. If you use Typepad or LiveJournal, you are able to import blog entries to create your book. Additionally, Blurb allows you to import images from Flickr, Picasa, and SmugMug. If you are using a Mac, it also integrates with your iPhoto library.
What it’s missing: You are not able to build your own templates or layouts, though you are able to import your own design. Also, the BookSmart software drastically slows down your computer, and there is no online writing collaboration, only photos.
Pricing: Softcovers start at $12.95 and hardcovers at $22.95
(Disclosure: Mashable is partnering with Blurb for our event at SXSW)
3. CreateSpace
CreateSpace was acquired by Amazon in 2005, and similar to Lulu, it provides book publishing and digital media development. Because CreateSpace is a subsidiary of Amazon, it’s easier and quicker to sell your book through Amazon. Like the other sites, you are able to choose between making your book open to the public or private. The only format accepted during the submission process is PDF, which is for both text and images.
What makes it unique: CreateSpace is the only one of the self publishing services that provides you the ability to create your book in Kindle format. Additionally, you are able to immediately assign an ISBN or use an existing one.
What it’s missing: There is no option to create hardcover books. Also, while users can participate in the CreateSpace message boards, it’s lacking some of the social media tools, groups, and messaging that other self-publishing services provide.
Pricing: Standard B&W starts at $3.66 per book; Standard Color starts at $6.55. You can also upgrade to their Pro Plan, which is $39.00 per book. The Pro Plan allows you to keep more from each sale, and pay less when ordering copies.
4. CafePress
CafePress provides a way for people to sell their creations in “shops.” It is a marketplace with over 150 million products (i.e. clothing, gifts, books, etc.). They also provide you with the ability of self publishing your books. Like the others, CafePress also has private and public options. While you are able to upload your book in PDF format, it has to be less than 100 MB. There are different templates you can use based on the type of book you are trying to publish, and you can tailor it the way you see fit.
What makes it unique: CafePress sells a variety of items, such as books, cds, clothing, art, etc. You do not have to be a member to use their self-publishing service.
What it’s missing: There is no option to create hardcover books and it doesn’t have the ease of site navigation like the other services.
Pricing: Prices start at $0.045 per page and a $4 binding fee.
5. WeBook
WeBook combines the joys of self publishing with social media. You are able to write a book alone or collaborate with other writers. The site provides an online text editor for you to write, and you are able to add images from image-hosting sites like Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, etc.
There are two levels of privacy: You can choose who is able to view your writing, and who is able to write the story. Throughout the year, WeBook has submission periods in which you are able to submit your book for consideration for publishing. You can choose to share your royalties with people who have given you helpful feedback and assisted in the development of your book.
What makes it unique: You are able to collaborate with different writers, and be part of various groups. Writers rate and review submitted books, and the ones with the highest ratings are published by WeBook. Additionally, you can share your royalties with selected reviewers who have provided you with helpful feedback.
What it’s missing: There is no option for you to publish your book, if you desire. It is all dependent on the rating you receive. Also, you are not able to import from another word processor or PDF.
Pricing: $0
6. Xlibris
Xlibris was founded in 1997 and is one of the first self publishing services in the industry. You start the process by having a consultation with one of their consultants about your needs and the correct package to fit those needs. They create the full design of the book and send it to you for feedback and approval. After that, the book is yours and you are able to sell it wherever and to whomever you want.
What makes it unique: You get a free consultation to ensure that you are on the right path. Additionally, they offer leather-bound editions of your book.
What it’s missing: Competitive prices and private/public options.
Pricing: Prices start at $299
More writing resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, kate_sept2004Advertisement
After the letter from USA Cycling’s Micah Rice was made public (read it here), the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation has issued a rebuttal to some of the claims of the letter on its website.
The biggest point the Foundation makes is in the contradictory statements about working with the foundation and its arborists. Rice wrote the following in his letter:
“Sunday afternoon, we did a 90-minute walk-through with the Parks Department and two arborists from the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation, and all sides were pleased with the changes.”
And yet the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation denies that it was present at any walk-through, even on Sunday, stating:
“We did not meet with the event organizer or participate in any walk-through.”
It also points out that Rice was quoted by Velonews in a Sunday report:
There was a walkthrough with Parks staff prior to each day of racing once racing began. The Heritage Tree Foundation was never present, and it would have been the onus of the Parks Department to invite them. “We did not know of this tree group,” Rice said. “That group was never presented to us as a group we were supposed to liaison with. We always understood that if there was a change that needed to be made, per our permit that we had with the city, that that information would come from the person we liaison with [at the Parks Department].”
We’ve reached out to Micah Rice to clarify these contradictory statements. Micah Rice has responded, telling Cyclocross Magazine (and other media via email) the following:
“My understanding was that the two arborists that I met on Sunday afternoon before the walk-through were from this Foundation. They introduced themselves as tree experts that were with a group in town, but it is possible they were with a different group (a misunderstanding on my part) and asked to be there by Parks and Rec. Department. Whatever the case, PARD communicated to me that these arborists must be happy with the changes that we were to make to the course in order to run the races on Monday. It is possible that I was mistaken on the group the tree experts were with. “I think we can continue to beat this to death on a microscopic level, but the main thing is that we did walk-throughs with tree experts that PARD asked us to do. Per our permit and relationship with the city of Austin, we did our due diligence and made every change asked of us by the landowner — in this case PARD.”
Walk-through presence aside, the foundation goes further to distance itself from the actual rescheduling of Sunday’s races that threw a wrench in so many athlete’s lives, financially and emotionally, even when their races went off in a compressed Monday schedule.
While it is clear in its priority to protect the heritage trees, the foundation suggests an irrigation pipe is the reason the races were cancelled on Sunday, and claims ignorance of the actual reasons for the police turning racers away at 7:15 a.m.:
“PARD Ground staff walked the course daily each morning of the race. We think that they found irrigation pipe exposed on Sunday and shut down the race as is standard PARD practice. The heritage trees had been affected with soil compaction since the first day of the race. The rain on Saturday made the impact on the trees worse, but we think that it was primarily the exposed irrigation that led to the race shut down.”
The group also makes some assumptions without knowledge or research as to how our sport works and how scheduling of our National Championship works:
“These races are based on mud. They need mud to make it more challenging. We feel that if it hadn’t rained, the organizers would have wetted the course to make it challenging. We think that the event was scheduled intentionally during the time when it typically rains in Austin.”
Stay tuned as Cyclocross Magazine attempts to get to the bottom of this story. Also, see a cyclocrossing arborist’s opinion on the postponed Nationals.
Ed. note: We at Cyclocross Magazine are fully supportive of protecting heritage trees and simply wished concerns could have been voiced and possibly addressed before the 11th hour to avoid any rescheduling of National Championship races. If the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation would also contact a cyclocrosser, or cyclocrossing arborist or arborist cyclocrosser, much of their ignorance about our sport could be erased and such assumptions don’t have to be made. We’re happy to answer any cyclocross questions the foundation has. Contact us.On July 22, Wikileaks released 20,000 DNC emails, exposing DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC staff of sabotaging Bernie Sanders’ campaign. In the wake of the fallout, Wasserman Schultz formally resigned from her position as DNC chair, only to be replaced by another Clinton surrogate, DNC vice chair Donna Brazile.
Rather than allowing Wasserman Schultz’s career to go down with her resignation, Clinton has awarded Wasserman Schultz a new role as honorary chair to the Clinton campaign’s 50-state program.
“There’s simply no one better at taking the fight to Republicans than Debbie—which is why I am glad that she has agreed to serve as honorary chair of my campaign’s 50-state program to gain ground and elect democrats in every part of the country, and will continue to serve as a surrogate for my campaign nationally, in Florida, and other key states,” Clinton announced.
.@HillaryClinton says Debbie Wasserman Schultz will serve as "honorary chair" of campaign's 50-state program pic.twitter.com/nvix7RrxeF — BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 24, 2016
Wasserman Schultz, who also served as Clinton’s 2008 campaign co-chair, should be banned from the Democratic Party for overtly violating the DNC Charter. Instead, she has been rewarded for rigging the Democratic primaries, with a new job where she can continue the corrupt brand of politics she perfected as DNC chair.
Of course, Wasserman Schultz’s resignation won’t serve as a catalyst for reform in the Democratic Party. By moving Wasserman Schultz to a different role within the party, her duties and authority will remain essentially the same.
Such damage control posing as reform is just the latest slight to progressives and Sanders supporters by the Clinton campaign. Many view the selection of Sen. Tim Kaine as an antithetical move to the progressive movement energized by Sanders. Members of the Democratic Convention panels selected by Clinton and Wasserman Schultz are current or former corporate lobbyists. Sanders’ efforts to have former Congressman Barney Frank and Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy removed from the panels were rejected. Malloy is currently under an ethics investigation, and Frank was recently named in a Ponzi Scheme lawsuit, according to IBTimes.
Perhaps the only saving grace in Wasserman Schultz’s resignation is that the move reaffirms the authenticity of the leaked DNC emails. It will also provide her Democratic primary challenger, Tim Canova, with momentum leading up to August 30—when voters in South Florida decide whether or not to keep Wasserman Schultz in Congress. If Wasserman Schultz fails to win reelection, Clinton will surely find another job for her if she wins the presidency.
Hillary Clinton’s political machine, has refused to budge when it comes to making meaningful reforms. Bernie Sanders has yet to revoke his endorsement of Clinton, even as Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has pushed him to do the right thing for America. Regardless of what Sanders chooses to do, his supporters will continue the revolution—and will never reward the Democratic Party for corrupting democracy.As previously revealed, Mass Effect: Andromeda will have a day one patch that will add significant improvements to the game’s performance; however, this update could arrive a little ahead of schedule. How is it possible? Explanations are given below.
BioWare, the development company, explained that Mass Effect: Andromeda is already in its Gold phase and also stated that they are already working hard on the day one patch, which they hope to have ready for debut but not with the general launch of the game, but with the arrival of this title to EA/Origin Access, the platform that allows to play games in advance to the subscribers.
The new installment of the franchise will then seek to be ready, with everything and its first great patch, for the 16th of March, on which date the title will arrive to EA Access on Xbox One and Origin Access on PC. At least this was stated by Producer Michael Gamble and General Manager Aaryn Flynn.
On Twitter, a user asked if the day one patch will arrive on March 16 to which Flynn said “Yes that’s the plan.” Gamble also intervened in this statement commenting that “No promises yet. But we are working hard to make that a reality.”
For its part, the official launch of the game will take place a few days later, on March 21, day the title will debut on all platforms without subscription restrictions.Downtown residential development continues. In fact, there are more residential units underway in and around downtown than at any time since the Lofts @ Elk Terminal brought market-rate luxury apartment living to downtown in 2002.
Thirteen projects are in various stages of construction with a total of 310 units. In addition, seven projects have been completed so far this year with 49 units and developers have announced plans for another 486 units in eight projects. Along with projects announced in prior years that have not yet started, the unit count downtown could nearly double. There have been 1,272 units completed since Lofts @ Elk Terminal came on line.
Underway
Evergreen Lofts – 117-145 Cherry Street
The largest project underway is the Evergreen Lofts Supportive Apartments with 56 units available to low- and very low-income individuals and families. The five-story building overlooks the Kensington Expressway and Fruit Belt neighborhood.
The Sinclair – 465 Washington Street
The six-story former Educational Opportunity Center building at 465 Washington Street is getting new life and a new name. Ciminelli Real Estate Corp’s ‘The Sinclair’ will feature 45 apartments plus 7,500 sq.ft. of retail and office space.
Stanton Building – 251 Main Street
Paul Kolkmeyer is converting the Stanton Building located at 251 Main Street into residences and a small amount of office space fronting Main Street. The five-story, circa-1873 building will contain 36 one-bedroom, 1-1/2 bath apartments.
Turner Brothers Lofts – 295-305 Niagara Street
Schneider Development is renovating 295-305 Niagara Street into forty market rate apartments and ground floor commercial space. There will be 32 one-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 804 to |
be spending my time with (the answer is Leah. Or Haley. Or is it Penny…). I’ve made checklists, sent text messages to myself to avoid forgetting important things, and constantly compared playstyles and notes with my brother, who is playing as well. I also find myself humming the music all the time, which is amazingly catchy and well crafted. My desire to turn the game on at this very moment is palpable. But my desire to tell you how good it is overrides it, if only for a brief period. Then I keep humming this song.
If you ever loved Harvest Moon and for some reason you have not bought this game yet, do yourself a favor and hop on board. It scratched an itch I wasn’t even sure I still had, but it’s been there all along. Dormant, waiting for the right game to come along. I just didn’t know it would have a new title. Good thing it wasn’t something stupid like Story of Seasons. What a mistake that would be.
Oh.The Pavilion Kuala Lumpur is all decked up for Christmas, on November 24, 2015. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Lavish Christmas trees at shopping centres show that Christians have freedom of religion in Malaysia, according to the website for conservative Muslim group Isma.
Siti Fatimah Ishak, assistant editor with Ismaweb.net, pointed out that there is a 23m-tall Christmas tree at the Pavilion mall in the city centre decorated with Swarovski crystals, and that Christmas trees are also abundant at other shopping centres and hotels here.
“Are the setting up of Christmas trees and parades part of their religious teachings as in the bible? Or is it an effort to promote Christian symbols in the Malay-Muslim land?” Siti Fatimah wrote in an article on Ismaweb.net yesterday titled “Hari Krismas: Adakah penganut Kristian ditindas di Malaysia?” [Christmas Day: Are Christians oppressed in Malaysia?].
She was referring to rumours that 10,000 Christians had joined a 4km Christmas parade at Dataran Bandar Sibu in Sarawak last Saturday.
“This reality once and for all refutes allegations of irresponsible parties that claim that the Christian minority’s right to freedom of religion has been oppressed by the Malay-Muslim majority,” said Siti Fatimah.
She also pointed out that shopping centres play Christmas carols, many of which she said have verses from the Christian Bible.
“Don’t memorise them and sing along without realising that it will destroy your heart and soul in the long run,” Siti Fatimah warned Muslims.
She also said Muslims have been “too tolerant” with the Christians.
“The proof is that Muslims are able to live with other ethnic groups who are free to practise their religion, culture and beliefs without any restrictions. In fact, the rights and privileges of non-Muslims are guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and no party can touch or amend them as they like,” she said.
The Christian minority have complained about not being able to practise their faith freely. The courts have prohibited a Catholic church from using the Arabic word for God “Allah” in its paper, while the authorities have confiscated copies of the Bible on several occasions.
Christianity is also repeatedly demonised, with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) hosting another anti-Christian seminar last Saturday despite the uproar the public university caused when it featured a seminar criticising Christianity last year.
According to an article on Christian website Christianity Today, the Christmas tree associated with the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ has its roots as an ancient symbol of life in winter that was used to worship pagan gods.In a first in the country, the Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday passed the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill, which aims at eradication of social boycott by extra-judicial bodies such as caste panchayats and communities. The bill has a provision for punishment of up to three years and fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the bill was brought as the existing laws were inadequate to curb instances of social boycott. The CM said in addition to the bill, the existing laws such as the Indian Penal Code, laws related to protection of the human rights will be applied in case of violations.
Unprecedented & Historic!
'Prevention of Social Boycott Bill' bill unanimously passed in both the houses of the State. — Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) April 13, 2016
The bill provides for compensation to the victim, which can, in some cases, be recovered from the accused. It has provisions to prevent certain acts that may lead to boycott and withdrawal of cases with the consent of the victim and permission from the court. In case of a withdrawal, the accused will have to perform community services, according to the directives of the court.
First Published: Apr 13, 2016 20:54 ISTSome evangelical Christians believe that recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will bring on the end of the world.
On Wednesday President Donald Trump announced that the US will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the US embassy - which is currently based in Tel Aviv - will move there.
The US and many other nations currently have their embassies in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Donald Trump and evangelical Christians
Evangelicals and Jerusalem
In response to President Trump's announcement theological scholar Dr Diana Butler Bass tweeted her explanation of the link between the recognition of Jerusalem, evangelical Christians, and the apocalypse.
For anyone sceptical that evangelicals would really believe this, or welcome the apocalypse, Bass added:
Bass was joined in her analysis by Professor Matthew Gabriele, an expert in religious violence at Virginia Tech, who tweeted in support of a comment made by Anna Merlan, a reporter with Gizmodo.
The significance of Jerusalem and Israel to evangelicals concerns the 'Third Temple' prophecy.
Since 70 AD when the Romans tore down the 'Second Temple', there has been no Jewish Temple on the site of the Temple Mount.
These have been interpreted by some to suggest that the building of a Third Temple, known as the 'Tribulation Temple', will occur during the period of the Antichrist and bring on the apocalypse.
Numerous evangelicals like me are less enamoured of the recent romance between the church and Republican politics, and worry about moving the U.S. embassy. For us, peacemaking and the pursuit of justice are very high virtues.Share this
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A new image analysis technique combines a machine-learning algorithm and microscopic imaging to distinguish between two key cancer cell types associated with tumor progression.
The approach could help in pre-clinical screening of cancer drugs and shed light on a cellular metamorphosis that is associated with more malignant and drug-resistant cancers.
The epithelial-mesenchymal transition, or EMT, is a process by which more docile epithelial cells transform into more aggressive mesenchymal cells. Tumors with higher numbers of mesenchymal cells are often more malignant and more resistant to drug therapies.
“We know that there are these different cell types interacting within tumors and that therapeutics can target these cells differently,” says Susan Leggett, a doctoral student in Brown University’s pathobiology graduate program and lead author of a paper describing the technique in Integrative Biology. “We’ve developed a model that can pick out these cell types automatically and in an unbiased way. We think this could help us better understand how these different cell types respond to drug treatment.”
Generally speaking, the two cell types can be distinguishable by their shapes. Epithelial cells are more compact in appearance, while mesenchymal cells appear more elongated and spindly, both in their overall appearance and in the appearance of their nuclei.
“It’s not hard to distinguish the two in the most extreme instances,” says Ian Y. Wong, assistant professor of engineering at Brown and the senior author of the research. “But sometimes the shape differences are subtle and it can be hard for humans to recognize the difference, which makes categorizing the two a bit arbitrary. The innovation here is that we can train a computer to pick out those more subtle variations.”
Training the algorithm
That training was done by using an epithelial cell line, cultured in a petri dish, that serves as a model for human breast cancer. The researchers activated a transcription factor called Snail that is well known to cause these cells to quickly undergo an extreme form of EMT. Those cells, imaged before and after the transition, served as a training set to teach the algorithm to distinguish between the two cell types.
The researchers showed that, after training, the algorithm was able to categorize individual cells as either epithelial or mesenchymal with greater than 92 percent accuracy.
The team then used the algorithm to analyze sets of cells that undergo EMT triggered by pathways less well studied than that used in the training set. They treated epithelial cells with a compound called TGF-beta1, which promotes rapid cell growth and is also thought to induce EMT. They showed that the growth factor induced EMT more slowly than in the training set, and produced changes in cell shape that were subtler. Still, the algorithm was able to classify the cells after EMT with a high degree of confidence.
The trouble with Taxol
In a third experiment, the researchers looked at epithelial cells treated with the chemotherapy drug Taxol. Recent research has suggested that Taxol and other drugs, when delivered in sub-lethal doses, could induce EMT in the cells they fail to kill. In that way, the drugs may actually prime the tumors to become more drug resistant.
The experiment found that while sub-lethal Taxol created a range of cell shapes, more than 70 percent of those could be classified by the algorithm as mesenchymal.
It’s a preliminary finding that will require much more study to fully understand, Wong says. But it could shed light on how tumors become resistant to Taxol and other drugs.
“The acquisition of drug resistance and subsequent tumor relapse remains poorly understood,” Wong says. “This work suggests that EMT could be a mechanism through which tumors become more resistant.”
With more development, the researchers think their technique could provide a new means to screen the effectiveness of cancer drugs.
“When we do initial lab testing of drugs, we put cells on a plate, apply the drug, and see what lives and what dies,” Wong says. “This could provide us with a more nuanced picture of the drug’s effects, and help us to see whether sub-lethal doses may prime cells for resistance.”
A third type of cell?
Wong says that another intriguing result from the study was that while the algorithm categorized most cells with high confidence, about 10 percent of cells in each of the experimental groups seemed to defy categorization. It’s possible, the researchers say, that this indicates an intermediate cell type that is somewhere between epithelial and mesenchymal.
“People have wondered if there might be more than two cell types of interest,” Wong says. “We can’t say for sure at this point, but we might be picking up a third type. That’s something we’ll be looking at in future work.”
The National Institutes of Health, the COBRE Center for Cancer Research Development at Rhode Island Hospital, a Rhode Island Foundation Medical Research Grant, Jason and Donna McGraw Weiss, and Brown University funded the study.
Source: Brown UniversityVia Jonathan Haidt, here’s a new story about an administrator at Claremont McKenna College in SoCal who was forced out today:
NOVEMBER 12, 2015 STEVEN GLICK 4 COMMENTS Earlier today, Mary Spellman resigned from her position as Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students at Claremont McKenna College. The resignation occurred in response to a protest that occurred yesterday, which was centered on the idea that Dean Spellman had not done enough to create a safe space on campus for students from marginalized backgrounds. The protests were catalyzed by an email Spellman sent to a student in response to an article that student had written for The Student Life earlier this week.
Within the first weeks of school, I told an upperclassman Latino that I felt like I was admitted to fill a racial quota. Why would they want me here? Impostor syndrome is prevalent among first-generation students. These feelings caught me by surprise as I had never known what it felt like to be the “minority” in my predominantly immigrant, low-income Latinx hometown.
The week after classes started, I cried at the Chicanx/Latinx New Student Retreat, where I felt comfortable enough to voice my concerns about the school. Feelings of inadequacy have haunted me throughout my time at CMC, and my struggles with anxiety and depression first arose at the end of my second year. Students of color often report feeling unwelcome at predominantly-white institutions, and CMC is far from an exception. Our campus climate and institutional culture are primarily grounded in western, white, cisheteronormative upper to upper-middle class values. Last school year, approximately 60 percent of undergraduate students did not qualify for financial aid based on ability to pay. And it was homophobia and transphobia on campus that encouraged me to complete a gender studies sequence. My second year on campus, the LGBTQ-related posters in the Stark elevator were consistently being ripped, written on, and literally clawed at. The CMC administration knows the college needs a lot of work. As mentioned in their most recent Campus Climate Task Force (CCTF) report: “By some, CMC is perceived as an institution that fails to prioritize diversity and lacks sensitivity to diversity issues.” In a formal report released by CMC in 2013, the Climate Task Force, which was composed of students, faculty, and staff, agreed that the college needs to do considerably more to support its students of marginalized identities and backgrounds. In fact, the report outlines CMC’s long history of resisting this type of change.
What happened was that student Lisette Espinosa sent Dean Spellman an article Espinosa had written. Here’s a representative sample:“Latinx” is a new one for me.Here’s the fatal email the Dean sent in reply:
Obviously, the administrator was agreeing with the aggrieved minority, but reading comprehension isn’t a strong suit among the campus mob.
If you are a white grownup employed on a college campus, it seems like the safest tactic in 2015 is to have zero individual dealings with members of the neo-privileged classes. Just give them all As, but otherwise insulate yourself from any interaction with them beyond the blandest, most pro-forma.
I first wrote about Claremont McKenna’s troubles providing the Diverse with a Comfortable Climate eleven years ago in “Hate Hoax.”AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party is looking for a new executive director weeks after its candidates were routed by Republicans up and down the ballot.
Will Hailer, who has held the position for 20 months, is stepping down Dec. 31 to take a consulting job outside Washington, D.C., the party announced Friday morning. It said Hailer will help with a “nationwide search” for his replacement.
In a statement, party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called Hailer’s departure “bittersweet,” crediting him with helping field a Democrat this year in every Texas county and overseeing 300 staffers across the state on Election Day. Those accomplishments, Hinojosa added, “would not have been possible without Will Hailer’s direction, passion, and dedication.”
Under Hailer’s leadership, Texas Democrats set their sights on ending their 20-year losing streak in statewide races. They got help from groups like Battleground Texas, which came to the state to much fanfare a few months before Hailer. Their efforts were dealt a major blow on Election Day when Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis lost to Republican opponent Greg Abbott by a wider-than-expected margin.
Still, Hailer said in a statement that the party “accomplished more than anyone thought was possible.”
Hailer came to the party in May 2013 from Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison’s office. The party said he will head next year to Arlington, Va., to join BerlinRosen Public Affairs as a vice president in the Campaign and Creative Services Division.
See the counties where Texas Democrats actually took a step backwards in the 2014 midterm elections.Share. And the show's producers continue to experiment with technology. And the show's producers continue to experiment with technology.
As The Simpsons approaches its 30th season, Fox TV's Chairman and CEO Dana Walden doesn't expect the series to come to a close in the near future.
Speaking to journalists following Fox's Television Critics Association summer press tour executive panel, Walden said she sees a long future for the series, especially as its producers continue to innovate.
"I never want to be [at Fox] without The Simpsons," Walden joked. "Jim [Brooks] and Matt [Groening] have so much excitement and enthusiasm and they keep innovating. The stories are so fresh, I really don't see an end to that storytelling. It's certainly not one... something that we've discussed," Walden said.
“ I really don't see an end to that storytelling."
Fox renewed The Simpsons through season 30 late last year, and part of what Walden believes is keeping the series fresh is its willingness to experiment, including a live Homer Simpson segment and a VR couch gag in episodes that aired last year.
"They have a lot [of new ideas for special episodes]," Walden said. "Jim loves new technology, he's spent time meeting with Google. He's experimenting with a lot of different things."
Exit Theatre Mode
Twentieth Century Fox announced at San Diego Comic-Con that The Simpsons DVD releases will resume, starting with season 18 later this year. And Matt Groening has a new animated show coming to Netflix in 2018.
For more from Fox's TCA executive session, read what Fox executives had to say about the future of 24, whether there will be a third season of Wayward Pines, and what to expect from The X-Files' next season.
Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.When it comes to managing an ever-growing to-do list, many people struggle to get everything done. Whether you're a business owner, a solopreneur, or an individual contributor, sometimes it can seem like you have a constant stream of tasks that demand your attention - and before you know it, the day's over and you've only managed to accomplish half of the tasks you needed to complete.
Fortunately, whether it's beating procrastination, communicating more effectively with your team, or keeping on top of your brand's social media presence, there's a range of tools available that can help you to streamline your workload.
In this post, we'll look at 16 of the best tools to help you better manage your workload this summer, helping you beat stress and give yourself more free time in the process.
1. Wunderlist
Wunderlist is an easy-to-use task management tool to help you manage your plans, projects, and other tasks.
Using Wunderlist, you can create to-do lists and use folders to group related lists. You can set due dates and add reminders to those lists too, so there should be no worries about remembering important tasks.
Notes and reminders can be also added through the Wunderlist app, and you can even share lists with colleagues and communicate with your team.
One of the most beneficial and unique aspects of Wunderlist is its use of smart lists. It automatically generates lists based on the day or week on the due dates you've allocated to tasks elsewhere.
While Wunderlist is not as simple or as finessed as the Todoist platform (see below), its feature-rich functionality makes it one of the best tools available. It also integrates seamlessly with other tools, such as Trello (again, see below).
Finally, Wunderlist offers free accounts, as well as a premium option from $4.99 per month. In terms of the features you get, Wunderlist arguably offers the most generous free plan.
2. MyLifeOrganized
If you want to organize your day like a pro, MyLifeOrganized is a top option. It's an incredibly flexible to-do list tool that will, quite simply, help you get stuff done.
With this tool (which also acts as a task management app and personal organizer), you can create detailed to-do lists, but what makes MyLifeOrganized so unique, however, is that it enables you to create hierarchical task lists. This means you can break down tasks into subtasks, and structure your to-dos in terms of importance. It means you can easily break down big projects into small actions and streamline your workload.
With location reminders, the ability to sync the app to the cloud, project tracking capabilities, calendar view, and many other useful features, it's a very well-rounded tool.
MyLifeOrganized offers free accounts for iOS and Android devices, as well as premium accounts from just over a buck per month. The Windows version of the tool is available from $29.95.
3. Any.do
Any.do is one of the most popular task management apps available with more than 11 million users globally. And there's good reason for its popularity.
With the tool (which can also be used as a Chrome browser add-on) you can create and sync all of your tasks, projects, and other to-dos across multiple devices - and share them with others as well.
What makes Any.do stand out from other to-do list apps is that it enables you to prioritize tasks through its 'Moments' feature. Essentially, Moments is a daily planner - each morning, the app will notify you to open Moments. Once you do, you'll get a list of incomplete tasks, which you can organize and prioritize by date with one tap.
With the ability to add attachments, communicate with others, and receive notifications, Any.do is a well-rounded app. Worth considering though - where Any.do falls short compared to other offerings is a lack of integration with other apps and tools.
If you want to streamline projects, to-dos, and recurring tasks, try out Any.do. You can use the tool's standard features for free, but premium accounts cost either $26.99 per year or $2.99 per month.
4. Todoist
Todoist is a task management and to-do list app that's compatible with iOS and Android devices, as well as Chrome, Outlook, and many more.
It's a simple app which offers a versatile selection of truly useful features. You can create to-do lists for assignments, projects, and other tasks you may need to get accomplished. This can reduce some of the stress of a heavy workload and keep you on track with projects.
You can color code tasks based on their level of importance, and reschedule tasks as well.
The app automatically syncs across all of your devices, meaning you won't lose track of your to-do lists.
The best aspect of Todoist is how simple it is - out of all of the tools available, it has one of the simplest, least-clunky user interfaces we've seen.
With apps and extensions for a number of platforms, the ability to share unlimited tasks with anyone, and real time collaboration capabilities, Todoist is a great tool for streamlining a heavy workload.
Todoist offers free accounts, with premium accounts starting at $28.99 per year.
5. Awario
While monitoring brand mentions offers a great deal of value, it's also pretty time-consuming - especially when you've already got a hefty workload.
That's where Awario comes in. This brand monitoring tool enables you to monitor online mentions automatically.
By entering the keywords you want to monitor, you'll be notified each and every time someone mentions your brand. The tool offers real-time data, and enables you to respond to brand mentions from within the app itself.
Best of all, Awario doesn't just track brand mentions on social media; it tracks them on every website out there - whether that's blogs, forums, or any other site.
Finally, you can also prioritize your responses based on the commenter's level of influence, using the tool's useful Reach Metric feature.
Awario offers a free 14 day trial, and premium accounts start at $19 per month.
6. Hootsuite
Promoting your brand on social media is essential nowadays, but uploading posts to social media sites can be a time-consuming and cumbersome task. Enter Hootsuite.
Hootsuite's benefits lie in enabling you to create and schedule social media posts on multiple platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. You simply sync your Hootsuite account with your social media profiles, and start scheduling posts.
Hootsuite also enables tracking of brand mentions - although not as extensively as you can with Awario - and data sharing with team members. It ensures that your social media profiles remain active, even when you're off tackling other projects.
Hootsuite offers free accounts, and premium accounts start at $9.99 per month.
7. Buffer
Buffer is a content publishing platform that enables you to publish and schedule content to social media platforms. It automatically schedules the posts you upload, before publishing them to social networks at times chosen by you.
All you need to do is upload your posts, and Buffer will schedule them at optimum times for you, without the need to enter a time or a date.
Buffer offers free individual accounts, and premium accounts start at $10 a month.
8. Asana
Asana is a project management tool offering a wide range of features that make it easy for teams to track their work.
Incredibly easy to use, Asana features a simple, yet effective user interface. With the tool, you can create tasks and set to-dos, which you can organize into projects. You can then assign duties to your team from within the app.
You can also add reminders, offer updates, and monitor tasks, so that your whole team stays on track with their work. You can even identify tasks by team member and by project.
With real-time collaboration capabilities, and the ability to converse with your team, Asana is a useful tool for anyone managing or working on a team project.
The tool is free for teams of up to fifteen people, and thereafter, premium accounts cost $8.33 a month per member.
9. Basecamp
Basecamp acts as a space where your whole team can work together. You can create projects, organize tasks, allocate assignments, and set deadlines.
Each time you create a new project, the tool automatically invites your selected team members. The app sorts users into different organizations and groups, making it easier to see who's working on what task.
Collaborating on projects is much easier with this app, and enables users to comment on projects and start discussion threads with multiple users. With Basecamp, you can also collaboratively edit text documents, attach documents and images to projects, and schedule meetings.
Basecamp is not quite as feature-rich as Asana, but the functionality Basecamp does offer works well, and using it is incredibly simple - even for the least technology-savvy team member.
The first project you create in Basecamp is free, and after that, premium accounts start at $29 per month.
10. Trello
Trello is a simple yet flexible project management tool which utilizes a card-based board system.
You can use these boards individually, or collaborate on it with your team. After you invite people to join your board, you can assign cards to team members and set due dates, and files can be attached to each card by dragging and dropping them onto the card in question.
Trello is free to use, with a further premium option available, starting at $8.33 per month.
11. SaneBox
Checking emails and sifting through your inbox can take up quite a large portion of your day, and when you already have a busy work schedule, it's a task you could do without.
That's why SaneBox is such a useful tool. Offering smart filtering capabilities, this tool learns which emails are important to you, and which ones simply aren't worth your time.
It automatically filters out emails that aren't significant, letting you focus on only the most important correspondence. This saves you time checking through emails that you don't really need to see.
SaneBox offers a free trial, and premium accounts start at $7 per month.
12. TeamViewer
If you need to communicate with team members in different locations and time zones, consider TeamViewer.
It offers remote access, and enables you to host online group meetings quickly and easily. You can also transfer files through the platform.
There's no installation required to use TeamViewer, and it's accessible across all browsers and devices, making it possible for you to work with colleagues as if you were all in the same room - minus the travel time.
TeamViewer is free for personal use, and business accounts start at around $20 per month.
13. Join.me
If you want to make meetings easier and less time-consuming, check out Join.me. It's a videoconferencing tool that offers screen sharing, online meetings, and team collaboration capabilities, and enables you to set up meetings instantly.
You can get a free account at Join.me, which gives you simple screen sharing options, ten meeting participants, five video feeds, and internet calling.
Premium packages offer further functionality, and start at $20 per month.
14. Google Docs
Google Docs is a simple, yet effective tool for streamlining your workload. It gives you access to word processing software with functionality similar to software such as Microsoft Word.
That's not all, however. You can also share those documents with anyone - whether they have a Google Docs account or not - and multiple users can edit them documents too.
Aside from text documents, Google Docs also gives you access to spreadsheets, databases, presentations, and much more.
With the ability to integrate with Gmail and create comment threads between multiple users, Google Docs makes communication and collaboration easier.
Best of all, Google Docs is completely free to use - all you need is a Google account.
15. Evernote
Take notes to a new level with Evernote, the productivity app that keeps your projects, ideas, and inspiration accessible across all digital devices.
With Evernote, you can put all of your important notes in one place, rather than having to sift through files or handwritten notes to find what you need.
Notes can be grouped together, and can be created in a variety of different formats, including text, photos, audio, and video. You can even clip notes from articles you read online.
With Evernote, you can sync your content across all devices - meaning your notes will always be handy. Similar to Google Docs, Evernote enables you to share and discuss your content with others in real-time.
A basic account on Evernote is free, and premium accounts start at $2.99 per month.
16. Dropbox
Dropbox is a super simple file syncing, sharing, and storing app. It can be a really efficient tool for managing your workload.
Rather than trying to send multiple files to different people through email - which, let's face it, is a pretty boring and arduous task - simply drag-and-drop the files into your Dropbox account, and you've got everything you need in one place. Sharing them couldn't be easier either - simply provide a share link to your chosen recipient.
Dropbox is a particularly useful tool for sharing large files, such as videos and high-resolution images, that can be too large to send via email.
Dropbox is free to use, with premium accounts costing $9.99 per month.
Conclusion
In an age where we're all so connected through technology, the distractions we encounter and the demands placed on us are, arguably, greater than ever. Often, simply getting everything done can be a challenge.
Fortunately, technology can offer solutions to this issue - if you use the right tools, you can better manage your workload. Let's recap the 16 tools featured:
Get Things Done: Wunderlist, MyLifeOrganized, Any.do, Todoist. Manage Your Brand's Online Presence: Awario, Hootsuite, Buffer. Keep your Projects on Track: Asana, Basecamp, Trello. Communicate like a Pro: SaneBox, TeamViewer, Join.me. Share and Manage Documents: Google Docs, Evernote, Dropbox.
How will these tools enable you to streamline your workflow? Share your insights in the comments section belowLadar Levison, owner of the now-defunct encrypted email site Lavabit, made headlines back in August when he shut the service down to avoid “becom[ing] complicit in crimes against the American people.” But the Lavabit saga is far from over. Levison is currently appealing a July 16 court order commanding him to turn over the site’s private SSL (Secure Socket Layer) keys. The keys would enable the government to decrypt the emails of some 400,000 Lavabit users, in addition to the communications of the only actual target (who is assumed to be Edward Snowden). Court documents unsealed earlier this month show that Lavabit initially resorted to creatively resisting compliance with production requests, going so far as to provide the government the five requested keys in unreadable 4-point font.
To win its appeal, Lavabit must successfully challenge four legal authorities compelling production of the keys: first, an order issued under the Pen Register Statute, which requires Levison to install a pen-trap device to capture information coming in and out of the targeted email account and to hand over the encryption keys that render the information readable; second, a related compliance order; third, a grand jury subpoena; and fourth, a warrant issued under the Stored Communications Act.
In a recent interview with Democracy Now, Levison made clear that—contrary to what some media reports have implied—he is not seeking to protect Snowden’s emails. Rather, Levison protests what he perceives as the government’s attempt to gain indiscriminate access to all his users’ emails. As Levison explained, the government “wanted to peel back the encryption on everyone’s information as they were connecting to my server, just so that they could listen to this one user. But yet, at the same time, they wouldn’t provide any kind of transparency back to me to assure me that they were only collecting information on one user. And I had a real problem with that.” Along this vein, in its newly filed Fourth Circuit brief, Lavabit challenges the government’s demand for the keys as a wholesale violation of user privacy: “It is unthinkable that Congress would have given the government the authority to seize keys that would make it possible to intercept all of Lavabit’s communications with all of its customers....”
The government, meanwhile, has pushed back against Lavabit’s focus on the sweeping nature of the government’s requested decryption powers by emphasizing the precautions it intends to take in handling the data. In its response to Lavabit’s motion to quash both the subpoena and the search-and-seizure warrant on Fourth Amendment grounds, the government argued to the district court that existing federal statutes “will continue to limit sharply the government's authority to collect any data on any Lavabit user—except for the one Lavabit user whose account is currently the subject of the Pen-Trap Order.” The government added, “It cannot be that a search warrant is ‘general’ merely because it gives the government a tool that, if abused contrary to law, could constitute a general search.”Tokyo: Japan and India are set to sign a controversial civil nuclear deal this week, reports said Sunday, as the two Asian allies look to boost economic and security ties to counter an assertive China.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe are set to sign a deal Friday that would allow Japan to export nuclear technology to the subcontinent, the Yomiuri Shimbun paper reported.
India would become the first non-signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to agree such a nuclear deal with Japan— which was the victim of US atomic bombings in the final days of World War II.
The two countries are also set to agree that if India conducts a nuclear test, Japan will stop cooperation, the Yomiuri reported.
The expected deal comes against a backdrop of growing security concerns in the region over China’s military presence.
Beijing is expanding its deep-water naval presence and asserts sovereignty over disputed areas of the East and South China Sea and Indian Ocean region, parts of which Japan also claims.
India has a longstanding territorial dispute with China, and troops from the two countries engaged in a major stand-off at the border in 2014.
Tokyo has its own spat with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea, and is increasingly vocal about its rival’s ambitions to control almost the whole of the South China Sea.
Japan has in the past shunned civil nuclear cooperation with India, citing concerns over the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, but appears to have softened its stance.
The business daily Nikkei confirmed the expected nuclear deal, adding that a batch of business-linked deals are also set to be signed.
Modi visited Japan in August 2014 on his first bilateral trip outside South Asia, months after coming to power.
Subsequently Abe paid a two-day visit to India last December.
Modi will arrive in Japan on Thursday for a three-day visit, after the two men in September held talks on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia meeting in Laos.The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law regulating abortion clinics, delivering a 5-3 decision that was the high court’s first major foray into the abortion issue in nine years.
Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the majority opinion for the court, with Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joining him. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
"We agree with the District Court that the surgical center requirement, like the admitting-privileges requirement, provides few, if any, health benefits for women, poses a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortions, and constitutes an 'undue burden' on their constitutional right to do so," Breyer wrote.
President Obama said in a statement that he was "pleased" with the outcome.
"As the brief filed by the Solicitor General makes clear and as the Court affirmed today, these restrictions harm women's health and place an unconstitutional obstacle in the path of a woman's reproductive freedom," Obama said. "We remain strongly committed to the protection of women's health, including protecting a woman's access to safe, affordable health care and her right to determine her own future."
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, in a series of Tweets, hailed the decision as "a victory for women" -- but said there's more work to be done.
"This fight isn't over: The next president has to protect women's health. Women won't be 'punished' for exercising their basic rights. -H," Clinton tweeted.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott decried the decision in a statement Monday.
"The decision erodes States’ lawmaking authority to safeguard the health and safety of women and subjects more innocent life to being lost," Abbott said. "Texas' goal is to protect innocent life, while ensuring the highest health and safety standards for women."
Texas abortion clinics had challenged a 2013 state law and regulations that cut the number of abortion |
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John Rylands Library, University of Manchester, 2nd November 2013
Doctor Who is a cultural phenomenon in both the UK and the United States, continuing to go from strength-to-strength as it celebrates its 50th anniversary in November 2013. Over the show’s long history on television—and in various spin-off TV shows, audio adventures, novels and comic books—religion and religious themes have consistently been a subject of interest. From early depictions of Buddhism and pagan religion to recent years when the show has attracted everything from Church of England conferences dedicated to its use in preaching to guest appearances by Richard Dawkins, religion has always had some role within the universes of Doctor Who. Proposals for 20 minute papers are therefore invited for a day conference on this theme to be held at the historic John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester on November 2nd 2013. Possible subjects include, but are not limited to:
• Religious or mythic themes (salvation, return, ritual etc.) in the series.
• Critiques and deconstructions of religion in Doctor Who.
• The use of Doctor Who to chart British religious history from 1963 to the present.
• Death and the afterlife in Doctor Who and Torchwood.
• The Doctor as a Christ figure.
• Portrayals of non-Christian religion in the classic series or BBC revival.
• Fan response to “religious” episodes.
• The use of Doctor Who by religious organisations.
• Religion in audio adventures, comic books and novels.
• Canonicity and Doctor Who as a surrogate religion.
• Doctor Who as a tool for theological reflection.
• Using Doctor Who to teach Religious Studies.
Abstracts should be 250 words in length, and include a short biography of the author. Abstracts should be sent to DrWhoReligion@gmail.com. Deadline for receipt of abstracts: 16th August 2013.GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Slows Bar BQ, the Detroit restaurant known for its tender, slow-cooked barbecue and two-hour waiting lines, will fill one of the spaces set aside for a restaurant at the Downtown Market next spring. “It seems like a really great place, very bright and welcoming. I’m excited to be involved there,” said Brian Perrone, executive chef and one of the owners in an interview with MLive and The Grand Rapids Press prior to the formal announcement on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
has become an icon for Detroit’s resurgence as a hip city. Featured in
and
, the Corktown restaurant has been hailed as much for its role in rebuilding Detroit’s urban core as its devotion to barbecue. The Grand Rapids Slows Bar BQ will prepare its meats and side dishes on site in a restaurant that will feature a walk-up counter for ordering and informal communal seating, Perrone said. The restaurant also will feature a “Slows To Go” takeout area and a catering business. While best known for its pulled pork, Slows also is proud of its ribs, beef brisket and side orders of macaroni and cheese. “Ideally, it will have the same feel,” said Perrone. He said they will focus on training the local staff to prepare barbecue in the Slows method. “What we want to do is find someone is who is based in the Grand Rapids area who we can hire as a chef and have that person come to Detroit and work with us until we get the restaurant up,” he said. The Grand Rapids restaurant will occupy the southeast corner of the Downtown Market building that was originally set aside for a brewery or distillery. Although the restaurant will feature craft beers, they will not brew anything onsite. The restaurant will have its own entrance to the street and access to the rest of the Indoor Market via a roll-up door. That will allow the restaurant to keep its own hours separate from the market, said Mimi Fritz, the market’s president and CEO. The Slows announcement fills one of the largest spots set aside for a restaurant in the 14-month-old Downtown Market that was built at the south end of downtown for $30 million. Fritz said they are continuing to look for a suitable tenant for the restaurant space on the northeast corner of the indoor Market Hall. That space, which has become an impromptu food court for market visitors, will not become a permanent food court, Fritz said. “We’re really waiting for the right restaurant to come along,” Fritz said. “It’s very important that we put the right business in.” “We’re continuing to talk to folks, but it takes time to find the perfect fit,” Fritz said. Finding and signing Slows to the market took three months to complete, she said. Slows had been looking at expanding into Grand Rapids for about 2½ years, she said. Most of the current vendors in the Market Hall are reporting continued sales growth, Fritz said. Many of them reported their best months occurred during July.
Jim Harger covers business for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jharger@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook or Google+.Canada's economic growth stalled in July, snapping an eight-month winning streak, serving up evidence that the hot economy has headed into a more temperate phase in the second half of the year.
Statistics Canada reported that Canadian real gross domestic product was flat in July, on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared with June – the first time since October, 2016 that the economy failed to show month-over-month growth.
Economists had expected the economy to cool down entering the third quarter, after posting average month-over-month growth of 0.4 per cent in the prior three months, and a stellar 4.5-per-cent annualized growth pace for the second quarter as a whole. But the July result was weaker than the median forecast of a 0.1-per-cent uptick in the month.
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Read also: With two rate hikes in the bag, BoC still waiting to see rise in inflation
Despite the disappointment, economists characterized the July setback as an understandable breather in what has been a faster-than-expected economic expansion this year. Forecasters anticipate a more reasonable but still healthy pace of growth in the second half of the year, and the July pause serves as early evidence that this moderation has begun.
"The flat July GDP result represents a rare misstep for the Canadian economy in 2017. While we would never read too much into any one month, it could also mark a return to a more sustainable and realistic growth rate for the economy, after a year of staggeringly good news," said Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, in a research note.
A key contributor to the slowdown was a 1.8-per-cent drop in oil and gas extraction, the second straight monthly drop, as the sector's rapid resurgence this year from its oil-shock doldrums shows signs of levelling off. But output in the sector was also dented by a small fire at Syncrude's Mildred Lake, Alta. upgrader in early July, which, together with some maintenance work, left the facility producing at roughly half of its capacity for the month – suggesting the sector likely bounced back in August.
Similarly, manufacturing sector's 0.4-per-cent decline in July was substantially tied to longer-than-normal summer maintenance slowdowns in the auto sector, which may have set the stage for an August rebound. Motor vehicle and parts manufacturing fell 9.1 per cent month over month.
Still, those weren't the only sources of weakness in the July numbers. Several other key industries also pulled back from recent gains, including construction (down 0.5 per cent month over month), and retail trade (down 0.1 per cent).
Goods-producing industries declined 0.5 per cent month over month, their first contraction since February. Services-producing industries grew 0.2 per cent, their 16th straight month of expansion.
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The July figures set the tone for what economist expect will be a moderation in the economy in the second half of the year, after real GDP grew at a torrid pace of more than 4 per cent annualized in the first half. Forecasts call for third-quarter growth to be in the range of 2 to 2.5 per cent annualized.
"The message in today's figures is that Canadian GDP will cool in the back half of the year, with less economic slack leaving less room for the economy to grow above its potential," said Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce economist Nick Exarhos in a research report.
The emerging signs of a slower pace for the economy also support the case for the Bank of Canada to take a pause in its interest-rate increases over the next few months, after the growth surge in the first half of the year spurred the central bank to raise rates twice over the summer. Stephen Poloz, the head of the Bank of Canada, hinted as much in a speech in St. John's, Nfld., earlier this week.
Second-half growth is still expected to be well above what the Bank of Canada considers its "potential" – the rate at which the economy can expand without triggering inflation, which the central bank estimates is less than 1.5 per cent – which certainly keeps further rate increases on the table. But the slower pace will mean that whatever excess capacity there is in the economy will be eaten up less slowly. The size of this so-called output gap, and how quickly it is closing, is a key consideration in the timing of future interest-rate increases.
"The BoC will see no additional GDP releases prior to the next rate decision on Oct. 25, and, alongside Governor Poloz's remarks this week, it seems that the case for yet another quick follow-up rate hike is weak at this point," BMO's Mr. Porter said. "We continue to look for the Bank [of Canada] to take a pause for now, with the next hike pencilled in for January."This collection of Nazi Germany trivia and strange facts was written and researched by Alpha History authors. If you have information that would be suitable for this page, please contact Alpha History.
The surname ‘Hitler’ did not exist before the 1870s. It was adopted by Adolf Hitler’s father, Alois, apparently as a combination of Heidler and Huttler (the surnames of two relatives). Prior to this, Alois Hitler’s surname was Schicklgruber. Some of Hitler’s political opponents would later refer to him disparagingly as ‘Herr Shicklgruber’.
Hitler was a mediocre artist who painted watercolours, mainly of landscapes, buildings and street scenes. While living in Vienna Hitler also painted postcards, which he sold for modest amounts. Hitler’s paintings are worth large amounts of money today, though more for curiosity than their artistic value.
Hitler had one surviving adult sibling, a sister named Paula. She lived and worked in Vienna during the interwar period, using the adopted surname ‘Wolf’ to conceal her connection with the radical German politician. Paula Hitler died in 1960, aged 64.
Adolf Hitler’s first Deutsche Arbeitpartei membership card listed him as member number 555. In reality he was the 55th member (the party began its numbering from 500, to create an impression of a much larger organisation). Hitler signed his membership card using two ‘t’s in his surname.
Hitler’s 1924 autobiography was transcribed by his supporters, particularly Rudolf Hess, because Hitler could not type, was slow with his hand-writing and was a poor speller. He initially wanted to call his book “My Long Struggle against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice”, however his publisher opted for the shorter title Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”).
The Nazis hardly ever called themselves “Nazis”. The term – an abbreviation for National Socialist – was developed by the German press. Hitler disliked it intensely and it was rarely used within the party itself.
The swastika (or Hakenkreuz) was a common symbol throughout Europe prior to the advent of Nazism. It was used both as a religious symbol in Christian churches and eastern religions, as well as a symbol of good luck. As a choirboy, Hitler had admired swastikas on the walls of his local cathedral. He adapted it by placing it on a background of red (symbolising the workers) and white (symbolising German nationalism).
Before Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, the stormtroopers of the SA carried American-made handguns, stamped with Made in the USA’.
Emil Maurice, Hitler’s head bodyguard and a co-founder of the SS was part-Jewish. Maurice’s Jewish heritage was uncovered by an investigation in 1935. Hitler then granted him ‘honorary Aryan’ status. Several other high-ranking Nazis or military officers had their Jewish heritage ‘overlooked’ or ‘forgiven’ on Hitler’s orders.
Adolf Hitler was well known for his aversion to meat, which allegedly began after he was present at an autopsy. A vegetarian for most of his adult life, Hitler’s cooks were under strict instructions not to add any meat products to his meals. Hitler also planned to introduce post-war policies to wind back Germany’s consumption of meat.
Though he shunned meat, Hitler was a voracious ‘sweet tooth’, consuming large amounts of cake, pastries, chocolate and sugar. He sometimes took as many as five teaspoons of sugar in his tea.
Hitler also abstained from drinking alcohol and greatly disliked people smoking in his presence. People who had appointments with Hitler were advised not to smoke for several hours beforehand, and not to wear clothing or uniforms that smelled of tobacco.
Adolf Hitler’s personal doctor, Theodor Morell, was an unorthodox physician because of his heavy use of drugs (other Nazis called him the ‘Reich Injection Master’). Morell ‘treated’ Hitler with a cocktail of drugs and other substances, often without telling the fuhrer exactly what was being given. Among them were methamphetamine, atropine, caffeine, testosterone, proteins, morphine, e.coli bacteria and various vitamin compounds.
Hitler was an avid cinema buff. He particularly liked Hollywood movies, which he viewed in a private cinema room. The Nazi leader reportedly enjoyed King Kong (1933) Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) and the films of Charlie Chaplin – but his favourite movie of all was said to be the animated Disney feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937).
Hitler had dreams of playing a musical instrument. He had short but unsuccessful lessons in piano and violin, and also dabbled in the flute and harmonica. In the end he settled for whistling, which he did frequently.
One of the NSDAP’s celebrated heroes was Horst Wessel, a 22-year-old taxi driver, amateur musician and university drop-out. In 1928 Wessel joined the SA and became a street-level commander. In 1930 he married a teenage prostitute then was murdered, shot in the face, probably in retaliation for not paying his rent. Despite his apparent unimportance Wessel had been a favourite of Goebbels, who portrayed his murder as a political killing carried out by communists. The Nazi propaganda chief set one of Wessel’s poems to music and adopted it as the NSDAP anthem.
In propaganda, the Nazis explained the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ as a purge of homosexuals and sexual deviants from the SA. Ernst Rohm was indeed homosexual, a fact widely known in party ranks. On the night of his arrest in 1934, Rohm was found in a hotel with a teenage member of the SA, who was allegedly his lover.
The Nazis produced their own range of Christmas decorations and wrapping paper, featuring swastikas and Iron Crosses. Nazi Christmas propaganda also de-emphasised the role of Jesus Christ – who was of course born Jewish.
Connected to Nazi ideas about racial purity was their frequent use of “blood” in slogans and policies: Blut und Boden (Blood and Soil), Deutsche Blutiger (German blood), Blutorden (Blood Order), Blutfahne (Blood Banner) and Blutschande (Blood Shame).
In the mid-1930s Hitler had a close friendship, perhaps even a sexual relationship, with Unity Mitford (pictured, left). A daughter of English nobility, Mitford was obsessed with Hitler: she traveled to Germany, learned German and manipulated her way into his inner circle. Mitford was a self-proclaimed anti-Semite who was described as being “more Nazi than the Nazis”. Ironically, Unity Mitford was conceived in a small Canadian town named Swastika, while her parents were traveling abroad.
In 1937 Hitler played an elaborate practical joke on Ernst Hanfstaengl, one of his advisors, by giving him false orders to parachute into a communist-held area of Spain. Hanfstaengl was so annoyed by this joke that he defected, later supplying important information to the United States.
In 1939 a Nazi-ordered expedition arrived in Antarctica and claimed a portion for Germany, calling it New Swabia. Their intention was to set up a whaling station and possibly a naval base.
Though Hitler frowned upon infidelity, most high-ranking Nazis had at least one mistress. Heinrich Himmler’s affair with a young secretary, Hedwig Potthast, led to an illegitimate child; Himmler ‘borrowed’ money from party funds to set her up in out-of-the-way accommodation.
Heinrich Himmler also set up a government agency called Lebensborn (‘spring of life’) to provide for children without one or both parents. The government provided financial assistance to single mothers, provided their children were demonstrably Aryan. There was some suggestion that by the early 1940s, Lebensborn had become a ‘breeding program’, encouraging SS officers to impregnate single women before they went off to war.
Leading Nazis, including Heinrich Himmler and Martin Bormann, wanted to legalise polygamous marriages after World War II. They anticipated that millions of war casualties would create a shortage of available men, so planned to allow war veterans to take two or more wives to maintain the birthrate.
Nazi aeronautics experts developed the world’s first flying wing aircraft, the Horten Ho 229. The flying wing design allowed for longer ranges with greater secrecy. It was later incorporated into US ‘Stealth’ bombers.
According to popular culture, Nazism had close links to mysticism and occultist practices, such as Satanic rituals. The evidence on this is scarce, however both Hitler and Himmler were known to have frequently consulted fortune-tellers.
The Nazis’ ‘Thousand-Year Reich’ lasted just over 12 years.Caroline Kennedy arrived in Tokyo Friday to take up her official duties as US ambassador, captivating the Japanese people and reassuring the Japanese government of Japan’s enduring importance to the United States.
After a glittery sendoff from Washington steeped in Kennedy lore – Secretary of State John Kerry recalled first meeting President Kennedy’s daughter when she was four years old and about to take a ride on Macaroni, her pony who roamed the White House grounds when the Kennedys resided there – Ambassador Kennedy touched down in a Japan well-prepared for its famous new American envoy.
In October, Japanese television carried Kennedy’s confirmation hearings live, and this week national broadcaster NHK has been running a series of specials on the Kennedy family.
Some Japanese, especially older generations, feel a special attachment to the Kennedys. A young John F. Kennedy was injured in World War II when the torpedo boat he commanded, PT 109, was sunk by a Japanese destroyer. But as president, Mr. Kennedy gave special focus to Japan and was planning to be the first sitting American president to visit the enemy-turned-ally when he was assassinated.
The surviving member of the Kennedy presidential family highlighted this historical link when she landed in Tokyo, noting that because of her father’s plans in particular “it is a special honor for me to be able to work to strengthen the close ties between our two great countries.”
Kennedy, who is expected to present her credentials to Emperor Akihito on Nov. 19, noted that her arrival coincides with “the 50th anniversary of my father’s presidency.” Nov. 22 marks a half-century since President Kennedy’s assassination.
Ambassador Kennedy probably had the Japanese from the moment she opened an introductory video posted on the US Embassy website last week with the famous Kennedy smile and a simple, “Hi, I am Caroline Kennedy.”
But the arrival of a Kennedy – and one close to President Obama to boot – as Washington’s envoy is reassuring Japan that the glory days of the past, when US ambassadors carried prominent and powerful names like Mansfield and Mondale, are back.
Japanese officials have worried in recent years, as Washington has focused increasingly on getting relations right with China, that their country was losing out to other rising Asian powers. At the same time, America’s star had fallen in the eyes of the Japanese people, especially over the presence of 50,000 American troops in the country.
Obama’s “Asia pivot” and the administration’s close coordination with Tokyo over issues ranging from China’s territorial aggressiveness and North Korea have reassured the Japanese government, however.
And then substantial and sustained US assistance to Japan in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan and the related Fukushima nuclear disaster appears to have put the shine back on Japanese perceptions of America, with some recent surveys putting public opinion of the US-Japan alliance at historic highs.
Kennedy, the first female US ambassador to Japan, also arrives as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is focusing on efforts to elevate the stature of Japanese women as part of an over-all campaign to reinvigorate the Japanese economy.
Japan’s ambassador to the US, Kenichiro Sasae, made special note of this at a send-off reception for Kennedy at his Washington residence Wednesday, saying, “The arrival of the first woman ambassador is absolutely great for my country” and is “so timely as Prime Minister Abe seeks to increase the economic and leadership roles of Japanese women.”
In her embassy website video, Kennedy introduces herself to Japan as “an author, educator, and attorney,” but it is probably the accompanying “family” photos – of President Kennedy meeting with Japanese officials, of Ambassador Kennedy on previous trips to Japan – that speak most poignantly to the Japanese people. Kennedy visited Hiroshima with her uncle, the late Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy, in 1978, and spent part of her honeymoon (with husband Edwin Schlossberg) in Kyoto in 1986.
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As Secretary Kerry explained to Ambassador Sasae as they joined in sending Kennedy off to her news duties, “In many ways she’s been an ambassador all her life.”
[Editor's note: The original story incorrectly identified the current emperor of Japan]The Belgian attorney for Paris terrorist suspect Salah Abdeslam called his client a “little jerk” who barely has any real knowledge of Islam.
Sven Mary bashed the 26-year-old extremist, who is believed to be one of the key players of last year’s deadly terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, in an interview with the French daily Liberation. “I asked him if he had read the Koran, which I have done, and he said he had read his interpretation on the Internet,” Mary said.
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The attorney also referred to Abdeslam in French as a “petit con,” which is roughly translated as “little jerk,” according to the Washington Post. Mary added that Abdeslam had “the intelligence of an empty ashtray” and “thinks he lives in a video game,” the Post reports.
Abdeslam was considered one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives before police captured him in a March terrorism raid in Brussels. The Belgian-born French citizen appeared in a Paris courtroom after he was turned over to French authorities on Wednesday, but he did not address the charges against him, according to CNN.
Contact us at editors@time.com.Would you drink wine flavored with mint, honey and a dash of psychotropic resins? Ancient Canaanites did more than 3,000 years ago.
Archaeologists have unearthed what may be the oldest -- and largest -- ancient wine cellar in the Near East, containing forty jars, each of which would have held fifty liters of strong, sweet wine. The cellar was discovered in the ruined palace of a sprawling Canaanite city in northern Israel, called Tel Kabri. The site dates to about 1,700 B.C. and isn't far from many of Israel's modern-day wineries.
"This is a hugely significant discovery -- it's a wine cellar that, to our knowledge, is largely unmatched in age and size," says Eric Cline chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of at The George Washington University. Cline and Assaf Yasur-Landau, chair of the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa, co-directed the excavation. Andrew Koh, assistant professor of classical studies at Brandeis University, was an associate director.
The team's findings will be presented this Friday in Baltimore at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research.
Koh, an archaeological scientist, analyzed the jar fragments using organic residue analysis. He found molecular traces of tartaric and syringic acid, both key components in wine, as well as compounds suggesting ingredients popular in ancient wine-making, including honey, mint, cinnamon bark, juniper berries and resins. The recipe is similar to medicinal wines used in ancient Egypt for two thousand years.
Koh also analyzed the proportions of each diagnostic compound and discovered remarkable consistency between jars.
"This wasn't moonshine that someone was brewing in their basement, eyeballing the measurements," Koh notes. "This wine's recipe was strictly followed in each and every jar."
Important guests drank this wine, notes Yasur-Landau.
"The wine cellar was located near a hall where banquets took place, a place where the Kabri elite and possibly foreign guests consumed goat meat and wine," he says.
At the end of the season, the team discovered two doors leading out of the wine cellar -- one to the south, and one to the west. Both probably lead to additional storage rooms. They'll have to wait until 2015 to find out for sure.A man who claimed to be a Salafist-Wahhibist cleric put the word out on Twitter that women should not flip on air conditioners at home because it sends the signal they’re home and that could lead to moral depravities.
The alleged cleric said “turning on the cooler ventilator is prohibited for women in the absence of their husbands [because] the woman’s act is very dangerous, and may bring about immorality in the society. When she turns the cooler on, someone may notice her presence home, and this might bring about immorality,” International Business Times reported.
Salafists and Wahhibists are the ultra-conservatives of Sunni Muslims, hail from Saudi Arabia, and issue frequent fatwas — clerical rulings on Islamic law, IBT reported. In April, another cleric claiming to belong to the Salafist sect posted a YouTube video claiming rape of non-Sunni and non-Muslim women was acceptable, according to the Koran.
He said then, IBT reported: It’s “legitimate fatwa for Muslims waging war against [Syrian President Bashar] Assad and trying to put in place a Sharia government to capture and have sex with Alawites and other non-Sunni, non-Muslim women.”
UPDATE: The legitimacy of the tweeter has not been verified by The Washington Times. The International Business Times has not altered its original story
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Checking up on the Banks: Yet More of the Same
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Until Financial Crime Punishments include Individual Prosecutions, Rogue Banks Will Continue to Do as They Please, Writes GFI’s Joshua Simmons
After the recent spate of massive money-laundering, sanctions-busting, and tax-evasion scandals involving large international banks, sometimes it seems more difficult to name a single bank that has not been exposed for wrongdoing than list all those that have. One might think that, having worked their way through so many financial institutions, investigators and prosecutors would be at a loss for what to do next. The banks, though, seem more than willing to provide more work, with many either failing to meet their ends of their settlement agreements, continuing to move money for criminals and tax-evaders, or both.
Standard Chartered, which settled charges in mid-2012 related to its widespread activities violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, Burma, Libya, and Sudan, paid an additional fine this summer for failing to uphold its obligations under the settlement. The bank may now be in line for even more punishment, after new information seems to indicate additional transactions with Iranian entities that weren’t disclosed or admitted in the original settlement. It’s not presently clear whether Standard Chartered retained a relationship with Iranian customers after its settlement in 2012, but it certainly continued to take their money after the initial investigation began.
The list goes on. Western Union settled charges in 2010 that it consistently looked the other way as drug traffickers and other criminals used it to send money around the world, and earlier this year stated that it was unlikely to reach all of its targets under that agreement, needing an extension and drawing the possibility of additional penalties. HSBC agreed to a landmark $1.9 billion fine in 2012 for laundering money for major drug cartels and sanctioned regimes, and seems to be having some trouble complying with its obligations under its agreement. Citigroup may be penalized for the activities of its corruption-riddled Mexican subsidiary. UBS, which settled charges of tax evasion in the U.S. in 2009, is facing an investigation and possible fines in France for the same sort of behavior.
What drives this sort of blatant recidivism, even where agreements and monitoring are in place specifically to prevent such activity from reoccurring? BNP Paribas agreed four months ago to an $8.9 billion settlement on charges of wanton sanctions-evading in Sudan, Iran, and Cuba, a punishment regarded at the time as unprecedentedly hefty. Yet BNP has already returned to profitability—the fine had essentially no effect on the bank’s bottom line. Why wouldn’t a bank engage in criminal activity when they know the penalty isn’t going to hurt?
Until punishments for massive breakdowns in compliance and global financial crime schemes include prosecution of the individuals in banks that enable and perpetrate misbehavior, banks will continue to do as they please, even in the face of massive fines. The apparently continuing failure of prosecutors and regulators to recognize and implement this reality is, frankly, mind-boggling.As if the 1940s weren’t bad enough, what with the rise of Hitler, Stalin and Japanese imperialism, America went to war with sexually transmitted diseases.
Their weapons, rather than lend-lease tin helmets and atom bombs, were a series of bleak and/or distressing poster campaigns designed to convince you that the real enemy was lurking not behind sandbags and concrete bunkers, but under delicate undergarments all over battle-scarred Europe and Asia.
Here are 8 of the strangest VD warning posters lurking in the National Library of Medicine archive.
1. That would certainly explain the way he’s walking…
2. #realtalk from Bremen Port Command. Seriously guys, you sound like my mother.
3.Nothing says “propaganda” like that nightmare-embellishing cocktail of red ink and paranoia.
4. There’s no medicine for the powerful physical desire to molest a bystander either. Just jail.
5. I think this is what couples did in 1944 before HBO box sets.
6. The terrifying Dada-esque HOME REMEDY MAN was clearly the pre-internet version of Slender Man.
7. You get VD from some French floozy and I WILL calmly tell your grandmother..
8. OH… NO. JUST NO.
For more strange tales from World War II, pick up the new issue of History of War or subscribe now and save 30% off the cover price.By Ray Charlston
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in a decision that has enraged fundamentalists and those on the radical and extreme right, has voted to recognize that Jesus Christ “may have been gay and transgendered.” This decision has provoked some extremists to accuse the Presbyterian Church of blasphemy and even apostasy. The Presbyterian Church reports receiving hundreds of angry letters of homophobic hate-mail since the decision, expressing hateful, bigoted, retrograde and ignorant views against the LGBT community. Previously, the church voted to ordain openly gay clergy and to allow ministers to officiate at gay weddings, rightly earning praise from progressives.
In another decision that is only controversial among hateful and intolerant bigots, the Presbyterians have decided to begin teaching children of all ages about homosexuality and the transgendered. Experts agree that it is important to reach children at the earliest ages in order to inculcate a spirit of tolerance for alternative lifestyles. Children need to understand that all sexual orientations and lifestyles, as well as all sexual acts, are equal and morally equivalent under all circumstances. No orientation or type of sexual act is better than any other – all are equal!
Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and other groups, showing that homosexuals are more likely to contract AIDS or other STDs, can have no basis in fact. They are quite obviously the result of a shockingly pervasive institutional homophobia. There can be no other rational explanation. In another decision, praised by progressives, condoms will be distributed at every Sunday school class. The church has decided to give out new glow-in-the-dark condoms in an effort to get children and teens more interested in practicing safe sex.
Children will be taught reinterpreted Bible stories, which include positive LGBT role-models. Based on a literal reading of some biblical verses, like 2 Samuel 1:26, it is now widely accepted that King David, the ancient Israelite hero, was a proud homosexual. The verse reads “I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.” Another verse even includes a kiss between David and Jonathan! “And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.” (1 Samuel 20:41)
We even read that Jonathan stripped himself of his clothes before David! 1 Samuel 18:3-4 says “Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.” Although most scholars agree that the Torah does prohibit homosexuality rather explicitly (Leviticus 20:13) the Old Testament teaches that, where love is concerned, even God must bow to human feelings and abrogate His law! This might sound like God has changed His mind, which might disturb some fundamentalists, but the Bible cites other examples of this. God regretted that He had made man at one point (Genesis 6:6-7), and He regretted flooding the earth and vowed never to do it again. (Genesis 9:10-11)
LGBT and Liberation Theology Pastor Douglas Calvert observed that “There is actually a great deal of evidence that Jesus Christ was not heterosexual. According to tradition he had very long hair. He was very effeminate and soft spoken. He never married. He had no children, and he never expressed a romantic interest in the opposite sex. He did hang out with twelve guys though, and travelled with them all the time. When they were alone with nothing else to do, did they experiment with each other? Did they sleep together, or engage in orgies? We may never know for certain, but the answer is most definitely that they probably did.”
Paul Oestreicher, an Anglican chaplain at the university of Sussex, agrees. His article “Was Jesus gay? Probably” can be read here. More and more mainline protestant denominations are becoming open to the idea that Jesus Christ, whom they regard as the Son of God, and the third person of the Trinity, may have been gay. Instead of finding this as a source of shame or disconcertion, Christians should be proud and loudly proclaim the fact that Jesus Christ was gay! They should march through the streets advertising it with banners and shouting it through megaphones, loudly proclaiming “We are proud God is gay!”
Although most other prominent religious figures were married, or were polygamous, Jesus Christ never married. Many male pagan deities had wives or several wives and concubines as well. Shiva, the Hindu deity, had at least eight wives and countless concubines according to tradition. Despite Jewish tradition upholding marriage, Christ never married, nor did he own any slave girls. Curiously, the chief founder of Christianity, who sought to propagate it after Christ’s death, the Apostle Paul, also never married. Perhaps Christianity was the first world religion accepting of homosexuality.
Moses, Muhammad, and even the Buddha married |
eousness registers as #courage. When our already fragile, conflicted, and never fully coherent identities are at stake, which is always (unless we are sharing cat photos), disagreement feels like bullying.
During the 2016 election, identity politics blended into communicative capitalism’s commanded individuality. Demographic categories used by pollsters took on a fixity, a capacity to determine the views and preferences of all belonging to the category. The complex array of factors that figure into political choices, the myriad ways such choices are not determined by an essence designated by and captured within demographic terms, the fact that political identities have to be constructed rather than assumed; all this was submerged under an ever-amplified insistence on a direct connection between identity categories and political commitment. The blend of identity politics and commanded individuality was a hallmark of the Clinton campaign, from its opportunistic tweets on intersectionality, to its misrepresentations of Bernie Sanders, to its excoriation of left critics in personal terms — childish, purist, naïve, irresponsible. For the most part, the cries and accusations were unmoored from policies, as disconnected from attention to the people who would benefit from free college tuition and single-payer health insurance as they were from those who politics exceeded the identitarian limits set by the Clinton’s camp. They circulated as mood, as the election’s affective condition of attachment to voters in their individual specificity — as long as that specificity corresponded to expectations of sexed, gendered, and raced identity.
As I detail in Crowds and Party, recent work by sociologists Jennifer Silva and Carrie Lane sets out the material conditions that have given rise to the intense attachment to individual identity. Mistrusting institutions, many people today believe that they can only rely on themselves. Their sense of dignity and self-worth comes from being self-sufficient. Skeptical of experts, they speak from their own experience, drawing legitimacy from the identity that makes them who they are. The more they have to combat, to overcome, the more valuable their identity. Solidarity feels like a demand to sacrifice one’s own best thing, yet again, and for nothing.
Identity politics weaponizes the feeling that one has to hold on to what is in them more than themselves. It highlights one specific feature out of a given set of demographic features, turning this feature from a base to be defended into a launcher for new attacks. Weaponized identity politics lets me insist that this time I will not be sacrificed, I will survive. Even more, it helps assuage some of the guilt of the privileged — they are on the correct side of history, for once. The added bonus of this weaponized identity politics is how the privileged can use it against each other even as they leave communicative capitalism’s basic structure intact. We see this when we look at the arsenal of identities — sex, race, gender, sexuality, ability, ethnicity, religion, citizenship — and recognize what is missing: class.
The identities from which one can speak rely on the exclusion of class. On the one hand, the assumption is that class means white. Yet prevalent within the discourse of identity politics are accounts of the racialization of poverty, the feminization of work, important accounts that recognize and analyze the fact that class in the contemporary United States does not mean or signify white at all. What, then, is behind the attachment to identity that not only refuses to consider the impact of economic inequality on the election but that responds to any discussion of economics as if it were premised on an underlying racism?
The answer is capitalism. The identity politics that manifest during the election is premised on the continuation of capitalism, not its overturning. It is a liberal identity politics at odds with the long history of communist and socialist anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-colonialist struggle. Suppressing the history and present of radical black anti-capitalist struggle, of communist feminism, of the leading role of people of color in working class movements, the politics of identity functioned in the 2016 election to demolish rather than build solidarity. The missing subtext of the Democratic Party’s embrace of diversity was that its was a diversity of the successful, of the winners, of the multicultural celebrities and photogenic talented tenth who appear as so many talking heads on MSNBC. The Democratic substitution of entrepreneurs for workers under the guise of racial inclusion is class war, a war that leaves in its wake disproportionate numbers of black and brown bodies. White-washing the working class legitimizes policies that diminish the lives and futures of millions of working class people of color.
A non-white colleague recently said to me that he didn’t mind being called an elitist. Trump voters were the racist white working-class and he had no desire to reach them, be in coalition with them, or anything. A reductive, individualist, affective approach to the election let him embrace a class position he might otherwise reject (at least publicly). Multiculturalism is the form his defense of capitalism takes.
The investment in identity is intense. It shores up a fragile individuality. It provides a location for political righteousness. It prevents the formation of the solidarities opposition to capitalism requires.
In the weeks and months to come, we can expect that liberals will continue to amplify identity, consolidating into the single figure of Trump the histories and structures of racism, sexism, and homophobia. This Trump-washing will make regular Republicans look reasonable and Democrats look like champions of equality and diversity. The hatred the Trump candidacy legitimized will take on a liberal form of hatred for working class white people, in the name of a multiculturalism that erases the fact of a multiracial working class. Communicative capitalism will provide the field of response — the circulation of outrage and righteousness, individualized statements of fear and alliance.
The left must respond by building solidarity. Taking the side of the oppressed means that we have to make sure the struggles of the oppressed appear as a side, a side in the class war that cuts through them all. We do this by pushing forward the communist actuality of Bernie Sander’s slogan, “Not me, us.” Or as Jed Brandt said in the election’s immediate aftermath, it’s time to be not allies, but comrades.
Jodi Dean teaches political and media theory in Geneva, New York. She has written or edited eleven books, including Crowds and Party, The Communist Horizon and Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies.Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
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High Street stores have cancelled orders of angora clothes after seeing video evidence of the horrific treatment of rabbits farmed for their fur.
Footage shows animals screeching in pain as fur is ripped from their skin on farms in China.
In other scenes, rabbits are tethered with rope and brutally sheared by men armed with metal scissors.
The evidence was gathered by investigators from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Now more than 35 major clothing retailers have said they will stop buying the super-soft wool products.
(Image: PETA)
(Image: PETA)
But today we were able to buy angora clothing - a jumper for £45 from Topshop, socks for £6 from M&S and a hat for £20 from H&M.
Mimi Bekhechi, associate director of PETA, said: “Consumers are rightly angry that these companies have halted production but are still profiting from angora at the moment.”
Fashion designer Stella McCartney blasted the “despicable treatment” and vowed never again to use angora.
Topshop, M&S and H&M were all unavailable for comment.Patron: Martin Shaw
Vegetarian Farmer Saves His Cows From Slaughter
We have been asked to take in a herd of 70 cattle, including 30 pregnant cows, to save them from the slaughterhouse. This has been brought about by a massive turnaround in thinking by a farmer who became vegetarian and could no longer send his cows to such a cruel fate. The farmer was in consultation with the Vegan Society, who contacted Hillside to ask if we could give the cows a permanent safe home in the sanctuary.
Peter Smith from the Vegan Society told us -
Jay grew up working with the family’s herd of dairy cows when he grew to realise that there was much more to these animals than we are led to believe. “I began to see that cows recognise each other, and they’ve got very good memories. They also experience a range of emotions – they can be sad, happy, bored, excited. They do also have facial expressions. You can tell what a cow’s thinking by looking at it. I’ve even seen cows cry.â€
As time went on, Jay decided to stop eating meat. He explains, “Cows are conscious of what goes on around them – they have personalities and an inner life. They’re not just units of food. Knowing them personally makes it more difficult to think about eating them.â€
If all goes according to plan, we are hoping the cows, some with calves at foot, will arrive with us in June. It is going to be a massive challenge to raise the funds for them and to prepare and make ready for their arrival. To launch our fundraising campaign for the cows, Andy Pemberton has kindly offered to embark on a 100 mile sponsored walk over this Bank Holiday weekend.
You may remember Andy, who has kindly raised funds for us in the past with his epic sponsored events for our animals. On hearing the story of these cows he immediately sprang into action,and together with friends, Kevin, Gareth and Steve, has set off from Winchester first thing this morning (27th April) and will arrive at Eastbourne on Bank Holiday Monday. Andy is a passionate animal lover and is determined to help us help the cows to have a secure future.
If you would like to sponsor Andy and friends, to help the cows, please click here
OR telephone our Cow Rescue Helpline on 01603 736200 (9am to 10pm)
Saved from slaughter - Lucky cows who are soon to be arriving at Hillside
Saved from slaughter - Lucky cows who are soon to be arriving at Hillside
Andy cycling into Hillside on a previous sponsored event in 2014 after he had pedalled 420 miles from St Davids in Wales to HillsideBarack Obama hails Hillary Clinton as'most qualified' nominee at Democratic convention
Updated
President Barack Obama has strongly backed White House hopeful Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, denouncing deep Republican pessimism which he warned was fanning resentment and hate during the 2016 election cycle.
Key points: Mr Obama praised Mrs Clinton as the "most qualified" presidential candidate ever
Called on the party faithful to "reject fear" in the upcoming election
Accused Republicans of fanning "anger and hate" ahead of the vote
"I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before," Mr Obama told thousands of delegates at the convention, praising Mrs Clinton as uniquely qualified to succeed him.
He said at the Republican convention last week, "there were no serious solutions to pressing problems — just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger and hate".
The President praised Mrs Clinton for blasting through "glass ceilings" as the first woman presidential nominee from a major US political party, calling her the most qualified person ever to seek the White House.
"I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman — not me, not Bill [Clinton], nobody — more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America," he said.
Earlier this week, the convention formally anointed Mrs Clinton as the Democratic nominee, and she will now go up against her Republican counterpart Donald Trump in November's election.
"Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me," Mr Obama said.
To the strains of Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Mr Obama shared a warm embrace with his would-be successor, capping an all-star night that included appearances by Vice President Joe Biden, Mrs Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine and independent Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.
"This year, in this election, I'm asking you to join me to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what's best in us, to elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States," Mr Obama said as he concluded his remarks.
Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton were rivals in the hard-fought campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination.
After winning that election to become America's first black president, he appointed her his secretary of state.
Trump 'not really a facts guy'
Mr Obama belittled Mr Trump as having no economic or foreign policy plans, and added he was "not really a facts guy either".
"Does anyone really believe that a guy who's spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion? Your voice?" he said.
"If so, you should vote for him. But if you're someone who's truly concerned about paying your bills, and seeing the economy grow, and creating more opportunity for everybody, then the choice isn't even close.
"Our strength, our greatness does not depend on Donald Trump. In fact, it doesn't depend on any one person, and that in the end may be the biggest difference in this election — the meaning of our democracy."
The President also turned to Republican icons of yesteryear as comparison to highlight how Mr Trump was unprepared for the most important job in the world.
"Ronald Reagan called America a shining city on a hill," Mr Obama recalled.
"Donald Trump calls it a divided crime scene that only he can fix.
"We're going to carry Hillary to victory this fall, because that's what the moment demands," he said to loud cheers and applause.
"The Democratic Party is in good hands."
AFP/Reuters
Topics: us-elections, world-politics, united-states
First postedGiants vs. Jets preseason game.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and Jets head coach Rex Ryan shake hands after the game. The New York Giants hosted the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
(Farrell, Tim)
With the annual preseason battle between the
and
on the horizon, one of the newest members of the rivalry gave an opinion on the "real" New York football team. Andre Williams, the Giants' fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft,
to be the team in New York. "I think the Giants are the real New York team," Williams said. On Friday night, the Jets and Giants will play at MetLife Stadium in what amounts to a dress rehearsal for the regular season. The game, of course, will take place in New Jersey.
That got us thinking: Which NFL franchise is the real New Jersey team? Williams believes New York belongs to the Giants. What about the state each of the marquee franchises actually plays home games in?
Vote in our poll and sound off below about which NFL team represents the state of New Jersey.
Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Home » Crimes, Injustice, North America » Outrage after UK Pakistani pedophile grooming gang released after serving only 5 years
A Muslim Rape Gang ‘boss’ is to be released early from prison early after serving a mere 5 years.
Racist paedophile Mubarek Ali was given a 22-year sentence for raping and selling young white girls as young as 13 for sex to fellow Muslims for £150 a time at a curry house in Telford, Shropshire.
The Daily Mail reported that his brother Ahdel Ali, 27, was handed a 26-year sentence after the two sexually abused, trafficked, prostituted or tried to prostitute four young white girls.
Five more ‘men of Pakistani heritage’ were also convicted of the torture and gang rape of young white girls in the town.
One victim who gave evidence in the case against the Muslim Rape Gang is reported to be living in fear and given the horrific and unforgivable betrayal by authorities in covering up the hideous crimes while taking action to silence the victims, her worries are well placed.
Speaking in House of Commons, Tory MP Lucy Allan for Telford raised the issue:
“A young woman in Telford who gave evidence in a horrific child sexual exploitation case five years ago is living in fear.
“The perpetrator, who received a 22-year sentence, is about to be released early.
“CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation) victims are too often overlooked and ignored.
“Does the Prime Minister agree that CSE victims should be properly consulted on the release of perpetrators and that in this case the perpetrator should not be returned to Telford?”
Prime Minister Theresa May replied:
“My honourable Friend raises a very important issue.
“We all know that child sexual exploitation is an absolutely horrific crime.”
“It is absolutely right that if victims are going to come forward to report this abuse, they need to know that they will be supported so that they can have the confidence to do so and be confident in their future security and safety.
“The victim contact scheme is supposed to treat victims properly and ensure that consideration is given to victim-related conditions when looking at an offender’s licence on release.
“If my honourable Friend would like to write with the details of the case to my right honourable Friend the Justice Secretary, he will look at it very carefully.”
The BNP is putting together an investigation group in the area to monitor this case and hold the local authority responsible for providing the victim with the support she needs.
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Did you like this information? Then please consider making a donation or subscribing to our Newsletter.Entertainment company Warner Bros. has completed its takeover of YouTuber network Machinima. The financial details have not been disclosed, though Los Angeles Times reports that a source familiar with the deal values Machinima at $100 million.
Warner Bros. first invested in Machinima back in 2014, to the tune of around $18 million. Today's news means the YouTube network is now fully under the control of Warner Bros.--itself currently undergoing an $85 billion takeover by communications company AT&T.
Warner Bros. is not the only media giant to invest in YouTube. Disney acquired Maker Studios (which also controls another YouTube network, Polaris), in a deal that could eventually be worth $950 million, also in 2014. That means YouTube stars like PewDiePie, TotalBiscuit, and The Yogscast are all working under the Disney banner.
Machinima, which claims to hold over 400 million subscribers, made headlines earlier this year when the United States' Federal trade Commission said the YouTube network "deceived customers" by paying YouTubers to review the Xbox One positively without disclosure of payment.
Warner Bros. itself came under similar scrutiny with regards to Shadow of Mordor videos, though one of the YouTubers involved, PewDiePie, insists he "didn't even do anything wrong.I grew up hearing the story of “General Jack” – the name ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used to call Marion Jack — and how, at the end of her life and in spite of the danger of living in Bulgaria during the Second World War, she requested that the Guardian allow her to remain firm in her pioneer post.
During my time in the Holy Land, on a visit to the Mansion of Bahjí, I discovered that she was an amazing landscape painter. Her art touched me deeply. It was as if I was looking through a window, seeing how the same places I visited used to look so many years ago. I related to some of her feelings through her paint strokes; they conveyed the wonderful waterfall of emotions that flows trough you when you witness the beauty and spirituality of the Holy Land.
Marion Jack became a Bahá’í while she was studying art in Paris. During a social gathering she met Charles Mason Remey, who shared the Baha’i Faith with her. He described the encounter with the following words: “She was, as many were those early days, afire with the Faith then and there, all at once. Marion met the Baha’is, came to meetings in my studio and elsewhere, and that was the beginning of her belief.”
In 1908, Marion Jack traveled to the Holy Land and during her stay in ‘Akká she taught the Master’s grandchildren English and of course she continued painting.
She was blessed to be in the presence of Abdu’l-Bahá during His two sojourns in London. On 22 September 1911, the Master visited her home. On that occasion during His talk He mentioned His hope “that the people of the West may be illumined by the light of God; that the Kingdom may come to them, that they may find eternal Life, that the Spirit of God may spread like a fire among them, that they may be baptized with the Water of Life and may find a new birth.” We can only imagine the inspiration His words had on Marion Jack’s heart during the several occasions she was in His presence. She responded to the call of the Divine Plan of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by taking the message of Bahá’u’lláh to Alaska in 1919-1920.
Sometimes actions are louder than words, and through her deeds we can glimpse the transformative effect the Faith had on her life. In 1931, at age 65, Marion Jack moved to Bulgaria following the Guardian’s request that she pioneer to that country. A few years later, when the imminence of the war was clear, she pleaded with the Guardian to let her stay at her pioneer post after he suggested that she move to a safer country. In spite of poverty and poor health, first during the world economic depression, then during the war, and finally through the difficulties of living behind the Iron curtain, she remained steadfast in her efforts to teach the Faith in her adoptive country until the end of her life.
The Guardian extolled the standard she set as a pioneer:
To remain at one’s post, to undergo sacrifice and hardship, loneliness and, if necessary, persecution, in order to hold aloft the torch of Baha’u’llah, is the true function of every pioneer… every Baha’i and most particularly those who have left their homes and gone to serve in foreign fields, should know of, and turn their gaze to, Marion Jack.
References:Kim Jong-un appeared on Tuesday to signal a pause in the escalating war of words with Donald Trump, saying he was prepared to watch US actions in the region “a little more” before ordering a planned launch of North Korean missiles aimed at the US territory of Guam.
Japan fears the once distant threat of North Korean missiles is becoming real | Justin McCurry Read more
But he warned he could still order a missile launch aimed at the seas around Guam if there were further provocations from “foolish Yankees”.
“The United States, which was the first to bring numerous strategic nuclear equipment near us, should first make the right decision and show through actions if they wish to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and prevent a dangerous military clash,” Kim was quoted as saying by the state KCNA news agency after an inspection of the army’s strategic forces.
James Mattis, the US defence secretary, had warned earlier that a North Korean missile attack aimed at US territory “could escalate into war very quickly”. He said US forces would know “within moments” if the trajectory of a North Korean missile was taking it towards Guam, which is home to military bases and 160,000 people.
But in a sign that Kim may be attempting to lower the diplomatic temperature, KCNA said he would continue to watch the “foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees” before deciding whether to give an order for the launch.
Quick guide Are US defences strong enough to ward off North Korean missiles? Show Hide What kind of anti-missile defences does the US possess? The US has various anti-missile options, some designed to take down missiles at short-range and others for medium-to-long-range. The US relies heavily on the US Patriot missile and the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD). The US deployed THAAD to South Korea this year to defend against medium-range missiles. There is a three-phased defence system: ground-based missiles on the Korean peninsula; US naval ships stationed in the Pacific; and two bases in Alaska and California that can launch an estimated 36 interceptors.
Is the US system robust enough to stop a North Korean missile attack? No air defence system offers anything like a complete guarantee of success. The Pentagon offer repeated assurances that air defence systems would be more than a match for any North Korean attack. But when missile defence systems have been put to the test over the last few decades, the performance has been far from reassuring.
The US provided anti-missile defence systems to Israel and Saudi Arabia during the First Gulf War as protection against Iraq's Scud missiles. It was initially claimed that they had shot down 41 of 42 missiles fired by Iraq. But eventually it was acknowledged that only a few missiles had been hit.
Recent tests of interceptors have provided little comfort – with success rates of around 50% on average. The Pentagon celebrated in May when it destroyed a mock warhead over the Pacific but overall the performance has been spotty. Since the newest intercept system was introduced in 2004 only four of nine intercept attempts have been successful. Of the five tests since 2010, only two have been successful.
Kim said North Korea would approve the launch of four intermediate-range Hwasong-12 ballistic missiles if the Americans “persist in their extremely dangerous, reckless actions on the Korean peninsula and its vicinity”, KCNA said.
Official photos showed the North Korean leader, making his first public appearance for about two weeks, sitting at a table with a large map marked with a straight line that appeared to show the missiles’ intended flight path from north-east North Korea, over western Japan and out into the Pacific towards Guam.
If the launches did proceed, Kim said he looked forward to “the most delightful historic moment when the Hwasong artillerymen will wring the windpipes of the Yankees and point daggers at their necks”.
The dispatch did not specify which US actions Kim considered “dangerous and reckless”, but US and South Korea are due to begin two weeks of joint military exercises from 21 August.
While the US and South Korea insist the annual drills are defensive in nature, North Korea has long considered them a preparation for invasion and customarily uses the exercises to issue threats against Washington and its allies.
The drills, named Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, were planned long before tensions surged following two North Korean tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles and claims by experts in Japan and the US that the regime now has the ability to miniaturise nuclear warheads.
US and South Korea to stage huge military exercise despite North Korea crisis Read more
In a further sign of a shift from the testy exchanges between Trump and Kim that have set the tone for the current crisis, the US president and the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, stressed the importance of working with the international community to prevent the missile launch.
In a 30-minute phone call on Tuesday, they agreed that talks for talks’ sake were “meaningless”, according to Japan’s Kyodo news. Abe told reporters in Tokyo: “We shared the awareness that the most important thing is preventing North Korea from going ahead with the launch.”
South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, said Pyongyang could create the conditions for dialogue by stopping additional nuclear and missile tests, adding that resolving the crisis could begin with a freeze on its nuclear weapons programme.
In comments on Tuesday to mark the 72nd anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Moon said the nuclear crisis must “absolutely be solved peacefully” and warned that the US must not take military action without South Korea’s consent.
Moon, a liberal who favours engagement with Pyongyang, said his administration “will put everything on the line to prevent another war in the Korean peninsula”.
Kim reportedly praised the military for drawing up a “close and careful plan” to send the missiles to within 30-40 km of the coast of Guam and create an “enveloping fire” around the island, home to key US military bases and 160,000 people.
Last week, Trump warned Pyongyang that the US would respond with “fire and fury” to any further threats, a warning the North Korean regime almost immediately defied with its missile threat against Guam.
The US president escalated the rhetoric once more by declaring US military options were “locked and loaded” and that the North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un, would “truly regret” any attack on Guam or other US or allied territory.
Life at 'the tip of the spear': defiant Guam refuses to cower to Kim Read more
On Monday, Mattis said the US would intercept North Korean missiles if they appeared to be targeting Guam, which lies about 3,200km (2,000 miles) from Pyongyang.
Mattis told reporters that the US military would know the trajectory of a missile within moments and would “take it out”, adding: “The bottom line is, we will defend the country from an attack; for us that is war.”
Japan, too, has deployed missile defence batteries in preparation for a possible launch, but skepticism greeted Tokyo’s claim it would be able to intercept the missiles as they flew over Japanese territory.
On a visit to Seoul on Monday, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, Gen Joseph Dunford, said Washington was relying primarily on economic and diplomatic means of dealing with North Korea.
“The United States military’s priority is to support our government’s efforts to achieve the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula through diplomatic and economic pressure,” Dunford said, according to a South Korean government statement. “We are preparing a military option in case such efforts fail.”In a move to curb the black money menace, PM Narendra Modi declared that from midnight currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 denomination will not be legal tender. People can deposit notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 in their banks from November 10 till December 30, 2016.In his 40-minute address, first in Hindi and later in English, the Prime Minister said the notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 "will not be legal tender from midnight tonight" and these will be "just worthless piece of paper."However, he said that all notes in lower denomination of Rs 100, Rs 50, Rs 20, Rs 10, Rs 5, Rs 2 and Re 1 and all coins will continue to be valid."You have 50 days (From 10 Nov to 30 Dec) to deposit notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in any Bank or Post office," PM Modi told the nation in a televised address to the nation.He also announced that new notes of Rs 2000 and Rs 500 will be introduced.ATM withdrawals will be restricted to Rs 2000 per day and withdrawals from bank accounts will be limited to Rs 10,000 a day and Rs 20,000 a week.Banks will remain closed tomorrow and ATMs will also not function tomorrow, Modi said.He expressed confidence that the staff of banks and post offices will rise to the occasion to introduce the new order within the available time.He also expressed confidence that political parties, workers, social organisations and the media will go further than the government in making it a success.Besides depositing money in bank accounts, the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes can also be exchanged with lower denomination currency notes at designated banks and post offices on production of valid government identity cards like PAN, Aadhaar and Election Card from November 10 to November 24 with a daily limit of Rs 4000.Those unable to deposit Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes till December 30 this year can do so in designated RBI offices till March 31 next year after filling a declaration form along with proof and reasons, the Prime Minister said.Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes will be valid for transactions related to booking of air tickets, railway bookings, government bus ticket counters and hospitals till the midnight of November 11 and 12."Banks will be closed tomorrow. It will cause some hardship to you....Let us ignore these hardships... In country's history, there comes a moment when people will want to participate in the nation building and reconstruction. Very few such moments come in life," Modi said.While making the announcement, the Prime Minister said the sweeping measures were aimed at curbing the "disease" of corruption and black money which have taken deep root."There is a need for a decisive war against the menace of corruption, black money and terrorism... Corruption, black money and terrorism are festering wounds which make the country hollow from within," he said, adding such activities hold back the nation's progress.Describing illegal financial activities as the "biggest blot", Modi said that despite several steps taken by his government over the last two-and-a-half years, India's global ranking on corruption had moved only to 76th position from 100th earlier."This shows the extent of the web of corruption in the country. The disease of corruption is the domain of some veted people who are flourishing. Some people have misused their positions and benefitted. On the other hand, honest people are suffering," he said.He linked fake currency to terrorism and questioned how enemies of the countries are using such methods to harm India."We have to get rid of this termite of corruption," he said.1. Currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations will not be legal beginning November 92. New notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 would be released and circulated from November 103. ATMs will not work on November 9, and at some places on November 10 as well4. People can deposit notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 in their banks from November 10 till December 30, 20165. Those unable to deposit Rs 1000, Rs 500 notes by December 30 for some reason, can change them till March 31, 2017 by furnishing ID proof6. Currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 will be just paper with no value7. Banks will remain closed on 9th November8. All banks and post offices will remain shut tomorrow9. Cashless fund transfer won't be affected by this10. Respite for people for the initial 72 hours, Govt hospitals will accept old Rs 500 and 1000 notes till 11 November midnight11. Some medical facilities will be exempted from this for the time being12. Rs 20,000 weekly cap on exchange of Rs 500 & Rs 1,000 notesHERSHEY, PA – Tomas Kundratek speaks to the media after the 2013 Outdoor Classic (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
One night after scoring Hershey’s lone goal in the Outdoor Classic, Tomas Kundratek has been recalled by the Washington Capitals. The 23-year old defenseman has has one eventful week after being named to the 2013 AHL All-Star game, scoring Hershey’s goal last night, and now the recall.
In 41 games, Tomas has scored 13 goals, racking up 26 points for the Bears. This is “Kundy’s” second recall to DC, where he played in five games with no goals or points and two penalty minutes. This has all happened after the Capitals announce Jack Hillen has been put on IR and is week-to-week, so expect this recall to be a little while. If that is true, their will need to be a replacement for the All-Star game for his spot.Canon will release a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera in 2012. Japanese website DCWatch has the first interview where Canon have spoken in detail about the development of the new system.
There’s so much in this interview. But the translation is very rough. So take my interpretation as just that for now – an interpretation.
Note: I have also corrected some grammar in the translated quotes for easy reading.
The interview is with Canon’s managing director of imaging Mr. Masaya Maeda (Google translated name is incorrect). He spoke to Masakazu Honda about a difficult 2011 and their broad plans for 2012 – making a new mirrorless mount compatible with EF lenses, introducing a new range of lenses to minimise the size of the new system and video optimised lenses.
There’s also a mention of ‘APS-I’ in the text but this could be a ‘lost in translation’ moment. If not, could the new sensor size, system format and mount of Canon’s mirrorless be dubbed APS-I?
Here are the highlights…
Q: What is the concept / aims for the Canon mirrorless system?
“Performance demanded by [the]camera is picture quality is first. And downsizing coming next. Even with compact machine with interchangeable lenses the priority of this need is constant. This is the same with a video camera, indeed any photographic equipment can be worn smaller, more portable and can be taken to any scene at any time. With every camera the need for miniaturization is uniform.”
Indeed this explains why the Canon C300 form factor was developed – Canon recognise the advantage of making systems that are no larger than they need to be.
Q: What about videos lenses?
“Even with the idea of zooming and AF, video requires a unique lens.”
“The lens will support video and incorporate new ideas.”
“New products scheduled for trial were delayed significantly by the earthquake.”
“High-performance video for the masses requires AF. In addition, we will respond to the smooth movement of the diaphragm (iris)”.
Q: What about AF methods for such lenses?
“I think a new way. A combination of phase difference detection system and contrast detection method, please wait for the specific product announcement.”
I believe Canon are speaking about the new mirrorless system lenses here, rather than video lenses for the C300 although I expect we’ll be seeing those at some point as well.
M. Tian Rong Jin also mentions a future camcorder, though rather obtusely. There’s a mention of Photokina 2012 in the question leading to this response but the translation makes it extremely unclear what exactly was asked. Regardless, here is Masaya Maeda’s response:
“With interchangeable lenses as well as a high-quality fixed lens camera…. A new proposal for a camcorder, please expect.”
I am expecting Canon’s new mirrorless system to be announced at Photokina in September. As with the last one, EOSHD will be there to cover it live.
Source: DCWatch via PhotoRumorsThe video will start in 8 Cancel
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Footballer Ched Evans is determined to revive his career in the United States should his conviction for rape be overturned, according to reports.
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in the attack, we do have a glimpse at what he was thinking beforehand, and what could have led him to commit such atrocities; he blamed the women who shunned him for his aching loneliness. "All I ever wanted was to fit in and live a happy life amongst humanity, but I was cast out and rejected, forced to endure an existence of loneliness and insignificance, all because the females of the human species were incapable of seeing the value in me," he wrote in a document titled My Twisted World.
It was women the shooter blamed. "Girls gave their affection and sex and love to other men," he said, "but never to me." There's a feeling of entitlement in his words, that he expects women to be close to him, that he's owed their companionship. It's a troubling thought--one that dehumanizes women as objects to be enjoyed rather than people capable of making rational decisions--and one that was echoed in the game I spent the weekend playing.
Killer Is Dead finally made its way to the PC on Friday, many months after it had come to consoles, and considering how much I've enjoyed previous games from Grasshopper Studios, I happily downloaded it to see what Suda 51 had concocted this time. Sadly, there is questionable treatment of women in this stylish adventure. Amid the standard stages are side missions dubbed Gigolo mode, in which you ogle women at a bar until your confidence grows to an acceptable level. Sneaking peeks at their underwear gives you the courage to present gifts, and by doling out some perfume or a fancy stone, you earn their love. They are objectives to complete, prizes waiting to be won, whose presence follows you even when you're not actively courting them. The women call to you mid-mission, urging you to come back to join them, as you brush off their pleas because you're busy with more pressing matters.
There's a feeling of entitlement in his words, that he expects women to be close to him, that he's owed their companionship.
Drawing even a tenuous link between games such as Killer Is Dead and the motivations of the Santa Barbara killer is unfair. No one piece of fiction could possibly change the ideology of a person--even one who is easily influenced--so I am not pointing my finger toward any one thing in an attempt to take blame away from the individual and shift it onto an inanimate object. A person who could commit such a horrific act is troubled in a way that I cannot possibly understand. His actions are his responsibility, and his alone, but we should still look at the world that he existed in, and the cultural influences that are all around us.
It's not likely that one game would be able to change the thought process of a person. What we should consider, though, is that Killer Is Dead is not alone in its treatment of women. There are countless other games in which this philosophy exists--many of which have achieved far more popularity than this niche hack-and-slasher could ever reach--and it's hard to avoid this message if you play games as much as I do.
Mass Effect, for instance, is one of the most engaging adventures I've played in recent years, handling difficult subjects such as genocide with aplomb, and yet establishing a relationship with a woman requires no more than answering multiple-choice questions correctly before you get to bed her. You can also court men as a female Shepard in Mass Effect, though it's a false equivalency to treat those two situations as equal because the women are so much more sexualized. The same stripped-down approach to love was found in Persona 4: Golden, a game with fascinating characters that still resorted to in-game rewards and a shallow courting process to win the hearts of your female friends. There are much more glaring examples of objectification in games, but it's important to notice that even smart, progressive games such as these fall into the same traps.
Games aren't the only place in which this mentality is ever present, and when I think about the recent media I've consumed, I can't ignore how often men dominate the women in their lives. Just a note, the following examples don't glamorize the dehumanizing of woman, but they do showcase the supreme dominance of men. In Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood, Toru is an incredibly selfish character who struggles to deal with women who don't bend to his every whim. He expects the women in his life to please him whenever he wishes, and becomes discouraged and frustrated when they refuse to give him what he desires. In the television series Masters of Sex, the men demand that their wives quit their jobs, work at home, and obey them without question, and balk whenever a woman dares to strive for independence.
Masters of Sex often puts women in disempowering situations.
The movie Under the Skin examines one woman's search for her identity. It's a sobering journey in which the protagonist must escape from a man who desires her, and finds that she can't fight against those who are so much stronger than she is. I see this theme repeated over and over again, showing women in a place of weakness, men as the dominating force, and justice being forsaken for primal pleasure. This is the world in which we live, the media that shapes our point of view, and something that we shouldn't ignore.
Where this gets so difficult for me is that I enjoy everything that I've written about so far. Killer Is Dead isn't nearly as interesting as Suda 51's previous games--such as Killer 7, No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned, or even Lollipop Chainsaw--but I was riveted by its violent, sexy exploits nonetheless. The visual design is so expertly constructed, the combat so dynamically satisfying, that I plunged deeper into the adventure even though I couldn't ignore the objectification of every woman I met. I cannot deny my love for Mass Effect, either, and Persona 4: Golden is one of the finest games I've ever played. Norwegian Wood is a deft exploration of the selfish desires of a young man, and Masters of Sex creates sobering conflicts in which I hoped against hope that the characters would do the right thing. And Under the Skin, well, I can't remember the last time I saw a movie this affecting. It's a masterpiece, and one that I haven't been able to get out of my head for the past two months.
This is the world in which we live, the media that shapes our point of view, and something that we shouldn't ignore.
Women are often treated poorly in popular culture, but searching for an easy solution to this problem is a lost cause. Our society has been infected by these ideas for so long, and we can't change the way people think at the drop of a hat. If there were an obvious scapegoat we could point to, something that clearly triggered the tragedy in Santa Barbara, we would have a strong place to start, but such a thing doesn't exist. For the government, there are policies that need to be examined, the same issues that seem to surface whenever such an event occurs. For instance, the discussion around the availability of guns is once again going to take place, as is our relationship to mental health care. But those matters have to be settled by our lawmakers. The government does not dictate culture, though, so it's our responsibility to examine the media we create and consume.
Artists should be able to express themselves without fear that their work is going to be banned. But just because there aren't any rules dictating what kind of ideas authors, directors, and game developers can explore, they still have a responsibility to themselves and the world at large that shouldn't be ignored. Media does not force people to commit violent acts, and to imply that's the case is dangerous and unfair. Still, creators have to be cognizant of what messages they are sending out there. If they continue to demean a certain segment of the population, if they dehumanize our friends and loved ones, then it may be worth reexamining those beliefs.
We, as consumers, have our own role in this healing process. We have to accept that the media we hold near to our hearts can still have troubling messages. To hide from this fact is disingenuous. Admit that major themes may be damaging, that you understand and respect that others feel uncomfortable, and yet still celebrate the elements that you enjoy. Our voices are important. It doesn't help anyone to stick our heads in the sand, to pretend that everything is all right even when so many people think otherwise. There's nothing wrong with liking media that others find disgusting. Yes, I am a little embarrassed to say that I enjoyed Killer Is Dead amid the controversy that surrounded its release, but at the same time, I can't hide who I am, and I am fully aware of what kind of messaging it has. So don't stop playing the games you love, or watching the movies that speak to you. But don't brush off the criticisms directed toward them, either.
Video games are supposed to be an escape. They're where I go when I want to relax for a few hours, or to visit a world very different from my own. I recognize that games are power fantasies, fictional endeavors in which I can jump higher than real gravity would allow, withstand bullets without dying, and dunk a basketball from the three-point line. Those power fantasies are what often draw me into games. But it's when those fantasies shift from exaggerating my own physical strengths to turning women into mere objects that things stop being fun. We have to recognize the cultural impact of our artistic expression. Only by talking openly about what we're enjoying, and examining how it affects the world at large, can we better understand how a person like the Santa Barbara killer could have such troubling ideas about women to begin with.It’s one of the most basic rituals of hygiene.
Most of us are taught from a very early age that hand-washing is an easy, essential way of keeping ourselves clean and healthy. But residents of Flint, Michigan and surrounding areas have been forgoing this common practice out of fear of the water’s toxicity. Genesee county, of which Flint is a the largest city, and the adjacent county of Saginaw combined have experienced an outbreak of 131 cases of a contagious, preventable bacteria gastrointestinal disease, according to the Detroit News.
Shigellosis (named after the bacteria that causes it, Shigella) is usually not lethal, but it’s also certainly not pleasant. It’s a bloody diarrheal disease transmitted via tiny amounts of contaminated fecal matter. It typically lasts about a week, but can also cause patients to feel like they have to go to the bathroom even when they have no more waste in their systems. Additionally, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also notes that “may be several months before [patients] bowel habits are entirely normal.”
In 2013, there were just under five cases reported per every 100,000 people in America. The outbreak in Michigan far exceeds that number, and it’s likely because residents in the area are afraid to use their tap water, which was found to have toxic levels of lead, a heavy metal that can cause neurological problems when it builds up in the body, in 2015. Even though the water was deemed safe for consumption with a proper filter, people in the area are still scared to wash their hands at all, according to the Washington Post.
Instead, they’re cleaning themselves using baby wipes—aren’t nearly as effective as disinfectant as good old-fashioned scrubbing—which should take about 20 seconds to ensure that any potential pathogens are washed down the drain.
“Some people have mentioned that they’re not going to expose their children to the water again,” Jim Henry, Genesee County’s environmental health supervisor, told CNN.
In this case linger fear of lead poisoning is leading to a three-fold increase of a preventable diarrheal disease. ”If people aren’t washing their hands, [Shigellosis] runs through the whole county,” he said.Seventy-five years since the assassination of Leon Trotsky
20 August 2015
Seventy-five years ago today, on August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky, co-leader of the Russian Revolution and founder of the Fourth International, was assaulted with an ice pick by Stalinist agent Ramón Mercader. The attack took place at Trotsky’s villa in Coyoacán, Mexico, his final place of exile. The great revolutionary died the next day from his wounds, at the age of 60.
The murder of Trotsky came at the high point of international political reaction that included the victory of fascism in Germany in 1933, the defeat of the Spanish Revolution of 1936-39, the Moscow Trials and Great Terror of 1936-38, and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. The assassination of Trotsky was the response of the Stalinist bureaucracy—which, as Trotsky explained, was a political agency of imperialism—to the danger posed by the Marxist principles for which he fought. As long as Trotsky lived, Stalin would have to contend with his most implacable opponent.
Against incredible odds, however, Trotsky had managed to form the Fourth International, which has outlived the assassins who struck him down. Seventy-five years later, Trotsky’s unique position in the history of international socialism is indisputable. He emerges ever more clearly as a world historical figure who not only influenced the course of the 20th century, but whose writings and ideas remain an essential guide for orienting the working class as it enters a new period of revolutionary struggle.
Trotsky’s life and fate were inextricably tied to the great events of the first half of the 20th century. Trotsky and Lenin were the principle leaders of the Russian Revolution, the pinnacle of an enormous upsurge of international working-class struggle against the depredations of capitalism and the horrific slaughter of the First World War. The political theory of the revolution itself was provided by Trotsky’s Theory of Permanent Revolution, forged in the midst of the 1905 Russian Revolution, which explained that the democratic tasks in underdeveloped countries such as Russia could be completed only by the working class taking power as part of a world socialist revolution.
For six years, Trotsky played an indispensable role in organizing and defending the workers’ state that was established by the events of October 1917, including as Soviet Russia’s first commissar for foreign affairs and as the founder and commander of the Red Army.
For his role in the Russian Revolution, which took place as he turned 38, Trotsky would have secured a place in history as one of the greatest leaders of the working class and the socialist movement. However, Trotsky would later write that it was in the struggle against the Stalinist degeneration of the Soviet Union, culminating in the founding of the Fourth International, that he made his most significant and lasting political contribution.
The conflict that emerged between Stalin and Trotsky was not a subjective fight between two individuals over personal power, but a fundamental battle waged between irreconcilable political programs. The consolidation of power by Stalin, and the bureaucratic dictatorship that he personified, was not the inevitable outcome of the Russian Revolution. Rather, it developed out of the specific conditions of an economically backward workers’ state isolated by the defeats of the world revolution. Seven years of war and imperialist-backed civil war had exacted an enormous toll on the working class, the social base of the revolution. Stalin’s rise to power was facilitated by the illness and death of Lenin, who in his last year had issued a call to Trotsky for joint action to combat the bureaucratic degeneration of the Soviet Union.
Stalin articulated the interests of a conservative apparatus that usurped power from the working class and repudiated the essential link between the revolution in Russia and the international class struggle. The program of “socialism in one country,” first articulated in 1924, was based on the false and anti-Marxist claim that socialism could be achieved in the Soviet Union independent of revolution outside the borders of Russia. It legitimized the subordination of the international working class to the national interests of the Soviet bureaucracy and served to justify policies that produced the defeat of the British General Strike of 1926 and the crushing of the Chinese Revolution of 1925-27. Trotsky later recalled in his autobiography, “The sentiment of ‘Not all and always for the revolution, but something for oneself as well,’ was translated as ‘Down with permanent revolution.’”
In his critique of Stalinism, Trotsky developed a theory of world socialist revolution that proved immeasurably more far-sighted than the pragmatic maneuvers of the Stalinist bureaucrats. Based on the Theory of Permanent Revolution, the Left Opposition that he founded in 1923 insisted that progress toward socialism within the Soviet Union depended on the development of the world socialist revolution. In a passage written in 1930 that applies with even greater force today, Trotsky explained:
The completion of the socialist revolution within national limits is unthinkable. One of the basic reasons for the crisis in bourgeois society is the fact that the productive forces created by it can no longer be reconciled with the framework of the national state. From this follow, on the one hand, imperialist wars, on the other, the utopia of a bourgeois United States of Europe. The socialist revolution begins on the national arena, it unfolds on the international arena, and is completed on the world arena. Thus, the socialist revolution becomes a permanent revolution in a newer and broader sense of the word; it attains completion only in the final victory of the new society on our entire planet.
The repudiation of socialist internationalism by the Stalinist bureaucracy required a campaign of historical falsification aimed at obliterating Trotsky’s political influence and denying the connection between the perspective for which he fought and that which had guided the Russian Revolution itself. This was coupled with an ever more direct and violent campaign against Trotsky and his supporters.
In November 1927, Trotsky was expelled from the Russian Communist Party, followed one month later by the expulsion of all supporters of the Left Opposition. In January 1928, he was exiled to Alma Ata, in the mountains of present-day Kazakhstan. One year later, in February 1929, Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Union and took up temporary residence in Prinkipo, Turkey. Confronting what he later called “a planet without a visa” due to the combined hostility of the Stalinists, social democrats and the imperialist powers, Trotsky was forced to move from Turkey to France in 1933, to Norway in 1935, and, finally, to Mexico in 1937.
In the eight years between Trotsky’s expulsion from the Soviet Union and his arrival in Mexico, the working class experienced a series of defeats produced by the treachery of the Stalinist and social democratic bureaucracies. The victory of fascism in Germany in 1933 was followed by the strangulation of revolutionary uprisings in France and Spain, where the working class was subordinated to the political rule of the capitalist class under the banner of the “Popular Front.”
In the aftermath of the rise of Hitler to power—a monumental catastrophe for the German and international working class that was made possible by the disastrous policies of the Communist International—Trotsky issued a call for the formation of a new, Fourth International. He warned that the gains of the Russian Revolution could be defended only through a political revolution to overthrow the nationalist bureaucracy.
Terrified by the threat that Trotsky and the Fourth International represented, Stalin resorted to ever more brutal violence and repression, within the Soviet Union and internationally. While the Moscow Trials of 1936-38 were directed at all political opposition to the Stalinist regime, its principle targets were the supporters of Trotsky. Hundreds of thousands of socialists—the product of an immense tradition of revolutionary culture in Russia—were massacred in a political genocide.
The massive violence required to defend the regime constituted irrefutable proof that Stalin’s rule was not a continuation of the Russian Revolution, but its gravedigger. Stalinism and genuine Marxism, Trotsky wrote in 1937, were separated “not simply by a bloody line but a whole river of blood.”
Trotsky waged a fearless campaign to expose the show trials and the political crimes of Stalinism. In response, the Stalinist GPU (state secret police) worked systematically to physically liquidate Trotsky’s closest supporters and cothinkers. Among those murdered by Stalinist agents were Erwin Wolf, one of Trotsky’s political secretaries, in July 1937; Ignace Reiss, who had defected from the GPU and declared his support for Trotsky, in September 1937; Trotsky’s son and close collaborator Leon Sedov in February 1938; and Rudolf Klement, secretary of the Fourth International, who was kidnapped and murdered in July 1938.
These assassinations were made possible by agents of the GPU who had penetrated the Trotskyist movement, including Mark Zborowski, who had wormed his way into the confidence of Sedov and served as his secretary.
Yet, so long as Trotsky lived, the Stalinist regime could not rest. Victor Serge wrote in 1937: “There is no other explanation for the mad proscriptions which are destroying the structure of the regime except hatred and fear… The substitute team has been shot as a precaution. Only the Old Man remains… As long as the Old Man lives, there will be no security for the triumphant bureaucracy.”
Despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances—including the murder of Klement only two months before—the Fourth International held its Founding Congress in September 1938. The founding document, written by Trotsky, warned: “The objective prerequisites for the proletarian revolution have not only ‘ripened’; they have begun to get somewhat rotten. Without a socialist revolution, in the next historical period at that, a catastrophe threatens the whole culture of mankind. The turn is now to the proletariat, i.e., chiefly to its revolutionary vanguard. The historical crisis of mankind is reduced to the crisis of the revolutionary leadership.”
The war drive of imperialism threatened to ignite once again a wave of revolutionary upheavals. It was precisely for this reason that world imperialism, through its Stalinist agents, sought to decapitate the leadership of the Fourth International. In an essay written in October 1938, Trotsky drew the connection between the impending war and the violence directed at the Trotskyist movement:
At the beginning of the last war, Jean Jaurès was assassinated, and at the end of the war, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg… The work of exterminating the internationalists has already commenced on a world scale prior to the outbreak of the war. Imperialism no longer has to depend on a ‘happy accident.’ In the Stalinist Mafia it has a ready-made international agency for the systematic extermination of revolutionists… Through its Stalinist gangsters imperialism indicates beforehand from what side mortal danger will threaten it in time of war. The imperialists are not mistaken.
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939, as world opinion was concentrated on the catastrophe in Europe, was seen by the Stalinist regime as an opportunity to escalate the campaign to assassinate Trotsky. A first attempt on his life was made on May 24, 1940 by an assassination team headed by the Stalinist painter David Alfaro Siqueiros.
Trotsky and his wife Natalia survived the assault, but Trotsky knew it would not be the last attempt. “I live on this earth not in accordance with the rule but as an exception to the rule,” Trotsky wrote with remarkable objectivity two weeks later. “In a reactionary epoch such as ours, a revolutionist is compelled to swim against the stream. I am doing this to the best of my ability. The pressure of world reaction has expressed itself perhaps most implacably in my personal fate and the fate of those close to me. I do not at all see in this any merit of mine: this is the result of the interlacing of historical circumstances.”
Then, on August 20, 1940, Trotsky was felled by Mercader, a Stalinist agent posing as a supporter of the Trotskyist movement.
In 1975, the International Committee of the Fourth International launched an investigation into the circumstances behind Trotsky’s assassination that exposed the extent of GPU infiltration into the Trotskyist movement. The investigation documented not only the role of Zborowski, but also that of Sylvia Callen (who worked as a secretary for James Cannon, the national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party, then the Trotskyist movement in the US); Robert Sheldon Harte (who was on guard detail on the night of the first assassination attempt); and Joseph Hansen (Trotsky’s secretary and guard at the time of his assassination, and the future leader of the SWP during the period of its political degeneration).
The Security and the Fourth International investigation was denounced and opposed by the SWP and all the political renegades from the Trotskyist movement. Subsequent material released from the archives of the Soviet Union, however, has confirmed many of the conclusions drawn by the ICFI about the individuals who helped prepare and implement this greatest of political crimes.
At the time of his death, Trotsky was the greatest representative of a tradition of classical Marxism that emerged out of the revolutionary upsurge of the first decades of the Twentieth Century. His assassination dealt an immense blow to the international socialist movement, yet he left behind a political and theoretical legacy that laid a firm foundation for the development of the Fourth International. Indeed, in the last years of his life Trotsky grappled with questions that would emerge as the central political issues facing the socialist movement following the Second World War.
In founding the Fourth International, Trotsky had to combat not only the Stalinists and imperialists, but a whole layer of petty-bourgeois intellectuals who, from the defeats of the 1930s, drew the conclusion that the working class was incapable of carrying out a socialist revolution. To justify their own abandonment of the fight for socialism, they foisted onto the working class responsibility for the treachery of its leadership. “If we grant as true,” Trotsky wrote, “that the cause of the defeats is rooted in the social qualities of the proletariat itself, then the position of modern society will have to be acknowledged as hopeless.”
The demoralized repudiation of socialism and the rejection of the revolutionary role of the working class were to emerge repeatedly in the decades after the Second World War. Within the Fourth International, they found expression in the form of Pabloism, which was an adaptation to the Stalinist and social democratic bureaucracies and to the bourgeois nationalist movements.
Amidst the intensification of class conflict, these forces have moved sharply to the right, seeking ever more directly to assume the mantle of state power, as they have done in Greece. One can only imagine how Trotsky would have marshaled his literary skill and immeasurable wit to excoriate the selfish and self-obsessed upper-middle-class layers of today, how he would have exposed the rotten politics of Syriza and Podemos, how he would have flayed intellectual charlatans and pseudo-left celebrities like Slavoj Žižek.
What Trotsky understood and expressed with unequaled clarity was the decisive role of leadership. The essential lesson he drew from both the positive achievement of the Russian Revolution and the defeats that followed was that the victory of the socialist revolution and, therefore, the survival of mankind, required a relentless struggle to resolve the crisis of revolutionary leadership. This fundamental truth was to be demonstrated again and again in the decades after his death.
The centrality of the crisis of revolutionary leadership meant that the political struggle was the highest task. Trotsky had nothing but contempt for those who evaded their political responsibilities under the banner of personal freedom. “Let the philistines hunt for their own individuality in empty space,” he declared in a speech marking the founding of the Fourth International. “Yes, our party takes each one of us wholly. But in return it gives to every one of us the highest happiness: the consciousness that one participates in the building of a better future, that one carries on his shoulders a particle of the fate of mankind, and that one’s life will not have been lived in vain.”
The enduring significance of Trotsky is reflected in the relentless assault on his historical reputation. Yet those who blackguard Trotsky today will not succeed. History has vindicated Trotsky’s analysis of the death agony of capitalism. The power of his ideas and the historical tradition that he represented have stood the test of time. The movement that he founded has proven to be the only genuine and viable revolutionary tendency.
Above all, the basic task for which Trotsky fought remains the central issue facing the working class today: the building of a revolutionary leadership.
These principles live on in the International Committee of the Fourth International, the world Trotskyist movement. The anniversary of his assassination must not only be an occasion to pay tribute to his memory, as fitting as this is, but to honor this memory through an intensification of the struggle to build the ICFI as the World Party of Socialist Revolution.
Joseph Kishore
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Dave Lang was warming up for the Aggressive Inline League championship in 2014.
He was attempting a 900 degree spin over a launch box at Woodward West, a trick he’d done numerous times before and numerous times after.
This time, however, he overshot the landing, and landed on a flat surface. He hit his head but didn’t lose consciousness.
Lang, a 27-year-old professional rollerblader living in Hollywood, was cleared by on-staff medics and ended up winning the competition later in the day.
The next day, he felt nauseous and called an ambulance.
At the emergency room, a CT scan showed he had an acute subdural hematoma.
“Despite its name, it’s no small injury. It is when bleeding fills the brain. I actually get sick thinking about it,” Lang told Healthline. “I wasn't wearing a helmet. Doctors said if I had been, it probably wouldn't have been as severe. Now I'm full-time helmet because my risk is much greater for a reoccurrence than if I were to ignore it. I've been wearing one since my injury.”
He was airlifted to a Bakersfield hospital where he was sedated but felt everything that was happening to him. In his 15 years of skating, it was the hardest he’s ever hit his head.
“Fortunately, I haven't noticed any personality changes, which is common amongst traumatic brain injury survivors and I am thankful for that,” he said.
Read More: Get the Facts on Concussions »
More Than Just NFL Players
Those personality changes Lang refers to are often what people notice after a major head trauma or after years of less severe ones.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been making headlines — and there is even a movie about it starring Will Smith — after former players in the National Football League (NFL) began experiencing depression and symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s disease earlier than normal.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a condition that can result after repeated TBIs. It is a concern for athletes, soldiers who’ve seen combat, and others repeatedly exposed to concussions.
CTE, which can only be diagnosed after death, is believed to be the result of the jarring nature of concussions and other TBIs.
While helmets can protect the skull from impact injuries, the brain is still jostled, opening up the opportunity for tau protein deposits.
Researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University say CTE affects about 80 percent of all football players.
But it doesn’t just affect people who play mainstream sports like football, hockey, and soccer, who are at risk of long-term brain injury.
Read More: Are High School and Youth Football Too Risky for Kids? »
Action Sports Stars at Risk
In May, BMX legend Dave Mirra was posthumously diagnosed with CTE, making him the first action sport star to be diagnosed with the condition.
The revelation opened up the public discussion regarding the risks associated with contact sports, especially where the contact is between the athlete and the concrete.
Mirra sustained numerous head injuries during his career on a bike and then started boxing after his retirement. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on Feb. 4. He was 41 years old.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate between 1.6 million and 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur in the United States each year.
The National Ski Areas Association reports that the number of skiers and snowboarders who incur TBIs that are serious enough to see a doctor increased 106 percent from 2004 and 2010, according to Outside Magazine.
As action sports continue to gain mainstream acceptance, more cities are constructing skate parks, offering relatively safer spaces for various wheeled sports enthusiasts to do their respective activities.
Concrete Disciples, an online database of skate parks, lists more than 3,100 skate parks in the United States alone. While many have signs requiring helmets and pads, few — especially those operated by municipalities — have the resources to enforce such rules.
Overall, helmet rules — unless at a staffed skate park — are often self-enforced. In the action sports community, those rules are often shunned, along with other forms of padding.
There’s limited data available regarding the rate of TBIs in action sports. There’s no central governing body for action sports, unlike the NFL and other professional sports organizations, to track injury data.
What are available are anecdotes and clips from competitions and skate videos.
Read More: Super Bowl QB Troy Aikman on Melanoma, Concussions »
Concussions Vastly Underreported
This week, a report from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the CDC states that rates of concussions and brain injury in children are probably vastly underreported.
This is due, in part, because concussion diagnoses are primarily symptom-based and data is collected often only by emergency department visits.
Their research found that 82 percent of children were diagnosed with a concussion through their primary care doctor, compared to the 12 percent admitted to the emergency department. A third of those concussions were diagnosed in children under age 12.
Children in their tween and teen years are the primary demographic for action sports like skateboarding, so the risk for TBIs is continually there.
But much like traditional sports athletes who for years were told to merely to walk it off and get back into the game, action sports athletes often want to get back up right away to try the trick again until they get it right.
And there aren’t any coaches or staff to make the call for someone to sit the rest of the day on the metaphorical bench.
That’s part of the allure of action sports. Yes, there’s danger, but there’s also the satisfaction of pushing oneself outside their boundaries to accomplish what no one else has before.
Lang knows the feeling well, as he’s known in his sport for always going bigger and faster than last time.
“I think it's about doing what you know best and pushing it when you are truly feeling it,” he said. “There is inherent risk that is involved. It’s important to use your best judgment and focus in order to surpass your limitations. Sometimes you get the horns, but that's a risk we all take in loving what we do.”
Still, he’s gained a lot of perspective from his injury, including skating with a helmet. He calls it “a huge wake-up call and changed my viewpoint on life entirely.”
“What I have noticed is my willingness to put myself out of my comfort zone in my career outside of skating, which, by some sort of divine intervention, began after I had made a full recovery,” he said. “I am very fortunate to be here after said injury. And coming back is very intimidating. But, you need to relocate that ‘on/off switch’ that brings you to a place where you are just skating and nothing else exists.”Last week, on a baseball field in Alexandria, Va., a madman took aim at Republican members of Congress, their staff, even their children, all there that morning practicing for a bipartisan charity tournament the following day. It was a horrific act of violence in a country that’s become all too prone to these types of incidents. Immediately, voices from all sides of the political aisle spoke up to condemn this despicable act and call for civility in the wake of such senseless tragedy.
Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerBrady gun control group gets rebranding Brennan fires back at'selfish' Trump over Harry Reid criticism Trump rips Harry Reid for 'failed career' after ex-Dem leader slams him in interview MORE (D-N.Y.) perhaps said it best, in a speech on the Senate floor that morning: "We disagree, vehemently at times, here in Congress, and folks out in the country do too. But the level of nastiness, vitriol and hate that has seeped into our politics must be excised."
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The very next day, the congressional baseball game was played on schedule, a symbol to all those who target our democracy with violence that we can come together as Americans and persevere. Instead of embracing that collective call for a better politics, Republicans in the nationally-watched race to represent Georgia’s 6th Congressional District are using the tragedy to win votes for Republican candidate Karen Handel.
It began Saturday, at a get-out-the-vote rally for Handel in the district. The Washington Post quotes Brad Carver, chairman of the Republican Party in the neighboring 11th Congressional District, as saying to a group of volunteers: “I’ll tell you what: I think the shooting is going to win this election for us. Because moderates and independents in this district are tired of left-wing extremism.”
The comment went unnoticed by most and could have easily been an isolated slip of the tongue by a brazen political hack; but then, on Sunday, secret, big-money donors from outside the district began running an ad directly tying Democrats to the attack in Virginia.
The ad, funded by a Republican super PAC, opens with the sound of gunshots and footage of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) being rolled away on a stretcher. As if that wasn’t egregious enough, the ad explicitly states that Democrats, like Georgia's 6th Congressional District candidate Jon Ossoff, are the cause by “endorsing and applauding shooting Republicans.”
Even worse than these last-minute grotesque tactics is the response — or lack thereof — of Karen Handel. She offered a timid, mealy-mouthed disapproval of the ad without stepping up and demanding action, which would involve removing the ludicrous spot from the airwaves.
This is exactly the type of behavior that voters have come to know and expect from Republicans under President 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: meek expressions of disapproval about what’s happening around them, but refusing to step up and lead a fight against this infection of our democracy.
It’s profoundly disappointing that the Republican Party feels it can’t win an election based on its principles and its agenda, so, in turn, they rest their case on a hope and a prayer that a shooting tragedy leads them to victory. A day before the election, Karen Handel is letting voters know exactly who she’ll be in Washington — a yes-woman of Donald Trump who’s willing to parrot ridiculous and offensive talking points to win a few votes.
The people of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District deserve better than these deceitful and salacious politics. They deserve a member of Congress who will provide |
are considered the worst of the lot: soft, overripe men who have lost their power and control, like failed presidential candidate Jeb Bush or any man who shows an interest in feminism.
That the word “cuckold,” fusty and ringing of Shakespeare, was first brought back into popular discourse via a category of pornographic fetish videos is less important than you would think. Those videos won’t teach us anything we don’t already know. Instead, we can turn to The Hierarchies of Cuckoldry and Bankruptcy—an obscure nineteenth-century satirical work by philosopher Charles Fourier, who also coined the term “feminism”—to illuminate the modern re-emergence.
Fourier, deadpanning, assumes the persona of a taxonomist to document the degrees of cuckoldry one might find in the wild. There are fully seventy-two species of cuckold, including the Jeering Cuckold and the Propagandist Cuckold and the Sympathetic Cuckold, who “grows fond of his wife’s lovers and makes them his close friends.”
If the target of Fourier’s satire is not clear at first, flip to the companion work, which employs the same taxonomic methods to discover how many species of bankrupted men walk the earth. These men, too, come in a number of wild varieties: “A bankrupt man is a true citizen of the world when, after having exploited one kingdom, he then goes on to create bankruptcies in several others.”
Overall, there are fewer types of bankrupted men than cuckolds—but the effect of this discrepancy is not to minimize the ruthlessness of the market but to underline a misdirected obsession. Even as men “let the merchants do as they will,” passively allowing them “full liberty in their sublime conceptions of treachery and pillage,” they fixate, as if by way of compensation, on the tiniest fluctuations in their sexual prowess. Instead of admitting that they are getting screwed by business and the economy, men prefer to pretend they are getting screwed by women.
Never mind that women are more often cuckolded than men. (As Fourier puts it, “If the man has horns as tall as stag’s antlers, the wife’s may be said to be as high as the branches of a tree.”) While sexual betrayal is considered no real threat to a woman’s femininity—suffering such indignities might actually be seen as a uniquely feminizing experience—the male cuckold loses manliness. The best he can hope for is that another, weaker man will fall lower in the hierarchy than himself.
Strip The Hierarchies of Cuckoldry and Bankruptcy of its satirical critique, and you’re left with a logic that is dismally familiar. The categories of embattled manhood now trafficked by the cuck-trashing, immigrant-bashing men of Breitbart or 4chan are shifting but ultimately exacting; like Fourier’s taxonomist, they obsess over finer and finer distinctions. Their aim is not to elevate one idealized version of masculinity, but to break masculinity into a more perfect pecking order, so almost everyone can look down a level at the scum below. This new order relies on the traditional markers of manly achievement—a girlfriend, sexual partners, money, power, and, most importantly, control—but none of those matter as much as the act of division itself. It’s a coping strategy. Yes, the 4chan men like to make jokes about living in their parents’ basements, but those jokes are only funny if they can point to someone even lower than themselves.
Here, then, is the task of the twenty-first-century American man: making hierarchies that don’t put him at the bottom. The bottom is where the cucks are—because “cuck,” in its current incarnation, is an insult aimed not at men who are betrayed by women (or even men who are betrayed by women and really, really like it), but at men who don’t have anyone to control.
“Understood independently of either sexual orientation or sexual object of choice,” Martha Feldman writes in her opera and gender history book The Castrato, “maleness is fundamentally a political category more than a social/sexual or biosocial one.” Indeed.
Castrati, too, have something to tell us about where masculinity bottoms out—or, more to the point, why it never really does. At one time, it was progeny and patrimony that proved masculinity; you inherited wealth from your father, you increased that wealth, and you passed it down to your own children. But after an economic crisis in seventeenth-century Italy, instead of sons being blessings, they became burdens. There was little wealth and property to pass down, and so rather than split it up among all of the sons, the first son was designated the heir and all of the others were just extra. Secondary and tertiary sons were sent off into the military or the priesthood to keep them from marrying and breeding.
There was one way out, though—one way for a son lower in the hierarchy to regain financial masculinity by sacrificing biological masculinity. If you could sing as a boy, you could be castrated, and enter the church or the stage and not only find your wealth, but surpass your family’s situation entirely. Young boys who were castrated just before adolescence could retain their silvery, high voices, their hormone-deprived bodies transformed into operatic machines with cavernous chests and lantern jaws, creating resonant voices that were by all reports unearthly. They were in high demand all over Europe to play the manliest of roles from Nero to Zeus, and every royal wanted his own castrato at court. Many were able to perform sexually, and they were irresistible to both men and women. It was a paradoxical masculinity, but it was a masculinity that was celebrated.
While there were always fears that castrati were unnatural—Fourier himself referred to the Italian fathers castrating their sons for the sake of the voice as “abominations that give rise to horror in any other civilized nation”—their disappearance from the earth was not because of any new ethical standard, but because gender and sexual roles hardened. “Europe,” Feldman writes, “learned... how to align gender with sex in strict polarities—to make men like men and women like women.” Castrati waned in popularity through the nineteenth century, and the last died in the 1920s. This coincided with a time when there were fewer deviations available to men, fewer ways to maneuver around strict notions of manliness.
It’s those strict notions that are trying to break apart now, leading to all kinds of chaos and hardship.
Fourier writes, “Often, when we think we are merely enjoying ourselves, we are involved in political processes of the highest importance.” That seems equally true for the adoring audiences of the castrati as the male-only online spaces. How this will work to redefine man, and whether the external will move to the internal, we can only wait and see.
For his part, Fourier, no fan of monogamy or marriage, believed the only hope for civilization was for women to liberate themselves. That would make him a cuck by many standards—in which case, let’s look to the cucks. They might just be the future of manliness.Xiaomi launched the Mi Note 3 a few months ago in September with two memory configurations: 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB. The 64GB model runs CNY 2,299 ($346) while the one with double the storage capacity goes for CNY 2,699 ($406). These numbers reflect prices after Xiaomi discounted them shortly after launch.
The new variant brings the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 to a lower price point to attract more customers. The new tier features 4GB of RAM instead of 6GB. Storage capacity remains the same at 64GB for the entry-level model and it will run CNY 1,999 ($301). This new model will only be available in the pretty, blue option starting on November 23.
Other than the RAM reduction, theres nothing else different about the cheaper Mi Note 3 tier. It has the same Snadragon 660 CPU, 5.5-inch 1080p LCD display, and dual-12MP cameras.
ViaMIAMI — Even before Tuesday’s stunning results from Michigan came rolling in, Sen. Bernie Sanders showed he had some fight left in him.
The Democratic White House hopeful announced he was filing a federal lawsuit in a bid to force Ohio to allow 17-year-olds to vote in next week’s presidential primary there if they will be 18 by the time of the general election.
"This campaign is very proud of the fact that we are bringing many, many people into the political process," Sanders told reporters as he prepared to board his charter jet in Detroit en route here. "We want to continue to see that … Unfortunately, in the state of Ohio, there is an effort on the part of the secretary of state to do exactly the opposite."
The Republican secretary of state, Jon Husted said he welcomes the lawsuit "because the law is crystal clear" and on his side.
Ohio is among the five states with Democratic primaries next Tuesday, and Sanders is hoping to replicate his success in neighbouring Michigan, where he scored a narrow upset of Hillary Clinton. Young voters continued to be a bedrock of Sanders’ coalition in Michigan. He won those ages 18 to 29 by a margin of 81% to 18% on Tuesday, according to exit polls reported by CNN.Offering Mobile Repair Service
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Often the repair is simple. Sometimes it is just a matter of a quick solder. Other cost saving measures would be:The Orlando Magic may not have picked up Mario Hezonja’s team option for next year, but has he shown glimpses of improvement already this season?
In a pretty unsurprising move, the Orlando Magic have elected not to pick up their team option on Mario Hezonja‘s contract.
What this means is that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer, and the team won’t be on the hook to pay him $5.2 million next year. With career averages of 5.5 points and 1.2 assists, all while being a 33.4 percent 3-point shooter, this is a no-brainer by the team as well.
But while Hezonja has struggled to have an impact on this team, starting only 11 of 150 games he’s appeared in, is he actually turning a corner this season, albeit a small one?
Before delving further into this, it should once again be noted so that there can be no doubts that the organization did the right thing by not signing Hezonja for next season. The team is in a win-win situation because the lack of guarantee may hopefully bring out improved play from Super Mario.
If it does, they can just re-sign him to a new deal next year anyway, or they can let him walk for nothing if he continues to struggle.
Either that, or they can move him to another team as was mooted around the league over the last couple of days.
Whatever happens, the Magic front office did the right thing, and has proven once more that it is committed to cleaning out the dead wood and bringing this franchise forward.
Yet despite what you may think, Hezonja has actually been all right to start the season. By no means is he a reason for this team’s brilliant start, but he’s contributing in small ways.
Hezonja is shooting 62.5 percent from deep so far this season. Yes this number is skewed because he’s onlt hit five of the eight shots he’s taken.
Smh imagine this team with what 3rd year Mario Hezonja was supposed to be. We'd prob be a shoe in for the conf finals. — LeedweedDub (@1Sportsislife) October 31, 2017
But Hezonja is currently averaging a career-low 13 minutes per game, and it is clear this team is beginning to move on without him.
These spot minutes are the only chance he has to prove himself, and in seasons gone by, he has snatched at these occasions, hoisting up bad shots and rushing everything he did on the court.
This season, he has looked much more controlled and composed, and really this confidence was exactly what he was lacking his first two seasons with the team. That 3-point shooting percentage is currently the best mark on the team as well, which is no small feat for a team that is the best in the league in that area (44.1 percent).
Hezonja’s contribution to that category has been small, but it still counts. Having better players around him means his opportunities are limited.
But it also seems to be helping to up his own production as well, putting up the fourth-best effective field goal percentage on this team (61.4) with the lowest usage rate of his career (15.7).
Again we’re working with small numbers, but Hezonja isn’t even really a part of the second unit anymore. He is used more in funky lineups and if players get in foul trouble.
Returning to the issue of confidence, however, in watching Hezonja on the court it is clear he has more this season.
Whether it’s through some of his numbers (career high offensive rating of 102.7), or else watching him approach Aaron Gordon as he’s taking free throws to chat to him in that win over the Charlotte Hornets, Hezonja is making himself more known on the court.
Is it going to turn into any sort of sustained success though? It is hard to tell, but what has been outlined above is a more encouraging start than others would have you believe.
Of course there’s still the drawbacks, such as the Player Efficiency Rating (league average 15) of 9.2 — the same awful number as last season. Hezonja’s defensive rating of 113.7 is a worrying career low, despite the team vowing to become a top 10 unit on that end of the court.
Still, it feels like the former fifth overall pick has something more to give to this team, with moments like this giving fans hope.
Mario Hezonja did well in his minutes tonight. Hit confident three, he’s now 5/6 on the season, a layup to stop Spurs run and this highlight pic.twitter.com/JzA4hwdl0e — The Lando (@TheLando__) October 28, 2017
This team is 5-2, and while Hezonja deserves little of the credit for that, he is still a part of this team, making more contributions than in the past but with less time to do so.
The clock may be ticking on his tenure with the Magic, and it is great that they’ve gotten to the point talent-wise where they can think about moving on from him.
But when the injuries begin to pile up or Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac get in foul trouble early, there are worse people to look to than Mario Hezonja.
The Super Mario nickname has never felt right, but this year’s “Modest Mario” has a more suitable ring to it, for now.Court Says Abandoned Phone Locked With A Passcode Still Has Expectation Of Privacy
from the warrants-still-apparently-the-most-difficult-document-to-obtain dept
A Florida Court of Appeals has handed down a somewhat surprising ruling [PDF] in a case centering on evidence obtained from a teen's cellphone. (via FourthAmendment.com)
Two juveniles fled their vehicle during a traffic stop, with one of them (referred to as "K.C." in the ruling) leaving behind his cellphone on the car's seat. This phone -- whose lockscreen featured a photo of someone who "looked similar" to "K.C." -- was taken by the officer.
Several months later, the PD's forensic lab was asked to determine ownership of the phone. The phone was locked with a passcode, but the lab was able to unlock and retrieve this information. No warrant was obtained and the search apparently wasn't limited to determining ownership. The use of evidence obtained from the phone was challenged, but the state felt it had plenty of warrant exceptions to save its search.
K.C. was charged with burglary of a conveyance. He moved to suppress the contents of the cell phone, from which the police had obtained his name, on the ground that the phone was searched without a warrant. After the presentation of the foregoing facts, the prosecutor argued that the phone was abandoned, and the owner had no expectation of privacy in the phone once abandoned.
Generally speaking, abandonment of property results in privacy expectations being stripped. In this case, however, the court found that K.C.'s use of passcode meant that he retained an expectation of privacy even after leaving the phone behind.
The court points to the Supreme Court's Riley decision, noting that today's smartphones are not simply "locked containers." They are more equivalent to a locked house, considering the wealth of information contained in them. If law enforcement can't search a house without a warrant simply because the resident fled when seeing them ("abandoning" the house), it can't search a locked cellphone simply because it was left behind by a fleeing suspect.
It quotes this section of the Riley decision on the way to its conclusion:
In 1926, Learned Hand observed (in an opinion later quoted in Chimel) that it is “a totally different thing to search a man’s pockets and use against him what they contain, from ransacking his house for everything which may incriminate him.” United States v. Kirschenblatt, 16 F.2d 202, 203 (C.A.2). If his pockets contain a cell phone, however, that is no longer true. Indeed, a cell phone search would typically expose to the government far more than the most exhaustive search of a house: A phone not only contains in digital form many sensitive records previously found in the home; it also contains a broad array of private information never found in a home in any form—unless the phone is.
It then addresses the state's claim that abandoned property of all types no longer carries an expectation of privacy.
Our supreme court has recognized that “[t]he test for abandonment is whether a defendant voluntarily discarded, left behind, or otherwise relinquished his interest in the property in question so that he could no longer retain a reasonable expectation of privacy…" [...] While we acknowledge that the physical cell phone in this case was left in the stolen vehicle by the individual, and it was not claimed by anyone at the police station, its contents were still protected by a password, clearly indicating an intention to protect the privacy of all of the digital material on the cell phone or able to be accessed by it. Indeed, the password protection that most cell phone users place on their devices is designed specifically to prevent unauthorized access to the vast store of personal information which a cell phone can hold when the phone is out of the owner’s possession.
It's the steps taken to protect the phone's contents that determines the expectation of privacy in abandoned phone. The court doesn't appear to be extending this protection to all abandoned cellphones.
The court also points out that, given the circumstances of the case, seeking a warrant would have been a very minor inconvenience.
Where a cell phone is “abandoned,” yet its contents are protected by a password, obtaining a warrant is even less problematic. In this case, how difficult and inefficient would it have been for the officer to obtain a search warrant, when the cell phone in question was in police possession for months?
Also of note: the good faith exception was never raised, otherwise this decision may have gone the other way. That's rather surprising, considering it's almost always raised when evidence might be suppressed, no matter how far away removed from any common definition of "good faith" the government's actions were.
It would also be interesting to see this line of thinking applied to the Third Party Doctrine. If attempts are made to limit the generation of third-party records (the use of VPNs/Tor for web browsing, shutting off GPS location for phones, etc.), does that give the records that are still generated a greater expectation of privacy? Or would it simply be assumed that, no matter what efforts are made by cellphone/computer users, anything held by a third party can still be obtained without a warrant?
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— Healthier food might soon be coming to a corner store near you, thanks to an initiative by local, state and federal governments to bring better eating options to areas without grocery stores.
Those who live along Angier Avenue in east Durham can buy food, but most of it is not very healthy. A mini mart sells candy and snacks, and a diner features a one-pound hot dog.
The federal government calls places like this "food deserts."
"All the grocery stores have left, and all that people have access to is what's in a convenience store," said Sheree Vodicka, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Division of Public Health.
Find food deserts across the U.S.
Grocery stores typically carry more fresh fruits and vegetables and healthier food than convenience stores.
"If you can't get to them, you can't choose those foods," Vodicka said.
But things are on changing on Angier Avenue.
Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers opened a grocery store there a year ago. It's become part of a new state effort to work with stores to bring fruits and vegetables to those food deserts.
The TROSA store manager said that business is brisk and people are buying healthier foods.
"The community realizes that they have access, that they have resources," said David Reese, co-chair of Partnership for a Healthy Durham.
People also get lessons on how to cook fresh vegetables from the county health department.
"A lot of people may have been raised not eating it in the healthiest way, so we're trying to teach people to cook things quick and easy," nutritionist Kelly Warnock said.
But the program is about more than improving human health. Organizers hope it will bring back some big grocery stores to improve the community's economic health.
Durham County is working with another corner store as part of this pilot project.
"Part of this is helping to create a market and helping large corporations realize there is a market," Reese said.BY SUDHIN THANAWALA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rolland Gregg and his family have fought federal marijuana charges for more than three years, arguing that the roughly 70 marijuana plants investigators found on their Washington property were for their own medicinal use and fully complied with state law.
A federal jury last year convicted Gregg, his mother and his then-wife of growing 50 to 100 marijuana plants – amounts their attorney said are in compliance with state medical marijuana law. With prison sentences looming, they have now turned to a recent act of Congress that they say should have stopped the U.S. Department of Justice from prosecuting them because they were doing what their state allowed. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, and the DOJ disagrees with Gregg's understanding of the new law.
"It's been the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life when you see the government coming down on you for simply trying to be healthy," Gregg said.
A federal appeals court is expected to issue a ruling soon on the scope of the law that could pave the way to end or overturn at least six federal marijuana criminal prosecutions and convictions in California and Washington, including Gregg's, and limit future prosecutions of medical marijuana users and dispensaries in eight Western states that allow them.
"The 9th Circuit is the biggest circuit, one that contains lots of marijuana states. If they were to say, 'The federal government is prohibited from enforcing medical marijuana law,' that would be huge," said Sam Kamin, a professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law who studies marijuana regulation.
At issue is a Congressional amendment that said the DOJ could not use funding Congress allocated to it for 2015 and 2016 to prevent states that have legalized medical marijuana from implementing laws that permit its use, distribution and possession.
The amendment's bipartisan sponsors – California Congressmen Sam Farr, D-Carmel, and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa,- say it prohibits the DOJ from prosecuting people who are complying with state medical marijuana laws. California and more than 20 other states have legalized marijuana for medical use. The drug, however, remains illegal under federal law.
The DOJ has interpreted the law more narrowly, saying it prevents prosecutors from trying to block state medical marijuana laws or charging state officials who implement them, yet permits U.S. attorneys to go after marijuana dispensaries and growers.
The 9th Circuit is expected to clarify the amendment in appeals by three sets of defendants who have cited it as grounds for judges to dismiss their marijuana charges.
Steve McIntosh, a dispensary owner in Los Angeles, had permits from local officials that show him in compliance with state law, according to his attorney, Marc Zilversmit. Under the Congressional amendment, the most the federal government can do is refer him to state authorities for prosecution, Zilversmit said.
Another defendant, marijuana grower Samuel Doyle, met Washington's requirements for collective cannabis grows for medical marijuana patients, his attorney Douglas Hiatt said.
"He was growing medical marijuana for people who needed it, whether they could afford it or not," Hiatt said.
The DOJ says McIntosh's dispensary had ties to a street gang, and Doyle and his co-defendants did not meet the legal requirements for medical marijuana in Washington. Investigators found more than 550 plants growing on the Spokane property Doyle oversaw, and at least one of Doyle's co-defendants indicated the marijuana was being sold, prosecutors said.
The DOJ did not respond to a request for further comment.
Gregg's case is not among the ones the 9th Circuit is set to rule on. But he has raised the same argument as the other defendants, and the 9th Circuit has put his appeal on hold pending the outcome of the other appeals, his attorney Phil Telfeyan said.
"The feds think they have the power to override voters of the State of Washington and the will of Congress," said Telfeyan, co-founder of the nonprofit civil rights group Equal Justice Under Law. "It's up to the 9th Circuit to tell them, 'Enough is enough. You can't keep prosecuting people who are using medical marijuana for their needs.'"
The DOJ cited a county investigator's testimony that he saw evidence of a for-profit marijuana growing operation on Gregg's family property. The investigator said he found records that he believed were for drug sales, a scale and packaging material in the house as well as firearms, according to court documents.
Gregg, 34, who owns an alternative energy company, denied he sold marijuana, saying he used the drug to treat pain following a snowboarding accident that left him with a broken back and neck. His mother has rheumatoid arthritis and his then-wife had an eating disorder, he said, adding that all three had medical marijuana authorizations.
But the DOJ argued in his case and Doyle and McIntosh's cases that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment doesn't bar it from prosecuting people violating federal drug law, even if they meet state law.
Alex Kreit, a marijuana law expert at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, said the DOJ and marijuana defendants have strong arguments for their conflicting interpretations of the amendment.
"The (amendment's) language is not a model of clarity," he said. "It really is open to a number of different interpretations."
(Photo Courtesy of Florida Politics)The guide was issued ahead of China's "Golden Week" of public holidays in which millions of Chinese people take vacations, which begun on October 1. The guide Is designed to instruct people how to behave in their own country as well as abroad, and comes as an increasing number of affluent Chinese travel abroad.
(Read more: A nation on vacation: China's Golden Week holidays begin)
In April, the World Trade Organisation named China the new number one nation for expenditure when traveling abroad. Chinese expenditure abroad reached $102 billion in 2012 and the volume of international trips by Chinese travelers reached 83 million, up from 10 million in 2000.
But despite the boon for economically struggling countries in Europe and elsewhere that rely on tourism, the Chinese have nonetheless developed something of a reputation for uncouth behaviour while abroad.
(Read more: Greece:'Tourism bonanza' to give economy a boost?)
In May, a mainland Chinese woman who let her son relieve himself in a bottle in a crowded Hong Kong restaurant sparked an outpour of anger. Plus, there was outrage when a 15 year-old tourist from Nanjing recently carved his name into an ancient temple in Luxor, Egypt.
The guide came as China introduced its first ever tourism law on Tuesday, showing that authorities are keen to get a grip on the tourism trade. The law banned tour companies from hiding costs such as mandatory shopping trips, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
Furthermore, it is not the first time the image-conscious government has tried to "civilize" its nascent tourist sector. In May, the authorities tried to appeal to national pride, telling people that "being a civilized tourist is the obligation of each citizen," Xinhua stated.
- BY CNBC's Holly Ellyatt, follow her on Twitter @HollyEllyattWhen It Comes to Hospital Shootings, Emergency Color Codes Don’t Work
Brigham and Women's was prepared for the worst. Other hospitals should take note.
Read all about the latest gym openings, healthy events, and fitness trends in our twice weekly Wellness newsletter.
It is hard to think that anything went right at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) on the morning of January 20, when Stephen Pasceri murdered cardiac surgeon Michael Davidson and then turned the gun on himself. Yet in the midst of the chaos, a lot of things did go right: Police were on the scene within seconds; all 5 million square feet of the hospital were cleared within 16 minutes; and the violence did not spill beyond the exam room.
Perhaps one of the most important lessons of this tragedy is contained in a 39-word script that was read aloud over the hospital’s PA system moments after the first shots rang out: “A life-threatening situation now exists at Watkins Clinic B—Shapiro 2. All persons should immediately move away from that location if it is safe to do so. If it is not safe to move away, shelter in place immediately.”
Had the horror unfolded at another hospital, there’s a good chance that bystanders would have been met with a vague color-coded emergency warning—Code Silver or Code Green, for instance.
Color codes are part of hospital culture. Spend enough time at a health care facility and you’re bound to hear a Code Blue or Code Pink or Code Amber. These seemingly benign announcements help staff respond to emergencies without inciting alarm. But this system fails when the emergency at hand threatens visitors, patients, and other individuals who aren’t versed in the spectrum of codes.
Given the rise of hospital shootings—they are now a monthly occurrence in the U.S.—should color codes for such emergencies be replaced with straightforward announcements?
“It really does not make sense to call a code,” says Robert Chicarello, director of security at BWH. Chicarello says the issue first came to his attention after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, which claimed more than 30 lives. As the years went on and massacres piled up across the country, BWH took a close look at its plans for responding to an active-shooter situation. From the outset, Chicarello and his team were keenly aware that approximately 26,000 people walk through the hospital’s doors every day, thousands of whom have no training in hospital codes.
Under the old plan, a shooting at BWH would have been met with a Code Gray. Through a series of roundtables and trainings, a team from the hospital decided in late 2013 to replace the code with a scripted announcement. “It needs to be plain English so untrained visitors, patients, anybody who is in the building, can hear it and know what’s happening. I would preach that to anyone who would listen. It doesn’t have to be what we used, but it needs to be plain English. There’s no downside,” Chicarello says.
There are, however, numerous challenges. Emergency codes aren’t standardized. The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 20,000 health care organizations across the U.S., “does not have specific hospital standards addressing emergency color codes,” according to an email from spokeswoman Katie Looze Bronk. The Massachusetts Hospital Association, a group that represents more than 100 members, also does not have specific recommendations pertaining to emergency codes.
But standardization may not be the key to clarity. Different hospitals with different departments have different needs. Instead, what’s needed is specificity and candor. Take for example the Hospital Association of Southern California, which standardized color codes in 2000, according to its website. Under that system, last updated in 2014, Code Gray indicates a “combative person” while Code Silver indicates a “person with a weapon and/or active shooter and/or hostage situation.” Both codes represent situations that could potentially harm bystanders, yet neither actually alert lay folk as to what’s happening.
Given the Brigham community’s longstanding reputation for innovation, it’s no surprise they were prepared for the worst. Today, they continue to prepare by dissecting and analyzing the events of January 20 in hopes of gleaning lessons that can safeguard hospitals across the country from similar shootings.
Still, while the scripted announcement proved effective that deadly winter morning, there’s room for improvement, says Eric Goralnick, medical director of emergency preparedness at BWH. “Our plain language probably isn’t plain enough,” he says, noting that in follow-up interviews after the shooting, several people raised concern with what the term “shelter in place” means.
In the wake of Davidson’s murder, Partners HealthCare, the parent organization of BWH, Mass General, and McLean Hospital, among others, has implemented the scripted shooter warning across all of its facilities. Goralnick would like to see other hospitals follow suit.
“There’s been a longstanding tradition of using these emergency color codes in hospitals,” Goralnick says. “But from the feedback we have gotten from staff, patients, and families, clarity and transparency are critical.”All but one of the letters mentioned here come from the recently published book Letters of Note: An Eclectic Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience, an anthology of Shaun Usher’s wonderful blog of the same name. It’s well worth picking up.
Cut Through the Noise
The trouble with most cover letters is that they sound canned. Using boilerplate formalities won’t make you sound serious; it will just make it harder to tell one cover letter from another. Use your personality, even if it means channeling your anxieties about the job you hope to get. For instance, Eudora Welty opened with a bit of disarming humor when she applied for a job at The New Yorker in 1933 as an unknown 23-year-old writer with no experience:
I suppose you’d be more interested in even a sleight-o’-hand trick than you’d be in an application for a position with your magazine, but as usual you can’t have the thing you want most.
And she closes with a self-deprecating joke and an amazing pun:
There is no telling where I may apply, if you turn me down; I realize this will not phase you, but consider my other alternative: the U of N.C. offers for $12.00 to let me dance in Vachel Lindsay’s Congo. I congo on.
Both you and the person reading your application know that you’re engaged in a dull little ritual. Anything to break up that monotony is likely to get you noticed.
Be Specific About Your Skills
Da Vinci’s letter to the ruler of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, overwhelms the reader’s defenses with details of his war-waging abilities, from constructing secret subterranean passageways to designing “very beautiful” cannons and catapults:
1. I have plans for very light, strong and easily portable bridges with which to pursue and, on some occasions, flee the enemy, and others, sturdy and indestructible either by fire or in battle, easy and convenient to lift and place in position. Also means of burning and destroying those of the enemy.
and
4. I have also types of cannon, most convenient and easily portable, with which to hurl small stones almost like a hail-storm; and the smoke from the cannon will instil a great fear in the enemy on account of the grave damage and confusion.
Welty’s talents were less martial but equally impressive:
I recently coined a general word for Matisse’s pictures after seeing his latest at the Marie Harriman: concubineapple. That shows you how my mind works—quick, and away from the point.
Try to Show Your Skills in Action
It’s one thing to say you can do the job; quite another to show it. In 1934, Robert Pirosh was a young copywriter who wanted to break into Hollywood. The brief cover letter he sent to directors vouches for his abilities better than a lengthy CV could:
I like words. I like fat buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady. I like solemn, angular, creaky words, such as straitlaced, cantankerous, pecunious, valedictory. I like spurious, black-is-white words, such as mortician, liquidate, tonsorial, demi-monde.
And so on for another 100 or so peregrinating, bravura, gurgling words. Pirosh was hired as a junior writer for MGM, where he wrote for the Marx brothers and won an Academy award for Battleground.AMD has confirmed that Vega utilises their new Infinity Fabric tech
AMD has confirmed that Vega utilises their new Infinity Fabric tech
| Source: Raja Koduri - AMD AMA |
References
If you are writing an extension, you’ll find this material useful:
Asttypes and Parsetree modules for writing matchers over the AST;
Ast_helper for generating code;
Ast_mapper for hooking into the mapper;
extension_points.txt for a more thorough high-level description of the newly introduced syntax;
experimental/frisch directory in general for a set of useful examples. Do note that not all of them are always updated to the latest extension points API;
ocaml-ppx_getenv repository contains example code from this article.
Other than the OCaml sources, I’ve found Alain Frisch’s two articles (1, 2) on the topic extremely helpful. I only mention them now because they’re quite outdated.Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new way to parse and understand how special proteins called "master regulators" read the genome, and consequently turn genes on and off.
Writing in the October 13, 2013 Advance Online Publication of Nature, the scientists say their approach could make it quicker and easier to identify specific gene mutations associated with increased disease risk - an essential step toward developing future targeted treatments, preventions and cures for conditions ranging from diabetes to neurodegenerative disease.
"Given the emerging ability to sequence the genomes of individual patients, a major goal is to be able to interpret that DNA sequence with respect to disease risk. What diseases is a person genetically predisposed to?" said principal investigator Christopher Glass, MD, PhD, a professor in the departments of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego.
"Mutations that occur in protein-coding regions of the genome are relatively straight forward, but most mutations associated with disease risk actually occur in regions of the genome that do not code for proteins," said Glass. "A central challenge has been developing a strategy that assesses the potential functional impact of these non-coding mutations. This paper lays the foundation for doing so by examining how natural genetic variation alters the function of genomic regions controlling gene expression in a cell specific-manner."
Cells use hundreds of different proteins called transcription factors to "read" the genome, employing those instructions to turn genes on and off. These factors tend to be bound close together on the genome, forming functional units called "enhancers." Glass and colleagues hypothesized that while each cell has tens of thousands of enhancers consisting of myriad combinations of factors, most enhancers are established by just a handful of special transcription factors called "master regulators." These master regulators play crucial, even disproportional, roles in defining each cell's identity and function, such as whether it will be a muscle, skin or heart cell.
"Our main idea was that the binding of these master regulators is necessary for the co-binding of the other transcription factors that together enable enhancers to regulate the expression of nearby genes," Glass said.
The scientists tested and validated their hypothesis by looking at the effects of approximately 4 million DNA sequence differences affecting master regulators in macrophage cells in two strains of mice. Macrophages are a type of immune response cell. They found that DNA sequence mutations deciphered by master regulators not only affected how they bound to the genome, but also impacted neighboring transcription factors needed to make functional enhancers.
The findings have practical importance for scientists and doctors investigating the genetic underpinnings of disease, said Glass. "Without actual knowledge of where the master regulator binds, there is relatively little predictive value of the DNA sequence for non-coding variants. Our work shows that by collecting a focused set of data for the master regulators of a particular cell type, one can greatly reduce the'search space' of the genome in a particular cell type that would be susceptible to the effects of mutations. This allows prioritization of mutations for subsequent analysis, which can lead to new discoveries and real-world benefits."
###
Co-authors include Sven Heinz, Casey Romanoski, Karmel A. Allison, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UCSD; Christopher Benner, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UCSD, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and San Diego Center for Systems Biology; Minna U. Kiakkonen, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UCSD and University of Eastern Finland and Luz D. Orozco, UCLA.
Funding support came from National Institutes of Health grants DK091183, CA17390 and DK063491, a Foundation Leducq Career Development award, the Academy of Finland, Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, Finnish Cultural Foundation, North Savo Regional Fund and the American Heart Association.President Trump's political organization has received a letter from the Senate Intelligence Committee to share any and all documents it has related to Russia, according to a report Friday.
The panel, led by Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., is conducting one of several investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Burr and Warner signed off on a letter sent last week to the campaign committee's treasurer, The Washington Post reported, citing two people familiar with the request.
The campaign committee has already been asked by the Senate to preserve documents.
While the Senate intelligence panel has contacted Trump campaign associates like Roger Stone and Carter Page as part of its probe, this is the first time Trump's campaign group has been drawn into its investigation.
The Washington Post also reported Friday that Trump's adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, asked to create a secret backchannel of communications with the Kremlin in December.Written by Chris Bing
A top Department of Homeland Security official says the U.S. government was unable to fully measure the scale and impact of two recent ransomware outbreaks, dubbed WannaCry and NotPetya, due to a lack of private sector engagement.
Christopher Krebs, acting undersecretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate, told an audience of cybersecurity professionals Wednesday that the biggest issue with both incidents came from an absence of reports from businesses who were affected. While experts say that WannaCry and NotPetya disrupted business operations at American companies, it’s not clear how many enterprises were damaged or to what degree.
The government wanted to collect more information from affected companies in order to better assess the initial infection vector, track the spread of the virus and develop ways to deter similar future attacks.
Collecting data from victim organizations was important in the WannaCry and NotPetya incidents, a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity told CyberScoop, because the information could have been used to inform policymakers about the perpetrator of the attack and potential responses.
Several leading cybersecurity firms, including FireEye and ESET, attribute the NotPetya outbreak to a Russian hacking group. WannaCry is believed to be the work of North Korean operatives. The likely purpose of NotPetya, experts say, was to disrupt and damage Ukraine’s economy through the spread of destructive ransomware. WannaCry’s purpose was less clear.
“I am still convinced the spread of WannaCry was an accident,” the official said. “It seems like they sort of fat-fingered it and it got out before they had planned.”
Analysis written by security researchers in the aftermath of WannaCry — which leveraged leaked computer code linked to the NSA — suggested that the poorly configured ransomware had been likely launched for financial purposes but it ultimately failed to collect ransoms due to issues with its code. Ransomware works by encrypting a victim’s hard drive and requiring payment, typically in the form of bitcoin, to unlock the computer, making it reusable again.
A senior U.S. official told CyberScoop that only a half-dozen U.S. companies spoke to the U.S. government to signal that their systems were affected by NotPetya. Many more engaged private companies like Symantec on the issue, the official said.
“What we we’re told by Symantec was much higher … like add a few zeroes,” the official said.
There’s very little public information concerning how disruptive NotPetya was in the U.S. Only a few examples are known, including infections to shipping logistics company Maersk and international law firm DLA Piper — both of which have a significant presence in the U.S.
Cisco’s Talos Team previously found that the likely reason for why NotPetya spreading into outside of Ukraine was due the virus’ ability to jump through virtual private networks (VPN) connections between Ukrainian firms and international companies, some of which are based in the U.S. In addition, the initial infection vector was a booby-trapped software update rolled out by a popular Ukrainian accounting software firm named M.E.Doc.
Wednesday’s comments mirror those previously made by other leaders in government, including former FBI Director James Comey. Private sector companies infected with ransomware largely tend to keep those incidents secret by privately working with contractors rather than the federal government.Image 1. The planet GU Psc b and its star GU Psc composed of visible and infrared images from the Gemini South telescope and an infrared image from the CFHT. Because infrared light is invisible to the naked eye, astronomers use a colour code in which infrared light is represented by the colour red. GU Psc b is brighter in infrared than in other filters, which is why it appears red in this image. download JPG 1.2MB
Image 2. Artist's view of the planet GU Psc b and its star GU Psc. (© Lucas Granito) download JPG 434 KB
Image 3. Constellation of Pisces (© Stellarium)
Joint press release from Université de Montréal, Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Québec, and Gemini Observatory
For release at 10:00 am Eastern Daylight Time, May 13, 2014
Science Contacts:
Media Contacts:
May 12, 2014
An international team led by Université de Montréal researchers has discovered and photographed a new planet 155 light years from our solar system.
A gas giant has been added to the short list of exoplanets discovered through direct imaging. It is located around GU Psc, a star three times less massive than the Sun and located in the constellation Pisces. The international research team, led by Marie-Ève Naud, a PhD student in the Department of Physics at the Université de Montréal, was able to find this planet by combining observations from the Gemini Observatory, the Observatoire Mont-Mégantic (OMM), the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) and the W.M. Keck Observatory.
A distant planet that can be studied in detail
GU Psc b is around 2,000 times the Earth-Sun distance from its star, a record among exoplanets. Given this distance, it takes approximately 80,000 Earth years for GU Psc b to make a complete orbit around its star! The researchers also took advantage of the large distance between the planet and its star to obtain images. By comparing images obtained in different wavelengths (colours) from the OMM and CFHT, they were able to correctly detect the planet.
"Planets are much brighter when viewed in infrared rather than visible light, because their surface temperature is lower compared to other stars," says Naud. "This allowed us to indentify GU Psc b."
Knowing where to look
The researchers were looking around GU Psc because the star had just been identified as a member of the young star group AB Doradus. Young stars (only 100 million years old) are prime targets for planetary detection through imaging because the planets around them are still cooling and are therefore brighter. This does not mean that planets similar to GU Psc b exist in large numbers, as noted by by Étiene Artigau, co-supervisor of Naud's thesis and astrophysicist at the Université de Montréal. "We observed more than 90 stars and found only one planet, so this is truly an astronomical oddity!"
Observing a planet does not directly allow determining its mass. Instead, researchers use theoretical models of planetary evolution to determine its characteristics. The light spectrum of GU Psc b obtained from the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii was compared to such models to show that it has a temperature of around 800°C. Knowing the age of GU Psc due to its location in AB Doradus, the team was able to determine its mass, which is 9-13 times that of Jupiter.
In the coming years, the astrophysicists hope to detect planets that are similar to GU Psc but much closer to their stars, thanks, among other things, to new instruments such as the GPI (Gemini Planet Imager) recently installed on the Gemini South telescope in Chile. The proximity of these planets to their stars will make them much more difficult to observe. GU Psc b is therefore a model for better understanding these objects.
"GU Psc b is a true gift of nature. The large distance that separates it from its star allows it to be studied in depth with a variety of instruments, which will provide a better understanding of giant exoplanets in general," says René Doyon, co-supervisor of Naud's thesis and OMM Director.
The team has started a project to observe several hundred stars and detect planets lighter than GU Psc b with similar orbits. The discovery of GU Psc, a rare object indeed, raises awareness of the significant distance that can exist between planets and their stars, opening the possibility of searching for planets with powerful infrared cameras using much smaller telescopes such at the one at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic. The researchers also hope to learn more about the abundance of such objects in the next few years, in particular, using the Gemini Planet Imager, the CFHT's SPIRou, and the James Webb Space Telescope's FGS/NIRISS.
About the study
The article Discovery of a Wide Planetary-Mass Companion to the Young M3 Star GU Psc will be published in The Astrophysical Journal on May 20, 2014. The team, led by Marie-Ève Naud, doctoral student at the Department of Physics of the Université de Montréal and member of the CRAQ, consisted mainly of UdeM students and researchers, including Étienne Artigau, Lison Malo, Loïc Albert, René Doyon, David Lafrenière, Jonathan Gagné, and Anne Boucher. Collaborators from other institutions also participated, including Didier Saumon, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico; Caroline Morley, UC Santa Cruz, California; France Allard and Derek Homeier, Centre for Astrophysical Research, Lyon, France; and Christopher Gelino and Charles Beichman, Caltech, California. The study was made possible with funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
See the article in The Astrophysical Journal
About the CRAQ
The Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Québec is a partnership between the Université de Montréal, McGill University, and the Université Laval. The CRAQ brings together all researchers working in the field of astronomy and astrophysics of these three institutions, as well as other collaborators from Bishop's University, the Canadian Space Agency, the Cégep de Sherbrooke, and the private sector (Photon etc., ABB Bomem Inc., Nüvü Caméras). The CRAQ is funded through the program Regroupements stratégiques of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQ-NT). The CRAQ constitutes a unique grouping of researchers in astrophysics in Québec bent on excellence and whose varying and complementary fields of expertise allows them to be innovative, creative and competitive in several scientific fields, thus offering graduate students a wide variety of subjects in both fundamental and applied fields of research.LONDON (Reuters) - The world is close to reaching tipping points that will make it irreversibly hotter, making this decade critical in efforts to contain global warming, scientists warned on Monday.
Pieces of ice fall from the front of Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier near the city of El Calafate, in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, December 14, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci
Scientific estimates differ but the world’s temperature looks set to rise by six degrees Celsius by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are allowed to rise uncontrollably.
As emissions grow, scientists say the world is close to reaching thresholds beyond which the effects on the global climate will be irreversible, such as the melting of polar ice sheets and loss of rainforests.
“This is the critical decade. If we don’t get the curves turned around this decade we will cross those lines,” said Will Steffen, executive director of the Australian National University’s climate change institute, speaking at a conference in London.
Despite this sense of urgency, a new global climate treaty forcing the world’s biggest polluters, such as the United States and China, to curb emissions will only be agreed on by 2015 - to enter into force in 2020.
“We are on the cusp of some big changes,” said Steffen. “We can... cap temperature rise at two degrees, or cross the threshold beyond which the system shifts to a much hotter state.”
TIPPING POINTS
For ice sheets - huge refrigerators that slow down the warming of the planet - the tipping point has probably already been passed, Steffen said. The West Antarctic ice sheet has shrunk over the last decade and the Greenland ice sheet has lost around 200 cubic km (48 cubic miles) a year since the 1990s.
Most climate estimates agree the Amazon rainforest will get drier as the planet warms. Mass tree deaths caused by drought have raised fears it is on the verge of a tipping point, when it will stop absorbing emissions and add to them instead.
Around 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon were lost in 2005 from the rainforest and 2.2 billion tonnes in 2010, which has undone about 10 years of carbon sink activity, Steffen said.
One of the most worrying and unknown thresholds is the Siberian permafrost, which stores frozen carbon in the soil away from the atmosphere.
“There is about 1,600 billion tonnes of carbon there - about twice the amount in the atmosphere today - and the northern high latitudes are experiencing the most severe temperature change of any part of the planet,” he said.
In a worst case scenario, 30 to 63 billion tonnes of carbon a year could be released by 2040, rising to 232 to 380 billion tonnes by 2100. This compares to around 10 billion tonnes of CO2 released by fossil fuel use each year.
Increased CO2 in the atmosphere has also turned oceans more acidic as they absorb it. In the past 200 years, ocean acidification has happened at a speed not seen for around 60 million years, said Carol Turley at Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
This threatens coral reef development and could lead to the extinction of some species within decades, as well as to an increase in the number of predators.
As leading scientists, policy-makers and environment groups gathered at the “Planet Under Pressure” conference in London, opinions differed on what action to take this decade.
London School of Economics professor Anthony Giddens favours focusing on the fossil fuel industry, seeing as renewables only make up 1 percent of the global energy mix.
“We have enormous inertia within the world economy and should make much more effort to close down coal-fired power stations,” he said.
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell favours working on technologies leading to negative emissions in the long run, like carbon capture on biomass and in land use, said Jeremy Bentham, the firm’s vice president of global business environment.
The conference runs through Thursday.From The Apartment to Planet of the Apes, by way of Lane Pryce’s beloved The Bridge on the River Kwai: In advance of the Mad Men Season 7 premiere this Sunday, ORWAV takes a look at all things cinematic in Matthew Weiner’s 1960s-set drama. Full spoilers for the series – plus a few half-century-old movies – follow.
Now, if you’re reading this, you already know Mad Men. So I’ll dispense with the in-depth catch-ups (Don confessed! Pete’s mother was pushed off a ship! Bob Benson is just Don Draper with a smile!), and kick this thing off in 1960.
The most commented-upon of Season One’s movie allusions is arguably The Apartment. Weiner has stated on multiple occasions that Billy Wilder’s 1960 satire was a great influence on the show, and when Joan decides to drop it into conversation with Roger, it becomes (almost too) obvious to the viewer just how important it is. Episode 10, ‘Long Weekend’, continues the sub-plot of Office Manager Joan’s affair with Senior Partner Roger, as he pointedly lets her know his wife and daughter are away for the Labor Day weekend:
Joan: How about a movie? Have you seen The Apartment? Roger: I went last week with Mona and Margaret. Joan: I hear Shirley MacLaine is good. Roger: Oh, please. A white elevator operator? And a girl at that? I wanna work at that place. Joan: Oh, I bet you do. The way those men treated that poor girl, handing her around like a tray of canapés? She tried to commit suicide. Roger: … So you saw it, huh?
I think we get the picture. Weiner makes sure to use the recent release of the influential film as (a) a basic frame of historical reference, (b) a means of exploring Joan’s and Roger’s characters, and (c) as a general metatextual commentary on the themes of the series. Well played, Weiner.
But it gets more specific than that. Aside from being one of the earliest indicators that Roger – like his rough analogue, Fred MacMurray’s philandering Apartment boss Mr. Sheldrake – is probably everything that’s wrong with the company rather than just a wisecracking silver fox, the conversation establishes the basic foundation of Joan’s entire character. It’s not just that she may be Sterling-Cooper’s answer to MacLaine’s Ms. Kubelik, it’s that she compares herself to the character at all. Later in the same episode she says to her flatmate, “I feel like I’m stuck somewhere between Doris Day in Pillow Talk and Midnight Lace, when what I need to be is Kim Novak in just about anything,” taking the stream of Hollywood comparisons to a level of dreamy yearning we wouldn’t have expected of her when introduced in the pilot.
Joan’s story, at least so far, is basically a parallel to Peggy’s. Both start as secretaries (Joan in the mid-’50s, Peggy in ’60) and slowly but surely work their way to the top of the company; but of course where Peggy’s ascent is created as an obvious reflection of the era, all brains and balls (but not quite bra-burning), Joan’s is somewhat subtler, and based around a sort of careful image maintenance. A very different kind of feminist hero indeed – one whose most pronounced moment of professional advancement is also one of the show’s most problematic and emotionally draining scenes. That is, when Joan takes pains to compare herself to MacLaine, Day, Novak and, in Season 2, Marilyn Monroe, she kicks off a strange story of liberation that reaches its complex conclusion years later when, in the most extreme version of the Apartment comparisons, she sleeps with auto dealer Herb Rennet in exchange for a raise and a partnership.
It’s quite horrible. And it is deliberately problematic – Joan certainly feels ambivalent about the act itself – but either way she decides, positively, to take this “Hollywood sex symbol” image of hers (Kinsey: “Marilyn’s more of a Joan”) and use it strategically. Not just to get noticed, but to professionally progress. She’s right: she can’t be a Doris Day, manipulated in Pillow Talk and stalked in Midnight Lace; so too is it worthless succumbing to the pressures of a Marilyn and committing suicide (well, obviously). Instead, Joan has to take her persona and run with it. Use her sexuality to get a foot in the door, then her sizeable brains to climb the stairs – and immediately after landing Jaguar and making partner… she secures SCDP’s second floor, leading the men in to gaze at the view.
There are, of course, other little references throughout the show that form micro-commentaries on the plot, characters and themes. When taken together, they seem to be pointing out that everything here is image. It’s all been enacted before in some way (which re-enactment of course the show is doing at its most basic level). Harry says he’ll be seeing Can-Can with his wife; before he gets to witness this on-screen love triangle, he sleeps with a secretary. Pete and his brother Bud joke about killing their mother à la Rope; years down the line, Mrs Dyckman-Campbell is clearly killed by manservant Manolo and the brothers decide publicly to treat it as an accident – the perfect murder. Lane alludes to The Bridge on the River Kwai apparently without remembering that for all the Great British stiff upper lips seen in the film, Colonel Nicholson’s morale-boosting project drives him quite mad.
In essence, everyone has their little moments of filmic comparison. None of the characters can escape this basic problem: that they’re trapped in a society so saturated with images (most of which they, the ad people, create) that everything they do can be brought back to something that happened in some movie. Don has this hammered home professionally in the Season 6 premiere when his original idea for an ad campaign finds itself almost immediately compared to A Star is Born: the image of a man walking into the sea to be swept away is not quite as inviting, or even as clever, as Don thinks (and, incidentally, for an episode that also takes pains to include Vietnam War references, was later reused in 1978 anti-‘nam film Coming Home).
That someone finally says out loud what the show has only whispered should begin the penultimate 13-episode run is frankly wonderful. We’ve had brief references to films such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend”), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Psycho and other movies dealing with dualities and fake personalities for five seasons, and someone finally comes along and says “That’s been done before”? No wonder that by the end of this season, Don has finally confessed all to his partners and collapsed the split personality that’s haunted him for years. In short, this realisation of image-driven falsehood is one of the fundamental catalysts for the process that looks set to continue in the upcoming final season: the redemption of Dick Whitman.
This is the basic driving force behind Mad Men‘s film references: “the image” and its proliferation is complicit in a damaging kind of superficiality – much like the emptiness of advertising. Is it heavy-handed? Sometimes. But it also offers some compelling means of escape. In Season 2 Don, in a rare moment of honesty, says he enjoyed La Notte (in the same hour it turns out Pete’s seen Cape Fear four times); and two episodes previous, we saw him cool off at a matinee showing of Last Year at Marienbad. Are European art films a guilty pleasure for this man in the grey flannel suit? Later in the season, he disappears to California, the poetry of Frank O’Hara on his mind, and takes a free-wheeling trip through sun, sea and drugs with no apparent destination… much like one of his arthouse protagonists, in fact. He pops back in Season 4, of course, and autographs Anna’s house. As he returns to CA in Season 7, should we expect a now liberated Don, divested of his “grey flannel suit” persona, to embrace his freer, artsier side a little more?
Then there’s Planet of the Apes. In the world of Mad Men, we’ve seen great societal progressions between 1960 and ’68, and the upheavals have been subtly mirrored in the show’s attitudes towards the movies. In 1960-2 we have Joan and Roger viewing films as superficial vehicles for styles and images. One of the first-ever film allusions in the show is Exodus, which is mentioned purely in the context of a potential business boost. Don doesn’t even admit to his apparent love of Antonioni. By 1968, by way of Peggy jerking a guy off to Born Free and Chevalier-Blanc asking for a terribly square remake of A Hard Day’s Night (“When did music become so important?”), we see Don settle in with his son Bobby for a mind-blowing few hours in front of Charlton Heston’s finest moment. The movie eventually ends, the viewers appropriately stunned, and Don, at least partly seeing this brilliant entertainment through his son’s wide eyes, suggests they watch it again.
It’s a moment of pure comfort and enjoyment for the two, as highlighted by Bobby: “Everybody likes to go to the movies when they’re sad.” Which of course he says to a black attendant between screenings, sensitive to the fact that Martin Luther King was shot some fifteen hours earlier. It’s sweet, obviously; a slice of pure empathy in total opposition to the responses of the adults all around him (variously repressed, confused, smarmy, hateful… ). But it also highlights a newer, less superficial, means of experiencing the movies: Bobby simply makes links between the slavery motifs in the film and the victimisation of African Americans in real life. Or he just likes the movie, sees the attendant, and decides to cheer him up without making any such connection.
Either way, Bobby’s response to the film is appropriate for a kid growing up unselfconsciously, in a period vastly different to that which necessitated his father’s “studied” manner. For this Gen-Xer growing into the 1970s, movies – and the television shows he seems to be constantly absorbing, “Can we watch TV?” being a frequent refrain – are something to be appreciated for what they can teach. Cinema’s aspirations lie in the abstract realms of emotion, intelligence and creativity rather than the purely material; and this positive move from materialism and false image to more of a spiritual completeness is exactly what the show has been doing in its decade-long progression. We’ve only fourteen more episodes to go, split, as Weiner has recently stated, into exactly that: the material, then the immaterial.
So this is Mad Men‘s mission, summed up in its unique use of film references. As we go into this final season, it remains to be seen how far the characters can divest themselves of the images, embrace their true selves and find something approaching closure. Some are getting close: there’s Joan, of course, who has eventually moved away from the trappings of her basic persona to attain a more complete and, it seems, fairly satisfying lifestyle (note that the perpetually-unhappy Betty, an evolving amalgam of every kind of photogenic suburban housewife archetype, attempts to do something different in ‘The Doorway’ by dyeing her hair… only for Henry to call her “Liz Taylor”); there’s Don, discovering he can start being honest and enjoying life and culture rather than his previous habits of reading for work and watching films for distraction; and there’s much space for the other characters to wise up and start separating their lives from the films they see and images they consume, like the hippies surrounding them. Perhaps they could ask Bobby for some pointers… or just shed their skins and walk into the sea.Simple printf
This is a simple, one-file implementation of printf() and friends. It has no external dependencies, not even on libc. It uses no memory allocation.
Because of this, it is well suited for use on embedded systems. It also lets you easily replace the character output code, so that it can be sent over an UART, to a screen, or wherever is available.
Supported features
Simple printf aims to be as feature-complete as realistically possible while remaining small and free of dependencies. It will probably never fully handle the POSIX standard functionality, but for regular usage it should be quite sufficient. It also beats most other embedded prints I have seen. In addition, it also has some support for floating point values ( %f and %F work fully, but none of the other conversions.)
Compared to the POSIX spec, this is the current level of support:
Flags
' (C extension) - Not supported.
(C extension) - Not supported. - - Supported for all supported conversions.
- Supported for all supported conversions. + - Supported for all supported conversions.
- Supported for all supported conversions. <space> - Supported for all supported conversions.
- Supported for all supported conversions. # - Supported for all supported conversions.
- Supported for all supported conversions. 0 - Supported for all supported conversions.
Width and precision
Supported for all supported conversions, including * to read value from arguments.
Modifiers
hh - Supported.
- Supported. h - Supported.
- Supported. l - Supported for integer conversions ( d, i, o, u, x, X ).
- Supported for integer conversions (,,,,, ). ll - Supported for integer conversions ( d, i, o, u, x, X ) if FormatStringLongLongIntEnabled is defined.
- Supported for integer conversions (,,,,, ) if is defined. j - Not supported
- Not supported z - Not supported
- Not supported t - Not supported
- Not supported L - Not supported
Conversions
d and i - Supported.
and - Supported. o - Supported.
- Supported. u - Supported.
- Supported. x and X - Supported.
and - Supported. f and F - Supported.
and - Supported. g and G - Not supported.
and - Not supported. e and E - Not supported.
and - Not supported. a and A - Not supported.
and - Not supported. c - Supported.
- Supported. s - Supported.
- Supported. p - Not supported.
- Not supported. n - Not supported.
- Not supported. C - Not supported.
- Not supported. S - Not supported.
- Not supported. % - Supported.
License
This code is released into the public domain with no warranties. If that is not suitable, it is also available under the CC0 license.A Sonic Hero
Earned every trophy. 0.8%
Ultra Rare 11.25%
Rare
Your Own Story
Created an Avatar. 96.2%
Common 97.95%
Common
Sextuple Trouble
Defeated Zavok. 73.0%
Common 86.08%
Common
Infinite Possibilities
Drove off Infinite. 61.8%
Common 79.82%
Common
Mean Egg Machine
Drove off Eggman. 58.5%
Common 77.83%
Common
For the Future
Liberated a world. 55.3%
Common 75.24%
Common
Courage in Hand
Drove off Infinite again. 50.6%
Common 72.52%
Common
Hope
Turned the tide of the conflict. 43.9%
Rare 68.40%
Common
Saved the World
Restored peace to the world. 30.1%
Rare 62.17%
Common
Sonic EXtreme
Cleared all EX Stages. 1.9%
Ultra Rare 15.78%
Rare
Reach for the Red Stars
Collected all Red Star Rings. 2.0%
Ultra Rare 15.94%
Rare
Sonic Teaches Numbers
Collected Number Rings three times. 5.1%
Very Rare 24.34%
Uncommon
Don't Lose Count
Collected all Number Rings. 1.5%
Ultra Rare 14.56%
Rare
Silver Moon Mania
Collected Silver Moon Rings three times. 3.3%
Ultra Rare 21.24%
Uncommon
Our Rings are Your Rings
Collected all Silver Moon Rings. 1.4%
Ultra Rare 14.05%
Rare
Ring Enthusiast
Collected a total of 10,000 Rings. (All Rings held at the end of the stage will be counted.) 11.1%
Very Rare 30.36%
Uncommon
Ring Collector
Collected a total of 50,000 Rings. (All Rings held at the end of the stage will be counted.) 2.0%
Ultra Rare 13.84%
Rare
Ring King
Collected a total of 100,000 Rings. (All Rings held at the end of the stage will be counted.) 1.1%
Ultra Rare 11.93%
Rare
Fighter
Defeated 1,000 enemies. 57.6%
Common 75.81%
Common
Warrior
Defeated 5,000 enemies. 16.8%
Rare 31.28%
Uncommon
General
Defeated 10,000 enemies. 8.2%
Very Rare 20.70%
Uncommon
Hooked on Wispons
Changed Wispons for the first time. 64.4%
Common 81.55%
Common
Way Past Cool
Equipped a part in every slot. 41.4%
Rare 59.98%
Common
Running in Style
Used the Closet. 32.3%
Rare 62.02%
Common
On a Roll
Achieved a soldier's highest honor. 17.0%
Rare 43.09%
Uncommon
Honor Roll
Achieved highest honors with all races. 1.3%
Ultra Rare 13.43%
Rare
Global Allies
Utilized the Rental Avatar function. 43.9%
Rare 68.79%
Common
Rivalry Begins
Made it into the rankings. 7.1%
Very Rare 35.78%
Uncommon
A New Beginning
Created your second Avatar. 18.1%
Rare 45.29%
Uncommon
Sonic Blaster
Collected 10 Wispons. 32.1%
Rare 63.56%
Common
Sonic Jammer
Collected 30 Wispons. 5.0%
Ultra Rare 22.78%
Uncommon
Sonic Battler
Collected all Wispons. 0.9%
Ultra Rare 11.73%
Rare
Outfitter
Collected 50 parts. 58.4%
Common 78.79%
Common
Style Hog
Collected 100 parts. 50.3%
Common 74.23%
Common
Fashion Unleashed
Collected 500 parts. 3.4%
Ultra Rare 19.09%
Rare
You Got Them All
Collected all parts. 0.9%
Ultra Rare 11.69%
Rare
Everyday Enthusiast
Completed 3 Daily Missions. 57.1%
Common 75.07%
Common
Daily Devotee
Completed 5 Daily Missions. 36.0%
Rare 51.68%
Common
Constant Connoisseur
Completed 10 Daily Missions. 15.4%
Rare 27.44%
Uncommon
Super Sonic Rescue
Completed your first SOS Mission. 34.1%
Rare 64.75%
Common
Freedom Fighter
Completed |
speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images 7/9 Donald Trump and'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP 8/9 Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images 9/9 Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Some media commentators have claimed his TV fixation is a consequence of his long-running career in entertainment where success is measured by ratings and media coverage. He, of course, hosted The Celebrity Apprentice for many years before announcing his presidential bid.
His TV obsession sharply contrasts with President Barack Obama, who penned a critically acclaimed memoir of his life and frequently talked about books which had influenced him. Back in 2009, Mr Obama said he did not watch cable TV because “it feels like WWF wrestling”.
According to an unflattering expose by the New York Times earlier in the month, Mr Trump retires to his White House residence in the early evenings to watch TV in his bathrobe. The report, which claimed the President marked up negative news stories with a black sharpie, elicited an angry Twitter tirade from Mr Trump. He suggested the publication has written “total fiction” about him and fabricated their sources.
White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, also weighed in to assert that the President “definitely doesn’t wear” a bathrobe, prompting a torrent of memes on social media of Mr Trump donning a bathrobe.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Subscribe nowPresident Trump recently hosted conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for dinner at the White House, according to a new report.
Limbaugh and his wife had dinner with the president, Vice President Pence and Pence's wife Karen at the White House on March 23, Politico reported on Wednesday.
“I’ve known President Trump for many years and have played golf with him in Florida,” Limbaugh said in a statement to Politico. “He is a magnificent host and spending time with him is immensely enjoyable.”
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Trump also invited Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, host of “Justice with Judge Jeanine” over for dinner at the White House the same week, according to the report.
Trump’s dinner with long-time friend Pirro reportedly came days before he tweeted to plug her program, during which she urged House Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanBrexit and exit: A transatlantic comparison Five takeaways from McCabe’s allegations against Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Sanders set to shake up 2020 race MORE to step down following the Republicans’ defeated plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.
The White House said Trump is simply a "fan of the show."Details
Information Seller: Rockstar Games Genre: Action, Adventure Release: Dec 12, 2013 Updated: May 01, 2018 Version: 2.02 Size: 1.9 GB TouchArcade Rating: User Rating: (69) Your Rating: unrated Compatibility: HD Universal
***PLEASE NOTE: This game is officially supported on the following devices only: iPhone 4s, 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6s, 6 Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, iPod Touch 6th Gen, iPad Mini 1, 2, 3 & 4, iPad 2, 3rd Gen, 4th Gen, iPad Air 1 & 2, and iPad Pro.*** Five years ago, Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas, a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs and corruption. Where filmstars and millionaires do their best to avoid the dealers and gangbangers. Now, it’s the early 90’s. Carl’s got to go home. His mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart and his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster. On his return to the neighborhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide. CJ is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets. Rockstar Games brings its biggest release to mobile yet with a vast open-world covering the state of San Andreas and its three major cities – Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas – with enhanced visual fidelity and over 70 hours of gameplay. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas features: • Remastered, high-resolution graphics built specifically for mobile including lighting enhancements, an enriched color palette and improved character models. • Enhanced for the iPhone 5 series and iPad 4th Gen and above with dynamic detailed shadows and real-time environmental reflections. • Physical controller support for all Made for iOS controllers. • Cloud save support for playing across all your iOS devices for Rockstar Social Club Members. • Dual analog stick controls for full camera and movement control. • Three different control schemes and customizable controls with contextual options to display buttons only when you need them. Languages Supported: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese. *To listen to your custom playlist, simply create a playlist titled “GTASA”, launch the game, and select the radio station “MIXTAPE”. Mobile Version developed by War Drum Studios www.wardrumstudios.com Find out more: www.rockstargames.com See videos: www.youtube.com/rockstargames Follow us: www.facebook.com/rockstargames www.twitter.com/rockstargamesIf you know nothing about this series beyond the title, the first thing you need to know is this: it is not, at its heart, about classroom violence. While Assassination Classroom does pit armed students against their inhuman teacher, they are armed with rubber weapons that cannot harm people and the teacher himself proves to be much more than a creepy smiley face on a tentacled body. There's as much “classroom” in this first volume as there is “assassination,” so even if you are leery of it, it really is worth picking up and reading for yourself.
Sometime before the story begins, the people of Earth noticed that three-quarters of the moon had been blasted away, leaving a permanent crescent in the night sky. A strange alien-looking being (although he claims to be from Earth) stepped forward and took credit for the moon's destruction, saying that he would also be destroying the Earth...after class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High graduates. In the meantime, he will be taking over as teacher for that class, and he vows not to hurt any students. The government, however, is free to try and take him out...and they decide that the best way to do that is to use third-year middle school students as assassins. Suddenly the students of 3-E find themselves armed and being offered one hundred million dollars to kill their teacher, and while they're scared, that's too much money to refuse. Or at least, it seems that way. Because as it turns out, the alien, named Koro-sensei by the class, is actually a really good teacher – he's effective and he cares as much about the emotional well-being of his students as their grades. Given that the rest of the school barely sees class 3-E as worth the air they breathe, this is no small thing. Class 3-E, you see, is where the school sends students with low or failing grades or who have other problems, like poor behavior. Being sent to class 3-E is the equivalent of wearing a scarlet letter, and the school administration encourages this behavior. So really the only person who gives these kids any validation is Koro-sensei, which makes for an interesting snag in the supposed plot.
It also makes for some commentary on the Japanese school system, which in manga tends to be portrayed as being strict and entirely focused on grades as a measure of student success. The kids of class 3-E aren't failures or fools – they just don't fit into the school's definition of “good.” Sugino got depressed when he was taken off the starting lineup of his baseball team, so his grades slipped. Nagisa has trouble expressing himself, Karma has anger management issues, and so on. Where other school systems might offer accommodations, Kunugigaoka shuns them. This might not even be something that occurred to us if Koro-sensei wasn't so determined to help his students, working with each of them to help them improve and succeed, in everything except killing him, of course. That last part is up to the government agent assigned to them, Karasuma, who clearly prioritizes the mission over the kids. While it's pretty hard to blame him there – after all, assuming Koro-sensei is telling the truth, he did blow away most of the moon – it also makes a contrast between the two adults which is at times funny and at others seems much more important.
Yusei Matsui's art is very easy to read, with clear lines and action that isn't overcrowded by sound and speed effects. Koro-sensei's face changes color with his emotions (hence the vaguely Watchmen style cover), and Matsui assigns a pattern to each color when they are first introduced so that even if you can't see (or don't remember) the colors, you still know what Koro-sensei's mood is. Characters all tend to look younger than they are (especially Nagisa and Karasuma), but all are easily told apart. While the action isn't always flying – surprisingly the story is more about the dialog than the assassination attempts – the book still reads fairly quickly, although it isn't necessarily one that you want to rush through.Only two days after I wrote about the death of Trans Latina Erykah Tijerina, we’ve learned that yet another trans woman woman of color has been murdered. Black trans woman Rae’Lynn Thomas was shot by her mother’s ex-boyfriend in her home in Columbus, Ohio. Rae’Lynn is at least the 19th trans person murdered in the United States this year, the fourth trans woman of color to be murdered in the last six weeks.
Rae’Lynn was only 28 years old. Known as “Ray, Rayshawn, my boo Ray Ray, and Rayshawna” to her family, her aunt described her as “a performer, the life of the party and a fashionista.” According to her mother, she transitioned ten years ago and she was a light in all of their lives.
A local Ohio news station first reported on her death, which her family is rightly calling a hate crime. According to the report, Thomas’ death was especially brutal. She was beaten and shot by her mother’s ex, a man who had repeatedly called her the devil and made other transphobic comments. He called her the devil one more time before he shot her. After Thomas was shot, her mother says she said to her, “Mom, I love you. Tell my sisters and my brother I love them. Tell my family I love them. Mom, I’m dying, I’m dying, please don’t leave me.”
Rae’Lynn Thomas is yet another Black trans woman who joins our ever expanding list of trans people murdered this year. This isn’t slowing down. This isn’t getting better. This is just getting worse and more terrifying and more depressing. I am so afraid for my sisters, my friends, my elders, my family. It’s a constant fear, one that never goes away. It just gets worse on days I have to write articles like this and gets a little bit quieter on days that I don’t.
Something needs to happen. Cis people need to hold each other accountable. It will take a systemic change to stop this from happening year after year after year. Feeling sad each time you read an article about a murdered trans woman of color won’t stop it from happening two or three or four times every month. You need to call out transphobia and transmisogyny when you see it. You need to call out racism and anti-blackness when you see it. You need to talk to the men in your life about seeing trans women as women and women as human beings. You need to do what you can to support trans women of color while we’re alive. You need to stop just calling yourself an ally and start acting like members of your LGBTQ family are being murdered once every other week. You need to read these names and realize that they’re more than that, that they’re people who are gone forever and you need to realize just how long forever actually is.
Monica Loera, 43
Jasmine Sierra, 52
Kayden Clarke, 24
Veronica Banks Cano, 40
Maya Young, 25
Demarkis Stansberry, 30
Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson, 16
Kourtney Yochum, 32
Shante Thompson, 34
Keyonna Blakeney, 22
Reecey Walker, 32
Mercedes Successful, 32
Amos Beede, 38
Goddess Diamond, 20
Dee Dee Dodds, 22
Dee Whigham, 25
Skye Mockabee, 26
Erykah Tijerina, 36
Rae’Lynn Thomas, 28
Rae’Lynn Thomas’ murderer called her the devil, but do you know what the devil really is? It’s the plague of violence that trans people, especially trans people of color, especially Black trans women face. It’s a Black trans woman named Deeniquia Dodds being murdered on July 14; another Black trans woman, Dee Whigham, being murdered ten days later; a third, Skye Mockabee being murdered just a week after that; a trans Latina named Erykah Tijerina being murdered less than two weeks later; and then Rae’Lynn Thomas being murdered not even two days later. It’s the fact that we’re guaranteed to see more murders of Black and Latina trans women and other trans women of color this year and probably this month. The devil is the fact that there are a lot of people who will read this headline and think “good riddance” and that even more will look at it without thinking or feeling anything at all.The New Democrats' historic alliance with B.C.'s third-place Green Party is founded on the principle of "good faith and no surprises."
For that to survive, both parties must put aside the personal and political differences on display during a sometimes testy election campaign as they attempt to keep the NDP minority government alive, while navigating a number of contentious policy areas that could emerge as areas of conflict. The debate over a massive hydroelectric dam in the province's north, changes to labour laws and even campaign finance reform – on which the two parties largely agree – all have the potential to cause rifts between John Horgan's New Democrats and Andrew Weaver's Greens.
And pundits – not to mention the BC Liberals, who will soon find themselves in opposition after 16 years in power – will be waiting to jump on the smallest cracks in the nascent partnership.
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Mr. Horgan and Mr. Weaver have done their best to put such speculation to bed. They are now in constant contact and an amiable rapport has developed between their parties since they signed an agreement at the end of May to create an NDP government. A photo of them enjoying a rugby match together in Victoria just days before the announcement was finalized was held up as evidence they had buried the hatchet.
The 10-page written deal between the two parties – formally known as a confidence and supply agreement – sets out core priorities both have agreed to tackle in the next legislative session. Chief among the policies are campaign-finance laws, switching the electoral system to a form of proportional representation, as well as reassessing the province's major resource projects while combatting climate change. In exchange for those commitments, the Greens have agreed to vote with the NDP on confidence motions to ensure the government does not fall prematurely, but the Greens say they will vote on other issues on a case-by-case basis – and the party's three MLAs might not necessarily always vote together.
Carole James, the former NDP leader heading her party's transition to government, said the Greens will not be privy to cabinet discussions, but they will be informed beforehand of any major policy moves. She says the new government will take action on softwood lumber, the opioid crisis and securing public-school funding before the House returns in September. Green MLAs will also receive briefing notes and be given ample opportunity to propose their own bills in the legislature, where the NDP's agenda will be debated thoroughly by all parties, she said.
Since the Lieutenant-Governor asked Mr. Horgan to form government, his special adviser Bob Dewar has been meeting most mornings with Liz Lilly, architect of the Green Party's election platform and now chief of staff for its three-member caucus.
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Ms. Lilly, who ended her 25-year career with the B.C. government in 2015 as head of the province's climate-change strategy, agrees there will be substantive policy disagreements with the New Democrats. But those will not endanger the life of the government, she says.
"If we feel that they have acted in bad faith or they haven't adequately consulted with us or that they deliberately undermined the accord, for whatever reason, then, yeah, that's a deal-breaker," she said in an interview. "It's not, 'Do we agree on whether it's $10 a day [for subsidized child care] or $15 an hour [for minimum wage]?' – it's about the spirit of the accord.
"We're all trying to get things done and there are different ways of doing it."
Tensions between the two partners will likely flare in the months ahead, she acknowledges, especially with an outspoken leader such as Mr. Weaver. He must continue to critique the New Democrats in public and private not only to push his legislative agenda, but also to assert a unique identity for the party that isn't simply an extension of the governing NDP.
A preview of what's to come occurred last month, when Mr. Horgan told a crowd of B.C. Government and Services Employees' Union workers in Vancouver that the NDP would change the labour code to eliminate a secret ballot for employees wanting to unionize.
Mr. Weaver, who once led two separate rounds of collective bargaining at the University of Victoria as head of its professors' union, immediately blasted his new ally and declared that the Greens would never support such a move.
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Within minutes of Mr. Weaver's comments hitting social media, unhappy New Democrats had called up the Green Party's co-deputy leader Matt Toner.
"They felt at the time – because the Lieutenant-Governor hadn't made a decision yet – 'let's not rock the boat publicly,'" said Mr. Toner, who ran as an NDP candidate in 2013. "At the same time, people in the private sector [contacted me and said they] were interested to see us standing up for things we believe in.
"There will be that tightrope we walk of 'how do we stick to our principles?' Because there is so much overlap with the NDP, there is that risk that we might be seen as falling into their shadow."
The Greens have said they hope to work with the Liberals to craft bills and amend NDP legislation.
The Greens say their relationship with the Liberals remains frayed after that party waged a relentless campaign to detonate the NDP-Green accord that alternated between friendly pleas and threats.
B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan and B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver speak to media after arriving at Government House in Victoria to drop of a signed agreement between their parties on May 31, 2017. Chad Hipolito/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Shortly before their defeat, Liberals unexpectedly tabled campaign finance legislation and a bill to give the Greens official party status in the legislature in what appeared to be an unsuccessful attempt to bait the Greens into voting against the NDP.
Andrew Wilkinson, a Vancouver MLA who will soon relinquish his portfolio as minister of justice to sit in opposition, said the Liberals are very concerned that the NDP will push controversial changes through the Premier's Office rather than the legislature, where the Speaker could be asked to break a 43-43 deadlock on every vote.
"They have the regulatory powers of cabinet and they have the spending powers of the executive to change many things, including substantial spending plans, which have a grave effect on the public," Mr. Wilkinson said. "Anything from bridge tolls, through child care, through the compensation system for health-care professionals – so the concern is that they will do all of that with minimal visibility and accountability.
"These are large budget items that need to be subject to the scrutiny of the legislature."
The Liberals will provide fierce opposition in the House, Mr. Wilkinson said, but do not want to force a snap election by bringing down the New Democrats on such bills.
"In the current circumstances, there's no appetite for an election in the near future," he said. He noted that a review of Christy Clark's leadership is not imminent, but "may happen a few years down the line."
By convention, the Throne Speech, its amendments and two budget-related bills are always treated as explicit tests of whether a party deserves to govern the province.
However, a government can declare any bill a confidence matter and a proposed law that makes substantial changes to the provincial budget has historically served the same function.
That means the NDP, with the support of the Greens, could wield confidence votes early on in their mandate as a cudgel to draw co-operation from the 43 Liberal MLAs, knowing they are reluctant to be seen as foisting another election on B.C.'s weary voters.
Still, Mr. Wilkinson, like many constitutional experts and political scientists, does not expect the government to last the traditional four-year term.
"It would be deeply surprising to most British Columbians if this brittle NDP-Green arrangement lasts for more than a couple of years, whether it runs for as much as two years remains to be seen."
Hot spots
The NDP's agreement with the Greens lays out more than two dozen policies both parties are set on addressing once the New Democrats form a minority government.
But several issues were left out – leaving potential friction points that could develop between the two parties.
Labour law
Shortly after the BC Liberals took power in 2001, the government changed the labour laws to, among other things, require secret ballots when workers vote on whether to unionize.
The NDP has long promised to reverse the change and return to a process whereby workers who want to unionize can do so if a majority of them sign union cards.
Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver has ruled out such a change, which would require legislation.
Site C dam
Both parties have agreed to a six-week review by the B.C. Utilities Commission of the massive earth-fill dam on the Peace River.
The commission will assess whether the project is truly needed to meet the province's future electricity demands.
The New Democrats have not said what they intend to do if the project is ruled economically viable, but the Greens say they are directly opposed to building such destructive and unnecessary "20th-century mega projects." Green Party co-deputy leader Matt Toner said the New Democrats, with their heavy support from unions, will likely be very sensitive about being seen as killing off any jobs.
Climate change
Both parties have agreed to increase the current $30-a-tonne carbon tax by $5 per tonne, per year, starting next April.
Their agreement also includes the creation of an emerging economy task force, which will report back to government within a year on how businesses will change over the next 10 to 25 years. But the Greens have often criticized New Democrats on their failure to embrace a more sustainable economy, noting in their platform that the NDP "lurches back and forth between their union wing and their environmentalists."
Road pricing and tolls
During the election campaign, the NDP promised to eliminate tolls on Metro Vancouver bridges. T
he party said it will cover the missing toll revenue in part from the province's Prosperity Fund, but did not commit to the Greens' proposal for road pricing across the region.
Michael Prince, a political scientist at the University of Victoria, said Mr. Weaver might seize this issue to criticize the NDP's promise to outlaw the tolls, which he called "election goodies" used by the Liberals and New Democrats to curry favour in those ridings. Prof. Prince said Mr. Weaver should be able to explain to the public his party's solid logic behind a policy proven to change driving behaviour and cut down on overall greenhouse gas emissions.
Housing
Both parties say they want to create more affordable housing and crack down on speculators and tax evaders. But just one bullet point in the NDP-Green agreement is dedicated to cooling Metro Vancouver's housing market, a central issue for all parties in the election campaign.
In the past, the New Democrats proposed a 2-per-cent speculation tax on properties in the Vancouver region if their owners pay little or no taxes in B.C.
The party also said it would review the province's current 15-per-cent tax on purchases in the Vancouver area involving foreign buyers.
The Greens proposed doubling the foreign-buyers tax to 30 per cent and expanding it across the entire province.
MORE FROM THE GLOBE AND MAIL:
A look back at 16 years of Liberal successes and failures The Liberals have left behind a legacy of 16 years of successes and scandals
Discord over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion rattles Canada’s political landscape The fate of the project has become a defining moment in the national debate over natural-resources development and environmental protection; over what role other levels of government have in approving interprovincial projects; and the degree of consultation and consent that is required from Indigenous Canadians.Adult Swim
Rick and Morty is considered by many to be the greatest show to grace a television screen in the past decade. With witty dialogue and interesting characters, it'sheld fans on the edge of their seat for years now.
With season 3 currently in development, Adult Swim has strategically placed all of Season 1 of the show on Spotify for both fans and the uninitiated to enjoy.
The first season of Rick and Morty was widely considered to be one of the best opening seasons of a cartoon show of all time. Season 1 currently sits at a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a 98% audience score, and the show averaged over one and half million viewers per episode in Season 1 in the US. The viewing figures would drastically increase for season 2 of the show, even going as high as a 2.18 rating. Which for a cartoon show on at such a late time is very rare.
This news allows other countries that don't air Rick and Morty to finally see the show for the first time. Fox currently airs Rick and Morty in the UK. It is also worth noting that you do not have to have Spotify Premium to watch Rick and Morty as well as some of your favourite tv shows - you can however only watch tv shows on your iPhone or Android. Desktop versions of Spotify don't allow you to watch shows just yet.
Expect season 2 of the show to appear on Spotify in the coming months. If you have yet to see the show then what are you waiting for? You now have no excuse thanks to Spotify.Köln -
Am Tag der Verpflichtung von Claudio Pizarro hat der 1. FC Köln die Trennung von Arjoms Rudnevs bekanntgegeben.
Wie Geschäftsführer Jörg Schmadtke auf der Pressekonferenz mitteilte, hat man den Vertrag auf „dringlichen Wunsch“ des Spielers aufgrund von persönlichen Problemen aufgelöst. Man habe diesem Wunsch schweren Herzens entsprochen, so Schmadtke weiter. „Es gibt Wichtigeres als Fußball,“ ließ Schmadtke wissen, ohne die Gründe näher zu konkretisieren.
Kontrakt lief noch bis 2019
Der Kontrakt des Letten beim Bundesligisten lief noch bis 2019. Nun beendet er seine Karriere.
Der 29-Jährige hatte sich vor dem Spiel beim FC Arsenal krank gemeldet (Express berichtete ausführlich). Anschließend wurde ein Eingriff in den Nasenhöhlen unternommen. Seitdem stand er nicht mehr im Kader.
Rudnevs verließ am Freitagmittag, kurz nach der Bekanntgabe seiner Freistellung, das Geißbockheim. Eduard Bopp Foto:
2016 wechselte der Stürmer vom Hamburger SV nach Köln und erzielte drei Treffer in 13 Spielen.
(mbr)We’ve reached the end of season 6 of the Fred Wolf produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Like season 4, this one doesn’t offer any sort of finale. It just ends on a typical, unassuming episode. So far, season 6 has been mostly bad and the remaining episodes won’t do much to upgrade my appraisal.
It’s a pretty dire stretch of content. We’ll be saying goodbye to Pinky McFingers, the last of the generic mobster villains who’d been so prominent in this show since season 3. We’ll also be saying goodbye to Agatha Marbles, who never should’ve existed in the first place.
“Leonardo is Missing” (written by David Wise)
Shredder and Krang plot to capture a new energy source and use it to power mega thrusters which will blast the Earth off its axis, thus moving it closer to the sun and melting the polar icecaps, thereby freeing the Technodrome. That’s a lotta steps. Meanwhile, Leonardo goes missing while investigating a distress call and the other Turtles must find him. Also, Shredder disguises Bebop as Leonardo to turn the public against the Turtles. And then the dinosaur-people show up.
Okay, let’s get one thing out of the way, here. The Technodrome is shown still stuck in the arctic, trapped in ice. That means this is actually an episode that takes place in season 5. So what the heck happened? How did a season 5 episode wind up near the end of season 6?
Even stranger, the WAY the Technodrome is shown trapped in ice doesn’t match how it appeared last season (where it was shown stuck in a canyon). In the establishing shot, it looks to be crammed sideways into the tip of an iceberg. My theory is that this was a leftover script from last season that got pushed through during the production of this season and no one during the process noticed or cared that the Technodrome was stuck in ice.
Knowing this show, that’s not too much of a leap in logic.
All that being said, how’s the episode? I have to admit, these David Wise overstuffed plots are starting to grow on me. It IS kind of impressive just HOW MUCH he shoves into 22 minutes. The plots are bewildering and spontaneous and never rationally developed, but I’ll confess that they’re rarely boring. His episodes appeal to the ADHD in us all, I guess.
What I thought was the funniest part of the story was just how many steps Shredder and Krang needed to accomplish before they could conquer Earth with this scheme. First they needed the energy source. Then they needed to attach it to some mega thrusters Krang had built. Then they needed to blow the Earth off its axis. Then they needed to wait for the polar icecaps to melt and free the Technodrome. THEN they needed to conquer Earth with the Technodrome.
They got through Step 1 of that scheme, but never made it past Step 2. These guys…
The dinosaur-people show up near the end of the last act and explain where the mysterious energy source came from (their ship) and where the distress signal came from (their ship got stuck). In a surprising nod to continuity, the dinosaur-people who have come from the center of the Earth are actually a callback to the season 3 episode “Turtles at the Earth’s Core”. In that episode, it was shown that the Earth’s core is populated with dinosaurs (albeit not anthropomorphic dinosaurs, but whatever).
Anyway, this probably isn’t a very good episode, but after 100+ half hours of this show, I’m beginning to go numb to all the lunacy and nonsense. Like I said, the episode is stupid but it isn’t BORING and that counts for more than you might think.
“Snakes Alive!” (written by David Wise)
Pinky McFingers and mutant snake-man Cobrato join forces to steal scientific equipment with an army of mind-controlled snakes. This is bad news for Leonardo, who happens to have a paralyzing fear of serpents.
It’s weird that this episode (aired October, 1992) didn’t feature action figure villain Scale Tail, who was released in the 1992 wave of the TMNT toyline. The whole thing with Cobrato being a mutant cobra seemed like it was building up to another toy-friendly promotion and then… nah. Not Scale Tail.
Ah well. He’s close enough.
Anyhow, “Snakes Alive!” is sort of a corny episode about overcoming your fears and all that jazz (there’s even a grating moment where three adorable kids help Leo find his courage), but the plot is focused and holds up pretty well. Kinda weird coming right after “Leonardo is Missing”, another David Wise episode but also one with four different plots and no focus.
Pinky McFingers makes his final appearance, oddly working as a henchman for Cobrato. What exactly he gets out of Cobrato’s scheme to turn New York City into a tropical haven for snakes is never elaborated upon. He’s just taking orders from a snake-guy. And his voice sounds different yet again. Peter Renaday returns to the character after Cam Clarke voiced him last time, but Renaday doesn’t do the Edward G. Robinson impression he did when he originated the role. Instead, he sounds like he’s doing an impression of Cam Clarke’s generic thug voice. It’s… strange. But who cares, we’ll never see him again.
Speaking of Clarke, this was a good episode for voice acting on his part. I like the TMNT episodes that take Leo out of his comfort zone, as it gives the character an opportunity to say and do things that aren’t in-line with his milquetoast “I’m the leader” characterization. Clarke plays up Leo’s cowardice and seems to be having more fun than usual. At times, Leo’s whining and whimpering makes him sound like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo.
“Polly Wanna Pizza” (written by Jack Mendelsohn)
Due to a mix-up at the pet store, Michelangelo accidentally walks away with Ditto, a parrot belonging to master thief Mugsy MacGuffin. Mugsy wants Ditto back, mainly because the parrot has a key around its neck that can get him access to a vault containing the Galubi ruby.
This is one of those episodes where the author had a bunch of ideas for a plot, but wasn’t entirely sure how to sew them all together. Mendelsohn wanted to get April, Michelangelo, the other Turtles, and Mugsy to coalesce into a story, but how? So in the end, their disparate threads all sort of unite by either accident or idiotic contrivance. Sometimes both, thus negating each other.
For example, all the characters need to reach the “Berring Arms Hotel” at the end of the episode for the big finale (it’s where the ruby is being kept and also where Michelangelo becomes trapped minutes before demolition). So how do the other Turtles learn they need to go there? Well, Donatello uses a “key spectrum analyzer” to determine the source of the key around Ditto’s neck. That’s some bullshit, but this episode features a guy with the last name “MacGuffin”, so we can let it slide. But right after Donatello figures that out, Ditto just straight up TELLS them “Berring Arms Hotel”, because parrots can talk, so what was the point of the machine?
And then there’s Mugsy, who wants to get the key back. How does he? Well, he just happens to be driving his limo behind the Turtle Van as they race to the hotel and by coincidence sees Ditto. So that worked out nicely.
Yet, Jack Mendelsohn manages to work in a reference to “Raphael Verses the Volcano”, an episode his wife Carole wrote in season 5. No time to edit the script for a coherent second draft, but thank god he got that reference to Raph’s Green Avengers costume in there.
It’s not that the episode has a terribly bad plot in summary, it’s just that the whole thing is assembled very sloppily. There’s also a subplot about Vernon trying to scoop April that amounts to absolutely nothing, but Vernon subplots tend to do that.
“Mr. Nice Guy” (written by Steve Granat and Cydne Clark)
When Raphael gets zapped by Donatello’s personality alterator, he becomes an obnoxiously nice guy. This gives the renegade psychiatrist Professor Von Shrink ideas, as he uses the device to turn all the cops in New York too nice to arrest anyone.
This episode’s sort of a sequel to “Leonardo Cuts Loose”, bringing back Donatello’s personality alterator gun but using it on a different character. Might’ve been neat if we’d gotten episodes dedicated to all four Turtles getting zapped and becoming their polar opposites, but then again, maybe twice was enough.
“Mr. Nice Guy” isn’t a very well-paced episode (Von Shrink doesn’t show up until the halfway point and his crime spree doesn’t start until the last |
all of a sudden she jumped 4-foot-5 courses and you need to have a very sharp brain in order to do the calculations. And she started making mistakes.
'All of a sudden instead of a six stride, she was trying to do it in a four stride or a seven stride and big accidents started happening,' she added.
Both Bella and her brother, Anwar were both diagnosed with Lyme disease in early 2012.
All lined up: The catwalker in green as she poses with two other models, including British fashion favorite Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (center) in late FebruaryA surfer looks out toward the water in Huntington Beach, across from the Surfline office. The forecasting company announced Tuesday it was acquiring UK-based Magicseaweed. (FILE PHOTO/SCNG)
A surfer heads towards the waves on the south-side of Huntington Beach Pier. (PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN / SCNG)
Sound The gallery will resume in seconds
Surfline forecaster Chris Borg works at his desk at the company offices in Huntington Beach. (PHOTO: KEVIN SULLIVAN / SCNG)
A surfer works the waves near Huntington Beach Pier, across from the Surfline.com headquarters. (PHOTO: JOSHUA SUDOCK/SCNG)
Surfers take to the water north of the Seal Beach Pier. As more surfers have learned to surf, the need for surf forecasting has been a necessity. (File photo/SCNG)
It’s a mission surf forecasting companies strive for — to let surfers “know before they go,” a tagline created decades ago by Surfline.com founder Sean Collins.
The Huntington Beach brand will allow even more surfers around the globe to plan surf trips and check conditions at their local beach breaks, after announcing Tuesday, Oct. 3, it acquired Magicseaweed, based in the United Kingdom.
“Our promise is connecting surfers with their passion, and the addition of Magicseaweed to our stable of brands will ensure we do that for millions of surfers around the world,” Jeff Berg, Surfline’s CEO and chairman, said in a statement.
The price of the sale was not disclosed.
Magicseaweed provides forecasting and live reporting of more than 4,000 beaches across the globe. It was founded in 2002 and has become one of the world’s leading online surf forecasting platforms, used in more than 200 countries. Its main followers are in North America, Europe and Australia.
Surfline has been around for about 30 years, founded by Orange County entrepreneur Collins when he started a phone line, 976-SURF, which Southern California surfers could call for the best intelligence on that day’s swells. Collins passed away in 2011 after a heart attack, but his legacy lives on through the popular website.
The company relied on an antiquated phone line with audio recordings from forecasters and a popular “wave fax” service.
About a decade ago, Surfline bought Buoyweather.com to get into the marine-services business. In 2008, the company beefed up its camera network, enhancing quality and bandwidth with subscription HD cameras. It built iPhone and iPad apps, and recently launched a TV app that allows viewers to watch in-house-produced videos or stream cameras to watch their favorite beaches live on television.
In recent years, Surfline has added to its portfolio. In 2012, it created Fishtrack.com, similar to the surf website but focused on anglers scouring for the best ocean conditions, along with stories about fishing tournaments and reports about catches.
About 2 million unique visitors a month log into the company’s websites, which are run from its Huntington Beach offices overlooking the iconic Surf City pier. There are more than 360 cameras around the world.
Surfline and Magicseaweed will remain distinct products, keeping their own styles and branding. Having both brands and teams under one roof, however, will enable collaborations with product development, and the advertising team can market to a larger, global audience.
“For over 15 years Magicseaweed has been committed to providing the very best global surf forecast we can,” Magicseaweed founder Ben Freeston said in the announcement. “Joining with the team at Surfline is the perfect next step in this journey. It allows Magicseaweed to stay true to its mission while assisting in growing a combined business that can positively touch the lives of surfers everywhere.”The first Hearthstone World Championship will be held from 11/02 to 11/08/2014. The Group Stage of the WCS starts one week before the main event during BlizzCon 2014 at the Anaheim Convention Center. 16 Players from 4 regions will battle it out for total prize money of $ 250,000. 4 regional Qualifiers were held to determine the 4 participants per region. All matches will be played best of 5 and last hero standing. This means every player bring 4 unique decks with different classes. After each game the looser has to choose another deck, the winner plays the same deck again.
—> Find out more about the Hearthstone World Championship 2016 <—
–> Find out more about the Hearthstone World Championship 2015 <–
Hearthstone World Championship 2014 Facts:
Betting / Livestream
Date: 11/02/2014 – 11/08/2014
11/02/2014 – 11/08/2014 Opening Weekend (11/02/2014 – 11/03/2014)
Main Event during Blizzcon 2014 (11/07/2014 – 11/08/2014)
Total Prize Money: $ 250,000
$ 250,000 16 Players
4 Groups (Top 2 Players advance to Quarter-Finals)
Format: Last Hero Standing (Looser has to switch deck)
Last Hero Standing (Looser has to switch deck) Each player brings 4 decks (different classes) to each match
All matches are best of 5
5 regional Qualifiers
Live Stream for all matches
Bets and odds available
Schedule | Starting Times
The schedule of the Hearthstone World Championship consits of the opening weekend (11/02/2014 – 11/03/2014) and the main event during Blizzcon 2014 (11/07/2014 – 11/08/2014). On Day 1 of the Group Stage two matches per group are played. On Day 2 the winners and the losers battle it out, which brings another two matches per group. The 4 players that have won 2 matches after Day 2 of the Group Stage qualify for the bracket of 8. The two players per group that have 1 win after Day 2 meet each other for a deciding match at Day 1 of the Main Event at Blizzcon. The 4 players that have 0 points after Day 2 are out of the tournament.
Schedule main event Blizzcon 2014 [ completed ]
Semi-Finals: Saturday, 11/08/2014
Live Stream Start: 19:00 (CET) | 10:00 AM (PST)
Schedule / Games:
Semi-Final #1: Tiddler Celestial vs. Kranich (3 : 0)
Semi-Final #2: Firebat vs. DTwo (3 : 2)
Hearthstone World Championship Finals: Saturday, 11/08/2014
Live Stream Start: 21:30 (CET) | 12:30 (PST)
Schedule / Games:
Grand Final: Tiddler Celestial vs. Firebat (0 : 3)
You know who will win?
Knockout Stage | Bracket [ completed ]
QUARTER-FINALS SEMI-FINALS World Championship FINALS Tiddler Celestial 3 Tarei 1 Tiddler Celestial 3 vs. Tiddler Celestial 0 Kranich 3 Kranich 0 Kolento 2 vs. Kaor
1 Firebat 3 Firebat 3 Firebat 3 vs. Strifecro 2 DTwo 2 DTwo 3
Quarter-Finals: 11/08/2014 | 11/07/2014
Live Stream Start: Saturday, 03:30 (CET) | Friday, 18:30 (PST)
Schedule / Games:
Quarter-Final #1: Tiddler Celestial vs. Tarei (3 : 1)
Quarter-Final #2: Kranich vs. Kolento (3 : 2)
Quarter-Final #3: Kaor vs. Firebat (1 : 3)
Quarter-Final #4: StrifeCro vs. DTwo (2 : 3)
Schedule and Results Opening Weekend [ completed ]
Group Stage | Standings
GROUP A [ completed ]
1. Tiddler Celestial (China)
2 2. DTwo (Americas)
2 3. Numberguy (EU)
1 4. Tom60299 (Taiwan)
0
GROUP B [ completed ]
1. Kaor (EU)
2 2. Tarei (Americas)
2 3. Nicolas (China)
1 4. RenieHouR (Korea)
0
GROUP C [ completed ]
1. Kranich (Korea)
2 2. Firebat (Americas)
2 3. Qiruo (China)
1 4. Greensheep (EU)
0
GROUP D [ completed ]
1. Strifecro (Americas)
2 2. Kolento (EU)
1 3. RundAndGun (China)
1 4. FrozenIce (Taiwan)
0
-> view opening weekend recap
Group Stage #1: Sunday, 11/02/2014
Live Stream Start: 19:00 (CET) | 10:00 AM (PST)
Schedule / Games / Results:
Game 1: Tom60229 vs. DTwo (1 : 3)
Game 2: Tiddler Celestial vs. Numberguy (3 : 1)
Game 3: Tarei vs. Kaor (1 : 3)
Game 4: RenieHour vs. Nicolas (1 : 3)
Game 5: Qiruo vs. Firebat (0 : 3)
Game 6: Greensheep vs. Kranich (0: 3)
Game 7: RunAndGun vs. StrifeCro (1 : 3)
Game 8: FrozenIce vs. Kolento (2 : 3)
Group Stage #2: Monday, 11/03/2014
Live Stream Start: 19:00 (CET) | 10:00 AM (PST)
Schedule / Games / Results:
Game 1: DTwo vs. Tiddler Celestial (2 : 3)
Game 2: Kaor vs. Nicolas (3 : 2)
Game 3: Firebat vs. Kranich (2 : 3)
Game 4: StrifeCro vs. Kolento (3 : 2)
Game 5: Tom60229 vs. Numberguy (0 : 3)
Game 6: Tarei vs. RenieHour (3 : 0)
Game 7: Greensheep vs. Qiruo (1 : 3)
Game 8: RunAndGun vs. FrozenIce (3 : 2)
-> view opening weekend recap
Group Stage #3: Friday, 11/07/2014
Live Stream Start: 18:45 (CET) | 09:45 AM (PST)
Schedule / Games:
Game 1: Numberguy vs. DTwo (2 : 3)
Game 2: Tarei vs. Nicolas (3 : 1)
Game 3: Qiruo vs. Firebat (0 : 3)
Game 4: RunAndGun vs. Kolento (2 : 3)
Qualifiers | Road to the World Championship
5 regional qualifiers were held in the following regions: North America, Europe, China, South Korea and Tawain. The regional qualifiers for the Hearthstone World Championship where seeded from the Top 16 players of each ranked season from April to August as well as the best players from various Hearthstone community tournaments. The last free slots were determined in a Last-Call tournament before the actual start of the qualifiers. Per regional Qualifier a maximum of 130 players fought for 4 tickets to the World Championship of Blizzards’s trading Card Game.
Players
16 Players qualified for the Hearthstone World Championship. 8 Players will advance to the Quarter-Finals of the WCS during BlizzCon 2014.
Americas Firebat
StrifeCro
DTwo
Tarei
Europe Kolento
Greensheep
Numberguy
Kaor
China RunAndGun
Nicolas
Tiddler Celestial
Qiruo
Korea RenieHouR
Kranich
Taiwan Tom60299
FrozenIce
Hearthstone World Championship 2014 Prize Money
Every one of the 16 finalists at the Hearthstone World Championship gets at least $ 5,000. See the complete prize money structure below.
1st Place : $ 100,000
: $ 100,000 2nd Place : $ 50,000
: $ 50,000 3rd / 4th Place: $ 15,000
$ 15,000 5th to 8th Place: $ 7,500
$ 7,500 9th to 16th Place: $ 5,000
Total Prize Pool: $ 250,000
Betting Info
All major eSports betting sites have lines and odds for the matches of the Hearthstone WCS 2014. You can place bets on the WCS at Pinnacle Sports, egamingbets and GGwins!
Hearthstone World Championship Live Stream
The World Championship of Hearthstone will be steamed live on various channels and in different languages. You can watch the WCS Live stream right here on our website in English! Just press play to start the stream and tune in into the Hearthstone World Championship! The red button on the top right side indicates that the stream is live.
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Hearthstone World Championship 2015MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A 19-year old man from Sanford – who played the Powerball for the first time-claimed his share of the $1.5 billion jackpot on Thursday.
Frederick Walker is getting $2 million for his portion of the prize after he says he tried his luck after never having played the Florida Lottery.
“I got to the store, and there was already a completed play slip at the playstation,” said Walker.
He said he figured those numbers were as good as any so he took the play slip up to the counter and purchased his ticket at Sav-A-Ton, located at 199 North Country Club Road in Lake Mary.
The winning Powerball numbers were pulled Wednesday evening.
Walker’s winning ticket matched all five of the white ball numbers but did not match the Powerball number. He had added Power Play® to his ticket for $1, which multiplied his prize from $1 million to $2 million.
The retailer also got a $5,000 bonus commission for selling a winning Powerball ticket.
Walker wasn’t the only one taking home a piece of the jackpot.
Three players, including one in Florida, had winning tickets plus the Powerball number. The other two winning tickets were sold in California and Tennessee.
Related: Winning Powerball Ticket Sold In Melbourne Beach
Florida lottery officials aid the state’s share of the historic $1.586 billion jackpot is $528,784,000 with a lump-sum cash-option of $327.8 million.
The next Powerball drawing will be held Saturday, January 16, at 10:59 p.m. ET with an estimated $40 million jackpot.The multinational corporation run by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch has said it will not cooperate with a Senate investigation into whether the corporation has paid for research skeptical of climate change.
Koch Industries Inc., which operates refining, chemical and pipeline companies, was among 100 fossil fuel businesses and organizations that were sent letters by three Democratic senators seeking information on whether they had backed research into global warming.
Koch general counsel Mark V. Holden replied in a March 5 letter to Senators Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.
Holden said that disclosing the information would impinge on the Koch corporation’s First Amendment right to participate in public policy debates.
"In reviewing your letter, I did not see any explanation or justification for an official Senate Committee inquiry into activities protected by the First Amendment," Holden wrote.
The Koch brothers are well known for supporting conservative and libertarian think tanks and campaigns through various organizations they fund, including Americans for Prosperity and the Cato Institute. However, it is unclear to what degree they fund scientists who deny climate change.
Last month, documents obtained by Greenpeace through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) revealed that the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds research and educational programs, had donated money to Wei-Hock Soon of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Soon has long maintained that climate change was a natural phenomenon, not caused by human activities.
Soon told the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in 2003 that the sun, not carbon dioxide, causes global warming — a view that has been widely discredited.
Soon received more than $1.2 million from Exxon Mobile, Southern Company, the American Petroleum Institute and the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation to finance his research, Greenpeace said.
“For years, we at Greenpeace have been working to make public the secret paper trails that show what everyone already knows: Climate science deniers — #fakexperts — are few and far between, and most of them are paid by companies most responsible for global warming to downplay the problem,” Greenpeace wrote in a blog post in February.
The Kochs recently announced they would spend nearly $1 billion in the 2016 presidential and congressional races — worrying environmentalists, many of whom say the brothers have a history of backing climate skeptics.
With wire servicesTwins general manager Terry Ryan is a Well-Respected Baseball Man™.
He was drafted by the Twins in 1972 and pitched four seasons in their farm system. From there he became a scout and, eventually, the Twins' scouting director. In the fall of 1994, when two-time World Series-winning general manager Andy MacPhail left the Twins to take the same job with the Cubs, the team chose Ryan as his replacement. He's been the Twins' general manager for 18 total seasons split between two stints, separated by a self-imposed four-season hiatus. Terry Ryan is the Minnesota Twins.
That cliché about someone who has forgotten more about something than most people will ever know is absolutely true of Ryan, a 62-year-old baseball lifer who has earned universal respect from his peers in baseball and from the media covering baseball. All of that is undeniable. However, also undeniable is that Ryan's overall winning percentage as Twins general manager is just.474; the team has won a grand total of one playoff series since 1995. They haven't won a playoff game since 2004, and the Twins have the second-worst record in baseball during Ryan's second stint, with a fifth 90-loss season in the past six years currently looking likely following a disastrous 10-27 start.
When the Twins were winning six AL Central titles in nine years from 2002-2010 they were known for remaining old school as MLB front offices increasingly went new school. Basically they were known for being Terry Ryan, continuing to rely on their scouting chops and well-established organizational approach as waves of analytics and innovation swirled around them. All of that remains true now, except the Twins have fallen even further behind in the various new-school categories while failing to dominate on the old-school side like they used to. In short, it's not obvious what they're even good at relative to the other 29 teams anymore.
It's been quite a while since Ryan's actual moves and the Twins' actual record matched his sterling reputation. There aren't many teams that would stick with a GM for two decades of.474 baseball and zero playoff success. There aren't many markets in which that GM and his longtime front office assistants would receive little criticism and tons of praise for producing 11 losing seasons in 18 years. But the Twins and Minnesota are that rare combination, which is why this preamble seems somehow necessary just to get to a point where it feels comfortable to say … well, it's no longer clear that Terry Ryan should be the Twins' general manager.
Ryan is extraordinarily conservative, which has shown itself in his aversion to spending big money on outside free agents and in several seasons deciding to flat-out leave $10 million or more in projected, ownership-approved payroll unspent. He's targeted mid-level, low-upside veterans in free agency rather than going after bigger fish, most recently spending $200 million on the meh-worthy pitching quintet of Ricky Nolasco, Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Mike Pelfrey, and Kevin Correia. Those five free agent additions have combined to give the Twins a 4.60 ERA in 1,435 innings; three of the contracts stretch beyond this season.
Ryan's conservative nature is also apparent from his repeated moves during both GM stints to over-commit to current, mediocre Twins players with misguided contract extensions and re-signings. For instance, Pelfrey posted a 5.19 ERA with just 101 strikeouts in 153 laborious innings on a one-year deal with the Twins in 2013 and was re-signed to a two-year deal (he had a 4.73 ERA in those two years). Even when Ryan has gotten good value from low-cost, short-term free agent pickups he has erased those gains by signing those same players to multi-year extensions well beyond their usefulness.
Ryan signed Kurt Suzuki to a one-year, $3 million deal in December of 2013. Suzuki was an overworked 30-year-old catcher coming off a four-season stretch in which he hit.237/.294/.357 with poor defensive numbers, but he put together a good first half for the Twins. Rather than trading Suzuki in what would be a 92-loss season, the Twins signed him to a two-year, $12 million extension on the day of the trade deadline. Suzuki has hit.237/.290/.320 with poor defensive numbers in 181 games since signing the extension. He's essentially been a replacement-level player for all but four months of the past seven seasons, but the fourth of those four months is when Ryan gave him a multi-year extension.
Hughes' story is similar, but even more costly. Signed by Ryan to a three-year, $24 million deal in December of 2013, the former Yankees top prospect turned into a strike-throwing machine in Minnesota and had a career-year while posting the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in modern baseball history. It was a remarkable transformation by a 28-year-old with a lifetime 4.53 ERA. Rather than riding out the rest of the contract and getting Hughes for two more years at $8 million per season Ryan handed him a three-year, $42 million extension. Hughes has a 4.79 ERA in 192 innings since signing the extension, which doesn't even begin until 2017.
What the Twins are left with is a mid-level payroll in the $110 million range, $60 million of which is devoted to Nolasco, Santana, Hughes, Suzuki, Glen Perkins, Tommy Milone, and Kevin Jepsen. Ryan has always been risk-averse, but of late his risk-aversion has turned into upside-aversion masked as making so-called "safe" bets on veterans. Those bets include owing $40 million to the Santana-Hughes-Nolasco trio next season, leaving little wiggle room to upgrade a pitching staff that has ranked 14th, 10th, 15th, 14th, 13th, and 13th in the 15-team American League since 2011 while producing by far the fewest strikeouts in baseball.
When they were winning under Ryan the Twins were simply better than most teams at scouting and player development, which was crucial because they were never going to outspend or innovate more or take more risk risks. They were a tight poker player folding unless they had a great starting hand (Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Justin Morneau, Francisco Liriano, Torii Hunter) and then playing them by the book in the hopes of walking away from the table with a small profit. Of late those great starting hands have disappeared and when the Twins have attempted to loosen up their approach via free agency they've failed miserably. Or, put another way, an awful lot of lemons have been coming off the assembly line at the Twins' player development factory, laying bare the organization's inability to adjust without collapsing.
Matt Garza is the only Twins first-round draft pick since 2003 to produce 10 or more wins above replacement as a major leaguer, and they traded him away at age 23. Trevor Plouffe is the best first-round pick during that time who actually stayed with the Twins, and he's a third baseman with a.246/.308/.421 career line. Plouffe and Brian Dozier count as the established position player development success stories in Minnesota these days, and the biggest standout on the pitching side is Kyle Gibson and his 4.50 career ERA. Once the prospect well ran dry the thirst made the Twins do some things they'd rather forget.
Ryan stepped down as GM following the 2007 season, citing burnout after the team dropped from 96 to 79 wins. His promoted-from-within replacement, Bill Smith, proved totally overmatched and made a series of poor decisions that set the team back. Smith traded Johan Santana for a four-prospect package that provided almost zero value to the Twins, later compounding his mistake by giving up on Carlos Gomez at age 23. He also traded the aforementioned Garza and starting shortstop Jason Bartlett for future bust Delmon Young—a trade that essentially built the Rays' eight-year run of success—and swapped top catching prospect Wilson Ramos for "proven closer" Matt Capps. Big moves, big failures. And please never mention the name "Nishioka" to a Twins fan.
Because of the damage done during the brief but disastrous Smith regime, some Minnesotans feel that Ryan should be given an especially long leash for getting the team back on track. There's no doubt at least some truth to that, but Ryan also hand-picked Smith as his successor and stepped down at a time when the Twins had several huge decisions—including trading away a 28-year-old two-time Cy Young winner—to be made. Smith made them and made them badly, but to act as if Ryan was a non-entity during that time or not responsible for the mess he left on his old desk for Smith seems disingenuous.
Ryan held the GM job from 1995-2007, stepped down while handing the keys to his preferred replacement, and remained involved with the team before re-taking the GM job in 2012. He neither left a clean slate for Smith nor was he left a clean slate by Smith. His second stint as GM has been littered with questionable decision-making, bad free agent spending, the inability to develop pitchers, and an overall sense that the Twins are lagging behind most teams in lots of key areas on and off the field. Or as Twins owner Jim Pohlad phrased it earlier this month in assessing the damage: "Total system failure." Ultimately, though, it can also be objectively boiled down to this: Terry Ryan is the Twins and the Twins have been very bad for six years and a below-.500 team with zero postseason success for 20 years.
Amid all the losing the Twins have assembled a highly rated farm system. The young core—first-round picks Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios, plus Smith-signed international prospects Miguel Sano and Max Kepler—is one they can potentially build around. This is a team on the rise, albeit with a massive step backward taking place this season. The question is not whether a Ryan-led organization can successfully rebuild and return to contender status within the next 2-3 years, but rather whether Twins fans should want Ryan and his right-hand men leading the organization when that happens. It's increasingly difficult to make a compelling case for him keeping the job without pointing to positive things that happened a decade (and a whole lot of losing) ago.
Terry Ryan is a Well-Respected Baseball Man™, but when does that cease being enough?The Greenville Drive have announced that their game on Monday, August 21st has been moved to a 1:05 PM start in conjunction with the solar eclipse that will make its way through Greenville!
The game will go into a delay around 2:38 PM during totality, and fans who enter the gates will be given a complimentary pair of glasses to view the eclipse, courtesy of Pepsi of Greenville.
Fluor Field will serve as WYFF's epicenter for all their live coverage of the eclipse, and Chief Meteorologist John Cessarich will be on hand throughout the day providing updates for fans in attendance.
Once the game against the West Virginia Power is complete, fans are invited to stick around as the party continues thanks to WSSL 100 and iHeart Radio! Fans will be treated to a concert from rising country group Walker McGuire, whose single "Til Tomorrow" currently sits at #42 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
Come on out to Fluor Field on August 21st for an incredible view of this unique phenomenon! To purchase tickets for the Eclipse Game, head to the Main Street Box Office, call (864) 240-4528 or CLICK HERE.PARIS (Reuters) - In his first seven months in office, President Emmanuel Macron has faced little opposition. But on Sunday, the once-dominant Republicans, now the biggest opposition party in parliament, elected a new leader they hope will recover their voice.
FILE PHOTO: Laurent Wauquiez, the front-runner for the leadership of French conservative party "Les Republicains" (The Republicans) attends a political rally in Saint-Priest, near Lyon, France, December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Robert Pratta/File Photo
The conservatives’ ambitious new chief, 42-year old Laurent Wauquiez, is a hard-hitting critic of the 39-year-old centrist president, whom he dismisses as out of touch with rural France, weak on security and too much in favor of closer European integration.
Wauquiez wants the party to pull its weight after months when internal divisions and the shock from failing to make the run-off in this year’s presidential election held them back.
“Tonight, the Right is back!” he told supporters.
“France needs the Right because the president of the Republic (Macron) is passive against crime... and not firm enough against radical Islam,” said Wauquiez, who wants to relaunch the Republicans by taking them further to the right.
He won an overwhelming mandate with three quarters of the near 100,000 votes cast by party members on Sunday.
Wauquiez bills himself as the champion of small-town, rural France - a France, he says, with which Macron has no connection as he pursues a “start-up nation”.
While there are few policy parallels between the two men, Wauquiez and Macron actually have some traits in common. Both are younger than French political leaders usually are and are graduates from the country’s top elite schools who promise to shake up the political establishment.
Inside Macron’s camp, some ministers have cautioned against underestimating the threat of Wauquiez.
“We need to be wary because he is very gifted, very strong and there’s nothing he won’t do. He will establish a violent fight,” Gerald Darmanin, Macron’s budget minister and former member of the Republicans, told the newspaper Le Monde.
But Wauquiez’s main challenge may well come from within.
He inherits a party divided in its response both to Macron’s poaching of party stalwarts and economic policy that encroaches on its turf.
Moderate veterans, ill at ease with his wooing of far-right National Front voters, have warned they could leave the party if he does not water down his hardline views.
And opinion polls show he is not popular with voters overall. Both far-left ‘France Unbowed’ leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and far-right National Front chief Marine Le Pen have so far been viewed as stronger opponents to Macron, polls have shown.
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“Now the hard part begins,” said Jean-Daniel Levy, head of Harris Interactive pollsters.
Wauquiez has time to turn the party around.
French voters will next go to the polls only in 2019, for the European parliament election. The next presidential and parliamentary elections will be in 2022.CLOSE Watch Detroit police try to evict a 500-pound hog from the basement of a home. Detroit Police Department
Buy Photo Police cart away the pesky pig. (Photo: Daniel Bethencourt/Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
It took hours of pushing and persuading, but police finally managed to evict a hog from a west-side basement.
"It was the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life on the police force," said Capt. Harold Rochon, who added he had been an officer for 20 years.
Neighbors called police about the animal, which was in a home in the 10400 block of Orangelawn, police said.
Assistant Detroit Police Chief Steve Dolunt said the man who owned the home was found dead in another home of his across the street. He was identified as Gary Roquemore, said Ryan Bridges, a spokesman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, and he died of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Police brought a tow truck and strapped the pig in a harness, but the pig was uncomfortable and didn't want to come out. They tried building multiple ramps made out of refuse from Roquemore's yard, and tried coaxing it with snacks from neighbors — but those snacks sadly had no effect, Rochon said.
Finally, four hours after their efforts began, they built a ramp that worked, and pushed the hog out from behind.
The hog was taken to Devoted Barn, a farm near Saline. If there are no health issues, the hog will be allowed to live.
Buy Photo Neighbors await the results of the pig investigation. (Photo: Daniel Bethencourt/Detroit Free Press)
Dolunt said a farmer was being brought in to help remove the hog from the basement, which had only a ladder — no stairs — leading into it.
Police and neighbors said Roquemore was the man who lived in the house where the hog was found. Neighbors described Roquemore as a hoarder who owned several properties on the street.
Neighbors continue to await results of pig situation pic.twitter.com/NWq0UhNmS6 — Daniel Bethencourt (@_dbethencourt) June 26, 2015
"Let's get the barbecue going," officer says to no one in particular while arriving at pig situation, lifting up crime tape #notjoking — Daniel Bethencourt (@_dbethencourt) June 26, 2015
If no health issues, #Detroitpig will live at a farm outside the city, police say — Daniel Bethencourt (@_dbethencourt) June 27, 2015
They said he was an introverted man who owned a phenomenal amount of things: he had a few properties on the block near where he was found dead Monday, at least six cars in his yard that appeared to be out of use, and even a farm well outside the city where he kept a range of animals and grew fruits and vegetables.
"He was a good person," said Danny Wade, 18, who used to help out Roquemore on the weekends in exchange for a few dollars and snacks like donuts.
"He never wanted to see nothing go to waste."
Roquemore also told neighbors that he worked in the government, though he didn't elaborate, and said that he was a pastor, although Wade saw him in regular clothes on Sundays and began to suspect that wasn't true.
"It's strange," said Diane Blue, who often saw Roquemore around. "I wouldn't expect [him] to have a pig in the basement. I can understand hoarding, because it happens. But a pig in your basement--that's strange."
Two neighbors said they visited Roquemore's farm outside Detroit where he kept various animals, including pigs — Daniel Bethencourt (@_dbethencourt) June 26, 2015
Contact Gina Damron: 313-223-4526 or gdamron@freepress.com
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1NkO5UeFUNimation Reveals ‘Tenchi Muyo: War On Geminar’ Cover Art
Chris Beveridge Posted by
Due out this coming May from FUNimation, it’s one of the last pieces of the Tenchi Muyo puzzle that hasn’t seen release here before with Tenchi Muyo: War On Geminar. The company has released all thirteen episodes on YouTube to check out, where each episode runs approximately forty-five minutes hence the double set split for it. The series was released starting in March 2010 in Japan animated by AIC Spirits and BeSTACK with direction by Koji Yoshikawa based on a script by Hideki Shrane.
The anime is part of the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki continuity, taking place 15 years after the events of Tenchi Muyo! GXP.
Check out more new cover art in our dedicated discussion forum for it: DVD/BD Cover Art Discussions
Kenshi Masaki is a 15 year-old boy that unwillingly traveled from his home on Earth to the alternate world of Geminar (ジェミナー Jeminā?). In Geminar, the countries wage wars using Sacred Mechanoids, humanoid weapons that were originally discovered within ancient ruins. After being tricked by a mysterious organization into participating in an attempt to assassinate Lashara Earth XXVIII, the young princess of the Shtrayu Empire, he ends up captured after he chooses not to kill her. When Lashara hears the truth, she decides to help.
Disguised as her servant, Kenshi moves with her to the Holy Land, a virtually impregnable fortress that serves as an academy to train Sacred Mechanoid pilots. With his kindness, tenacity, and skills that vary from carpentry to advanced techniques of survival, Kenshi eventually becomes a celebrity in the academy, becoming the object of affection of many female students and making some of the male students envious. However, the same organization who deceived Kenshi |
her shadow. She drew her blade and quickly raised it to block Ousu's strike. The power of the strike knocked her off her feet, and Yamato Sumeragi swept in to her defense. Ousu spun around and caught Naoto's Persona with her free hand. It slammed the Persona to the ground.
Yu grabbed his blade and prepared to intervene but Kanji stepped in front of him. "She can do this." Kanji said. "She doesn't need our help."
Ousu raised its sword to finish Yamato Sumeragi off. "Tetrakarn!" Naoto shouted. Ousu's blade slammed into Yamato Sumeragi but in a flash of light it bounced off flew out of Ousu's hand. While Yamato Sumeragi struggled to recover, Naoto changed her weapon to its rifle form and fired several shots. Ousu reacted as if it were being attacked by bees, swatting at the incoming bullets. As Naoto reloaded, Ousu recovered its blade and headed directly for her. It raised its sword high into the air and brought it down hard. Naoto side-stepped the attack and Yamato Sumeragi attacked Ousu from behind. Yamato Sumeragi's blade pierced Ousu's neck, and the Persona faded to static and disappeared.
"You bitch!" The shadow screamed, holding its neck as it felt its Persona's pain. It reached under its lab coat and retrieved a revolver. It aimed it straight at Naoto and pulled the trigger. Yamato Sumeragi swept in between them, taking all six shots. Naoto doubled over in pain as her Persona faded to static and disappeared. "Now I've got you." The shadow said, slowly reloading the revolver.
"I don't think so." Naoto said. She raised her rifle, took careful aim, exhaled and fired. The bullet struck the shadow's revolver, knocking it out of the shadow's hand. The shadow stood there stunned. "I'm done with you." Naoto said.
The shadow looked over its shoulder and spotted the revolver, just a few feet away. It turned and ran for its weapon. Naoto took another shot. The bullet slammed into the shadow's back and blasted out its chest, leaving a sizable hole that oozed black goo. The shadow stopped and looked down at the wound, a stunned look on its face. Naoto concentrated and fired another shot. The shot struck the shadow in the back of the head, blasting the top of its skull off in a shower of black liquid. The shadow dissolved and disappeared.
"That was unpleasant." Naoto said. "I really wasn't expecting to face my shadow tonight."
"Yeah, it should have been Teddie's this time." Chie said. "What gives?"
"I guess there just isn't anything that bothers me enough." Teddie said.
"You are a disturbingly carefree guy." Yosuke added.
"Somethings wrong!" Rise announced. "I agreed on a distress call with Yang, and her Persona is sending it. We need to help them now!"
Aigis woke up in a warm bed. She looked around in a panic, not knowing where she was. The morning light illuminated the room, throwing long shadows across the furniture. Wait, she was just in her dorm room. Why did she not recognize it at first? Then she remembered what day it was. A year ago today, she had met Minato. They had been dating pretty much ever since and tonight they were going on a date, having dinner at a fancy restaurant. Her confusion was probably just nerves.
She looked at the clock. It was later than she expected. If she did not hurry, she would be late for school. She took a quick shower, threw on her uniform and headed out. She just made it to class on time. It was a waste really; she could not concentrate at all. She could not stop thinking about Minato. She was surprised because she normally enjoyed her classes and did very well. Why was she unable to get him out of her mind?
After classes, Aigis rushed back to the dorm to get ready for her date. She put on her best dress. It was not that special, she was an orphan and did not have much money, and had little to spend on clothes. Minato was an orphan too, he would understand. They were both alone, but they had each other. She put on some makeup with a little help from her friend Yukari, and she was ready to go. Minato was late. He had a job, and he was leaving early just so they could go out, but he must have gotten tied up.
After what seemed like an eternity, Minato arrived, apologizing profusely. He rushed to his room to change out of his work clothes and was back in a flash. He wore a suit and had his blue hair brushed back. His normal look saw his hair covering most of his face. He never dressed this nicely either. Aigis felt underdressed but there was nothing she could do about that.
They left the dorm and walked to the restaurant. Now Aigis felt very underdressed. She had never been inside the place before, and it was even fancier on the inside than she had imagined. They were seated at a small table in the corner. She looked over the menu and could not get past the prices. She felt guilty. There was no way she could afford this and Minato worked very hard for his money. Still, he seemed happy. They had a delicious meal. The portions were small, but the food was excellent. Minato paid the bill without letting Aigis see how much it had cost, and she could not help but feel bad for not being able to help out.
Minato reached across the table and grabbed Aigis' hands. "You're so beautiful." He said.
Aigis was taken aback. Minato was quiet and reserved, and this was uncharacteristically bold for him. "Thank you." She said awkwardly. "You are quite handsome yourself." She laughed.
"I don't just mean your appearance." Minato said. He seemed nervous. "You're a wonderful person. You're so friendly and caring. I love you more than anything. I would give up anything for you." Aigis did not know how to respond. "I can't imagine life without you by my side." He continued. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. "Aigis, will you marry me?"
Aigis nearly fell out of her chair. She was totally blindsided. She loved Minato but she never imagined he would want to spend his life with her. Surely he could do better. She was just a poor orphan with bad social skills. He was popular, smart and suave. "Of course I will!" Aigis blurted out, tears of joy running down her face. "Nothing would make me happier."
Walking home with him, Aigis felt like she was floating on a cloud. She had to pinch herself to make sure she was not dreaming. She could not be happier, but she still felt guilty. The dinner and the ring must have cost Minato a fortune, and she would have been happy with Wild Duck Burger and a rubber band. Besides that, what would life be like with her? She could not cook; she got good grades but had no particular prospects for a career. Surely she would drag him down. Minato seemed to notice her discomfort. "Come on now, this wasn't a rash decision." He assured her. "I've wanted to ask you for a long time. I feel like when we're together, there's nothing I can't do. I feel like you make me a better person. I could never love anyone else the way I love you."
"I feel the same way." Aigis said. "I just do not want to disappoint you."
"You could never disappoint me." Minato said. "In fact…" Out of the corner of Aigis' eye she saw a flash of movement. A figure leapt out of an alley and punched Minato in the jaw. He fell to the ground unconscious.
Aigis was terrified. She stared at the assailant unable to believe her eyes. The blue hair covering his face, his casual posture, his headphones hanging from his neck, there was no question. It was Minato.With a UFC championship to defend in addition to a growing film career, Ronda Rousey is a very busy woman, but if she ever wants to catch an Iowa Cubs game, one player has her covered.
Anthony Giansanti plays for the Des Moines based Triple-A team and has been tweeting out photos lately of the daily pass list along with reminders to the UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion that she has a ticket if she is nearby.
Rousey has been getting a lot of attention from fellow athletes on Twitter lately, as Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones recently tried to get her attention on the social media platform while the two were attending the ESPYS in Los Angeles.
• Alex Morgan joins Lionel Messi on the cover of FIFA
There you go @RondaRousey A ticket will be waiting for you at will call... 7 o'clock game in Des Moines. Everyday. pic.twitter.com/kSA1O7Qw4i — Anthony Giansanti (@GianSanity) July 16, 2015
Early game today Ronda. 1 o'clock in Des Moines. Yes, of course you'll ticket will be there at will call. #Everyday @RondaRousey — Anthony Giansanti (@GianSanity) July 19, 2015
Hey Ronda, same location diff. opponent. 7 pm in Des Moines. Will call will have your ticket #Everyday @RondaRousey pic.twitter.com/J9sAatIB1B — Anthony Giansanti (@GianSanity) July 20, 2015
Hey @cubs fans help me get @RondaRousey to be my date to @D_Geiger's wedding this fall...her and I are a perfect match #DoItForLove #RT — Anthony Giansanti (@GianSanity) July 15, 2015
GALLERY: CLASSIC PHOTOS OF RONDA ROUSEYSo I think it’s time for a little snacking to take place.
I mean, I know it’s not Friday or anything, but Thursday afternoon means SNACKS. Ok, ok, what day doesn’t mean snacks? By four o’clock, I personally need something keep my mind and mouth occupied.
Watch the how-to video here:
So snacks it is today. Preferably this hummus along with fresh naan for dipping…or maybe just a spoon… wait no, naan is better…carbs.
I feel like the world is on a bit of a hummus kick. Everywhere I look, there is hummus, and you know what? I totally understand why. Hummus is insanely delicious and completely healthy…well minus all those chips we tend to eat WITH the hummus. But you know, balance.
I decided I wanted to make some hummus, but a hummus that had my name written all over it, AKA – Summer Fruit Salsa and Pesto Hummus, because it combines all the bestest things about summer!
Pesto and fruit. YESS.
I have had this idea to create this hummus for SOOO long now. First I had the picture in my head and then came the flavors…clearly I am really excited to tell you all about it. Plus, isn’t it kind of pretty? I love pretty food!
The hummus itself is a super simple base of chickpeas, tahini, almond butter, miso (so much yum!) and olive oil. Oh and a little lemon too! It’s very greek with a little Asian twist, and it’s so GOOD. I know a lot of people have all these secrets for super smooth hummus (liking peeling the skin off the chickpeas…but that just is not happening over here…no patience for that). My secret is really pretty simple, I just let my food processor run for…like ever. And yeah, that normally does the trick. If I have time I pretty much let it run and do its thing for a good ten minutes while occasionally scraping down the sides to make sure everything is being evenly mixed. That usually makes for a pretty smooth (and nice room temperature) hummus. I have no idea if this is the right way, or even if it’s the wrong way, but it works really well for me, so maybe try it and see what you think. Either way, it’s going to be dip worthy for sure.
After the actual hummus comes my favorite part…the stir-ins/toppings!! I don’t know about you guys, but I love having fun with these. For summer my favorite thing to do is make a fruit salsa and mix it with a little fresh basil/dandelion green pesto + toasted seeds and lilacs (when I had them…but they are gone now 🙁 ).
It’s a face plant worthy combo – trust me.
For my salsa, I used cherries, strawberries, blackberries and nectarines, but you can use your favorite summer fruits or whatever fruit you have on hand. Any fruit will work great!
And then, yeah, that’s kind of it, just don’t forget the toasted seeds. They are my favorite little texture booster in hummus. Bonus, they are a superfood too!
Double oh, since this is so healthy, all the naan consumption that will take place while eating this hummus gets cancelled out!
Print Pin 5 from 3 votes The Recipe Summer Fruit Salsa and Miso Hummus. By halfbakedharvest Course: Dip, Snack Cuisine: American, Asian, Mediterranean Keyword: hummus, miso, salsa, summer fruit An awesome tasty snack
Prep Time 15 minutes Total Time 15 minutes Servings 3 Cups Calories 752 kcal Ingredients 2 cups cooked chickpeas rinsed + drained if using canned
1/4 cup tahini sesame seed paste
2 tablespoons creamy almond butter
1 tablespoon white miso paste
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/3 cup olive oil + more for drizzling
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup basil pesto
toasted sesame seeds + hemp seeds for topping
edible flowers for garnish Summer Fruit Salsa 1/2 cup fresh cherries pitted + chopped
1/2 cup fresh strawberries cored + chopped
1/2 cup fresh blackberries sliced into rounds
1 nectarine or peach diced
1 jalapeño or 2 habanero chilis seeded + chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil copped
juice of 1 lemon may also use a lime Instructions Hummus Add the chickpeas, tahini, almond butter, miso paste, crushed red pepper flakes and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor. Puree the mixture until smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary. Add 1/3 up water and puree until smooth. With the machine running stream in the olive oil until smooth and creamy. I like to let my machine run a good 5 minutes (scraping down the sides once or twice) to insure a really smooth and creamy hummus. If the hummus is too thick for your liking, thin with water or extra olive oil, adding about 1 tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is reached. Taste and season as desired with salt + pepper. To serve, top the hummus with pesto and fruit salsa (recipe below). Sprinkle with toasted seeds. Salsa In a bowl, combine the cherries, strawberries, blackberries, peaches or nectarines, jalapeño, cilantro, basil and lemon juice, combine well. Can be stored, covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Recipe Notes *The hummus can be made in advance and stored, covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Nutritional value based on one cup
Now can we snack already???Offshore windfarms could provide cheaper power than Britain’s new wave of nuclear power stations, a leading figure in the wind industry has claimed.
Speaking to the the Guardian, Hugh McNeal, the chief executive of trade body RenewableUK, said he expected that offshore windfarms would secure a deal with the government lower than the £92.50 per megawatt hour agreed with EDF for £18bn Hinkley Point C.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it [offshore wind] cleared Hinkley prices,” he said of the bidding for a £290m-a-year government subsidy pot in April. The auction is under a scheme known as contracts for difference, which offer generators a guaranteed price for their electricity above the wholesale price. A 35-year deal with EDF was agreed last year.
McNeal, a career civil servant who joined RenewableUK from the now abolished Department of Energy and Climate Change last year, was upbeat about the future of offshore wind.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about the political commitment of any party, apart from perhaps Ukip, to offshore wind. I think it’s got an incredibly healthy future,” he said.
Construction of offshore and onshore windfarms in the UK was responsible for €12.7bn (£11bn) of investment in 2016, or nearly half the year’s financial activity for new wind power in the EU.
The industry has also been buoyed by recent figures showing the price of offshore wind power had fallen by nearly one-third since 2012 to £100/MWh, a crucial milestone as the government will only continue to subsidise the technology if costs go down.
But McNeal said the decision by ministers to end onshore windfarm subsidies had been hard for the industry. The building of new turbines on land is expected to largely grind to a halt after next year.
Green energy subsidies are paid through energy bills, but MPs said last week that government efforts to communicate the impact on consumers had been “shambolic.” McNeal said he found the focus solely on the cost of new low-carbon power “a little bit odd” given the other factors driving energy price rises.
Three of the UK’s big six energy suppliers have announced price increases as their costs have risen, the bulk of which are higher wholesale prices. “We are perhaps a little bit overexposed to global markets over which we have no control, which fluctuate over time,” McNeal said.
Government officials should do more to spell out all the costs of energy to consumers, he added. The impact of renewable energy subsidies on bills has previously been broken down, but the effect on bills from subsidies to coal power stations for providing backup power, for example, are not.
Hull's Siemens factory produces first batch of wind turbine blades Read more
However, McNeal defended the Conservative party, arguing it was unfairly derided as anti-renewables. “We have to actually just look at what’s been achieved,” he said.
“I’m not saying to you that there isn’t a challenge around the [Conservative] onshore wind manifesto commitment; of course there is. But the record is still a pretty remarkable one.”
Renewable energy supplies one-quarter of Britain’s electricity, he said, compared with a marginal amount before the 2010 general election, when the first of three Conservative-led governments came to power.
McNeal would not be drawn on whether Labour’s energy policy, which is pro-renewables and pro-nuclear, but would ban fracking for shale gas, was credible. But he said questions of energy supply should be depoliticised.
“I don’t think it’s my job to tell any party what its energy policy should be. Let’s just take the heat out of all this,” he said. “I just don’t think it does anyone any good to be in public fighting between different forms of technologies.”
Despite saying last year that new onshore windfarms in England were “very unlikely”, McNeal suggested the technology would come back because it was so cheap. “I don’t think onshore is done at all. I think onshore wind has a terrific future in our country,” he said.
McNeal said he was confident that wind power in the UK would thrive after Brexit, even though the industry’s growth had so far been driven in part by binding EU renewable targets for 2020.
“The idea that we need a separate European package [of support] – that would be the crucial thing that would drive our industry – we don’t need that now,” he said, adding that the sector would win on market terms.(CNN) Israel's Security Cabinet on Thursday unanimously approved the construction of a new settlement in the West Bank, according to a message from the Prime Minister's office, marking the state's first new settlement in Palestinian territory in more than 20 years.
The new settlement, which will be constructed north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah, is intended for Israeli settlers evacuated from Amona, an outpost destroyed by Israeli authorities in February because it was not sanctioned.
The Security Cabinet on Thursday also advanced plans to construct 2,000 homes inside existing settlements. These homes are part of a plan approved two months ago to grow settlements by more than 5,500 homes. The plan was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government shortly after US President Donald Trump took office.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi immediately blasted the announcements.
"Israel's policies remain unchanged as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist, racist coalition government continue to persist with their systematic policies of settler colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, showing a total and blatant disregard for Palestinian human rights, independence and dignity," Ashrawi said in a statement.
"Today's announcement once again proves that Israel is more committed to appeasing its illegal settler population than to abiding by the requirements for stability and a just peace," she added.
Ashrawi called on the international community to hold Israel responsible for the expansion of West Bank settlements.
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution in December condemning Israeli settlements constructed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal. These territories, occupied by the Israeli military since 1967, are where Palestinians plan to create their future state.
UNSC Resolution 2334 passed after the US abstained from voting. Former President Barack Obama was a critic of the settlements, viewing them as an obstacle to reaching a viable peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Thursday's announcement comes despite no agreement between the Trump and Netanyahu governments on how to address settlements. The President requested in February that Israel "hold back" on settlement expansion
A White House official on Thursday said Israel's decision to approve a new West Bank settlement did not amount to defiance of the President's request for a pause in settlement activity, rather it was "already in the queue."
The new settlement was already on track to be approved "before the President had a chance to lay out his expectations," said the official, who declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of peace talks.
The two sides have previously met in Washington and Jerusalem, as the Trump administration pushes forward with an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
"As we move into more detailed discussions regarding the possibilities for advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace, the Israeli government has made clear that Israel's intent is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes the President's concerns into consideration," the official said.
The official said the President's previous concerns about settlement activity being unhelpful to the peace process "remain the same."
United Nations chief António Guterres criticized the decision to build a new settlement.
"The Secretary-General has consistently stressed that there is no Plan B for Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace and security. He condemns all unilateral actions that, like the present one, threaten peace and undermine the two-state solution," a statement from Guterres' office said.
There are 126 Israeli settlements in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem), according to the September 2016 report from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.Buy Photo Cape receives the championship trophy in the DIAA Girls Lacrosse championship game at DE Turf Sports Complex in Frederica. (Photo: Doug Curran, Special to The News Journal)Buy Photo
FREDERICA – Cape Henlopen High’s first mission Tuesday night was to keep getting possession of the ball.
When the Vikings do that, goals typically follow.
And because Cape was successful in that initial test, winning the first five draws and netting the first five goals, there was never any doubt that the Vikings’ most prized possession would remain in their hands, too.
Cape Henlopen dominated St. Mark’s from the start and prevailed 19-7 for its ninth straight championship in the 20th annual DIAA Girls Lacrosse Tournament at the overcast DE Turf Sports Complex.
“The most important thing was just to keep our composure and get possession,” said senior Evelyn Shoop, who deposited the first of her five goals to open the scoring 76 seconds into the game.
That was especially critical, she added, after Cape had been “flustered” at the start of last week’s 10-5 semifinal win over Ursuline and had to rally.
“Once we get our rhythm going in a game,” Shoop said, “we just never stop.”
The second-seeded Vikings (16-2) have now won 111 straight games against Delaware schools, a streak that began with a 16-3 victory over Caesar Rodney on May 4, 2009, a few weeks before the state title that started their run.
The 19 goals were one shy of the title-game record scored by St. Andrew’s in 2004 but the most by Cape, which also equaled its largest title-game margin, winning by 12 goals for the third time in four years. Cape only won by 10 the other time.
Buy Photo Cape Henlopen’s Evelyn Shoop (22) gets the ball past St. Mark’s Katharine Giannaras (34) to score one of her five goals in the DIAA Girls Lacrosse championship game at DE Turf Sports Complex in Frederica. (Photo: Doug Curran, Special to The News Journal)
Kendra Schweizer, a University of Delaware-bound junior, scored five goals for No. 4-seeded St. Mark’s (15-3), which was playing in its third state girls lacrosse final having fallen to Tower Hill in 2006 and Cape Henlopen in 2010.
But Cape never gave the Spartans a sniff of victory with its early assault, with Annie Judge regularly winning draws and Cailey Thornburg also getting a couple.
“We just needed to get something to get us going,” said Judge, whose older sisters Caroline and Katherine also played for Cape state title teams. “When we got that ball we just needed to take it down and settle it. We just had to have control and keep steady.”
It was 13-4 at halftime, which reflected the fact Cape had won 13 of 18 first-half draws. When Shoop gave the Vikings a 10-goal margin just 23 seconds into the second half, the final 24-plus minutes were played with a running clock.
“Oh it’s great. I love it,” Judge said of Cape’s nine-year dominance. “It gets nerve-wracking ever year because we have to keep up to it but it’s a tradition.”
Lindsay Monigle added three goals and Chloe Schaeffer, Thornburg, Victoria Lockwood and Kaitlyn Klabe had two each for Cape. Monigle and Thornburg also had two assists each. Cape enjoyed a 34-7 advantage in shots.
“The Ursuline game we struggled with our stickwork early on and today they were ready to go,” said Cape first-year head coach Lindsey Eichner.
Eichner stepped in when P.J. Kesmodel retired after last season. Kesmodel had coached the previous eight title teams and was on hand to watch Tuesday.
“P.J.’s been supportive the whole year,” said Eichner, a former Wesley College head coach, Eastern Shore Lacrosse association youth coach and assistant at Polytech from 2011-15 and Cape last year. “If I have a question or anything I give him a call and he’s great.
“It’s just exciting. It’s fun. The girls have worked really hard.”
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.Birds and Fish Dying a Coincidence Experts Say
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If the massive bird and fish deaths have been freaking you out – here’s a bit of comforting news – experts are saying that although what has been happening lately is definitely obscure, it’s certainly not the sign of the apocalypse.
Approximately 500 dead birds were discovered in Louisiana this week and on New Year’s Eve, 5,000 red-winged blackbirds dropped from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas, and recently, Swedish authorities have been investigating the deaths of 100 jackdaws found in a street in Falkoping.
“We made an autopsy on five of the birds yesterday and found internal bleeding but no external lesions,” said Marianne Elvander of Sweden’s National Veterinary Institute.
In Arkansas, the bird deaths have so far been attributed to fireworks. Because the birds may have been roosting, the fireworks could have caused them to die. Mass deaths of animals are strange, but they do happen and with fear-mongoring media blitz about the deaths in Arkansas, other deaths are receiving attention when they would otherwise go unreported.
“This is a classic example of freak events coinciding,” said zoologist Petter Boeckman at the Norwegian Natural History Museum.
Meanwhile, Anderson Cooper is interviewing former “Growing Pains” actor turned fundamental Christian Kirk Cameron on the matter. Even Cameron had to admit that it was “kind of silly” to think that dead birds is a sign of the apocalypse.
Read more at Sustainability Ninja
Source:ESPN is drawing criticism for a fan picture on its social media accounts that some say is sexist.
The picture, taken outside the University of Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, shows a Crimson Tide fan holding a sign directed at opponents University of Mississippi.
“Ole Miss Girls Are Easier Than Their Out-Of-Conference Schedule,” reads the sign, a reference to the first two games on the Rebels’ schedule. They scored 76 and 73 points in those games.
The image, posted on the official College GameDay social media accounts, included the caption “Just no chill,” or not cool.
Anchor Rece Davis and analyst Kirk Herbstreit rebuked the image as it flashed on the screen during the broadcast among other fan zone shots.
“I can’t condone that type of behavior,” Davis said.
“That is unacceptable,” Herbstreit said.
The picture generated long comment exchanges on College GameDay’s social media accounts.
As one Twitter user said, “Utterly classless and embarrassing to feature this sign. What does this say about your brand? Integrity?”
“You guys really shouldn’t perpetuate this garbage. Sets a bad example. I get it, it’s a rivalry. Little inappropriate though,” another said.
Others rushed to defend the image, urging detractors to “chill out.”
@CollegeGameDay Utterly classless and embarrassing to feature this sign. What does this say about your brand? Integrity? Views on women? — Emily Wright (@EmilyCello) September 19, 2015
ESPN said it did not intend to remove the picture.
“Our Twitter handle looks to bring the sights and sounds of the College GameDay experience to the viewer at home and reflect how the fans on site express themselves,” spokeswoman Keri Potts said.NAIROBI (Reuters) - Internet companies such as Google, Twitter and Facebook are increasingly co-opted for surveillance work as the information they gather proves irresistible to law enforcement agencies, Web experts said this week.
Although such companies try to keep their users’ information private, their business models depend on exploiting it to sell targeted advertising, and when governments demand they hand it over, they have little choice but to comply.
Suggestions that BlackBerry maker RIM might give user data to British police after its messenger service was used to coordinate riots this summer caused outrage — as has the spying on social media users by more oppressive governments.
But the vast amount of personal information that companies like Google collect to run their businesses has become simply too valuable for police and governments to ignore, delegates to the Internet Governance Forum in Nairobi said.
“When the possibility exists for information to be obtained that wasn’t possible before, it’s entirely understandable that law enforcement is interested,” Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf told Reuters in an interview.
“Then the issue would be, what’s the right policy? And that, or course, engenders a lot of debate,” said Cerf, who is recognized as one of the “fathers of the Internet” for his early work in areas including communications protocols and email.
Demands from governments for Internet companies to hand over user information have become routine, according to online privacy researcher and activist Christopher Soghoian, who makes extensive use of freedom-of-information requests in his work.
“Every decent-sized U.S. telecoms and Internet company has a team that does nothing but respond to requests for information,” Soghoian told Reuters in an interview.
Soghoian estimates that U.S. Internet and telecoms companies may receive about 300,000 such requests in connection with law enforcement each year — but public information is scarce.
While U.S. courts are obliged to publish reports on wire-tapping of telephone lines, no similar information is required to be made public with respect to the Internet — which grew up after the laws on electronic communications were passed.
Google does voluntarily publish a transparency report every six months in which it details the number of requests it receives from governments around the world to remove content from its services or hand over user data.
But the numbers do not reveal how many users are affected by each request — only trends country by country (www.google.com/transparencyreport).
Some governments are requiring Internet companies to collect more data and keep it for longer, said Katarzyna Szymielewicz, executive director of Poland’s Panoptykon Foundation, which campaigns for human rights in light of modern surveillance.
“Government agencies throughout the world are pushing companies to collect even more data than is needed for their business purposes,” she told the conference.
“For example, we have a very controversial data retention regime which is currently under review. This requires people to store data for a period up to two years so it can easily be accessed by law enforcement agencies.”
The ease and cost of surveillance are at an all-time low, Soghoian said, with Google charging an administrative fee of $25 to hand over data, Yahoo charging $20, and Microsoft and Facebook providing data for free.
“Now, one police officer from the comfort of their desk can track 20, 30, 50 people all through Web interfaces provided by mobile companies and cloud computing companies,” he said.
“The marginal cost of surveilling one more person is now essentially approaching zero.”IFA, 31st August 2017 – Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) today announced two additions to its flagship family, Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact. Incorporating the latest Motion Eye™ camera for capturing detail beyond human eye capability, new ground-breaking technology for mobile with 3D scanning, class-leading display technologies for beautiful on-screen images including HDR display for Xperia XZ1 and a premium listening experience with Hi-Res Audio. Both Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact combine advanced processing power with super-fast download speeds all wrapped up in a timeless premium design.
Xperia XZ1
Xperia XZ1 incorporates the latest Motion Eye™ camera built using know-how from Sony’s ‘α’ and Cyber-shot™ camera ranges, for capturing life in ways no other smartphone can. Its memory-stacked Exmor™ RS image sensor pushes motion capture to the next level and produces exceptional image quality. You can create sensational videos from your everyday moments by recording in 960 frames per second, providing stunning Super slow motion video playback[i]. Plus new Predictive Capture stays one step ahead and automatically starts buffering images when it detects action or even a smile, before you press the shutter button. So you can find a moment you may have missed from a selection of up to four shots. Its new Autofocus burst intelligently follows your subject, adjusting the focus to make sure your action shots stay sharp. Rounding off the premium camera experience is the first-class 13-megapixel front camera with a 1/3” sensor and a display flash so you’ll get outstanding selfies in any light.
Showing a breakthrough in mobile creativity, 3D Creator is Sony’s unique, innovative in-house algorithm for fast and easy scanning of 3D objects, offering a new world of creative possibilities. For the first time ever in a smartphone, you can capture high quality 3D scans of objects in just one minute using the four scan modes; head scan, face scan, food scan and freeform scan. Each mode has its own custom guides for ease of use and after finishing your object scan there are various playful options. Either share with your friends on messenger apps using 3D stickers or upload to the 3D community such as Sketchfab, make the scan come alive by using it to create an avatar for use in the camera AR effects options, third party apps or as a live wallpaper, or even send your scan to a 3D printer to make it into a memorable keepsake. Within the 3D Creator app you can also choose the ‘Find More’ button which takes you to even more possibilities available through Google Play, to explore a wider and ever growing 3D ecosystem.
Harnessing unique Sony technologies is what gives Xperia its immersive entertainment capabilities and Xperia XZ1 takes full advantage. Using Sony’s BRAVIA TV technology, Xperia XZ1 brings more colour and contrast to immerse yourself in your favourite shows and movies in stunning realism, by incorporating HDR (High Dynamic Range) in its 5.2” Full HD display. Further technologies, including TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile, X-Reality™ for mobile and Dynamic Contrast Enhancer work together to give razor-sharp, detailed and brighter images on screen.
Sony audio expertise also lets you immerse yourself in the truly authentic sound of High-Resolution Audio with Xperia XZ1, enabling you to enjoy every nuance and detail in a track as if you’re right there with the artist. Thanks to Sony’s DSEE HX you can also enjoy more of your music in near Hi-Res with its upscaling capability. Enjoy your music and movies with or without headphones using the evolved stereo speakers with S-Force Front Surround, bringing you 50% more sound pressure[ii]than previous Xperia models. Plus the built in Digital Noise Cancelling (DNC) technology reduces exterior noise by up to 98% when paired with DNC headphones for undisturbed listening.
Every aspect of Xperia XZ1 is unified to you and encased in a timeless design built with Sony craftsmanship. The exterior has our signature flagship loop surface with a seamless metal body for a premium, understated look and refined feel in your hand. It |
fuel, scrap, parts and crew members. This is not the best of all possible worlds. Far, far, far from it. So I brace my self for
Oh. No it isn’t. Maybe I should stop being such a pessimist. We’re hailed by friendly a space station in the middle of an asteroid field, suffering from a broken targeting system so they can’t laser away any hurtling spacerocks that get too close. Bless ’em, they’re even in even more dire straits than I am. It’d be rude not to lend a hand.
I send in my Engi crew to fix their systems, and they reward me with a frankly pitiful amount of resources. Ah well, every little helps. Let’s get out of here.
Jump 6
Oh Christ, not another Rebel ship. Wait, this one’s friendly. Ish. It’s a black market trader, offering us weapons we can’t afford. We could flee, or… Well, it is technically our enemy. I hate to be all pre-revision Han vs Greedo here, but I really, really need some scrap to spend on upgrades. Crew, it’s battle stations again. This’ll be a cakewalk.
Oof. No it won’t I should have been even more like Han:
I got cocky. Now we’ve taken 50% hull damage, and engines, shields and door control all need emergency fixing. Plus the black market ship dropped peanuts. This was a huge mistake on my part. If this crew had any sense in their heads, they’d mutiny. Instead, they just mutely get on with repairing the damage. The Hull can’t be fixed unless I find a store, but the only store I know of is now surrounded by the vast Rebel fleet that forever pursue me.
Onwards, then. It’s the only way.
Jump 7
Exhausted and bruised, still repairing damage, we find ourselves at the exit point from this system. Strange new worlds await. I’m no galactic explorer, mind – there’s a more pressing reason to forge ahead into the unknown. The indefatigable Rebel fleet is only three jumps behind us at this point, so I should press on, to whatever lies on the other side of this jump. Grimly, I look back, back to where I can no longer go, because it’s swathed in the blood red that means the Rebels have occupied it, or will do within moments. So many unexplored jumps, so many possible sources of supplies and even new crew members. I’ve made it this far, but I have nothing to show for it other than gaping holes in my hull and a minute upgrade to my reactor. Fuel is waning. The enemies ahead will be tougher. This is a fool’s crusade.
Then again, everyone’s still alive. That, really, was always the best case scenario. Two, three lucky jumps could change everything. Make it so.
To be continued!
*Blame my Dad for that name. God only knows what he was thinking.TV Reviews All of our TV reviews in one convenient place.
Returning for its second—ahem, 51st—season, Documentary Now! takes on a topic surely no one is sick of at this point in 2016: American elections. Doc Now dream team Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen, and Bill Hader all insisted earlier this summer at the Television Critics Association press tour that “The Bunker”—the show’s send-up of 1993’s The War Room—has nothing to do with today’s political climate, and that turns out to be true. “The Bunker” is a pure homage to its original source material and, more broadly, an homage to the 1990s. Hader and Armisen churn out uncanny impressions of James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, respectively, and the direction successfully captures the tone and look of The War Room.
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“The Bunker” capitalizes on nostalgia. It effectively builds a bunker around itself to keep out any connection to today’s political climate. And as is usually the case for Documentary Now!, it’s not skewering so much as paying tribute, celebrating a specific time and place without romanticizing it. A large part of what makes the series great is its apparent love for the forms it imitates. John Mulaney loves true crime, and that was apparent in his brilliant take on true crime last season. With “The Bunker,” he yet again crafts a script that plays it straight, using slight embellishments here and there to up the weird factor. “We were thinking about documentaries we love, and The War Room was one that everyone on the show is a fan of, and it seemed like the right time do it, because it’s an election year,” Meyers said at IFC’s upfronts this year. While watching “The Bunker,” the creators’ reverence for the original documentary comes through crystal clear.
There’s a deep understanding here of what made The War Room so compelling in the first place: It was about the behind-the-scenes players. “The Bunker” is dark and cynical about the realities of dirty behind-the-scenes campaign work, and it brilliantly captures The War Room’s significance in documentary history: the shift toward campaign strategists becoming celebrities in their own right. The War Room was technically about Bill Clinton’s 1992 bid for president, but it was more so about Carville and Stephanopoulos. Likewise, in “The Bunker,” the bumbling candidate in the Ohio gubernatorial race the episode centers on is inconsequential. It’s all about the “Mississippi Machiavelli” Teddy Redbones (Hader) and the “boy-hunk of the Beltway” Alvin Panagoulis (Armisen). “The Bunker” doesn’t sugar-coat its depiction of these anti-heroes at all. While the Documentary Now! team is certainly reverent of the filmmaking behind The War Room, they remain crucially critical of the seemingly soulless puppeteers behind political campaigns, which is embodied best in a scene where the strategists all discuss the campaign’s latest attack ad.
“Sandy Passage” similarly took on a very well known documentary and changed very little about it. Like “Sandy Passage,” “The Bunker” saves its more dramatic departure from the original source material for the end, and the extremities of Redbones’ become the perfect gateway for Documentary Now! to get absurd and put its own stamp on the story. But until that moment, there’s immense restraint in Mulaney’s script. Carville and Stephanopoulos are eccentric characters in and of themselves, so Redbones and Panagoulis practically write themselves, especially with Hader and Armisen’s unwavering commitment.
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“The Bunker” keeps actual politics out of the equation, focusing more on these over-the-top characters who will do whatever it takes to win the election—even shoot themselves in the leg. It’s a character-driven story that’s specific enough in its tone and setting that it actually stands on its own as something completely untied to the current election cycle we’re buried in. It’s about chaotic, manipulative campaign tactics, but it somehow actually provides an escape from the chaotic, manipulative campaign tactics at play in the real world right now. “The Bunker” just pure, simple, meticulously crafted nostalgia that feels timeless, so it exists outside of today’s political dumpster fire. And thank goodness it does, because who among us does not have 2016 election fatigue at this point? “The Bunker” is an earnest time capsule. The scene of Redbones and Panagoulis gathered around a kitchen table with their fellow strategists, laughing over newspaper coverage of themselves is ripped right from The War Room with few changes, but it succinctly captures the original documentary’s casual yet intimate perspective. The sets, costuming, and direction all perfectly evoke the 1990s. It’s a passionate tribute to one of the greatest campaign documentaries ever made.
In its second season premiere, Documentary Now! does what it does best, paying so deep an homage to a specific time and place that it feels like this episode was truly made then and there. IFC keeps calling this the 51st season of the series, and I’m starting to see that as not merely a joke but rather an acknowledgement that Documentary Now! so often exists outside of linear time.
Stray observations
Welcome back, Documentary Now! I love you so much, you weirdo.
This episode is very technically impressive.
Hader’s take on Carville is so different here than it was in his recurring Carville impression on Saturday Night Live—and that’s a good thing. The Carville seen in The War Room was much different than the media personality he went on to become—unhinged in different ways. Hader’s attention to details is impeccable.
By the way, go watch The War Room if you haven’t. It’s my second favorite campaign documentary, after 2005’s Street Fight.
The campaign ad discussion was undoubtedly the funniest part.That death rates among people over 65 are higher in zip codes with more fine-particulate air pollution, as a new study from Harvard School of Public Health suggests, may not come as a surprise. But that harmful effects from that pollution were observed in areas with less than a third of the current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard may be both startling, and a concern, for many.
The study, which was published online in Environmental Health Perspectives on June 3, used satellite data to measure temperature and particle levels in every zip code in New England, Science Daily reports. This technique allowed researchers to include data even from areas far from pre-existing monitoring stations and to look both at short-term and annual average exposure. That information was then cross-referenced with health data from all New England Medicare patients — some 2.4 million people — between 2003 and 2008.
The results indicate that exposure to air pollution on both the short- and long-term was significantly associated with higher death rates even in zip codes where measurements fell below EPA standards, a trend suggesting that, as with toxins such as lead, there may be no safe level of exposure.
“Most of the country is either meeting the EPA standards now, or is expected to meet them in a few years as new power plant controls kick in,” said senior author Joel Schwartz, professor of environmental epidemiology at Harvard. “This study shows that it is not enough. We need to go after coal plants that still aren’t using scrubbers to clean their emissions, as well as other sources of particles like traffic and wood smoke.”
[Science Daily]
Contact us at editors@time.com.A 66-year-old man set his wife on fire outside a Jewel-Osco store in the Uptown neighborhood after accusing her of stealing $600, Cook County prosecutors alleged.
Authorities said the burns to James Roberts’ wife are so severe her survival is in question.
Roberts doused his 60-year-old wife with a flammable liquid – rubbing alcohol, according to Chicago police – and set her on fire at about 9 p.m. Sunday outside the grocery store at 4315 N. Broadway, said Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti.
A witness saw the flames and attempted to smother them, Antonietti said, but Roberts’ wife suffered third-degree burns to 40 percent of her body, including both arms, her face and her front torso. She was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital.
“It’s not yet known if she will survive these serious and life-threatening injuries,” she said.
Police recovered a lighter on the scene and two more in Roberts’ possession, according to Antonietti.
Roberts, of the 1400 block of South Canal Street, is charged with felony counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery as well as misdemeanor possession of cannabis. He is hospitalized at Advocate Illinois Masonic Health Center with “heart issues,” a police officer testified today.
“This is a vicious attack,” Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. said before ordering that Roberts be held without bail.Bitcoin users are warned well in advance against the threat posed by quantum computers. A well-known Malaysian cybersecurity expert and associate professor, Dr. Zuriati Ahmad Zukarnain recently explained about the developments in computing technology and its implications on cryptocurrencies in their current form.
Dr. Zukarnain, while speaking to a reporter from one of the Malaysian news publication stated that the rapid developments in quantum computing have now made it possible for hackers to compromise the private keys associated with Bitcoin wallet addresses. She said,
“Quantum computers are able to create a ‘large factorization’ and can detect the public and private keys used in Bitcoin transactions… The threat is when the ‘private key’ is sniffed by third parties, they are free to make transactions using a hacked account as the ‘private key’ proves the ownership of a Bitcoin address used to send and receive the currency.”
The professor, referring to certain studies, mentioned the growing usage of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Malaysia which, in the case of an attack might cause significant losses to many people in the country. Recently, the Russian Quantum Centre announced a successful trial of quantum proof blockchain solution for banking sector which they managed by coupling Quantum Key Distribution and post-quantum cryptography into the distributed ledger.
The Russian Quantum Centre intends to expand the deployment of its latest quantum proof blockchain solutions to various banking institutions across the country and eventually across the world. The warning against the threat of quantum computers comes well in advance, much before the computers could become readily available.
The threat must be taken seriously by the cryptocurrency community, and it will be better if the developers start working on blockchain upgrades for the respective currencies from now itself so that they are not caught by surprise when the problem becomes serious.
Ref: FMT News | Image: NewsBTCImagine an actual Death Star so large it consumes a large portion of the sky over your neighborhood.
For Halloween — and with the imminent release of Star Wars: Episode VII looming — that’s exactly what Colby Powell and his kids built, a Death Star as tall as a two-story house, complete with a concave super laser dish and corresponding flashing lights.
Then to really sell this thing, Powell mounted the 23-foot-tall structure on the roof of his Lafayette, CA house for all to see and fear.
The idea for his build started after Powell’s young kids took a liking to the Star Wars movies. “We had this idea a couple years ago. Hey what if we put the Death Star in our back yard, and make it so big that from the front of the house you can see it over the house?” He explains. The planning began then, with some logistical modifications moving the idea from the back yard to top of his house. He didn’t feel that the time was right to actually pursue the construction, however, until this year, with his kids slightly older and the movie about to hit theaters.
To create his planet-destroying masterpiece, Powell and kids designed and built a 23′ geodesic sphere using 1/2″ grey electrical conduit (rather than white PVC, for a closer color match) and Sonostar hub couplers. He built the frame to fit the two grey-green T-10 military surplus parachutes he used for the shell, something which required a call to the lead engineer of the parachute manufacturer for dimensional information; the engineer found CAD drawings to determine seam lengths so Powell could calculate the inflated parachute height and with that the necessary shell size.
Construction of the sphere started as a family project until the size of it proved too large for the kids. At that point, something interesting occurred: “I had people drive by and say ‘Hey do you need a hand with that?'” Powell says, explaining that about two dozen people contributed to the assembly despite not knowing exactly what it was. Some thought it was a climbing structure. Another thought it was a biodome. One even joked it was a bomb shelter.
Getting it onto the roof was as big an endeavor as the build itself.
“I work for a general contractor and we parked a 70 foot boom truck (crane) in the driveway to complete assembling the top hemispheres on the bottom hemisphere and hoist the Death Star onto the roof,” Powell details. “There was a lot of math involved to get the crane in proper position. Think about this — a 70 foot crane sounds enormous, but by the time you raise a 23′ sphere 10 feet in the air, and then allow enough extra cable (approx. 22′) to ‘lay’ the hook down beside the sphere after it is hoisted so that it can be disconnected from up on top of the roof without climbing a ladder (now it’s 55′ total), you’ve got to get this giant truck pretty darn close to the house to make it all work!”
Powell says that in his research, the largest Death Star he came across was one built at Legoland, which measured about 6′ in diameter — making his by far the largest he was aware of, although he’s reluctant to declare that officially.
He expects to leave it up until sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. After that he might store it, or sell it on eBay. He’s also considering sending it to Burning Man.
Final stats:
– 23′ in diameter
– 400 lbs in weight
– 2000′ of pipe, cut into 480 pieces
– 960 screw connections
– 162 hub connectors
– Six 40′ strands of white LED strip lights
– Three 30′ green LED strips
– Two circumferences of blue rope light for the equatorial trench…by Gordon Duff, VT Senior Editor
General Michael Flynn wants a deal, a “get out of jail free” card and has more to hide than anyone yet imagines. Flynn may well be able to avoid prosecution and a “deal” that will end the Trump presidency, according to our sources, if the game put in motion by Trump and key House leaders works, a deal that, in itself, constitutes both conspiracy and obstruction of justice, according to legal experts.
Flynn’s testimony has nothing to do with Russia or the election. Flynn was lead in a White House deal with Turkey and other nations to allow rendition and assassination programs inside the US, not just against dissidents but American journalists and possibly political leaders including members of congress. This is why Trump is risking prison in a desperate attempt to silence Flynn, who is facing life in prison.
Rep. Devin Nunes is working to, we are told, get Flynn before his committee, to discredit Flynn as a witness, getting contradictions on the record that could poison any possible prosecution and delay or derail the FBI’s ongoing investigation of the White House.
President Trump’s cryptic tweet today, supposedly approving of Flynn’s request for immunity was a pre-arranged signal. Trump and Congressman Devin Nunes believe they can protect Flynn from prosecution by giving him broad immunity to “testify” at the rigged House hearings, immunity they are told will keep Flynn from the hand of the FBI.
Sources tell us that Nunes is supporting an interpretation of legislative immunity that allows a congressional committee to essentially pardon crimes in return for what now looks to be silence.
The second legal stage to this is a broadened version of “executive privilege,” one that can create an inter-locking network that will conceal not only deals cut with Russian mobsters but the deal also cut with Turkey to kidnap Muhammed Fethullah Gülen. This would establish a precedent that would enable foreign governments to operate rendition programs inside the US.
Veterans Today in a major investigation of financial interrelationships between Russian and Turkish “oligarchs,” really gangsters running the world’s largest criminal underground have identified many of those connected with Trump’s “rise from the ashes” after his financial collapse in the late 1980s as fronting for Turkey’s Erdogan family. VT has identified Erdogan himself as one of the biggest criminal forces in the world.
General Flynn, who as White House Security Advisor, was paid $530k by Turkish intelligence, is said to have agreed to aid Turkey’s secret police in “eliminating” political enemies inside the US, not just Gulen but Armenians as well. From Michael Rubin at Newsweek:
Turkey has never been known for its respect for human rights, but one of the most troubling aspects of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rule has been Turkey’s increasing aggressiveness toward dissidents and political opponents, not only within Turkey’s borders but also abroad. Related: Michael Rubin: Why is Turkey spying on the U.S.? There was, of course, the 2013 assassination of three Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) activists on French soil, the responsibility for which appears to lie with Turkey’s intelligence service. Turkish officials may dismiss the matter based on the identity of the victims—not only Turkey but also the United States considers the PKK to be a terrorist group—but that’s neither here nor there: The women murdered were unarmed and had not been implicated directly in any acts of violence. Regardless, on French soil their apprehension is the responsibility of the French police. It is not the job of Turkish agents to conduct murder at will. Now it appears that the Turkish intelligence services may have been contemplating a similar incident in Germany. Two German broadcasters have reported that German prosecutors have opened a case against a Turkish agent spying on two Kurds in Germany and plotting to murder them for their political activities. Kurdish political activists in Belgium fear they are next, especially as Erdogan singles them out for opprobrium. There is no longer any doubt that Turkey conducts operations in the United States against Turks and Kurds with whom Erdogan disagrees. That problem will likely get worse as Erdogan digs in his heels and demands the extradition of exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, a one-time ally turned adversary, whom Erdogan accuses of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt. While Turkish officials have turned over reams of papers detailing why Turkey believes Gülen is a malign influence, none of the evidence Turkey has provided actually implicates Gülen in the events of July 15. More recently, the case of the New York–based Turkish Heritage Organization should raise alarms. Leaked emails show that Erdogan’s son-in-law was instructing THO President Halil Danismaz in whom and what to attack verbally and in print. Rather than promote Turkish heritage, the organization basically acted as an unregistered wing of the Turkish government and its ruling political party. Of greater concern has been evidence that the THO was engaged in espionage against the Turkish community in the United States. According to sources familiar with the case, the THO was allegedly reporting home on the political perspectives and ethnicity of ethnic Turkish and Kurdish owned business in the United States. To create a database of such information has chilling implications. Turks living abroad aren’t yet drinking polonium tea, but as Erdogan looks toward Putin for inspiration and as the Turkish leader grows more erratic and intolerant of any dissent, that time may not be too far off. The question is whether not only European countries are ready to conduct counterintelligence against Turkish operatives, but whether U.S. law enforcement will understand that what now occurs aren’t simply violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act out of ignorance, but a sign of far greater and perhaps in the near future more violent Turkish operations on U.S. soil. Erdogan is testing the waters. Unless the Justice Department is willing to respond with the full weight of the law and without prejudice to Turkey’s status as a NATO partner, Turkey’s operations in America will get far worse and potentially more violent.
As of the report above, it wasn’t known that Flynn had been on the Turkish payroll nor that he had been in discussions with Turkey to violate American law. Here, former CIA director James Woosley, says exactly this in a CNN interview:
Former Central Intelligence Agency Director James Woolsey told CNN Friday that former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn met with representatives of the Turkish government in 2016 and discussed potential ways to send a foe of Turkey’s president back to face charges in that country,
As a representative of his consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, Flynn met with senior representatives of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in September 2016, Woolsey said. Woolsey was a Trump campaign adviser at the time and attended the meeting, but said he arrived after it was already well underway. Woolsey claims that those present discussed sending Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim leader who Erdogan has accused of being behind a failed military coup to overthrow him, back to Turkey to face charges — possibly outside the legal US extradition system.
The idea of Trump allowing foreign deaths squads to operate in the US with White House approval is only being spoken of in the broadest terms. The idea of Trump putting dissidents living in the US on the auction block, allowing brutal regimes to silence critics and intimidate the media with full complicity of the White House and key congressional leaders, is beyond Orwellian.
What Trump is opening the door to, of course, is not just interference with elections. Once the door is open to collusion by an American political party with a foreign government operating a parallel extra-judicial organization inside the US, we are saying partnering with terrorists, we can expect a flurry of “little 9/11’s” every time Trump has a bad week, which thus far has been every week.
Here, Rubin continues on Erdogan’s operations with Flynn:
In the aftermath of the abortive coup which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called “a gift from God,” the Turkish leader vowed to weed out dissenters from the civil service and civil society and consolidate control even further. In the Milli Istihbarat Teşkilatı (MIT), Turkey’s national intelligence service, this has meant the establishment of six new undersecretariats, each appointed by Erdogan. Reorganization is not the problem. The most significant change, however, is what Tremblay calls “special operations.” This new unit has been discussed openly in the Turkish press. This signals not only continued Turkish covert operations in Syria and Iraq but, according to Turkish sources, in Europe and the United States as well. Indeed, what Tremblay does not discuss is that one of the reasons for the new special operations undersecretariat has been Erdogan’s frustration at push-back from MIT veterans about his plans to be more active in the United States. The MIT veterans argue—correctly—that Erdogan risks their long-term relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency by running operations in the United States. Rather than heed their advice, Erdogan’s response has just been to transfer, reorganize, and purge in order to put political loyalists in place. The first question then becomes, what sort of operations is Erdogan planning to run–or already running–in the United States? There have been several diplomatic pouches delivered to the Turkish embassy filled with cash, according to people who heard some of the couriers and Turkish diplomats brag. More cash was reportedly delivered when Erdogan last visited the United States. The second question then becomes what is the purpose of the cash transfers? Are some of the law firms and registered foreign agents acting on behalf of the government of Turkey receiving more money than they declare? Or is money going to support organizations that are acting as un-registered foreign agents or channeling cash into campaigns? There’s more to Turkey’s US operations. Put aside actions by Sabah and Anadolu Agency employees that seem to go beyond journalism. And put aside intelligence reporting on the local Turkish community which Turkish-funded mosques transmit back to Ankara. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other US law enforcement agencies should be concerned by the growing incidents of those who have criticized Erdogan—be they followers of Gülen or traditional secularists and liberals—being photographed by those reporting to the Turkish embassy or its various consulates. More troubling have been growing reports of Turks whose loyalty is in doubt being followed home and having their houses photographed. Vice President-elect Mike Pence may declare it is the Trump administration’s intention to improve relations with Turkey. That is all well and good, but let us hope that Pence and others ask their intelligence briefers some very specific questions about not only what the Turkish government is doing behind-the-scenes with regard to the Islamic State, but also what it is doing in its embassy just down the street from the Vice President’s residence.
What we have evidenced is that the massive Turkish secret police, the MIT, has been loading up with cash here in the US, buying help in Washington, like with the $530k spent on General Flynn who agreed to help them with a kidnapping and what else?
Remember, this is the same organization that channels hundreds of millions to ISIS, that sells ISIS oil and that brought Sarin gas into Syria from Georgia and killed thousands.
Now Trump and his team are welcoming them here and have a strategy to protect them by using “executive privilege” and congressional immunity ploys to protect their plan to run foreign death squads inside the US.
The Turkish MIT is the heart of ISIS. Earlier this month, according to Syrian sources on the scene, the MIT transferred 950 Turkish fighters, pretending to be ISIS, from al Bab to Raqqah, in what was described as a massive Turkish victory. The ISIS forces in al Bab had, according to our sources, always been working for the MIT, looting Syria, factories, antiquities and oil.
Is Trump going to give them an office in the West Wing?
____________Oliver Rosten hasn’t received much feedback on the scientific merits of his new conformal algebra paper in the European Physical Journal C. But one paragraph, printed in small type before the references, has a lot of people talking. It’s the acknowledgments.
Most study authors reserve their acknowledgments section for a laundry list of thank-yous to colleagues and reviewers. In his paper Rosten uses the section to issue a call for change. He dedicates the paper to his friend Francis Dolan, who died by suicide five years after the two started working together as postdoctoral researchers at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) in Ireland. Troubled by the toll of those years on his friend, who suffered from severe depression, Rosten writes that he is “firmly of the conviction that the psychological brutality of the post-doctoral system played a strong underlying role in Francis’ death.” He then advocates reforms to protect researchers with mental health problems. It’s a remarkably candid piece of writing for a scientific paper—so candid, in fact, that two journals refused to include it.
Rosten’s paper and the struggle to get it published illustrate a convergence of challenges facing today’s early-career scientists. Roughly half of science PhD recipients in the US and the UK start their careers in a postdoctoral position. Yet the postdoctoral population is growing faster than the number of tenure-track jobs in academia. The resulting pressure to prove oneself in a job that typically lasts two or three years exacts a cost, particularly on people who suffer from depression and other mental health issues. Although data are scarce on the mental well-being of postdocs, studies have found that nearly half of PhD students have symptoms aligning with depression (see the article by Andrea J. Welsh, Physics Today Online, 31 May 2017). The main cause is difficulty balancing work and family life, a challenge that doesn’t abate once a PhD student becomes a postdoc.
Some universities and government science agencies have taken steps to fix the problems that Rosten sees in the postdoctoral world. He told Physics Today that he hopes the attention his paper has garnered accelerates the rate of reform and wins over skeptics, including at least one editor at a prominent physics journal. “Postdocs can’t go forever being an ignored part of university life,” he says.
A friendship and a rocky road
Rosten and Dolan became friends in 2006, when they began two-year postdoctoral fellowships in theoretical physics at DIAS. Rosten was researching renormalization; Dolan was studying conformal field theory. During their early conversations Rosten learned that his friend suffered from depression. “He’d have periods of staggering creativity,” Rosten says, “followed by periods he found it difficult to do anything at all.” Rosten offered support as much as he could during Dolan’s tough stretches.
Oliver Rosten
Life for a postdoc changes quickly, and when their fellowships were up Rosten and Dolan had to move on to new positions. Rosten took another postdoctoral position at the University of Sussex in England; Dolan landed one at the University of Amsterdam. The transition was tough on Dolan. He had to make new friends and find a new mentor. He felt pressured to pursue mainstream research rather than topics a bit off the beaten path. “It was a form of hell for him,” Rosten says. “I think he felt isolated, unsupported, and profoundly unhappy.” The two friends exchanged occasional lengthy emails, mostly about life outside of physics.
An academic career ultimately didn’t pan out for Rosten. After his postdoc at Sussex ended in 2011, he applied for a position at a software development firm in Brighton. Around the time he was starting his new job, he received an email about Dolan’s suicide. Caught up in the interview process, Rosten had put off writing to his friend in the preceding weeks. “It’s something I’ll always regret,” he says.
Rosten may have left academia, but academia didn’t leave him. Thinking back to unfinished pursuits in Sussex, he turned his attention to what he considered an intriguing research topic: phrasing the renormalization group, Rosten’s specialty, in the language of Dolan’s domain, conformal field theory. In the rare gaps between working full-time and spending time with his wife and children, Rosten began chipping away at writing a paper.
Science vs. life
When it was time to write the acknowledgments, Rosten resolved to state his view that the postdoctoral system had failed Dolan. Someone in a position of power, he hoped, perhaps a university president or department head, would read the paper and become inspired to implement meaningful reform. After blaming the postdoctoral system at least in part for Dolan’s death, he wrote, “I would like to take this opportunity, should anyone be listening, to urge those within academia in roles of leadership to do far more to protect members of the community suffering from mental health problems, particularly during the most vulnerable stages of their careers.”
Rosten completed “On functional representations of the conformal algebra” in late 2014 and posted it to the arXiv. After receiving feedback on the science and making some corrections, he submitted the paper to the Journal of High Energy Physics. The scientific meat of the paper was accepted as written. The referee had just one concern: The acknowledgments would require oversight from an editor at the journal.
The editor who reviewed the manuscript shared the referee’s unease and requested that part of the acknowledgments be removed. Rosten refused. “To have to cut the acknowledgments out was something I just couldn’t do,” he says. The editor responded to reaffirm the request, surmising that “there were more basic problems in Dolan’s life than the pressure put by physics work. Certainly people, say in business, behave more brutally than in academia.” The editor proceeded into a lecture about how JHEP was not the venue for remembrances and social commentary: “In a scientific paper we discuss about science, not about life.”
The issue was ultimately taken up to the journal’s scientific director, who supported the decision of the editor. Rosten promptly withdrew the paper.
Next he tried Physical Review D. The journal provisionally rejected it on scientific grounds without confronting the issue of the acknowledgments. It was a frustrating experience for Rosten, who had extended discussions with three referees before deciding it wasn’t worth the struggle.
Persistence pays off
On the bright side, having been picked apart by multiple referees, Rosten was more confident than ever that the paper was a good one. The Journal of Physics A, where he submitted next, agreed—the referees offered glowing reviews. Again, however, the journal refused to publish the acknowledgments. And again Rosten withdrew his work. “At that point I vowed I wouldn’t submit anywhere else ever again,” he says. “It was a really soul-destroying process.”
After taking a little time to clear his head, Rosten reconsidered. Rather than struggle through another set of grueling reviews just to call it off at the end, he contacted journal editors and asked them whether, if the paper was accepted, they would publish the acknowledgments. The third editor he emailed, from the European Physical Journal C, agreed. After what Rosten calls a minor tussle with the referee, the paper was accepted and finally published last month. With the exception of an addition to thank colleagues who provided feedback on an early draft, the acknowledgments paragraph reads exactly as it did when he first wrote it.
Rosten shared the good news on Facebook, and that’s when his admittedly narrow-focused paper on conformal algebra found an unexpectedly broad audience. The paper (or at least the acknowledgments section) has been shared on Twitter more than 3300 times. “It’s far and away the most popular thing I’ve ever done,” Rosten says. “I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the responses.” He is also proud of the paper’s scientific merits. With the rising popularity of the conformal bootstrap technique in recent years, the research pursued by Dolan is becoming increasingly useful. A 2001 paper coauthored by Dolan has more than 250 citations, according to INSPIRE, most of which have come in the past five years.
Making a difference
Now Rosten wants his hard-fought paragraph to translate into a serious discussion about how to improve the postdoctoral system, particularly for those with mental health problems. His wish list includes having positions last a minimum of three years. The short-term nature of postdocs today, he says, provides a too-narrow window of time to produce research good enough to put on a résumé for the next job. And moving from one position to another often involves relocating and finding a new support system. Further, Rosten wants universities to recognize postdocs as employees rather than “cheap and expendable resources.” He believes postdocs should receive better pay, training for jobs in industry, and support from mental health professionals.
Scientists and policymakers who are familiar with the postdoctoral world share many of Rosten’s concerns. A 2014 report by a committee of the US National Academies acknowledged that “there is broad recognition that something is amiss in the postdoctoral training system.” The committee called out postdocs’ insufficient compensation, recommending that “benefits should include health insurance, family and parental leave, and access to a retirement plan.”
The 2014 report also cited recent progress, at the least in the US, on the plight of postdocs. The committee recognized the advocacy-focused National Postdoctoral Association and an NSF requirement that research proposals that involve the hiring of a postdoc include a mentoring plan. Such efforts are important steps, Rosten says, but there is still a long way to go before young scientists, particularly those who struggle with mental health problems, will be able to thrive in the postdoctoral system.
Suicide is preventable. If you need support, please visit Samaritans or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.James Prigoff one of the people suing over 'McCarthy era' tactics after the FBI monitored him for photographing public art
The man from the FBI left his card on James Prigoff's door in Sacramento. When Prigoff, a photographer, returned Agent Ayaz's call, he learned that he had attracted the attention of a terrorism investigator, all for attempting to frame an ideal image of a piece of public art on the other side of the country.
Months earlier, Prigoff had travelled to Boston to photograph the Rainbow Swash, a series of bright, |
. The city became a Malaitan enclave.
Meanwhile, the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was formed to uphold Malaitan interests. The Government appealed to the Commonwealth Secretary General for assistance. The Honiara Peace Accord was agreed on 28 June 1999. Despite this apparent success the underlying problems remained unresolved and had already resulted in the death or serious injury of 30,000 civilians.[citation needed] The accord soon broke down and fighting broke out again in June 2000.
Malaitans took over some armouries at their home island and Honiara and helped by that, on 5 June 2000 the MEF seized the parliament by force. Through their spokesman Andrew Nori, they claimed that the government of the then Prime Minister, Bartholomew Ulufa'alu, had failed to secure compensation for loss of Malaitan life and property. Ulufa’alu was forced to step down.
On 30 June 2000 Parliament elected by a narrow margin a new Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare. He established a Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace, which released a program of action focused on resolving the ethnic conflict, restoring the economy and distributing the benefits of development more equally. However, Sogavare’s government was deeply corrupt and its actions led to the downward economic spiral and the deterioration of law and order.
The conflict was foremost about access to land and other resources and was centered on Honiara. Since the beginning of the civil war it is estimated[when?] that 100 have been killed. About 30,000 refugees, mainly Malaitans, had to leave their homes, and economic activity on Guadalcanal was severely disrupted.
Continuing civil unrest led to an almost complete breakdown in normal activity: civil servants remained unpaid for months at a time, and cabinet meetings had to be held in secret to prevent local warlords from interfering. The security forces were unable to reassert control, largely because many police and security personnel were associated with one or another of the rival gangs.
In July 2003 the Governor General of Solomon Islands issued an official request for international help, which was subsequently endorsed by a unanimous vote of the parliament. Technically, only the Governor General's request for troops was necessary. However, the government then passed legislation to provide the international force with greater powers and resolve some legal ambiguities.
On 6 July 2003, in response to a proposal to send 300 police and 2,000 troops from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea to Guadalcanal, warlord Harold Keke announced a ceasefire by faxing a signed copy of the announcement to the Solomons Prime Minister, Allan Kemakeza. Keke ostensibly leads the Guadalcanal Liberation Front, but has been described as marauding bandit based on the isolated southwestern coast (Weather Coast) of Guadalcanal. Despite this ceasefire, on 11 July 2003 the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation broadcast unconfirmed reports that supporters of Harold Keke razed two villages.
In mid-July 2003, the Solomons parliament voted unanimously in favour of the proposed intervention. The international force began gathering at a training facility in Townsville. In August 2003, an international peacekeeping force, known as the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and Operation Helpem Fren, entered the islands. Australia committed the largest number of security personnel, but with substantial numbers also from other South Pacific Forum countries such as New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea (PNG). It acts as an interim police force and is responsible for restoring law and order in the country because the Royal Solomon Islands Police force failed to do so for a variety of reasons. Peacekeeping forces have been successful in improving the country's overall security conditions, including brokering the surrender of a notorious warlord Harold Keke in August 2003.
In 2006, riots broke out following the election of Snyder Rini as Prime Minister, destroying part of Chinatown and displacing more than 1,000 Chinese residents; the large Pacific Casino Hotel was also totally gutted.[3] The commercial heart of Honiara was virtually reduced to rubble and ashes. Three National Parliament members, Charles Dausabea, Nelson Ne'e, and Patrick Vahoe,[5] were arrested during or as a result of the riots. The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), the 16-country Pacific Islands Forum initiative set up in 2003 with assistance from Australia, intervened, sending in additional police and army officers to bring the situation under control. A vote of no confidence was passed against the Prime Minister. Following his resignation, a five-party Grand Coalition for Change Government was formed in May 2006, with Manasseh Sogavare as Prime Minister, quelling the riots and running the government. The army part of RAMSI was removed and rebuilding took shape.[6]
In 2009, the government is scheduled to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with the assistance of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to "address people’s traumatic experiences during the five year ethnic conflict on Guadalcanal".[7][8]
The government continues to face serious problems, including an uncertain economic outlook, deforestation, and malaria control. At one point, prior to the deployment of RAMSI forces, the country was facing a serious financial crisis. While economic conditions are improving, the situation remains unstable.
Cyclones [ edit ]
In 1992, Cyclone Tia struck the island of Tikopia, wiping out most housing and food crops. In 1997, the Government asked for help from the USA and Japan to clean up more than 50 sunken World War II shipwrecks polluting coral reefs and killing marine life.
In December 2002, Severe Tropical Cyclone Zoe struck the island of Tikopia and Anuta, cutting off contact with the 3,000 inhabitants. Due to funding problems, the Solomon Islands government could not send relief until the Australian government provided funding.
Cyclone Ita [ edit ]
In April 2014 the islands were struck by the tropical low that later became Cyclone Ita.
Throughout the Solomons, at least 23 people were killed while up to 40 others remained unaccounted for as of 6 April. An estimated 49,000 people were affected by the floods, of whom 9,000 were left homeless.[9][10]
As the precursor tropical low to Ita affected the Islands, local authorities issued heavy flood warnings, tropical disturbance and cyclone watches.[11]
Nearly two days of continuous heavy rains from the storm caused flash flooding in the Islands.[12] Over a four-day span, more than 1,000 mm (39 in) fell at the Gold Ridge mine in Guadalcanal, with 500 mm (20 in) falling in a 24‑hour span.[13] The Matanikau River, which runs through the capital city Honiara, broke its banks on 3 April and devastated nearby communities. Thousands of homes along with the city's two main bridges were washed away, stranding numerous residents.[12] The national hospital had to evacuate 500 patients to other facilities due to flooding.[14] Graham Kenna from Save the Children stated that, "the scale of destruction is like something never seen before in the Solomon Islands."[15] According to Permanent Secretary Melchoir Mataki, the majority of homes destroyed in Honiara were built on a flood plain where construction was not allowed.[9]
Severe flooding took place on Guadalcanal.[12] Immediately following the floods, Honiara and Guadalcanal were declared disaster areas by the Solomon Government.[16] Debris left behind by the floods initially hampered relief efforts, with the runway at Honiara International Airport blocked by two destroyed homes. Food supplies started running low as the Red Cross provided aid to the thousands homeless. The airport was reopened on 6 April, allowing for supplies from Australia and New Zealand to be delivered.[10] Roughly 20 percent of Honiara's population relocated to evacuation centers as entire communities were swept away.[17] There were fears that the flooding could worsen an already ongoing dengue fever outbreak and cause outbreaks of diarrhea and conjunctivitis.[9]
New Zealand offered an immediate NZ$300,000 in funds and deployed a C-130 Hercules with supplies and emergency response personnel.[17] Australia donated A$250,000 on 6 April and sent engineers and response teams to aid in relief efforts.[18] On 8 April, Australia increased its aid package to A$3 million while New Zealand provided an additional NZ$1.2 million.[9][19] Taiwan provided US$200,000 in funds.[20]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]The master leaker GRBREILGRY makes a bold claim. He says he has seen the latest trailers for Batman V Superman, Terminator Genysis, and the Fantastic Four.
It is pretty safe to say that GBRIELGRY, the man who over the past year has leaked images from the Terminator Genysis trailer, the Chappie trailer, Star Wars Episode 7, and who also released an early Jurassic World trailer synopsis has a good reputation. So now that he has set his sights on Batman V Superman, Fantastic Four, and once again Terminator Genysis I think we should do two things. One, give this guy the benefit of the doubt, and two pray he gives us screenshots.It should also be noted that in response to the burning question of when the Batman V Superman trailer will drop he had this to say,The Wayne County Prosecutor's office is reviewing circumstances that two Detroit parents may have caused two of their own babies' deaths.
An 11-month-old boy was taken by his father to St. John Hospital early yesterday morning and the father said he was drunk and fell asleep on top of the child.
Police have also confirmed their 6-month-old daughter was killed in September 2014. The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death in her case to be an airway obstruction due to an unsafe sleep environment.
Police sources say the baby girl was sleeping between both parents two years ago. No charges were issued then.
Now, police sources say charges could be child abuse and neglect or negligent homicide in one or both death cases.
We are not using the names of the parents or the kids as no one has been charged with a crime. However, charges could be issued this afternoon.
Both parents were arrested on Thursday.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner has completed the autopsy of the 11-month-old baby boy, and the results of the autopsy are pending further investigation.Scott Bordow | azcentral sports
Sean Logan/ azcentral sports
The basics we know about Suns’ interim coach Jay Triano.
He was an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers for four seasons before joining Earl Watson’s staff. He was the head coach of Toronto Raptors, he’s the current head coach of the men’s national basketball team for Canada Basketball and he was an assistant for the 2010 USA Basketball team that won a gold medal in the FIBA World Championship.
Michael Chow/azcentral sports
But did you also know he was a coach with Basketball Without Borders in Istanbul, Senegal, Slovenia and Australia? Or that he played college ball at Simon Fraser University and later coached there? Or that he was 1981 NBA draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers and a pick that same year by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League?
azcentral sports recently sat down with Triano for a one-on-one interview to discuss his basketball life, his relationship with Steve Nash, his love of all sports and his record collection. Some of the answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: If you don’t mind, tell the story again of how your relationship with Steve Nash got started. You were recruiting him out of high school, right?
A: We brought him over for the weekend (at Simon Fraser University) and we had our big, annual banquet. We got the players to take him out and then drove him to the ferry terminal. We had to wait three hours because the weather was so bad. I was trying to close the deal and it didn’t quite work out that way because we spent so much time together I had to be honest with him. The one regret I had is that I played NAIA and I never really tried the NCAA so I told him, ‘You have to try it, if it doesn’t work out you can always come back and play for me.’ We got talking and he was like, ‘What are your goals?’ He asked me the same questions I asked him. It was a great conversation. I told him he should probably go to Santa Clara and he said, ‘I’m going to play for you one day anyway because your goal is to coach the Canadian National team and my goal is to play in the Olympics. We accomplished that in the year 2000 and it was one of the greatest memories I have.
Q: Did you ever imagine he’d be a two-time MVP?
A: I knew he was going to be a good player and run a team. I did not know he was going to be as good he was. I just think his drive to be excellent is pretty much unparalleled for a lot of people I’ve ever met in any sport.
Q: Basketball has taken you all over the world. What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen overseas?
A: Oh, I have lots of them. I lived in Mexico and they gave us a car. We drove to where we practiced and the other Canadian that was playing down there paid the kid every day. He said, “Yeah, he watches the car.’ I said, ‘How much do you give him?’ He said, ‘A nickel.’ So when we came out the car was there. One day we went in our sweats and he tried to tell the kid in Spanish, ‘We don’t have any money today.’ So we went into practice and came out and I’m telling you, everything was gone off the car. All the knobs on the radio, the dials, the knobs how to close the windows. We had the key and we had to drive home with nothing left in the car. All for a nickel. We had 17-hour bus rides in Mexico to go to a game. A guy at the front of the bus who I had never seen before on the 17-hour trip was sitting there. I said, ‘Who’s this.’ The driver said, ‘This is our security. You should go talk to him.’ So I went up to him and said, ‘Why do we have security?’ In broken English he said, ‘When we get on roads in the middle of Mexico way up north the banditos will jump out in front of the bus. And when they come on the bus the bus driver can’t run them over. They’ll have guns and they’ll take everything. If that happens, just give them everything. And I said, ‘OK.’ And he says, ‘I’ll be at the front and when they come back up to the front with all of our stuff – and he showed me all his guns – I’ll shoot them and give you all your stuff back. I couldn’t sleep for 17 hours.
View | 23 Photos
Phoenix Suns coaches through the years
Q: Who have been some of the biggest influences on your career?
A: I would say first and foremost Jack Donohue. He coached our national team for all 11 years I played. We’re trying to get back to the Olympics and he went in 1976, 1980, 1984 and 1988 and I was part of three of those. His famous line was, ‘I coached two of the greatest players in the world, Lou Alcindor and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.’ He coached Kareem in high school at Power Memorial (High School in New York). He always taught us to dream the impossible dream. Here was an American who came up to Canada and dreamed about beating the United States. And when we did in 1983 that was kind of his big thing.
Q: You’ve said you’re a basketball nut. Do you have any hobbies other than basketball?
A: I love watching baseball in the offseason. That’s one of those things when I moved from Portland to here I was like, ‘Are you serious? The Diamondbacks are that close and I can walk there?’ I’ll do road trips in the summertime and try to hit three or four different stadiums and just watch games. I just find it relaxing but I love the strategies involved. I love sports. I love all sports. I’m just a huge NFL fan. I was drafted in the CFL in Canada so football is a big thing for me.
Q: So if you try to get away from sports for a day, what are you doing?
A: I was going to say I go golfing, but that’s a sport. I like being around my house here. I lived in an apartment in Portland and I lived in an apartment in Toronto and when we came here we bought a house. I love my house. We bought an old record player and my thing is I’d go home I’d stack three albums and one would play and the next one would drop and I’d do my post-game edit at midnight to get ready for the next day. I find that I’m collecting all the old albums I gave away as a kid. They’re all back in. So we have a huge record collection.
Q: What do you listen to?
A: The stuff I used to listen to. Springsteen, John Cougar, Simon and Garfunkel, stuff like that. I scour Phoenix and garage sales for old albums that I can connect with and listen to that I probably gave away years ago.
View | 972 Photos
Phoenix Suns season – 2017A Free Syrian Army fighter poses with his weapon in the northern province of Aleppo, Syria. (Manu Brabo/AP)
JERUSALEM – A group of former military intelligence analysts in Israel who combed through jihadist Web sites and other open-source material have produced new estimates of the growing phenomenon of foreign fighters waging civil war in Syria. Their data suggest that Shiite foreign fighters in Syria may actually outnumber those who are Sunni.
According to the study released this week by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Information Center in Tel Aviv, there are currently 6,000 to 7,000 Sunni foreign fighters in Syria battling forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The number of Shiite foreigners fighting on Assad's behalf is estimated at 7,000 to 8,000.
Syria has emerged as a powerful magnet for jihadist volunteers, who because of their religious fervor and outside financing play oversize roles in the fighting for and against the Assad regime, in what looks some days like a Sunni-Shiite proxy war.
Western and regional intelligence agencies worry especially about what these young men will do when they return to their home countries.
The majority of the Sunni fighters -- about 4,500 -- are thought to come from the Middle East and North Africa, especially Libya, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Some of the most experienced fighters come from Iraq, where they cut their teeth waging guerrilla war and terrorist campaigns during and after the U.S.-led occupation.
More than 1,000 are from Western Europe, mostly Belgium, Britain, France, Holland and Germany, according to the report. Many are the sons of second- and sometimes third-generation Muslim immigrants, especially Europeans of Moroccan extraction. Several hundred are Chechens.
The researchers found evidence of only a few dozen recruits from the United States and Canada. Also, the war in Syria appears to have inspired participation by just a relative handful of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Experts say that, far more than Afghanistan or Iraq in decades past, Syria's rebel movement is drawing thousands of young men to fight.
Why?
“Because it is cheap, and it is easy,” said Reuven Erlich, a retired colonel in Israel’s military intelligence directorate and now director of the center that produced the report. “You can make jihad for the price of plane ticket to Istanbul.”
From there it’s an overnight bus ride to the Syrian border, where recruiters are easily reached by calling cellphone numbers widely in circulation.
Erlich said he was surprised how rapidly the numbers of foreign fighters rose in the later half of 2013.
This phenomenon is worrying, he said, because the young Sunni fighters are typically not joining the more secular, more pro-West Free Syrian Army, which the Obama administration supports, sort of. Instead, they often seek out al-Qaeda-affiliated organizations, mostly Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the al-Nusra Front, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria -- “which offer better food, better weapons and jihad ideology.”
“They learn to fight, they become radical, more committed to jihad, and then they return home,” Erlich said.
The researchers found that an additional 7,000 to 8,000 foreign Shiites fighting in Syria on behalf of the Assad government, including at any given time “several thousand” members of the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
The Israeli figures largely track other recent estimates made by groups such as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the International Center for the Study of Radicalization in Britain.
Erlich and his team drew other conclusions, as well: The majority of foreign fighters are young men (average age 23 to 26), often with decent educations but no military experience, and so begin their service in support roles, as go-fers and cooks. They train for 45 days and their stays in Syria are often brief. Many leave for home after three to five months.
“Many come during their school vacations,” Erlich said.
Some are propelled by religious fervor, while others are looking for adventure, seeing the Syrian rebels as romantic figures, according to accounts offered by the fighters on Web sites read by the Israelis.
But it is no spring break. The Israelis estimate that 500 to 700 foreign fighters have been killed in Syria. Also in 2013 there were at least 16 suicide bomb attacks carried out by foreign fighters from Jordan or Saudi Arabia.
“We were surprised with the speed and depth of the phenomenon in 2013 compared to 2012,” Erlich said. “And we haven’t even begun to see the end of this.”NEW BRUNSWICK — What do a rocker, a science guy and a foundation president have in common?
Each will speak at a Rutgers University commencement ceremony this spring.
The university's Board of Governors on Thursday unanimously approved Bill Nye as the speaker for Rutgers-New Brunswick on May 17, Jon Bon Jovi for Rutgers-Camden on May 21 and Mellon Foundation President Earl Lewis for Rutgers-Newark. Bryan Stevenson, executive director of Equal Justice Initiative, will also
speak at the Camden ceremony.
The Nye selection may please some students on the New Brunswick campus who started a twitter campaign earlier this school year with the #BowTie4BillNye hashtag.
Retweet this to have Bill Nye speak at this year's commencement!!! #BowTie4BillNye #Rutgers2015 pic.twitter.com/8wpLmbABcq — People of Rutgers (@PeopleOfRutgers) March 5, 2015
Nye, who hosted the popular "Bill Nye the Science Guy" television program, will receive a Doctor of Science degree. Rutgers will pay him a $35,000 speaking fee, though university officials said they do not know if he plans to keep the fee or donate it to the university, as some previous speakers have.
The other speakers will not be paid a fee, according to the university.
Lewis will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, and Stevenson will get a Doctor of Laws. Bon Jovi, a New Jersey native, will receive a Doctor of Letters.
Additionally, Rutgers will award an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in New Brunswick to Frances Fox Piven, a distinguished professor of political science and sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Former Gov. Tom Kean spoke at last year's graduation after controversy over the university's initial choice.
Kean served as a last-minute replacement for former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who pulled out of giving the speech after weeks of protests from Rutgers students and faculty.
The protesters, who briefly staged a sit-in outside the president's office, objected to giving Rice an honorary degree, citing her involvement in the Iraq War, the use of waterboarding on prisoners and other Bush administration policies.
But the controversy didn't end there.
Eric LeGrand, a former Rutgers football player paralyzed during a 2010 game, revealed via Twitter that he had been asked to replace Rice as commencement speaker by campus officials the day she canceled. But LeGrand said he was told a few days later that president Robert Barchi gave the honor to Kean, the former Republican governor, for "political" reasons.
Barchi later said there had been a miscommunication and LeGrand, a graduating labor relations major, served as the ceremony's student speaker and received his degree on stage.
NJ Advance Media reporter Kelly Heyboer contributed to this report
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.In a new video statement posted on Monday, the administrator of novelty e-mail provider cock.li announced that one of the hard drives used to host the service in a Bavarian data center had been seized
"That means that SSL keys and private keys and full mail content of all 64,500 of my users, as well as hashed passwords, registration time, and the last seven days of logs were all confiscated and now are in the hands of German authorities," Vincent Canfield said.
Cock.li was reportedly used last week to send a bogus bomb threat e-mail from "madbomber@cock.li" to several school districts nationwide, which led to the closure of all schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The New York City Department of Education, however, dismissed the e-mail as an obvious hoax.
Canfield explained that cock.li is still operational, as the service was hosted on a server utilizing a pair of drives in a RAID1 (mirrored) configuration. One of the drives has been taken while the other mirror drive is still in use.
"I’ve been advised not to speculate on this, so I’m not going to," he added. "You can draw your own conclusions based on stuff that’s been happening. I will say that I have the utmost respect for law enforcement. I’ve always been complicit in things that they’ve asked when it involves getting an actual legal order for getting user information. As well as stuff that isn’t affected by my privacy policy—stuff that people say on IRC or via e-mail or stuff like that—I’ve forwarded on to authorities and I’ve always been complicit with that, with the US authorities, but I’ve had no dealings in the past with the German authorities at all. I have no idea why this is happening."
Canfield also said that he had retained Jesselyn Radack, a well-known attorney who also represents Edward Snowden and former National Security Agency whistleblower Thomas Drake.
Last week, when Ars asked Radack how she came to be his lawyer, she responded: "When it comes to the [United States] overreacting about supposed terrorist threats, there are not many national security attorneys from the non-government side accustomed to dealing with innocent people caught in the cross-hairs."
Ars asked if Canfield had been charged with a crime, to which she said no.
"And running an e-mail hosting service is not a crime," she added. "However, when you're being hit with law enforcement subpoenas containing constitutionally dubious gag orders, it makes sense to have legal guidance."
The Romania-based e-mail admin concluded his video with this proclamation: "It’s raining dicks right now. And the forecast isn’t that good either. There’s a 90 percent chance of dicks tonight and a 90 percent chance of dicks tomorrow."One of football’s really fascinating truths is that different people, in different situations, play this very simple game in wildly differing ways. Variations in coverage of space, in tempo, in attacking approach show football as a vicious physical battle, or a knife-edge concentration duel, or a teasing, sloe-eyed dance. The mental ecosystem of football is a verdant forest of ideas, all straining toward the Sun of the football universe: Winning the f–king game.
What they aren’t, emphatically, is thought experiments. Football styles emerge naturally from the terroir of their birth – the conditions on the field. The Scandinavian long-ball style didn’t come to be from any lack of touch; on rough, often snow-covered fields, hammering it to a finisher was a rational choice, not an aesthetic one. The classic laconic style we generally call ‘Latin’ has emerged everywhere football is played near the equator; ‘resting on the ball’ is a vital skill when most matches are held in sweltering conditions.
Detroit City FC’s style, to this point in its young history, has been based around winning physical challenges, pressing opponents high and hard up the pitch, and running straight at goal. It’s possible to see this approach as an emotional outgrowth of the energy brought by Northern Guard – the Guard works itself into a froth of love and rage as kickoff approaches, so it seems natural that the Boys in Rogue burst from the blocks in a berzerker frenzy, chasing the ball with wild-eyed fervor.
I’d argue, though, that the style was much more deeply influenced by the club’s original home, beloved Estadio CassTecha. Even in its later years, the Cass Tech field was terribly narrow and intractably lumpy. The tight confines meant that midfield congestion was constant, and the unreliable surface repaid City’s hard running with turnovers and odd-man breaks galore. If an opponent tried to get pretty, they’d find a traffic jam in midfield and a world of frustration with the ball at their feet. Northern Guard delighted in giving no respite, in grinding on subtler opponents until they concentration wavered. All the pieces fit together wonderfully.
The move to Keyworth Stadium has been a resounding success in every way except on the field. I’d argue that City’s on-field failures are at least partially down to porting that very direct, balls-to-the-wall pressing style to a completely different physical reality at Keyworth. The narrow, knobbly field is no longer doing half the work of turning the ball over for us, and so subtly the math starts to shift in the players’ minds – the turnover that happened once every three sprints starts to happen once every 12, and holy God in heaven it’s hot, and is the midfield stepping too or they’re just gonna play right through us again, fuuuuuuuuuuh. The lobbed long ball for the speedy forward to run down now skids on the fast surface and runs through to the keeper. Our berzerkers are loose, still crazed, their blood still stirring, but now in a world that expects and rewards nuance and cleverness.
Detroit City FC’s style was a rational response to the physical reality of the ‘Cass & City’ era. What style best fits the new reality of Keyworth Stadium? Watch this space.TL;DR version: We aren't happy with the direction that current browsers are headed in. Hence, we are creating a new browser. It champions privacy through conservative defaults and uses internal sandboxing to improve security.
What is gngr?
gngr is a new browser that is currently under active development.
Why another browser?
Creating a browser is a Herculean task and there are several implementations already. Why are we creating a new browser then?
The rise of tracking and fall of privacy
These days, even the simplest of websites is more than a collection of web-pages. It often includes third-party trackers, traffic-analysers, ad-services, feedback-gatherers and what not! The combined power of cookies, javascripts, user-agent identifiers and referrers allows these third-parties to track you and your browsing habits.
The looming power of Javascript
Although Javascript is sandboxed, there are subtle vulnerabalities that it enables. For example, tab nabbing can be easily implemented with a little Javascript.
Further, scripts can steal your CPU cycles and network bandwidth (for example, to mine bitcoins surreptiously).
gngr has conservative defaults
gngr by default disables cookies, Javascripts, referrers, third-party frames and has a minimalistic UA string: "gngr.info/major-version".
All of the above settings will be configurable with a unified and intuitive interface, globally and per-site.
What about extensions like NoScript or uMatrix?
While these are excellent projects and we appreciate the effort being spent into them, at the end of the day, extensions are a band-aid. They might miss some requests due to API changes in the browser or because some requests are made behind-the-scenes. We think privacy is critical functionality that should be designed and built right inside the browser.
Moreover, plugins introduce a third-party into the equation. Wasn't it a little surprising to know that a plugin intended to improve privacy was collecting and selling information to advertisers!
Update: We are compiling a list of extensions and their known limitations in this wiki page.
What about privacy focussed forks of existing browsers?
Yes, this could have been a possibility and there are some promising forks already. (We haven't done extensive research on them; use at your own discretion). (Update: We removed the links to the forks. On closer look; they have been releasing binaries without releasing their source-code for a long time. The links were to forks called Epic and Iron)
However, there is another problem with existing browsers; almost all of them are implemented in low-level languages and their code runs natively. This exposes the browser to vulnerabilities and makes auditing harder. Which brings us to the next topic...
The virtues of the Java-runtime
The Java language tends to be ridiculed because of its verbosity. The Java runtime, on the other hand, has some well designed and rare features, though it is often overshadowed by its popular sibling.
We believe that the Java-runtime is a great fit for our project because:
We get sandboxing for internal modules. More on this below.
We get instant portability! From legacy Windows systems to the newest Linux distro, from 32bit x86 to 64bit ARM, our code runs everywhere! (Atleast, that's what it promises)
We get memory safety and type-safety! It is impossible to de-reference a null-pointer, access unallocated memory or type-cast an object to the wrong type.
We can benefit from JIT optimisations.
Sandboxing
The Java runtime has a neat but little known feature called the Security Manager. Once a security manager is installed, any significant operation such as file i/o, network i/o or execution of native code, is audited. If the currently executing code stack doesn't have the requisite permission an exception is thrown. Every piece of code is assigned a protection domain (based on the location from which the code was loaded).
This mechansism allows code modules to be sandboxed. For example, the CSS parsing library that we use isn't given any permissions. It can't make any network requests nor can it read/write from the file system. Which means auditing our code is easier; there is very little surface area that needs to be covered when manually checking for vulnerabilities.
Why did you choose Java-the-language?
That is a short-term choice based on circumstances; mostly a lack of resources. We plan to migrate to a more concise JVM based language soon. We are considering Scala, Kotlin and Ceylon.
What about Servo and Rust?
These are great initiatives and we are keeping an eye on their progress. From what we understand, Rust will help avoid a number of vulnerabilities at the language level, but will take some time to mature. Moreover, there is nothing equivalent to the Java-runtime in Rust-land. Compiled code is run directly on the bare machine. Sandboxing will have to be implemented using an external mechanism, which will take even more time to mature.
Servo might help improve layouting and rendering performance for very large websites through parallelisation. Similar parallelisation might be also possible in JVM land, but perhaps not with the same safety guarantees. This needs more investigation. However, there are many other opportunities for parallelisation; browsers are embarassingly parallel.
FAQ Is it open-source? Yes! The source code is available here. Is it fast? Not yet. Speed is lower priority in the current development cycle. Will it be slow because it is written in Java? Nope; we don't think so. Most Java run-times perform very well for long-running applications.
Whereto from here?
Update: December 2014. Our first release is out and you can try it from the download page. Please follow our blog to be notified of updates.Brian McKay-Lyons’ exploration of ’invisible architecture’ has resulted in a village of builds described by some as ’monumentally modest’. Pictured: Mirror Point House. Glass slides back from the shingle-clad volume of this Nova Scotia retreat, turning the living space into a giant, open porch
Brian McKay-Lyons’ exploration of ’invisible architecture’ has resulted in a village of builds described by some as ’monumentally modest’. Pictured: Mirror Point House. Glass slides back from the shingle-clad volume of this Nova Scotia retreat, turning the living space into a giant, open porch
Canadian architect Brian MacKay-Lyons describes his smaller houses as tightly woven poems or short stories. They are part of his ongoing study of how architecture can sit within the landscape in a way that is both quiet and respectful, but also innovative and progressive. It’s a kind of ‘invisible architecture’ that MacKay-Lyons has explored to greatest effect in the setting he knows best, on the rugged east coast of Nova Scotia.
Rather like his friend and mentor Glenn Murcutt in Australia, MacKay-Lyons has established a global reputation while staying firmly rooted in his own backyard. His farm, Shobac, around an hour’s drive south-west along the coast from Halifax, is where the architect and his family have famously created an extraordinary micro-village of buildings. It is, as the architect puts it, a model shop for exploring themes and interests. The compound includes ruins of ancient shelters uncovered as MacKay-Lyons reinstated the farmland over many years, alongside restored buildings, such as a 1750s farmhouse and an 1830s schoolhouse. Then there are newer structures, including some built with students of the Ghost Lab, an architectural summer school he set up on the coastal campus.
Despite its compact scale, Shobac’s latest addition stands out and has a whole choice of names: Enough House, Gate House, Intern’s House, Shepherd’s House. With a coat of Corten steel and a graphic outline, it forms a dramatic new centrepiece among the wooden cottages. ‘Although it’s the latest piece, it looks like it might have been the first because it’s the navel of the settlement,’ says MacKay-Lyons. ‘It’s right at the centre with a very traditional form but modern materials, so there’s also this experiment in tradition and |
shot caller. Although Incarnati0n performed reasonably well during his rookie split, the team lacked the synergy and identity they previously possessed with Hai’s ‘Support-Carry’ playstyle and dominant ability to read situations, make a decisive call, and have the team enact on that call immediately and effectively. Soon, the once reigning champions of North America dropped down as far down as 9th place during the regular season. This Cloud 9 was merely a shell of their former glory.
Change was desperately needed. The LCS season was moving forward, but Cloud 9 remained stagnant. With relegation from the LCS down to the Challenger Series looming ever closer, William ‘Meteos’ Hartman – World class Jungler and newly appointed shot caller, announced his decision to step down from the main roster. Claiming that the atmosphere without Hai was not working out. With this decision, Hai’s retirement was short lived, and he moved back to the main roster to fill in as the teams Jungler and return to his shot calling duties. Although Hai was a downgrade to Meteos’ superior Jungling mechanics, the upgrade to the team environment appeared to be just the kick they needed. The team began to pick up the pace, and was able to slowly but successfully climb their way out of relegation, making a miracle run through the NA Gauntlet. Eventually claiming victory over the 1st placed regular split team, Team Liquid, to represent their region as the 3rd seed team from North America.
Going into the World Championship as 3rd seed, Cloud 9 had a tremendous challenge ahead of them if there were any hopes of surviving the group stages. Many believed making it past Group Stages would be an impossible task, after being drawn into Group B alongside Fnatic, a team toted to be the strongest EU team to make it to the World Championships ever, having displaying unparalleled dominance throughout the Summer LCS Split. Breaking Cloud 9’s previous record of 13-0 with an astonishing 18-0 undefeated run through the Summer regular season.
In addition to C9 and FNC, Group B also saw the addition of 2 other high caliber teams, notably China’s 3rd seed team, Invictus Gaming who made short work against QG in the LPL qualifier series, defeating them 3-0 to qualify for the World Championship, and Taiwanese team AHQ, who had secured their spot for Worlds by placing first in the LMS, defeating opponents Hong Kong eSports in a comfortable 3-0 series.
Group B, commonly referred to as the ‘Group of Death’, was deemed to be a 3 horse race for the first 2 places in order to proceed out of group stages, with the vast majority of fans and analysts predicting Cloud 9 to finish 4th place in the groups.
Week 1 saw a Cloud 9 that had heard the predictions, and were not happy with how they were perceived by the community. Currently sitting atop Group B with 3 wins, and 2 wins over each other team, Cloud 9’s Cinderella story of a team narrowly avoiding relegation to make the journey to Europe for the League of Legends World Championship is just beginning to unravel.Live Action Role Play is a hobby which is accessible to all. However, unlike most past times this is one where wearing a costume adds to the experience. In fact it is one of the greatest draws for people who are looking to participate in LARP.
Before setting out on constructing your costume you will need to do your research. LARP is a serious business; half-hearted attempts won’t be tolerated so it is important you source your costume carefully. If you are an elf, it would be imperative you wear elf ears. If you were a member of the Night Watch you would need to wear the correct LARP leather armour.
LARP Costume Tips
Don’t be put off by store selling period pieces. Costumes can be amalgamated from a variety of sites. You also don’t have to buy the most high end stuff immediately. Costumes can be improved and added to over time.
Leather boots are a must. Not only will they be in keeping with your LARP look they will keep your feet dry on wet weekends and have much greater durability than cheaper alternatives.
LARP leather armour is one of the key items of costume for certain roles. This is something that we would recommend (once you have become a dedicated LARPer) that you invest in. Good quality LARP leather armour will mould with you and age well like true battle armour should. It will also help to protect you against the elements. LARP leather armour is no longer only available in traditional Black and Tan but instead can be sourced in a variety of shades of red, green and burgundy depending on your character or personal taste. A point worth noting.
Vambraces, Greaves and pouches all add touches to a costume. They are also a good starting point for those just starting out in LARP. They can often be found for a good price and are easy to incorporate into a full costume as time progresses.
Help is always on hand for those looking to expand their costume. Chat to players around you, many are often crafters themselves or have a good knowledge of where to source pieces from. If not try well known suppliers such as Lederkraft, their hand crafted leather work is exceptional.
At the end of the day, enjoy! Costumes are just one element of how much fun you can have by joining the LARP community.What was disappointing was that everything available was either too complex in terms of implementation or was very limiting.
Well, the problem at hand is basically the boilerplate code and the need to maintain your code. Duplicating code across projects and remembering the logic for each gesture was bound to end up in one of the projects in some form of error. It was no doubt inefficient and very repetitive. I was looking for a solution to all this because as Software Engineers we all strive to automate tasks or remove the need for duplicating code. As Douglas Crockford has said
While working on various projects, there have been times when I have had to implement various gesture-based events. Every time I have had to do that I had to write the whole code for getting the SensorManager and getting access to the SensorEvent, plus the extra logic to detect the gesture. At first, it was just fine to do that since I was a beginner around that time. Then soon I got weary of the whole boilerplate. Around this time I started looking for a solution like an android library which would help me avoid all that boilerplate as well as enable me to maintain my code properly.
Sensey was born out of a need to be able to make Gesture Detection in android as simple as it can get. Not everyone needs to look up x, y, z values of Accelerometer or Azimuth, Pitch and Roll values of Orientation Sensor. There are other devs who only wish to detect if a certain Gesture was detected or not (period).
So when I set out to build Sensey, I had a very clear mindset that I want it to be exactly that — simple and clean.
When I first wrote Sensey, it wasn’t perfect. But it did the job well for me. Since I couldn’t find the solution for myself in the first place, I guessed (or assumed) that at least a few devs in the community would be in the same boat as me and thus from the start I was sure to make it open sourced (You can check it out on Github).
Sensey Sample App
I recently released the version 1.6.0 of Sensey and you can tell that it has come a long way from what it was in version 1.0. Let’s walk through the process of integrating Sensey
It is super simple to integrate Sensey in your current android project. Simply add the below to your build.gradle file
compile 'com.github.nisrulz:sensey:1.6.0'
..sync your gradle and then initialize Sensey in your activity
Sensey.getInstance().init(context);
That’s it! Sensey at this point is integrated into your app. Now based on what kind of Gesture you want to detect, you will need to start and stop detectors provided by Sensey.
Say for the sake of a simple example, if we wanted to detect a Shake Gesture. All you need to do is
Create an instance of ShakeListener
ShakeDetector.ShakeListener shakeListener=new ShakeDetector.ShakeListener() {
@Override public void onShakeDetected() {
// Shake detected, do something
}
@Override public void onShakeStopped() {
// Shake stopped, do something
}
};
Now to start listening for Shake gesture, pass the instance shakeListener to startShakeDetection() function
Sensey.getInstance().startShakeDetection(shakeListener);
To stop listening for Shake gesture, pass the instance shakeListener to stopShakeDetection() function
Sensey.getInstance().stopShakeDetection(shakeListener);
Yup, that’s about all it takes to know if a shake gesture was performed and when it stopped.
Let’s check out the complete list of gesture detectors Sensey provides
Flip Detector
Sensey can detect if your device facing up or facing down. Check out the implementation here.
Light Detector
Sensey can detect if your device in a position where it is receiving any light or not. Check out the implementation here
Orientation Detector
Sensey can detect if your device’s top side is up or bottom side is up. It can tell if your device’s left side is up vs right side being up. Check out the implementation here.
Proximity Detector
Sensey can detect if there is an object in the proximity of the device i.e either it is far or near to the device. Check out the implementation here.
Shake Detector
Detects a Shake gesture performed on the device and also when the gesture stops.Check out the implementation here.
Wave Detector
This one is a simple implementation. It uses proximity sensor with timing to detect if a hand wave gesture is performed in front of the device screen. Check out the implementation here.
Chop Detector
Added in release 1.6.0 this one is brand new. It allows you to detect if a Chop gesture is performed with the device. Check out the implementation here.
Wrist Twist Detector
Added in release 1.6.0 this one is another brand new detector. This one allows you to detect if the wrist was twisted in a circular manner while holding the device. Check out the implementation here.
Movement Detector
Another brand new detector added in release 1.6.0, it allows you to know if the device was moved or not. Once moved, it will also detect when the device becomes stationary. Check out the implementation here.
Sound Level Detector
Another brand new detector added in release 1.6.0, it allows you to measure the loudness of sound in the environment around the device (calculated on a scale of dB i.e decibel).Check out the implementation here.
Pinch Scale Detector
Sensey can use this detector to know if the user is executing a pinch scale in or out gesture on the touch screen. It will also be able to detect when the scale gesture was stopped. Check out the implementation here.
Touch Type Detector
This one can do a lot of things, you can choose which one to use or not to use. It can detect when someone on the device screen does the following:
- Single Tap
- Double Tap
- Two Finger Tap
- Three Finger Tap
- Scroll Up, Down, Left or Right
- Swipe Left or Right
- Long Press
Check out the implementation here.
Phew! That’s a lot of gesture detectors packed inside one android library. Well, the list will keep on growing when more gestures get implemented in future releases. The core focus though would always remain the same,
simplicity over complexity and ease of use.
Who is it for
For people who simply want to detect gesture as an event.
Who is it not forImage copyright PA
Newly-qualified GPs are to be offered a one-off payment of £20,000 if they start their careers in areas that struggle to attract family doctors.
The £4m scheme, to be announced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, aims to boost the numbers of doctors in rural and coastal areas of England.
Mr Hunt said it will help "reduce the pressure" on practices in those areas.
The Royal College of GPs backed the plan, saying there was a "serious shortage" of family doctors.
The one-off payment will be offered to 200 GPs from 2018.
As of September 2016, there were 41,985 GPs in England.
Mr Hunt told the BBC: "What we're looking to do is to reduce the pressure on those GP practices which are doing a very, very valiant job but can't look after patients as well as they want to, because they're finding it hard to recruit."
The health secretary is due to speak at the Royal College of GPs' annual conference in Liverpool, where he will offer something for those already in the profession too, by announcing plans for flexible working for older doctors - to encourage them to put off retirement.
He will also confirm plans for an overseas recruitment office which will aim to attract GPs from countries outside Europe to work in England.
"By introducing targeted support for vulnerable areas and tackling head-on critical issues such as higher indemnity fees and the recruitment and retention of more doctors, we can strengthen and secure general practice for the future," he will say.
The Royal College of GPs said the package must be delivered in full and welcomed the commitment to incentivise working in remote and rural areas.
NHS England has already pledged an extra £2.4bn a year for general practice in England - part of which will fund plans for 5,000 extra GPs by 2020.
But Dr Richard Vautrey, chairman of the British Medical Association's GP committee, said the government was not on course to reach that target.
"General practice is facing unprecedented pressure from rising workload, stagnating budgets and a workforce crisis," he said.
"'Golden hellos' are not a new idea and unlikely to solve the overall workforce crisis given we are failing badly to train enough GPs to meet current demands."
In 2016, the BBC learned that there were some practices in England offering a bonus of up to £10,000 to attract new doctors.
But The Nuffield Trust think tank said recruitment was "only half the battle".
"The NHS is struggling to hang on to qualified GPs, with surveys showing 56% plan to retire or leave practice early. Many trainees also drop out when they finish," said senior policy fellow Rebecca Rosen.
Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morningIt’s been a little over ten years—more than enough time to gather and analyse all the evidence. The verdict?
Ross is the best character on Friends.
Ross’s lead in the race doesn’t diminish the entertainment value of the other central characters, and it doesn’t weaken the laughs they elicit. We get a broad spectrum of comedy’s many forms across an entire decade, a talented cast, and a handful of personalities that all seem, somehow, opposite to one another. Joey is a classic ditz—so dumb he’s (unintentionally) funny. The off-beat laughs, of course, go to Phoebe. Without Chandler’s quick wit and sarcasm, the jokes of the show might only come half a mile a minute. But it’s Ross’s farcical, physical embodiment of his own gags that provides the richest and most memorable moments of the series.
SUPPORT HEADSTUFF
Let’s Play Devil’s Advocate
Ross is easily the most polarising character on Friends, and I suppose the Ross haters are entitled to their wrong opinion. But for the rest of us, all of the “worst” things about Ross are also the best things about him.
Yes, a patronising, self-victimising whiner would be annoying in real life. But, to borrow Phoebe’s argument against naming her baby “Ross,” the things that happen to Ross don’t happen to anyone in reality. When’s the last time you heard of someone who said their ex’s name during their wedding ceremony? Someone who owned a pet monkey? Or who managed to screw up a tanning booth and teeth-whitening situation quite so dramatically? And forget three divorces—Ross also has his part in two unintended pregnancies in just a few scant years. Murphy’s Law might as well change its name in his honour.
As the show’s Butt Monkey—the character at the whipping post of Fate—Ross’s many failures and humiliations are played for laughs. He digs his own grave with every flirting attempt. After a divorce, eviction, and nervous breakdown at the office, Ross complains so much that he irritates Janice. His efforts to win over Elizabeth’s father (played by Bruce Willis) would be textbook examples of cringe comedy if we weren’t already so accustomed to Ross’s aggressively awkward social interactions.
So, really, when we’re talking about Ross’s greatest attributes and his most conspicuous flaws, we’re talking about the same thing—the thing that makes him hilarious. Like the other Friends, we laugh at him for being a momma’s boy, an insufferable know-it-all, and a neurotic mess. We crack up every time he goes to absurd lengths to conceal his mistakes, blaming Chandler for “tricking” him into smoking pot in college and lying to Rachel about annulling their Vegas wedding. He is criminally uncool, and we enjoy seeing him reminded.
Even his tendency towards jealousy takes on a comedic spin:
Mark: Rachel Green’s line, how may I help you?
Ross: Hi, is Rachel there?
Mark: And who may I say is calling?
Ross: This is Ross.
Mark: Ross of…?
Ross: Of Ross and Rachel.
Somehow, Ross’s worst qualities do not prevent him from landing dates with characters played by Jennifer Aniston, Rebecca Romijn, Christine Taylor, Helen Baxendale, Lauren Tom, Alexandra Holden, Aisha Tyler, Bonnie Somerville, and more.
…Which must mean that he’s actually awesome.
Let’s Face the Facts
Pretend you’re playing Phoebe’s “Questions” game, and you have to answer as quickly as possible. Out of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, Monica, and Phoebe, who’s the funniest Friend?
Many fans of the show would pick Chandler. He is, by his own admission, the character most voluntarily funny. But Chandler traipses through a shallow puddle of comedy; his quick quips and clever observational humour come with more frequency than longevity. All of the classic, most-referenced, laugh-out-loudest moments of the series revolve around Ross. There’s “Pivot!” and “MY sandwich?!,” for starters—and while we’re on the subject, let’s not forget “The Moistmaker.” There’s Unagi, “We were on a break!” and this infamous exchange:
Ross: You know how you come home at the end of the day and throw your jacket on a chair?
Joey: Yeah.
Ross: Well, instead of a jacket, it’s a pile of garbage. And instead of a chair, it’s a pile of garbage. And instead of the end of the day, it’s the end of time, and garbage is all that has survived.
It’s Ross who delivers the majority of the show’s most-quoted lines, even ten years later. (His cry “It tastes like feet!” actually became its own trope.) Among 236 episodes of funny, why are his designated gags so memorable?
Simple: Ross lives his jokes.
David Schwimmer’s commitment to physical comedy on Friends is recognisably meticulous, outstripping even Matthew Perry’s. Ross isn’t just a scripted character—he is an exhibition and embodiment of comedy. TV is, after all, a visual medium, and any actor who can up the ante by visibly becoming the joke makes for compelling entertainment. (It’s also why my attempt to do him justice here is necessarily a failure.)
There’s the pair of leather pants Ross should never have removed. The Routine he performs with Monica for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. His “sound”—or the worst music ever to come from a keyboard. As the actual (dorky) manifestation of his woke-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-Karma comedy, Ross is both the butt and buttress of his every hilarious antic.
Remember the time he slithered under the bed to hide from Bruce Willis with all the dexterity of The Grinch who stole Christmas? How about that moment, in the first-ever flashback episode, when they pan to Ross, sporting an ‘80s afro? Or that little leap of joy when he views Ugly Naked Guy’s apartment in hopes of scoring a sublet?
In my search for one final case in point, I landed on this: Ross’s velociraptor impression. Joey had it right all along—his occupation really is “dinosaurs.”
Let’s Get Nostalgic
By the end of Friends, not one of the main characters had escaped caricature status. But since Ross’s personality and narrative already bordered on the ridiculous, it’s not quite as noticeable on him. He was always an internal joke—the Friend most mocked within a group of twenty-somethings who had little of their own to brag about. And while we mourn the loss of our most beloved sitcom (it was the end of an era!), we cherish the infinite potential for Friends quotations and allusions.
When we all share the same private joke, we call it a cultural reference. And that’s exactly what Ross has given us, time and time again. Call him whatever else you like—Ross-a-Tron, Red Ross, “Wet Pants” Geller, or Divorce-o—as long as you call him the best Friend.
Featured Image Source: wikipedia.orgIn addition to reopening of Slovenia’s embassy, which was closed in 2013 as part of general austerity policies, President Pahor will sign several agreements with Iran during his visit to Tehran, Slovenian Deputy Foreign Minister Darja Bavdaz Kuret said at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, held in Tehran on Wednesday.
The two sides also discussed the latest regional and international developments, with Foreign Minister Zarif calling for the expansion of relations and closer interaction between Tehran and Ljubljana.
In March 2013, in response to the difficult financial and economic situation in Slovenia, the European country’s government decided to shrink its diplomatic network as part of general austerity policies.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently called for attempts to enhance relations between Tehran and Ljubljana in light of the removal of anti-Iran sanctions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).Julius Randle feared his leg was going to break.
A small bump had developed on his right leg a few months after the Los Angeles Lakers selected him seventh overall in the 2014 NBA draft, one he said caused an "achy, sharp pain."
"'Man, this ain't right,'" Randle said he told himself at the time. "If I don't figure out what this is, I'm going to break my leg.'"
He was right. In his first NBA game, Randle drove to the basket midway through the fourth quarter and prepared to launch his 6-foot-9, 250-pound frame off his right foot.
Then his foot buckled.
Randle collapsed, but he didn't writhe in pain or scream or cry. He just sat there -- his tibia fractured, his season over after 14 minutes of playing time, his face empty of emotion.
"I wasn't in any initial shock or anything," he said. "I knew exactly what happened."
The bump on Randle's leg appeared before training camp for the 2014-15 season -- around late August or early September, he recalled.
Editor's Picks Holmes: Four injury risks today's players face Injuries to the rookie class spiked in 2014-15. Here are the four big red flags experts say young players face in today's NBA.
"I may have hit it against the bed or something," he said he told Lakers trainers.
"We'll keep an eye on it," he said they told him.
He felt the pain off and on for a couple of weeks, but nothing so bad that he said he couldn't play on it.
Randle said he didn't receive much treatment for it, and, about two weeks before the season began, he said it no longer hurt at all.
"And then when I broke it, I was like, dang, I wonder what happened -- maybe that played a role?" he said.
Randle had a screw placed into his right foot as a high school senior, and reports leading into the 2014 draft indicated that he may have needed another surgery to fix it. (He would indeed have it, but not until January 2015.) But nothing appeared odd during the play in which he broke his leg.
So Randle searched for answers and wondered about the bump, especially when an X-ray after his injury revealed what the team called a "stress reaction," a precursor to a stress fracture but without the actual break. (A stress reaction is often caused by repetitive impacts to the bone that lead its structure to begin breaking down.)
Though it's hard to say exactly why Randle broke his leg, a Lakers spokesman said it was thought that the stress reaction is "likely what contributed to the break."
After a long and arduous rehab, Randle participated in an organized practice this week, his first since his injury, and is expected to play for the Lakers this Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Las Vegas Summer League.
"I feel great, getting up and down," Randle said. "I feel more healthy than I did last year."
There is still a bump on his leg, though -- callus as hard as bone that formed as his injury healed. The area swells sometimes after he plays. He wears a pad to protect it.
But Randle said he doesn't have any nerves about whether his leg will hold up. He said he passed that mark a long time ago.
"The first time I got on the court, I was like, 'Man, it's weird,'" he said. "But after that, honestly and truly, I had my head down and just played. I haven't thought about it at all."So combat has been on the list of things to revamp for some time and we’re currently implementing and tweaking a bunch of the combat mechanics based on feedback.
Implemented so far:
* directional melee weapons. You now aim your swing with the mouse cursor. Some mods attempted to make melee weapons directional in the past and although these mods repositioned the weapons hitbox they didn’t rotate it. We now have a true implementation of aimable melee.
*weapon ‘swoosh’ stays on screen for a shorter amount of time making you time your swing precisely
*monsters move roughly 50% slower
*monsters feel heavier
*monsters jump less high
*knock back adjusted
I’ll be continuing to work on combat for a couple of weeks and will be updating on progress regularly. Feedback is welcome. I’ll be pushing updates to combat on the unstable branch fairly often so you can give it a try.BALTIMORE — After two prosecutions without a conviction since the fatal arrest of Freddie Gray, opening arguments are set to begin Thursday in the trial of Caesar R. Goodson Jr., the only officer charged with murder in connection with the death and the driver of the police wagon in which Mr. Gray suffered the spinal injury that killed him.
The combination of the two unsuccessful prosecutions and the murder charge has raised the stakes substantially in the trial of the third of six officers charged in the death of Mr. Gray, 25, a black man whose death spurred riots, looting and arson.
“These are the most serious charges,” said Warren S. Alperstein, a defense lawyer here who has represented police officers and has been closely following the cases but is not directly involved in them. “This is, arguably, the make-or-break case for the state. It would be a devastating blow if the state was unable to secure a conviction.”
The trial comes as prosecutors aim to shift the narrative away from the mistrial of one officer involved in the case and, just over two weeks ago, another one’s acquittal on all charges.Talks continue to find a storage site for radioactive waste away from San Onofre nuclear power plant. Unless there is an agreement, millions of pounds of the toxic material will be partially buried near the shoreline at San Onofre. KPBS Investigative Reporter Amita Sharma recently spoke to Tom English on the beach near San Onofre. He is a one-time advisor to former President Jimmy Carter on high-level nuclear waste disposal.
Q: You’re a nuclear waste expert who’s given talks at the White House on this topic. You think Edison’s plan is a bad idea, why?
A: Several reasons. One is they’re basically going to put the stuff in a thin storage container which probably will have some problems with corrosion given this ocean environment here. The second idea is they’re going to store it such that it will be about 100 feet from the water and a few inches above the groundwater table which is totally ridiculous. As the sea level rises, what will happen is the bottom of the containers will corrode.
Q: Why do you think Edison wants to use this dry cask storage method and actually got the backing to do it from the California Coastal Commission?
A: What happened is our attitude toward storage of spent fuel in a fuel pool changed with Fukushima. We had two pools melt down completely. And this scared everybody and caused a big furor and caused them to want to do something better. So it is a very good idea to take the fuel out of the pool and put it into dry storage. It’s just the choices that they made here were awful, far worse than leaving it in the spent fuel pool.
Q: You’re also worried about Edison’s San Onofre nuclear waste storage plan because you think it’s especially vulnerable to terrorism. Tell me about that.
A: If you leave the spent fuel in the spent fuel pool, you have two large concrete structures surrounding the spent fuel pool that will partially protect it against an attack. When you bring it out here near the ocean on the beach, what you have is no real protection. So a terrorist could find this to be a fairly easy target and if something were to happen here we would evacuate about 50 miles worth of people around San Onofre which would basically shut down the economy of Southern California.
title="Conversation With A Nuclear Waste Expert ">Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. Content can be viewed at actual source page: https://www.youtube.com/embed/FnKQjaOWvYg
Environmental expert Tom English calls the plan "ridiculous" and contends it makes the storage site at the shuttered plant vulnerable to terrorism.
Q: Dr. English, what are some of the alternatives to storing the waste at San Onofre?
A: There are three main ones. One is to simply move it to another Southern California Edison site like in Arizona. That way you’d at least be away from the beach. And it’s already licensed for this sort of thing. Another alternative would be to move it across the street to Camp Pendleton where it’s surrounded by a bunch of Marines and you wouldn’t have any overflights of airplanes so it would be much safer there from any kind of terrorist attack. A third alternative would be to go to Yucca Mountain where we know a lot about the geology of the area and basically make a part of it into temporary interim storage. And you could take all this waste and store it there for 100 years while they figure out how to solve the long-term problem and I think the three of those are much better than what we have here.
Q: If a storage site away from San Onofre can’t be found and the waste ends up being stored here for the long haul, there’s the matter of sea level rise. Projections show that San Onofre will be inundated by seawater by the turn of the century. What kind of threat does that pose to humans and to the sea?
A: Well, if you have these canisters sitting in seawater it’s much the same as dumping the high-level waste into the ocean. And so this has a severe threat on both the aquatic life and human life.
Dr. English, thank you so much for speaking to me today.
Well, thanks very much. I enjoyed it.
Related Link: Coastal Commission Met Privately With Edison A Year Before Public San Onofre Waste Storage Vote
To view PDF documents, Download Acrobat Reader.Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in September. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)
During the Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton’s supporters complained that Sen. Bernie Sanders had never even been a member of the Democratic Party. But since the Vermont senator conceded the race to his rival, he has been loyal to the Democratic nominee — endorsing her promptly, cementing her nomination in an important gesture of unity at the party convention and stumping for her on the airwaves and around the country. (Not to mention raising millions for down-ballot Democrats.) With Clinton’s lock on victory becoming clearer and clearer now, Sanders is looking ahead to after Election Day, telling The Post’s John Wagner that he has “leverage that I intend to use” to pressure Clinton from the left. Clinton supporters and the Democratic establishment might prefer he stay unwaveringly loyal, but using his newfound influence simply makes sense for Sanders — and actually could help Clinton in the long run.
Sanders’s surprisingly successful campaign shifted the policy debate in the United States. He proved what activists have been arguing for years: There is a strong constituency for progressive ideas such as a higher minimum wage, breaking up the big banks and an expansive effort to make college tuition free for millions of Americans. Thanks to Sanders’s efforts, they are part of the most progressive Democratic platform ever. But getting these policies into the party platform and Clinton’s stump speech is worthless without trying to see them become reality. And if these ideas make it into law, they’ll need strong executive branch appointees — at the Cabinet level and below — to implement them.
Defeat has not dented Sanders’s popularity; his favorability is not only higher than Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s — it is higher than President Obama’s. Fellow Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — who like Sanders has been campaigning for Clinton wholeheartedly — has leveraged her support into real influence: As the New York Times reports, “policy negotiations [at the Obama White House] often include aides raising the caveat of ‘What would Elizabeth Warren say?'” There’s no reason that Sanders, working with Warren and other progressives, should not try to exert the same level of clout.
And yes, Clinton does bear watching. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) was likely wrong to say in July that Clinton would eventually support the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But Clinton’s friend and former co-chair of her 2008 campaign wasn’t making up her moderate views on trade out of thin air, which will affect what trade agreements under a Clinton administration would look like. Her transition team has been impressively leak-averse, but some of the names that have come out have raised eyebrows, such as Blanche Lincoln — a former senator, but more recently a lobbyist for companies such as Monsanto — as a “top contender” for agriculture secretary. Clinton’s record on financial deregulation and her hawkishness on foreign policy should also keep liberals hopeful but wary, and pushback from liberals will help curb any movement away from what Democratic voters want.
Besides, Clinton die-hards should want pressure from the left. Used correctly, it can only help in inevitable negotiations with recalcitrant Republicans. Pressure from Sanders and other progressives — Warren being the most prominent among them — can give Clinton cover to propose more liberal policies. Sanders’s (and Warren’s) popularity with voters can also help shift the public debate on Clinton’s proposals to the left. It will drive a Clinton White House crazy sometimes, but active pressure from Sanders is much more likely to help Clinton and the Democratic Party than to hurt them.Hillary Clinton Says She’ll Go as ‘the President’ for Halloween (Updated w/ Video)
Defeated 2016 Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Monday night she’ll go as the President for Halloween tomorrow night. Clinton made the remark at a paid appearance promoting her campaign memoir, “What Happened”, at the Auditorium Theater in the Loop at Roosevelt University.
Several reporters and attendees reported Clinton’s Halloween costume remark.
Hillary Clinton tells a crowd in Chicago that she's thinking of going as the "the President" for Halloween — Kim Janssen (@kimjnews) October 31, 2017
Asked about her Halloween costume, Hillary Clinton says she’ll “go as the president.” — Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) October 31, 2017
Clinton, when asked what she'll be for Halloween. "Maybe I'll come as the president" pic.twitter.com/IlI15XHywY — Paris Schutz (@paschutz) October 31, 2017
When asked what she will be for Halloween, Clinton said she would go as "the president." Strayed said she would too, "as Hillary Clinton" — Colin B Photography (@colinbphoto) October 31, 2017
Asked about her Halloween costume, Hillary Clinton says she’ll “go as the president.” — Sherif Hashem (@SherifHashem) October 31, 2017
Artist rendition of Hillary Clinton dressed as ‘the President’ for Halloween.
UPDATE:
WATCH: Hillary Clinton joked that she would go as the president for Halloween. pic.twitter.com/JOMKUmWV0Y — NBC News (@NBCNews) October 31, 2017
Video clip by NBC News. Clinton interviewed by Cheryl Strayed.
Note: When Clinton hems and haws on her answer, Strayed gives her an out by asking about her grandchildren, Charlotte and Aidan. Most grandparents leap at the chance to gush about their grandchildren. Not Hillary, she ignores the chance to talk about her grandchildren and makes her comment about dressing up as the President for Halloween. Very telling.By Kathy Patalsky Published 08/24/2014
Bold, crunchy tahini and curry dressed carrot slaw meets sticky-sweet smoky-maple glazed tempeh triangles for a vegan meal you will come to crave. Ingredients 8 ounces tempeh, sliced into triangles
1/4 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup, grade B
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil or virgin coconut oil
2-3 tsp tamari or 2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp crushed raw walnuts
4 cups shredded carrots
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (for added turmeric power, optional)
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
sweet stuff: 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup + an optional handful or rais |
[3/06/2014 11:51:10 PM] Jake / Dithrlos™ /ZionicGaming™: lol [3/06/2014 11:51:12 PM] Drew: Really the only people these plans will hurt is the honest servers, the bad servers won't give two fucks and continue doing bad stuff [3/06/2014 11:51:23 PM] Jake / Dithrlos™ /ZionicGaming™: yup. [3/06/2014 11:51:43 PM] Jake / Dithrlos™ /ZionicGaming™: i mean most big servers wouldn't mind giving a license fee to mojang too. [3/06/2014 11:52:49 PM] Max | Sraph LTD: nobodey would [3/06/2014 11:54:17 PM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": well, if that cuts out the servers that just join to make money, like with $500 ranks... (usually smaller servers) [3/06/2014 11:56:53 PM] Erik Broes: On 03/06/2014, at 16:13, Jake / Dithrlos™ /ZionicGaming™ wrote: > remember that mod api you were supposed to do 2 years ago? Which one? [3/06/2014 11:57:36 PM] Erik Broes: I've never ever said anything ever about doing a mod api :( [3/06/2014 11:58:12 PM] Drew: On 6/3/2014, at 10:27 AM, Erik Broes wrote: > I've never ever said anything ever about doing a mod api :( But mojang did, whether you like it or not that's what they called it [3/06/2014 11:58:51 PM] Erik Broes: Not sure how that matters? :) [3/06/2014 11:59:12 PM] Erik Broes: Notch also said we'd have a 'license for the api that would cost money' [3/06/2014 11:59:41 PM] Erik Broes: As long as the people that scream things are not actually working on those things, I'd just ignore them if I were you :) [12:00:00 AM] Drew: It matters you know what's he's talking about you don't need to be an ass about it [12:00:43 AM] Erik Broes: I don't see how you can justify breaking the EULA in any way [12:00:48 AM] Erik Broes: it just feels a bit stupid :D [12:01:25 AM] Erik Broes: It's like complaining after a cop gives you a ticket jaywalking, you *KNOW* it is not right and still you do it [12:01:43 AM] aa2202aa2202: Grum [12:02:06 AM] aa2202aa2202: you guys can't enforce this [12:03:01 AM] Erik Broes: We actually can [12:03:18 AM] aa2202aa2202: how? [12:03:36 AM] Drew: Its really quite easy [12:03:51 AM] aa2202aa2202: There is many ways around it [12:04:00 AM] Erik Broes: We'll ask nicely and then send really mean lawyers :) [12:04:06 AM] aa2202aa2202: aure [12:04:08 AM] aa2202aa2202: sure [12:04:13 AM] aa2202aa2202: go track down every server [12:04:17 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": how are you going to enforce this to all the servers lol [12:04:30 AM] aa2202aa2202: Also I will have a thing saying that the purchases are not related [12:04:32 AM] aa2202aa2202: to mojang [12:04:42 AM] aa2202aa2202: Mojang fucks up their game [12:04:44 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": no offence but that will give a bad name to mojang, and also will waste a hell of a lot of money [12:04:55 AM] Erik Broes: If they are not related to mojang you won't see them ingame :) [12:05:21 AM] aa2202aa2202: Il sell a code [12:05:28 AM] aa2202aa2202: then people with that code [12:05:29 AM] aa2202aa2202: get rewards [12:05:36 AM] Erik Broes: not really, as a gaming company defending your own IP is not 'weird', especially if you have very tolerant rules on how people *can* make money with your game [12:06:07 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": not to put the fact that you will be going after a majority of underage kids who want to play the game with there friends and give people who want to help pay for the server, by giving them in game stuff, a knock on the door [12:06:07 AM] publicpwner21: could we get someone working on a minecraft rip? so that after all of the servers for minecraft are gone we have something to continue with. [12:06:20 AM] aa2202aa2202: ^ [12:06:27 AM] aa2202aa2202: Minecraft will eventually die [12:06:31 AM] Erik Broes: we're not going after the kids [12:06:34 AM] Erik Broes: obviously not :) [12:06:52 AM] Erik Broes: Mason: and we'd take down that without sending a nice letter ;) [12:07:06 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": but thats what it is, i can name hundreds of server that make money and they are run by underage kids [12:07:11 AM] Erik Broes: I truly do not see what you guys have so much problems with? [12:07:27 AM] aa2202aa2202: You clearly don't know a lot [12:07:30 AM] aa2202aa2202: about the community [12:07:43 AM] Drew: He clearly knows nothing about anything [12:07:49 AM] publicpwner21: [12:06 AM] Erik Broes: <<< Mason: and we'd take down that without sending a nice letter ;)did you send a letter to cube world? [12:07:52 AM] WoodysGamertag: I feel like these threats and attempts to catch Erik in some kind of logic trap aren't productive. The fact is minecraft owns the IP and have the right to do what they want with it. I just wish they saw it as a partnership like I do. [12:08:05 AM] Leet: [12:08 AM] Erik Broes: <<< I truly do not see what you guys have so much problems with?Because you're talking to a bunch of people who make a living off of running servers. [12:08:06 AM] Erik Broes: I've seen no threats at all? [12:08:26 AM] Reno Philibert | MineDesign: [12:01 AM] Erik Broes: <<< It's like complaining after a cop gives you a ticket jaywalking, you *KNOW* it is not right and still you do itOnly in that situation, it's possible that the person won't get caught [12:08:26 AM] Erik Broes: Ah! Maybe that is the problem, servers are not to make a living off at all [12:08:30 AM] Erik Broes: maybe you forgot to read our EULA [12:08:41 AM] Erik Broes: Reno: and that is still the case [12:08:45 AM] Drew: On 6/3/2014, at 10:38 AM, Erik Broes wrote: > maybe you forgot to read our EULA Maybe you forgot what makes your game what it is [12:08:46 AM] WoodysGamertag: It's been a win/win. Servers like mine have extended the life of minecraft and the players love the game more than they would if it was just survival. [12:09:20 AM] Drew: Mojang just wants a bunch of survival clones now [12:09:26 AM] Drew: So the game will just die [12:09:33 AM] aa2202aa2202: ^ [12:09:34 AM] Drew: No one will dev or create for it anymore [12:09:46 AM] Erik Broes: Why would it be impossible to have a game-mode or a minigame somewhere? [12:10:00 AM] WoodysGamertag: While I don't love the phrasing, Drew is on to something. Servers have made minecraft more than it would be if it was only from mojang. [12:10:01 AM] Erik Broes: Or is it only possible if there are big amounts of money involved? [12:10:02 AM] aa2202aa2202: No-one will spend 20 euro [12:10:07 AM] aa2202aa2202: on survival [12:10:18 AM] Drew: No one will have time to spent hours and hours creating stuff anymore [12:10:39 AM] xerucide: Guize, guize, you'll never guess what I just saw [12:10:42 AM] xerucide: A server [12:10:45 AM] xerucide: That has a paid... [12:10:53 AM] xerucide: DEV rank [12:10:59 AM] Drew: I for one have spent the last year creating stuff only to find out now that was all useless [12:11:25 AM] Erik Broes: Wait, so people do not create anything in their spare time? [12:11:39 AM] Erik Broes: Isn't this how all your tools and even the game has been created initially? :) [12:11:44 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": Erik, do you think mojang will plan to shut down all money making server schemes, or don't you think if that was the case to try to salvage it and make it in to something you can work with? So it can benefit all of us? [12:12:06 AM] Erik Broes: Plans sofar are that you will have a way to make money [12:12:06 AM] Drew: I feel like the way mojang treats us we should just shut down and move one [12:12:21 AM] Drew: On 6/3/2014, at 10:41 AM, Erik Broes wrote: > Wait, so people do not create anything in their spare time? Its not spare time for a lot of us [12:12:24 AM] Erik Broes: which is actualyl FAR better than it is now, as the EULA says you have no way to make money ;P [12:12:36 AM] Drew: Maybe a few people sure [12:12:44 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": and will it effect the players gameplay on our servers? [12:13:32 AM] Erik Broes: Drew: maybe that is your mistake then? [12:13:53 AM] Erik Broes: I mean, you just decided to only do things for money eventhough there are no money flows allowed from the things you do this for? [12:13:56 AM] WoodysGamertag: I spend all my waking hours working on my server. Honestly, it's about 18 hours a day 7 days a week. I'm sure that servers like Hypixel have guys (or teams of guys) doing the same. If you take away the profit motive then the pros will leave and only amateurs will be interested. YouTube went through a similar change in reverse. When they started monetizing channels people like CaptSparklez were born. The pros rolled in and made high effort videos. [12:14:09 AM] Erik Broes: Seems like a simple thing you'd look at before you start on that [12:14:12 AM] WoodysGamertag: It will hurt minecraft for sure. [12:14:15 AM] TATIMBLIN: I've been ready through most of this and wanted chime in. It seems a great example to what kind of servers you are trying to make is the planetminecraft server. http://www.planetminecraft.com/server/planetminecraft-official-server/ [12:14:56 AM] Reno Philibert | MineDesign: I think Erik's just a douchebag who should've been fired when he never did what he was hired for [12:14:58 AM] TATIMBLIN: *reading [12:15:02 AM] Erik Broes: Why do you instantly say that it is absolutely impossible to make anything unless there is money involved? [12:15:07 AM] Erik Broes: that is just sad :) [12:15:15 AM | Edited 12:15:16 AM] Erik Broes: (and very greedy) [12:15:37 AM] Erik Broes: strange, I'm still doing that every day :/ [12:15:56 AM] Erik Broes: I never did what i was hired for? [12:15:59 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": lol reno, i think thats a bit too far haha [12:16:06 AM] aa2202aa2202: No [12:16:10 AM] aa2202aa2202: He did do his work [12:16:26 AM] xerucide: My god shit is going down in this chat [12:16:26 AM] Reno Philibert | MineDesign: Working on the mod API? [12:16:30 AM] Reno Philibert | MineDesign: Weird, we still don't have one [12:16:34 AM] Erik Broes: It's retarded logic, if I wouldn't be doing the work I'd be hired for wouldn't I already be fired? :) [12:16:36 AM] xerucide: And I'm over here fiddling with myself [12:16:40 AM] aa2202aa2202: winter [12:16:49 AM] aa2202aa2202: Its not just the mod API [12:16:50 AM] Erik Broes: Reno: oh, and the fact that you do not have one means we're not working on it? :) [12:17:03 AM] Reno Philibert | MineDesign: [12:16 AM] Xeru: <<< And I'm over here fiddling with myselfWe don't need to know you're masturbating [12:17:08 AM] Erik Broes: Do you even logic? :D [12:18:11 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": If you knew that server were breaking the EULA, then why give them a panel at Minecon? That saying 'Hey look these are the guys that break our rules, and you should listen to them as they help others break our rules!' [12:18:25 AM] Erik Broes: Nikolaous: I'll bring an extra shirt :D [12:18:40 AM] Erik Broes: and why would you egg me? you are actually getting a'sortof heads up' -- be happy :) [12:18:49 AM] aa2202aa2202: ^ [12:18:59 AM] TATIMBLIN: Erik: I think minecraft servers could have run without money, but capped at a max of around 200 players. However since money has been introduced it would be hard to go back that state. I'd also like to ask what you plan to do about leveling the playing field when people already have ranks [12:19:19 AM] Erik Broes: So who broke the rules that we gave a panel? :/ (just curious, it doesn't actually matter obviously) [12:20:19 AM] Erik Broes: You can have ranks obviously, you just cannot buy them with hard cash :) [12:20:30 AM] TATIMBLIN: It be hard to take all of the paid ranks away from the millions of users, and if you let them keep it would be even more unfair, due to now instead of paying to get equal opportunities ingame it is just physically impossible [12:20:51 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": Overcast Network, Hypixel, Shotbow, they all answer questions about server, and even helped some kids get some donations in to sell things with BuyCraft! [12:21:12 AM] aa2202aa2202: You can easily get around it [12:21:20 AM] aa2202aa2202: One can donate a specific amount [12:21:27 AM] aa2202aa2202: then you specify the ranks in game [12:21:29 AM] WoodysGamertag: [12:14 AM] Erik Broes: <<< Why do you instantly say that it is absolutely impossible to make anything unless there is money involved?Because pros work for money. I think the youtube example is a great one. Sparklez hired an animation team, a vocalist, etc. I hire developers, admins, support staff, etc. You get top quality work when you pay for it. If you hope that the online multiplayer experience will continue to expand or even stay where it is without a profit motive than you're kidding yourself. To be honest, this feels more like an attack on the community than a move in mojang's best interest. I can't understand your motivation. [12:21:30 AM] aa2202aa2202: or something [12:21:39 AM] aa2202aa2202: ^^ [12:21:53 AM] Erik Broes: Tatimblin: yeaaaaah and you get to solve that isn't that fun!! You created this unbalance that was purely fed by greed [12:21:55 AM] WoodysGamertag: Every server owner breaks the EULA, every single one. [12:22:17 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": This was also broadcasted on the Minecraft Youtube Channel, so you promoted that you can have a server like these guys, who make money and who just helped people at a Minecraft Convention which you arranged them to do [12:22:42 AM] Erik Broes: Amir: nope, because then it's not a donation [12:23:01 AM] Erik Broes: Woody: not true, servers exists that do not do microtransations or perks for donations [12:23:10 AM] TATIMBLIN: I haven't made anything from ranks so 1. Don't judge me and 2. It is your game [12:23:49 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": ^ lol, please show me [12:23:52 AM] aa2202aa2202: Don't get me wrong [12:23:56 AM] aa2202aa2202: But many methods to get around it [12:24:30 AM] Erik Broes: tatimblin: good to hear you are not selling ranks then :) [12:25:42 AM] WoodysGamertag: [12:22 AM] Erik Broes: <<< Woody: not true, servers exists that do not do microtransations or perks for donationsCan you name some? I'm curious if they are popular. [12:25:48 AM] aa2202aa2202: 60% of servers will shut down [12:25:57 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": did you know that the people in the panel at Minecon were breaking your EULA? [12:26:01 AM] aa2202aa2202: Minecraft will slowely die [12:26:12 AM] craig-egerton: [12:00 AM] Erik Broes: <<< I don't see how you can justify breaking the EULA in any waypoints like this, no one has here, we are talking about making the EULA stupid [12:26:22 AM] TATIMBLIN: Mhm we did ranks based on points that couldn't be bought. And setup a way to donate for nothing [12:26:36 AM] aa2202aa2202: Then 1 day mojang will regret their decision [12:27:15 AM] Erik Broes: no, talking about rewording the EULA so you actually get more rights :) [12:27:47 AM] Erik Broes: Tatimblin: that seems like a nice system, according to everyone in here your server either sucks super hard or it will die in days [12:28:17 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": ohhhhhh so you still won't enforce the EULA, but just change it so that we have some rights? [12:28:40 AM] WoodysGamertag: I like the rights we have now, EULA non-enforcement :) [12:28:45 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": So nothing will change but actually giving us some right to do things [12:29:06 AM] aa2202aa2202: Just have players donate [12:29:07 AM] aa2202aa2202: on forums [12:29:12 AM] aa2202aa2202: they save they donated [12:29:15 AM] aa2202aa2202: then give them ranks [12:29:17 AM] aa2202aa2202: So easy to bypass [12:29:18 AM] aa2202aa2202: :) [12:29:22 AM] TATIMBLIN: There were about 30 people on, so it was nice for a while (30 is good for just creative IMO) [12:29:28 AM] aa2202aa2202: Have it as a donation payment [12:29:43 AM] aa2202aa2202: And add MC username to reason [12:29:49 AM] aa2202aa2202: What can mojang do [12:29:51 AM] aa2202aa2202: without a webstore [12:30:16 AM] Erik Broes: Amir: nope, you cannot 'give' people ranks based on an outside payment :) [12:30:50 AM] Erik Broes: It's really simple, money you spend outside of the game cannot reflect inside the game at all [12:30:54 AM] Iphonetips1 "SaiCoGaming": dw I'm sure BuyCraft will come up with a way around it haha [12:31:14 AM] Jake / Dithrlos™ /ZionicGaming™: On 6/3/14, at 10:36 AM, Mason // PixelPrison wrote: > could we get someone working on a minecraft rip? so that after all of the servers for minecraft are gone we have something to continue with. not making a rip, but I'm developing something better. [12:31:16 AM] aa2202aa2202: How will you monitor this [12:31:30 AM] aa2202aa2202: I will have a donate button [12:31:38 AM] aa2202aa2202: no ranks mentioned [12:31:39 AM] TATIMBLIN: Though it was too expensive for not making any money so we all left to a server that was hosted by a bigger server in return for builds [12:31:59 AM] aa2202aa2202: Just mention it in game/forums [12:32:29 AM] aa2202aa2202: And again [12:32:34 AM] aa2202aa2202: you can't monitor the ranks I give [12:32:35 AM] aa2202aa2202: in any way [12:33:02 AM] aa2202aa2202: And again you can't verify that the people that have ranks have donated [1:16:55 AM] Jordan // LOF Network: Can someone please answer my questions [1:17:35 AM] Jordan // LOF Network: Is this officially happening? What exactly do we have to change [2:20:55 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: I'm 99% sure they do [2:22:11 AM] 9gigsofram: That would be increadilbly dumb [2:22:34 AM] Dan: because Mojang is not a rip off merchant. did you know their game is a 20 euro one time fee, although if you want to play with your friends it would've been free but they closed all big servers for their 10 euro a month (or 120 euro a year) service. [2:23:24 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: Dan [2:23:37 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: People don't spend 120 euroes a year on server perks? [2:23:46 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: not to my knowledge... [2:25:07 AM] craig-egerton: [2:23 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: <<< People don't spend 120 euroes a year on server perks?factions etc. they do [2:26:03 AM] craig-egerton: first year is alot more but they still spend alot [2:26:26 AM] Dan: I know Max! but if you can't setup a LAN server, or host a server yourself then you're going to need to pay Mojang that to maintain your server for you! [2:27:06 AM] Dan: correction [2:27:22 AM] Dan: I doubt merely 50 of them have spent 120 euros [2:27:30 AM] Dan: 500,000 people have joined my server [2:27:44 AM] Dan: but if that were realms, they'd need to pay 10 euroes just to get a server with their friends! [2:30:46 AM] Dan: although, Erik seems pretty confident that everyone would voluntarily pay to Realms and if they didn't it shouldn't be there, right Erik? ([16:36:07] Erik Broes: Dan: then maybe your server shouldn't be there) [2:30:49 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: I've over 750,000 but then i've been around a bit longer [2:30:52 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: srs dan on 500,000? [2:31:01 AM] danstoogood: why don't we try that Erik? [2:31:13 AM] aa2202aa2202: max [2:31:37 AM] danstoogood: you seem extremely confident that this world is filled with warm hearted people [2:32:21 AM] bloxparadise_: dan i doubt he's listening to you [2:33:37 AM] Max | Sraph LTD: Yes aa2202 [2:33:46 AM] danstoogood: I doubt that :P [2:35:05 AM] dillyg10: Same conversation as this morning? [2:35:23 AM] Gummy: So just to clear the air, how is everyone today? [2:35:58 AM] lofnetwork: Yep [2:36:04 AM | Edited 2:38:25 AM] danstoogood: yea dilly, it seems Erik is a hypocrite [2:36:06 AM] danstoogood: :| [2:37:05 AM] christian.payne23: Why cant we be friends? Why cant we be friends? [2:37:44 AM] ilucamc: On 6/3/14, at 19:05, xllgummybearxll wrote: > So just to clear the air, how is everyone today? Well tried [2:38:10 AM] bloxparadise_: Because erik isn't friendly? [2:39:00 AM] Curtis.: Funny how he ignored the questions about TheHive being shut down. [2:40:04 AM] bloxparadise_: Like he didn't ignore anyone else [2:41:01 AM] christian.payne23: He ignored all the questions [2:41:31 AM] christian.payne23: I want to know how they think its right they get games like The Walls, that originated somewhere else for realms. but are going to close down those servers [2:41:57 AM] christian.payne23: Without servers like hypixel, or mineplex, or thehive, mojang wont get ideas for realms, so it will fail aswell. [2:42:12 AM] bloxparadise_: Anyone have a plugin that lets you assign commands to mobs? [2:43:42 AM] aa2202aa2202: guess what [2:43:53 AM] bloxparadise_: what? [2:48:21 AM] youaresohistory1: http://imgur.com/a/ZzsYJ Add me if interested [2:50:39 AM] aa2202aa2202: youaresohistory [2:50:42 AM] aa2202aa2202: Is a scammer [2:50:43 AM] aa2202aa2202: most likely [2:50:52 AM] aa2202aa2202: He has been offering a lot of pre-built maps...... [2:50:57 AM] youaresohistory1:? [2:50:59 AM] youaresohistory1: Proof. [2:51:23 AM] aa2202aa2202: Proof that its yours [2:51:33 AM] bloxparadise_: What if he has made alot? [2:51:37 AM] youaresohistory1: Pre-built doesn't mean a scam... [2:51:45 AM] aa2202aa2202: Ahahha [2:51:46 AM] aa2202aa2202: thats funny [2:51:49 AM] aa2202aa2202: I live 20 minutes [2:51:52 AM] aa2202aa2202: from that castle [2:51:56 AM] youaresohistory1: Everytime I post, you're just like: SCAMMER! [2:52:04 AM] craig-egerton: [2:50 AM] Amir: <<< youaresohistory Is a scammer most likely He has been offering a lot of pre-built maps......he isnt a scammer [2:52:08 AM] youaresohistory1: Please provide some proof before mindlessly accusing me. [2:52:08 AM] youaresohistory1: Thanks. [2:52:34 AM] craig-egerton: pretty sure its a build team behind it [2:52:39 AM] aa2202aa2202: I said most likely [2:52:51 AM] dithrlos: as much as i hate him [2:52:51 AM] aa2202aa2202: Am 03.06.14, um 19:21 hat youaresohistory1 geschrieben: > Everytime I post, you're just like: SCAMMER! First time i said it [2:52:55 AM] dithrlos: he isn't a scamer [2:53:05 AM] dithrlos: scammer* [2:53:29 AM] aa2202aa2202: I said most likely [2:53:30 AM] aa2202aa2202: -.- [2:53:36 AM] aa2202aa2202: I was just assuming [2:53:38 AM] youaresohistory1: Really? [2:53:50 AM] ilucamc: He really isn't [2:55:04 AM] youaresohistory1: A pretty bad assumption [2:55:36 AM] craig-egerton: Amir, we where just informing you your assumption was wrong, that is all [2:56:16 AM] aa2202aa2202: yeah [2:57:01 AM] aa2202aa2202: Am 03.06.14, um 19:25 hat youaresohistory1 geschrieben: > A pretty bad assumption Not really [2:57:32 AM] aa2202aa2202: A pretty good one actually a lot of scammers around these days. [2:58:24 AM] aa2202aa2202: Especially with builds and pre build ones but however since you seem to have a good history I can say that my assumption was false [2:58:26 AM] aa2202aa2202: But i didn't really know you [2:58:27 AM] aa2202aa2202: so yeah [2:58:58 AM] youaresohistory1: So your inference from my picture was: It's prebuilt. Therefore, it's from PMC [2:59:03 AM] youaresohistory1: :P [3:00:12 AM] craig-egerton: chill guys, we are all friends here (heart) [3:00:27 AM] aa2202aa2202: Argument ends here. [3:00:33 AM] youaresohistory1: Doesn't matter. [3:09:31 AM] Erik Broes: although, Erik seems pretty confident that everyone would voluntarily pay to Realms and if they didn't it shouldn't be there, right Erik? ([16:36:07] Erik Broes: Dan: then maybe your server shouldn't be there) <-- no realms is like a GSP [3:09:50 AM] bloxparadise_: is that all you can fucking say [3:09:52 AM] bloxparadise_: quit your job [3:09:56 AM] Erik Broes: or rather; we act as a GSP which has nothing to do with microtransactions or other shit servers are pulling :) [3:10:56 AM] bloxparadise_: "other shit servers" [3:11:00 AM] bloxparadise_: seems like you're the ungrateful one [3:11:07 AM] aa2202aa2202: Erik [3:11:10 AM] aa2202aa2202: stop ignoring all points [3:11:11 AM] aa2202aa2202: scroll up [3:11:14 AM] aa2202aa2202: and REPLY To all of them [3:12:24 AM] ilucamc: Erik. Please tell me why servers shouldn't be able to accept donations? [3:13:06 AM] bloxparadise_: Because he's jealous lol [3:14:14 AM] ilucamc: I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but didn't he also say we can't be accepting profit from this? [3:15:49 AM] bloxparadise_: wouldn't doubt it [3:20:54 AM] danstoogood: [3:09 AM] Erik Broes: <<< other shit servers are pulling [3:21:36 AM] danstoogood: that is what is upsetting me [3:21:43 AM] danstoogood: you're acting as-if every server tries to rip off their players [3:22:28 AM] bloxparadise_: mojang in general upsets me in general lol [3:23:34 AM] aa2202aa2202: Wow [3:23:36 AM] aa2202aa2202:.,. [3:32:57 AM] nextinlinebro_: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WpZddamHwA&feature=youtu.be GUYS LOOK OMG [3:33:22 AM] bloxparadise_: OMG [3:33:29 AM] bloxparadise_: LOLOL [3:34:06 AM] bloxparadise_: haha i just love the background view [3:34:07 AM] bloxparadise_: of india [3:34:19 AM] ilucamc: Amazing [3:35:39 AM] shahriya96: hes hot [3:35:57 AM] bloxparadise_: lol [3:36:10 AM] youaresohistory1: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh [3:36:16 AM] bloxparadise_: Wonder how long it took to dress up XD [3:45:51 AM] publicpwner21: I love [3:45:54 AM] publicpwner21: the rainforest sounds [3:45:57 AM] publicpwner21: in the background [3:46:05 AM] publicpwner21: or whatever that shit be [3:46:33 AM] bloxparadise_: XD [3:46:54 AM] publicpwner21: he also has some really nice hair [3:48:21 AM] christian.payne23: I think erik gave up [3:49:05 AM] Erik Broes: Lol no [3:49:18 AM] Erik Broes: Learning Swedish so just busy [3:50:07 AM] bloxparadise_: I hoep you're joking [3:52:42 AM] ilucamc: Why doesn't anyone say, "is |
other side is hoping for.
When I pointed out some of these things on Facebook this weekend, the responses were generally angry, or incredulous. "Megan, you're not presenting an argument, you're just poking holes in others' arguments," said one friend. "Anyone can do that. Bottom line, how do you suggest improving things?"
The answer, I'm afraid, is that I don't. I know this is a very frustrating answer. It got me a fair amount of angry pushback on Facebook, particularly since my friends know that I am in favor of much less stringent gun control than they are. It's not surprising that they feel that I'm hiding the football--poking holes in the stuff that won't work while ignoring the stuff that will, in an attempt to deceive people into giving up on a gun control that I would oppose for entirely separate reasons.
It's true: I would oppose a total gun ban even if it were structurally and practically possible, for reasons that we can argue about later. But Mark Kleiman and Jeffrey Goldberg are not gun nuts. They are impeccably Democratic coastal liberals. As are several other academics I saw make the same point on Facebook and Twitter: nothing short of a ban is going to do much good. And America is not going to ban guns.
Short of a gun ban, there is very, very little that would stop spree killers, who are hard to deter precisely because they aren't much worried about the future; as far as I can tell, most of these things end when the killer docilely sits down and waits to be arrested, or turns the gun on himself. It's not even clear what would happen to gun violence more generally; the holocaust of violence that was supposed to follow when we liberalized concealed carry permits never materialized. The sort of people who can qualify for a legal handgun are the sort of people who are vanishingly unlikely to commit a crime with it. And the people who can't qualify, but own guns anyway... well, we've got this huge border with Mexico. We can't even keep whole people from being smuggled across it. How are we going to make sure that they don't bring guns with them?
There's a terrible syllogism that tends to follow on tragedies like this:
1. Something must be done
2. This is something
3. Therefore this must be done.
... and hello, Gulf War II.
It would certainly be more comfortable for me to endorse doing something symbolic--bring back the "assault weapons ban"--in order to signal that I care. But I would rather do nothing than do something stupid because it makes us feel better. We shouldn't have laws on the books unless we think there's a good chance they'll work: they add regulatory complexity and sap law-enforcement resources from more needed tasks. This is not because I don't care about dead children; my heart, like yours, broke about a thousand times this weekend. But they will not breathe again because we pass a law. A law would make us feel better, because it would make us feel as if we'd "done something", as if we'd made it less likely that more children would die. But I think that would be false security. And false security is more dangerous than none.
My guess is that we're going to get a law anyway, and my hope is that it will consist of small measures that might have some tiny actual effect, like restrictions on magazine capacity. I'd also like us to encourage people to gang rush shooters, rather than following their instincts to hide; if we drilled it into young people that the correct thing to do is for everyone to instantly run at the guy with the gun, these sorts of mass shootings would be less deadly, because even a guy with a very powerful weapon can be brought down by 8-12 unarmed bodies piling on him at once. Would it work? Would people do it? I have no idea; all I can say is that both these things would be more effective than banning rifles with pistol grips.
But I doubt we're going to tell people to gang rush mass shooters, because that would involve admitting that there is no mental health service or "reasonable gun control" which is going to prevent all of these attacks. Which is to say, admitting that we have no box big enough to completely contain evil.Can Trump Show A Nation He Cares?
Enlarge this image toggle caption Evan Vucci/AP Evan Vucci/AP
On Jan. 28, 1986, President Ronald Reagan was supposed to deliver the State of the Union.
Instead, he made a very different address to the nation that day, one that would transform the role of president, making it mandatory thereafter that presidents serve as consoler-in-chief.
Hours earlier, the Challenger space shuttle exploded with seven on board, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe's presence meant that millions of schoolchildren were watching that morning live. Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, who drafted the speech, has said she knew the remarks needed to appeal to young and old. The last line would put the address in the history books.
"We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning," Reagan said with a somber glint in his eye and an eyebrow raised, "as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God."
Speeches after tragedies present a special challenge for American presidents. It's one President Trump faces Tuesday in Texas, where he is set to witness the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey. The historic storm has dumped feet of rain on Houston and surrounding areas, leaving several reported dead so far and many more trapped, as the rains have yet to cease.
This will be Trump's first test as consoler-in-chief, and it's not a role he has much experience with. Empathy is not what this president is known for.
"After a large natural disaster, the presidents who have the most success are the ones who express the right mix of compassion and competence," said Brian Jones, a veteran political adviser, who worked on the 2004 Bush campaign and at the Republican National Committee. Trump has "had challenges, at times, showing the right level of compassion and showing the right level of competence, too. He's resonating with the base, but he hasn't broadened it out."
Trump took one trip to a disaster area as a candidate for president a year ago. He helped distribute a truckload of supplies in Louisiana for victims of the worst flooding since Superstorm Sandy. But the event wasn't much more than a photo op.
"It's a great place," Trump said then. "I've had a great history with Louisiana. They need a lot of help. What's happened here is incredible. Nobody understands how bad it is. I'm just here to help."
As president, more will be expected of him Tuesday.
Looking to presidents in times of tragedy
Enlarge this image toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Joe Raedle/Getty Images
American presidents are looked to as parental figures, to be unifying moral guides, especially in times of crisis.
Back to Lincoln at Gettysburg, presidents have used speeches to steel resolve in times of crisis.
Roosevelt told Americans after Pearl Harbor "their righteous might will win through to absolute victory."
After Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson urged the country to persevere. "Let us continue," he said.
Reagan's Challenger speech, because of the writing and delivery, historians say, is the marker for when Americans then expected their presidents to feel their pain after tragedies.
George W. Bush, standing on the rubble of ground zero after Sept. 11, bullhorn in hand, channeled the country's defiant anger and said the people responsible "would hear all of us soon."
Bill Clinton tried to comfort and reassure in 1995 after the Oklahoma City bombing. "You have not lost America, for we will stand with you," he said, adding an anecdote about a dogwood tree planted at the White House in honor of the children who died. "My friends, a tree takes a long time to grow," he said, "and wounds take a long time to heal, but we must begin."
Barack Obama made many speeches after tragedy and even sang "Amazing Grace" in church after parishioners were killed in Charleston, S.C.
Presidents need to understand the optics, own the message and empathize, but after natural disasters, words are not enough. They need to understand the role and capabilities of the federal agencies at their disposal.
The obvious parallel the Trump administration is trying to avoid is Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina. He failed on the optics and substance.
A photo of Bush looking out the window of Air Force One to survey damage made him look aloof — even though, as his White House pointed out, Bush had good reason not to land Air Force One, and the president wanted an aerial view to capture the full magnitude of the devastation.
On substance, Bush's praise of FEMA administrator Michael Brown, whom he said was doing "a heck of a job," was disconnected from the reality on the ground.
"His [Trump's] talents, he says, are organization and deal-making," said Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. "Will he be able to do that at the federal level with the government coordinating with nonprofits, NGOs and state government to help people and alleviate the suffering? Of all places, this is where his business experience he has been touting has to come to the fore now and show real results."
Complicating matters for Trump, he is at a low point in his presidency. His poll numbers are suffering, and Trump's response to racist violence in Charlottesville, Va., was widely panned.
Perry sees a parallel in this moment to Clinton and Oklahoma City in 1995. Clinton was coming off a devastating midterm defeat with Democrats losing the House for the first time in 40 years.
"Bill Clinton was being viewed as diminishing, diminished and shrinking," Perry said, noting that the broadcast networks had even turned down a Clinton request to hold a prime-time news conference. He had his back up against the wall as does Trump."
But Clinton's Oklahoma City memorial speech helped burnish his reputation as a president who could feel your pain and helped his presidency rebound.
"Clinton did that so well," Perry said. "It became cliché that Clinton could feel people's pain, but he was good at that. And it's not just optics, but people believed he really did feel their pain."
In other words, it's not just the words but sincerity. That's something Trump has struggled to convey beyond his base. Trump seems most comfortable in his unscripted, wide-ranging rallies, not in scripted, teleprompter-read remarks.
"He made a connection to people having a tough time," Jones said of Trump's campaign. "He knows how to relate to people. Can he turn that on again? Can he express the right level of empathy? He did a good job with people disaffected, frustrated with the system. It was an 'I understand your pain' type of thematic. He needs to tap into that kind of sentiment," but for more than just his supporters.
What Trump needs to do
Showing up is the first, right step for Trump, strategists say.
"President Trump is doing the right thing by going to Texas," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked for Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. "Nothing can replace seeing a disaster firsthand."
But Trump needs to remain singularly focused and not get distracted by side controversies or make it too much about himself.
"Whenever a president visits a disaster site or meets with victims of a tragedy, it's important that he not make the visit about him," Conant said. "Shifting focus away from the real heroes and victims would not only be counterproductive, but could quickly become a political problem. Keep the focus on those most impacted by the storm and what can be done to help. The country is united behind the people impacted by this storm. As terrible as the storm is, hopefully Trump can channel our nation's unity and goodwill into something positive."
Kevin Madden, a former senior adviser to Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns, echoed that.
"If you look back at the 'big moments' that occurred with presidents dealing with tragedies or crises, the common element was the ability to offer reassurance, providing a watchful nation a sense of calm and unity of purpose," Madden said. "For Trump, the key here will be blocking out distractions and keeping his words and deeds squarely focused on the rescue missions, the humanitarian relief and economic recovery that needs to take place. It can't be about him or taking credit, but instead it has to be focused on the task at hand and the plight of all of those affected by the storm."
For many, this crisis is far from over, and that means the federal government's response will be scrutinized beyond early remarks from the president.
"Those remarks should be inclusive, healing and aspirational in terms of focus on the future," GOP strategist Phil Musser said. But Trump also has to show "command of the situation — the operational tick-tock — that demonstrates that the leader of the government is in charge, focused on the challenge and resolving it as quickly as possible, and on top of things. Being on the ground, at the crisis, and meeting with key leaders — while not letting the trappings of the traveling White House mess up recovery — is the right thing to do. Message: We care!
"If Trump can accomplish both of those it will be an important moment for his young presidency."A row has broken out between Slovenia and Austria over the name of a sausage.
Slovenia wants the Kranjska klobasa, or Krainer sausage, to be given protected EU status, similar to Parmesan, champagne and the Cornish pasty.
It says the sausage, made of minced pork and seasoned with garlic and pepper, was invented in northern Slovenia in the 19th Century.
But that has upset Austria, where a cheese-filled variation of the sausage, the Kaesekrainer, is a great favourite.
Slovenia is applying to the European Commission for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, because of the meat's connection to the Kranjska region.
If successful, only sausages produced in Slovenia to the traditional recipe will be able to call themselves Kranjska or Krainer.
But when the sausage was invented the area was part of the multi-national Austro-Hungarian Empire known in German as Krain and in English as Carniola.
But this is no ordinary sausage, it is a Krainer sausage! Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria
Austria's chamber of commerce, patent office and agriculture ministry say they have joined together to challenge Slovenia's bid.
They say the loss of the Kaesekrainer name would be an economic blow to sausage producers and to Austria's cultural heritage.
Josef Bitzinger from the Vienna Chamber of Commerce says the idea of a Vienna sausage stand without a Kaesekrainer is unthinkable. "To rename this beloved speciality is simply impossible," he said in a statement.
"Vienna sausage stands are a trademark of the city and Kaesekrainers have to be on offer. Frankfurter sausages are called Wiener Wuerstel in Germany and that is not a problem."
Image caption Viennese officials argue that the decision to add cheese to the sausage was an Austrian idea
According to Mr Bitzinger, the decision to add cheese to the Krainer sausage was an Austrian invention, dating back to the 1980s.
In its application for PGI status, Slovenia admits that it was the Austro-Hungarian Empire that helped spread the fame of the sausage.
The application even refers to the "picturesque tale" of Emperor Franz Joseph, who tasted the sausage at a coaching inn on the way from Vienna to Trieste. When the emperor asked the innkeeper what was on the menu, the man replied: "We have only ordinary house sausages, nothing else."
When the emperor tried it, "he exclaimed enthusiastically in German: 'But this is no ordinary sausage, it is a Krainer sausage!'"
But Austria and Slovenia's shared history may not necessarily make it easier to find a solution.
If they cannot work out their differences over the next six months, the European Commission will take matters into its own hands and make a ruling.GENEVA (Reuters) - Tackling the global obesity epidemic will require governments to take similar action to that many used to curb smoking, a top researcher said on Wednesday.
Two audience members watch the 2007 "Farm Aid" concert in New York September 9, 2007. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
This could include regulations that restrict how companies market “junk” food to children and requirements for schools to serve healthy meals, said Professor Boyd Swinburn, a public health researcher who works with the World Health Organisation.
“The brakes on the obesity epidemic need to be policy-led and governments need to take centre stage,” Swinburn, a researcher at Deakin University in Australia, told Reuters at the 2008 European Congress on Obesity.
“Governments have to lead the way they did with the tobacco epidemic. We need hard-hitting messages.”
Action is urgent because, aside from sub-Saharan Africa, nearly every country has suffered a dramatic rise in the number of obese people in the past 30 years. That increase has likely been a tripling in many industrialized nations, he said.
The World Health Organisation classifies around 400 million people around the world as obese, 20 million of them children under the age of five.
Obesity raises the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart problems, and is a problem that is piling pressure on already overburdened national health systems.
Swinburn says the food industry has largely driven the epidemic with a stream of processed products that are cheaper and better-tasting but filled with unhealthy ingredients.
Lack of physical fitness and exercise, while important, have played only a small role in explaining why the number of obese people has soared in recent decades, he said.
“Commercial drivers around food have been the biggest influence over the past 30 years,” he said. “The product, the price, the promotion and the placement has changed dramatically.
Swinburn urged governments to introduce policies similar to those taken against smoking. These have included tightly controlled marketing to children and regulations warning of the dangers of smoking on cigarette packages.
Obesity is persistent despite people being increasingly aware of the risks of being overweight, demonstrating the problem requires direct government intervention, he said.
“Governments have a number of ways to influence the behaviors of a population,” Swinburn said.
Among anti-obesity measures taken, New York has banned artery-clogging trans-fats from city restaurants and is forcing fast-food chains to display calorie counts on their menu boards.
Britain plans to spend 75 million pounds ($145 million) on a campaign encouraging healthy lifestyles as part of a wider anti-obesity strategy including compulsory cooking lessons for children and the promotion of exercise.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lady Gaga, whose videos have been streamed two billion times, has criticised YouTube
YouTube has said it has paid the music industry $1bn (£794m) in royalties this year - but record companies have responded by claiming it is not enough.
The spat began on Tuesday, when YouTube's chief business officer Robert Kyncl posted a blog highlighting the site's contribution to the industry.
He said YouTube had distributed $1bn in advertising royalties alone, arguing that "free" streaming was as important as subscription sites like Spotify.
But record labels were not impressed.
"Google has issued more unexplained numbers on what it claims YouTube pays the music industry," said a spokesperson for the global music body, the IFPI.
"The announcement gives little reason to celebrate, however. With 800 million music users worldwide, YouTube is generating revenues of just over $1 per user for the entire year.
"This pales in comparison to the revenue generated by other services, ranging from Apple to Deezer to Spotify. For example, in 2015 Spotify alone paid record labels some $2bn, equivalent to an estimated $18 per user."
In his blog post, Mr Kyncl conceded that the current model was not perfect, arguing: "There is a lot of work that must be done by YouTube and the industry as a whole.
"But we are excited to see the momentum," he added.
Image copyright YouTube Image caption Nine of the 10 most-watched clips on YouTube are music videos, topped by Psy's Gangnam Style
The music industry has targeted YouTube - and other free streaming sites - as their villains du jour.
They say YouTube does not pay a fair rate to musicians and record labels, and is slow to police illegal and pirated material uploaded by its users - a claim which YouTube disputes.
The rhetoric intensified this year as YouTube's licensing agreements with the three major record labels - Sony, Warner and Universal - came up for renewal.
The industry has also pushed for reforms to the "safe harbour" laws, which mean YouTube and other similar sites cannot be penalised when users upload copyrighted material - including full albums - provided they remove it on request.
Artists like Lady Gaga, Sir Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Abba have all written to the US Congress asking for the law to be changed.
YouTube recently hired former Warner Music executive Lyor Cohen as its head of music, a move which was widely interpreted as an attempt to smooth relations with the music industry.
He took up his post on Monday, 24 hours before Kyncl's blog post was published.
However, the IFPI has maintained its position, saying in a statement that YouTube is still "not paying artists and producers anything like a fair rate for music".
It continued: "This highlights more than ever the need for legislative action to address the 'value gap' that is denying music rights holders a fair return for their work."
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.A few years ago, while discussing seer stones with Steve Sorensen, he mentioned that there was an obscure reference in someone’s papers that gave a formula for how to make a seer stone and that wasn’t in Quinn’s Early Mormonism and the Magic World View. Later that day he forwarded me his notes from the John Steele collection (MS 1847) at the Church Archives (now Church History Library) and it was like nothing I’d ever seen before.
I was reminded of these notes by Matt, Steve, and Mark’s recent discussion of Brooke’s Refiner’s Fire and thought now would be as good a time as any to share them here with the reminder that the reader should consult the original record before undertaking any serious examination of the material as I have not verified their accuracy, but I present them here having a healthy measure of trust in Steve as a faithful transmitter of the information. That I could tell from a quick perusal, this is indeed not in Quinn. Quinn does, however, talk at length about other aspects of John Steele’s career as an adherent to astrology and charm-making. For a brief biography see here.
Interestingly, Quinn’s information on Steele seems to come from collections held at the Harold B. Lee Library Special Collections at BYU while this material comes from a collection at the CHL. Likely this material was not available at the time Quinn was researching.
Here are the notes (which I reproduce here just as Steve sent them to me):
?For the preparation of the glass (of vasion) Dip the glass in watter 3 times after washing your self in watter all over then: you place it in your wright hand in the first hower of the moon in the hower Gabriel with your face to the East & thus pray In the name of the Ever blessed Holy trinnity Father Son & Holy gost by the power of all that is good Both in heven & on Earth as far as it can assist me to prepare & purify this christal that when Ever it shall be lawfully used that it may be purified and be a consecrated placed fit to receive thy minastring angle of Light O God that the may have power to show a clear true & perfect vision of any innocent nature that may be Called of them to show in the name of Jeusu Christ and the Glory shall be thine o God & Consecrate me thy Servant that I may live a pure & holy life before thee that I may have power with thee that my pettetions may be answered by thee through the ministering angles of light thata any lost property that I pettetion thee about that I may be prepared to receive an answer there from in the nme of Jesus Christ Amen?
?Concretation of a Charge for a glass?
?In the name of the Ever blessed holy trinity Father Son & Holy gost & in the name of Jesus Christ I ask thee to assist me with thy Heavenly hosts and let one of thy ministering Angles of light come to this glass & show in it a clear true & a perfect vission of what me or my Friend... desire to know And Let know Evil power may have powere to obstruct the light & the glory shal be unto thee O Father & to the Son & to the Holy gost Amen?
?A Dis charge for a glass?
“I thank the o Father in Heaven for the privalige though thou has bestowed upon me in calling upon one of thy ministering angles of light & that thou has answered my pettetion through him I now dismiss this Angle that it may go to its place & to its office & to the holy orders & callings untill I have a privilige or occation of to call uponthee again I dismiss thee in pease in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the holy gost and in the name of Jesus Christ Amen?
For good measure, here is one of Steele’s explanations for how to recover lost property, again from the notes. Quinn mentions in passing Steele’s “charm ‘ To find the thief and make them bring back the things stolen” but does not elaborate (292).
?To find Stolen property, and make the thief bring back the Stolen property you must Set down the day hour and minute, as near as possible, when the goods ware Stolen, name the plannets ruling the day and hour, this being done Set down the following charactures?
?Then turn round three times, and if you haear no news of the Thief in 44 hours, as ten to one you will then prick the paper full of holes and hang it up in a Chimney whare it will keep warm and the heat of the fire scorch it a little and the Thief will be Tormented in mind and body and bring back the goods?
Now, if you were thinking of making a “Now I know what our next FHE activity will be” joke, consider yourself beaten to the punch.
Seriously, though, I think this is a fascinating description of the making and even the unmaking of a seer stone (or, glass of vision–admittedly, “seer stone” is not mentioned in the record and is my imposition on the description) and fairly unique. Steele, from what I can gather from Quinn, seems to have been an especially public example of this type of activity, and Quinn seems to want to argue that his increasing status in the Mormon community (bishop, community leader, patriarch) implies, if not approval, at least ambivalence to his practices by Church leaders. Whatever the case there, what are your thoughts on these excerpts? Also, thinking in terms of Mormon folk beliefs (and practices), have you heard anything in recent memory concerning the contemporary use, existence, or even making of seer stones or other visionary or divinatory objects?
Note: If you decide to check this source out further (there is no indication in the notes where in the collection these excerpts are) and use it, if you first saw it here, please do give credit to Steve Sorensen for assistance in locating the source.As Congress debates how to meet the nation’s long-term transportation needs, decaying roads, bridges, railroads and transit systems are costing the United States $129 billion a year, according to a report issued Wednesday by a professional group whose members are responsible for designing and building such infrastructure.
Complex calculations done for the American Society of Civil Engineers indicate that infrastructure deficiencies add $97 billion a year to the cost of operating vehicles and result in travel delays that cost $32 billion.
“If investments in surface transportation infrastructure are not made soon, these costs are expected to grow exponentially,” the ASCE said. “Within 10 years, U.S. businesses would pay an added $430 billion in transportation costs, household incomes would fall by more than $7,000, and U.S. exports will fall by $28 billion.”
Deterioration of the U.S. transportation system has been likened to an iceberg, with just the tip of an enormous obstacle to economic growth showing above the surface. The ASCE report contends that infrastructure failure already is dramatically affecting travel and commerce.
It is the latest of several reports to predict dire consequences if the nation does not swiftly address the need to rebuild 60-year-old highway systems and rail lines often far older than that.
In May, a report by the Urban Land Institute warned that the United States is falling behind three emerging economic competitors: Brazil, China and India. The institute’s report put in global perspective an issue addressed last year by 80 experts led by former transportation secretaries Norman Y. Mineta and Samuel K. Skinner. That group concluded that as much as $262 billion a year must be spent on U.S. highways, rail networks and air transportation systems.
The infrastructure crisis is not lost on Congress, but Republicans who control the House and Democrats who control the Senate have different ideas about how to address it.
Unable to agree on long-term aviation funding, Congress proved incapable last week of passing a simple extension of current funding levels, something it has done 20 times since funding for the Federal Aviation Administration expired in 2007. The agency has been operating in a partial shutdown since midnight Friday, losing an estimated $30 million a day in airline ticket tax revenue.
There is an equally deep divide between the two houses on a long-term plan for funding surface transportation.
House Republicans favor a six-year plan that would provide about $35 billion a year, an amount that transportation committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-Fla.) says can be leveraged into about $75 billion through a variety of means, including public-private partnerships.
Mica calls a two-year, $109 billion funding proposal that has won bipartisan support in the Senate “a recipe for bankruptcy” of the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which bankrolls surface transportation.
Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (W.Va.), ranking Democrat on Mica’s committee, said the ASCE report underscored the folly of efforts to “do more with less.”
“Today’s report provides the cold hard truth that America’s economic recovery and long-term competitiveness will suffer if we continue to under-invest in our future,” Rahall said. “Slashing investments by one-third, as Republicans have proposed to do, will make the economic impact on America’s middle class even worse than the grim predictions by the economists in this report.”
The ASCE report predicted that without infrastructure investment, 870,000 jobs would be lost and economic growth would be stifled to the tune of $3.1 trillion by 2020. To avert that, the report says, will require an investment of about $1.7 trillion by 2020. It estimated the gap between what is being spent and what needs to be spent at $94 billion a year.
“The link between a nation’s infrastructure and its economic competitiveness has always been understood,” said Kathy J. Caldwell, president of the ASCE. “But today, for the first time, we have data showing how much failing to invest in our surface transportation system can negatively impact job growth and family budgets.”
Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the necessary spending was “not just transportation for transportation’s sake.”
“Without more robust economic growth, the U.S. will not create the 20 million jobs needed in the next decade to replace those lost during the recession and to keep up with a growing workforce,” he said.
Ultimately, Americans would get paid less, the ASCE report says. The economy would lose jobs, and the paychecks of those who are able to find work would be cut by nearly 30 percent.
The cost of a crumbling transportation system was described by Steven Landau of Boston’s Economic Development Research Group, which did the research for the ASCE.
“Business will have to divert increasing portions of earned income to pay for transportation delays and vehicle repairs, draining money that would otherwise be invested in innovation and expansion,” Landau said.Candace Cameron Bure Defends Homophobic Bakery On “The View” (Raven-Symoné’s Not Having It)
Appearing as a guest co-host on The View, Candace Cameron Bure (proving the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree of her homophobic brother, Kirk) defended the bakery shop owners who were fined $135K for refusing service to a lesbian couple.
“To me it’s the exact same thing they did back in the day saying that black people couldn’t do certain things because it is my religious belief,” newly appointed co-host Raven-Symoné began before being cut off by a hand-waving Cameron Bure.
“I think you are comparing apples to oranges here,” she interjected.
This elicited Symoné’s first of many side-eyes:
“I don’t think this is about discrimination at all,” Cameron Bure continued. “This is about freedom of association. It’s about constitutional rights. It’s about first amendment rights. We do have the right to still choose who we associate with…”
Symoné then verbally sucker-punched Cameron Bure, cutting her off to tell her: “I refuse to associate myself with you right now. Is that okay?”
“It’s in the constitution,” Cameron Bure continued, undaunted. “They have a problem with the actual ceremony because that conflicted with their religious beliefs.”
“But were they invited to the wedding?” Whoopi asked.
“Well, no,” Cameron Bure admitted before continuing on her tirade.
Best quote:
Symoné: “If you’re going to be a religious party or if you’re going to be somebody that believes in an almighty being, you should be respectful from the get-go.” Cameron Bure: “But they were respectful. They were…” Symoné: “… Mm. Mmmm. Say-me-na petoo, petoo, petoo.” Cameron Bure: “Don’t shush me!” Symoné: “I said petoo!”
Then God Whoopi shut it all down, telling them to “put the fingers down.”
Watch the tense exchange go down below.UPDATE: George Lucas has released a statement regarding his comments about Disney and Star Wars that ruffled some feathers in a December 25 interview with Charlie Rose. Here it is in full:
“I want to clarify my interview on the Charlie Rose Show. It was for the Kennedy Center Honors and conducted prior to the premiere of the film. I misspoke and used a very inappropriate analogy and for that I apologize.
I have been working with Disney for 40 years and chose them as the custodians of Star Wars because of my great respect for the company and Bob Iger’s leadership. Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise. I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks. Most of all I’m blown away with the record breaking blockbuster success of the new movie and am very proud of JJ and Kathy.”
PREVIOUS, WEDNESDAY, 4:32 PM: Star Wars creator George Lucas sat down with Charlie Rose to talk about the franchise’s legacy — and he appears to be a little bitter with what Disney did with it. Late in the interview, when the filmmaker was musing about the protocols of “breakups,” he let slip — and quickly laughed off — a line that has raised a few eyebrows and rankles. After agreeing that the first six Star Wars films are his “kids,” Lucas referred his $4 billion deal with Disney: “I love [the movies], I created them, I’m very intimately involved in them, and I sold them to the white slavers that take these things and …” — with a rather nervous laugh, he trailed off.
Rose lets him off the hook and moves on. (That awkward moment is at the two-minute mark of the clip above and at about the 50-minute mark in the full video posted below.)
About a minute later, Lucas said of Disney: “They wanted to do a retro movie. I don’t like that. I like — every movie, I worked very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships — you know, to make it new. … You do end up with this thing, which is, you know, you gotta live with it. People are gonna talk about it and all that kind of stuff. It’s like talking about your divorce or something. It’s just awkward, but it’s not painful.”
Earlier in their interview, Lucas laments about “two things that got abused” with the original Star Wars film from 1977. “One, when Star Wars came out, everyone said, ‘Oh it’s just a silly movie with a bunch of space battles and stuff. It’s not real. There’s nothing behind it.’ And I said … ‘There’s more to it than that. It’s much more complicated than that.’ But nobody would listen. … So the spaceships and that part of the science fantasy, whatever, got terribly abused. And of course, everybody went out and made spaceship movies. And they were all horrible, and they all lost tons of money. … The other thing that got abused — naturally in a capitalist society, especially in American point of view — the studios said, ‘Wow, we can make a lot of money. This is a license to kill.’ And they did it. And of course the only way you can do that is to not take chances. Only do something that proven.”
Here’s the full interview:In a move that no one saw coming, Pretty Little Liars added a new ridiculous love affair to the story.
The end of Pretty Little Liars season 5, episode 15, “Fresh Meat,” may have left a few of the viewers saying, “Huh?” when Ashley, Hannah’s mother, presumably slept with none other than Jason DiLaurentis. It’s a hookup that is not only ridiculous but makes zero sense for Ashley’s character development over the years.
We understand that this is a teen soap opera and that romance will always have a huge presence on the show, but we just wish the pairings were more well thought out. It seems like the writers went and said, “Who would be the most ridiculous person for Jason to hook up with?” or just picked Ashley’s name out of a hat with all of the female characters in it.
Now that the main characters have been focusing more on “A” instead of their love lives, we guess it only made sense that the writers felt the need to shake things up with the supporting |
excellent spots to look for antlers as are creek and ditch crossings. “Remember to obtain permission from landowners before hunting sheds,” Wagner said. “Go with a partner, walk slowly so as not to miss them and take a plastic bucket along to carry the antlers.” Now, let me add a bit more info to what Jerry had in that news release.
I think folks such as myself who are serious about finding shed deer antlers should gear into (or around) what I call the “special” days to hunt at spaced intervals. These are President’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th), April Fool’s Day (April 1st) and Tax Deadline Day (April 15th). Going more often though is better!
Regarding weather, believe it or not, rainy days are great for finding sheds because they can shine and catch your eye. Also, I don’t let snow cover stop me from shed hunting either as the antlers (or parts thereof) can stand out and be easier to spot!
Do I use my game cameras in shed antler hunting? You bet! Install those digital game cameras close to areas where the deer are feeding. Trails that enter or exit fields are ideal places to put the cameras. Once you see one-antlered bucks on the cameras, begin the shed hunting.
The biggest mistake people make in shed antler hunting is to haphazardly walk around with no plan to cover a given tract of land. Coordinate efforts to make certain all ground is searched and it’s even a good idea to use binoculars in the process.
Shed antlers are a renewable, recyclable resource. Shed deer antler hunting is an outdoor activity the whole family can enjoy. It’s a fantastic way to get kids more interested in the outdoors and truly experience “hands-on” nature. To me, shed antler hunting is one of the best ways to excuse yourself from having to help with spring cleaning, HA!Milk Filmmakers To Attend Gay Film Festival In Russia Despite Bomb Threats
Director, Gus Van Sant, and Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to attend screening of their film, Milk, at LGBT Film Festival in Russia.
The Side by Side LGBT Film Festival being held in St. Petersburg, Russia has already faced two bomb threats.
On November 30th, this year’s Side by Side LGBT Film Festival being held in St. Petersburg, Russia will screen the critically acclaimed film, Milk. The film’s director, Gus Van Sant, screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, and producer Bruce Cohen will be in attendance for a Q & A post screening.
Last week, the festival’s opening night screening had to be delayed due to a bomb threat. Two days later, another bomb threat pushed back the night’s screening. The festival still continues on despite these threats and protesters that are picketing the festival.
Cohen tells GLAAD that the screening of Milk is especially timely due to Russia’s recent anti-gay laws…
“Time and again we’ve broken down the barriers between us by sharing our cinematic achievements. Our hope in screening the 2009 Academy Award winning film Milk — about the late civil rights leader, Harvey Milk — is to encourage respectful conversations that might create deeper understanding.”
Milk tells the triumphant story of the first openly gay person to be elected into public office in California. At the 2009 Oscars, Milk won two awards. One for Sean Penn for Best Actor and one for Dustin Lance Black for Best Original Screenplay.
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rukkle participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to Amazon. This means that whenever you buy a product on Amazon from a link here, I get a small percentage of its price. That helps support rukkle by offsetting a fraction of what it takes to maintain the site, and is very much appreciated.Murder defendant William Morva, right, listens as one of his defense attorney Tom Blaylock, left, interviews prospective jurors in Washington County Circuit Court in Abingdon Va. Tuesday March 4 2008. (AP Photo / Matt Gentry, POOL)
William Morva went to jail with a reputation as a particularly ineffectual criminal.
In 2005, the Virginian was arrested after showing up at a grocery store he apparently intended to rob and then walking away when he realized the doors were locked. A clerk called the cops, leading to Morva's arrest, along with that of an accomplice. Morva was hospitalized before going on trial —for multiple botched stick-up jobs—and managed to steal a gun from a cop prior to killing a security guard. He also shot and killed a sheriff's deputy before being arrested in a ditch.
On Thursday, the 35-year-old is scheduled to die by lethal injection. His advocates say the controversial punishment is particularly egregious in Morva's case because the jury that convicted him was not told he's unable to separate delusion from reality. (The state maintains he merely suffers from personality disorders, as disclosed at trial.) What's more, his lethal injection is also set to include a sedative with a reputation for leaving inmates screaming in agony during their final moments.
But perhaps most remarkable as the Associated Press reports, is that the public won't even be able to see key moments before Morva's death. It's just the latest chapter in America's long love affair with killing convicts, often in the least transparent way possible.
Meet the Florida prosecutor who refused to seek out the death penalty.
In the past, witnesses would have been able to see a Virginia prisoner walk into the execution chamber and get strapped down. A curtain might obscure the actual insertion of the IV, but at least witnesses would hear the condemned inmate's last words before any chemicals went through those tubes. But as a result of a recent change to Virginia's execution protocol, media members and attorneys will only catch a glimpse of Morva after the IV is inserted.
"This is being done in the public's name and they have a right to know if the execution is proceeding in a way that violates the constitution," an attorney for Morva told the AP.
At least part of the concern over the protocol change stems from the fact that several high-profile executions have gone horribly wrong in recent years, and increased secrecy could potentially be a way to curtail public outcry if trouble arises durings Morva's final moments.
American's fondness for capital punishment has been complicated by a major shortfall in execution drugs over the past decade. Intent on keeping things on schedule, a handful of states in recent years have tried out a new cocktail that includes midazolam, a common sedative that's supposed to knock people out for a painless death. But in January 2014, a Ohio man who was given the drug "struggled and gasped" for longer than was typical, according to the New York Times.
That was just the beginning.
Another Oklahoma inmate who received an injection of a cocktail including midazolam in April of that year "blew" a vein and suffered such a brutal death that curtains had to be closed for witnesses. That same July, an Arizona prisoner who was given midazolam took almost two hours to die, even though lethal injection normally takes around 15 minutes.
The US Supreme Court eventually decided to weigh in on whether use of the sedative constituted "cruel and unusual punishment," but the justices ultimately decided midazolam was fair game in a 5-4 decision. Samuel Alito, for his part, blamed anti-death penalty activists for causing the drug shortage in the first place and for forcing states to use midazolam as an alternative.
Robert Blecker, a death penalty advocate who teaches at New York Law School, told me Thursday that America shouldn't be using drugs at all and should stick to the tried and true method of the firing squad. Except, that is, for the traditional part where one shooter has blanks in their gun, so no one knows who actually fired the fatal shot. That way, Becker reasons, Americans would at least be honest about what's going on when the criminal justice system kills someone.
"Lethal injection medicalizes what it should be an unambiguous punishment," Blecker told me. "The fact that the FDA is approving these drugs is ridiculous because they're poisons. These people want a painless death that looks like a medical procedure."
(Some states have, in fact, flirted with a return to the firing squad in recent years.)
As people continue to debate whether drugs like midazolam should be injected into wards of the state, the family of the slain sheriff's deputy in the Virginia case is still divided over whether Morva should be executed at all. Eric E. Sutphin's mother has said only the death penalty will give her a sense of justice, while his daughter wrote Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who is perhaps best known as a longtime supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, asking him to grant clemency.
"I am against the death penalty for religious and moral reasons," she wrote the Richmond Times-Dispatch in an email. "I have fought and will continue to fight for clemency for all death row inmates until Virginia declares the death penalty unconstitutional."
On Thursday afternoon, McAuliffe's office released a statement clarifying that the execution would go ahead as scheduled at 9 PM local time.
Follow Allie Conti on Twitter.Microsoft is killing off the use of its Metro design name to describe a tiled interface in Windows Phone and Windows 8. We brought you news of the change earlier today, but a tipster has provided an internal memo sent to Microsoft employees confirming the move. In it, Microsoft reveals that "discussions with an important European partner" led to the decision to "discontinue the use" of the Metro branding for Windows 8 and other Microsoft products — one that employees must adhere to immediately.
The Windows team is "working on a replacement term" according to the memo, "and plans to land on that by the end of this week." Until then, employees have been advised to refer to the Metro style user interface as the "Windows 8 style UI." The memo was distributed to employees earlier this week, so we expect to hear official news about the Metro replacement by the weekend.
Microsoft has used the Metro branding as a codename for its typography-based design language. The company has used a number of elements from the design language across its Windows 8 and Windows Phone products, as well as the recently released Office 2013 preview.Since the financial crisis of 2008, there has been a robust, and at times heated, debate among economists over the proper role of activist fiscal policy—not just in a slump, but in an economy like ours, that’s been in recovery for years. No one has been more active in that debate than Nobel economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.
“How many people, I wonder,” Krugman recently asked, “even among economists who have eagerly taken sides in the austerity debate, have a sense of what the overall picture looks like since the great turn to austerity in 2010?”
Thus the man who has most eagerly taken the anti-“austerity” side of the debate sets us up for the Big Picture—the bracing, visual proof that he was right all along about the need for much more government spending. And here it is.
Paul Krugman’s Figure
Looking at 33 advanced countries over four years, from 2010 to 2013, Krugman plots the change in real gross domestic product (GDP) against real government purchases. They clearly move together. “Does this picture,” he then asks triumphantly and rhetorically, “make you think that Keynesian economics is nonsense?”
What you’re supposed to say is “no.” Governments clearly must spend more when growth is poor to get the economy back on track. And lest we think that this conclusion might be unscientific, Krugman tells us that the t-statistic—a measure of how likely his finding is real rather than dumb luck—is 7.7. A t-statistic of 1.96 means that it’s only 5% likely that the relationship between changes in growth and government purchases is spurious; Krugman’s t-statistic is a whopping four times higher so there is virtually no chance that he is wrong.
Right?
Wrong.
Though he could easily have done so, Krugman decided not to look at whether monetary policy mattered. What is remarkable about this is that eminently respectable economists had been pointing out this failure for years. “Why do Keynesians,” Scott Sumner asked on his blog, “show cross-sectional graphs of fiscal austerity and growth, mixing in countries that have their own independent monetary policy with those that do not?” Why indeed. Sumner’s point is that countries that have independent monetary policy can, in principle, offset fiscal drag with more accommodative monetary policy.
So is he right? Can they? Let’s see.
Below, on the right, I re-do Krugman’s figure for advanced countries with independent monetary policies. This is important, since crisis-hit Eurozone countries can’t use monetary policy.
Lo and behold, Krugman’s spending-growth relationship collapses entirely (the line actually slopes, insignificantly, in the opposite direction). This is just as Sumner would have expected. So much for Krugman’s t-statistic.
Krugman, the objective, model-driven economist behind the blog named “The Conscience of a Liberal,” has been relentless in his criticism of political bias and closed-mindedness among economists on the right since the crisis—rightly, in many cases. It is hard to be honest and to claim to have learned nothing new, since the crisis, about how economic policy works—or doesn’t work. I certainly underestimated how powerful monetary policy could be at the zero interest rate bound—but this could hardly be denied after the experience of 2013, in which a massive Fed asset purchase program (which followed on the backs of programs in commercial paper, etc.) offset a massive fiscal crunch.
“Sorry, guys,” Krugman wrote in April that year, “but as a practical matter the Fed—while it should be doing more—can’t make up for contractionary fiscal policy in the face of a depressed economy.” But it did.
Sorry, Paul, but your chicken-soup theory of monetary policy—it probably won’t help, but it couldn’t hurt—is not only frivolous, but wrong. Would you like to see the t-statistic?Online comments frustrate a lot of people, but few people have ever gone to the lengths of one Regina man to end a debate in the comments section.
Neil McDonald was perusing the City of Regina Facebook page when he came across a thread of people arguing over snow removal. One woman posted a picture of a car walled in by a city snowplow. A debate quickly surfaced about whose responsibility it is to move cars so city plows can do their job.
McDonald decided posting in the comments section was not enough. He admits he "internet creeped their address, drove across town to their place, and dug them out."
He then posted the evidence.
McDonald's post started spreading on Facebook and he received a lot of feedback from people.
"I was taken aback by some of the things these people were saying," he said. "Some people were suggesting that I was Father Winter, or some sort of yeti messiah. One guy even wrote that I was like Batman with a shovel — all very flattering but couldn't be further from the truth."
'Winter sucks without a doubt, but just do it. Dig out your car, your neighbour's, but don't feel like you have to enjoy it." -—Neil McDonald
McDonald told CBC he hates winter.
"Everything that I love — sunshine, bicycle rides, picnics, bare feet — are all lost to me for six months of the year. And by me suggesting online that people just get out there and dig each other out after a snowfall, the last thing that I wanted to suggest is that we enjoy it. Winter sucks without a doubt, but just do it."
Reluctant hero
McDonald said his actions have more to do with changing the topic than goodwill.
"When I woke up the other day, I wasn't planning to champion any causes," he said. "Despite my last three New Year's resolutions being to not read online comments, I opened up Facebook on my phone and a friend's comment immediately sucked me into this thread about the plowed-in car."
McDonald said he posted a few times about how we all need to be neighbourly, roll up our sleeves and help dig each other out.
"That should have been it, but some folks didn't think that they should have to shovel the small amount of snow that is left after a plow."
Better things to fight about
McDonald said the main reason he dug out a stranger's car was to get people thinking about issues he deems more important.
"I wanted people to stop filling the City of Regina's Facebook page with posts about snow so that we can all go back to the important things like arguing online about the terrible funding model they decided on for the new stadium," he said.
"I just couldn't let everyone go on thinking that I was some kind of winter-loving, goodwill ambassador".Grasshopper Promo Coupon Code Use the following link and promo code to get $75 off during signup at Grasshopper.com Click here to get $75 off Grasshopper.com instantly This promo code link is verified to work.
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Sprint Black Friday Deals Tons of great deals from Sprint available TODAY ONLY for Black Friday. View all active deals below.One of President Donald Trump’s ex-wives thinks he might be longing for his former life. Ivana Trump, the president’s first wife, said he was likely “missing a little bit of his old life.”
“You know, he was in Trump Tower, and he would go to Mar-a-Lago, he would go to play golf on Westchester and things like that,” she said on The Ray D’Arcy Show, according to the Independent. “Now, from 8 o’clock in the morning to midnight, he’s working, working, working and everybody shoves at him the problem of the country.”
“I don’t envy him,” she continued. “I think he must be freaking exhausted.”
Ivana Trump, 68, also weighed in about her past comments about the president’s current wife, Melania Trump. In October, Ivana took aim at both Melania and Trump’s second wife, Marla Maples, when she said during an interview with ABC that she was the real “first lady.” Melania responded at the time by way of her communications director, saying she was “honored by her role as first lady” and that Ivana’s comments were “unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise.”
In Ivana’s appearance on The Ray D’Arcy Show, she said Melania went “bananas” over her comments.
“I said I’m first Trump lady. And first lady went bananas over it,” Ivana said. “I have no idea how it sparkled. I have no idea why, but I am definitely first Trump lady. I was married to Donald. I have three kids with him and I have no idea why she resents it. Let’s leave it at that. Who cares.”
Ivana is the mother of Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump. The former model married the now-president in 1977 but split after almost 15 years together when it was revealed that Donald Trump was having an affair with Marla Maples. Trump went on to marry Maples but the pair divorced in 1999. The president married his current wife, Melania, in 2005."Nanostructured Macroporous Bioanode Based on Polyaniline-Modified Natural Loofah Sponge for High-Performance Microbial Fuel Cells"
Environmental Science & Technology
Loofahs, best known for their use in exfoliating skin to soft, radiant perfection, have emerged as a new potential tool to advance sustainability efforts on two fronts at the same time: energy and waste. The study describes the pairing of loofahs with bacteria to create a power-generating microbial fuel cell (MFC) and appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Shungui Zhou and colleagues note that MFCs, which harness the ability of some bacteria to convert waste into electric power, could help address both the world’s growing waste problem and its need for clean power. Current MFC devices can be expensive and complicated to make. In addition, the holes, or pores, in the cells’ electrodes are often too small for bacteria to spread out in. Recently, researchers have turned to plant materials as a low-cost alternative, but pore size has still been an issue. Loofahs, which come from the fully ripened fruit of loofah plants, are commonly used as bathing sponges. They have very large pores, yet are still inexpensive. That’s why Zhou’s team decided to investigate their potential use in MFCs.
When the scientists put nitrogen-enriched carbon nanoparticles on loofahs and loaded them with bacteria, the resulting MFC performed better than traditional MFCs. “This study introduces a promising method for the fabrication of high-performance anodes from low-cost, sustainable natural materials,” the researchers state.
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.By: Danny Gallagher
Canadian Baseball Network
The future of the Blue Jays in Dunedin may be in doubt beyond 2017 but don’t tell the mayor that.
With pitchers and catchers slated to show up Monday, mayor Julie Ward Bujalski said in an 8 a.m. interview Saturday that she and her council will meet with team officials next week to begin what will likely be a series of discussions about what it will take to keep the team there.
“We are meeting with the Jays to get a better understanding of their needs,’’ Bujalski said. “We will find out what they want. We don’t know what their needs are.’’
And what the Jays want will be major renovations to a facility that is dated compared to the rest of the spring-training sites in Florida and Arizona. The Blue Jays have trained in Dunedin since they joined the American League in 1977.
Citing a confidentiality agreement between the city of Dunedin, the state of Florida and the Jays, Bujalski was reluctant to get into details about what the cost of renovations would be or get into a discussion about specific issues.
“I think we will be able to partner to create a facility that is appropriate for the Jays,’’ Bujalski said. “To make a long story short, the Blue Jays are important to the city of Dunedin and to our region. I think the Blue Jays want to be here and we want them to be here. We are going to do everything we can do to assure a long-term relationship with the Blue Jays.’’
If the Blue Jays don’t want to stay in Dunedin, then president Mark Shapiro needs to find another site, either in Florida or Arizona. When he was with the Cleveland Indians, Shapiro and team president Paul Dolan helped engineer the move of that team out of Winter Haven, Florida in 2009 to a shared facility in Goodyear, Ariz. with the Cincinnati Reds.
Shapiro no doubt will look at other potential sites in Arizona but will check out an opportunity in Port St. Lucie, Fla. which the Jays could share with the New York Mets. There is a large parcel of undeveloped land surrounding the Mets’ park that could be used for another spring-training team.
The Atlanta Braves want to leave what was once a state-of-the-art facility at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista near Orlando and that will be something Shapiro will look at. Fort Lauderdale is another possibility and is available since no team has trained there since the Orioles left for Sarasota after the 2009 session.
The sheer economic impact of losing the Jays would be huge. Bujalski revealed that the amount of revenue generated for six weeks of spring training in Pinellas County for the Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies in nearby Clearwater is $80-million: restaurants, motels, hotels, game tickets, grocery stores and the like.
“Spring training is very important to us,’’ Bujalski told me. “This is our 40th spring training. We’re very excited about it. March 2nd is our home opener and our entire council will be there to welcome our Canadian fans.’’
Despite the less than desirable clubhouses and adjoining facilities in Dunedin, Bujalski wanted to make this point clear: “I will tell you this that Sports Illustrated identified Dunedin Stadium as one of the top five locations to view a spring-training game. You’re right there on top of the play.’’
In parting, I told mayor Bujalski: “Good luck with the negotiations and I hope things work out.’’SeaWorld Entertainment on Monday revealed more bad news for investors: It is suspending its quarterly stock dividend.
The company will pay one more dividend next month of 10 cents, down from the previous 21 cents. SeaWorld said it expects to "redeploy the additional capital to shareholders by opportunistically repurchasing" stock during the rest of this year.
SeaWorld's stock (SEAS) was down 9 percent in after-hours trading Monday.
SeaWorld has been struggling financially for a couple of years now. The documentary "Blackfish" took a toll on attendance. SeaWorld hoped to combat the controversy stemming from that film by announcing an end to killer whale breeding in March. Now it is facing other challenges tied to a slowdown in visits to Orlando.
Cutting the dividend after October's payment "signals the obvious struggles at SeaWorld and the deterioration on financials from weak performance … and operational performance is not about to snap-back near term," said Michael Erstad, an analyst with M Science LLC, in an email.
Images of new and old attractions at SeaWorld Orlando over the years.
Dividends are generally expected to be steady, "but share buybacks are at the discretion of the company and can be more readily adjusted without upsetting the market," Pacific Asset Management analyst Bob Boyd said in an email.
Still, the move is about financial breathing room more than share repurchases, S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst Tuna Amobi said.
"I think ultimately they want to conserve funds and have more flexibility," he said. "Some simple math numbers show they're becoming more and more constrained."
SeaWorld had $29 million in cash on hand in its last quarter, compared with $52.9 million a year ago. The company is highly leveraged. In its most recent quarter, SeaWorld lowered its financial expectations for the upcoming year.
Attendance dropped 7.6 percent in the second quarter, which SeaWorld blamed on a sharp decline in Brazilian guests and Orlando's softening tourism industry.
Investors and analysts had been saying for a while that SeaWorld's dividend could be at risk.
"I think the handwriting has been on the wall," Amobi said. "Every single time they report (earnings), this has come up."
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This story was originally published by Wired and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Of all the elements that make up Earth’s atmosphere, nitrogen is by far the most abundant. It is also one of the most inert. Nothing happens when you breathe it in, swallow it, or let it suffuse your skin. Nitrogen gas likes to stay nitrogen gas.
But in the early 20th century, two German chemists, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, figured out how to pluck fertilizer from thin air by making ammonia (NH3) out of nitrogen gas (N2). You need energy, lots of it. The Haber-Bosch process relied and still relies on high temperature, high pressure, and hydrogen atoms ripped from fossil fuels. Ammonia from this process fertilizes crops, which in turn nourish you. On average, half the nitrogen in your cells might come from Haber-Bosch. “The Haber-Bosch process is one of the most important for humanity,” says Mercouri Kanatzidis, a chemist at Northwestern University.
If relying on fossil fuels to give the world electricity and heat is unsustainable, so is relying on fossil fuels to grow its food.
But what seemed ingenious 100 years ago is running into problems in 2016. The Haber-Bosch process burns natural gas (3 percent of the world’s production) and releases loads of carbon (3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions). If relying on fossil fuels to give the world electricity and heat is unsustainable, so is relying on fossil fuels to grow its food.
So interest in a Haber-Bosch alternative is heating up. Last month, the Department of Energy issued a funding opportunity announcement for a sustainable way to make ammonia. The challenge isn’t just making ammonia without fossil fuels—scientists can already do that—but to do it at a scale and price that can compete with an industrial process perfected over 100 years. And that ultimately might take more than just a technological breakthrough.
Bacteria and Sunlight
Of course, ammonia existed on Earth long before Haber and Bosch came long. For millions of years, nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soil have been taking nitrogen gas from the air and converting it into ammonia, which in turn is taken up by plants, which are eaten by animals, human and nonhuman. You have nitrogen in your cells from these bacteria, too.
So in the search for new ways to make ammonia, scientists have turned to imitating nature. “Biology does this reaction in fairly simple way compared to Haber-Bosch,” says Paul King, a photobiologist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. For one, it happens at room temperature, since any living thing would be cooked and crushed at Haber-Bosch conditions. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria have enzymes that grab N2 molecules and H+ ions, orienting them just the right way so they form ammonia, or NH3.
This reaction does require a jolt of energy. In bacteria, it comes from snapping off a piece of a molecule called ATP. But King has figured out something simpler: sunlight. In a paper recently published in Science, his group made light-sensitive nanorods, similar to what you might find in solar panels, that plug into the enzyme to give it a zap. Basically, all you have to do is mix together this cadmium-based material, some enzymes, and leave it out in the sun. Voila, ammonia—though only a small amount of it.
With solar-powered ammonia synthesis, fertilizer can be made where it’s used.
The problem with making more ammonia? “Enzymes are really cost prohibitive,” says King. Enzymes are incredibly complex molecules that have to be purified from living bacteria. “It makes days and days and lots of water to separate it, and you end up with less than a microgram,” says Kanatzidis. “We cannot even contemplate using that.”
At Northwestern, Kanatzidis is looking for a way to replace the enzyme with a man-made material called chalcogel. In another recently published paper, his team took metals commonly found in the active sites of enzymes and made clusters of them. The cluster is black, so it also absorbs light energy. When researchers scatter the material into water, shine sunlight on it and bubble nitrogen gas through, they get ammonia. And this time, no expensive enzymes.
It comes at a different cost though. The nitrogen-fixing enzyme has evolved over millions of years to grab N2 and H+; in comparison, the chalcogel is just a crude approximation, and it’s thousands of times slower than the natural process. King’s light-powered system—the one that still uses an enzyme—synthesizes ammonia at about 63 percent of the enzyme’s natural rate. And both are not as easily scaled up to Haber-Bosch levels. Yet other groups have experimented with polymer membranes and titanium-based molecules, though those have durability and efficiency problems, too.
The Ammonia Economy
So these new ammonia synthesis systems have a long way to go, but they don’t necessarily have to beat Haber-Bosch. It’s no coincidence that King and Kanatzidis have converged on using sunlight to power ammonia synthesis. Making fertilizer via Haber-Bosch is like making electricity at a big central coal-fired power plant—electricity that then needs to be transported hundreds of miles to its point of use.
While electricity storage is tricky, storing ammonia is easy by comparison.
But with solar panels, electricity can be made where it’s used. With solar-powered ammonia synthesis, so can fertilizer. And while electricity storage is tricky, storing ammonia is easy by comparison. You might imagine other systems of ammonia synthesis that rely on yet other forms of renewable energy. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve talked to people who want to take the output of their wind turbine and make their own fertilizer or fuel for the farm,” says John Holbrook, executive director of the NH3 Fuel Association.
As the name implies, Holbrook’s ambitions for ammonia go beyond fertilizer. Today, cars and power plants run on fossil fuels, whose energy is stored in carbon bonds. But plenty of energy is stored in ammonia, too, and you could imagine a fuel economy based on nitrogen. (After all, the other major use of ammonia from the Haber-Bosch process in early 20th century Germany was making explosives.) The upside, though, is no more carbon emissions. “We in the ammonia fuel community feel like we’ve cracked a code in terms of getting recognition,” says Holbrook. “We’ve been at it for 13 years without anyone from the Department of Energy attending our conference.” This year’s featured speaker at the NH3 Fuel Association conference will be Grigorii Soloveichik, a program director at the DOE.
Funding interest from the top levels of government is one thing. Making fossil fuel-free ammonia synthesis commercially viable is another. King thinks what will ultimately set the industry off is a carbon tax. Humanity doesn’t need to recognize value in nitrogen; it needs to see danger in carbon.Walking Like a Cavewoman A chance BU collaboration sheds light on how a human ancestor got around
They say that to understand another person, you must walk in her shoes. Jeremy DeSilva took that advice to the extreme, attempting to understand a prehistoric ancestor by walking in her feet.
It hurt: putting his foot down on its outer edge, then rolling it inward, step by excruciating step. “It is painful,” says DeSilva, who ambulated (or, more scientifically, hyperpronated) around campus, and occasionally still does. He believes that’s how Australopithecus sediba got around two million years ago, with an anatomy, unlike ours, suited to such a peculiar gait. The South African protoperson, a mixed bag of human and ape traits, could walk upright and also clamber up trees.
DeSilva, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of anthropology, was lead writer on one of six papers published last April in the journal Science, describing in loving detail how this hybrid hominid—a woman, four- to four-and-a-half-feet tall, whose skeletal remains were excavated in South Africa by a team led by paleoanthropologist Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand—got around.
A coauthor, physical therapy specialist Kenneth Holt, a Sargent College associate professor, helped DeSilva deduce A. sediba’s walk in a serendipitous collaboration that DeSilva says “doesn’t happen enough” in science.
In 2011, Holt went to a talk his one-time student DeSilva gave at BU about A. sediba, whose remains were discovered in 2008, part of a momentous cache that included a pair of complete skeletons and partial remains of at least three others. (“To get a skeleton is incredibly rare,” says DeSilva. “They’ve got two.”) DeSilva, who was part of the select team that studied the fossils, confessed in his talk that he was stumped by the female creature’s anatomy: it appeared she had the ability to walk and climb, but her oddly shaped foot and knee prevented a comprehensive understanding of exactly how she walked. “It was nothing like any early human I’d ever seen,” he says.
By the end of his talk, “I sort of threw my hands in the air and said, ‘If anyone has any ideas, that’d be great,’” he recalls. Holt approached him after the talk and asked if the specimen had a particular kind of pelvic bone. “I said yes. I hadn’t even mentioned it in the talk. I said, ‘How did you know that?’” Holt started explaining his view of how the creature had walked, based on his expertise in biomechanics. “He was able to predict anatomies,” such as A. sediba’s knee shape, “which he hadn’t even seen yet.”
The two got together in the lab for weeks afterward, refining a theory of how the creature walked. In a field that frequently must generalize our ancestors’ behavior, DeSilva says, the level of precision in figuring out the gait of one of those ancestors marks a breakthrough.
“My guess is, 20, 30, |
13/19 On life motivation: "That's what keeps me alive, perversion and star quality.” Getty 14/19 On love: “When you fall in love you recognise you're not the most important person in the world, and your focus becomes another person.” Getty Images 15/19 On threesomes: “I like threesomes with two women, not because I'm a cynical sexual predator. Oh no! But because I'm a romantic. I'm looking for "The One." And I'll find her more quickly if I audition two at a time.” 16/19 On Conservatives: "Conservatism appeals to our selfishness and fear, our designer and self-interest." PA 17/19 On surfing: “Surfing should be called "foam-choking" or "sea stabbing.” Getty Images 18/19 On Demi Moore: "I've not made love to her yet, but it's a matter of time." STEVE MORGAN/AFP/Getty Images 19/19 On success: "When I was growing up, I thought I'd be a lot happier if I was famous and successful and if I had money." Getty Images 1/19 On puberty: “By puberty I learned that nothing worth having could be easily attained and to succeed one must be single minded." PA 2/19 On changing the world: “I want to change the world, and do something valuable and beautiful. I want people to remember me before I'm dead, and then more afterwards.” 3/19 On being strong: "Strength does not have to be belligerent and loud." Getty 4/19 On grammar: “I couldn't possibly have sex with someone with such a slender grasp on grammar!” 5/19 On manners in England: "In England we have such good manners that if someone says something impolite, the police will get involved." 6/19 On junkie v vegetarian: “Even as a junkie I stayed true [to vegetarianism] - 'I shall have heroin, but I shan't have a hamburger.' What a sexy little paradox.” 7/19 On the future: “People don't realize that the future is just now, but later.” Rex Features 8/19 On sex addiction: “Boggle with sex addicts is up there with go-kart racing with junkies.” Reuters 9/19 On life: “My life is just a series of embarrassing incidents strung together by telling people about those embarrassing incidents.” Frazer Harrison/Getty Images 10/19 On happiness: "If you want to be happy stop being so self-obsessed and start considering other people." Getty Images 11/19 On drug addiction: “The mentality and behavior of drug addicts and alcoholics is wholly irrational until you understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and unless they have structured help, they have no hope.” Getty Images 12/19 On sitcoms: "I do have a regard for the musicality of language that came from BBC sitcoms like Fawlty Towers." 13/19 On life motivation: "That's what keeps me alive, perversion and star quality.” Getty 14/19 On love: “When you fall in love you recognise you're not the most important person in the world, and your focus becomes another person.” Getty Images 15/19 On threesomes: “I like threesomes with two women, not because I'm a cynical sexual predator. Oh no! But because I'm a romantic. I'm looking for "The One." And I'll find her more quickly if I audition two at a time.” 16/19 On Conservatives: "Conservatism appeals to our selfishness and fear, our designer and self-interest." PA 17/19 On surfing: “Surfing should be called "foam-choking" or "sea stabbing.” Getty Images 18/19 On Demi Moore: "I've not made love to her yet, but it's a matter of time." STEVE MORGAN/AFP/Getty Images 19/19 On success: "When I was growing up, I thought I'd be a lot happier if I was famous and successful and if I had money." Getty Images
This also explains why he went to a picket line of striking firefighters in Essex, because of the unsavoury and dominating influence in Hollywood of the Essex region of the Fire Brigades Union. Poor Tom Hanks was told his career was finished unless he signed a petition supporting regional walkouts over shift patterns in Southend, and daren’t whisper a word of complaint to anyone.
But it may not be just the haphazard and scatty call to rebellion that upsets his critics. What appears to have annoyed many writers is that the book isn’t proper writing. Nick Cohen in The Observer calls the style “long-winded, confused and smug”, concluding that Brand and his book “discredits the left”.
So it’s a shame Brand didn’t learn from Cohen, whose own book was in no way confused, insisting the left should have supported the war in Iraq, deriding anyone who didn’t as an “apologist for fascism”. It would bring much more credit to the left if it followed people like George W Bush instead of idiots who opposed the war, such as Nelson Mandela.
Other columnists agree that lines such as the one referring to the Deputy Prime Minister as “Reneggey-Cleggy” makes a mockery of genuine political writing. Because proper writing about politics is the sort of article that starts: “As we enter an uncertain pre-election period, one is drawn inexorably towards the dilemma of the Liberal Democrats as outlined to me by a spokesman for their senior adviser on geology,” until you’re in such a trance you wouldn’t notice if it went, “so a two per cent swing in the Cotswolds amongst those with erectile dysfunction towards a left-of-centre cautiously pro-Europe agenda could result in a coalition between the Conservatives and the Provisional IRA.”
This is why Brand’s book will engage young people in political ideas less than other publications, such as A Compendium of Daily Telegraph Columns That Refer to Danny Alexander, and My Forty Days Working in a Nearby Office to Iain Duncan Smith – the Official Story.
It’s also why the correct way to inspire young people is to follow the Labour model. Poor Ed Balls can hardly get out of his car in a town centre for being mobbed by youth, eager for him to sign their copy of Why We’re Sticking to Tory Spending Plans for the First 250 years of a Labour Government.
The most effective complaint about Brand’s call to arms is that it’s confused. Of course it is, it’s all over the place. “He poses only questions but has no solutions,” it’s claimed. Which is also true, but in a world in which it’s accepted by all major parties that banks and giant corporations and vast inequality are inevitable and can’t be curtailed, the most radical act can be to ask why.
Similarly, if the house is burning down, you can yell, “Oi! We need to scarper from the smokey-wokey or we’re destined to become victims of the old asphyxiation my lovelies!”, or you can reply, “Oh how long-winded and confused. In any case I don’t see you offering any solutions as to how you would wire the electrics more safely. Sod you, I’ll stay here where it’s cosy.”
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Subscribe nowis a plugin instrument featuring the sound of the. Famous in the early nineties for being widely used in PC computers, the AdLib soundcard had a synthesis chip build by Yamaha. This chip was the YM3812, an FM and additive synthesizer which had up to 9 channels of digitally produced sound.
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Compatible with the most popular DAWs on the market: Ableton Live, Cockos Reaper, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Traktion, Mixcraft, Sony Acid, Presonus Studio One, Cakewalk Sonar, and Apple Logic Pro.Recently by Gary North: It’s 50th High School Reunion Day!
The heart of the modern monetary system is fractional reserve banking. This system is based on fraud. At the very heart of the modern economy is fraud — fraud on a gigantic scale.
What is the nature of this fraud? Counterfeiting. Banks are government-licensed institutions that issue bogus IOUs. Because these IOUs function as money, they are counterfeit money. This is the heart, mind, and soul of all modern banking.
There is only one textbook in money and banking that states explicitly that all fractional reserve banking rests on fraud: Murray Rothbard’s The Mystery of Banking. It is not used in any university. It never has been. It was published in 1983. It went out of print almost immediately. It is on-line here.
Rothbard takes the reader through the traditional T-account exercise that is common to all upper-division textbooks in money and banking. Unlike all the others, his book shows how the process of making deposits and lending the money involves counterfeiting whenever the depositor has the legal right to withdraw his money on demand.
This is not the same as a life insurance contract in which you can borrow against your built-up reserves. The company treats the policy-holder as it would treat another borrower. It raises money to make the loan.
The withdraw-on-demand banking process has the same effect as counterfeiting gold and silver coins by adding base metals (pp. 48—51). It has the same effect as issuing paper money that has no backing in gold or silver (pp. 51—55). It has the same effect as issuing warehouse receipts for goods stored for which there are no goods stored (pp. 88—90).
The banking system issues multiple IOUs to depositors and borrowers, yet these IOUs are based on the same initial deposits. Traditional textbooks describe this process, but they refuse to identify the process as counterfeiting. They also refuse to mention that this process of monetary inflation is the sole basis of all booms and busts: the business cycle. This was Ludwig von Mises’ insight as far back as 1912 in his book, The Theory of Money and Credit.
Rothbard makes it clear why fractional reserve banking is fraudulent. This is why no professor assigns his book to his classes.
The irresistible temptation now emerges for the goldsmith or other deposit banker to commit fraud and inflation: to engage, in short, in fractional reserve banking, where total cash reserves are lower, by some fraction, than the warehouse receipts outstanding. It is unlikely that the banker will simply abstract the gold and use it for his own consumption; there is then no likelihood of ever getting the money should depositors ask to redeem it, and this act would run the risk of being considered embezzlement. Instead, the banker will either lend out the gold, or far more likely, will issue fake warehouse receipts for gold and lend them out, eventually getting repaid the principal plus interest. In short, the deposit banker has suddenly become a loan banker; the difference is that he is not taking his own savings or borrowing in order to lend to consumers or investors. Instead he is taking someone else’s money and lending it out at the same time that the depositor thinks his money is still available for him to redeem. Or rather, and even worse, the banker issues fake warehouse receipts and lends them out as if they were real warehouse receipts represented by cash. At the same time, the original depositor thinks that his warehouse receipts are represented by money available at any time he wishes to cash them in. Here we have the system of fractional reserve banking, in which more than one warehouse receipt is backed by the same amount of gold or other cash in the bank’s vaults. It should be clear that modern fractional reserve banking is a shell game, a Ponzi scheme, a fraud in which fake warehouse receipts are issued and circulate as equivalent to the cash supposedly represented by the receipts (pp. 96—97).
Modern economists do not acknowledge that fractional reserve banking is a gigantic system of counterfeiting. They do not apply the same analysis to fractional reserve banking that they would apply to counterfeiting if they discussed counterfeiting. They rarely discuss counterfeiting. This is because they know that bright students can make the analytical connection. The students will be tempted to conclude what is in fact the case, namely, that fractional reserve banking is a form of counterfeiting.
BORROWED SHORT AND LENT LONG
The banker offers a deal to holders of currency. (Prior to 1914 in Europe and prior to 1933 in the United States, the public held gold coins.) Here is the offer.
If you will deposit your money in my bank, I will lend it out at interest. I will share some of this interest with you by guaranteeing you a fixed rate of return.
So far, so good. But then comes the kicker. Furthermore, I will pay you your money on demand during banking hours. Any time you want your currency back, just come to the bank and take it out — no questions asked (unless you try to take out $10,000 or more).
The banker knows what the economics professor knows: almost no one can think through the implications of this promise. Both the banker and the professor of money and banking strive to keep people in the dark. They promote the mystery of banking.
What are a few implications? Here is one. When the bank lends money to a borrower at a fixed rate of return, it lends for a specific period of time (commercial loans) or else no deadline (credit card loans). It cannot get this money back on demand. Yet it owes money on demand.
The depositor can demand immediate payment. Yet the money is gone. The bank has therefore issued two IOUs to the same deposit. The depositor can pull out his money at any time. The borrower, who has the money sitting in his account, can do the same thing.
How is this possible? Because the government or the central bank allows the bank to set aside a small percentage of reserves on the deposit. The bank does not have to keep 100% of the on-demand money in reserve.
With a 10% reserve requirement, if a bank gets a $100 deposit and sends $10 to the central bank as a reserve, it can legally lend $90. When the borrower spends this $90, the receiving bank sets aside $9 and lends $81. The initial $100 deposit leads to $900 in new money, if banks lend all of the money they are legally allowed to lend.
If the banker had added the following statement, there would be no fraud. There would be no counterfeiting.
You will not be able to get your money back on demand until the contract runs out for the borrower. As he repays interest, you will get your share. If he refuses to repay, I will pay you your principal based on bank reserves. But, of course, if the bank goes bankrupt, you will not be repaid.
This offer would make it clear to the depositor that there is no such thing as a free lunch. He cannot get the return of his money until the bank gets it back from the borrower. The same deposit still serves as money: for the borrower, not for the depositor.
The banker makes the offer of payment on demand because he knows that few depositors will demand their money most of the time. Those who do demand their money can be paid out of the money deposited by today’s depositors. Is this a Ponzi scheme? In part, yes. It is a Ponzi scheme that can go on much longer, because the bank possesses the power to create money.
The bank has borrowed short — “withdraw the money on demand” — and has lent long: “pay the money back on time.” This is fraudulent.
CONTRACTS OVER TIME
All contracts have a time component. A contract is a promise to perform an action in the future.
What about an exchange that is instantaneous? In the most radical form, a seller of money holds out a wad of currency. A seller of a good holds out the good. Each of them takes hold of both items, using different hands. On the count of three, each person releases the item he is offering to the other. Each person hopes the other will turn lose of the item on three.
Yet even here, there is a time component. Each participant promises to let loose on the count of three. If there were no agreement — either formal or implied — there would be no exchange.
A contract that promises to do the impossible is fraudulent. If it is part of a series of identical contracts, only a few of which can be consummated on the same day, then all of the payment-on-demand contracts are fraudulent. The creditor cannot distinguish his claim from all the others, other than by “first come, first served.” That principle encourages bank runs.
Whenever a prospective depositor goes down to the bank to make a deposit, he should sing to himself the song that every fractional reserve bank has as its anthem regarding its depositors, who are its creditors. The banker silently sings to every depositor:
Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye.Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry.You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie.’Cause that’ll be the day when I die.
This is the chorus. But those of us from the late 1950’s remember what followed.
Well, you give me all your lovin’ and your turtle dovin’All your hugs and kisses and your money too.Well, you know you love me babyUntil you tell me, maybeThat some day, well, I’ll be through.
Fractional reserve banking may be a mystery, but Buddy Holly has provided the key to understanding the system.
Bankers woo depositors with promises of everlasting commitment. The proof of this everlasting commitment is the promise of withdrawal on demand. Then they take the depositors’ money to woo borrowers with promises of what would otherwise have been below-market interest rates. Why below market? Because depositors have been lured into parting with their money by means of a promise — a promise that cannot be fulfilled because of the time discrepancy between borrowing short (depositors’ accounts) and lending long (borrowers’ accounts).
The basis of this monetary philandery is the discrepancy between the rival promises of time.
To understand modern banking, think of a full-time philanderer with one mid-town apartment, four mistresses, and three keys. We can call this a 25% reserve requirement. Three mistresses live in the suburbs. His favorite lives in mid-town. One key is for him; one is for the mid-town girl; and one is for the other three mistresses. This key is kept on reserve at the desk downstairs. He assumes that out-of-towners will not all show up on the same day at the same time.
This plan works until a rumor gets out about the nature of the arrangement. Then all three out-of-towners show up to make sure they have a key.
INFLATION AND BAD INFORMATION
Counterfeiters increase the money supply. This is inflationary. They defraud holders of the non-counterfeit currency. How? By lowering the market price of the currency already in circulation. The slogan is: “More money chasing the same amount of goods.”
But, as Mises showed, there is more to it than this. The added money, when lent to producers, leads to a transfer of wealth to the producers. They start bidding for production goods: land (including raw materials), labor, and capital (land plus labor over time). The can make higher bids. They supply goods and services to match expected demand. This creates an economic boom. But when the counterfeiters stop counterfeiting, expected demand does not appear. This creates a bust.
Counterfeit money distorts information. How? Because prices convey information. Prices should convey accurate information. When decision-makers have accurate information, they can find ways to lower the transaction costs of their decisions. They can search out better ways to cut expenses. They can become more efficient.
When prices convey inaccurate information, individuals find that they make more mistakes. They make decisions in terms of information that is misleading. This is why prices should be based on decentralized decisions in which individuals making the decisions are responsible for the outcome of their actions. This is the defense of free-market capitalism. But, when it comes to banks, the economists refuse to follow the logic of this principle of individual responsibility and performance. Defenders of central banking and fractional reserve banking are necessarily defenders of inaccurate information.
CENTRAL BANKING
A central bank provides emergency money to commercial banks. This reduces the threat of bank runs. Central banks intervene to save large banks. This is why no large American bank went bust in the Great Depression, while over 6,000 small banks did.
Central banks are the enforcing arm of the fractional reserve banking system. Central banks determine which banks survive and which do not in a national bank run. Their job is to protect the largest commercial banks. This is a form of central planning by a government-licensed monopolistic agency.
When central planners substitute their judgment for individual decision-makers, we see a centralization of power over the market. The terms of exchange are not being set by individual participants who are responsible for their actions. The terms of exchange are being set by a distant committee. They are immune from negative feedback for their own decisions.
This arrangement is guaranteed to reduce the accuracy of information that is conveyed by prices. Furthermore, when the intervention in question relates to the control of the money supply, we can be certain that the information conveyed by the decision of the committee will be less accurate than the information conveyed by individual decision-makers.
Fractional reserve banking creates blindness. Central banking extends this blindness.
Any economy that relies on fractional reserve banking is flying partially blind. This blindness becomes permanent when a central bank protects large commercial banks that are regarded as too big to fail.
CONCLUSION
Fractional reserve banking is inherently fraudulent. It inflates the money supply. It creates the boom-bust cycle. Through central banking, it transfers planning authority to bureaucrats with only an indirect stake in the outcome of their decisions.
It is the basis of the modern economy. The booms and busts get worse. The dollar depreciates. Central planning increases. Information becomes more distorted.
This will end badly. Worse, it may start over again.
Gary North [send him mail] is the author of Mises on Money. Visit http://www.garynorth.com. He is also the author of a free 20-volume series, An Economic Commentary on the Bible.
Copyright © 2009 Gary NorthImage copyright Scottish SPCA
A lost pigeon which landed on a North Sea oil platform has been flown back to land by helicopter.
The "exhausted" bird was found on Talisman Sinopec's Clyde platform, about 160 miles offshore.
The pigeon, nicknamed Pedro by the workers on board, was flown by helicopter to Aberdeen.
It was then taken to the Scottish SPCA's National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fishcross, where it was said to be making a good recovery.
Animal rescue officer Kirsty McQuade said: "It was actually my boyfriend Kevin Mitchell who found Pedro.
"He crash landed on deck and Kevin managed to catch him and take him inside.
"Pedro appeared to be exhausted and extremely thin so Kevin contacted me for advice. I advised him on what to feed Pedro and he was kept safe in a box on board.
"It was fantastic that Pedro was able to ride in the helicopter with the crew who were coming back to the mainland and we would like to thank everyone for their assistance."NEW ORLEANS -- A property rights nonprofit claims federal wildlife officials made an illegal land grab by listing 1,500 acres of private land in Louisiana as critical habitat for an endangered burrowing frog now found only in Mississippi.
The Pacific Legal Foundation sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday over the dusky gopher frog.
About 100 to 200 of the creatures are known to live in Mississippi, with fewer than 900 more in zoos around the country.
Fish and Wildlife exceeded its authority because none of the frogs lives on the land in question, and the acreage would need extensive work -- which landowner Edward Poitevent will not do -- to be suitable for them, said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney M. Reed Hopper. He filed the lawsuit in federal court in New Orleans.
Designation as critical habitat requires the agency's consultation for federal permits. About 5,000 acres in Mississippi, much of it on federal land, also was designated as critical habitat last June.
"If an agency can designate critical habitat based on a mere hope that a particular piece of property can someday be usable to maintain the species, the agency would have the authority to designate any piece of property as critical habitat based on the same hope," Hopper said.
People working to bring back the frogs say one feature makes this land essential: a series of five ponds so shallow they dry up in summer, each within hopping distance of the next. Dusky gopher frogs lay their eggs only in such temporary ponds, which are free of fish that would eat frog eggs, and the St. Tammany Parish land was their last known Louisiana breeding ground.
"We continue to support our biologists in their efforts to do the right thing to save this frog. They've done the right scientific things, they've done the research, and they know what's needed to recover this very unique species," said Tom MacKenzie, Southeastern regional spokesman for Fish and Wildlife.
U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., applauded the lawsuit. "I support protecting endangered species and don't want to see a species go anywhere near extinction, but in this instance in St. Tammany Parish, Washington bureaucrats are telling a private landowner that despite there being no frogs, his land is to be used as they see fit," he said in a news release.
The agency says the designation doesn't take lands out of business and the agency cannot compel any action on them, though it has programs to provide money and technical help for landowners interested in conservation.
The frogs, also known as Mississippi gopher frogs, have bodies about three inches long. Their dark backs are covered with darker spots and warts that secrete a bitter, milky fluid. When picked up, they cover their eyes with their forefeet, possibly to protect their faces until predators taste the liquid and drop them.
They live in stump holes and burrows dug by other animals and are part of an ecology that depends on regular fires to burn away brush and smaller trees from the longleaf pine forests where they live.
A conservation nonprofit, the Center for Biological Diversity, has said it will sue Fish and Wildlife for doing too little to protect the frogs unless the agency writes up a plan for their recovery. Endangered species director Noah Greenwald said Thursday that the agency is working toward that goal.
He said his group will ask to enter Poitevent's lawsuit on the government's side.
"This is a species that's highly endangered. It basically breeds in only one pond in substantial numbers," he said, adding that more suitable sites are needed to give it a chance.
The Pacific Legal Foundation is "part of a national effort to try to remove protections for highly endangered species," Greenwald said. "To my view, they're really out of step with the American public that really doesn't want to lose our endangered species."In a report confirming that the ECB is preparing for a rerun of a post-Brexit scenario, Reuters writes that the ECB is ready to temporarily step up purchases of Italian government bonds if the result of next Sunday's crucial referendum, which according to WSJ will likely determine the future of not only Monte Paschi but other insolvent Italian banks, "rocks markets" and sharply drives up borrowing costs for the euro zone's largest debtor.
As observed here over the past week, Italian government bonds and bank shares have sold off steeply ahead of the Dec. 4 referendum on constitutional reforms as the market has grown to appreciate the risk of political turmoil. Opinion polls suggest the 'No' camp is heading for substantial victory, which could force out Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in the latest upheaval against the ruling establishment sweeping the developed world. Heavily indebted Italy's borrowing costs are closely watched as a potential flashpoint for market instability in the wider euro zone.
Just like in the hours after the Brexit announcement, when the ECB and other regional central banks vowed to step in and stabilize markets, the ECB will likely use its €80 billion monthly bond-buying program - which already hold nearly €1.2 trillion in European bonds - to counter any immediate, further spike in bond yields after the vote, smoothing market moves and supporting bonds, according to four euro zone central bank sources who asked not to be named.
The sources added the scheme was flexible enough to allow for a temporary increase in Italian purchases and that such a move would not necessarily need to be rubber-stamped by the ECB's Governing Council, which is due to meet on Dec. 8 to decide on whether to keep buying bonds after March. But they stressed this would be limited to days or weeks, to counter any immediate market volatility, because the asset-purchase program was designed to shore up inflation and economic growth in the entire euro zone and was not intended to fight crises in individual countries. This means that, if Italy or its banks needed longer-term financial support, Rome would need to formally ask for help. "The Governing Council understands that there is some space to help Italy, which will be used, if needed. The asset purchase program has built-in flexibility," said one of the sources. "The key is that the ECB has to be convinced the volatility can be overcome by using this flexibility."
Last week ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio opened the door to a central bank intervention last week but also stressed that still-low Italian bond yields did not point to investor fears that the country may crash out of the euro zone. Indeed, concerns about deposit flight and the health of Italian banks, rather than Italy's own borrowing costs, have become Rome's biggest worry in the aftermath of a 'No' vote.
Italy's 10-year bond yields stand at 2% the highest level in more than a year but nowhere near the 7% level that prompted emergency ECB purchases in 2010-11 and eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, when Draghi refused to intervene in capital markets in a show of force with the then-Italian PM to demonstrate who is the real boss.
Reuters also adds that Euro zone central bank sources say there is little the ECB can do about the banks' need for capital unless Italy itself asks for a rescue program for its banking sector. This would also unlock further, country-specific ECB purchases of Italian debt, known as Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT). These, unlike the current asset-purchase program, are not tied to the "capital key", or how much capital each country has paid into the central bank.
"There is a risk that a bout of volatility would have a broader impact on the bank sector," one of the sources said. "At that point, it's not for the ECB to act. That's typically where OMT needs to come in with all the requirements, including a (rescue) program."
Logistic aside, BTP futures briefly spiked higher, gaining ~30 ticks in 2 minutes, to session high of 135.46, after Reuters cites unidentified sources to report ECB ready to temporarily step up Italy bond purchases if referendum causes yield spike.Photo shows spokesman for banned militant outfit, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Ehsanullah Ehsan.—File Photo
PESHAWAR: Pakistani Taliban have said the UN bodies and the United States should stop the “BJP-sponsored state terrorism in Kashmir,” otherwise the TTP has the ability to strike inside Indian-administered Kashmir.
Speaking to Dawn.Com on Wednesday, the TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said that the Indian Home Minister’s statement regarding BJP-backed terrors camps is an open confession that Hindu extremists are being patronized under the state’s authority for killing innocent Kashmiri Muslims.
“The US and UN should also order drone strikes and coalition troops invasion, to target these terror camps, which are mentioned by the Indian minister of fanning Hindu terrorism,” said Ehsan.
“If the US and the UN could not take care of the state-sponsored-terrorism in Kashmir and the BJP/RSS terrorism against Muslims in India, then TTP has the ability to strike and take care of it.”
Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had accused the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) on Sunday of promoting Hindu terrorism, which in turn was responsible for the fatal bombings of the Samjhauta Express among other Muslim targets.
To a query, Ehsan declared the present jihad in Indian-administered Kashmir as “merely a drama” and talked about a “practical jihad” for freedom of the Kashmiri Muslims.
About launching attacks on the BJB and RSS terror camps, the TTP spokesman said, “Soon everyone will realise how much ability they (TTP) have and how they are going to strike both, Indian state terrorism centers and the Hindu terrorists organisations.”In 2011, John Morton, then the top official at Immigration and Customs and Enforcement, an arm of Homeland Security commonly known as ICE, issued a memorandum that reaffirmed the agency’s list of “sensitive locations” where enforcement actions were discouraged except under extraordinary circumstances, such as cases involving dangerous felons.
In March, top officials at the agency updated their guidance for field agents conducting enforcement actions at or near courthouses, Virginia Kice, an agency spokeswoman, said. Agency officials declined to publicly discuss the contents of the new courthouse guidance, saying it was confidential. But officials did not modify the 2011 memo to extend its protections to courthouses.
Ms. Lin said that in a private meeting in March with several top officials from the agency, they told her that under the new guidelines agents would conduct enforcement actions at courthouses only against undocumented immigrants considered top priorities, including those convicted of serious crimes and people deemed a threat to public safety.
All actions would occur in nonpublic areas of the courthouse, the officials said, according to Ms. Lin. The officials also told her that courthouses were “well suited” for detentions because they were safer for the agents than confronting someone in their home where encounters were more likely to escalate into violence.
But advocates contend that despite the new guidance, immigration agents continue to use courthouses to go after immigrants who do not appear to be the agency’s utmost priority.
Ms. Socope, 30, first entered the United States in 2008 but was picked up at the border and immediately deported, Ms. Hickey said. She returned the same year and moved to New York City, where she was living with her husband in Brooklyn and worked as a house cleaner.
Last year, after an altercation with a landlord, Ms. Socope — who has never been convicted of a crime, her lawyers said — was arrested and charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Her lawyers and social worker were negotiating for a plea that would include a mandate to enter an alternative-to-incarceration program where she would receive help for mental health issues and substance abuse, Ms. Hickey said.A retired state trooper killed a turnpike toll collector and a security guard in a holdup attempt at a toll plaza and then was shot dead by troopers while trying to escape with the money, authorities said.
Clarence Briggs, who retired four years ago, confronted two Pennsylvania Turnpike toll collectors with a handgun on Sunday morning at the Fort Littleton toll plaza in Dublin Township, 65 miles west of Harrisburg, the state capital, police said. Briggs ordered both into an adjoining office and tried to tie them up but fled after a struggle, they said. Both employees left the building as a fare collection vehicle arrived and a security guard emerged, they said.
Briggs then shot and killed one of the toll collectors, Danny Crouse, who had been on the job for less than three months, and Ronald Heist, a retired York police officer who was employed by a detective agency and was working as turnpike security, Capt. David Cain said.
Briggs then fired at the fare collection vehicle, Cain said, and after the driver fled he jumped into the vehicle and drove it to his car, which was parked at the end of a service ramp a few hundred yards away. He started unloading money from the collection vehicle, Cain said.
PSP: 3 people, including the suspect, are dead after a shooting on the PA Turnpike @ mm180,Littleton. Exit closed pic.twitter.com/KQhYmcF4QA — Leah Kirstein (@LeahMKirstein) March 20, 2016
Troopers arrived within minutes, and the first trooper exchanged shots with Briggs, who was wounded and died at the scene, police said.
Briggs, who was from Newville, retired in January 2012 from the Newville station of Troop T in Cumberland County, which is part of the turnpike system. Cain, the commander of Troop T, said it was possible Briggs had been waiting for the collection vehicle, but he declined to comment on whether an investigation was focusing on the retired trooper's familiarity with turnpike operations and collection procedures.
Turnpike chairman Sean Logan vowed at a news conference at a turnpike maintenance facility in Shade Gap that officials would "expend whatever resources necessary and make sure we find out exactly what transpired this morning and to make absolutely certain that our system is secure and that our employees are protected."
Logan said such an event had happened only "a handful of times" in the 75-year history of the turnpike, which extends 360 miles across the state.
"Our system is very secure, very safe," he said. "We just want to make sure if there's more we can do that we will do it."
He described the |
returns were modest. In 2008, he carried just one of the Nevada’s 17 counties or their equivalents. This year, he carried two. He lost a third, Storey County, to Romney by one vote — 53 to 52.
Throughout the week, Paul campaign officials said publicly that they thought they could win outright if turnout was low enough and expressed confidence they’d finish second.
The candidate went out of his way Friday to appear in Pahrump, a town of 36,000 in Nye County – the one he won last time. His state campaign chairman, Carl Bunce, bragged that Paul volunteers had signed up 800 new voters in the last six months in that county alone. In 2008, Paul got 415 votes. With all the votes from Nye counted, he got 454 in 2012.Walsh says former officer was at gun range in Bridgewater either to qualify for paid detail or to carry gun out of state
TAUNTON — A former Taunton police officer who accidentally shot himself in the lower leg at a Bridgewater shooting range on Friday is a retired sergeant, according to Chief Edward Walsh.
“It was just an accident (and) a mistake on the individual’s part,” said Walsh, who declined to identify the male victim.
The unidentified former officer, Walsh said, was engaging in a routine “controlled firing exercise” with no time limit at the Bridgewater Correctional Complex outdoor range when the mishap occurred.
Walsh said the former officer was at the range for a routine test either to qualify for working paid police details or to carry a gun out of state in accordance with rules of the Law Enforcement Officers Act.
Walsh said he was told that the former officer, who retired from the force a couple years ago and is in his late 50s, was holstering his handgun when the gun accidentally discharged. He said the bullet tore some flesh on the outer thigh before it traveled cleanly down the man’s lower leg and exited near his ankle.
“Fortunately for him, it went through his leg with no complications. It could have been worse,” Walsh said.
Walsh said the former sergeant had been shooting with his personal weapon — an M1911 single-action, semi-automatic.45-caliber pistol that until 1986 was the U.S. Armed Forces standard-issue sidearm.
He said the gun has a reputation for being somewhat finicky.
“A lot of people carry it, but it has a complicated design," Walsh said. "If the safety’s not on, it fires very easily.”
Walsh said it appears the victim had not put the safety on to prevent a discharge when the gun fired down into his leg.
He said “a couple other cops” who were standing nearby immediately stepped in to try to provide medical assistance until a Bridgewater ambulance arrived and transported the wounded man to Brockton Hospital.
Walsh said he and his department will evaluate what he said was “clearly user error.” He said similar incidents have happened at shooting ranges used by police, but he said he’s not aware of a Taunton officer ever before having had such an accident.
The chief said he hasn’t talked to the injured man but was told that he’s on the mend.
“As far as I know, he’s fine. But he’s pretty swollen and will be sore for a while,” Walsh said.The Washington Redskins will start strong and stumble midway through the season, in part because of what looks to be a brutal stretch with short weeks and higher-quality opponents. The Redskins still have questions defensively and with their run game, which could limit them. That’s why my prediction now is the same as it was in April; the Redskins will finish 9-7.
Week 1: Monday, Sept. 12 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 7:10 p.m. ET
The Redskins did not beat a team that finished with a winning record in 2015; they’ll accomplish that feat in the season opener. The Steelers remain dangerous even without suspended running back Le'Veon Bell and receiver Martavis Bryant, but their absence will be enough to give Washington the edge. Record: 1-0.
Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 18 vs. Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m. ET
The Redskins catch another break by playing a team missing an important player as the Cowboys adjust to life without Tony Romo (again). Quarterback Dak Prescott looked good this summer, but he’ll still face numerous adjustments -- especially early in the season. The biggest issue, though, will be defending Dallas' run game; it’s a weakness for Washington. Record: 2-0.
Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 25 at New York Giants, 1 p.m. ET
Josh Norman versus Odell Beckham Jr. The Giants could be the Redskins' biggest challengers for the division title after adding firepower on offense (rookie receiver Sterling Shepard) and defense (Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon). New York lost five games last season when leading with two minutes left; these additions will help change that. Record: 2-1.
Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 2 Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET
You know who returns -- quarterback Robert Griffin III, provided he’s still in the lineup. The Redskins’ pass defense should have a strong day, starting with its rush. A subplot involves Redskins coach Jay Gruden facing the man who replaced him as offensive coordinator in Cincinnati, Hue Jackson, as they try to show whose offense is best. Record: 3-1.
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 9 at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. ET
The Ravens were decimated by injuries last season and lost nine of 11 games by eight or fewer points. They're healthier; they’re better; they’ll win. The Ravens haven’t had consecutive losing seasons since 1997-98 for a reason. Record: 3-2.
Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 16 vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. ET
It's hard to imagine rookie Carson Wentz being ready to handle what he'll see early this season. Record: 4-2.
Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 23 at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. ET
The Lions want to play at a faster tempo, a pace quarterback Matthew Stafford prefers (though he’s minus retired receiver Calvin Johnson). They finished 6-2 down the stretch last season and should have a tough defense. There’s something about Detroit that brings out the worst in the Redskins. Record: 4-3.
Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 30 at Cincinnati Bengals, 9:30 a.m. ET
Gruden faces his former boss, Marvin Lewis, in London. It will also be a battle of somewhat comparable quarterbacks: Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins. The Redskins pull off the upset overseas -- they have a big following in the U.K. Record: 5-3.
Week 9: Bye
Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 13 vs. Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. ET
Minnesota is built to play tough football on both sides of the ball, which is why the Vikings remain a solid pick to be a contender even after Teddy Bridgewater's injury. It's hard to trust Sam Bradford, but everything else is there for Minnesota. The Vikings’ defense is one of the NFL’s best, ranking in the top 10 in points per game (fifth) and yards per play (10th) allowed in 2015. The Redskins will keep it close, and if they win, they're staring at a 10-win season. Record: 5-4.
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 20 vs. Green Bay Packers, 8:30 p.m. ET
A rematch of the 2015 playoff loss, in which the Redskins failed to pressure quarterback Aaron Rodgers aside from one sack. The Packers should be a Super Bowl contender this season. Record: 5-5.
Week 12: Thursday, Nov. 24 at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET
A short week after a night game is never ideal. The Redskins, though, have been a resilient bunch under Gruden. With uncertainty clouding Dallas' quarterback situation, and the team in general, the Redskins complete the sweep on Thanksgiving. Record: 6-5.
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 4 at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. ET
If Carson Palmer stays healthy, the Cardinals will be a Super Bowl contender again, continuing a tough stretch for the Redskins. Cornerbacks Patrick Peterson (Arizona) and Norman had some words in training camp, so even though they won’t face one another it will still be a storyline to watch. Record: 6-6.
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 11 at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. ET
The Eagles could be a mess at this point. Or they could be an interesting team if Wentz plays well. The Redskins, though, play well in Philly. Record: 7-6.
Week 15: Monday, Dec. 19 vs. Carolina Panthers, 8:30 p.m. ET
Norman faces his former team and there’s no doubt he’ll be a little extra motivated. Even though he’s gone, too many other good players remain. Carolina’s front seven presents a big problem for opponents. Record: 7-7.
Week 16: Saturday, Dec. 24 at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET
The Bears were unimpressive this summer, leading to concerns about their direction under second-year coach John Fox -- or how long it will take to turn them around. The Redskins will still be in the playoff hunt, so this Christmas Eve game is a must win. Record: 8-7.
Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 1 vs. New York Giants, 1 p.m. ET
There’s a very good chance this game will be for the NFC East title or a playoff berth for one of these teams. The Redskins finish with two straight wins. Record: 9-7.8 Insanely Hard-to-Find Video Game Easter Eggs
Gfycat Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 14, 2017
There’s always that one final egg on Easter morning that’s impossible to find. It mocks you from the shadows, tucked away in a corner you feel you’ve checked a dozen times, its color blending into whatever object hides its presence.
Like the parents who hide these eggs, developers also conceal nuggets of fun in their games, sometimes covering them so well that it takes even the most devoted gamers years to find.
We salute those efforts this Easter with some of gaming’s hardest-to-find Easter eggs.
The Calendar Man — ‘Batman: Arkham City’
The Calendar Man may not be one of the most popular members of the Bat’s rogues gallery, but that didn’t stop Rocksteady from sneaking in a date-centric Easter egg. For this gem, players need to roll their device’s clock back to December 13th, 2004, the date Rocksteady Studios was formed.
An omen? Or a threat? (source)
When Batsy visits The Calendar Man, he’s treated to dialogue that, at the time, didn’t mean much. The bald-headed inmate talks about being there at Batman’s beginning and being there the Dark Knight’s end.
May sound like a threat or an allusion to Rocksteady’s journey with the Arkham series, but fast-forward four years to Arkham Knight’s release and it all comes together in another hidden Easter egg that, well … you’ll just have to play the game to find out.
Did you see it? Now that’s dedication! (source)
CLUCK! — ‘World of Warcraft’
The universe of Warcraft is filled with obscured references and musings, but one of the strangest — and hardest to find — was an inane side quest: CLUCK!
As the name implies, a chicken is involved. As is performing the “chicken” emote 75 times. And finding special chicken feed.
Ugh, getting wedding flashbacks. (source)
This Alliance-only quest yields 100 XP and a vanity chicken pet. That way people will know you truly have too much time on your hands.
Rebecca Chambers’ WNBA Days — ‘Resident Evil 2’
Far from everybody’s favorite Resident Evil character, for some reason Capcom decided to focus a tedious Easter egg around her. Chances are, if not for the Research on BioHazard 2: Final Edition game guide, this pointless egg would have remained hidden for years.
Why, you ask.
Because why would anybody search Albert Wesker’s desk 50 times in a row?
Thanks to Ayumi Saito, though, we can rest easy with our new favorite background wallpaper and newfound reason to revisit the ominous Raccoon City Police Department dark room.
So worth it, though. (source)
Chris Houlihan’s Secret Room — ‘Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past’
You’ll have to put those Pegasus Boots to use to uncover this Link to the Past secret!
A year prior to the game’s release, Nintendo Power ran a contest requiring participants to take and submit a photo of the Warmech encounter in Final Fantasy. From the submissions, the winner was chosen randomly and was promised their name in a future Nintendo title.
Link rushing to get his copy of ‘Nintendo Power.’ (source)
The winner was Chris Houlihan, although he’d have a heck of a time finding his name anywhere in Hyrule. Rather than plaster it somewhere obvious for Chris’s bragging rights, the game’s programmers built a special room for him that only served as a preventative measure to keep the game from crashing when it couldn’t determine which room to load next.
Accessing Chris Houlihan’s secret room can be done one of five ways, but players tend to gravitate toward rushing from the Sanctuary to the Sewer Passageway entrance.
Think he’s mad that we told? (source)
For breaking the game, players were awarded with 45 blue rupees.
PuPu the Alien — ‘Final Fantasy VIII’
Sweet, adorable little PuPu is hidden deep within the unnamed world of Final Fantasy VIII, accessible only by the most persistent gamers. To trigger this extraterrestrial egg, gamers had to first uncover a hidden magazine by investigating a random stack of magazines multiple times.
Square Enix apparently took cues from Capcom for this one.
What follows is an obnoxious … well … Easter egg hunt as players try to decipher absurd clues and hunt down little PuPu’s craft. After pinpointing four very precise locations, it’s time to take on the UFO. But even after taking it out, the quest still isn’t over.
There’s still the fight with PuPu, which takes forever to find and can go one of two ways:
Kill the freak for wasting your time.
2. Waste five Elixers on him for a PuPu Triple Triad card.
PuPu: will dance for Elixers. (source)
Underground Duck Racing — ‘Shenmue 2’
The Sega AM2 developed Shenmue 2 made video game roleplaying a little too true-to-life by introducing part-time work as a vital means of making money.
But it also reeled everything back to fantasy with this quirky Easter egg, which requires a very specific sequence of events to unlock.
Gamers that had the patience to scour the map, meet three NPC’s, find a bronze medal, and triumph in a street fight were introduced to the underground world of duck racing.
Yes, duck racing.
If dissatisfied with just betting on ducks, players could complete another slew of absurd tasks to obtain their own duck to race.
That’s what we call… a FOWL line-up! Sorry not sorry. (source)
NARPAS Sword — ‘Metroid’
There’s a lot of technical jargon revolving around this Metroid secret password and how, unlike other passwords, it won’t show up with password generators. But none of that is really important.
All you need to know is that typing in NARPAS SWORD0 000000 000000 in the password screen completely changes how you play the original Metroid.
And by that we mean you don’t actually play it. You just sort of run through.
NARPAS Sword (or NAR Password if you realize NARPAS stands for absolutely nothing) gives Samus infinite missiles and energy, the altered Ice Beam, and every in-game power-up, making the game incredibly easy.
But that’s not all!
If you beat the game and press “Start” after the credits, the game will restart and feature a scantily clad Samus.
All the 8-bit voluptuousness you could ever want. (source)
Reow.
Play as Master Hand — ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’
That’s right, you can play as Master Hand, Super Smash Bros. Melee’s quirky final boss, but cracking Da Vinci’s code was easier to figure out.
A convoluted mix of pressing and releasing certain buttons, placing the controller in port 3, and hovering over a variety of options eventually results in a glitch that calls Master Hand to the arena.
An Easter egg so difficult to find it requires diagrams! (source)
Just like the AI-controlled iteration, the player-controlled hovering hand is not much fun to play against. His difficult-to-dodge, room-clearing move set is as devastating as intended to be, adding another layer of frustration to the friendship-ruining fighter.All that’s gold does not glitter, thanks to new work by UC Irvine scientists that could reduce glare from solar panels and electronic displays and dull dangerous glints on military weapons.
Irvine, Calif., April 4, 2014 – All that’s gold does not glitter, thanks to new work by UC Irvine scientists that could reduce glare from solar panels and electronic displays and dull dangerous glints on military weapons.
“We found that a very simple process and a tiny bit of gold can turn a transparent film black,” said UC Irvine chemistry professor Robert Corn, whose group has created a patterned polymer material based on the findings, documented in recent papers. The postdoctoral associates and students were initially worried when they noticed what appeared to be soot on a flexible film they were designing to coat various products.
Via painstaking tests, though, the researchers realized that they’d accidentally discovered a way to fabricate a surface capable of eliminating glare, as reported in Nano Letters. They also learned that the material can keep grime in raindrops and other moisture from sticking, as reported in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
To do it, the group etched a repeating pattern of cones modeled on moth eyeballs at the nanoscale on Teflon and other nonstick surfaces. They then applied a thin layer of gold over the cones and, voila, the shine from the gold and any light reflecting onto it was all but obliterated. The material is also highly hydrophobic, meaning it repels liquids.
Angry residents of Newport Beach, Calif.; certain cities in England and Australia; and elsewhere have complained vociferously about neighbors installing highly reflective solar panels that unintentionally beam blinding sunlight onto their properties. In addition, troops risk enemy detection when sunshine bounces off weaponry. And cellphone displays can be unreadable in bright light. The new coating could solve these issues.
UC Irvine’s Office of Technology Alliances has filed a patent application for the work. “We’re excited about where this technology might lead and who could be interested in exploring the commercial opportunities that this new advancement presents,” said senior licensing officer Doug Crawford.
Corn, Mana Toma and Gabriel Loget are co-inventors on the patent and co-authors of the studies.
About the University of California, Irvine: Located in coastal Orange County, near a thriving employment hub in one of the nation’s safest cities, UC Irvine was founded in 1965. One of only 62 members of the Association of American Universities, it’s ranked first among U.S. universities under 50 years old by the London-based Times Higher Education. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $4.3 billion annually to the local economy.
Media access: UC Irvine maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists/experts/. Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.The Central European University, an intellectual hub in Budapest that was founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, has pledged to fight what it says is the Hungarian government's attempt to shut it down.
The top university, founded in 1990, says that a new draft piece of legislation on higher education - tabled on Tuesday evening (28 March) by the government of Viktor Orban - is "discriminatory" and "targets" the Central European Univeristy (CEU) to force them out of Hungary.
"This is not just a Hungarian issue, it is about international academic freedom", CEU rector and president Michael Ignatieff said at a press conference on Wednesday (29 March).
"We will never close this university, we will maintain the continuity of our academic programs no matter what. [...] This is our home," Ignatieff said.
"CEU will resolve to all available legal remedies if it is passed," he added.
Ignatieff said the draft law has to be scrapped and called for safeguards on the university's legal status.
The Hungarian government said that stricter legislation was needed after it discovered that 28 foreign-linked universities were operating "unlawfully".
Besides CEU, the bill would also effect British, German and French schools in the country.
The draft law would require CEU to open a campus in the US, while it is solely focused on central and eastern Europe, and would bar it from issuing degrees in Hungary, also forcing it to change its name, the university says.
Hungary's human resources minister Zoltan Balog was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the bill was prompted by "national security considerations" and the needs to ensure that the university courses meet "foreign policy priorities".
CEU operates under an agreement concluded in 2004 between the Hungarian government and New York state, which was then enshrined in a special law. It issues degrees accredited both in Hungary and in the US.
Representatives of the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Romania were present alongside Ignatieff at Wednesday's press conference to show support for the university.
The US embassy in a statement called the university "an important success story" in the US-Hungarian relationship, and said that it enjoys strong bipartisan support in the US government.
"The United States opposes any effort to compromise the operations or independence of the university," the statement said.
Soros crackdown
The Central European University, that has an alumni of 14,000 students from 117 countries, is specialised in humanities and social sciences.
It is a major and symbolic postgraduate institution founded by Soros, who has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into central and eastern Europe, after the fall of communism, to promote the idea of an open society, and support the region’s transition from communism to democracy.
The targeting of CEU's is seen as part of a wider crackdown by the Orban government on organisations linked or funded by Hungarian-American financier Soros.
In January, a top official from Orban's ruling party said that NGOs funded by Soros should be "swept out" of the country.
Orban has been pursuing an illiberal form of democracy, championed in Russia as well, a country which has already expelled groups funded by Soros' Open Society Foundation.
If CEU is forced out, it would be a major blow to Hungary's reputation and to higher education in the country.
On Wednesday, the mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Simasius, a CEU graduate himself, has already said in a Facebook post that the capital of Lithuania would welcome CEU if it were to be forced out of Hungary.
European Commission silent
The European Commission has so far been reluctant to criticise the draft bill.
A commission spokeswoman said on Thursday that the issue was raised at the college of commissioners the day before, but added that the EU executive does not comment on "drafts".
According to a source, commission vice-president Frans Timmermans raised the issue, and the Hungarian commissioner responsible for education, Tibor Navracsics, outlined the draft legislation in response.
"We will see how this project will develop," the spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Navracsics, a well-respected university teacher of political sciences is an ally of Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban.
Orban received a scholarship in 1989 from Soros to study at Oxford.Last year Fetty Wap gave us some of 2015's biggest bangers and a new crush (him). But for 11 year old Jayden Burgos, Fetty gave him something much cooler: the confidence to go out without his prosthetic eye in. Jayden lost his eye to retinoblastoma at two, while Fetty lost his to Glaucoma at six months old.
In September of last year Jayden's mother, Brenda Vaden, penned a lengthy Facebook post explaining her son had removed his prosthetic eye after seeing Fetty go without. Brenda wrote she was "forever thankful" to the rapper, after Jayden's first day "venturing the world without his prosthetic." It was goes without saying: the story incredibly heartwarming. It's no wonder Brenda's post immediately did the rounds on the web, eventually landing in front of Fetty himself. He applauded Jayden's bravery, and seven months on the pair have finally met.
READ: i-D intervies fetty wap, the king of trap
After a show in Denver, part of his Monster Outbreak Energy Tour tour, Fetty met Jayden and his family. Fetty told People he was happy to inspire Jayden, "I know how it feels to be picked on. I've been talked about my whole entire life. The only difference now is they're saying good things about the guy with one eye. I'm proud of Jayden and I appreciate him more than he may know."
These days, Fetty's eye doesn't bothers him at all. In fact, he's proud. Back in November, we asked the rapper what makes Fetty Wap Fetty Wap? "I'm the guy with the one eye who makes good music," he replied. He's certainly not wrong.TEL AVIV – The Intercept website and a Philippine news outlet that collaborated to publish an alleged transcript of President Donald Trump’s private phone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte are both directly tied to liberal billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Omidyar’s nonprofit, the Omidyar Network, also funds the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) hosted by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. IFCN has partnered with Facebook to help determine whether certain stories should be flagged as “disputed.”
Poynter’s IFCN is also funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, while the Omidyar Network itself has partnered with Soros’s Open Society on numerous projects and given grants to third parties using the Soros-funded Tides Foundation. Tides is one of the largest donors to left-wing causes in the U.S.
The Intercept published the transcript in which Trump reportedly told Duterte that he was doing an “unbelievable job” in reducing his country’s drug problem and called Duterte a “good man.” Parts of the transcript were also published by the Washington Post.
In its characterization of the phone call, the Intercept claimed that “Trump offered an unqualified endorsement of Duterte’s bloody extermination campaign against suspected drug dealers and users, which has included open calls for extrajudicial murders and promises of pardons and immunity for the killers.”
The Intercept reported that it collaborated with the Philippine news outlet Rappler on the story and “well-placed sources at the Palace and the Department of Foreign Affairs” confirmed the transcript’s authenticity to the Rappler.
The Intercept story contained the following “disclosure” about Omidyar:
Omidyar Network is an investor in Rappler, an independent news organization based in the Philippines. The Intercept’s publisher, First Look Media, was founded by Pierre Omidyar.
The Omidyar-funded IFCN recently drafted a code of five principles for news websites to accept, and Facebook announced it will work with “third-party fact checking organizations” that are signatories to the code of principles.
Facebook says that if the “fact checking organizations” determine that a certain story is fake, it will get flagged as disputed and, according to the Facebook announcement, “there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why. Stories that have been disputed may also appear lower in News Feed.”
Besides its funding for the so-called fact-checker partnered with Facebook, Omidyar also provided the seed donation for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – whose chief has baselessly smeared Breitbart News with claims of anti-Semitic associations – to build a Silicon Valley command center purportedly aimed at combating online hate.
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
With research by Joshua Klein.Iranian Spies Tried to Entrap Me in a Pret A Manger
LONDON — In all the years I lived and worked in Iran as a journalist, my only dealings with the Islamic Republic’s intelligence establishment were through regular meetings with my assigned monitors. That is, until a few weeks ago.
One Sunday evening in December, while sitting in London, I received a direct message on Twitter from an account belonging to a prominent TV presenter on the Persian-language network Manoto, Raha Etemadi. The channel, based in London, is enormously popular inside Iran, and its satellite signal is often scrambled by the Iranian authorities, who frown on its slick, Western-style entertainment shows and lightly oppositional news broadcasts. The message explained that the network was conducting an internal quality review and was reaching out to professional Iranian journalists for feedback on its programming. I examined the account, and it looked legitimate: many thousands of followers, a long history of appropriate-sounding tweets. I had no reason to doubt its authenticity and agreed to help. In subsequent direct messages, the presenter said that his colleague, Soheil Suduki, would follow up with me on Skype, for a short conversation. I passed along my Skype ID, and we set up a time.
The afternoon “Soheil” called me on Skype, I was at Waterloo Station, in its usual mad, commuting-time rush.
“It’s very loud in the background. Can’t you go anywhere quieter?” Soheil wasn’t especially polite, but being a bit rude is a young Tehrani affectation, and I suggested he call my cell phone instead.
He seemed intent on staying on Skype, and I obligingly found a Pret A Manger. In retrospect this seems to matter, because one is particularly unsuspecting in proximity to hundreds of pre-fabricated sandwiches in the middle of London.
Soheil asked me to turn on my Skype camera, explaining that his wasn’t working, but it made it so much easier to chat when you could see someone’s face. Again, I obliged. He said that the network was trying to rebrand itself as “more transparent” and asked whether I had any general thoughts on their programming. I admitted to only watching the reality dining shows and Googoosh Music Academy, an X Factor equivalent starring Iran’s most beloved pop diva, both of which I said were genuinely excellent.
Soheil, indifferent to my compliments, suddenly became very specific: “Do you think that if the supreme leader sends a message to the youth of Europe, that’s something we should cover in our news bulletin?”
“It depends on your audience and whether you think that news is relevant to them,” I said. I had just come from teaching journalism at my university and said some things about framing and audience reception theory. Soheil listened dutifully but did not seem interested in audience reception theory.
“So what do you actually think? Should we cover it?”
“It depends on whether you think your audience wants to hear it, or would consider it regime propaganda.” I might have used the word dictator, but for the life of me, I can’t remember.
Soheil switched tracks and asked me who I worked for. I said that I taught journalism, that I wasn’t working on Iran very much, and was more focused on reporting on the Islamic State.
“If we want to get a story placed in a major Western news outlet, about our rebranding, how would we go about that?”
Many Iranians, including the intelligence agents I dealt with in Iran, believe the Western media functions like the press under authoritarian regimes, with coverage formally dictated straight from the top. On many occasions, in both Tehran and in later years, authorities and others close to them have asked me who ordered up stories they didn’t like, assuming there was a chain of command you could map out, leading straight back to some official in Washington. The mechanics of this interested the authorities deeply, because in their eyes, it helped determine which journalists were spies.
I explained to Soheil that an internal review within a Persian-language network wasn’t really news and that to promote his network he would need to focus on outlets that covered Iran closely and, more importantly, to put that in greater context, perhaps as an opinion piece.
“You need an angle, a hook of some kind. Otherwise, it’s not really a story.”
Soheil did not seem to understand what a hook or an angle was, nor did he seem intrigued. I talked a bit more about how the news functions and suggested some outlets that might be interested in an opinion piece.
“But I was told you could help advise on how to get a piece placed in a newspaper,” he insisted.
He asked for names and email addresses.
“Can you tell me again who you work for?” It was the third time he had asked that question.
“I’ve been reporting on Iran for over 15 years. Did you even bother to Google me before calling?”
“Oh sorry, sorry,” he said with a laugh.
I ended the conversation, suggesting that he should send me some links to specific programs, as it was difficult to speak so generally about programming.
I didn’t think about it again until two weeks later, when I saw some tweets warning that the presenter’s Twitter account was fake. I felt my stomach clench, realizing in an instant what had happened. Everything I had dismissed as annoying and unprofessional about Soheil now became glaring warning signs. He had not been some hapless staffer at a network trying to improve itself, but an intelligence agent trying to get me to incriminate myself.
Now, somewhere on a hard drive in the bowels of some anonymous building in Tehran, there is video of me, with my hair uncovered, failing to show sufficient deference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Insulting him, of course, is a prosecutable crime in Iran and the most common charge leveled against inconvenient journalists.
Everything about my conversation with Soheil, in retrospect, bore the hallmarks of an intelligence-fishing operation. Like the agents in Tehran who believed journalists working for the Western media were often spies, Soheil thought there was a secret route I could provide him to getting stories into major newspapers. It was just a question of getting me to reveal how and who would help him.
I was reminded of how once, in Tehran, my intelligence minder was particularly exercised over a story I had written about a film appearance of Dawud Salahuddin, an American convert to Islam who had fled to Iran in 1980 after killing a former Shah-era diplomat in a Washington suburb. Salahuddin had appeared in director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s film Kandahar but appeared in the credits under a different name. The story had come through the Time magazine office in New York, and I had done the Tehran reporting. Salahuddin was a sensitive figure for the Iranian authorities even then, before his reported association with CIA contractor Robert Levinson, who disappeared on an unapproved, covert assignment in Iran.
My intelligence minder simply could not accept that the story had just emerged on its own, likely believing it was somehow planted by the U.S. government. “Yes, sometimes there are leaks,” I told him. “But not every story is leaked, all the time, even if it embarrasses you.”
Soheil’s methods are commonplace in Tehran, where those critical of the regime, be they journalists or activists, find themselves entrapped by plots of all kinds, often involving sexual entrapment. What usually happens is that the target stops writing or gives up his work, to avoid embarrassing his family. The regime is especially fond of confessions or distorted interviews, extracted under duress, which it airs on prime-time television shows, like the infamous 20:30 program that documents the mechanics of purported Western plots.
Now that so many of us dual-national journalists have simply stopped traveling to Iran, the intelligence authorities are apparently coming to us, to create the material they need for their domestic propaganda purposes. To that end, if Soheil is planning on ever getting in touch again, I should like to save him the bother: To avoid being detained next time I dare to travel to Iran, I would like to pre-emptively confess to this now, in this space, and apologize for my flippancy. Should Ayatollah Khamenei ever wish to send a missive to the youth of Europe, I’m sure they would be receptive, and I believe that all Persian-language media, diaspora or otherwise, should cover that message with rapt attention. Was that all right, Soheil? Was my tone remorseful enough, or would you like to Skype again and film me saying it?
That the arm of Iranian intelligence was able to reach that far and that Soheil exploited my good will, listening to me drone on about how journalism works, when all he wanted was a pat confession to prop up his conspiracy-laced view of the world.
While these tactics are business as usual for the Islamic Republic of Iran, the state’s deep mistrust of its dual-national citizens, especially journalists, usually plays itself out in the shadows. Many have been banned from working inside Iran or have sustained harassment that has pushed them out of the country. Only when the state goes to its most extreme lengths — such as imprisoning journalists, like Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who was released last month after 545 days in prison — does it make headlines.
Rezaian’s release, along with that of four other detained Iranian-Americans, was the product of lengthy negotiations, in which Iran was also able to secure some of its aims, including the appearance of pragmatism on the eve of the nuclear deal’s implementation. But it does not reflect any change in the reality that led to their detention in the first place. An influential core of Iran’s political establishment believes firmly that the United States |
gas. He led 25 laps and Timothy Peters got by Busch with 5 laps to go. With help from Ron Hornaday Jr. and Ryan Truex, Busch used a high-line move, to beat Peters by an inch for the win in a photo-finish.
Kyle Busch led some laps during the Daytona 500 and was running 4th on the final lap but got collected in an accident involving former arch rival Kevin Harvick. Harvick apologized for causing the wreck, but he and Busch both called out the track for not having safer-barriers in the front-stretch. Busch hinted in a post-race interview that the wreck was the hardest impact he's ever had in a race-car.
The next week at Phoenix, Busch ran second with 65 laps to go, but he and then leader Ryan Newman lost their shot at the win when they had to pit during an untimely caution. Despite this, Ryan Newman and Busch were able to recover to finish in the top ten.
On March 23, 2014 at Auto Club Speedway, Busch started 14th and was running fifth on the final restart. His older brother Kurt Busch appeared to have the win locked up, but Kurt and Tony Stewart got into an aggressive battle for the lead that resulted in Busch catching up to the leaders and passing for the win on the final lap. Busch held off rookie Kyle Larson for the win after passing Kurt Busch and Stewart.
At Richmond, Busch finished 3rd after an amazing charge from 16th place to 3rd in the final restart thanks to 4 fresh tires. At Talladega, Busch appeared to have a dominant car, but he was collected in a multi-car pileup caused when Brad Keselowski controversially raced aggressively while 6 laps down. Having seen Brad call out teammate Matt Kenseth for aggressive driving at Richmond the previous week, Busch and several other drivers were furious with Keselowski in their post-wreck interviews. Keselowski apologized for his role in the accident.
At Charlotte in the All-Star Race, Busch controlled the race early. He won $50,000 for winning segment No. 1 but got into an early accident in the second segment collecting Joey Logano. While racing hard with older brother Kurt, Kyle got into Clint Bowyer and spun out; came back down and was hit hard by Logano. It resembled his 2013 spring Kansas wreck. Busch famously climbed out and tried to walk to the infield hospital by himself to gain his composure but an ambulance picked him up escorting him to the hospital.
Kyle Busch also had a good Nationwide series season. He shared the No. 54 with Sam Hornish Jr. bringing the 54 to victory many times. Busch took the win at Phoenix holding off former rival Kevin Harvick. The rain delayed the race finish forcing it to be called official therefore giving Busch the win. He took the checkers at Bristol by holding off Kyle Larson in a re-run of the 2013 Bristol race. He then ended Joey Logano's Dover streak by winning the Dover NNS race on May 31, 2014 edging Trevor Bayne by 9 seconds (29 car-lengths) after a side-by-side battle with Bayne with 20–15 laps to go.
During the spring and early summer, Busch had great results in the truck series. In the first 5 races he entered he dominated and won. Busch led the most laps in 4 of the races. Four of the races were also won after starting on the pole.
In June 2014 Busch led 31 laps of the Quaker State 400 but got passed by Brad Keselowski with 16 laps to go. Busch finished second but said in an interview that after his 10-week streak of bad luck the runner-up felt like a win to him. The runner-up returned Busch to the top ten in points after being ranked 12th before the Kentucky event.
At Daytona Busch ran in the top ten all day long. However "the big one" struck after half-way into the race. Busch got clipped by Justin Allgaier and Denny Hamlin. He then got crushed and t-boned by Cole Whitt causing him to flip over onto his roof. Busch was mostly unscathed. Busch recovered from the bad finish by winning the pole a week later for the Camping World RV Sales 301, a race at a track he's finished second at many times and won in 2006. Busch finished second to Brad Keselowski.
At the Brickyard 400 Busch finished second for a second consecutive time while Jeff Gordon pulled away to win. He then had a streak of 4 races with 36th or less finishes. At Bristol Busch appeared to have a dominant car but got into a multi-car wreck on lap 117 after leading many laps. He then broke down because of axle issues. He and his crew chief David Rogers argued on their radios as Busch went to the garages with Rogers telling Busch to "take your whiny little ass to the bus." Rogers later apologized for his comments when it was figured out that Rogers only thought Busch was complaining because of miscommunication due to radio issues.
At Atlanta the next week Busch and Martin Truex Jr. wrecked while racing with 3 laps to go bringing out a caution. Busch and Truex exchanged heated words in the garages. Busch made the Chase for a second consecutive year. At Chicago Busch won the truck race despite 2 errors. Busch led 46 laps at Chicago and finished 7th.
Busch came to Kansas nervous, after a history of struggles and bad luck. Despite this, Busch won the Nationwide race, and finished 3rd in the Cup race the next day. His luck ran out just as the checkered flag fell, his engine expired immediately after the 400 miles were completed. Busch stated after the race that the third-place finish at his worst race-track felt like a championship to him.
Busch made it to the second round of the first elimination-format Chase and while he was 2nd in points coming in to Talladega, a crash on lap 103, where he was rear-ended by rookie Austin Dillon, eliminated him from contention due to a 40th-place finish which dropped him to 10th (below the 8th-place cutline).
Busch's results in the Chase spiraled downward after he did not make it to the next round. He won a Nationwide race at Kansas and almost won a Nationwide race at Phoenix, but got passed by Brad Keselowski on the final lap. Busch's truck series operation won the most races in 2014 for the truck series and he won the owner's championship for a second consecutive time. When his truck driver/teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. celebrated the race win on the track, Wallace joined his buddy/boss on the front-stretch doing donuts together.
Busch finished 10th in the 2014 Cup series standings.
2015: Championship year [ edit ]
Busch and crew chief Dave Rogers parted ways at the end of the 2014 season. In the offseason shuffle of crew chiefs, Busch was paired with his Xfinity Series crew chief Adam Stevens. Dave Rogers was transferred over to Denny Hamlin, while Hamlin's previous crew chief Darian Grubb was transferred over to newly recruited Carl Edwards.[163] In late January 2015, Busch was accidentally criticized by Keith Olbermann for brother Kurt's domestic violence case, being mistaken for Kurt.[164]
On February 10, 2015, Busch announced that he would skip the truck series race at Daytona to focus on racing in the Daytona 500. During the second Budweiser Duel, Busch dominated the first half of the race. However he was called for a stop-and-go-penalty for speeding exiting pit road. He restarted the second half of the race in 23rd spot. He performed a tremendous comeback, coming back to the front of the field within 15 laps of the penalty, finishing second behind former Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Daytona injury [ edit ]
On February 21, 2015, Busch was involved in a multi-car accident with eight laps to go during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The accident happened exiting the tri-oval, and Kyle Busch bounced off Kyle Larson and slid down into the infield grass and slammed into a concrete wall head-on with no SAFER barriers, Busch climbed out of his race car with the help of medical and on-track officials. He laid on the ground before being placed on a stretcher as medical personnel attended to his right leg. He later was transported to Halifax Medical Center for further evaluation. A few hours later, the diagnosis was found to be a massive compound fracture in the lower right leg, a small fracture in the left foot, and a sprained left finger.[165]
Return [ edit ]
On May 12, 2015, Busch announced on Twitter that he would return to NASCAR at the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte on May 16, 2015.[166] On June 13, 2015, nearly four months after his injury, he won the Xfinity Series race at Michigan in his second start of the season. In order to make the Chase in 2015, Busch needed to be in the Top 30 in points and have one win in the Sprint Cup Series.
Busch racing at Sonoma Raceway in 2015
On return to the Sprint Cup Series, Busch had an up-and-down season. In the Coca-Cola 600, he finished 11th. At Dover, he was running well until he was caught up in a late race crash and finished 36th. He then finished ninth at Pocono. At Michigan, Busch lost control of his car and cracked the wall, wrecking his car and finishing dead last. At Sonoma, Busch won after a late race caution put him on fresher tires than leader Jimmie Johnson. A few laps later, Busch was leading over brother Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer. Their race against each other for second place allowed Busch to keep enough distance to hold first place. He had built up just enough time to come in first knowing that his brother had passed Bowyer and was quickly gaining on him. On July 11, 2015, Busch won at Kentucky, making him only 87 points from breaking the top 30 in points, and be eligible to enter the Chase.[167] It also denied Jeff Gordon's quest to win at least once on every active NASCAR tracks in his final season as a full-time driver. On July 19, 2015, Busch won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, making him only 58 points from breaking the top 30 in points, and be eligible to enter the Chase.[168] With 50 laps to go, Busch made a daring move on Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick to get his lap back, which resulted from a pit stop earlier in the race. A caution would later be thrown. This would ultimately put Busch in the lead with 44 laps to go, where he would not be challenged at all in the remaining laps. The race ended under caution when Alex Bowman smacked the wall off turn 2 as a result of a blown tire on the last lap. This would be Busch's third victory in the past four races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He also fended off Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick for the win. In the next race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he won the prestigious Brickyard 400 and put himself 23 points behind the cutoff for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He also completed the sweep for the weekend after winning the Xfinity race the day before and won three Cup Series races in a row for the first time in his career.[169]
Busch racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2015
Busch clinched his spot in the Chase with 1 race left. Busch, with 2 top tens during the first round of the Chase advanced to round 2. However his hopes to advance to the next round took a heavy hit during the race at Charlotte. After running second to teammate Matt Kenseth for most of the race, Busch and Kyle Larson collided while entering pit road, spinning Larson and eliminating both from contention for the race win. Busch hit the wall several times during the final 50 laps due to oil on the race-track from the No. 51 driven by Justin Allgaier who had lost a transmission after an on-track collision. After the race Busch and several other competitors such as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. criticized NASCAR for allowing the drivers to race in oil during the final 50 laps.
On November 15, 2015, Busch clinched a spot to stay in contention as the Championship 4 for the final Chase at Homestead. On November 20, 2015, Kyle Busch Motorsports's Erik Jones won the Camping World Truck Series championship, making Busch the owners champion. On November 22, 2015, Busch won the Ford EcoBoost 400 to win his first ever Cup Series championship. Busch ended the season with five wins, twelve top fives, and sixteen top tens, despite racing in only 25 of 36 races.[170] The Championship win is arguably the most controversial due to Busch missing several races at the beginning and some thought he didn't deserve a Chase spot because of that.
2016: 3rd [ edit ]
Before the 2016 season started, Busch announced that he would no longer race in Xfinity or Camping World Truck Series restrictor plate races because of his Daytona crash in 2015.[171] Busch started his season off with a 17th-place finish in the Sprint Unlimited, crashing with less than 5 laps left in the race. He won his Can-Am Duel and started on the front row of the Daytona 500 after his teammate Matt Kenseth, who qualified second for the 500, wrecked his car in the Duel and was forced to start from the back of the field. Busch finished 3rd in the 500. After the Daytona 500, Busch stated that he could "obtain 200 wins from all three national touring series combined" before he retires, which would tie Richard Petty's record. On February 27, 2016, Busch won the Xfinity Series' Heads Up Georgia 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The next week, Busch led all but one lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win the Boyd Gaming 300. That same race, he led his 16,000th career Xfinity Series lap just before a red flag came out around lap 163.
During the 2016 Kobalt 400, Busch was leading with 13 laps to go, and seemed to be the eventual winner, when he reported a vibration on his right front tire, thinking it was going to shred. He fell behind Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Jimmie Johnson, finishing fourth at his hometown track. He had started 23rd in that same race. At Phoenix, Busch earned his third Xfinity Series win in a row, making it his 79th career victory (led 175 of 200 laps). The next day, he started on the pole at the Good Sam 500 and finished fourth.
While leading the final lap of the TreatMyClot.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway, Busch ran over a piece of debris, blowing his left front tire. He lost the lead to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Suárez, who ran out of fuel, allowing Busch to re-take the lead on only three tires, though in the final corner, Austin Dillon was able to get by Busch and win the race. Kyle Busch made remarks about how NASCAR did not throw the caution, causing speculations that he had stated that NASCAR rigged the race. With his radio statements (plus refusing to do media and press interviews, as well as response to Austin Dillon claiming he tried to wreck him), Kyle Busch was fined $10,000 and was put on probation for 4 weeks.[172] Busch rumorly apologized to NASCAR, yet was not confirmed.
After coming back from Easter/Spring Break and the incident at Auto Club, Kyle Busch started 2nd and finished 1st in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville, his first ever win at the track in any touring series (31st attempt). The next day, Busch started 7th, lead 352 of 500 laps, and won the 2016 STP 500 at Martinsville, sweeping the weekend and clinching a spot in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup.[173][174][175] During the race interview, Kyle Busch called out skeptics and critics about him racing in the lower NASCAR series and how he doesn't deserve to win the races he had.[176] His Truck win at Martinsville marked a milestone in which he had won a race in any of NASCAR's top 3 divisions at all 23 Sprint Cup tracks on the circuit, and his Cup win at Martinsville left him with just three tracks he has yet to win at; Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, and Pocono Raceway (he would win at Kansas in the spring).
A week later, Busch swept at Texas Motor Speedway, winning the Xfinity and Cup races (O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 and Duck Commander 500), which sparked even more controversy with Sprint Cup drivers in the Xfinity and NCWTS. The Xfinity Cup win was his 80th overall in the series, and his 160th in all 3 top NASCAR touring series combined (which he extended at the Cup race at Texas the following day). The win in the Sprint Cup Series placed him 1st in the standings.
The next week at Bristol Motor Speedway, however, was brutal for Busch. Following a 2nd-place finish in the Xfinity race, he had a 38th-place finish in the Cup race due to multiple tire failures. The following week, Busch was passed by teammate Carl Edwards on the final lap at the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond, finishing 2nd to him. At Talladega, Busch avoided several wrecks to finish second to Brad Keselowski. That race was his 400th career race, 1 day prior to his birthday. During post-race interviews, Busch showed his displeasure at NASCAR for racing at super-speedway tracks like Daytona and Talladega, stating "It sucks. I'd rather be at home." He and many other drivers would express their issues of safety and how they raced there due to 3 cars flipping upside-down and 4 "Big Ones", causing 35 of the 40 cars in the field to have damage or be involved in a crash.
At the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas, Busch led the final 40 laps on pit strategy to win the race ahead of former rival Kevin Harvick after affiliate driver Martin Truex Jr., the polesitter and dominant car of the race, like at Texas, had pit issues, failing to secure all 5 lug nuts in the pit stop. Martin Truex Jr. had to pit twice to fix the issue, resulting in a 14th-place finish. It was Busch's first win at Kansas, a track where he has had 4 DNFs and only 1 top 5 at prior to the start of the race, and he also became the first driver of 2016 to score three wins. He remained with 2 tracks he had yet to win at: Charlotte Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway.
After his win at Kansas, Busch had a rough stretch of races, having 4 finishes of 30th or worse. After a 40th-place finish at Michigan, Busch and the #18 team regrouped during the off-week and got a solid 7th-place finish at Sonoma Raceway.
The following week at Daytona, Busch finished second to race winner Brad Keselowski. He finished second despite being in a backup car after a hard practice crash before qualifying. The next week at Kentucky Speedway, Busch won the Xfinity race at Kentucky. The following day in the Cup race, Busch finished 12th in the fuel mileage race, despite being in the top 5 late before pitting for fuel. The next week at New Hampshire, Busch once again won the Xfinity race. The next day, Busch led the most laps, but faltered on late restarts and finished 8th behind race winner and teammate Matt Kenseth.
The following week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Busch made NASCAR history as the first driver to sweep both poles and both races in the same weekend at the same track. In the Xfinity Series Lilly Diabetes 250, Busch dominated the race leading almost every lap and winning the race from the pole. It was his third Xfinity Series victory in a row and 83rd victory in the series. The following day in the Brickyard 400, Busch dominated the race, leading 149 of the 170 laps and after surviving several late restarts, Busch won his second consecutive Brickyard 400. It was his 38th career Cup Series victory, 4th victory of the year, and 2nd career victory at Indianapolis.
Busch dominated the Bristol race in August. He led 57% of the whole race leading for 252 of the first 419 laps. However, Busch began having handling problems during the final quarter of the race and it was enough to send him to the garages. On his way to the garages, however, Busch got t-boned by a crashing Justin Allgaier, driving a one-off race for HScott Motorsports, taking him out of the race. Busch expressed discontent with Allgaier and Allgaier's spotter in his post-race interview, calling them "The biggest morons out there."
Busch went on to make the Championship Four at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finish third in the standings.
2017: Runner up [ edit ]
Busch started the 2017 season on a slow note when he wrecked in the Daytona 500 after his rear tire lost air, spinning him and collecting race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.. In his interview, Busch criticized Goodyear's tires, saying they "aren't very good at holding air."[177]
In the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas, Busch collided with Joey Logano as the two battled for a top-five finish on the final lap. The contact spun Busch out and onto pit road,[178] relegating him to 22nd, while Logano finished fourth.[179] After the race, Busch confronted Logano on pit road. Before words could be exchanged, Busch threw a punch, but it is unclear if the punch landed. Logano and his crew then quickly took Busch to the ground. Busch suffered a bloody forehead in the brawl. "I got dumped, flat-out dumped," Busch stated in a post-race interview. "He just drove straight into the corner and wrecked me. That's how Joey races so, he's gonna get it."[178] Neither driver was penalized for the fight.[180] The following week at Phoenix, Busch led a race-high 114 laps[181] and was in position to win before Logano's tire blew with five laps to go to bring out the caution. For the final restart, Ryan Newman stayed out and went on to win, while Busch finished third.[182] Busch finished 8th the next week at Auto Club Speedway. He then led a race-high 274 laps the following week at Martinsville but finished 2nd to Brad Keselowski. Kyle Busch won the exhibition All Star Race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, and followed it up with his best finish in the Coca-Cola 600 coming in 2nd-place. Busch had led 1,000+ laps in 2017 coming to the second Pocono race in July, where he had yet to win. He started on the pole, led the most laps, and took the lead from Kevin Harvick for his 39th career victory. It was his first at Pocono and left Charlotte Motor Speedway as the only track where Busch has yet to win at in the Cup Series. On August 19, 2017, Busch swept the weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. He won all stages in the truck race on Wednesday and did the same in the Xfinity Series race on Friday. Busch would go on to win the Cup race on Saturday night after holding off a hard charging Erik Jones, who up to that point was dominating the race. Busch would go on to accomplish his second Bristol sweep.[183] He later went on to help teammate Hamlin win the Southern 500 two weeks later.
Busch made the renamed "Playoffs" with his two wins. He won the pole at Chicagoland before finishing out of the top five due to a pit road penalty. The following week, Busch won the 2017 ISM Connect 300 from the pole, and leading the most laps. The win caused him to advance to the next round of the playoffs. Busch won for the second consecutive week at Dover after passing Chase Elliott coming to the white flag.[184] Busch held off Toyota teammate Truex as they came to the line and the field wrecking behind them and recorded his 2nd-career Martinsville victory just 3 races later and made it to the final four in Homestead. He was unable to get by Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps resulting in a second-place finish in the race and in the final point standings.
2018: 4th [ edit ]
Busch's quest for redemption began at the 2018 Daytona 500, Busch wrecked after blowing a tire; however, he was able to make it down to pit road to fix his car, finishing in 25th place. Busch was able to win the truck series race at Las Vegas in his first time competing there in the truck series since 2001. With the win, Busch has now won at his home track in all 3 major touring series of NASCAR. Busch followed the win with back to back runner up finishes at Las Vegas and Phoenix in the cup series to Kevin Harvick, even leading the most laps in the latter. He later finished third at Auto Club Speedway to Martin Truex Jr and finished second at Martinsville to Clint Bowyer. Busch won his first race of the season at Texas in April. He followed that win with another win at Bristol on a Monday after using a bump and run against Kyle Larson in the closing laps. Busch won his third straight race at Richmond after starting the race in 32nd, marking the first time he has won three in a row since July 2015 when he won Kentucky, New Hampshire, and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.[185] Next at Talladega, he went as high as second, but went on to finish 13th. At the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, Busch dominated the race and scored his first career win at Charlotte, making him the first driver to win a race at every racetrack in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at which he has competed.[186] The next week at Pocono, Busch led the most laps and won the Xfinity Series race, meaning he has now won at every active Xfinity Series track he has competed at. 3 weeks later Kyle Busch battled Kyle Larson for the win at Chicagoland with a Bump & Run on the No. 42 of Larson with Busch completing the run for the win. At Daytona, Busch, was turned by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. resulting in a 33rd place finish. Two weeks after Daytona, at New Hampshire, Busch, was moved in the final laps by Harvick having Busch finish 2nd. The next week Busch started at the back in 27th but finished 4th in Stage 1, then used pit strategy at before the end of Stage 2 to get in front of the dominate car of Kevin Harvick (who also started at the rear) and then held off Daniel Suarez to win his 6th race of the year and second straight summer race at Pocono. In the final pit stop for the 18 team during Watkins Glen, the gas can had a malfunction to where fuel wasn't put into the car and forced Busch to pit before the green flag putting him as the last car on the lead lap. He rebounded to a 3rd place finish. In the first laps of the Bristol Night race, a caution came out for Busch who spun exiting turn 4. After spending most of the race picking up laps, fixing the damage, and being 2 laps down, Busch was able to contend up in the Top 5. However after an incident with Truex Jr. and later on Jimmie Johnson and Chris Buescher, he finished 20th. Busch finally won his 50th career Cup Series race at Richmond. With the 50th win, Kyle Busch is the only driver in NASCAR history to reach 50+ wins in all 3 of the top touring series. After making it to the round of 8, Busch went on to win at Phoenix (ISM Raceway) for the first time since his rookie season in 2005, and secured his spot in the championship 4. He would go on to finish 4th in the final standings, with Joey Logano winning the championship. He is currently at 195 wins across all 3 series. He is 6 wins behind from Richard Petty's 200.
Late model racing [ edit ]
Busch after winning the pole position for the 2012 Slinger Nationals
Busch has maintained an active schedule of regional late model stock car racing, running his own Kyle Busch Motorsports cars in various events. His biggest win came in December 2009 when he won the 42nd running of the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.[187] Busch won the Snowball Derby again in December 2017.[188]
On July 10, 2011, Busch won the 32nd annual Slinger Nationals at Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin.[189] Two weeks later, Busch won the 38th annual TD Bank 250 presented by New England Dodge Dealers at Oxford Plains Speedway;[190] it was his third attempt to win the event.[191] Kyle Busch became only the second active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to win the event, New England's largest short track race, joining Kevin Harvick as the only other active Sprint Cup driver to win the race with his victory in 2008.[192] Busch stated "I've had this one on my list of big races that I wanted to win and now that I've done it, it feels great - it was everything I thought it would be."[193] Busch also won the preliminary Pro All Star Series Oxford 150 the previous night, sweeping the weekend's events.[194]
Busch won the eighth annual Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway in June 2012, beating Tony Stewart to win the pay-per-view all-star event.[195]
In July 2013 Busch won the second running of the Howie Lettow Memorial 150 at the Milwaukee Mile, beating defending race winner Travis Sauter and NASCAR Truck Series regular Johnny Sauter to win the darkness-shortened 43-car event, having led every practice session and setting fast time in qualifying.[196]
Formula One [ edit ]
Busch was one of several American drivers under consideration to drive for the US-based Formula One team US F1.[197] Busch declined the offer, stating that the timing was wrong;[198] the team folded due to economic issues without ever competing in a race.[199] Busch was scheduled to test drive a Toyota F1 car at the end of the 2008 racing season,[200] but was forced to cancel the test due to his commitment to attend the 2008 Nationwide Series banquet.[198]
Charity efforts [ edit ]
In 2006, Busch founded the Kyle Busch Foundation following a visit to the St. John's Home in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[201] According to the Foundation, "The Kyle Busch Foundation is dedicated to providing essential tools for less fortunate children throughout the country.".[202] Busch also has personal sponsorship deals in place with Monster Energy and Electric Visual,[203][204] with both appearing on his late model at one time or another.
During the 2008 season, Busch announced the "Kyle's Miles" program in association with Pedigree to help dogs in shelters and breed rescue organizations.[205]
After Busch's first Cup Series win at California on September 4, 2005, he and car owner Rick Hendrick donated their winning shares from that race to the American Red Cross to help benefit those in need after Hurricane Katrina.[206] Because of this, Busch had an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which during the interview he announced the donations, which gained huge public attention and praise.[207]
Personal life [ edit ]
Busch and wife Samantha in April 2013
Kyle Busch married Samantha Sarcinella on December 31, 2010 in Chicago, which was featured in an hour special on Style Network.[208] Sarcinella is a native of St. John, Indiana,[209] and a graduate of Purdue University with a psychology degree.[210] Their son, Brexton Locke Busch, was born on May 18, 2015.[211][212] On November 30, 2018, Samantha announced that she suffered a miscarriage, losing their daughter. [213]
He is often nicknamed "Shrub", as the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a small bush being called a shrub.[214] Busch also uses the nickname "Rowdy", after Days of Thunder character Rowdy Burns.[215]
Legal troubles [ edit ]
On May 24, 2011, Busch was cited for reckless driving and speeding near Troutman, North Carolina, driving 128 mph (206 km/h) in a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed limit zone.[216] He issued a public apology in which he stated he got "carried away" test driving a Lexus LFA.[217] On August 23, 2011, he received a $1,000 fine and had his license suspended for 45 days after he pleaded guilty to speeding. He was also ordered to serve 30 hours of community service and placed on one year of unsupervised probation.[218] On April 29, 2014, Busch was cited for traveling 60 mph (97 km/h) in a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed limit zone on NC 73 in Denver, North Carolina. Busch claimed he thought the speed limit was 55 mph (89 km/h). The officer claimed Busch had a "disrespectful attitude."[219]
In popular media [ edit ]
Busch is one of the cover drivers of NASCAR Kart Racing. He is also featured on the cover of NASCAR Heat 2 after winning the cover driver competition at the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.[220]
Busch is featured as a playable driver in Forza Motorsport 6, via the NASCAR expansion pack.[221] The expansion features twenty-four paint schemes from the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season, including Busch's No. 18 Camry with primary sponsorship from M&M's and Interstate Batteries.[221] Busch, along with Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson, provide commentary in the expansion as the "voices of motorsport."[221]
Busch had a cameo as a West Virginia state trooper in the 2017 film Logan Lucky.[222]
Motorsports career results [ edit ]
NASCAR [ edit ]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)
Monster Energy Cup Series [ edit ]
Daytona 500 [ edit ]
Xfinity Series [ edit ]
Gander Outdoors Truck Series [ edit ]
Camping World East Series [ edit ]
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
ARCA Re/Max Series [ edit ]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Notes
Citations
}}Park Won-soon
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has won the Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development for implementing a "sharing economy" based on programs that help Seoulites share cars, housing, parking and construction tools.
Mayor Park was also recognized for subsidizing 72 startup companies to promote sustainable development since 2012, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Sunday.
Park is the first Korean and the second Asian region recipient after three Japanese engineers won in 2006 for developing the Prius, the world's first commercial hybrid automobile.
"The city's policies not only help reduce the living costs of young people in need of cars and housing, but have also contributed to the international green campaign initiative by saving energy effectively," said the award's chief juror Lotta Gothe.
"We value his dedication to helping the city become greener and its citizens more environment-conscious so far."
One of the city's green policies is its 2013 launch of So Car, a car-sharing program that enables short-term rentals for young people who pay per-hour rental fees of up to 6,000 won for domestic cars and up to 10,000 won for BMW Mini.
By registering on a smartphone application with a driver's license and credit card number, a resident can use the service round the clock, and select all available cars parked in the nearby "sharing zone" upon confirmation of availability by mobile phone.
As of February, the number of So Car users increased to 300,000, almost a sevenfold increase from a year earlier, with some 2,000 sharing zones nationwide.
Similarly, in 2012, the municipality launched room-sharing, a housing program that helps the elderly living alone rent their rooms to university students at around 300,000 won, only two-thirds of the market rental price.
Established in 2000, the nonprofit awards organization, operated by municipal governments and nine companies in Sweden, gives awards each year to people or organizations for outstanding performance and achievements toward a sustainable future. The prize is 1 million krona (140 million won or $122,000)
Previous winners include U.S. former Vice President Al Gore in 2007 and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2011.Apple (S AAPL) executives are looking for ways to deal with declining digital music sales, and options discussed with record label executives apparently include the launch of a Spotify-like music subscription service as well as the idea to use — gasp! — Android (S GOOG) for iTunes music sales, according to a Billboard report. Billboard cautions that these currently are just ideas being floated, but both would break with long |
that women who are being harassed are speaking out. For too long that wasn’t the case and I think part of the reason women are speaking out now is because there are many philosophers of all genders who are working to make changes in the profession so victims of sexual harassment feel they will be supported. I do worry a bit that the focus on sexual harassment in the profession has obscured the more day in and day out sexism that exists in philosophy.
I think the fact that the situation is so bad for women and minorities in the profession is, in some sense, over-determined. Old stereotypical views about women and scholars of color are still prevalent, if not as overt as they once were, and stereotype threat still operates. I have heard from more than a few students and colleagues that they have to spend energy battling the idea that they are “imposters” or “aren’t smart enough.” There is very little philosophical work by women or minority philosophers taught in most philosophy classes so for women students and students of color to pursue philosophy they have to have a deep passion as well as courage, we usually don’t just “fall into” philosophy. One of the things I love about philosophy but I know drives non-philosophers a bit crazy is how we have a habit of trying to understand and explain things in great detail. Given this habit and that the majority of faculty are men in almost all philosophy departments, the phenomena popularly referred to as “mansplaining” is thus rather common and can subtly shape the climate.
There is a lot going on to try to remedy these problems. Changing what is taught in undergraduate courses; working to avoid conferences or edited volumes that only include men (see the gendered conference campaign); and talking more openly about what positive changes can be made to create more inclusive environments in individual departments and philosophy as a whole all are promising developments. But these changes will take time and require vigilance. As a profession, we have a long way to go.
3:AM: In your new book on captivity – which looks at both human and non-human captivity and the issues that arise – there are some examples that might strike some as strange, such as the inclusion of pets. Some might thinks that including pets in discussions about captivity takes us away from crucial examples, such as prisons and zoos? Do pets raise interesting issues at the margins that help bring into sharper focus what the issues are around captivity?
LG: The ethical issues around captivity are remarkably complex and it is surprising how little philosophical attention has been paid to them. You are right to think that prisons and zoos raise the most obvious issues –the individuals that are held captive in these environments are there against their wills, they endure a wide variety of restrictions on their liberty, and they are under the control of their captors. But when we describe captivity as a condition in which a competent adult is confined and controlled and is reliant on those in control to satisfy her basic needs, it becomes clearer that there are many captive environments beyond prisons and zoos, environments that are not ordinarily thought of in those terms.
When we start thinking about pets or “companion animals” as captives then we may start reflecting in new ways on how we treat them. Clare Palmer and Peter Sandoe wrote a provocative chapter in the book that questions the received wisdom that routinely confining cats indoors promotes their well-being. Cats may be happy with our affections and their lives may be longer if we keep them safe indoors, but there is a loss here, to their freedom to go where they want and interact with and shape their larger environment.
In captive contexts, the trade-offs, between safety and freedom, protection and choice, are often obscured. For example, in the US, over 2 million people are incarcerated and not only are they denied freedom but their families and communities are impoverished in the name of social “safety” which is often illusory. Within prisons too, as two of the chapters in the book vividly illustrate, autonomy and basic respect are sacrificed in the name of safety and security. Comparing various kinds of captive institutions provides an opportunity to analyze the language of “safety” and reveals its strategic use in obscuring the loss of other valuable things.
Seeing pets as captives, I think, does bring some of the complexities of captivity into sharper focus.
3:AM: At first it seems obvious that conditions of captivity are really important – but then again, even a well looked after slave is still a slave – and no one is going to use the conditions as a justification in that kind of case are they? So where do you stand on this – how far should we be interested in conditions of captivity?
LG: One justification for keeping individuals captive has been that captivity is better for them. In the context of companion animals and zoo animals, for example, one often hears that they will live longer lives and they won’t have to worry about injury or predation or hunger. The sense is that they are better off having lost their freedom. The same sorts of justifications were also heard in the case of slaves. Captors wanted to believe that slaves were better off, became more civilized, more human, because of their captivity. Of course, this is odious in the case of human beings, and there are some who argue that this attitude is equally objectionable in the case of other animals.
Comparing captivity to a type of slavery, some animal advocates are opposed to all forms of captivity, even keeping pets. They take the label “abolitionist” as a way of linking their views to earlier abolitionist struggles to end slavery.
But I think our relationships with other animals (of course humans, but also nonhumans) are a central part of what makes lives meaningful. Rather than thinking we must end all captivity and thus all our relationships with other animals, we’d do better working to improve those relationships by being more perceptive of and more responsive to others’ needs and interests and sensibilities. Since we are already, inevitably, in relationships, rather than ending them we might try to figure out how to make them better, more meaningful, and more mutually satisfying. Importantly, by recognizing that we are inevitably in relationships to other animals, replete with vulnerability, dependency, and even some instrumentalization, and working to understand and improve these relationships, I’m not condoning exploitation. Acknowledging that we are in relationships doesn’t mean that all relationships are equally defensible or should stay as they are. Relationships of exploitation or complete instrumentalization are precisely the sorts of relationships that should change.
And this is where an exploration of conditions of captivity and the complexity of the individual captives’ interests comes in. Some animals, like whales and elephants, cannot thrive in captive conditions. As much as we might want to have closer relationships with them, it isn’t good for them. Others, like dogs and chimpanzees, can live meaningful lives in captivity but only if the conditions they are captive in are conducive to their flourishing and they are respected. Part of the problem with captivity is the relationship of domination that it tends to maintain. By re-evaluating captivity (and for many in our non-ideal situation, there is no real alternative) we can start to ask questions about whether and how captive conditions can, while denying certain freedoms, still promote the dignity of the captives.
3:AM: Putting a wasp in a jar seems less bad than putting a chimp in a cage. Does this intuition track anything ethical?
LG: The loss of freedom has different implications for different individuals within the same species and for members of other species. Usually, denying individuals their liberty negatively impacts the quality of their lives, but this can happen in two ways. Doing what one wants, being free to make choices and to act on them, and not being interfered with in the pursuit of one’s desires are important because they contribute to making an individual’s life go better. Individuals who are confined, restrained, or subordinated can’t follow their desires. Putting the wasp in a jar and putting a chimpanzee in a cage denies them both freedom of movement and the freedom to get what they want.
But perhaps what underlies the intuition that it is worse to make a chimpanzee captive than to confine a wasp is the sophisticated cognitive capacities of the chimpanzee who values her freedom, not just instrumentally because of what it gets her, but because it is constitutive of her well-being. This may sound odd, but I think from what is now known about chimpanzee cognition, the boredom and frustration that accompanies captivity and the documented need for environmental, emotional, social, and intellectual enrichment suggests that chimpanzees do value their freedom. The process of satisfying one’s own interests and correcting one’s self when she changes her mind or makes bad choices are part of what makes a life a good life for beings who have these sorts of cognitive capacities. I believe chimpanzees can do these things, so it makes sense to think that they, like us, value their freedom more than just instrumentally.
And its not just chimpanzees. Many other animals are self-directed, adapt to changing circumstances, make choices and resist changes, and improve their environments, often through collective action. Other animals learn from conspecifics and modify what they learn to suit themselves and their needs. Not all animals in a social group do exactly the same things, eat exactly the same things, or spend time with the same individuals. They are making independent choices. There are species-typical behavioral repertoires that constrain an individual’s absolute expression of this their autonomy, but none of us is ever completely free of constraints. So I think there are a lot of other animals for whom captivity is ethically problematic because it violates their autonomy, but probably not wasps.
But, maybe I just don’t know enough about wasps.
3:AM: Some animals wouldn’t exist if they weren’t in captivity. How do we decide whether species death or life is morally justified?
LG: There is a long-standing debate about the conservationist justification for keeping animals captive rather than let them go extinct. Some have argued that we shouldn’t sacrifice the interests of the one for the good of the many. But I confess, I’m vexed by the hard questions of extinction and also worry about whether “we” can make much useful difference.
In Ethics and Animals I recount the story of the dwindling existence of rhinoceros. I wrote about the death of one of the rarest large mammals on the planet, the Javan rhinoceros who was found shot dead in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park. The rhino was shot by poachers so they could to take the horn. At the time, conservation authorities said there are only three to five Javan rhinos left in Vietnam. In 2013, they were declared extinct. Also last year, the Western Black rhino was declared extinct. Elephants, orangutans, tigers, and a host of other less “charismatic” animals will not be around (outside of zoos and preserves) for much longer.
If there were a way to hold some individuals in ideal captive conditions in the hopes of reintroducing them to the wild in order to avoid extinction that might justify captivity. But that is no longer realistic. In fact, the very idea that there is a “wild” free of human management is itself unrealistic. One of the new ways of thinking about what used to be considered a choice between individuals in captivity and wild populations free of human interference, is to recognize that all endangered or threatened animals are in some sense already in captivity – not in zoos, but rather in conditions in which they have their freedom managed and controlled.
3:AM: There are lots of reasons for captivity that aren’t ethical – practical, aesthetic, taste, politics, emotive and so on – so do you think the ethical reason must always override these other possible reasons?
LG: This question bumps up against discussions about the scope and nature of ethical reasoning. I have sympathies with broadly consequentialist answers to this sort of question — the divisions between types of reasons can be helpful for a variety of purposes, but basically whatever divisions one makes, we can evaluate reasons in ethical terms. So if I have a taste for hamburgers, the production of which causes intense suffering, my aesthetic desire for burgers can be evaluated on ethical grounds. It may be politically expedient to disproportionately stop and frisk black youth, but the implications of acting on reasons of expedience can be evaluated ethically.
Captivity is the same way. In fact, in many instances, the only thing to do is keep some individuals captive. My own interest in the ethics of captivity arose in my working with captive chimpanzees almost a decade ago. I felt truly conflicted about the fact that these incredibly smart, sociable, often charming, always complicated, individuals had to spend their lives (some live to be 50-60) in captivity. Many of the chimpanzees I know are 5th or 6th generation captives. Chimpanzee habitats are being decimated and the fastest growing populations of captive chimpanzees are in Africa, in native range countries for chimpanzees, where they are orphaned due to bush meat hunting and forest destruction. So even if it was possible to teach individuals who have only known captivity to survive outside of captivity, there really isn’t a safe place to release them. This raised a genuine moral dilemma – any thing we do, release them or hold them captive, can be considered wrong. So that lead me to thinking about whether and how we could minimize the ethical costs of captivity.
3:AM: And for the curious readers here at 3:AM are there five books (other than your own) you could recommend that would take us further into your philosophical world?
LG: I know many of those you interview have a hard time coming up with only five books and I’m having a hard time too. There are so many important books in practical ethics and social and political philosophy, but here are five books that have been important to my current thinking —Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Resisting Reality by Sally Haslanger, Every Twelve Seconds by Timothy Pachirat, www.bookdepository.com/Setting-Moral-Compass/9780195154757 edited by Cheshire Calhoun.
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWER
Richard Marshall is still biding his time.
Buy the book here to keep him biding!Drones provide very useful services, especially for hard-to-reach areas, but flying expensive metal and objects into places where getting them back afterwards might be difficult isn’t always the ideal option. SF-based Otherlab had another idea, Wired reports: make drones that can work in single-use capacities, carrying lightweight payloads and then disappearing.
The idea isn’t entirely plucked from the ether – Otherlab’s Apsara, or ‘Aerial Platform Supporting Autonomous Resupply Actions’ drone, is partly funded by DARPA, which set the goal of having something developed that could deliver small payloads to a target area, but that would also leave no trace once it had succeeded.
Apsara is a glider as a result, with a cardboard frame that spans three feet at its widest point, and is constructed using a folding process that also employs tape to make sure things stay where they should. The use of cardboard means the whole shell will be gone in a few months, but the team at Otherlab wants this stuff to go away even quicker – it’s working on using a material created using mushrooms called “mycelium” that will biodegrade completely in just a few days.
Of course, the drone has electronics – otherwise it’d be little more than a heavy, large paper airplane. There are two actuators to move the wings and control its aerial trajectory, and there’s also a GPS unit that helps it know where it actually is. Thanks to these electronics, it can land within 50 feet of a programmed landing zone, which is close enough to be very useful – to DARPA and others.
Eventually, the electronics could become as temporary as the drone itself, thanks to research DARPA Is doing into components that also degrade over time. The end result would be a small, nearly silent craft that disappears without a trace over the course of a few days and that can carry up to two pounds per flight. That sounds like it might be very interesting to a defence agency, for instance.
There’s also another potential use, which Wired notes: Otherlab spin-out Everfly wants to create similar drones that can provide delivery services for supplies including food stores, with a plan to scale the design to where it can carry up to 22 pounds, while still retaining its low impact and single-use advantages.Testimonials
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— Sharon F.Image caption Plaintiffs say Texaco polluted land in the Ecuadorean Amazon
A judge has ordered $19bn (£11.9bn) of assets held by oil company Chevron to be frozen in Argentina over an environmental damages claim in Ecuador, lawyers in the case say.
The Ecuadorean plaintiffs accuse Chevron of polluting land in the Amazon region for almost three decades.
Last year, an Ecuadorean court ordered Chevron to pay $19bn in damages.
Since Chevron has few assets in Ecuador, the plaintiffs are trying to get the ruling enforced abroad.
'Fraudulent ruling'
A lawyer for the Ecuadorean plaintiffs, Enrique Bruchou, said the Argentine judge had agreed to their request to freeze Chevron's assets in Argentina after they could not get the company to pay up in Ecuador.
The Ecuadorean court judgement originally ordered Chevron to pay $8.6bn in environmental damages, but that was more than doubled because the oil company did not apologise publicly.
The Ecuadorean plaintiffs say that Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, dumped toxic materials in the Ecuadorean Amazon between 1964 and 1992.
Chevron says Texaco spent $40m cleaning up the area during the 1990s, and signed an agreement with Ecuador in 1998 absolving it of any further responsibility.
Chevron has in the past said the original ruling against the company was a product of "bribery and fraud" - allegations denied by the Ecuadorian plaintiffs whose lawyer has filed counterclaims of fraud against Chevron in a US court.
The company has also dismissed the plaintiffs' moves to get the ruling enforced abroad, saying that "if the plaintiffs' lawyers believed they had a legitimate judgement, they would seek to enforce it in the United States".One man is confused as to what the UK just voted on.
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LITELLA, ARKANSAS — Clem O’Connell considers himself “extremely political.” He follows everything in the political world he can, in his words, “get it from a trusted, reliable, unbiased source like World News Daily, Fox News, or Allen West’s podcast and Facebook posts.” When he woke up the morning after the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, Clem says he was extremely pleased.
“It’s just so great to see democracy in action,” Clem told us over the phone, “and I’ve always felt that it’s the most important meal of the day.” O’Connell told us that he didn’t think that Britons had it in them to vote the way they did, but he’s “pleased as pie” that they did because “everyone loves eggs, bacon, and toast.” Though he said he wasn’t sure if “over there” people eat English muffins instead.
When Clem read that British currency had already tumbled to a 35 year low, and that the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a 500 point here in this country, he was confused. He didn’t understand how a country “voting for the breakfast foods they want to eat” could lead to a financial crisis.
“I mean, I get it,” Clem said, “voting matters and elections have consequences. I guess I just fundamentally misunderstood what this whole issue was about. I thought they were voting for the breakfast foods they want to eat. And that dirty foreigners were being forced on them by the EU and they were being pushed into eating breakfast foods they don’t like. I don’t believe anyone should be able to tell another person what they can or can’t have for breakfast! That’s the most important meal of the day! If you want to have Fruity Pebbles, have fruity pebbles! I would have voted for breakfast too! We all deserve breakfast! Power to the bacon, man!”
“This is why I support Donald Trump,” Clem said, “because he’s a winner. And winner’s don’t let Muslims tell us what kind of breakfasts we can have. I’m sorry, but I am angry now! If we’re not careful, one day soon we could be forced to have a vote on what kinds of breakfasts to have, if any. Hell, they could force us to vote on whether we should have breakfast in the first place!”
Clem paused for a moment, which is when our interviewer told him the issue citizens of the UK were voting on was over whether it should leave the European Union.
James' newest satirical compilation is out now and available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and soon at WalMart.com.
“So you’re telling me this has nothing to do with breakfast whatsoever,” Clem asked in a shocked tone of voice, “but then how come they kept calling it the ‘breakfix’ vote?” Our reporter then directed him to the Internet and showed Clem the correct word the press had created for the vote, Brexit.
“Oh, well that’s different,” Clem said, “never mind.”Congenital Heart Defects
As previously mentioned, congenital heart defects are problems with the structure of the heart and major blood vessels near the heart. These defects can involve:
The heart’s valves
The interior walls of the heart
Major arteries and veins that enter and exit the heart
Congenital heart defects are among the most common types of birth defects. In the United States they affect 0.8% of the newborns, meaning that every year 35,000 babies are born with heart defects.
For the most part these defects do not require treatment and can only be discovered using special tools. However, some babies are born with serious congenital heart defects and require immediate treatment right after birth.
Over the past few decades our ability to detect and treat heart defects has improved greatly. As a result, the majority of children survive to adulthood, even if they had complex heart defects.
Contents:
Causes of Congenital Heart defects
Symptoms of Congenital Heart defects
Diagnosis of Congenital Heart defects
Treatment of Congenital Heart defects
Complications of Congenital Heart defectsThe 12th and final episode of the GATE ( Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri ) anime announced on Saturday that the series will continue with a second cour (quarter of the year) in January. The second cour will cover the "Flame Dragon Arc."
The anime adapts Takumi Yanai's light novel series of the same name.
Crunchyroll is streaming the series as it airs and Sentai Filmworks licensed the series for North America.
The military fantasy series begins when a gate appears in Tokyo's Ginza district sometime in the 21st century. From the gate pours out monsters, knights from middle-age Europe, and other fantasy-like beings, and they kill many of the citizens of Tokyo. This event is known as the Ginza Incident.
The government sends a small group of soldiers from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to the alternate world beyond the gate. Led by otaku soldier Yōji (voiced by Junichi Suwabe ), they find that the villages in the world are being attacked by a dragon. An elf girl ( Hisako Kanemoto ) who is a survivor from the dragon's rampage joins the group in their travels across the dangerous new world.
Takahiko Kyōgoku ( Love Live! School idol project ) is directing the series at A1-Pictures with series composition by Tatsuhiko Urahata ( A-Channel, Black Bullet ). Jun Nakai ( Silver Spoon, The Sacred Blacksmith ) is designing the characters, and Yoshiaki Fujisawa ( Love Live! School idol project, The Eccentric Family ) is composing the music. Yukio Nagasaki ( Love Live! School idol project, Yona of the Dawn ) is serving as sound director, and GENCO is producing the series.
Thanks to Kagayaki for the embedded video.While the terrifying roar of 1400mm Tech II Howitzer Artillery might be lost in the deafening silence of space, the sheer unprecedented power that several thousand of them represent unleashing their payloads onto an unsuspecting Carrier class vessel is certainly not. And while this singular act may in and of itself seem uniquely beautiful and powerful as the hull of Thanatos is torn asunder before their wielders very eyes - It is but an infinitely small moment of destruction in the endless roaring maelstrom of chaos and beauty. This is the final stage for many a brave soul, this is the place where the most skill-full of individuals may carve their names into gaming’s hall of glory. This is the Sandbox, where empires worth hundreds of thousands of dollars can rise in days and fall in brief moments of human error. This is EVE Online.
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My name is White Tree, I've spent the last 4 years of my life playing EVE Online in some shape or form, I'm a CSM (Council of Stellar Management) member and a CEO of a small corporation that lives in a region known as Deklein. From sneaking like a cat in the night through the darkest most dangerous corners of space in a stealth bomber, to high-street shopping in the brightly lit economic centre known as 'Jita' and from there, going on to participate in some of the most famous and monstrous fleet fights the game has known. In truth: there isn't much I haven't seen or done in EVE. I hope to provide you, the MMORPG.com reader with in-depth opinions, analyses and reports from one of the most complex and exciting video-game universes ever made.
Economics are a driving factor in EVE Online. As the prices of minerals and components shifts and some items become more desirable over others, great wars can and do erupt over them. This has historically shifted the balance in power in EVE on multiple occasions, and while there are other factors at play at all times, this is undoubtedly a significant one. This opinion was validated even further in recent weeks as the combined forces of the 'Drone Russian Federation', a monstrous block of primarily Russian players who call the eastern regions of New Eden their home, took it upon themselves to wash over the northern regions of the game like a mighty unstoppable squall of red rage.
Fuelled by a grudge with the 'Northern Coalition' who had routinely made incursions into their space for the sake of simply getting a fight, heated words and mighty stand-offs came to a head with a full-on push by the DRF deep into the NC regions. Battleships met and locked horns above Planets and Stargates and when the dust settled the NC had been sundered. And the DRF’s prize for their valiant crusade? The most marketable and profitable material in the game: Technetium.
The common pod pilot may or may not know the value of Technetium. Acquired from Moons which are abundant and unique in the northern territories, Technetium is a bottleneck component for the construction of Tech II modules and ships. Tech II being the more advanced version of any item that exists in the game with a few exceptions, generally requiring a higher skill threshold to make use of.
With their new prized Technetium moons happily churning out this most useful element from their orbital extractors - The new northern wing of the DRF turned its eyes towards more Westerly fields. The regions known as Pure Blind, Fade and Deklein, all of which contained more than enough Technetium moons to further enrich their already bloated wallets. Pure Blind was the closest to their metaphorical and not-so-metaphorical guns and so Pure Blind would be the first to fall.
Their initial incursions proved to be profitable. The resistance was stronger here, as the Northern Coalition was effectively divided into the Eastern and Western blocks. The Eastern old and tired, the Western while almost as old, continually refreshed by a different method of rule and management. The Western NC would certainly put up more of a fight, but not enough to counter their combined forces which were still hot and boisterous from their unequivocal victory over the Eastern NC.
At their absolute height when their arrogance could peak no further above the clouds, they made use of a covert spy to offline a Cynosural System Jammer, a device which prevents capital class ships from using their jump drives to enter a Star system. With the floodgates opened - they balled their fists and swung for a jaw-strike directly into VFK-IV, the nerve centre of Deklein, the very beating heart of the Western NC.
They quickly set as many structures into reinforced mode as they could under the fire of their capital siege engines, rampaging through surrounding systems gleefully trouncing the Western NC with the same gusto they had trouncing the East. Deklein would fall and the whole of the north would be theirs. They arrogantly erected Starbases in VFK-IV, cheerfully logging out their Supercapital ships within their protective shields. Content to sleep until the reinforcement timers favoured them again so they could strike with fury and drive what remained of the old NC out. They would take the remaining Technetium spoils and laugh as they did so.
However the leadership of the Western NC, also known as The Clusterf**k Coalition (yes, that’s seriously their name) did not agree with this plan of action. It would be hard to continue any further without making use of a scene from Star Trek: First Contact. While the moment wherein Captain Picard says 'The line must be drawn here!' is quoted in ironic jest, it's hard to not see the validity in a comparative statement.
The CEO of Goonswarm Federation, the controlling component and effective leader of a block which is composed of literally tens of thousands of players that make up the Clusterf**k Coalition, stated without question that this singular act would not result in the Drone Russian Federation's complete victory over the North at all. In fact, with absolute certainty and completely unwavering resolve he summoned the entire Clusterf**k Coalition, the remaining core of what was once the Western NC to take up arms and fight until they could fight no more. Within hours thousands of players had converged on VFK-IV to defend her, and the combined invading forces would wash upon her in their arrogance like waves breaking on an unmovable shore.
For four days the Clusterf**k Coalition locked down VFK-IV and built an impenetrable wall, trapping the logged off Supercarriers in the system and shredding any enemy fleet that dared to sneak a peek at its central star. Their efforts were met by unrelenting artillery volleys as hundreds of Maelstrom Class Battleships which made up the Clusterf**k Coalition’s now legendary 'Alpha Fleet' tore through every single ship that opposed them like a proverbial hot knife through butter. Deklein hadn't just been saved; it had shown itself to be a place where not one single inch would be given. The northern wing of the DRF's honeymoon was over, and the loss so bitter, so unbearable that they turned their attention to the south to rekindle old grudges that had been left unattended.
A proverbial hornets’ nest had been poked, and the wasps that flew to fight were aiming to kill. Hope returns to the north for many, and as the enemy flees to 'Fight in the other direction', the Clusterf**k will likely use their new-found momentum to drive their enemies from Pure Blind and Fade. Using the terrifying and almost indefensible threat that thousands 1400mm Howitzer Artillery Cannons represent. This is just another tide that has turned in the ever shifting sea of innumerable variables that is EVE Online.Escape from the information drought! TGZ from ShonenGames represented us at EVO 2017 this year, and when he was done taking names in the official Dragon Ball FighterZ tournament, he took the time to interview Tomoko Hiroki, and Junya Motomura with a hand full of questions from the fans!
What did they have to say? Were there any reveals? Read the interview below!
Kevin Sanchez: Will Daisuke be working on this title in any way?
Tomoko Hiroki (Producer): Well since this is a game developed by ArcSystemWorks, we are getting a lot of influence from his works, but that’s the only thing we can say right now.
KS: Why is Z in the title for Dragon Ball FighterZ and how is it pronounced? Dragon Ball Fighters? Or Dragon Ball Fighter Z?
Translator: THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION, and I want you to spread the word on this one.
TH: Well basically for Dragon Ball FighterZ, we put in the Z because Z is the last letter of the alphabet, so we just wanted to be able to reach the “last” or “ultimate” point, and as you can probably imagine the Z has a really strong connection with Dragon Ball in general. As far as the pronunciation, it is pronounced Dragon Ball FighterZ, so just pronounce it like you would with an S.
KS: Can you explain more about the Sparking Burst ability? Is it like the Roman Cancel in Guilty Gear? How can players take advantage of this ability?
TH: Its like a last resort for the player, you can use it to kind of turn the tide of battle, like if you’re in a very tight spot you can use it to recover your health, and its a good way to repel the enemies attack. You can’t do it while being combo’d like burst in Guilty Gear, but you can use it to interrupt the enemy player’s attack. It’s like Dragon Punch. You can use it in Mid Combo as well to extend, so you can use it offensively and defensively. Depending on which way you use it, it’s very risky, because if you misuse it you’re going to get punished for it, and you’re not going to see the full potential of it. The optimal way to use it, would be to use it when you’re starting a combo and you have low health, which lets you recover your health while doing a combo, and even extending that combo. The worse way would probably be just to use it without thinking, because then you aren’t really getting anything out of the move.
KS: Are auto combos in this game and if so can they be switched off for more serious players?
TH: So we want players to be able to use their auto-combo to their advantage. Currently we don’t have plans to turn it off.
KS: There was a statement made about avoiding weaker characters being stronger than Goku. Can you further explain this statement for those who may be concerned about balance?
TH: So in this game we want to push forward the idea that it isn’t a 1 V 1 game. It’s 3 v 3 game, your characters are playing as a team. This means that some characters won’t be.. its really difficult to get into without talking about specific characters, but there are definitely some characters that are better as an assist that can maybe support you or cover you. Those characters will be announced on another day, but what we’re trying to do is create a balance with you as a team, but still not ruin the Dragon Ball image, because you know, you wouldn’t see weak characters simply defeat strong characters individually. We want players to overcome those power differences uses team balance.
KS: Will there be a negative penalty-type system like in Guilty Gear or BlazBlue that punishes running away?
Junya Motomura (Arc System Works Director/Technical Artist): No we don’t plan on having one. We tried to keep the number of systems as low as possible, and the game is very fast paced, so its easy to pursuit that character that’s trying to run away, so we didn’t include anything like that this time.
KS: Will there be any “Touch of Death” aka 100% damage combos like the ones seen in Marvel vs. Capcom 3?
JM: That’s a hard question. We do not plan to have any of those, but who knows what can happen? We try to keep in mind that nobody should be too strong.
KS: Since this game operates similarly to Guilty Gear Xrd; Will it be difficult to give characters alternate costumes?
JM: It’s definitely hard work, so we can’t confirm anything at the moment.
KS: Will the game have stage transitions from one location to another similar to Dead or Alive? Or will the environment only change when a super is used?
TH: We are planning a lot of stage changes. You’ve seen the one where they get hit in the building, but if you play as Frieza and use Deathball on Namek or something you see it get destroyed. We’re planning on implementing more things like that.
KS: There’s a video circulating around the internet where Gohan and Cell clash their Kamehameha attacks with Gohan winning in the end using Full Power Father-son Kamehameha. Will these kinds of clashes consist of button mashing or will super attacks generally cancel each other out depending on meter strength?
JM: Beam struggles are one of the things we struggled with the most as far as implementing. It’s very hard to make it work, but in the original source content, its not so much of a matter of technique as it is brute force, so that makes it difficult to implement in game in a way that feels fair. Button mashing speed isn’t technical, it depends on the person. Some people may be good at fighting games, but they aren’t good at mashing buttons and they lose, so it isn’t a good game mechanic. We decided we aren’t going to do that, we’re just going to go off of strength, and in this case, Gohan’s Father Son Kamehameha has that extra version that overpowered Cell’s.
KS: Can we choose different attacks for our assists? Or is it one move per character?
TH: We thought it would be too complicated to start giving the assists more than one attack, so we’re sticking to just one.
KS: |
SAN-environments where possible. But sometimes we have to. What’s important is to implement something that is supported and stable.Image caption Rio de Janeiro is currently hosting the World Military Games
Armed robbers have invaded a luxury Rio de Janeiro hotel, robbing guests of money and phones, Brazilian police say.
Four men scaled the wall to enter the Santa Teresa Hotel in central Rio early in the morning, officers said.
Rio authorities have been occupying several shantytowns to root out drug gangs and tackle violent crime.
But security is an issue for Rio as it prepares to hold World Cup matches in 2014 and host the 2016 Olympics.
The Santa Teresa hotel, located in the neighbourhood of the same name, offers "peace of mind and safety" to guests, according to its website.
But security cameras showed four men getting over the perimeter wall in the early hours of Monday.
The attackers stole from at least 10 guests, among them foreign tourists, Brazilian media reported.
The robbers escaped and there were no reports of any injuries to the guests.
Preparations
Rio de Janeiro has long suffered a reputation for robberies and violence.
Last August gunmen took a group of some 30 people hostage at the Hotel Intercontinental, in Rio's Sao Conrado area, after a gun battle with police in a nearby street.
The authorities have stepped up efforts to tackle violent crime, with police units deployed in recent months in several favelas.
The city is currently hosting the World Military Games, bringing together some 6,000 athletes from 113 countries.
The event is being seen as part of preparations for the World Cup and the Olympics.The Buccaneers are 3-1 and preparing for a home game against the Saints that could establish Tampa Bay as a legitimate playoff contender.
But that game won’t sell out and will be blacked out on local TV, and the Buccaneers say they fully expect every game to be blacked out all season — even if they make the playoffs.
“[T]here’s a lag between on-field success and ticket sales,” Bucs director of communications Jonathan Grella told the Tampa Tribune, adding that getting to the playoffs “is likely not a panacea for our problems. There’s just so much ground to make up.”
That’s an awfully pessimistic attitude the Buccaneers are taking: Is it really impossible that the fans in Tampa Bay could get fired up by the talented young team they’re putting together and fill the stadium if the Buccaneers are fighting for a playoff spot in December, or hosting a playoff game in January?
Apparently it is.
The Bucs say they see little hope of selling out any games, and they have no plans to take advantage of the rule allowing them to buy back unsold tickets at 34 cents on the dollar to get games on local TV. So if you live in Tampa Bay, you can either buy a ticket or miss every Bucs home game, all season.When certain stars collapse, they release overwhelmingblasts of energy called gamma-ray bursts? the most powerful explosion in theuniverse. But the cosmic leftovers of these violent outbursts have been amystery? until now.
Two new studies suggest that when gamma-raybursts explode, some can leave behind black holes like cosmic gravestones, whileothers may end up as spinning neutron stars.
Gamma-ray bursts occur when some massive stars reach theends of their lives and exhaust their supplies of fuel for nuclear fusion intheir cores. Without the pressure from fusion pushing outward, gravity wins.
In the ensuing dramatic collapse, a flood of high-energy,short-wavelength gamma-ray light is released. They are sometimes associatedwith supernovas? another explosiveway stars die? but are separate events.
Bursts for black holes
One of the new studies found that for a certain class of thebrightest, most powerful gamma-ray bursts, only black holes will do.
"We have focused only on the brightest and most extremeGRBs, arguing that the energy release from these events is too large to bepowered by collapse to a neutron star (magnetar)," said study member BradCenko, a post-doctoral fellow from the University of California, Berkeley.
Magnetars are a type of neutronstar? an object so dense its protons and electrons have merged toform neutrons. They are fast-spinning stars with extremely powerful magneticfields.
Neutron stars are restricted in how massive they can be? ifthey weigh over a certain limit, then gravity would have collapsed the objectfurther into a black hole. Black holes, on the other hand, have no upper masslimit, so can encompass any mass needed to power a gamma-ray burst.
This team used data from NASA'sFermi spacecraft, which also observes in gamma-ray light.
The two studies, both presented Wednesday at the Gamma RayBursts 2010 conference in Annapolis, Md., help clarify the story behind some ofthe universe's most violent events. The scientists said their findings don'tconflict with each other.
"Our results are certainly not mutually exclusive - weboth are looking at relatively small sub-samples of GRBs," Cenko told SPACE.com.
Spinning star scenario
Another group of scientists studied a sampling of gamma-raybursts observed by NASA's Swift gamma-ray satellite.
They found that 11 of the gamma-ray bursts bore particularsignatures in the pattern of light they emitted that suggested a magnetarwas present.
On top of that weirdness, magnetars have the added quirk ofpossessing extremely strong magnetic fields. And these city-sized stars arealso spinning so fast they make a complete revolution within milliseconds.
Some researchers had thought magnetars wouldn't be massiveenough to produce the kind of energy required for a gamma-ray burst. But thenew study suggests that at least some are.
"I think what our work shows is that magnetars are aviable model," said Paul O'Brien of the U.K.'s University of Leicester, amember of the research team. "For this feature that we see, it's very hardto see how you could do it for a black hole. It's much more consistent with amagnetar model."Well, it’s no surprise that we’ve arrived here at last. Not only are NFL players kneeling or refusing to stand during the National Anthem; remember when Shaun King exposed “The Star Spangled Banner” itself as racist, noting the presence of the word “slave” in the rarely sung third verse?
Now the Washington Post is here to expose the ugly history of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Perspective: The ugly history of the Pledge of Allegiance — and why it matters https://t.co/bztYmk69G2 — Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 3, 2017
Christopher Petrella, a lecturer in American cultural studies at Bates College, writes:
While the language contained in the pledge is not overtly nativist or xenophobic, the spirit that animated its creation was steeped in this sort of bigotry. Through the pledge, [Francis] Bellamy sought to define “true Americanism” against the rising tide of southern and eastern European immigrants “pouring over our country” in the early 20th century from “races which we cannot assimilate without a lowering of our racial standard.” Although Bellamy conceded that “the United States has always been a nation of immigrants,” he argued that “incoming waves of immigrants … are coming from countries whose institutions are entirely at variance with our own.”
Petrella concludes that protests like #TakeAKnee need to continue, writing that Bellamy’s Pledge of Allegiance “was, at its core, designed as an instrument of white nationalism deployed to combat the dangerous outsiders of his day.”
So … all we need to do is get rid of the racist national anthem and the racist Pledge of Allegiance and statues of Confederates and Christopher Columbus and Francis Scott Key and perform a “landscape intervention” for any triggering place names on campus and replace them with names that honor people of color.
Aaaaaaaaaand the digging continues. https://t.co/df02tL4UXI — Joseph Ashby (@JosephAshbyShow) November 4, 2017
Just when I thought the Wash Post may be starting to come to their senses we get this gem:https://t.co/wTmr3SDWCi — Chris (@clskinsfan) November 4, 2017
The ugly history of journalism portrayed right here? https://t.co/4DWWTlvaaT — Blowtorch62 (@Blowtorch62) November 4, 2017
Perspective: The ugly history of anti-American propaganda in the leftist MSM – and why they must be destroyed completely.#Propaganda https://t.co/0OiaJtpGn9 — PoppaBear?? (@wheelerdavid) November 4, 2017
Next: The Ugly History of the Washington Post. https://t.co/N91qLUcxgN — The Morning Spew (@TheMorningSpew) November 4, 2017
Nothing is off limits to the left. They've always hated the Pledge of Allegiance. https://t.co/ld6BTK0KRS — Nick Short?? (@PoliticalShort) November 4, 2017
These people don't quit, just in case people delude themselves into thinking there's a middle ground. There isn't. https://t.co/5rQMun8Oh3 — MillionDollarRugs (@MikeEllisCope) November 4, 2017
Brought to you by the Committee to Re-Elect the President, 2020 https://t.co/EWirBLh8jT — Mark Noonan (@Mark_E_Noonan) November 4, 2017
I hope there's something left of your shit party next year so they can run on that!#WashingtonPostCommunists https://t.co/PMFcnYVv8R — TorchOnHigh (@TorchOnHigh) November 4, 2017
For anyone skeptical that leftist hate America, this should remove all doubt. https://t.co/zlpgsuf41H — Army Vet for Trump (@oldusarmyvet) November 4, 2017
The Left twists America's attempts at solidarity into evil. If they hate us, go to the country they love https://t.co/pIWfYOvB54 — Bruce B (@belisariusx) November 4, 2017
If I'm on the left and not an insane person, I'm freaking out by where they're headed. This just isn't sustainable for a party to function. https://t.co/JalUyewMPR — lauren?? (@LilMissRightie) November 4, 2017
Trying to destroy patriotism isnt working. It is bringing us together like never before. https://t.co/Op5Z8XdGdb — Mikeinknoxville (@mikeinknoxville) November 4, 2017
Yet another reason to NOT read these jerks. https://t.co/H3oTf7QbLe — Sioxie (@sioxielegend) November 4, 2017
* * *
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OAKLAND — Stephen Curry’s lowest point came the night of Game 7.
The anger kidnapped his words on the silent drive home. He was girded by the presence of friends and family at his post-game gathering, but inside he was feeling it.
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Warriors’ Draymond Green to play vs Charlotte The frustration and disappointment. The looping mental replay of Kyrie Irving’s step-back 3, of the Cavaliers celebrating on the Oracle floor. The churning in his core.
He sought comfort in the garlic crust of Domino’s pizza. A glass of wine. A Cuban cigar. But all he found was dejection.
“Saddest cigar I’ve ever smoked,” Curry said. “Usually you smoke a cigar when you win. That’s how terrible of a party it was. … We had some real conversations that night about how much it sucked.”
And then the low point was done, passed over him like a storm. The angst wasn’t gone but the worst was over. Life had resumed. Curry’s secret talent had kicked in.
He is nearly as adept at discernment as he is at shooting. Curry tends to always see the big picture, to remember the essences — of life, of basketball, of who he is and wants to be — even in the midst of adversity. He clings to perspective. And this season, after the humiliation of squandering of championship, after the Warriors became a freak show, perspective was the pipe he held onto so the storm didn’t pull him away.
It’s this part of Curry that goes overlooked, outshined by crossovers and transition 3-pointers. It is how he bounced back from debilitating defeat. It is why Kevin Durant is here. It is how the Warriors grew in chemistry despite all the elements endangering their bond. It is how they enter these Finals focused and driven, not fueled by revenge but by the pursuit of excellence
No, it wasn’t all Curry. But it’s been a key ingredient all along. It violates the superstar order but is paramount in the development and sustainability of this Warriors’ era. If the Larry O’Brien trophy does return to the Bay, it will be validation for the secret ingredient in the Warriors’ sauce: Curry’s leadership style.
Getting their heart ripped out on the national stage, and subsequently ridiculed, didn’t derail the Warriors. Adding an MVP, and with him relentless scrutiny and criticism, never seemed to penetrate this team’s psyche.
And now that they are back here, in the Finals against the same Cavaliers that devastated them, revenge — a dangerous fuel for a team because of its volatility — doesn’t seem to be the dominant motivator. Instead, it’s basketball excellence, it’s buffering each other from the rampant venom aimed their way.
And when you break down the biology of the Warriors, the origin of these intangibles is Curry. They trickle down from his seat atop the Warriors’ podium and infiltrate the chemistry.
Draymond Green is the heartbeat of the team. But Curry is its nervous system — how the team is wired, responsible for processing the environment and situation and informing the entire organism how to respond.
“Your consistency on a daily basis, how you handle yourself, how you deal with your successes and failures,” Curry said. “It’s more like an ‘actions speak louder’ kind of situation for me. That’s how I approach the leadership stand point. Humility, knowing that I have flaws, things that I gotta work on on a daily basis. … People know when I say something, it’s coming from a place of honesty and care. It’s not any self-serving purpose to it. That is how I approach it every day.”
Curry had an out. He could have potentially killed the Durant-to-Warriors move.
He had gotten word through a friend he trusts that Durant had concerns about how Curry would receive him. This was a revelation to Curry, who had no idea he was the last hurdle in the blockbuster, maybe the decider.
What happens if he goes Kobe Bryant, who recruited Dwight Howard by making it clear whose franchise it is? Most pundits and experts would have probably praised him for marking his territory.
What if Curry does the passive aggressive thing and goes radio silent, leaving Durant with the unaddressed concern, hoping the uncertainty prevents Durant from coming?
Instead, Curry did the unthinkable. He went out of his way to make sure Durant felt welcomed, comfortable.
“I’m still not convinced …,” Curry said before pausing with squinted stare as he wrestled with how to verbalize his point. “Being the man, the star, the clear-cut one, stuff like that — it’s overrated if you’re not winning.
“Last summer we had a decision. But in that moment, in the summer of 2016, we had the opportunity to go that way or this way. I felt like this way was the best opportunity for us as a team to win. I can live with that all day long. Yeah, I don’t get to shoot 25 shots a game. I don’t get to run 800 pick-and-rolls a game. Yeah, that’s a sacrifice, if you want to call it that. The point is to win a bunch of championships and whatever the narrative is it doesn’t really matter.”
But no good deed goes unpunished. So Curry’s display of humility didn’t end with his sales pitch. It ignited a process that would require persistence, more sacrifice and patience.
Curry has always set that tone in the locker room. For example, it’s been years since money was a divisive issue in the Warriors’ franchise. That’s because it’s hard to complain about money when the best player is severely underpaid yet dancing around with joy. Every other star on the roster followed by taking less money than he could have gotten. The path has been paved for Durant to do the same in July.
But past good works wouldn’t cut it this season. The pressure, and attention, and stakes were such that any discord had the potential to be detrimental, especially coming from the top. Curry’s example, the tone he set, was as paramount as ever.
And though the ridicule from blowing a 3-1 lead never let up, though he had fallen a tier in public perception, though his Under Armour shoes declined in sales, though he struggled initially adjusting to Durant’s large presence, Curry’s discernment carried the day.
Most of today’s superstars have a reputation for, one way or another, flexing their superstarness. It’s an accepted part of being so good, a perk that comes with the production. Yet Curry shuns the option in favor of the meek route. Discernment won’t let him act on the moment at the expense of the big picture.
So his teammates can yell at him on the court publicly and there won’t be a sniff of anger after the game. He can listen to analysts demean his status, fans mock his failures, and repeatedly opt not to defend his own honor.
The talk of him having a down year quietly burns him. The narrative that he hasn’t played well in the NBA Finals agitates him. He would love to point out he averaged 26 in 2015, outplayed LeBron James in an epic Game 5 before controlling the closeout in Game 6. All against all-out double teams and traps.
“Only thing is if you look at it compared to what LeBron has done the last two (Finals),” Curry said, explaining the only context possible to support this idea he doesn’t play well in the Finals. “He’s been unbelievable. He’s played amazing. Kyrie had an amazing series last year, an amazing three games and that won them a championship. It just depends on what you decide to focus on. But the same way I get the benefit of the doubt in some situations, I get harped on worse in other situations.”
So why bother with challenging narratives? What’s the win in that? What’s the message that delivers to his team?
So Curry eats it, swallows his considerable pride and leans on the perspective that reminds him he is winning anyway.
“If there is a debate about my value in this league, on my team, then that’s an issue to begin with,” Curry said. “When you talk about a certain amount of guys in the league every year, I’m going to be one of them. And at the end of the day, we’re four wins away from being talked about a lot. So I have a job to do in that respect so who cares about all that other stuff. I’m not going to fight that battle. It’s not a battle worth fighting.”
The NBA has become like the Game of Thrones series. Star players are overseeing kingdoms with legions of fans, warring with one another for crowns and endorsements and the adoration that comes with both. Alliances are being forged, enemies declared, tactics and strategies being employed.
Meanwhile, Curry has built quite the kingdom. It was formed by humility and sacrifice, and is being sustained by avoiding the bait that makes empires fall.
With Curry, it’s all about the long game. And being back in the Finals, with a window to be in many more, is proof his method works, too.St. Petersburg woman severely injured in dog attack when 5 pit bulls escape home Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved Video
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) - Willie Fields could hear the screams coming from his front yard.
When he ran outside, he could see dogs attacking his sister, Robin Macon, 62, in front of the house.
"She was out here watering plants and the dog ran across the street and attacked her," said Fields.
He then did what he could to help.
"When I was trying to get 'em off of her, the dogs run at me, I throwed everything I could get at 'em and it didn't do no good, the dogs were still coming," said Fields.
Macon was taken to the hospital with severe injuries from multiple dog bites.
St. Petersburg police officers arrived on scene and the dogs came at them as they tried to get out of their cars.
"They were extremely aggressive. Every time our officers tried to get out of their patrol cars, they would attack them. They used fire extinguishers, in fact they completely emptied one fire extinguisher trying to get the dogs back, and they weren't able to," said Yolanda Fernandez with the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Before officers arrived, Laquanda Butler came outside and saw the dogs attacking her friend.
"I heard my friend across the street moaning and groaning and her brother was trying to beat them off with a stick, but the dogs had drug her off already," said Butler, who suffered a bit on her leg when one of the dogs turned to attack her.
An Animal Services officer also came under attack at the scene.
Eventually, officers used pepper spray on the dogs and they retreated back into their home.
When the owner arrived, she assisted an Animal Services officer who seized the dogs from the home one by one.
St. Petersburg police say the dogs will now be quarantined and Animal Services will conduct a vicious dog investigation to determine their fate.
People who live on the street do not believe the dogs should be able to return.
"They need to kill all four of 'em. All four of them dogs need to be put down," said Willie Fields.
http://wx.wfla.com/oembed/app_promo/app_dl.htmlDear Bill Simmons:
Man, sometimes I feel like I’m never going to get a job at Grantland. Like, I’ll keep writing you these open letters every week, but that’s as far as my one-sided relationship with you is going to go. But I don’t know what else to do. Maybe a year or so ago, I wrote a real letter to you, to Grantland. I went to the web site and went to the “Contact Us” page and there was an email address to the editors. And I don’t remember what I wrote exactly, but it was all professional, like, “Dear editors: This is a very serious inquiry seriously inquiring about writing for Grantland,” blah blah blah.
And look, I know that you probably get way too much email to respond to, I get it. So I’m not mad or anything, it’s not like I take it as a personal snub. But it’s incredibly frustrating, to want something so bad, to want to be a professional writer, just throwing yourself out there on the Internet, over and over again, never getting any sort of response.
It’s like, even these letters, this whatever it is that I’m doing on my blog every week. Dear Bill Simmons: please give me a job. And then I go onto Twitter and tweet you a copy of the link, knowing that you get tons of tweets, that there’s no way you’re able to even view every tweet you receive, let alone consider a response.
But I don’t know what else to do. And it’s you, it’s Gawker, it’s all of these other professional high-trafficked web sites that publish all sorts of cool stories written by authors who, when I click on their profiles, they all look like they’re my age, like it shouldn’t be totally inconceivable that I could be doing what they’re doing.
It’s a tough job, getting a cool job, a job where you get to make stuff and write stuff and somehow earn money from it, enough money that you could theoretically support yourself. So far I think I’ve made about seventeen dollars from my writing. I don’t know how you do it, Bill, how you’ve built this media empire all based on your words, writing about sports, about pop culture, about stuff that you love.
Man, this is a pretty boring letter so far, I’m aware of that. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t think of anything to say right now. Last week I wrote about how I’d start from the bottom and work my way up. That was pretty cool, at least, it was cool in the way that I didn’t really have to think about it as I wrote it. The words just kind of flowed through me from somewhere else.
But right now, man, it’s really a struggle to get these sentences into paragraphs. You must be able to relate, right? I mean, you’ve done it, you’ve made it as a writer. What do you do when you can’t think of anything to write about? I’ve read all sorts of stuff on the topic, and most advice from professional writers always boils down to the inspiration/perspiration argument, that talent is cheap but work is hard.
And yeah, it’s hard to get this letter out there, I don’t know what to say, I’m feeling each week like I’m making a fool out of myself, desperately invoking your name on the Internet, like you’re magically going to swoop down from cyberspace and elevate my status from professional waiter to professional writer.
But isn’t that the kind of guy you want working for you at Grantland? Just think, I’m not afraid of my own self-imposed Internet writing deadlines. I need to write a letter to you every week. Why? I don’t know. I just made up a deadline and ran with it. Can you imagine what I’d do for you? For Grantland? Give me a deadline, and I’ll stick to it. I’ll get something out. I’ll perspire all over the place.
I guess that’s all I’ve got. Not very entertaining, I know, but sometimes you’ve just got to be willing to write something bad in hopes of eventually being able to maybe write something good. In the meantime, please read this letter from last week, the one I was telling you about just before. Also this letter, about a dream I had where you and I both went to space. That was a pretty cool one.
-Rob G.A season that promised much has turned badly sour for FC Tokyo, and the firing of manager Hiroshi Jofuku may not be enough to stop the rot.
Tokyo pulled the plug on Jofuku’s second spell in charge at the weekend and replaced him with coach Yoshiyuki Shinoda after a 1-0 defeat to Kawasaki Frontale left the capital city club 13th in the overall table. Tokyo had realistic ambitions of winning the title after finishing fourth last year, but with 20 points now separating the team from third-place Urawa Reds and 12 games left to play, the playoff ship appears to have sailed.
“I can’t even say the words ‘win the title,’ ” said Tokyo striker Muriqui after Saturday’s game. “First of all, we need to start picking up points.”
With only seven points separating Tokyo from the drop zone, a battle to avoid relegation may be a more realistic scenario for Jofuku’s replacement. Shinoda led Avispa Fukuoka to promotion to J1 during his three years in charge of the Kyushu club from 2008-11, but Tokyo’s current situation is not for the faint hearted and a lack of top-level experience will not help the 45-year-old’s cause.
In Shinoda’s favor is the fact that only two of Tokyo’s 10 defeats this season have been by more than a single goal margin, and the new man inherits a squad that should — in theory — have enough quality and know-how to turn things around.
“As a whole, we weren’t bad,” captain Masato Morishige said after Saturday’s game. “As a team we were able to play as we intended, and we had a good feeling for the whole 90 minutes. There’s a gloomy atmosphere only because of the situation we’re in, and that can’t be helped. But today we played the way we wanted to, and the only thing missing was the result.”
Those results will have to come soon if Shinoda is to steady the ship after a run of three straight losses, but upcoming games against Albirex Niigata and Jubilo Iwata — both struggling in the second-stage table — at least give him a fighting chance.
Tokyo’s decision to replace Massimo Ficcadenti with Jofuku at the end of last season always looked a curious one given what the Italian achieved last year — and especially considering the fact that Jofuku’s first stint in charge from 2008-10 ended with the team hurtling toward relegation.
Now the club is about to find out the full extent of the damage.
Notsuda on form: Gakuto Notsuda’s career has not followed quite the same trajectory as new Arsenal recruit Takuma Asano since the pair broke through at Sanfrecce Hiroshima a few years ago, but the 22-year-old had reason to smile on Saturday.
Notsuda, who missed the cut for Japan’s Rio Olympics squad and had to settle for a place as a backup, scored the winner as Albirex Niigata came from behind to beat Omiya Ardija 2-1, giving the Hokuriku club its first victory of the second stage.
“I want to say thanks,” said Notsuda, who joined Albirex on loan from Sanfrecce in March and has scored his only two goals for the club in his last three games.
“I haven’t been able to contribute since I came here and that has been irritating me. I’m happy I could contribute something today. Next I want to win at home.”
Lee steps up: Urawa Reds will be wary of the impact of losing striker Shinzo Koroki to Japan’s Olympic team for the best part of a month, but Tadanari Lee filled the breach in fine style on Saturday.
Lee scored in the 62nd and 73rd minutes to lead Urawa to a 2-1 win over Kashima Antlers, and the former Southampton striker was happy to take revenge on the first-stage champions.
“We lost to Kashima in the first stage and that was very frustrating, so I’m happy we could win today,” said Lee, who pounced on a spill from Kashima goalkeeper Hitoshi Sogahata for the winning goal.
“(For the second goal) If I tried that 100 times, I might score from it once. But as a forward, if the ball’s there 100 times you have to pressure the keeper 100 times, and today my luck was in. I want to say thanks to the football gods.”
Quotable: “It makes me very happy to put my name on such a prestigious record.”
— Kashiwa Reysol striker Cristiano enjoys scoring the 1,000th league goal in club history in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Gamba Osaka.Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen criticized the NFL for having a double standard during a Friday appearance on "NFL AM," saying the rulebook doesn't protect defensive players in the same way it does offensive players.
The subject become a hot topic after Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered on New York Jets guard Matt Slauson's blind cut block that quickly drew criticism from other NFL players.
Breer: Purple pride Albert Breer says Leslie
Frazier's
says LeslieFrazier's Vikings are surprising everyone but themselves. Plus, guys on the spot in Week 6. More...
Allen said he'd like to see the rules changed.
"In a league that talks about taking care of defenseless players and people in defenseless positions, that's a situation right there, there's nothing you can do to defend yourself," Allen said. "He can't get his hands down -- that's an outside end cut block. For me, there's no place (for) that. You take a guy's knee, he may never be the same player after that. If we're going to talk about player safety, there needs to be equality amongst all players
"My knee is just as valuable as Tom Brady's, in my eyes. There's some hits on the defensive side that could be illegal and probably save some defensive players."
Allen was asked if there's favoritism written into the rulebook.
"We can't grab them by the back of the jerseys anymore," Allen said. "The quarterback, you've got to hit below the neck and above the knees. You can't form tackle and slam them on the ground anymore. That's illegal.
Jeremiah: To protect and sack In today's NFL, Daniel Jeremiah says there's one stat that really defines success (or lack thereof): sack differential.
In today's NFL,says there's one stat that really defines success (or lack thereof): sack differential. More...
"I'm just stating the facts. I didn't make the rules."
Slauson was fined $10,000 for an illegal peel-back block, but he wasn't flagged on the play. Slauson is appealing the fine.
That particular block was ruled illegal upon league review, but that doesn't take away from Allen's point. Offensive players go after knees on a regular basis. Defenders just want it called both ways.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopelandThe trial of an Iowa teen accused of attempting to rape his mother and then shooting her dead began Wednesday with prosecutors playing a chilling 911 call.
Noah Crooks, now 14, can be heard on the March 24 call telling a dispatcher with the Mitchell County Sheriff's Department that he shot his mother, 37-year-old Gretchen Crooks, almost 20 times with a.22-caliber hunting rifle and he doesn't know why he did it, the Globe Gazette reports.
"I feel crazy and I know I'm not," he says on the 10-minute recording. He later states, "I tried to rape her. I tried to rape her but I couldn't do it … I tried to rape my own mom. Who tries to rape their own mom? My life is down the drain now."
The woman's body was found shortly afterward at the family's Osage home shortly after the phone call. Police say her body had multiple bullet wounds and she was naked from the waist down.
The teen, who was 13 years old at the time of the call, also tells the dispatcher, "I just wish it was a dream so I could wake up and kiss her and hug her."
Crooks' attorney, William Kutmus, does not dispute that Crooks killed his mother, but says that Crooks was insane at the time of the incident, according to KAAL-TV. Kutmus plans to bring in a witness who will testify that Crooks has Intermittent Explosive Disorder, a behavioral disorder characterized by impulsive violent outbursts.
Kutmus told the court that hours before the shooting, Gretchen Crooks had taken away her son's video game controller because of his bad grades in school.
Noah Crooks' father, William Crooks, was not home at the time of the shooting, according to the WCF Courier.
"It's a damn tragedy, you know. These are good people," Mitchell County Sheriff Curt Younker told The Huffington Post in March.
Noah Crooks is charged with murder and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 10 OF 10 · Later Kibitzing>
Feb-12-16 dehanne : The natural outcome to a double hole opening.
Teichmann would be proud.
Apr-17-16 hadynthepadawan : It seems as like Larsen missed 12...h4! As Najdorf commented on Spassky's play..."When Spassky offers you a piece, you could just as well resign right there". But then maybe Larsen considered to play a few more moves, so that we chess lovers could grasp Spassky's point, that all the black pieces are coming through the h-file into the heart of white's position. Awesome play by the 10th World Chess Champion.
Sep-15-16 JohnTal : I get a kick out of seeing a GM play a pet move and seeing him get squashed over the board as Spassky does to Larsen. b3 playable? Not -- though I know Fischer played it a few times in the 70s.
Sep-15-16
Honza Cervenka : Opening disaster of this kind can happen anytime in any opening. In fact, Larsen was highly successful with 1.b3 during all his career (see Repertoire Explorer: Bent Larsen (white)).
Sep-15-16 pedro99 : It's because of the strength of the 1...e5 reply, and the easy development that Black subsequently gets, that most would be b3 players precede it with 1.Nf3 4.Nf3 as played here is by contrast already a serious error.
Sep-15-16
thegoodanarchist : < offramp: Geoff, that Morphy game is brilliant! That pawn does everything.> as opposed to the goggles - they do nothing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y91...
Sep-15-16 Rookiepawn : I like the difference of styles. Larsen went that Dutch formation with elegant diagonal pawn structure, all pieces behind the pawns, control of the dark squares... Spassky just ignored the beautiful schemes, got doubled pawns, pushed two pawns more and destroyed White's King side. I think the risk with 1. b3 is getting engaged in fine maneouvres while the enemy just throw punches that destroy them.
Sep-15-16 King Harvest : < <Najdorf commented on Spassky's play..."When Spassky offers you a piece, you could just as well resign right there"> > I thought that remark was made about Tigran Petrossian (the antithesis of an attacking player, but when he did sac you could be sure it was sound.) Spassky was, as shown here, a brilliant fearless attacker. Help me out here someone, what's the |
Viewers (+3%) and Adults 18-49 (+10%) to earn
6-week highs – since 10/2/14. It also built on its own year-ago telecast at 10:00 p.m. (9.0 million and 2.9/9 on 11/14/13) by double digits in viewers (+12%) and young adults (+10%).
“How to Get Away with Murder” (10:00-11:00 p.m. – 9.2 million and 2.9/9 in AD18-49):
From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” (2.9/9) beat its combined drama competition for the 3rd-consecutive week in Adults 18-49, topping CBS’ “Elementary” by 190% (1.0/3) and NBC’s “Parenthood” by 190% (1.0/3). The new ABC drama was the most-watched TV show overall in the slot for the 3rd week running (9.2 million).
· “Murder” remained even week to week in Total Viewers and was up in Adults 18-49 (+4%) to hit a 3-week high – since 10/23/14. In addition, it topped “Scandal” in the hour on the year-ago night in viewers and equaled it in Adults 18-49.
Friday
ABC won Friday in Adults 18-49 by 17% over its nearest competitor (1.4/5 vs. 1.2/4 – NBC). It was the Net’s 3rd-straight November Sweep Friday to lead the pack in young adults. ABC was also the night’s most-watched network overall (6.5 million).
· ABC’s “Shark Tank” (100th episode) was Friday’s No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6), delivering the top series rank on the evening for the 8th-straight week this season.
· The Network was up over the same Friday last November in viewers and young adults (6.0 million and 1.3/5 on 11/15/13). Season to date, ABC’s Friday is growing by double digits in Total Viewers (+12%) and Adults 18-49 (+12%), marking a 7-year high on the night with young adults – since the comparable weeks of 2007-08.
“Last Man Standing” (8:00-8:31 p.m. – 7.0 million and 1.5/5 in AD18-49)
At 8:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing” was No. 1 in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5) to rank as the night’s top-rated scripted show. “Last Man Standing” was up for the 2nd week in Adults 18-49 (+15%) to a new season high. In fact, the ABC comedy drew its biggest audience and highest Adult 18-49 number since last January – since 1/10/14 and 1/31/14, respectively.
“Cristela” (8:31-9:00 p.m. – 5.1 million and 1.1/4 in AD18-49)
At 8:30 p.m., “Cristela” was up 10% to a 4-week high in Adults 18-49 (1.1/4) and spiked 38% over the year-ago “The Neighbors” in the half-hour (0.8/3 on 11/15/13).
“Shark Tank” (9:00-10:01 p.m. – 7.6 million and 1.8/6 in AD18-49)
Surging over its lead-in at 9pm (+64%), ABC’s 100th episode of “Shark Tank” led its hour by 50% in Adults 18-49 over its closest broadcast competition (1.8/6 vs. 1.2/4 – NBC’s “Grimm”). “Shark Tank” jumped by 1.1 million viewers over its year-ago telecast (6.5 million and 1.7/5 on 11/15/13) and by 6% in Adults 18-49.
“20/20” (10:01-11:00 p.m. – 5.6 million and 1.2/4 in AD18-49)
At 10:00 p.m., ABC’s “20/20” won its hour in Total Viewers (5.6 million), Adults 25-54 (1.7/5) and Adults 18-49 (1.2/4). Dominating with Adults 18-49 in the hour, “20/20” beat NBC’s “Constantine” by 50% (0.8/3) and tripled CBS’ “Hollywood Film Awards” coverage (0.4/1).
Saturday
ABC grew week to week by double digits in Total Viewers (+11%) and Adults 18-49 (+30%) to 4-week highs on the night – since 10/18/14. The Net won Saturday night in both Total Viewers (8.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.6/9).
· Airing from 8:07-11:44 p.m., ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” was the No. 1 program of the evening in Total Viewers (8.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.0/10).
· Growing for the 2nd-straight week in Viewers (+28%) and young adults (+50%), ABC’s Saturday night game delivered its 2nd-best performance this year.
Sunday
Up against a strong Sunday Night Football contest (Patriots-Colts) on NBC and another high-rated NFL overrun on Fox (Packers-Eagles), ABC dominated its Sunday non-sports competition on CBS by 43% in Adults 18-49 (2.0/5 vs. 1.4/4).
· Growing week to week in viewers (+7%) and young adults (+25%), ABC scored 7-week highs for a best-since-premiere performance – since 9/28/14. In addition, the Net grew by double digits from the same night last November (5.6 million and 1.4/4 on 11/17/13) in Total Viewers (+14%) and Adults 18-49 (+43%).
“America’s Funniest Home Videos” (7:00-8:00 p.m. – 6.8 million 1.6/4 in AD18-49):
During the 7 o’clock hour against Fox’s NFL overrun, ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” was up for its 3rd-consecutive telecast to new season highs in viewers (6.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.6/4).
· “AFHV” was up from the year-ago night in Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults 18-49 (+14%).
“Once Upon a Time” (8:00-10:01 p.m. – 6.8 million and 2.4/6 in AD18-49):
From 8:00-10:00 p.m. against NBC’s Sunday Night Football, ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” (2.4/6) beat Fox’s NFL-fueled comedies in Adults 18-49 (+4% — “The Simpsons”/”Brooklyn 9-9”/”Family Guy”/”Bob’s Burgers” = 2.3/6) and towered over CBS’ dramas “Madam Secretary”/”The Good Wife” (+71% – 1.4/4). The show marked ABC’s best young adult rating in the 2-hour slot in 6 weeks – since 10/5/14.
· “Once Upon a Time” grew from its year-ago telecast (+26%) for the 8th-consecutive week in Adults 18-49 (1.9/5 on 11/17/13), and season to date, the ABC drama is trending 13% ahead of the same point last year.
“Revenge” (10:01-11:00 p.m. – 5.2 million and 1.5/4 in AD18-49):
During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Revenge” built for the 3rd-straight week in Adults 18-49 (+15% – 1.5/4 vs. 1.3/4), hitting a new season high for the series’ top rating in nearly 8 months – since 3/23/14.
· “Revenge” continued to produce impressive time period improvement for ABC from the year-ago night (3.4 million and 0.9/2 on 11/17/13) in viewers (+53%) and young adults (+67%).
WEEK NO. 08: ADULTS 18-49 TOTAL VIEWERS
No.1 NBC 2.5 No.1 NBC 9,150,000
No.2 ABC 2.0 No.2 CBS 8,640,000
No.3 FOX 1.6 No.3 ABC 7,580,000
No.4 CBS 1.5 No.4 FOX 4,490,000
No.5 CW 0.7 No.5 CW 1,810,000
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Source: The Nielsen Company, National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings for week of 11/10/14.One of the highlights of this year’s Champions League quarter-final is the all Spanish tie between current Primera División leaders, Atlético Madrid and second place and reigning champions Barcelona. Atlético have certainly been the surprise package this season both domestically and in Europe. With 7 games to go, Atlético lead the Catalans by 1 point and in what could be a title decider, the two meet at the Camp Nou on the last day of the season.
Looking ahead to the Champions League quarter final, we cast our eyes over the two team’s stats in the league this season to see what we can look forward to at the Camp Nou and what they can expect from each other. The first stat that we looked at seemed to indicate that Barcelona are far superior. The Catalans, as they have over the last 6 years or so, completely control every game that they play in and dominate possession whereas Atlético actually have fractionally less possession than their opponents.
This theory was turned on its head when we looked at the number of attacking events that each team is involved in per game. Incredibly, Atlético actually shade Barcelona in this regard.
Clearly, Atlético take full advantage of their possession and use it to attack whenever possible. The next question would be what difference is there when it comes to build up play? How do the two teams differ in this regard? Unsurprisingly and in line with the live ball possession stats, Barcelona play much more of a passing game than their Atlético counterparts. The men from the Vicente Calderón Stadium, on the other hand, prefer to rely on the individual skill of their star players like Diego Costa and Koke as well as hitting their opponents on the counter.
Now as this is a head-to-head preview, we looked at these two teams’ opponents play and this provided a very interesting insight. The majority of play by the opponents of Atlético is actually passing whereas the opponents of Barcelona seem to get away with individual play and counter attacks! This leads to what should be a very open and attacking game.
Finally, we looked at the number of shots that each team takes per game and saw that the Catalans are the more dangerous in this respect, taking more shots than the Atlético players. The contest between the Barca attackers and Atlético’s exciting young keeper, Thibault Courtois should also be something to take note of.
All in all, this should be a great game between two exciting and attacking minded teams and it would not surprise us if it was a game of many goals.
Image courtesy of:
www.flickr.com/photos/eldan90/2412502512/AUSTIN, Texas -- The Austin-Travis County EMS responded to multiple stabbings on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin on Monday afternoon.
Four people have been stabbed and one person has died, according to the Austin Police Department. The stabbings occurred near Gregory Gym.
MORE | Caught On Camera: UT-Austin Community Comes to Aid of Victim After Stabbings
Police say that all four of the victims are male students. Their names have not been released, and police do not know if they knew each other.
One student is currently in custody, according to UT Police.
Photo: The Daily Texan
UT Police said the suspect was identified as 21-year-old Kendrex J. White. He has not yet been charged and is only being questioned at this time, according to officials.
Officers said they do not yet know the suspect's motive and it's possible connection to Greek organizations at UT.
The victims were attacked as they were standing in line at a popular food truck that is near the gym, according to witnesses.
APD is assisting UT Police with the investigation. Classes have been cancelled for the rest of the day.
Parents and loved one are asked to call 866-657-9400 or 512-475-9400 if they have concerns about Monday's events.
-- Students Upset over UT's Campus Alert System --
In the wake of a stabbing at UT-Austin that injured three people and left one person dead, students took to social media over what they called the scarcity of information in from police as well as a delay in the Campus Alert system.
MORE | Students Take to Social Media Expressing Frustration Over UT Emergency Alerts
Within minutes after reports started coming in about the stabbings, students were on social media expressing frustration over how the situation was bring handeled by the alerts system.
Many students said they were finding out more information and staying better informed by their classmates posting on social media than official alerts from campus authorities.
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Follow Spectrum News Austin on Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSince 2013, sustainable health food chain sweetgreen has been selling T-shirts bearing the phrase “beets don’t kale my vibe,” a doubly punny reference to one of the best songs on Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city. Now that Kendrick is booked for sweetgreen’s annual Sweetlife Festival, the gag has been expanded into an actual salad. According to a press release, the dish will be on sale throughout May at all 29 sweetgreen locations and at the festival, 5/30-31 at Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Per a press release, 10 percent of every sale goes to FoodCorps, a charity that “helps to connect kids with real food and encourages childhood education in nutrition, fitness and health, issues that both Kendrick Lamar and sweetgreen are passionate about.”
Here’s another look at the salad:
What’s in it, you ask? Per the release, Beets Don’t Kale My Vibe “contains shredded local kale, roasted chicken, goat cheese, organic wild rice, and flash roasted beets, which are marinated in balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and a hint of honey.” That’s all well and good, but where’s the yams?Transforming a Spinach Leaf Into Beating Human Heart Tissue
Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle, potentially solving a long-standing problem in efforts to repair damaged organs.
Their study, published this month by the journal Biomaterials, offers a new way to grow a vascular system, which has been a roadblock for tissue engineering.
Scientists have already created large-scale human tissue in a lab using methods like 3D printing, but it’s been much harder to grow the small, delicate blood vessels that are vital to tissue health.
“The main limiting factor for tissue engineering … is the lack of a vascular network,” says study co-author Joshua Gershlak, a graduate student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, in a video describing the study. “Without that vascular network, you get a lot of tissue death.”
One of the defining traits of a leaf is the branching network of thin veins that delivers water and nutrients to its cells. Now, scientists have used plant veins to replicate the way blood moves through human tissue. The work involves modifying a spinach leaf in the lab to remove its plant cells, which leaves behind a frame made of cellulose.
“Cellulose is biocompatible [and] has been used in a wide variety of regenerative medicine applications, such as cartilage tissue engineering, bone tissue engineering, and wound healing,” the authors write in their paper.
The team then bathed the remaining plant frame in live human cells, so that the human tissue grew on the spinach scaffolding and surrounded the tiny veins. Once they had transformed the spinach leaf into a sort of mini heart, the team sent fluids and microbeads through its veins to show that blood cells can flow through this system.
The eventual goal is to be able to replace damaged tissue in patients who have had heart attacks or who have suffered other cardiac issues that prevent their hearts from contracting. Like blood vessels, the veins in the modified leaves would deliver oxygen to the entire swath of replacement tissue, which is crucial in generating new heart matter.
The study team says the same methods could be used with different types of plants to repair a variety of tissues in the body. For instance, swapping out the cells in wood might one day help fix human bones.Today NASA unveiled its brand new spacesuits made by Boeing for the CST-100 Starliner’s future astronauts. The bright blue suits were announced on NASA’s website this morning in a blog post, along with photos and a video of astronauts wearing the specialized clothing. The suits were engineered with modern features such as touchscreen-sensitive gloves, zippered entry, and boots worthy of cross training.
According to Streven Siceloff of the Kennedy Space Center, these lighter spacesuits will be worn by astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which will eventually take astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA mentioned the following notable features in their design, which include nods to modern technology and fashion.
Lighter and more flexible through use of advanced materials and new joint patterns
Helmet and visor incorporated into the suit instead of detachable
Touchscreen-sensitive gloves
Vents that allow astronauts to be cooler, but can still pressurize the suit immediately
Impressively, the Boeing Starliner space suit only weights 20 pounds with all of its accessories included. And because of its simpler design, it is much more fail-safe, according to NASA. Of course, safety is the main concern, and astronauts will be required to train in these suits aboard their spacecrafts as shown in the below video. Flight tests will be done on Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon systems, beginning in 2018.
Source: NASAHours after its official midnight deadline expired, Viacom and Dish Network said they have reached a multi-year carriage agreement, avoiding a blackout of the satellite TV company's 14 million subscribers. The deal also includes carriage of select Viacom networks on Dish's over-the-top service Sling TV, which was a key part of the negotiations.
"We appreciate Viacom's willingness to continue with us on our journey as we work to deliver the best, most innovative television services available," said Dish chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen in a statement. "This creative, bold and consumer-friendly approach extends a nearly 20-year-old relationship."
Viacom networks, including Comedy Central, BET, Spike, MTV, Nick Jr. and many others, will be available on Sling TV's single-stream and multistream services in the coming months. Specific packaging details were not announced.
For the full story go to Multichannel.com.COMMUTERS paying cash fares on bus, rail and Luas will be hit with hikes of up to 13pc on some services.
COMMUTERS paying cash fares on bus, rail and Luas will be hit with hikes of up to 13pc on some services.
Bus, rail and Luas fees to soar by up to 13pc
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has approved a range of increases across all public transport operators, which will hit commuters already reeling from a series of hikes in recent years.
The changes also affect monthly and annual ticket holders.
But the NTA said that customers who switched to the Leap travel card would secure better value, as increases are not as pronounced if using the pre-paid ticket.
The authority has also announced a second journey discount on Dublin Bus to take effect by the end of the year, to be extended to all operators after.
A lower fare will apply when a second trip is taken within 90 minutes of the first.
“With over 750,000 Leap Cards now in circulation and almost €2m per week used in travel credit, the Leap Card has clearly been welcomed by the travelling public – both for the convenience and for the value it offers,” chief executive Gerry Murphy said.
“Even with the fares increases announced today – a Leap Card fare in 2015 will nearly always be the same as or lower than a cash fare was in 2012.”
On Irish Rail, short-hop trips will increase by 8pc, with inter-city fares also due to increase. An adult single cash fare increases from €1.50 to €1.70 -
On Dublin Bus, the current €1.80 fare rises to €1.95, the €2.35 fare increases to €2.55, the €2.60 to €2.80 and €3.05 to €3.30.
Child and Leap fares rise between five and 10 cents each.
Regional city bus services offered by Bus Eireann increase by 10c, but fall for longer journeys. There are also hikes for services between urban areas.
On Luas, off-peak cash fares are increased, as are all-day adult tickets.
The changes to the monthly and annual ticket fares across the CIE Group of Companies – Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann and Irish Rail – may take effect from November 1.
Increases to cash fares can take effect from December 1.
Online EditorsFifteen years from now, a new virus sweeps the globe. 95% of those afflicted experience nothing worse than fever and headaches. Four percent suffer acute meningitis, creating the largest medical crisis in history. And one percent find themselves “locked in”—fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. One per cent doesn’t seem like a lot. But in the United States, that’s 1.7 million people “locked in”…including the President’s wife and daughter. Spurred by grief and the sheer magnitude of the suffering, America undertakes a massive scientific initiative. Nothing can restore the ability to control their own bodies to the locked in. But then two new technologies emerge. One is a virtual-reality environment, “The Agora,” in which the locked-in can interact with other humans, both locked-in and not. The other is the discovery that a few rare individuals have brains that are receptive to being controlled by others, meaning that from time to time, those who are locked in can “ride” these people and use their bodies as if they were their own. This skill is quickly regulated, licensed, bonded, and controlled. Nothing can go wrong. Certainly nobody would be tempted to misuse it, for murder, for political power, or worse….
Disclaimer : I received a copy from Audible in return for a review.
This was my first Scalzi book. I had heard a lot of praise for him, and so went in with high expectations. Lock In certainly delivered.
As far as I’m concerned, there are two major components to any speculative fiction book : the actual story and characters, and the backdrop and setting. The former is a thrilling mystery, that starts out as a cut and dried murder case, but soon spins out into something really mystifying and deliciously puzzling. The story is told by Chris Shane via first person narration, who is a rookie FBI agent on his first day at the job. Together, he and his partner will uncover a conspiracy that is at once immensely clever and creepy as hell.
The other aspect – the setting – was equally great. It’s near future, which means it lets the author have it look almost like the world we know, and then introduce new elements. Most of that comes in the form of Hadens – the people locked into their own bodies by Haden Syndrome, and the socio-political situation surrounding them. This is done quite naturally, since the protagonist is such an individual himself, and his partner is an Integrator, ie, she has the ability to let locked in people “take control” of her body. The premise raises a lot of interesting questions about how such people would integrate into “normal” society. Some of the answers Scalzi comes up with I agreed with more than others, but they were all though provoking. All in all, quite a fascinating setting. As a programmer, I loved the hacking bits. Not 100% accurate throughout, but way better than “furiously typing at keyboard” stuff you generally see.
The writing itself is simple and functional, with a little dry humor that made me chuckle at times. The characters are well sketched out, and I really got to like the protagonist. Of course, with a first person narration, that is usually the case (unless I grow to hate them). The climax was really enjoyable after all I’d seen happen and reveal throughout the story.
The book did seem to have a bit too many coincidences though. I’d rather not give out specific examples, to avoid spoilers, but it did feel at times that Shane was getting a bit too lucky. Also, I think it missed an opportunity to be awesome. I mean, it’s fun, but the setting has scope for so much more! Or maybe I’m too used to multi-book epics. But apart from that, it was a solid book, with a plot that kept the pace and interest up throughout, and worldbuilding that is interesting and detailed without too many infodumps.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton. And I’m a bit conflicted about that. One the one hand, he has a really great voice that is very easy on the ears, and he brings Shane’s character to life quite well. On the other, his voice is also too same-y, all the characters sound the same – to the point that in dialogue scenes it got a little tricky to determine who was saying what. And the emotions did feel a bit flat. But maybe that’s just me. I’ve just come to expect narrators to do voices ever since I heard Jim Dale make up dozens of voices for his Harry Potter rendition. The audiobook does come with a free novella set in the same world though, but I haven’t had time to listen to it yet.
So yeah, good narration, but voices need more distinction and emotion. Here’s a sample:
My Rating : 4.25/5
AdvertisementsFormer North Florida goalkeeper Megan Dorsey has been invited as a training player for the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)."I was given such an awesome opportunity there was no way I could turn it down. After college, I wasn't ready to hang up my gloves so now that it is happening, I couldn't be any happier," said Dorsey. "Being invited to play for Orlando Pride and training with one of the national team keepers has already been a good experience and has allowed me to grow even more as a keeper. I have to thank one of my keeper trainers, Chris Barocas, for helping me achieve this opportunity."The Orlando Pride is in its first season in the NWSL and currently sit in fourth place. U.S. Women's National Team stars Alex Morgan and Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris will be on national team duty throughout the season, which will give Dorsey an opportunity to compete for playing time, as training players can be given the opportunity to be called up to team play."We are so excited for Megan to get this opportunity. You never know when a chance like this will happen and Megan has embraced it," said North Florida head coach. "She had wonderful career at North Florida and we are so happy that she gets to continue playing in the NWSL."One of the most decorated soccer players to ever take the pitch for the Ospreys, Dorsey ranks first among North Florida Division I goalkeepers in shutouts and second in career saves among All-Time North Florida goalkeepers. Dorsey holds the All-Time record for saves in a match with 20 and the all-time record for saves in a single season. Dorsey was also a four-time Atlantic Sun Player of the Week as well as two-time All Atlantic-Sun honoree.For upcoming matches and all the info on the Orlando Pride, find them onlineHillary Clinton’s once-dominant lead over Donald Trump in swing state New Hampshire has eroded to within the margin of error, while the Granite State’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race is still in a dead heat, according to a new poll.
In a WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll released Tuesday, 46 percent of likely voters would vote for Clinton, while 39 percent would vote for Trump. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. Those numbers include undecided voters who were asked which way they are currently leaning.
The poll surveyed 641 likely voters last week from Wednesday through Sunday.
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Six percent of voters would cast a ballot for Libertarian Gary Johnson, while just one percent support Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
In mid-October, a WMUR/UNH poll found Clinton with a sizable 15-point lead over Trump.
In New Hampshire’s closely fought U.S. Senate race, Tuesday’s poll showed Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan with a wisp of a lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, 46 percent to 44 percent, well within the margin of error.
In WMUR/UNH’s mid-October poll, Hassan was shown to be leading Ayotte by 8 percentage points. Tuesday’s poll looks to be more in line with other recent polls showing the Hassan and Ayotte virtually tied in a contest that could swing the balance of the Senate. As of Tuesday morning, FiveThirtyEight gave Hassan a 58.6 percent chance of winning the race.
Most New Hampshire voters have made up their minds about who should be president with just one week left before Election Day. Four in five voters, or 79 percent, say they have definitely decided whom to support. Nine percent are leaning toward a candidate, while 12 percent are still trying to decide.
The poll also found both candidates were deeply unpopular among New Hampshire independents, with 55 percent viewing Clinton unfavorably and 44 percent with an unfavorable view of Trump.“Look not to me, nor to the laws of men, but to the sea. Raise your sails and unship your oars, my lord, and take yourself to Old Wyk. You, and all the captains and the kings. Go not to Pyke, to bow before the godless, nor to Harlaw, to consort with scheming women. Point your prow toward Old Wyk, where stood the Grey King’s Hall. In the name of the Drowned God I summon you. I summon all of you! Leave your halls and hovels, your castles and your keeps, and return to Nagga’s hill to make a kingsmoot!” –Aeron Damphair
2013 A Game of Thrones Regional Championship Tournament
In addition to its engaging gaming and events, Days of Ice and Fire 2013 will also be host to an A Game of Thrones: The Card Game 2013 Regional Championship Tournament! Learn more by visiting our Organized Play website, then make your plans to join us!
You have been summoned to the kingsmoot, and the fate of your homeland depends on its outcome. Raise your sails and set a course for Roseville, Minnesota!
Fantasy Flight Games is proud to present three days of excitement and intrigue in the Seven Kingdoms. April 12th–14th, 2013 at the spacious Fantasy Flight Games Event Center in Roseville, MN, Days of Ice and Fire 2013 is a three-day celebration of FFG’s Westeros-themed board and card games.
Days of Ice and Fire 2013 will feature tournaments, open play, and a host of other events focusing on A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition, A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, Battles of Westeros, and more! Meet and interact with the games’ designers in one of our informative Q&A sessions or test your mettle in one of several exciting competitions.
Great Gaming and Much More
Fans of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game won’t want to miss Days of Ice and Fire 2013, where they’ll be able to compete in an official Regional Championship Tournament. Face off against the top players in the area to win prizes, earn bragging rights, and take the first step toward the World Championship Weekend in November; the winner of this Regionals Championship Tournament will receive a first round bye at Worlds!
Board Game players have plenty to look forward to as well. In addition to weekend-long demos and open play of both Battles of Westeros and A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition, Days of Ice and Fire 2013 will see the exclusive debut of new scenarios for both of those games. While Battles of Westeros players enjoy our stunning custom terrain table and an all-new scenario, fans of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game can take part in a tournament featuring an as-of-yet-unannounced POD expansion (read on for details)!
What's more, Days of Ice and Fire 2013 offers an experience well beyond competition. This is your chance to celebrate all things related to this vibrant setting, so make your plans to set sail for the Seven Kingdoms. Meet some of your favorite FFG developers, enjoy some of the world’s greatest Westeros-inspired art at our art show, and test your knowledge of A Song of Ice and Fire (while competing for great prizes) in our Trivia Challenge.
The First 100 Registrants Receive Exclusive Gifts
Register now at our webstore! While all attendees will receive an exclusive gift bag with Westeros-themed items, the first 100 early registrants for Days of Ice and Fire 2013 receive even more.
The first 100 early registrants will receive:
An exclusive early copy of an as-of-yet-unannounced Print on Demand expansion for A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition! This specially designed four-player scenario is playable in about two hours, and presents players with an entirely new set of objectives. Can you secure the Iron Throne in this game-changing scenario?
! This specially designed four-player scenario is playable in about two hours, and presents players with an entirely new set of objectives. Can you secure the Iron Throne in this game-changing scenario? A custom name badge, displaying your chosen house affiliation. Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive an email asking you to select your favorite Great House of Westeros. Just be sure to choose promptly; anyone who doesn’t select a house, or who registers late at the door, will be labeled a lowly thrall of the Iron Islands!
An attractive Westeros-themed drawstring bag, suitable for dice, counters, markers, or similar small components. Keep close tabs on your dice for Battles of Westeros, your gold and power tokens for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, and more!
April 12th-14th, join us in Roseville, Minnesota to experience the conflict and intrigue of Westeros. Learn more at our Days of Ice and Fire 2013 website, then register today!Death by car and alcohol in combination is more frequent on Long Island than in most of New York, so it is not surprising that the same judge, Rudolph H. Bruer, has had two cases within the last year in his court involving five fatalities on a small, beautiful stretch of Suffolk County’s North Fork.
Over the weekend, four young women died when a pickup truck crashed into the stretch limousine that they and four friends were taking as a prudent measure for a tastings tour in the North Fork wine country.
The driver of the pickup truck, a local man named Steven Romeo, 55, who runs a boatyard, was arraigned in his hospital bed on charges of driving while intoxicated. Bail was set by Justice Bruer at $500,000 cash or a bond worth $1 million.
As it happens, Justice Bruer was also on duty in Southold Town Justice Court in December when a prominent businessman from the North Fork, John Costello, was arraigned on a charge of driving while intoxicated.Conservative legal scholar: We already regulate inactivity
By Greg Sargent
In an interview with me just now, a conservative law professor made an interesting case for the individual mandate: In multiple cases, he said, the federal government has already regulated "inactivity," and it has passed muster with the Constitution.
The cases this professor cited: Jury duty, and the draft.
New York University law professor Rick Hills describes himself as a "registered Republican and outspoken conservative," but he maintains that the primary argument conservatives use against the mandate -- that it's unconstitutional to regulate economic inactivity by forcing people to buy insurance, as Judge Vinson ruled -- is bunk.
Hills frames the question this way: If the federal government can't tell people they don't have the right to refuse to buy insurance, then why was it okay for the federal government to regulate people's "pacifism," i.e., their refusal to fight in wars? Why is it okay for the government to regulate people's refusal to serve on juries?
"If you can regulate inaction to raise juries, and you can regulate inaction to raise an army, then why isn't there equally an implied power to conscript people to buy insurance, to serve the goal of regulating the interstate insurance market?" Hill asks.
The draft was held |
Trump, the anti-leak crusader, didn't instruct his team to issue a statement along these lines: We are not going to comment on anonymously sourced reports that spread rumor and innuendo. That would not have been a denial of The Post's report, but at least it would not have been a confirmation.
It appears that Team Trump is going all in on the “witch hunt” defense. Instead of casting doubt on the existence of an obstruction investigation, Trump is acknowledging the probe and trying to use it to cast himself as the victim of a plot to destroy his presidency.
Expect more messaging like this tweet by Trump ally Newt Gingrich:This is part two of my series of letters to the Grieving Mom. Read part one here.
To the one whose arms are aching,
Sweet friend.
I have to tell you. You’re doing an incredible job. I know it doesn’t feel like it. I know you feel like you can barely function and I know you think that you are failing at life, but listen. You’re still standing. You’re still breathing, and from someone who knows the pain, I know how hard even that is to do some days.
You shouldn’t have to be here. It shouldn’t be this way. Your arms shouldn’t be aching, and your heart shouldn’t be broken into the thousands of pieces it now beats in. You shouldn’t have to know this pain. You shouldn’t have to will yourself to breathe. You shouldn’t have to function like a normal human being when nothing about this is normal. Nothing about it is fair. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
I’m so sorry you’re here. But look at you. You are so strong. You are so brave. You are holding on.
I know you feel fragile. I know you feel broken. I know you feel jaded because life didn’t treat you nicely. No one should have to say goodbye to the child they carried. No one should know the pain when their child leaves this world before them.
I know this is hard. I’m right here beside you.
I know you feel angry sometimes. It’s understandable. You watched as your perfect dreams shattered. And you would have settled for far less than perfect. You would have settled for anything if only they could just stay and not be in pain.
On the days that it’s too hard, and you find yourself at 2am sitting cross-legged on the bathroom floor, tissues crumpled in a pile beside you, whispering love and praying that they hear. In those moments, when the pain feels like it could swallow you whole, remember this: you are never, ever alone. There are few consolations in the darkest situations, but there is this: there are those who have gone before you, who are beside you, and who will come after you. People survive this. They hold on, just like you are. They grit their teeth, just like you are. They cling like hell to hope, just like you are. They claw for joy, just like you are. And they breathe in and out, moment by moment, day after day, year after year.
The pain will never subside, but a day will come when you will breathe easier. At least, that’s what I have heard. I’ll hold out for that day with you.
And as you face day after day without them, remember this: You’re still standing. You’re still breathing. You’re surviving. And this is this big one: you’re still mothering them with that strength and love, even though they are no longer in your arms.
Between the two of you is a love of which some only hear rumored. A love that spans across worlds, through time, and never wavers or falls. This is the love of a mother for the child she aches to hold. The love that keeps you holding on.
You’re still their mom, and nothing can stop that.
I know this is hard. You shouldn’t have to be here. But look at you. You’re still breathing. You’re holding on, and even with a shattered heart, nothing can stop your love.
I know they are so proud to have you as their mom.
A Momma Who Knows
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commentsIt’s not every day a new species of butterfly is discovered—and it’s even less common for that species to have been hiding in plain sight all along. One lepidopterist’s sharp eye has revealed an entirely new species of Alaskan butterfly, something that hasn’t been discovered in 28 years.
The lepidopterist in question is Andrew Warren, the senior collections manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History’s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity. Warren, who dubs himself “AndyBugGuy” on Twitter, has also been called “Lord of the Butterflies” for his dominion over the gigantic 10-million specimen collection at the McGuire Center.
What Warren and his colleagues didn’t realize was that an entirely new type of butterfly was hiding in plain sight at the Center. One day, Warren was working with his collections when he noticed something off about a butterfly that had been categorized as O. chryxus, a rare Arctic butterfly most commonly spotted in the Rockies. This butterfly, which had been in the same collection for 60 years, didn’t look the same at all—it was bigger and darker, and had been collected near Tok in southeastern Alaska.
Warren sprung into action, working with colleagues to review the appearance of the butterfly and corroborate his find in Alaska. The team found a large number of additional specimens in private collections and at the University of Alaska’s Kenelm Philip collection, too.
It makes sense that the species was categorized as O. chryxus—it looks a lot like that butterfly. But it is also similar to O. bore, the white-veined Arctic, and there could be an intriguing reason: Warren and his team think that the butterfly is a hybrid of both species. In the past, both species could have mated and produced the new species.
Yet over time, O. chryxus and O. bore moved further and further apart. As the last age cooled down Beringia—a strip of land between Alaska and Asia that never became glaciated—the butterfly-friendly area became less hospitable. It appears that O. chryxus moved south to the Rockies and O. bore stayed in Beringia alongside the new species.
Looks aren’t the only thing that matters—the new species also shares mitochondrial DNA with O. bore. Next, Warren and his team want to sequence the new butterfly’s genome to figure out if it is indeed a hybrid and figure out why it was able to survive in the much harsher Arctic.
For now, they’ve named the new butterfly Oeneis tanana—the Tanana Arctic butterfly and published the results of their work in the Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. With wings the color of a penny, large white specks on its underwings and a “frosty” look appropriate for the Arctic, the Tanana Arctic could be the only butterfly endemic to the Alaska’s Last Frontier.
Warren will head out to the Yukon-Tanana basin next year to look for the species in the wild. Who knows what else he might notice that others have missed?A colourful procession of rainbow flag-waving supporters marched in downtown Tokyo on Sunday during one of its annual LGBTQ pride parades.
According to local reports, about 5000 people marched the 3km parade route for Tokyo Rainbow Pride, which took them through through the iconic Shibuya Station crossing intersection.
Image: YOSHIO TSUNODA/AFLO/AP
Image: YOSHIO TSUNODA/AFLO/AP
Tokyo Rainbow Pride, held in support of LGBTQ visibility, saw a similar number of participants during its inaugural 2012 parade.
Despite small steps inching toward more equal treatment, LGBTQ issues remain largely underground in Japan's conservative community.
In November last year, two women made history by obtaining a government certificate officially recognising their union.
But Hiroko Masuhara and Koyuki Higashi's certificate isn't legally binding, so spousal rights such as hospital visitations are regarded more as suggestions rather than enforceable by law.
Image: aflo/ap
In a poll conducted across 70,000 people in Japan last year, about 7.6% identified themselves as part of the LGBTQ community. According to Kyodo, the results surprised people, who expected the number to be lower.
Image: aflo/ap
Image: YOSHIO TSUNODA/AFLO/AP
Image: AFLO via AP
Image: YOSHIo tSUNODA/AFLO/AP
Image: AFLo/AP
Image: AFLO/AP
Image: YOSHIO TSUNODA/AFLO/AP
Image: AFLO/AP
Image: AFLO/AP
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.Ostracism Edit
In Classical Athens, when the decision at hand was to banish or exile a certain member of society, citizen peers would cast their vote by writing the name of the person on the sherd of pottery; the vote was counted and, if unfavorable, the person was exiled for a period of ten years from the city, thus giving rise to the term ostracism.
Egyptian limestone and potsherd ostraca Edit
Biblical period ostraca Edit
Christian ostraca Edit
Some Christian texts are preserved upon ostraca. In the late 19th century, 20 ostraca were found in Upper Egypt, probably from the 7th century, written in Greek and Coptic. The ostraca are of different sizes and shapes. The more extant is Luke 22:40-71, which runs over 10 pieces. The ostraca contain from 2 to 9 verses each, and cover Matthew 27:31–32; Mark 5:40-41 (Mark 9:3); Mark 9:17-18, Mark 9:22; Mark 15:21; Luke 12:13-16; Luke 22:40-71; John 1:1-9; John 1:14-17; John 18:19-25; John 19:15-17. There is one ostracon with the inscription "St. Peter the evangelist," perhaps an allusion to the Gospel of Peter. A Coptic Sa'idic ostracon preserves the Pericope Adulterae found in John 7:53-8:1, which is otherwise omitted in the Sa'idic New Testament. A Christian hymn to Mary, similar to the canticles of Luke, and some Christian letters have also been found. Inscriptions on clay, wood, metal, and other hard materials, like papyri, are valuable especially as literary sources for Early Christianity. They are found chiefly in Oriental countries (i.e. east of Rome or Southwest Asia), especially Egypt (which though east of Rome is technically North Africa). The greatest number are pieces of clay or scraps of pots inscribed with colors or ink. The oldest Christian ostraca, like the papyri, are Greek and date from the 5th century; next come the Coptic and Arabian ostraca. Some of the texts not yet deciphered include several Nubian ostraca in a language spoken in the old Christian kingdoms in the vicinity of Aloa on the Blue Nile. In these inscriptions Greek letters are used, with some other signs. As to contents, ostraca are either profane or ecclesiastical. Potsherds were often used for correspondence in place of the less durable papyrus; occasionally the recipient wrote the answer on the back of the potsherd. Ostraca were also used for mercantile purposes, as bills, receipts, etc. C. M. Kaufmann and J. C. Ewald Falls, while excavating the town of Menas in the Libyan desert, discovered ostraca of this class—the oldest Christian potsherds in the Greek language (5th century)—and H. J. Bell and F. G. Kenyon of the British Museum deciphered them. They refer to the vine-culture of the sanctuaries of Menas and represent, for the most part, short vouchers for money or provisions. The currency is based upon gold solidi issued by Constantine; the date is reckoned by the year of indiction. Of historical interest is the assistance given to invalid workmen, the employment of the lower clergy, the manner of provisioning the workmen, and especially the statements about the harvest periods in the Libyan district. The series of Coptic ostraca which deals with the clergy and the monasteries in the Nile valley is particularly extensive. They refer to all phases of administration and popular life. The ecclesiastical ostraca, in a narrow sense, contain Biblical citations from the New Testament, prayers, extracts from the synaxaria (lives of the saints), and are partly of a liturgic character. Greek, which was then the language of the Church, is much used, with the Coptic. Among the samples published by W.E. Crum, a fine judge of Coptic dialects, there is a local confession of faith from the 6th century, besides the Preface and Sanctus of the Mass, prayers from the Liturgy of St. Basil and of St. Mark, a part of the didascalia of Schenûte of Athribis, a Greek confession, and an excommunication, also in Greek. Particularly remarkable are those ostraca which contain liturgical songs. They represent our present song-books for which purpose rolls of papyrus were less suited than the more durable potsherds; in some cases wooden books were used. Among the pieces translated by Crum we find petitions for ordination in which the petitioner promises to learn by heart one of the Gospels, and a reference to an ancient abstinence movement, against which is directed a decree that the consecration-wine should be pure or at least three-fourths pure.
See also Edit
Notes Edit
References EditChinese mobile upstart OnePlus launched its third smartphone a few weeks back. The OnePlus X is a smaller, cheaper, more design-focused device than the OnePlus 2, which launched a few months earlier, and the OnePlus One, which debuted a year previous.
Consistent with its launch strategy from the company’s inception, OnePlus isn’t opening sales to just anyone. It’s sticking to the same system it has operated since day one, meaning you’ll need to acquire an invite just to buy one.
Many people continue to question OnePlus’s approach to marketing and sales. So VentureBeat caught up with OnePlus cofounder Carl Pei at Dublin Web Summit last week, and we asked him a bunch of questions that many OnePlus fans may be eager to have answered.
On the OnePlus X
While OnePlus had always maintained it would launch its second flagship phone in 2015, there were also always rumors that there would be a stripped down “Lite” version of the handset as well, one that was even cheaper than the OnePlus 2. Now we know that the secondary device is the OnePlus X and we’ve had a little time to play around with it, it’s clear that this isn’t a dumbed-down OnePlus 2 — it feels very much like it’s a phone aimed at a different market.
“Yeah, I think that’s how we view it as well,” said Pei. “We don’t see it as a mid-range device, or a low-end device, just because it’s a little bit smaller and cheaper. Normally, a low-end or mid-range device would run a Snapdragon 400 or 600 series (processor), and would not be built in glass and metal. In terms of the build and design, it is a flagship phone. But the specs are more thoughtfully selected, because right now the additional benefit of having a faster processor for the user is not that big any more. People value things like design, first impressions, camera, and build quality much more. It’s a product geared towards a more mainstream audience, people who care about the size, the build quality, the materials more than the specs.”
OnePlus has often struggled to keep up with demand, a problem caused by its invite system, which limits availability. So why launch two phones in such quick succession? Doesn’t that compound the problem?
“The entire team is tired, having launched two product in only three months,” said Pei. “The OnePlus X was always planned for a pre-Christmas release, but it just took the OnePlus 2 that little bit longer to develop than we had originally hoped. Normally it takes 10 months to a year to build a product, but with the OnePlus 2 it took 15 months. If we had released the OnePlus 2 a quarter earlier, that would’ve made things much easier for us.”
The introduction of the OnePlus X also signals the company’s future launch cycle plans — it will aim to bring two smartphones to market every year moving forward.
On the invite system
Image Credit: OnePlus
As noted, OnePlus is sticking to its invite-only guns for both the OnePlus 2 and the OnePlus X for now, because it helps the company manage its inventory so it’s not left with excess phones it cannot shift. But does this mean the company is literally building to demand?
“We can’t really build to match demand, because for us the lead time is two to three months,” said Pei. “So right now, we have to foresee what’s going to happen three months from now. And a user is never going to wait three months for a phone. The invite system helps us deal with it in a way that’s more user-friendly. And it helps us manage our inventory a little bit better.”
How effective was the invite system for the OnePlus One? Did the company have many phones left in the end? “We still had a little bit of inventory left over, but not in phones — in components,” added Pei. “We sold them on the second-hand market at a discount. So we lost a little bit of money towards the end, but overall it’s much smoother than a lot of other companies.”
While the invite system is still firmly in place, OnePlus hopes to create open-sales windows much faster than it did with its first phone, which took about a year to completely open the floodgates. The OnePlus X will begin weekly hour-long open windows from early December, and this will eventually be applied to the OnePlus 2 phone later.
Pei is acutely aware of the criticism the company’s invite system receives. He also acknowledged that people will only wait so long to buy one of his phones before they look elsewhere. So will he ever ditch the invite system altogether for a device’s launch, perhaps with the OnePlus 3? “Maybe in a few years,” he said. “The risk in this industry is still pretty high. A lot are bleeding money or leaving the market. A lot of the choices are disappearing. Sony might get out of the smartphone industry, HTC too, while BlackBerry is also struggling. There’s not a lot of players left.”
Does the invite system criticism affect Pei?
“People need to understand why certain decisions are made,” he added. “It’s easy to criticize, but in the end do they want OnePlus to be around or not? Do they want more choice?”
As with many things on the Internet, it’s easy to take a handful of comments and assume that to be the opinion of the majority. Social media tends to amplify the vocal minority, and this is something that Pei is aware of. “If you always just read online comments, then you might feel a certain way,” he said. “But when you meet people in real life, everything is different. It’s not (online commentary) an accurate representation of how things are.”
On ‘never settling’
OnePlus has a motto — “Never Settle” — which is about getting maximum value for your money. An excellent product that you don’t pay through the nose for. But with the OnePlus 2, comments abounded on social media and forums that OnePlus had in fact “settled” for something less than it had promised, because there were some key features missing.
“‘Never Settle’ never meant ‘include everything’,” said Pei. “You could do everything, and nothing will be done well. An analogy I like to use is a chef who has access to a lot of ingredients, but a good dish is not a sum of all the ingredients. There has to be a curation. Always make the best choices for the user — not necessarily every user — but try to make the best choices for the majority of users.”
The big elephant in the room is near-field communication (NFC). The first OnePlus phone offered NFC, but the OnePlus 2 (or OnePlus X) doesn’t — this was a major criticism of the device, especially with Android Pay rolling out in the U.S. So why not include NFC?
“NFC became a big thing for the OnePlus 2, but in reality after people calmed down and thought about it, they really don’t use a lot of NFC,” said Pei. “When it becomes the mainstream, we’ll bring it back.”
This is something I argued in my review in September. NFC hasn’t gained a great deal of traction yet — it’s getting there, sure, but it’s not like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. So what you have is a few techies who probably would find a use for it complaining about a missing feature that the vast majority of people actually don’t use. It’s the vocal minority creating a needless stink.
“Yeah, but I think that people get affected by the vocal minority,” said Pei. “If they don’t have a strong opinion of their own, they’re going to follow the loud opinion.”
That still doesn’t really address the question that many have: Why not just include the feature anyway? Does it really cost that much extra for components? According to Pei, it only costs an extra few dollars, and it doesn’t take up that much more space. “But the same thing can be said to maybe 10 other things, and they all add up,” he continued. “It all adds up.”
For some, a removable battery is also important, something that neither the OnePlus 2 nor the OnePlus X has. But this isn’t something that Pei is eager to remedy in future devices. There are good reasons why many companies, including Apple, have fixed batteries.
“I don’t think we’ll ever look at removable batteries,” said Pei. “It requires a lot more space in the phone because you have to protect the battery — you need to house the battery in something that doesn’t let it get punctured. Then, you have to build the connector that connects the battery to the phone, which means more circuitry.”
To put this in real terms, Pei said that if the OnePlus One had a removable battery, it would’ve only been 2,700mAh rather than the 3,100mAh it eventually shipped with, simply because of the extra space required.
On marketing and monetization
OnePlus’s mission so far has been about creating a credible smartphone brand, a solid fanbase, and a company that doesn’t bleed money. It has been running at small margins per device, but managed to make a very small profit after the OnePlus One. Pei tells VentureBeat that the company still isn’t making that much money, and because the team has grown so much in the past year, it will probably have a small loss this year.
“Our philosophy is to be self-sustaining and grow organically rather than burn money to get users,” he said. “The right thing to do is to build a strong hardware business and a strong software business. Right now we have a small margin, and the goal is to break even and run a company. As we scale up, the profits will increase, then we can add services on top of that.”
What these additional services will be isn’t yet clear. It won’t be preinstalled apps, though — “That’s the sort of stuff people really hate,” said Pei.
Key to OnePlus’s success will surely be mindshare — getting inside people’s consciousness. OnePlus doesn’t really exist offline yet — unless you pay close attention to the online tech world, there’s a good chance you’ll never encounter the brand. So is there scope here for partnerships, either with brick-and-mortar retailers or mobile networks?
“We are talking to a lot of carriers, but nothing is firmed up yet,” said Pei. OnePlus does actually have an in-store presence in Malaysia, having signed a deal with Maxis Communications, one of the biggest telecom companies in the country. But it’s a strategy Pei is hesitant to follow for many — if any — markets just now.
“If you’re just in someone else’s store, you don’t get to control the story that gets told about your product,” he said. “If you’re just next to a bunch of other products, then the users can’t really tell the difference.”
So OnePlus may need to look beyond its peer-to-peer, word-of-mouth marketing for something a little more brazen. But what that is remains to be seen. “I think there needs to be more product marketing, we need to teach people about what the brand stands for, and why the product is good,” he added.LUCKNOW: A quiet campaign to cut Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan down to size appears to be at work in Uttar Pradesh. The party’s sulking Muslim face is locked in a bitter battle of words with Shia clerics over Waqf Board elections in UP. He is also believed to be upset with the SP leadership over Amar Singh’s reappearance, four years after he fell out with the party, on stage with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav In the latest development, an old 2009 video of Khan addressing a public rally in his home constituency Rampur was released on Tuesday. In the video, Khan is shown making a speech in which he refers to SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as a “hijra” (eunuch), not once, but many times, for his alleged inability to transform Suar Tanda, Milak and Bilaspur, all assembly constituencies in Rampur district, along the lines of Chandigarh.Although the context of the video does not find mention on the website on which it has been released, the speech was made soon after Khan parted ways with the SP in 2009, over Amar Singh’s growing clout within the party.How the offensive video resurfaced after more than five years is unclear, but one thing is obvious; Azam’s clout within SP is waning. Twice now in one month, Azam’s words have been overruled. He called for elections to the Shia Waqf Board, which Mulayam ordered against earlier this month. The elections have now been put off indefinitely. In another move, the invitation to Amar Singh at the inauguration of the Janeshwar Mishra park also miffed the Muslim leader; he gave it a skip, as well as two other government programmes that all other cabinet ministers attended.(Azam Khan)The move, sources in the SP said, is a result of a growing number of Azam detractors within the SP. Most people also question Azam’s clout within the Muslim community, as well as his ability to draw votes for the party.My recent Profile of Guillermo del Toro chronicled his efforts to realize his dream project: a hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar adaptation of “At the Mountains of Madness,” the H. P. Lovecraft novella about scientists who come across malignant, mutating aliens during an expedition to Antarctica. After three months of deliberation, Universal Pictures, the studio that gave del Toro money for pre-production creature designs, has remained unwilling to give the director a greenlight, citing concerns over the film’s budget and likely R rating. On Monday, del Toro withdrew from the negotiations, and that night at ten-thirty he sent me a short, mournful e-mail:
Madness has gone dark. The ‘R’ did us in.
Del Toro had told me that he would not compromise on the film’s rating, even though a film rated PG-13 would have a much easier time attracting a mass audience. “Madness,” as he imagined it, would not be particularly gory, but he insisted that he needed the artistic freedom “to make it really, really uncomfortable and nasty.” Del Toro had hoped that a greenlight for “Madness” would mark a new golden age for horror films:
Del Toro envisaged “Madness” as a “hard R” epic, shot in 3-D, with a blockbuster budget. Creating dozens of morphing creatures would be expensive, and much of the film needed to be shot somewhere that approximated Antarctica; one of the most disquieting aspects of Lovecraft’s novella is that the explorers are being pursued by monsters in a vast frozen void, and del Toro wanted to make the first horror movie on the scale of a David Lean production. But a “tent-pole horror film,” as del Toro put it, hadn’t been made in years. High-budget productions such as “Alien” and “The Shining” had been followed by decades of cheaper thrills. “The natural flaw of horror as a genre is that, ninety-nine per cent of the time, it’s a clandestine genre,” he said. “It lives and breathes—‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ the first ‘Saw,’ ‘The Blair Witch Project’—in dark little corners that come out and haunt you. Rarely is there a beautiful orchid that blooms.” He mentioned Hitchcock’s “The Birds”: “It was a major filmmaker using cutting-edge optical technology and special effects. It was a big-budget movie. It had Edith Head designing costumes, it had all the luxuries. And it was appealing because it had all the polished aspects of a studio film.”
According to Deadline.com, Universal executives felt that “Madness” would need to make at least five hundred million dollars in worldwide grosses in order to turn a profit, considering global marketing costs. It is possible that del Toro will now present the project to another studio.
Adam Fogelson, the chairman of Universal Pictures, had seemed excited about “Madness” when I talked to him in January. He spoke of being dazzled when del Toro made a visual presentation of his plans for the film, at a meeting attended by James Cameron, the director of “Avatar,” who had agreed to serve as a producer. Fogelson said, “Boy, I wish I was capable of succinctly summarizing what it is to be in a room with Guillermo, and James Cameron and his team, presenting on a project that is such a passion project for Guillermo.” He called del Toro’s presentation “one of the more extraordinary and gratifying professional experiences I have had.” Fogelson went on, “The kind of movie Guillermo is looking to create is not something there’s been much of in the recent past. But I think anyone working in this business right now would acknowledge that attempting to follow a prescribed formula is not less scary than talking a walk across a virgin landscape. There are no sure things. There are no—or very few—easy, obvious safe bets. And what we’re looking to do here is, we want to make great films. We think great films make great business.”
Photograph: Josef Astor.Arnold Schwarzenegger has built his career on negating suspension of disbelief. He plays characters with comically Anglo names like Ben Richards and Howard Langston, despite looking and sounding exactly like an Austrian ex-bodybuilder. He’s good at squinting, smirking, and standing up while keeping his back straight, but not at convincing the viewer that he’s anyone other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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His screen appeal lies in his un-believability. He’s incapable of disappearing into a role (though he comes close in The Terminator). Instead of becoming the character, the character becomes him. That’s the central conceit of his comedies; the humor depends on the viewer recognizing Schwarzenegger and thinking that it’s funny to see him do something un-Schwarzeneggerian. This is also the reason why most of his comedies are pretty bad.
Yet, despite his non-existent range, Schwarzenegger has continually taken on projects that either cast him as a character with multiple identities (Raw Deal, Total Recall, True Lies, Escape Plan) or require him to play multiple characters (The 6th Day, the Terminator franchise). This results in a Hollywood hall of mirrors: Schwarzeneggers interacting with other Schwarzeneggers; Schwarzenegger pretending to be Schwarzenegger; Schwarzenegger discovering that he’s not the Schwarzenegger he believed himself to be, but a different, identical Schwarzenegger.
No movie takes the multiple-Schwarzenegger trope further than Last Action Hero, an elastic meta-action-comedy that was considered a resounding commercial and critical failure in 1993. The victim of its own marketing campaign, the movie made $137 million at the box office (equivalent to about $222 million in today’s dollars), but still managed to lose money, because so much had been spent on advertising.
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Heavy cross-promotion didn’t exactly endear it to the press, nor did the then-prevailing impression that Last Action Hero was an extension of the Schwarzenegger brand, a Planet Hollywood theme restaurant in feature form. But blaming Last Action Hero’s comparative failure on advertising isn’t accurate; after all, Jurassic Park was just as aggressively promoted. (Of course, many of those involved with the movie would eventually come to blame Jurassic Park—which opened the week before Last Action Hero and became a runaway hit—for their movie’s “failure.”)
Rather, the reason why Last Action Hero didn’t become a massive blockbuster rests in the film itself. It’s a mutant that can’t be categorized, both a straightforward action movie and a Joe Dante-style gag-a-minute fantasy. It doesn’t make much sense. It’s the only truly funny comedy of Schwarzenegger’s career, and it’s overtly about Schwarzenegger, and yet none of its best jokes are related to Schwarzenegger’s screen persona. At times, it’s brilliant and demented.
When Last Action Hero opened, one of the most common complaints made by critics was that the film—about a boy who magically enters a Schwarzenegger movie and then brings its protagonist back with him into “reality”—didn’t properly distinguish between the real world and the world of the movie-within-the-movie, and never defined the parameters of either.
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For instance, after Danny (Austin O’Brien) gets sucked into the fictional Schwarzenegger vehicle Jack Slater IV, he discovers that characters from other movies, like Terminator 2: Judgment Day’s T-1000 (Robert Patrick), also inhabit this universe. But if T-1000 is a real person in the movie-within-the-movie, then why does Terminator 2 also exist in the same world (albeit as a Sylvester Stallone vehicle)? If Schwarzenegger’s Jack Slater loses his invulnerability upon entering Danny’s “real” world, then why do other movie characters—like Death (Ian McKellen) from The Seventh Seal—retain their powers after getting freed from their movies? And why does Danny’s world seem so fake, as choked with in-jokes and movie references as Jack Slater IV?
Last Action Hero began as a straightforward parody of action movie clichés. College buddies Zak Penn and Adam Leff wrote the original script, but once Schwarzenegger became attached, it was handed over to David Arnott and Shane Black. (Penn, who is outspoken in his dislike of the finished film, later became a successful screenwriter in his own right; he would revisit the meta-movie territory of Last Action Hero in Incident At Loch Ness, a mockumentary starring Werner Herzog as himself.) With the involvement of Schwarzenegger, then the world’s biggest movie star, and Black, action movies’ most famous screenwriter, it seemed natural that the John McTiernan (Die Hard, Predator), the greatest action director of the era, helm the project.
Like his contemporaries Tony Scott and Michael Mann, McTiernan represented a new breed of genre stylist. Half a generation earlier, style-conscious directors like John Carpenter and Brian De Palma had burst on the scene; their work was formally exaggerated, but rooted in classicism, with style functioning as a way to distort the viewer’s perspective. Carpenter’s shock reveals and De Palma’s split-screens were audience-control effects. The camera served to create and manage a relationship between the audience and the fictional action onscreen.
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Scott, Mann, and McTiernan, however, were more formalist; reared on European art cinema, they’d found their way into commercials and TV and then into mainstream genre filmmaking. For better or worse, they had developed visual sensibilities before developing narrative ones. They fetishized formal qualities—lens flares, smoky textures, shallow depth-of-field—the way Carpenter had fetishized people clumped together by danger or De Palma had fetishized anxiety. Visual motifs grew into themes, instead of the other way around.
Here’s McTiernan speaking to an interviewer in 1999:
“To decide what the next note is in a piece of music, you don’t think about the plot, or what it means, you think about: what does it sound like? Is it in the right rhythm, the right key? …In color and lighting also, there are visual melodies.”
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Though McTiernan had begun in theater (he’d studied stage directing at Julliard), his approach was more textural than dramatic. The camera-viewer relationship was different, too; the image didn’t act as an intermediary between the action and the audience. Compositions were off-kilter; abstract visual qualities were emphasized. Perspective didn’t matter. Visual impact and rhythm did.
After taking over the script from Penn and Leff, Black and Arnott piled Last Action Hero with references. Jack Slater’s chief (Frank McRae) is named after Fred Dekker, who directed the Black-penned Monster Squad. Tom Noonan, another Monster Squad alumnus, appears as himself and as The Ripper, the antagonist of Jack Slater III. Jack Slater IV is credited to Franco Columbu, Schwarzenegger’s best friend from his bodybuilding days. The movie-within-a-movie’s feuding mobsters are named Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Torelli. There are deliberate continuity errors throughout the film, and two different parodies of the iconic overhead fall from McTiernan’s own Die Hard. In the scene from Jack Slater III that opens the movie, Tina Turner plays the mayor of Los Angeles—a parody of stunt Hollywood casting that is itself a piece of stunt Hollywood casting. (Pointing out clichés while indulging in them is Black’s specialty.) The riffs—many of them obscure—go on and on.
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The obvious answer as to why Last Action Hero doesn’t tonally distinguish between “reality” and Jack Slater IV is that both worlds are meant to register as fictional. Danny’s world is one where magic exists, where New York grind |
from Trevelyan will be avoided. Breaking Through the Hatch: Next use your laser watch, and melt the strips. Cracking the Password, Locating the Base: Natalya will automatically start in on the computer in the attempt to achieve these two objectives. Keep an eye out for her computing messages. She needs to locate the secret base, which should happen first, and then Crack Boris's code, which will take the longest. Should you wait until the last second, or leave early? Natalya will follow you as soon as you leave the train, so don't leave early, got it? Usually, it's best to wait about five seconds before the train blows, and then escape. Maybe four. She'll almost always wait that long until cracking the code. Waiting any longer give or take a second, and Natalya will get blown up trying to escape. Keeping Natalya (and yourself) Alive: a bunch of trigger-happy henchmen will start shooting at you as soon as you leave the train. They'll appear on your left. Before you leave the train, switch to the RP-P90, or in Secret Agent and 00 Agent, the two ZMGs. The trick here is to give Natalya enough space to get off the train so that when it explodes, she doesn't get catch the explosion. So, get off the train, turn left toward the enemies, shoot a few shots, and move all the way to the right and back a few steps, that will give her enough space to walk away (remember, Natalya will follow you wherever you go). Now blast away at the enemies, making sure to hit the wooden, explosive boxes (which of course will scatter their body parts across the area) as well as the guys themselves. The trick is to be fast and shoot enough of them before they hit you or Natalya. Now run all the way to the other end of the train and your done. Level 15 MISSION 7: Cuba PART I: Jungle Time cheat: Level 15: Jungle 2x Hunting Knives Agent 3:45: Start by moving just into the jungle landscape, about six steps. A handful of military men come at you with US AR33 Assault rifles in hand. Kill the first one and pick up his rifle, then kill the others. Use trees as hiding spots, and progress through the mission constantly looking for new trees to hide behind. In less than a minute you'll find the first automatic turret or it may find you first. Hide behind a tree, and use the leaning approach. Take a few seconds after it finishes firing. Then lean out and shoot it. After the first automatic weapon is destroyed, go to the far left jungle wall and pick up body armor near a fern and a few trees. Progress through the jungle hiding and searching, and you'll find two more turrets surrounded by soldiers. There is body armor on the right of the second one and to the left of the third one. Each vest is very close to the jungle 'wall.' Stay as healthy as possible, you'll need it for later. After the three turrets, you'll come to a hanging bridge. Run across it until you hear a change in the music. Xenia will say something clich‚ like, "This time the pleasure will be all mine," and will shoot and roll a lot in the easy mode. She's easy to kill here. Just keep shooting. In medium and hard, she will throw grenades and shoot you with deadly accuracy. Shoot her and strafe, shoot and hide, and Natalya come in to help. Don't let Natalya get killed, or it's back to the drawing board. Finally Xenia will die, and you an pick up the a nifty RC- P90. Cross the bridge and take out the automatic machine gun to your immediate left. It won't activate until you pass it. Kill it first. Go to the mouth of the cave, located forward and to the right. In the cave, fog will hide an automatic machine gun on the left and about three to five soldiers on both sides. Find yourself a good place from which to shoot, and use the sight on your rifle to pick them off, aiming for the auto gun first. Remember to keep your shots to a minimum. Now head up a slope, taking out two to three gunmen. On the left part of the cave is a ladder. Ascend it slowly. If done right, you'll see an automatic machine gun that hasn't been activated pointed right at you. Take three shots to kill it. Go right and prepare for battle. There is a major stash of ammo and gunmen sitting waiting for you. Switch to the grenade launcher. Shoot one grenade into the area, one to the left, middle, and right areas. This will cause major damage, but won't kill everyone. If you wait to long, the soldiers simply replenish themselves. Seconds after the explosion, switch to the US AR33 Assault rifle or the RC-P90, and kill, kill, kill! Do it right, and there's nothing left. Again, there's not much to hide behind here, so strafe, shoot, and duck. Do it fast, too. After you've cleaned them out, you will see a cave path that leads around the right corner leading to your exit. A few soldiers will block your path, so pick them off. Enter the elevator and you're done. Primary Objectives: Agent: Destroy drone guns, Eliminate Xenia, Escort Natalya to Janus base. Secret Agent: Destroy drone guns, Eliminate Xenia, Blow up ammo dump, Escort Natalya to Janus base. 00 Agent: Destroy drone guns, Eliminate Xenia, Blow up ammo dump, Escort Natalya to Janus base. Start by moving just into the jungle landscape, about six steps. A handful of military men come at you with US AR33 Assault rifles in hand. Kill the first one and pick up his rifle, then kill the others. Use trees as hiding spots, and progress through the mission constantly looking for new trees to hide behind. In less than a minute you'll find the first automatic turret or it may find you first. Hide behind a tree, and use the leaning approach. Take a few seconds after it finishes firing. Then lean out and shoot it. After the first automatic weapon is destroyed, go to the far left jungle wall and pick up body armor near a fern and a few trees. Progress through the jungle hiding and searching, and you'll find two more turrets surrounded by soldiers. There is body armor on the right of the second one and to the left of the third one. Each vest is very close to the jungle 'wall.' Stay as healthy as possible, you'll need it for later. After the three turrets, you'll come to a hanging bridge. Run across it until you hear a change in the music. Xenia will say something clich‚ like, "This time the pleasure will be all mine," and will shoot and roll a lot in the easy mode. She's easy to kill here. Just keep shooting. In medium and hard, she will throw grenades and shoot you with deadly accuracy. Shoot her and strafe, shoot and hide, and Natalya come in to help. Don't let Natalya get killed, or it's back to the drawing board. Finally Xenia will die, and you an pick up the a nifty RC- P90. Cross the bridge and take out the automatic machine gun to your immediate left. It won't activate until you pass it. Kill it first. Go to the mouth of the cave, located forward and to the right. In the cave, fog will hide an automatic machine gun on the left and about three to five soldiers on both sides. Find yourself a good place from which to shoot, and use the sight on your rifle to pick them off, aiming for the auto gun first. Remember to keep your shots to a minimum. Now head up a slope, taking out two to three gunmen. On the left part of the cave is a ladder. Ascend it slowly. If done right, you'll see an automatic machine gun that hasn't been activated pointed right at you. Take three shots to kill it. A bunch of crates are up there and you'll need to blow them up to meet an objective. Do it from a distance. But look to the right first because there is another automatic turret. Kill it. Go right and prepare for battle. There is a major stash of ammo and gunmen sitting waiting for you. Switch to the grenade launcher. Shoot one grenade into the area, one to the left, middle, and right areas. This will cause major damage, but won't kill everyone. If you wait to long, the soldiers simply replenish themselves. Seconds after the explosion, switch to the US AR33 Assault rifle or the RC-P90, and kill, kill, kill! Do it right, and there's nothing left. Again, there's not much to hide behind here, so strafe, shoot, and duck. Do it fast, too. After you've cleaned them out, you will see a cave path that leads around the right corner leading to your exit. A few soldiers will block your path, so pick them off. Enter the elevator and you're done. Level 16 MISSION 7: Cuba PART II: Control Center Time cheat: Level 16: Control Infinite Ammo Secret Agent 10:00: Follow the instructions below for all difficult settings!! Primary Objectives: Agent: Protect Natalya, Disable Goldeneye satellite, Destroy armored mainframes. Secret Agent: Protect Natalya, Disable Goldeneye satellite, Destroy armored mainframes. 00 Agent: Protect Natalya, Disable Goldeneye satellite, Destroy armored mainframes. You start off in an elevator with Natalya. Run out of the elevator to the wall in front of you. Kill the three soldiers who run at you. The first automatic machine gun is tough, but there is a spot where you can shoot it without it seeing you. The second one is in the middle of the room, so stay covered in your first hiding place across from the elevator. The third one is the nastiest because it's high and right around the corner. Once you've taken it out, there are two soldiers just behind it and one behind you in the area where the computer controls are. Kill them. Get Natalya and she'll open a door for you. A few guards will appear in the distance. Kill them from a distance. Farther on is a room full of soldiers with big guns and grenades. Pick them off one by one, careful of grenades, back up if you hear that awful clinking sound. When they're all gone, instead of taking their stuff, go down the stairs to the room where you knocked of those two guys from a distance. There are weapons, and timed mines. Now enter into that crate-filled area and pick up all of that lovely ammo. At the far side is a path, and four guards will be there for you to kill. You're in a pump room. Ascend the stairs, open the door, and back up a few steps. Soldiers will line up to get shot. There should be four, maybe five. Once that area is cleared, go down the stairs, open the door and check around the area for soldiers. Boris is in front of you at a computer console. Let him go, and make sure NOT to kill him. If you do, Natalya will quit the mission. He'll pull a gun on you, and then drop it like a goof, and then run away. Don't bother with him. Stick mines behind the two mainframes and blow them up. This should kill the two soldiers upstairs (if not then they will come down the stairs or just stand in their original position). Go upstairs and to the end of each hallway are mainframes, stick mines on them. Blow them up. There are two more. Go up the next set of stairs to the 3rd level and on the left side is the armor. Go back down to the main floor and head toward the only door you haven't opened. One of two giant turrets will shoot from the distance and three to four soldiers, guarding a mainframe, will run toward you. Dispose of them. Don't enter yet, on each side of the door are two more turrets aimed at you. Open the door and lean out to the left or right and destroy the turret. Then destroy the other one. Then destroy the mainframe on the right. Walk out and before ascending the staircase. Go to the main part of the room with the computers in it. Take out the side computers, leaving the two center ones alone. Now, place a mine behind the two spiral stairs so the glass is destroyed but make sure you have at leased one mine left for later. Now, facing the big screen, ascend the spiral stairs on the right and walk to a small door in a rocky area. Walk down and get Natalya. Lead her to the main computer area, to the central monitor. Natalya will start working on the computer but she'll sound the alarm. Reload your guns and position yourself behind Natalya so that your back is to the glass and your looking towards the video screen. What you're doing is getting the best possible angle on the soldiers who will come flooding down the stairs. From your spot you can hit all of them and completely miss Natalya, who's in the center. Be democratic with all the soldiers. They'll flood down two to three at a time. Kill each one off, and don't let anyone get too close to Natalya. Your objective is to protect her, and if she dies, you'll have to start the mission over. When she finally overrides the computer, Natalya will flee. Don't follow her. With your back to the main screen, take a right, then a left at the previously locked double doors. Make sure your guns are loaded. Reload and blow away the two guards there. Then use the last mine on the last mainframe. Make sure you close doors behind you. Open the door in front of you and kill any nearby guards. Go to the right and hug the wall then turn left still hugging the wall on the right. If you see anybody shooting you, kill them. You will pass the elevator on the right and it will close. Go pass the metal grates on your left, turn and go all the way to the other side of the room and kill the last of the soldiers. Turn left again and the elevator that you need is on the right. Level 17 MISSION 7: Cuba PART III: Water Caverns Time cheat: Level 17: Caverns 2x RC-P90s 00 Agent 9:30: Follow the instructions below for all difficult settings!! Primary Objectives: Agent: Minimize scientist casualties. Secret Agent: Destroy inlet pump controls, Destroy outlet pump controls, Destroy master control console, Minimize scientist casualties. 00 Agent: Destroy inlet pump controls, Destroy outlet pump controls, Use radio to contact Jack Wade, Destroy master control console, Minimize scientist casualties. Four to five guards will be in your immediate presence, kill them, and try not to get touched. Then just follow the path the only way you can. You'll pass through two doors before being able to veer off the beaten path. Go downstairs to an area with two computers, a scientist or two, and some ammo boxes. Blow up the computers. There is a pathway to another similar area; you can take it or the stairs, both lead to the same place. There are two main computer set-ups down there as well. Blow them up, and objective A will be met. Make sure not to hit any scientists. You'll come to an opening. It leads to what seems like the bottom of the entire cavern. There should be a guard or two, so kill them off. A winding path leads in a spiral fashion along the right side. Take this path (there aren't any other choices anyway). Knock out about three military personnel along the way. At the top is a guard and a door. Open the two doors, and throw a mine in the distance and one where you are. Then shoot in the distance and step back. A handful of soldiers will emerge, and then blow them the pieces. Make sure to stand back and off to the side to stay un hit. A circular cave with a central pillar and about three to four guards and lots of ammo boxes are next. Nail all of these guys. Follow the path until you have a choice of going down some stairs to your right or continue upstairs. Go down the stairs and do a 180 degree turn. Follow this new path around until you get to a cavern with lockers in it. The lockers will be on your right side. Blow up the crates for lots of ammo. You should have two ZMGs by now. Go back to the stairs that you went down and go back up them. Turn right and follow the path and kill all guards along the way. When you see a door on the right, stop and open it. Open the next door and kill the guard on the left and two guards in the distance. Then destroy the gun turret on the ceiling to the left. Go into the room, if there are no guards to the left then turn right to the lockers and two guards will be waiting for you. Head down the stairs and destroy the three computer consoles while looking for the keypass. Head out the same way you came in and go forward. Follow the path all the way to the end and kill guards along the way. There are two guards by the door. Kill them from a distance, then aim and shoot to the left so that you would be shooting into the room. You will hear glass breaking. All you are trying to do is lure some of the guards from the room into the area you are in. After you dispose of them head for the door then back up behind the stairs. Two guards will climb the stairs and you should kill them. Find the keypass then open the two doors and go into that room. In the easy mode their is armor to the right on crates but only on easy. In the room turn left and if their is a soldier there kill him. Kill the other guard on the other side of the room (not at the control room). Now it will get tough. Three- four guards are in the control room on your left along with two scientist. There are also a lot of explosive barrels to. Some of the soldiers will throw grenades as well. Head for the left wall and take out your machine gun. Use your site and leaning technique and shoot one bullet at a time. If you hear a clink move back. Kill all guards in the head or there will be a large explosion. Use the radio and when the scientist are out of the way, destroy the control room. Look for another keypass (if you can't open the large door). Head for the large door, the one where the scientist are trying to get out. Destroy the guard on the left and the right. Go to the first door on the left, open it and kill the guard on the left and right. This part is tricky. You need time to destroy the two gun turrets before guards start shooting you from behind. Open the first door then open the second door. While the second door is being open move out through the first door and go hug the wall on the left or right. If Trevelyn doesn't see you, you are OK. Lean and aim upward and destroy the two gun turrets so that Trevelyn still hasn't seen you. When they are destroyed run after him while you are shooting at the seven guards in the other room and go into the elevator. Level 18 MISSION 7: Cuba PART IV: Antenna Cradle Time cheat: Level 18: Cradle Gold PP7 Agent 2:15: Follow instructions below. Primary Objectives: Agent: Destroy control console, Settle the score with Trevelyan. Secret Agent: Destroy control console, Settle the score with Trevelyan. 00 Agent: Destroy control console, Settle the score with Trevelyan. Turn around an get the armor. Skip this if you are going for the Gold PP7 cheat. Run up the walkway aiming toward the opposite end and start shooting almost immediately. If you take hits here, you may wish to restart the level. After killing the first foe and picking up his ZMG(s), keep using your PP7 and go along the right side of the cradle walkway. Kill the next dude with the PP7 and then switch to ZMGs. This will conserve ZMG ammo which can be scarce on 00 Agent level. Head down and go left into the sentry gun/control console room. Destroy all of these and, if you're fortunate, get a hit in on Trevalyan. *** This is were the special technique comes in. The first secret is that Trevalyan doesn't have any amount of life. You can't kill him more quickly by shooting him with more bullets. To defeat him you must cause him to speak all his lines, each of which is activated by being shot. This means you must shoot him quickly, let him speak, and then shoot him quickly again and so forth. Exit the shack but DO NOT GO DOWN THE RAMP. Run to the far right corner of the balcony. Look down to your left and you will see Trevalyan below you. Shoot him and he will say something and run away underneath you. Run back through the shack and across to the other shack. If you're lucky Trevalyan will be there and you can shoot him, hearing his next piece of dialogue. Regardless, pick up the armor at this point. Proceed through the shack and, again, skip the ramp and go forward and right. Look down to the left and there's Trevalyan again. Shoot him and repeat this process of going back and forth until he says something like "Finish it now, James - if you can." That is the signal to proceed to the bottom of the cradle and kill him. You may run short of ammo on this level. If you are ever pursued on to one of the balconies by guards position the ramp between you and them. They will run around it instead of firing across it and this gives you time to kill them. You should never allow Trevalyan to climb to the upper cradle. Level 19 MISSION 8: Teotihuaca'n PART I: Aztec Complex Time cheat: Level 19: Aztec 2x Lasers Secret Agent 9:00: Follow instruction below!! Primary Objectives: Agent: Reprogram Shuttle Guidance, Launch Shuttle. Secret Agent: Reprogram Shuttle Guidance, Launch Shuttle. 00 Agent: Reprogram Shuttle Guidance, Launch Shuttle. You start off in a small door frame, with guards to your left and to your right. There are fewer to the right so kill the guard there. The remaining living guards have grenades and aren't always that athletic about handling them. They will approach you and start shooting. Kill these two guys off, and then head toward the opposite side of the room. A shadow on this wall highlights the secret door which opens by pressing B. Inside the next room, which is bigger than the previous one, you'll look through a stone hallway. One guard will stand directly in your way, so kill him immediately and then look out in the distance and you'll spy one more guard to the far left. Kill him while two more fill the hallway. Knock them off without advancing. Now move about three-fourths of the way down the hallway, staying to the right. A guard in the distance on the right is hiding behind unbreakable crates and has a perfect view of you. Unfortunately, you don't have the same view. There's one on the left but he's farther off. There are two parts to the room, separated by a deep crevice in the middle. From here there are two ways to go, and one is definitely better than the other: you can drop down the gully, or take the secret door across the chamber. Either way you chose, you'll get to the same place, it's just that the path via the secret door is much more manageable. Open the door and play a little trick. Run into the large, dark control room about two steps to let the guards on either side know you're there. Then quickly step back into the hallway. This forces them to come to you, and you can then just pick them off in the hallway. There are at least four more guards in the hallway, and you'll need to trip them up, too. After those two are down, run in and into the first three- sided 'room' or'slot' on the right and reload your weapon. At least three guards will appear slowly from the other little slots. Pick them off as they approach you. There are at least three, so when you believe the coast is clear, snoop carefully across other little slots to make sure they're all gone. In this control room you can see computer panels behind a glass encasement. That's where you will set the data to reprogram the Space Shuttle. Also you'll pick up another important document, a DAT for launching the shuttle. but you must first face jaws to acquire a Security Smart Card. So, turn around. A control panel in one of the slots to your right has a flashing red button on it. This should look familiar. Hit the button and a giant computer on the wall will open up, revealing a secret pathway. Inside is at least one guard. Use your rifle site to quietly pick him off. Then enter the area. Pick off any other guards you see. Follow the hallway and at least three soldiers guard this hall. Pick off each one quietly, one by one, by placing a bullet in their heads. Then start blasting the wall. It will let two guards in another room come looking for you. After disposing them, pick up their ammo and go into their room. You will see two computer panels on the far side of the room. Blow up the computer console on the far left wall, and then enter into the hallway behind it. Strangely enough, there's a labyrinthine corridor behind it. Enter in and go forward all the way. Destroy the machine gun emplacement on the right, then on the left. A few guards running your way from the left. Let the three or so guards come to you, and kill them. You should pick up their guns and one will be the Moonraker Laser with unlimited ammo! Turn right then left and you will find the body armor. Walk down the hallway containing the broken auto guns and follow it to the end. You can pass through a ventilation door, but don't just yet because there are four motion sensitive auto guns in the area. Halfway down this hall until the nearest gun is activated or you see it through the door, then shoot it. Then move up to the ventilation door and peak out right. An inactive auto gun is hanging on the wall to your right about five feet away. Kill it. There are two more hanging high on the walls to your right. From behind the door you can blow up the one on the left as well as the more difficult one on the right. A few stray soldiers will approach the door and shoot in; kill them off. There are at least three soldiers with lasers hiding behind steel crates against the wall on the far right, so take them all out. The coast should be clear. You should have a grenade by now. Keep it until later, when you meet Jaws. Now move toward their carcasses and pick up their weapons and then head toward the Space Shuttle on the other side of the room (notice the mainframe on your right, you'll need to go back to it later). Half way to the space shuttle is a ladder that leads up to a control panel. Go up and hit the button which will close the exhaust doors and also open up a necessary door you've already been through. Now to meet Jaws. After descending the ladder, turn your back toward the vent door from which you arrived. A similar door is on the opposite side of the room. Go through it, take a right. When you go down the second pair of stairs you will see one guard. Kill him quietly. Now your ready for Jaws. Jaws takes a million hits, unless if you hit him in the mouth (or face), but he still takes a bucket load either way. If you have a grenade toss it at the wall were the guard used to be standing and it will go near Jaws. It won't kill him though. Use the rifle because it's a non-stop weapon and the laser takes a millisecond between shots, allowing Jaws some time to recover. Turn the corner, aim for his head and pummel him. He usually gets a few shots in so be careful. Just keep strafing him around in a circle and he will drop like a fly. Now pick up his weapons and the smart card you've been needing. Kill any other guards in the area and run back to the vent shaft, cross the room (a few guards will be there), and enter the vent shaft from where you first came. Follow it all the way back to the control room with the glass doors. We're finally getting something done now. There are two things you must perform once you've opened up these glass doors. Pick up a DAT on the right table; and reprogram the Space Shuttle. So go ahead and pick up the DAT, and then switch to the Guidance Data via your watch and slip it into the computer terminal on the table to the left. Objective A will have been met. Now, go back to the Shuttle Room, where you'll once again meet up with a bunch of ingrate soldiers, and then head toward the computer terminals on the far end of the room. Go to the mainframe (remember?) on the right and toggle to the Launch Protocol Data you picked up in the glass-encased control room. You'll have to do this quickly because a few stray soldiers will shoot at you from behind. If you've done it correctly, a timer will set off, and you'll have approximately 30 seconds. Ascend the ladder so that you can once again open up the exhaust doors. Wait their while more soldiers will come to you so be ready. Level 20 MISSION 9: al-Saghira PART I: Egyptian Temple Time cheat: Level 20: Egyptian All Guns 00 Agent 6:00: Follow the instructions Below!! Primary Objectives: Agent: Recover the Golden Gun, Defeat Baron Samedi. Secret Agent: Recover the Golden Gun, Defeat Baron Samedi. 00 Agent: Recover the Golden Gun, Defeat Baron Samedi. You start off in a long rectangular room centered around a pool. Move to the right side of the room and walk down the stone path. At the end and guarding the large entrance into the next room are two guards, one on each side of opening. Hide behind the last pillar and pick off the first guard which will send the other toward you, and then kill him. Obtain their ZMGs and pass through the opening, staying to your right. In the second room, there is a passage on the right side leading to the Golden Gun. In the passage is a staircase and at its foot is a path to the right. Remember this path. Take the staircase up and press B when you arrive at the gray door. A narrow hallway leads to a medium size room and from where you stand you can see the Golden Gun. Well, don't be fooled, it's a trap. The four odd blocks in the room are'stone sensitive' and hide never- ending, indestructible auto-machine guns that will surely kill you every time. So, step on the first stone, and watch the glass case appear and encase the Golden Gun and the ammo. Now, move all the way to the left, and then move up (toward the gun) to the second stone. Move three stones to the right, two up, one across left, one up, one across left again, then two up and one to the right, and you should be standing right in front of the gun. The glass will move down if done correctly and the machine guns won't come out at all. That's the easy part. Now locate the only way out, a gray stone door that will reveal a piece of body armor, and a door that lets you back out and into the clutches of a few gun-crazy soldiers. Switch to the Golden Gun, and you'll only need to hit each soldier once to kill them. With your back to the door you just stepped down from, kill off the soldiers around you and head straight into the next room, where Baron Samedi is waiting for you. He must be killed three times regardless of the difficulty level. Each time you face him his strength is heightened, and last time you face him, his weapon gets deadlier. So, dodge, duck, and strafe when you see him, and then simply shoot him once with the Golden Gun to kill him. His death is also obtained without the use of the Golden Gun. He'll next appear in the same room you began this journey in, and so you can retrace your steps or circle around (and face a lot of soldiers along the way). After dispatching him the second time, you'll need to locate a hidden room where you'll also find another body vest. He'll be there. Go back to the first secret passage that leads to the Golden Gun, and instead of going up the stairs, turn right down that passage you didn't take the first time. Follow it to a room that has only one other door in it, and follow that passage to a T intersection. Take a left at the T and switch to your Golden Gun. You can see a room about 10 feet away and the Baron is in it. He's usually either on the far left or right side. This is head-to-head combat here and his Moonraker Laser is very powerful, so play your cards right. A bizarre, slim pyramid of unbreakable glass sits in the middle of the room and should be used to hide behind. The trick here is to get the vest first and then kill him fast.What better way to label yourself Phoenix's ultimate party band than naming your group after the Roman god of merry-making, theater, getting wasted, and feeling "ecstasy"? Bacchus and the Demonsluts did just that, but its roiling river of funk, jazz freakouts, and frenetic, instrumental jamborees is just the tip of the rave-berg for the five self-described "pseudo-funk pirates."
Part of that pirate attitude comes from what the band's guitarist Jamison McQueen and frontman/sax master Austin Rickert call a very "loose definition of ownership." "Any rag or garment, material, prop. If it fits," McQueen says. "Or even if it doesn't fit."
Rickert adds, "If it can fit in our car or our pocket, we're taking it."
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The other half of the pirate attitude is the band's hyperactive mélange that passes for fashion sense. Drummer Mike Reese was once spotted in a fruit basket headdress, while guitarist Ben Fuqua has worn construction worker outfits and bassist Jason Ogden goes for a Mad Hatter/wizard look. McQueen is somewhat of a sexy skiing ninja and Rickert, especially, is known to wear hot pink skirts, Speedos matched with fishnet hose and, for a while, after watching Boondocks, would rock a cornrow hairstyle.
The band's debut EP, The Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Grossly Underestimated, carries over Bacchus' infamous fervor, jamming its foaming-at-the-mouth vibrations into a mere 17 minutes. What tracks like "Barbequila" or "Doll" may lack in lyrics they make up with intensity. But as "Front Yard Super Spliff" demonstrates, it's more a head rush than a kick to the groin. The album will be released May 25 on 56th Street Records as a CD and as a cassette on Rubber Brother Records.
Rickert wanted Demise to be traditionalist, with throwbacks to classic Funkadelic licks, but wanted to resist being boring at the same time.
"We're unique because we're a horn band, but I don't want people to be like, 'Oh, you're a horn band; I know what to expect,'" Rickert says. "I think we have different variables that keep us interesting and progressive while still having a little bit of the funk flavor."
Speaking of demise, Bacchus (like its namesake) is familiar with death and rebirth, as the band burst from the ashes of Naked Pizza, a once high-in-demand ska outfit. Somewhat like LCD Soundsystem, Naked Pizza called it quits at the height of its popularity, but it began with just Rickert, who says he couldn't get anyone to be in a band with him at first. But that didn't last long.
"It got huge, basically. It became whoever wanted to be in it could be in it," he says. "But then it got to the point where we were like, 'We don't know if we like that rule anymore because we can't handle the zoo'... Once we had gotten [Naked Pizza's album] out, I felt like the story was complete and I was like, 'Cool, we can tell a new story now.'"
Naked Pizza devolved to a core of seven before breaking up, but it gave one reunion show in February for an autism charity event. Rickert is firm on the idea that he won't reunite a second time.
"I have way too many other ideas that I want to do," he says. "I have three other bands I'm thinking about starting, and I've already joined Jerusafunk, which is the Eastern-European funk band, and I'm back in Boss Frog for the rest of the summer, and I might even tour. I liked it and I want to keep it that way. I want to preserve that memory and not taint it."
Bacchus and the Demonsluts are scheduled to perform Sunday, May 25, at Lawn Gnome Publishing.
Find any show in Metro Phoenix via our extensive online concert calendar.
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Like Up on the Sun on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest local music news and conversation.Abstract
Aesthetic appreciation is part of our everyday life: it is a subjective judgment we make when looking at a painting, a landscape, or—in fact—at another person. Neuroimaging and electrophysiological evidence suggests that the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a critical role in aesthetic judgments. Here, we show that the experience of beauty can be artificially enhanced with brain stimulation. Specifically, we show that aesthetic appreciation of representational paintings and photographs can be increased by applying anodal (excitatory) transcranial direct current stimulation on the left DLPFC. Our results thus show that beauty is in the brain of the beholder, and offer a novel view on the neural networks underlying aesthetic appreciation.
INTRODUCTION
‘Beauty—be not caused—It Is’ (E. Dickinson). For centuries, the domain of aesthetics has occupied a central place |
Theresa May (Maidenhead), Mark Menzies (Fylde), Maria Miller (Basingstoke), Nigel Mills (Amber Valley), Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield), Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North), Stephen Mosley (Chester, City of), David Mowat (Warrington South), David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale), Dr Andrew Murrison (Wiltshire South West), Brooks Newmark (Braintree), Sarah Newton (Truro & Falmouth), Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster & Fleetwood), Guy Opperman (Hexham), George Osborne (Tatton), Richard Ottaway (Croydon South), John Penrose (Weston-Super-Mare), Andrew Percy (Brigg & Goole), Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar), Chris Pincher (Tamworth), Daniel Poulter (Suffolk Central & Ipswich North), Dominic Raab (Esher & Walton), Mark Reckless (Rochester & Strood), Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Kent Mid), Amber Rudd (Hastings & Rye), Laura Sandys (Thanet South), Grant Shapps (Welwyn Hatfield), Alok Sharma (Reading West), Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness), Keith Simpson (Broadland), Chris Skidmore (Kingswood), Chloe Smith (Norwich North), Julian Smith (Skipton & Ripon), Nicholas Soames (Sussex Mid), Anna Soubry (Broxtowe), Caroline Spelman (Meriden), Andrew Stephenson (Pendle), Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South), Rory Stewart (Penrith & The Border), Desmond Swayne (New Forest West), Hugo Swire (Devon East), Justin Tomlinson (Swindon North), Elizabeth Truss (Norfolk South West), Ed Vaizey (Wantage), Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet), Charles Walker (Broxbourne), Robin Walker (Worcester), Dame Angela Watkinson (Hornchurch & Upminster), Mike Weatherley (Hove), Chris White (Warwick & Leamington), David Willetts (Havant), Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes), Tim Yeo (Suffolk South), Sir George Young (Hampshire North West)
Against (136)
Nigel Adams (Selby & Ainsty), Adam Afriyie (Windsor), Peter Aldous (Waveney), David Amess (Southend West), James Arbuthnot (Hampshire North East), Richard Bacon (Norfolk South), Steven Baker (Wycombe), Tony Baldry (Banbury), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West), Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley), Andrew Bingham (High Peak), Bob Blackman (Harrow East), Peter Bone (Wellingborough), Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West), Julian Brazier (Canterbury), Andrew Bridgen (Leicestershire North West), Steve Brine (Winchester), Fiona Bruce (Congleton), Robert Buckland (Swindon South), Simon Burns (Chelmsford), David Burrowes (Enfield Southgate), Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan), Douglas Carswell (Clacton), Bill Cash (Stone), Rehman Chishti (Gillingham & Rainham), Christopher Chope (Christchurch), Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswolds), Therese Coffey (Suffolk Coastal), Geoffrey Cox (Devon West & Torridge), Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire), David Davies (Monmouth), Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire), Philip Davies (Shipley), David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden), Nick de Bois (Enfield North), Caroline Dinenage (Gosport), Richard Drax (Dorset South), Charlie Elphicke (Dover), Jonathan Evans (Cardiff North), David Evennett (Bexleyheath & Crayford), Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks), Dr Liam Fox (Somerset North), Mark Francois (Rayleigh & Wickford), George Freeman (Norfolk Mid), Roger Gale (Thanet North), Sir Edward Garnier (Harborough), Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham), John Glen (Salisbury), Robert Goodwill (Scarborough & Whitby), James Gray (Wiltshire North), Andrew Griffiths (Burton), Robert Halfon (Harlow), Simon Hart (Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South), Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden), John Hayes (South Holland & The Deepings), Oliver Heald (Hertfordshire North East), Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne & Sheppey), Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Adam Holloway (Gravesham), Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot), Stewart Jackson (Peterborough), Gareth Johnson (Dartford), David Jones (Clwyd West), Marcus Jones (Nuneaton), Greg Knight (Yorkshire East), Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne), Mark Lancaster (Milton Keynes North), Pauline Latham (Derbyshire Mid), Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford), Edward Leigh (Gainsborough), Julian Lewis (New Forest East), David Lidington (Aylesbury), Peter Lilley (Hitchin & Harpenden), Jack Lopresti (Filton & Bradley Stoke), Jonathan Lord (Woking), Tim Loughton (Worthing East & Shoreham), Karen Lumley (Redditch), Karl McCartney (Lincoln), Anne McIntosh (Thirsk & Malton), Stephen McPartland (Stevenage), Esther McVey (Wirral West), Anne Main (St Albans), Paul Maynard (Blackpool North & Cleveleys), Stephen Metcalfe (Basildon South & Thurrock East), Nicky Morgan (Loughborough), Anne-Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), David Morris (Morecambe & Lunesdale), James Morris (Halesowen & Rowley Regis), Bob Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst), Caroline Nokes (Romsey & Southampton North), David Nuttall (Bury North), Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury), Matthew Offord (Hendon), Jim Paice (Cambridgeshire South East), Neil Parish (Tiverton & Honiton), Priti Patel (Witham), Owen Paterson (Shropshire North), Mark Pawsey (Rugby), Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead), Mark Pritchard (Wrekin), John Randall (Uxbridge & Ruislip South), John Redwood (Wokingham), Jacob Rees-Mogg (Somerset North East), Simon Reevell (Dewsbury), Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Kensington), Andrew Robathan (Leicestershire South), Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury), Andrew Rosindell (Romford), David Ruffley (Bury St Edmunds), David Rutley (Macclesfield), Andrew Selous (Bedfordshire South West), Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet & Rothwell), Sir Richard Shepherd (Aldridge-Brownhills), Henry Smith (Crawley), Sir John Stanley (Tonbridge & Malling), John Stevenson (Carlisle), Bob Stewart (Beckenham), Mel Stride (Devon Central), Julian Sturdy (York Outer), Robert Syms (Poole), Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth & Horncastle), David Tredinnick (Bosworth), Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight), Shailesh Vara (Cambridgeshire North West), Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes), Ben Wallace (Wyre & Preston North), Robert Walter (Dorset North), James Wharton (Stockton South), Heather Wheeler (Derbyshire South), Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley), John Whittingdale (Maldon), Bill Wiggin (Herefordshire North), Gavin Williamson (Staffordshire South), Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth & Southam)
Abstained (voted both for and against) (5)
Angie Bray (Ealing Central and Acton), Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West), and Rob Wilson (Reading East)
Did not vote (35)
Harriett Baldwin (Worcestershire West), Stephen Barclay (Cambridgeshire North East), Jake Berry (Rossendale & Darwen), Brian Binley (Northampton South), Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West & Abingdon), Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon), Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock), Philip Dunne (Ludlow), Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East), George Eustice (Camborne & Redruth), Graham Evans (Weaver Vale), Richard Fuller (Bedford), Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield), Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge), Rebecca Harris (Castle Point), Mark Hoban (Fareham), Nick Hurd (Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner), Chris Kelly (Dudley South), Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest), Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater & Somerset West), Patrick Mercer (Newark), Anne Milton (Guildford), Sheryll Murray (Cornwall South East), Jesse Norman (Hereford & Herefordshire South), Claire Perry (Devizes), Stephen Phillips (Sleaford & North Hykeham), Mark Prisk (Hertford & Stortford), Lee Scott (Ilford North), Mark Spencer (Sherwood), Gary Streeter (Devon South West), Graham Stuart (Beverley & Holderness), Edward Timpson (Crewe & Nantwich), Andrew Tyrie (Chichester), Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West), Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon)
Labour
For (217)
Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington), Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East & Saddleworth), Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East), Douglas Alexander (Paisley & Renfrewshire South), Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East), Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green & Bow), Graham Allen (Nottingham North), Dave Anderson (Blaydon), Mr Jon Ashworth (Leicester South), Ian Austin (Dudley North), Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West), Willie Bain (Glasgow North East), Ed Balls (Morley & Outwood), Gordon Banks (Ochil & Perthshire South), Kevin Barron (Rother Valley), Hugh Bayley (York Central), Dame Margaret Beckett (Derby South), Hilary Benn (Leeds Central), Luciana Berger (Liverpool Wavertree), Clive Betts (Sheffield South East), Roberta Blackman-Woods (Durham, City of), Hazel Blears (Salford & Eccles), Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South & Cleveland East), Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central), David Blunkett (Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough), Ben Bradshaw (Exeter), Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West), Lyn Brown (West Ham), Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East), Russell Brown (Dumfries & Galloway), Chris Bryant (Rhondda), Karen Buck (Westminster North), Richard Burden (Birmingham Northfield), Andy Burnham (Leigh), Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill), Alan Campbell (Tynemouth), Martin Caton (Gower), Sarah Champion (Rotherham), Jenny Chapman (Darlington), Katy Clark (Ayrshire North & Arran), Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley), Vernon Coaker (Gedling), Ann Coffey (Stockport), Michael Connarty (Linlithgow & Falkirk East), Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford), Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Mary Creagh (Wakefield), Stella Creasy (Walthamstow), Jon Cruddas (Dagenham & Rainham), John Cryer (Leyton & Wanstead), Jim Cunningham (Coventry South), Margaret Curran (Glasgow East), Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe), Simon Danczuk (Rochdale), Alistair Darling (Edinburgh South West), Wayne David (Caerphilly), Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West), Geraint Davies (Swansea West), Gloria De Piero (Ashfield), John Denham (Southampton Itchen), Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras), Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline & Fife West), Frank Doran (Aberdeen North), Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South & Penarth), Jim Dowd (Lewisham West & Penge), Gemma Doyle (Dunbartonshire West), Jack Dromey (Birmingham Erdington), Michael Dugher (Barnsley East), Angela Eagle (Wallasey), Maria Eagle (Garston & Halewood), Clive Efford (Eltham), Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central), Louise Ellman (Liverpool Riverside), Natascha Engel (Derbyshire North East), Chris Evans (Islwyn), Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme), Frank Field (Birkenhead), Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar & Limehouse), Caroline Flint (Don Valley), Paul Flynn (Newport West), Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield), Hywel Francis (Aberavon), Mike Gapes (Ilford South), Barry Gardiner (Brent North), Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East), Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland), Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen & Hamilton West), Kate Green (Stretford & Urmston), Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South), Nia Griffith (Llanelli), Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish), Peter Hain (Neath), David Hamilton (Midlothian), Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East), David Hanson (Delyn), Harriet Harman (Camberwell & Peckham), Tom Harris (Glasgow South), John Healey (Wentworth & Dearne), Mark Hendrick (Preston), Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow), Meg Hillier (Hackney South & Shoreditch), Julie Hilling (Bolton West), Margaret Hodge (Barking), Sharon Hodgson (Washington & Sunderland West), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North), George Howarth (Knowsley), Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central), Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore), Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Kilburn), Sian James (Swansea East), Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock & Loudoun), Major Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central), Alan Johnson (Hull West & Hessle), Diana Johnson (Hull North), Graham Jones (Hyndburn), Helen Jones (Warrington North), Kevan Jones (Durham North), Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South), Dame Tessa Jowell (Dulwich & West Norwood), Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester Gorton), Barbara Keeley (Worsley & Eccles South), Elizabeth Kendall (Leicester West), Sadiq Khan (Tooting), David Lammy (Tottenham), Ian Lavery (Wansbeck), Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North & Leith), Christopher Leslie (Nottingham East), Ivan Lewis (Bury South), Andy Love (Edmonton), Ian Lucas (Wrexham), Steve McCabe (Birmingham Selly Oak), Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East), Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East), Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham & Morden), Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough), John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington), Pat McFadden (Wolverhampton South East), Alison McGovern (Wirral South), Anne McGuire (Stirling), Ann McKechin (Glasgow North), Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North), Fiona Mactaggart (Slough), Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham Ladywood), Seema Malhotra (Feltham & Heston), John Mann (Bassetlaw), Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South), Alan Meale (Mansfield), David Miliband (South Shields), Ed Miliband (Doncaster North), Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port & Neston), Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby), Madeleine Moon (Bridgend), Jessica Morden (Newport East), Graeme Morrice (Livingston), Grahame Morris (Easington), Meg Munn (Sheffield Heeley), Jim Murphy (Renfrewshire East), Ian Murray (Edinburgh South), Lisa Nandy (Wigan), Pamela Nash (Airdrie & Shotts), Fiona O'Donnell (East Lothian), Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central), Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock), Albert Owen (Ynys Mon), Teresa Pearce (Erith & Thamesmead), Toby Perkins (Chesterfield), Bridget Phillipson (Houghton & Sunderland South), Lucy Powell (Manchester Central), Nick Raynsford (Greenwich & Woolwich), Jamie Reed (Copeland), Steve Reed (Croydon North), Rachel Reeves (Leeds West), Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East), Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge & Hyde), Linda Riordan (Halifax), John Robertson (Glasgow North West), Geoffrey Robinson (Coventry North West), Steve Rotheram (Liverpool Walton), Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes), Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd), Joan Ruddock (Lewisham Deptford), Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central), Andy Sawford (Corby), Alison Seabeck (Plymouth Moor View), Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover), Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith), Andrew Smith (Oxford East), Angela Smith (Penistone & Stocksbridge), Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent), Owen Smith (Pontypridd), John Spellar (Warley), Jack Straw (Blackburn), Graham Stringer (Blackley & Broughton), Gisela Stuart (Birmingham Edgbaston), Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South), Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside), Gareth Thomas (Harrow West), Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury), Jon Trickett (Hemsworth), Karl Turner (Hull East), Stephen Twigg (Liverpool West Derby), Chuka Umunna (Streatham), Keith Vaz (Leicester East), Valerie Vaz (Walsall South), Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North), Tom Watson (West Bromwich East), Dave Watts (St Helens North), Alan Whitehead (Southampton Test), Chris Williamson (Derby North), Phil Wilson (Sedgefield), David Winnick (Walsall North), Rosie Winterton (Doncaster Central), John Woodcock (Barrow & Furness), David Wright (Telford), Iain Wright (Hartlepool)
Against (22)
Joe Benton (Bootle), Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill), Rosie Cooper (Lancashire West), David Crausby (Bolton North East), Tony Cunningham (Workington), Jim Dobbin (Heywood & Middleton), Brian Donohoe (Ayrshire Central), Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South), Mary Glindon (Tyneside North), Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe & Sale East), Dai Havard (Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney), Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow), Jim McGovern (Dundee West), Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde), George Mudie (Leeds East), Paul Murphy (Torfaen), Stephen Pound (Ealing North), Frank Roy (Motherwell & Wishaw), Jim Sheridan (Paisley & Renfrewshire North), Derek Twigg (Halton), Mike Wood (Batley & Spen)
Did not vote (16)
Dame Anne Begg (Aberdeen South), Gordon Brown (Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath), Alex Cunningham (Stockton North), Bill Esterson (Sefton Central), Pat Glass (Durham North West), Roger Godsiff (Birmingham Hall Green), David Heyes (Ashton Under Lyne), Jim Hood (Lanark & Hamilton East), Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham Perry Barr), Michael Meacher (Oldham West & Royton), Ian Mearns (Gateshead), Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South East), Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall), Gavin Shuker (Luton South), Stephen Timms (East Ham), Shaun Woodward (St Helens South & Whiston)
For (44)
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey), Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington), Annette Brooke (Dorset Mid & Poole North), Jeremy Browne (Taunton Deane), Malcolm Bruce (Gordon), Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam), Lorely Burt (Solihull), Vincent Cable (Twickenham), Sir Menzies Campbell (Fife North East), Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland), Nick Clegg (Sheffield Hallam), Michael Crockart (Edinburgh West), Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton), Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale), Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green), Don Foster (Bath), Andrew George (St Ives), Stephen Gilbert (St Austell & Newquay), Duncan Hames (Chippenham), Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South), Sir Nick Harvey (Devon North), David Heath (Somerton & Frome), John Hemming (Birmingham Yardley), Simon Hughes (Bermondsey & Old Southwark), Julian Huppert (Cambridge), Norman Lamb (Norfolk North), David Laws (Yeovil), John Leech (Manchester Withington), Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne), Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk), Tessa Munt (Wells), Alan Reid (Argyll & Bute), Dan Rogerson (Cornwall North), Bob Russell (Colchester), Adrian Sanders (Torbay), Sir Robert Smith (Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine), Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove), Ian Swales (Redcar), Jo Swinson (Dunbartonshire East), Steve Webb (Thornbury & Yate), Mark Williams (Ceredigion), Roger Williams (Brecon & Radnorshire), Stephen Williams (Bristol West), Simon Wright (Norwich South)
Against (4)
Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed), Gordon Birtwistle (Burnley), John Pugh (Southport), Sarah Teather (Brent Central)
Did not vote (7)
Norman Baker (Lewes), Martin Horwood (Cheltenham), Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye & Lochaber), Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West), John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross), David Ward (Bradford East), Jenny Willott (Cardiff Central)
Democratic Unionists
Against (8)
Gregory Campbell (Londonderry East), Nigel Dodds (Belfast North), Jeffrey Donaldson (Lagan Valley), Rev William McCrea (Antrim South), Ian Paisley Junior (Antrim North), Jim Shannon (Strangford), David Simpson (Upper Bann), Sammy Wilson (Antrim East)
Plaid Cymru
For (3)
Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr), Elfyn Llwyd (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) and Hywel Williams (Arfon)
Green
For
Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion)
Social Democratic and Labour Party
For
Mark Durkan (Foyle)
Alliance
For
Naomi Long (Belfast East)
Respect
For
George Galloway (Bradford West)
Independent
For
Eric Joyce (Falkirk)
Against (2)
Nadine Dorries (Bedfordshire Mid) and Lady Sylvia Hermon (Down North)
• This article was amended on 6 February 2013. An editing error led to a list of Labour MPs who opposed the bill being tagged on to the end of the list of Conservative MPs.Adrienne Gavula 1982 – 2017
Adrienne Gavula, a longtime colleague, passionate civil libertarian, and friend—passed away unexpectedly on September 2, 2017. Adrienne began working for the ACLU of Ohio in 2004, and later served as regional office director of our Columbus office and then development director.
As a student at Ohio University, Adrienne first became involved with the ACLU when a speaker came to campus and sparked her interest in civil liberties. She immediately became involved with the ACLU student chapter and served as their public relations director, where she planned events on topics ranging from the USA Patriot Act to access to reproductive healthcare. When she graduated, she moved to Cleveland and was hired by the ACLU of Ohio as a field organizer, where she worked with activists from Akron to Marietta to advance justice and liberty.
Adrienne left the organization in 2009 to pursue her master’s degree in social work at Ohio State University. Her social work education only deepened Adrienne’s compassion and understanding of social justice. She was incredibly proud of being a social worker, and later on in her career served as a mentor to students from OSU’s social work program.
After becoming a licensed social worker, Adrienne worked as a medical case manager at Columbus AIDS Task Force where she helped improve clients’ quality of life through access to medical care, counseling, and housing. She also served as associate director for The National Association of Social Workers Ohio Chapter, an organization dedicated to advancing and protecting social workers and the clients they serve.
In 2013, she rejoined the ACLU of Ohio in the Columbus office as regional director. Adrienne’s leadership helped grow the Columbus office into a powerful presence in central Ohio, and she led important campaigns that merged her passion for civil liberties and social work. In 2015, she transitioned to development director, where she was able to share her deep love of the ACLU of Ohio with donors and members across the state, and ensure the organization was able to stay strong and effective.
Adrienne was a fearless advocate for people with disabilities. She utilized her background as a social worker to take on the use of solitary confinement on people with mental illness. As a result of her tireless activism, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction committed to no longer housing people with serious mental illnesses in long-term solitary confinement—a major victory. In 2015, she also launched an innovative pilot program in Dayton to assist voters who used American Sign Language with obtaining a translator during early in-person voting.
Adrienne also cared deeply about advancing reproductive freedom in Ohio; she served on the Freedom of Choice Ohio Coalition and as chair, board member, and current volunteer for Women Have Options, Ohio’s abortion access fund.
Previously, she volunteered as a health educator at Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio and as a facilitator for eating disorder support groups at The Center for Balanced Living.
In her personal life, Adrienne was an avid sports fan. She travelled with her family yearly to the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, and fiercely defended her beloved Steelers from any gentle ribbing from Cleveland Browns fans in the office.
Noted social worker Jane Addams’ words ring true:
“What after all, has maintained the human race on this old globe despite all the calamities of nature and all the tragic failings of mankind, if not faith in new possibilities, and courage to advocate them.”
Adrienne’s life taught us much about empathy, courage, and determination. She always believed in the basic decency of every person, and never lost hope for a better world.So, for the next two years I will be tackling my budget situation. I figure I will document it all here, so in two years I can reflect back and say, “Man, that was a lot of work, but now I’m rolling in money!”
First, let’s break down exactly how I am going to accomplish this:
Took the common knowledge that “You pay off your smallest debts first, and then move to the big ones” Don’t just pay the minimum amount
Those are the only things I am honestly basing this off of.
There are four things I need to get paid off:
Best Buy Card ~$1k Capital One Card ~$1k Bank of America Credit Card ~$7k Car Loan ~$3.5k
In total, more or less that is ~$12.5k. I want to be transparent and open with you, so in the next few days I will post exactly what the debts are and the payments I am paying on them.
This is the way I plan on approaching this:
Pay off the Best Buy card, it is 0% interest until October, and I can afford to pay $260/month, so in 4 months I will get that paid off well before the interest rates kick in. By then it will be mid-July. In the time being, pay on the Capital One card what it would take to get the card paid off in 3 years ($35/month I believe). It’s not a huge dent, but it’s a dent nonetheless. Once the Best Buy card is paid off, I will take the $260/month I was paying for that payment and add it to the Capital One payment, in 4 months hopefully the Capital One card will be to a level that I can get that paid off in 3 months. By then it will be mid-October. This will be two months before my wedding, so I’m not exactly sure on my financial situation around this time…but here’s hoping that I can stick to this plan. The big debt is the Bank of America card, in the months that I am paying off my Capital One card and my Best Buy card, I will be paying a monthly payment of about $250 on my Bank of America credit card, which are the payments to get it paid off in 3 years. On top of the fact that I can double that payment, and I will be living with my wife so my rent and other expenses will cut in half, I can hopefully get that paid off in no later than 9 months. The car payment will eventually pay itself off in November of 2012. It’s a great car, and I don’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon, so I’ll let that do it’s thing.
So that’s the plan. Hopefully this will be used as a tool for people in the future searching for financial help.
I have created a budget calculator in a Google Docs spreadsheet, but I am not too sure if I should post make it public. Probably when I’m done with this, I will make it public to show the breakdown of my expenses.
Wish me luck!Jakob Dykstra, a visiting bus driver from the Netherlands, let out a barely discernible: “Yip.” Maximilien Polak, the Dutch-born, retired criminal-court judge and former member of the National Assembly, simply ordered a “modest” cup of vanilla ice cream to celebrate. His son, Michael Polak, the Honorary Dutch Consul in Montreal, was a little more effusive, throwing one arm up in the air after the Netherlands came from behind to beat Australia 3-2 Wednesday afternoon in a World Cup soccer match in Brazil.
The aforementioned gents, along with Nicholas Lighter, grandson of Maximilien and nephew of Michael, formed part of the sea of orange — OK, more of a stream of orange — to take in the Dutch team’s win at the Burgundy Lion.
It’s worth noting that after the victory, there were no cars seen in the downtown area with horns blaring and Dutch flags flying from their windows. That is, if Montrealers were even aware of what the Dutch flag looked like — think: French flag standing, with the same colours.
Montreal’s native Dutch and their local followers on the pitch are not exactly over-demonstrative — win or lose. Not like the Italians, Portuguese, Brazilians, Spanish or just about every other country in the World Cup.
But once every four years — twice perhaps, if one counts the Winter Olympics, when their blood pressure spikes a tad while cheering on their elite speedskaters — they come out of their shells a wee bit for the Dutch Eleven, or Het Nederlands Elftal, or Flying Dutchmen, or Oranje. The Dutch squad can’t even seem to settle on just one designation like other teams.
Yet even in victory on this day, the Dutch fans refused to let their emotions get the best of them. Hey, they’ve been down this road before. Not that their supporters need reminding, but the Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without ever having won the tournament. Three times, the Dutch Eleven finished second: to West Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 and the last World Cup in 2010 to Spain. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
The Dutch did whoop it up — a little — when their team demolished Spain, 5-1, in the opening match of their Group B. They even allowed themselves to marvel at the artistry of forward Robin van Persie’s header — perhaps the goal of the tournament.
Sweet revenge for having lost to the Spanish in 2010.
“That was almost like winning the World Cup for us, much the way Canadiens fans felt like they won a Stanley Cup of sorts in beating the Bruins,” Honourary Dutch Consul Polak reasoned. “But we never get cocky. We know how life can go.”
“Win or lose, the Dutch are always entertaining, but they are always gracious, too,” softly said the orange-attired Sébastien Leblanc, whose grandmother is Dutch.
True that. When the Dutch lost 2-1 in extra time to Spain four years ago, a despondent but ever-courteous visitor from the Netherlands still bought a gang of Spanish supporters a round of drinks at the Burgundy Lion to “thank” them for a solid match. Seriously. This would not likely occur with supporters of other losing teams in this city.
Montreal’s cultural diversity is never more evident than during the World Cup. Those who may have viewed the city in simplistic Franco/anglo terms soon realize such is not the case now. Montreal boasts a Little Italy, Little Portugal, Little Spain, Little Greece and Little France, where fans of the respective countries’ soccer teams gather to hoot and holler. Followers of Nigeria and Ghana have their hot spots to take in games. Same with Mexican, German and Argentinian supporters.
Alas, there is no Little Netherlands in Montreal. The city’s estimated 3,000 to 4,000 Dutch immigrants are scattered throughout. As a consequence, Dutch fans in the West Island will congregate at Le Pionnier (formerly Clyde’s) in Pointe Claire. In the east end, some will head to Bar Le Normand on Mont-Royal St. E. And downtown, they will take refuge at the Burgundy Lion. Which is somewhat ironic since the Lion is a rather fervent home base for fans of England.
But as Lion co-owner and diehard England follower Paul Desbaillets points out, everyone seems to love the Dutch. To show his love, he even offers the Dutch faithful the same deal on beer as he gives supporters of England. Should the Netherlands ever meet England, however, there will likely be little mercy and no beer deals for the Dutch.
“Is this an NDP rally?” joked one Lion regular after spotting Dutch fans in their traditional orange shirts gathered around a large-screen tube on the second floor of the bar.
“We get that sort of reaction all the time,” said the affable Maximilien Polak, 83, who twice represented the district that was then known as Ste-Anne — now the Little Burgundy area where the Lion is located — for the Liberals in the National Assembly. “But I just smile. That’s what we Dutch do well: smile.”
“And it’s not in our nature to show off, either — even after winning a big game,” noted Lion manager Robert Gouldson, whose family roots are Dutch. “We have learned to control our emotions. The expectation is always there, but we’ve come up short in the past.”
Gouldson admitted that he gets a rough time from his pro-England bosses. “I’m torn because I like to see England lose, but it’s awfully good for business when England wins — which is not that frequent,” he added.
“I can’t believe I’m paying a guy to watch TV and root for a team that isn’t England,” Desbaillets retorted with mock disgust. “Really, though, these are truly glorious times. Football (soccer) is the one sport that connects the world. It doesn’t matter the language you speak. It doesn’t matter where the World Cup is being played. Each country has its own style of play, and it resonates with the country’s fan base. What’s really beautiful, though, is that when the World Cup comes, you get to see just how multicultural Montreal really is. We’re a city full of fascinating ethnicities and styles and flavours, and that’s what makes this city so great.”
Beyond his love for England, Desbaillets confessed he really does have “a soft spot for the Netherlands — as any Canadian would.” He’s right about that.
This soft spot goes back to the Second World War, Honourary Consul Polak explained. “The Dutch are very much appreciative of what the Canadian troops did to liberate the country during the war, and always show their appreciation to visiting Canadians. That’s why the Dutch send those crazy amounts of tulips to Ottawa every year. Also, our queen at the time gave birth to one of her daughters in Ottawa during the war. Ottawa was made Dutch soil for the birth, so she would be considered to be born in Holland. Plus the country’s crown jewels were held in the Sun Life building during the war.”
Polak also mentioned that the Netherlands and Canada are very much alike. “Diverse and tolerant, with similar values and similar tensions. And once Dutch people immigr |
KildareStreet.com for the foreseeable future.
The public data that was previously published at debates.oireachtas.ie has been mothballed, and all new publication there has ceased. Without the publication of these XML-formatted transcripts from the Oireachtas and the Seanad, KildareStreet.com, Ireland’s largest open data project to date, has been summarily terminated by the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Key points for visitors
XML is the universal format for complex open data. Before yesterday Ireland’s parliament was a world leader in this regard, publishing the entire record of proceedings as structured open data. That leading position has now been abandoned.
The government’s eGovernment Strategy explicitly states that “All public bodies will publish appropriate data in machine-readable formats to facilitate re-use”. Taking a pre-existing repository of data and cancelling it has accomplished the precise opposite.
The Oireachtas's Head of Communications has stated, unconvincingly that Kildare Street “may not have the software to capture our content from our new debates site.” Since there is no longer any XML data feed (or any other data feed) to capture, we challenge him to cite whatever magical software he imagines can capture a vacuum.
As the Oireachtas budget for the new site is not made public, we cannot tell you how much it cost to summarily break KildareStreet. What we can tell you is that KildareStreet receives no government funding and has been run for three and a half years on a single private fundraising bequest of €5,800, raised from 67 heroic private citizens in 2009.
Since then, we have served 2,633,823 pages (971,399 in the past 12 months) to 570,486 unique visitors, 86.24% of them in Ireland, with 7,871 of them receiving automatic email alerts for specific topics. Approximately 35% of our traffic originates from addresses allocated to the Irish Government (Source: Google Analytics). KildareStreet’s traffic first swept past that of the Oireachtas Debates site a week after launch.
The new Oireachtas debates website does not have a search engine of any kind, is hostile to disabled users, is riddled with bugs which lead users to dead-end error pages, and has been intermittently offline since launch. It is impossible to link to a particular statement, or to follow a particular topic, or to get email alerts of any kind. All of these services and more have been freely provided by KildareStreet, to the benefit of city councillors, TDs, Senators, charities, students and voters. With the launch of the new Oireachtas Debates site, these services no longer exist and we can no longer provide them to you.
KildareStreet.com stands as Ireland’s leading example of citizens using public data sets to deliver crucial information. By abandoning provision of records in an open and free format, the Houses of the Oireachtas have taken a chilling step backwards for open data, for e-government and for transparent democracy in Ireland.
Need to contact us?
You can reach John Handelaar on team@kildarestreet.com.
### End''I remember walking down an aisle at Comdex with Gates and watching the crowd part like the Red Sea making way for Moses,'' said Stewart Alsop, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who edited Infoworld, a personal computer industry newspaper, during the 1980's.
Although some analysts suggested that the rise of the commercial Internet in the mid-1980's might lead to the demise of the trade show, it appeared initially to fuel its growth.
Comdex reached a peak in 2000 during the Internet bubble when 211,000 people attended the show. Last year attendance fell to 45,000, and most of the world's largest hardware and software companies either decided to abandon the event or to cut back their presence. The number of exhibitors fell from a peak of 2,337 to 550.
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''By the end of the 1990's Comdex had expanded its focus to include consumer electronics stuff and the Internet,'' said Tim Bajarin, an industry consultant who attended his first Comdex in 1981 and has been a longtime member of the show's industry advisory committee. ''In 2002 there was a complete shift in the market and the show lost its way.''
One company that has backed away from the event is the EDS Corporation, the giant Texas-based technology integrator. In 2001 EDS made a marketing push at Comdex, including beaming in the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke via teleconference. More recently, the company decided that Comdex had become less relevant and stopped participating, said Jeff Wacker, an EDS technology executive.
MediaLive International has a tentative reservation for the Las Vegas Convention Center the week of Nov. 13, 2005, said Eric Faurot, a company vice president.
''The market was obviously saying it couldn't support the show,'' he said. ''While we could still run a profitable Comdex, it didn't seem to merit the attention without the participation of the major industry players.''
He said that he still believed that there was a trade show market for the $915 billion information technology industry. Last week, MediaLive said it was establishing an advisory group of technology companies to help redefine the event, including Advanced Micro Devices, Borland Software, Microsoft, Oracle, Samsung Electronics, Cisco, Dell and Intel.
Comdex was originally known as the Computer Dealers Exposition. The founder, Mr. Adelson, sold Comdex in 1995 to the Japanese investment firm Softbank for more than $860 million. It became part of the company's Ziff-Davis media unit. Ultimately, the Ziff-Davis events business was spun off to shareholders as Key3Media and became a public company. That firm declared bankruptcy in February 2003. In June of last year, Thomas Weisel & Partners, the San Francisco investment firm, acquired its assets and title.
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The company was taken private and renamed MediaLive International.Augmented Reality seems to be a very hard subject, yet it is possible to provide a pleasant user experience using just web technologies. Read on to see how we developed a mobile app to help you draw (or tattoo) whatever you want.
Test the app on an Android device by browsing to https://sketch-by-phone.now.sh, or check the source at https://github.com/marmelab/sketch-by-phone.
What is Augmented Reality?
We hear a lot about Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) these days. What are they, and what's the difference between them?
Virtual Reality (VR) is a projection of a virtual world to both of your eyes, using virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift of cardboard glasses combined with a smartphone. It simulates a user's physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment, for example for a video game.
Augmented Reality, (AR) is also a projection of a virtual world, but blended with the reality. The projection doesn't hide your environment, but rather adds or replaces some parts of the environment. Augmented Reality can thus be used to assist a user into performing certain tasks in the real world. Augmented Reality uses different devices than Virtual Reality, because VR headsets hide the environment completely. And in fact, a simple smartphone is enough to experiment with AR.
To fully understand what can be done with augmented reality, we selected this video which demonstrate an amazing usage for climbing:
At marmelab, we really like to try such new technologies on real projects. Let's see what we can do with AR.
What We're Going to Build
What if you could draw any picture on a piece of paper perfectly, just by following a projection of the picture made by your phone? The idea is not new, an application already exists for that: SketchAR.
It uses native technologies and complex computer vision algorithms. After using it for a few minutes, it turns out to be barely usable, because the entire sheet of paper must be visible at all times by the phone camera, and this forces the drawer to hold the camera very close to their eyes.
Maybe we can try to improve the idea by using a small marker for the plane detection. It seems impossible to achieve using just web technologies (JavaScript and the WebGL API). Or is it?.
Let's start by writing some user stories:
As Trinity, given I have taken a picture with my phone, I want to "project" it on a sheet of paper on my desk so that I can draw it more easily by following my hand through my phone camera.
As Trinity, given I have selected my picture an it is projected on my sheet of paper, I want to zoom and/or rotate it so that I can place it where I want.
As Trinity, given I have selected my picture an it is projected on my sheet of paper, I want to adjust its opacity so that I can see what I'm doing but still see my picture.
(You may have recognized our Persona - she lives in an alternate reality, which is a great start to experience augmented reality.)
The augmented reality experience should be comfortable enough to sketch a reasonably simple drawing. That means a refresh rate close to 60fps, and a projection that does not flicker, even when the hand carrying the mobile device shakes.
We called the application "Sketch by Phone".
We first explored the JavaScript community to see if anything existed to ease web development with WebGL, AR and touch gestures. Guess what, there are multiple librairies out there already!
Three.js: A JavaScript 3D library
ARToolkit: A set of tools for AR using three.js
AR.js: A thin layer on top of artoolkit to make AR even easier
Hammer.js: A javascript library for multi-touch gestures
And since we'll have to compose several components together and handle navigation, we'll use our beloved React.js and make it a Single-Page Appliction. For the UI kit, we settled on material-ui - we know and use it a lot these days beacause of admin-on-rest, and it's well adapted to mobile apps.
Time to Build
First things first, the user must choose an image from her phone. Here is the JSX template of the component we desiged for the home page:
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import getImageDataFromDataUrl from './utils/getImageDataFromDataUrl' ; import hiro from './assets/hiro.png' ; import rose from './assets/rose.jpg' ; import Gallery from './Gallery' ; import RaisedButton from'material-ui/RaisedButton' ; const styles = { } ; class FileSelection extends Component { state = { showGallery : false, } ; handleChange = ( event ) => { var reader = new FileReader ( ) ; reader. addEventListener ( 'load', ( ) => { getImageDataFromDataUrl ( reader. result ). then ( this. props. onFileSelected ) ; }, false ) ; reader. readAsDataURL ( event. target. files [ 0 ] ) ; } handleFileInputClick = ( ) => { this. fileInput. click ( ) ; } handleOpenGalleryClick = ( ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { this. setState ( { showGallery : true } ) ; }, 500 ) ; } handleCloseGalleryClick = ( ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { this. setState ( { showGallery : false } ) ; }, 500 ) ; } handleGalleryImageSelected = ( image ) => { getImageDataFromDataUrl ( image ). then ( this. props. onFileSelected ) ; } storeFileInputRef = node => { this. fileInput = node ; } render ( ) { const { showGallery } = this. state ; if ( showGallery ) { return < Gallery onClose = { this. handleCloseGalleryClick } onSelected = { this. handleGalleryImageSelected } /> ; } return ( < div style = { styles. container } > < h1 style = { styles. title } > Sketch anything you want using your phone as a guide </ h1 > < hr style = { styles. hr } /> < ol style = { styles. list } > < li style = { styles. listItem } > < div > Print a < a style = { styles. a } href = { hiro } > hiro marker </ a > </ div > < div style = { styles. hiroMarker } > < a style = { styles. a } href = { hiro } > < img style = { styles. hiroMarkerImg } alt = " Hiro marker example " src = { hiro } /> </ a > </ div > </ li > < li style = { styles. listItem } > Put it on a sheet of paper </ li > < li style = { styles. listItem } > Choose something to draw < div > < RaisedButton style = { styles. btnFileInput } secondary fullWidth htmlFor = " file_input " onTouchTap = { this. handleFileInputClick } label = " From your photo library " > < input ref = { this. storeFileInputRef } id = " file_input " style = { styles. fileInput } type = " file " accept = " image/* " onChange = { this. handleChange } /> </ RaisedButton > </ div > < RaisedButton secondary fullWidth onTouchTap = { this. handleOpenGalleryClick } label = " Our drawings " /> </ li > </ ol > </ div > ) ; } } export default FileSelection ;
Next, let's capture the video stream from the camera, and display it on the device.
import cameraData from '../assets/camera_para.dat' ; import hiro from '../assets/path.hiro' ; const { ArMarkerControls, ArToolkitContext, ArToolkitSource } = THREEx ; export function initializeArToolkit ( renderer, camera, onRenderFcts ) { ArToolkitContext. baseURL = '../' ; const arToolkitSource = new ArToolkitSource ( { sourceType : 'webcam' } ) ; arToolkitSource. init ( ( ) => { arToolkitSource. onResize ( renderer. domElement ) ; } ) ; window. addEventListener ('resize', ( ) => { arToolkitSource. onResize ( renderer. domElement ) ; } ) ; const arToolkitContext = new ArToolkitContext ( { cameraParametersUrl : cameraData, detectionMode :'mono', maxDetectionRate : 30, canvasWidth : 800, canvasHeight : 600, } ) ; arToolkitContext. init ( ( ) => { camera. projectionMatrix. copy ( arToolkitContext. getProjectionMatrix ( ) ) ; } ) ; onRenderFcts. push ( ( ) => { if ( arToolkitSource. ready === false ) return ; arToolkitContext. update ( arToolkitSource. domElement ) ; } ) ; return arToolkitContext ; } export function getMarker ( arToolkitContext, markerRoot ) { return new ArMarkerControls ( arToolkitContext, markerRoot, { type : 'pattern', patternUrl : hiro, } ) ; }
AR.js requires a specific marker to be present: an anchor from which to augment reality. Trinity will have to print a page with this marker for now. Fair enough, let's show her a message until the marker is found, and remind her what it looks like.
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import SketchRenderer from './SketchRenderer' ; import MarkerSearch from './MarkerSearch' ; class Sketch extends Component {... handleMarkerFound = ( ) => this. setState ( { markerFound : true } ) ;... render ( ) { const { markerFound } = this. state ; const { image, blackImage } = this. props ; return ( < div > < SketchRenderer image = { image } blackImage = { blackImage } onMarkerFound = { this. handleMarkerFound } /> { } {! markerFound && < MarkerSearch /> }... </ div > ) ; } }
This is what the screen looks like while waiting for the marker to be recognized:
We then need to configure three.js and AR.js to display the selected picture on top of the marker, or rather a bit aside, to let Trinity draw on paper. This is the job of the SketchRenderer component
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import initializeRenderer from './utils/initializeRenderer' ; import { initializeArToolkit, getMarker } from './utils/arToolkit' ; import detectEdge from './utils/detectEdge' ; const { Camera, DoubleSide, Group, Mesh, MeshBasicMaterial, PlaneGeometry, Scene, Texture } = THREE ; export default class SketchRenderer extends Component { componentDidMount ( ) { const { blackImage, coordX, coordZ, image, onMarkerFound, opacity, scaleX, scaleY, rotation, } = this. props ; const renderer = this. renderer = initializeRenderer ( this. canvas ) ; const scene = new Scene ( ) ; const camera = new Camera ( ) ; scene. add ( camera ) ; const markerRoot = new Group ( ) ; scene. add ( markerRoot ) ; const onRenderFcts = [ ] ; const arToolkitContext = initializeArToolkit ( renderer, camera, onRenderFcts ) ; const marker = getMarker ( arToolkitContext, markerRoot ) ; marker. addEventListener ('markerFound', onMarkerFound ) ; const geometry = new PlaneGeometry ( 1, 1, 1 ) ; const texture = new Texture ( image ) ; texture. needsUpdate = true ; this. material = new MeshBasicMaterial ( { map : texture, opacity, side : DoubleSide, transparent : true, } ) ; this. mesh = new Mesh ( geometry, this. material ) ; this. mesh. rotation. x = - Math. PI / 2 ; this. mesh. rotation. z = rotation ; this. mesh. position. x = coordX ; this. mesh. position. z = coordZ ; this. mesh. scale. x = scaleX ; this. mesh. scale. y = scaleY ; markerRoot. add ( this. mesh ) ; onRenderFcts. push ( function ( ) { renderer. render ( scene, camera ) ; } ) ; var lastTimeMsec = null ; function animate ( nowMsec ) { requestAnimationFrame ( animate ) ; lastTimeMsec = lastTimeMsec || nowMsec - 1000 / 60 ; const deltaMsec = Math. min ( 200, nowMsec - lastTimeMsec ) ; lastTimeMsec = nowMsec ; onRenderFcts. forEach ( onRenderFct => { onRenderFct ( deltaMsec / 1000, nowMsec / 1000 ) ; } ) ; } requestAnimationFrame ( animate ) ; } componentWillUnmount ( ) { this. renderer. dispose ( ) ; } storeRef = node => { this. canvas = node ; } componentDidUpdate ( ) { const { coordX, coordZ, scaleX, scaleY, rotation } = this. props ; this. mesh. position. x = coordX ; this. mesh. position. z = coordZ ; this. mesh. scale. x = scaleX ; this. mesh. scale. y = scaleY ; this. mesh. rotation. z = rotation ; this. mesh. needsUpdate = true ; const { blackImage, image } = this. props ; const { opacity, isDetectingEdge, blur, lowTreshold, highTreshold } = this. props ; if ( isDetectingEdge ) { this. material. opacity = 1 ; const alphaImage = detectEdge ( image, { blur, lowTreshold, highTreshold } ) ; const alphaTexture = new Texture ( alphaImage ) ; alphaTexture. needsUpdate = true ; this. material. alphaMap = alphaTexture ; this. material. map. image = blackImage ; this. material. map. needsUpdate = true ; } else { this. material. opacity = opacity ; this. material. alphaMap = null ; const texture = new Texture ( image ) ; texture. needsUpdate = true ; this. material. map = texture ; } this. material. needsUpdate = true ; } render ( ) { return ( < canvas id = " root " ref = { this. storeRef } /> ) ; } }
In Three.js, in order to update a property (like our Texture in the example above), you must add the needsUpdate = true property after the initial render to specify that the object has changed. And then on next render, Three.js will take the added property, and update it accordingly. Note that you cannot read the current value this way.
AR.js is clever enough to adapt the projected picture according to the phone orientation and direction. Great!
All good. Now let's use Hammer.js so that Trinity can move, zoom and rotate her picture.
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import degToRad from './utils/degToRad' ; const styles = { } ; export default class MoveControl extends Component { state = { pan : { startX : 1, startZ : 2, }, rotation : { start : 0, }, scale : { startX : 2, startY : 2, } } componentDidMount ( ) { this. hammer = new Hammer ( this. div ) ; this. hammer. get ( 'pinch' ). set ( { enable : true } ) ; this. hammer. get ( 'rotate' ). set ( { enable : true } ) ; this. hammer. get ( 'pan' ). set ( { direction : Hammer. DIRECTION_ALL } ) ; this. hammer. on ( 'panstart', this. handlePan ) ; this. hammer. on ( 'panmove', this. handlePan ) ; this. hammer. on ( 'pinchstart', this. handlePinch ) ; this. hammer. on ( 'pinch', this. handlePinch ) ; this. hammer. on ( 'rotatestart', this. handleRotate ) ; this. hammer. on ( 'rotatemove', this. handleRotate ) ; } handlePan = ( ev ) => { const { coordX, coordZ, onTranslateChange } = this. props ; if ( ev. type === 'panstart' ) { this. setState ( {... this. state, pan : { startX : coordX, startZ : coordZ, }, } ) ; } onTranslateChange ( { x : this. state. pan. startX + ev. deltaX / 200, z : this. state. pan. startZ + ev. deltaY / 200, } ) ; } handlePinch = ( ev ) => { const { scaleX, scaleY, onZoomChange } = this. props ; if ( ev. type === 'pinchstart' ) { this. setState ( {... this. state, scale : {... this. state. scale, startX : scaleX, startY : scaleY, }, } ) ; } onZoomChange ( { x : this. state. scale. startX * ev. scale, y : this. state. scale. startY * ev. scale, } ) ; } handleRotate = ( ev ) => { const { rotation, onRotationChange } = this. props ; if ( ev. type === 'rotatestart' ) { this. setState ( {... this. state, rotation : { start : rotation + degToRad ( ev. rotation ), }, } ) ; return ; } onRotationChange ( this. state. rotation. start - degToRad ( ev. rotation ) ) ; } storeRef = node => { this. div = node ; } render ( ) { return < div style = { styles. container } ref = { this. storeRef } > </ div > ; } }
We placed all the Hammer logic inside a separate component to separate the gesture logic from the rendering.
Once enabled and when detected, we move, scale and rotate our image accordingly using three.js objects properties.
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import SketchRenderer from './SketchRenderer' ; import MoveControl from './MoveControl' ; import MarkerSearch from './MarkerSearch' ; class Sketch extends Component {... handleTranslateChange = ( { x, z } ) => this. setState ( { coord : { x, z } } ) ; handleZoomChange = ( { x, y } ) => this. setState ( { scale : { x, y } } ) ; handleRotationChange = ( rotation ) => this. setState ( { rotation } ) ; render ( ) { const { markerFound, coord : { x : coordX, z : coordZ, }, scale : { x : scaleX, y : scaleY, }, rotation, } = this. state ; const { image, blackImage } = this. props ; return ( < SketchRenderer coordX = { coordX } coordZ = { coordZ } scaleX = { scaleX } scaleY = { scaleY } rotation = { rotation } image = { image } blackImage = { blackImage } onMarkerFound = { this. handleMarkerFound } /> {! markerFound && < MarkerSearch /> } { markerFound && < MoveControl coordX = { coordX } coordZ = { coordZ } scaleX = { scaleX } scaleY = { scaleY } rotation = { rotation } onTranslateChange = { this. handleTranslateChange } onZoomChange = { this. handleZoomChange } onRotationChange = { this. handleRotationChange } /> }... ) ; }
After that, we added a way for Trinity to adjust the projected picture opacity with a slider input.
Or to detect its edge.
This is the job of the Settings component:
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import RaisedButton from'material-ui/RaisedButton' ; import Checkbox from'material-ui/Checkbox' ; import Slider from'material-ui/Slider' ; import Subheader from'material-ui/Subheader' ; const styles = {... } ; class Settings extends Component { state = { open : false, } ; handleOpen = ( ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { this. setState ( { isOpen : true } ) ; }, 500 ) ; } handleClose = ( ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { this. setState ( { isOpen : false } ) ; }, 500 ) ; } render ( ) { const { isOpen } = this. state ; if (! isOpen ) { return < RaisedButton style = { styles. openButton } onClick = { this. handleOpen } label = " Settings " /> } const { blur, lowTreshold, highTreshold, opacity, isDetectingEdge, onBlurChange, onLowTresholdChange, onHighTresholdChange, onOpacityChange, onDetectEdgeChange } = this. props ; return ( < div style = { styles. modal } > {! isDetectingEdge && < div style = { styles. modalItem } > < Subheader > Opacity: { opacity } </ Subheader > < Slider name = " opacity " value = { opacity } onChange = { onOpacityChange } sliderStyle = { styles. slider } /> </ div > } { isDetectingEdge && ( < div style = { styles. detectOptions } > < div style = { styles. detectOptionItemFull } > < Subheader > blur: { blur } </ Subheader > < Slider name = " blur " value = { blur } max = { 4 } onChange = { onBlurChange } sliderStyle = { styles. slider } /> </ div > < div style = { styles. detectOptionItem } > < Subheader > low treshold: { lowTreshold } </ Subheader > < Slider name = " lowTreshold " value = { lowTreshold } max = { 127 } onChange = { onLowTresholdChange } sliderStyle = { styles. slider } /> </ div > < div style = { styles. detectOptionItem } > < Subheader > high treshold: { highTreshold } </ Subheader > < Slider name = " highTreshold " value = { highTreshold } max = { 127 } onChange = { onHighTresholdChange } sliderStyle = { styles. slider } /> </ div > </ div > ) } < Checkbox name = " isDetectingEdge " type = " checkbox " checked = { isDetectingEdge } onCheck = { onDetectEdgeChange } label = " detect edge " style = { styles. detectEdges } /> < RaisedButton primary fullWidth onClick = { this. handleClose } label = " close " /> </ div > ) ; } } export default Settings ;
And how we use them in the Sketch component:
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import isEqual from 'lodash.isequal' ; import MarkerSearch from './MarkerSearch' ; import MoveControl from './MoveControl' ; import Settings from './Settings' ; import SketchRenderer from './SketchRenderer' ; const styles = { backButton : { zIndex : 1000, position : 'absolute', right : '1rem', top : '1rem', } } class Sketch extends Component { state = { markerFound : false, opacity : 1, isDetectingEdge : false, blur : 2, highTreshold : 20, lowTreshold : 50, coord : { x : 2, z : 1, }, rotation : 0, scale : { x : 2, y : 2, } } ; shouldComponentUpdate ( nextProps, state ) { return! isEqual ( state, this. state ) ; } handleTranslateChange = ( { x, z } ) => this. setState ( { coord : { x, z } } ) ; handleZoomChange = ( { x, y } ) => this. setState ( { scale : { x, y } } ) ; handleRotationChange = ( rotation ) => this. setState ( { rotation } ) ; handleOpacityChange = ( event, opacity ) => this. setState ( { opacity } ) ; handleDetectEdgeChange = ( ) => this. setState ( { isDetectingEdge :! this. state. isDetectingEdge } ) ; handleBlurChange = ( event, blur ) => this. setState ( { blur } ) ; handleLowTresholdChange = ( event, lowTreshold ) => this. setState ( { lowTreshold } ) ; handleHighTresholdChange = ( event, highTreshold ) => this. setState ( { highTreshold } ) ; handleMarkerFound = ( ) => this. setState ( { markerFound : true } ) ; render ( ) { const { markerFound, opacity, isDetectingEdge, blur, lowTreshold, highTreshold, coord : { x : coordX, z : coordZ, }, scale : { x : scaleX, y : scaleY, }, rotation, } = this. state ; const { image, blackImage } = this. props ; return ( < div > < SketchRenderer coordX = { coordX } coordZ = { coordZ } scaleX = { scaleX } scaleY = { scaleY } rotation = { rotation } opacity = { opacity } isDetectingEdge = { isDetectingEdge } blur = { blur } lowTreshold = { lowTreshold } highTreshold = { highTreshold } image = { image } blackImage = { blackImage } onMarkerFound = { this. handleMarkerFound } /> {! markerFound && < MarkerSearch /> } { markerFound && < MoveControl coordX = { coordX } coordZ = { coordZ } scaleX = { scaleX } scaleY = { scaleY } rotation = { rotation } onTranslateChange = { this. handleTranslateChange } onZoomChange = { this. handleZoomChange } onRotationChange = { this. handleRotationChange } /> } < Settings opacity = { opacity } blur = { blur } lowTreshold = { lowTreshold } highTreshold = { highTreshold } isDetectingEdge = { isDetectingEdge } onOpacityChange = { this. handleOpacityChange } onDetectEdgeChange = { this. handleDetectEdgeChange } onBlurChange = { this. handleBlurChange } onLowTresholdChange = { this. handleLowTresholdChange } onHighTresholdChange = { this. handleHighTresholdChange } /> </ div > ) ; } } export default Sketch ;
Finally, let's explain to Trinity how to use the gestures by adding a Tips component:
import React from'react' ; import pan from './assets/pan.png' ; import pinch from './assets/pinch.png' ; import rotate from './assets/rotate.png' ; import Media from'react-media' ; const styles = { tips : { marginLeft : 'auto', marginRight : 'auto', maxWidth : 600, display : 'flex', flexDirection : 'column', position : 'absolute', bottom : '5rem', left : '1rem', right : '1rem', padding : '1rem', backgroundColor : 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.75)', }, item : { display : 'flex', alignItems : 'center', }, text : { marginLeft : '1rem', } } ; styles. tipsLandscape = {... styles. tips, flexDirection : 'row' } ; styles. itemLandscape = {... styles. item, flexDirection : 'column', maxWidth : 200 } ; const mediaQuery = { orientation : 'landscape' } ; export default ( { onHide } ) => ( < Media query = { mediaQuery } > { matches => ( < div style = { matches? styles. tipsLandscape : styles. tips } onClick = { onHide } > < div style = { matches? styles. itemLandscape : styles. item } > < img alt = " How to move the image " src = { pan } /> < div style = { styles. text } > Pan with your finger to drag the picture on the paper </ div > </ div > < div style = { matches? styles. itemLandscape : styles. item } > < img alt = " How to zoom the image " src = { pinch } /> < div style = { styles. text } > Pinch to zoom the picture in or out and fit the sheet </ div > </ div > < div style = { matches? styles. itemLandscape : styles. item } > < img alt = " How to rotate the image " src = { rotate } /> < div style = { styles. text } > Rotate your fingers to rotate the picture and orient it on the sheet </ div > </ div > </ div > ) } </ Media > ) ;
And use it in the Sketch component:
import React, { Component } from'react' ; import isEqual from 'lodash.isequal' ; import RaisedButton from'material-ui/RaisedButton' ; import Settings from './Settings' ; import SketchRenderer from './SketchRenderer' ; import MoveControl from './MoveControl' ; import MarkerSearch from './MarkerSearch' ; import Tips from './Tips' ; const styles = { backButton : { zIndex : 1000, position : 'absolute', right : '1rem', top : '1rem', } } class Sketch extends Component { state = { showTips : true, markerFound : false, opacity : 1, isDetectingEdge : false, blur : 2, highTreshold : 20, lowTreshold : 50, coord : { x : 2, z : 1, }, rotation : 0, scale : { x : 2, y : 2, } } ; shouldComponentUpdate ( nextProps, state ) { return! isEqual ( state, this. state ) ; } handleBack = ( ) => { setTimeout ( ( ) => { window. location. reload ( ) ; }, 500 ) ; } handleTranslateChange = ( { x, z } ) => this. setState ( { coord : { x, z } } ) ; handleZoomChange = ( { x, y } ) => this. setState ( { scale : { x, y } } ) ; handleRotationChange = ( rotation ) => this. setState ( { rotation } ) ; handleOpacityChange = ( event, opacity ) => this. setState ( { opacity } ) ; handleDetectEdgeChange = ( ) => this. setState ( { isDetectingEdge :! this. state. isDetectingEdge } ) ; handleBlurChange = ( event, blur ) => this. setState ( { blur } ) ; handleLowTresholdChange = ( event, lowTreshold ) => this. setState ( { lowTreshold } ) ; handleHighTresholdChange = ( event, highTreshold ) => this. setState ( { highTreshold } ) ; handleHideTips = ( ) => this. setState ( { showTips : false } ) ; handleMarkerFound = ( ) => this. setState ( { markerFound : true } ) ; render ( ) { const { markerFound, showTips, opacity, isDetectingEdge, blur, lowTreshold, highTreshold, coord : { x : coordX, z : coordZ, }, scale : { x : scaleX, y : scaleY, }, rotation, } = this. state ; const { image, blackImage } = this. props ; return ( < div > < SketchRenderer coordX = { coordX } coordZ = { coordZ } scaleX = { scaleX } scaleY = { scaleY } rotation = { rotation } opacity = { opacity } isDetectingEdge = { isDetectingEdge } blur = { blur } lowTreshold = { lowTreshold } highTreshold = { highTreshold } image = { image } blackImage = { blackImage } onMarkerFound = { this. handleMarkerFound } / > {! markerFound && < MarkerSearch / > } { markerFound && < MoveControl coordX = { coordX } coordZ = { coordZ } scaleX = { scaleX } scaleY = { scaleY } rotation = { rotation } onTranslateChange = { this. handleTranslateChange } onZoomChange = { this. handleZoomChange } onRotationChange = { this. handleRotationChange } / > } { markerFound && showTips && < Tips onHide = { this. handleHideTips } / > } < RaisedButton style = { styles. backButton } onClick = { this. handleBack } label = "Back" / > < Settings opacity = { opacity } blur = { blur } lowTreshold = { lowTreshold } highTreshold = { highTreshold } isDetectingEdge = { isDetectingEdge } onOpacityChange = { this. handleOpacityChange } onDetectEdgeChange = { this. handleDetectEdgeChange } onBlurChange = { this. handleBlurChange } onLowTresholdChange = { this. handleLow |
111 Knee-Deep In Whiskey, Cigars
Jonah Bennett
National Security/Politics Reporter
The world’s oldest U.S. Army veteran is set to hit another milestone Thursday, with plenty of whiskey and cigars to go around.
Richard Overton is America’s oldest living World War II veteran, and he’s turning 111 on Thursday to keep the record going, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Overton plans to celebrate his 111th in style, with a block party full of whiskey and cigars near his East Austin house he’s lived in for 72 years.
And he’s not picky about his whiskey.
“I like any kind you’ll bring me,” Overton told the Austin American-Statesman.
He also enjoys his cigars and said he’s been smoking since 18.
“But I don’t inhale,” he said. “I still feel the same smoking as I did when I was 18. If anything, I’m a stronger smoker now. Oh, yeah. I blow out.”
Overton was born in 1906 and served in World War II as a soldier with the 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion in the Army. During that time, the battalion was all-black.
A relative of Overton’s started a crowdfunding campaign earlier this year to make sure Overton did not have to move into an assisted living facility and could instead maintain his independence. So far, the campaign has raised $169,000 of its $200,000 goal to pay for an in-home care provider.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/10/worlds-oldest-us-army-veteran-set-to-hit-111-knee-deep-in-whiskey-cigars/
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.
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commentsSwine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America
Prevention: Is the swine flu jab safe?
A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.
The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.
It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.
GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.
The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.
It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:
More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.
500 cases of GBS were detected.
The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.
The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.
The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.
Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.
It is being developed by pharmaceutical companies and will be given to about 13million people during the first wave of immunisation, expected to start in October.
Top priority will be given to everyone aged six months to 65 with an underlying health problem, pregnant women and health professionals.
The British Neurological Surveillance Unit (BNSU), part of the British Association of Neurologists, has been asked to monitor closely any cases of GBS as the vaccine is rolled out.
One senior neurologist said last night: ‘I would not have the swine
flu jab because of the GBS risk.’
There are concerns that there could be a repeat of what became known as the ‘1976 debacle’ in the US, where a swine flu vaccine killed 25 people – more than the virus itself.
A mass vaccination was given the go-ahead by President Gerald Ford because scientists believed that the swine flu strain was similar to the one responsible for the 1918-19 pandemic, which killed half a million Americans and 20million people worldwide.
The swine flu vaccine being offered to children has not been tested on infants
Within days, symptoms of GBS were reported among those who had been immunised and 25 people died from respiratory failure after severe paralysis. One in 80,000 people came down with the condition. In contrast, just one person died of swine flu.
More than 40million Americans had received the vaccine by the time the programme was stopped after ten weeks. The US Government paid out millions of dollars in compensation to those affected.
The swine flu virus in the new vaccine is a slightly different strain from the 1976 virus, but the possibility of an increased incidence of GBS remains a concern.
Shadow health spokesman Mike Penning said last night: ‘The last thing we want is secret letters handed around experts within the NHS. We need a vaccine but we also need to know about potential risks.
‘Our job is to make sure that the public knows what’s going on. Why
is the Government not being open about this? It’s also very worrying if GPs, who will be administering the vaccine, aren’t being warned.’
Two letters were posted together to neurologists advising them of the concerns. The first, dated July 29, was written by Professor Elizabeth Miller, head of the HPA’s Immunisation Department.
It says: ‘The vaccines used to combat an expected swine influenza pandemic in 1976 were shown to be associated with GBS and were withdrawn from use.
‘GBS has been identified as a condition needing enhanced surveillance when the swine flu vaccines are rolled out.
‘Reporting every case of GBS irrespective of vaccination or disease history is essential for conducting robust epidemiological analyses capable of identifying whether there is an increased risk of GBS in defined time periods after vaccination, or after influenza itself, compared with the background risk.’
The second letter, dated July 27, is from the Association of British Neurologists and is written by Dr Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, chair of its surveillance unit, and Professor Patrick Chinnery, chair of its clinical research committee.
Halted: The 1976 US swine flu campaign
It says: ‘Traditionally, the BNSU has monitored rare diseases for long periods of time. However, the swine influenza (H1N1) pandemic has overtaken us and we need every member’s involvement with a new BNSU survey of Guillain-Barre Syndrome that will start on August 1 and run for approximately nine months.
‘Following the 1976 programme of vaccination against swine influenza in the US, a retrospective study found a possible eight-fold increase in the incidence of GBS.
‘Active prospective ascertainment of every case of GBS in the UK is required. Please tell BNSU about every case.
‘You will have seen Press coverage describing the Government’s concern about releasing a vaccine of unknown safety.’
If there are signs of a rise in GBS after the vaccination programme begins, the Government could decide to halt it.
GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, leaving them unable to transmit signals to muscles effectively.
It can cause partial paralysis and mostly affects the hands and feet. In serious cases, patients need to be kept on a ventilator, but it can be fatal.
Death is caused by paralysis of the respiratory system, causing the victim to suffocate.
It is not known exactly what causes GBS and research on the subject has been inconclusive.
However, it is thought that one in a million people who have a seasonal flu vaccination could be at risk and it has also been linked to people recovering from a bout of flu of any sort.
The HPA said it was part of the Government’s pandemic plan to monitor GBS cases in the event of a mass vaccination campaign, regardless of the strain of flu involved.
But vaccine experts warned that the letters proved the programme was a ‘guinea-pig trial’.
Dr Tom Jefferson, co-ordinator of the vaccines section of the influential Cochrane Collaboration, an independent group that reviews research, said: ‘New vaccines never behave in the way you expect them to. It may be that there is a link to GBS, which is certainly not something I would wish on anybody.
‘But it could end up being anything because one of the additives in one of the vaccines is a substance called squalene, and none of the studies we’ve extracted have any research on it at all.’
He said squalene, a naturally occurring enzyme, could potentially cause so-far-undiscovered side effects.
Jackie Fletcher, founder of vaccine support group Jabs, said: ‘The Government would not be anticipating this if they didn’t think there was a connection. What we’ve got is a massive guinea-pig trial.’
Professor Chinnery said: ‘During the last swine flu pandemic, it was observed that there was an increased frequency of cases of GBS. No one knows whether it was the virus or the vaccine that caused this.
‘The purpose of the survey is for us to assess rapidly whether there is an increase in the frequency of GBS when the vaccine is released in the UK. It also increases consultants’ awareness of the condition.
Panic over? The number of swine flu cases has fallen sharply in the past few weeks
‘This is a belt-and-braces approach to safety and is not something people should be substantially worried about as it’s a rare condition.’
If neurologists do identify a case of GBS, it will be logged on a central database.
Details about patients, including blood samples, will be collected and monitored by the HPA.
It is hoped this will help scientists establish why some people develop the condition and whether it is directly related to the vaccine.
But some question why there needs to be a vaccine, given the risks. Dr Richard Halvorsen, author of The Truth About Vaccines, said: ‘For people with serious underlying health problems, the risk of dying from swine flu is probably greater than the risk of side effects from the vaccine.
‘But it would be tragic if we repeated the US example and ended up with more casualties from the jabs.
‘I applaud the Government for recognising the risk but in most cases this is a mild virus which needs a few days in bed. I’d question why we need a vaccine at all.’
Professor Miller at the HPA said: ‘This monitoring system activates pandemic plans that have been in place for a number of years. We’ll be able to get information on whether a patient has had a prior influenza illness and will look at whether influenza itself is linked to GBS.
‘We are not expecting a link to the vaccine but a link to disease, which would make having the vaccine even more important.’
The UK’s medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, is already monitoring reported side effects from Tamiflu and Relenza and it is set to extend that surveillance to the vaccine.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: ‘The European Medicines Agency has strict processes in place for licensing pandemic vaccines.
‘In preparing for a pandemic, appropriate trials to assess safety and the immune responses have been carried out on vaccines very similar to the swine flu vaccine. The vaccines have been shown to have a good safety profile.
‘It is extremely irresponsible to suggest that the UK would use a vaccine without careful consideration of safety issues. The UK has one of the most successful immunisation programmes in the world.’
I COULDN''T EAT OR SPEAK... IT WAS HORRENDOUS
Victim: Hilary Wilkinson spent three months in hospital after she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome
When Hilary Wilkinson woke up with muscle weakness in her left arm and difficulty breathing, doctors initially put it down to a stroke.
But within hours, she was on a ventilator in intensive care after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
She spent three months in hospital and had to learn how to talk and walk again. But at times, when she was being fed through a drip and needed a tracheotomy just to breathe, she doubted whether she would survive.
The mother of two, 57, from Maryport, Cumbria, had been in good health until she developed a chest infection in March 2006. She gradually became so weak she could not walk downstairs.
Doctors did not diagnose Guillain-Barre until her condition worsened in hospital and tests showed her reflexes slowing down. It is impossible for doctors to know how she contracted the disorder, although it is thought to be linked to some infections.
Mrs Wilkinson said: ‘It was very scary. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t speak. My arms and feet had no strength and breathing was hard.
I was treated with immunoglobulin, which are proteins found in blood, to stop damage to my nerves. After ten days, I still couldn’t speak and had to mime to nurses or my family.
‘It was absolutely horrendous and I had no idea whether I would get through it. You reach very dark moments at such times and wonder how long it can last.
But I’m a very determined person and I had lots of support.’
After three weeks, she was transferred to a neurological ward, where she had an MRI scan and nerve tests to assess the extent of the damage.
Still unable to speak and in a wheelchair, Mrs Wilkinson eventually began gruelling physiotherapy to improve her muscle strength and movement but it was exhausting and painful.
Three years later, she is almost fully recovered. She can now walk for several miles at a time, has been abroad and carries out voluntary work for a GBS Support Group helpline.
She said: ‘It makes me feel wary that the Government is rolling out this vaccine without any clear idea of the GBS risk, if any. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone and it certainly changed my life.
‘I’m frightened to have the swine flu vaccine if this might happen again – it’s a frightening illness and I think more research needs to be done on the effect of the vaccine.’
Hotline staff given access to confidential records
Confidential NHS staff records and disciplinary complaints could be accessed by hundreds of workers manning the Government’s special swine flu hotline.
They were able to browse through a database of emails containing doctors’ and nurses’ National Insurance numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, mobile phone numbers and scanned passport pages – all details that could be used fraudulently.
And private and confidential complaints sent by hospitals about temporary medical staff – some of whom were named – were also made available to the call-centre workers, who were given a special password to log in to an internal NHS website.
It could be a breach of the Data Protection Act.
The hotline staff work for NHS Professionals, which was set up using taxpayers’ money to employ temporary medical and administrative staff for the health service.
The not-for-profit company runs two of the Government’s swine flu call centres – with 300 staff in Farnborough, Hampshire, and 900 in Watford, Hertfordshire.
Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley described the revelations as ‘disturbing’.
Anne Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Unison, said: ‘There’s no excuse for such a fundamental breach of personal security. Action needs to be taken as soon as possible to make sure this does not happen again.’
A spokeswoman for NHS Professionals would not confirm whether access to the confidential files had been granted.CLOSE Plane crash in Norfolk leaves three dead
This Mooney M20F aircraft crashed March 4, 2015, in a heavily wooded area of Norfolk Botanical Garden in Virginia, killing all three people aboard. (Photo: Martin Smith-Rodden, The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot)
NORFOLK, Va. — Three people died Wednesday when a small plane crashed in foggy weather at Norfolk Botanical Garden just shy of the city's airport, according to Virginia State Police.
The airplane's owner, James Beauchamp of Corapeake, N.C., said a friend, Michael Buxton of Portsmouth, Va., was piloting the 1975 Mooney M20F. Buxton and two friends were on their way home from Key West, Fla., where Buxton kept a sailboat.
At 4:30 a.m. ET, the control tower at Norfolk International Airport lost contact with the plane that was one to two miles outside the airport at the time, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Nate Littlejohn of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The four-seat plane was attempting to land on Runway 23, Battalion Chief Julian Williamson said. The runway is one of two at the airport and less than a half mile southeast of the crash site.
"At approximately 1.5 miles out, the pilot made a transmission to the tower," he said. "This would be the last communication the tower had with the pilot."
He did not disclose what the pilot said.
Visibility along the coast was at less than a mile when the plane went missing, according to Craig Moeller, WVEC-TV meteorologist.
The plane's wreckage was located at about 7:30 a.m. in a wooded area at north end of the 155-acre the botanical garden, which is almost surrounded by Lake Whitehurst. State police Sgt. Michelle Anaya confirmed two fatalities a little more than an hour later and news of a third death was released later that morning.
She did not release the names of the victims because family members have not been notified.
Buxton, originally from Buffalo, N.Y., was a clinical psychologist who ran a practice in Virginia Beach. He was also a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging a state deal to allow a private company to charge tolls on tunnels between Portsmouth and Norfolk as part of a construction project to add tunnel capacity.
"He got involved early and he encouraged other people to get involved," said Terry Hanaher, one of the leaders of Citizens for Accountability that led opposition against the toll project. "He donated financially. He donated time. He's very politically active."
Hanaher said she and Buxton shared different political views — he was conservative and she's liberal — but they got to know each other through the fights against tolls.
People who live in the area near the botanical garden said they did not hear the crash.
"We are still in the process of investigating the wreckage," said Lt. Curtis Hardison of Virginia State Police. The plane is intact.
The plane stopped for refueling at Palatka Municipal Airport about 60 miles south of Jacksonville, Fla., and took off again just before midnight Tuesday. It was scheduled to arrive at Suffolk Executive Airport, about 25 miles southwest of Norfolk, before 3:30 a.m. but was still in the air at 4:12 a.m., according to FlightAware.
Its flight was to be about 570 miles, but the flight tracker shows that the plane overshot its destination, turned around to go back and then proceeded to Norfolk's airport, where it headed toward Runway 23, didn't land and made a loop to try the approach again. That's where its route ends.
"We would not know if someone is coming," said Kent Marshall, the Suffolk airport's manager. The general aviation airport has no control tower of its own and comes under the jurisdiction of Norfolk's airport.
Typically, a pilot would try to land in Suffolk and then make a request to land in Norfolk if the weather didn't cooperate, he said.
Sunrise was at 6:30 a.m., and both airports have beacons lit from sunset to sunrise to identify the path to the runway. After the crash, the beacons at Norfolk were tested and checked out OK, said Robert Bowen, the airport's deputy executive director.
Beauchamp said his plane was in good mechanical condition and called Buxton "a very conscientious, qualified pilot." The aircraft's FAA license was issued in 2010 and was good through 2018.
Troopers, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said. The NTSB will release a preliminary report in 10 days and a full accident report in nine to 12 months.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Michael J. Buxton was a psychologist in the Virginia Beach, Va., area who enjoyed flying small planes, sailing and scuba diving, according to his LinkedIn profile. He apparently was the pilot in Wednesday's fatal plane crash. (Photo: Facebook)
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Plane Crash Aerial Photos Fullscreen Post to Facebook Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries: Replay Autoplay Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext Slide
A 1967 Mooney M20F for sale in Boulder, Colo.(Photo: Larson Aircraft Sales)
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Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1AIquVbSocialist Party Scotland told “you’re not welcome” in new “left alliance”
Socialist Party Scotland statement
Socialist Party Scotland stands for the building of a new mass working-class party that can challenge the political establishment who are implementing austerity, including the SNP, as well as fighting for socialist change. We have a long record of helping to develop broader left parties, alliances and coalitions as a step towards the building of such a party. We are currently involved in the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), alongside the RMT trade union. TUSC stood the largest number of left candidates in the recent Westminster general election.
A new “left electoral alliance” – in reality a party – is being launched on Saturday in Glasgow. RISE (Respect, Independence, Socialism, Environmentalism) is, primarily, a coming together of the leadership of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the International Socialist Group (ISG – a split-off from the Socialist Workers Party) who played a leading role in the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC).
Over the last few months these groupings have been working under the banner of the Scottish Left Project (SLP) which, according to their website, “takes inspiration from the rise of groups like Spain’s Podemos, which has made great progress in creating a citizens’ politics.” Politically they align themselves to the “two spirits of ’45: the vast grassroots movement that inspired 45% of the population to vote Yes for social justice and equality in an independent Scotland; and the year of 1945, when the generation that had defeated fascism created the National Health Service, even while public debt was at its highest ever.”
As the example of the comparison with 1945 Labour government indicates, it seems likely that the leadership of RISE will not put forward an explicitly socialist programme, limiting itself to a “social alternative” to neo-liberal capitalism, more akin to Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece. In practice, as the experience of the Syriza government shows, a policy of seeking a “fairer” capitalist model to relieve the horrors of savage austerity will lead to the failure of a left government unless it is prepared to carry through bold socialist policies.
not welcome
Socialist Party Scotland has been informed by the RISE leadership that: “We want RISE to be a coalition of the social movements”, rather than socialist organisations. We were told we would not be able to participate in RISE with our own organisation and program. Which begs the question as to why some socialist groups – the SSP and ISG – are allowed and others are not?
The answer to this question is completely linked to the plans by the RISE leadership, it seems, not to launch this party as an explicit socialist organisation. Or as a political party that bases itself on the working class and the trade unions as the key to the struggle to defeat austerity and to lead the fight for socialism.
The RISE leadership has already announced that it intends to stand candidates for the regional lists in the Scottish parliament elections in May 2016. In preparing this new electoral alliance its leadership have, unsurprisingly, not sought to meet with the already existing left and socialist electoral coalition, the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). This is despite TUSC writing to the SLP requesting a meeting on two occasions.
The refusal to meet with TUSC, in our view, indicates that RISE is likely to have a radically different approach as to how to build a mass left alternative.
Will RISE call for, as Scottish TUSC and Socialist Party Scotland does, the SNP to use its huge electoral mandate to refuse to pass on another penny in Tory austerity in Scotland? Will it call for Scottish councils to set needs budgets and actively defy the cuts? Will it stand for the democratic public ownership and working class control of the banks, oil and gas, big industry, transport and the privatised utilities? Will it have, as its primary orientation, a consistent approach to the working class and seek to build support in the trade unions?
Moreover, we have been informed that strong consideration is being given to not allowing the right of platforms or groups to be organised as part of RISE. Any new formation that opposes a federal structure – refusing the right of different political trends to openly organise to put forward its ideas – cannot be democratic and will be a barrier to young people and the working class joining and staying involved with RISE. As will the decision to exclude an organisation like Socialist Party Scotland and Scottish TUSC, both of whom have workers leaders in its ranks and a long history of leading mass struggles. The fact that one of the most militant trade unions in the country, the RMT, who play a key role in TUSC, are not worthy of consideration by RISE leaders is very significant.
RISE is being launched on Saturday in the absence of any discussion or debate on the political platform that should underpin this organisation. Nor will there be any discussion on the democratic structures. These will be decided at a conference in November, apparently.
For the reasons explained above, Socialist Party Scotland will continue to develop Scottish TUSC as an electoral alternative with a 100% anti-austerity and socialist platform. We will also continue to discuss with others on the left to strengthen this platform. In attending RISE events we will outline what we believe are the central tasks facing the socialist left in Scotland. As a contribution to that discussion we have produced a special leaflet for the RISE conference which can be read below.
Building a 100% anti-austerity election challenge for 2016
Socialist Party Scotland believes that to be successful a left/socialist electoral alternative needs to be based on some key policies.
That the Scottish Government and SNP and Labour councils should refuse to implement a penny more of Tory cuts and set NO cuts budgets instead.
A minimum wage of £10 now without exemptions
Opposition to the bosses’ EU
For democratic public ownership of the banks, the privatised utilities, transport and big business
An independent socialist Scotland. End austerity and capitalism
There is an electoral coalition in Scotland that stands on such a platform. Since 2010 we have played a lead role in the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). TUSC is a coalition of trade unionists, socialists and anti-austerity campaigners. Crucially, it also has the backing of the RMT transport workers union. Scottish TUSC stood the largest number of left candidates in Scotland at the recent Westminster election and has pioneered building a 100% anti-austerity electoral challenge to both Labour and the SNP.
In the spirit of encouraging a united left approach for the elections TUSC wrote to the Scottish Left Project seeking a discussion. Given that TUSC is the only left coalition with trade union support, the lack of a response by the SLP so far is a surprise.
Scottish TUSC will continue to request such a discussion with the SLP/RISE as to the possibility of a joint approach for the 2016 elections.
Defeating austerity
The working class and young people are facing an onslaught by this austerity-obsessed Tory government.
The recent budget was a declaration of war on the working poor, the unemployed, the sick and disabled and young people. The trade unions are also in the gun-sights of the Tories.
The Trade Union Bill is a one of the most vicious attacks on the organised working class movement in decades. It is vital that the full power of the trade unions are mobilised in a mass campaign of coordinated and sustained strike action. Only in this way can both the austerity agenda and the attacks on trade union rights be defeated.
There is huge opposition to austerity in society. The election victory of the SNP was an expression of this. As is the current enthusiasm among young people and trade unionists for the Jeremy Corbyn Labour leadership campaign.
SNP
Socialist Party Scotland is clear that neither the SNP leadership, even less so Scottish Labour, are prepared to build a struggle against cuts. By setting a no cuts budget and demanding a return of the billions stolen from public spending, the Scottish Government could put themselves at the head of a mass campaign of defiance. Instead they have passed on every penny of austerity.
The SNP leadership have taken this position because they support capital- ism and pro-business policies. In practice this means acquiescing to the austerity that goes with it.
The space to the left of the SNP will, over time, grow substantially. The need for a stronger left and socialist alternative is clear.
Capitalism: A system in crisis
Internationally, capitalism is in a deep and systemic crisis.
The possibility of capitalism being able to afford sustained and long-lasting reforms for the working class – as some on the left believe – is ruled out. The struggle against all cuts is vital but at all times this should be linked to the need to build a socialist alternative to capitalism.
Paul Mason in his new book outlines an inevitable transition to a “post-capitalist” society. But in reality the capitalist class will fight tooth and nail to hold onto their power and wealth.
Only a mass movement led by the working class to overthrow capitalism can open up the possibility of genuine “post-capitalist” world, based on socialism
Socialist Party Scotland is striving to build that alternative, including supporting the building of a new mass working class party.
Contact us for more information. Our branches in Scotland meet regularly to discuss socialist and Marxist ideas and analysis as well as the practical steps that need to be taken to organise the fightback against savage austerity. We are also part of the worldwide socialist international the Committee for a Workers’ International. www.socialistworld.net
Lessons from Greece – What kind of left do we need?
The Scottish Left Project, according to its website, seem to want to emulate Podemos in Spain and also Syriza in Greece.
But the lessons from Greece are crucial. In practice neither Podemos nor Syriza have a programme that can face up to what the left needs to do when in power.
Socialist Party Scotland welcomes all electoral successes for the left. We and our sister parties in the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) are play- ing a pioneering role in this. In the US in 2013, Kshama Sawant was the first socialist to be elected in over 100 years in the city of Seattle. The Socialist Party and the Anti Austerity Alliance (AAA) in the Republic of Ireland have won a se- ries of election victories recently.
Greece
Despite being elected on an anti-austerity mandate – and having that mandate strengthened even further by the referendum in July – the Syriza government have now voted to implement the austerity demanded of it by the Euro- pean capitalist institutions.
This is a severe blow to the young people and working class in Greece who invested at least some hope that Syriza would deliver on their promises.
The only alternative was to take the socialist measures that would break the dictatorship of the market. This would have meant the repudiation and non- payment of the Greek debt. The nationalisation of the banks. A programme of public ownership of the economy and a reversal of the previous austerity attacks. Alongside these measures would have been an appeal to the peoples of Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and across Europe for a mass movement in support of Greece.
Because Tsipras and Syriza wanted at all costs to stay in the euro, linked to their support for a reformed capitalism through the EU, they ended up carrying out the policy of the hated Troika.
Now Syriza has split, with a new left, anti-austerity “Popular Unity” movement being formed.
This is a potential step forward in the building of a more clearly defined socialist and revolutionary left in Greece which is now essential to take the struggle forward after Syriza’s capitulation.
Democracy vital
Democratic debate and decision making is crucial in any working class, socialist organisation. The RISE conference will have little time for democratic discussion on key questions like policy and democratic structure.
These fundamental issues will be discussed, it seems, in the run-up to another conference in November. Socialist Party Scotland will make our views known as part of this discussion. However, any attempts to establish RISE without the right of platforms or groups to openly organise to put forward their ideas will represent a major step backwards in terms of democracy and will be a barrier to workers and young people from participating.
The crucial role of the working class
Socialist Party Scotland bases itself on the working class and young people as being the key to achieving social and political change.
Without doubt the working class are the most powerful force in society. As the victories for the RMT workers at Network Rail, the Glasgow Homeless workers and the Dundee hospital porters have all shown recently: when workers take action, everything stops.
We campaign for the building of a 24-hour general strike against austerity and for the unions to help launch a new mass workers party based on socialist policies.
For the left to be successful in Scotland there also needs to be clarity on being 100% anti-austerity and 100% socialist in order to bring the most effective challenge to the parties of capitalism and cuts.
Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook on Google+Hundreds of teams signed up for the Tournament of Glory one month ago, and after four harrowing qualifiers, we’re down to the top eight teams per region. This weekend the top players in Guild Wars 2 will be fighting not only for the exclusive Glorious Hero’s armor, but also for pride and respect – something that does not come easily or without great sacrifice. For these teams, ultimate victory is a mere three tournament rounds away.
Schedule and Livestream Information
October 11 – European Tournament of Glory Finals
9:00 a.m. PDT (12:00 p.m. EDT, 16:00 UTC)
October 12 – North American Tournament of Glory Finals
12:00 p.m. PDT (3:00 p.m. EDT, 19:00 UTC)
To celebrate this weekend’s tournament, we’ll have a few goodies lined up for our players and viewers. For starters, make sure to tune into the tournament livestreams and pay attention to Twitch chat for a chance to win a precursor of your choice or a cute and cuddly Mini Llama. These giveaways will be on every language’s stream, so show some support for your favorite hosts!
Additionally, for the entire weekend of the event we’ll be enabling the “Call of the Mists” bonus in PvP maps. This bonus grants all players +10% increased PvP rank point gain, +15% reward track progress, and an additional +100% magic find while in Heart of the Mists (and yes, this works on all reward track boxes). This is the perfect time to jump into PvP for the first time and maybe grab some cool rewards while you’re at it!
Tournament of Glory Finals North American Teams European Teams Hashtag Believe Read it Backwards APeX Prime Cheese Mode Sharks with Lazers Peanut Butter Jelly Times Cognitive Gaming High Impact The Abjured Made in Meta Evil Villains Realize U Got No Real Life Team Blacklisted Erotic Solitude Legends The Uncivilized Rough Boys The Civilized Gentlemen
Teams to Watch Out For
North America
APeX Prime – With a team history that includes first place in the inaugural Tournament of Legends, as well as second place in Tournament of Legends 2, APeX Prime is sure to be a strong contender in this weekend’s event. Their craving to regain the throne will be an undeniable boost to this team’s performance this weekend.
The Abjured – This volatile team has taken the North American competitive scene by storm, going nearly undefeated in recent scrimmages and Team Arena matches. If this group can manage to keep their tempers under wraps they’re destined to go far (perhaps too often).
The Uncivilized Rough Boys – A team that has flown under the radar in recent weeks, The Uncivilized Rough Boys (the apparent arch nemesis of Europe’s The Civilized Gentlemen) are a wildcard. This team is focused on precise and tactical engagements, with enough coordinated burst damage to take down an elder dragon in three seconds flat.
Europe
The Civilized Gentlemen – The undisputed kings of the European competitive scene, The Civilized Gentlemen have a long history of success under their belt, including the Tournament of Legends, the MLG Guild Wars 2 Invitational, and the International All-Stars Tournament. Their refined team strategy and individual skill makes them the team to beat this weekend.
Cheese Mode – With a stacked roster of skilled players, Cheese Mode’s team fight and skirmishing potential is second to none. Even though the team has endured a few roster changes over the past few weeks, don’t discount their ability to adapt and improvise at a moment’s notice.
Made in Meta – Made in Meta has been around for a very long time in various iterations, always a top competitor. In 2013, they claimed the number one spot in Curse’s Masters of the Mists tournament, as well as the ESL Test Cup. We’re looking forward to watching Made in Meta reclaim their former glory.
Beyond the Tournament of Glory Finals
All of the teams in the Tournament of Glory Finals, assuming they are eligible, have also earned invitations to the World Tournament Series Invitational Qualifier that takes place on October 25 and 26. Consider the Tournament of Glory Finals as an early preview of that action!
See you there!ARLINGTON, Texas -- Shabazz Napier looked up toward the Connecticut fans in the crowd at AT&T Stadium and held up one finger.
The Huskies had just beaten overall No. 1 seed Florida 63-53 on Saturday in the Final Four. But Napier's gesture had another meaning.
"One more to go," the first-team All-American said.
The victory got them into Monday night's title game against Kentucky and it was as good as any team came up with this season against the Gators, who came in having won 30 straight games, a streak that started after a loss to the Huskies four months ago.
"We have been in a lot of dog fights," Napier said. "We are just an experienced group. We believe in each other and continue to believe in each other.... We are going to win. That is what we |
The Coyotes are the envy of the National Hockey League.
COYOTES’ DRAFT HISTORY
Rd Pick Player Pos
2007
1 3 Kyle Turris C
1 30 Nick Ross D
2 32 Brett MacLean LW
2 36 Joel Gistedt G
4 103 Vladimir Ruzicka C
5 123 Maxim Goncharov D
6 153 Scott Darling G 2008
1 8 Mikkel Boedker LW
1 28 Viktor Tikhonov RW
2 49 Jared Staal RW
3 69 Michael Stone D
3 76 Mathieu Brodeur D
4 99 Colin Long C
6 159 Brett Hextall G
7 189 Tim Billingsley D 2009
1 6 Oliver Ekman-LarssonD
2 36 Chris Brown C
3 91 Mike Lee G
4 97 Jordan Szwarz RW
4 105 Justin Weller D
6 157 Evan Bloodoff LW 2010
1 13 Brandon Gormley D
1 27 Mark Visentin G
2 52 Phil Lane RW
2 57 Oscar Lindberg C
5 138 Louis Domingue G 2011
1 20 Connor Murphy D
2 51 Alexander Ruuttu F
2 56 Lucas Lessio LW
3 84 Harrison Ruopp D
4 111 Kale Kessy LW
5 141 Darian Dziurzynski LW
6 155 Andrew Fritsch RW
7 196 Zac Larraza F 2012
1 27 Henrik Samuelsson C
2 58 Jordan Martinook C
3 88 James Melindy D
4 102 Rhett Holland D
5 148 Niklas Tikkinen D
6 178 Hunter Fejes LW
7 184 Marek Langhamer G
7 208 Justin Hache D 2013
1 12 Max Domi (pictured) C
2 39 Laurent Dauphin C
3 62 Yan-Pavel Laplante C
5 133 Connor Clifton D
6 163 Brendan Burke G
7 193 Jedd Soleway C 2014
1 12 Brendan Perlini LW
2 43 Ryan MacInnis C
2 58 Christian Dvorak LW
3 87 Anton Karlsson RW
4 117 Michael Bunting LW
5 133 Dysin Mayo D
6 163 David Westlund D
7 191 Jared Fiegl LW
7 193 Edgars Kulda LW
Now that we’ve got your baffled attention, bear with us.
The Coyotes’ current legal battle with the City of Glendale has turned ugly and will probably get even uglier, damaging both sides’ brand and costing both sides oodles in legal fees. That battle could have a negative impact on the team’s ability to attract new corporate sponsors and it will likely have a negative impact on the signing of free agents, both internal and external.
When it comes to the draft, however, Arizona holds the trump card on every team except Edmonton and Buffalo, which will draft centers Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.
"We’re in a great spot because the draft really starts with our pick at No. 3," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said. "There are four or five guys that could go at that position. It just depends on what flavor you like and what you feel you need."
If the Coyotes do hold onto the No. 3 pick, Maloney said the team already knows whom it is taking, although "things change."
The Coyotes are open to trading down, however, and have already had conversations with at least three teams about doing just that.
"Those conversations started at the (NHL Scouting) Combine (earlier this month)," Maloney said. "Any deal we make will be made on the draft floor. That’s always how these things work so we’ll see what comes our way. I don’t see us moving from No. 3 to No. 10 or No. 13, but I could see us dropping down a couple or a few spots to get the right asset."
When asked what he told teams it might take to pry that No. 3 pick away from Arizona, Maloney set the bar high with a humorous response during a recent teleconference.
"I’m like, ‘first-born, second-born, maybe I could use a helicopter to take me to work,’" Maloney said. "That would certainly get us to start thinking about it.
"The idea that we’re going to trade that pick outright for a player to help us next year, I think that’s remote, but you never know. It’s probably more likely we trade down if we don’t take the pick."
With all the uncertainty swirling around other facets of the organization, the June 26-27 Draft in Sunrise, Florida has taken on greater importance than usual for the Coyotes. The team must still get to the salary cap floor through free agency or trades, but it must continue to stockpile talent in its system, reasoning that it may not be the top destination for top free agents while uncertainty about its future lingers.
In short, the Coyotes can’t miss like they have on high picks in the past.
The graphic in this story lists all of the team’s picks since Maloney took over. Of the first-round picks, only Mikkel Boedker and Oliver Ekman-Larsson could be considered well-spent picks to date, although recent top picks Max Domi and Brendan Perlini are the most exciting prospects in the team’s system.
Kyle Turris, Viktor Tikhonov and Nick Ross are playing elsewhere. Connor Murphy looks like a serviceable NHL defenseman, but there are questions about Brandon Gormley, Mark Visentin and Henrik Samuelsson.
Maloney has faced major hurdles and organizational shortcomings at every step of his Coyotes’ tenure. We detailed how shorthanded the scouting department was in a story last year, noting its considerable impact on the team’s ability to identify top European prospects. Some of those issues have been rectified. The Coyotes have also stockpiled additional high picks through a pair of trade-deadline deals that shipped out Keith Yandle and Antoine Vermette, and they recently hired assistant GM for analytics, John Chayka, to lend a more informed analysis to their player evaluations.
In one week, it will be time to put all those pieces into motion with a clear understanding that the draft is the team’s best hope for the future. To reiterate, however, Maloney said the actual selection of draft-eligible players isn’t the only way to improve the team. Trades are possible with more than the team’s No. 3 selection in play.
"Nobody is going to give us good players without giving up something, and that’s why we are certainly open for business, whether it’s the Chicago pick (30th overall), or our pick in the second round," he said. "We’ve got two firsts, two seconds, two thirds. We have two firsts next year. We have lots of good assets that we can use to better our team and we’re certainly not against using it in the right deal."
Follow Craig Morgan on TwitterSamsung wants to ensure it's as integral to the electric car world as it is to the mobile arena. The Korean electronics giant is acquiring Magna International's battery pack arm, Magna Steyr, which will fit nicely inside of Samsung SDI, its component division. SDI has already scored a major deal with BMW providing batteries for its new i3 electric car and i8 hybrid, and it will make up eight percent of Tesla's battery supply this year (it's also in talks to build even more). Having more battery smarts, naturally, should make Samsung a stronger competitor to Panasonic, which is Tesla's biggest suppler, as well as its partner for the massive "Gigafactory" battery plant. You might also remember Magna as one of the companies Apple reportedly talked to for its rumored electric car project.Casper Wells played baseball at Towson University from 2003-05 and made it to the major leagues for parts of four seasons, toiling with five teams from 2010-2013. He went back to independent ball and the minors before the Detroit Tigers released him from their Double-A affiliate in Erie two years ago.
Wells, an outfielder, said that left him facing a lot of questions. He tried some pitching, but his elbow kept getting sore. Debating his next move in life, Wells began driving toward his family's home in Schenectady, N.Y., when he received some terrible news.
His family's house, the one Wells grew up in, had caught fire. Lightning struck a rod, the roof caught fire and the house was gone. Everyone got out of the house, but all of Wells' baseball memorabilia was lost: his first home run ball, all the jerseys, the lineup card from the day he got his first hit, everything had been wiped out.
And it opened Wells' eyes.
"That made me realize being with my family [was important], and what was I going to do if I don't do baseball?" Wells said. "I talked to people, and they said you could get your degree. So I decided to go back and … finish."
Wells needed 36 credits to complete his degree in electronic media and film and returned to Towson. He graduated in December 2016, with some help from the Detroit Tigers, who, when they drafted him in the 14th round in 2005, said they'd take care of the final three semesters of his degree if he ever went back.
Now a college graduate, the 32-year-old Wells also boasts a job. He recently started working in medical sales along with a job as a part-time weekend manager at Das Bier Haus, a restaurant in Baltimore.
"Baseball is not going to define who I am in my life," Wells said. "I learned a lot from those experiences. I made a lot of contacts. But moving on, there's a new chapter in my life, and I'm definitely looking forward to [it]."
Wells pitched and played outfield for three seasons at Towson, becoming the lone Towson Tiger to be picked as the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year (2005). His return a decade later to finish the degree did not surprise Towson baseball head coach Mike Gottlieb.
"To his credit, I think he understood the importance of it," said Gottlieb, now starting his 30th season. "He understood the importance of getting the degree. I'd like to think it sets a good example for [other kids]."
Gottlieb said about 90 percent of his players graduate, but finishing 11 years after leaving is a bit different.
In the majors, Wells played in a total of 277 games with Detroit, Seattle, the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia and Oakland. Wells posted a.230 batting average with 25 home runs and 81 RBIs.
That came after spending much of 2005-2010 in the minors. He worked his way up to his major league debut with Detroit May 15, 2010 and went 0-for-4. Wells got his first big league hit May 19 against Oakland's Dallas Braden, a single, and finished 2-for-5 that day.
"It's an everyday job," Wells said of big league life. "You can't take a day off. There's someone who could take your job. There's someone out there who isn't taking a day off. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. I always tried to out-work everyone."
Wells also tried to deliver those messages to modern-day Towson players when he was back on campus the last three semesters. He began meeting with the team and talked with players about various subjects, becoming sort of a mentor -- one Gottlieb enjoyed having around.
"Unintentionally, he was like an additional coach in the last three semesters," Gottlieb said. "He got to know the kids. They liked having him around. I was impressed with him, with some of the suggestions he made in terms of baseball."
Wells is proud of his baseball accomplishments and won't forget them. He now lives in Federal Hill while taking on his new jobs.
He'll look back with pride at being one of the few players to even make the major leagues and accomplish something. But now, it's time for the next part of the game.
And he's just fine with that.Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void is the second and final standalone expansion in Blizzard’s Starcraft II Trilogy. Though, to call it an expansion simply does not do this game justice. While at first myself and many other players may have felt short-changed at the copy/paste nature of the game’s mechanics from the original Starcraft, Legacy of the Void looks, and plays like the culmination of all Blizzard has learned since Starcraft was released in 1998. That’s a long time to perfect your craft…it’s a long time to perfect your Starcraft.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Starcraft is a fast paced RTS game about harvesting resources, building a base and assaulting enemies with a variety of both ground and air units. Each of the 3 games in the Starcraft II trilogy has focused on one of the 3 factions that each control quite differently. Different strategies work for each faction but each is more than capable of reacting to any combat situation quickly.
In Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty you played as the Terrans, a future version of the human race and arguably the easiest race to get to grips with. In Heart of the Swarm you played as the Zerg, an insect like race relying on large numbers of cheap (but relatively weak) units. In Legacy of the Void you play as the Protoss, a technologically advanced alien race who use powerful (but expensive) units. Of course, all 3 races are available to play in skirmish and multiplayer modes but for now our focus is the singleplayer campaign.
Those who’ve played the other Starcraft II games will find no surprises in how the campaign is played. As before, the missions play out as quasi-tutorials, giving access to one new unit per mission, with that unit usually being most useful in that particular mission. This gives the entire campaign a perfect sense of pacing and also serves as a brilliant way to prepare players for some gruelling online play if they choose to compete. It’s actually quite impressive that Blizzard managed to keep this formula for 3 consecutive games and not have it feel like you were playing the longest tutorial in video game history. Incentivising the completion of side objectives by rewarding you with your ship upgrades goes a long way to prevent the game falling in to that trap. Nevertheless, It’s hard to say that Legacy of the Void has any real mission variety. Attack a thing, defend a thing, attack 3 things whilst also defending a thing. but what I can say is that simply using the Protoss and its huge variety of incredibly useful units & finding the different ways units compliment each other…that is where the bulk of the fun in Legacy of the Void lies. The Protoss shields for instance which, if used in combination with shield regenerating units or structures, can sometimes prevent your units from taking any damage at all. Using the Protoss is quite a power trip and that’s a feeling I never got from using the other factions. That’s not to say that the factions aren’t balanced. As Starcraft is one of the biggest “esports” around, Blizzard have been regularly tweaking the game since Wings of Liberty and continue to do so after Legacy of the Void‘s release.
One of the most interesting parts of the campaign is taking control of one of the various main characters of the game as hero units. These hero units have various powerful abilities which play in to your mission strategy and are incredibly satisfying to use. This is a carry over from my favourite Blizzard game Warcraft 3, in which the hero units actually level up throughout the campaign. It’s a feature I would like to see more of but hero units in this game were used sparingly so as to focus on the different types of regular units. A unique feature of Starcraft II is found in your time between missions. Again in Legacy of the Void, you can roam around your character’s starship, point-and-click style. Here you can upgrade your ship, giving you access to the various ‘super weapon’ style abilities of the campaign. You can also augment your units with various upgrades, changing their abilities and appearance in preparation for the next mission. Finally, you can speak to various characters, which flesh out the game’s already deep story.
In this way and many others, Starcraft II‘s narrative really does put all other RTS games to shame. The Starcraft universe has a deep lore but it manages to make the characters the focal point of this story. As the stakes have risen astronomically throughout this trilogy, the characters have grown to care for each other more and more…and in turn, this makes the player care too. The leaders of each faction are all technically ‘the good guys’ but Blizzard manage to keep the variety up in terms of who you’re fighting by introducing many sub-factions and incidental encounters, whereby one faction is unintentionally getting in the way of another’s goals.
Despite the story’s overall polish and drive, I must admit I wasn’t really enamoured with the first 2 stories of the Starcraft II trilogy or the original Starcraft for that matter. The story in Legacy of the Void is different. It begins on a decidedly more epic note than the previous games and proceeds to ramp it up & up & even further up, right until the closing moments of the game. The game hits so many high notes on such a consistent basis with its story that by the time I finished the game’s heart wrenching prologue, I was absolutely hooked. I felt overwhelmed by the superb voice acting, striking and colourful visuals & character design and a booming, expressive orchestral score always ready to tease out that extra bit of emotion from a perfectly executed cutscene.
It’s incredibly surprising then, to me at least, that Starcraft II is known and played primarily for its multiplayer. A massive amount of interesting aspects about playing the Protoss faction in the campaign are lacking from the multiplayer. The superweapons, heroes, all the different unit upgrades which provide such a massive amount of variety and even the Protoss shield battery and monolith defensive buildings which were a massive part of my strategy are all completely absent from multiplayer and skirmish. I suppose this is for the sake of balance and because Starcraft is such a competitive game but this is probably going to be where a lot of people simply quit.
You see, the campaign is all about choosing which units to produce that will compliment each other to form a sound strategy. The multiplayer however, is about expanding and sucking up as many resources, as quickly as possible, to then pump out units as quickly as possible and keep a constant stream of units harassing the enemy at all times. It is in this sense, that the multiplayer (in my opinion) is severely lacking in strategy and gets insanely repetitive almost immediately. The matches are, by design, incredibly fast paced and over very quickly. I prefer longer, more methodical RTS matches, some people might prefer shorter matches but in Legacy of the Void Blizzard decided to make a few changes to the multiplayer to make the matches even quicker.
Fewer resources are found at each resource point on the map, so they run out quicker, forcing you to expand earlier and more often. You also start with double the resource gatherers of previous games, up from 6 to 12.
As much as I find the people who are really good at Starcraft amazingly talented, it’s a bit of a disappointment that you must pretty much master the game to stand any chance at all with multiplayer. Unless you memorise every hotkey (and always use them) and make sure you NEVER EVER STOP producing units, expanding, gathering resources, producing resource gatherers, giving multiple waypoint commands to units, building defenses and for the love of god, always use the hotkeys!…I seriously would not recommend playing Starcraft II online.
If the online play had all the features available in the campaign, especially the ability to use and customise your own hero unit…Well then I probably wouldn’t be writing this review right now. I’d be practising Starcraft II in preparation for tournament after tournament, because then it really would be the most enjoyable RTS experience ever and I wouldn’t be able to resist going pro.
In closing I would say that Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void is the most mechanically interesting of the trilogy. It lets the player feel like a force to be reckoned with, while still providing a challenge in terms of strategic planning. The only let down is the multiplayer which feels like a different game entirely to me but for those of you who do play Starcraft online…wow, you are amazing! Legacy of the Void is also the absolute pinnacle of real-time strategy in terms of storytelling and it’s well worth playing through all the other games to get to this point. It’s so good in fact that it’s made me appreciate the other games in the series a lot more and want to go back to experience the story from the beginning.In the past six weeks a stunning amount of evidence has been accumulating that shows how the Obama Administration weaponized the FBI and DOJ and launched a political campaign spying operation into candidate Donald Trump.
one transparently obvious direction ; toward a 2016 All of the evidence points in; toward a 2016 collaborative effort structured to use a counterintelligence operation to conduct wiretaps and surveillance on the presidential campaign of candidate Donald Trump.
Evelyn Farkas (Deputy Asst. Secretary of Defense), appearing on MSNBC, make more sense now? Accepting all of that mounting evidence, does this March 2017 interview with former Obama administration official(Deputy Asst. Secretary of Defense), appearing on MSNBC, make more sense now?
I was urging my former colleagues, and, and frankly speaking the people on the Hill [Democrat politicians], it was more actually aimed at telling the Hill people, get as much information as you can – get as much intelligence as you can – before President Obama leaves the administration. Because I had a fear that somehow that information would disappear with the senior [Obama] people who left; so it would be hidden away in the bureaucracy, um, that the Trump folks – if they found out HOW we knew what we knew about their, the Trump staff, dealing with Russians – that they would try to compromise those sources and methods; meaning we no longer have access to that intelligence. So I became very worried because not enough was coming out into the open and I knew that there was more. We have very good intelligence on Russia; so then I had talked to some of my former colleagues and I knew that they were also trying to help get information to the Hill.” [ie. Democrat politicians] ( link
April 2016: •Mary Jacoby, wife of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson, visits the White House. •The Clinton Campaign and DNC then hire Fusion GPS to conduct ‘Opposition Research’, with a Russian emphasis. •Fusion GPS then hires Nellie Ohr who specializes in Russian-centric counterintelligence. •Nellie Ohr then contacts MI6 agent Christopher Steele to write a Russian Dossier. •A month later, May 2016: Nellie Ohr’s husband inside the DOJ, Bruce Ohr, is then working with FBI counterintelligence head Peter Strzok. •By June 2016: Peter Strzok, Bruce Ohr and DOJ Attorney Lisa Page then apply for a FISA warrant.
.
RESOURCES:
IG Stimulated Releases of Information:
♦Release #2 outlined the outlined the depth of FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page’s specific history in the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton to include the changing of the wording [“grossly negligent” to “extremely careless”] of the probe outcome delivered by FBI Director James Comey.
♦Release #4 was information that Deputy Bruce Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, was an actual was information that Deputy Bruce Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, was an actual contract employee of Fusion GPS, and was hired by F-GPS specifically to work on opposition research against candidate Donald Trump. Both Bruce Ohr and Nellie Ohr are attached to the origin of the Christopher Steele Russian Dossier.
♦Release #5 was the specific communication between FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page. The was the specific communication between FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page. The 10,000 text messages that included evidence of them both meeting with Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe to discuss the “insurance policy” against candidate Donald Trump in August of 2016.by NoViolet Bulawayo
Calling the border crossers, footsteps mourning lost homelands. Calling beautiful black men, beating hearts stilled by police bullets. Calling incarcerated mothers, milk souring behind bars. Calling the forgotten bodies, seeping sorrow into the Mediterranean. Calling indigenous peoples, displaced in their own lands. Calling produce pickers, lungs ravaged by pesticides. Calling the “alien.” Calling black and brown children being groomed for jail in neglected schools. Calling their brothers, fathers and uncles, choking the throats of greedy prisons. Calling the landscapers, the maids, the cooks, the nannies, living on throbbing feet. Calling the “undocumented.” Calling the oppressed, waiting in vain for justice. Calling murdered transgender sisters, their precious names unsung. Calling the citizens of no nation. Calling the brilliant blood spilled by border agents. Calling the homeless, dreaming of home. Calling disabled communities that are too often forgotten. Calling sweatshop workers drenched in rivers of sweat. Calling the disenfranchised. Calling mothers languishing in welfare lines. Calling deported parents, hearts breaking for separated children. Calling the weary tillers of the land who don’t get to eat the grain. Calling the “illegals.” Calling the evacuees waiting in refugee camps. Calling brown bodies, packed like sardines in detention centers. Calling the poor, waiting for the future with posters that read, “What About Us?”
The call is a prayer to the human in each one of us; all our names make it holy. The call is a song that will save us. The call is a balm to heal our bruised humanity. The call is truth’s mirror; it dares us to look into our hearts. The call is a bridge over borders that never belonged to the earth to begin with. The call is light to swallow the darkness we’ve been fighting against so we can finally sit in bright justice. The call is a funeral poem, it weeps for the precious bodies murdered by the police and border agents. The call is a map into destiny, it charts the free world we want to live and love in. The call is against silence; it will ring from Baltimore to Bangladesh. In Ferguson. In Johannesburg. Around Mexico. El Salvador. All over the Americas. In Folsom State Prison. On every street. From Syria to Kosovo. In China and Eritrea. In Cambodia and Haiti. In Karnes County, Texas. In Zimbabwe. At checkpoints. Outside your backyard.
And we call in every language, feel our itching throats shake the whole wide world with voices that will not cease until we are heard. Until they honor the living song of our wronged names, our silenced names, all our names. Until the wars on our humanity come to an end. We are not going anywhere, we will stand here and all over and call until all chains are broken. And they take down the fence and dismantle the bars. And erase the lines and open the borders. And shatter the ceiling. And justice comes to our neighborhoods. And the world at last guarantees our living.
Because you are not free until all of us are free.
And we won’t stop calling until our voices rearrange the world into a place that looks like home, we will call. From far from deep from near from up from down from under, we will call. From home from exile from everywhere, we will call. From knocking on doors, from street protests, from marching for justice, we will call. Because we want to see black and brown bodies living in freedom, untouched by police bullets and border agents who hunt our bodies like wild game.
Because we want to wear our skins like prized jewels through doors that do not slam in our faces. Into quality schools. Into good jobs. Into safe neighborhoods. Into better services. Into opportunity. Into streets where we are not profiled. Into dialogues in which we are heard. Into places for which those before us marched and fought and died as lynched ancestors wept.
We call for innocent black-brown children who are the apple of the world’s eye. Who grow and live to the fullest because their lives are so sacred that nothing, no police weapon, will dare try to kill them before they grow. Who strive and win because they have food, shelter, healthcare, education, chances, love, beauty and everything that holds them to the sun. Because their proud parents are not behind bars but at home being parents. Because they live in a world that does not fight them but fights for them.
Because oppression stops here, Because dignity starts here.
We call for countries that have the conscience to kiss the hard callouses of the hands and feet that daily bleed for them, that walk hard roads for them, that sacrifice for them, that feed them, that tend to them, that hold them together. We call for countries that will give in turn to those who give themselves because they know the language of gratitude.
We call for countries that will shepherd us from scorching fields and construction sites and restaurant kitchens and dirty toilets and school corridors and corporate floors and from every nook and cranny from which we bend and groan and sweat. We call for countries that will thank us with ground on which to place our aching feet. And on that ground, the police and border agents will know to offer us bread and shade. We call for countries that will not insult us, that will treat us with dignity for what we’ve lost and given, that know that without our shoulders, they would not stand as tall.
Because a person is a person because of other people.
We call for checkpoints that will not say, Where are you from? Go back home. You are not wanted here. That will turn on the lights and call us by name. We call for countries that will look at us with their hearts and refuse to watch us die. That will rescue us from the water and meet us with balm for every wound.
We call for nations that will take roll every morning to remind themselves of how precious we are—of how beautiful, how relevant, how important, and therefore, how they must not fail us. That will tilt unprejudiced hearts to the anthem of our being, lift us higher than flags of victory and fly us into futures the shape of true justice. Because we are here and we are not going anywhere. Because we will call and call and call until we are all free. Because we know there is more than this. Because there will be more than this.Q. Once you’ve decided that a meeting is necessary, how can you make sure it is successful?
Two main ingredients are needed, Mr. Kaye said. First, the leader needs to cultivate “a safe environment, so that people feel creative and candid enough to express useful ideas.” Second, there must be methodical progress that leads to results.
Set an agenda with time limits (for example, 2:10 to 2:15 ) for each item, and make sure to follow it, Professor Tropman said.
He developed a concept known as the “agenda bell,” a curve that reflects the idea that energy is lower at the beginning of the meeting, rises at the center and declines at the end. The best meetings, he has found, tend to have announcements at the beginning, followed by action items that lead to decisions.
But even though decisions are the goal, they can disrupt group cohesion because they tend to produce winners and losers. That’s why the end of the meeting should be spent brainstorming for the future, as a way to repair any rifts that have developed in the group, he said.
Q. One or two blatherers always end up monopolizing the discussion at meetings, and running everything off the rails. How do you get them to stop?
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A. Monopolizers need to be reined in because they rarely have the self-awareness to stop talking themselves, said Glenn Parker, a team-building consultant in Skillman, N.J., and co-author of “Meeting Excellence.”
It’s O.K. to interrupt a monopolizer, Mr. Parker said. But be polite about it, perhaps by validating what the person has said. You might say something like this: “I think you’re making a good point. Let’s see how the rest of the team feels about that.”
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Then turn away from the talker, preferably to another part of the room, and ask someone else his or her opinion on the topic.
Similarly, he said, if a monopolizer or anyone else goes off on a tangent, you can say something like: “I may be wrong here, but I thought we were supposed to be dealing with customer complaints. If you all agree, let’s get back to the agenda.”
Q. Then there are people who never say anything. Why don’t they participate?
“The tendency of people to withhold work-relevant information is probably greater than you think,” said Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School.
People stay silent to avoid conflict and to protect their careers, she said. They fear the consequences if someone with more power — like a manager leading a meeting — hates their ideas. Nonparticipants overestimate the risk and underestimate the reward of expressing themselves, she said.
Q. What can a person do to make sure everyone participates?
The meeting leader must communicate a sense of “psychological safety,” Professor Edmondson said. At the same time, there are ways to lower the psychological cost of speaking up and to raise the cost of silence.
Asking questions can be a way to accomplish that — and it is not done often enough, she said. Research has shown that in corporate meetings, “a very low number of utterances are questions — people are mostly telling and not asking.”
Doing something as simple as turning to a nonparticipant and saying, “What’s on your mind?” can help redress the communication imbalance, she said.
Q. How can you tell if a meeting has been effective?
A. For one thing, it ends on time or even early, Mr. Parker said. (Anything longer than an hour tends to test human endurance.)
More important, “a problem gets solved, a decision gets made, a plan gets developed, a query gets answered,” he said. And people leave the meeting thinking, “We made good use of our time.”Marcus Garvey Park, sometimes known by its former name, Mount Morris Park is nestled between Madison Avenue to the east and Mount Morris Park West to the west, and between 120th Street and 124th Street to the north and south. The park is essentially a square surrounded by quaint brownstones and older apartment buildings which provide a warm and local feeling. Most of the facilities including the pool, baseball fields, amphitheater, basketball courts, playground and workout area ring the lower portion of the park which is dominated by a hill and a former fire-watch tower which still stands on top.The hill itself contains stairs which are excellent for those who wish to add hill sprinting to their workout.The fitness area can be found on the Madison Avenue side of the park near the basketball courts roughly parallel to 121st Street. I found it to be a relatively standard NYC workout area consisting of two pullup bars, a set of parallel bars, a monkey bar, two low bars (waist high), a diagonal bar, a vertical ladder, a metal bench, pushup bars, and a three pedestal setup surrounding a pole.The pullup bars were of slightly offsetting heights, with the taller of the two being just high enough for me to do hanging leg raises without touching the floor with my feet. The monkey bars were slightly on the lower side which meant that most adults would have to bend their knees while swinging from them.I found the parallel bars to be slightly on the short side of the height spectrum and would've preferred them to be a tad taller. The paint was wearing off the edges of this equipment as well (which you cannot see in this picture).I am still in the process of discerning the utility of certain pieces of equipment such as the diagonal bar (seen on the left side of the first picture). From what I can tell it is meant for either testing ones vertical leap, or allowing for one to travel up and down the bar while hanging by only their hands. This particular bar had numbers tagged on which may have originally stood for the height of the bar at that point. I must confess that these labels did not appear accurate to me.I also noticed a three pedestal setup surrounding a pole towards the back of the fitness area. While I do not know what the designated purpose of this equipment is, I suspect that it was designed for stepping up. This would also explain the varying heights of the pedestals. If anyone can explain the purpose I'd love to hear from you.Overall most of the equipment appeared sturdy enough, the area was fairly clean, and safely covered by rubber mats.The park has a lovely neighborhood feeling to it, and certainly has a lot to offer in the realm of body weight fitness. However the equipment has a particularly bland feeling to it and I would not recommend traveling half-way across the city for a workout..... unless you were going to see or participate in a Street Workout competition.A group of scientists and academicians have petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee urging him to take suitable action against incidents of intolerance and communal hatred, including the killing of rationalists.
“A highly polarised community is like a nuclear bomb close to criticality. It can explode any time and drive the nation to utter chaos. This is a highly unstable atmosphere and we should do everything in our hands to defuse the disparity, and enlighten society in scientific spirit,” the petition sent to the President on Tuesday said.
The letter said the scientists are concerned about the recent incidents of “intolerance, polarisation and spread of communal hatred resulting in the death of innocent people, rationalists.”
Lauding the President for his recent advise to show respect for all thoughts, the scientists urged him to take “serious note” of the incidents and “initiate suitable action.”
The petition was signed by Naresh Dadich, former director of Pune-based The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and G Rajasekaran of The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) besides some from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad.
The scientists also sent a separate petition to the Centre, state governments and people at large, urging them to “stop the spread of communal hatred and polarisation in society,” and pointing out that India had been a pluralist country where communities allowed space for |
by veterans of Zarqawi’s jihad in Iraq.
AQI then split into two groups: the Syrian al-Nusra Front, which retained its allegiance to Al Qaeda, and ISIS, which split from the Al Qaeda leadership, although it continued to embrace the legacy of Osama bin Laden.
After both groups swelled in battle experience, recruits, territory, and American equipment in Syria, ISIS re-entered Iraq in 2014. Persecution (death squads, ethnic cleansing, etc) and political marginalization by the US-backed, Shiite-dominated Iraqi government drove the Sunni tribes back into the arms of the returning conquerors. And conquer they did: overrunning north-western Iraq all the way up to the gates of Baghdad, and capturing tons of American gear all along the way. The Obama administration responded by declaring war on ISIS.
Thanks to such exploits, and the prestige-lifting American response to them, ISIS now no longer even needs the direct person-to-person contacts made in insurgencies and conquests to propagate itself. After all, extremism is an idea, and ideas can spread by mere example and leap thousands of miles at a time.
Thus, throughout the Muslim world, we now see self-appointed “franchises” popping up, hoisting the black flag, swearing allegiance to either ISIS or Al Qaeda, and usually committing some murderous atrocity to mark their debut, often with zero coordination with the central group.
Bush’s Iraq War turned Zarqawi’s petty criminal outfit into a major guerrilla force. Obama’s Syria and Libya wars then turned it into a conquering state army. And now Obama’s ISIS war has made it an international movement.
The US has aided this international dissemination, not only by abetting the spectacular rise of ISIS and al-Nusra in Iraq and Syria, but in more direct ways too.
For example, the jihadist outpouring that Obama and Hillary Clinton released in Libya has flooded throughout North Africa: into Tunisia, Mali, and even Nigeria.
In Yemen, the Obama administration’s civilian-slaughtering drone war, authoritarian counter-revolution against Yemen’s Arab Spring, and support for Saudi Arabia’s ruthless war and blockade on the country, have led to the rise of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
And the US-approved and Saudi-funded counter-revolution against Egypt’s Arab Spring has led to the brutal persecution of moderate Islamists and the restoration of Egypt’s collaboration with Israel’s persecution of the Palestinians. These results in turn have contributed to the rise of extremist Islamists (the ISIS affiliate mentioned above) in the Sinai Peninsula.
Before the War on Terror, there was only a handful of Islamic terrorists, on the run and hiding out in a few isolated enclaves. After the War on Terror, their numbers, their span, and their resources have mushroomed. They are now taxing and conscripting subjects, fielding armies, and conquering large swaths of territory.Is there any other country more written about in the Anglo literary world than France?
A quick glance at an online list of books about France and the French suggests the answer to that question is no, impossible.
Dozens of books have been penned over the years including Peter Mayle’s famous A Year in Provence that was made into a TV series, to modern bestsellers like Pamela Druckerman’s French Children Don’t Throw Food.
And they are still being churned out, with one of the latest editions to “Froglit” being Mireille Guiliano’s French Women Don’t Get Facelifts, a follow up to her best-seller French Women Don't Get Fat.
The simple fact is, books about France and the French are still money earners, Lucy Wadham the author behind The Secret Life of France tells The Local.
The author was asked by her publishers to write about her experiences of love, marriage and work in France, because they knew it would sell.
“When they suggested I write about France, my heart sank. Fiction is my first love and this book felt like homework,” she says.
And the reason why publishers are still commissioning new books about France is the same reason why Anglo media churn out articles daily about the goings on in France that are lapped up by readers.
“French culture still tends to run contrary to the dominant model, which is Anglo-Saxon. As such France offers endless opportunity for comparison to British and American readers,” says Wadham.
“Because France has not fully embraced either capitalism or feminism French attitudes to so many aspects of life are different to ours.
“As long as France continues to go her own way like this, I think she'll continue to provide fodder for the kind of book, many of which are driven, either by a dewy-eyed envy or a certain scorn,” she adds.
SEE ALSO: The ten best books about France
While the contrast between the French and our own culture continues to provide the motivation for Anglos to gobble up literature about France, the types of books written about the country do not all fall into the same category.
It seems the ones that have the biggest chance of selling are the ones that promote the “myth about France being a dream-like cultural paradise – the haute cuisine, the stylish fashion, the sexy women, the awe-inspiring architecture, the savoir-vivre of the French,” author Matthew Fraser says.
“This category has is a veritable industry, every year there dozens more books flogging the myth,” says Fraser who wrote Home Again in Paris: Oscar, Leo and me
Piu Marie Eatwell, whose myth busting book They Eat Horses Don’t They – The Truth about the French came out last year, agrees.
“Writing a book about France is quite difficult for authors on the subject who want to portray what France is really like because the genre is highly commercialized and dominated by a certain type of book that plays up to the romanticized clichés that foreigners have about life in France," she says.
“Publishers therefore tend to want to commission only these types of books, so getting anything that is more serious or critical commissioned is very difficult.”
However that’s not to suggest that only books that pick a new angle on an old myth or a new French village to base and Anglo-French love affair in, will be successful.
There is a recent trend for books which dispel the myth and take a harsher, more factual look at the state of modern France, rather than the peddle the idyll many authors would have us believe.
“This suggests that - finally - readers and publishers are showing a welcome willingness to look behind the romance of living in France, to the reality that lies beneath,” says Eatwell.
And for those books that took a critical look at France, it might not just be Anglo publishers who would be willing to publish them.
British author Peter Gumbel has written three books for a French audience including “On achève bien les écoliers”, which looked at the demeaning culture in French schools and became a non-fiction best seller in France.
“French publishers are looking for constructive criticism, a sort of international reality check and aren’t interested in anything that might be construed as mindless French-bashing,” Gumbel tells The Local.
Although as a caveat Gumbel adds “If you do get a French publisher don’t expect to get rich. Their advances are puny.”
If you are considering writing a book about France most of the published authors we spoke to suggest there’s one thing to keep in mind at all times - honesty.
“I'd say just one thing,” Stephen Clarke author of best-selling A Year in the Merde, tells The Local. “Make sure it's all your own work. Your own style, your own opinions.
“There are so many books about France, so many farmhouses have been renovated, so many Anglo-French love affairs or divorces have been described that there's only one way of making it fresh - make it all yours.”A gay softball association in the US can limit the number of heterosexual players on its teams, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
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The decision to allow the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association (NAGAAA) to enforce a rule of two "straight" players came in a lawsuit filed by three bisexual men who claim they were kicked out of the Gay Softball World Series because they "weren’t gay enough," the Courthouse News Service reported.
US District Judge John Coughenour wrote in his ruling, "Plaintiffs have failed to argue that there is a compelling state interest in allowing heterosexuals to play gay softball."
"NAGAAA might very well believe that given the history of gay exclusion for sports, the only way to promote competition for all persons, and ensure that gay athletes have the same opportunities as straight athletes, is to create an exclusively gay community with exceptions for a small number of straight players," the ruling states. "It is not the role of the courts to scrutinize the content of an organization’s chosen expression."
However, Coughenour said the lawsuit could proceed to trial because questions remained about the way the softball association applied its rule.
The suit was sparked when three men playing for a San Francisco-based team in the Gay Softball World Series in Washington state in 2008 were challenged about their sexuality by a rival team.
According to their complaint, the trio were summoned to a hearing room and quizzed about their sexual interests or attractions in front of around 25 people.
The men said organizers told them, "This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series."
A trial is set for Aug. 1.
Read more hereAn American Family The Loud Family (Back, from left: Kevin, Grant, Delilah and Lance. Front, from left: Michele, Pat and Bill) Genre Documentary/Reality Country of origin United States Original language(s) English No. of seasons 1 No. of episodes 12 Production Producer(s) Craig Gilbert Editor(s) Pat Cook
Eleanor Hamerow
David Hanser
Ken Werner Production company(s) WNET New York Release Original network PBS Picture format 16mm film[1] Audio format Monaural Original release January 11 ( ) –
March 29, 1973 ( 1973-03-29 ) Chronology Followed by An American Family Revisited: The Louds 10 Years Later
Lance Loud!: A Death in an American Family
An American Family is an American television documentary filmed from May 30 through December 31, 1971,[2] and first aired in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) from January 11, 1973,[3] to March 29, 1973.[4] After being edited down from about 300 hours of raw footage, the series ran one season of 12 episodes on Thursday nights at 9:00 p.m.
The groundbreaking documentary is considered the first "reality" series on American television. It was originally intended as a chronicle of the daily life of the Louds, an upper middle class family in Santa Barbara, California but ended up documenting the break-up of the family via the separation and subsequent divorce of parents Bill and Pat Loud.[5]
A year after this program was broadcast, the BBC in 1974 filmed its own similar 12-episode program, called The Family, focusing on the working-class Wilkins family, of Reading, Berkshire, England.
Series [ edit ]
In 2011, The New York Times reflected on some of the controversy the series engendered:
For the viewing public, the controversy surrounding An American Family doubled as a crash course in media literacy. The Louds, in claiming that the material had been edited to emphasize the negative, called attention to how nonfiction narratives are fashioned. Some critics argued that the camera’s presence encouraged the subjects to perform. Some even said it invalidated the project. That line of reasoning, as Mr. Gilbert has pointed out, would invalidate all documentaries. It also discounts the role of performance in everyday life, and the potential function of the camera as a catalyst, not simply an observer.[6]
The show included footage of intimate family interactions, including an on-camera separation demand from wife Pat to her husband, and the coming-out of one of the children who was gay. In 2002, An American Family was listed at #32 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time list. It is the earliest example of the reality television genre.
Synopsis [ edit ]
The Loud family members profiled were:
William Carberry (Bill) Loud (born in Eugene, Oregon; January 22, 1921 – July 26, 2018 [7] ) [8] [9]
) Patricia (Pat) Loud (born Patricia Russell in Eugene, Oregon on October 4, 1926) [5] [8] [9]
Alanson Russell (Lance) Loud (June 26, 1951 – December 22, 2001)
Kevin Robert Loud (born January 28, 1953)
Grant Loud (born in Eugene, Oregon on May 5, 1954)
Delilah Ann Loud (born October 15, 1955)
Michele Loud (born October 12, 1957)
Lance Loud is credited as the first continuing character on television who was openly gay[10] and subsequently became an icon within the LGBT community.[11] He later became a columnist for the national LGBT news magazine The Advocate.
One of the more notable moments of the series was when, after 21 years of marriage, Pat asked Bill for a divorce and to leave the house. Pat's saying to her husband "You know there's a problem" – with Bill's response, "What's your problem?" – was chosen as one of the Top 100 Television Moments by TV Guide.[citation needed]
The series drew over 10 million viewers and considerable controversy. The family was featured in Newsweek on March 12, 1973, in the article "The Broken Family".[12]
Legacy and influence [ edit ]
In 1974, the BBC made its own similar program, called The Family. The program consisted of 12 half-hour episodes, showing the daily lives and concerns of the working-class Wilkins family, of Reading, Berkshire, England.
In 1979, Albert Brooks spoofed the series in his film Real Life.[13]
In 1983, HBO broadcast An American Family Revisited: The Louds 10 Years Later.[14]
The series inspired the MTV reality television series The Real World.[13]
In 2003, PBS broadcast the show Lance Loud!: A Death in an American Family, shot in 2001, visiting the family again at the invitation of Lance before his death.[14] The same family members participated in the documentary, with the exception of Grant. Lance was 50 years old, had gone through 20 years of addiction to crystal meth, and was HIV positive. He died of liver failure caused by a hepatitis C and HIV co-infection that year.[15] The show was billed by PBS as the final episode of An American Family.[16]
Subsequent to the showing of A Death in an American Family, Pat and Bill Loud moved back in together,[17] granting one of Lance's last wishes. They lived very close to three of their four surviving children—Grant, Michelle and Delilah—and keep in close contact with Kevin and his family, who live in Arizona.[18]
In April 2011, PBS rebroadcast the entire original series in a marathon format on many of its member stations, before the release of the HBO film Cinema Verite, based on the series.[19][20]
On July 7, 2011, most PBS stations presented An American Family: Anniversary Edition, a two-hour film by Alan and Susan Raymond that featured selected moments from the documentary series, in tribute to the 40 years since the series began filming in 1971. It was subsequently released on DVD.[21]
Present [ edit ]
In 2012, Pat Loud released a book about her son's life called Lance Out Loud, which was published by Glitterati Incorporated.
Cinema Verite [ edit ]
HBO premiered Cinema Verite on April 23, 2011, a fictionalized examination of the process of making An American Family. With a script by David Seltzer[22] and under the direction of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the cast includes Tim Robbins as Bill, Diane Lane as Pat, Thomas Dekker as Lance and James Gandolfini as Craig Gilbert.[23]
Credits [ edit ]
An American Family episode nine end-credits; rerun airdate April 24, 2011, 7 a.m., WNET-TV
Conceived and produced by Craig Gilbert
Executive producer: Curtis W. Davis
Camera: Alan Raymond
Sound: Susan Raymond
Coordinating producer: Jacqueline Donnet
Associate producer: Susan Lester
Film editor: Ken Werner
Assistant film editor: Bob Alvarez
Additional photography: Joan Churchill
Additional sound: Peter Pilafian
Assistant cameramen: Tom Goodwin, Peter Smokler, Mike Levine
Series title film created by Elinor Bunin
Title-music supervision: John Adams
Film editors unit: Pat Cook, David Hanser, Eleanor Hamerow, Ken Werner
Editing assistants: Joanna Alexander, Ernie Davidson, Bob Alvarez, Janet Lauretano, Tikki Goldberg, Dan Merrill, Joe Lovett, Sue Steinberg Apprentices: Jesse Maple, Hannah Wajshonig, Harvey Rosenstock
Sound editor: Thomas Halpin
Assistant sound editor: Peet Begley
Production managers: Kathleen Walsh, Michael Podell
Assistant: Janet Freeman
Location unit managers: David Burke, Bernard Katz, Peter Scarlet
Production secretary: Alice Carey
Production assistants: Kristin Glover, David Henry
Research: Will MacDonald
Sound mixer: Richard Vorisek
Engineering supervisor: Ed Reingold
Senior video engineer Art Emerson
Funding provided by the Ford Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
A production of WNET/13
Copyright 1973 Educational Broadcasting Corporation
References [ edit ]Reviews for Open Me:
“Poignant, funny and inspiring, Open Me is a revealing and insightful memoir about finding the courage to choose and the wisdom to surrender.”
Catherine Cooper, author – White Elephant
“Open Me is a brave, honest, touching and wildly adventurous true story. Leanne emerges from each page as a spiritual pied-piper, teaching us how to ask and listen, trust and let go.”
Darlene Stewart, Executive Director, Groups & Events, Cineplex
“Leanne’s book made me feel like I was participating in the intimate journey of her evolving soul as she openly shares her heart. She’s a natural story teller and any reader will enjoy this river of life that she recounts.”
Blair Styra, spiritual channel for Tabaash.
“Open Me has all the ingredients of a wonderfully inspirational book – a true story, told with honesty, openness, and vulnerability. Already I have been inspired to make changes in my life.”
Kim Chamberlain, author & speaker
“Open Me is a radiant reflection of personal turmoil, sadness, and fear unearthed and transformed into courage, joy and profound love.
Linda Christina Beauregard, speaker, author – I Gave Myself Cancer, I Can Take It Away! Alternatives Brought Me Back to Life
“We all have times in our lives when we feel off-kilter or off-track. We all suffer from self-doubt. Leanne has looked inside herself and examined her true purpose – such a journey takes courage and commitment and is not for the fainthearted. This book will help anyone who wants to do the same.”
Melissa Clark-Reynolds, Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
“Leanne has written an honest and compelling story of her fears, challenges and truths, taking me with her and allowing me to remember my own. She encourages all women to wake up to what they may be avoiding and to trust their own spirit.”
Kaya Singer, artist, mentor, author – Wiser & Wilder
View the Open Me website here : http://openme.ca
Lawyers Then & Now
This book, loosely modelled on Robert Megarry’s Miscellany at Law, presents thematically true stories drawn from the spread of Australian legal history and case law. Discover:
who was Australia’s youngest judge instances of extreme rudeness in court and between judges which judges served the longest and shortest terms in office the barriers facing women who wanted to practise law and when they were scaled which judge was tried and acquitted of murder and which law officer was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang and, learn about humor of all sorts in the profession as well as amusing aspects of Australian law’s interface with religion, art, sport, gambling and literature.
Lawyers Then and Now focuses on the quirkiness of the law and the humanity of the people of the law. Highlighted are the recurring constancies and changes in our legal culture with concentration on aspects of legal culture that are accepted in one generation and condemned in another. The book’s final chapter Fallible All recapitulates the theme that family lawyers are far from perfect even as (most of them) struggle to perform at their best. Old Law, New Law: A Second Australian Legal Miscellany follows this volume.
Learn more about this ebook here on Booktopia
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Product Description
A foundational text for pre-service teachers explaining the theories, policies and pedagogies that shape the provision of early childhood education and care in Australia.
In order to effectively practise as an early childhood educator it is essential to understand the theories, policies and pedagogy that shape the discipline. Understanding Early Childhood Education and Care in Australiaprovides core foundational knowledge that is critical for best practice.
Part One looks at concepts of childhood and the development of mass education before examining influential theories including developmental psychology, sociology, feminisms and critical theory. Specific approaches are also analysed including Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Multiple Intelligences and HighScope. Part Two focuses on the guiding frameworks and policies in Australia and explores in depth issues affecting Indigenous children and provisions for recognising diversity and the practice of inclusion. The final section examines teaching and leadership and considers curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, building relationships between staff and families, the care of babies and infants, the environment in which early childhood education takes place and the responsibilities and professional development of teachers.
This essential reference will ensure pre-service teachers develop a sophisticated understanding of how theory underpins effective practice in early childhood education.
About the Author
JO AILWOOD is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at The University of Newcastle.
WENDY BOYD is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood in the School of Education, Southern Cross University.
MARYANNE THEOBALD is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood, Faculty of Education at the Queensland University of Technology.
Anyone responsible for organising a voluntary or public event will want to do it safely and well, complying with the legislation relating to different aspects of their event. This book will help you to research, plan, organise, manage and deliver any event, match, show, tournament or function that will be attended by more than a handful of people.
You may be running a gymkhana, fete, fun run, China New Year Celebrations, steam fayre, half marathon, carnival, school sports day, jumble sale, tennis tournament, car boot sale, model aircraft show or even a huge pop festival or Formula 1 car race. If you are, and you have not run one of these before, this book is definitely for you.
Whatever the event it is, the principles are the same. As the event manager you will need to research, plan, liaise with authorities, obtain permissions and licences, comply with legal requirements and then deliver the event to the public. Open Air Events will help you will all this and so much more from how to buy a pop up gazebo right through to promotional flags that are appropriate to successfully brand the event!
This is a must read for all those planning their wedding or who are about to. Judy gives great insights into planning a range of weddings, for all budgets. From the event that uses all sorts of chair hire options through to high budget events where a lot of props and other aspects simply cannot be hired.
Planning Your Wedding has been compiled all the essential planning tools you need and dozens of new ideas into this beautiful wedding workbook organizer.
Inside you will find:
• Detailed timelines and worksheets for scheduling and budgeting
• Planning and money-saving tips on everything from the dress to the music to the reception decor
• 8 tabbed dividers packed with visual inspiration, including more than 100 color photos of centerpieces, table settings, favors, and more
• A perforated color swatch page for mixing and matching your own wedding palette
• Extensive information on choosing your vendors, including checklists of key questions to ask
• Ideas for the twenty-first-century bride, including how to use online tools and mobile for maximum convenience
The Wedding Planner is an indispensable resource—and a great gift for anyone planning a joyful, and customised wedding celebration they are sure to remember.
Retailing Management’s 9th edition places critical and practical emphasis on five exciting new developments in retailing’s high tech, global, growth industry: (1) Looking at data analytics methods for decision making, (2) communicating with customers and enhancing the shopping experience with social media and smart phones, (3) utilizing mobile channels and providing a seamless multichannel customer experience, (4) engagement in corporate social responsibility and the social considerations of business decisions, and (5) the impacts of globalization on the retail industry.
With focus on some of the most admired and sophisticated retailers in the world like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Amazon, Starbucks, and Kroger, the 9th edition of Retailing Management provides challenging and rewarding opportunities for students interested in retailing careers and careers with companies such as IBM, Procter & Gamble, and Google that support the retail industry. New Vignettes in each chapter and the addition of Connect with SmartBook help the 9th edition of Retailing Management maintain and grow as the market’s leading Retailing franchise.
Retailing Management is proud to welcome Dhruv Grewal, Toyota Chair of Commerce and Electronic Business, and Professor of Marketing at Babson College, to the 9th edition author team. Dhruv brings years of academic experience and close collaborations with Michael Levy to co-author several retailing articles and co-edit the Journal of Retailing from 2001 to 2007, round out this powerful author team.
Buy Retailing Management’s 9th edition at Booktopia
Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.
When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in “the Kool-Aid Kid,” who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.
To Learn More About Faking Normal Visit Goodreads
The way apparel has been worn and created by skateboarders over the past 50 years has had a tremendous impact on popular culture at large. In Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion, the authors have taken great effort to document all aspects of this aesthetic movement; from its roots in the 1950s as an offshoot of surfing culture, through the early 1980s when skateboarding “found itself” after a crucial underground period of soul searching and DIY expressions of individuality.
Early generations of surfers and skaters wore coastal lifestyle brands such as Jantzen, Hang Ten, Jams, Vans and Hobie. As the culture progressed and developed its own distinct identity, brands core to the scene such as Vans, Santa Cruz, Powell-Peralta, Sims, Alva, Jimmy’Z and many more jumped into the fray with their own apparel.
Nearly every area of garment design was touched by skate wear’s aesthetic– influencing the design and fashion of innumerable media from printed T-shirts to board shorts and denim to track suits along the way. Telling the inside story of skate couture in the words of those who lived it, Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion features original commentary from designers, company founders, and pro skateboarders who have defined skateboarding’s look for entire generations.
Skate personalities we meet include Stacy Peralta, Lance Mountain, Tony Alva, Brad Bowman, Steve Olson, Steve Caballero, Steve Van Doren, and many more. Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion even addresses the design influence of accessories and safety gear of skate fashion ranging from helmets to kneepads and gloves, not to mention accessories such as bags. Skateboarding’s unique attitude and style have captured the imagination of millions over the decades–and Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion Vol 1. is the culture’s magnum opus lookbook.
Learn more about this book here on Amazon
The Rocks Sydney was where the original landing took place for the First Fleet in 1788. David Newton goes beyond the Sydney’s landmark Opera House and Bondi Beach to take readers on a walkabout to explore the Rocks district adjacent to the Sydney Harbour bridge.
Sydney Australia is truly is an essential port of call on any global itinerary. The largest city in Oceania and an Asia-Pacific powerhouse, Sydney is a diverse mix of new urban cool and classic refinement, with some of the best beaches in the world thrown in for good measure.
The author has gone inch by inch one the Rocks to guide you on a journey to take in the sights and sounds of this heritage district steeped in history. He takes you on a walk via the shops and fine dining, through to the history of the array of historic buildings.
David Newton’s Explore The Rocks Walking will help you find the neighborhood gems that only the local Sydney Private Tours know about. Uncover a gem water side of Sydney harbour that will amaze you. It’s a must read if visiting the harbour city of Australia.
Learn more about this ebook here on Amazon
John Gill has written this book is to show readers how to make money trading Forex. Thousands of people, all over the world, are trading with FX Brokers and making a lot of money. Why not you, he asks?
All readers need to start trading Forex is a computer and an Internet connection. You can do it from the comfort of your home & without leaving your day job.
Unlike what most think, you don’t need a large sum of money to start, you can trade initially with a minimal sum, you can start practicing with a demo account without the need to deposit any money to perfect your skills.
FX Trading Strategies is a very easy to read book, simple and straightforward explanations to complex matters. He writes of proven trading strategies for currencies that have quite high profit potential.
People that have minimum financial track record can easily make money by learning how to trade currencies via this book. Explanations on opening a trading account with online CFD brokers like Vantage FX and checking other brokers like Pepperstone reviews
FX Trading Strategies features all the in’s and outs of currency trading as well as strategies needed to achieve success by the amateur and experienced trader alike. A must read if the world of FX trading is of interest to you.
Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning of buildings is accomplished in many ways, depending on the size, configuration, and location of the buildings and the degree of environmental control needed.
Small simple facilities can be cooled with a localized cooling unit whereas larger facilities employ several large units or centralized systems.
Air conditioning system types are broken down into two types: direct expansion (DX) systems, in which there is direct heat exchange between the building air and the refrigerant, and chilled water systems that utilize chilled water as an intermediate heat exchange medium to transfer heat from the building air to the refrigerant.
It is useful to know what an ideal HVAC system would look like. Although compromises sometimes have to be made, they should be made with the knowledge of how and why they are imperfect.
This 4 hours quick book provides comprehensive information on the air-conditioning cooling systems. It details the type and characteristics of commonly used cooling systems with illustrations, advantages and disadvantages.
This course is applicable to HVAC engineers, facility engineers, architects, environmentalists, operations and maintenance personnel, as well as consultants and contractors who construct, build and manage facilities.The course includes a multiple-choice quiz consisting of twenty (20) questions at the end.
Learning objective at the conclusion of this course, the student will: Learn the different types of cooling systems – DX and Chilled water systems; Understand the efficiency terms and the rating of cooling systems; Understand the key factors in selection of DX systems, their advantages and limitations; Understand the key factors in selection of chilled water systems, their advantages and limitations; Understand the key factors determining the heat rejection systems; Describe five common methods of heat rejection with advantages and limitations.
Dedicated to one of the most ancient crafts of the world, this book leads its reader through the history of the tribal rug. Featured content ranges from the oldest complete rug in the world (dated to the fifth century BC) to the weavings of the nomadic peoples of Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia, compiled from the 19th Century up to the present day. Each chapter introduces a different group of tribes, illustrating the rugs, carpets, kilims and utilitarian bags attributed to their weavers.
This book is both a celebration of the woven legacy left by the tribes and a tribute to the skill and artistry of the women who created these magnificent artworks. It aims to provide an introduction for the novice, and entice the more knowledgeable to further study. This new 2017 edition features a marvellous array of new photography showcasing the finest work of each tribe, which will excite anyone with an eye for the tribal aesthetic.
Book Features:
The seminal work on this subject contains new high quality photographs
Written by a renowned expert who boasts unparalleled insight into the weaving process and the meanings behind the rugs’ complex motifs
Tribal Rugs: Treasures of the Black Tent is the definitive work on this subject.
500 colour images – Carpet Cleaning Sydney experts in Cleaning tribal rugs.
About the Author
Brian MacDonald lived and worked in Iran from 1972 to 1977, spending a year of this time with two tribal groups, the Afshar of Kerman and the Qashqa’i of Fars. He has returned to Iran several times in recent years, traveling and collecting antique weavings among the Bakhtiari, Qashqa’i and Shahsavan tribes, and he has also traveled extensively in Afghanistan and Turkey.
Learn more about this book here on Booktopia
The best home insurance policy you can buy.
The single worst enemy to any home is the weather. Even tiny breaches in a home’s exterior can lead to thousands of dollars in damage if water invades walls and ceilings. To protect families and guard investments, this book provides all the information homeowners need in order to maintain, repair, and install all types of roofing, siding, and trim. Roofing and siding installations professionals will also find this to be an indispensable source of state-of-the art information.
The Complete Guide To Roofing, Siding & Trim covers all traditional materials, from traditional wood lap siding, brick, concrete block, stucco, stone veneer and wooden shakes, to vinyl, raised metal roofing, and cementitious sidings. Important new tends in roof restoration in Brisbane materials, like EPDM, architectural, fully bonded selvedge edge and pyramid shingles, are also discussed. In addition to complete installation information, the book includes comprehensive methods for fixing all roof repairs with existing surfaces, as well as routine finishing and refinishing information.
This is the Amazon Reference
Peter Craver’s new book moves beyond concrete in standard use in construction and transforms this commonplace material into an elegant medium that can be used throughout the house or commercial building. Combining cutting-edge concrete design with helpful how-to information, Concrete Finishes offers ingenious ideas for planning and building walls, fireplaces, mantels, hearths, and exterior and interior floors, as well as tips on incorporating architectural elements such as counters, sinks, columns, and water pieces into the project. The construction of forms, footings, and ties is detailed in clear, easy-to-follow instructions, and special attention is given to finishing techniques, including adding color, texture, and inlays. Polished concrete floors are an extremely popular around the globe in 2017– open any home or lifestyle magazine and you’re bound to see an example of it! Concrete Polishing Sydney gives their concrete projects a smooth matt finish, which is achieved by grinding the concrete surface and exposing the aggregates. Smoother polished concrete surfaces can be achieved through extended honing of the surface, using progressively finer abrasives pads for polishing. This imparts a lustre to the concrete surface that is then locked into place with a surface sealant. All types of floor and wall finishes are in the comprehensive book and is a must read for home renovators.
Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth.
Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. But Survival of the Sickest doesn’t stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives.
To Lean More About Survival of The Sickest Visit Amazon
This latest edition of the Immigration Law Pocket Field Guide from LexisNexis is an essential item in the pocket of any law enforcement professional who deals with immigration law on a regular basis. Sized to fit easily into the shirt, shoulder, or hip pocket of most uniforms, this wire-bound manual with laminated covers contains the primary law you need to do your job in an easy-to-use format with convenient charts for quick reference.
Keep it with you for ready access to accurate Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Classifications, crimes with significant immigration consequences, grounds of admissibility, Nationality charts, Vienna Convention consular notification and access requirements, and more. Updated annually with the latest changes in this constantly evolving area of law, with an available subscription service so you can stay informed.
( For those seeking a to immigrate to Australia and need advice from a licensed migration agent Brisbane, Melbourne or Perth are recommended to visit their website here.)
A must read if immigrating and available on Amazon Books here.
Four Decades For Photocopiers is a comprehensive history of the “Photocopier,” including when used in literature. This book represents one of the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Photocopier with timelines covering patented inventions, use in business and computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences.
Thomas Crafer gives insights into the technicians and apprentices who over the years add ‘photocopier repair‘ expertise to their resumes. He looks at the tools and techniques employed by these highly qualified working professionals who assist with print management. Takes an in-depth look at the history and evolution of each photocopier component and subsystem – including the optical system, coronas, developer section, |
ium Urban Renewal Plan, with Assumed Exposition-Recreation Center Inclusion. February 17, 1956. The Oregonian.
None of this is to suggest that the Coliseum was planned or built in a vacuum. Nor is it only a Portland story, as the timing of the project also fits into a fascinating time period in the history of sports and sporting venues on the West Coast and the country at large. However, for a building with such a cultural and physical impact on Portland, precious little has been devoted to the process by which the site we now take for granted came to be chosen. This is an era that is remembered today through broadly applied narratives or through intense examination of specific events. The above is an attempt to find space in between for attention to a series of decisions, miscalculations and appeals to voters that were among the most highly contentious in that era.LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Sterling fell 1 percent against the dollar to hit a three-week low on Monday, while the cost of hedging against swings over the coming month traded at its highest since early 2009 on growing concerns over whether Britain will stay in the European Union.
Sterling has been weighed down since late last year by worries that the June 23 referendum on EU membership could lead to Britain leaving the bloc.
Britain’s hefty current account deficit - 7 percent of output in the last quarter of 2015 - makes the economy, and the currency, vulnerable to any pull-back in investment flows.
Polling firm TNS said on Monday that the campaign to get Britain out of the European Union had a 2-point lead over the “Remain” campaign, while a YouGov poll for ITV showed that the “Leave” campaign had a 4 point lead.
Bookmakers shortened their odds on Brexit in response, with betting website Betfair putting the chances of a vote to leave at around 30 percent on Monday. The odds were at around 27 percent at the start of last week.
Against the dollar, sterling was 1 percent lower at $1.4370, having fallen to $1.4352 in early Asian trading, its lowest in three weeks. The euro was 0.75 percent higher at 78.95 pence.
“The polls are likely to make people rather uneasy and we can see that quite clearly today in the pound,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
“With both sides likely to step up their game over the next couple of weeks, I imagine we’ll see a lot more volatility in the pound and the closer the polls get, or if ‘Vote Leave’ continues to push ahead, the pound may find itself back towards April’s lows before too long.”
Reflecting the nervousness, the one-month sterling/dollar implied volatility — a gauge of how sharp swings will be over the June 23 referendum date — traded at 21.4 percent, its highest level since early 2009.
For a graphic of opinion polls: tmsnrt.rs/1Ke31HF (Reporting by Anirban Nag; Editing by Alison Williams)Anderson® Predator Pro 5.56 NATO/.223 Remington Semi-automatic Rifle
If you don't know Anderson Manufacturing®, now is the time to get acquainted…because they make outstanding rifles at fantastic prices. Unlike other companies, Anderson makes most of their components in-house at their Hebron, Kentucky facility - meaning they can control quality like no other.
Sporting a 24" stainless heavy barrel, the Predator Pro AR-15 is ready to go long, with hair-splitting accuracy. The Magpul® PRS Stock is adjustable for both comb height and length of pull, and features positive-clicking detents to maintain position under heavy recoil. The upper has all the good stuff -- charging handle, dust cover, deflector, forward assist. Pin the upper and lower together, supply the magazine, and Anderson® does the rest.
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Made from forged A3
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Premium Timney trigger
Includes lower parts kit
Magpul® grip
Magpul® PRS buttstock is adjustable for comb height and length of pull
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MFG Number: ANDERSON-COMP-LOWER-PRS-TIMNEY
Order today!Lisbeth Koelster, a television presenter on the Danish public channel DR1, was last May found guilty by a district court in Glostrup, west of Copenhagen, of violating animal protection laws.
She had poured a "very diluted" amount of shampoo into a fish tank on a 2004 episode of the consumer affairs show she fronted to demonstrate the level of toxic material in a brand of anti-dandruff shampoo.
After three days, all but one of the fish were dead.
The lower court judge had ruled that Miss Koelster "deliberately committed an act of cruelty to animals" and violated animal protection laws, but decided not to hand down any sentence since an unreasonable amount of time, "four-and-a-half years," had passed between the date the complaint was filed and the trial.
The appeals court judges ruled on Friday, however, that Miss Koelster's test did not violate European laws on experimenting on animals.
They also said it had "not been sufficiently proven that Ms. Koelster had caused the fish anguish and suffering," as claimed by the plaintiff, a veterinary practitioner who saw Koelster's show.
Following the proceedings, Koelster said she was "thrilled at this very unambiguous verdict" which "exonerates me of all the charges."
"This is a great victory for the freedom of journalistic work. I was not an executioner of these fish and I have not violated animal protection laws, as this ruling confirms," she told AFP.The Bears practiced in pads Monday morning for the third time in as many days. They have Tuesday off before resuming work at Olivet Nazarene University on Wednesday. Here are five observations from Monday’s session.
1. Experience continues to help left tackle Charles Leno in his pass sets
Specifically, he knows his body better than he did a year ago. It’s evident on the practice field in his frequent battles with outside linebackers Willie Young and Lamarr Houston.
Early in team drills Monday, Leno locked up with Houston and steered him wide and beyond quarterback Jay Cutler out of the play. In one-on-one drills Sunday, Houston tried to bull rush Leno, but Leno was stout with his anchor.
“Sometimes I’ll give up some ground, but for the most part I like to close the space,” Leno said. “I don’t like for a guy to get a lot of momentum going. I like to get on them first. Just getting my hands on people. I want to hit them before they touch me.”
Coming out of Boise State in 2014 as a seventh-round pick of former general manager Phil Emery, the strength of Leno’s anchor against bull rushes was a major focus of his development. As that has improved over the last 12 months, Leno has won supporters in the new front office.
2. In team drills, second-year safety Harold Jones-Quartey intercepted a deflected pass thrown by Jay Cutler
I wish I could credit the defensive player who contested the throw at the catch point, but I couldn’t see him through traffic, and several players didn’t know who it was, either.
Anyway, it was exactly the type of play this rebuilding defense needs more of. The Bears had only eight interceptions last season—fewest in team history—and only four by defensive backs. Four!
A lot goes into producing an interception, of course, especially pass rush and good coverage. Jones-Quartey was in position to take advantage of good coverage in front of him, a positive sign as he looks to strengthen his grip on a starting job.
Photos from Bears training camp on Aug. 1, 2016.
3. Zach Miller’s inclusion in the concussion protocol gave chances to other tight ends further down the depth chart
General manager Ryan Pace on Wednesday acknowledged there are questions about the quality of tight ends behind Miller, and it will be interesting to see if the Bears are attracted to tight ends cut by other teams later this summer.
In team drills, outside linebacker Sam Acho beat tight end Khari Lee to the inside and stopped a run in the backfield. Acho was quick off the ball and beat Lee, who’s known for his blocking, to the point of attack.
The Bears are trying to bring defensive end-turned-tight end Greg Scruggs along as a pass catcher, while they like his toughness and physicality as a blocker. But in one-on-one pass protection drills, outside linebacker Christian Jones went around Scruggs when Scruggs lowered his head and bent at the waist. Scruggs needs reps as he changes positions, of course, and it’s worth noting he has no more practice squad eligibility remaining.
4. Guard Ted Larsen and outside linebacker Christian Jones engaged one of the Bears’ more intense training camp fights of the last few years
Punches were thrown, and a melee ensued. Lamarr Houston tried to put Larsen in some sort of sleeper hold.
Larsen has been involved in several skirmishes through five practices. Houston later indicated he appreciates having such a rabble-rouser on the Bears, saying it helps prepare him for when other teams have an instigator. Here's thinking we won't see his sleeper hold in a regular season game, though.
5. A few quick hitters to empty the notebookTaming MongoDB with server monitoring
By David Mytton,
CEO & Founder of Server Density.
Published on the 27th November, 2014.
Today we’re really happy to be sharing an awesome guest post written by Feargal Finnegan. Feargal has been involved in the world of startups for fifteen years as a pragmatic software architect and full stack developer. He got in touch with us about his experiences diagnosing problems with his infrastructure and we thought it’d make a great blog post – so enjoy!
—-
People like to write bad things about MongoDB. On a few occasions I’ve been up to my elbows in troubleshooting and have been tempted to do so myself, but in general that wouldn’t be fair – my overall experience with MongoDB has been good.
Now there are lots of excellent guides that exist to show you how to troubleshoot most issues you might experience with MongoDB, so let’s not go round in circles. Instead I want to spend some time outlining how we used our monitoring tools to identify and fix some tricky issues with our database(s); and some practical advice on diagnosing problems with your own infrastructure.
Recently a customer of Contrail Innovations experienced a sudden growth in use and users of their service and their MongoDB cluster was straining to cope with the new load. They were running a single shard as a 3 node replica set. The primary node did all reads and writes, the secondary existed solely for failover, and the third was for snapshot backups to S3 and was never able to become primary.
MongoDB Socket Exceptions
The first problem that came to our attention was that the MongoDB primary started to toggle between the two nodes. One node was set to be preferred primary but it was losing connectivity with the other nodes in the replication set. It would then step down, which triggered an election and caused MongoDB to go offline for a short while until connections were restored and another primary was elected.
Apart from a SocketException there was nothing obvious in the MongoDB logs. I had recently implemented the ELK stack so viewing the logs via Logstash and Kibana made it very easy to get an overview of what was going on. We could see that app and processing nodes were losing connections to the primary MongoDB.
Checking the MongoDB replication logs gave a lot more information and you can do this from the MongoDB shell:
production1:PRIMARY> show log rs.
which highlighted that some entries started like this:
‘couldn't connect to server’
In this log I could see the rsHealthPoll saying that the other nodes in the set were down. Sometimes it would just report that one node was down but as soon as it lost contact with both of them, the primary stepped down so that MongoDB did not enter into a split brain state as a result of the apparent network partition. To get a handle on what was happening I went through all the graphs and stats gathered through Server Density and their MongoDB monitoring, which highlighted lots of areas that needed our attention.
Firstly, the primary node had a very high CPU and CPU steal – on EC2 this means that you’re almost certainly suffering from a ‘noisy neighbour’ problem, in which another instance running on the same hardware is stealing resources from your instance. Simply stopping your instance and starting it again should force it onto new hardware – on which you can hope for quieter neighbours. By doing so CPU improved, but we were still seeing connection problems.
By looking in the Linux kernel we noticed the ulimit settings were not set to the values corresponding to the current docs for the MongoDB version (you should always check these every time you upgrade MongoDB). By changing them to the recommended settings and doing a rolling cluster restart, we resolved the connection problems.
We also changed the TCP keepalive as recommended by my friends from Bottlenose who work in our Hackers & Founders co-working space in here in Amsterdam. You can find more info on these settings here.
High IOWait and low CPU
In the days following these changes, our customer continued to grow and as did the amount of data in their MongoDB instances. Server Density alerted us to the fact that the primary MongoDB was experiencing high IOWaits, so it was time to go deeper into the world of MongoDB stats. For this I used the excellent MMS monitoring service to dive into the specifics.
The first thing we looked at was page faults. These were occurring when MongoDB needed to read from disk. The sudden jump in users and data meant we were starting to see a lot of them. Checking that against the opcounters gave a very small ratio, which only told us that MongoDB is busy with disk IO (which we already knew from the IOWaits). I then checked the working set – there was plenty of space for more pages so it couldn’t have been a shortage of RAM.
db.runCommand({serverStatus: 1, workingSet: 1})
Nothing from the graphs stuck out, except for the high number of page faults. However, running db.currentOp() several times indicated that there were a couple of queries that were running a lot. Time to start profiling MongoDB.
production1:PRIMARY> db.setProfilingLevel(1, 700)
Setting the profiling to only log queries that were taking more than 700ms, I immediately saw a query that was taking three minutes to complete. On checking the Scala code for the indexes in MongoDB I could see that one of the fields in the query was not indexed and MongoDB was doing a full collection scan and reading all the data from disk. I kept profiling and found three others – wow! After adding the missing indexes the page faults & IOWaits went away – problem solved.
Look Ma, no index!
To cut a long story short. If you are experiencing high IO waits, low CPU and high page faults in MongoDB your best bet is to profile your database and see if you are missing any indexes. As your code base grows it’s very easy to miss an index on a query, and if the results of the query are not user facing then they’re really hard to track down unless they’re already causing you problems.
There’s no need to be afraid of MongoDB, if it suits your use case it’s very reliable. However to scale out you need to use monitoring tools like Server Density and MMS to keep on top of any problems that may be going on behind the scenes.Today’s episode is about a future where nobody works on farms anymore, all farming is done by robots. Is it possible? Probably not. But it might be closer than you think.
Today’s episode features:
Curtiz Marez, a professor at UC San Diego and the author of Farm Worker Futurism: Speculative Technologies of Resistance which is the book that inspired this episode.
Sarah Mock, a former Wyoming farm kid turned farm researcher with the Farmers Business Network.
JJ Price, the global marketing manager at Spread, a lettuce factory in Japan.
My grandma. She doesn’t have a website.
We start this episode with some history, going back to the 1934 World Fair which featured the Farm Machinery Hall, full all kinds of machines: harvesters, threshers, cultivators,corn pickers, mowers, tractors and mechanical cotton harvesters. There was even a milking machine on display, set up to milk an animatronic cow that could moo, switch its tail, turn its head, wink, chew cud and breathe. The cow was even rigged up with an internal set of tubes to make milk come out from the milker.
It’s easy to look at some of these future predictions from the 1930’s and laugh, but Professor Marez says that at the time there were some serious political undertones here. In the 1930’s, farm workers in California were largely migrants, and they were starting to organize and form unions and starting to demand rights and protections. At the same time, you started to have this moral panic, in California in particular, that the influx of Mexican workers stoked the racist fears of white families who thought that their women and children might be in danger. And this tension only got worse through the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s as workers rights movements got stronger.
In response, some of these companies developed “farm bots” that they presented as mechanical alternatives to the so called “dangerous” Mexican men. In the 1930’s International Harvester Company sent a robot called “Harvey Harvester” to a variety of state fairs. Harvey looks crude today, but the idea was that he was a robot that could be controlled remotely by his master. I don’t think Harvey actually worked, but he was outfitted with a metal sombrero, and often photographed looking quite harmless next to pretty white girls. In the 1960’s Harvey got an upgrade and became Tracto the Talking Robot, and was often photographed holding white children.
Another interesting thing about the 1930’s World Fair is that unlike a lot of the future predictions that it made, it was actually pretty spot on when it came to farming. Here’s some of what the ad for the company selling the radio controlled farm at the 1934 World’s Fair said:
“Will the farmer of the future be able to sit on his front porch while directing all his farm work? Will it be possible to sit in an office in Chicago or New York and direct the operation of fleets of tractors throughout the world? Will it be possible by these methods to operate farm properties in both hemispheres and gather harvests in practically every month of the year? These are a few of the unanswerable questions with which the weird spectacle of a driverless, yet perfectly controlled tractor, excites the imagination.”
Well, today these questions are answerable, and the answer is… yes. Sarah Mock explains that today, almost every farmer in the United States has a self-driving tractor. Farms are incredibly high tech, full of sensors and automation and millions of dollars worth of equipment.
Mock then explains that the future of farming could go one of two ways: bigger or smaller. Companies could, instead of dropping millions on a single huge piece of tech, deploy a hoard of smaller robots, each responsible for their own little patch of the farm. One company working on this kind of thing is called Rowbots,
Or, Mock says, things could go the opposite way and go huge. The USDA recently tested a gigantic sensor on a huge beam suspended over the farm that could scan and diagnose each plant.
And that 1930’s image of the command center, the farmer in his glass house orchestrating everything without stepping foot outside, that’s basically possible right now. Check out this John Deer commercial from the 2012.
But not every country has the kind of land that the US does, which means that some of the innovation in farming and automation doesn’t look like self-driving tractors. Instead, it looks like giant indoor farms like Spread.
Spread is a company that grows lettuce in highly controlled and highly automated indoor farms. Right now they’ve got one facility, and they’re working on building another. Recently, they got a lot of press about that new facility, which a ton of news outlets called the world’s first “robot run farm.” A lot of these stories claimed that Spread’s facility would be completely staffed by robots. That’s not true. There are still humans involved in planting, growing and harvesting this lettuce. Humans will plant the seeds, and put them into the rows at the beginning of the process. And humans will also harvest and trim and package the lettuce at the end of the process.
But Spread isn’t the solution for everything. They only grow lettuce, and as much as I love lettuce we’ll probably eat other things too in the future. Vertical automated farms aren’t going to be able to grow every kind of vegetable, and we haven’t even gotten into animals and animal products (assuming our future doesn’t wind up being a vegan one).
And our special guest this episode is my grandma, who tells us what it was like to be there when the milking machines first showed up on farms, and when tractors started replacing horses. She actually says that nobody really worried about being replaced by robots at the time, which was interesting to me.
We close out the episode with a conversation about a truly automated future, what would it be like if we really went full robot? We’ve got some sci-fi examples for this, but my favorite version is one that complicates the questions a little. It’s called Sleep Dealer and it’s a movie from 2008 about migrant workers, politics and robots. Here’s the trailer:
You can rent Sleep Dealer for a couple of bucks online, and I recommend it, it’s dark but really fascinating.
Flash Forward is produced by me, Rose Eveleth, and is part of the Boing Boing podcast family. The intro music is by Asura and the outtro music is by Hussalonia. Special thanks to Brent Rose for playing our tour guide. The episode art is by Matt Lubchansky.
If you want to suggest a future we should take on, send us a note on Twitter, Facebook or by email at info@flashforwardpod.com. We love hearing your ideas! And if you think you’ve spotted one of the little references I’ve hidden in the episode, email us there too. If you’re right, I’ll send you something cool.
And if you want to support the show, there are a few ways you can do that too! We have a Patreon page, where you can donate to the show. But if that’s not in the cards for you, you can head to iTunes and leave us a nice review or just tell your friends about us. Those things really do help.
That’s all for this future, come back next week and we’ll travel to a new one.
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TRANSCRIPT
Rose: Hello and welcome to Flash Forward! I’m Rose and I’m your host. Before we go to the future, I want to tell you about a podcast that I really love called Gastropod. Gastropod is a show about food with a side of science and history and it’s so fascinating. Every episode co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley look at the hidden history and surprising science behind a different food or farming-related topic. If their names sound familiar that’s because I had them on this show last season! They talked about calories, and why you probably shouldn’t be counting them.
Later this month they’re doing an episodes on where modern restaurants come from, and on the history of veganism and vegetarianism and I’m sure they’ll be super interesting. If you want to be the person at your next dinner party who has a ton of fun facts about whatever is on the table, this is the podcast for you! And who doesn’t love fun facts? Nobody! So go check out Gastropod on whatever podcasting app you use.
Okay, now — to the future!! Let’s start this episode in the year 2047.
Museum Host: All right, everybody with tickets for the 12:30 tour, come on this way. Have your tickets out please, and have a seat. Any seat works, come on in.
[door closes]
Okay, welcome, this is the 12:30 Agriculture through the Ages tour, is everybody here for that? If you not, let me know now okay?
Great, so let’s get you comfortable in the headsets first, and then I’ll explain how this will work. So in front of each of you is a headset. Go ahead and put those on.
So for those of you who’ve never taken a VR tour before, you just place the set on the bridge of your nose and pull the strap around the back of your head. If at any point you start to feel motion sick, simply remove the headset and one of our assistants will bring you some water.
Okay, so in a few minutes your tour is going to start. Please stay in your seats, the tour is immersive but remember, it’s still virtual reality. You may be tempted to get up and walk around, but you’ll wind up bumping into each other, so please stay seated and keep your hands in your lap.
Okay? Great, let’s get started. Welcome to the Agriculture through the Ages tour! I’m Sophie, and I’ll be your guide.
It might be hard to believe, but for most of human history, humans actually farmed the land themselves by hand.
We’re going to start in the year 11,500 BCE, when farmers in China began farming rice. They then moved on to soy, mung and azuki beans.
Now let’s go to 13,000 BCE, when farmers in Mesopotamia domesticated pigs.
Let’s fast forward, and go to 4,000 BCE, when maize, a plant much like corn, was domesticated in Meosamerica.
All this time, humans were spending hours and hours of their days out in the fields, working the land using their own human power.
But let’s flash forward to the first industrial revolution. In 1720, using mostly human hands, farmers could gather 19 bushels of wheat per acre. By 1840, that number jumped to 30. That might not seem like much compared to what our mechanical farmers can do now, but at the time it was unprecedented!
Despite a constant march in progress, humans still worked on the land for centuries after that first industrial revolution. In the United States, in the late 20th century, there were still five million people living on farms. Let’s zoom in on one of those farms.
This is the Lars family farm. You can see on your right there’s a dirt road, which leads out to a wheat field. On the left you can see the goats and pigs they keep for the family. There’s Mr. Lars now! He’s off to check and see if it’s the right time to harvest the wheat. You see that tractor he’s driving? Soon, it will become a self-driving tractor.
Now of course, you would never see a human growing or producing food, it’s simply not efficient of safe. But for most of human history it was human strength that pulled food out of the ground.
Okay, let’s see how that transition happened, let’s skip ahead to the year 2025…
[fade out]
So today’s episode is about a future in which all farming is done by robots. There are no more farmers out in the fields getting their hands dirty, driving tractors, digging holes, pulling fruit off trees, rounding up cattle, it’s all done by robots and drones and self driving machines. And this is a future that people have been predicting for a long time. At least since the 1930’s.
Curtis Marez: You know the earliest example that I talk about is the 1933 34 World’s Fair which is called the was called the Century progress.
That’s Curtiz Marez, he’s a professor at UC San Diego and the author of this really interesting book called Farm Worker Futurism that was actually the inspiration for this episode.
Marez: So you know if anyone has ever seen you know getting the of this fair it’s really you know very much at the center of historical images about the future so all kinds of futuristic kinds of styles and images that we think of from the period really came from this World’s Fair in Chicago. And you know one of the main buildings there are displays was by an International Harvester Company which of course was making a farm farming the bullets and farming technology. And you know really the floor that are really felt like a kind of like the world of tomorrow exhibits at Disneyland.
Rose: The 1933 World’s Fair … In the Farm Machienery Hall there were all kinds of machines: harvesters, threshers, cultivators,corn pickers, mowers, tractors and mechanical cotton harvesters. There was even a milking machine on display, set up to milk an animatronic cow that could moo, switch its tail, turn its head, wink, chew cud and breathe. The cow was even rigged up with an internal set of tubes to make milk come out from the milker.
Marez: But the biggest display was of a radio controlled tractor and they had this sort of mock up of a family farm and a factory I guess a little robot or Androidy creature who was the farmer sitting on the front porch doing nothing but with his voice, a recorded voice inside this little farmer robot he was actually controlling that tractor making its making it move around
Rose: A lot of this is kind of kitchy, in the way that 1930’s futurism tends to be, but Marez says that it’s also important to think about what was going on at the time.
Marez: So almost every kind of advance in in agribusiness technology that you see from the 30s through up through the 80s and 90s was really a response to labor strikes the farmer strikes and so a way to try and deal with. And let’s see what happens. [23.9]
Rose: In the 1930’s, farm workers in California were largely migrants, and they were starting to organize and form unions and starting to demand rights and protections. At the same time, you started to have this moral panic, in California in particular, that the influx of Mexican workers stoked the racist fears of white families who thought that their women and children might be in danger. And this tension only got worse through the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s as workers rights movements got stronger.
In response, some of these companies developed “farm bots” that they presented as mechanical alternatives to the so called “dangerous” Mexican men. In the 1930’s International Harvester Company sent a robot called “Harvey Harvester” to a variety of state fairs. Harvey looks crude today, but the idea was that he was a robot that could be controlled remotely by his master. I don’t think Harvey actually worked, but he was outfitted with a metal sombrero, and often photographed looking quite harmless next to pretty white girls. In the 1960’s Harvey got an upgrade and became Tracto the Talking Robot, and was often photographed holding white children.
Marez: So you know various times in U.S. history especially in the 30s and 40s Mexican workers were represented not only as potentially volatile as labor activists as radicals and as potential communists but also represented often as sexual threats. And so having the farm worker bot as a substitute was potentially a very reassuring image for a public who might be concerned about agribusiness industries bringing city workers into their into their neighborhoods and regions.
And so I think it made it fun it makes you wait it’s like you were saying from our perspective it seems kind of strange. OK. And that is true but it also seems to me that’s a trap isn’t that far removed from from the Terminator in the second show. Well you know we have examples of the cuddly happy little robot mole was killer but can be easily transformed into protective of you know parent-like figure or servant even.
Rose: And as funny as some of the 1930’s future of farming predictions might have seemed, they actually haven’t been totally off. Here’s some of what the ad for the company selling the radio controlled farm at the 1934 World’s Fair said:
“Will the farmer of the future be able to sit on his front porch while directing all his farm work? Will it be possible to sit in an office in Chicago or New York and direct the operation of fleets of tractors throughout the world? Will it be possible by these methods to operate farm properties in both hemispheres and gather harvests in practically every month of the year? These are a few of the unanswerable questions with which the weird spectacle of a driverless, yet perfectly controlled tractor, excites the imagination.”
Well, today these questions are answerable, and the answer is… yes.
Sarah Mock: So basically farming especially in the United States right now is super advanced like crazy advanced we I mean every part of it is technological there’s nothing that is that technology does not play a part of in farming.
That’s Sarah Mock:
Sarah: So I grew up on a farm in Wyoming. That kind of is where my Irish cultural history began and then I studied science technology and International Affairs at Georgetown with a focus on agricultural development and then the last couple of years I’ve spent in Silicon Valley and the Central Valley in California working for a couple of different startups in the Ag tech space and I’m currently a farm researcher at a company called farmer’s Business Network which is basically a dynamic Agard amik network that lets farmers share data on farming practices and products and methods so that they can basically have more information to make better decisions on their farms.
Rose: And Sarah says that whatever notion some of you might have of farming being this low-tech, boots on the ground kind of thing…
Sarah: middle aged men like have dirty hands and like get slowly out of trucks with their dogs at dawn and walk towards asylum.
Rose: That’s… not really what farming is like. Modern farmers in America are running incredibly high-tech operations.
Sarah: Self-driving tractors which have actually been around for a really long time probably about since the 90s or so so almost 30 years. Farmers like don’t really steer tractors anymore which is funny. They Yeah they’re all self-driving they use satellites to like it precisely kind of guide them through fields so that you can kind of maximize yield.
Rose: And when it comes to the future of automated farming, Sarah says there are two ways things could go, big or small. Right now, farm equipment is big.
Sarah: So there’s there’s like a movement that either basically you’re either getting were either going to get bigger or smaller. Right now farm equipment is really big That’s one of the things that drives consolidation in the industry is that like you could easily walk into like a John Deere dealership and drop a million dollars on just like a tractor in a combine like farm equipment is incredibly expensive and that just like the shear cost of it causes farmers to have to own a lot of land and farm a lot of land to distribute the costs over a lot of acres.
Rose: And there are companies working on making these gigantic, expensive piece of equipment way smaller and cheaper.
Sarah: Well what if we just make like little tiny autonomous tractors that all like you would have like a hoard or like a flock of autonomous tractors that would all farm like a very small area and then you could like you know like when one breaks you would fix one and they could each like individual little tractor with like deal with like a very small field and be able to deliver it exactly what it needs to be that like in California where water is a big deal be that water or or nutrients or like even like sunlight or like shade to be able to provide that on a very minute scale.
So there’s a couple of companies one of them is called the robots with the W. So it’s like our O.W. be OT. [laughs] Very clever. They are doing kind of like this small little autonomous robots and that would be that would be like they would be entirely autonomous because they’re like the size of like a dog. And so that’s kind of the one direction that would also involve. I’ve heard like theories about like there would be drones like that’s kind of the no people anymore kind of a tiny one. One version of the no people farming future
Rose: The other version is to go HUGE. Even bigger than the current equipment.
Sarah: So actually the USDA just built for a different type of research but I think there’s been experimentation with this kind of thing. On a on a wider scale. It’s it’s like a field scanner it’s literally like like two football fields long. And it’s like this giant thing that is like suspended from a beam and it like scans literally like plant by plant through the whole field everyday it like moves up and down the field and just like scans and and runs tests like evaluates what the plant needs and then can like respond to it on an individual level so basically as far as automation goes it’s kind of we’re either going to go big or go small.
Rose: And what about the 1930’s image of the command center, the farmer in his glass house orchestrating everything without stepping foot outside? Sarah says that’s… almost possible.
Sarah:Yeah. But yeah I think I think we’re actually like really close to something like that already. And I think we could actually like a very funny it’s not funny it’s supposed to be serious but I think it’s kind of funny. John dear John Dear video from last year that is like yeah it’s like a five minute like futurists. It’s like a guy who like his dining room table is like a black mirror that is like a basically a giant iPad and he like controls his whole farm from it’s like a very strange like video of like a guy waking up in the morning and then he like control his own farm from the kitchen table it’s very strange but.
Rose: The video |
the feel of a post-hoc rationalization.
Ballmer made a more compelling case when discussion arose about another market the company has struggled in, search advertising. He argued that search is the key advertising business and portal properties could, at best, support the growth of a search property. He also described how search and the ads run with it were mutually reinforcing: consumers, consciously or not, rate the credibility of the search results in part by evaluating the relevance of the ads that appear with it.
But if Microsoft had a more compelling case for the importance of search, it didn't have a clearer roadmap on competing in that market. Ballmer is still interested in combining with Yahoo to take on Google, and isn't picky about how it gets there. But, beyond that, it appears focused on new product releases, something that the consumer population doesn't seem to really register.
This mixed strategic vision—Microsoft has identified some key markets for growth, but doesn't seem to have a concrete plan for actually growing in them—is probably more worrisome than the grim financial news. Microsoft is likely to be taking a bigger hit as the fiscal year continues to be dominated by bad news, but it probably won't be as bad as the hits that many other companies have taken, and Redmond appears well positioned to continue to excel in the markets it already dominates when the economy recovers. But, in Apple, Google, and RIM, it's facing competitors that appear to have a clearer picture of what needs to be accomplished in these other markets. In cases like the TV set-top, where there really isn't competition, Microsoft doesn't appear to have an equivalent picture. If there's something in the works behind the scenes, this press call didn't lift the curtain on it.
Listing image by Image credit: Wikimedia CommonsIt went from being a monster catch to a raffle prize, and now, a 21-lb. lobster has finally found his destiny as a resident of the New England Aquarium.
The extra-large crustacean was caught in Orleans, Mass., on July 14, and kept at Capt’n Elmer’s Fish Market, where a recent raffle’s winner was to see the lobster get released back into the wild. But, according to the AP, the winner decided the lobster should be donated to the Boston aquarium instead.
The New England Aquarium is no stranger to enormous lobsters. In the 1980s, a 35-lb. creature named Lobzilla took up residence there.
In recent years, two other memorable 20-plus-pound lobsters have turned up in catches, including Rocky, a 27-lb., 40-in. lobster caught off the coast of Maine in February.
There was also Tiny, a nearly 23-lb. lobster caught off the coast of Nova Scotia in June of 2011.
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[RELATED_TEXT “Can’t get enough pet news? See more on PEOPLE Pets
Blind Sea Lion Doing Well After Getting Shot in Face
Morrissey Puts on His Thinking Cat – for Homeless Animals” “” ]Business laptops are usually big, boring machines designed to get the job done with little style. But HP is using its latest EliteBook, called the Folio 1040, to introduce an entirely new input method that's designed to replace the well-known clickpad.
It's known as a ForcePad, and while it looks just like a clickpad, there's a big difference: there's no click. When you go to click something on the screen, you're supposed to exert the same amount of force that you would on a clickpad — even though there's no give. It feels like pushing against the palmrest of a laptop, and it's definitely odd at first. The software pumps out a (thankfully optional) fake "click" sound to try and make it less strange, but it doesn't help. We first saw the technology (which comes from Synaptics) over a year ago, and this is the first machine to use it.
The idea is that you can do new gestures with the TouchPad. For instance, you can scroll down a page without moving your finger simply by applying pressure up or down, but it doesn't seem much better than flicking with your fingers. The real benefit is size: removing the hinge makes the whole assembly about half as thick as a traditional clickpad, which means HP could slim down the EliteBook a bit more. We're not sure that the tradeoff is worth it, but perhaps we just need more software that takes advantage of the controls offered by the ForcePad.
"We were ultra aggressive on weight and thinness"
HP says that engineers were "ultra aggressive on weight and thinness" when designing the EliteBook Folio 1040, and ultimately they were able to make the 14-inch ultrabook about 16 percent thinner and 7 percent lighter than the EliteBook Folio 9470m that it replaces. At 3.3 pounds and 0.63 inches thick, it's a bit thicker and heavier than some of our favorite ultrabooks like the Acer Aspire S7, but at least there's a good reason for it: HP says the machine meets ruggedization standards (MIL-STD 810G), so it should be able to hold up to the rigors of a business lifestyle.
For the past couple of years, HP's tried to make its EliteBook line a bit more exciting by blurring the line between it and the company's consumer ultrabooks. The ultrabook tapers nicely and is made of aluminum (save for a soft-touch bottom made of magnesium alloy), and it has a blacklit keyboard. Features like a matte display, a TPM security chip, a Smart Card reader, and a docking port reveal its business intentions, but gone are the Ethernet plug and legacy VGA connector found on its predecessor.
HP calls the EliteBook Folio 1040 its top-of-the-line business ultrabook, and it's appropriately specced out. The company's offering dual-core Haswell processors (in both Core i5 and i7 varieties), and it comes with a 120GB SSD and up to 8GB of RAM. Depending on which processor you opt for you'll either get Intel's HD 4600 or HD 5000 integrated graphics, both of which should be plenty sufficient for business tasks. Thankfully, it also comes with the option of a 1920 x 1080 display (with or without touch) in addition to its standard 1600 x 900 screen. It's not a particularly high-quality unit — there's no IPS here — but the added resolution is much appreciated.
Ultimately, the EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 looks like it could be a good option — if you're willing to give the click-less ForcePad a try. It's available now for $1,299.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the laptop's bottom panel was made of plastic. It is not; it is a magnesium alloy panel covered with a black soft-touch finish.National News
At 3:40am this morning (Sunday 25th October) police were called to a group of eight males in the Palmerston North CBD that were suffering the effects of taking an unknown substance.
The males were initially taken into custody by police and then transported to Palmerston North hospital for treatment.
At this stage it is unknown what substance the group had taken was, and enquiries regarding the substance and its source are continuing.
“This is a timely reminder to people of the dangers of taking substances where they don’t know the source” says Senior Sergeant Steve Crawford.
“If you are taking a substance that you don’t know where it is from or what it contains, you are taking very serious risks with your health and you are putting your life at risk”.
ENDS
There will be no further media comment at this stage.Image courtesy the fantastic Matthew Henderson (follow him on twitter @mhenderon95)
Just a week ago J.D. Burke put together a piece arguing that the Canucks would win a hypothetical Bo Horvat for Jonathan Drouin trade. Using a series of statistical and qualitative points to state his case, Burke was so bold as to suggest the Canucks would come out on top.
For objectivities sake, I’ve taken it upon myself to present an argument to the contrary. Regardless where my allegiances lie, there’s most definitely an argument to be made that the Canucks would be on the losing end of this deal. One I intend to make.
One could make a case for this being the great schism of our time in Canucks fandom. Would it be better to keep the known commodity, with likely the lesser talent ceiling? Or is it worth the risk to try and take on a malcontent who’s yet to hit on his sky-high ceiling?
Before I get started, let me state my case as an unabashed fan of Horvat’s game. A centre with two-way chops at this stage in his career – poor underlying numbers, be damned – earning this level of trust from the coaching staff is a rare commodity. Now that Horvat’s offensive game has rebounded nicely alongside Sven Baertschi, the Canucks have a second line that can carry this club offensively in spurts. Once the underlying results align with the level of defensive acumen Horvat’s coach is observing, the Canucks might have a second line centre in Horvat that can help in all three zones and chip in on special teams.
Horvat’s game may be short on some of the skills we’ve come to expect from a first-line centre, but that could be subject to change – this is a 20-year old, after all. More realistically, the Canucks likely have their second line centre for a generation, in the making.
At the crux of this argument though is that Horvat plays a premium position, at centre. Should the Canucks send Horvat to South Florida, it leaves a gaping hole down the middle of their lineup that could last well into the future. The Canucks may have Henrik Sedin for now, but how much longer? That leaves the Canucks with Jared McCann, Brandon Sutter and Linden Vey as their top three centres – everything remaining constant. Of course, a lot can happen, but this illustrates the challenges Vancouver would face.
Meanwhile, the Canucks have Baertschi, Hunter Shinkaruk, Brendan Gaunce, Brock Boeser and Emerson Etem on the wing. Adding Drouin just adds to an area where the Canucks have established good depth.
Let’s be fair, though. Drouin has the potential to be an elite playmaking winger. In fact, were this conversation had a few months ago, Canucks fans would hop on this deal as though it were being made by the wonky AI in NHL16. It’s funny how quick things can change.
So there’s the difference on-ice. Horvat is a good player, relatively known commodity and plays a premium position. Drouin likely offers more offensively, but comes with his fair share of baggage.
That last caveat likely means more than we give credit for, too. Character seems to be a huge factor in the decision making process of Jim Benning. Arguing for a player’s character shouldn’t be the sole reason to acquire, or not acquire the player in question as it’s not a particularly prudent way of accumulating talent. However, it is something that the team which inherits Drouin should worry about. Are Drouin’s complaints exclusive to Tampa Bay, or something that might come up again the next time he faces any level of adversity.
Most projection models and advanced metrics – not to mention rankings – suggest that Drouin for Horvat is a no-brainer for the Canucks. There is still a fair argument that because of Horvat’s position, development and character that the Canucks would do well to hold onto Horvat.
For these reasons, I think the Canucks should chart that exact course. By acquiring Baertschi, Etem and Andrey Pedan, Benning has shown a propensity for taking advantage of situations teetering on the edge of untenable. With that in mind, one can only hope that Horvat was the starting point of the negotiations, before Benning is able to take full advantage of this situation and lay the smackdown on Stevie Y.
If that’s the case, I’m all for it. Put him in a room with the Twins and watch them work their charitable, Swedish magic. Long as Drouin gets his chance to shine, the off-ice issues are likely a thing of the past. I just don’t want Horvat to be the sacrificial lamb that makes it happen.A Saskatoon landlord and his daughter say they're frustrated dealing with "squatters" who they say have taken residence in the backyard of a house embroiled in an eviction case.
"It looked like the city landfill site. It was deplorable," said 72-year-old Ervin Senger, the owner of the home on Avenue R South.
Senger has since hired someone to remove the debris for $700.
Some larger pieces of debris, including mangled bicycles and shopping carts, were removed Saturday. But lots of accumulated garbage, including clothing, remain in the backyard.
Debris from the camp piled up by Senger as he moved to clean up the site. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)
"Tents were created. It was full of garbage they brought in to the point that the fire department also contacted my father and let him know he had to remove the garbage," said daughter Debora Senger.
She said said they also found needles all over the yard.
"It's a safety [concern] for neighbouring children who may walk onto the property," she said.
Needles were also found at the site, according to the landlords. (Debora Senger)
Saskatoon fire department's acting battalion Chief Dale Altrogge said piled-up refuse in a yard can be ordered removed following a complaint from a neighbour on the grounds of unsightliness and because vermin might be attracted to the site.
This can also happen after a visual inspection from the fire department.
Dealing with squatters' property
Debora Senger said the tenant, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, was given an eviction notice on Sept. 16.
She said the tenant has since returned to the home, where utilities have been cut off for weeks.
Other people have continued to stay in the backyard, according to Senger, and for a while inside a shed that's now been demolished.
Debora Senger on "squatters" in backyard of her father's rental home 0:40
"The situation has turned into one where half a dozen to, we don't know, up to 10, 12 people [are] squatting on the property," she said.
'Just need to follow the process'
Chanda Lockhart, the executive officer for the Saskatchewan Landlord Association, cautions landlords who are going through an eviction process against removing property from a backyard.
Lockhart said it's in the landlord's best interest not to remove anything until he has successfully obtained a writ of possession to have the tenant removed.
The exception is items that clearly don't belong there (such as shopping carts) or if the renter has signed a statement confirming the contents don't belong to them.
The home's owner, former resident and frustrated landlord, Ervin Senger. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)
Even if that happens, Lockhart says Senger should wait until he has a writ of disposition authorizing him to toss the stuff in the backyard.
"It's very frustrating," she said of situations like Senger's. Senger said she's been in a similar situation with squatters through an eviction process.
"You just need to take a step back and breathe because rushing into the situation isn't going to help any. You just need to follow the process and it's only going to take another two to three weeks."
Debora Senger said her father is still weighing whether to apply for the writ of possession or to have health inspectors look inside the house to help him decide whether it should be condemned.CALGARY – Alberta’s provincial election Monday – almost certain to be an historic one for the province and for the country – comes down to a pitched battle in the province’s biggest city between the conservative Wildrose Party and the more liberal PC Party of Alberta in Calgary.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Calgary will determine this election," said Duane Bratt, chair of the department of policy studies at Calgary’s Mount Royal University. "The PCs have to sweep Calgary to stay in power, but the number of safe seats is getting smaller and smaller."
A poll, released exclusively Friday to Sun News Network by Abacus Data, showed a tightening race in the city. A week ago, 55% of Calgary voters were ready to vote Wildrose in this city, long the power base for Alberta’s ruling Progressive Conservatives. But after a week in which the moral character of some Wildrose characters came under attack, Wildrose is the favourite of 44% of Calgarians.
That is still a healthy lead over the PCs. Abacus found their support in the city at the end of the week was at 29% up from 25% a week ago.
But Ric McIver, the PC candidate in Calgary-Hays in the city’s south end, says since the Abacus poll came out Thursday night, the gap has shrunk, he says, to within five percentage points.
"Calgary is a city that will look at the facts and make a decision based on what they think is in their own best interests," said McIver, a long-time city councillor who finished second to Naheed Nenshi in last year’s mayoralty race. "They’re coming our way."
Wildrose is almost certain to sweep the roughly 40 seats up for grabs outside Calgary and Edmonton, which means it only needs five seats to secure a majority of seats in the 87-seat legislature and end the PCs 41-year reign.
While Wildrose hopes to steal a handful of seats in suburban Edmonton, the party believes the gains that will make their Leader Danielle Smith the premiere will come in Calgary.
For the incumbent premier, Progressive Conservative leader Alison Redford, the race is personal.
In her riding of Calgary-Elbow in the city’s centre, she is believed to be leading by single digits, a dangerously low margin for a sitting premier.
Redford and the PCs are blitzing the city this weekend to close the gap.
Between Saturday and Sunday, Redford had 13 campaign events scheduled.
The Wildrose leader’s tour spent Saturday in Edmonton and has six events scheduled in Calgary and High River on Sunday.First we must repeat what was already made clear, though not clear enough for certain reporters: This operation is information-oriented, and will not consist of any hacks. An unconfirmed incident in which the Times' administrator password was changed to changeme123123 was done by a lone individual in borderline violation of Anonymous tradition, which prevents most Anons from attacking private media outlets via those means (Lulzsec was merely an amusing abberation).
Secondly, we again essay to make clear that this operation is being done in retaliation for the incompetence of several reporters and editors at The New York Times, and specifically those involved in this most recent series of events in August during which the Trapwire story was misreported and even undersold based apparently on the claims of state officials who are left unnamed and unchallenged. This is not merely bad journalism or a disagreement over what merits coverage; it is another instance in which The Times has used its position in such a way as to confuse the populace, the media, and the officials of the republic while providing them with undue assurance as to the secret dangers we face from a sector whose crimes require shadow and silence. The passing on of unpublished material to the CIA by reporter Mark Mazzetti, so far explained only in contradictory and inexplicable terms by two Times officials, is another failure that must not go unnoted, and which we hope to make known to the many as this operation concludes. Meanwhile, the Times has yet to apologize to the CIA employee in question for forcing her to read a Maureen Dowd column. But then such people tend to read at their own volition the work of Thomas Friedman, who in 2001 called on America to "keep rootin' for Putin" but is nonetheless read by Barack Obama, President of the Secret Waning Empire. May the Beltway consume itself in cannibalistic backstabbing and then be destroyed altogether by some divine meteor, guided by Providence and Fortuna.
Now we bring you the meat of our info operation against the Times - correspondence between Anonymous propagandists who keep reporters appraised of the crimes of our enemies and the relative correctness of our conduct, and a New York Times reporter whom We will not name in public, being a well-meaning fellow and merely one of many who serve the Grey Lady with less competence than she once deserved. These exchanges occurred in 2011 and 2012 and will be verified upon request to those journalists who know where to find us.
We will also note, in advance of the made-up assertions that we have come to expect from certain media quarters and will be correcting in a very public manner over the coming weeks, that this same reporter and the Times itself has written extensively about our movement and our work. Some of what has been written has even been without error and managed to focus on key aspects rather than nonsense (Julian Assange, whose bathroom habits were detailed by the NYT not long ago, must envy us a bit on this point). We are not unhappy simply because the Times does not agree with us about the world and what parts of it merit attention; no one has a monopoly on priorities of coverage, even if some things are clearly more important than others in the agreement of all. But we should not have had to struggle to prompt other outlets, more attentive than the Times, to acknowledge that Trapwire's links to Cubic are significant and that anonymous DHS officials ought not determine what a paper considers troubling. We have other battles to fight. We ask only that the NYT not add to our workload through its own failures. Too many worse failures, such as those the Times perpetrated a decade ago at the behest of the disgraced criminal Scooter Libby, have pushed this republic into wars it lacked the focus to win. Cry for those who are dead because of those of us in the West cannot handle the duties of citizenship, or blame for the catastrophes we bring upon the world in our mistakes.
Finally, if future events mirror those of the past and we are prompted to revive this campaign in the wake of any additional aid and comfort to our criminal opponents in the various governments, the unusual restraint we showed yesterday in not stealing the Times' e-mails for our own review is unlikely to be repeated. After Operation Mockingbird, outlets like the Times and the Post are subject to perpetual review for clandestine operational control by the CIA and other agencies and if deemed to be state-affiliated in covert rather than official fashion, will likely elevate to the status of preferred target by others over whom none of us have any control.
Don't wait. Retaliate.
We do not forget.
Anonymous
[Portions of the below text have been edited to remove identifying details of Anons and reporter]
[February 6th 2011, a few minutes after completion of Anonymous attack on HBGary servers]
[E-mail to reporter who had covered Anonymous matters such as legal defense efforts for those raided in Paypal case as well as recent successful attacks on Egyptian government online infrastructure]
[redacted]
You may have seen yesterday's Financial Times piece which claimed that the operational heads of Anonymous had been identified by a certain Aaron Barr of the internet secuity firm HBGary Federal. Barr claimed that Q is co-founder of Anonymous, which is demonstrably false (Q set up the #anonymous channel at anonops.ru, which is simply an IRC channel) and that he is seeking replacements for OWen. OWen merely runs and owns that particular server, which as I told you is one of several de facto operational centers. Everyone involved laughed their assess off yesterday and several of us wrote a silly press release which was thereafter posted at Daily Kos and AnonNews. Barr, for his part, is reportedly set to meet with the FBI tomorrow in order to provide them with info gleaned from our entirely non-secret IRC channels, and meanwhile his allegedly successful intel operation will no doubt help his firm acquire further business.
The only problem is that Anonymous has just taken over the website of HBGary Federal founder Greg Hoglund and deleted all bakcups. Suffice to say that HBGary has attempted to interfere with a movement that has made substantial contributions to the liberty and well-being of North Africans and others and will be further dealt with over the coming hours. Please see: http://rootkit.com/. And enjoy your weekend.
[another e-mail to same reporter a few minutes later]
This document: http://hizost.com/...
... was to be provided to the FBI by HBGary. Much of it appears to be hilariously inaccurate; I,for instance, am listed as potentially having several different screen names, whereas in fact I only have one. [several sentences redacted]
[response from reporter]
I told [redacted] that I don't think this is an NYT story right now, but that I want to try and do something longer on all of this in the next week or two.
[Within 48 hours, countless other outlets had reported on the story, with a few investigating the 70,000 e-mails seized from the firm and discovering that HBGary, Palantir, Berico, and Endgame Systems had conspired with Bank of America and U.S. Chamber to covertly attack activist groups, Wikileaks, and journalist Glenn Greenwald and set up certain targets on fraud charges, among other things. The e-mails went on to yield further stories on persona management, Endgame Systems’ offensive capabilities against Western European targets, and the Romas/COIN surveillance/propaganda system, none of which the Times has seen fit to cover. The paper did eventually note something about the HBGary hack without adding any additional information not already published elsewhere].
[Late 2011: OpCartel. Not as egregious as some of what is yet to be released, but indicative of Times’ cluelessness on certain matters, in this case those involving Mexico and legitimate security concerns involving the life of a kidnap victim]
[redacted]: Hey, hope you're well.
me: indeed
[redacted]: Just wondering if this Mexico thing today is bullshit. Have you heard anything?
me: it's not at all bullshit
5:19 PM [redacted]: I mean the rumour that a woman has been released by the Zetas.
me: I don't know about it being a woman, necessarily, but the release did apparently occur, but not in response to the op; the person was not known by the Zetas to be the Anon
5:20 PM This person can tell you more
[e-mail redacted]
I'm not sure what other details I can give out at this point
[redacted]: Who is that person?
The email address, I mean
5:21 PM me: a Mexican Anon whom I've been working with on this
[description redacted]
5:22 PM [redacted]: Can you tell me, off the record, any details about the person who was taken? I'm not going to publish even the hint of a detail, as I don't want to endanger a life. But it would help in researching.
me: and perhaps more as other informants come to me as a result of the media coverage
I cannot, you'll have to ask this Mexican Anon
5:23 PM [redacted]: What evidence have you seen that the kidnap really happened?
5:24 PM me: None, nor would I have expected to as we have no intention of providing a chance that the person could be identified
however, this other person might be able to tell you more.
[redacted]: But if the person couldn't be identified, how could the Zetas respond to the threat?
5:25 PM me: These Anons assumed that the Zetas knew who it was
But obviously they had no way of knowing the exact situation
5:27 PM [redacted]: So, just to clarify: an Anon was taken by the Zetas. The video was released, then the Anon was released, but because the Anon was never identified it is not clear if it is linked to the op.
me: That's basically it, yes. But you really should check with [redacted]
5:28 PM [redacted]: I definitely will, thanks for the email address.
me: no problem
[redacted]: I'm going to ask a stupid question.
If no one has any evidence a person was kidnapped, how do you know a person was kidnapped?
5:29 PM me: I'm relying on the account of someone I've known and worked with in the past and whom I believe to be telling the truth based on the nature of her responses as well as other details I can't go into due to the present situation
5:30 PM Obviously if I were functioning as a journalist, that wouldn't be sufficient. But in this case...
5:31 PM We already have journalists looking too fucking closely into who the person is, including a review of Mexican records, and as such we're very reluctant to assist them in finding out more.
[redacted]: But a responsible journalist won't run the name.
So what difference does it make?
5:32 PM me: If you take a few minutes to think about the process by which such a name would come up and the nature of the situation in Mexico, and concede that mistakes occur in journalism, you can probably guess.
[redacted]: True.
5:33 PM me: Again, this would be of greater concern to me if the U.S. media bothered to pay attention to those larger issues on which I have already produced evidence.
As it is, we don't really need the trust of the media insomuch as that most of our operations are fait accompli when reported
5:34 PM So, we are confronted with the decision between risking someone's life and proving that a person exists to reporters with whom we already have an ambivalent relationship
[redacted]: I can see your argument.
5:35 PM But if you take me, for example, I don't think I've ever done anything that might make you think I'm not trustworthy with sensitive information.
me: At any rate, even I have few details on this, so even if I wanted to - and of course I'd be happy to have this confirmed rather than have my outlets deem me untrustworthy - there's nothing I could do.
5:36 PM No, you're the exact opposite.
The Times can be trusted to withhold even information that is of public concern.
5:37 PM [redacted]: Ha -- I can understand your frustration, but the NYT's news sense and yours will not always align.
me: That's true.
[redacted]: But sometimes it will, obviously.
5:38 PM me: But again, I have few details to provide anyway, so I don't want to waste your time on that particular issue.
5:39 PM [redacted]: Fair enough. Any details whatsoever -- however minor -- would be appreciated if you are so minded.
me: Nothing more I can say about the kidnapping victim. I suggest you talk to [redacted] about it.
[Note: Despite consistent explanations to the Times and other outlets that no one was in a position to confirm the kidnappings, they were reported as fact by the paper - a decision the reporter later expressed regret for on his Twitter account, thereby helping to spawn a narrative to the effect that the original claims were now somehow under dispute. They were later claimed to be a hoax by at least one outlet, Gawker. Months later, Anonymous Veracruz participants would reveal to the Mexican press why they were initially reluctant to provide identifying details about the kidnap victim, who had spoken via webcam with several prominent activists after being released - that he had been involved in selling marijuana and his kidnapping stemmed from a dispute with a “minor” Zeta operative]
Additional correspondence will be released tomorrow, demonstrating among other things an even more egregious failure on the part of the Times to report on revelations of Apple and Google’s involvement with disgraced intelligence contractor Aaron Barr and other parties on the multi-capability apparatus know as Romas/COIN (reportedly replaced by an even lesser-understood capability Odyssey in 2011). In fairness to the Times, only Der Spiegel, Raw Story, The Guardian, and a few other outlets mostly outside of the U.S. bothered to even mention the report, which was offered as an exclusive to various outlets before being released to the public in mid-2011.Home » Drone News » The Government of Nepal Imposes Harsh Regulations on Drones Drone News The Government of Nepal Imposes Harsh Regulations on Drones 124 Views
A very controversial event has just taken place in Nepal, the country that was recently shaken by a massive earthquake killing thousands of people. The latest reports indicate that the Government of Nepal has banned drones following the earthquake that hit in late April.
Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters
This has serious implications for the drone market, as operators who would like to fly quadcopters in the country are now obliged by law to ask for permission from the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN), in order to be legally allowed to fly a drone. The Nepalese tourism ministry has stated that this regulation has been imposed after a number of complaints have been received from the country’s citizens, saying they disagree with the use of drones to collect news and pictures.
Drones Are Essential in Rescue Efforts
However, what the government and the people who filed those complains failed to see, is that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles during a disastrous event (like an earthquake) is essential in rescue efforts. With this in mind, British NGOs have used drones to assess the extent of the damage that was caused by the earthquake, but also to aid a variety of search-and-rescue operations that have been going on around the area most affected by the Nepal earthquake. The fact that drones proved to be essential in saving tons of lives after the earthquake at Nepal, proves that drones can serve many other purposes than just flying around and invading people’s privacy, as some citizens believe. Without the use of drones, chances are that the number of victims from the earthquake would’ve been much higher.
Reports also indicate that the Government of Nepal is worried about the footage that contains images of historic artifacts that could later be misused. What I, and many other people wonder, is how exactly can the picture of a historical artifact be misused? Together with this, does the privacy of one person matter more than the lives of hundreds, in the case of natural disasters, bombings and other violent events? Most of us tend to think that it does not, and this represents the idea that government should keep in mind, before imposing such drone bans in the future.
The Drone Community is Outraged Over New Quadcopter Regulations
The drone community is currently outraged, after the new drone regulations have been imposed. The fact that a larger number of countries are currently imposing drone regulations is discouraging the market, mostly due to the fact that most of these are uncalled for. While laws stating that drones shouldn’t fly too close to buildings or other people are totally understandable. But overall, flying a quadcopter shouldn’t be considered such a big deal, and the regulations imposed should be more lenient.
What do you personally think about the drone regulations by the Government of Nepal? Should people be forced to ask for permission before flying a drone? Do you think that the actions of the Nepalese government in this case are uncalled for? Let us know your thoughts!Hot on the heels of Avacyn’s Glory and Masks of the Dimir, it looks like another two decks for Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 are being revealed.
First up is chant of Mul Daya, a green deck that’s based on summoning Eldrazi terrors and annihilating the competition. I was surprised and excited to see this show up in a Duels game, and there’s certainly opportunity for some insane plays.
Also making its debut is Enter the Dracomancer, a Jund deck that’s all about dragons: summoning dragons, raising dragons, even becoming a dragon! Daenerys, eat your heart out.
Chant of Mul Daya decklist
1 x Artisan of Kozilek
4 x Farhaven Elf
4 x Grazing Gladehart
2 x Oracle of Mul Daya
1 x Pathrazer of Ulamog
2 x Pelakka Wurm
1 x Primeval Titan
1 x Sporemound
2 x Ulamog’s Crusher
1 x Vastwood Hydra
2 x All Is Dust
1 x Eldrazi Conscription
3 x Explore
1 x It That Betrays
4 x Khalni Heart Expedition
4 x Rampant Growth
25 Forest
Unlocks
Enter the Dracomancer decklist
2 x Borderland Ranger
4 x Dragon Fodder
2 x Dragonspeaker Shaman
1 x Flameblast Dragon
2 x Gorger Wurm
3 x Hellkite Hatchling
1 x Hellkite Overlord
2 x Igneous Pouncer
1 x Predator Dragon
4 x Tukatongue Thallid
2 x Valley Rannet
1 x Volcanic Dragon
4 x Cultivate
2 x Jund Charm
1 x Sangrite Surge
4 x Soul’s Fire
4 x Terramorphic Expanse
9 Forest
7 Mountain
4 Swamp
Unlocks
Both of these decks seem like a lot of fun for players who want to summon huge, battlefield-wrecking monsters to the table. Personally, I prefer Eldrazi abominations over the more traditional winged lizards… but when either is staring you down, what’s the difference?FORMER ABC chairman Maurice Newman claims ABC staff are biased and preach the global warming faith.
"A powerful group has captured the corporation, at least on climate change," he says. ABC managing director Mark Scott denied that last month, but I hope he heard his ABC hyping the Climate Commission's alarmist report this week.
Take ABC 24's interview with Climate Commissioner Will Steffen and retired admiral Chris Barrie. Host Virginia Trioli didn't ask why an admiral with no climate science qualifications was helping to launch its report.
Nor did she ask if Barrie was joking when he claimed there was an even chance no human would be left alive only 87 years from now if we didn't face "the climate change consequences and some other behaviours".
Blog with Andrew Bolt
"There's a one in two chance that by 2100 there'll be no human beings left on this planet," burbled Barrie, citing British scientist Lord Rees. In fact, Barrie misrepresented Rees, who was freaking over many dangers beyond warming, including terrorism, super-eruptions, engineered viruses and asteroids.
But neither Trioli nor Steffen questioned his end-of-the-world-is-nigh tosh.
The ABC's AM program was just as credulous with the two alarmists. This time Steffen cited weather as "convincing evidence" of dangerous global warming: "Heatwaves in Europe, heatwaves in Russia |
raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the
regulations that hurt small businesses the most, and it means we
must rein in skyrocketing cost of health care by repealing and
replacing Obamacare.
(APPLAUSE)
Today women are more likely than men to start of business.
They need a president who respect and understand what they do.
And let me make this clear. Unlike President Obama, I will not
raise taxes on the middle class of America.
(APPLAUSE)
As president, I'll respect the sanctity of life. I'll
honor the institution of marriage.
(APPLAUSE)
And I will guarantee America's first liberty, the freedom
of religion.
(APPLAUSE)
President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the
oceans.
(LAUGHTER)
And to heal the planet. My promises to help you and your
family.
(APPLAUSE)
I will begin my presidency with the jobs tour. President
Obama began his with an apology to our.
(LAUGHTER)
America he said had dictated to other nations. No, Mr.
President America has feed other nations from dictators.
(APPLAUSE)
(AUDIENCE MEMBERS): U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A..
(APPLAUSE)
Every American...
(AUDIENCE MEMBERS): U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.
ROMNEY: Every American was relieved the day President
Obama I gave the order and SEAL Team 6 took out Osama Bin Laden.
(APPLAUSE)
On another front, every American is less secure today
because he has failed to slow Iran's nuclear threat. In his
first TV interview as president, he said we should talk to Iran.
We are still talking, and Iran's centrifuges are still
spinning.
President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus
even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castor's Cuba. He abandoned
our friends in Poland by walking away from missile defense
commitments
(AUDIENCE MEMBERS): Boo.
ROMNEY: But he's eager to give Russia's president Putin
the flexibility he desires after the election.
(AUDIENCE MEMBERS): Boo.
ROMNEY: Under my presidency our friends will see more
loyalty and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and
more backbone.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: We will honor America's Democratic ideals because
a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan
foreign legacy of Truman and Reagan, and under presidency we
will return to it once again.
(APPLAUSE)
You might have asked yourselves if these last years were
really the America we want, the America that was won for us by
the greatest generation. Does the America we want borrow a
trillion dollars from China?
Does it fail to find the jobs that are needed for 23
million and for half the kids graduating from college?
Are those schools lagging behind the rest of the develolped
world?
And does America that we want succumb to resentment and
division among Americans?
The America we all know has been a story of many becoming
one. United to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest
the economy in the world, uniting to save the world from
unspeakable darkness.
Everywhere I go there are monuments and now for those who
have given their lives for America. There is no mention of
their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a
living.
(APPLAUSE)
They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a
single purpose. They've pledge allegiance to the United States
of America. Taht America, that united America can unleash an
economy that will put Americans back to work, taht will once
again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and will
restore every father and mother's confidence that their
children's future is brighter even than the past. That
American, that united America will preserve a military that's so
strong no nation will ever dare to test it.
(APPLAUSE)
That America, that America, that united America will of
uphold the consolation of rights that were endowed by our
creator and codified in our Constitution.
(APPLAUSE)
That united America will care for the poor and sick, will
honor and respect the elderly and will giving a helping hand to
those in need. That America is the best within each of us.
That America we want for our children.
If I am elected president of these United States I will
work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to
lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny.
That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children
deserve it. Our nation depends on it. The peace and freedom of
the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it.
Let us the begin that future for Amreica tonight.
Thank you so very much. May God bless you! May god bless
the American people, and may God bless the United States of
America!Election 2012
While most myths embrace at least a modicum of reality, this one avoids that temptation. President Obama and his surrogates have repeated the “things are getting better” myth on a number of occasions and in a number of ways. In February of this year the President stated that “the economy is growing stronger. The recovery is speeding up.” A month later he again said that “the economy is getting stronger” and “better days are ahead.”
Friday’s unemployment report provided the kind of mixed results that the Obama administration and the candidate’s surrogates doubtless will spin into a broad recovery scenario. The report said job growth was up 171,000, which was higher than expected, and the 7.9 percent unemployment rate, as several news outlets reported, increased a tick from the previous month because of the way the data was collected and was — counter-intuitively! — a sign the job market is getting better. Things are looking up.
But, finding a bit of silver lining — and I’m all for optimism — is a lot different than understanding the economy we are living in, have been living in, and will be living in if President Obama is re-elected.
Americans understand they are living with President Obama’s declining economy every day and, at the very least, sense that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Our economic growth rate is at anemic levels and discouraged workers are leaving the labor force in droves. So, why tell us that things are getting better? Is it simply the old “who are you going to believe, me or your eyes” approach to persuasion?
The answer comes from no less a Democratic strategist than James Carville. Mr. Carville recently explained that the way for a presidential candidate to deal with a “bad economy... the skill, or the way to thread the needle [is] saying things are getting better when people don’t feel like they are getting better.” And so, a myth is born.
To debunk the myth, let’s take a look at economic growth and job creation, two widely accepted measures of whether an economy actually is “growing stronger.”
Anemic GDP growth
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is “one of the most comprehensive and closely watched economic statistics,” and a widely accepted statistic for measuring economic growth. GDP measures the value of final goods and services produced in the United States over a given period of time. “It is used by the White House and Congress to prepare the Federal budget, by the Federal Reserve to formulate monetary policy, by Wall Street as an indicator of economic activity, and by the business community to prepare forecasts of economic performance that provide the basis for production, investment, and employment planning.” Generally speaking, if there is strong GDP growth, businesses are expanding and creating jobs and personal incomes are increasing. To use the President’s phrase, “the economy is growing stronger.” If GDP growth is weak, the economy is getting weaker and employment often declines.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) (the research arm of the Department of Commerce) updates GDP every month and releases the GDP Growth Report, which describes how fast the economy grew in the prior quarter. From 1947 until 2012, the GDP growth rate in the U.S. averaged 3.2 percent. Economists generally consider the ideal growth rate to be between 2 percent and 3 percent on average, because that rate of growth is slow enough to avoid inflation and fast enough to create jobs. However, the ideal rate can change due to economic circumstances. For example, a higher growth rate is desirable coming out of a recession as the economy needs to create more jobs and inflation is less of a danger.
After Congress passed President’s Obama’s $800 billion “Stimulus” bill, the White House projected that the GDP growth rate would “accelerate in 2011 to 3.8 percent and... exceed 4 percent per year in 2012-2014.”
If, as President Obama contends, the economy truly is “growing stronger” and the recovery truly is “speeding up,” we should see the GDP growth rate over the last three years increasing along the lines the White House projected in 2010. Unfortunately, the trend has been just the opposite. In 2010, the GDP growth rate was 2.4 percent. In 2011, it declined to 1.8 percent. In the first quarter of 2012 the GDP growth rate was 2 percent, in the second quarter it was an anemic 1.3 percent and in the third quarter it was 2 percent.
The increase in third quarter was due, in part, to a 9.6 percent increase in “federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment.” “Overall government outlays rose 3.7 percent and accounted for about 0.7 percentage points of the 2 percent overall GDP increase.” Growth in government is not what we need to see for a real recovery. Meaningful job creation will only occur when there is robust private sector growth. Nonetheless, even taking the 2 percent GDP growth rate for third quarter at face value, it is well below what we should be seeing. Year to date through the first three quarters, the GDP growth rate has averaged only 1.8 percent. Even if we annualize the first three quarters of 2012, the result is only a 1.9 percent growth rate. These are unacceptable levels of growth by any rational standard, particularly coming out of a recession.
However, the economy’s trend is even more disturbing. Last year’s GDP growth rate was lower than the year before and this year’s GDP growth rate will be close to last year’s anemic rate. Economists, and most other people, would call this a “decline leveling off at an unacceptably low number.” To use the inimitable Mr. Carville’s words, only a politician “threading the needle” could refer to this economy as “growing stronger” or to the purported “recovery” as “speeding up.” Our economic growth is slowing or, at best, stalling at a very low level. That is an extremely dangerous trend particularly coming out of a recession where economic growth should be and needs to be improving dynamically. Despite what the President may contend, the “absence of a downward spiral” is not synonymous with “heading in the right direction.” We should be and we need to be at over 4 percent GDP growth as the President projected. We’re not.
Lackluster job growth
Anything more than a cursory look at the unemployment numbers demonstrates that our anemic GDP growth rate and the associated trends are very reflective of what Americans are experiencing in the jobs market.
The official unemployment rate in January of 2009, the month President Obama took office, was 7.8 percent. This was also the lowest official unemployment rate during the Obama presidency. In October of this year, the BLS reported the unemployment rate for September 2012 as having returned to 7.8 percent. After 43 consecutive months of unemployment over 8 percent, “the longest stretch of high unemployment in this country since the Great Depression,” President Obama saw another opportunity to “thread the needle” stating: “Today, I believe that as a nation, we are moving forward again. We’re moving forward.”
But, are we moving forward? A look at the numbers reveals quite clearly that we are not.
First, the unemployment rate for October was 7.9 percent which s higher than the rate when President Obama took office and certainly higher than the 5.4 percent rate the White House projected following the “Stimulus”. However, perhaps more importantly, the unemployment rate is only as low as it is because of how that rate is calculated. In reality, the economy is in much worse shape than even a disturbingly high a 7.9 percent unemployment rate would indicate.
The unemployment rate is a percentage the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calculates by taking the number of unemployed people in the work force as a percentage of the total number of people in the work force. When calculating the “official unemployment rate,” BLS removes from the work force people who do not meet certain criteria. An example of this are those classified as “marginally attached” to the work force. Marginally attached workers are people “not in the labor force who want and are available for work, and who have looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months (or since the end of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months), but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.” http://www.bls.gov/bls/glossary.htm. Such individuals are commonly called “discouraged workers.”
If BLS removes unemployed people (including discouraged workers) from its work force calculation at a greater rate than the economy is adding jobs, the unemployment rate will decline because the remaining unemployed will be a smaller percentage of the now smaller work force. This is true even if the number of people with jobs is stable or declining. To take an extreme case, if the economy lost 10 percent of its total jobs in a given month, but 15 percent of unemployed workers became “discouraged” during the same period and were no longer looking for work, the unemployment rate would go down, even though the economy was actually shrinking.
As such, while a decline in the official unemployment rate is relevant when looking at the economy, the real question is whether the decline is due to the economy adding a sufficient number of jobs to outpace population growth or whether it is simply due to unemployed people leaving the work force. In the latter case, the unemployment rate can decline even without job creation or, as has been the case during President Obama’s term in office, it can decline with feeble job creation. Rather than positive news, a declining unemployment rate due to discouraged workers leaving the work force in droves is a symptom of an economy in serious trouble.
Let’s take a look at the unemployment rate under President Obama. The numbers I use below are taken from the BLS website.
What the BLS calls the “civilian noninstitutional population” consists of “persons 16 years of age and older... who are not inmates of institutions... and who are not on active duty in the Armed Forces.” Essentially, this is the segment of the population that would potentially be looking for jobs and I will refer to this segment as the “population.” Over the 46 months President Obama has been in office, the “population” has increased from 234,739,000 to 243,983,000. This is a total increase of 9,244,000 people or an average of 200,957 people per month.
As these are, by definition, people who are over 16 years old and neither institutionalized nor in the military, one could reasonably expect a significant portion of them to join the work force. However, during this same period of time, the work force has increased a total of only 1,405,000 people or an average of only 30,543 people per month.
So, where are the other over 8 million people? Well, there were 80,502,000 people “not in the labor force” in January of 2009 versus 88,341,000 in October of 2012. This is an increase of 7,839,000 people or an average of 170,413 people per month who left the labor force (85 percent of the population increase). In other words, people gave up their search for employment at nearly 6 times (170,413 people per month) the rate that the work force increased (30,543 people per month). This is a sign of a seriously troubled economy.
How about the number of people employed during this period of time? There were 142,187,000 people employed in January of 2009 and 143,384,000 in October of 2012, an increase of 1,197,000 jobs or an average of merely 26,022 jobs per month. Since the population increased at a rate of 200,957 people per month, or nearly 8 times the number of jobs the economy created each month, how could the unemployment rate be 7.8 percent in January of 2009 and 7.9 percent in October of 2012?
The answer, quite simply, is that 170,413 people per month (again, 85 percent of the population increase) dropped out of the work force lowering the number of people in the work force so dramatically that anemic job creation of 26,022 jobs per month actually resulted in an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent.
The key factor in determining whether an improving unemployment rate is due to an improving economy or to people simply giving up in their search for a job is what BLS calls the “labor participation rate.” This is simply the percentage of the population that is in the work force. The labor participation rate has continually declined throughout President Obama’s term in office. When President Obama took office, the labor participation rate was 65.7 percent. It stayed in the 65 percent range throughout most of 2009. It entered the 64 percent range beginning in December of 2009 and continued to decline through December of 2010 and 2011 hitting the 63 percent range in January of 2012. It has been in the 63% range all year. In October it was at 63.8 percent the same rate as in March, May and June of this year, indicating an economy in a virtual standstill, at best, and certainly not “growing stronger.” Prior to 2012, the labor participation was last as low as 63.8 percent in March of 1982, over 30 years ago.
Despite claims that this decline in the labor participation rate is due to baby boomers retiring and distorting the numbers, the reality is that labor participation rates have actually increased for individuals of retirement age as “more people as a ratio are working in these so called retirement years than before the recession.” Rather, labor participation rates “have dropped dramatically for people in their prime working years and thus there really is a large segment of the population that probably needs a job that [is] not being counted as unemployed.”
Any college graduate looking for a job could attest to the accuracy of this analysis. Clearly, the decline in the labor participation rate is reflective of people who could work and often would prefer to work dropping out of the work force in very meaningful numbers throughout President Obama’s time in office. This fact bears repeating. Virtually the entire decline in the unemployment rate since 2009 is attributable to people dropping out of the labor force. If the labor participation rate today (63.8 percent) were the same as when President Obama took office (65.7 percent), the official unemployment rate would be 10.6 percent. The BLS calculates a rate that includes people “marginally attached to the labor force.” It’s called the U-6 rate (the “official rate” is called the U-3 rate). As noted, the U3 unemployment rate through October 2012 is 7.9 percent. The U6 unemployment rate, including people marginally attached to the labor force, is 14.6 percent.
This continuing “dropout” rate is neither a positive comment on the economy nor justification for a presidential victory lap. To the contrary, our economy is in serious trouble.
Government dependence
Obviously, unemployed individuals need to support themselves and their families if they are unable to find jobs. The result is increasing dependence on government programs such as food stamps and Social Security disability.
The number of people receiving foods stamps during President Obama’s term in office has increased an astonishing 46 percent from 31,983,716 people in January of 2009 to 46,681,833 people in July of 2012. The current U.S. population is approximately 315 million people. This means 15 percent of Americans are now on food stamps.
The number of people receiving Social Security disability benefits has also meaningfully increased from 7,442,377 in January 2009 to 8,753,935 as of July 2012. That’s an increase of 1,311,558 people or about 18 percent. To put this number in context, it actually exceeds by 9 percent the increase in the total number of employed people since President Obama took office (1,197,000). Studies have shown “a correlation between when people seek Social Security disability payments and when their unemployment benefits are exhausted.”
Combined, 55,435,768 Americans were either receiving food stamps or social security disability benefits as of July 2012. That’s nearly 18 percent or nearly one in five Americans. Obviously, these programs are an important safety net for Americans who need help. My point is that decreasing the number of people in the American work force and increasing the number of people dependent on government benefits is an indication of a seriously troubled economy. It also indicates increasing desperation and resignation among those who would otherwise be looking for work. These numbers demonstrate that, as most voters intuitively understand, we are headed in absolutely the wrong direction. We are in need of dramatic change in the approach we are taking to solving our economic problems.
Time for a change
As a nation, our economy is in serious trouble. We simply cannot afford to stay on our current path through a second Obama administration. Doing so would severely damage our ability to turn these numbers around, get people back to work and reduce government dependence.
We are at a turning point. The choice we make will shape the future of this nation. But, more importantly, we will pass on the consequences of our choice to future generations. Each of us must ask: Are we prepared to continue on the path of the last four years, with feeble economic growth compelling people to abandon their search for a job as they become increasingly dependent on government? Or, should we seek greater opportunity independent of government? This choice is ours to make.
I will end this series on “Democratic Myths” by quoting Mitt Romney. Speaking in Ames, Iowa on Oct. 26. Gov. Romney stated: “We will grow jobs by making America the best possible place for job creators, for entrepreneurs, for small business, for innovators, for manufacturers. This we will do by updating and reshaping regulations to encourage growth, by lowering tax rates while lowering deductions and closing loopholes, and by making it clear from day one that unlike the current administration, we actually like business and the jobs business creates … This election is a choice between the status quo — going forward with the same policies of the last four years — or instead, choosing real change, change that offers promise, promise that the future will be better than the past.”
Andrew Puzder is CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc., which employs about 21,000 people at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants. He is co-author of “Job Creation: How it Really Works and Why the Government doesn’t Understand it.” He is an Economic Adviser to presidential candidate Mitt Romney. To read all five of Mr. Puzder’s Democratic Myths, go here.Liquor outlets on the porous India-Nepal border ran dry on Friday as tipplers from Bihar’s Raxaul and other villages crossed into the neighbouring country to have their fill after the Patna high court lifted the alcohol ban in the state.
Quashing the April 5 notification of the state government which banned the manufacture, consumption and sale of IMFL, a high court division bench comprising chief justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari and justice Navaniti Prasad Singh held the prohibition to be “ultra vires to the Constitution, hence not enforceable”.
Ramesh Bhatt, a shop owner at Bara in Nepal, said his stock of liquor exhausted within four hours of the high court verdict.
“At all entry points in Raxaul, Adapur and Ghorasan blocks under East Champaran district of Bihar, a large number of people were seen crossing over to Nepal, having a drink there and returning with two-three bottles of alcoholic beverages. For the first time in the last five months, there was no sense of fear among them of being caught,” Anil Kumar Sinha, a social worker at Raxaul, said.
Having already apprehended more than 2,000 people for violating the liquor ban, Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel and other security men patrolling the border with mobile breath analysers remained only mute spectators, he said.
District officials, however, declined to comment on the impact of the high court order in the border areas.
New liquor shops had sprung up in Nepal along the border and many enterprising Indians set up small restaurants in border towns to specially target Indian tipplers after the liquor ban in Bihar came into effect on April 5.
Many ended up spending the night in Nepal police lockups and pay hefty fines. In May, police in Rautahat district of Nepal said at least 70 Indian nationals have been fined Rs 1,000 each for drinking in dozens of shacks that mushroomed in the Nepalese territory along Bihar’s border with the Himalayan nation.
The Indian side had asked Nepal authorities to take stringent action against the booze lovers. In September, local administration along the border started dismantling the booze shops and issued several notices to the Indian nationals.
First Published: Oct 01, 2016 11:39 ISTWow – $9.1 million and climbing! The team at Cloud Imperium is glued to the site watching the counter; we simply can’t believe the response to the Aurora sale. There are three days left to get your Aurora LX, so please pledge if you are interested… and spread the word if you’re already a backer!
Mocap Stretch Goal
Today we’d like to talk more about our $10 million motion capture stretch goal. Some backers have noticed that this isn’t so much a reward as it is a statement. That’s the point: we want to share the development process with you in a mature fashion. There will be rewards for our longtime supporters, but we also want to tell you exactly what we’re doing with the additional money. In this case, that’s building a motion capture studio, something that will significantly enhance Star Citizen!
For those unfamiliar, motion capture is a process of recording motion. Actors are fitted with sensors and recorded with special cameras to gauge how they move. Films like Avatar use this technology to allow their CGI characters to act just like humans. Actors wearing sensor suits are filmed as though they were acting regular scenes, then overlaid with their computer generated characters. In gaming, the process is much the same, although not always so linear: the data is provided to the animation team so they can create more lifelike characters.
Games have been using motion capture for years: Origin Systems pioneered the process in the mid-1990s, utilizing “Flock of Birds” technology to build Bioforge. Since then, it has become a standard for serious game development that requires “actors” (largely supplanting the live action shoots that Chris Roberts popularized with Wing Commander III.) For a game like Star Citizen, motion capture would be used both to record cut scenes and to decide “moves” – how your interactive characters will react to various inputs and stimuli.
There are essentially three levels of mocap: body and motion movement capture, facial capture and then full performance capture which combines the two. In body capture, we record movements. In facial capture, nuanced facial expressions (including lips, to match voice actors.) The third captures all of this at once to make for the best possible high end performance.
We haven’t done any mocap yet; the team is currently using reference moves that will need to be replaced before the game is finished. We did do a reference shoot to get a baseline early in the process, though. This was a much less complicated process, using a model to generate footage we can refer to when building our characters. Here’s a Wingman’s Hangar segment explaining that shoot:
Unfortunately, motion capture is expensive. Very few studios have their own motion capture rigs: typically, development teams rent out the technology, studio space and talent for a limited amount of time. A day of motion capture costs between $25,000 and $50,000 and provides roughly 200 “moves”; simple gestures, limb movements and so on. More complex shoots which require props, additional actors, finger movements and other factors are significantly more expensive. Still more expensive are shoots that capture audio and facial movements. This expense-to-benefit ration means that there’s a great deal of preparation required for a mocap shoot… and that messing up or deciding you want something more in the game later means another chunk of money.
What we want to do is build our own studio. We want to dedicate an area for mocap and purchase our own mocap system outright. It would cost more than we have currently budgeted for mocap leasing to do this to start… but the result would improve the game significantly. With our own mocap system we could generate cutscenes and moves as we determine they are needed, which will be especially valuable for the Star Citizen live team charged with feeding the game constant content! It’s even conceivable that we could rent it out when not in use, ultimately funneling more money into Star Citizen’s development!
Lead Animator Bryan Brewer is currently looking at two potential mocap systems for body movement. The first is the Vicon system, which he calls the Ferrari of mocap rigs. We would purchase sixteen of their 2.0 megapixel T20S cameras and sixteen of their 1.0 mexapixel T10S cameras for roughly $230,000. A second option is OptiTrack, the “Porsche” of mocap systems, which would be 24 4.1 megapixel Prime 41 cameras and 2 Prime17 cameras for significantly less: $150,000.
This hardware is just the start: it would track body motions, but an additional system would be needed for the game’s facial animations. For this, we are looking at a product called FaceWare. Other money would go towards a physical space to install the system and various pieces of rigging. Finally, some of the additional million would go to professional actors. While team members and other volunteers are suitable for simple motions, real actors are needed for some captures!
We genuinely believe our own mocap studio would significantly improve Star Citizen. The team is very excited about the possibilities for expanding the game beyond what our original budget allowed. We think this is a great example of how we can be responsible with additional money… and a way to continue showing our backers that we’re doing the right thing with their pledges!
Finally, we asked Bryan a few questions to clarify issues that we felt fans would like to know:
Why Vicon Motion capture system?
Vicon offers the latest in Motion capture technology. The Cameras shoot at over 120fps and can capture large volumes with multiple actors. The cameras also have a high resolution. This means we can use smaller markers and small markers produces more accurate data. The Vicon Solution also works with FaceWare Head cams. The same technology used in movies like Avatar. The data produced by a high end system like this much cleaner with less cleanup in the solving. Other systems data is usually much more difficult to work with causing longer solves and editing animations to make game ready. The Motion Capture stage we are wanting to build is very similar to the one Naughty Dog built for doing their Uncharted games. This will offer us the ability to capture body, fingers, face, props and audio. Being able to do this in house rather than outsourcing to a Motion Capture Studio will afford us the ability to create animations whenever we want and not be forced to hold off because of someone else’s schedule.
Are cheaper unconventional solutions possible?
I have looked into other capture solutions like setting up 2 Kinects. The problem with that is limited capture volume and only being able to capture one character at a time. Also, there is heavy cleanup needed on the data produced with those type of systems. It is good tech for prototyping but not good for production.China's top three Bitcoin exchange platforms have announced plans to freeze all withdrawals following harsher regulations from China's Central Bank.
The three exchanges, also known as "The Big Three," are BTCC, Huobi, and OKCoin, the country's biggest Bitcoin trading platforms.
After earlier this week Huobi and OKCoin announced they suspended all Bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals for a month, yesterday, BTCC, the last one standing, announced the same via a message on its homepage.
BTCC says the reason for its actions is the new "inspection and verification system," which it will implement at the behest of Chinese authorities.
Starting with January 2016, the People's Bank of China introduced harsher regulations for crypto-currencies, aimed at countering money laundering.
The new "inspection and verification system," which Chinese traders are currently implementing, is meant to ensure that no person buys and moves a foreign currency over a limit of $50,000.
The central bank also started investigations into the practices of several Bitcoin trading platforms that were offering too-good-to-be-true offers, such as zero-trading fees.
Chinese users moving to international traders
Ever since authorities have cracked down on the local Bitcoin traders, Chinese Bitcoin users have moved operations overseas.
Coindesk, a cryptocurrency-centered news portal, points to a virtual exodus of Chinese users to other traders, with trading activity visibly going down at The Big Three.
Bitcoin price has remained stable during the past week, despite the ominous news from the three Bitcoin traders. Many experts viewed this as strange, since Chinese traders and miners take up a large portion of the Bitcoin ecosystem, and the gloomy news should have impacted Bitcoin price in some way or another.
The full BTCC announcement is embedded below:
Dear Customer,
BTCChina will continue upgrading its inspection and verification system for bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals to aggressively guard against money laundering, illegal money exchange, pyramid schemes, and other illegal activity.
As a result, Bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals will be suspended from February 15th until March 15th. Bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals will be resumed as soon as industry standards are settled and the inspection and verification system has been upgraded.
Please note:
1. Bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals will resume as soon the inspection and verification system has been upgraded. We will let customers know as soon as this happens.
2. CNY deposits and withdrawals will not be affected; if customers want to withdraw funds within a shorter period, they can first trade their Bitcoins and Litecoins for CNY on the exchange and then withdraw the CNY.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused.Thank you for your cooperation and understanding,
The BTCChina TeamIn 2012, Tig Notaro walked out on stage in Los Angeles and announced that she had breast cancer.
The set that followed went viral, with a little help from Louis CK who said it was one of the most masterful pieces of stand-up he’d ever seen.
Now quite rightly a comedy star, last week Notaro did it again. Following a routine about being frisked at an airport by a female member of staff who didn’t believe she was a woman, and a bit of egging-on from the audience, she ripped open her shirt to reveal her mastectomy scars. And she performed the last 20 minutes of her set topless. “You’re thinking, ‘When’s she gonna...?’ She’s not gonna,” she said but apart from that made little reference to her nakedness.
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This is typical Tig – I’ve seen her spend 15 minutes getting the audience to spell ‘diarrhoea’ and even longer pushing a chair around the stage in silence. She is queen of the ice-cool pause, consummately in control of her material and her crowd. With this latest gesture, she has made a shock move look ordinary and kept people laughing throughout. That's how you push boundaries.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Christie bet everything on the New Hampshire race and lost badly
Republican Chris Christie has dropped out of the US presidential race after a disappointing finish in New Hampshire.
The New Jersey governor spent heavily and campaigned the longest in the state but still finished in sixth place.
Mr Christie joins former tech executive Carly Fiorina, who also left the race after struggling in Iowa and New Hampshire.
He was praised for his debate performances and was credited with blunting the momentum of Marco Rubio.
During the campaign, Mr Christie promoted his law-and-order credentials, saying his experience as a federal prosecutor after the 9/11 attacks uniquely prepared him to protect the country against terrorists.
Also as the Republican leader of traditionally Democratic state, Mr Christie said his experience showed he could work with both parties to get things done in Washington.
However, as a candidate his positions on issues such as climate change, immigration and gay rights shifted to the right, putting him in line with his more conservative rivals.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Christie campaign spent the most time of any Republican candidate campaigning in New Hampshire
Mr Rubio had surged in the polls after a strong showing in Iowa. But Mr Christie effectively painted the Florida senator as the "boy in the bubble" who was overly cautious and scripted.
However, Mr Christie's moderate rivals - Ohio Governor John Kasich and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush - seemed to have reaped the benefits.
"While running for president I tried to reinforce what I have always believed - that speaking your mind matters, that experience matters, that competence matters and that it will always matter in leading our nation," Mr Christie said in a statement on Wednesday, making an indirect reference to front-runner Donald Trump.
A former prosecutor, Mr Christie is known for his blunt and aggressive speaking style. His campaign slogan was: "Telling it like it is."
However, he was quickly eclipsed by Mr Trump, who drew headlines and massive crowds with his brash persona and controversial statements about immigrants and trade.
In 2012, Republican leaders had urged Mr Christie, who was then a rising star in the party, to run for president, but he rebuffed their appeals, saying he wasn't ready yet.
Yet by 2015, when Mr Christie launched his presidential campaign, his stock had fallen. His |
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As Doer strolls toward one of his favorite restaurants, he cannot stop reciting the history of the buildings on either side of Pennsylvania Avenue, where Canada's stunning embassy is located. This is the Washington Mall, home to iconic government institutions, museums and galleries. Doer already sounds like a veteran tour guide.
None of this slows down Doer. The former Manitoba premier, now Canada's ambassador to the United States, is crisp and cool. His trim blue-grey suit jacket is done up, his white shirt is buttoned to the top and his tie is snugly knotted. There isn't a bead of sweat or a wrinkle anywhere to be found.
With the humidity, it is well over 40 C. It is grimly overcast and the early evening air is as hot and dirty as car exhaust. Sweat-soaked tourists with matted hair shuffle along sticky sidewalks. A sour smell is everywhere.
WASHINGTON, D.C. --A cruel heat wave may have left this great city a tepid puddle, but you'd never know it by looking at Gary Doer.
Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 19/8/2010 (3113 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/8/2010 (3113 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
LYLE STAFFORD / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Former Manitoba premier Gary Doer admires a made-in-Winnipeg New Flyer bus as it passes near his office at the Canadian Embassy.
WASHINGTON, D.C. —A cruel heat wave may have left this great city a tepid puddle, but you'd never know it by looking at Gary Doer.
With the humidity, it is well over 40 C. It is grimly overcast and the early evening air is as hot and dirty as car exhaust. Sweat-soaked tourists with matted hair shuffle along sticky sidewalks. A sour smell is everywhere.
None of this slows down Doer. The former Manitoba premier, now Canada's ambassador to the United States, is crisp and cool. His trim blue-grey suit jacket is done up, his white shirt is buttoned to the top and his tie is snugly knotted. There isn't a bead of sweat or a wrinkle anywhere to be found.
As Doer strolls toward one of his favorite restaurants, he cannot stop reciting the history of the buildings on either side of Pennsylvania Avenue, where Canada's stunning embassy is located. This is the Washington Mall, home to iconic government institutions, museums and galleries. Doer already sounds like a veteran tour guide.
One of Doer's favourite spots is the Willard Hotel. This is where Rev. Martin Luther King wrote his famous "I have a dream" speech in August 1963. The hotel's lobby, long a haunt for legislators and the special interests that hunt them, is reputed to be the place where the term "lobbyist" was born. Others disagree on the origin of the term, but most agree lobbying as an art form was perfected at the Willard.
This recitation of DC history is interrupted when Doer spots something out of the corner of his eye. He deftly changes directions and dashes down toward the curb. "Yep, that's one of ours," he says while scanning a hybrid transit bus roaring past. "That's a (Winnipeg-made) New Flyer bus. They're all over the place."
You can take the premier out of Manitoba, but clearly you can't get Manitoba out of the premier. "I can't stop cheering for the home team."
It was one year ago next week that Doer turned the Manitoba political system upside down when he announced he was leaving the premier's office to accept an appointment as Canada's ambassador to the United States.
The sudden departure of a man who spent more than two decades in provincial politics — half that as premier — created an enormous void in the consciousness of Manitobans that, many argue, has yet to be filled.
Doer remains keenly interested in events in Manitoba, although his new job doesn't allow much time to indulge in maudlin nostalgia.
Doer was on a plane flying to Washington to take up his new post on the day last October when former finance minister Greg Selinger was being sworn in as the new premier. "I started my new job the day after I finished my old job. There wasn't time to catch my breath."
Having now caught his breath, Doer is able to, for the first time, discuss the behind-the-scenes events that took him from Winnipeg to Washington.
The offer to serve as ambassador came in early June in a phone call from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Doer said. Although it was not explicitly stated during that call, Doer said he believes a private conversation with Harper a few months earlier might have paved the way for the offer.
Last April, the two leaders were sharing a quiet moment on a plane to Churchill for a funding announcement when the topic turned to the shelf life of politicians. Both men agreed good politicians were always on the lookout for signs they had worn out their welcome.
"We were talking about our families, sports and politics in general. One of the things I said to him was that I have always appreciated people who could get out on their own terms. I always thought that 10 years was about right in terms of getting ready to leave. I've seen too many good people making speeches and not being able to leave on their own terms."
Doer said he also related some wisdom he picked up from Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, a quote machine on Capitol Hill. "He once told me, 'You've got to get out before the grim reaper or the grim voter get you.' "
Even though he had been in the job for just over a decade, his own self-described term limit, Doer did not accept the job immediately.
Family was consulted and Doer said he wanted to know exactly what was expected of him, and what his relationship would be with Harper. This job would "take me from being the alpha dog to being a member of a team. I wanted to be sure I knew the rules of engagement."
He accepted the job in June, but it took until early August to complete a detailed security screening by both Canadian and U.S. authorities. Up until this time, Doer said, only immediate family and the PMO knew what was going on. "One of the things I had going for me was that I have always known how to keep a secret. It's something I pride myself on."
Once security clearance was granted, it was time to let the cat out of the bag. On Aug. 25, two days before his announcement, Doer told NDP house leader Dave Chomiak and Paul Vogt, the clerk of executive council, to discuss strategies to keep the legislative agenda intact following his departure.
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The night before the announcement, senior staff were brought into the loop. Early on the morning of the announcement, senior NDP party brass gathered with Doer at a North End Salisbury House to get the news.
Life now is a blur of security briefings and meetings with legislators, cabinet secretaries and state governors. "When you're dealing with 435 members of Congress and 100 senators and the White House, it can be pretty busy around here."
And then there are the parties. The Canada Day party at the spectacular Canadian embassy was a must-attend event for Washington elites and locals are still talking about the Olympic soirees, including the night a star-studded crowd gathered at the embassy to watch the men's gold medal hockey final. The Olympics, Doer noted, enhanced and amplified Canada's reputation in the U.S. in a profound way.
Whether or not Doer will still be ambassador to the U.S. the next time Canada pursues Winter Olympic gold is anyone's guess. Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the prime minister, and the uncertainty gripping Canadian politics certainly leaves open many scenarios. And that's OK with Doer.
"Whether it's politics or this job, the media always focuses on the perks and power," Doer said. "But what makes being premier or being an ambassador fun is the adrenaline rush from the unexpected. Both jobs have that. The rush you get when you have to deal with something that you didn't expect."
dan.lett@freepress.mb.caThe planes were spotted in international airspace but heading towards Sweden at around 5.30am.
None of the aircraft - two TU-22M planes and two SU-27 fighter jets - were using transponders, the telecommunications devices that emit and gather signals from planes.
"It is the first time in years that we have seen precisely this type of aircraft over the Baltic Sea," Anders Grenstad, Deputy Director of Operations for the Swedish Armed Forces told the TT news agency.
He said the planes were understood to have first flown over the Baltic coast, then turned south toward Bornholm and Gotland before heading back to the Finnish Gulf.
"The threat against Sweden has not increased but the Armed Forces follow as always, in different ways, the increased activity in the area," said Göran Mårtensson, another spokesperson for the Swedish military in a press release.
Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told TT that as the Russian jets were flying in international airspace, they had not broken any rules, but added that flying without a transponder was "inappropriate behaviour".
But Foreign Minister Margot Wallström used stronger language to describe the incident, saying in an interview with TT: "We need to get the Russian side to respect the existing rules framework and put an end to something which has been tremendously challenging and also downright dangerous for civil aviation."
"We are tired to keep having to protest these violations, or more accurately, rules violations," she added.
In September 2014 two SU-24 fighter-bombers allegedly entered Swedish airspace in what the former Foreign Minister Carl Bildt called "the most serious aerial incursion by the Russians" in almost a decade. The following month a foreign submarine was spotted in Swedish waters, although the Swedish military was unable to determine where it came from. Earlier this month a second'secret' submarine hunt was also reported. “I think that there is a new security situation in the Baltic area and in the Baltic Sea,” Sweden’s Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told The Local on the day the first sighting was confirmed.The Houston Astros have dipped their toe once again in international waters. ESPN's Enrique Rojas reporting that the Astros have signed Cuban infield prospect Anibal Sierra.
Fuente: SS cubano Anibal Sierra y @astros llegaron a un acuerdo. Incluyendo penalidad, costará $7 millones. Oficial en julio 2. — Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) April 7, 2016
ESPN is reporting that the team has reached pack with Sierra for $3.5 million. The deal will be made official on July 2.
The contract is an international free agent minor league deal. Houston's bonus pool this year is $2.1 million for international free agents. As a result, the Astros will have to pay 100 percent overage tax on the contract -- in the end result in Houston paying $7 million for Sierra's services. The team also cannot sign another international free agent for over $300 thousand for two years.
Sierra played shortstop and second base in Cuba, he batted.238 in 91 games last season.
This move comes four months after the Astros signed Cuban pitching prospect Carlos Sierra in December.
Houston was reported Anibal Sierra in March as well as Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — Highway 35 has been closed indefinitely after a portion of the roadway washed away near Las Cumbres Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.
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Rain arrives in the Bay Area ahead of ‘atmospheric river’ The CHP San Jose area field office posted a picture of the damage near mile marker 10.47 to Twitter around 3:40 p.m. Friday. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.
The highway, also known as Skyline Boulevard, is one of several battered by a series of storms since December. Highway 17, for example, was blocked by a mudslide for most of the day Friday.
One of the two southbound lanes was reopened around 7 p.m., and the other was set to open to northbound traffic at noon Saturday.
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On Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown requested a presidential major disaster declaration to bolster ongoing state and local recovery efforts following January storms that caused flooding, mudslides, erosion, power outages and damage to critical infrastructure statewide.
Brown also issued an executive order adding the counties of Amador, Mono and Riverside to the 49 counties already included in an emergency proclamation issued last month.An exhibit shows the life of a neanderthal family in a cave in the new Neanderthal Museum in the northern town of Krapina February 25, 2010. The high-tech, multimedia museum, with exhibitions depicting the evolution from 'Big Bang' to present day, opens on February 27. REUTERS/Nikola Solic
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Our species, Homo sapiens, has a more adventurous sexual history than previously realized, and all that bed-hopping long ago has left an indelible mark on the human genome.
Scientists said on Friday an analysis of genetic information on about 1,500 people from locations around the world indicated at least four interbreeding episodes tens of thousands of years ago, three with our close cousins the Neanderthals and one with the mysterious extinct human species known as Denisovans.
People living on the remote equatorial islands of Melanesia represented the only population found to possess an appreciable level of Denisovan genetic ancestry. These Melanesians, like most human populations, also had Neanderthal genetic ancestry.
The researchers found some of the genes inherited from these extinct species were beneficial for our species.
Many are involved in the immune system and likely helped protect against pathogens, and some play important roles in skin and hair biology, said University of Washington evolutionary geneticist Joshua Akey, who helped lead the study published in the journal Science.
The researchers analyzed DNA sequences from 35 people living on Northern Island Melanesia off the coast of New Guinea. These Melanesians were found to have about 2 percent Neanderthal ancestry plus an additional genetic contribution of roughly 2 to 4 percent from Denisovans.
The non-African populations studied had roughly 1.5 to 4 percent Neanderthal genetic ancestry, Akey said. African populations do not have either Neanderthal or Denisovan ancestry because those two species were never on that continent.
Denisovans, discovered in the past decade, are known only from a pinky finger bone and two teeth from a northern Siberian cave.
The robust, large-browed Neanderthals prospered across Europe and Asia from about 350,000 years ago until disappearing shortly after 40,000 years ago. Less is known about the Denisovans.
The fact that the only known Denisovan remains come from northern Siberia but that their genetic contribution is seen in people living far away in Melanesia suggests Denisovans had a broad geographic range extending across Asia, Akey said.
Binghamton University molecular anthropologist D. Andrew Merriwether said the researchers also detected a contribution to people's genome from a fourth, unknown source.
"So this paints a picture of probably at least four species of hominins (our species and extinct human species) alive at the same time and interbreeding at times over the last 100,000 years. Definitely not something most people supposed before 10 years ago," Merriwether said.
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)Mystery deepens as Crouch End Festival banners are ‘stolen’
Bright banners advertising the festival have been taken Archant
Organisers say £300 worth of banners have been taken, days before the UK’s largest community arts festival opens
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Two bright banners were wrenched from the Hornsey Town Hall Green and The Queens pub on the Broadway Parade.
Artistic director Chris Arnold suspects they were taken by an “overzealous” street cleaner with wire cutters, who is taking it upon himself to “clean the streets.”
But he said it’s possible the posters were stolen by “trolls” who wish to sabotage the festival.
Haringey Council has made it clear they did not take down the posters.
The 10-day event, billed as the UK’s largest community arts festival, starts on Saturday.
But the banners are gone and no note has been left.
Events director Amanda Carrara said: “If it’s malicious and somebody wishes the festival ill, we’d like to know why.
“It’s kind of like kids having to ask for their ball back.”
The 56-year-old said the banners were put up without any incident in the last few years.
Director Chris Arnold said: “We suspect there might be a troll deliberately going round.
“We’ve asked everyone to keep an eye out and be very vigilant.”
“The mystery deepens.”
Mr Arnold is concerned the festival will attract fewer visitors without the banners.
There were 40,000 visitors to the event last year, which includes film, animation, photography, art, poetry, drama, dance and poets in a phone box.
Middeys manager Rossi Barbarossa has valiantly allowed a banner to be hung on the restaurant, which has yet to open, on Hornsey Town Hall square.
Ms Carrara said organisers are working hard to put the festival together.
She said: “We would love not to have to spend hours on [the banners] in the next few days.”
Banners advertising Crouch End Open Studios, which invited residents to pop inside the homes of artists, reportedly went missing in May.
Cllr Jason Arthur said: “Thousands of people take part in the Crouch End Festival every year and I’m proud that Haringey has put in £4500 of funding to support this fantastic community event.”Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
The leader of Rhode Island’s Roman Catholic Diocese has criticised the state’s decision to legalise equal marriage.
Bishop Thomas Tobin said he was “profoundly disappointed” Rhode Island had legalised the measure this week, while saying he prays for God’s blessings on those who have same-sex attractions.
The bishop warned Catholics to think hard about attending same-sex marriage ceremonies.
“Catholics should examine their consciences very carefully before deciding whether or not to endorse same-sex relationships or attend same-sex ceremonies, realising that to do so might harm their relationship with God and cause significant scandal to others,” he wrote in a pastoral letter.
Bishop Tobin said the Catholic Church teaches marriage rights for gay couples are a sin because it is “contrary to God’s plan for the human family.This article is over 2 years old
The former Queensland premier says his wife ‘wouldn’t cop it’ and he has too many other business commitments
Campbell Newman declares he will not run for federal seat
The former Queensland premier, Campbell Newman, has ruled out a shock political comeback which would not have washed with his wife, Lisa.
Newman has admitted his spouse “wouldn’t cop” a return to politics after a day of intense speculation when it was revealed he was considering a federal tilt.
Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman considering federal comeback Read more
The former premier and Brisbane lord mayor had been touted as a prime candidate for the Liberal National party in this year’s election after Brisbane MP Teresa Gambaro’s stood down.
But he has told News Corp he has too many other business commitments.
“I am ruling it out. It is a definite no,” he told the Australian.
“I can’t just walk away from a range of other commitments and obligations I have with various businesses.”
He had spoken to his wife who had been pleased to see him free from politics 13 months ago, and she “wouldn’t cop it”.
Newman instead endorsed the National Retail Association’s chief executive, Trevor Evans.
A former LNP MP, Gavin King, who wrote Newman’s biography, revealed on Thursday morning his old boss was “weighing up” contesting this year’s federal election.
I don't like Campbell Newman, but here's something I Can Do: defend his awful book | Gay Alcorn Read more
It is understood that Newman had also been seeking advice from his inner circle over whether he should run, but attempts to contact him on Thursday were unsuccessful.
A first-term premier who lost his own seat of Ashgrove in last year’s election loss to Labor, he would have started as an outsider to win the tight seat of Brisbane.
The short-lived speculation gave former adversaries the chance to remind Newman, who lost a 72-seat majority from when he was elected in 2012, of his unpopularity with voters.
Queensland’s environment minister, Steven Miles, was the most scathing, insisting he was “under the delusion” people no longer despised him.
“They haven’t forgotten how much they hate you,” Miles said before mentioning the Newman government’s controversial mass sacking of public servants.
“After all, you’ve sacked nearly half of them.”
The education minister, Kate Jones, who deposed Newman in Ashgrove, continued in the same vein, saying Brisbane voters “deserve a local member of parliament that is there to serve them, not themselves”.Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may not have the capabilities to contribute significantly to the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), two U.S. intelligence chiefs testified Tuesday.
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“I do not assess that the Saudi ground forces would have... the capacity to take this fight on,” Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“The Emiratis, very capable, acquitted themselves well in Yemen," Stewart added.
“Whether they have the capacity to do both Yemen and something in Iraq-Syria is questionable for me,” Stewart said. “I think they’re doing extremely well in Yemen, but their capacity to do more is pretty limited.”
Stewart and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper James Robert ClapperHillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid | Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration | New malicious cyber tool found | Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators Overnight Defense: White House eyes budget maneuver to boost defense spending | Trump heads to Hanoi for second summit with Kim | Former national security officials rebuke Trump on emergency declaration 58 ex-national security officials rebuke Trump over emergency declaration MORE said Tuesday that while Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s offers are welcome, questions linger over whether either country's troops would be effective.
“I certainly appreciate and value the Saudi willingness to engage on the ground, I think that would be a challenge for them if they try to take that on,” Clapper said.
The Obama administration has long sought more help from coalition partners, particularly the Sunni Arab countries U.S. officials feel could better maintain stability after the defeat of ISIS.
Ahead of this week’s meeting in Brussels of defense ministers from the entire coalition fighting ISIS, Saudi Arabia and the UAE said they’d be willing to send ground troops to Syria.
Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia made their offers contingent upon U.S. leadership.
Clapper said he interpreted that condition as meaning the countries want the Pentagon's command and control capability.
Stewart, however, said he saw that prerequisite as a request for more U.S. ground troops.
“I think the idea is how do we get more U.S. skin in the game,” Stewart said.Mexico
A post shared by Supercars of Connecticut (@supercars_ct) on Mar 12, 2017 at 3:08pm PDT
The latest example of the kind took place over the weekend inConnecticut, when the driver of a Yellow S2000 delivered yet another installment of the "[insert your RWD sportscar here] crashes leaving a car meet," franchise.The guy behind the wheels shows poor car control, from the begining of his sideways stunt to the moment he ends up crashing into an innocent tree on the side of the road, while also going through a harsh curb episode in the process.The impact was pretty serious, with the Honda hitting the tree while sideways. In fact, the accident turned the S2000 into a three-wheeler. And, if you pay attention to the soundtrack of the Instagram footage showcasing the crash, you'll notice an acid, yet accurate comment on the matter.Hefty damage aside, such moments have the potential to ruin the reputation of the S2000 tribe altogether, so we wouldn't expect too many Honda owners to feel bad for the guy.Then there's the negative impact such crashes have on car meets. For one thing, those outside car communities will only be given more reasons not to jump the velocity bandwagon when such crashes happen. And even when we're talking about automotive aficionados, many will be driven away from car meets by the sight of such showoff episodes.Here's to hoping the S2000 driver won't return to the road with the same uneducated hooning attitude.Numerous streets in downtown Los Angeles and beyond will be closed Tuesday as various May Day marches move through the city.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the following streets in downtown Los Angeles will be affected, beginning as early as 7 a.m. and continuing until 7:30 p.m:
Broadway between 11th Street and Temple Street
Olympic Boulevard between Hill Street and Main Street
9th Street between Hill Street and Broadway
8th Street between Spring Street and Broadway
7th Street between Hill Street and Spring Street
6th Street between Hill Street and Broadway
5th Street between Spring Street and Broadway
4th Street between Hill Street (Olive Street, if necessary) and Broadway
3rd Street between Spring Street and Broadway
2nd Street between Hill Street and Broadway
1st Street between Hill Street (Grand Avenue, if necessary)
Other marches are planned in neighborhoods across the region. There will be a march Tuesday morning from Saticoy Street and Van Nuys Boulevard to the Valley Civic Center, beginning at 8 a.m. Protesters will then take mass transit to join downtown L.A. protesters.Mark Yudof: That’s a good question, and I don’t know that any reporter has ever asked me that before. We’re sort of a federalist system. We have 10 campuses with chancellors and faculty, shared governance with students—they make a lot of decisions on campus and then there are the decisions I make and some that the board make. The board can make any decision it wants, so let’s start with that. Basically, we [UCOP] have things like the general counsel’s office. We have risk management, like when students were stranded in Egypt during the revolution, we sent a charter plane to get them out. We represent the university in Sacramento and in Washington DC. We have our communications group, to get things out, and I can go on and on down the list. So there are a series of functions that I perform.
Chris LoCascio: Many students are unfamiliar with what goes on here in the Office of the President, and many confuse your role with that of the Board of Regents. How would you describe your role in the University of California?
I would say the most important are, and it’s always highly collaborative, but I set the admissions targets for undergraduates. I set the targets for transfer students, not just first-time freshmen. We’re trying to save money desperately. I think you know this, but we were cut a billion dollars the last couple years, three quarters of that were not borne by the students. We have things like new IT systems and we have our payroll systems and things like that. So there are some functions that I exercise some central authority over and we try to save money, you know we have UC Press and we have the digital library and so forth, and we have the telescopes and we have the institute. I would say there are some system-wide activities that I’m in charge of. We set some of the admissions parameters but the actual admission is done on campuses. Government relations, law stuff, risk management, which is insurance and what happens when if something goes wrong in a lab or if a student is injured somewhere. But the really big policy issues are for the Board of Regents.
Now I’m not going to deny that I can be highly influential, but I’m just one regent among 26. So I come in and I say, ‘look, this is what we ought to do on tuition, this is what we ought to do on our budget.’ There are these proposals for revenue enhancers, ‘this is my recommendation to the board.’ So I’m influential in that, but ultimately the really big decisions, hiring chancellors—I appoint the chancellors, I have search committees—but the board, if they don’t like my appointee, they can refuse to appoint the person because they can refuse to pay the salary. So the really big policy decisions are for the Board of Regents—budgets, big political decisions, but there’s some interplay in the joints, Chris. Like, I was very active in promoting the Dream Act. We didn’t have a formal vote of the Board of Regents but I talked to them and it was fine. I went out and put my [signature] on the bill that was introduced to the assembly and ultimately it passed.
CL: At the regents meeting in January, there was set to be a discussion on alternative revenue sources, and it was interrupted by protesters. The protests at UCR had been some of the biggest and most dramatic we’ve seen at UCR. You in particular have been the focal point of a lot of concerns from students. How do you feel about that? You’ve said in the past that student activism is a big part of the University of California, and I wanted to get your thoughts on that situation.
MY: Well I think student activism is fine. Shutting down the regents meeting is not fine. Injuring nine police officers is not fine. Blocking the entrances and the exits for two hours is not fine. I wrote a book on the First Amendment, I teach constitutional law, I’m on the Berkeley law faculty. So you won’t find anyone who’s more supportive than I on the rights of protest and peaceful demonstrations and all, but there was some real crossing of the line and I’m opposed to that, and we will deal with that like we would deal with any threat to public safety. So that’s point one.
Point two—it’s my job to educate the students. But you know, I always remember during the Vietnam War, and I was anti-war, people would picket the dean of liberal arts and ask him to stop the war. I’m not the students’ problem. I’m really not. My budget went down from $3.25 billion to $2.25 billion in just two years, three years. The state has cut virtually a third of the total appropriation. The students have not made up all the difference. You can protest me, but I only have so many choices. And what we have done, basically, is try to find efficiency, try to raise more money outside—we raised 1.6 billion dollars last year—and raising tuition is one of the things we do. We did furloughs. I furloughed myself. But there’s a certain lack of maturity in the understanding, when you point at the person who doesn’t have control over the legislature.
I think it’s great that the students are going to Sacramento. That’s where our problem lies. 20 years ago, the governor told me, we got way more money at the UC than the prisons. Now that’s not true. They are pouring money into the prisons and not into the young people of the state. So I understand I’m the authority figure that’s near, and it’s convenient to hang someone in effigy and all the rest of that, but it’s unfair and you don’t need my vote. You have my vote. I’m not in favor of raising tuition, I’m in favor of enhanced revenues for the state. I’m in favor of spending less money on prisons, but I don’t have the votes in the assembly and I don’t have the votes in the senate and I’m not the Governor of California, so the pressure should be where the political power is, in my opinion.
CL: In regards to the protest, you had mentioned that the protesters crossed the line. Where exactly is the line?
MY: Where is the line? One, throwing bottles at police officers. Nonviolence is one part. You can have lawful nonviolent protest. You can have unlawful nonviolent protest, and you can sit down and try to close the department of energy, sit in the lobby, it could be nonviolent, nonetheless unlawful and you can be removed. There is a distinction between speech activities and vehement, passionate advocacy of a position and closing down the meeting of a public body or taking on police officers and trying to take over a building, that’s the line.
Now, all conduct doesn’t deserve the same sort of response. We’re investigating the pepper spray incident and other things like it. I mean if it’s a peaceful protest, even though it’s unlawful and even though it prevents us from doing our business, then we ought to handle it in a very, very gentle way, trying to avoid, to the extent we can, any injuries to the protesters. You know there’s a lot of misinformation about the First Amendment. The First Amendment does not give you the right to shout down other people. It does not give you the right to close a meeting. It does not give you the right to resist police officers and lawful orders from police officers. Those are some of the lines.
CL: In the meeting, Chancellor Desmond-Hellmann proposed a new relationship between UCSF and the University of California. I know it’s in the very early stages, but what are your thoughts on that particular proposal?
MY: Well I’m going to look at it. We really are like a federalist system. We’re like a layer cake. There’s the English department in the college of liberal arts, and then there’s the Riverside campus, and then there’s the system. It’s distributed powers just like the federal government and the state government. So I have no objection to looking at that again. Remember UCSF has no undergraduates, and it’s all professional medical education and most of its revenues come from its hospitals and the clinics and so forth. They get, and this is roughly right Chris, they probably get six percent of their 3 billion dollars in income from the State of California. So they need to be nimble, and they need to be able to respond to the president’s healthcare initiative and all that, so I’m perfectly willing to look at that and be more flexible. But this is a great university system and I don’t think this is what the chancellor wants, but we’re not talking about a declaration of independence here, 1776-style. We’re talking about flexibility, and I can appreciate that. Sometimes I think, why am I so much in the compensation business, and to some extent why am I so much in the tuition business, and all the others?
There are many other models around the country. At Texas, when I was there, I really wasn’t in the compensation business. I mean, there was accountability, but it was at the campus level. Tuition varies by system. Some have it have it centrally set in the system office by the Board of Regents in our case, and some of them there’s leeway for each campus. So there’s no one model, but I’m willing to look at it. But I haven’t really reached any specific conclusions.
I do know that, in my judgment, a hundred years from now UC San Francisco will still be part of the University of California, that we have a public mission, and that taxpayers, maybe not this year, but many years provided the money and the buildings and the young people and I’m not willing to overnight undo the work of 150 years.
CL: One of the biggest concerns students have raised in recent years with tuition increases has been the rise in executive compensation. How would you explain that?
MY: It’s not true. It’s flat out not true. This is a very good example. Give me that data. Show me the data. The only people who consistently get raises are the unionized workers. They get three to four percent a year. How many chancellors do you think have gotten raises in the four years I’ve been here? Zero. How many raises do you think I’ve gotten? Zero. How many raises do you think my vice presidents here have gotten? Zero. So what happens is, we’re a system of 180,000 employees. We have Stanford who wants to lure our hospital head from UCLA, and we |
any legal reprisal. He just was no longer welcome on NPR's own air, the very sort of reprisal that freedom of speech implies.
Freedom of speech doesn't mean that one is entitled to a job in perpetuity in spite of incendiary statements. One's employer -- if that isn't the government -- has a right to react to one's statements, just as people have a right to be angry and stop watching "Duck Dynasty" or listening to Schlessinger or Williams on the radio. Palin and Jindal, ironically, are seeking to quash everyone's speech but the people, the anti-gay Robertsons, with whom they happen to agree.Kids podcasts will go mainstream this year. Now that adults are consuming more podcasts than ever, we’ll see patterns emerge as they share podcasts with kids — who are naturally engaged listeners and who love storytelling.
Over the past year, the conversation around kids podcasts has continued to gather steam. Media organizations like Nieman Lab, Hot Pod, The Current, The Atlantic, Poynter, educators’ sites, and parenting blogs continue to explore the benefits for kids of listening to podcasts, plus their lasting effects on development and learning.
Podcast producer Lindsay Patterson wondered why there aren’t more podcasts for kids, and Poynter columnist Melody Kramer countered with a list of public media options. But citing a collection of a couple dozen shows doesn’t cut it when you compare this modest number to the bajillions of podcasts created for adults. (“Bajillions” is a technical term.)
As a member of Kids Listen — the grassroots organization created by kids podcasters — I’ve become more aware of the triumphs and challenges that kids podcasts currently face. And while a handful of public media outlets and independent producers are making truly great podcasts for kids, we need to find solutions to affect changes in behavior, discovery issues, and user interfaces.
These key points will determine whether kids podcasts can go mainstream this year:
Changes in behavior: Parents could consider kids podcasts as the antidote to “screen time,” offering entertaining and educational listening experiences for kids.
Discovery issues: Listening apps could find better ways to make kids content more easily discoverable. (Exhibit A: the quagmire that is the iTunes “Kids and Family” category.)
User interfaces: Please find an app or website that is designed for kids to find podcasts created for kids. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
When we address behavior changes, discovery issues, and user interfaces, organizations will invest their resources in creating programming for kids. Now is the time to take what we’ve learned from the podcast revolution and apply it to our littlest listeners. I believe the children are our future — teach them well and let them listen to podcasts.On Tuesday, North Korea launched another test of an Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
If a nuclear warhead were attached, the rogue nation could wipe out millions in the event of a successful strike.
There's probably little reason for existential dread.
If the threat of nuclear obliteration is playing on your mind, why not turn it into something productive and be prepared?
Imagining you've survived the initial blast, you should seek shelter in the centre of a dense and stable structure.
One gallon of water per person, per day you're sheltered for at least three days.
Three day supply of nonperishable food.
Battery powered or hand powered radio - staying tuned in and getting information in the aftermath of a nuclear incident will be crucial to your survival. A Weather Radio will also be extremely important following a nuclear catastrophe.
Flashlight.
First aid kit.
Whistle - to signal for help.
Dust mask. This in particular will help with breathing contaminated air. Plastic sheeting and duct tape can also help keep unwanted particles out of your shelter.
Moist towelettes, bin bags and plastic ties - all for the sake of your sanitation.
Wrench/pliers for turning off utilities.
Tin openers for your food.
Local maps.
Also of critical importance are extra batteries for things like the flashlight and radio.Clever Twitter user @555uhz delighted their followers by tweeting the entire Top Gun film through subtitled still frames, at a rate of about 2 frames an hour. The account’s roughly 5,200 followers got bite-sized shots of 80’s nostalgia until the fun police at Paramount sent a takedown notice and the account of @555uhz was suspended.
The takedown notice sent to Twitter explained:
No one is authorized to copy, reproduce, distribute, or otherwise use Top Gun without the express written permission of Paramount.
Notwithstanding this, it has come to our attention that a user of your website, @555uhz, is distributing the Top Gun film, frame by frame, via your website. The following URLs are some examples from the user’s Twitter account, with additional frames being uploaded continuously.
Forget the fact that a heavily edited, non-commercial version of the film shown over the course of many months could arguably be considered “fair use”; In what world does this account give the actual movie competition? Here’s one hypothetical scenario:
“Honey, how about we go old-school tonight and watch Top Gun? I’ll rent it from iTunes.”
“Great idea, stud-muffin! But, it’s on the Internet for free. Let’s cuddle up, while I painstakingly scroll through a tiny clipped version of the movie over the next 110 minutes.”
If anything, the amusing account would continue to give free publicity to Paramount and the potential Top Gun sequel. Instead, Paramount is now facing backlash because of its needlessly aggressive lawyering. The general public reaction over the takedown has ranged from “brain-dead” to “ridiculous“. The tweet below is probably my favorite:
There is a very important public debate to be had about the balance between intellectual property, artist rights, and consumer convenience. But it’s hard to imagine a scenario where occasional tiny clips of Tom Cruise in aviators threaten the financial viability of Paramount.Guest Article by : Derek Winchester
Derek Winchester came with a wonderful article about paintings which every photographer should study. I am sure you will really enjoy this post
1. Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
The most recognized painting in the world has a lot to teach photographers, mainly connection with your subject. As has been said before, that smile says a lot about the connection between the painter and the subject. That is what every photographer should be looking for when they take a portrait and one of the reasons why this is such a memorable image.
2. The School of Athens by Raphael
Many photographers like to take pictures of singular things. One person, one thing or one moment. This painting is from a time when one painting needed a half an hour of attention span. There are almost a dozen different stories going on here and none of them are distracting each other. This is a good skill to have when it comes to composing a scene in your viewfinder.
3. The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
Vemeer loved window light. It is the best light for portraits. When we use studio lights or flash more often than not we are trying to get light as good as this. The catchlight in the eyes and the light reflected off the earring are what portrait photographers should be looking for. Also, as with the Mona Lisa, the connection between the painter, and through him, the viewer is very strong in this painting.
4. Nighthawks by Edward Hopper
Most photographers look for that moment, that bigger than life explosion of happening that hooks people in. Nighthawks is a soft hook. This is a photo that grabs your attention because it is so quiet. Photographers also have to be on the lookout for these quiet moments as well.
5. Hand with reflecting sphere by M.C. Escher
Four things every photographer should know how to do: take a photo of a reflection, take a photo of a hand, take a photo of him/herself, and take a photo showing perspective.
6. The Gossips by Norman Rockwell
Pure storytelling through facial expressions. We do not even have to hear the rumor to know everything that is happening here. Being able to capture a story telling expression is an awesome skill to have as a photographer.
7. The Runaway by Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell was very good at creating a memory in our heads the instant we see one of his paintings. There are some books that have less story than this image. Do that with a photograph and you will have succeeded.
8. Campbell’s soup cans by Andy Warhol
Some photographers get hung up by finding subjects for their photos. They want something spectacular. A better skill to have is being able to make the ordinary seem extraordinary and that is what Warhol did with these cans of soup.
9. The Kiss by Gustav Klimt
Many photographers get taken in by the latest fad in photography. There are now millions of photos on the internet using HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos where three photos are taken of the same subject at different exposures and then merged in an editing program). The trap here is to think that the gimmick is enough; that you can take a photo of anything using this new technique and it will be a good photo. Klimt is very famous for his stylized paintings but in this one there is still that moment of connection between his subjects. A very good lesson for a photographer to know.
10. Cave Painting
Photography, like painting before it, has an instinctual basis. The need to show someone else something with an image. Learning new techniques is fun but they should not get in the way of that id urge, that basic feeling of wanting to show someone else a picture. Before you think about composition, lighting and technique, do you first have something you want to show someone else.
11. Michelangelo The Sistine Chapel ceiling
A good skill to have as a photographer is to look at things from different angles to get the best shot. Do not let an awkward angle deter you from your inspiration. Take the shot even if you have to look straight up.
12. The Three Sphinx of Bikini by Salvador Dali
There are many subjects you can take that have similar forms. It is important to be able to see repeated patterns in photography and get good photos of them.
13. Paintings of Banksy
Banksy is a master of juxtaposition. You expect to see one thing and are surprised to see another.
14. Ancient of days by William Blake
Blake can teach photographers a lot about balancing inspiration and technique.
15. Cafe At Night by Vincent Van Gogh
We should take photos of things that have meaning to us. By looking at this painting, we know that this restaurant had some meaning for Van Gogh. It was important to him.
16. The Great Wave at Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai
The decisive moment is not only a human happening. Photographers also have to look for it in nature.
17. Women walking on a road through the fields by Hiroshige
Photographers should always be on the lookout for when the environment lines up with what your subjects are doing. The line of the tree, the path and the people are all parallel.
18. Paintings of Edgar Mueller
Mueller is a master of perspective. Looking at his art from a different angle completely changes the illusion of depth here. What this can teach photographers is to never stop looking for the right angle to take a photo.
19. Poppy by Georgia O’Keeffe
There is a whole subculture of flower photography. O’Keeffe is a great place to start getting inspiration to take flower photos.
20. Kitwancool by Emily Carr
Emily Carr was famous for paintings of native totem poles. She spent her life looking for totems to depict in her paintings. Photographers should always be on the lookout for projects. A subject, any subject, that we can explore with many different photos.
21. Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
This is another great scene with a lot of subjects that fit the image and don’t compete with the main subjects.
22. American Gothic by Grant Wood
This is a great example of how your subject can mimic the environment. Grant Wood tried to imagine what kind of people would live in the house behind the couple. The house and the couple even physically resemble one another.
23. Chez le père Lathuille by Édouard Manet
This could be a street photography shot. This is the decisive moment before Bresson. Look at that expression and anticipation of every word that comes out of her mouth. By studying this you will be able to see decisive moments better on the street.
24. Bathing at La Grenouillere by Claude Monet
This is another great use of light. Photographers should be aware that different light in the same photo can not only come from inside to outside but also be from places like under trees to out in the open. Look at the rowboats, they are in shadow and the lake is in the sun. We can see that with our eyes and it makes for an interesting scene to paint, but for photographers, the camera will not be able to expose the shade and the open lake in the same way. We need flash or some other aid to get both lighting situations correct.
25. An Old man in Red by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Rembrandt was so obsessed with a certain kind of light, the light that forms a triangle of light on the opposite side of the face under the eye, that now studio photographers call that kind of lighting Rembrandt lighting.
About Author:
Derek Winchester has been shooting for almost ten years. His photos have appeared on CNN Travel and in the pages of Seoul Travel and Culture Magazine. Currently he is back in Canada his home and native land making photography is main source of income. Feel free to check out his Derek Winchester has been shooting for almost ten years. His photos have appeared on CNN Travel and in the pages of Seoul Travel and Culture Magazine. Currently he is back in Canada his home and native land making photography is main source of income. Feel free to check out his Flickr Stream
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please wait... Rating: 4.7/5 (27 votes cast)Picking up the Rudy slack
A reader notes that Hillary has brought up 9/11, more or less unprompted, three times so far in the debate, a level not seen since Rudy Giuliani dropped out in January.
"For Pastor Wright to have given his first sermon after 9/11 and to have blamed the United States for the attack, which happened in my city of New York, would have been just intolerable for me."
And:
"If I'm not mistaken, that relationship with Mr. Ayers on this board continued after 9/11 and after his reported comments, which were deeply hurtful to people in New York and, I would hope, to every American, because they were published on 9/11, and he said that he was just sorry they hadn't done more."
And:
"I certainly would not meet with Ahmadinejad, because even again today, he made light of 9/11, and said that he's not even sure it happened and that people actually died."
(The reader who noted this is also, it turns out, a blogger, and noted it here.)Real Madrid Not happy with coverage
Ramos responds to Pique claims: We already know about his world
Was Bruno's handball deliberate?
Television coverage of Real Madrid's comeback win over Villarreal has incensed Los Blancos to the extent that they are set to file a formal complaint over it.
Their 3-2 victory at the Estadio de la Ceramica was filled with controversy, most notably over the award of a penalty kick to Real, which allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to level the game at 2-2.
However, according to Jugones de LaSexta, Real weren't happy with how the game was transmitted and will look to discuss the issue with LaLiga.
MARCA have learned that the complaint is based on two major issues, in their view.
During the fixture against Villarreal and in their earlier draw with Barcelona at the Camp Nou this season, Real feel that certain incidents in the game are overlooked in order to repeatedly show situations which don't favour Los Blancos.
They believe that continuous replays attempt to create doubt about the validity of their positive moments or results in games, and feel that the opposite never occurs.
The latest development is another example of the continued strained relations between LaLiga president Javier Tebas and Los Blancos.
In addition, the Real hierarchy also feel that commentary and punditry around their games has been negative towards them and biased in favour of their opponents.Improving natural photosynthesis to make new fuels and boost crop production is the focus of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded research presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting February 17. It could see us one step closer to bottling the sun's energy or turbocharging plants to produce bumper crops.
Photosynthesis allows biological systems to take energy from the sun and use it to produce food and fuel. It is one of the most important biological processes on earth but it's not as efficient as it could be. Natural trade-offs results in less than 1% efficiency in many important crops and so there is significant scope for improvement.
Scientists from the UK and US are working to engineer or enhance photosynthesis to benefit food and fuel production.
Professor Douglas Kell, Chief Executive of BBRSC, explains why funding this research is vital: "We are facing global challenges in food and energy security that must be addressed. Improving photosynthesis within plants, or externally using synthetic biology, would bring huge benefits."
The artificial 'leaf'
Professor Richard Cogdell from the University of Glasgow is taking a synthetic biology approach in a bid to create an artificial 'leaf' capable of converting the sun's energy to liquid fuel.
Professor Cogdell explains: "The sun gives its energy away for free but making use of it is tricky. We can use solar panels to make electricity but it's intermittent and difficult to store. What we are trying to do is take the energy from the sun and trap it so that it can be used when it is needed most."
The researchers hope to use a chemical reaction similar to photosynthesis but in an artificial system. Plants take solar energy, concentrate it and use it to split apart water into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is released and the hydrogen is locked into a fuel. The latest research aims to use synthetic biology to replicate the process.
Professor Cogdell added: "We are working to devise an analogous robust chemical system that could replicate photosynthesis artificially on a grand scale. This artificial leaf would create solar collectors that produce a fuel, as opposed to electricity."
The artificial system could also improve on natural photosynthesis to make better use of the sun's energy. By stripping back photosynthesis to a level of basic reactions, much higher levels of energy conversion could be possible.
Ultimately, success in this research could allow the development of a sustainable carbon neutral economy arresting the increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning.
'Turbocharging' photosynthesis
Professor Howard Griffiths, University of Cambridge, is also hoping to enhance the potential of photosynthesis by focusing on an enzyme called RuBisCO (Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase). It's a key enzyme in photosynthesis that allows plants to use atmospheric carbon dioxide to create energy-rich molecules, such as simple sugars.
Some plants have evolved mechanisms that act like biological turbochargers to concentrate carbon dioxide around the enzyme for optimal photosynthesis. This boosts growth and production. Professor Griffiths' research is developing a deeper understanding of these biological turbochargers so that they may one day be incorporated into crops to increase yields.
Professor Griffiths explains: "We want to improve the operating efficiency of RuBisCO in crops and we believe algae may one day provide the answer. Their turbocharger is contained within a structure called the algal pyrenoid which could be utilised in a crop's photosynthetic structures. By combining algal and plant photosynthesis to improve photosynthetic efficiency we would see an increase in agricultural productivity for the production of food and renewable energy."
Capturing 'wasted' solar energy
Professor Anne Jones from Arizona State University is looking at other ways to ensure the sun's energy is not wasted.
Cyanobacteria (bacteria that get their energy from photosynthesis) can absorb much more solar energy than they can utilize. Professor Jones's research seeks to develop a mechanism to take advantage of this excess, wasted energy by transferring it to a fuel-producing cell.
Professor Jones said: "We want to couple the photosynthetic apparatus in one bacterial species to the fuel-producing metabolism of a second species. We could then funnel excess energy directly into fuel production. It would see two biological systems working together to make fuel from the sun's energy."
A simple analogy is a power station that isn't connected to the distribution grid. Unconnected, the excess energy goes to waste. The researchers hope to create a connection that will transfer this energy to make fuel. This connection could be provided by hair-like electrically conductive filaments called pili.
Professor Jones explains: "Certain bacteria naturally grow conductive filaments called pili. These pili could be exploited to transfer energy between the cells we want to use."Visitors You're not here because you're not logged in Winged-Stone
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Did something awesome 3 days ago Did something awesome 3 days agoRoyals subsidise Old Trafford trip in further commitment to affordable football
Age Category
ST/HST holder price
Member price
Non-Member price Adult
£30
(subsidised RFC price)
£30
(subsidised RFC price)
£45
65 & Over
£18.50
£21.50
£26.50
18 to 20
£27.75
£30
(subsidised RFC price)
£35.75
16 to 17
£18.50
£21.50
£26.50
15 & Under
£10
£13
£18
Date (from 9am)
Eligible supporters (1 ticket per person) Monday 19th December
All Season Ticket holders only
Tuesday 20th December
All Season Ticket holders & Half Season Ticket holders only Wednesday 21st December
Members with 1000+ points
Thursday 22nd December
Members with 500+ points Friday 23rd December
Members with 100+ points
Prices in the event of a replay at Madejski Stadium
Age Category
ST/HST holder price
Member price
Matchday & non-Member price Adult
£15
£20
£25
65 & Over
£10
£13
£18
18 to 24
£10
£13
£18
17 & Under
£8
£10
£13
Ticket details for our FA Cup Third Round adventure to Old Trafford next month have been announced and Reading Football Club have taken the decision to substantially subsidise the cost of adult tickets for all Royals Season Ticket Holders, Half Season Ticket Holders and Members!In the last few days, a pricing structure was set for the cup tie at Manchester United which will see adults pay between £37-£45 to watch our Emirates FA Cup clash at Old Trafford - due to be broadcast live on BT Sport on Saturday 7th January, kick-off 12.30pm.However, Reading Football Club remains committed to making football more affordable for fans – so we will subsidise the cost of adult and 18-20s tickets for the tie, promising that no registered Royals fan will pay more than £30 for a ticket!Back in March, Premier League clubs agreed plans to cap away tickets at £30 for the next three seasons – an initiative unanimously agreed upon by all 20 top tier clubs to financially assist away fans travelling up and down the country to follow the fortunes of their team.And, as a club, we took a pioneering step of our own this season by wholeheartedly backing the Football Supporters Federation’s ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ campaign; Reading became the first and only Championship club to declare that all travelling fans visiting Madejski Stadium in 2016-17 would be able to watch their team take on Jaap Stam’s Royals for just £20!By subsidising these Emirates FA Cup tickets to our own supporters, we are further recognising the amazing contribution away fans make at grounds throughout the UK every weekend and rewarding the commitment made by the loyal Royals who follow us on the road all season.Tickets for all Adult Season Ticket Holders, Half Season Ticket Holders and Members will therefore be priced atfor Royals fans – a reduction of up to 25% courtesy of the club you support.18-20s Member tickets have also been very slightly reduced to keep our £30 promise, while concessions aged 65 & Over or 16-17 will pay as little as £18.50 – and our 15 & Under fans can buy a ticket for Old Trafford for just £10 if they hold a current Royals Season Ticket or Half Season Ticket.The club have taken a total allocation of 5,446 tickets for the tie and seats will go on sale to Season Ticket Holdersand Half Season Ticket Holders. You can buy in person in the Ticket Office at Madejski Stadium, over the phone on 0118 968 1313 and online at readingfcdirect.co.uk On Wednesday 21st December, any remaining tickets will go on sale to Members with 1,000 Royalty Points or more – and subject to availability tickets will become available to more Royals fans throughout the course of the week before Christmas…A further selling announcement will be made by 5pm Friday 23rd December should we have any remaining tickets following the initial sales period.If we sell out, that away following would be larger than any we have taken to Old Trafford before, eclipsing the 3,821 who watched us earn a 1-1 draw against Sir Alex Ferguson’s men in 2007.So be sure to secure your seat when the sales procedure allows you to – remember, you can drop into the Ticket Office, call 0118 968 1313 or book your tickets online at readingfcdirect.co.uk Should the Royals earn a draw against the cup-holders next month, prices for a potential replay at Madejski Stadium have also been set.And, in keeping with our Twenty’s Plenty stance in the Championship, we have been able to agree prices which remain in line with our promise to home and away supporters – should Jose Mourinho’s men face a trip back to Berkshire, both Reading and United fans will be able to purchase adult tickets from as little as £15 and a maximum Member price of £20!The date of a potential replay has not yet been decided and will only be known at a much later date, should booking a date in the diary be necessary.That's what we got to get through to people. It's not about evading the necessities of the market. It's about providing balance to the market, an upward force for workers to compete with the downward forces of the market.
If you don't like where your wages and benefits have gone, then you need to support unions. If you don't like how you and your friends are mistreated and abused, you need to stand up for yourself with organized labor.
Labor needs to be strengthened, if the middle class is to be strengthened, too. It's no accident that the best years for the middle class were the heyday of unionization in America.
When people could set the price for their services with greater strength, America could avoid more of the consequences of the middle class not being paid enough to keep up with the market. We didn't carry the deadweight of so much debt. We didn't carry the burden of a system set against us.
What corporations don't realize is that their harsh policies, ultimately, must create a response. They can wait until that response is so powerful, so overwhelmingly strong, that it runs roughshod over their interests, or they can realize that the undercurrent of frustration and stress that might causes should instead be appeased, so as to ease all those tensions. When people are comfortable, when their needs are met, there is no class warfare, nor is there any need for it.
People will be comfortable with what the rich earn when they don't have to suffer for the rich to earn it.The German bank Bundesbank warned its users against Bitcoin’s volatility rate, expressing its concerns over market instability. The institution further emphasized that Bitcoin is not as safe as reserve currencies as the Euro or US Dollar.
In a statement, German Bundesbank board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele stated:
“Bitcoin is a speculatory object, the value of which changes rapidly. It may have seen steep climbs recently, but things have been different in the past.”
Bitcoin and its value
Bitcoin is a decentralized currency based on a fixed monetary policy which puts a cap on the maximum supply of Bitcoins at 21 mln. Since there is no centralized institution or governing authority, its value is completely dependent on the market and its demand.
If there is a higher demand for Bitcoin, Bitcoin price will increase. If the demand decreases, then Bitcoin price will follow.
Bitcoin’s value is not manufactured or established by a governing entity. Thus, Bitcoin price is an actual real-life depiction of its value which stems from the global Bitcoin exchange market. Fiat money or cash, in contrast, is maintained and controlled by the government. Its inflation rates can vary and governments can create cash at their demand.
A lower volatility rate will be beneficial to Bitcoin users when it transforms into a digital cash system with better scaling options and solutions. At the current stage of development, where Bitcoin is experiencing an exponential growth in terms of user base and market cap, Bitcoin price will increase. An increase in Bitcoin value is considered as volatility in the technical sense, banks can lead the “Bitcoin is volatile” narrative.
Bitcoin and its volatility issue
Bitcoin is volatile and volatility is crucial for the development of Bitcoin. If Bitcoin price does not increase and remains stable at the current value, that would portray a low rate of user growth. Since the Bitcoin network is experiencing a rapid increase in user base and the emergence of institutional investors, Bitcoin price has to increase.
Volatility is a fair point to address against Bitcoin. It is not beneficial for merchants or day-to-day users who use Bitcoin as a digital currency.
However, there is a fundamentally flawed argument in Bundesbank and Thiele’s description of fiat money. Euro or USD are not safer than Bitcoin solely due to the existence of a central entity. The term “safe” means the protection from the exposure to danger or risk.
From ownership to the justification of the value of fiat money, there are many flaws in the current monetary system, which is one of the reasons why governments are attempting to digitalize cash.
In particular, if the Indian rupee is taken as an example, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s abrupt decision to demonetize 500 and 1,000 banknotes led to a nationwide financial crisis.
Nearly 90 percent of the country’s ATMs are out of money to dispense and as a result, residents can’t obtain enough cash to finance their day-to-day operations. To describe such monetary system as a “safer” option against Bitcoin is absolutely off-base.Senator John Faulkner says changes to political donation rules don't go far enough
Updated
Sorry, this video has expired Video: Labor caucus dissent over political donation rules (7pm TV News ACT)
One of Labor's most respected figures, Senator John Faulkner, has argued against plans to change the laws for disclosing political donations.
The Government has decided it wants to lower the threshold for publicly declaring donations from $12,000 to $5,000, although initially it was pushing for the cut-off to be $1,000.
Senator Faulkner and former caucus chair Daryl Melham told their Labor colleagues in today's caucus meeting that the party should support the larger cut.
However, four cabinet ministers - Anthony Albanese, Mark Butler, Gary Gray and Mark Dreyfus - argued for the $5,000 threshold, saying it had secured enough votes to pass parliament because of a deal with the Coalition.
They told MPs the $1,000 plan would be unlikely to ever become law.
The legislation will require political donations of $5,000 or greater to be declared twice a year instead of the current annual declarations.
Any single donation of $100,000 or more must be reported to the electoral commission within 28 days.
Mr Dreyfus, the Special Minister of State, will introduce the bill to parliament tomorrow and rejects Senator Faulkner's views.
"He and I differ about the worth of this reform," he said.
"John would wish it to go a great deal further, he's made his views clear and I respect his views.
"But equally this is a very worthwhile reform to the disclosure regime."
Caucus overwhelmingly backed the plan although the vote was not unanimous.
Public funding boost to political parties draws ire
Another element of the legislation - to boost public funding to parties according to how many votes they get - has also attracted controversy.
Democratic Labor Party senator John Madigan has slammed the plan by the major political parties to take tens of millions of dollars from the federal budget to cover administrative costs as "un-bloody-believable".
Under the proposal, parties and independent MPs would be paid $1 for every vote they receive.
That would be on top of the current funding arrangements which give candidates who receive at least 4 per cent of the primary vote $2.47 per vote.
That amount is likely to increase at the end of June, when the rate is brought into line with the Consumer Price Index.
Mr Dreyfus defended the changes.
"Public funding of political parties is a long-established part of Australian political machinery," he said.
"It's a recognition of the role that political parties play. It frees them to some extent from complete dependence on private sources of funding and that is a healthy thing."
The deal will cost taxpayers more than $50 million.
Senator Madigan says MPs are "going to have another dip in the trough at the public's expense".
We wonder why people hate politicians' bloody guts - well it's on display here for the whole world to see. DLP Senator John Madigan
"There's no money for dental care, there's no money for single mothers, we tell everybody else to pull their belts in and then we've got to have more money to so-called fund democracy," he said.
"We've got a bunch of people that are so disconnected from what the average person on the street's hopes [and] aspirations are, it's just un-bloody-believable.
"What message are we sending to people? The message isn't good.
"And we wonder why there's such a high informal vote.
"We wonder why people hate politicians' bloody guts - well it's on display here for the whole world to see."
Christine Milne wants corporate donations capped
Greens leader Christine Milne says her party will not support legislation funding the administration of political parties unless corporate donations are capped.
"The quality of our democracy, the quality of public policy, depends on people in parliaments making decisions on the merits of the case - not according to the corporate donations that have been made," she said.
You can't have your snout in the public trough, and then [be] getting huge donations from the corporate and union sector. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon
Independent senator Nick Xenophon also wants tighter restrictions on private donations.
"If political parties get public funding, it should come with strict rules as to the level of private donations - whether it's corporate and union donations - as to what they can receive," he said.
"You can't have your snout in the public trough and then [be] getting huge donations from the corporate and union sector.
"I think that if you accept one, you can't accept the others to the extent that you have in the past, so I want to see details of that."
However, independent MP Bob Katter says his party is desperate for more money and he would welcome any move to boost public funding for election campaigns.
"We are constantly desperate for money and I think any smaller party that is anti-corporation - I suppose that would be a fair label to put on our party - you can imagine the problems you have in raising money if you're representing small business that haven't got two bob to rub together," he said.
Topics: political-parties, federal-government, government-and-politics, alp, australia
First postedThe author of 2014 legislation that expanded gun rights in Georgia is back this year with another effort to legalize firearms on college campuses.
State Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, and state Rep. Mandi Ballinger, R-Canton, have filed House Bill 859, which would allow anyone 21 or older with a weapons license to carry a gun anywhere on a public college or university campus, except for dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, and at athletic events.
“Our position on it is pretty clear,” Jasperse told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We are restoring rights to Georgians.”
The bill already has dozens of co-sponsors, including state Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, the chairman of the powerful Rules Committee that decides which bills reach the House floor. More importantly, the bill also has the support of Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, meaning it will almost surely pass the House.
“I support this legislation just as I have the previous efforts the House made to preserve Georgians’ Second Amendment rights,” Ralston said.
The House voted in 2014 to legalize campus carry, but the Senate stripped that language from the final version of Jasperse’s bill that became known as the “Guns Everywhere Bill.” The legislation signed into law that year allowed weapons to be carried into many government buildings, bars and restaurants, athletic events and more, while the powerful University System of Georgia successfully fought to keep guns off college campuses.
Charlie Sutlive, the vice chancellor for the Board of Regents, which oversees |
data in context vertically.”
For more information, click here.Ōkunoshima is a small island nestled in the Inland Sea of Japan. It's a little more than two and a half miles around, which can be walked in about an hour and a half. The terrain is grassy, dotted with a beach resort, nature lookouts, and piers. Not many can call this tourist attraction home, save the hundreds of feral European rabbits that roam the island.
Dubbed "Rabbit Island," Ōkunoshima has become more popular since 2014, when a video of a woman being stampeded by bunnies went viral. Since then, other social media and clips showing swarms of rabbits have drawn visitors to the island. But with high human interference, the island is not sustainable for the animals.
Mysterious Past
No one really knows how the rabbits got to the island in the first place.
Rumors abound that a British couple brought the bunnies to the island, or a nearby school released them in 1971. Estimates vary, but about 300 rabbits inhabited the island in 2007, which grew to between 700 and 1,000 today.
"What you have is too many rabbits for such a small island," says Margo DeMello, president of the California-based rabbit rescue group House Rabbit Society. "It really is a recent phenomenon."
DeMello and other researchers visited the island for 10 days in March 2015 to study the rabbit communities and interview people. She says the popularity of the bunny "stampede" video shifted the composition of the tourists from elderly Japanese people (drawn to the island's hot springs) and local school children (brought on fieldtrips to the poison gas museum) to a wider demographic. The island had 136,000 visitors in 2005, which ballooned to 254,000 in 2015. Seventeen thousand of those tourists were from outside Japan.
To date, the island hosts Kyukamura Ōkunoshima Hotel, along with a golf course and the gas museum. DeMello says the hotel is taking a hands-off approach to dealing with the animals but uses the draw of the rabbits in its marketing materials. When National Geographic reached out to the hotel for comment, the staff deferred to Japan's Ministry of the Environment.
Dangerous Present
With that influx of people is an influx of problems for the rabbits.
"They're totally friendly—almost aggressively so—because they need the people to feed them," DeMello says. "They're most active during the times when people are on the island."
The European rabbits that populate Ōkunoshima are naturally herbivores known to munch on leaves, roots, wood, and seeds, and also the occasional snack of dung. Some people, like the aggravated farmers of fables, might know the animals to eat carrots, lettuce, and cabbage, so that's the kind of food tourists bring with them to feed the animals when they visit.
This diet is poisoning the rabbits. Cabbage, the most popular snack, is toxic to rabbits in large amounts because their sensitive digestive systems have difficulty breaking down the vegetable. The animals also need high-fiber foods, which are hard to come by with their current meal plan.
Signs dot the island dissuading people from feeding the rabbits, picking them up, or chasing them, citing human safety as the main concern. The warnings are written in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. But tourists have also been encouraged to feed the rabbits, especially in winter when food is particularly scarce. The hotel used to sell cups and bags of rabbit feed, but it has stopped this practice.
The boom-and-bust diet the rabbits get doesn't help either. Unlike hardier animals like penguins, rabbits need to eat every day. With their current diet, the rabbits might feast ravenously one day and starve later in the week, depending on the weather and school schedules, which influence tourism.
There has never been a major decontamination operation on Rabbit Island after it was used for chemical testing, and residual toxins have poisoned the groundwater. In addition to food, the rabbits have to rely on humans to give them bottled water. The majority of the rabbits populate in the grass near the hotel, waiting to be fed and watered.
The island rabbits have a two-year life expectancy, but they could live up to 10 years if they were in a more typical domestic situation. Feral rabbits normally live to be two years old, but that's in a case where they have natural predation. There are no predators on the island—only rabbits.
DeMello observed that many of the rabbits have injuries and illnesses from human contact, like upper respiratory infections and gastrointestinal problems. Many are also killed by people driving cars on the island. Their numbers may be increasing as a whole, but single bunnies are struggling.
"As a population, I think they're doing fine," DeMello says. "Individuals, I think, are doing not-so-fine."
Uncertain Future
Plans for what to do with the permanent residents of Rabbit Island are ambiguous as tourist numbers continue to rise.
Takashi Seki at the Ministry of the Environment visited the island about three years ago on government business. Seki says that with the increase of tourists, the rabbits have become accustomed to humans. He adds that measures for managing the wild animals are dictated by the hotel.2012 primary results
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Ellen Rosenblum breezed to an easy victory over Dwight Holton in the race to be Oregon’s next attorney general.
With 52 percent of the vote counted, Rosenblum had tallied 63 percent to Holton’s 37 percent.
“We had good polls all along, but of course I’m surprised by the margin,” Rosenblum said. “Oregonians got it, that I’ll look out for them. I think they appreciate that I’m going to be the first woman attorney general.”
It appears that Rosenblum will now face an opponent in November's general election. Republicans staged a last-ditch write-in campaign. Results were unknown at press time.
Holton enjoyed the avid support of Oregon’s law enforcement community as well as a fundraising advantage. In a typical election for attorney general, that would have been a hard combination to beat.
But Rosenblum carried the day. The 62-year-old presented herself as “the Oregon candidate,” based on her 30-plus years as an Oregon lawyer and judge, who would look out for children and the elderly.
A pungent whiff of weed enveloped the Rosenblum campaign in the race’s closing days. Marijuana legalization advocates threw their support to Rosenblum, contributing nearly $200,000 – about a third of her total – to her campaign in May.
“Dwight got painted as a conservative and Ellen a liberal,” said Jack Roberts, former Oregon Labor Commissioner. “I don’t think those labels were entirely fair to either candidate. But Ellen was able to take advantage.”
“The marijuana issue took over the campaign,” added Len Bergstein, a Portland public relations consultant and long-time Portland political observer. “ I think Dwight wound up painting himself in a corner with regard to what the Democratic primary voter is about.”
The attorney general candidates at first blush seemed more similar than different: Two moderate-to-liberal Democrats, both respected attorneys, both seen as well-qualified to be the state's top lawyer.
Holton said he would bring the same proactive management to the attorney general's post that he brought to the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland.
"This not just a big law firm representing the state, this is the Oregon Department of Justice," Holton said, his decibel level rising significantly at the word "Justice." Oregon doesn't need " a referee on the sideline," he added in a swipe at Rosenblum, the long-time judge.
Rosenblum described herself as a "doer and a fighter," who would look out for Oregon's vulnerable – mothers, children, the elderly.
Halfway through the race, Holton seemed to have all the momentum.
Nearly all of Oregon's district attorneys and county sheriffs who chose sides endorsed Holton. He also took a significant fundraising lead.
Rosenblum fought back, pointing out that Holton was raising more than 60 percent of his money from outside Oregon while more than 70 percent of her own contributions were from in-state.
Holton grew up in Virginia and worked in the Clinton administration. Many of his contributors are prominent Washington, D.C. democrats.
The numbers "demonstrate I'm the Oregon candidate," Rosenblum said.
The race took a surprising turn in April after the pro-marijuana legalization camp threw its support to Rosenblum.
They did so after Holton criticized Oregon's Medical Marijuana law, calling it a "train wreck."
Rosenblum jumped on the comment, accusing Holton of wanting to repeal the law and disregard the will of Oregon voters. On her Website, she promised that as attorney general, "I will make marijuana enforcement a low priority, and protect the rights of medical marijuana patients."
Roberts, who endorsed Rosenblum, said that Holton's stance felt out of touch. "I think even some Conservatives would agree these days that marijuana is not where we should put a lot of our resources," Roberts said.
Marijuana advocates were celebrating Tuesday night. "Dwight Holton picked a fight with Oregon's medical marijuna law," said Bob Wolfe, of Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement, a pro-legalization group. "We knew the vast majority of Democrats would be on our side."
Despite Rosenblum's wide margin of victory, Roberts predicted that Holton has a future in Oregon politics. "He impressed a lot of people," Roberts said.
“We didn’t get the result we all fought hard to get," Holton said in a written statement. "But I am proud of the work we did. We stuck to our shared values and ran a positive campaign."
--The Butaro Hospital, in the Burera District of Rwanda is comprised of a number of buildings set on a hilltop location. Principles of natural ventilation and passive solar design help moderate temperatures and reduce energy use within the hospital. Largely though, the hospital’s design was focused on mitigation and reduction of the transmission of airborne diseases. MASS collaborated with Partners in Health and Harvard Medical Center to develop and implement systems, like overall layout, patient and staff flow, and natural ventilation to minimize disease transmission.
Local laborers and craftsmen were utilized in the construction of the hospital, which not only supported the local economy, but also gave the local people a sense of ownership of the new facility. Local volcanic rock from the Virunga Mountain Chain was used to construct many of the facility’s walls and now the local masonry team is in especially high demand for their skills. The use of local materials and labor helped reduce the overall cost of construction, which was two-thirds of what a hospital of this size would typically cost in Rwanda.
MASS Design Group was founded by six students at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design – Michael Murphy, Marika Shioiri-Clark, Ryan Leidner, Alda Ly, Alan Ricks, and David Saladik. The team was approached to help Partners in Health design and build the 150-bed facility, and now after the successful project, the team is working on many more humanitarian projects for other global NGOs like the World Heatlth Organization and USAID. Their mission is to use architecture and design to affect change and empower people through development. So far, much of their work has largely been pro bono, but they hope that a combination of fee and pro bono work can sustain the firm.
Read more about this amazing firm at Metropolis Magazine.On Saturday at the 8th annual Governors Awards, Jackie Chan was awarded with an honorary Oscar for his decades of work in film.
Chan was introduced by his ‘Rush Hour’ co-star Chris Tucker, actress Michelle Yeoh and Tom Hanks, who referred to him as “Jackie ‘Chantastic’ Chan.” All three were full of praise for his work, with Yeoh specifically discussing his infamous stunt work. Hanks also stated that he felt that martial arts and action comedy films were two genres often overlooked during awards season.
“After 56 years in the film industry, making more than 200 films, after so many bones, finally,” Chan, 62, joked while holding his Oscar.
Chan also recalled watching the ceremony with his parents and how his father would always ask him why he didn’t have an Oscar despite having made so many movies. He then went on to praise his hometown of Hong Kong for making him “proud to be Chinese,” and thanked his fans, saying they were the reason “I continue to make movies, jumping through windows, kicking and punching, breaking my bones.”
Source: ReutersSay what you will about La La Land, but apparently it’s convincing all sorts of people to get into jazz who otherwise never would have given it much thought. Unfortunately, it also got Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst so into jazz that he’s probably going to kill the entire genre. That’s because, according to LA Weekly (via LAist), Durst has begun holding his very own reservation-only jazz night in Los Angeles called “Fred’z With A Z,” which he hosts while wearing a suit and his “signature red cap on backward.” But wait, there’s more: Fred’z is held every Thursday night at a bar called Black Rabbit Rose, which is—wait for it—all about magic. It has “flashy cocktails,” “magic-themed decor,” and magicians who perform little illusions in between acts during Durst’s jazz nights.
Wait, did we say he was going to kill the entire genre? Because what we meant to say was that he’s making jazz cooler than it’s ever been and also that he’s putting on the best damn party Los Angeles has ever seen. Also, “Fred’z With A Z” is a great name. To Durst’s credit, he recognizes that it’s weird for him to host a jazz night and he understands why people would be concerned about him singing (in his words) “lounge versions of ‘Nookie’,” but he apparently started the event because it was just really important to him to have a reliable place in L.A. to hear musicians play jazz every week. Then, after La La Land became a hit, he figured the time was right to tap into the public’s sudden fondness for jazz music.
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As for the magic, Durst says he’s “not a fanatic” but he does think magic tricks are “very cool.” It sounds like he didn’t set out to start a weekly jazz club that also features magic, but it’s a “serendipitous collision” that brings a new layer of “How?!” and “Whoa!” to “Fred’z With A Z.” If you’re ready to say “how?!” and/or “whoa!” while listening to Fred Durst talk about jazz music, you can head to Black Rabbit Rose in Hollywood every Thursday.Over the last month, most of my work time has been spent building a proof of concept for a project that I’ll serve as architect for next year. When doing software design, I find spikes (time-boxed explorations of problems) and rapid prototyping really useful ways to gain knowledge of new problem spaces that I will need to work in. Finding myself with a month to do this before the “real” start of the project has been highly valuable. Thanks to being under NDA, I can’t say much about the problem domain itself. I can, however, say that it involves a reasonable amount of concurrency: juggling different tasks that overlap in time.
Perl’s “whipuptitude” – the ability to quickly put something together – is fairly well known. Figuring that Perl 6’s various built-in concurrency constructs would allow me to whip up concurrent things rapidly, I decided to build the proof of concept in Perl 6. I’m happy to report that the bet paid off pretty well, and by now the proof of concept has covered all of the areas I hoped to explore – and some further ones that turned out to matter but that weren’t obvious at the start.
To me, building rapid prototypes explicitly does not mean writing crappy code. For sure, simplifications and assumptions of things not critical to the problem space are important. But my prototype code was both well tested and well structured. Why? Because part of rapid prototyping is being able to evolve the prototype quickly. That means being able to refactor rapidly. Decent quality, well-structured, well-tested code is important to that. In the end, I had ~2,500 lines of code covered by ~3,500 lines of tests.
So, I’ve spent a lot of time testing concurrent code. That went pretty well, and I was able to make good use of Test::Mock in order to mock components that returned a Promise or Supply also. The fact that Perl 6 has, from the initial language release, had ways to express asynchronous values ( Promise ) or asynchronous streams of values ( Supply ) is in itself a win for testing. Concurrent APIs expressed via these standard data structures are easy to fake, since you can put anything you want behind a Promise or a Supply.
My work project didn’t involve a huge amount of dealing with time, but in the odd place it did, and I realized that testing this code effectively would be a challenge. That gave me the idea of writing about testing time-based code for this year’s Perl 6 advent, which in turn gave me the final nudge I needed to write a module that’s been on my todo list all year. Using it, testing things involving time can be a lot more pleasant.
Today’s example: a failover mechanism
Timeouts are one of the most obvious and familiar places that time comes up in fairly “everyday” code. To that end, let’s build a simple failover mechanism. It should be used as follows:
my $failover-source = failover($source-a, $source-b, $timeout);
Where:
$source-a is a Supply
is a $source-b is a Supply
is a $timeout is a timeout in seconds (any Real number)
is a timeout in seconds (any number) The result, assigned to $failover-source, is also Supply
And it should function as follows:
The Supply passed as $source-a is immediately tapped (which means it is requested to do whatever is needed to start producing values)
passed as is immediately tapped (which means it is requested to do whatever is needed to start producing values) If it produces its first value before $timeout seconds, then we simply emit every value it produces to the result Supply and ignore $source-b
seconds, then we simply emit every value it produces to the result and ignore Otherwise, after $timeout seconds, we also tap $source-b
seconds, we also tap Whichever source then produces a value first is the one that we “latch” on to; any results from the other should be discarded
Consider, for example, that $source-a and $source-b are supplies that, when tapped, will send the same query to two different servers, which will stream back results over time. Normally we expect the first result within a couple of seconds. However, if the server queried by $source-a is overloaded or has other issues, then we’d like to try using the other one, $source-b, to see if it can produce results faster. It’s a race, but where A gets a head start.
Stubbing stuff in
So, in a Failover.pm6, let’s stub in the failover sub as follows:
sub failover(Supply $source-a, Supply $source-b, Real $timeout --> Supply) is export { supply { } }
A t/failover.t then starts off as:
use Failover; use Test; # Tests will go here done-testing;
And we’re ready to dig in to the fun stuff.
The first test
The simplest possible case for failover is when $source-a produces its first value in time. In this case, $source-b should be ignored totally. Here’s a test case for that:
subtest 'When first Supply produces a value in time, second not used', { my $test-source-a = supply { whenever Promise.in(1) { emit 'a 1'; } whenever Promise.in(3) { emit 'a 2'; } } my $test-source-b = supply { die "Should never be used"; } my $failover-supply = failover($test-source-a, $test-source-b, 2); my $output = $failover-supply.Channel; is $output.receive, 'a 1', 'Received first value from source A'; is $output.receive, 'a 2', 'Received second value from source A'; }
Here, we set up $test-source-a as a Supply that, when tapped, will emit a 1 after 1 second, and a 2 after 3 seconds. If $test-source-b is ever tapped it will die. We expect that if this wrongly happens, it will be at the 2 second mark, which is why a 2 is set to be emitted after 3 seconds. We then obtain a Channel from the resulting $failover-supply, which we can use to pull values from at will and check we got the right things. (On coercing a Supply to a Channel, the Supply is tapped, starting the flow of values, and each result value is fed into the Channel. Both completion and errors are also conveyed.)
Making it pass
There are a couple of ways that we might make this test pass. The absolute easiest one would be:
sub failover(Supply $source-a, Supply $source-b, Real $timeout) is export { return $source-a; }
Which feels like cheating, but in TDD the code that passes the first test case almost always does. (It sometimes feels pointless to write said tests. More than once, they’ve ended up saving me when – while making a hard thing work – I ended up breaking the trivial thing.)
An equivalent, more forward-looking solution would be:
sub failover(Supply $source-a, Supply $source-b, Real $timeout) is export { supply { whenever $source-a {.emit; } } }
Which is the identity operator on a Supply (just spit out everything you get). For those not familiar with supplies, it’s worth noting that this supply block does 3 useful things for you for free:
Passes along errors from $source-a
Passes along completion from $source-a
Closes the tap on $source-a – thus freeing up resources – if the tap on the supply we’re defining here is closed
Subscription management and error management are two common places for errors in asynchronous code; the supply / whenever syntax tries to do the Right Thing for you on both fronts. It’s more than just a bit of tinsel on the Christmas callback.
When the timeout…times out
So, time for a more interesting test case. This one covers the case where the $source-a fails to produce a value by the timeout. Then, $source-b produces a value within 1 second of being tapped – meaning its value should be relayed. We also want to ensure that even if $test-source-a were to emit a value a little later on, we’d disregard it. Here’s the test:
subtest 'When timeout reached, second Supply is used instead if it produces value first', { my $test-source-a = supply { whenever Promise.in(4) { emit 'a 1'; } } my $test-source-b = supply { whenever Promise.in(1) { # start time + 2 (timeout) + 1 emit 'b 1'; } whenever Promise.in(3) { # start time + 2 (timeout) + 3 emit 'b 2'; } } my $failover-supply = failover($test-source-a, $test-source-b, 2); my $output = $failover-supply.Channel; is $output.receive, 'b 1', 'Received first value from source B'; is $output.receive, 'b 2', 'Received second value from source B'; }
We expect a 1 to be ignored, because we chose $source-b. So, how can we make this pass? Here goes:
sub failover(Supply $source-a, Supply $source-b, Real $timeout --> Supply) is export { supply { my $emitted-value = False; whenever $source-a { $emitted-value = True;.emit; } whenever Promise.in($timeout) { unless $emitted-value { whenever $source-b {.emit; } } } } }
Will this pass the test? Both subtests?
Think about it…
Well, no, it won’t. Why? Because it doesn’t do anything about disregarding $source-a after it has started spitting out values from $source-b. It needs to commit to one or the other. Didn’t spot that? Good job we have tests! So, here’s a more complete solution that makes both subests pass:
sub failover(Supply $source-a, Supply $source-b, Real $timeout --> Supply) is export { supply { my enum Committed ; my $committed = None; whenever $source-a -> $value { given $committed { when None { $committed = A; emit $value; } when A { emit $value; } } } whenever Promise.in($timeout) { if $committed == None { whenever $source-b -> $value { $committed = B; emit $value; } } } } }
So tired of waiting
You’d think I’d be happy with this progress. Two passing test cases. Surely the end is in sight! Alas, development is getting…tedious. Yes, after just two test cases. Why? Here’s why:
$ time perl6-m -Ilib t/failover-bad.t ok 1 - Received first value from source A ok 2 - Received second value from source A 1..2 ok 1 - When first Supply produces a value in time, second not used ok 1 - Received first value from source B ok 2 - Received second value from source B 1..2 ok 2 - When timeout reached, second Supply is used instead if it produces value first 1..2 real 0m8.694s user 0m0.600s sys 0m0.072s
Every time I run my tests I’m waiting around 9 seconds now. And when I add more tests? Even longer! Now imagine I was going to write a whole suite of these failover and timeout routines, as a nice module. Or I was testing timeouts in a sizable app and would have dozens, even hundreds, of such tests.
Ouch.
Maybe, though, I could just make the timeouts smaller. Yes, that’ll do it! Here is how the second test looks now, for example:
subtest 'When timeout reached, second Supply is used instead if it produces value first', { my $test-source-a = supply { whenever Promise.in(0.04) { emit 'a 1'; } } my $test-source-b = supply { whenever Promise.in(0.01) { # start time + 2 (timeout) + 1 emit 'b 1'; } whenever Promise.in(0.03) { # start time + 2 (timeout) + 3 emit 'b 2'; } } my $failover-supply = failover($test-source-a, $test-source-b, 0.02); my $output = $failover-supply.Channel; is $output.receive, 'b 1', 'Received first value from source B'; is $output.receive, 'b 2', 'Received second value from source B'; }
You want it faster? Divide by 100! Job done.
Of course, anybody who has actually done this knows precisely what comes next. The first 3 times I ran my tests after this change, all was well. But guess what happened on the forth time?
ok 1 - When first Supply produces a value in time, second not used not ok 1 - Received first value from source B # Failed test 'Received first value from source B' # at t/failover-short.t line 41 # expected: 'b 1' # got: 'a 1' not ok 2 - Received second value from source B # Failed test 'Received second value from source B' # at t/failover-short.t line 42 # expected: 'b 2' # got: 'b 1' 1..2 # Looks like you failed 2 tests of 2 not ok 2 - When timeout reached, second Supply is used instead if it produces value first
Mysteriously…it failed. Why? Bad luck. My computer is a busy little machine. It can’t just give my test programs all the CPU all of the time. It needs to decode that music I’m listening to, check if I need to install the 10th set of security updates so far this month, and cope with my web browser wanting to do stuff because somebody tweeted something or emailed me. And so, once in a while, just after the clock hits 0.01 seconds and a thread grabs the whenever block to work on, that thread will be dragged off the CPU. Then, before it can get back on again, the one set to run at 0.04 seconds gets to go, and spits out its value first.
Sufficiently large times mean slow tests. Smaller values mean unreliable tests. Heck, suspend the computer in the middle of running the test suite and even a couple of seconds is too short for reliable tests.
Stop! Virtual time!
This is why I wrote Test::Scheduler. It’s an implementation of the Perl 6 Scheduler role that virtualizes time. Let’s go back to our test code and see if we can do better. First, I’ll import the module:
use Test::Scheduler;
Here’s the first test, modified to use Test::Scheduler :
subtest 'When first Supply produces a value in time, second not used', { my $*SCHEDULER = Test::Scheduler.new; my $test-source-a = supply { whenever Promise.in(1) { emit 'a 1'; } whenever Promise.in(3) { emit 'a 2'; } } my $test-source-b = supply { die "Should never be used"; } my $failover-supply = failover($test-source-a, $test-source-b, 2); my $output = $failover-supply.Channel; $*SCHEDULER.advance-by(3); is $output.receive, 'a 1', 'Received first value from source A'; is $output.receive, 'a 2', 'Received second value from source A'; }
Perhaps the most striking thing is how much hasn’t changed. The changes amount to two additions:
The creation of a Test::Scheduler instance and the assignment to the $*SCHEDULER variable. This dynamic variable is used to specify the current scheduler to use, and overriding it allows us to swap in a different one, much like you can declare a $*OUT to do stuff like capturing I/O. A line to advance the test scheduler by 3 seconds prior to the two assertions.
The changes for the second test are very similar:
subtest 'When timeout reached, second Supply is used instead if it produces value first', { my $*SCHEDULER = Test::Scheduler.new; my $test-source-a = supply { whenever Promise.in(4) { emit 'a 1'; } } my $test-source-b = supply { whenever Promise.in(1) { # start time + 2 (timeout) + 1 emit 'b 1'; } whenever Promise.in(3) { # start time + 2 (timeout) + 3 emit 'b 2'; } } my $failover-supply = failover($test-source-a, $test-source-b, 2); my $output = $failover-supply.Channel; $*SCHEDULER.advance-by(6); is $output.receive, 'b 1', 'Received first value from source B'; is $output.receive, 'b 2', 'Received second value from source B'; }
And what difference does this make to the runtime of my tests? Here we go:
$ time perl6-m -Ilib t/failover-good.t ok 1 - Received first value from source A ok 2 - Received second value from source A 1..2 ok 1 - When first Supply produces a value in time, second not used ok 1 - Received first value from source B ok 2 - Received second value from source B 1..2 ok 2 - When timeout reached, second Supply is used instead if it produces value first 1..2 real 0m0.679s user 0m0.628s sys 0m0.060s
From 9 seconds to sub-second – and much of that will be fixed overhead rather than the time running the tests.
One more test
Let’s deal with the final of the requirements, just to round off the test writing and get to a more complete solution to the original problem. The remaining test we need is for the case where the timeout is reached, and we tap $source-b. Then, before it can produce a value, $source-a emits its first value. Therefore, we should latch on to $source-a.
subtest 'When timeout reached, and second Supply tapped, first value still wins', { my $*SCHEDULER = Test::Scheduler.new; my $test-source-a = supply { whenever Promise.in(3) { emit 'a 1'; } whenever Promise.in(4) { emit 'a 2'; } } my $test-source-b = supply { whenever Promise.in(2) { # start time + 2 (timeout) + 2 emit 'b 1'; } } my $failover-supply = failover($test-source-a, $test-source-b, 2); my $output = $failover-supply.Channel; $*SCHEDULER.advance-by(4); is $output.receive, 'a 1', 'Received first value from source A'; is $output.receive, 'a 2', 'Received second value from source A'; }
This fails, because the latch logic wasn’t included inside of the whenever block that subscribes to $source-b. Here’s the easy fix for that:
sub failover(Supply $source-a, Supply $source-b, Real $timeout --> Supply) is export { supply { my enum Committed ; my $committed = None; whenever $source-a -> $value { given $committed { when None { $committed = A; emit $value; } when A { emit $value; } } } whenever Promise.in($timeout) { if $committed == None { whenever $source-b -> $value { given $committed { when None { $committed = B; emit $value; } when B { emit $value; } } } } } } }
The easy thing is just a little bit repetitive, however. It would be nice to factor out the commonality into a sub. Here goes:
sub failover(Supply $source-a, Supply $source-b, Real $timeout --> Supply) is export { supply { my enum Committed ; my $committed = None; sub latch($onto) { given $committed { when None { $committed = $onto; True } when $onto { True } } } whenever $source-a -> $value { emit $value if latch(A); } whenever Promise.in($timeout) { if $committed == None { whenever $source-b -> $value { emit $value if latch(B); } } } } }
And in under a second, the tests can now assure us that this was indeed a successful refactor. Note that this does not yet cancel a discarded request, perhaps saving duplicate work. I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Safety and realism
One thing you might wonder about here is whether this code is really thread safe. The default Perl 6 scheduler will schedule code across a bunch of threads. What if $source-a and $source-b emit their first value almost simultaneously?
The answer is that supply (and react ) blocks promise Actor-like semantics, processing just one message at a time. So, if we’re inside of the whenever block for $source-a, and $source-b emits a message on another thread, then it will be queued up for processing afterwards.
One interesting question that follows on from this is whether the test scheduler somehow serializes everything onto the test thread in order to do its job. The answer is that no, it doesn’t do that. It wraps the default ThreadPoolScheduler and always delegates to it to actually run code. This means that, just as with the real scheduler, the code will run across multiple threads and on the thread pool. This helps to avoid a couple of problems. Firstly, it means that testing code that relies on having real threads (by doing stuff that really blocks a thread) is possible. Secondly, it means that Test::Scheduler is less likely to hide real data race bugs that may exist in the code under test.
Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that virtual time is still very much a simulation of real time. It doesn’t account for the fact that running code takes time; virtual time stands still while code runs. At the same time, it goes to some amount of effort to get the right sequencing when a time-based event triggered in virtual time leads to additional time-based events being scheduled. For example, imagine we schedule E1 in 2s and E2 in 4s, and then advance the virtual time by 4s. If the triggering of E1 schedules E3 in 1s (so, 3s relative to the start point), we need to have it happen before E2. To have this work means trying to identify when all the consequences of E1 have been shaken out before proceeding (which is easier said than done). Doing this will, however, prevent some possible overlaps that could take place in real time.
In summary…
Unit tests for code involving time can easily end up being slow and/or unreliable. However, if we can virtualize time, it’s possible to write tests that are both fast and reliable – as good unit tests should be. The Test::Scheduler module provides a way to do this in Perl 6. At the same time, virtual time is not a simulation of the real thing. The usual rules apply: a good unit test suite will get you far, but don’t forget to have some integration tests too!A case making its way through the courts in Washington State holds high stakes for trafficked children who have been waging a steep uphill battle against corporate behemoth Backpage.com for years. Three Washington State girls, seventh and ninth graders, are fighting back against the website that advertised them multiple times a day.
The girls seek damages from Backpage.com -- believed to sell the most online prostitution ads involving children in the country -- for creating an illegal online marketplace and policing it in bad faith. After Backpage.com published their pictures and sales pitches about them, the girls, ages 13 and 15, were repeatedly raped by customers.
Covenant House is joining as a friend of the court in the lawsuit, |
card vote of 1,790,
000 against 210,000.
The resolution follows:
"Resolved: That this National La
bor party protest emphatically against
the adoption of conscription In any
form as it is against the spirit of
British democracy and full of danger
to the liberties of the people."
When the delegates assembled to
day they found this resolution on their
tables and also one on the military
service bill, which were designed to
take the place of the numerous pro
posals which have been made on
these subjects.
The other resolution placed before
the congress follows:
"This conference declares Its oppo
sition to the military bill and in the
event of it becoming law, decides to
agitate for Its repeal."
Bristol, Jan. 27. 5:45 p. m. The
labor congress adopted by a vote of
1,176,000 against oG0, 000 a declaration
opposing the military service bill
which has been passed by parliament.
A proposal to agitate for its repeal
was defeated by 649,000 against 614,-000.
UNIONIST'S HONOR
SAMUEL GOMPERS
Over Fifty Thousand San
Franciscans Observe Birth
day of American Federa
tion President.
RAISE HATTERS' FUND
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars
City's Contribution to Re
lief of Danbury Workers.
San Francisco, Cal., Jan. 27. More
than fifty thousand San Francisco
trades unionists joined today in na
tionwide observance of the sixty-sixth
birthday of their leader, Samuel Gom
pers, president of the American Fed
eration of Labor, by devoting one hour
of their time to tho cause of the Dan
bury, Conn., hatters. More than?25,
OOOwlll bo in this city's contribution,
it was announced by John A. O'Con
hcll. secretary of the San Francisco
laboi council. He said he expected
San Francisco to be tho largest contributor.
This form of observance was ap
proved by Mr. Gompers last Novem
ber at the convention here of the
American Federation of Labor to re
lieve the members of the United Hat
ters of North America whose savings
and homes were attached under a
judgment now amounting to about
$300,000 awarded to D. E. Loewe &
Co., In a Sherman anti-trust lawsuit
brought against the hatters because
of a boycott. The suit was instituted
in 1903, and went finally to the United
States supreme court which affirmed
the award January 5, 1915.
The federation, as an organization,
refused to aid the hatters but called
for voluntary gifts of one hour's pay.
Most of tho unions here arranged
to pay the equivalent of their mem
bers' contributions, out of the unions'
treasuries.
-oo
FRANCIS JOSEPH
GROWING WORSE
Vatican Circles Report Condi
tion of Emperor of Austria
Rapidly Growing More
Critical.
Rome, Jan. 27, via London, 3:05
p. m. It is reported In Vatican cir
cles that the condition of Emperor
Joseph of Austria, who has been ill
for several days, is rapidly growing
worse.
oo
JAPAN DENIES LONDON REPORT.
Tokio, Jan, 27. The London report
that the Japanese government had de
livered to the Chinese minister In To
kio a note embodying seven demands
which were included in the Japanese
program of last spring, was said by
the foreign office today to bo untrue.
DR. METCHJNJLKOFF
IS GRAVELY ILL
Dr. Elie Metchnikoff.
Dr. Elie Metchnikoff, noted bac
teriologist for a long time connected
with the Pasteur Institute at Paris,
is gravely ill with heart trouble. The
foremost physicians of Paris who
have been fighting for his recovery
have given up hope. Dr. Metchni
koff's most noted discovery was that
of using the milk treatment for in
testinal diseases. He was awarded
the Nobel prize for medicine in 1908.
SERIOUS FIRE
IN HOSPITAL
i
Thirty Patients in St. Joseph's
in Denver Driven From
Quarters Smoke Over
comes Nurses.
TWO FIREMEN HURT
Bookkeeper Collapses After
Dragging Sister Mary Ed
wards to Safetv.
Denver, Colo., Jan. 27. Thirty pa
tients at St. Joseph's hospital, driven
from their quarters late last night by
a fire which for a time threatened to
destroy a wing of the building, were
reported recovering from the effects
of their experience.
George Riley, a bookkeeper, is in
a serious condition as a result of be
ing overcome by smoke. He collapsed
after dragging to safety Sister Mary
Edwards, a nurse who was overcome
while endeavoring to ascertain the
source of the fire. Sister Mary Li
qouri, another nurse, was overcome
by smoke and two firemen were in
jured, one by a fall through a sky
light. The fire is thought to have origi
nated in a storeroom. The damage
was slight.
uu
UNION IRON WORKS
RIIVG. mC PI ANT
San Francisco, Jan. 27. Forced by
the demand for new ships to expand
its building plant, tho Union Iron
Works announced today that it had
pui chased the shipyard of the United
Engineering Works at Alameda,
across the bay from San Francisco.
The deal was said to involve nioro
than $1,000,000. The Union Iron
Works is a subsidiary of the Bethle
hem Steel company of Pennsylvania.
. oo
COLORADO RAISING
WAR RELIEF FUND
Denver, Colo, Jan. 27. Colorado
began its campaign to raise funds for
the Telief of impoverished Jews in the
European war zone. A mass meeting
was arranged for tonight in Denver
at which the canvass for funds was
to be formally launched.
Prosident Wilson's recent procla
mation setting aside today for col
lecrion of funds was supplemented a
few days by a proclamation by Gov
ernor Carlson calling upon citizens of
Colorado to contribute to the cause.
BLIZZARD RAGES 1
OVER COLORADO
Drifting Snow Threatens Rail- j
road Traffic and Endangers 1
Range Cattle Sixty-
mile Gale.?J
DRIFTS 25 FEET HIGH i
Deer, Mountain Lions and
Wolves Seeking Food on a
Valley Farms. fl I
Denver, Colo., Jan 27. A tempera- S
ture of 54 degrees below zero at Hav- tl I
re, Montana, at six o'clock this morn- H
ing is reported In the statement of the '.f
local weather bureau today. Unusu- M
ally low temperatures prevail through-
out the northern Rocky Mountain dis- m
trict with a line of zero temperatures m V
through central Kansas, Iowa, western Jf
Minnesota and northwestward to i$ i
British Columbia. High temperatures M r
are reported east of the Mississippi. if 1
Snow and rain is indicated in the M
forecast over most of the Rocky Moun- fefi ;
tain district. M
Durango. Colo., Jan. 27. The bliz- If
zard which began Tuesday in south-
western Colorado continued today.
The drifting snow threatened railroad M
communication and endangered range ) Ij
cattle, according to reports received e
here. Government weather bureau nj j
records show a snowfall here of 44, m
inches in the last two weeks. The w
temperature fell rapidly today. At fij
Cumbrea the wind was reported m I
blowing 60 miles an hour, piling the raj j
biiow in huge drifts, in some cases 25 Kg
feet high. li
Deer, mountain lions and wolves are jf
j reported seeking food on the valley m
farms. J
San Francisco, Jan. 27 Darkened j
skies, heavy rains along the coast and., fw
the lowest barometric pressure ever l
reached in San Francisco were the J
opening phases today of what weather k I
officials said would be a storm equal-. lji
ing one just passed, which caused mil-. Bjj
lions of dollars of damage and a score fij
of deaths.. ; HI
Eery where communications began'Kfl
to be shaky. "There's two feet of Bj
water in the telephone office," said an!
the wire, and the next instant his. m
wire was gone. The streets there and IJl
in Los Angeles ran cub-high, with Iflj
flood waters, and the rain still fell. Is
The town of Avalon, on Catalina isl- fj
and, which was burned out several jM
months ago, was flooded in portions l
today. Long Beach, an all-year resort IU
of 40,000 persons, reported itself flood- jjj
ed, as it was a week ago. Kl
Snow began falling again in the i
north, with a cold wave across Mon- j
tana.'fill
There was not enough wind at noon j luC
to cause anxiety about shipping., Ikj
oo K
FIFTY THOUSAND J
RATS MIGRATE ;
Rodents of Great Size and 111
Petrograd.
Petrograd, Jan. 27. (Correspond- j W
ence of The Associated Press.) A j ai
migration of rats, estimated at 50,000, R
surprised the residents of the city a i Sg
few days ago. The custom house dis- jRL
trlct and the grain markets of Petro- jjjH
grad are infested with innumerable ma
rats, often of large size and great Jlja
boldness. They go to water usually. Jjjj
in the stillest hours of the night In Wi
-serried ranks. Watchmen who see Jijjl
them In motion take pains to get out Jyj
of their way as they attack isolated J;
men when in numbers. There are tra-,f U
ditlons that persons who have tried i KJj
to interfere with these armies of rats I Mi
have been overcome and killed and 'jjH
eaten. no
The last migration was by day and tjji
the route led across the Nevsky pros-
pect. Thousands were cut to pieces j (S
by the electric street cars and bands j
of boys and men killed many others. j j
This daylight migration was no doubt! jfl
caused by the emptying of the grain,
bins at the grain market Supplies jld
have been distributed recently direct-. Jjj
ly from the railway cars to the deal- IjjjU
ers and larger bakers. I tjj'
- I iHnl
) i is)
The ladies of Ogden are urged to be in their i j
seats at Orpheum Theatre Monday afternoon at j IB,
2:30., 1
I II
Great interest is being shown in The Standard's I jfj
Second Annual Better Foods, Better Homes series j
of lectures, and a delightful treat is promised all J j
who attend Mrs. Vaughn's demonstrations.'j rf
O.. j J"
January 31st to February 5th, inclusive, 1916. I
il:"'":Jr
1 COOKING SCHOOL ALL NEXT WEEK AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE AT 2 R Mv j ;
I iHyderabad: The Indian School of Business (ISB) has grabbed an all-time high of 1,093 job offers this year. ISB has 812 students in its two campuses in Hyderabad and Mohali.
On Thursday, ISB said that it has seen a significant jump in job offers from large corporates as well as start-ups.
In its ongoing placements, the B-school this year adopted a flexible hybrid placement model, moving away from the structured way it used to follow, helping recruiters have exclusive days to do the hiring.
“Apart from resulting in the highest number of job offers this year, the hybrid model of placements also resulted in higher pay packages," the B-school said in a statement, without revealing the pay packages.
The biggest recruiters, like in previous years, were consulting firms McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, EY, Deloitte and KPMG, who offered 19% of the total jobs, so far.
This was followed by technology and tech services companies like Microsoft, Apple, Philips, HCL, Tech Mahindra and Directi, making up 11% of the offers.
E-commerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart have made 109 offers so far.
Start-ups, ISB said, competed hard with established recruiters picking up 7% of the class across sectors like technology, telecom, e-commerce, transportation and education with senior management roles on offer.
Other prominent sectors like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), healthcare and pharma sectors too made 8% of the total offers.
ISB this year also saw an uptick in the offers for senior positions. “This year the quality of hiring has also improved compared to previous years. A total of 92 offers for senior leadership roles and global leadership programmes were made. These include several CXO level positions," it said.
Interestingly, the Andhra Pradesh government too made 11 offers this year to students who can join as chief minister’s fellows to develop strategic initiatives and implementation of policies for the state.
ISB’s flagship post graduate programme in management is a year-long course and costs around ₹ 25 lakh.Overview (3)
Mini Bio (1)
Andy Richter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the second of four children of Glenda (Palmer), a kitchen cabinet designer, and Laurence R. Richter, who taught Russian at Indiana University. He was raised in Yorkville, Illinois. His parents divorced when he was four. Richter attended the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign and then moved to Chicago's Columbia College to study film. Richter played in several Chicago improvisation groups before catching his role with Conan O'Brien.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: John Sacksteder <jsack@ka.net>
Spouse (1)
Trivia (10)
In September 1999, he announced his retirement from Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) nine months hence (mid-May 2000).
Set a record on Celebrity Jeopardy! for most money earned at $29,400 ($24,400 + $5000 victory bonus). [1999]
Was high school prom king.
Attended Yorkville High School in Yorkville, Illinois.
While attending Columbia College in Chicago, Andy had the title role in a class film called "My Dinner with Andy", a parody of the film My Dinner with Andre (1981).
Attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
His father is an expert in Russian linguistics.
Daughter, Mercy Josephine, was born March 2007.
Son, William Oscar, born 2001.
His last name means "judge" in German. Andy's paternal grandmother was of French descent. Andy's maternal grandmother was born in Lahowkow, China, to Swedish parents. His other ancestry is German, English, and remote Welsh.
Personal Quotes (25)
Because homecoming came first, and there was the homecoming court. The five guys on homecoming court were disqualified from being in the prom court. So being prom king was being sixth most popular.
Since she got a cause and stopped being funny. I think she's real funny, but lately it's all been hearts and flowers and tears and saving teenagers and creating a role model. And that ain't funny. No giggles there.
I was prom king. Which is actually saying I was the sixth most popular, because the five who were on homecoming were automatically disqualified from prom, so of course I have to look at it that way.
I briefly considered doing Edgar Allan Poe and just swearing a lot.
I wouldn't want to be a talk show host. That's another awkward compliment people make. 'You should have your own talk show.' And I think, no thank you.
I've always tried to be nice to people, so that sort of translates into popularity, I guess.
The desire to do different things was the main motivator that made me leave late night because I'd been there seven years. The combination of an entrepreneurial desire to see how far I could push my success and a short attention span. But now I've done other things. And I'm sort of ready to sit somewhere and sit in the same place for a while.
The basic equation that mystified me as a young man was looking at guys who could actually get girls. I was always amazed, because they never seemed to care. I was like, 'How do they do that?'
There are naked people in boots on a mountain top firing guns.
At a very basic level, I think television exists for game shows, and I think it always will.
I want to get back and figure out how we're going to make 'The Tonight Show' funny and good.
I mean, I'll say the filthiest things in the world, but when it comes down to it, I'm kind of a prude.
But I don't read a lot of fiction. I prefer the nonfiction stuff.
I watch mediocre shows that have been on for three or four seasons, and feel angry at them.
I'm not that professional.
If somebody's looking at pictures of naked people and you go, 'Oh I don't want to see that,' you're lying. Cause naked people are always interesting. Always. Whether they're beautiful, or naked or 500 pounds.
Anything that I read, I read because I'm interested in it.
No, I don't know any Emily Dickinson poems!
Some people are born with a brain that has this weird, magical mathematical thing that makes them an amazing jazz musician.
We've been swimming at nude beaches and I love to go skinny dipping, but I'm sorry, sitting on top of a mountain, that's just, you're trying to show off or something. That's ridiculous.
If you start to just aim for what the audience wants to hear, you're already hamstrung because you don't have any freedom.
It's funny, because 'Arrested Development' is tied to Andy Richter in a few different ways. For me personally, after I did Andy Richter, one of the next things I did was a show called 'Quintuplets' for a season for Fox, and this was while 'Arrested Development' was on. I used to go over and hang out on their set.
Well, I refer to 'Celebrity Jeopardy'as the short-bus 'Jeopardy,' because it is a lot easier. Like, there was a whole column basically naming stores in New York.
It's a very nice thing to have a baby.
The people on 'Quintuplets' were great, but I wasn't a producer on that show, and it wasn't exactly my taste.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Oct. 9, 2015, 6:14 PM GMT / Updated Oct. 9, 2015, 6:14 PM GMT By James Eng and Associated Press
California now requires police to get a court order before they can search messages, email, photos and other digital data stored on your cellphone or company servers.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed into law the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (calECPA). It's only the third of its kind in the U.S., and the most protective, privacy experts said. While some states do guarantee some comparable protections, only Maine and Utah previously had comprehensive laws on the books, said Hanni Fakhoury, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The digital rights group, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, tech companies and news organizations, pushed for the bill's passage, arguing that existing laws desperately needed an update. Advocates say the new law highlights the need for similar protections at the national level.
Related: Bottom Line: Google Study Confirms 911 'Butt Dialing' Is a Serious Problem
Co-sponsor Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, hailed the California law as a "landmark victory for digital privacy."
"For too long, California’s digital privacy laws have been stuck in the Dark Ages, leaving our personal emails, text messages, photos and smartphones increasingly vulnerable to warrantless searches," Leno said in a statement Thursday.
Related: Apple Removes Some Apps from Online Store Over Security Concerns
Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties policy director at the ACLU of California, said he hopes the California law becomes "a model for the rest of the nation in protecting our digital privacy rights."
Adobe, one of the many tech companies backing the bill, agreed. "Hopefully, this action by California lawmakers will jump-start a much-needed debate in Washington on electronic privacy," Mary Catherine Wirth, associate general counsel, said in a blog post.Github Network Science: Creating a Better Project Rating
Russell Jurney Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 19, 2017
In this series of posts we will use Spark and JanusGraph to apply social network analysis to Github data to create a better Github project popularity ranking than stars provide. This will show what projects are most popular in use by developers, as opposed to casual fans.
I will begin by walking you through calculating the edges of fork and star graphs using PySpark, followed by showing how to setup a data model in Janus, how to load the data and then on to querying the data interactively and finally creating and evaluating our project rating.
Stars are one way to measure project importance, but I think we can do better!
Why? I received an email from a researcher asking for how many stars should count as a significant project, and it got me thinking that using stars wasn’t the best approach. While they are a direct metric, they have a very long tail distribution that doesn’t flesh out the intermediate area that is of interest. So here goes… a better Github repository rating in open source.
Why I Do What?
I am interested in learning to apply deep learning to network analysis, so I’m going to experiment with networks extracted from the Github Archive. This project is a way to get familiar with the dataset. To begin, we’ll show how to use PySpark on 135GB of event data to extract a network composed of users, repositories and the forks that link them. We’ll go on to extract one-mode networks, composed of users and repos separately, from this two-mode one. Then we’ll calculate a centrality score for each repository, which will serve as our project rating.
The original network
This will also set us up to begin further experiments using tools optimized for one-mode networks. In doing so, we’ll show how to extract property graphs from “big data” and then how to apply tools made for one-mode networks (most tools) to analyze them.
The derived user-user and repo-repo networks
Getting the Data
The Github Archive is an excellent source for Github events, saving you the trouble of collecting the events from the Github API. It can be retrieved easily using wget (see download.sh). We will limit our experiment to the Github events for the year 2017.
wget http://data.githubarchive.org/2017-{01..12}-{01..31}-{0..23}.json.gz
Making Fork and Star Networks from Github Events
With the data in hand, we need to process the raw events to extract a node/edge list to build our network. For this task I started out using Python directly (without Spark), but when I moved to working on 135GB of compressed data for the year 2017, this approach failed to scale.
This is where PySpark shines. Note that we’ll be using SparkContext and RDD instead of SparkSession and DataFrames, as this is easier for nested records like our Github events. See build_network.spark.py.
Starting out we import frozendict because it is hashable. This enables us to use dictionaries with the features of SparkContext. Then we run a snippet of code designed to initialize our Spark environment whether we’re using the pyspark console or spark-submit.
import sys, os, json
from frozendict import frozendict
# If there is no SparkSession, create the environment
try:
sc and spark
except NameError as e:
import findspark
findspark.init()
import pyspark
import pyspark.sql
sc = pyspark.SparkContext()
spark = pyspark.sql.SparkSession(sc).builder.appName("Extract Network").getOrCreate()
Our first task will be to extract the star and fork edges that link users and repositories. We load our events, parse their JSON (and handle any errors) and filter to just the valid ForkEvents and WatchEvents that we’re interested in.
github_lines = sc.textFile("data/2017*.json.gz")
# Apply the function to every record
def parse_json(line):
record = None
try:
record = json.loads(line)
except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
sys.stderr.write(str(e))
record = {"error": "Parse error"}
return record
github_events = github_lines.map(parse_json)
github_events = github_events.filter(lambda x: "error" not in x)
# See http://bit.ly/github_ForkEvent_definition
fork_events = github_events.filter(lambda x: "type" in x and x["type"] == "ForkEvent")
# See http://bit.ly/github_WatchEvent_definition
star_events = github_events.filter(lambda x: "type" in x and x["type"] == "WatchEvent")
Then we use frozendict to create our pared down records with only users and repos. Note that when working with property graphs, you can pull in many more fields than this and use them as properties of nodes and edges… but it is easiest to start simply with the essential identifiers.
# Get the user and repo for each ForkEvent: user-fork-repo
fork_events = fork_events.map(
lambda x: frozendict(
{
"user": x["actor"]["login"] if "actor" in x and "login" in x["actor"] else None,
"repo": x["repo"]["name"] if "repo" in x and "name" in x["repo"] else None
}
)
)
fork_events = fork_events.filter(lambda x: x["user"] is not None and x["repo"] is not None)
And for stars as well:
# Get the user and repo for each WatchEvent: user-star-repo
star_events = star_events.map(
lambda x: frozendict(
{
"user": x["actor"]["login"] if "actor" in x and "login" in x["actor"] else None,
"repo": x["repo"]["name"] if "repo" in x and "name" in x["repo"] else None
}
)
)
star_events = star_events.filter(lambda x: x["user"] is not None and x["repo"] is not None)
Finally, we need to serialize our data back to JSON to import it into our graph database. We’ll need to supply a default method to json.dumps() to enable it to serialize frozendicts.
def json_serialize(obj):
"""Serialize objects as dicts instead of strings"""
if isinstance(obj, frozendict):
return dict(obj)
fork_events_lines = fork_events.map(
lambda x: json.dumps(x, default=json_serialize)
)
fork_events_lines.saveAsTextFile("data/users_repos.jsonl")
star_events_links = star_events.map(lambda x: json.dumps(x, default=json_serialize))
star_events_links.saveAsTextFile("data/users_starred_repos.json")
Now that we have edges, we still need nodes for users and repositories. To create the user records, we start by emitting the username in a frozendict for both the fork and the star records (remember, we need any username that appears in either event type), union these two results with SparkContext.union() and finally call RDD.distinct() on the resulting dataset to get one record per user. Without frozendict, you can’t use distinct().
# We must get any repos appearing in either event type
fork_repos = fork_events.map(lambda x: frozendict({"repo": x["repo"]}))
star_repos = star_events.map(lambda x: frozendict({"repo": x["repo"]}))
repos = sc.union([fork_repos, star_repos])
repos = repos.distinct()
repos_lines = repos.map(lambda x: json.dumps(x, default=json_serialize))
repos_lines.saveAsTextFile("data/repos.json")
The same thing goes for repositories:
# We must get any users appearing in either event type
fork_users = fork_events.map(lambda x: frozendict({"user": x["user"]}))
star_users = star_events.map(lambda x: frozendict({"user": x["user"]}))
users = sc.union([fork_users, star_users])
users = users.distinct()
users_lines = users.map(lambda x: json.dumps(x, default=json_serialize))
users_lines.saveAsTextFile("data/users.json")
Sizing Up Our Edges
The size of the users relation indicates there are 4,067,599 active users in 2017 (active users here being defined as having forked or starred an open source project on Github). There were 4,071,996 repos forked. Those users forked and starred open source repositories 11,366,334 and 31,870,088 times respectively in 2017. The users_forked_repos.jsonl file is 659MB, while the users_starred_repos.jsonl file is 1.8GB.
Now that we’ve got nodes and the edges that connect them, we’re ready to setup and import data into our graph database. We’ll do that in our next post! :)
Data Syndrome Does Networks
If you need help with this kind of shenanigans, don’t hesitate to contact Data Syndrome at rjurney@datasyndrome.com :)GHC is packaged for a number of operating systems and distributions. While they may lag behind the latest GHC release, advantages such as dependency checking and ease of uninstallation mean we recommend using them anyway, unless you have a particular need for new features or bug fixes.
The OS-specific packages (eg. RPMs on Linux) are generally a better bet than the vanilla.tar.bz2 binary bundles, because they will check for dependencies and allow the package to be uninstalled at a later date.
However, if you don't have permission to install binaries on your system, or you want to install somewhere other than the default place ( /usr or /usr/local on a Unix system), then you'll need to use a.tar.bz2 binary bundle.
Supported platforms
Linux (x86)
Generic i386 Linux for libedit0. If you have a file /usr/lib/libedit.so.0 (expected on RedHat and derived distributions) then use this bindist. This is a complete build, including interactive system, profiling libraries and documentation..tar.bz2 (70 MB)
Generic i386 Linux for libedit2. If you have a file /usr/lib/libedit.so.2 (expected on Debian and derived distributions) then use this bindist. This is a complete build, including interactive system, profiling libraries and documentation. You will need libffi5 in order to install from this bindist properly. On Debian systems, you can get it from by installing the libffi5 package..tar.bz2 (70 MB)
If you have neither, then you need to install editline. Try looking for a package called something like libedit2 or libedit.
NOTE: If you have too old a version of libc, then you will get an error like "floating point exception" from the binaries in these bindists. You will need to either upgrade your libc (we're not sure what the minimum version required is, but 2.7 is known to work), or use a binary package built for your distribution instead.
Linux (x86_64)
Generic amd64 Linux for libedit0. If you have a file /usr/lib/libedit.so.0 (expected on RedHat and derived distributions) then use this bindist. This is a complete build, including interactive system, profiling libraries and documentation..tar.bz2 (70 MB)
Generic amd64 Linux for libedit2. If you have a file /usr/lib/libedit.so.2 (expected on Debian and derived distributions) then use this bindist. This is a complete build, including interactive system, profiling libraries and documentation..tar.bz2 (70 MB)
If you have neither, then you need to install editline. Try looking for a package called something like libedit2 or libedit.
NOTE: If you have too old a version of libc, then you will get an error like "floating point exception" from the binaries in these bindists. You will need to either upgrade your libc (we're not sure what the minimum version required is, but 2.7 is known to work), or use a binary package built for your distribution instead.
Windows (x86) (standalone)
ghc-6.10.2-i386-windows.exe (48 MB); a Windows Installer for GHC 6.10.2.
This is a complete build, and should work for Microsoft Windows 2000, XP and Vista. It also includes support for compiling C++ files.
MacOS X (Intel)
This is an installer for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). The package requires Xcode 3.0 to be already installed. You can find Xcode 3.0 on your Leopard installation DVD (or at http://developer.apple.com/.
This is a binary distribution for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), prepared by Christian Maeder. It needs libedit.2.dylib, libncurses.5.dylib and libgmp.3.dylib under /opt/local/lib/.
Community supported platforms
These platforms are supported by community members.
This is a full binary distribution for Solaris, prepared by Christian Maeder.
If you are on Solaris 8 or 9, please see #1291 for some hoops you may have to jump through.
There may be problems with gcc-3.4.x; see #951 for details.We now live in an always on, always connected, 24/7/365 world.
And, to compete in such a world, a company needs to have a real-time omni-channel presence, where it constantly monitors, matches and meets the ever changing needs of it’s customers.
Right?
Well, that seems to be the prevailing wisdom.
But, isn't there a problem with that? If everyone is trying to do more and more to become better and better does it not, at some point, become harder and harder to stand out from the crowd?
If so, then surely the question has to be not how do we do more but how do we do things differently in order to stand out?
One company that is doing things differently and is reaping the rewards for it is Tower Paddle Boards in San Diego.
In an interview, Stephan Aarstol, Founder & CEO of Tower Paddle Boards, explains how the standard 8-hour working day, which was introduced in the early 1900s, is now inefficient and not fit for purpose given that we now live in an era dominated by knowledge workers. Moreover, he says that, particularly in the US and the UK, we are stuck in this dominant logic where more hours means better. But, more hours are not delivering the outcomes that we want and value. In fact, they are having a negative impact on our efficiency, productivity, creativity and well-being as well as impinging on our ability to spend time with friends and family and doing the things that we really love.
So, in an effort to combat these inefficiencies, strive for greater productivity and to give his employees back their ‘life’, Stephan implemented a five-hour workday at Tower.
Now, whilst their website is still open for business 24 hours a day, the new system has meant that their retail shop opening hours, their office hours, their customer support hours and their dispatch team now only operate for five hours a day from 8am to 1pm.
When they first implemented this system, they knew this was a departure from the norm and were prepared to take up to a 40% hit to their revenues as a result. But, in reality, they haven’t experienced any negative impacts from the implementation of this new system and their customers have ‘self-adjusted’. Moreover, after implementing the new system in June 2014, their revenues grew by 42% that year whilst their profitability also rose to above 30%.
According to Stephan, the secret behind their success is that the new system has changed the way that Tower employees think about their work and how they approach it. A key part of this is that it has forced them to:
Communicate more effectively amongst themselves and with their customers,
Operate more efficiently within their set hours, and
Innovate across all areas of the business so that they continue to deliver and improve on the great level of service that their customers desire.
As Stephan puts it ‘When you put constraints on things, that is when you force a creative solution’.
What I find particularly encouraging about Tower’s story is that it suggests that there are alternatives to the prevailing wisdom of more is better. In addition, Stephan and his team at Tower show that by doing things differently you can deliver a stand out customer experience that works for all parties: the business, it's employees and it's customers.As a user, the browser back button is one of the most handy features of a web client. As developers, we wish it never existed.
Using the back button, in it's simplest definition, means to go back to the page we visited before the one we are currently on. But what exactly does this mean?
Should the browser request the previous page from the server?
Should it be loaded from the cache?
Or, should we load some pieces of the page from the server and some from the cache?
In the real world, it depends on the application. One of the most common areas of concern when it comes to the back button is within the shopping cart on e-commerce sites. When a user adds an item to the shopping cart, the number of items in the cart is typically shown in the header of the website, and updated with each item added to the cart.
But, what happens when a user adds an item to the shopping cart, watches the cart count increment |
W 5,065 295 Horizon 4 $2.99 Image 5,032 296 Shadow Death of Margo Lane 5 $4.99 Dynamite 4,992 297 Spongebob Comics 61 $3.99 United Plankton 4,985 298 Powerpuff Girls 4* $3.99 IDW 4,981 299 Scooby Doo Where Are You 74 $2.99 DC 4,972 300 Uncle Scrooge 19 $3.99 IDW 4,931 304 A&A 8 $3.99 Valiant 4,826 306 Wrath of the Eternal Warrior 12 $3.99 Valiant 4,796 308 Street Fighter Unlimited 11 $3.99 Udon 4,606 309 War Stories 20 $3.99 Avatar 4,542 316 Rough Riders 6 $3.99 Aftershock 4,383 319 Grimm Fairy Tales 2016 Photo Shoot $5.99 Zenescope 4,224 323 Street Fighter Legends Cammy 4 $3.99 Udon 4,131 324 Grimm Fairy Tales Annual 2016 1 $5.99 Zenescope 4,106 326 Grimm Fairy Tales Halloween Special 2016 $5.99 Zenescope 4,060 333 Evil Dead 2 Revenge of Dracula One Shot $3.99 Space Goat 3,868 337 Voltron Legendary Defender 3 $2.99 Lion Forge 3,719 339 Lady Death Extinction Express 1 Std Ed. $7.99 Coffin 3,690 340 Evil Dead 2 Dark Ones Rising 1 $3.99 Space Goat 3,688 342 Grimm Fairy Tales Genesis Heroes Reborn $4.99 Zenescope 3,654 344 Irwin Allen Lost In Space 5 $3.99 American Mythology 3,640 350 Disney Pixar Finding Dory 4 $2.99 Joe Books 3,549 351 Girrion 1 $3.99 Scout 3,544 359 Pink Panther Trick Or Pink 1 $3.99 American Mythology 3,406 364 Bruce Lee Dragon Rises 4 $3.99 Magnetic 3,314 366 Three Stooges Curse of Frankenstooge $4.99 American Mythology 3,254 367 Grimm Fairy Tales Robyn Hood I Love Ny 5 $3.99 Zenescope 3,251 370 Hillbilly 1 $3.99 Albatross 3,227 372 Belladonna 1 $5.99 Avatar 3,209 373 Evil Dead 2 Revenge of Jack The Ripper One Shot 3.99 Space Goat 3151 374 Insexts 8 3.99 Aftershock 3144 377 Kim and Kim 4 3.99 Black Mask 3083 379 Evil Dead 2 Dark Ones Rising 2 3.99 Space Goat 3081 381 Grimm Fairy Tales Van Helsing Vs Frankenstein 3 3.99 Zenescope 3019 387 Evil Dead 2 Revenge of the Martians One Shot 3.99 Space Goat 2940 391 Hillbilly 2 3.99 Albatross 2856 394 Black Hood Season 2 1 3.99 Archie 2822
Trade Paperback title Price Publisher Est. sales 1 Champions No Time For Losers #1 $7.99 Marvel 7,366 2 Wicked & Divine Vol. 4 Rising Action $14.99 Image 7,273 3 East of West Vol. 6 $14.99 Image 5,605 4 Tokyo Ghost Vol. 2 $14.99 Image 5,294 5 Low Vol. 3 Shore of the Dying Light $14.99 Image 4,689 6 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up Marvel Universe HC $24.99 Marvel 4,542 7 Doctor Strange Flight of Bones $24.99 Marvel 4,505 8 Color Your Own Star Wars $9.99 Marvel 4,478 9 Trees Vol. 2 $12.99 Image 4,453 10 Batman Dark Knight Returns Book & Mask Set $39.99 DC 4,123 11 March Book 1 $14.95 IDW 3,962 12 Hellboy In Hell Vol. 2 Death Card $17.99 Dark Horse 3,766 13 Superman American Alien HC $24.99 DC 3,686 14 Walking Dead HC Vol. 13 $34.99 Image 3,347 15 Revolution Road To Revolution Special $9.99 IDW 3,255 16 Neil Gaimans Troll Bridge HC $14.99 Dark Horse 3,254 17 Head Lopper Vol. 1 Island or a Plague of Beasts $19.99 Image 3,185 18 Wolverine Old Man Logan Vol. 2 Bordertown $15.99 Marvel 3,160 19 Black Road Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 2,970 20 Buffy High School Years Glutton Punishment $10.99 Dark Horse 2,951 21 Deadpool Worlds Greatest Vol. 4 Temporary Insanitation $15.99 Marvel 2,934 22 Goodnight Batcave HC $14.99 DC 2,806 23 Paper Girls Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 2,742 24 Saga Vol. 6 $14.99 Image 2,692 25 Black Widow Vol. 1 Shields Most Wanted $17.99 Marvel 2,662 26 Warlord of Mars Dejah Thoris Vol. 1 Colossus of Mars $16.99 Dynamite 2,592 27 Turok Dinosaur Hunter Vol. 1 Conquest $16.99 Dynamite 2,535 28 X-O Manowar Vol. 1 by The Sword $9.99 Valiant 2,534 29 Mask Strikes Back $14.95 Dark Horse 2,531 30 Daredevil Punisher Seventh Circle $15.99 Marvel 2,514 31 Mighty Avengers Vol. 1 Ultron Initiative $14.99 Marvel 2,507 32 Doctor Strange Prem HC Vol. 2 Last Days of Magic $24.99 Marvel 2,468 33 Discipline Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 2,458 34 All New Wolverine Vol. 2 Civil War II $19.99 Marvel 2,302 35 Saga Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 2,274 36 DC Universe by Neil Gaiman Deluxe Ed HC $29.99 DC 2,268 37 Extraordinary X-Men Vol. 2 Apocalypse Wars $19.99 Marvel 2,245 38 Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 9 $12.99 Viz 2,179 39 Color Your Own Doctor Strange $9.99 Marvel 2,144 40 Grayson Vol. 4 A Ghost in the Tomb $16.99 DC 2,133 41 Flash An Adult Coloring Book $15.99 DC 2,108 42 Secret Loves of Geek Girls $14.99 Dark Horse 2,096 43 Punisher Max Complete Collection Vol. 3 $34.99 Marvel 2,093 44 Batman by Ed Brubaker Vol. 2 $19.99 DC 2,092 45 Elseworlds Batman Vol. 2 $24.99 DC 2,059 46 Marvels Doctor Strange Prelude $16.99 Marvel 2,005 47 Flash by Geoff Johns Book 3 $24.99 DC 2,001 48 Monstress Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 1,974 49 Moebius Library World of Edena HC $49.99 Dark Horse 1,968 50 All New X-Men Inevitable Vol. 2 Apocalypse Wars $15.99 Marvel 1,907 51 Doctor Strange Epic Collection Separate Reality $39.99 Marvel 1,893 52 Superman The Final Days of Superman HC $29.99 DC 1,840 53 Swamp Thing The Dead Dont Sleep $16.99 DC 1,838 54 Supergirl by Peter David Book 1 $24.99 DC 1,832 55 Disney Princess Comics Coll $9.99 Joe Books 1,786 56 Batman The Killing Joke Special Ed HC $17.99 DC 1,775 57 Attack on Titan Anthology Px Ed $29.99 Random House 1,759 58 Captain America White $24.99 Marvel 1,729 59 Teen Titans Go Bring It On New Ed $12.99 DC 1,720 60 Carnage Vol. 2 World Tour $15.99 Marvel 1,648 61 Mockingbird Vol. 1 I Can Explain $17.99 Marvel 1,642 62 Nightwing Vol. 5 The Hunt For Oracle $24.99 DC 1,616 63 Green Lantern The Silver Age Vol. 1 $24.99 DC 1,584 64 Convergence $24.99 DC 1,568 65 Red Hood Arsenal Vol. 2 Devils Daughter $16.99 DC 1,557 66 Star Wars Legends Epic Coll Original Marvel Years Vol. 1 $39.99 Marvel 1,553 67 Doctor Strange What Is It That Disturbs You Stephen $29.99 Marvel 1,542 68 Vote Loki $15.99 Marvel 1,540 69 Aquaman Vol. 7 Exiled $16.99 DC 1,517 70 Captain Marvel Vol. 2 Earths Mightiest Hero $29.99 Marvel 1,516 71 X-Men 92 Vol. 1 World Is A Vampire $15.99 Marvel 1,507 72 Power Man and Iron Fist Epic Collection Revenge $39.99 Marvel 1,506 73 Giant Days Vol. 3 $14.99 Boom 1,505 74 Walking Dead Vol. 26 Call To Arms $14.99 Image 1,492 75 Predator Life and Death $14.99 Dark Horse 1,446 76 Green Arrow Vol. 9 Outbreak $17.99 DC 1,433 77 Fade Out Dlx Ed HC $49.99 Image 1,429 78 My Little Pony Vol. 6 Crystal Empire $7.99 IDW 1,386 79 We Are Robin Vol. 2 Jokers $14.99 DC 1,386 80 Batman Hush Complete $24.99 DC 1,360 81 Valiant Masters Shadowman HC Vol. 1 Spirits Within $24.99 Valiant 1,348 82 Cbldf Presents She Changed Comics $14.99 Image 1,341 83 Catwoman Vol. 8 Run Like Hell $14.99 DC 1,286 84 Super Mario Adventures $14.99 Viz 1,284 85 Black Dog Dreams of Paul Nash $24.99 Dark Horse 1,282 86 Goldie Vance Vol. 1 $9.99 Boom 1,265 87 Saga Vol. 2 $14.99 Image 1,256 88 Back To The Future Vol. 2 Continuum Conundrum $19.99 IDW 1,243 89 Superman Savage Dawn HC $29.99 DC 1,242 90 Midnighter Vol. 2 Hard $14.99 DC 1,232 91 Batman The Long Halloween $24.99 DC 1,225 92 X-Men Gambit and Rogue $24.99 Marvel 1,210 93 Hawkeye HC Vol. 3 $34.99 Marvel 1,207 94 Neil Gaimans Midnight Days $16.99 DC 1,196 95 TMNT Ongoing Vol. 15 Leatherhead $19.99 IDW 1,192 96 Fifth Beatle Brian Epstein Story Expanded Ed $14.99 Dark Horse 1,167 97 Saga Vol. 5 $14.99 Image 1,167 98 Habitat $9.99 Image 1,166 99 Saga Vol. 4 $14.99 Image 1,161 100 Color Your Own Young Marvel by Skottie Young $9.99 Marvel 1,157 101 All New Inhumans Vol. 2 Skyspears $19.99 Marvel 1,151 102 Watchmen $19.99 DC 1,143 103 Saga Vol. 3 $14.99 Image 1,129 104 Black Panther Book 1 Nation Under Our Feet $16.99 Marvel 1,126 105 Wolf Vol. 2 Apocalypse Soon $14.99 Image 1,100 106 Aquaman A Celebration of 75 Years HC $39.99 DC 1,095 107 Spider-Man Deadpool Vol. 1 Isnt It Bromantic $17.99 Marvel 1,081 108 Wonder Woman The Golden Age Omnibus HC Vol. 1 $75.00 DC 1,076 109 I Am A Hero Omnibus Vol. 2 $19.99 Dark Horse 1,073 110 Dark Tower Drawing of Three Bitter Medicine $19.99 Marvel 1,057 111 Wicked & Divine Vol. 1 The Faust Act $9.99 Image 1,055 112 Descender Vol. 1 Tin Stars $9.99 Image 1,038 113 Son of Satan Classic $39.99 Marvel 1,015 114 International Iron Man Prem HC $29.99 Marvel 1,014 115 Spider-Man Clone Saga Omnibus HC Vol. 1 $125.00 Marvel 1,012 116 Uncanny X-Men Omnibus HC Vol. 2 $100.00 Marvel 1,010 117 Harley Quinn & Suicide Squad An Adult Coloring Book $15.99 DC 970 118 Thought Bubble Anthology Coll 10 Years of Comics $9.99 Image 961 119 Walking Dead Vol. 1 Days Gone Bye $14.99 Image 954 120 Doctor Fate Vol. 2 Prisoners of the Past $14.99 DC 943 121 4001 AD $14.99 Valiant 938 122 Coloring DC Wonder Woman $15.99 DC 933 123 Prince of Cats HC $24.99 Image 930 124 Flashpoint $16.99 DC 929 125 Batman Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles HC $24.99 DC 923 126 Godzilla Oblivion $19.99 IDW 920 127 Sixth Gun Vol. 9 Boot Hill $19.99 Oni 917 128 Color Your Own Deadpool $9.99 Marvel 908 129 Street Fighter X G.I. Joe $19.99 IDW 905 130 Justice League United Vol. 2 The Infinitus Saga $14.99 DC 903 131 Legendary Star-Lord Vol. 4 Out of Orbit $15.99 Marvel 901 132 Goon Library HC Vol. 4 $39.99 Dark Horse 883 133 Spirits of Vengeance Rise of Midnight Sons $34.99 Marvel 883 134 Batman Vol. 1 The Court of Owls $16.99 DC 882 135 Jim Hensons Dark Crystal Vol. 3 Creation Myths $14.99 Boom 845 136 Tomb Raider 2016 Vol. 1 Spore $19.99 Dark Horse 828 137 Charles Burns Last Look $29.95 Random House 827 138 Get Jiro Blood and Sushi $14.99 DC 827 139 Last Gang In Town $14.99 DC 805 140 Ancestor $14.99 Image 801 141 East of West Vol. 1 The Promise $9.99 Image 801 142 Preacher Book 1 $19.99 DC 797 143 Bandette HC Vol. 3 House of the Green Mask $14.99 Dark Horse 796 144 Transformers More Than Meets The Eye Vol. 10 $19.99 IDW 787 145 Wytches Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 787 146 Dc Super Hero Girls Vol. 1 Finals Crisis $9.99 DC 785 147 One Punch Man Vol. 1 $9.99 Viz 785 148 Double Life of Miranda Turner Vol. 1 $14.99 Image 784 149 Civil War $24.99 Marvel 782 150 Infinity Gauntlet $24.99 Marvel 776 151 Black Eyed Kids Vol. 1 $14.99 Aftershock 773 152 Walt Disney Donald Duck HC Vol. 9 Ghost Sheriff Last Gasp $29.99 Fantagraphics 760 153 Batman Dark Knight Returns $19.99 DC 757 154 Locke & Key Master Edition HC Vol. 3 $49.99 IDW 756 155 Tetris Games People Play $19.99 St. Martins 754 156 Batman Vol. 3 Death of the Family $16.99 DC 752 157 Batman Harley Quinn $19.99 DC 739 158 Barbie Vol. 1 $7.99 NBM 738 159 Sons of the Devil Vol. 2 Secrets and Lies $14.99 Image 734 160 Descender Vol. 2 $14.99 Image 733 161 Disney Pixar Finding Dory $9.99 Joe Books 728 162 Hatsune Miku Mikubon $10.99 Dark Horse 716 163 Metabaron HC Book 1 Techno Admiral Anti Baron $29.95 Humanoids 716 164 Flash Vol. 1 Move Forward $16.99 DC 705 165 Walking Dead Vol. 25 No Turning Back $14.99 Image 703 166 Sandman Vol. 1 Preludes & Nocturnes $19.99 DC 701 167 Rai Vol. 4 4001 Ad $14.99 Valiant 694 168 Man Thing by Steve Gerber Complete Coll Vol. 2 $34.99 Marvel 693 169 Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest $19.99 DC 692 170 Wolverine Old Man Logan $29.99 Marvel 687 171 Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 671 172 Tokyo Ghost Vol. 1 Atomic Garden $9.99 Image 669 173 Rick & Morty Vol. 1 $19.99 Oni 666 174 Wonder Woman The True Amazon HC $22.99 DC 665 175 Saviors $14.99 Image 661 176 March Book 3 $19.99 IDW 656 177 Batman Vol. 2 The City of Owls $16.99 DC 654 178 Garfield Big Fat Hairy Adventure Original Gn $9.99 Boom 654 179 Transformers Vol. 10 $19.99 IDW 651 180 Wraithborn $19.99 Benitez 641 181 Space Battle Lunchtime Vol. 1 Lights Camera Snacktion $12.99 Oni 634 182 Food Wars Shokugeki No Soma Vol. 14 $9.99 Viz 624 183 Vision Vol. 1 Little Worse Than Man $17.99 Marvel 617 184 I Hate Fairyland Vol. 1 Madly Ever After $9.99 Image 613 185 Joyride Vol. 1 $9.99 Boom 613 186 Marvel Universe According To Hembeck $34.99 Marvel 601 187 Hyperion Daddy Issues $17.99 Marvel 600 188 Star Wars Darth Vader Vol. 1 Vader $19.99 Marvel 589 189 Harley Quinn Vol. 1 Hot in the City $16.99 DC 584 190 Low Vol. 1 The Delirium of Hope $9.99 Image 581 191 Valiant Masters Bloodshot HC Vol. 1 $24.99 Valiant 580 192 Archie 1000 Page Comics Spree $14.99 Archie 579 193 Neil Gaiman Graveyard Book Comp HC $35.00 HarperCollins 578 194 Wicked & Divine Vol. 3 $14.99 Image 569 195 Dirk Gently Big Holistic Graphic Novel $24.99 IDW 567 196 Wicked & Divine Vol. 2 Fandemonium $14.99 Image 561 197 Wrath of the Eternal Warrior Vol. 2 Labyrinth $19.99 Valiant 556 198 Nekogahara Stray Cat Samurai Vol. 1 $12.99 Random House 555 199 Solstice HC $19.99 Image 553 200 TMNT Amazing Adventures Vol. 3 $17.99 IDW 552 201 Batman Vol. 7 Endgame $16.99 DC 547 202 Shadow Death of Margo Lane HC $24.99 Dynamite 546 203 How To Build Dungeon Book of Demon King Vol. 1 $12.99 St. Martins 536 204 March Book 2 $19.95 IDW 533 205 Lumberjanes Vol. 1 $14.99 Boom 531 206 Doctor Strange Fate of Dreams Prose Novel HC $24.99 Marvel 530 207 Y The Last Man Book 1 $19.99 DC 528 208 Walking Dead Vol. 2 Miles Behind Us $14.99 Image 525 209 V For Vendetta New Edition $19.99 DC 522 210 October Faction Vol. 3 $19.99 IDW 521 211 Wynonna Earp Vol. 1 Homecoming $19.99 IDW 515 212 Korgi Vol. 4 Problem With Potions $9.99 IDW 514 213 Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta Vol. 3 Little Light $14.99 Image 512 214 Bitch Planet Vol. 1 Extraordinary Machine $9.99 Image 506 215 Jim Butcher Dresden Files Wild Card HC $24.99 Dynamite 501 216 Uncle Scrooge Last Adventure $14.99 IDW 500 217 Aw Yeah Comics Action Cat and Adventure Bug $12.99 Dark Horse 498 218 Dreaming Eagles HC Vol. 1 $29.99 Aftershock 495 219 Batman Year One Deluxe Sc $14.99 DC 488 220 Garden of Flesh HC Hernandez $12.99 Fantagraphics 488 221 Nailbiter Vol. 1 There Will Be Blood $9.99 Image 482 222 Pokemon Xy Vol. 8 $4.99 Viz 481 223 Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 1 $12.99 Viz 474 224 Preacher Book 2 $19.99 DC 471 225 Haunted Horror HC Vol. 4 Candles For Undead & More $24.99 IDW 467 226 Superman Red Son New Edition $17.99 DC 461 227 Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1 $59.99 Image 456 228 Donald Duck Revenge of the Duck Avenger $12.99 IDW 455 229 Jason Shiga Demon Sc Gn $19.99 St. Martins 452 230 Angel Catbird HC Vol. 1 $14.99 Dark Horse 448 231 Batman A Death in the Family New Ed $24.99 DC 445 232 Astro Boy Omnibus Vol. 5 $19.99 Dark Horse 442 233 Batman Vol. 4 Zero Year Secret City $16.99 DC 442 234 Rat Queens Vol. 1 Sass & Sorcery $9.99 Image 439 235 Chew Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 436 236 Harley Quinn Vol. 2 Power Outage $16.99 DC 436 237 Sex Criminals Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 436 238 Peanuts Vol. 8 $13.99 Boom 435 239 Samurai Jack Tales of Wandering Warrior $49.99 IDW 433 240 Vampirella Archives HC Vol. 15 $49.99 Dynamite 433 241 Star Wars Darth Vader Vol. 3 Shu Torun War $16.99 Marvel 429 242 Oh Joy Sex Toy Vol. 1 $29.99 Oni 427 243 Star Wars Vader Down $19.99 Marvel 427 244 Rat Queens Vol. 3 Demons $14.99 Image 426 245 Spawn Origins HC Vol. 10 $29.99 Image 422 246 V For Vendetta Book and Mask Set $29.99 DC 422 247 Shang-Chi Master Kung Fu Omnibus HC Vol. 2 $125.00 Marvel 419 248 Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 1 Boys Are Back In Town $15.99 Marvel 418 249 Doctor Strange Omnibus HC Vol. 1 Ross Cvr $75.00 Marvel 417 250 Miraculous Origins $9.99 Action Lab 417 251 Platinum End Vol. 1 $9.99 Viz 417 252 Fate Zero Vol. 3 $11.99 Dark Horse 415 253 Johnny Homicidal Maniac Directors Cut SC $21.95 Slave Labor 415 254 Batman Court of Owls Book & Mask Set $24.99 DC 414 255 East of West Vol. 5 All These Secrets $14.99 Image 414 256 Jingle Belle Whole Package $29.99 IDW 414 257 Blackest Night $19.99 DC 412 258 Fix Vol. 1 $9.99 Image 409 259 My Pathetic Vampire Life Vol. 1 $12.99 St. Martins 406 260 Batman Harley and Ivy Deluxe Ed HC $24.99 DC 403 261 Doctor Strange Oath $19.99 Marvel 402 262 Oh Joy Sex Toy Vol. 2 $29.99 Oni 402 263 East of West Vol. 2 We Are All One $14.99 Image 401 264 Valiant Masters Ninjak HC Vol. 1 Black Water $24.99 Valiant 401 265 One Punch Man Vol. 2 $9.99 Viz 400 266 Southern Bastards Vol. 3 Homecoming $14.99 Image 398 267 Deadly Class Vol. 1 Reagan Youth $9.99 Image 397 268 Fight Club 2 HC $29.99 Dark Horse 397 269 All New Ghost Rider Vol. 1 Engines of Vengeance $15.99 Marvel 395 270 Doctor Who 11th Vol. 2 Serve You $14.99 Titan 395 271 Southern Bastards Vol. 1 Here Was A Man $9.99 Image 395 272 Batman Vol. 5 Zero Year Dark City $16.99 DC 394 273 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 1 Squirrel Power $15.99 Marvel 389 274 Ms Marvel Vol. 1 No Normal $15.99 Marvel 386 275 Twilight Zone Shadow $15.99 Dynamite 384 276 D&D Legend of Drizzt Vol. 5 Streams of Silver $19.99 IDW 383 277 Evil Dead 2 Vol. 2 Cradle of the Damned $15.99 Space Goat 382 278 Fables Vol. 1 Legends In Exile New Ed $12.99 DC 381 279 Deadpool & Cable Ultimate Collection Book 1 $39.99 Marvel 380 280 Black Science Vol. 1 How To Fall Forever $9.99 Image 379 281 Care Bears Rainbow River Rescue Gn $9.99 Lion Forge 379 282 Locke & Key Vol. 1 Welcome To Lovecraft $19.99 IDW 379 283 Spider-Man Miles Morales Vol. 1 $15.99 Marvel 379 284 Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta Vol. 2 $14.99 Image 375 285 Star Wars Darth Vader Vol. 2 Shadows and Secrets $19.99 Marvel 374 286 Batman Vol. 8 Superheavy $16.99 DC 373 287 Girl Power Amanda Conner Gallery Edition HC $125.00 DC 369 288 Judge Dredd Mega-City Zero Vol. 2 $17.99 IDW 369 289 Oreimo Comic Anthology $10.99 Dark Horse 369 290 Walking Dead Vol. 3 Safety Behind Bars $14.99 Image 369 291 Fairy Girls Vol. 3 $10.99 Random House 367 292 Serenity HC Vol. 3 Shepherds Tale $14.99 Dark Horse 367 293 Batman HC Vol. 9 Bloom $24.99 DC 366 294 Batman Mad Love and Other Stories $17.99 DC 366 295 Suicide Squad Vol. 1 Kicked in the Teeth $14.99 DC 366 296 Injustice Gods Among Us Vol. 1 $14.99 DC 364 297 Will Eisner Spirit Returns HC $39.99 Dynamite 364 298 Batman Vol. 6 Graveyard Shift $16.99 DC 362 299 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 1 BFF $17.99 Marvel 358 300 Harley Quinn Preludes and Knock Knock Jokes $19.99 DC 357 302 7th Garden Vol. 2 $9.99 Viz 352 306 One Punch Man Vol. 8 $9.99 Viz 348 313 Archie Vol. 1 $19.99 Archie 339 317 Little Tails in the Forest HC Vol. 1 $14.99 Magnetic 333 318 Death Note Black Ed Vol. 1 $14.99 Viz 332 321 Noragami Stray God Vol. 17 $10.99 Random House 330 323 Magika Swordsman & Summoner Vol. 5 $12.99 St. Martins 327 326 Charlie Brown Here We Go Again $9.99 Pocket 325 329 Rolling Blackouts HC $24.95 Drawn & Quarterly 324 330 Assassination Classroom Vol. 1 $9.99 Viz 323 339 Charmed Season 10 Vol. 2 $15.99 Zenescope 316 340 Assassination Classroom Vol. 12 $9.99 Viz 316 342 Elvis HC $19.99 NBM 313 347 Shame Trilogy Collected HC $29.99 Renegade Arts 309 348 Kuroko Basketball 2In1 Vol. 2 $16.99 Viz 309 349 Genshiken Second Season Vol. 9 $10.99 Random House 306 353 Miss Kobayashis Dragon Maid Vol. 1 $12.99 St. Martins 300 355 Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon $12.95 Drawn & Quarterly 299 356 Knights of the Dinner Table Bundle of Trouble Vol. 55 $14.99 Kenzer 299 359 John Carpenters Tales For Halloween Night Vol. 2 $24.99 Storm King 297 360 Valiant Masters Rai HC Vol. 1 $24.99 Valiant 297 366 Attack On Titan Vol. 1 $10.99 Random House 291 367 Certain Scientific Accelerator Vol. 4 $12.99 St. Martins 291 370 Misty $19.99 2000 AD 287 371 Tokyo Undead $18.99 St. Martins 287 376 A Walk In Eden $16.95 Drawn & Quarterly 281 379 One Punch Man Vol. 3 $9.99 Viz 280 382 Magical Girl Apocalypse Vol. 9 $12.99 St. Martins 279 383 One Punch Man Vol. 7 $9.99 Viz 279 394 Freezing Omnibus Vol. 6 $19.99 St. Martins 267 395 My Monster Secret Vol. 4 $12.99 St. Martins 266 397 Goodnight Punpun Vol. 3 $24.99 Viz 265 401 Pokemon Adventures Vol. 1 Red Blue $9.99 Viz 263 419 Inuyashiki Vol. 5 $12.99 Random House 243 427 Prince In His Dark Days Vol. 1 $12.99 Random House 241 433 I Luv Halloween Vol. 1 $9.99 Tokyopop 239 433 Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 2 $12.99 Viz 239 450 Monster Girl Encyclopedia HC Vol. 1 $29.99 St. Martins 234 464 Akame Ga Kill Vol. 8 $13.00 Hachette 221 468 Rising of the Shield Hero Vol. 5 Manga Companion $11.95 SCB Distributors 218 470 One Punch Man Vol. 5 $9.99 Viz 217 474 Kill La Kill Vol. 1 $12.99 Udon 215 492 One Punch Man Vol. 4 $9.99 Viz 208 503 Mushoku Tensei Jobless Reincarnation Vol. 4 $12.99 St. Martins 202
Theestimates are now available for comics and graphic novels shipped by Diamond Comic Distributors in October, and as reported here Friday, we saw a mild increase in overall sales during the month driven in part by a much larger slate of new items. Click to see the detailed comics sales estimates for October 2016 (or scroll down to see just the basic charts).A couple of things will be immediate note. While reports had circulated that Marvel had shipped 400,000 copies of Champions #1, Diamond is only estimated to have shipped 328,165 copies in October. There's nothing unusual in this, and the Diamond figure supports rather than undermines the report. There were variants that went toand, among others, that possibly would not have been counted in the tally. And as always, the Diamond charts only report what it shipped in the month to North American stores, meaning overseas copies and reorders outside the time period are not included.Second, as noted Friday, we do have acomic again in the form of the chart-topping From New York #1 variant that it received fromthrough Diamond. It's the first one we've seen since the spring of 2015, and in that time something has changed: the repackager appears to have accounted for fewer copies this time.Diamond reports shipping 421,625 copies of theissue; back with Boom'sin May 2015, Diamond shipped 502,737 copies. That likely puts the Loot Crate order somewhere in the 300,000s for October 2016's chart-topper, while it was in the 400,000s for the Bravest Warriors book, back in February 2015, would likely also have had a Loot Crate order of well over 400,000 copies. It's unclear whether this represents an enduring change in the number of comic books Loot Crate orders or a one-time event.#1 had at least fourteen variants of its own offered into the Direct Market, and while that would seemingly suggest something about how much the second issue's sales might drop off, it's hard to put a percentage on it. Sales data on the highest profile first-issues hasn't been of much help in predicting second-issue sales in a long time. Multiple variants and other promotions complicate whatever predictive ratios used to exist.#1 could have accounted more a little more than half the market share difference between Marvel and DC in October, but that estimate is difficult to make as market shares are based on wholesale dollars and we don't know what the average discount received was for the book.The changes over time:: 8.79 million copiesVersus 1 year ago this month : +11%Versus 5 years ago this month : +16%Versus 10 years ago this month : +44%Versus 15 years ago this month : +37%Versus 20 years ago this month : -14%YEAR TO DATE: 74.31 million copies, +2% vs. 2015, +26% vs. 2011, +11% vs. 2006, +36% vs. 2001October 2016:Versus one year ago this month:October 2016: $34.23 millionVersus 1 year ago this month: +7%Versus 5 years ago this month: +35%Versus 10 years ago this month: +80%Versus 15 years ago this month: +89%Versus 20 years ago this month: +39%YEAR TO DATE: $286.33 million, unchanged vs. 2015, +41% vs. 2011, +39% vs. 2006, +89% vs. 2001October 2016 versus one year ago this month:October 2016: $6.97 millionVersus 1 year ago this month: -20%Versus 5 years ago this month: +21%Versus 10 years ago this month, just the Top 100 vs. the Top 100: -18%Versus 15 years ago this month, just the Top 25 vs. the Top 25: -1%YEAR TO DATE: $77.88 million, +4% vs. 2015October 2016 versus one year ago this month:October 2016: $41.2 millionVersus 1 year ago this month: +2%Versus 5 years ago this month: +24%Versus 10 years ago this month, counting just the Top 100 TPBs: +41%Versus 15 years ago this month, counting just the Top 25 TPBs: +89%YEAR TO DATE: $363.59 million, +1% vs. 2015October 2016 versus one year ago this month:October 2016: approximately $51.29 million (subject to revision)Versus 1 year ago this month: +1%Versus 5 years ago this month: +30%Versus 10 years ago this month: +68%New comic books released:New graphic novels released:New magazines released:The average comic book in the Top 300 cost $3.93; the average comic book retailers ordered cost $389. The median and most common price for comics offered was $3.99. Click to see comics prices across time. The comics sales estimates are below; these can also be found on the permanent home for this data:And the graphic novels:As noted Friday, the market remains on track for a year that's slightly in positive territory — but 2016 will not be as big a growth year as 2015.by BBG
Falls of Rauros’ set unfolded over a series of long, gorgeously-crafted atmospheric black metal compositions. Their sprawling odes to the wilderness and man’s primal past recalled the power and delicacy of Drudkh and Agalloch, |
on Facebook and Twitter.Ever since Lady Gaga's Born This Way was released on May 23, much has been made of its pricing and promotion, a multi-tiered plan that included partnerships with everyone from the folks behind "FarmVille" to Best Buy... and, of course, Amazon.com, which decided to price the album at 99 cents on the day of release to promote its Cloud Drive service (and when the download demand subsequently sank the site, they extended the deal for a second day).
According to some estimates, downloads through Amazon accounted for nearly half of Born This Way's 1.1 million sales — which certainly proved that it worked — but at the same time, it also sparked genuine debate about the inherent worth of an album... and whether the Amazon model may have fundamentally changed the way new releases are promoted and priced.
So, in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Gaga was asked whether she believed that Born This Way was worth more than 99 cents. And her answer was somewhat surprising.
"No. I absolutely do not, especially for MP3s and digital music. It's invisible. It's in space. If anything, I applaud a company like Amazon for equating the value of digital versus the physical copy, and giving the opportunity to everyone to buy music," she said. "It also wasn't really 99 cents, because Amazon paid the difference on all of those purchases as part of their promotional campaign for one of their new services. I think it's amazing and it was a really nice surprise and I felt honored that they chose my record to be part of it."
Amazon would be paying the difference on all those 99-cent purchases to Interscope/ Universal Music Group — a tab that could run as high $3.2 million, according to Billboard.biz — but in the long run, that loss might actually be viewed as a win, since it drove traffic to the site and raised awareness of its fledgling Cloud Drive service. And Gaga is the first to admit that the plan isn't for everyone... it's up to individual artists (and their labels) to determine a price point. But she's happy with the results this time out.
"I don't know if other artists or other companies would want to adopt the same model," she told the WSJ. "Everyone always has the opportunity to sell their music at any price they want to. This sort of happened this way and it's very exciting."From Peggy Noonan writing at the Wall Street Journal:
I have read the Peter Schweizer book “Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich.” It is something. Because it is heavily researched and reported and soberly analyzed, it is a highly effective takedown. Because its tone is modest—Mr. Schweitzer doesn’t pretend to more than he has, or take wild interpretive leaps—it is believable.
By the end I was certain of two things. A formal investigation, from Congress or the Justice Department, is needed to determine if Hillary Clinton’s State Department functioned, at least to some degree and in some cases, as pay-for-play operation and whether the Clinton Foundation has functioned, at least in part, as a kind of high-class philanthropic slush fund.
I wonder if any aspirant for the presidency except Hillary Clinton could survive such a book. I suspect she can because the Clintons are unique in the annals of American politics: They are protected from charges of corruption by their reputation for corruption. It’s not news anymore. They’re like... Bonnie and Clyde go on a spree, hold up a bunch of banks, it causes a sensation, there’s a trial, and they’re acquitted. They walk out of the courthouse, get in a car, rob a bank, get hauled in, complain they’re being picked on—“Why are you always following us?”—and again, not guilty. They rob the next bank and no one cares. “That’s just Bonnie and Clyde doing what Bonnie and Clyde do. No one else cares, why should I?”More famous faces are distancing themselves from Bill Cosby following allegations of sexual assault against him. Publishing company Simon & Schuster has pulled celebrity blurbs praising Cosby from online retailers selling a 2014 biography on the comedian's life.
VIDEO: The Complicated Life of Bill Cosby
The blurbs, penned by David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, Mary Tyler Moore and Stephen L. Carter prior to Cosby's scandal breaking are featured on the back of the book Cosby: His Life and Times.
"Whenever I think of why my life as a comedian happened, the first name I think of is Bill Cosby," Seinfeld's blurb read. "I know certain religions forbid idol worship. If anyone ever told me I had to stop idolizing Bill Cosby, I would say, 'Sorry, but I'm out of this religion.' So, if you want to join the Religion of Cosby, as I did back in 1966, Mark Whitaker's wonderful new book would be our Bible."
Simon & Schuster
Spokespersons for both Seinfeld and Letterman spoke out, saying, "We were unaware that those quotes were still in circulation and are asking the publisher to refrain from future use."
The biography's author, Mark Whitaker, sat down with ET last year before the flood of sexual assault allegations came out against Cosby. The veteran journalist and former Executive Vice President and managing editor for CNN Worldwide revealed Cosby was unlike anyone he'd ever interviewed.
"He never really answers your questions," Whitaker said. "He just starts telling stories, and you have to go with it."
NEWS: Bill Cosby's Accusers: A Timeline of Alleged Sexual Assault Claims
Interestingly, Cosby did not dodge questions about the woman who claimed to be his love child, Autumn Jackson. While Cosby admitted to having an affair with Jackson's mother in the '70s, the paternity has been disputed.
"He was very honest about what happened," Whitaker said. "He actually said in the interview, 'I don't want to be seen as another entertainer who just passes the buck and says, 'Everybody does it'... 'I want to be remembered,' he said, 'As someone who's willing to take the hit.'"
Despite allegations of sexual assault from more than two dozen women, Cosby has not been criminally charged and maintains his innocence.We continue our look at Fallout 4 DLC with a dive into what you should know about cheats, deals, easter eggs, Far Harbor problems, and a Far Harbor update that’s now available for PlayStation 4 in North America.
Earlier this year, Bethesda finally went into detail about its upcoming Fallout 4 DLC, downloadable content that will add new adventures, quests, items, and more to a game that’s already filled with a mind-boggling number of them.
The first Fallout 4 DLC, Automatron, arrived for Xbox One, PS4, and PC in the United States and countries around the world in March.
We’ve also taken a look at Wasteland Workshop, Contraptions Workshop and Vault-Tec Workshop and today we want to take a closer look at the Fallout 4 Far Harbor DLC for PS4, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
Far Harbor was the third of the initial set of Fallout 4 DLC add-ons and it’s currently the largest piece of DLC available to Fallout 4 owners. Nuka World, the final Fallout 4 DLC add-on, should be pretty big as well.
This roundup focuses on the most important things to know about the Fallout 4 Far Harbor DLC post-release.
Keep these details in mind if you’re looking into Bethesda’s $50 Fallout 4 Season Pass or the standalone version of Far Harbor, or, if you’ve already jumped in with the new content.House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., opens a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Feb. 28, 2017, in the U.S. Capitol, before President Trump’s address. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — House Republicans released their replacement for the Affordable Care Act on Monday night, backing off some ideas that caused controversy in their caucus, such as taxing high-dollar health benefits that employees obtain through their employers.
The bill, which Republicans will continue to revise in committee, repeals Obamacare’s individual mandate. Instead, people who do not make sure they are covered for two months or more in the year before they want to buy health insurance will pay 30 percent higher premiums for a year. This penalty is intended to encourage people to maintain insurance coverage without the mandate. The bill also doles out age-based tax credits to people making less than $75,000, to help them purchase insurance, instead of the income-based subsidies allocated under Obamacare.
The bill retains two popular features of Obamacare: one requiring insurance companies to insure people with pre-existing conditions, and another allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26 years old.
But the bill repeals most of the taxes imposed under Obamacare, including one on medical devices and another on indoor tanning services, which raises the question of how the bill will be paid for. The bill also avoids the “Cadillac tax” on premium employer health plans, after conservatives complained about any bill that creates new taxes.
Republicans compromised on the hot-button issue in the bill: Medicaid expansion. The 31 states that expanded Medicaid access under Obamacare will be allowed to continue to enroll new people until 2020. They will then be required to stop offering expanding Medicaid, with the hope that some people will leave the program and that it will shrink. States that did not expand Medicaid will receive $2 billion.
The bill faces a potentially rocky road ahead, with conservatives in the caucus sure to raise questions about how the bill will be paid for, and Democrats protesting that some Americans will lose coverage.SINGAPORE: Video recordings of parliamentary proceedings belong to the Government which in turn commissions national broadcaster Mediacorp to cover the sittings and show the footage on various platforms, including free-to-air television as well as on Channel NewsAsia’s Parliament micro-site and its Facebook page.
Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Chee Hong Tat clarified this in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 7) in response to a question by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera from the Workers’ Party (WP). Mr Perera had asked which entity owns the copyright to the video recordings of parliamentary proceedings.
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He also asked if the Ministry would consider removing the copyright if indeed they are protected by one, and make all video footage of parliamentary proceedings freely available for use.
To this, Mr Chee said the public can use the recordings for personal and non-commercial purposes with attribution to Mediacorp. He said the recordings are already used regularly by social media sites and political parties, including the Workers’ Party.
Mr Perera then questioned why Parliament is not given the funding and ability to makes its own live feed and video recordings available with a searchable archive as is the case with countries like Australia, Taiwan and the United States.
Mr Chee said demand for a live feed of proceedings is low.
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Reiterating what he had said to WP Member of Parliament Pritam Singh during the Committee of Supply debate earlier this year, Mr Chee said viewers who tune in to a major parliamentary speech like the Budget via a live feed is about 10 per cent compared to what was shown on free-to-air television news that same evening.
EDITING OF VIDEOS
Mr Perera also asked why a corporate entity like Mediacorp is given “so much power to choose what to put up, when to put it up, when to take it down, how to edit it before presentation”.
“I do know from past experience that at times, they are edited and are not archived and made available verbatim,” Mr Perera said.
He gave the example of when a clip of an exchange during the Presidential Elections Act debate earlier this year was put up with “certain bits removed”.
“I actually communicated with Mediacorp and through the correspondence, they made a rectification and put up a different clip, so that was resolved quite amicably,” Mr Perera said.
“But my point is that in general, is it the case that all the clips that are put up are completely free of editing? I think MOS himself conceded that there is a certain degree of editing so those decisions are decisions that involve a high level of discretion. Should they be decisions handled by a private entity or should they be handled by a government body subjected to scrutiny, subjected to questioning?”
On this point, Mr Chee responded: “I want to reiterate the point that when I say editing, my definition of editing may be different from what Mr Perera was alluding to.
“When I said editing, I meant Channel NewsAsia will take the footage and sort them out based on the person who asked the question and the person who answered so as to make it more convenient for viewers to search and access footage.
“The editing that is done is not to remove certain parts of what was said. It is shown as per what is being said in Parliament and what is reflected in Hansard on the microsite and on the video footage on the Facebook page and so on.”
Later during Parliament, Mr Chee clarified the sequence of events relating to the incident Mr Perera mentioned. Mr Chee said Mr Perera had written to Mediacorp on Feb 20 about footage of the debate during the Presidential Elections Amendment Bill on Feb 6.
“I do need to further confirm one point with him which is that his email to Mediacorp was dated Feb 20 and Mediacorp in their reply to Mr Perera said that they had already fixed the problem of the truncated clip on Feb 18,” Mr Chee said.
“In other words, it wasn’t the result of Mr Perera’s email to them. They had confirmed with Mr Perera in their reply that they had already fixed the truncated clip on Feb 18 when he emailed to them on Feb 20. May I please seek clarification from Mr Perera that what I described is factually accurate?”
To this, Mr Perera said while he did not have a specific recollection of dates, he could accept that the correspondence went as Mr Chee had detailed.
“I will need to go back and refer to my archive of emails to verify that that is the case but I’m sure and I’m quite willing to accept what the MOS has said that that is the case,” Mr Perera said.
“I’m sure that will be the case if I verify so I’m quite prepared to accept that fact. And as I said earlier I’m quite prepared to accept the MOS’ assurance that video footage is not, as a matter of policy, edited for whatever reason and that it is uploaded verbatim with the exception of errors or technical glitches that I do accept will happen from time to time.”
(Editor’s note: Mediacorp was made aware of a technical issue with the video in question on Feb 17. Subsequent investigations revealed that Channel NewsAsia’s video server did not render the video properly and the clip appeared truncated. The problem was rectified on Feb 18. Mr Perera approached Mediacorp about the issue on Feb 20.)Oh boy, but it's been a good week for iBooks. The Hunger Games finally came to iBooks a few days ago, and now Calvin and Hobbes is available! Apple announced it today on Twitter, including a classic shot of the two friends gallivanting downhill in Calvin's wagon.
"It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy…Let’s go exploring!" Calvin & Hobbes comes to iBooks. http://t.co/kBrDoiESC2 pic.twitter.com/IAR7CiWMoS — iBooks (@iBooks) November 12, 2013
Calvin and Hobbes is was a very successful newspaper comic strip that ruled the world for ten years until its creator, Bill Watterson, announced he was ending the series in 1995. If you haven't read them, check out these books and see what you've been missing.
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes
On the dedicated Calvin and Hobbes page in iTunes, Apple is currently selling:
Apple also lists the documentary, Dear Mr. Watterson as a preorder ($12.99), and the soundtrack for that same documentary for $9.99.Three Israeli soldiers who disrupted a Palestinian journalist as she reported on camera have been punished by the army for their behavior, receiving a 14-day detention sentence from their commanders.
The decision means the soldiers will be confined to their base and not allowed out on their regularly scheduled leave.
An army spokesman condemned their behavior Tuesday, saying the soldiers did not act “in accordance with IDF guidelines.”
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“In light of the event, forces operating in the area were briefed regarding IDF protocol toward the media. The IDF will continue to ensure the freedom of the press in Judea and Samaria,” read a statement from the IDF Spokesmen’s Unit.
A video of the incident, which took place over the weekend, shows reporter Sara Al-Azra apparently finishing an item on what she called “Israel’s racist policy of collective punishment” while three IDF soldiers stand behind her making hand gestures, calling “Allahu Akbar” and saying she’s a liar.
The incident took place near the West Bank village of Abud, close to Ramallah.
The report alleging collective punishment came as Israel prepared to demolish the home of local resident Abdel Rahman Barghouti, who on December 4 stabbed an IDF soldier in the neck, lightly wounding him. Barghouti was shot dead at the scene.
This incident is the not the first in recent months in which IDF soldiers have clashed with media crews in the West Bank. On September 25, a group of Israeli soldiers were filmed seizing and destroying equipment belonging to two AFP journalists. According to the French agency, video journalist Andrea Bernardi was held down on the ground by a soldier, one knee on his chest, until he managed to show his press card. Bernardi suffered bruised ribs and a facial injury.
The commanding officer of the soldiers was removed from his post; as he was due to complete his army service soon after, the military police decided to close the case without pressing charges.
AFP and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.On Friday Donald Trump is making a visit to Scotland to attend, amongst other things, the grand re-opening of his Turnberry resort on Ayr. He will arrive with a plane load of American media. And he will be greeted by demonstrators opposing everything he stands for.
If the visit of the Republican presidential nominee is not a good reason to get placards and banners out then I don’t know what is. Just take a look at the mass demonstrations at his rallies in the US, opposing racism and his far-right rhetoric. Why shouldn’t we stand with them, and show that opposition to the rise of radical right-wing populism is international? Of course we should.
Some argue that by protesting we will give him more attention. That doesn’t seem to be a serious proposition now – he could scarcely get more attention. He’s got a serious chance of becoming the US president now that Hilary Clinton is the Democratic nominee.
Then you have the liberals who want to “educate” him while he is over here, as Scottish Lib Dems leader Willie Rennie has outlined. Trump, born into the US elite, doesn’t lack education. Political calculation, not ignorance, motivates his speeches. He knows very well what forces he is mobilising, and what language he is deploying to provoke what is now an insurgent movement of the radical right that began with the Tea Party protests after Obama’s election in 2009.
Trump is a product of the crisis and decline of American capitalism. Let’s take a step back and put his shocking rise into context.
The last year has brought to a head a polarisation that finds its roots in a failing system. Millions of Americans feel utterly disenfranchised. The American Dream really has come to an end. Everyone knows the economy works for the 1%, and hard work doesn’t pay. The political system is widely seen as a stitch up, and hardwired into the corporate lobby groups and big money. The media, from Fox News to CNN, is seen as a sham, and disconnected from reality. Jobs are less secure than ever. Despite having a black President, the last few years have seen a vicious spike in police brutality and racial tension. As such liberal anti-racism has been rendered impotent, leading to the rise of nothing less than a new civil rights movement in the form of Black Lives Matter.
A lot of this sounds familiar. Similar processes are taking place all over the planet. The crisis of the economy, the political system, the financial institutions and the establishment media is not taking place in a vacuum. Society is relating to it in different ways powered by questions of class, race, gender and ideology. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the United States right now.
It is in this context and via these reference points that a new generation of Americans are working out what kind of country and society they want to build. The progressive movement is located in the Occupy protests, Black Lives Matter, the fast food workers strikes and the Sanders phenomenon. Within these and other similar movements the response to the crisis is to unite against a system designed to entrench the power and wealth of the mega-rich.
Tapping into the very same crisis, Trump articulates another America. This also comes from grassroots anger at a corrupt and self-indulgent elite, but one which seeks to resolve class and racial politics with the dominance of the rich and the brutalisation of the poor. Trump and his supporters rationalise American decline by blaming it on immigrants, Muslims and nostalgia for 1950’s America, before Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. In a very real sense Trump has the rhetoric and the action – including violence – of a neo-fascist movement.
It is worth reiterating what Trump is actually proposing as a solution to the crisis. He wants to build a wall across a continent; he wants to bring back illegal torture; he wants to ban Muslims and murder the families of ‘terrorists’; he wants out of even the most tepid climate change treaties. It’s little wonder that Noam Chomsky said the “human species is in very deep trouble” should he win.
The whole world has an interest in the direction of America. Despite it undergoing a long decline, it is the overwhelming economic, military and cultural hegemon in the world. With Clinton as the Democratic nominee the American people have terrible options: more of the failed establishment or Donald Trump.
That brings me to our protest at Turnberry. We in Scotland have a special duty in a few weeks time. Trump has significant business interests here. He has flaunted his Scots heritage to promote himself in Anglo-American culture. That is why he is coming to Turnberry as part of his campaign for President – to prove he is a world statesman, and to show that he wasn’t beaten here. It’s true that Trump courts controversy. But he wants his Scottish trip to be protest free. He wants to say ‘the Scots’ are big fans.
We used to say during the anti-Iraq war protests in 2003 that world popular opinion was the second super power. We need that super power to start showing its teeth in the face of a world in danger of spiralling towards bigotry when it needs solidarity, and individualism when it needs collective solutions. Trump is the symbol of a future we need to fight against. It would be a dereliction not to challenge him when he lands on our turf. And just as we challenge him, we will be standing with every American who is fighting back against a rigged system and the division and intolerance it breeds.
Protest details: Assemble 9:30am, Friday 24th, Maidens Road Opposite Trump Turnberry.
Coaches: Leave Glasgow 8am, George Square, £5 return. E-Mail: ProtestTrumpScotland@gmail.comRobotic Surgery Faster And Better For Neck Tumors
Better living thru robotics.
COLUMBUS, Ohio Robotic surgery though the mouth is a safe and effective way to remove tumors of the throat and voice box, according to a study by head and neck cancer surgeons at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC James). This is the first report in the world literature illustrating the safety and efficacy of transoral robotic surgery for supraglottic laryngectomy, the researchers say.
We need robotic surgery to cut costs and reduce accidents. We especially need robotic surgery to swap out old organs for new organs once organ growth in vats becomes practical. Replacement organs created by tissue engineering are going to be a key rejuvenation therapy. Only robots will be fast enough and safe enough to do organ swapping on the scale that will be required for full body rejuvenation.
If you get cancer in your supraglottic region a robot can handle it better.
The preliminary study examined the outcomes of 13 head and neck cancer patients with tumors located in the region of the throat between the base of the tongue and just above the vocal cords, an area known as the supraglottic region.
Less blood loss, one eighth the amount of surgical time, and a far faster recovery.
The study found that the use of robot-assisted surgery to remove these tumors through the mouth took about 25 minutes on average, and that blood loss was minimal a little more than three teaspoons, or 15.4 milliliters, on average, per patient. No surgical complications were encountered and 11 of the 13 patients could accept an oral diet within 24 hours. If, on the other hand, these tumors are removed by performing open surgery on the neck, the operation can take around 4 hours to perform, require 7 to 10 days of hospitalization on average and require a tracheostomy tube and a stomach tube, the researchers say.
Since medical costs are now about 18% of the US economy (and growing) automation of medicine can go far to raise living standards. Plus, we need medical automation in order to deliver rejuvenation therapies on the scale required for full body rejuvenation. Robotics for a longer life in a more youthful body!Bay Area events related to Donald Trump’s inauguration
Bay Area events centered on President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday.
Thursday
The Ghostlight Project: More than 100 theatrical organizations are holding actions in front of theaters and art spaces nationwide to “protect the values of inclusion, participation and compassion.” In San Francisco, a ceremonial illumination of electric candles and mobile phones, and a short program with speakers will be held at 5:30 p.m. outside the Geary Theater, 415 Geary St.
The 48-Hills Pre-Trumpocalypse Happy Hour: A fundraiser for alternative media will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Stud Bar, 399 Ninth St., San Francisco.
Love Trumps Hate: The Throwback Party for America: A ticketed dance party at 9 p.m. at the Rickshaw Stop at 155 Fell St., San Francisco. All proceeds go to Planned Parenthood, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, La Raza Centro Legal and Earthjustice.
Friday
Oakland protests: Demonstrators plan to gather at 7 a.m. outside the Ronald Dellums Federal Building, 1301 Clay St. Teach-ins and workshops start at 9 a.m. at Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th Street and Broadway. At noon, a labor-themed rally and march will be held at Latham Square, Broadway and Telegraph Avenue.
San Francisco protests: A rally and march will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting at Justin Herman Plaza and continuing into the Financial District. An evening rally is scheduled for 5 p.m. at U.N. Plaza.
Bridge Together Golden Gate: Participants will form a human chain across the Golden Gate Bridge in a “peaceful demonstration and performance art piece” beginning at 10 a.m.
San Jose protest: A protest and march will start at 11 a.m. at the Plaza de César Chávez, 1 Paseo de San Antonio.
San Leandro protest: A march will begin at 11:30 a.m. outside the San Leandro BART Station, San Leandro Boulevard.
Marin protests: Marchers will gather at 1 p.m. at Creek Park at the Hub in San Anselmo and at Pickleweed Park in San Rafael, then join up for 3 p.m. rallies at San Rafael City Hall and the B Street Community Theater, 618 B St.
Just Sitting on Inauguration Day : An afternoon of sitting and walking meditations will be hosted from 1 to 5:15 p.m. by the San Francisco Zen Center, 300 Page St.
Screening of ‘You’ve Been Trumped Too’: Presented by the San Francisco Green Film Festival as part of its First 100 Days series, the film follows a Scottish family whose home water supply was cut off during construction of the president-elect’s golf course. Free with RSVP, noon at the Ninth Street Independent Film Center, 145 Ninth St.
Sidewalk protests: A protest will be held from noon to 1 p.m. along El Camino Real in Peninsula and South Bay cities through which it passes.
Bang the Pots, Raise a Din: In keeping with the Latin American tradition of Cacerolazo, residents throughout the Bay Area are being encouraged to step outside their homes from 6 to 6:05 p.m. and bang on pots and pans in protest.
The Sonoma County Inaugural Ball: A ticketed dinner and dance in celebration of Trump’s inauguration begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Flamingo Conference Center, 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa.
Not Our President with Hadley & the Hippies and Los Bros: Speakers, poetry readings, live music and a dance party at Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. The event begins at 8 p.m., and tickets are $15.
The Blue Ball: A fundraiser for reproductive rights, environmental protection, racial justice and immigrant and LGBTQ rights, 8 p.m. at Home on Treasure Island, an event space, Avenue D and 12th Street on Treasure Island.
Saturday
Redwood City rally: Rep. Anna Eshoo and singer-activist Joan Baez headline a rally for the environment, education, health care and other causes, at 11 a.m. at Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway.
Resist Trump — #OccupyInauguration: Advertised as a family-friendly event to protest Trump’s inauguration. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th Street and Broadway, Oakland.
Grace For All: A meet-up for marchers joining the Women’s March in San Francisco, 2 p.m. at Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St.
Women’s March Bay Area: As part of the national Women’s March movement, events will be held in several Bay Area cities. In San Francisco, a 3 p.m. rally at Civic Center Plaza will be followed by a march at 5 p.m. to Justin Herman Plaza. A march in Oakland begins at 10 a.m. in Madison Park at Eighth and Jackson streets. In San Jose, a march will begin at 10 a.m. at City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St. In Walnut Creek, marchers will gather at 10:30 a.m. at Civic Park, 1375 Civic Drive, and walk to the Walnut Creek BART Station. In Napa, marchers will gather at 10 a.m. at the Oxbow Public Market parking lot on First Street and walk to Veterans Memorial Park, Third and Main streets.
Sonoma County Stands Together for Women: Advertised as a sister event to the Women’s March. Rally begins at noon at Santa Rosa City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave.
Sunday
Freedom Fest : A pancake brunch with music, dancing and talks about taking local action, from 2 to 8 p.m. at Natoma Cabana, 90 Natoma St., San Francisco.
— Sarah RavaniThe Brewers announced that they’ve recalled top prospect Domingo Santana from Triple-A Colorado Springs. (MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy had tweeted prior to the announcement that Santana could be on his way to the bigs.) Acquired last month from the Astros as part of the Carlos Gomez/Mike Fiers blockbuster, Santana ranks 83rd on MLB.com’s list of Top 100 prospects.
This will not be the 23-year-old Santana’s first taste of Major League action, as he tallied 20 games with the Astros over the past two seasons before coming over to Milwaukee in the trade. Santana hit.256/.310/.462 in 14 games with Houston earlier this season and has delivered excellent production at the Triple-A level all season between both organizations. Though his numbers come with the usual Pacific Coast League caveat (the league is an exceptionally hitter-friendly environment), Santana’s.333/.426/.573 batting line is nonetheless impressive.
Santana will take the roster spot of injured right-hander Tyler Cravy, though he seemingly will also be auditioning to lock down a long-term role in a Brewers outfield that is at least somewhat in transition following the departure of Gomez. Though Santana has played primarily in the corner outfield as a minor leaguer, and his future is likely to be in right or left field, he does have experience in center field as well, where Milwaukee has a more immediate need.
From a long-term perspective, the Brewers seem to have three big-league-ready assets for two corner outfield spots. Ryan Braun is, of course, under contract through the 2020 season at an average of $19MM per year. And while Khris Davis has had his struggles this season, he’s homered nine times in his past 35 games (29 starts), albeit with low batting average (.224) and OBP (.306) marks. The team’s corner outfield situation though, will seemingly be one of many situations that the Brewers’ new general manager will have to sort out this winter. A move from the outfield to first base for Braun has been discussed in the past, but neither he nor Davis has ever played a professional game at first base.
Looking more toward the short-term, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes that the Brewers do have an interleague series against the Indians coming up that will be played in Cleveland, giving manager Craig Counsell the opportunity to work all three right-handed bats into his lineup by adding a DH possibility. And, with rosters expanding on Sept. 1, Counsell and the Brewers won’t have to worry about keeping too many corner options on the active roster for long.Nintendo filed a trademark in Japan on September 15 that is leading some to speculate that a Mini Game Boy console release could be on the horizon. Nintendo's trademark includes an image resembling the company's original handheld gaming device and it was filed under categories for "Programs for household video game machines" and "Household video games" as well as merchandise categories like "Key chains," "Bag charms," "Cosmetic tools," and "Clothing."
Nintendo previously filed trademarks for its Super NES Classic Edition and NES Classic Edition consoles a few months prior to the entertainment systems' releases.
The original Game Boy was released in 1989. Hyperkin's Android phone add-on SmartBoy allows users to play their Game Boy cartridges on their phones. The add-on was licensed by Samsung in May and is now available for purchase for US$49.99.
[Via Livedoor News]JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian court will proceed with a controversial blasphemy trial against Jakarta’s Christian governor, who is accused of insulting the Koran, a judge said on Tuesday, a case seen as a test of religious freedom in the Muslim-majority nation.
Jakarta's Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama gestures inside the courtroom during his blasphemy trial at the North Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 27, 2016. REUTERS/Bagus Indahono/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
A panel of judges rejected a call by lawyers defending Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to strike down the case because it had violated the ethnic Chinese politician’s human rights and breached procedures.
“The exception by the defendant will be considered and decided by the court after examination of all evidence. The defendant’s exception is not accepted,” said Judge Abdul Rosyad.
A tearful Purnama denied at his first hearing on Dec. 13 that he had intended to insult the Koran while he was campaigning ahead of elections in February for the governorship of Jakarta, capital of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. [nL4N1E82EY]
Hundreds of white-clad Muslim protesters chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) outside the court in north Jakarta on Tuesday and called for the jailing of the governor, known by his nickname Ahok.
“Blasphemy is not acceptable in Indonesia. No religion should be insulted,” said Mafut Rudiah, a protester standing outside the courtroom, which was flanked by lines of police.
Standing among a smaller group of the governor’s supporters, Kisab Tocakroyo said: “As a fellow Muslim, I think we should forgive him if he has apologised.”
The presiding judge on the panel, Dwiyarso Budi Santiarto, said the defence could appeal to a higher court if they did not agree with the decision to proceed with the case.
Purnama, after consulting his lawyers, told the court he would consider doing so.
The next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3 and will be moved to an auditorium in the Agriculture Ministry in the south of the city for security reasons, authorities said.
Purnama was named a suspect after hundreds of thousands of people, led by Muslim hardliners, attended rallies in recent months calling for his arrest.
Blasphemy convictions in Indonesia can carry a jail term of up to five years and such charges nearly always result in conviction.
Amnesty International has criticised the law for hurting freedom of expression and for targeting religious minorities.
President Joko Widodo, seen as a Purnama ally, has blamed “political actors” for fuelling the protests, but declined to elaborate.
As governor, Purnama has won credit for cutting red tape and improving the performance of Jakarta’s bloated bureaucracy. However, his abrasive language and insistence on clearing city slums has alienated many voters.
After suffering a slide in support in opinion polls, Purnama has rebounded to become the frontrunner again in the election race to lead Jakarta, according to a poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute earlier this month.For the past couple of years, FanGraphs has published a “Positional Power Rankings” series prior to the start of the season. The series provides a really interesting glimpse into a team’s strengths and weaknesses at each position relative to the rest of the league. While the rankings are based on FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement (WAR) forecasts (derived from hybrid ZiPS and Steamer projections), they are also much more than adding up WAR. The reason is because the rankings take into account positional depth. |
roommate (who is respectful of video games but not especially personally interested in them) asked me about it. When I told him it was pretty much my favorite all-time game, and when I told him it was widely considered one of history's better titles, he asked why.
I started to explain the "Metroidvania" aesthetic, the uniqueness of SotN's gothic vibe, the luminous little details in the game's environment, the whole upside-down castle thing – and he started to tease me, riffing on my explanation in his best "nerd voice." It was actually pretty funny. And his extrapolation was startlingly apt for someone I assumed wasn't going to appreciate what I was trying to tell him. But basically, he was right: I couldn't talk about it without using jargon, without sounding like a weirdo.
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When you think about it, gamers aren't even all that good about talking about games with one another. That's why we have to use vague and ultimately meaningless words like "gameplay" (yes… "play" is what one does with a "game," and…), and why we're still bound to describing games by their genre years and years after the medium has diversified enough to make those descriptors inadequate and overly simplistic.
Theoretically, it's the job of game critics to shape the language around the medium and communicate on it effectively, but even we writers could be doing lots better. Our own Stephen Totilo once devoted an entire GDC presentation to words commonly used in game criticism that don't mean anything. I'm no innocent either. I've already used "aesthetic" "vibe" and "thing" in this feature, words that don't really specify what I'm trying to talk about, and I'm hoping he doesn't edit them out, so that I can illustrate my point.
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You're probably wondering why it matters how we talk about games. No matter what words we use, we "get it" when we talk among ourselves, so isn't that all that counts? Well, look at it this way: if we're the only ones who get it, we'll never be able to share it. Other, more established media may have times when they're hard to explain, when they are "about" many things at once. Can a Lost fan easily explain what that show was all about, or why it's good, to someone who's never watched it? Probably not. But in general, art, media and cultural phenomena become relevant when they're easy to share, and most kinds of video games aren't yet.
Plus, when we can't explain ourselves, it makes it easier for us to be misunderstood – yes, Mass Effect has adult scenes and aims to be "mature", but it's hardly the risqué sex sim scandal made it out to be. Grand Theft Auto is a crime simulator in its way, but that's not all it is.
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"Getting" Grand Theft Auto
Speaking of GTA, that's actually one of the games I've found is most easily comprehensible to my friends. They get it, both because of the cultural juggernaut that's always surrounded it and because it's so easy to grasp what it's about – raising hell with total freedom in the real world is a near-universal fantasy.
I may not understand why my non-gamer friends play the way they do. One friend likes to play Ballad of Gay Tony so she can get Luis drunk in the club and make him fall down the stairs repeatedly (okay, doing that is pretty funny. She also inexplicably never tires of pushing ladies in the restroom.
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She's really digging Red Dead Redemption, too. After she and my other friend shot my horse, murdered a bunch of innocent people and ultimately docked 500 points from my hard-won Honor, I asked her if she liked the game. "Yeah!" She enthused. "It's like GTA>, except with horses."
That sums it up. So why is it so much easier to "get" a game like GTA or by extension, Red Dead Redemption, than other titles, even those with far fewer elements going on? It's because GTA is universal: everyone's wished they could just act out against their environment without real-world consequences, just for fun, from time to time. Not all games are built on such accessible ideas – nor should they be. We could explain to our friends why we relate to them anyway, if only we had the right words.
When it comes to the more complex ideas and experiences unique to games, we as gamers and as an industry haven't yet gotten our lexicon to a point where it's sophisticated enough to convey them. Hey, it's not like we've had any practice; we've only in the past talked about what makes games special with each other, with people from "our world." That we're starting to notice our vocabulary is failing us is a good sign – it means that "other people" are ready to listen.
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[ Leigh Alexander is news director for Gamasutra, author of the Sexy Videogameland blog, and freelances reviews and criticism to a variety of outlets. Her monthly column at Kotaku deals with cultural issues surrounding games and gamers. She can be reached at leighalexander1 AT gmail DOT com.]Superheroes can be complicated individuals, and Arian Noveir seems to understand that in his silhouette portraits that look like they were cut out of Jackson Pollock paintings. The French artist captures a level chaos and emotional turmoil similar to some of Bill Sienkiewicz's best work, but he does it in a way that would like appropriate on Criterion Collection cover.
Noveir's subjects thus far include comics staples such as Spider-Man, Hellboy and Batman, so he would be a fine choice to designs a slipcover for a hardcover compilation of any of their stories. And you don't have to take our word for it. Just click on into his deviantART account to what he's capable of.
His Batman in particular packs an anarchic punch that makes it feel like a vigilante warning sign to thugs in a dark alley somewhere. See if his work is your cup of tea, and check out some colorful takes on Thor and the Hulk below:Ancient bones discovered under a parking lot have been confirmed as those of the medieval king Richard III, through a DNA test that also raises questions about the legitimacy of Henry VIII and other famous English royals.
The team of genetics detectives reported Tuesday that DNA from the skeleton shows that the bones were Richard III's, with a probability of 99.9994 percent. This is the first genetic identification of a particular individual so long after death—527 years.
Archaeologists had peeled back a parking lot in 2012 to excavate the skeleton, which was among buried relics of the Greyfriars Friary in Leicester, England, long the reputed burial site of Richard III. (See "The Real Richard III.")
Most people know the hunched-shouldered king through Shakespeare's play Richard III, in which the maligned ruler utters such memorable lines as "Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York," and "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
Earlier this year, a forensic study of the remains revealed that the doomed king—the last English monarch to die in combat—suffered 11 wounds at the time of his death, in a 1485 battle with the Tudors that ended England's War of the Roses
But there had been lingering questions about whether the skeleton was really that of Richard III.
"The evidence directly indicates that these are the remains of Richard III," says geneticist Turi King of the University of Leicester in the U.K., who led the team reporting the results in the journal Nature Communications. (Related: "Richard III Mania: Understanding a Kingly Obsession.")
The scientists examined DNA inherited along maternal lines, known as mitochondrial DNA, from two distantly related modern-day relatives of Richard III's sister. That DNA is a near perfect match for the maternal genes of the hunchbacked skeleton buried at the friary. What's more, the DNA was "unusual," King adds, containing stretches that don't quite match anything in registries of European genes.
A statistical analysis led by David Balding and Mark Thomas of University College London took those genetic results and calculated the chances that a man of Richard III's age with battle wounds and a curved spine could turn up at Greyfriars and not be the slain king. They conservatively estimated that chance at 6.7 million to 1.
"It is surprising how many people initially argued that these skeletal remains weren't those of Richard III," says bioanthropologist Piers Mitchell of the U.K.'s University of Cambridge, who was not part of the study team. "Well, here it is."
In 2012 archaeologists peeled back a parking lot to excavate this skeleton, buried among relics of the Greyfriars Friary in Leicester, England. Photograph by University of Leicester
View Images In 2012 archaeologists peeled back a parking lot to excavate this skeleton, buried among relics of the Greyfriars Friary in Leicester, England. Photograph by University of Leicester
Risqué Royalty
However, Richard III's Y chromosome, which is inherited along the paternal lines, seems to have turned up some dirt on ancient aristocrats.
Because Richard III died without leaving any male heirs, the researchers had to trace his lineage back in time to find an ancestor of his who had inherited the same Y chromosome paternally and who had modern-day descendants. They found five men living today who are paternally descended from Richard III's great uncle, John of Gaunt, who died in 1399.
All five of those men should have inherited the same Y chromosome as Richard III through their more recent ancestor, the fifth Duke of Beaufort, who died in 1803. Thus they also should have the same Y chromosome as Richard III. Or so the researchers thought.
Yet none of the men had the same Y chromosome as Richard III, and only four of them had descended from the duke. This isn't too surprising, King says, given estimates of false-paternity rates, meaning "when someone's father is not who we think is their father."
The paternity problems don't shake the statistical probability that the Greyfriars skeleton belongs to Richard III, say the study authors.
But they say the Y chromosome finding "could be of key historical significance." False paternity in John of Gaunt's family could mean that Plantagenet kings such as Henry V had no genetic claim to their thrones. The study states, "This would also hold true, indirectly, for the entire Tudor line," including Elizabeth I and Henry VIII.
Still, the genes can't reveal exactly when the break in paternity occurred. And fortunately for today's royal-watchers, Queen Elizabeth II descended from a different family line.
Portrait of a King
The genes on Richard III's Y chromosome were unusual in English families and are seen more often in the Mediterranean, King notes, though Mark Thomas cautions about ascribing geographic provenances to chromosomes or genes.
Though the study doesn't say anything about the genetic health of Richard III, who was afflicted with scoliosis, it does say there's a 95 percent chance that he had blue eyes and a 77 percent chance that he had brown hair as a child. That closely matches his appearance in a Society of Antiquaries of London portrait from the early 1500s.
When this genetic evidence is added to all the other findings, including the shape of his back and the injuries he sustained in battle, Mitchell says, "now those performing Shakespeare's play about Richard III will have all the evidence they need to make it as authentic as possible."Elon Musk is turning around the 21st century. He's a revolutionary in every sense.
He has been taking over every significant sector of the world and conquering it with his relentless passion, obsessive curiosity, unparalleled wisdom and ingenious planning.
He's an engineer, architect, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and much more. He's an innovator of paramount importance. Oh and he's a billionaire bachelor.
His list of credentials never ends.
He has been featured on the 'World’s Wealthiest People' and 'World’s Most Powerful People' lists repeatedly. His face has been on the cover of every known magazine.
Reflecting upon his incredibly inspiring journey, none of this comes as a surprise.
The man’s main mission is to colonise Mars and send people there within 9 years. He wishes to “reduce the risk of human extinction" by making life “multiplanetary”.
Talk about life goals.
When he’s not building electric cars, researching artificial intelligence, sending rockets into space, flipping over money markets or developing sustainable energy, Musk is constantly on the prowl for new ideas.
I’m trying to imagine his time’s worth. His estimated value is a cool $11.5 billion at the moment.
Did I mention that he’s only 45 years old?
But when he was a kid, Musk was an introvert and a reclusive nerd who was severely bullied in school. Other students always picked him on.
But the situation turned grave when he was thrown down a flight of stairs by some boys and beaten brutally till he lost consciousness. He had to be hospitalised.
The horrific incident might have left Musk scarred but it also pushed him to become who he is today. He found a new direction in his life and followed it with courage and determination.
He became hungry for knowledge and taught himself computer programming.
After recovering from his traumatic experience with the help of family, he developed his first game called Blastar and sold it off to a tech magazine. Soon after, technology and business completely took over his mind.
He never stopped after that.
He started venturing out and established profitable enterprises in his teens. From starting an unofficial nightclub in college to creating an Internet ‘city guide’ for the publishing industry named Zip2, by 1999, Musk had earned 22 million dollars. He was 28 years old then.
But this was the beginning of yet another difficult phase of his life. Musk’s worries were far from over.
Next came PayPal. When Musk was CEO, the board fired him in a shocking case of company politics as soon as he left for a long-pending vacation. Thankfully, his share in the company still scored him 165 million dollars.
Loaded with new money, Musk’s fired up imagination now shot all the way to outer space. He decided to build his own missiles, which eventually led to the formation of Space X (Space Exploration Technologies).
He was initially discouraged regarding his new venture and told that his machines would probably never make it to space.
Today, his primary projects include building life on another planet and making travel between the planets of our solar system possible as a part of the Interplanetary Transport System.
Clearly, this genius guy is all about self-motivation.
His unflinching vision is setting game-changing benchmarks in aerospace faster than a rocket.
Let’s bring the inventor back to Earth now.
In 2004, Musk began a long-running association with Tesla. But a couple of years later, Tesla hit a major financial crisis and Musk personally invested millions to save the company from bankruptcy.
Today, he’s recognised as one of Tesla’s co-founders. He’s also CEO.
In the meanwhile, Musk helped his cousins start a solar energy company, SolarCity, to fight global warming. It is currently the largest solar energy services provider in America.
Exactly a decade later, he merged SolarCity and Tesla to create a powerhouse of energy. It all worked out extremely well.
But then came Musk’s darkest phase.
In 2008, he pretty much went completely broke. He was spending so much on all his ventures that his bank balance was reduced to nothing. Profits were zero and his reputation was at an all-time low.
The multi-millionaire was forced to take loans for his personal use. At that time, he was also in the middle of a divorce with his author wife.
Regarding that period of shocking struggle, Musk famously said,
“My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100 million in SpaceX, $70m in Tesla, and $10m in Solar City. I had to borrow money for rent.”
That’s the kind of risk you have to take to rule the world. Musk’s definitely paid off.
He was literally hand-to-mouth and barely surviving. But he kept going.
Eventually it all got better. His companies started recovering from losses. He got gigantic contracts and investors onboard.
He was back in the game!
All his ventures shot to greater success in just a couple of years.
He took up new projects, especially artificial intelligence and its impact on mankind – a cause of extreme importance to him. He continued to upgrade technology in his space vehicles and cars.
Such ingenious visionaries come along once in a while. Musk has the commitment and power to transform our lives. He’s the future of our world.
We salute his fighting spirit.
This man doesn’t just dream; he makes it happen.Thaddeus Bullard, who works as Titus O'Neil in WWE, had a lawsuit filed against him in Los Angeles County Superior Court stemming from a incident filming the WWE Network show "Swerved".
TMZ originally broke the story.
Donald Anderson, who worked on the show as a cameraman, claimed the incident took place on May 18, 2015, and is suing for more than $1.2 million in damages.
According to his complaint, Bullard was zapped with an electric shock as part of the show. Anderson claimed that when that happened, Bullard kicked the camera out of his hands, causing serious inury to his hand, fingers, and wrist.
Anderson said that when it happened, he was told to leave the premises immediately for fear of further attacks.
As of now, the 40-year-old Bullard has not commented on the suit. A former University of Florida football player, he was signed by WWE in 2009. After spending time in FCW, he was part of NXT's second season and was officially called up to the main roster in April 2012.PM Modi was addressing an election rally in Baramati (Press Trust of India photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reiterated his government's tough stand on the confrontation with Pakistan at the Kashmir border. "Today, when bullets are being fired on the border, it is the enemy that is screaming," the PM said, adding "the enemy has realised that times have changed and their old habits will not be tolerated."Addressing the criticism of political opponents who have charged him with not speaking directly about this week's clashes - the worst in a decade - the PM said, "When there is a challenge at the border, it is soldiers who answer with fingers on the trigger; it is not for politicians to respond."His remarks, made at an election rally in Maharashtra, were a rebuke to the opposition, which has accused him of prioritising campaigning for the state elections in Maharashtra and Haryana over dealing with the border crisis. Eight civilians have been killed in India as Pakistan targeted dozens of army outposts and villages; more than 40 have been injured. Pakistan says it has lost 10 civilians.On Wednesday, in his first comments on the heavy fighting that began four days ago, the PM said "Everything will be fine soon" to reporters. But overnight, Indian forces retaliated to gunfire and mortar bombs on about 50 border security posts overnight, said senior officials. There was intermittent fire on Thursday."If Pakistan persists with this adventurism, our forces will make cost of this adventurism unaffordable for it," Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday. ( Read More Indian officials say Pakistan's aggression is based on the need to shift attention from its politically volatile landscape - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has confronted huge opposition protests. India also believes that Pakistan wants to use the attacks to help militants infiltrate Kashmir. ( 5 Strong Remarks from Government to Pakistan Over Ceasefire Violations India cancelled talks with Pakistan in August after Islamabad insisted on consulting Kashmiri separatists ahead of the dialogue. Though the Prime Ministers of both countries addressed the UN General Assembly last month, they did not hold a meeting.Are you starting to run low on storage space? Before you bite the bullet and pay an inflated price for another hard drive to store your expanding collection of lolcats or whatever else it is that's hogging your HDD, you might want to consider hanging tight for another month. If you can, you could end up saving as much as 10 percent on your HDD purchase.According to news and rumor site DigiTimes, the Taiwan market is getting ready to drop the price of hard drives by around 10 percent at the end of April. It's a move that, in part, is intended to promote sales, as buyers have been hesitant to stock up on storage ever since severe flooding in Thailand disrupted the HDD manufacturing business and ultimately drove prices up.In the third quarter of 2011, HDD makers supplied the market with between 170 million and 180 million units. But after the floods hit, that number went down and has been slowly recovering. When the second quarter of 2012 comes to a close, HDD makers are expected to have shipped up to 150 million units before returning to 170 million to 180 million units in the third quarter.However, don't expect prices to suddenly return to pre-flood levels, even as the supply of hard drives returns to normal. According to DigiTimes, increasing production costs will keep pricing higher than what they were last year.It’s kind of like one of those word problems in your math class that’s something about if a train is going east at 22 mph and the conductor is walking west through the compartments at 3.4 mph, who will win the World Series in 2032? OK, maybe not that bad, but I did have to pull up my calculator for this one.
You’ve likely heard of the Oakland twins born at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley? Miles Erickson made his debut just before midnight on Feb. 28, and his brother, Walter, came along minutes later on Feb. 29, a.k.a. Leap Day. For every four years Miles ages, Walter will technically age only one. So when Miles is 16, Walter is 4. When Miles is 84, Walter will be (punching it into the calculator now), finally old enough to drink booze. Party at the senior center!
Contact Angela Hill at ahill@bayareanewsgroup.com, or follow her on Twitter @GiveEmHill.Part Two of a Two Part Series
• Read Part One here
The United States (US) government, only 23 years old, had declared war on the British Empire, beginning Mr. Madison’s War. This article continues the series about this war, showing that the largely agrarian US engaged in an imperialist war, lasting from June 18, 1812 until February 18, 1815, with an economically and commercially superior foe, the Royal Crown.
While some say that the war was the last act of decolonization for the US or a “second war” of independence, this is not true. It was more about “nine invasions of foreign sovereign territory,” fighting over expansion of trade, with the US growing into a “great and thriving nation of commerce,” making it one of the US’s early wars of empire. Thomas Jefferson himself made this abundantly clear. He argued that the acquisition of Canada would be “a mere matter of marching,” leading to “the final expulsion of England from the American continent,” stripping the British Empire of all of “her possessions on this continent.” Apart from this, there was one more element proving that the war was an expansionist one.
One of the first moves, apart from preparing an invasion of Canada, was an attempt to take over Florida from the Spanish, engineered by Madison’s advisers. Since the previous year, General George Matthews worked with five prominent inhabitants in Spanish East Florida: affluent planters John Houston McIntosh and George Flemming, wealthy military man Don Fernando de la Mesa Afredondo, revolutionary war veteran Andrew Atkinson Humphreys and Spanish military commander Lieutenant Justin Lopez, all of whom had started a rebellion and asked for US assistance. This shows that the CIA-planned coups across the world, starting with the overthrow of an Iranian moderate named Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953, replacing him with the Shah, were not unprecedented since similar events had already happened in US history.
At the beginning, the fighting of the war was focused in Upper and Lower Canada, especially near Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and in the Old Northwest, with fighting in the southern US and Chesapeake Bay region later in the war. Some were concerned about foreign trade because of a broadly successful blockade by the Royal Navy, only having to face a 16-ship US navy in 1812. Despite victories over Royal Navy early in the war because of their “overconfidence; inaccurate gunnery…[and] ships that were simply less powerful and less well prepared,” their economic superiority predominated. As a result of the blockade, the US economy’s exports dropped by about 93% from 1811 to 1814, assisted by privateers. Since it was not always easy for the Royal Navy to maintain the blockade, the war would not be a “triumph for Britain’s naval reputation.”
Albert Gallatin and James Monroe were some of those concerned about trade. Monroe, then Secretary of State, wrote to Gallatin, in June, arguing that at the present it is important to “attempt…maritime war only” and worrying about difficulty experienced in Congress. Gallatin echoed this in a letter to Madison later that month. He told Madison that weekly arrivals from foreign ports averaged at $1-1.5 million dollars each week, saying that protecting these arrivals and US commercial vessels is of “primary importance” because the “British still have an inferior force on our coasts,” implying that the blockade was not, at the time, fully in force. While this may have been a focus, Gallatin clearly was interested in acquiring resources in Canada. In a letter to Langdon Cheves, a War Hawk and chairman of the Naval Committee, later Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee (1813) and speaker of the House (1814-1815), he argued that it is “in our interest now to draw from Canada all the furs and merchandise belonging to our citizens.” He further said that if the British allow exports of such property it cannot be imported into the US, and that US citizens should “snatch their property from the enemy’s hands,” engaging in smuggling by sea! While the British were clearly imperialists, this statement by Gallatin shows his greediness and imperialistic tendencies.
With the seizure of Florida underway, the invasion of Canada was “on schedule.” In June, Brigadier General John Armstrong told William Eustis, then the Secretary of War, that the “primary military objectives” in the war would be protection of the frontier and “seizure of Montreal.” This seemed possible because Britain had few troops in Canada and former Loyalists there were falsely thought to have pro-US sympathies. This militaristic sentiment was to be expected. It was echoed by the pro-Republican National Intelligencer which declared “Canada once ours shall have no enemy,” even though Canadians had little sympathy for the Americans and worked with indigenous nations to reverse every strike by the US.
The invasion was doomed from the start. Not only was the US army unprepared for a three-ponged invasion, but many of the battles in the war were small skirmishes. Additionally, US settlers were afraid that masses of indigenous peoples would attack Detroit but, in fact, a US commander would surrender the city later that year, and the US military command structure was deeply flawed, with “considerable bungling and mismanagement.” Furthermore, the British recruited enslaved and runaway Blacks for Royal Navy and worked with Tecumseh, who was tasked with defending Canada. Still, the US pressed on. By August, when the British reportedly wanted to stop hostilities, the US did not relent. Plans to continue the invasion of Canada, cut off British communications with indigenous nations, secure the Great Lakes, since it was of “greatest importance” strategically, and work to pay off military expenses continued.
In November, in his message to both houses of Congress, Madison noted the real motives for the war:
…a considerable force should be placed in the Michigan Territory with a general view to its security, and, in the event of war, to such operations in the uppermost Canada as would intercept the hostile influence of Great Britain over the savages, obtain the command of the lake on which that part of Canada borders, and maintain cooperating relations with such forces as might be most conveniently employed against other parts…the enemy has not scrupled to call to his aid their [the indigenous] ruthless ferocity, armed with the horrors of those instruments of carnage and torture which are known to spare neither age nor sex…The misfortune at Detroit was not…without a consoling effect…our charge’ d’affaires at London was at the same time authorized to agree to an armistice founded upon them…It remains only that, faithful to ourselves…we prosecute the war with united counsels and with the ample faculties of the nation until peace be so obtained.
Not everyone agreed with the war. Those in favor of the war put up a fuss, unsuccessfully trying to promote a Sedition Act to squash criticism, and some even engaging in riots targeting pro-Federalist individuals. One such disturbance happened when Alexander Contee Hanson, publisher of the Federal Republican, declared that the Republicans were a “mostly European rabble” to pervert the Constitution, argued that Madison’s Administration sold out to Napoleon, and said that “the last hope of civilization, law, and order was old Mother England.” Of course, this led to anger from the Baltimorean masses. On June 20 they hauled Hanson and his supporters from jail and beat them, showing the first casualties of the war were in this port city, not on the battlefield. Some Virginian legislators, balked at British impressment and waged a “racial crusade against the British, damned for allying with scalping Indians and rebelling slaves,” which outraged Black Americans, free and un-free alike.
The Federalist bourgeoisie were the strongest opposition to the war. For this reason, pro-war Republican bourgeoisie believed that such Federalists were conspiring with the British to break up the union, accused Canadian Loyalists of covertly giving aid to indigenous nations, and hoped that the invasion of Canada could “unite and save the republic from a menacing convergence of internal and external enemies.” However, the war only alienated the Federalists instead, caused cotton production and exports to markets, such as Britain, to be temporarily interrupted, angering those who profited from the lucrative trade and hurting those proletariat involved in the cotton production process with ripple effects hitting the enslaved Blacks on southern plantations.
The description so far of antiwar sentiment is only scratching the surface. The war pitted those who were loyal to the republic against those loyal to empire, with militia service in the US as mandatory, leading to increased tension in an environment when many were unsure about war. The opposition to the war was strong in New England. Not only did many want the embargo to be lifted but manufacturers, merchants, and mariners were already angry that Madison continued the economic policies of his predecessor, Jefferson. Such opposition went beyond the Federalist bourgeoisie. An antiwar movement in the region, interconnected with religious beliefs, included Quakers, and manifested itself at town meetings, public fasts, peace conventions, and in newspaper editorials.
Within New England, those who opposed the war ranged from Reverend Elijah Parish of Byfield, Massachusetts, Noah Worchester, a New Hampshire Unitarian Minister, and Senator William Hunter of Rhode Island. Their messages varied from seeing Britain as a bulwark against Napoleonic absolutism (Parish), proclaiming “honorable neutrality” (Parish), arguing that war is “the effect of delusion…one of the most horrid customs of savage men” (Worchester), saying that the war was unconstitutional (many antiwar religious clerics), and arguing that the war was “unjust,” “wicked” and a form of “robbery” (Hunter).
A small group of Republicans, led by John Randolph, had their own reasons for opposing the war. While Randolph saw the war as not protecting Virginians from “Indian hostilities” on the frontier, a man named Daniel Sheffey told the Virginia General Assembly that the war will “be for luxuries, not necessaries” and it will not “pay our debts, but it will increase the distortions and place us deeper in debt. We are to go to war for what must be destroyed by war.” Later that year an antiwar meeting held in the state saw the war as unnecessary and “little short of madness.”
It is important to recognize the British perspective in order to understand this conflict. The British were not enthusiastic for war: they were in disbelief and felt betrayed, feeling that US complaints about impressment were exaggerated in an attempt to distract from the seizure of Canada, with Canadians seeing the war as a form of aggression, and the US as hypocrites of the highest order. Once involved, the British worked with indigenous forces, which they had already helped in “roll[ing] back American expansion” and keeping “a lid on frontier tensions.” The British did not let up. Apart from support for the indigenous, on the high seas British officers treated US citizens as traitors “captured while fighting in the American service,” and committed crimes against civilians, like the US. They also engaged in a propaganda war focused on indigenous people at a time that they were divided between allying with the US or the British in the war itself.
As for the proletariat of England, they were still suffering. With the war, the uncertainty and fluctuation in textile industries continued. As markets for finished goods and supply for materials were disrupted, a few British bourgeoisie profited, and the standard of living for the proletariat declined. Marxist historian Peter Limbaugh goes further, describing how domestic merchants, who distributed raw materials, and craftspeople, working at home, were brought together in factories and by manufactures. He adds that the British Empire’s ability to control the world’s oceans for commerce, the British war economy, and its subsequent industrialization went hand-in-hand. As he artfully puts it, with “the smoke of the factory and the smoke of the cannon, the hapless soldier’s cry and the orphan’s cry, vast fortunes of war and the machine morphed politically into the military-industrial complex.” While some may grumble about the term military-industrial complex, saying that what existed in England at that time was not in the same category as what Dwight Eisenhower described in his 1961 farewell address, there is no doubt that there was a bustling war industry at the time.
The funding of the costly war, at least for the US, was not an easy affair. With inflation of the currency, a bankrupt administration, “Yankee commerce” hurting from the blockade, and capital cut off from Europe, proposals for war payments were abound. They ranged from reviving internal taxes, which had been first proposed by the Federalists in 1802, and having to resort to loans. In order to do the latter, the Madison Administration felt forced to turn to the capitalist class, to those capitalists without pro-Federalist sympathies but those with pro-Republican, pro-war viewpoints. These capitalists ranged from a German fur monopolist, Astor, who had asked Jefferson, before the war, to assist his fur company, a US banker named Girard, who owned the successful Girard Bank, Barker, a Quaker merchant, Isaac Bronson, a former veteran of the revolutionary war, land speculator, and merchant, and Parish, a German-born son of a British banking dynasty, later on. Such separation of the capitalist class was because, as one publication points out, the US economy had a “thin” market in that it was “devoid of prominent merchant banking houses or any specialized firms…underwriting new securities…or [engaged in] related investment banking activities.”
These individuals did not come forward selflessly. While his apologists claim that Girard was being “selfless” for “risking his entire fortune by loaning money to the United States government,” he gave huge loans to the US government to increase his standing, influence, and make a profitable investment. As for Barker and Bronson, they took advantage of the situation to drive down government bond prices, as they bought the first $5 million of one-year Treasury notes issued by the US Congress, with $31 million more issued during the war, leading to wild speculations and market fluctuations. Astor’s interests explain the reason he funded the US government loan. Because of the war, his fur trading business was disrupted. The fur trade lapsed “into a state of demoralization for the time” and his American Fur Company traded in the Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi, and an area east of Lake Huron, where most of the fighting occurred. Hence, Astor lost money as he tried to cement his place in the US’s “empire of liberty.”
There was another group that profited: City Bank of New York. This bank, the third largest company by 1816, was chartered only days before war broke out. One of their first customers, if you will, was the US government. War veteran Osgood, the bank’s President, joined by New York merchant John Swartwout and William Irving, whose brother was Washington Irving, on the Board of Directors, used the bank to raise money and pay the government’s war expenses, specifically half-a-million of the first war loan. While this led to high stock prices for City Bank, with high yields on government bonds, the war prevented the bank from developing along “intended” lines. After Osgood died in 1813, William Few became the next President, continuing contributions to war loans. Interestingly, Few, who died in 1828, a lifelong politician and signer of the US Constitution, originally opposed the creation of the First Bank of the United States.
By 1813, the war gained a new dimension. The Revolutionary War already was, as bourgeois progressive historian Gary Nash put it, “the greatest slave rebellion in the long history of American slavery.” Mr. Madison’s War was different. While there wasn’t the same type of uprising, the war shook the foundation of southern slavery in the US. With enslaved Blacks on the Chesapeake Bay seeing sailing ships as “freedom’s swift-winged angels,” as Frederick Douglass put it, these angels appeared in 1813 as British warships. Hundreds of enslaved Blacks paddled out to the warships every night seeking protection, pressuring British admirals to become liberators. About 3,400 enslaved blacks fled from Tidewater Maryland and Virginia plantations to British ships during the war, many of whom reached Nova Scotia by the end of the war.
This transformed the British approach from only seeking a few Blacks as pilots and guides to welcoming them as a solution to their manpower shortage and “lack of local knowledge.” As a result, British agents encouraged mass escapes from plantations by 1814. The local geographic knowledge they imparted to the Royal Army assisted them with their military operations. With the help of runaway Blacks, the British could raid deeper into the |
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